Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Driving Difficulties Among Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Disorders.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE Neurodegenerative disorders impact fitness to drive of older drivers, but on-road driving studies investigating patients with different neurodegenerative disorders are scarce. A variety of driving errors have been reported in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), but it is unclear which types of driving errors occur most frequently. Moreover, patients with other neurodegenerative disorders than AD typically present with different symptoms and impairments, therefore different driving errors may be expected. METHODS Patients with AD (n = 80), patients with other neurodegenerative disorders with cognitive decline (i.e., vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies/Parkinson's disease, n = 59), and healthy older drivers (n = 45) participated in a fitness-to-drive assessment study including on-road driving. RESULTS Patients with AD performed significantly worse than healthy older drivers on operational, tactical, visual, and global aspects of on-road driving. In patients with AD, on-road measures were significantly associated with 'off-road' measures. Patients with neurodegenerative disorders other than AD showed large overlap in the types of driving errors. Several driving errors were identified that appear to be characteristic for patients with particular neurodegenerative disorders. CONCLUSION Patients from each group of neurodegenerative disorders commonly display tactical driving errors regarding lane positioning, slow driving, observation of the blind spot, and scanning behavior. Several other tactical and operational driving errors, including not communicating with cyclists and unsteady steering, were more frequently observed in patients with non-AD neurodegenerative disorders. These findings have implications for on-road and 'off-road' fitness-to-drive assessments for patients with neurodegenerative disorders with cognitive decline.
High-flow oxygen through nasal cannula in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure.

BACKGROUND Whether noninvasive ventilation should be administered in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure is debated. Therapy with high-flow oxygen through a nasal cannula may offer an alternative in patients with hypoxemia. METHODS We performed a multicenter, open-label trial in which we randomly assigned patients without hypercapnia who had acute hypoxemic respiratory failure and a ratio of the partial pressure of arterial oxygen to the fraction of inspired oxygen of 300 mm Hg or less to high-flow oxygen therapy, standard oxygen therapy delivered through a face mask, or noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients intubated at day 28; secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality in the intensive care unit and at 90 days and the number of ventilator-free days at day 28. RESULTS A total of 310 patients were included in the analyses. The intubation rate (primary outcome) was 38% (40 of 106 patients) in the high-flow-oxygen group, 47% (44 of 94) in the standard group, and 50% (55 of 110) in the noninvasive-ventilation group (P=0.18 for all comparisons). The number of ventilator-free days at day 28 was significantly higher in the high-flow-oxygen group (24±8 days, vs. 22±10 in the standard-oxygen group and 19±12 in the noninvasive-ventilation group; P=0.02 for all comparisons). The hazard ratio for death at 90 days was 2.01 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 3.99) with standard oxygen versus high-flow oxygen (P=0.046) and 2.50 (95% CI, 1.31 to 4.78) with noninvasive ventilation versus high-flow oxygen (P=0.006). CONCLUSIONS In patients with nonhypercapnic acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, treatment with high-flow oxygen, standard oxygen, or noninvasive ventilation did not result in significantly different intubation rates. There was a significant difference in favor of high-flow oxygen in 90-day mortality. (Funded by the Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique Interrégional 2010 of the French Ministry of Health; FLORALI ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01320384.).
Anomalous spin Hall angle of a metallic ferromagnet determined by a multiterminal spin injection/detection device

We report on the determination of the anomalous spin Hall angle in the ferromagnetic metal alloy cobalt-iron (Co$_{25}$Fe$_{75}$, CoFe). This is accomplished by measuring the spin injection/detection efficiency in a multiterminal device with nanowires of platinum (Pt) and CoFe deposited onto the magnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet (Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$, YIG). Applying a spin-resistor model to our multiterminal spin transport data, we determine the magnon conductivity in YIG, the spin conductance at the YIG/CoFe interface and finally the anomalous spin Hall angle of CoFe as a function of its spin diffusion length in a single device. Our experiments clearly reveal a negative anomalous spin Hall angle of the ferromagnetic metal CoFe, but a vanishing ordinary spin Hall angle. This is in contrast to the results reported for the ferromagnetic metals Co and permalloy.
Approximate LSTMs for Time-Constrained Inference: Enabling Fast Reaction in Self-Driving Cars

The need to recognize long-term dependencies in sequential data, such as video streams, has made long short-term memory (LSTM) networks a prominent artificial intelligence model for many emerging applications. However, the high computational and memory demands of LSTMs introduce challenges in their deployment on latency-critical systems such as self-driving cars, which are equipped with limited computational resources on-board. In this article, we introduce a progressive inference computing scheme that combines model pruning and computation restructuring leading to the best possible approximation of the result given the available latency budget of the target application. The proposed methodology enables mission-critical systems to make informed decisions even in early stages of the computation, based on approximate LSTM inference, meeting their specifications on safety and robustness. Our experiments on a state-of-the-art driving model for autonomous vehicle navigation demonstrate that the proposed approach can yield outputs with similar quality of result compared to a faithful LSTM baseline, up to 415× faster (198× on average, 76× geo. mean).
Black Hole and Neutron Star Binary Mergers in Triple Systems. II. Merger Eccentricity and Spin–Orbit Misalignment

We study the dynamical signatures of black hole (BH) and neutron star (NS) binary mergers via Lidov–Kozai oscillations induced by tertiary companions in hierarchical triple systems. For each type of binary (BH–BH and BH–NS), we explore a wide range of binary/triple parameters that lead to binary mergers and determine the distributions of merger time Tm, eccentricity (em), and spin–orbit misalignment angle ( ) when the binary enters the LIGO/VIRGO band (10 Hz). We use the double-averaged (over both orbits) and single-averaged (over the inner orbit) secular equations, as well as N-body integration, to evolve systems with different hierarchy levels, including the leading-order post-Newtonian effect, de Sitter spin–orbit coupling, and gravitational radiation. We find that for merging BH–BH binaries with comparable masses, about 7% have em > 0.1 and 0.7% have em > 0.9. The majority of the mergers have significant eccentricities in the LISA band. The BH spin evolution and the final spin–orbit misalignment are correlated with the orbital evolution and em. Mergers with negligible em (≲10−3) have a distribution of that peaks around 90° (and thus favoring a projected binary spin parameter χeff ∼ 0), while mergers with larger em have more isotropic spin–orbit misalignments. For typical BH–NS binaries, strong octupole effects lead to more mergers with nonnegligible em (with ∼18% of the mergers having em > 0.1 and 2.5% having em > 0.9), and the final BH spin axis tends to be randomly oriented. Measurements or constraints on eccentric mergers and from LIGO/VIRGO and LISA would provide useful diagnostics on the dynamical formation of merging BH or NS binaries in triples. The recently detected BH merger events may implicate such dynamical formation channel.
Generation and functional characterization of anti-human and anti-mouse IL-36R antagonist monoclonal antibodies

ABSTRACT Deficiency of interleukin (IL)-36 receptor antagonist (DITRA) syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in IL36RN. IL-36R is a cell surface receptor and a member of the IL1R family that is involved in inflammatory responses triggered in skin and other epithelial tissues. Accumulating evidence suggests that IL-36R signaling may play a role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Therapeutic intervention of IL-36R signaling offers an innovative treatment paradigm for targeting epithelial cell-mediated inflammatory diseases such as the life-threatening psoriasis variant called generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP). We report the discovery and characterization of MAB92, a potent, high affinity anti-human IL-36 receptor antagonistic antibody that blocks human IL-36 ligand (α, β and γ)-mediated signaling. In vitro treatment with MAB92 directly inhibits human IL-36R-mediated signaling and inflammatory cytokine production in primary human keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts. MAB92 shows exquisite species specificity toward human IL-36R and does not cross react to murine IL-36R. To enable in vivo pharmacology studies, we developed a mouse cross-reactive antibody, MAB04, which exhibits overlapping binding and pharmacological activity as MAB92. Epitope mapping indicates that MAB92 and MAB04 bind primarily to domain-2 of the human and mouse IL-36R proteins, respectively. Treatment with MAB04 abrogates imiquimod and IL-36-mediated skin inflammation in the mouse, further supporting an important role for IL-36R signaling in epithelial cell-mediated inflammation.
Quality of postoperative pain management in Ethiopia: A prospective longitudinal study

Background The annual number of surgical operations performed is increasing throughout the world. With this rise in the number of surgeries performed, so too, the challenge of effectively managing postoperative pain. In Africa, there are scanty data available that make use of multi-center data to characterize the quality of postoperative pain management. In this study using a longitudinal data, we have attempted to characterize the quality of postoperative pain management; among patients scheduled for major elective orthopedic, gynecologic and general surgery. Methods This prospective longitudinal study evaluated the quality of postoperative pain management in patients undergoing elective general, gynecologic, and orthopedic surgery. We quantified the prevalence of moderate to severe postoperative pain with the International Pain Outcome Questionnaire and the corresponding adequacy of treatment with the pain management index. At four time points after surgery, we estimated pain severity, its physical and emotional interference, and patient satisfaction. Results Moderate to severe postoperative pain was present in 88.2% of patients, and pain was inadequately treated in 58.4% of these patients. Chronic pain (β = 0.346, 95% CI: 0.212, 0.480) predicted patients’ worst pain intensity. Gender was not associated with the worst pain intensity or percentage of time spent in severe pain. Patient’s pain intensity did not predicted the level of satisfaction. Conclusions The prevalence of moderate to severe postoperative pain and its functional interference is high in Ethiopian patients. The treatment provided to patients is inadequate and not in line with international recommendations and standards.
Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV and risk factors in Irish prisoners: results of a national cross sectional survey

Abstract Objectives: To determine the prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen, hepatitis C virus, and HIV in the prison population of the Republic of Ireland and to examine risk factors for infection. Design: Cross sectional, anonymous, unlinked survey, with self completed risk factor questionnaire and provision of oral fluid specimen for antibody testing. Setting: Nine of the 15 prisons in the Republic of Ireland. Participants: 1366 prisoners, of whom 1205 (57 women) participated. In the smaller prisons all prisoners were surveyed, while in the three largest prisons one half of the population was randomly sampled. Three small prisons believed not to have a problem with injecting drug use were excluded. Main outcome measures: Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen, antibodies to hepatitis C virus, and antibodies to HIV. Self reported risk factor status. Results: Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen was 104/1193 (8.7%; 95% confidence interval 7.2% to 10.5%), to hepatitis C virus, 442/1193 (37%; 34.3% to 39.9%), and to HIV, 24/1193 (2%; 1.3% to 3%). The most important predictor of being positive for hepatitis B and hepatitis C was a history of injecting drug use. Thirty four women (60%) and 474 men (42%) reported ever injecting drugs. A fifth (104) of 501 injecting drug users reported first injecting in prison, and 347 (71%) users reported sharing needles in prison. Conclusions: Infection with hepatitis C secondary to use of injected drugs is endemic in Irish prisons. Better access to harm reduction strategies is needed in this environment.
EphA kinase activation regulates HGF-induced epithelial branching morphogenesis

Eph kinases and their ephrin ligands are widely expressed in epithelial cells in vitro and in vivo. Our results show that activation of endogenous EphA kinases in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells negatively regulates hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF)–induced branching morphogenesis in collagen gel. Cotreatment with HGF and ephrin-A1 reduced sprouting of cell protrusions, an early step in branching morphogenesis. Moreover, addition of ephrin-A1 after HGF stimulation resulted in collapse and retraction of preexisting cell protrusions. In a newly developed assay that simulates the localized interactions between Ephs and ephrins in vivo, immobilized ephrin-A1 suppressed HGF-induced MDCK cell scattering. Ephrin-A1 inhibited basal ERK1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase activity; however, the ephrin-A1 effect on cell protrusion was independent of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Ephrin-A1 suppressed HGF-induced activation of Rac1 and p21-activated kinase, whereas RhoA activation was retained, leading to the preservation of stress fibers. Moreover, dominant-negative RhoA or inhibitor of Rho-associated kinase (Y27632) substantially negated the inhibitory effects of ephrin-A1. These data suggest that interfering with c-Met signaling to Rho GTPases represents a major mechanism by which EphA kinase activation inhibits HGF-induced MDCK branching morphogenesis.
Impact of basic FGF expression in astrocytes on dopamine neuron synaptic function and development

Behavioural sensitization to amphetamine (AMPH) requires action of the drug in the ventral midbrain where dopamine (DA) neurons are located. In vivo studies suggest that AMPH sensitization requires enhanced expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the nucleus of midbrain astrocytes. One idea is that the AMPH‐induced increase in bFGF expression in astrocytes leads to enhanced secretion of this peptide and to long‐term plasticity in DA neurons. To study directly the effects of astrocytic expression of bFGF on DA neurons, we established a cell‐culture model of mesencephalic astrocytes and DA neurons. Immunolabelling showed that even in the absence of a pharmacological stimulus, the majority of mesencephalic astrocytes in culture express bFGF at a nuclear level. Arguing against the idea that bFGF was secreted, bFGF was undetectable in the extracellular medium (below 10 pg/mL). However, supplementing culture medium with exogenous bFGF at standard concentrations (20 ng/mL) led to a dramatic change in the morphology of astrocytes, increased spontaneous DA release, and inhibited synapse formation by individual DA neurons. RNA interference (siRNA) against bFGF mRNA, caused a reduction in DA release but produced no change in synaptic development. Together these data demonstrate that under basal conditions (in the absence of a pharmacological stimulus such as amphetamine) bFGF is not secreted even though there is abundant nuclear expression in astrocytes. The effects of bFGF seen here on DA neurons are thus likely to be mediated through more indirect glial–neuronal interactions, leading to enhanced DA release without a necessary change in synapse number.
Journal of Enterprise Information Management Enterprise resource planning systems , strategic enterprise management systems and management accounting : A Danish study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the body of knowledge about to what extent integrated information systems, such as ERP and SEM systems, affect the ability to solve different management accounting tasks. Design/methodology/approach – The relationship between IIS and management accounting practices was investigated quantitatively. A total of 349 responses were collected using a survey, and the data were analysed using linear regression models. Findings – Analyses indicate that ERP systems support the data collection and the organisational breadth of management accounting better than SEM systems. SEM systems, on the other hand, seem to be better at supporting reporting and analysis. In addition, modern management accounting techniques involving the use of non-financial data are better supported by an SEM system. This indicates that different management accounting tasks are supported by different parts of the IIS. Research limitations/implications – The study applies the methods of quantitative research. Thus, the internal validity is threatened. Conducting in-depth studies might be able to reduce this possible shortcoming. Practical implications – On the basis of the findings, there is a need to consider the potential of closer integration of ERP and SEM systems in order to solve management accounting tasks. Originality/value – This paper adds to the limited body of knowledge about the relationship between IIS and management accounting practices.
What Makes a Successful EFL Teacher in China? A Case Study of an English Language Teacher at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine

This paper investigates the traits of a successful EFL teacher at a Chinese University by collecting qualitative data, including surveys with questionnaires and interviews, from Miss H and a group of her students and her colleagues. The purpose is to detect what special qualities she has and what other roles she undertakes in her teaching position. The data indicate that to fulfil her role as both a teacher and a “tour guide”, Miss H has the qualities of being knowledgeable, responsible, enthusiastic, patient and kind. She also has a strong ability to utilise her teaching methods in accordance with what her students need and to train them to learn in a communicative and independent way. She serves as both a friend to her students, giving them support and helping them with learning, and as a coordinator among her colleagues, encouraging professional development and cooperative teamwork.
Strain Differences in Autotomy in Rats Undergoing Sciatic Nerve Transection or Repair

&NA; The degree of self‐mutilation (autotomy) following sciatic nerve injury was assessed in 6 rat strains. Experimental groups included sciatic nerve transection with and without repair and crush lesions. The degree of autotomy was measured using a standard grading system. There were statistically significant differences between the strains in the transected group in terms of both degree of autotomy and the time of onset of its appearance. The repair group showed a shorter mean time of onset, lower maximal scores, and lower percentage of affected animals. Autotomy was absent in the nerve crush group and in all Lewis rats. In experimental studies when the status of the foot is critical (e.g., to evaluate functional walking patterns) Lewis rats appear to be the most appropriate strain to utilize. These results suggest that there are definite strain differences in the degree of autotomy following nerve transection or repair.
Perioperative Vasopressor Use in Free Flap Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract Background The use of vasopressors in free flap surgery has traditionally been avoided due to the presumed risk of pedicle vasospasm leading to flap failure. However, there is a lack of strong clinical evidence to suggest that their administration during microvascular surgery is absolutely contraindicated. The aim of this study is to clarify the impact of perioperative vasopressor use on free flap outcomes. Methods A systematic review was performed of all English-language articles that have compared free flap outcomes between patients who received vasopressors and those who did not. The outcome measures were total flap failure, pedicle thrombosis, and overall flap complications. Meta-analysis was performed using Mantel–Haenszel fixed-effects and DerSimonian and Laird random-effects models. Results From a total of 130 citations, 14 studies representing 8,653 cases were analyzed. Majority of these did not find any negative effects of vasopressor use irrespective of dose, timing of administration, and method of delivery. Meta-analysis demonstrated that vasopressors were associated with less total flap failure overall (odds ratio, [OR]: 0.71, p = 0.05) and less pedicle thrombosis in head and neck reconstruction specifically (OR: 0.58, p = 0.02). Flap complication rates were similar across all defect types (OR: 0.97, p = 0.81) but appeared to be increased in breast reconstruction (OR: 1.46, p = 0.01). Conclusion Perioperative vasopressor administration does not appear to be as detrimental to free flap survival as has been previously feared. Their role in optimizing hemodynamic stability may have a more beneficial effect on overall flap perfusion and in minimizing the complications of iatrogenic fluid overload.
Occupational, environmental, and life-style factors associated with the risk of hematolymphopoietic malignancies in women.

BACKGROUND The etiology of lymphomas, leukemias, and multiple myeloma is still largely unknown. The known risk factors (ionizing radiation, solvent exposure, pesticide exposure, immunosuppression) explain only a small proportion of the cases that occur. METHODS We conducted a multicenter population-based case-control study on hematolymphopoietic malignancies in Italy and interviewed 2,011 women (1,183 cases and 828 controls). RESULTS There was a suggestion of a positive association between smoking and the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma + chronic lymphocytic leukemia. A slight increased risk of leukemias was observed among women using permanent hair dye. Housewives were at increased risk for leukemia and multiple myeloma. The risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas + chronic lymphocytic leukemia, leukemias, multiple myeloma, and Hodgkin's disease increased among women employed as hairdressers and textile workers. Teachers were at increased risk for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas + chronic lymphocytic leukemia, leukemias, and Hodgkin's disease. CONCLUSIONS These results confirm previous associations and may provide additional clues to some determinants of hematolymphopoietic malignancies in women.