Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From social taboo to “torch of freedom”: the marketing of cigarettes to women

Nice girls don't smoke When the Irish born American femme fatale Lola Montez had her photograph taken at a Boston studio in 1851, neither she nor anyone else could foresee the future symbolic value of the cigarette as a sign of emancipation for women and the tragic development that we are now facing with women as the next wave of the tobacco epidemic. With the dress and hairstyle that she was wearing in the photograph Lola Montez could have passed for a lady, if it wasn't for the cigarette which stood out so effectively against her black gloved hand (fig 1). Used as the focal point of this picture, the cigarette was intended to be provocative. Ladies in 1851 did not smoke, and the very notion that women and girls might be experimenting with cigarettes was certainly not acknowledged publicly. Indeed smoking by women in North America and Europe had long been associated with loose morals and dubious sexual behaviour. As far back as the 17th century Dutch painters had used tobacco and smoking to symbolise human folly. The only women shown smoking in these paintings were either whores or procuresses.1 Similarly in the 19th century women smokers were viewed as fallen women, with smoking the occupational symbol of prostitution.2 Indeed cigarettes became a common prop in Victorian erotic photography.3 Only rebellious, bohemian intellectuals and artists such as George Sands dared challenge these social mores. So widespread was the social stigma attached to women smoking that as late as 1908 a woman in New York was arrested for smoking a cigarette in public,2 and in 1921 a bill was proposed in the US Congress to ban women from smoking in the District of Columbia.4 Figure 1 Lola Montez. It is therefore remarkable that within 50 years of …
National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs

In 1993, the National Diabetes Advisory Board charged the American Diabetes Association to coordinate a task force of representatives of diabetes and other organizations to review, and revise if indicated, the National Standards for Diabetes Patient Education Programs. The task force consisted of representatives from the following organizations : the American Association of Diabetes Educators, the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Diabetes Research and Training Centers, the Indian Health Service, and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. The task force decided to revise the standards to reflect recent research and current health care trends. Thus, the standards were revised and are now termed the National Standards for Diabetes SelfManagement Education Programs. These revised standards have been endorsed by the organizations involved in their development.
The relationship between low income and household food expenditure patterns in Canada

Abstract Objectives: To compare food expenditure patterns between low-income households and higher- income households in the Canadian population, and to examine the relationship between food expenditure patterns and the presence or absence of housing payments among low-income households. Design: Secondary data analysis of the 1996 Family Food Expenditure Survey conducted by Statistics Canada. Setting: Sociodemographic data and 1-week food expenditure data for 9793 households were analysed. Subjects: Data were collected from a nationally representative sample drawn through stratified multistage sampling. Low-income households were identified using Statistics Canada's Low Income Measures. Results: Total food expenditures, expenditures at stores and expenditures in restaurants were lower among low-income households compared with other households. Despite allocating a slightly greater proportion of their food dollars to milk products, low-income households purchased significantly fewer servings of these foods. They also purchased fewer servings of fruits and vegetables than did higher-income households. The effect of low income on milk product purchases persisted when the sample was stratified by education and expenditure patterns were examined in relation to income within strata. Among low-income households, the purchase of milk products and meat and alternatives was significantly lower for households that had to pay rents or mortgages than for those without housing payments. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that, among Canadian households, access to milk products and fruits and vegetables may be constrained in the context of low incomes. This study highlights the need for greater attention to the affordability of nutritious foods for low-income groups.
A Selective Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitor (Etodolac) Prevents Spontaneous Biliary Tumorigenesis in a Hamster Bilioenterostomy Model

Background: Secondary biliary carcinomas are associated with persistent reflux cholangitis after bilioenterostomy. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) has been a target for cancer prevention. The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemopreventive efficacy of long-term treatment with a selective COX-2 inhibitor medication during the natural course after bilioenterostomy without chemical induction. Methods: Syrian golden hamsters which underwent choledochojejunostomy were randomly divided into two groups: the control group (n = 31), which was fed a normal diet, and the etodolac group (n = 33), which was fed 0.01% etodolac (a selective COX-2 inhibitor) mixed in the meal. The hamsters were killed at the postoperative weeks 20-39, 40-59, 60-79, or 80-100. Biliary neoplasms, cholangitis, proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index (PCNA-LI) of the biliary epithelium, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production were evaluated. Results: The occurrence rates of biliary neoplasm were 43.8 and 15.2% in the control and etodolac groups, respectively (p < 0.05). The incidence of biliary neoplasm increased as time progressed in the control group, whereas it remained at a low level throughout the experimental period in the etodolac group. PGE2 products tended to be lower in the etodolac group, and PCNA-LI was significantly lower in the etodolac group (p < 0.01). These results suggest that the medication etodolac suppresses cell proliferation of the biliary epithelium, thereby preventing biliary carcinogenesis. Conclusions: Etodolac is expected to prevent secondary biliary carcinogenesis caused by persistent reflux cholangitis after bilioenterostomy.
Ideomotor and Ideational Apraxia in Corticobasal Degeneration: A Case Study

Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a progressive disorder that can be characterised by asymmetrical akinetic rigidity, involuntary movements, cortical sensory loss, alien limb syndrome and asymmetrical apraxia (Gibb et al., 1989; Rinnie et al., 1994). Diagnosis of praxic disabilities is thought to be essential for distinguishing CBD, in its early stage, from other akinetic-rigid syndromes. However, the nature of apraxia in CBD, and the relations between ideomotor and ideational apraxia, are not well understood. For example, if there is an ideational deficit in a given patient, does this deficit occur independently of any ideomotor disorder, or are the two impairments linked in some manner? In the present paper we report a case study of a patient with apraxia due to CBD. We examine whether the disorder is confined to production tasks, or whether there is also a related deficit in recognising the correct actions performed with objects (an ideational deficit). We also evaluate whether a disorder found for action with single objects dissociates from the ability to link multiple actions into more complex, everyday tasks. The performance of our patient showed an impairment in both action production and action recognition system, suggesting a component of ideational as well as ideomotor apraxia in CBD.
Does ranitidine work for gastroesophageal symptoms during pregnancy?

own drugs for symptom relief. We decided to review this article after reading in Canadian Family Physician a recent analysis by the Motherisk Program regarding the safety of H2 blockers during pregnancy. ' In this prospective cohort study23 of 230 women who called the Motherisk Program, pregnancy outcomes were compared with those of 178 controls matched for age, smoking status, and heavy alcohol consumption. Most patients (71%) used ranitidine (mean dose 258 ± 99 mg/d); others used cimetidine (eg, Tagamet) (16%, 487 ± 389 mg/d), famotidine (eg, Pepcid) (8% 32 ± 10 mg/d), and nizatidine (eg, Axid) (5%, 283 ± 139 mg/d). Because no major malformations were found in infants following first-trimester exposure to H2 blockers, the authors concluded that no evidence indicates H2 blocker exposure during the first trimester raises the risk above baseline, which is 1% to 5% for all pregnancies. "3
Cerebellar contribution to spatial event processing: involvement in procedural and working memory components

Spatial function is one of the cognitive functions altered in the presence of cerebellar lesions. We investigated the cerebellar contribution to the acquisition of spatial procedural and working memory components by means of a radial maze. To establish whether a cerebellar lesion would cause a deficit in solving the radial maze, a first experiment was carried out by using a full‐baited maze procedure in different experimental groups, with or without cerebellar lesion and with or without pretraining. Non‐pretrained hemicerebellectomized (HCbed) animals exhibited impaired performances in all (motor, spatial and procedural) task aspects. Pre‐trained HCbed animals performed similarly to control animals in the task aspects linked to the processing of spatial and procedural factors. To distinguish procedural from working memory components, a forced‐choice paradigm of the radial maze was used in the second experiment. Non‐pretrained HCbed rats continued to make a lot of errors and show severe perseverative tendencies, already observed in the first experiment, supporting a specific cerebellar role in acquiring new behaviours and in modifying them in relation to the context. Interestingly, hindered from putting the acquired explorative patterns into action and compelled to use only working memory abilities, the pretrained HCbed group exhibited a dramatic worsening of performance. In conclusion, the present findings demonstrate that cerebellar damage induces a specific behaviour in radial maze tasks, characterized by an inflexible use of the procedures (if indeed any procedure was acquired before the lesion) and by a severe impairment in working memory processes.
An experimental approach to robotic grasping using a connectionist architecture and generic grasping functions

An experimental approach to robotic grasping is presented. This approach is based on developing a generic representation of grasping rules, which allows learning them from experiments between the object and the robot. A modular connectionist design arranged in subsumption layers is used to provide a mapping between sensory inputs and robot actions. Reinforcement feedback is used to select between different grasping rules and to reduce the number of failed experiments. This is particularly critical for applications in the personal service robot environment. Simulated experiments on a 15-object database show that the system is capable of learning grasping rules for each object in a finite number of experiments as well as generalizing from experiments on one object to grasping from another.
Improved LMS algorithm and its application in direct path and multipath cancellation for passive radar

In passive radar, the target's echo could be masked by the sidelobes of the direct path and multipath interference (DPI and MPI) received by the receiver antenna. So the direct path and multipath interference cancellation is a key factor in passive radar systems. In this paper, an improved LMS algorithm is proposed, and its performance in passive radar direct path and multipath interference cancellation is analyzed. The proposed algorithm, which varies the step size, has better performance compared with the traditional LMS filter. The computer simulation results show that the algorithm has a faster convergence rate and a smaller steady state error.
Automatic parallel parking and returning to traffic manoeuvres

This paper describes the control approach developed to perform parallel parking and returning to traffic manoeuvres for a car capable of autonomous motion. The key idea is to carry out a motion control procedure involving a "localization-planning-execution" cycle until a specified location of the car relative to its environment is reached. Range measurements are used to model environmental objects around the car. The automatic manoeuvres developed are demonstrated on an experimental electric autonomous car in a usual traffic environment.
Nosocomial enterococcal endocarditis: a serious hazard for hospitalized patients with enterococcal bacteraemia

Abstract. Fernández‐Guerrero ML, Herrero L, Bellver M, Gadea I, Roblas RF, de Górgolas M (Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain). Nosocomial enterococcal endocarditis: a serious hazard for hospitalized patients with enterococcal bacteraemia. J Intern Med 2002; 252: 510–515.
Energy distribution and cooling of a single atom in an optical tweezer

We investigate experimentally the energy distribution of a single 87 Rb atom trapped in a strongly focused dipole trap under various cooling regimes. Using two different methods to measure the mean energy of the atom, we show that the energy distribution of the radiatively cooled atom is close to thermal. We then demonstrate how to reduce the energy of the single atom, first by adiabatic cooling, and then by truncating the Boltzmann distribution of the single atom. This provides a nondeterministic way to prepare atoms at low micro-K temperatures, close to the ground state of the trapping potential.
Shoulder pain from glomus tumour.

symptoms, becoming completely normal after 4 weeks. Fluoxetine was reintroduced at the same dose and the depressive syndrome disappeared without recurrence of toxic effects. A second case, a 57 year old woman, developed a generalised secondary partial epilepsy 3 months after an embolic cerebral infarct. Phenytoin was introduced at 400 mg/ day. A year later the patient developed a depressive syndrome and fluoxetine was indicated at a dose of 20 mg/day. Previously the phenytoin plasma level had been 11 5 ug/ml. Ten days later she developed vomiting, difficulty with getting up and sitting and vertigo. The neurological examination showed trunk ataxia, limb dysmetria, and multidirectional nystagmus. Phenytoin plasma level was 47 ,ug/ml. The fluoxetine was suspended and there was a progressive recovery of the signs and symptoms with a complete recovery in approximately three weeks. Four weeks after suspension of fluoxetine, the phenytoin plasma level was 20 ,ug/ml for the same described dose. In human studies an alteration of the pharmacokinetics of fluoxetine was not found when administered simultaneously with other drugs (such as, ethanol, diazepam, chlorothiazide, tolbutamide and warfarin) and viceversa.3 In animal studies it was shown that fluoxetine is a potent inhibitor of hepatic microsomal metabolism,2 this could be responsible for the increase of the phenytoin plasma level in these cases. The interval between the first administration of fluoxetine and the beginning of the phenytoin overdose symptoms, also suggests a mechanism of the metabolic alteration in the degradation of the anticonvulsant drug. PATRICIO JALIL Servicio de Neurologia, Hospital Dr S6tero del Rio, UDA Neurologia, Pontificia Universidad Catdlica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Design portfolio factors motivating university employees to improve productivity using BLP and ANP fuzzy models

The factors affecting on employees' motivation and productivity are identified and classified in seven groups; the impact of each motivation factor on the productivity is presented by ANP fuzzy model. The aim of this study is to explore the productivity of employees at the universities. This paper attempts to give new insights about designing the portfolio factors motivating employees for productivity improvement by implementing BLP and ANP fuzzy models for eight major Iranian universities. At the next stage, a BLP model is designed according to the importance and impact of each reward system option on motivation and productivity factors and organization limitations including budget, facilities and conditions to design portfolio factors motivating employees with the aim of improving productivity. The research results show that there is a positive and significant relationship among reward system, motivation factors and human resources productivity. Also, among the options of reward system, the factors of internal (inherent) reward, non-financial external reward and financial external reward had the most impact on increasing motivation and productivity factors.
Regulator of G Protein Signaling 2 Deficiency Causes Endothelial Dysfunction and Impaired Endothelium-derived Hyperpolarizing Factor-mediated Relaxation by Dysregulating Gi/o Signaling*

Background: Vascular dysfunction and hypertension caused by RGS2 deficiency occur by poorly understood mechanisms. Results: Endothelial RGS2 deficiency impaired endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-mediated relaxation of resistance arteries by a pertussis toxin-sensitive mechanism, without increasing blood pressure significantly. Conclusion: Endothelial dysfunction, a common feature of hypertension, can be caused by RGS2 deficiency. Significance: RGS2 deficiency in several cell types may be required to increase blood pressure. Regulator of G protein signaling 2 (RGS2) is a GTPase-activating protein for Gq/11α and Gi/oα subunits. RGS2 deficiency is linked to hypertension in mice and humans, although causative mechanisms are not understood. Because endothelial dysfunction and increased peripheral resistance are hallmarks of hypertension, determining whether RGS2 regulates microvascular reactivity may reveal mechanisms relevant to cardiovascular disease. Here we have determined the effects of systemic versus endothelium- or vascular smooth muscle-specific deletion of RGS2 on microvascular contraction and relaxation. Contraction and relaxation of mesenteric resistance arteries were analyzed in response to phenylephrine, sodium nitroprusside, or acetylcholine with or without inhibitors of nitric oxide (NO) synthase or K+ channels that mediate endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF)-dependent relaxation. The results showed that deleting RGS2 in vascular smooth muscle had minor effects. Systemic or endothelium-specific deletion of RGS2 strikingly inhibited acetylcholine-evoked relaxation. Endothelium-specific deletion of RGS2 had little effect on NO-dependent relaxation but markedly impaired EDHF-dependent relaxation. Acute, inducible deletion of RGS2 in endothelium did not affect blood pressure significantly. Impaired EDHF-mediated vasodilatation was rescued by blocking Gi/oα activation with pertussis toxin. These findings indicated that systemic or endothelium-specific RGS2 deficiency causes endothelial dysfunction resulting in impaired EDHF-dependent vasodilatation. RGS2 deficiency enables endothelial Gi/o activity to inhibit EDHF-dependent relaxation, whereas RGS2 sufficiency facilitates EDHF-evoked relaxation by squelching endothelial Gi/o activity. Mutation or down-regulation of RGS2 in hypertension patients therefore may contribute to endothelial dysfunction and defective EDHF-dependent relaxation. Blunting Gi/o signaling might improve endothelial function in such patients.
Simulated annealing with restarts for the optimization of electromagnetic devices

The simulated annealing (SA) algorithm is often used in the optimization of electromagnetic devices, but in multi-modal continuous problems it may be affected by premature convergence. This paper proposes an improvement to prevent the algorithm from becoming trapped in local minima, called SA with restarts. This algorithm allows an enhancement of performance and a reduction in computing effort, appreciated especially in the optimization of electromagnetic devices, where the single evaluation of an objective function calls for the numerical solution of an electromagnetic field problem
SwapX: An NVM-Based Hierarchical Swapping Framework

Non-volatile memory (NVM) provides persistence with dynamic random access memory (DRAM)-like performance. This paper presents SwapX, an NVM-based hierarchical swapping framework for guest operating systems (OSs) in virtual machines (VMs). SwapX works in a cluster connected to a NVM pool, where each server is equipped with both NVM and DRAM to provide hierarchical swapping service for VMs. SwapX: 1) manages free NVM on different machines and forward swap request to the central NVM pool and 2) adaptively maps the virtual address space of VMs onto the hosts DRAM, NVM, and the NVM pool according to its access patterns, so that the guest pages could be transparently swapped to the appropriate place. Prototype evaluation shows that SwapX improves energy efficiency significantly compared with both DRAM-swap and local disk swap, and only introduces small performance loss compared with DRAM-swap.
A novel proximity coupled patch antenna for active circuit integration

A novel design and measured results of a proximity coupled (PC) patch antenna for integration with a compact feed network on high dielectric constant, thin substrates are presented. A new type of antenna feed structure is proposed. Measured results with various modified feedlines are summarized. This approach facilitates a circuit designer to select a desired feedline substrate without compromising the radiation characteristics of the antenna in active integrated antenna applications.
Fetal and neonatal IL-13 production during pregnancy and at birth and subsequent development of atopic symptoms.

BACKGROUND Cytokine production at the materno-fetal interface may influence the development of atopy-predisposing immune responses. Because IL-13 possesses IL-4-like activity and may regulate the immune responses observed in atopy, it may contribute to the expression of the atopic phenotype initiated during intrauterine life. OBJECTIVE We sought to examine IL-13 expression by fetal and neonatal cells and the placenta. METHODS The production of IL-13 by neonatal and fetal T cells was examined by culturing the cells in the presence or absence of PHA. Production of IL-13 at term was considered in the context of the later development of atopic disease in the child. IL-13 expression in the placenta was assessed by using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS IL-13 immunoreactivity within the placenta was restricted to 16 to 27 weeks' gestation (6/6 positive vs 0/10 at >27 weeks' gestation). In contrast, spontaneous release of IL-13 by fetal mononuclear cells was first observed from 27 weeks' gestation but was undetectable after 37 weeks' gestation. PHA-stimulated mononuclear cells showed increased IL-13 levels in 80% of samples. Term babies (>37 weeks' gestation) with a parental history of atopy with atopic symptoms by 3 years of age produced significantly lower concentrations of PHA-induced IL-13 when compared with babies with no parental history of atopy (P =.034). CONCLUSION Thus babies at risk of atopic disease in infancy display defective IL-13 production at birth. This may represent an inherent immaturity in the development of T cell-cytokine responses in babies at genetic risk for atopy or could be a consequence of downregulation of responses by other factors. Normal pregnancy, irrespective of atopic status, is associated with the production of appreciable quantities of IL-13 initially by the placenta and subsequently by the fetus. The regulation of this production and its consequences for the mother and fetus remains to be elaborated.