Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Defining patient deterioration through acute care and intensive care nurses' perspectives.

AIM To explore the variations between acute care and intensive care nurses' understanding of patient deterioration according to their use of this term in published literature. BACKGROUND Evidence suggests that nurses on wards do not always recognize and act upon patient deterioration appropriately. Even if resources exist to call for intensive care nurses' help, acute care nurses use them infrequently and the problem of unattended patient deterioration remains. DESIGN Dimensional analysis was used as a framework to analyze papers retrieved in a nursing-focused database. METHOD A thematic analysis of 34 papers (2002-2012) depicting acute care and intensive care unit nurses' perspectives on patient deterioration was conducted. FINDINGS No explicit definition of patient deterioration was retrieved in the papers. There are variations between acute care and intensive care unit nurses' accounts of this concept, particularly regarding the validity of patient deterioration indicators. Contextual factors, processes and consequences are also explored. CONCLUSIONS From the perspectives of acute care and intensive care nurses, patient deterioration can be defined as an evolving, predictable and symptomatic process of worsening physiology towards critical illness. Contextual factors relating to acute care units (ACU) appear as barriers to optimal care of the deteriorating patient. This work can be considered as a first effort in modelling the concept of patient deterioration, which could be specific to ACU. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The findings suggest that it might be relevant to include subjective indicators of patient deterioration in track and trigger systems and educational efforts. Contextual factors impacting care for the deteriorating patient could be addressed in further attempts to deal with this issue.
Formation and Accumulation of Acetaldehyde and Strecker Aldehydes during Red Wine Oxidation

The main aim of the present work is to study the accumulation of acetaldehyde and Strecker aldehydes (isobutyraldehyde, 2-methylbutanal, isovaleraldehyde, methional, phenylacetaldehyde) during the oxidation of red wines, and to relate the patterns of accumulation to the wine chemical composition. For that, eight different wines, extensively chemically characterized, were subjected at 25°C to three different controlled O2 exposure conditions: low (10 mg L−1) and medium or high (the stoichiometrically required amount to oxidize all wine total SO2 plus 18 or 32 mg L−1, respectively). Levels of volatile aldehydes and carbonyls were then determined and processed by different statistical techniques. Results showed that young wines (<2 years-old bottled wines) hardly accumulate any acetaldehyde regardless of the O2 consumed. In contrast, aged wines (>3 years-old bottled wines) accumulated acetaldehyde while their content in SO2 was not null, and the aged wine containing lowest polyphenols accumulated it throughout the whole process. Models suggest that the ability of a wine to accumulate acetaldehyde is positively related to its content in combined SO2, in epigallocatechin and to the mean degree of polymerization, and negatively to its content in Aldehyde Reactive Polyphenols (ARPs) which, attending to our models, are anthocyanins and small tannins. The accumulation of Strecker aldehydes is directly proportional to the wine content in the amino acid precursor, being the proportionality factor much higher for aged wines, except for phenylacetaldehyde, for which the opposite pattern was observed. Models suggest that non-aromatic Strecker aldehydes share with acetaldehyde a strong affinity toward ARPs and that the specific pattern of phenylacetaldehyde is likely due to a much reduced reactivity toward ARPs, to the possibility that diacetyl induces Strecker degradation of phenyl alanine and to the potential higher reactivity of this amino acid to some quinones derived from catechin. All this makes that this aldehyde accumulates with intensity, particularly in young wines, shortly after wine SO2 is depleted.
Calling underwater is a costly signal: size-related differences in the call rates of Antarctic leopard seals

Abstract It is proposed that where sexually selected vocal communication is an honest signal, the call production rate is predicted to change throughout the breeding season. Male leopard seals call underwater for many hours each day over their three- to four-month breeding season, and it is hypothesized that a decrease in calling rate would be associated with the declining body condition of smaller males. The calling rates of leopard seals were measured (N = 49 recordings) and compared between seals of different size classes throughout the breeding season. Male leopard seals produce their calls at more stable rates as they become larger. In this study, larger male leopard seals adopted a strategy of consistent underwater calling throughout the breeding season, whereas there was a breakdown in the calling stereotypy of the smaller males at its height. Toward the end of the breeding season, the smaller seals produced fewer calls in shortened calling bouts, and they took more rest periods. Therefore, underwater calling may represent an honest signal in the leopard seal. For marine mammals that call underwater, the production of repetitive sequences advertises the breath-holding ability of the caller to the listeners, and this ability may be related to male stamina and endurance, thus representing an honest signal that could be widespread in other species.
National Immunization Campaigns with Oral Polio Vaccine Reduce All-Cause Mortality: A Natural Experiment within Seven Randomized Trials

Background A recent WHO review concluded that live BCG and measles vaccine (MV) may have beneficial non-specific effects (NSEs) reducing mortality from non-targeted diseases. NSEs of oral polio vaccine (OPV) were not examined. If OPV vaccination campaigns reduce the mortality rate, it would suggest beneficial NSEs. Setting Between 2002 and 2014, Guinea-Bissau had 15 general OPV campaigns and other campaigns with OPV plus vitamin A supplementation (VAS), VAS-only, MV, and H1N1 vaccine. In this period, we conducted seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with mortality as main outcome. Methods Within these RCTs, we assessed whether the mortality rate was lower after-campaign than before-campaign. We used Cox models with age as underlying time and further adjusted for low birth-weight, season and time trend in mortality. We calculated the adjusted mortality rate ratio (MRR) for after-campaign vs before-campaign. Results The mortality rate was lower after OPV-only campaigns than before, the MRR being 0.81 (95% CI = 0.68–0.95). With each additional dose of campaign-OPV the mortality rate declined further (MRR = 0.87 (95% CI: 0.79–0.96) per dose) (test for trend, p = 0.005). No other type of campaign had similar beneficial effects. Depending on initial age and with follow-up to 3 years of age, the number needed to treat with campaign-OPV-only to save one life was between 68 and 230 children. Conclusion Bissau had no case of polio infection so the results suggest that campaign-OPV has beneficial NSEs. Discontinuation of OPV-campaigns in low-income countries may affect general child mortality levels negatively.
Association of Resilience With Depression and Health-Related Quality of Life for Patients With Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Importance Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) places a significant burden on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients, many of whom have depression. Resilience can play a role in mitigating the negative stressors, such as the symptoms of HS, on patients’ mental health. Objective To investigate the correlation among resilience, depression, and HRQOL for patients with HS. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional survey study of 154 patients from 2 referral centers in the United States and in Denmark was conducted from June 1, 2016, to March 31, 2017. Patients were considered eligible if they were 18 years or older and had a visit for HS at 1 of the 2 referral centers in the past 2 years (from January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2016). Patients were excluded if they declined to participate, could not read or write in English or Danish, or had a cognitive disability that would preclude their understanding of the survey questions. Main Outcomes and Measures The survey instrument included 4 questionnaires: (1) a sociodemographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire, (2) the Brief Resilient Coping Scale, (3) the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and (4) the Dermatology Life Quality Index. The main outcome of interest was the HRQOL as measured by the Dermatology Life Quality Index. Results All 154 patients submitted a completed survey. The mean (SD) age of the participants was 40.93 (13.5) years; most participants were women (130 [84.4%]), and most participants self-identified as white (139 [90.2%]). The rate of depression among the patients in this study was comparable to those reported in previous studies; 55 patients (35.7%) were classified as having depression, and 32 patients (20.8%) had borderline depressive symptoms. Patient-rated HS severity and the depression score each independently estimated 27% and 10% of variation in HRQOL, respectively. The interaction term for resilience and depression was significant, indicating that resilience moderates depression. Analysis of the mediation effects of resilience was not significant, indicating that resilience did not mediate the association between depressive symptoms and HRQOL. The resilience score was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (regression coefficient a = −0.21; P < .001), and the depressive symptoms score (c = 0.637; P < .001) was significantly associated with lower HRQOL (c′ = 0.644; P < .001). However, both the direct association (b = 0.033; P = .86) and the indirect association (a × b = 0.007; P = .87) of resilience with HRQOL were not significant. Conclusions and Relevance Patients with higher resilience levels experienced a smaller decrease in HRQOL as depressive symptoms increased. Because the findings suggest that resilience can be taught, there is an opportunity to develop a resiliency training program and investigate its role in stress levels and depressive symptoms, as well as in HRQOL and disease activity.
Efficacy of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitors for the treatment of advanced solid cancers: A literature-based meta-analysis of 46 randomised control trials

Background The phosphatidylinositol-3- kinase (PI3K)/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway (PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway) plays a key role in cancer. We performed this meta-analysis to assess the clinical effect of using PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitors on advanced solid tumours. Methods All the randomised controlled trials (RCT) that compared the therapy with PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitors with other therapies were included. The main end-point was progression-free survival (PFS); other end-points included overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR). A subgroup analysis was performed mainly for PFS. Results In total, 46 eligible RCT were included. The pooled results showed that PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitor-based regimens significantly improved the PFS of patients with advanced solid tumours (hazard ratios (HR) = 0.79; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.71–0.88) and PI3K pathway mutations (HR = 0.69; 95% CI: 0.56–0.85). All single PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitor therapies were compared with other targeted therapies (HR = 0.99; 95% CI: 0.93–1.06) and dual targeted therapies, including PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitors and other targeted therapies (HR = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.62–1.74), which showed no significant differences in the PFS. Additional PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitors showed no advantage with respect to the OS (HR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.90–1.07) or ORR (risk ratio (RR) = 1.02; 95% CI: 0.87–1.20). Conclusion Our meta-analysis results suggest that the addition of the PI3K pathway inhibitors to the therapy regiment for advanced solid tumours significantly improves PFS. The way that patients are selected to receive the PI3K pathway inhibitors might be more meaningful in the future.
Up‐regulated WDR5 promotes gastric cancer formation by induced cyclin D1 expression

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth common cancer and second leading cause of cancer‐related mortality in the world. WD repeat domain 5 (WDR5) has been identified that its functions as an important role in various biological functions through the epigenetic regulation of gene transcription. However, the oncogenic effect of WDR5 in gastric cancer remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of WDR5 in gastric cancer genesis. We found that WDR5 expression is increased in gastric cancer patients. Through survival analysis, we found that high expression of WDR5 is associated with high risk gastric cancer; patients who with WDR5 high expression have poor survival rate compared with those who with WDR5 low expression. To make further investigation, we identified that WDR5 is targeted for cell cycle arrest by the Cyclin D1 in a process that is regulated by H3K4me3. Moreover, over‐expression of WDR5 promotes cell proliferation, induces S/G2/M arrest in cell cycle, and promotes the expression of WDR5 targets, as well as that of H3K4me3 on the promoter of its targets. Inversely, WDR5 knockdown by shRNA inhibits cell proliferation, reverses S/G2/M arrest in cell cycle, and suppresses the expression of WDR5 targets, as well as that of H3K4me3. We also observed the positive correlation of WDR5 expression with its target in the cohort study of gastric patients. Taken together, our data reveal that WDR5 may have oncogenic effect and WDR5‐mediated H3K4 methylation plays an important role in gastric cancer.
Morbidity and mortality associated with performing bone marrow aspiration and biopsy

Aspirate and bone marrow biopsy are diagnostic methods used in the study of hematological diseases allowing molecular, cytogenetic, and immunophenotype analyses, indispensable today for the classification of hematolymphoid malignancies. Its indications are ample and include various types of hematolymphoid malignancies, solid tumors, study of fever of unknown origin, and other infiltrative diseases. Trained physicians must perform these procedures in order to recognize indications and medical risks related with the procedure and also managing potential complications [1]. This study can be realized on an outpatient procedure room or during hospitalization. For patient convenience, biopsies are usually made in the posterior iliac crest [2].
Disgorge the Cash : The Disconnect Between Corporate Borrowing and Investment

• In the 1960s and 1970s, an additional dollar of earnings or borrowing was associated with about a 40-cent increase in investment. Since the 1980s, less than 10 cents of each borrowed dollar is invested. • Since the 1980s, shareholder payouts have nearly doubled; in the second half of 2007, aggregate payouts actually exceeded aggregate investment. Today, there is a strong correlation between shareholder payouts and borrowing that did not exist before the mid-1980s. • This change in corporate finance, associated with the “shareholder revolution”, means there is good reason to believe that the real economy benefits less from the easier credit provided by macroeconomic policy than it once did. J.W. Mason is a Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, where he works on the Financialization Project. He is also an assistant professor of economics at John Jay College, CUNY. His current research focuses on the history and political economy of credit, including the evolution of household debt and changing role of financial markets in business investment. He did his graduate work at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his B.A. is from the University of Chicago. He has recent or forthcoming articles in the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, Economic and Political Weekly, and Rethinking Marxism. In addition to his scholarly work, he has published popular articles in The Nation, In These Times, and The American Prospect among other venues.
Fate of abstracts presented at the World Congress of Endourology: are they followed by publication in peer-reviewed journals?

PURPOSE To estimate the acceptance rate of peer-reviewed journals, to describe the time course of subsequent full publication, and to identify those with characteristics associated with publication of the abstracts presented at the World Congress of Endourology (WCE). METHODS All abstracts accepted for presentation at the 2001 and 2002 WCE meetings were identified from the published supplements to the Journal of Endourology. The subsequent publication rate for the corresponding studies was evaluated by scanning MEDLINE for the 5-year period after the meetings. RESULTS Overall, 20.5% of the abstracts were followed by publication in peer-reviewed journals. Abstracts on transurethral, laparoscopic, and percutaneous procedures had the highest publication rates (25.5%, 25%, and 24.3%, respectively). Studies from North America had the highest publication rate (29.2%). The mean time to publication was 14.6 months. There was an 80% chance that an eventually published abstract was in print 2 years after presentation. The largest number of the reports were published in the Journal of Endourology (75 of 234; 32%), the official publication of the society that sponsors the WCE. CONCLUSIONS Only one fifth of the abstracts presented at the WCE are ultimately published in peer-reviewed journals. Attendees should be aware of this limitation, and scientific committees should be encouraged to be more selective. Although presentation at major urological congresses constitutes an invaluable method for rapid scientific dissemination, abstracts contain data that usually are difficult to access and of questionable validity. In this respect, investigators are encouraged to publish their data.
Experimental Comparison between Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) and Conventional Activated Sludge (CAS) for River Purification Treatment Plant

Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) systems have been proven as an effective technology for water treatment and have been used for Biochemical Oxygen Demand/Chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD/COD-removal), as well as for nitrification and denitrification in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. Conventional Activated Sludge (CAS), in particular, has been extensively used in wastewater treatment since decades ago. In this study, physical performance results for both MBBR and CAS were compared and evaluated on laboratory scale basis. The study aims to identify the best system performance in terms of constituent removal efficiency for effective management of the river purification plant. A novel parallel MBBR and CAS pilot plant were fabricated and operated to compare the physical performance of MBBR and CAS. Analysis of the performances for MBBR and CAS show, MBBR has higher COD (85%), AN (75%) and TSS (80%) removal rate compared to CAS COD (53%), AN (53%) and TSS (69%). For BOD removal rate, CAS shows 68% removal rate whereas MBBR shows only 65%. Thus CAS has shown slightly higher removal rate than MBBR. In terms of sludge production, MBBR sludge is less than CAS. Overall performance proves that MBBR has better rate of constituent removal efficiency compared to CAS in the laboratory basis study.
Aerosol retrievals over the ocean using channel 1 and 2 AVHRR data: a sensitivity analysis and preliminary results

This paper outlines the methodology of interpreting channel 1 and 2 AVHRR radiance data over the oceans and describes a detailed analysis of the sensitivity of monthly averages of retrieved aerosol parameters to the assumptions made in different retrieval algorithms. The analysis is based on using real AVHRR data and exploiting accurate numerical techniques for computing single and multiple scattering and spectral absorption of light in the vertically inhomogeneous atmosphere-ocean system. We show that two-channel algorithms can be expected to provide significantly more accurate and less biased retrievals of the aerosol optical thickness than one-channel algorithms and that imperfect cloud screening and calibration uncertainties are by far the largest sources of errors in the retrieved aerosol parameters. Both underestimating and overestimating aerosol absorption as well as the potentially strong variability of the real part of the aerosol refractive index may lead to regional and/or seasonal biases in optical thickness retrievals. The AngstrOm exponent appears to be the most invariant aerosol size characteristic and should be retrieved along with optical thickness as the second aerosol parameter. OCIScodes:
Modeling Activity Tracker Data Using Deep Boltzmann Machines

Commercial activity trackers are set to become an essential tool in health research, due to increasing availability in the general population. The corresponding vast amounts of mostly unlabeled data pose a challenge to statistical modeling approaches. To investigate the feasibility of deep learning approaches for unsupervised learning with such data, we examine weekly usage patterns of Fitbit activity trackers with deep Boltzmann machines (DBMs). This method is particularly suitable for modeling complex joint distributions via latent variables. We also chose this specific procedure because it is a generative approach, i.e., artificial samples can be generated to explore the learned structure. We describe how the data can be preprocessed to be compatible with binary DBMs. The results reveal two distinct usage patterns in which one group frequently uses trackers on Mondays and Tuesdays, whereas the other uses trackers during the entire week. This exemplary result shows that DBMs are feasible and can be useful for modeling activity tracker data.
Midkine and Pleiotrophin Concentrations in Amniotic Fluid in Healthy and Complicated Pregnancies

Background Midkine (MDK) and pleiotrophin (PTN) are heparin-binding growth factors that, in rodents, are highly expressed in early life and decrease to undetectable levels by adulthood. The potential roles of MDK and PTN in human growth and development are not completely elucidated. Method and Findings To delineate the role of MDK and PTN in human development, we developed high sensitivity assays to measure their concentrations in amniotic fluid (AF) at various gestational ages in both healthy and complicated pregnancies. We found that both of these growth factors could be readily measured in AF and that the concentrations were higher than most cytokines previously reported in AF. Conclusion The concentration of MDK but not that of PTN declined with gestational age. Both MDK and PTN concentrations were found to be lower in pregnancies that were complicated by chorioamnionitis at term, raising the possibility that these growth factors might be useful as markers for infection.