Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognostic value of hyponatremia in heart failure patients: an analysis of the Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes in the Relation with Serum Sodium Level in Asian Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure (COAST) study

Background/Aims Hyponatremia is a well-known risk factor for poor outcomes in Western studies of heart failure (HF) patients. We evaluated the predictive value of hyponatremia in hospitalized Asian HF patients. Methods The Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes in the Relation with Serum Sodium Level in Asian Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure (the COAST) study enrolled hospitalized patients with systolic HF (ejection fraction < 45%) at eight centers in South Korea, Taiwan, and China. The relationship between admission sodium level and clinical outcomes was analyzed in 1,470 patients. Results The mean admission sodium level was 138 ± 4.7 mmol/L, and 247 patients (16.8%) had hyponatremia defined as Na+ < 135 mmol/L. The 12-month mortality was higher in hyponatremic patients (27.9% vs. 14.6%, p < 0.001), and hyponatremia was an independent predictor of 12-month mortality (hazard ratio, 1.72; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 2.65). During hospital admission, 57% of hyponatremic patients showed improvement without improvement in their clinical outcomes (p = 0.620). The proportion of patients with optimal medical treatment was only 26.5% and 44.2% at admission and discharge, respectively, defined as the combined use of angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker and β-blocker. Underuse of optimal medical treatment was more pronounced in hyponatremic patients. Conclusions In hospitalized Asian HF patients, hyponatremia at admission is common and is an independent predictor of poor clinical outcome. Furthermore, hyponatremic patients receive less optimal medical treatment than their counterparts.
Family beliefs about diet and traditional Chinese medicine for Hong Kong women with breast cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To explore beliefs about diet and traditional Chinese medicine related to the breast cancer experience of Hong Kong Chinese women and their families. DESIGN Interpretive phenomenology. SETTING Hong Kong, China. SAMPLE A purposive sample of 20 Hong Kong Chinese women diagnosed with breast cancer at various stages of the illness trajectory and at least one other family member. METHODS A semistructured, three-hour interview was translated, transcribed, and back-translated. FINDINGS Many women and their family members believed that diet was responsible for their cancer and recurrence. They integrated their cultural beliefs about diet and traditional Chinese medicine to manage illness symptoms and prevent recurrence. Families were anxious and confused about conflicting messages from various sources about dietary practices to promote their health and prevent recurrence. CONCLUSIONS Food and diet alternatives should be discussed with the understanding that beliefs about diet and traditional Chinese medicine are embedded in culture and that many Chinese women and their families seek a combination of Eastern Chinese medicine and Western medicine strategies to manage the illness trajectory. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Many Chinese families have different beliefs about food and diet and the role that food plays in managing the cancer experience. Often, Chinese people will not seek clarification if they do not understand information. If information does not fit with their predominant belief systems, families may not implement it, nor will they discuss a situation if they think the conversation will result in a relationship of conflict with healthcare providers.
Uneven development and beyond: regional development theory in post‐Mao China

Post-Mao China is marked by priorities which unlike Maoist redistributive policies encourage and tolerate uneven regional development. But this approach has been under severe attack, and the Ninth Five-Year Plan (1996-2000) which calls for narrowing the regional gap signals that new policies are due. These changes reflect shifts in development philosophies and theories, which are overlooked by many existing studies which emphasize only policies and their outcome. This paper explores the thoughts and ideas that underlie post-Mao regional policy, by reviewing the Chinese literature on regional development from about 1985 to 1995. New applications of socialism and the influence of Western theories have helped to remove the stigma associated with uneven regional development, and have guided post-Mao regional policy which favors the more developed eastern region. But the uneven regional development policy is blamed for the escalation in regional inequality, outflows of resources from poorer inland provinces, and regional conflicts and protectionism. More recent research which advocates renewed attention on and regional diffusion to the inland region, has inspired a new generation of regional development models and has influenced urban and regional policy. Nevertheless, the theory of Chinese regional development continues to be constrained by the obligation to justify official policy, and a lack of attention to firms, enterprises, and the relations between production and space. Copyright Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1997.
Taiwanese Consumers’ Perceptions of Product Information Cues

Reports on a study in which 265 consumers were asked to assign price and quality estimates to women’s sweaters. Uses a 4 x 3 factorial design which incorporates four country cues – the USA, Italy, Japan and Taiwan – and three groups relating to store prestige, which were manipulated. Found that country of origin significantly influenced Taiwanese consumer perceptions of sweater quality. The sweater labelled “Made in Japan” received the highest evaluation and the sweater labelled “Made in Taiwan” the lowest. The cue of store prestige was not significantly related to price estimates and quality evaluations of sweaters. Neither of origin nor store prestige was found to have an effect on price estimates.
A comparison of risky sexual behaviours between circumcised and uncircumcised men aged 30-44 years in Botswana.

BACKGROUND The principal mode of HIV transmission in Southern Africa is through sexual intercourse, and this has prompted uptake of safe male circumcision. Engaging in risky sexual behaviour by circumcised men increases the risks of acquiring HIV, though male circumcision coupled with preventive behaviour reduces this risk. OBJECTIVE To compare the factors associated with risky sexual behaviour among circumcised and uncircumcised men in Botswana. METHODS Nationally representative data from the Botswana AIDS Impact Survey III were used. A sample of 313 sexually active men was used. The data was analysed by cross-tabulation and logistic regression. RESULTS The study revealed that uncircumcised men (odds ratio, 5.711) were more likely to have sex while intoxicated with alcohol compared to circumcised men. Low levels of education (odds ratio, 8.736), urban residency (city/town: odds ratio, 1.238 and urban village: odds ratio, 1.098) were more likely to influence risky behaviour (more than one sexual partner) for circumcised men. The results also show that marital status (never married) (odds ratio, 1.947) influences risky behaviour (having sex while intoxicated with alcohol) among uncircumcised men. CONCLUSION Low level of education, place of residence and alcohol consumption influences risky sexual behaviour for both circumcised and uncircumcised men. Policies and programmes should thus focus on the attitudes underlying sexual behaviour.
Investigation of polymorphisms in the PADI4 gene in determining severity of inflammatory polyarthritis

Background: A functional haplotype of the peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PADI4) gene has recently been identified as a rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility gene in a Japanese but not in a UK population. One possible explanation for this disparity is that the gene determines severity of rather than susceptibility to inflammatory polyarthritis (IP) and that the UK and Japanese cohorts differed in terms of outcome. Aim: To examine the association between individual PADI4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes, with the development and severity of erosions by five years in patients with IP. Methods: 438 patients from the NOAR inception cohort of patients with IP were x rayed five years after presentation with early IP. Association with four exonic SNPs (padi4_89*G/A, padi4_90*T/C, padi4_92*G/C, and padi4_104*T/C), mapping to the PADI4 gene and defining a haplotype previously reported to be associated with rheumatoid arthritis, was investigated. Patients were compared for the presence, extent, and progression of erosions by five years and the presence of antibodies to citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP antibodies). Results: There was no association between individual PADI4 SNPs or haplotypes and the development or extent of erosions by five years. Restricting analysis to patients who satisfied ACR criteria for rheumatoid arthritis by five years did not alter the conclusions. No association with presence of anti-CCP antibodies was detected. Conclusions: No evidence was found for association of the PADI4 gene with severity as assessed by erosive outcome at five years or with presence of anti-CCP antibodies in patients with IP.
Precipitation and latent heating characteristics of the major tropical Western Pacific cloud regimes

Abstract An objective tropical cloud regime classification based on daytime averaged cloud-top pressure and optical thickness information from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) is combined with precipitation and latent heating characteristics derived using the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR). TRMM precipitation information is stratified into the ISCCP regimes in the tropical western Pacific (TWP), revealing the following three major precipitation regimes: a heavy (12 mm day−1) precipitation regime dominated by stratiform precipitation and top-heavy latent heating; a regime with moderate (5 mm day−1) precipitation amounts, mostly convective in nature with more midlevel latent heating; and a low (2 mm day−1) precipitation regime with a relatively large rain contribution from shallow convection, compared to the other regimes. Although three of the ISCCP cloud regimes are linked to the more convective, moderate precipitation regime, only one of t.
Attention-defi cit-hyperactivity disorder and reward defi ciency syndrome

1Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC; 2Department of Engineering and Management of Advanced Technology, Chang Jung University, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China; 3Department of Neurosurgery, Weill College of Medicine, New York, NY; 4Department of Medical Genetics, City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, CA; 5Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Chang Jung University, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China; 6Department of Psychoneurogenetics, Synapatamine, Inc., San Antonio, TX; 7LifeGen, Inc., La Jolla, CA; 8Allied Nutraceutical Research, Lederach, PA; 9PATH Research Foundation, New York, NY; 10Department of Physiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN; 11Department of Pathology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX; 12Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; 13Boston University School of Medicine, and Boston VA Healthcare System, Boston, MA
Effects of Caponization on Bone Characteristics and Histological Structure in Chickens

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of caponization on the bone characteristics, biomechanical property and histology in Taiwan country chickens fed to market age of 26 wks. Male Taiwan country chickens D×L2 were caponized or sham- operated at 8 wks of age, and selected healthy sham-operated and completely caponized chickens (prominent degenerated comb) were selected at 16 wks old and fed to 26 wks old for the trials. Fifteen intact male chickens (Intact), sham-operated chickens (Sham) and caponized chickens (Capon) were assigned for trial 1, and sixteen Intact and Capon were assigned for trial 2. Results in trial 1 showed that the abdominal fat and relative abdominal fat weights of Capon were significantly heavier than Intact and Sham (p<0.05), while the tibia weight and relative weight were the lightest (p<0.05). The tibia breaking strength, bending moment and stress of Capon were the poorest among groups (p<0.05). The trial 2 produced the similar observation that Capon were significantly lighter than Intact (p<0.05) in the tibia weight, relative tibia weight and their biomechanical properties. On histological determinations, Capon showed a thinner cartilage end and fewer chondrocytes (about 50%) and trabecular, and bigger marrow cavity; while decreased hemopoietic cells number with increased adipocytes than Intact observed by H&E stain and at low magnification. At high magnification, Capon showed a decrease in the chondrocyte size by 33 to 50%, with smaller nucleus located near the cell membrane, and exhibited monocellular form chondrocytes. Capon also showed a less strongly acidic sulfated mucosubstance with weaker dyeing property within cartilage zone, and smaller chondrocytes size by Alcian blue stain. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2006. Vol 19, No. 2 : 245-251)
PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL UTILITY OF ANTI-CCP IN PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIS AT KENYATTA NATIONAL HOSPITAL. A DISSERTATION TO BE SUBMITTED IN PART FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF MEDICINE IN INTERNAL MEDICINE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis(RA) is a debilitating condition that causes serious morbidity and mortality.Diagnosed early, the condition can be treated with appropriate therapy so as to either stop or slow the progression of the disease. However early diagnosis of RA can be difficult as the disease may initially be indistinguishable from other forms of arthritis. American College of Rheumatology(ACR) criteria for the diagnosis of RA is such that by the time the patient fulfills this criteria the disease has caused serious irreversible morbidity hence the need to get a criteria that might pick the disease early enough.A new serological marker, Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies(Anti-ccp) are highly specific for RA and have been used to confirm early diagnosis of RA when the features for the condition are indistinguishable from other arthritis. Objective The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and clinical utility of Anti-ccp antibodies in patients with inflammatory arthritis at presentation to KNH medical clinics. Design This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting The study was conducted at KNH MOPCs between the month of October 2008 to February 2009.
Severe spinal cord involvement is a universal feature of Asians with multiple sclerosis: A joint Asian study

This is a joint clinical study of multiple sclerosis involving 7 regions in Asia. The inclusion criteria were patients who fulfilled the Poser’s criteria for clinically definite or laboratory-supported definite multiple sclerosis. A total of 263 patients from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, India and Thailand were studied. The mean age of onset was 31 years, and the mean duration of illness was 9.3 years. The clinical course was relapsing remitting in 79% of the patients. The mean relapse rate was 0.86 attacks per annum. Forty percent of the patient had optic-spinal recurrent and 60% had Western forms of multiple sclerosis. The study confirmed features peculiar to the Asian multiple sclerosis noted previously. There was a high female to male ratio of 3.8:1. The female preponderance was more marked among the Chinese, Malays and Thai patients. For the patients from Malaysia and Singapore whose population consisted of Chinese and Malays at a ratio of 1:1.4, there was preponderance among Chinese as compared to Malays with a ratio of 8.6:1. The patients with optic-spinal recurrent and Western forms of multiple sclerosis in this study shared many similarities, including high female to male ratio, mean age of onset, and rate of relapse. When compared to the Western series, both groups of patients had high frequency of acute transverse myelitis, paroxysmal tonic spasm, long segment of spinal cord lesion in MRI, and low rate of positive cerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal band. Severe involvement of spinal cord is thus a universal feature of Asians with multiple sclerosis, seen in both optic-spinal recurrent and Western form of multiple sclerosis.
Bacteriologic Evaluation of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia According to Stress Related Mucosal Disease Prophylaxis in the Intensive Care Unit

Background: Ventilator associated pneumonia is one of the most important nosocomial infections with often poor outcomes and heavy economic burdens on health care systems. Objectives: Several studies have been done for evaluating the effect of different types of stress related mucosal disease (SRMD) prophylaxis on nosocomial pneumonia, as among factors participating in its establishment, gastrointestinal tract is believed to play an important role especially in ventilator-associated pneumonia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 150 patients who were admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) and developed documented culture positive VAP, were evaluated for the study inclusion criteria. The patients with clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS) ≥ 6 were included and some others with conditions affecting comparability excluded. The patients with Acute Physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHEII) scores between 10 and 24, within the first 24 hours of ICU stay, were included. Finally, 100 patients who fulfilled all criteria were evaluated for the responsible organisms and type of SRMD prophylaxis they had received. The patients included were either on intravenous pantoprazole (49 patients) or intravenous ranitidine (51 patients). The goal of this study was to evaluate the organisms, which have been isolated from the sputum of ICU patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia, according to their SRMD prophylaxis regimen. Results: There were 59 men (59) and 41 women (41) ranging from 19 to 82 years old. The mean ages were not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.586). APACHEII score was ranging between 15 and 21 with the mean of 17.57 in pantoprazole and 16.80 in ranitidine group (P = 0.006), there was a statistical but not clinical difference. With P-value of 0.001, there was significant difference in ICU stay days. The mean mortality rates were 18.4 and 1.8 for pantoprazole and ranitidine group, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Multi-drug resistant pathogens were significantly higher in the pantoprazole group (0.001). The organisms, which have been obtained from each group were different. Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were highly cultivated in the pantoprazole group, while Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus were more in patients who had received ranitidine. Conclusions: It can be suggested that each bacterium has a unique propensity to grow in specific gastric pH and other systemic changes made by various agents used for SRMD prophylaxis. More studies are needed to evaluate large number of patients receiving SRMD prophylaxis, with perspective of VAP incidence, the responsible organisms, hospital and ICU stay days, and mortality rate in order to prevent poor outcomes caused by specific organisms. © 2018, Archives of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The One-Child Policy and Household Savings in China

This paper analyzes the impact of the 'one child policy' in China on its household saving behavior. First, it develops a life-cycle model with endogenous fertility, intergenerational transfers and human capital accumulation. We show a macroeconomic and a microeconomic channel of a fall in fertility on raising aggregate household saving: at the macroeconomic level, the population composition shifts initially towards the middle-agedâ€”the high savers of the economy. At the microeconomic level, (1) expenditures of children fallâ€”despite higher education investment in each childâ€”as quantity substitutes for quality; (2) middle-aged save additionally for retirement in anticipation of reduced transfers from their only child. Second, our quantitative model implies policy-induced changes in aggregate savings and age-saving profiles broadly consistent with estimates from Chinese household-level data. Third, an empirical study using the birth of twins as a source of exogenous increase in fertility is shown to support the micro-economic channels we highlight. Overall, our estimation suggests that the policy is able to account for 30% to 50% of the rise in household savings rate since its implementation in 1980.
A visual analysis of destinations in travel

This study presents a visual analysis of photographs of six destinations (Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan) published in Chinese travel magazines. The object and subject categories, size, and providers of the photographs are content analyzed. The three most popular object categories were Culture, history and art; Leisure and recreation; and Physical environment. The dominant subject category was No people. Multiple Correspondence Analysis showed that the different destinations correlated with diverse object and subject categories. All six destinations were portrayed differently in terms of the source and size of the photographs. These findings can be utilized by destination marketing organizations (DMOs) to devise positioning and promotion activities for implementation in
Residents’ perceptions of tourism conflict with Chinese tourists: does economic dependence matter?

ABSTRACT In recent years, tourism conflict involving Chinese tourists has caused problems related to tourism development in many countries. This research addressed the influence of tourism conflict on local residents’ perceived benefits and costs and their support of tourism development and the moderating role of economic dependence. Survey data from 890 local residents in Taiwan and Thailand revealed that tourism conflict positively influenced perceived costs, and perceived benefits positively influenced support of tourism development. Perceived costs negatively correlated to support of tourism development. Furthermore, economic dependence moderated these relationships. Finally, we discuss management implications and propose suggestions for future studies.