Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dexmedetomidine for antiemesis in gynecologic surgery: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common complication after gynecological surgeries. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of dexmedetomidine on PONV after gynecological surgeries. METHODS Three main electronic databases including Pub Med, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched by two researchers independently. The metaanalysis was completed using Review Manager. RESULTS Eleven RCTs with 692 patients were included in this metaanalysis. Dexmedetomidine a bridged postoperative nausea [Risk Ratio (RR)=0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44 to 0.79] and vomiting [RR=0.48, 95% CI: 0.36 to 0.64] compared with placebo. Despite of higher incidence of intra operative bradycardia [RR 2.87, 95% CI 1.08 to 7.58] and hypotension [RR 4.26, 95% CI 1.43 to 12.69], we found significant decrease in postoperative shivering [RR 0.23, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.40] and pruritus [RR 0.40, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.93] in dexmedetomidine group, as well as the pain scores [standard mean difference (SMD)-0.96, 95% CI-1.37 to-0.54]. Significant reductions in the need for intraoperative fentanyl (RR 0.10, 95% CI 0.01-0.76, I(2) 0%), antiemetic (RR 0.62, 95% CI 0.39-0.99, I(2) 0%) and postoperative analgesic (RR 0.18, 95% CI 0.08-0.42, I(2) 0%) were also elicited. CONCLUSIONS The current meta-analysis exhibits that dexmedetomidine is superiority to placebo in attenuating the incidence of PONV, postoperative shivering, pruritus, as well as the pain scores in patients undergoing gynecological surgeries. Still, the potential cardiovascular complications should be taken seriously.
Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Neoplastic Pancreatic Cysts

The diagnosis and management of pancreatic cystic lesions is a common problem. At least 1% of hospitalized patients at major medical centers will have a pancreatic cystic lesion on cross sectional imaging. Up to a quarter of all pancreata examined in an autopsy series contained a pancreatic cyst, 16% of which were lined by an “atypical” epithelium and 3% of which had progressed to carcinoma-in-situ (high grade dysplasia). in the past, it was thought these cystic lesions were benign, but increasing evidence points to the cystic lesions as being the origin of some pancreatic malignancies.
Nuclear ARRB1 induces pseudohypoxia and cellular metabolism reprogramming in prostate cancer

Tumour cells sustain their high proliferation rate through metabolic reprogramming, whereby cellular metabolism shifts from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis, even under normal oxygen levels. Hypoxia‐inducible factor 1A (HIF1A) is a major regulator of this process, but its activation under normoxic conditions, termed pseudohypoxia, is not well documented. Here, using an integrative approach combining the first genome‐wide mapping of chromatin binding for an endocytic adaptor, ARRB1, both in vitro and in vivo with gene expression profiling, we demonstrate that nuclear ARRB1 contributes to this metabolic shift in prostate cancer cells via regulation of HIF1A transcriptional activity under normoxic conditions through regulation of succinate dehydrogenase A (SDHA) and fumarate hydratase (FH) expression. ARRB1‐induced pseudohypoxia may facilitate adaptation of cancer cells to growth in the harsh conditions that are frequently encountered within solid tumours. Our study is the first example of an endocytic adaptor protein regulating metabolic pathways. It implicates ARRB1 as a potential tumour promoter in prostate cancer and highlights the importance of metabolic alterations in prostate cancer.
The societal and economic value of rotator cuff repair.

BACKGROUND Although rotator cuff disease is a common musculoskeletal problem in the United States, the impact of this condition on earnings, missed workdays, and disability payments is largely unknown. This study examines the value of surgical treatment for full-thickness rotator cuff tears from a societal perspective. METHODS A Markov decision model was constructed to estimate lifetime direct and indirect costs associated with surgical and continued nonoperative treatment for symptomatic full-thickness rotator cuff tears. All patients were assumed to have been unresponsive to one six-week trial of nonoperative treatment prior to entering the model. Model assumptions were obtained from the literature and data analysis. We obtained estimates of indirect costs using national survey data and patient-reported outcomes. Four indirect costs were modeled: probability of employment, household income, missed workdays, and disability payments. Direct cost estimates were based on average Medicare reimbursements with adjustments to an all-payer population. Effectiveness was expressed in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). RESULTS The age-weighted mean total societal savings from rotator cuff repair compared with nonoperative treatment was $13,771 over a patient's lifetime. Savings ranged from $77,662 for patients who are thirty to thirty-nine years old to a net cost to society of $11,997 for those who are seventy to seventy-nine years old. In addition, surgical treatment results in an average improvement of 0.62 QALY. Societal savings were highly sensitive to age, with savings being positive at the age of sixty-one years and younger. The estimated lifetime societal savings of the approximately 250,000 rotator cuff repairs performed in the U.S. each year was $3.44 billion. CONCLUSIONS Rotator cuff repair for full-thickness tears produces net societal cost savings for patients under the age of sixty-one years and greater QALYs for all patients. Rotator cuff repair is cost-effective for all populations. The results of this study should not be interpreted as suggesting that all rotator cuff tears require surgery. Rather, the results show that rotator cuff repair has an important role in minimizing the societal burden of rotator cuff disease.
Screening for Domestic Violence in the Community Pediatric Setting

Objective. Children exposed to domestic violence (DV) can experience a variety of adverse effects such as behavior disorders, developmental delay, and child abuse. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that all pediatricians incorporate screening for DV as a part of anticipatory guidance. To date, however, there is little information on how likely women are to disclose DV or whether there are any benefits to screening in the pediatric office setting. The purpose of our pilot study was to gain an understanding of whether screening for DV in the pediatric office setting could be helpful to abused women and their children. Methods. During a 3-month period, 92% of the women who accompanied their children for a well-child visit to a hospital-based suburban pediatrician were asked about violence in the home with a six-question screening tool. Results. Of the 154 women screened, 47 (31%) revealed DV at some time in their lives. Twenty-five women (17%) reported DV within the past 2 years and were reported to the mandated state agency. There were 5 episodes of child abuse reported of which two had not been previously reported. Interestingly, there were 5 women injured during their most recent pregnancy and who had separated from their abusive partner, but no legal action had been taken to protect them from their partner's return. There was no significant difference in the incidence of DV reported in families with Medicaid (37%) versus private insurance (20%). Before routine DV screening in our office, only one previous DV report had been made in 4 years. Conclusions. Our preliminary results suggest that many women will reveal DV when screened in the pediatric office setting. Also, there is a subgroup of women, those with young children who have recently separated from their partners, who may particularly benefit from DV screening.
Evaluation of Gadodiamide Versus Gadobutrol for Contrast-Enhanced MR Imaging in a Rat Brain Glioma Model at 1.5 and 3 T

Purpose:To compare equivalently-dosed (0.1 mmol/kg) gadobutrol (Gadovist) and gadodiamide (Omniscan) in a rat brain glioma model with respect to lesion signal-to-noise (SNR), contrast-to-noise (CNR), and contrast enhancement (CE) at 1.5 and 3 T. Lesion enhancement with standard-dose gadobutrol in scans performed at 1.5 T was also compared with that of half-dose gadobutrol in scans performed at 3 T. Materials and Methods:Fifty-four rats were injected with glioma cells via a plastic brain cannula and divided into 3 groups. In the first group, each animal was studied using gadodiamide and gadobutrol, with 24 hours separating injections. The 2 agents were administered in random order at a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg. Each animal was scanned using a 3 T MR system. The procedure for the second group was similar, but scanning was performed at 1.5 T. For the third group, rats were given standard or half-dose gadobutrol and scanned at 1.5 and 3 T, respectively. For all MR examinations, T1-weighted images were obtained precontrast and at 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 minutes postcontrast administration. Results:At 3 T improvements in SNR, CNR, and CE with gadobutrol ranged from 11.8% to 16.0%, 30.5% to 35.4%, and 27.1% to 31.5%, respectively, and at 1.5 T from 7.0% to 11.1%, 27.1% to 35.8%, and 23.8% to 29.5%, respectively. Differences between these parameters with gadobutrol and gadodiamide were statistically significant (P < 0.0001–0.05) at all time points following contrast administration. In group 3, no significant differences in CNR or CE were found between full dose gadobutrol at 1.5 T and half-dose at 3 T, although SNR was significantly greater (28.5%–35.1%; P < 0.0008) at 3 T. Conclusion:Gadobutrol (Gadovist) demonstrates superior lesion enhancement to equivalently-dosed gadodiamide (Omniscan) in the rat brain glioma model. These results are complemented by the improved observed and theoretical safety profile of the first agent, in particular with regard to nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. The ability to image with half-dose gadobutrol at 3 T without a statistically significant decrease in lesion enhancement, compared with 1.5 T, offers an additional theoretical safety margin and potential cost-savings.
Positive mood and sleep disturbance in acquired mania following temporal lobe damage

Primary objective: To determine the mood profile and sleep functioning of a patient with left anterior temporal region damage characterized by post-operative symptoms of mania. Methods and procedures: In a structured clinical assessment, the patient's mood status, psychiatric diagnosis and sleep functioning—sleep onset latency, total sleep time, wake after sleep onset—were assessed. The sleep–wake cycle and daily mood was measured for 11 consecutive days. Results: The patient met diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder (excluding the requirement that the disturbance must not be due to a medical disorder) and delayed sleep-phase syndrome. Across 11 days, the patient exhibited elevated positive, but not negative, mood. Correlational analyses indicated a possible association between mood and sleep disturbance. Conclusions:This pattern of findings implicates the temporal lobe in positive mood regulation and sleep-related impairments.
In the core of longevity risk : dependence in stochastic mortality models and cut-offs in prices of longevity swaps.

In most stochastic mortality models, either one stochastic intensity process (for ex- ample a jump-diusion process) or a collection of independent processes is used to model the stochastic evolution of survival probabilities. We propose and calibrate a new model that takes inter-age correlations into account. The so-called stochastic logit's Deltas model is based on the study of the multivariate time series of the dierences of logits of yearly mortality rates. These correlations are important and we illustrate our study on a real-life portfolio. We determine their impact on the price of a longevity swap type reinsurance contract, in which most of the nancial risk is taken by a third party. The hypotheses of our model are statistically tested and various measures of risk of the present value of liabilities are found to be signif- icantly smaller in our model than in the case of one common underlying stochastic process. 1
Quantitative analysis of vascular heterogeneity in breast lesions using contrast-enhanced 3-D harmonic and subharmonic ultrasound imaging

Ability to visualize breast lesion vascularity and quantify the vascular heterogeneity using contrast-enhanced 3-D harmonic (HI) and subharmonic (SHI) ultrasound imaging was investigated in a clinical population. Patients (n = 134) identified with breast lesions on mammography were scanned using power Doppler imaging, contrast-enhanced 3-D HI, and 3-D SHI on a modified Logiq 9 scanner (GE Healthcare). A region of interest corresponding to ultrasound contrast agent flow was identified in 4D View (GE Medical Systems) and mapped to raw slice data to generate a map of time-intensity curves for the lesion volume. Time points corresponding to baseline, peak intensity, and washout of ultrasound contrast agent were identified and used to generate and compare vascular heterogeneity plots for malignant and benign lesions. Vascularity was observed with power Doppler imaging in 84 lesions (63 benign and 21 malignant). The 3-D HI showed flow in 8 lesions (5 benign and 3 malignant), whereas 3-D SHI visualized flow in 68 lesions (49 benign and 19 malignant). Analysis of vascular heterogeneity in the 3-D SHI volumes found benign lesions having a significant difference in vascularity between central and peripheral sections (1.71 ± 0.96 vs. 1.13 ± 0.79 dB, p <; 0.001, respectively), whereas malignant lesions showed no difference (1.66 ± 1.39 vs. 1.24 ± 1.14 dB, p = 0.24), indicative of more vascular coverage. These preliminary results suggest quantitative evaluation of vascular heterogeneity in breast lesions using contrast-enhanced 3-D SHI is feasible and able to detect variations in vascularity between central and peripheral sections for benign and malignant lesions.
Organization of the avian basal forebrain: Chemical anatomy in the parrot (Melopsittacus undulatus)

Hodological, electrophysiological, and ablation studies indicate a role for the basal forebrain in telencephalic vocal control; however, to date the organization of the basal forebrain has not been extensively studied in any nonmammal or nonhuman vocal learning species. To this end the chemical anatomy of the avian basal forebrain was investigated in a vocal learning parrot, the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus). Immunological and histological stains, including choline acetyltransferase, acetylcholinesterase, tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine and cAMP‐regulated phosphoprotein (DARPP)‐32, the calcium binding proteins calbindin D‐28k and parvalbumin, calcitonin gene‐related peptide, iron, substance P, methionine enkephalin, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphotase diaphorase, and arginine vasotocin were used in the present study. We conclude that the ventral paleostriatum (cf. Kitt and Brauth [ 1981 ] Neuroscience 6:1551–1566) and adjacent archistriatal regions can be subdivided into several distinct subareas that are chemically comparable to mammalian basal forebrain structures. The nucleus accumbens is histochemically separable into core and shell regions. The nucleus taeniae (TN) is theorized to be homologous to the medial amygdaloid nucleus. The archistriatum pars ventrolateralis (Avl; comparable to the pigeon archistriatum pars dorsalis) is theorized to be a possible homologue of the central amygdaloid nucleus. The TN and Avl are histochemically continuous with the medial aspects of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the ventromedial striatum, forming an avian analogue of the extended amygdala. The apparent counterpart in budgerigars of the mammalian nucleus basalis of Meynert consists of a field of cholinergic neurons spanning the basal forebrain. The budgerigar septal region is theorized to be homologous as a field to the mammalian septum. Our results are discussed with regard to both the evolution of the basal forebrain and its role in vocal learning processes. J. Comp. Neurol. 454:383–408, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Multidisciplinary Management of Carotid Body Tumors in a Tertiary Urban Institution

Objective. Aim of this study is to present the experience of our institution in carotid body tumors (CBTs) treatment. Methods. All cases treated in a Vascular Surgery Department within 2.5 years (03/2013–09/2015) were retrospectively evaluated. Demographics, diagnostic, and treatment strategy were recorded. All patients with known CBT underwent ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging preoperatively. All cases were classified according to the Shamblin type and evaluated by a radiologist, otolaryngologist, and anesthesiologist before and after surgery. Major outcomes included mortality, stroke, cranial nerve injury, and recurrence. Results. Overall, nine patients (mean age: 59.5 ± 16.3 years) with a total of ten CBTs were treated. There was no gender prevalence and most of the cases (55%) were asymptomatic. There were no functional or familial cases. There was only one bilateral case treated in a staged manner. No preoperative embolization of CBTs was performed. Mortality and stroke rates were null. No severe complication was observed in the early and late setting. No malignancy was recorded. Mean follow-up was 15.6 ± 7.8 months. Conclusions. Multidisciplinary management of patients with CBTs is imperative for optimal results, especially in type III tumors, bilateral or functional cases. After careful treatment planning and intraoperative manipulations, complications could be avoided even without preoperative embolization.
Advances in Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology The Left Ventricular Ostium An Anatomic Concept Relevant to Idiopathic Ventricular Arrhythmias

Idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) arising from the left ventricle (LV) are often accessible for catheter ablation from the aortic sinuses of Valsalva or adjacent to the mitral annulus (MA). 1 The aortic and mitral valves are direct apposition and attach to an elliptical opening at the base of the LV known as the LV ostium.2 The VAs arising from this region are being increasingly recognized as targets for catheter ablation.3–7 This review describes the anatomic features of the LV ostium and the electrocardiographic, electrophysiological, and angiographic characteristics that are relevant to the mapping and ablation of these arrhythmias.
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN COMPOSITION AND SELECTED SENSORY ATTRIBUTES OF REINDEER, CARIBOU AND BEEF

The longissimus from caribou (n = 6), reindeer (n = 6) and beef (n = 6) were evaluated to determine differences in composition, color and sensory properties. Caribou contained the least fat followed by reindeer, and then beef (P 0.05) were found in ultimate pH or juiciness (sensory panel) among any of the products. Results from this study indicate that reindeer and caribou are a low-fat source of protein with desirable sensory characteristics.
Armstrong Databases: Validation, Communication and Consolidation of Conceptual Models with Perfect Test Data

Conceptual models are relational database schemata that result from conceptual data modeling. Conceptual models usually capture the semantics of the underlying application domain inadequately. Therefore, the structure of the conceptual model is often inadequate, too. Academic and commercial database design tools often advocate the use of good test data to validate the adequacy of the conceptual models they produce. In this article we provide evidence that Armstrong databases constitute perfect test data. In particular, Armstrong databases capture perfectly the perceptions of the design team about the semantics of the application domain. Therefore, Armstrong databases serve as an excellent medium to validate and consolidate the understanding of an application domain's semantics, and to communicate this understanding between different stakeholders of the target database. An overview is given about recent advancements on the structural and computational properties of Armstrong databases. These advancements suggest that Armstrong databases provide the foundations necessary to establish an agile database design methodology. Such a methodology complements existing approaches to database design, and is not meant to replace them.
Improving the quality of teaching in a research-led university

High status universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale and Trinity College Dublin are often old (absolutely or relatively) and usually research-led. Universities aspiring to high status, while not being able to do anything about their age, frequently claim to be research-led and/or adopt policies and practices of their prestigious counterparts which emphasise research as their primary core business. Such policies and practices include: recruiting academic staff primarily on the basis of their research reputation; promoting academic staff only on the basis of their research output; funding research development far better than teaching and learning development; increasing postgraduate enrolments at the expense of undergraduate enrolments; and in general, promoting and publicising research at the expense of teaching. Trying to improve the quality of teaching in an overtly research-led university is more than usually problematical with many senior academic staff and administrators being more than happy with the status quo. The paper draws on the experience of the authors in introducing systematic teaching development to a high status Irish university and poses a number of questions for discussion such as: • Is there a nexus between good research and good teaching? • What does Boyer’s conception of the ‘Scholarship of Teaching’ really mean and is it a useful tool in teaching development? • How can we introduce enqury-led teaching? • Is academic staff development primarily about working with individuals or about changing structures and cultures? • Is it desirable to separate teaching development from management development?
Joint calibration of Ensemble of Exemplar SVMs

We present a method for calibrating the Ensemble of Exemplar SVMs model. Unlike the standard approach, which calibrates each SVM independently, our method optimizes their joint performance as an ensemble. We formulate joint calibration as a constrained optimization problem and devise an efficient optimization algorithm to find its global optimum. The algorithm dynamically discards parts of the solution space that cannot contain the optimum early on, making the optimization computationally feasible. We experiment with EE-SVM trained on state-of-the-art CNN descriptors. Results on the ILSVRC 2014 and PASCAL VOC 2007 datasets show that (i) our joint calibration procedure outperforms independent calibration on the task of classifying windows as belonging to an object class or not; and (ii) this improved window classifier leads to better performance on the object detection task.
In-silico analysis of cis-acting regulatory elements of pathogenesis-related proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa

Pathogenesis related (PR) proteins are low molecular weight family of proteins induced in plants under various biotic and abiotic stresses. They play an important role in plant-defense mechanism. PRs have wide range of functions, acting as hydrolases, peroxidases, chitinases, anti-fungal, protease inhibitors etc. In the present study, an attempt has been made to analyze promoter regions of PR1, PR2, PR5, PR9, PR10 and PR12 of Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa. Analysis of cis-element distribution revealed the functional multiplicity of PRs and provides insight into the gene regulation. CpG islands are observed only in rice PRs, which indicates that monocot genome contains more GC rich motifs than dicots. Tandem repeats were also observed in 5’ UTR of PR genes. Thus, the present study provides an understanding of regulation of PR genes and their versatile roles in plants.