Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of constipation and anal hypertonia in the pathogenesis of haemorrhoids

The hypothesis that haemorrhoids result from chronic constipation was investigated by studying bowel habit, anal pressure profiles and anal compliance in 13 men and 10 women with prolapsing haemorrhoids. 12 women with severe constipation and 14 male and 11 female control subjects. Defaecation was less frequent in women than in men (P < 0.01) but was independent of the presence of haemorrhoids. Patients with haemorrhoids and control subjects reported similar stool consistency and rarely admitted to straining. Severely constipated women complained of infrequent defaecation, straining at stool and hard motions, but none had prolapsing haemorrhoids. Haemorrhoids were associated with significantly longer anal high‐pressure zones and significantly greater maximum resting pressures at all levels of anal distension (P < 0.01), but minimum residual pressure during rectal distension and maximum squeeze pressure were not significantly different from control subjects. Maximum resting pressure was increased in patients of both sexes with haemorrhoids, but this reached statistical significance only in men (P < 0.001). Constipated women had normal anal pressure profiles and maximum anal pressures. These data show that patients with haemorrhoids are not necessarily constipated but tend to have abnormal anal pressure profiles and anal compliance. Chronically constipated women do not necessarily have haemorrhoids but have normal anal pressure profiles and compliance. This casts doubt upon the hypothesis that haemorrhoids are caused by constipation.
Enhanced Password Authentication through Fuzzy Logic

The authors have developed a software methodology that improves security by using typing biometrics to reinforce password authentication mechanisms. Typing biometrics is the analysis of a user's keystroke patterns. Each user has a unique way of using the keyboard to enter a password; for example, each user types the characters that constitute the password at different speeds. The methodology employs fuzzy logic to measure the user's typing biometrics. This reinforcement is transparent-indiscernible to the users while they are entering the normal authentication.
Problems in comprehension of informed consent in rural and peri-urban Mali, West Africa

Background Clinical trials undertaken by industrialized nations in undeveloped nations pose several critical ethical dilemmas. One key potential problem concerns misunderstandings of the consent process by participants. Though other reports have begun to explore this area, needs remain to identify specific areas of misunderstanding. Purpose To identify deficits in comprehension during consent processes in Mali, West Africa. Methods After obtaining informed consent for participation for a malaria vaccine trial being conducted in two West African villages, we administered to participants a nine-item questionnaire testing their understanding of information relevant for their consent. After testing their ability to understand a multiple choice format, 78 of 100 subjects were administered the questionnaire in one village and 85 of 100 in the other. Results Participants had difficulty comprehending several concepts relevant to informed consent: 90% of respondents did not understand withdrawal criterion, 93% did not understand the existence of study side effects, and 74% did not understand that they were enrolled in an investigation as opposed to receiving therapy. The response rate and percentage of correct answers was generally much higher in the village nearer an urban center than the more rural village. The percent of correct answers exceeded 50% for five questions in the urban village and for only two question in the more rural setting. Limitations Potential limitations of this study are relating to translation, cultural differences in the notion of informed consent, staff differences between each village, the proportion who could not understand the survey instrument and the fact that the study explored participants' understanding of the consent process but did not observe the process itself. Conclusions This study illustrates potential areas of miscomprehension in the consent process in a developing country. The degree of miscomprehension found in this study appeared to be more than that found in similar studies conducted in industrialized nations. Despite efforts to obtain truly informed consent, several factors make it more challenging in the developing world. This research highlights the need for more comprehensive studies of consent in developing countries. Such studies may eventually aid investigators in identifying, targeting and addressing specific areas of miscomprehension and thereby improve the informed consent process in the developing world.
Occurrence and significance of Cryptococcus neoformans in the respiratory tract of patients with bronchopulmonary disorders

Cryptococcus neoformans was cultured from 13 (3%) of 469 clinical specimens examined from the respiratory tract of patients with bronchopulmonary diseases. These isolations came from 5 (2%) of 207 patients; 11 isolates were from sputum and 1 each were from bronchoscopic aspirate and empyema pus. The fungus was not cultured from the oropharyngeal washings of 101 apparently healthy volunteers. Of the 5 patients, 3 had pulmonary tuberculosis, including one with pyopneumothorax and 2 with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis as the underlying disease. In the tuberculosis patient with pyopneumothorax and C. neoformans in empyema pus, the fungus was presumably a tissue invader, whereas its role could not be unequivocally ascertained in the remaining 4 patients from whom it was isolated from sputum or bronchial aspirate on at least two consecutive occasions. The question of C. neoformans being a transient resident, commensal, or incitant of benign minimal lesions in the tracheobronchial tree is discussed. A comprehensive laboratory and clinical follow-up is warranted in patients from whose sputum or bronchial aspirate C. neoformans may be cultured even though definitive signs of cryptococcosis may be lacking.
ROLE OF NITRIC OXIDE IN THE CONTROL OF BLOOD PRESSURE IN YOUNG AND ADULT SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS

1. The depressor response to sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and the pressor response to Nω‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME) were investigated in anaesthetized and ganglion‐blocked 6 week old (young) and 20 week old (adult) spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and the results were compared with those in age‐matched normotensive Wistar‐Kyoto (WKY) rats.
Impact of land use on vegetation composition, diversity and potentially invasive, nitrophilous clonal species in a wetland region in Flanders

In the framework of a nature conservation project in a wetland region of Meetkerke, Belgium, a comprehensive study was conducted to analyse and to compare species composition and diversity among wet grasslands under the six following types of agricultural land use: pastures used at high or low stocking rate, hayfields used at high or low mowing frequency, abandoned hayfields and hay pastures. The focus of the study was on the effects of grassland management on species diversity and on the restriction of occurrence of invasive clonal species. The results show that species importance was strongly related to grassland exploitation parameters and soil hydrological parameters, as shown by the ordination diagram drawn by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Species number and importance of non-leguminous dicotyledons were negatively correlated to intensity of use, N supply, water table depth and soil drainage. Phalaris arundinacea, an invasive species which might reduce species diversity, was better suppressed in grazed grassland than in mown grassland. Phalaris arundinacea and Cirsium arvense were most prevalent in abandoned hayfields. Grazing at low stocking rate was the best management technique to maximise plant diversity while restricting invasion by nitrophilous clonal species. Although species-rich and of high complementary value on a landscape scale, haylands mown at low frequency are at higher risk of invasion by clonal species.
Directly Observed Therapy, Short-Course: The Best Way to Prevent Multidrug- Resistant Tuberculosis

Adherence to therapy in patients with tuberculosis (TB) is a major determinant of their outcomes. Unfortunately, there are no currently known predictors of adherence, given that this phenomenon represents a complex, task-specific behavior. Notwithstanding criticisms from civil liberty advocates, directly observed therapy (DOT), facilitated by education, holistic care, enablers and incentives, is still the best strategy to ensure patient adherence to treatment. To enhance delivery of DOT, short-course chemotherapy (SCC) must be strongly advocated. Monitoring of patient progress, dependable drug supply, and adequate programme funding are other important elements of the entire strategy. Indeed, since the global resurgence of TB and associated rampant drug resistance in the 1990s, directly observed therapy, short-course (DOTS) has now become the WHO strategy for effective TB control. Data obtained so far in different continents worldwide have underscored the unrivalled efficacy of DOTS in ensuring treatment success and preventing development of acquired drug resistance. The recent WHO/International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) global project on anti-TB drug resistance surveillance has also revealed that countries in which >33–90% of the population has access to the WHO DOTS strategy have, as a group, lower levels of drug resistance: primary multidrug-resistant (MDR) (1.4%; median) and acquired MDR index (0.6; median). The use of SCC was also inversely associated with the prevalence of combined resistance to any drug. Countries with MDR rates >2% reported using SCC in a median of 70% of their patients, compared with 100% in countries with MDR rates <2% (WHO/TB/97.229). Despite greater initial cost, DOTS is a more cost-effective strategy than self-administered therapy because it decreases the re-treatment costs associated with therapy failure and acquired drug resistance. Finally, in addition to harnessing the complementary roles of a national tuberculosis programme and community participation, DOTS might be further enhanced by the use of newly developed drugs with a long duration of action or more potent bactericidal and sterilizing activities.
Dopamine release in ventral striatum during Iowa Gambling Task performance is associated with increased excitement levels in pathological gambling.

AIMS Gambling excitement is believed to be associated with biological measures of pathological gambling. Here, we tested the hypothesis that dopamine release would be associated with increased excitement levels in Pathological Gamblers compared with Healthy Controls. DESIGN Pathological Gamblers and Healthy Controls were experimentally compared in a non-gambling (baseline) and gambling condition. MEASUREMENTS We used Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with the tracer raclopride to measure dopamine D 2/3 receptor availability in the ventral striatum during a non-gambling and gambling condition of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). After each condition participants rated their excitement level. SETTING Laboratory experiment. PARTICIPANTS 18 Pathological Gamblers and 16 Healthy Controls. FINDINGS Pathological Gamblers with dopamine release in the ventral striatum had significantly higher excitement levels than Healthy Controls despite lower IGT performance. No differences in excitement levels and IGT performance were found between Pathological Gamblers and Healthy Controls without dopamine release. Pathological Gamblers showed a significant correlation between dopamine release and excitement level, while no such interaction was found in Healthy Controls. CONCLUSIONS In pathological gamblers dopamine release in the ventral striatum appears to be associated with increased excitement levels despite lower IGT performance. The results might suggest a 'double deficit' function of dopamine in pathological gambling, where dopamine release reinforces maladaptive gambling through increasing excitement levels, reducing inhibition of risky decisions, or a combination of both. These findings may have implications for the understanding of dopamine in pathological gambling and other forms of addiction.
Weight Gain and the Risk of Developing Insulin Resistance Syndrome

OBJECTIVE Obesity and weight gain have been associated independently with hypertension, hyperinsulinemia, and dyslipidemia; however, prior research has not looked at the relation between weight gain from early adulthood to middle age and the development of this cluster of risk factors, known as insulin resistance syndrome. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The association between weight gain over 30 years (defined as the difference between measured weight in middle age and participant recall of their weight at age 20) and the odds of developing insulin resistance syndrome at middle age was examined in a population-based sample of 2,272 eastern Finnish men. RESULTS Each 5% increase in weight over the reported weight at age 20 was associated with nearly a 20% greater risk of insulin resistance syndrome by middle age, after adjustment for age and height. Moreover, there was a strong graded association between categories of weight gain and risk of insulin resistance syndrome. Men with weight increases of 10–19%, 20–29%, or ≥30% since age 20 were 3.0, 4.7, or 10.6 times more likely to have insulin resistance syndrome, respectively, by middle age, compared with men within 10% of their weight at age 20. Adjustments for age, height, physical activity, smoking, education, and parental history of diabetes did not alter these findings. CONCLUSIONS The odds of having developed the hemodynamic and metabolic abnormalities that characterize insulin resistance syndrome by middle adulthood were increasingly higher the greater the weight gain over the preceding 30 years. This study adds to the literature identifying deleterious effects of weight gain from young to middle adulthood.
Does the ICDS Improve Children’s Diets? Some Evidence from Rural Bihar

Abstract Although there are several studies documenting the impact of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) – the largest preschool intervention – in India, few have documented to what extent it improves the quantity and quality of food consumed by young children. This paper attempts to provide causal estimates of the impact of the ICDS on calories, protein, iron, and Vitamin A intakes of children. Using matching techniques to define an appropriate counterfactual, and a primary survey in four villages in rural Bihar, our results suggest that: (a) for older children three to six years who benefit from cooked meals, the ICDS did result in higher intakes of calories, protein, and iron, and no substantive evidence that as a consequence there was substitution away from food at home. However, there was no impact on vitamin A intake; (b) for younger children whose mothers are given take-home rations, there is no evidence the ICDS improved intakes of calories or any other nutrients. Thus, even though the monetary value of the transfer was the same across both age groups, there is evidence to suggest the mode of transfer does seem to matter to ICDS effectiveness, consistent with other literature.
The Rule of Two: A Star Wars Edict or a Method of Reproducibility and Quality?

In recent years, biomedical research has faced increased scrutiny over issues related to reproducibility and quality in scientific findings(1-3). In response to this scrutiny, funding institutions and journals have implemented top-down policies for grant and manuscript review. While a positive step forward, the long-term merit of these policies is questionable given their emphasis on completing a check-list of items instead of a fundamental re-assessment of how scientific investigation is conducted. Moreover, the top-down style of management used to institute these policies can be argued as being ineffective in engaging the scientific workforce to act upon these issues. To meet current and future biomedical needs, new investigative methods that emphasize collective-thinking, teamwork, shared knowledge and cultivate change from the bottom-up are warranted. Here, a perspective on a new approach to biomedical investigation within the individual laboratory that emphasizes collaboration and quality is discussed.
Jasmonate-Dependent and -Independent Pathways Mediate Specific Effects of Solar Ultraviolet B Radiation on Leaf Phenolics and Antiherbivore Defense1[W][OA]

Ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation, a very small fraction of the daylight spectrum, elicits changes in plant secondary metabolism that have large effects on plant-insect interactions. The signal transduction pathways that mediate these specific effects of solar UV-B are not known. We examined the role of jasmonate signaling by measuring responses to UV-B in wild-type and transgenic jasmonate-deficient Nicotiana attenuata plants in which a lipoxygenase gene (NaLOX3) was silenced (as-lox). In wild-type plants, UV-B failed to elicit the accumulation of jasmonic acid (JA) or the bioactive JA-isoleucine conjugate but amplified the response of jasmonate-inducible genes, such as trypsin proteinase inhibitor (TPI), to wounding and methyl jasmonate, and increased the accumulation of several phenylpropanoid derivatives. Some of these phenolic responses (accumulation of caffeoyl-polyamine conjugates) were completely lacking in as-lox plants, whereas others (accumulation of rutin and chlorogenic acid) were similar in both genotypes. In open field conditions, as-lox plants received more insect damage than wild-type plants, as expected, but the dramatic increase in resistance to herbivory elicited by UV-B exposure, which was highly significant in wild-type plants, did not occur in as-lox plants. We conclude that solar UV-B (1) uses jasmonate-dependent and -independent pathways in the elicitation of phenolic compounds, and (2) increases sensitivity to jasmonates, leading to enhanced expression of wound-response genes (TPI). The lack of UV-B-induced antiherbivore protection in as-lox plants suggests that jasmonate signaling plays a central role in the mechanisms by which solar UV-B increases resistance to insect herbivores in the field.
Improving the genetic representation of rare taxa within complex microbial communities using DNA normalization methods

Complex microbial communities typically contain a large number of low abundance species, which collectively, comprise a considerable proportion of the community. This ‘rare biosphere’ has been speculated to contain keystone species and act as a repository of genomic diversity to facilitate community adaptation. Many environmental microbes are currently resistant to cultivation, and can only be accessed via culture‐independent approaches. To enhance our understanding of the role of the rare biosphere, we aimed to improve their metagenomic representation using DNA normalization methods, and assess normalization success via shotgun DNA sequencing. A synthetic metagenome was constructed from the genomic DNA of five bacterial species, pooled in a defined ratio spanning three orders of magnitude. The synthetic metagenome was fractionated and thermally renatured, allowing the most abundant sequences to hybridize. Double‐stranded DNA was removed either by hydroxyapatite chromatography, or by a duplex‐specific nuclease (DSN). The chromatographic method failed to enrich for the genomes present in low starting abundance, whereas the DSN method resulted in all genomes reaching near equimolar abundance. The representation of the rarest member was increased by approximately 450‐fold. De novo assembly of the normalized metagenome enabled up to 18.0% of genes from the rarest organism to be assembled, in contrast to the un‐normalized sample, where genes were not able to be assembled at the same sequencing depth. This study has demonstrated that the application of normalization methods to metagenomic samples is a powerful tool to enrich for sequences from rare taxa, which will shed further light on their ecological niches.
Prevalence, incidence, and progression of myopia of school children in Hong Kong.

PURPOSE To determine the prevalence, incidence, and progression of myopia of Chinese children in Hong Kong. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was initially conducted. A longitudinal follow-up study was then conducted 12 months later. RESULTS A total of 7560 children of mean age 9.33 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 9.11-9.45; range, 5-16) participated in the study. Mean spherical equivalent refraction (SER) was -0.33 D (SD = 11.56; range, -13.13 to +14.25 D). Myopia (SER <or= -0.50 D) was the most common refractive error and was found in 36.71% +/- 2.87% (SD) of children. Prevalence of myopia correlated positively with older age. Children aged 11 years were almost 15 times more likely to have myopia than were children younger than 7 years (Odds ratio [OR] = 14.81; 95% CI = 14.17-15.48). Incidence of myopia was 144.1 +/- 2.31 (SD) per 1000 primary school children per annum. Increasing age was correlated with increased incidence of myopia, with highest risk in children ages 11 years (OR = 2.27; 95% CI = 2.11-2.44). The average annual change in SER for children with myopia (SER <or= -0.50 D) was -0.63 D (SD = 3.44) compared with -0.29 D (SD = 2.96) for those who were not myopic at the beginning of the study (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The results show that the prevalence and progression of myopia in Hong Kong children was much higher than those previously reported in Western countries. The long-term socioeconomic impact of these findings warrants further studies.