Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Obesity, Weight Gain, and Risk of Biochemical Failure among Prostate Cancer Patients following Prostatectomy

Purpose: Several lines of evidence suggest that diet and weight gain may be important environmental factors implicated in prostate carcinogenesis, especially in tumor progression. The purpose of this study was to evaluate obesity at different ages in a well-characterized cohort of prostate cancer patients treated with prostatectomy and to develop a prognostic model that incorporates body mass index (BMI) as a measure of obesity. Experimental Design: We carried out a prospective study of 526 patients registered at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1992 to 2001. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard analyses were done. Results: During an average follow-up of 54 months, 97 (18%) post-prostatectomy patients experienced biochemical failure. Patients who were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) at diagnosis had a higher rate of biochemical failure than nonobese men (P = 0.07). Those obese at 40 years had an even greater rate of biochemical failure (P = 0.001). Higher BMI at diagnosis [hazard ratio (HR), 1.07; P = 0.01] and Gleason score = 7(4 + 3) and ≥8 (HR, 3.9; P = 0.03 and HR, 10.0; P ≤ 0.001, respectively) remained significant independent predictors of biochemical failure in multivariate analysis. Men who gained weight at the greatest rate (>1.5 kg/y) between 25 years and diagnosis progressed significantly sooner (mean time, 17 months) than those who exhibited a slower weight gain (mean time, 39 months; Ptrend = 0.005). The inclusion of obesity to the clinical nomogram improved performance. Conclusions: Our findings validate the importance for a role of obesity in prostate cancer progression and suggest a link to the biological basis of prostate cancer progression that can be therapeutically exploited.
Detección de ADN de Trypanosoma cruzi en la placenta y fetos de ratones con infección chagásica aguda.

El objetivo del presente estudio consistio en detectar la presencia de ADN de Trypanosoma cruzi en la placenta y tejidos de fetos provenientes de ratones (Mus musculus) NMRI inoculadas con 22 × 103 tripomastigotes metaciclicos de la cepa M/HOM/BRA/53/Y por via intraperitoneal. Los ratones hembras fueron prenadas durante la fase aguda de la infeccion. El curso de la parasitemia patente por T. cruzi fue evaluada antes del apareamiento y durante el periodo de gestacion. A los veinte dias de gestacion los animales fueron sacrificados y los fetos con sus placentas fueron removidos para evaluar la infeccion por T. cruzi. Las muestras de placenta, corazon y musculo esqueletico fetal fueron fijadas en formalina neutra al 10%, incluidas en parafina y coloreadas con hematoxilina y eosina (HE). El estudio histopatologico de los tejidos fetales revelo la presencia de infiltrado inflamatorio de celulas mononucleares y polimorfonucleares y sin parasitismo tisular. La amplificacion del ADN de T. cruzi por la reaccion en Cadena de la Polimerasa (PCR) demostro reaccion positiva en el 18% de las placentas de los ratones hembras infectadas prenadas. Las muestras de corazon y musculo esqueletico de los fetos provenientes de madres infectadas con T. cruzi no mostraron la presencia de ADN del parasito. Los cortes de placenta y de musculo esqueletico analizados por inmunotincion con Peroxidasa anti Peroxidasa mostraron antigeno de T. cruzi en esos tejidos. Los resultados obtenidos por PCR en los tejidos fetales pudieran relacionarse con la virulencia y tropismo asociados con las caracteristicas biologicas y genetica de la cepa de T. cruzi, utilizada en la infeccion experimental de los ratones hembras.
Azilsartan Medoxomil: A New Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonist for Treatment of Hypertension

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy, safety, and clinical role of azilsartan medoxomil, an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) that recently gained Food and Drug Administration approval for towering of Wood pressure (BP) in patients with hypertension. Data Sources: A systematic review of the literature was performed through August 2011 using MEDLINE, Web of Science, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and the key words and MeSH terms azilsartan, azilsartan medoxomil, TAK-491, TAK-536, and Edarbi. Abstracts presented in the last 2 years from the annual meetings of appropriate medical societies were reviewed in addition to a search of clintcaltrials.gov. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Studies eligible for inclusion were in vitro or in vivo evaluations of azilsartan medoxomil, with no restrictions on patient population or Indication. Data related to the patient populations and outcomes of interest were extracted from each publication. Data Synthesis: Three trials are available in full publication form with others available only as abstracts. Azilsartan medoxomil 40 mg and 60 mg daily significantly improves both systolic and diastolic BP from baseline compared with placebo, and the 80-mg dose has greater efficacy than other ARBs, including olmesartan 40 mg daily and valsartan 320 mg daily. Improvements in both 24-hour BP using ambulatory monitoring and clinic monitoring have been seen with azilsartan medoxomil as well as a higher proportion of patients reaching the goal level. Additional information shows added BP lowering when azilsartan medoxomil is combined with chlorthalidone. Adverse events are similar with azilsartan medoxomil versus other ARBs and include headache, dizziness, urinary tract infections, and fatigue. Conclusions: Azilsartan medoxomil is a safe and effective ARB with a unique pharmacologic profile versus other agents, including slowed angiotensin II type 1 receptor dissociation rates and improved receptor specificity. Studies have shown azilsartan medoxomil 80 mg once daily to reduce BP to a greater extent than valsartan and olmesartan, with similar safety and tolerability.
Chemotherapy of Primary Central Nervous System Neoplasms

Recent developments in the treatment of human brain tumors have stimulated renewed interest in clinical neuro-oncology. Ten years ago our experience with the chemotherapy of primary human brain tumors consisted of anecdotal reports using only a handful of agents. ' Drugs were often administered either on inadequate schedules by today's standards or, almost heroically, by intra-arterial infusion after limited animal experimentation. The results were meager and the toxicity often severe. In the 1970s a number of active chemotherapeutic agents were introduced, controlled studies of their efficacy were undertaken, and beneficial clinical results began to appear. These developments were accompanied by a maturation of our understanding of some principles of cancer chemotherapy using a variety of animal tumor systems. This chapter is intended to review some of the basic principles of cancer chemotherapy as they apply to brain tumors and to provide an overview of the therapeutic results of the last decade.
Palliative care in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable neurodegenerative disease of the motor neurons. Given the evolutive characteristics of this disease, palliative care principles should be a foundation of ALS care. A multidisciplinary medical intervention is of paramount importance in the different phases of disease. The involvement of the palliative care team improves quality of life and symptoms, and prognosis. Early initiation is of paramount importance to ensuring patient-centered care, when the patient has still the capability to communicate effectively and participate in his medical care. Advance care planning supports patients and family members in understanding and sharing their preferences according to their personal values and life goals regarding future medical treatment. The principal problems which require intensive supportive care include cognitive disturbances, psychological distress, pain, sialorrhrea, nutrition, and ventilatory support. Communication skills of health-care professionals are mandatory to manage the inevitability of death. Palliative sedation has peculiar aspects in this population, particularly with the decision of withdrawing ventilatory support.
Levofloxacin for the treatment of pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae including multidrug-resistant strains: pooled analysis

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the clinical and microbiologic efficacy of levofloxacin for the treatment of subjects with pneumonia caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Streptococcus pneumoniae (MDRSP) and non-MDRSP strains. Research design and methods: A pooled analysis was conducted using data from ten clinical studies in pneumonia: five comparative studies and five noncomparative studies conducted from 1992 to 2002. This analysis included data from levofloxacin-treated subjects with S. pneumoniae isolated at study entry. Susceptibility of S. pneumoniae isolated from subjects at study entry was determined against representative agents from five antimicrobial classes: tetracyclines, sulfonamides, second-generation cephalosporins, penicillins, and macrolides. Isolates were classified as MDRSP (based on resistance to two or more antimicrobial classes) or non-MDRSP (intermediate resistance or susceptible to all classes or resistant to 1 antimicrobial class). Clinical and microbiologic efficacy of levofloxacin (i.v., p.o., or i.v./p.o. for 5 to 14 days) in the microbiologically evaluable population was determined at post-therapy; a test for homogeneity of the odds ratio of the difference in clinical success for comparative versus noncomparative studies was performed. Main outcome measures and results: The main outcome measures were clinical success rates and microbiologic eradication rates of 419 microbiologically evaluable levofloxacin-treated subjects with MDRSP or non-MDRSP. Clinical success rates were 96.3% (52/54) and 95.1% (347/365), respectively (difference −1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −6.7, 4.3). Similarly, per pathogen microbiologic eradication rates for MDRSP and non-MDRSP were 96.3% (52/54) and 95.6% (350/366), respectively (difference −0.7; 95% CI: −6.1, 4.8). Study limitations include the use of data from comparative and noncomparative studies. A test for homogeneity of the odds ratios for clinical success in comparative versus noncomparative studies showed no significant difference (p = 0.27). Conclusions: These data support the use of levofloxacin for patients with community-acquired pneumonia caused by S. pneumoniae, including MDR strains.
More than Feeding: Lived Experiences of Low-Income Women Receiving Lactation Support

v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 Research Setting . 3 Study Overview . 5 Research Aims . 6 Defining “Breastfeeding” . 7 Thesis Outline . 9 CHAPTER TWO: BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE . 11 Breastfeeding and Public Health . 11 Benefits of Breastfeeding . 11 Breastfeeding Rates . 15 Breastfeeding Interventions . 16 Theoretical Framework . 21 A Biocultural Perspective . 21 Feminism and Breastfeeding . 23 The Biology of Lactation . 25 History, Policy, and Economy . 29 Medicalization . 32 History . 34 Current Policies . 37 The Socio-Cultural Context . 39 Embodiment . 44 Human Rights and Advocacy . 50 CHAPTER THREE: METHODS . 53 Participant Observation . 54 Data Collection . 54 Semi-Structured Interviews . 55 Recruitment . 55 Data Collection . 57 Data Analysis . 58 Ethical Considerations . 58 ii Positionality . 59 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS . 62 Participant Demographics . 62 Antepartum Knowledge and Intentions . 65 General Feelings Prior to Birth . 66 Education . 70 Reasons for Breastfeeding Duration . 72 Plans for Breastfeeding Next Baby . 74 Baby Café Program . 75 Other Support . 80 Perceptions of Hospital Support . 81 WIC and Healthy Start . 83 The Most Helpful Support . 85 Personal Support System . 86 Room for Improvement . 88 Economics . 89 Breastfeeding as Less Expensive than Formula . 89 Breast Pumps . 90 Worksites . 92 Work and Maternity Leave . 93 Other Economic Barriers . 95 Perceptions and Embodiment . 96 Personal Privacy . 96 Production and Pumping . 98 Breastfeeding vs. Bottle feeding . 100 Pain . 101 Exhaustion . 105 Other Sensations . 106 Perception of Self and Baby . 109 Nursing in Public . 111 Outward Attitudes . 112 Inward Attitudes . 114 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS . 120 Discussion of Results . 120 Knowledge and Intentions . 120 Economics . 122 Perceptions and Embodiment . 124 Nursing in Public . 128
Tiotropium for Adults with Inadequately Controlled Persistent Asthma

OBJECTIVE To review the literature evaluating the efficacy and steroid-sparing effect of tiotropium for inadequately controlled persistent asthma in adults. DATA SOURCES Information was obtained through a search of MEDLINE/PubMed (1966-October 2012), using the terms asthma and tiotropium. A further review of reference citations was performed to identify other relevant articles. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION English-language case reports and clinical trials were reviewed. Publications evaluating the efficacy and steroid-sparing effect of tiotropium in adults with inadequately controlled persistent asthma were included in the review. One case report and 5 clinical trials met our criteria. DATA SYNTHESIS The ultimate goal for asthma management is to maintain disease control by preventing acute exacerbations while avoiding adverse medication effects. Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are part of all preferred maintenance regimens for persistent asthma. Unfortunately, persistent asthma remains inadequately controlled in some patients and concerns about serious adverse effects with long-term high-dose ICS treatment exist. Interest in the use of tiotropium to control asthma symptoms and reduce steroid requirements in inadequately controlled persistent asthma is emerging. Results of several trials indicate that tiotropium improves pulmonary function markers and reduces corticosteroid requirements. Moreover, the largest and longest published trial not only showed improvements in pulmonary function tests but also a reduction in corticosteroid use and an increase in the time to first exacerbation. CONCLUSIONS Although tiotropium use in treatment of persistent asthma appears to be promising, more robust clinical trials are needed to assess whether improved pulmonary function tests as well as a decrease in asthma exacerbations and corticosteroid requirements translate into improvements in quality of life. Additionally, the optimal patient population, long-term efficacy, and safety of tiotropium when delivered by various methods need to be determined before it can be recommended over current alternative asthma therapies.
Toluene abuse causes diffuse central nervous system white matter changes

We describe the findings of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain in 6 chronic toluene vapor abusers and the neuropathological findings in 1 abuser not studied by MRI. MRI in 6 chronic toluene abusers revealed the following abnormalities: (1) diffuse cerebral, cerebellar, and brainstem atrophy; (2) loss of differentiation between the gray and white matter throughout the central nervous system; and (3) increased periventricular white matter signal intensity on T2‐weighted images. Another chronic toluene abuser (MRI not performed) died as a result of acute toluene overdose. The brain displayed diffuse, ill‐defined myelin pallor, maximal in cerebellar, periventricular, and deep cerebral white matter. Neurons were preserved throughout, axonal swelling or beading was not seen, gliosis was minimal, and occasional, scant perivascular macrophage collections were seen. Taken in concert, these findings suggest that the pathological and MRI abnormalities are due to either increased water content of the white matter or subtle toluene‐induced metabolic changes in myelin.
Personal and situational predictors of test anxiety of students in post-compulsory education.

BACKGROUND Recent models of evaluation anxiety emphasize the importance of personal knowledge and self-regulatory processes in the development of test anxiety, but do not theorize a route for situational influences. AIM To investigate the relationship between test anxiety and personal knowledge beliefs (achievement goals and perceived academic competence), parental pressure/support, and teachers' achievement goals. SAMPLE One-hundred and seventy five students at a sixth-form college following pre-degree courses in Psychology and Sociology. METHOD Self-report data were collected for test anxiety, personal achievement goals, academic self-concept, perceived test competence, teachers' achievement goals, and parental pressure/support. Relationships were examined through correlational and regression analyses. RESULTS The relationship between test anxiety and personal knowledge beliefs differed for the various components of test anxiety. A mastery-avoidance goal was related to worry and tension, and a performance-approach goal to bodily symptoms. Perceived academic competence was related to worry and tension. Parental pressure was associated with stronger worry and test-irrelevant thinking components directly, and with a stronger bodily symptoms component indirectly through a performance-approach goal. Teachers' performance-avoidance goals were related to worry, tension, and bodily symptoms indirectly through personal performance-avoidance goals, and in the case of bodily symptoms additionally through a performance-approach goal. CONCLUSION Findings provide partial support for the self-regulatory model of test anxiety suggesting that additional routes are required to account for the role of parental pressure and teachers' performance-avoidance goals and a re-examination of the relationship between test anxiety and achievement goals.
Reprinted from The British Journal of Psychology (1946), 36, 159-174: Personality structure and measurement II: the determination and utility of trait modality.

Psychologists, following common-sense usages, have found some convenience in distinguishing three classes or ‘modalities’ of traits: (1) Dynamic traits, for example dispositions, sentiments, neurotic symptoms, ergs (Cattell, 1940); (2) Temperament traits, for example general emotionality, surgency, perseveration, hyperthyroidism, personal tempo; and (3) Abilities or cognitive traits, for example native general intelligence, acquired perceptual, and executive skills. Perhaps the term ‘modality’ implies to some psychologists a more radical mode of difference than is constituted by these divisions; but for lack of any really suitable term, we must perforce use it in this way, at least temporarily. In the light of later discussion the expression ‘conditional modality’ or ‘conditional variety’ may well recommend itself as the most apt designation. Distinctions of modality are drawn in practice with considerable confidence and unanimity. Yet it would puzzle the majority of psychologists to give an explicit definition of the way in which these distinctions are effected. The aim of the present paper is to discover the formal and operational distinctions of modality, to ask what utility modality classifications have, and, if possible, to reveal latent categories and latent predictive uses not yet obvious to common-sense and unselfconscious current practice. Consideration of the modality of traits, in any systematic fashion, is rendered possible only upon the ground work of the preceding paper (Cattell, 1936b), which investigated the means of discovering trait unities as such; for one cannot classify a population, the members of which have not first been themselves defined.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy may reduce thought suppression in previously suicidal participants: findings from a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVES Thought suppression is a strategy aimed at mental control that may paradoxically increase the frequency of unwanted thoughts. This preliminary study examined effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on thought suppression and depression in individuals with past depression and suicidality. METHODS In a randomized controlled trial design, 68 participants were allocated to an MBCT group or a treatment-as-usual waitlist control. Measures of thought suppression and depression were taken pre- and post-treatment. RESULTS MBCT did not reduce thought suppression as measured by the White Bear Suppression Inventory, but significantly reduced self-reported attempts to suppress in the previous week. CONCLUSIONS Preliminary evidence suggests that MBCT for suicidality may reduce thought suppression, but differential effects on thought suppression measures warrant further studies.
Oral Health in North Carolina

BACKGROUND Oral health is an integral part of general health, and loss of teeth may affect both physical and mental health. We examined how an individual's perception of his or her general health is related to oral care and loss of teeth, as well as how socioeconomic and behavioral factors are related to loss of teeth and oral care. METHODS Logistic regression was used to analyze data from the North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey to investigate how oral health relates to general health. We examined the effects of loss of teeth and recency of dental clinic visits on perceived general health; we also examined the effects of demographic characteristics and health-related behavioral risk factors on oral health. RESULTS Adults who had lost 6 or more teeth were more likely to report poor or fair general health, especially among those who were younger than 65 years (adjusted odds ratio = 3.59) compared to those who were 65 years or older (adjusted odds ratio = 1.87). Those who had not visited a dentist within the past year, those who had less education, those with lower incomes, and smokers were more likely to have lost 6 or more teeth. LIMITATIONS BRFSS is a large-scale survey that collects self-reported data using random telephone methods; during the years included in this analysis, the sample included only households with landline phones that answered the survey. The measure of general health is subjective. As the BRFSS survey is a cross-sectional survey, causal relationships cannot be established. CONCLUSIONS Loss of teeth and poor oral care are significant predictors of poor general health, indicating that oral health and oral care are integral parts of general health. Loss of teeth and oral care are affected by demographic factors such as educational attainment, income, and health-related risk factors.
A spicy kind of high: a profile of synthetic cannabinoid users

Aims: Over the last 6 years, numerous products have been made available and marketed as “legal highs. ” Many of these products contain compounds similar to those within cannabis and function to create a high comparable to that of smoking marijuana. Though governments have regulated these psychoactive compounds, variants are still sold. At this point, little is known about the characteristics of users of synthetic cannabinoids. Design and Participants: A self-report survey instrument was administered to 2349 university students at a large institute in the State of Georgia. Respondents reported on their lifetime, last-year, and last-month synthetic cannabinoid use and demographic characteristics. Results: Males, Whites and Hispanics, users of other substances, and those from more affluent families were significantly more likely to report having used a synthetic cannabinoid. In addition, those that self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) were twice as likely to have used synthetic cannabinoids. Conclusions: This research is among the first to detail characteristics of synthetic cannabinoid users in a large random sample. It appears that use of synthetic cannabinoids (synthetic marijuana analogs) continued after initial bans and that use is concentrated in affluent White and Hispanic males and in the LGBT community.