Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular diagnosis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection in the United States.

BACKGROUND Gonorrhea, with its Neisseria gonorrhoeae etiology, is the second most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the United States and is most often transmitted through asymptomatic individuals. N. gonorrhoeae is a fastidious organism and can be susceptible to killing during transport to the laboratory; hence, diagnostic methods that do not require organism viability are becoming more commonplace in the clinical setting. OBJECTIVE This review summarizes traditional and molecular-based diagnostic modalities specific to N. gonorrhoeae. Several commercially available, FDA-approved molecular methods to diagnose N. gonorrhoeae infection include nucleic acid hybridization, signal amplification, polymerase chain reaction, strand displacement amplification and transcription-mediated amplification. RESULTS/CONCLUSION Molecular-based methods are rapid, reliable and effective genital specimen screening measures, especially when applied to areas of high disease prevalence. However, clinical and analytical sensitivity for some commercial systems decreases dramatically when testing urine samples. Moreover, crossreactivity to non-pathogenic Neisseria species has been documented for selected methods. Therapeutic decisions may increasingly become compromised owing to a lack of cultured N. gonorrhoeae for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. In vitro experiments suggest that transcription-mediated amplification has greater analytical sensitivity than the other molecular-based methods now available. The development of future molecular testing could address conundrums associated with confirmatory testing, medicolegal testing, testing for cure and detection of antimicrobial-resistant strains.
[Sexual behavior and adolescence].

BACKGROUND Adolescence represents the period with the highest frequency of negative consequences associated with sexual activities (sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies). An epidemiological study was carried out in symptomatic patients attending our Outpatient Clinic for Sexually Transmitted Diseases between April 1995 and April 1999 in order to evaluate the behaviour pattern of the adolescent population and identify the differences compared to the adult population. METHODS A questionnaire was used to assess the characteristics of two groups of patients: the first consisted of 54 teenagers (13-19 years-old) and the second, the control group, consisted of 917 women aged between 20 and 40 years old. RESULTS A high percentage of pregnancies (22.2%) and voluntary abortions (41.6%) was observed in teenagers, associated with different sexual behaviours. The age of sexual intercourse was below 15 in 44.4% of adolescents (vs 7.7% of controls), whereas 61.1% had more than one sexual partner and 20.4% had changed partners in the last 6 months (vs 7.4%). 50% of teenagers did not use any method of contraception (vs 44.2%) and barrier methods were only used by 20.4% (vs 18.4%). CONCLUSIONS Our study confirms the existence of a high-risk behavioural pattern in the adolescent population and draws attention yet again to the need for a serious programme of prevention and sexual education which will allow adolescents to experience the discovery of their own sexuality with greater awareness and safety.
Characterization of Proteins Associated with Polyglutamine Aggregates

The common feature of many neurodegenerative diseases is emergence of protein aggregates. Identifying their composition can provide valuable insights into the cellular mechanisms of protein aggregation and neuronal death. No reliable method for identification of the aggregate-associated proteins has been available. Here we describe a method for characterization of protein aggregates based on sedimentation of immunocomplexes without involvement of a solid support. As a model, we used the aggregates formed in yeast by a polyglutamine-containing segment of mutant huntingtin. Sixteen proteins associated with the isolated aggregates were identified with 2D gel electrophoresis followed by mass spectrometry. We found that the aggregates in cells lacking Rnq1 prion recruited lesser amounts of chaperones than those in the wild type cells. The method can be utilized for characterization of various types of aggregates, prions and very large protein complexes under mild conditions that preserve associated proteins.
Development and Application of a Vaccination Planning Tool for Avian Influenza

SUMMARY The vaccination planning tool for avian influenza supports evidence-based planning and preparedness for vaccinating poultry at national and regional levels. This study describes the development, testing, and application of a vaccination planning tool for H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) used in two South Asian countries. The tool consists of eight planning clusters, 37 planning elements, and 303 referenced planning criteria. Both countries attained a score of 52% among planning clusters as a measure of preparedness. The highest and lowest planning cluster scores included vaccination strategies and financial readiness, respectively. The comprehensive vaccination program was identified as the most-useful planning cluster for assessing preparedness, and 86% of participants indicated that the objectives of the planning tool were achieved. Based on these results, the planning tool provides a structured approach for decision makers to develop their national vaccination program for HPAI as part of an overall strategy for the progressive reduction and control of endemic influenza viruses in poultry. RESUMEN Desarrollo y aplicación de una herramienta de planificación para la vacunación contra la influenza aviar. La herramienta de planificación de la vacunación para la influenza aviar apoya la planificación basada en la evidencia y en la preparación para la vacunación en avicultura a nivel nacional y regional. Este estudio describe el desarrollo, evaluación y aplicación de una herramienta de planificación de la vacunación contra el subtipo H5N1 del virus de la influenza aviar altamente patógena que se utiliza en dos países del sur de Asia. La herramienta consta de ocho grupos de planificación, 37 elementos de planificación, y 303 criterios de planificación con referencias. Ambos países alcanzaron una puntuación de 52% entre los grupos de planificación como medida de preparación. Los puntajes más altos y más bajos de los grupos de planificación corresponden a las estrategias de vacunación y la preparación financiera, respectivamente. El programa de vacunación integral fue identificado como el grupo de planificación más útil para evaluar la preparación y el 86% de los participantes indicó que se habían alcanzado los objetivos de la herramienta de planificación. Con base en estos resultados, la herramienta de planificación proporciona un enfoque estructurado para la toma de decisiones para desarrollar su programa nacional de vacunación contra la influenza aviar de alta patogenicidad, como parte de una estrategia global para la reducción progresiva y el control de los virus de influenza endémicos en la avicultura.
A new procedure for the removal of protein bound drugs and toxins.

To extend the applicability of dialysis to the removal of albumin bound toxins, a new dialysis procedure was developed. A double sided albumin impregnated high-flux polysulfon dialyzer was used together with a closed loop dialysate compartment with an albumin containing dialysate solution, that was purified on line in a three step process with a charcoal and resin adsorbent, and another dialyzer for a normal dialysis or filtration of the albumin containing dialysate that was then recycled to the albumin impregnated dialyzer. The system effectively removed strongly albumin bound toxins like unconjugated bilirubin or free fatty acids from plasma and blood in vitro and in vivo and therefore could be considered a possible therapeutic means for the treatment of acute liver failure or acute and chronic intoxications with albumin bound toxins, e.g., in drug overdose or chronic renal failure.
An illuminance sensor integrated with analog digital converter using pulse density modulation

A ring oscillator and a photovoltaic cell are combined for the first time to develop a battery-less illuminance sensor of high sensitivity. The photovoltaic cell works as a photo detector and a power source for the ring oscillator, which digitalizes the analog output value from the cell into digital value by pulse density modulation. The developed sensor detects luminance from 25 lx up to 25,000 lx, varying its oscillation frequency from 21 kHz to 7.7 MHz, corresponding to a dynamic range of 58 dB.
Back pain during pregnancy: a longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE The goal of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of back pain during four different periods of pregnancy and its action on each woman during this stage. METHODS The sample comprises of a group of 49 pregnant women aged between 20 and 39 years. The presence of back pain symptoms and severity were evaluated at 12, 20, 32 and 37 weeks of gestation in each woman, using one question of the NIH Record Activity (ACTRE). RESULTS The ANOVA for repeated measures was used to compare the four moments of evaluation (12 weeks, 20 weeks, 32 weeks and 37 weeks) in relation to back pain. A significant difference between the pain scores over the four moments were observed, being that higher pain scores were noted at 12, 32 and 37 weeks of gestation. We also verified that at 12 weeks of gestation 71.4% of women had back pain, while at 20 weeks only 16.3% confirmed pain. At 32 weeks 91.7% of women reported pain and at 37 weeks, 98% reported the same. CONCLUSION We found that back pain is prevalent during pregnancy and its intensity varies throughout this period.
An examination of stigma in the military

Stigma of mental health, sexual assault and harassment, women in combat, and LGBT service members is a key problem facing the U.S. military over the coming decade. The purpose of this study is to examine the key literature focused on the impact stigma has on these subpopulations within the military, including barriers to care, attitudes, and impact of stigma on mental health. A multi-dimensional model for reducing stigma is proposed, including organization, societal, and individual interventions. Finally, areas for future research for reducing stigma, discrimination, and prejudice towards these subpopulations within the military are discussed. Degree Type Dissertation Rights Terms of use for work posted in CommonKnowledge. Comments Library Use: LIH This dissertation is available at CommonKnowledge: http://commons.pacificu.edu/spp/1104 Copyright and terms of use If you have downloaded this document directly from the web or from CommonKnowledge, see the “Rights” section on the previous page for the terms of use. If you have received this document through an interlibrary loan/document delivery service, the following terms of use apply: Copyright in this work is held by the author(s). You may download or print any portion of this document for personal use only, or for any use that is allowed by fair use (Title 17, §107 U.S.C.). Except for personal or fair use, you or your borrowing library may not reproduce, remix, republish, post, transmit, or distribute this document, or any portion thereof, without the permission of the copyright owner. [Note: If this document is licensed under a Creative Commons license (see “Rights” on the previous page) which allows broader usage rights, your use is governed by the terms of that license. ] Inquiries regarding further use of these materials should be addressed to: CommonKnowledge Rights, Pacific University Library, 2043 College Way, Forest Grove, OR 97116, (503) 352-7209. Email inquiries may be directed to:. copyright@pacificu.edu This dissertation is available at CommonKnowledge: http://commons.pacificu.edu/spp/1104 Running head: AN EXAMINATION OF STIGMA IN THE MILITARY AN EXAMINATION OF STIGMA IN THE MILITARY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY PACIFIC UNIVERSITY HILLSBORO, OREGON BY TYLER G. RUSSELL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY DECEMBER 13, 2013 AN EXAMINATION OF STIGMA IN THE MILITARY ii Abstract Stigma of mental health, sexual assault and harassment, women in combat, and LGBT service members is a key problem facing the U.S. military over the coming decade. The purpose of this study is to examine the key literature focused on the impact stigma has on these subpopulations within the military, including barriers to care, attitudes, and impact of stigma on mental health. A multi-dimensional model for reducing stigma is proposed, including organization, societal, and individual interventions. Finally, areas for future research for reducing stigma, discrimination, and prejudice towards these subpopulations within the military are discussed.
Normal and Oncogenic Forms of the Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Kit

Kit is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) that binds stem cell factor. This receptor ligand combination is important for normal hematopoiesis, as well as pigmentation, gut function, and reproduction. Structurally, Kit has both an extracellular and intracellular region. Theintra‐cellular region is comprised of a juxtamembrane domain (JMD), a kinase domain, a kinase insert, and a carboxyl tail. Inappropriate expression or activation of Kit is associated with a variety of diseases in humans. Activating mutations in Kit have been identified primarily in the JMD and the second part of the kinase domain and have been associated with gastrointestinal stromal cell tumors and mastocytosis, respectively. There are also reports of activating mutations in some forms of germ cell tumors and core binding factor leukemias. Since the cloning of the Kit ligand in the early 1990s, there has been an explosion of information relating to the mechanism of action of normal forms of Kit as well as activated mutants. This is important because understanding this RTK at the biochemical level could assist in the development of therapeutics to treat primary and secondary defects in the tissues that require Kit. Furthermore, understanding the mechanisms mediating transformation of cells by activated Kit mutants will help in the design of interventions for human disease associated with these mutations. The objective of this review is to summarize what is known about normal and oncogenic forms of Kit. We will place particular emphasis on recent developments in understanding the mechanisms of action of normal and activated forms of this RTK and its association with human disease, particularly in hematopoietic cells.
Zeta and L-functions and Bernoulli polynomials of root systems

This article is essentially an announcement of the papers (7, 8, 9, 10) of the authors, though some of the examples are not included in those papers. We consider what is called zeta and L-functions of root systems which can be regarded as a multi-variable version of Witten multiple zeta and L-functions. Furthermore, corresponding to these functions, Bernoulli polynomials of root systems are dened. First we state several analytic properties, such as analytic continuation and location of singularities of these functions. Secondly we generalize the Bernoulli polynomials and give some expressions of values of zeta and L-functions of root systems in terms of these polynomials. Finally we give some functional relations among them by our previous method. These relations include the known formulas for their special values formulated by Zagier based on Witten's work.
Bound Estimates of the Severity of Line Outages in Power System Contingency Analysis and Ranking

The effect of line outages on the real power flows of a system is analyzed using the DC load flow model. It is shown that the effect of the out4ge of line jk on the power flow of an arbitrary line lm can be bounded above and below by a series of progressively tighter values which in the limit correspond to the exact DC load flow solution. The calculation of these bound estimates on the contingency line flows is progressively more computationally demanding as the limits tighten, however, the simple to compute bounds, although more conservative, still serve to filter out a large portion of the non-critical contingencies. The remaining few potentially critical outages can then be ranked and analyzed through the full DC load flow.
Detecting Positive Medical History Mentions

In medical practice, knowing the medical history of a patient is crucial for diagnosis and treatment suggestion. However, such information is often recorded in unstructured notes from doctors, potentially mixed with the medical history of family members and mentions of disorders for other reasons (e.g. as potential side-effects). In this work we designed a scheme to automatically extract the medical history of patients from a large healthcare database. More specifically, we first extracted medical conditions mentioned using a rule-based system and a medical gazetteer, then we classified whether such mentions reflected the patient's history or not. We designed our method to be simple and with little human intervention. Our results are very encouraging, supporting the potential for efficient and effective deployment in clinical practice.
Spinocerebellar degeneration

Two adult sisters had spinocerebellar degeneration. Biochemical studies revealed a very low activity of both fraction A and fraction B of the lysosomal enzyme, hexosaminidase, in serum and leukocytes. A skin biopsy showed lesions suggestive of neuronal storage disease. The disorder seems to be an adult form of GMz gangliosidosis.
A low-tech virtual reality application for training of upper extremity motor function in neurorehabilitation

Impaired motor function of the arm is one of the consequences of a neurological disorder, limiting movements that are essential for various daily activities, such as reaching and grasping. To achieve the best possible functional ability of the impaired arm, challenging and motivating training including active, functional and intensive exercises is essential during neurorehabilitation. Virtual reality (VR) is a suitable and promising way to implement these aspects. However, clinical use is limited by the requirement of high-tech equipment in many VR systems. On the other hand, commercial low-tech systems are less suitable for use in patients with motor disorders. In this paper, we describe the development of a relatively low-tech and inexpensive VR application, based on motion capturing, for specific use in neurorehabilitation. We also present some preliminary results of its evaluation in stroke, one of the largest rehabilitation populations.
Vedolizumab as induction and maintenance therapy for Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND The efficacy of vedolizumab, an α4β7 integrin antibody, in Crohn's disease is unknown. METHODS In an integrated study with separate induction and maintenance trials, we assessed intravenous vedolizumab therapy (300 mg) in adults with active Crohn's disease. In the induction trial, 368 patients were randomly assigned to receive vedolizumab or placebo at weeks 0 and 2 (cohort 1), and 747 patients received open-label vedolizumab at weeks 0 and 2 (cohort 2); disease status was assessed at week 6. In the maintenance trial, 461 patients who had had a response to vedolizumab were randomly assigned to receive placebo or vedolizumab every 8 or 4 weeks until week 52. RESULTS At week 6, a total of 14.5% of the patients in cohort 1 who received vedolizumab and 6.8% who received placebo were in clinical remission (i.e., had a score on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index [CDAI] of ≤150, with scores ranging from 0 to approximately 600 and higher scores indicating greater disease activity) (P=0.02); a total of 31.4% and 25.7% of the patients, respectively, had a CDAI-100 response (≥100-point decrease in the CDAI score) (P=0.23). Among patients in cohorts 1 and 2 who had a response to induction therapy, 39.0% and 36.4% of those assigned to vedolizumab every 8 weeks and every 4 weeks, respectively, were in clinical remission at week 52, as compared with 21.6% assigned to placebo (P<0.001 and P=0.004 for the two vedolizumab groups, respectively, vs. placebo). Antibodies against vedolizumab developed in 4.0% of the patients. Nasopharyngitis occurred more frequently, and headache and abdominal pain less frequently, in patients receiving vedolizumab than in patients receiving placebo. Vedolizumab, as compared with placebo, was associated with a higher rate of serious adverse events (24.4% vs. 15.3%), infections (44.1% vs. 40.2%), and serious infections (5.5% vs. 3.0%). CONCLUSIONS Vedolizumab-treated patients with active Crohn's disease were more likely than patients receiving placebo to have a remission, but not a CDAI-100 response, at week 6; patients with a response to induction therapy who continued to receive vedolizumab (rather than switching to placebo) were more likely to be in remission at week 52. Adverse events were more common with vedolizumab. (Funded by Millennium Pharmaceuticals; GEMINI 2 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00783692.).
NORMAL AND MALIGNANT BREAST TISSUE IS A TARGET ORGAN FOR 1, 25‐(OH)2 VITAMIN D3

Malignant and benign human breast tumours as well as rabbit breast tissue were examined for specific receptors for 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 using competitive binding studies and sucrose density gradient analysis. Classical high affinity, low capacity receptors for 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 were found in breast and node tissue in seven of ten patients with breast cancer and in all three patients with benign neoplasms. An inflammatory breast mass showed no binding. Similar receptors were found in breast tissue from pregnant and lactating rabbits. Taken with other recent data, these results suggest that 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 may activate calcium transport in the malignant as well as in the normal lactating breast.
Estimating the Impact of Health-related Behaviors on Geographic Variation in Cardiovascular Mortality: A New Approach Based on the Synthesis of Ecological and Individual-level Data

Background: Incidence of and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) exhibit a strong geographical pattern, with inhabitants of more affluent neighborhoods showing a substantially lower risk of CVD mortality than inhabitants of deprived neighborhoods. Thus far, there is insufficient evidence as to what extent these differences can be attributed to differences in health-related behaviors. Methods: Using a Hierarchical Related Regression approach, we combined individual and aggregate (ecological) data to investigate the extent to which small-area variation in CVD mortality in Dutch neighborhoods can be explained by several behavioral risk factors (i.e., smoking, drinking, overweight, and physical inactivity). The proposed approach combines the benefits of both an ecological analysis (in terms of data availability and statistical power) and an individual-level analysis (in terms of identification of the parameters and interpretation of the results). Results: After correcting for differences in age and sex, accounting for differences in the behavioral risk factors reduces income-related inequalities in CVD mortality by approximately 30%. Conclusions: Direct targeting of the excess prevalence of unhealthy behaviors in deprived neighborhoods is identified as a relevant strategy to reduce inequalities in CVD mortality. Our results also show that the proposed Hierarchical Related Regression approach provides a powerful method for the investigation of small-area variation in health outcomes.