Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Poor survival in patients with scleroderma and pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF) has been poorly studied in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). We sought to compare clinical characteristics and survival of SSc patients with PH-HFpEF (SSc-PH-HFpEF) versus pulmonary arterial hypertension (SSc-PAH). We hypothesized that patients with SSc-PH-HFpEF have a similar poor overall prognosis compared with patients with SSc-PAH when matched for total right ventricular load. The analysis included 117 patients with SSc-PH (93 with SSc-PAH versus 24 with SSc-PH-HFpEF) enrolled prospectively in the Johns Hopkins PH Registry. We examined baseline demographics and hemodynamics at diagnostic right heart catheterization (RHC), two-dimensional echocardiographic characteristics, six-minute walking distance (6MWD), treatment modalities, and laboratory values (serum NT-proBNP, creatinine, uric acid, and sodium), and assessed survival. Demographics and clinical features were similar between the two groups. Baseline RHC showed significantly higher pulmonary and right heart pressures in the SSc-PH-HFpEF compared with the SSc-PAH group. Trans-pulmonary gradient (TPG), however, was equally elevated without significant difference between the groups. SSc-PH-HFpEF patients had left atrial enlargement on echocardiography compared with SSc-PAH patients. No significant differences were found between groups for 6MWD, NT-proBNP, and other laboratory values. Although overall median survival time was 4.6 years with no difference in mortality rate between the two groups (SSc-PH-HFpEF versus SSc-PAH: 75% versus 59%; P = 0.26), patients with SSc-PH-HFpEF had a twofold increased risk of death compared with SSc-PAH patients after adjusting for hemodynamics. Concomitant intrinsic pulmonary vascular disease and HFpEF likely contribute to very poor survival in patients with SSc-PH-HFpEF.
Staying in the Job: Job Satisfaction among Mid-Career Police Officers

This paper examines the level of job satisfaction among a group of Australian police officers 9-10 years after commencing training. Drawing on a longitudinal study of police recruits and a follow-up study, the paper tracks the careers of the cohort and compares their level of job satisfaction and turnover intentions over time. A paradoxical finding is that mid-career police officers who remained in the job were highly satisfied with their choice of policing as a career but quite dissatisfied with the police organization and their systems of performance evaluation and promotion. Nearly half of the officers were seriously considering leaving the job. These results suggest that in order to retain experienced officers, police organizations need to support officers in their work and career development and improve their working conditions, especially during periods of organizational change.
Health-Promoting Self-Care Behaviors, Self-Care Self-Efficacy, and Self-Care Agency

The relationships among health-promoting self-care behaviors, self-care self-efficacy, and self-care agency were investigated. The purpose of the study reported here was to explore conceptual integration that could be useful in determining interventions that enhance self-care agency. The sample consisted of 379 adult subjects. The instrumentation scales included: Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, Self-Rated Abilities for Health Practices, and Exercise of Self-Care Agency. A canonical correlation identified a significant variate with a correlation of . 76 (p<.001) accounting for 58% of the variance explained. The loading variables included: spiritual growth, self-concept, initiative, and responsibility. Therefore, spiritual growth was more strongly related to self-care agency than self-efficacy.
T-Cell Responses Are Associated with Survival in Acute Melioidosis Patients

Background Melioidosis is an increasingly recognised cause of sepsis and death across South East Asia and Northern Australia, caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei. Risk factors include diabetes, alcoholism and renal disease, and a vaccine targeting at-risk populations is urgently required. A better understanding of the protective immune response in naturally infected patients is essential for vaccine design. Methods We conducted a longitudinal clinical and immunological study of 200 patients with melioidosis on admission, 12 weeks (n = 113) and 52 weeks (n = 65) later. Responses to whole killed B. pseudomallei were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) ELIspot assay and flow cytometry and compared to those of control subjects in the region with diabetes (n = 45) and without diabetes (n = 43). Results We demonstrated strong CD4+ and CD8+ responses to B. pseudomallei during acute disease, 12 weeks and 52 weeks later. 28-day mortality was 26% for melioidosis patients, and B. pseudomallei-specific cellular responses in fatal cases (mean 98 IFN-γ cells per million PBMC) were significantly lower than those in the survivors (mean 142 IFN-γ cells per million PBMC) in a multivariable logistic regression model (P = 0.01). A J-shaped curve association between circulating neutrophil count and mortality was seen with an optimal count of 4000 to 8000 neutrophils/μl. Melioidosis patients with known diabetes had poor diabetic control (median glycated haemoglobin HbA1c 10.2%, interquartile range 9.2–13.1) and showed a stunted B. pseudomallei-specific cellular response during acute illness compared to those without diabetes. Conclusions The results demonstrate the role of both CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells in protection against melioidosis, and an interaction between diabetes and cellular responses. This supports development of vaccine strategies that induce strong T-cell responses for the control of intracellular pathogens such as B. pseudomallei.
Stable Stroke Incidence Rates but Improved Case-Fatality in Dijon, France, From 1985 to 2004

Background and Purpose— With the progress in stroke prevention, it is important to evaluate the epidemiological trends of strokes over a long period and from a nonselected population-based perspective. Methods— We estimated changes in incidence, case-fatality rates, severity, risk factors and prestroke use of preventive treatments for first-ever strokes, from a continuous 20-year well-defined population-based registry, from 1985 to 2004. Results— We recorded 3142 ischemic strokes, 341 primary cerebral hemorrhages and 74 subarachnoid hemorrhages. During the 20-year study, the age at first stroke onset increased by 5 years in men and 8 years in women. Comparing the 1985 to 1989 and the 2000 to 2004 periods, age- and sex-standardized incidences of first-ever strokes were stable except for lacunar strokes whose incidence significantly increased (P=0.01) and for cardioembolic stroke whose incidence significantly decreased (P=0.01). Twenty-eight-day case-fatality rates decreased significantly mainly for lacunar strokes (P=0.05) and for primary cerebral hemorrhages (P=0.03). The proportion of hypercholesterolemia and diabetes significantly increased (P<0.01). In contrast, the proportion of myocardial infarction significantly decreased (P=0.02). Prestroke antiplatelets and anticoagulants treatment significantly increased (P<0.01). Conclusions— The age- and sex-standardized incidences of first strokes in Dijon have been stable over the past 20 years and were associated with an increase in age at stroke onset, a decrease in case-fatality rates, and an increased use of antiplatelet treatments.
Aging over 70 Years Is Not a Decisively Dismal Prognostic Factor in Gastric Cancer Surgery

Purpose Gastric cancer has a high incidence and mortality rate in Korea. Despite a growing older population and an increase in the number of older patients with gastric cancer, the older patients are not willing to undergo surgery due to their operative risks. Hence, to determine the clinical characteristics and outcomes of gastric cancer surgery for them, we investigate factors influencing the treatment decision. Materials and Methods Between January 1996 and December 2005, a total of 1,519 patients were classified into two groups; the younger age group between 41 and 69 years of age, and the older age group of 70 years or older. The analysis conducted included patient characteristics, accompanying disorders, related American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade, pathological characteristics and survival rate for each age group. Results Significant differences were found in the ASA grade (P<0.001) and the number of accompanying disorders (P<0.001) between the two groups. The average length of hospital stay after surgery was 14.5 days in the younger age group, and 13.3 days in the older age group (P=0.065). The average survival time was 47.5 months in the younger age group, and 43.2 months in the older age group (P<0.001). Conclusions This study demonstrated that there was more number of accompanying disorders with a high surgical risk in the older age group. However, there was no significant difference between the older and younger age groups in terms of the incidence of complications, under the given disease conditions and if proper management was provided.
A member of the Ste20/PAK family of protein kinases is involved in both arrest of Xenopus oocytes at G2/prophase of the first meiotic cell cycle and in prevention of apoptosis

We have identified new members (X‐PAKs) of the Ste20/PAK family of protein kinases in Xenopus, and investigated their role in the process that maintains oocytes arrested in the cell cycle. Microinjection of a catalytically inactive mutant of X‐PAK1 with a K/R substitution in the ATP binding site, also deleted of its Nter‐half that contains the conserved domains responsible for binding of both Cdc42/Rac GTPases and SH3‐containing proteins, greatly facilitates oocyte release from G2/prophase arrest by progesterone and insulin. Addition of the same X‐PAK1 mutant to cell cycle extracts from unfertilized eggs induced apoptosis, as shown by activation of caspases and cytological changes in in vitro‐assembled nuclei. This was suppressed by adding Bcl‐2 or the DEVD peptide inhibitor of caspases, and rescued by competing the dominant‐negative mutant with its constitutively active X‐PAK1 counterpart. Such results indicate that X‐PAK1 (or another member of the Xenopus Ste20/PAK family of protein kinases) is involved in arrest of oocytes at G2/prophase and prevention of apoptosis; thus death by apoptosis and release of healthy oocytes from cell cycle arrest may be linked. That cell cycle arrest protects oocytes from apoptosis is consistent with the finding that extracts from metaphase II‐arrested oocytes are less sensitive to apoptotic signals than those from activated eggs.
Public Attitudes About Normal and Pathological Grief

Determining public expectations of grief is an important contributor to the debate differentiating normal from pathological grief. An international sample of 348 participants was randomly allocated to 1 of 12 conditions comprising a bereavement vignette and self-report items measuring grief expectations and social distance. Participants expected grief to decrease steadily between 2 weeks and 6 months then stabilize; however, time did not affect social distance. Gender of the bereaved and circumstances of death did not influence expectations, but did interact to influence social distance. These factors must be accounted for in determining a deviation from the norm in diagnostic nosology.
Sub-Synchronous Resonance Mitigation in Series-Compensated Power Systems Using a GWO-Based Optimal Controller

This paper uses a GWO-based optimum controller to dampen sub-synchronous resonance in a series-compensated power system network. The research was conducted using the IEEE's original benchmark model. Traditionally, a static var system (SVS)'s connection to a lengthy transmission line has been assumed to occur near the line's middle. The optimal controller considers all the system's different states as feedback to stabilize the outputs. On the test system, an Eigenvalue analysis was performed with the help of a linearized system model in order to enhance the system's stability and decrease the frequency of sub-synchronous oscillations. In this study, we investigate and compare the effectiveness of the optimal controller, optimal controller with BFOA, and optimal controller with GWO for damping the electromechanical torsional oscillations in a specific series compensated power system. The effectiveness of the proposed damping strategy is demonstrated via a time-domain method based on dynamic response.
Why do students think they fail? The relationship between attributions and academic self-perceptions

Attributions can have a significant effect on academic achievement and students with learning difficulties are more likely to display negative attributions than their peers. In this article, the attributions of students identified as having learning difficulties are compared with those of other non-labelled low achievers, and non-labelled average achievers. Margaret Banks, MSc research methods student, and Dr Lisa Woolfson, Reader in Educational Psychology, both at the University of Strathclyde, involved 26 low-achieving students (15 identified as having learning difficulties and 11 without any such label) and 27 averagely achieving students in their exploratory study. The students attempted to solve two sets of puzzles that, unknown to the participants, were actually impossible. They then gave a reason for their failure and rated the stability and controllability of their failure. Participants were also asked to give a self-rating of academic achievement. It was found that teacher and student perceptions of academic achievement were not synonymous. In terms of attributions, Margaret Banks and Lisa Woolfson argue that teachers’ perceptions of student achievement may not be as important as students’ self concept. They suggest that low self-perception of achievement and negative attributions are both associates of low self-esteem.
Donor pretreatment with Flt-3 ligand augments antidonor cytotoxic T lymphocyte, natural killer, and lymphokine-activated killer cell activities within liver allografts and alters the pattern of intragraft apoptotic activity.

BACKGROUND Liver allografts are accepted across major histocompatibility complex (MHC) barriers in mice and induce donor-specific tolerance without requirement for immunosuppressive therapy. There is evidence that passenger leukocytes may play a key role in tolerance induction. Flt-3 ligand (FL) is a recently cloned hematopoietic cytokine that strikingly augments functional dendritic cells (DCs) within lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissue. METHODS The expression of costimulatory molecules and MHC class II antigen on DCs isolated from livers of FL-treated B10 (H2b) mice (10 microg/day; 10 days) was examined by flow cytometric analysis, and their allostimulatory activity assessed in primary mixed leukocyte cultures. B10 livers from FL-treated donors were transplanted orthotopically into naive C3H (H2k) recipients. Donor cells (MHC class II+) in recipient spleens were identified by immunohistochemistry. Antidonor cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity, and both natural killer and lymphokine-activated killer cell activities of graft nonparenchymal cells and host splenocytes were determined using isotope release assays. Apoptotic activity within liver grafts was determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling. RESULTS DCs isolated from livers of FL-treated donor mice exhibited increased cell surface expression of CD40, CD80, CD86, and IAb, and augmented T cell allostimulatory activity compared with controls. Within 24 hr of organ transplantation, the numbers of donor IAb+ cells within recipient spleens was augmented substantially compared with normal liver recipients. Livers from FL-treated donors were rejected acutely (median survival time, 5 days), whereas control B10 liver allografts survived >100 days. Nonparenchymal cells from rejecting grafts 4 days after transplantation exhibited increased antidonor cytotoxic T lymphocyte, natural killer, and lymphokine-activated killer cell activities compared with cells from spontaneously accepted grafts. This augmented cytotoxic reactivity was associated with histologic evidence of injury to bile duct epithelium and vascular endothelium that was not readily evident in controls. CONCLUSION Thus, although normal livers provide allostimulatory signals sufficient to elicit an antidonor immune response, regulatory mechanisms that may include apoptosis of graft-infiltrating T cells, and that are overcome by augmenting the number of functional donor DCs, may account for inherent liver tolerogenicity.
Components of effortful control and their relations to children’s shyness

Relations between children’s (n = 213) mother-reported effortful control components (attention focusing, attention shifting, inhibitory control at 42 months; activational control at 72 months) and mother-reported shyness trajectories across 42, 54, 72, and 84 months of age were examined. In growth models, shyness decreased. Inhibitory control and attention shifting predicted higher levels and lower levels of shyness at 42 months (the intercept), respectively. Inhibitory control negatively, and attention shifting positively, predicted the shyness slope. Children with higher inhibitory control had relatively more rapid decreases in shyness. Children with higher attention shifting had relatively slower decreases in shyness. Activational control was negatively correlated with the shyness intercept. Effortful control components should be examined separately, rather than in combination, in relation to shyness in the future. If results are replicated, it may suggest that fostering attention shifting and activational control development helps prevent, or maintain low levels of, shyness during childhood.
PLoc: A New Evaluation Criterion Based on Physical Location for Autonomous Driving Datasets

Autonomous driving has garnered significant attention as a key research area within artificial intelligence. In the context of autonomous driving scenarios, the varying physical locations of objects correspond to different levels of danger. However, conventional evaluation criteria for automatic driving object detection often overlook the crucial aspect of an object's physical location, leading to evaluation results that may not accurately reflect the genuine threat posed by the object to the autonomous driving vehicle. To enhance the safety of autonomous driving, this paper introduces a novel evaluation criterion based on physical location information, termed PLoc. This criterion transcends the limitations of traditional criteria by acknowledging that the physical location of pedestrians in autonomous driving scenarios can provide valuable safety-related information. Furthermore, this paper presents a newly re-annotated dataset (ApolloScape-R) derived from ApolloScape. ApolloScape-R involves the relabeling of pedestrians based on the significance of their physical location. The dataset is utilized to assess the performance of various object detection models under the proposed PLoc criterion. Experimental results demonstrate that the average accuracy of all object detection models in identifying a person situated in the travel lane of an autonomous vehicle is lower than that for a person on a sidewalk. The dataset is publicly available at https://github.com/lnyrlyed/ApolloScape-R.git.
A Typology of Youth Civic Engagement in Urban Middle Schools

Youth civic engagement occupies a central space in applied developmental science. However, understanding of the processes and contexts in which early adolescents become civically engaged is still limited. This study draws on a sample of approximately 4,000 students from 11 urban middle schools in Tennessee to address several gaps in the civic engagement literature. First, we use latent class analysis to identify types of civic engagement in early adolescence. Second, we explore associations between types of engagement and youth behavioral and academic outcomes. Third, we focus on urban youth. A latent class analysis using survey items suggests a three-class structure for civic engagement in urban middle schools. One distinction is between students who are engaged and those who are not. Another distinction is that, among the engaged groups, one is engaged both behaviorally and attitudinally (social justice actors), whereas another has strong civic attitudes but infrequent civic behaviors (social justice sympathizers).
Dosimetric evaluation of the feasibility of stereotactic body radiotherapy for primary lung cancer with lobe-specific selective elective nodal irradiation

More than 10% of all patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for primary lung cancer develop regional lymph node recurrence. We evaluated the dosimetric feasibility of SBRT with lobe-specific selective elective nodal irradiation (ENI) on dose–volume histograms. A total of 21 patients were treated with SBRT for Stage I primary lung cancer between January 2010 and June 2012 at our institution. The extents of lobe-specific selective ENI fields were determined with reference to prior surgical reports. The ENI fields included lymph node stations (LNS) 3 + 4 + 11 for the right upper lobe tumors, LNS 7 + 11 for the right middle or lower lobe tumors, LNS 5 + 11 for the left upper lobe tumors, and LNS 7 + 11 for the left lower lobe tumors. A composite plan was generated by combining the ENI plan and the SBRT plan and recalculating for biologically equivalent doses of 2 Gy per fraction, using a linear quadratic model. The V20 of the lung, D1cm3 of the spinal cord, D1cm3 and D10cm3 of the esophagus and D10cm3 of the tracheobronchial wall were evaluated. Of the 21 patients, nine patients (43%) could not fulfill the dose constraints. In all these patients, the distance between the planning target volume (PTV) of ENI (PTVeni) and the PTV of SBRT (PTVsrt) was ≤2.0 cm. Of the three patients who developed regional metastasis, two patients had isolated lymph node failure, and the lymph node metastasis was included within the ENI field. When the distance between the PTVeni and PTVsrt is >2.0 cm, SBRT with selective ENI may therefore dosimetrically feasible.
A non‐functioning vitamin D receptor predisposes to leukaemoid reactions in mice

The vitamin D hormone 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], the biologically active form of vitamin D, is not only essential for mineral metabolism but may have important functions beyond calcium homoeostasis. By gene targeting, we have recently generated mice expressing a functionally inactive mutant vitamin D receptor (VDR). After a change in environmental conditions from specific pathogen free (SPF) conditions to a modified barrier system, a high percentage of aged mutant, but not wild‐type, mice developed a haematological disorder characterized by splenomegaly, granulocytosis, thrombocytosis and dysplastic changes with displacement of erythropoiesis in bone marrow during the following months. All cases were associated with very high serum levels of the acute phase reaction protein serum amyloid A (SAA). Serological testing of affected mice revealed antibodies against murine hepatitis virus (MHV). However, electron microscopy of spleen and bone marrow cells did not reveal virus particles, and clinical signs of infectious diseases were absent. We hypothesize that a non‐functioning VDR is associated with a latent defect in the regulation of myeloid cell differentiation and proliferation. Under the conditions of environmental stress, this latent defect may predispose to a deregulation of myelopoiesis in the form of a leukaemoid reaction accompanied by dysplastic changes. Thus, 1,25(OH)2D3 may be an important inhibitory factor in the onset and progression of myeloproliferative and myelodysplastic diseases. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.