Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Randomized Trial of Tranexamic Acid to Reduce Blood Transfusion for Scoliosis Surgery

Pediatric patients who undergo posterior spinal fusion surgery to correct scoliosis often require multiple blood transfusions. Tranexamic acid is a synthetic antifibrinolytic drug that reduces transfusion requirements in cardiac surgery and total knee arthroplasty. We evaluated the efficacy of prophylactic tranexamic acid to reduce perioperative blood transfusion requirements in a prospective, double-blinded, placebo control study. Forty patients, 9–18 yr of age, were randomized to either tranexamic acid (initial dose of 10 mg/kg and infusion of 1 mg · kg−1 · h−1) or placebo (isotonic saline). Perioperative management was standardized. A uniform transfusion threshold for noncell saved red blood cells was 7.0 g/dL. The total amount of blood transfused in the perioperative period was significantly reduced in the Tranexamic group (P = 0.045). No thrombotic complications were detected in either group. The administration of prophylactic tranexamic acid in patients with scoliosis undergoing posterior spinal fusion surgery has the potential to reduce perioperative blood transfusion requirements.
Laboratory experience with radiometric detection of bacteremia with three culture media

In two long-term studies, the BACTEC radiometric system for detection of bacteremia was evaluated with three culture media each: (i) BACTEC media 6A (for aerobes) and 7B (for anaerobes) plus a thioglycolate medium and (ii) BACTEC media 6A, 7B, and 8A (hypertonic). In study 1, clinically significant isolates were identified in 1,873 (13.9%) of 13,432 blood cultures with all three media. The thioglycolate medium revealed 143 (1.1%) organisms not recovered from the 6A and 7B media. In study 2, isolates were identified in 1,135 (12.9%) of 8,759 cultures with all three media; 104 (1.2%) organisms were isolated only from the hypertonic medium. The increased yield of positive cultures in the three-medium system is likely due to the larger volume of blood cultured.
Cancer of the pancreas: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.

M. Ducreux1,2, A. Sa. Cuhna2,3, C. Caramella4, A. Hollebecque1,5, P. Burtin1, D. Goéré6, T. Seufferlein7, K. Haustermans8, J. L. Van Laethem9, T. Conroy10 & D. Arnold11, on behalf of the ESMO Guidelines Committee* Département de médecine, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif; Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Sud, le Kremlin Bicêtre; Département de Chirugie Hépato-biliaire, Hopital Paul Brousse, Villejuif; Département d’imagerie; Département d’Innovation Thérapeutique; Département de Chirurgie Générale, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France; Department of Internal Medicine I, Ulm University Hospital Medical Center, Ulm, Germany; Department of Radiation Oncology, Leuven Kankerinstitute, Leuven; Departement of Gastroenterology, Hôpital Erasme, Cliniques Universitaires de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium; Département de médecine, Institut de Cancérologie de Lorraine, Vandoeuvre lés Nancy, France; Department of Medical Oncology, Tumor Biology Center, Freiburg, Germany
From Conditional Probability Measurements to Global Matrix Representations on Variant Construction – A Particle Model of Intrinsic Quantum Waves for Double Path Experiments

Quantum statistics play a key role in Quantum Mechanics QM [Feynman et al. (1965,1989); Penrose (2004)]. Two types of Double Slit Experiment are used to explore the core mysteries of quantum interactive behaviors. These are standard Double Slit Experiments with correlated signals and Single Photon Experiments that use ultra low intensity and lengthy exposures to demonstrate quanta self-interference patterns. The key significance is that intrinsic wave properties are observed in both environments [Barrow et al. (2004); Hawkingand &Mlodinow (2010)].
Accuracy of Brief Screening Tools for Identifying Postpartum Depression Among Adolescent Mothers

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and 3 subscales for identifying postpartum depression among primiparous adolescent mothers. METHODS: Mothers enrolled in a randomized controlled trial to prevent postpartum depression completed a psychiatric diagnostic interview and the 10-item EPDS at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum. Three subscales of the EPDS were assessed as brief screening tools: 3-item anxiety subscale (EPDS-3), 7-item depressive symptoms subscale (EPDS-7), and 2-item subscale (EPDS-2) that resemble the Patient Health Questionnaire-2. Receiver operating characteristic curves and the areas under the curves for each tool were compared to assess accuracy. The sensitivities and specificities of each screening tool were calculated in comparison with diagnostic criteria for a major depressive disorder. Repeated-measures longitudinal analytical techniques were used. RESULTS: A total of 106 women contributed 289 postpartum visits; 18% of the women met criteria for incident postpartum depression by psychiatric diagnostic interview. When used as continuous measures, the full EPDS, EPDS-7, and EPDS-2 performed equally well (area under the curve >0.9). Optimal cutoff scores for a positive depression screen for the EPDS and EPDS-7 were lower (≥9 and ≥7, respectively) than currently recommended cutoff scores (≥10). At optimal cutoff scores, the EPDS and EPDS-7 both had sensitivities of 90% and specificities of >85%. CONCLUSIONS: The EPDS, EPDS-7, and EPDS-2 are highly accurate at identifying postpartum depression among adolescent mothers. In primary care pediatric settings, the EPDS and its shorter subscales have potential for use as effective depression screening tools.
Intracardiac light catheter for rapid scanning transmural absorbance spectroscopy of perfused myocardium: measurement of myoglobin oxygenation and mitochondria redox state.

Absorbance spectroscopy of intrinsic cardiac chromophores provides nondestructive assessment of cytosolic oxygenation and mitochondria redox state. Isolated perfused heart spectroscopy is usually conducted by collecting reflected light from the heart surface, which represents a combination of surface scattering events and light that traversed portions of the myocardium. Reflectance spectroscopy with complex surface scattering effects in the beating heart leads to difficulty in quantitating chromophore absorbance. In this study, surface scattering was minimized and transmural path length optimized by placing a light source within the left ventricular chamber while monitoring transmurally transmitted light at the epicardial surface. The custom-designed intrachamber light catheter was a flexible coaxial cable (2.42-Fr) terminated with an encapsulated side-firing LED of 1.8 × 0.8 mm, altogether similar in size to a Millar pressure catheter. The LED catheter had minimal impact on aortic flow and heart rate in Langendorff perfusion and did not impact stability of the left ventricule of the working heart. Changes in transmural absorbance spectra were deconvoluted using a library of chromophore reference spectra to quantify the relative contribution of specific chromophores to the changes in measured absorbance. This broad-band spectral deconvolution approach eliminated errors that may result from simple dual-wavelength absorbance intensity. The myoglobin oxygenation level was only 82.2 ± 3.0%, whereas cytochrome c and cytochrome a + a3 were 13.3 ± 1.4% and 12.6 ± 2.2% reduced, respectively, in the Langendorff-perfused heart. The intracardiac illumination strategy permits transmural optical absorbance spectroscopy in perfused hearts, which provides a noninvasive real-time monitor of cytosolic oxygenation and mitochondria redox state.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Here, a novel nondestructive real-time approach for monitoring intrinsic indicators of cardiac metabolism and oxygenation is described using a catheter-based transillumination of the left ventricular free wall together with complete spectral analysis of transmitted light. This approach is a significant improvement in the quality of cardiac optical absorbance spectroscopic metabolic analyses.
COMPUTATIONAL MODELLING OF MOTIVE-MANAGEMENT PROCESSES

This is a 5 page summary with three diagrams of the main objectives and some work in progress at the University of Birmingham Cognition and Affect project. involving: Professor Glyn Humphreys (School of Psychology), and Luc Beaudoin, Chris Paterson, Tim Read, Edmund Shing, Ian Wright, Ahmed El-Shafei, and (from October 1994) Chris Complin (research students). The project is concerned with "global" design requirements for coping simultaneously with coexisting but possibly unrelated goals, desires, preferences, intentions, and other kinds of motivators, all at different stages of processing. Our work builds on and extends seminal ideas of H.A. Simon (1967). We are exploring "broad and shallow" architectures combining varied capabilities most of which are not implemented in great depth. The poster summarises some ideas about management and meta-management processes, attention filtering, and the relevance to emotional states involved "perturbances", where there is partial loss of control of attention.
In Vivo Instruction of Suppressor Commitment in Naive T Cells

The induction of antigen-specific tolerance in the mature immune system of the intact organism has met with limited success. Therefore, nonspecific immunosuppression has been the treatment of choice to prevent unwanted immunity. Here, it is shown that prolonged subcutaneous infusion of low doses of peptide by means of osmotic pumps transforms mature T cells into CD4+25+ suppressor cells that can persist for long periods of time in the absence of antigen and confer specific immunologic tolerance upon challenge with antigen. The described procedure resembles approaches of tolerance induction used decades ago, induces tolerance in the absence of immunity, and holds the promise to become an effective means of inducing antigen-specific tolerance prospectively, whereas its power to suppress already ongoing immune responses remains to be determined.
Intracranial Pressure Monitors in Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review

We conducted a systematic review to examine the relationship between intracranial pressure monitors (ICP) monitors and mortality in traumatic brain injury (TBI). We systematically searched for articles that met the following criteria: (1) adults patients, (2) TBI, (3) use of an ICP monitor, (4) point estimate for mortality with ICP monitoring (5) adjustment for potential confounders. Six observational studies were identified with 11,371 patients. There was marked between-study heterogeneity that precluded a pooled analysis. Patients with ICP monitors had different clinical characteristics and received more ICP targeted therapy in the ICU. Four studies found no significant relationship between ICP monitoring and survival, while the other two studies demonstrated conflicting results. Significant confounding by indication in observational studies limits the examination of isolated TBI interventions. More research should focus on interventions that affect TBI careplan systems. Further research is needed to identify which subset of severe TBI patients may benefit from ICP monitoring.
Factors Related to Vision Care in an Older Adult Cohort

Purpose. This study provides cross-sectional data on eye care utilization in a community-based adult population. Methods. Data are from a questionnaire administered during the 7-year follow-up of the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study in 2000 to 2002. Participants in the population-based Beaver Dam Eye Study were eligible for the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study, which began in 1997. The primary outcome was self-reported vision testing within the past year. Results. Subject ages ranged from 55 to 99 years (n = 2433), and 60.4% were female. Fifty-three percent of subjects reported they had their vision tested in the past year. Diabetes was self-reported by 11.5% of subjects, and 70.9% of diabetic participants had their vision tested in the past year. A current hospitalization or health insurance plan was reported by 98.6% of subjects. In multivariate analyses, self-reported factors significantly associated with having a vision test in the past year were female gender (odds ratio [OR] = 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06–1.52), current use of refractive correction for distance (OR = 1.98; 95% CI 1.56–2.52), glaucoma (OR = 3.52; 95% CI 2.37–5.24), cataract surgery (OR = 1.57; 95% CI 1.21–2.03), age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) (OR = 1.74; 95% CI 1.22–2.47), diabetes (OR = 2.46; 95% CI 1.83–3.31), visiting a primary care practitioner for any reason in the past year (OR = 1.72; 95% CI 1.32–2.25), having a hearing test in the past year (OR = 1.79; 95% CI 1.40–2.28), and the cessation of driving because of poor vision (OR = 1.64; 95% CI 1.16–2.52). In participants 65 years of age or older, having private insurance was associated with increased odds (OR = 3.39, 95% CI 1.82–6.31) of vision testing in the past year. Conclusion. This study suggests that chronic ocular conditions, diabetes, health insurance beyond government entitlements, and the use of other healthcare services are associated with increased eye care utilization.
Outdoor Ice Accretion Estimation of Wind Turbine Blades Using Computer Vision

In this paper, we present a new computer-vision based methodology to address the problem of remote ice detection and measurement on wind turbines operating in cold climate. Icing has a significant impact, affecting the productivity, causing premature wear, malfunction and damages that are hard to track. Manufacturers and operators are facing unpredictable losses that can reach millions of dollars. Algorithms were developed and experimented on images of wind turbines acquired by digital camera in outdoor conditions. Experiments show interesting and promising results for the future.
Institutionalised elderly people in Catalonia: How many are they and how are they?

The institutionalised population aged 65 and over in Catalonia has been on the constant upswing in recent decades because of both improved survival and the expansion of institutionalisation. Although in relative terms it only comprised 4% of population aged 65 and over in 2011, its prevalence increases dramatically beyond age 80. Because this population is systematically not taken into account in surveys addressed to the population living in households, nor is it used in sociological analyses, it is essential to ascertain its composition in order to correct biases.We use data for Catalonia from the last four editions of the census (1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011) with a twofold objective: to quantify the population aged 65 or older not living in private households in Catalonia and to study its evolution during the last three decades. To complement this data, we analyse the Health Survey of the Institutionalized Population in Catalonia (ESPI, 2006) with the aim of developing a profile of the population living in residential care facilities. People living in institutions cannot be considered homogeneous, although there is a high presence of very old women. A large share of them fits the profile of widows over the age of 80, with low education and income levels, who previously lived alone and are dependent for functional activity or have deteriorated mental health, and who state that they entered the institution because of issues related to health or autonomy. However, a cluster analysis has identified other groups that show quite different situations. These results reveal the importance not only of deteriorating health in the process of institutionalisation but also the presence or absence of a family network, which is an important resource in dealing with the ageing process at home, because of either the need for assistance or the company and wellbeing it can provide.Key words: elderly, functional dependency, living arrangements, institutionalisation, family networkOriginal source: Revista Catalana de Sociologia, 31(2): 5-23 (2016)
Automated analysis of load testing results

Many software systems must be load tested to ensure that they can scale up while maintaining functional and performance requirements. Current industrial practices for checking the results of a load test remain ad hoc, involving high level checks. Few research efforts are devoted to the automated analysis of load testing results, mainly due to the limited access to large scale systems for use as case studies. Automated and systematic load testing analysis is going to be much needed, as many services have been offered online to an increasing number of users. This dissertation proposes automated approaches to detect functional and performance problems in a load test by mining the recorded load testing data (execution logs and performance metrics). Case studies show that our approaches scale well to large enterprise systems and output high precision results that help analysts detect load testing problems.
Spatial and temporal fluctuations of methane production in anoxic coastal marine sediments

In vitro rates of net methane production and sulfate reduction were measured at various depths from October 1979 to November 1981 in anoxic coastal marine sediments from Cape Lookout Bight, N.C. In sulfate-rich surface sediments at l-4 cm, calculated methane production rates were within the experimental error of 0.011 mM CH,. d-‘. The depth of maximum methane production rate varied from 7-30 cm from summer to winter with summer maxima at the shallower depth. A maximum rate of 0.305 mM CH,*d-’ was measured at 7-10 cm during July 1981. At intermediate depths low rates of methane production were observed in the presence of low concentrations of dissolved sulfate; however, these rates were near or within experimental error. Integrated rates of sediment column methane production ranged from 20 pmol*m+*hin April to 2,000 in August. These rates compared well with previously measured CH, sedimentwater fluxes measured in sediments from the same field site in 1977. The total methane flux then ranged from 50 to 2,600 pmol CH4.m-2*h-1
CCL4 Protects From Type 1 Diabetes by Altering Islet β-Cell–Targeted Inflammatory Responses

We previously reported that interleukin (IL)-4 treatment of nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice elevates intrapancreatic CCL4 expression and protects from type 1 diabetes. Here, we show that antibody neutralization of CCL4 abrogates the ability of T-cells from IL-4–treated NOD mice to transfer protection against type 1 diabetes. Intradermal delivery of CCL4 via a plasmid vector stabilized by incorporation of the Epstein-Barr virus EBNA1/oriP episomal maintenance replicon (pHERO8100-CCL4) to NOD mice beginning at later stages of disease progression protects against type 1 diabetes. This protection was associated with a Th2-like response in the spleen and pancreas; decreased recruitment of activated CD8+ T-cells to islets, accompanied by diminished CCR5 expression on CD8+ T-cells; and regulatory T-cell activity in the draining pancreatic lymph nodes. Thus, inflammatory responses that target islet β-cells are suppressed by CCL4, which implicates the use of CCL4 therapeutically to prevent type 1 diabetes.
Severe immunodeficiency associated with a human immunodeficiency virus 1 NEF/3'-long terminal repeat transgene

We have generated several transgenic mouse strains carrying a human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) NEF/3' long terminal repeat (LTR) transgene under control of a T cell-specific promoter-enhancer element, showing a depletion of CD4+ T cells in the thymus and periphery. The immunological functions of the line with the most dramatic changes in lymphocyte populations, B6/338L, were analyzed in greater detail. The presence of the transgene in the heterozygous animal is associated with a dominant severe immunodeficiency. Older animals develop lymph- adenopathy and splenomegaly. CD4+CD8+ and CD4+CD8- single positive thymocytes already are depleted in these mice at the earliest stages in ontogeny, and peripheral T cells are reduced in frequency and present cell surface marker expression, which is characteristic for memory and activated T cells. The immunological response of B6/338L mice to several viral infections is also greatly impaired. Thus, the HIV-1 NEF/3' LTR as transgene in T cells can cause immunodeficiency and disease with striking similarities to a known retrovirus-induced immunodeficiency called murine AIDS (H. C. Morse III, S. K. Chattopadhyay, M. Makino, T. N. Frederickson, A. W. Hugin, and J. W. Hartley. 1992. AIDS. 6:607).
Marriage and Psychological Wellbeing: The Role of Social Support

The married consistently report better levels of psychological health compared to the unmarried. Using a cross-sectional questionnaire design, this research examines to what extent this relationship between marital status and psychological wellbeing can be explained by perceived social support. The data reveal that, after controlling for demographic variables, number of daily hassles and coping strategies, widowed and divorced adults report significantly poorer psychological health compared to those who remain married. Moreover, while there was limited evidence that perceived social support moderates the association between marital status and psychological wellbeing, perceived social support did emerge as a significant mediator of this relationship. Perceived social support explained the influence of being widowed, divorced and never married on psychological wellbeing, such that lower levels of support in these groups resulted in poorer psychological health. Thus, social support may be an important variable for interventions to minimize the negative consequences of a transition out of marriage.
Autologus bone marrow stem cells in atrophic acne scars: A pilot study

Abstract Background: Acne scar is a very distressing and difficult problem for physicians and patients. Management of cutaneous scarring from acne can be challenging and confusing. The available modalities may be effective, having considerable morbidity and long downtime. Besides, they may not have the same efficacy in different skin types or acne scar types. Objective: To evaluate the short-term safety and efficacy of autologous bone marrow (BM) stem cells (SCs) in treating atrophic acne scars. Methods: Fourteen patients with moderate to severe atrophic acne scars were included. All patients were subjected to single session of autologous BMSCs therapy. Each patient received 5 μg/kg/day granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) as a single subcutaneous dose for 2 successive days before BM aspiration. The SC-containing solution was injected under each scar intradermally. The scars of the patients were clinically assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively before and after 6 months. The patients were given a preformed questionnaire Cardiff acne disability index (CADI) before and after treatment. Results: After 6 months of the injection, there was significant improvement in the qualitative grading, quantitative grading and CADI scores. All types of scars showed significant improvement. No significant adverse effects were reported in any patient. Conclusion: Autologous BMSCs seem to be a safe and effective treatment option for the management of all types of atrophic facial acne scars.