Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Energy cost of physical activities in persons with spinal cord injury.

INTRODUCTION The objectives of this descriptive study were (a) to determine the energy expenditure of activities commonly performed by individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI) and summarize this information and (b) to measure resting energy expenditure and establish the value of 1 MET for individuals with SCI. METHODS One-hundred seventy adults with SCI were partitioned by gender, anatomical level of SCI, and American Spinal Injury Association designations for motor function. Twenty-seven physical activities, 12 recreational/sport and 15 daily living, were performed, while energy expenditure was measured continuously via a COSMED K4b portable metabolic system. In addition, 66 adult males with SCI completed 30 min of supine resting energy testing in a quiet environment. RESULTS Results for the 27 measured activities are reported in kilocalories per minute (kcal·min(-1)) and VO2 (mL·min(-1) and mL·kg(-1)·min(-1)). One MET for a person with SCI should be adjusted using 2.7 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1). Using 2.7 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1), the MET range for persons in the motor incomplete SCI group was 1.17 (supported standing) to 6.22 (wheeling on grass), and 2.26 (billiards) to 16.25 (hand cycling) for activities of daily living and fitness/recreation, respectively. The MET range for activities of daily living for persons in the group with motor complete SCI was 1.27 (dusting) to 4.96 (wheeling on grass) and 1.47 (bait casting) to 7.74 (basketball game) for fitness/recreation. CONCLUSIONS The foundation for a compendium of energy expenditure for physical activities for persons with SCI has been created with the completion of this study. In the future, others will update and expand the content of this compendium as has been the case with the original compendium for the able-bodied.
The Cytoplasmic Terminus of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Glycoprotein B Is Not Essential for Virion Egress and Infectivity

ABSTRACT Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)-encoded glycoprotein B (gB) is an important determinant of viral infectivity and virion egress. A small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based strategy was devised to inhibit KSHV gB gene expression. Transient cotransfection of plasmids constitutively expressing gB and anti-gB siRNAs in 293 cells substantially inhibited gB mRNA levels and protein production. Similarly, transient expression of siRNAs into the primary effusion lymphoma cell line BCBL-1 caused a substantial reduction of gB transcripts and protein synthesis. TaqMan real-time PCR assays against the lytic KSHV gene ORF59 and infectivity assays on 293 cells were employed to assess the effect of inhibiting gB synthesis on virion egress from BCBL-1 cells and infectivity on 293 cells, respectively. These experiments showed that gB was essential for virion egress and infectivity. Transfection of a codon-optimized gB gene with the first 540 nucleotides altered, and therefore not recognized by anti-gB siRNAs that target the native but not the codon-optimized sequence, efficiently rescued virion egress and infectivity in BCBL-1 cells in the presence of siRNAs inhibiting wild-type gB expression. To assess the role of the cytoplasmic domain of gB in virion egress, mutant gB genes were generated specifying carboxyl terminal truncations of 25 and 58 amino acids disrupting two prominent predicted α-helical domains associated with virus-induced cell fusion. A third truncation removed the entire predicted cytoplasmic terminus of 84 amino acids, while a fourth truncation removed 110 amino acids, including the terminal most hydrophobic, intramembrane anchoring sequence. Virion egress experiments revealed that all truncated gBs facilitated virion egress from BCBL-1 cells, with the exception of the largest 110-amino-acid truncation, which removed the gB anchoring sequence. Importantly, the gB truncation that removed the entire predicted cytoplasmic domain increased virion egress, suggesting the presence of a egress regulation domain located proximal to the intramembrane sequence within the cytoplasmic domain of gB. All supernatant virions were infectious on 293 cells, indicating that the carboxyl terminus of gB is not essential for either virion egress or virus infectivity.
Using the Central Limit Theorem for Belief Network Learning

Learning the parameters (conditional and marginal probabilities) from a data set is a common method of building a belief network. Consider the situation where we have many complete (no missing values), same-sized data sets randomly selected from the population. For each data set we learn the network parameters using only that data set. In such a situation there will be no uncertainty (posterior distribution) over the parameters in each graph, however, how will the parameters learnt differ from data set to data set? In this paper we show the parameter estimates across the data sets converge to a Gaussian distribution with a mean equal to the population (true) parameters. This result is obtained by a straightforward application of the central limit theorem to belief networks. We empirically verify the central tendency of the learnt parameters and show that the parameters’ variance can be accurately estimated by Efron’s bootstrap sampling approach. Learning multiple networks from bootstrap samples allows the calculation of each parameter’s expected value (as per standard belief networks) and also its second moment, the variance. Having the expectation and variance of each parameter has many potential applications. In this paper we discuss initial attempts to explore their use to obtain confidence intervals over belief network inferences and the use of Chebychev’s bound to determine if it is worth gathering more data for learning.
Crizotinib can overcome acquired resistance to CH5424802: is amplification of the MET gene a key factor?

Journal of Thoracic Oncology ® • Volume 9, Number 3, March 2014 To the Editor: We reported the case of an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive patient with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) who experienced a dramatic response to crizotinib. In addition to reporting the efficacy of crizotinib to the case in a critical condition such as DIC, we would like to add one more important finding regarding this case. The patient received four regimens of chemotherapy before the administration of crizotinib, and the fourth regimen, which was described as an investigational drug in the text, was in fact CH5424802 (alectinib). CH5424802 achieved a partial response (best percentage change in target lesions from baseline: −78%), and the duration of CH5424802 was 10.5 months, followed by the rapid progression of multiple liver metastases and the development of DIC. After the dramatic improvement of DIC achieved with crizotinib, a biopsy of the metastatic lesion in the liver was performed, the specimen of which demonstrated amplification of the met proto-oncogene (MET) gene, as shown in the Figure 1, although no resistant mutations in the ALK gene and no mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor and Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) were observed. In addition, a critical point is that crizotinib, which was originally developed as an inhibitor of the MET gene, was effective in this patient as shown in the original article. Based on these results, the MET gene was assumed to act as a driver of resistance for CH5424802, which has not been previously reported. The duration of crizotinib therapy was five months, and the patient died approximately 7 months after the start of crizotinib. With regard to the mechanism underlying the development of acquired resistance to ALK inhibitors, although resistance mechanisms, such as mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor and KRAS and amplification of the v-kit Hardy-Zuckerman 4 feline sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KIT) gene, as well as secondary mutations of the ALK gene, have been reported, no reports have indicated a resistance mechanism involving amplification of the MET gene. In vitro and in vivo analyses are warranted to confirm this novel resistance mechanism. In conclusion, we would like thoracic oncologists to know this critical information because the possible mechanism of acquired resistance to CH5424802 via the amplification of the MET gene is novel, and crizotinib, which is a dual inhibitor of ALK and MET, may be used to overcome this possible resistance mechanism. In the near future, a prospective study is warranted to investigate the significance of specific treatment strategies according to the resistance mechanism in ALK-positive patients with acquired resistance to ALK inhibitors, such as CH5424802. In such a study, a second biopsy should be routinely performed after the acquisition of resistance to the ALK inhibitors to examine amplification of the MET gene as well as other resistance mechanisms, if possible.
Automatic Constructive Appraisal as a Candidate Cause of Emotion

Critics of appraisal theory have difficulty accepting appraisal (with its constructive flavor) as an automatic process, and hence as a potential cause of most emotions. In response, some appraisal theorists have argued that appraisal was never meant as a causal process but as a constituent of emotional experience. Others have argued that appraisal is a causal process, but that it can be either rule-based or associative, and that the associative variant can be automatic. This article first proposes empirically investigating whether rule-based appraisal can also be automatic and then proposes investigating the automatic nature of constructive (instead of rule-based) appraisal because the distinction between rule-based and associative is problematic. Finally, it discusses experiments that support the view that constructive appraisal can be automatic.
Contact surface and material nonlinearity modeling of human lungs

A finite element model has been developed to investigate the effect of contact surfaces and hyperelastic material properties on the mechanical behavior of human lungs of one lung cancer patient. The three-dimensional model consists of four parts, namely the left lung, right lung, tumor in the left lung and chest wall. The interaction between the lungs and chest wall was modeled using frictionless surface-based contact. Hyperelastic material properties of the lungs are used in the model. The effect of the two parameters is investigated by tracking the tumor movement, and by comparing the analytical results to the patient bifurcation points: 45 points in each lung and 18 points around the tumor. The accuracy of the model is improved by including the contact surface and hyperelastic material properties. The average error and the standard deviation (SD) in modeling the displacement in the SI direction are reduced from 0.68 (SD = 0.34) cm in the elastic model to 0.09 (0.21) cm in the contact-hyperelastic model. Similarly, the average error (SD) of tumor location decreases from 0.71 (0.21) cm in the elastic material without contact to −0.03 (0.24) cm in the hyperelastic material with contact model.
Interpretation of patient-reported outcomes

A patient-reported outcome is any report on the status of a patient’s health condition that comes directly from the patient. Clear and meaningful interpretation of patient-reported outcome scores are fundamental to their use as they can be valuable in designing studies, evaluating interventions, educating consumers, and informing health policy makers involved with regulatory, reimbursement, and advisory agencies. Interpretation of patient-reported outcome scores, however, is often not well understood because of insufficient data or lack of experience or clinical understanding to draw from. This article provides an update review on two broad approaches – anchor-based and distributed-based – aimed at enhancing the understanding and meaning of patient-reported outcome scores. Anchor-based approaches include percentages based on thresholds, criterion-group interpretation, content-based interpretation, and clinical important difference. Distributed-based approaches include effect size, probability of relative benefit, and responder analysis and cumulative proportions. A third strategy called mediation analysis, which can elucidate a health condition measured by a patient-reported outcome in the context of an intervention’s mechanism of action, is also highlighted and illustrated. Mediation analysis in the context of interpretation of patient-reported outcome scores is a relatively new development. The logic and rationale of the three methods are expressed generally. While the three approaches themselves are not new, some applications of them taken from their examples published in the past few years are original and coalesced in this article to add real-life implications of the different methodologies in one integrated report.
Inefficient cerebral recruitment as a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia

Background Patients with schizophrenia and their first-degree relatives exhibit both abnormally diminished and increased neural activation during cognitive tasks. In particular, excessive task-related activity is often observed when tasks are easy, suggesting that inefficient cerebral recruitment may be a marker of vulnerability for schizophrenia. This hypothesis might best be tested using a very easy task, thus avoiding confounding by individual differences in task difficulty. Method Eighteen people with schizophrenia, 18 unaffected full siblings of patients with schizophrenia and 26 healthy controls performed an easy auditory target-detection task in a 3-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Groups were matched for accuracy on the task. Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses to non-target stimuli in participants with vulnerability for schizophrenia (siblings and patients) were compared with those of healthy controls, and those of patients with those of unaffected siblings. BOLD responses to targets were compared with baseline, across groups. Results Subjects with vulnerability for schizophrenia showed significant hyperactivation to non-targets in brain areas activated by targets in all groups, in addition to reduced deactivation to non-targets in areas suppressed by targets in all groups. Siblings showed greater activation than patients to non-targets in the medial frontal cortex. Patients exhibited significantly longer reaction times (RTs) than unaffected siblings and healthy controls. Conclusions Inefficient cerebral recruitment is a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia, marked by reduced suppression of brain areas normally deactivated in response to task stimuli, and increased activation of areas normally activated in response to task stimuli. Moreover, siblings show additional activation in the medial frontal cortex that may be protective.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Will agroforests vanish ? The case of damar agroforests in Indonesia

Resin producing agroforestry in the Krui area of Sumatra in Indonesia is presented as an environmentally friendly, income generating land-use system which contributes to both development and conservation objectives. We studied the change in household income portfolios in three communities in the Krui area. The studies revealed that in the period 1995–2004 agroforestry remained the main source of income. We predict, however, that due to declining resin productivity per hectare, and rising price and demand for timber, an increasing number of farmers will cut their mature agroforests in the near future. At the same time our data suggests that farmers will continue tree planting activities. In result old agroforests may vanish while new ones will be established.
What is the association of smoking and alcohol use with the increase in social inequality in mortality in Denmark? A nationwide register-based study

Objectives The aim of this paper is to estimate the impact of smoking and alcohol use on the increase in social inequality in mortality in Denmark in the period 1985–2009. Design A nationwide register-based study. Setting Denmark. Participants The whole Danish population aged 30 years or more in the period 1985–2009. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome is mortality rates in relation to educational attainments calculated with and without deaths related to smoking and alcohol use. An absolute measure of inequality in mortality is applied along with a result on the direct contribution from smoking and alcohol use on the absolute difference in mortality rates. The secondary outcome is life expectancy in relation to educational attainments. Results Since 1985, Danish overall mortality rates have decreased. Alongside the improvement in mortality, the absolute difference in the mortality rate (per 100 000 persons) between the lowest and the highest educated quartile grew from 465 to 611 among men and from 250 to 386 among women. Smoking and alcohol use have caused 75% of the increase among men and 97% of the increase among women. Among men the increase was mainly caused by alcohol. In women the increase was mainly caused by smoking. Conclusions The main explanation for the increase in social inequality in mortality since the mid-1980s is smoking and alcohol use. A significant reduction in the social inequality in mortality can only happen if the prevention of smoking and alcohol use are targeted to the lower educated part of the Danish population.
Qualitative analysis of US Department of veterans affairs mental health clinician perspectives on patient-centered care.

OBJECTIVE Enhanced patient involvement in care has the potential to improve patient experiences and health outcomes. As such, large national and global healthcare systems and organizations, including the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), have made patient-centered care a primary goal. Little is known about mental health clinician perspectives on, and experiences with, providing patient-centered care. Our main objective was to better understand VA mental health clinicians' perceptions of patient-centered care, and ascertain possible facilitators and barriers to patient-centered practices in mental health settings. DESIGN Qualitative study of six focus groups conducted in late 2013. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Thirty-five mental health clinicians and staff from a large VA Medical Center. OUTCOMES Transcripts were analyzed using an inductive and deductive thematic analysis approach. RESULTS Participants described patient-centered care ideally as a process of shared discovery, and expressed general enthusiasm for patient-centered care. Participants described several ongoing patient-centered care practices but conveyed concerns about the practicalities of its full implementation. Participants expressed a strong desire to change the current biomedical culture and policies of the institution that may hinder clinicians' flexibility and clinician-clinician collaboration when serving patients. In particular, clinicians worried about being held responsible for addressing all of the needs or goals that a patient may identify. CONCLUSIONS If patient-centered care is to be practiced fully in mental health settings, healthcare institutions need to develop multimodal strategies to enhance clinician-clinician and clinician-patient collaborations to promote and support a focus on discovery and shared accountability for outcomes.
Cost-effectiveness of a telephone-delivered education programme to prevent early childhood caries in a disadvantaged area: a cohort study

Objectives Early childhood caries is a highly destructive dental disease which is compounded by the need for young children to be treated under general anaesthesia. In Australia, there are long waiting periods for treatment at public hospitals. In this paper, we examined the costs and patient outcomes of a prevention programme for early childhood caries to assess its value for government services. Design Cost-effectiveness analysis using a Markov model. Setting Public dental patients in a low socioeconomic, socially disadvantaged area in the State of Queensland, Australia. Participants Children aged 6 months to 6 years received either a telephone prevention programme or usual care. Primary and secondary outcome measures A mathematical model was used to assess caries incidence and public dental treatment costs for a cohort of children. Healthcare costs, treatment probabilities and caries incidence were modelled from 6 months to 6 years of age based on trial data from mothers and their children who received either a telephone prevention programme or usual care. Sensitivity analyses were used to assess the robustness of the findings to uncertainty in the model estimates. Results By age 6 years, the telephone intervention programme had prevented an estimated 43 carious teeth and saved £69 984 in healthcare costs per 100 children. The results were sensitive to the cost of general anaesthesia (cost-savings range £36 043–£97 298) and the incidence of caries in the prevention group (cost-savings range £59 496–£83 368) and usual care (cost-savings range £46 833–£93 328), but there were cost savings in all scenarios. Conclusions A telephone intervention that aims to prevent early childhood caries is likely to generate considerable and immediate patient benefits and cost savings to the public dental health service in disadvantaged communities.
Acceptability of Lopinavir/R Pellets (Minitabs), Tablets and Syrups in HIV-Infected Children

Background Lopinavir/ritonavir ‘pellets’ were recently tentatively approved for licensing. We describe their acceptability for infants and children up to 48 weeks. Methods CHAPAS-2 was a randomized, two-period crossover trial comparing syrup and pellets in HIV-infected infants (n=19, group A, aged 3–<12 months) and children (n=26, group B, 1–<4 years) and tablets and pellets in older children (n=32, group C, 4–<13 years) from two clinics (‘JCRC’, ‘PIDC’) in Uganda. At week 8, all groups chose which formulation to continue. Acceptability data were collected at weeks 0, 4, 8, 12 and 48. Results For groups A and B overall, the proportion preferring pellets increased between week 0 and week 12 and decreased at week 48 (group A 37%, 72%, 44%; group B 12%, 64% and 36%, respectively), although there were marked differences between clinics. For group C, pellets were progressively less preferred to tablets over time: 41%, 19% and 13% at weeks 0, 12 and 48, respectively. During follow-up unpleasant taste was similarly reported among young children taking pellets and syrups (37%/43% group A; 29%/26% group B), whereas among older children, pellets tasted worse than tablets (40%/2%). No participants reported problems with storage/transportation for pellets (0%/0%) unlike syrups (23%/13%). Conclusions For children <4 years, pellets were more acceptable at week 12 but not week 48. Clinic differences could refect bias among health-care workers for different formulations. Pellets taste similar to syrup, are easier to store and transport than syrup and represent an alternative formulation for young children unable to swallow tablets; improvements in taste and support for healthcare workers may help sustain acceptability.