Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of educational and psychological intervention on the quality of life of asthmatic patients.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of educational and psychological intervention on the quality of life and psychological status of patients with asthma. METHODS Asthmatic patients were randomized to study (n = 228) and control (n = 146) groups. Both groups received conventional pharmacotherapy for asthma. The study group also received education and psychological counseling. We assessed quality of life, mood states, and asthma knowledge before and after the educational and psychological interventions. RESULTS The study group's mean quality-of-life score was higher than that of the control group immediately after the intervention (130.2 +/- 25.1 vs 111.6 +/- 27.4, P < .001) and 3 months after the intervention (144.4 +/- 16.9 vs 121.5 +/- 25.6, P < .001). The study group's mean asthma-knowledge score was higher immediately after the intervention (9.0 +/- 1.2 vs 7.5 +/- 1.8, P < .001) and 3 months after the intervention (9.4 +/- 0.8 vs 7.5 +/- 1.5, P < .001). Two weeks after the intervention the mean increment of the asthma-knowledge score in the study group was greater than that in the control group (1.8 +/- 1.6 vs 0.6 +/- 1.7, P = or < .01). The study group's mean Profile of Mood States score was lower than that of the control group immediately after the intervention (12.0 +/- 18.5 vs 23.0 +/- 22.7, P < .001) and 3 months following the intervention (10.2 +/- 7.5 vs 22.8 +/- 11.4, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Education and psychological counseling improves the quality of life and alleviates the psychological distress in patients with asthma. These interventions also enhance patient's understanding of this chronic disease.
GENOME SIZE IS NOT CORRELATED WITH EFFECTIVE POPULATION SIZE IN THE ORYZA SPECIES

Genome sizes vary widely across the tree of life and the evolutionary mechanism underlined remains largely unknown. Lynch and Conery (2003) proposed that evolution of genome complexity was driven mainly by nonadaptive stochastic forces and presented the observation that genome size was negatively correlated with effective population size (Ne) as a strong support for their hypothesis. Here, we analyzed the relation between Ne and genome size for 10 diploid Oryza species that showed about fourfold genome size variation. Using sequences of more than 20 nuclear genes, we estimated Ne for each species after correction for the effects of demography and heterogeneity of mutation rates among loci and species. Pairwise comparisons and correlation analyses did not detect a negative relationship between Ne and genome size despite about 6.5‐fold interspecies Ne variation. By calculating phylogenetically independent contrasts (PICs) for Ne, we repeated correlation analysis and did not find any correlation between Ne and genome size. These observations suggest that the genome size variation in the Oryza species cannot be explained simply by the effect of effective population size.
Genetic and Environmental Influences on Anger Expression, John Henryism, and Stressful Life Events: The Georgia Cardiovascular Twin Study

Objective: To examine the genetic and/or environmental origin of variation and covariation of perceived stressful life events and two stress-related coping styles, anger expression and John Henryism. Methods: Data were available from 306 European American (EA) and 213 African American (AA) twin pairs, including monozygotic and dizygotic of same as well as opposite sex (mean age, 14.8 ± 3.1 years; range, 10.0–25.9 years). Anger expression, John Henryism, and life events were measured with the Anger Expression Scale (subscales: Anger-in, Anger-out, and Anger-control), the John Henryism Active Coping Scale, and the Adolescent Resources Challenges Scale, respectively. Results: Model fitting showed no ethnic or sex differences for any of the scales. All traits showed at least some degree of familial resemblance, best explained by shared environment for Anger-in (18%), heritability for Anger-control (34%), John Henryism (34%), and life events (47%), and a combination of heritability (14% and 15%) and shared environment (10% and 20%) for Anger-out and overall anger expression, respectively. The remaining part of the variation for all traits was explained by environmental influences that are unique to the individual. Anger expression and life events were correlated (r = 0.28), and bivariate genetic modeling showed that 61% of this correlation was mediated by common genetic factors. Conclusions: Individual differences in coping styles and life events in youth can be explained by moderate genetic and substantial environmental influences, of which most are idiosyncratic to the individual. The association between anger expression and life events is largely the result of common genes. AA = African American; A = additive genetic component; AIC = Akaike’s information criterion; ARCS = Adolescent Resources Challenges Scale; C = common environmental component; CVD = cardiovascular disease; D = dominant genetic component; DZ = dizygotic; E = unique environmental component; EA = European American; MZ = monozygotic.
Temporal profile of neuronal damage in a model of transient forebrain ischemia

This study examined the temporal profile of ischemic neuronal damage following transient bilateral forebrain ischemia in the rat model of four‐vessel occlusion. Wistar rats were subjected to transient but severe forebrain ischemia by permanently occluding the vertebral arteries and 24 hours later temporarily occluding the common carotid arteries for 10, 20, or 30 minutes. Carotid artery blood flow was restored and the rats were killed by perfusion‐fixation after 3, 6, 24, and 72 hours. Rats with postischemic convulsions were discarded. Ischemic neuronal damage was graded in accordance with conventional neuropathological criteria. Ten minutes of four‐vessel occlusion produced scattered ischemic cell change in the cerebral hemispheres of most rats. The time to onset of visible neuronal damage varied among brain regions and in some regions progressively worsened with time. After 30 minutes of ischemia, small to medium‐sized striatal neurons were damaged early while the initiation of visible damage to hippocampal neurons in the h1 zone was delayed for 3 to 6 hours. The number of damaged neurons in neocortex (layer 3, layers 5 and 6, or both) and hippocampus (h1, h3–5, paramedian zone) increased significantly (p < 0.01) between 24 and 72 hours. The unique delay in onset of ischemic cell change and the protracte increase in its incidence between 24 and 72 hours could reflect either delayed‐appearance of ischemic change in previously killed neurons or a delayed insult that continued to jeopardize compromised but otherwise viable neurons during the postischemic period.
Incidence of childhood psychiatric disorders in India

Background: Studies on incidence of childhood mental disorders are extremely rare globally and there are none from India. Incidence studies though more difficult and time consuming, provide invaluable information on the pattern and causes of occurrence of mental disorders allowing opportunity for early intervention and primary prevention. Aim: This study aimed at estimating the incidence of psychiatric disorders in school children. Materials and Methods: A representative sample of school children was assessed through a two stage evaluation process involving teacher's rating (N=963) and parent rating (N=873). Children who scored below the cut-off for psychiatric disorder (N=727) on both the screening instruments were re-contacted six years later. 186 children and their families were personally available for reevaluation. All the children and their parents were re-assessed on Parent Interview Schedule; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: and detailed clinical assessment by a psychiatrist. Psychiatric diagnosis was made as per ICD 10 criteria. Data on children who were found to have psychiatric disorder were compared with those who did not have psychiatric disorders. Results: 20 children out of 186 followed up had psychiatric disorder giving the annual incidence rate of 18/1000/yr. Children who had disorder at follow-up did not differ from those who did not on age, gender and psychological (temperament, parental handling, life stress and IQ) parameters at baseline. Discussion: Incidence figures cannot be compared due to lack of any comparable studies. Factors associated with occurrence of new cases of psychiatric disorder and implications for future studies are discussed.
Vomma: Android application launcher using voice command

Nowadays, the development of mobile devices, especially Android showed increased very rapidly. These developments can be seen in the year 2014, where the Android have one billion users. As mobile devices are quite often used, Android need an alternative way to facilitate the operation of the user when doing activities such as driving and other activities that use the hand. By applying alternative input methods such as with a voice command will resolve that problem. Simply by using the voice user can give commands on the machine. In this paper the authors implement the Android voice command system. The method used is Mel frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC) and Hidden Markov Models (HMM). At the end of the study successfully implemented in Android application named vomma. The application helps users to run applications that are installed on your Android device using a voice that has been defined. After the implementation phase vomma applications give an accuracy of 58.1% results, involving 30 speakers.
Post-trial period surveillance for randomised controlled cardiovascular studies: submitted protocols, consent forms and the role of the ethics board

Background The post-trial period is the time period after the end of study drug administration. It is unclear whether post-trial arrangements for patient surveillance are routinely included in study protocols and consents, and whether research ethics boards (REB) consider the post-trial period. Objectives The objective was to determine whether trial protocols and consent forms reviewed by the REB describe procedures for post-trial period surveillance. Methods An observational study of protocols of randomised trials of chronic therapies for cardiac conditions, approved by the REB of two academic institutions affiliated with the University of Toronto in Canada (University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital) from 1995 to 2007. Plans for patient surveillance in the post-trial period described in the protocol or in the consent form before and after REB approval were recorded. Results 42 studies were identified including 18 heart failure and 15 coronary artery disease trials. Only four studies planned a clinical visit after trial termination, and an additional three planned a telephone contact after trial completion. Five trials submitted consent forms to the REB with a discussion of the post-trial period. Conclusions The majority of protocols and consent forms did not discuss plans for post-trial period surveillance. The post-trial period and the REB approval process could be improved by systematic follow-up being described in the protocol and consent form. The small number of trial protocols evaluated in the study may impair the degree to which the results can be generalised.
A Genetic Locus (Hyp‐2) Controlling Vascular Smooth Muscle Response in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Aortic vascular smooth muscle from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) is known to respond in vitro to nonphysiologic cations with greater contraction than vascular smooth muscle from certain normotensive control stocks. The pattern of inheritance of the response of aortic rings to cobalt (Co2+) in vitro was determined. The test characteristic utilized was the cobalt response ratio (CRR) defined as the contractile response to 0.6 μM Co2+ divided by the response given by maximal stimulation with 10 μM Co2+. The SHR were crossed with Dahl salt-resistant rats that had been inbred for 21 generations (R/JR strain) to produce F1, F2, and backcross populations. The CRR was 0.90 ± 0.011 in SHR, 0.74 ± 0.016 in F1, and 0.38 ± 0.031 in R/JR. The F1 value was significantly higher than the midparental value indicating partial SHR dominance. The F1 males from reciprocal crosses had similar CRR indicating no sex-linked effect. In the backcross to the R/JR, the CRR showed a bimodal distribution segregating one intermediate type: one R/JR type. In the backcross to the SHR the CRR showed a unimodal distribution. In F2 rats there was a bimodal distribution segregating three intermediate type: one R/JR type. In F2 rats there was a significant (p < 0.005) blood pressure difference of 9.7 mm Hg between phenotypes. It is concluded that there is an autosomal locus (named “Hyp-2” for hypertension locus number 2) controlling vascular smooth muscle response to Co2+, which exhibits partially dominant inheritance. Alleles at Hyp-2 segregate with an increment in blood pressure. (Hypertension 4:459–467, 1982)
Psychological Distress after a Positive Fecal Occult Blood Test Result among Members of an Integrated Healthcare Delivery System

Background: Colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) reduces morbidity and mortality; however, the positive benefits might be partially offset by long-term distress following positive screening results. We examined relationships among colorectal cancer–specific worry and situational anxiety after positive fecal occult blood tests [FOBT (+)] compared with receipt of negative results. Methods: Of note, 2,260 eligible members of Group Health, an integrated healthcare delivery system, completed baseline surveys and received FOBT screening kits, with 1,467 members returning the kits. We matched FOBT (+) patients (n = 55) 1:2 on age and sex with FOBT (−) respondents (n = 110). Both groups completed follow-up surveys at 7 to 14 days and 4 months after screening. We assessed situational anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI), colorectal cancer worry frequency, and mood disturbance. Results: Mean age was 59 years, and majority were women (62%) and White (89%). After adjusting for age, sex, and baseline worry, at 7 to 14 days after screening, the FOBT (+) group was 3.82 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.09–13.43] times more likely to report colorectal cancer–related mood disturbances and significantly higher mean STAI scores than the FOBT (−) group (mean = 38.8 vs. 30.9; P = 0.007). At 4-month posttest, mood disturbances and situational anxiety seemed to drop to baseline levels for FOBT (+). No colon cancer worry frequency was observed. Conclusions: FOBT (+) results are associated with short-term situational anxiety and colorectal cancer–specific mood disturbances. Impact: Distress from FOBT (+) results declined to near-baseline levels by 4 months. Additional studies are needed to clarify the relationship between long-term distress and follow-up colonoscopy. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(1); 154–9. ©2013 AACR.
Cell wall yield properties of growing tissue : evaluation by in vivo stress relaxation.

Growing pea stem tissue, when isolated from an external supply of water, undegoes stress relaxation because of continued loosening of the cell wall. A theoretical analysis is presented to show that such stress relaxation should result in an exponential decrease in turgor pressure down to the yield threshold (Y), with a rate constant given by phiepsilon where phi is the metabolically maintained irreversible extensibility of the cell wall and epsilon is the volumetric elastic modulus of the cell. This theory represents a new method to determine phi in growing tissues.Stress relaxation was measured in pea (Pisum sativus L.) stem segments using the pressure microprobe technique. From the rate of stress relaxation, phi of segments pretreated with water was calculated to be 0.08 per megapascal per hour while that of auxin-pretreated tissue was 0.24 per megapascal per hour. These values agreed closely with estimates of phi made by a steady-state technique. The yield threshold (0.29 megapascal) was not affected by auxin. Technical difficulties with measuring phi by stress relaxation may arise due to an internal water reserve or due to changes in phi subsequent to excision. These difficulties are discussed and evaluated.A theoretical analysis is also presented to show that the tissue hydraulic conductance may be estimated from the T((1/2)) of tissue swelling. Experimentally, pea stems had a swelling T((1/2)) of 2.0 minutes, corresponding to a relative hydraulic conductance of about 2.0 per megapascal per hour. This value is at least 8 times larger than phi. From these data and from computer modeling, it appears that the radial gradient in water potential which sustains water uptake in growing pea segments is small (0.04 megapascal). This means that hydraulic conductance does not substantially restrict growth. The results also demonstrate that the stimulation of growth by auxin can be entirely accounted for by the change in phi.
Matrix Protein–Specific Regulation of Cx43 Expression in Cardiac Myocytes Subjected to Mechanical Load

To elucidate mechanisms responsible for mechanotransduction in the heart and define the effects of remodeling of the extracellular matrix, we cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes on native type I collagen, fibronectin, or denatured collagen and subjected them to uniaxial, pulsatile stretch. Changes in expression of the cardiac gap junction protein, Cx43, were measured by confocal microscopy and immunoblotting. Cells grown on fibronectin or denatured collagen exhibited significantly greater Cx43 expression than cells grown on native collagen. Stretch induced a ≈2-fold increase in Cx43 expression in cells grown on native collagen but no increase in cells grown on fibronectin or denatured collagen. Incubation of cells on native collagen with a peptide containing the arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) motif upregulated Cx43 expression equivalent to that induced by stretch. Nonselective activation of integrin signaling with MnCl2 also upregulated Cx43 expression in cells grown on native collagen. This effect was blocked completely by pretreatment with anti-&bgr;1 integrin antibody but not by anti-&bgr;3 integrin antibody. Stretch led to a marked increase in &bgr;1 integrin immunofluorescent signal in cells grown on native collagen but not in cells grown on fibronectin or denatured collagen. Stretch-induced upregulation of Cx43 was also blocked by anti-&bgr;1 integrin antibody. Thus, matrix protein-myocyte interactions regulate Cx43 expression via &bgr;1 integrin signaling initiated by mechanical stimulation in cells grown on native type I collagen, or by RGD-integrin signaling independent of mechanical stress in cells grown on fibronectin or denatured collagen. Changes in the composition of the extracellular matrix may affect electrical coupling in cardiac myocytes.
Age‐related changes in articular cartilage proteoglycans: Electron microscopic studies

Biochemical and biophysical studies have demonstrated that proteoglycan monomers from immature and adult articular cartilage differ in composition and size. To investigate the structural basis of age‐related differences in articular cartilage proteoglycan monomers and aggregates, we isolated and purified high buoyant density proteoglycans from the articular cartilages of 2‐ to 3‐month‐old calves and 18‐month‐old steers. The molecular architecture and dimensions of the proteoglycans were examined using the electron microscope monolayer method. Aggregated and nonaggregated monomers from calf cartilage were longer and less variable in length than the corresponding monomers from steer articular cartilage. Calf monomer lengths had unimodal frequency distributions whereas nonaggregated steer monomer lengths had a bimodal distribution. These observations were confirmed by acrylamide‐agarose electrophoresis, which demonstrated that the samples contained only one species of proteoglycan monomer in calf but two species in steer. In addition, calf aggregated monomers had longer thin segments indicating that calf and steer monomers differed in structure as well as in size. Steer proteoglycan aggregates were shorter and had fewer monomers than those from calf. These observations demonstrate the existence of significant age‐related structural differences in articular cartilage proteoglycans and form the basis for future study of the mechanisms responsible for these differences.
Sensorless Control of PMSM Using Simplified Model Based on Extended Kalman Filter

This paper deals with sensorless field-oriented control (FOC) of the permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). To estimate the position/speed of motor with low computation time, low steady-state error and low speed-ripple a simplified model-based method respected to extended Kalman filter (EKF) is proposed. An approximation is used to estimate the state variables directly, which results in a significant decrease in computational burden. This approximation does not affect the steady-state response, and proportional-integral (PI) controllers are slightly decelerated to maintain stability in the transient states. The experimental results confirm that the impact of this simplification is sufficiently compensated and results in satisfactory performance of the control system during stable and dynamic moments.
Injury-related medical care utilization in a problem drinking population.

BACKGROUND Population-based data on the overall risk of injury among problem drinkers are extremely limited. METHODS We conducted an eight-year study of injury-related medical care utilization for a group of problem drinkers (n = 3 729) enrolled in the health insurance plan of a large manufacturing firm with plants in a number of midwestern states. A comparison non-problem drinking cohort matched on age, gender, and number of years of enrollment with the same company plan was also utilized. RESULTS Problem drinkers utilized injury-related medical care at a rate 1.6 times that of the comparison group and experienced injury-related medical care costs which were three times as high. Increased risks were found for both men and women and for all ages studied. CONCLUSIONS This study is one of the few to examine the overall incidence of fatal and non-fatal injuries among a large population of problem drinkers and provides evidence that higher medical care costs are associated with chronic alcohol use.
The communities of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) leaf endophytic bacteria, analyzed by 16S-ribosomal RNA gene pyrosequencing.

Endophytic bacterial communities of tomato leaves were analyzed by 16S-rRNA gene pyrosequencing and compared to rhizosphere communities. Leaf endophytes mainly comprised five phyla, among which Proteobacteria was the most represented (90%), followed by Actinobacteria (1,5%), Planctomycetes (1,4%), Verrucomicrobia (1,1%), and Acidobacteria (0,5%). Gammaproteobacteria was the most abundant class of Proteobacteria (84%), while Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria represented 12% and 4% of this phylum, respectively. Rarefaction curves for endophytic bacteria saturated at 80 OTUs, indicating a lower diversity as compared to rhizosphere samples (> 1700 OTUs). Hierarchical clustering also revealed that leaf endophytic communities strongly differed from rhizospheric ones. Some OTUs assigned to Bacillus, Stenotrophomonas, and Acinetobacter, as well as some unclassified Enterobacteriaceae were specific for the endophytic community, probably representing bacteria specialized in colonizing this niche. On the other hand, some OTUs detected in the leaf endophytic community were also present in the rhizosphere, probably representing soil bacteria that endophytically colonize leaves. As a whole, this study describes the composition of the endophytic bacterial communities of tomato leaves, identifying a variety of genera that could exert multiple effects on growth and health of tomato plants.