Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contraceptive Efficacy of a Novel Spermicidal Microbicide Used With a Diaphragm: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: Women need products that protect against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The acid buffering gel is a nondetergent spermicide that may provide this dual protection by reinforcing normal vaginal acidity to inactivate both sperm and acid-sensitive sexually transmitted pathogens. The objective of this study was to assess the gel’s contraceptive effects, safety, and acceptability. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-masked, noninferiority study at 11 centers, comparing 621women who used an acid buffering gel plus diaphragm with 300 women who used a nonoxynol-9 spermicide plus diaphragm for 6 months. A double-masked study extension followed 234 women for an additional 6 months of use. RESULTS: The 6-month pregnancy rate per hundred women was 10.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.1–13.1%) for acid buffering gel and 12.3 (95% CI 7.7–16.9) for nonoxynol-9 spermicide users. The difference in rates was –2.2% with a 95% CI –7.7 to 3.3%. Consistent and correct use 6-month pregnancy rates were 4.7% for acid buffering gel and 6.1% for nonoxynol-9 spermicide users, calculated from those cycles where diary entries indicated such use. Adverse events and acceptability were similar between the two groups. Pregnancy probabilities were similar between groups participating in the 12-month study extension. CONCLUSION: An acid buffering gel used with a diaphragm is a safe, acceptable contraceptive with efficacy comparable to that of a common commercial spermicide with diaphragm. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, www.ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00065858 LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I
Client-centred practice in occupational therapy: Critical reflections

Abstract Aims: The occupational therapy profession has long proclaimed its commitment to a client-centred philosophy of practice and the assumption that occupational therapists consistently practice in a client-centred manner has become central to the profession's self-image and public rhetoric. However, client-centred practice has been subjected to little critical reflection within the occupational therapy profession. The aim of this paper is to foster critical reflection concerning the authenticity and veracity of the profession's commitment to client-centred practices. Major findings: Client-centred practice is defined without evident reference to clients' perspectives. Few occupational therapy researchers have sought clients' perceptions of the client-centred nature of their occupational therapy services. Occupational therapy research is neither consistently undertaken in a collaborative manner, nor are the profession's theories developed through explicit reference to a diversity of clients' perspectives. Professional practices and service evaluations do not consistently seek clients' viewpoints. Client-centred rhetoric is politically expedient and may be a professionalizing strategy employed to increase status and entrench power. Practice conclusion: Although exemplary client-centred occupational therapy practices exist, evidence suggests that the profession does not adhere consistently to its espoused client-centred principle in all its practices. The client-centred practice of occupational therapy should be subjected to assiduous critical reflection.
The Economic Effects and Distributional Implications of Globalisation and Foreign Tourism on the Indonesian Economy: A CGE Assessment

A tourism-CGE model representative of the Indonesian economy is developed based on modified version of the Indonesian SAM 1993, for analysing the economic effects and distributional implications of globalisation and foreign tourism boom. Two policy changes are simulated to represent partial and full-scale globalisation. The former suggests that it will increase the amount of foreign trade and availability of products in the domestic economy. This in turn stimulates production activities, improves macroeconomic performance and welfare, as domestic absorption, household income and consumption increase. Foreign tourists are better off for they can consume more with their benchmark spending level. The trade balance and government deficit, however, worsen, as imports increase more than exports and the government maintains its level of spending despite its ‘lost’ income from tariff reductions. This policy has favourable impacts on the income distribution of rural households even though their incomes decrease. Urban households and farmers benefit from this policy as shown by increases in their both absolute and relative income levels. But their income distributions slightly worsen. The full-scale globalisation results in much higher macroeconomic performance, welfare, and improved income distribution of agriculture households. The government, however, continues to bear the adverse effects due to its consumption behaviour and initial budget deficits. The foreign tourism boom is then introduced in each scenario to complete the analysis. Policy implications of this study call for the government to reduce its reliance on revenues from import tariffs and indirect taxation, but to really embark on globalisation. A sensible way for doing this is to start with removal of distortions in the domestic economy which can then be followed by full-scale globalisation. The growth of foreign tourism could be of an incentive in this case. By having less distorted domestic markets, the benefits from having global markets can be more fully realised. Globalisation, as measured here, seems to be ‘foreign tourism’-friendly as they enjoy lower prices and increased availability of products, and hence is compatible with government efforts to attract more foreign tourism.
Ocular surface parameters in older male veterans.

PURPOSE To characterize ocular surface discomfort and tear film parameters in a veteran population. METHODS Male patients seen in the Miami Veterans Affairs eye clinic aged 50 years or older were recruited to participate in the study. All patients had normal eyelid, corneal, and conjunctival anatomy. Patients filled out the Dry Eye Questionnaire 5 (DEQ5) and underwent measurement of tear film parameters. The main outcome measures were the frequency of ocular surface symptoms and the correlation between symptoms and global, aqueous, and meibomian gland parameters. RESULTS A total of 263 men participated in the study; 48% had DES based on the presence of severe symptoms. Many men had objective abnormalities in tear function measurements. Using Schirmer information, lid plugging, and meibomian quality to define objective DES, 176 patients (68%) had one or more abnormalities. Of these, 22 (8%) had aqueous tear deficiency, 124 (47%) lipid tear deficiency, and 30 (11%) a mixed pattern. When examining associations between individual clinical parameters and DEQ5 score, the only significant, but weak, correlations were with the global parameters conjunctival and corneal staining (r = 0.16) and TBUT (r = -0.15). Neither specific aqueous nor meibomian gland measurements were significantly correlated with the presence of symptoms. When considering all measured parameters in a regression model, 8% of the variability in symptoms was explained by the tear parameters. CONCLUSIONS We found that ocular surface symptoms were prevalent in our population. Measurement of standard tear film parameters could not explain the degree of symptoms. This study highlights the need for future research regarding the mechanisms behind ocular surface discomfort in patients with tear film disturbances.
Direct Regulation of Myocardial Triglyceride Metabolism by the Cardiomyocyte Circadian Clock*

Maintenance of circadian alignment between an organism and its environment is essential to ensure metabolic homeostasis. Synchrony is achieved by cell autonomous circadian clocks. Despite a growing appreciation of the integral relation between clocks and metabolism, little is known regarding the direct influence of a peripheral clock on cellular responses to fatty acids. To address this important issue, we utilized a genetic model of disrupted clock function specifically in cardiomyocytes in vivo (termed cardiomyocyte clock mutant (CCM)). CCM mice exhibited altered myocardial response to chronic high fat feeding at the levels of the transcriptome and lipidome as well as metabolic fluxes, providing evidence that the cardiomyocyte clock regulates myocardial triglyceride metabolism. Time-of-day-dependent oscillations in myocardial triglyceride levels, net triglyceride synthesis, and lipolysis were markedly attenuated in CCM hearts. Analysis of key proteins influencing triglyceride turnover suggest that the cardiomyocyte clock inactivates hormone-sensitive lipase during the active/awake phase both at transcriptional and post-translational (via AMP-activated protein kinase) levels. Consistent with increased net triglyceride synthesis during the end of the active/awake phase, high fat feeding at this time resulted in marked cardiac steatosis. These data provide evidence for direct regulation of triglyceride turnover by a peripheral clock and reveal a potential mechanistic explanation for accelerated metabolic pathologies after prevalent circadian misalignment in Western society.
Emergence of antibiotic resistant Streptococcus sanguis in dental plaque of children after frequent antibiotic therapy.

PURPOSE In the pediatric population, several different antibiotic regimens are currently recommended for the treatment of otitis media. This study investigated whether therapy for otitis media was associated with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant oral bacteria. METHODS Streptococcus sanguis (S. sanguis) was isolated from supragingival dental plaque of children after a recent course of antibiotic. The isolated strains were tested for resistance to penicillin, amoxicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and erythromycin and compared to isolated strains from age- and sex-matched control subjects, who had received no antibiotics within two years before sampling. RESULTS While control subjects harbored no resistant strains of S. sanguis, about 60% of children who had received antibiotics harbored S. sanguis which were resistant to at least one of the tested antibiotics. Nearly half of these strains were resistant to two or more antibiotics. Resistance to penicillin and amoxicillin decreased with the age of the child and with the length of time since exposure to the antibiotic. However, resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole or erythromycin showed no relationship to the age of the child or the length of time since exposure to the antibiotic. CONCLUSION The data show that children who had been treated for otitis media with common antibiotic protocols do harbor antibiotic-resistant oral streptococci which may complicate prophylactic and therapeutic regimens for bacterial endocarditis.
Hypothalamic Neurons: Mechanisms of Sensitivity to Temperature a

Rostral hypothalamic neurons are influenced by endogenous factors that affect thermoregulation and fever. Intracellular recordings reveal the synaptic and intrinsic mechanisms responsible for neuronal thermosensitivity. Many temperature‐sensitive and temperature‐insensitive neurons display a depolarizing prepotential that precedes action potentials. Temperature has little effect on the prepotential of insensitive neurons; however, in warm‐sensitive neurons, the prepotential's depolarization is elevated by warming, and this increases the firing rate. Intracellular cAMP can increase neuronal thermosensitivity by enhancing the thermal response of the prepotential, most likely by thermosensitive ionic conductances. Warm‐sensitive neurons also receive inhibitory synaptic input (IPSPs) from temperature‐insensitive neurons, enhancing the thermosensitivity of some neurons, because cooling increases IPSP amplitude and duration. Therefore, even though IPSP frequencies do not change, cooling can decrease firing rates by increasing IPSP amplitudes. Because endogenous factors change neuronal firing rate and thermosensitivity, these changes likely occur both post‐ and presynaptically as well as by ionic conductances that determine the time interval between action potentials.
[The application of DNA sequencing in studying haplotypes of PAI-1 gene in patients with coronary artery disease].

OBJECTIVE Using simple and efficient DNA sequencing method to determine the haplotypes derived from 4G/5G and G/A polymorphisms in promoter of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) gene and trying to associate those haplotypes with coronary artery disease(CAD). METHODS The frequencies and genotype distribution of the two PAI-1 gene variants in 93 CAD patients and 145 control subjects were determined via denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) method. The heterozygotes for both polymorphism sites were directly sequenced to define the haplotypes based on the principle that heterozygotes of 4G/5G genotype were one guanine deletion and therefore one base shift from this site in sequencing graph results in particular wave pattern on -844G/A site. RESULTS Only A-4G and G-5G haplotypes were detected in carriers heterozygous for both -6754G/5G and -844G/A polymorphisms sites though there are G-4G and A-5G haplotypes in carriers homozygous for both sites. No significant differences in haplotypes distribution were seen between CAD patients and control subjects. CONCLUSION The DNA sequencing is objective and correct in determining haplotypes derived from two polymorphisms with distance less than about 400 bp apart and with one insertion/deletion polymorphism. And the haplotypes derived from -675 4G/5G and -844G/A polymorphisms are not associated with pathogenosis of CAD.
A Response to the United Nations CITES Blockchain Challenge: Incremental and Integrative PoA-based Permit Exchange

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) negotiated and administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) regulates the international trade of endangered species and derived products through a permit-based system. Currently, the permit process is paper-based and hence highly prone to manipulations and errors. Being aware of blockchains’ potential, the CITES Secretariat defined a challenge to determine whether a blockchain-based system can address the aforementioned issues and serve as a secure, efficient, and affordable permit processing system. In this paper, we respond to the CITES Blockchain Challenge. First, we analyze the permit process and discuss how blockchain systems can improve that process in a way traditional systems cannot. Building on these results, we design a blockchain-based system that enables secure, manipulation-resistant permit validation, produces an immutable record of processed permits, and is in compliance with the CITES agreement. To evaluate this design, we developed a proof-of-concept implementation compatible with the paper-based permit process and deployed it to a Proof-of-Authority-based blockchain network. This allows incremental adoption and integration with the existing process, thereby increasing acceptance and addressing affordability. Finally, we describe how a blockchain-based system could disruptively improve the established permit process by enforcing quotas and tracking provenance.
Reconsidering the Safety in Numbers Effect for Vulnerable Road Users: An Application of Agent-Based Modeling

Objective: Increasing levels of active transport provide benefits in relation to chronic disease and emissions reduction but may be associated with an increased risk of road trauma. The safety in numbers (SiN) effect is often regarded as a solution to this issue; however, the mechanisms underlying its influence are largely unknown. We aimed to (1) replicate the SiN effect within a simple, simulated environment and (2) vary bicycle density within the environment to better understand the circumstances under which SiN applies. Methods: Using an agent-based modeling approach, we constructed a virtual transport system that increased the number of bicycles from 9% to 35% of total vehicles over a period of 1,000 time units while holding the number of cars in the system constant. We then repeated this experiment under conditions of progressively decreasing bicycle density. Results: We demonstrated that the SiN effect can be reproduced in a virtual environment, closely approximating the exponential relationships between cycling numbers and the relative risk of collision as shown in observational studies. The association, however, was highly contingent upon bicycle density. The relative risk of collisions between cars and bicycles with increasing bicycle numbers showed an association that is progressively linear at decreasing levels of density. Conclusions: Agent-based modeling may provide a useful tool for understanding the mechanisms underpinning the relationships previously observed between volume and risk under the assumptions of SiN. The SiN effect may apply only under circumstances in which bicycle density also increases over time. Additional mechanisms underpinning the SiN effect, independent of behavioral adjustment by drivers, are explored.
Iron acquisition by Neisseria meningitidis in vitro

Assays employing iron-limited solid and liquid, defined and complex media were devised to test the iron requirements of Neisseria meningitidis. A variety of tests yielded no evidence for the secretion of a soluble iron-binding substance (siderophore) by the meningococci. The meningococci were unable to use iron bound to some common hydroxamate- and catechol-type siderophores or even compete with them for iron in the growth medium. A total of 20 strains of meningococci, differing widely in their virulence for mice, were similar in ability to acquire iron from a variety of iron-containing substances; the iron in such compounds as hog gastric mucin, citrate, hemoglobin, and myoglobin was easily acquired, whereas the iron in compounds such as ferrioxamine B, ferrichrome,ferritin, Imferon, cytochrome c, FePO4, and [Fe(OH)3]n was not readily available. No correlation was noted between the ability of particular strains to obtain iron from compounds and virulence in mice. Iron complexed or chelated with a number of metabolic organic acids, polyphosphates, and several synthetic polycarboxylic acids was readily available to all strains, even though some of the compounds used had high effective binding constants for iron and all were in 3- or 10-fold molar excess over the iron present. The addition of some of these iron-complexing substances (e.g., citrate and pyrophosphate) in iron-free form made many biologically important iron compounds that are normally inaccessible to the meningococci readily available.
Schizotypy and brain structure: a voxel-based morphometry study

Background Schizotypy is conceptualized as a subclinical manifestation of the same underlying biological factors that give rise to schizophrenia and other schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Individuals with psychometric schizotypy (PS) experience subthreshold psychotic signs and can be psychometrically identified among the general population. Previous research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown gray-matter volume (GMV) abnormalities in chronic schizophrenia, in subjects with an at-risk mental state (ARMS) and in individuals with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD). However, to date, no studies have investigated the neuroanatomical correlates of PS. Method Six hundred first- and second-year university students completed the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE), a self-report instrument on psychosis proneness measuring attenuated positive psychotic experiences. A total of 38 subjects with high and low PS were identified and subsequently scanned with MRI. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was applied to examine GMV differences between subjects with high and low positive PS. Results Subjects with high positive PS showed larger global volumes compared to subjects with low PS, and larger regional volumes in the medial posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the precuneus. There were no regions where GMV was greater in low than in high positive PS subjects. Conclusions These regions, the PCC and precuneus, have also been sites of volumetric differences in MRI studies of ARMS subjects and schizophrenia, suggesting that psychotic or psychotic-like experiences may have common neuroanatomical correlates across schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Why is mannitol becoming more and more popular as a pharmaceutical excipient in solid dosage forms?

Abstract Various fillers/binders which are applied for the formulation of solid oral dosage forms are assessed for their benefits and drawbacks, including lactose, sorbitol, mannitol, microcrystalline cellulose and calcium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate. A focus of this work was to evaluate the application of mannitol in comparison to other common fillers/binders as it was observed that this excipient is gaining more and more attention in pharmaceutical formulation development and production. While one of the main advantages of conventional fillers/binders such as lactose, microcrystalline cellulose and calcium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate is their low price level, mannitol excels regarding its physicochemical characteristics such as a low hygroscopicity, a strong inertness towards both the API and the patient’s body, its good compactibility and the ability to produce extremely robust tablets. Additionally, the suitability of mannitol for the emerging formulation technology of orally disintegrating tablets is pointed out. In summary, it is emphasized that the selection of the filler/binder is highly individual, depending, for example, on the preferred characteristics of the final solid dosage form, the applied API and the available budget. However, mannitol exhibits many strong advantages which can be expected to result in a more widespread application in the near future.
Analgesic use and the risk for progression of chronic kidney disease

The chronic effect of various analgesics on the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is inconclusive. There is also lack of information on the renal safety of selective cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) inhibitors. This study aimed to clarify the renal risk of analgesic use in CKD patients.
Molecular Cloning and Characterization of the Gene Coding for Azoreductase from Bacillus sp. OY1-2 Isolated from Soil*

Azo dyes are regarded as pollutants because they are not readily reduced under aerobic conditions. Bacillussp. OY1-2 transforms azo dyes into colorless compounds, and this reduction is mediated by a reductase activity for the azo group in the presence of NADPH. A 1.2-kbp EcoRI fragment containing the gene that encodes azoreductase was cloned by screening the genomic library of Bacillus sp. OY1-2 with digoxigenin-labeled probe designed from the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme. An open reading frame encoding the azoreductase, consisting of 178 amino acids, was predicted from the nucleotide sequence. In addition, because only a Bacillus subtillis hypothetical protein was discovered in the public databases (with an amino acid identity of 52.8%), the gene encoding the azoreductase cloned in this study was predicted to be a member of a novel family of reductases. Southern blot analysis revealed that the azoreductase gene exists as a single copy gene on a chromosome. Escherichia coli-expressing recombinant azoreductase gave a ten times greater reducing activity toward azo dyes than the originalBacillus sp. OY1-2. In addition, the expressed azoreductase purified from the recombinant E. coli lysate by Red-Sepharose affinity chromatography showed a similar activity and specificity as the native enzyme. This is the first report describing the sequencing and characterization of a gene encoding the azo dye-reducing enzyme, azoreductase, from aerobic bacteria and its expression in E. coli.