Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biological, Epidemiological, and Clinical Aspects of Echinococcosis, a Zoonosis of Increasing Concern

SUMMARY Echinococcosis in humans is a zoonotic infection caused by larval stages (metacestodes) of cestode species of the genus Echinococcus. Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is caused by Echinococcus granulosus, alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is caused by E. multilocularis, and polycystic forms are caused by either E. vogeli or E. oligarthrus. In untreated cases, AE has a high mortality rate. Although control is essentially feasible, CE remains a considerable health problem in many regions of the northern and southern hemispheres. AE is restricted to the northern hemisphere regions of North America and Eurasia. Recent studies have shown that E. multilocularis, the causative agent of AE, is more widely distributed than previously thought. There are also some hints of an increasing significance of polycystic forms of the disease, which are restricted to Central and South America. Various aspects of human echinococcosis are discussed in this review, including data on the infectivity of genetic variants of E. granulosus to humans, the increasing invasion of cities in Europe and Japan by red foxes, the main definitive hosts of E. multilocularis, and the first demonstration of urban cycles of the parasite. Examples of emergence or reemergence of CE are presented, and the question of potential spreading of E. multilocularis is critically assessed. Furthermore, information is presented on new and improved tools for diagnosing the infection in final hosts (dogs, foxes, and cats) by coproantigen or DNA detection and the application of molecular techniques to epidemiological studies. In the clinical field, the available methods for diagnosing human CE and AE are described and the treatment options are summarized. The development of new chemotherapeutic options for all forms of human echinococcosis remains an urgent requirement. A new option for the control of E. granulosus in the intermediate host population (mainly sheep and cattle) is vaccination. Attempts are made to reduce the prevalence of E. multilocualaris in fox populations by regular baiting with an anthelmintic (praziquantel). Recent data have shown that this control option may be used in restricted areas, for example in cities, with the aim of reducing the infection risk for humans.
Adaptive Step-Size Fast Interested Boundary Tracking

Traditional boundary tracking finds large number of redundant edge points and consumes more time. To resolve these disadvantages, an adaptive step-size boundary tracking algorithm is proposed. The new algorithm estimates possible location of next node and search edge point within extended neighborhood of the estimated node. Moreover, the new method adjusts searching step size according to current boundary curvature to make sure the detected points distributed more scientifically. Experiments were performed and the results shown that the new algorithm is better than alterable window reptile method in detected nodes number and processing speed. Compare with alterable window reptile tracking method, nodes distribution of our algorithm is accord with the characteristic of detected boundary and the number of gotten points and searching time is reduced by 95%-96% and 45%-84%. These results suggest that the new algorithm can be used to detect interested contour of large-scale digital image.
Making Mountains of Morality From Molehills of Virtue

Seven studies demonstrate that threats to moral identity can increase how definitively people think they have previously proven their morality. When White participants were made to worry that their future behavior could seem racist, they overestimated how much a prior decision of theirs would convince an observer of their non-prejudiced character (Studies 1a-3). Ironically, such overestimation made participants appear more prejudiced to observers (Study 4). Studies 5 to 6 demonstrated a similar effect of threat in the domain of charitable giving—an effect driven by individuals for whom maintaining a moral identity is particularly important. Threatened participants only enhanced their beliefs that they had proven their morality when there was at least some supporting evidence, but these beliefs were insensitive to whether the evidence was weak or strong (Study 2). Discussion considers the role of motivated reasoning, and implications for ethical decision making and moral licensing.
Simultaneous Rupture of the Patellar Tendon and the Anterior Cruciate Ligament: Report of Three Cases

Abstract This study describes three cases of simultaneous ruptures of the patellar tendon (PT) and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The treatment and the pathogenesis of this rare lesion are discussed. All three cases demonstrated lesions of all structures at the medial compartment. Unlike other reported cases, where an eccentric contraction of the quadriceps was present, the patients of the present study had sustained a forceful valgus injury with external rotation. We detected no displacements of the patella in any patients. All cases underwent a staged surgical procedure. Repair of the PT and of medial peripheral structures was performed immediately after injury; then, once the patients regained a full range of motion (ROM), they underwent an arthroscopic reconstruction of the ACL with ipsilateral hamstrings. At the follow-up stage, all cases showed a stable knee without restricted ROM.
Determinants of the frequency of online health information seeking: Results of a Web-based survey conducted in France in 2007

In the general population, social disparities in Internet practices have been less described than disparities in health information access. Aim is to determine whether there are differences in the frequency of Internet use for health information among health seekers. We conducted an Internet-based survey from November 2006 to March 2007. We considered the 3720 residents of France who had searched for health information during the previous 12 months. This study reveals different uses of the Internet for health information seeking (HIS) between men and women and between the general population and people who work in the health sector. Health status, taking care of somebody who is sick, and active Internet use were associated with higher frequencies of online HIS to varying degrees. The effects of age and level of education were not clear or were not significant. Greater health concerns and some issues in the physician–patient relationship were associated with higher frequencies of Internet use for HIS in the general population. Considering that this increasing use of online tools for HIS is consistent with current public health policies that promote the development of the ‘informed patient’, one should remain cautious about these social disparities in online HIS practices.
Proactive versus Reactive Corporate Environmental Practices and Environmental Performance

This study investigates how different types of corporate environmental practices affect environmental performance. This paper is theoretically anchored in the natural resource-based view and, methodologically, it applies the recently recommended disaggregated approach in a new effort to deepen our understanding of how environmental performance is associated with different types of corporate environmental practices. The results partially affirm the argument of the natural resource-based view that proactive corporate environmental practice leads to better environmental performance, whereas reactive corporate environmental practice is associated with worse environmental performance. However, the relationship between corporate environmental practices and environmental performance should be carefully interpreted, because the findings differ depending on how Kinder Lydenberg Domini (KLD) strength and concern rating scores are measured. The results further demonstrate that the disaggregate KLD environmental rating scores can be better alternative measures for corporate environmental practices than the commonly used composite and aggregate KLD rating scores, given that disaggregate KLD concern and strength scores represent independent rather than similar constructs. The findings are expected to help both theorists and practitioners achieve a more nuanced understanding of the measurement of environmental practices.
Prosecuting Domestic Violence Cases

This chapter begins by reviewing the role of the criminal law in responding to domestic violence. It identifies that the criminal justice system plays two “vitally” important roles in the domestic violence sphere. The first is “symbolic” - that the justice system as a social institution sets the limits of acceptable behaviour and criminalisation may convey that the activity is taken seriously by government. The second role is “real” in that the effects of the prosecution and sentencing are experienced by both perpetrators and victims of domestic violence. The main reason identified for the under-prosecution of domestic violence offences in Australia is the victim’s lack of cooperation, and prosecutorial guidelines have attempted to address this concern in a range of ways. Victims of domestic violence are regularly pressured or threatened, or may be encouraged by the accused as part of the ongoing and controlling dynamics of domestic violence, to withdraw their complaint or give false evidence.
Treatment of the Supination Deformity in the Pediatric Brachial Plexus Patient

A supination deformity of the forearm can occur after brachial plexus palsy. The initial deformity is correctable; however, a fixed deformity often develops over time. Fixed supination creates difficulties with activities of daily living, impairs tenodesis grasp and gravity release, and limits the ability to perform bimanual activities. In the supple or passively correctable forearm, restoring active supination via tendon transfer frequently leads to better function. The fixed supination deformity, however, is not amenable to tendon transfer. An osteotomy of the radius and/or ulna is necessary to reposition the limb into pronation. A biceps transfer may be performed at the same time to further balance the forearm and prevent recurrence. This article describes our preferred surgical technique for both supple and fixed supination deformities of the forearm.
Single-phase power compensation in a current source converter

This work presents a single-phase current source converter topology that allows to mitigate typical DC-bus power ripple. Reduction of power ripple at twice of line frequency is one of the key elements to increase power converter density without lack of DC-bus stiffness. In this paper, low frequency ripple mitigation is achieved by adding a third leg connected to the output filter central point. Details of control strategy and modulation are presented. Simulation results are provided to validate the theoretical analysis.
Gene Expression of Osteogenic Factors Following Gene Therapy in Mandibular Lengthening

AbstractThis study investigated the effect of gene therapy on the expression of osteogenic mediators in mandibular distraction osteogenesis rabbits. Bilateral mandibular osteotomies were performed in 45 New-Zealand rabbits. After a latency of 3 days, the mandibles were elongated using distractors with a rate of 0.8 mm/d for 7 days. After the completion of distraction, the rabbits were randomly divided into 5 groups: 2 &mgr;g (0.1 &mgr;g/&mgr;L) of recombinant plasmid pIRES-hVEGF165–hBMP-2, recombinant plasmid pIRES-hBMP2, recombinant plasmid pIRES-hVEGF165, pIRES, and the same volume of normal saline were injected into the distraction gap of groups A, B, C, D, and E, respectively, followed by electroporation. Three animals were killed at the 7th, 14th, and 28th day after gene transfected in different groups, respectively. The lengthened mandibles were harvested and processed for immunohistochemical examinations; the mean optic densities (MODs) and integral optical density of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-2) and transforming growth factor &bgr;1 (TGF-&bgr;1)–positive cells were measured by CMIAS-2001A computerized image analyzer. The data were analyzed with SPSS (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). Bone morphogenetic protein 2 and TGF-&bgr;1 staining was mainly located in inflammatory cells, monocytes, fibroblasts, osteoblasts, osteocytes, and chondrocytes in the distraction zones. Their strongest expression reached to the peak at the seventh day and decreased at the 14th day of consolidation stage; at the 28th day, they expressed weakly. Image analysis results show that, at the seventh day, the expression of BMP-2 in group B (0.26 ± 0.03, 0.36 ± 0.02) was the strongest; there was significant difference among them (P < 0.01), whereas the expression of TGF-&bgr;1 in group C (0.38 ± 0.06, 1.05 ± 0.19) is strongest followed by group A (0.34 ± 0.05, 0.95 ± 0.16) and B (0.33 ± 0.07, 0.90 ± 0.19). At every time point, the level of expression of BMP-2 and TGF-&bgr;1 in gene therapy groups (groups A, B, and C) was remarkably higher than those in non–gene therapy groups(groups D and E). There were significant differences between gene therapy groups and non–gene therapy groups (P < 0.05 or P < 0.001). These results indicated that local gene transfection can up-regulate the expression of osteogenic mediators (BMP-2 and TGF-&bgr;1), which may promote cell differentiation and proliferation and stimulate extracellular matrix synthesis and new bone formation in distraction gap.
Co-detection of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus and Other Respiratory Pathogens

From May through October 2009, a total of 10,624 clinical samples from 23 US states were screened for multiple respiratory pathogen gene targets. Of 3,110 (29.3%) samples positive for pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus, 28% contained >1 other pathogen, most commonly Staphylococcus aureus (14.7%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (10.2%), and Haemophilus influenzae (3.5%).
The Impact of Agricultural Technology Adoption on Poverty: The Case of Yam Minisetts Technology in Ekiti State, Nigeria

This study evaluates the impact of adopting yam minisetts technology on poverty among yam farming households in Ekiti state, Nigeria. This study utilizes cross-sectional data from 600 households, collected in 2016, from twelve communities. This study examined the socio-economic characteristics of yam farmers, determined the poverty profile of yam minisetts technology adopters and non-adopters and it further examined the effect of yam minisetts technology on poverty reduction among yam farming households using descriptive statistics, Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and FosterGreerThorbecke (FGT). We find that the poverty incidence (P0) was 0.5642; poverty gap (P1) was 0.3173 while the poverty severity (P2) was 0.2131. The results of the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) indicated that adoption of yam minisett technology had a positive and significant (P=0.05) effect on consumption expenditure and also indicated that the adopters were less likely to be poor by about 6.8% 91.9% across the ATT estimator. Thus, has the power to lift the poor farmers above the poverty line. This study supports agricultural development programmes for farmers in order to effectively reduce hunger and poverty. Provision of farm inputs and improved seed varieties to the farmers at subsidized rate in order to stimulate adoption.
Drug-drug interaction study between a novel oral ibandronate formulation and metformin

Abstract The novel excipient, sodium N-[8-(2-hy-droxybenzoyl)amino]caprylate (SNAC, CAS 203787-91-1) increases the oral bioavailability of co-formulated ibandronate (IBN, CAS 138926-19). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the IBN/SNAC formulation on the steady-state pharmacokinetics of metformin (CAS 657-24-9) and to assess safety and tolerability of IBN/SNAC when dosed in combination with metformin. Twenty-two healthy subjects received metformin on Days 1 to 6. On Day 7, subjects received metformin together with the IBN/ SNAC formulation. The safety and tolerability of IBN/SNAC co-administered with metformin was consistent with the known safety profile of the single medications. The increase in mean maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and mean overall exposure to metformin (AUC0–τ) was approximately 7%. The entire 90% confidence intervals for the AUC- and Cmax-ratios did fall within the acceptance region for bioequivalence (0.8-1.25). In summary, administration of the IBN/ SNAC formulation together with metformin did not lead to a significant increase in exposure to metformin. The study medication was well tolerated in healthy volunteers.
Effect of sibutramine on cardiovascular outcomes in overweight and obese subjects.

BACKGROUND The long-term effects of sibutramine treatment on the rates of cardiovascular events and cardiovascular death among subjects at high cardiovascular risk have not been established. METHODS We enrolled in our study 10,744 overweight or obese subjects, 55 years of age or older, with preexisting cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, or both to assess the cardiovascular consequences of weight management with and without sibutramine in subjects at high risk for cardiovascular events. All the subjects received sibutramine in addition to participating in a weight-management program during a 6-week, single-blind, lead-in period, after which 9804 subjects underwent random assignment in a double-blind fashion to sibutramine (4906 subjects) or placebo (4898 subjects). The primary end point was the time from randomization to the first occurrence of a primary outcome event (nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, resuscitation after cardiac arrest, or cardiovascular death). RESULTS The mean duration of treatment was 3.4 years. The mean weight loss during the lead-in period was 2.6 kg; after randomization, the subjects in the sibutramine group achieved and maintained further weight reduction (mean, 1.7 kg). The mean blood pressure decreased in both groups, with greater reductions in the placebo group than in the sibutramine group (mean difference, 1.2/1.4 mm Hg). The risk of a primary outcome event was 11.4% in the sibutramine group as compared with 10.0% in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 1.31; P=0.02). The rates of nonfatal myocardial infarction and nonfatal stroke were 4.1% and 2.6% in the sibutramine group and 3.2% and 1.9% in the placebo group, respectively (hazard ratio for nonfatal myocardial infarction, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.57; P=0.02; hazard ratio for nonfatal stroke, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.77; P=0.03). The rates of cardiovascular death and death from any cause were not increased. CONCLUSIONS Subjects with preexisting cardiovascular conditions who were receiving long-term sibutramine treatment had an increased risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction and nonfatal stroke but not of cardiovascular death or death from any cause. (Funded by Abbott; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00234832.)
Reduced left uncinate fasciculus fractional anisotropy in deficit schizophrenia but not in non‐deficit schizophrenia

Aims: Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder manifesting with heterogeneous symptom clusters and clinical presentations. The deficit syndrome is the condition defined by the existence of primarily negative symptoms, and patients with the deficit syndrome differ from non‐deficit patients on measures of brain structure and function. In the current study, by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we investigated the frontotemporal connectivity that is hypothesized to differ between deficit and non‐deficit schizophrenia.
Evaluation of prescribing practices: risk of lactic acidosis with metformin therapy.

BACKGROUND The risk of lactic acidosis during metformin therapy is linked to specific and well-documented conditions that constitute contraindications or precautions to use of the agent. We conducted a retrospective evaluation of metformin use to determine whether prescribing practices are in accord with published contraindications and precautions. METHODS All patients admitted to the hospital during a 6-month period who received at least 1 dose of metformin were identified through hospital pharmacy records. Patient demographics and clinical characteristics were then evaluated to determine whether metformin was prescribed to patients possessing any of the risk factors associated with development of lactic acidosis. RESULTS We identified 263 hospitalizations involving 204 patients who received at least 1 dose of metformin during inpatient admission. Patients had at least 1 absolute contraindication to metformin therapy in 71 admissions (27%). In 29 (41%) of these 71 admissions, treatment with metformin continued despite the contraindication. The most common contraindication, elevated serum creatinine concentration, was present or developed during 32 admissions (12%); however, metformin use was appropriately discontinued in only 8 (25%) of these 32 patients. Of the precautions against metformin use, concomitant administration of cationic agents was the most common, occurring in 97 admissions (37%). CONCLUSIONS Many patients are treated with metformin despite having clinical conditions that place them at risk for developing lactic acidosis. To minimize this risk, it is essential that prescribers develop a better understanding of the prescribing guidelines for metformin.
The Role of the Vertical Dimension in Stereoscopic Vision

It is shown how the full three-dimensional structure of a scene may in principle be computed from a correlated pair of retinal images, when all that is known about the orientations of the two eyes is that the planes of their horizontal meridians accurately coincide. The vertical dimension plays a crucial role in the theory; visible points which lie on the horizontal meridian supply no information about the angle of convergence or the direction of gaze. (i) If the scene contains three or more nonmeridional points, not all lying in a vertical plane, then their positions in space are fully determined by the horizontal and vertical coordinates of their images on the two retinas. (ii) If just two nonmeridional points are visible, or more than two, lying in a vertical plane, then their retinal images admit, in general, just two distinct three-dimensional interpretations. One of these is usually unrealistic; but a choice between them may be perceptually difficult if the vertical plane containing the points is nearly perpendicular to the interocular axis. These results suggest that vertical disparities may play an important role in the binocular perception of absolute depth. Elsewhere (Mayhew, this issue) this suggestion is found to provide a quantitative explanation of Ogle's ‘induced effect’.
Fatigue and Cognition in Patients with Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Treated with Interferon Beta

ABSTRACT Introduction: Fatigue and cognitive deficits are common symptoms affecting patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods: The effects of interferon beta on fatigue and cognitive deficits were assessed in 50 patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (recruited at a single center). The pre-treatment assessments were performed on visits 1 and 2 (Months 0 and 3). Patients started treatment with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a or beta-1b, or intramuscular interferon beta-1a at Month 3, with reassessment at visits 3 and 4 (6 and 12 months, respectively). Co-primary endpoints were change in fatigue (Modified Fatigue Impact Scale) and change in cognition (Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests) from pre-treatment to visits 3 and 4. Follow-up data were obtained for 40 patients. Results: The pre-treatment demographic and disease characteristics did not differ between groups. Improvements in fatigue levels were reported for patients receiving subcutaneous interferon beta-1a versus patients in the intramuscular interferon beta-1a group (p = .04) and in the interferon beta-1b group (p = .09). Improvements were also reported in five out of 17 cognitive indices for all the treatment groups. Conclusion: The data suggest that interferon beta may reduce fatigue and cognitive deficits in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis. Larger, randomized, and controlled studies are required to confirm our findings.