Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self‐Directed Study Using MP3 Players to Improve Auscultation Proficiency of Physicians: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Introduction: Studies of physicians at all levels of training demonstrate significant deficiencies in cardiac auscultation skills. The best instructional methods to augment these skills are not known. Methods: This study was a randomized, controlled trial of 83 noncardiologist volunteers exposed to a 12‐week lower cognitive load self‐study group using MP3 players containing heart sound audio files compared to a group receiving a 1‐time 1‐hour higher cognitive load multimedia lecture using the same audio files. The primary outcome measure was change in 15‐question posttest score at 4 and 12 weeks as compared to pretest on recognition of identical audio files introduced during training. In the self‐study group, the association of total exposure and deliberate practice effort (estimated by standard deviation of files played/mean) to improvement in test score was measured as a secondary end point. Results: Self‐study group participants improved as compared to pretest by 4.42 ± 3.41 answers correct at 12 weeks (5.09–9.51 correct, p < .001), while those exposed to the multimedia lecture improved by an average of 1.13 ± 3.2 answers correct (4.48–5.61 correct, p = .03). In the self‐study arm, improvement in the posttest was positively associated with both total exposure (&bgr; = 0.55, p < .001) and deliberate practice score (&bgr; = 0.31, p = .02). Discussion: A lower cognitive load self‐study of audio files improved recognition of cardiac sounds, as compared to multimedia lecture, and deliberate practice strategies improved study efficiency. More investigation is needed to assess transfer of learning to a wider range of cardiac sounds in both simulated and clinical environments.
Highlights from the 2013 Science of Placebo thematic workshop

In the last 30 years, a converging series of laboratory experiments, clinical trials, and neurocognitive studies have identified several key mechanisms of placebo effects. These studies suggest not only that placebo responses may be ubiquitous across research and clinical settings, but also that they can significantly modulate symptoms across a wide spectrum of highly prevalent conditions such as acute pain, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, Parkinson’s disease, and nausea, just to name a few. In order to inform the medical community about the most recent advances in the field of placebo studies, a thematic workshop entitled “The Science of Placebo” was held at the Beth Israel Deaconesses Medical Center (BIDMC), Harvard Medical School, in Boston (MA), on the 19–20 of June 2013. The workshop, sponsored by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was organised by the Program in Placebo Studies and the Therapeutic Encounter, a Harvard-wide network of researchers dedicated to the study of the placebo phenomenon hosted by the BIDMC. The event was structured as a series of four public lectures, each delivered by a leading investigator in the field of placebo studies. The four keynote speakers were Fabrizio Benedetti, professor of neurophysiology and human physiology at the University of Turin Medical School and at the National Institute of Neuroscience in Italy; Tor Wager, director of the Cognitive and Affective Control Laboratory and associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado; Predrag Petrovic, psychiatrist and researcher in the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm; and Ted Kaptchuk, director of the Program in Placebo Studies and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Flavonoid Aglycones in some Digitalis Species

thraquinones and flavonoids of Digitalis species growing wild in Turkey, we have previously reported some flavonoids from D. viridiflora Lindl. (1), D. ferruginea L. (2) and D. schischkinii Ivan. (3). We report here on flavonoids of the leaves of D. trojana Ivan. , D. orientalis Ivan. and D. viridiflora Lindi. By extensive column and preparative layer chromatography of ethanolic extracts, we have isolated apigenin 1, luteolin 2, chrysoeriol 3, dinatin 4, pectolinarigenin 5, jaceosidin 6, scutellarein 7 from D. trojana, 1—7 and betuletol-3methyl ether 8 from D. orientalis imnd kaempferol-3,7,4'-trimethyl ether 9 and 5-hydroxyaurenatin 10 from D. viridiflora. The compounds 1—6 were identified by comparative TLC, m.p. and IR with authentic samples and the minor flavonoid 7 by comparative TLC (3 systems) only. The structures of 8 (C18H1607) and 10 (C20H2008) were established by interpreting the spectral data, mainly 1H-NMR and confirmed by direct comparison with authentic samples; 8 has been previously isolated from Betula ermanii Cham. (4) and, 10 from Citrus aurentium L. (5) and Hyptis tomentosa Poit. (6). Spectral data and m.p. of 9 (C18H1606) were in agreement with those of kaempferol-3,7,4'trimethyl ether, previously isolated from Aframomum giganteum K. Schum. (7). Demethylation of 9 produced keampferol. In addition, partial methylation of kaempferol gave 9 confirming the structure. With the isolation of these three flavonoids, the number of the flavonoid aglycones found in Digitalis species has now been raised to 26.
Transplantation in rare lymphoproliferative and histiocytic disorders.

BACKGROUND Some uncommon lymphoproliferative and histiocytic disorders may present with an aggressive course and require hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) as part of the therapeutic approach. METHODS Published research on the use of HSCT for the treatment of these disorders was reviewed and summarized. RESULTS Allogeneic HSCT may be indicated in patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasia, familial or secondary recurrent hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, and resistant Langerhans cell histiocytosis. Autologous HSCT may be considered in patients with Castleman disease resistant to treatment. No role has been established for the use of HSCT for dendritic cell sarcoma. CONCLUSIONS HSCT has an evolving role in the treatment of select aggressive lymphoproliferative and histiocytic disorders.
Psychological Distress, Glycated Hemoglobin, and Mortality in Adults With and Without Diabetes

Objective: To examine associations between psychological distress, glucose metabolism, and death. There is limited information about the long-term prognosis of diabetic patients with psychological distress. Methods: In a representative cohort of 11,546 adults (6.2% with high-risk/undiagnosed diabetes and 4.8% with physician-diagnosed diabetes), we measured glycated hemoglobin A1C as an indicator of glucose metabolism and psychological distress with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Results: During the mean follow-up of 4.7 years, there were 682 deaths (93 among diabetic, 88 in high-risk/undiagnosed diabetic [A1C ≥6.0% without physician-diagnosed diabetes], and 501 in nondiabetic participants). Psychological distress was apparent in 18.9%, 16.5%, and 13.4% of diabetic, high-risk/undiagnosed diabetic, and nondiabetic participants, respectively. In participants with diabetes, a unit increase in GHQ-12 score was associated with higher risk of death at follow-up (multivariate adjusted hazard ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.09–1.24). Levels of A1C were also higher in diabetic participants with distress (GHQ-12 score of >3) compared with those without (7.86% versus 7.40%; p = .008), although adjustment for A1C did alter the association between distress and mortality. In the whole sample, the coexistence of diabetes and distress was associated with an elevated risk of death, beyond that due to having either diabetes or distress alone (multivariate adjusted hazard ratio, 3.64; 95% confidence interval, 2.21–5.98). Conclusions: Psychological distress is an independent risk factor for death in diabetic patients, although impaired glucose metabolism did not explain the excess risk. A1C = glycated hemoglobin; GHQ-12 = 12-item General Health Questionnaire; ICD = International Classification of Diseases; HR = hazard ratio; CI = confidence interval; CVD = cardiovascular disease.
Uncoupling of bait‐protein expression from the prey protein environment adds versatility for cell and tissue interaction proteomics and reveals a complex of CARP‐1 and the PKA Cβ1 subunit

An expression‐uncoupled tandem affinity purification assay is introduced which differs from the standard TAP assay by uncoupling the expression of the TAP‐bait protein from the target cells. Here, the TAP‐tagged bait protein is expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. The two concatenated purification steps of the classical TAP are performed after addition of the purified bait to brain tissue homogenates, cell and nuclear extracts. Without prior genetic manipulation of the target, upscaling, free choice of cell compartments and avoidance of expression triggered heat shock responses could be achieved in one go. By the strategy of separating bait expression from the prey protein environment numerous established, mostly tissue‐specific binding partners of the protein kinase A catalytic subunit Cβ1 were identified, including interactions in binary, ternary and quaternary complexes. In addition, the previously unknown small molecule inhibitor‐dependent interaction of Cβ1 with the cell cycle and apoptosis regulatory protein‐1 was verified. The uncoupled tandem affinity purification procedure presented here expands the application range of the in vivo TAP assay and may serve as a simple strategy for identifying cell‐ and tissue‐specific protein complexes.
The effect of flaxseed supplementation on body weight and body composition: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of 45 randomized placebo‐controlled trials

Flaxseed consumption may be inversely associated with obesity; however, findings of available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are conflicting. The present study aimed to systematically review and analyse RCTs assessing the effects of flaxseed consumption on body weight and body composition. PubMed, Medline via Ovid, SCOPUS, EMBASE and ISI Web of Sciences databases were searched up to November 2016. Mean changes in body composition indices including body weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were extracted. Effect sizes were expressed as weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Heterogeneity between studies was assessed with the I2 test. Publication bias and subgroup analyses were also performed. The quality of articles was assessed via the Jadad scale. A total of 45 RCTs were included. Meta‐analyses suggested a significant reduction in body weight (WMD: −0.99 kg, 95% CI: −1.67, −0.31, p = 0.004), BMI (WMD: −0.30 kg m−2, 95% CI: −0.53, −0.08, p = 0.008) and waist circumference (WMD: −0.80 cm, 95% CI: −1.40, −0.20, p = 0.008) following flaxseed supplementation. Subgroup analyses showed that using whole flaxseed in doses ≥30 g d−1, longer‐term interventions (≥12 weeks) and studies including participants with higher BMI (≥ 27 kg m−2) had positive effects on body composition. Whole flaxseed is a good choice for weight management particularly for weight reduction in overweight and obese participants.
Is Value Riskier than Growth?

We study the risk of value and growth stocks. We find that time-varying risk goes in the right direction in explaining the value premium. Value betas tend to covary positively, and growth betas tend to covary negatively with the expected market risk premium. Our inference differs from that of previous studies because we sort conditional betas on the expected market risk premium, instead of on the realized market excess return. However, we also find that this beta-premium covariance is too small to explain the observed magnitude of the value premium within the conditional CAPM.
Interfacial Sliding Properties of Bone Screw Materials and Their Effect on Screw Fixation Strength

Background This study examined the effect of interfacial sliding and test material properties on the fixation strength and insertional properties of self-tapping bone screws. Various substitute materials (polyacetal [POM], poly(methyl methacrylate) [PMMA] and E-glass-filled Epoxy [Sawbones®]) for human bone were evaluated, and the results were compared with the findings for cadaver bone. Methods Initial coefficient of friction (CoF) of the screw material stainless steel AISI316 was tested using a pin-on-disk apparatus, and the screws were exposed to pullout tests after insertion torque tests. The effect of a smooth diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating was studied by applying the coating on both CoF test balls and bone screws. Results Mechanical properties of test blocks strongly correlated to both pullout strength and insertion torque of the screws: for noncoated 2.7-mm screws, tensile strength correlated to pullout strength and insertion torque, with Pearson correlation coefficients r=0.977 and r=0.738, respectively. In contrast, CoF correlated strongly to screw insertion torque but not to pullout strength in bone substitute materials (for noncoated 2.7-mm screws, r=0.652 and r=0.248, respectively). There were no significant differences in CoF using noncoated and DLC-coated screw materials against bone substitutes. Conclusions Proper materials for in vitro testing help in evaluating the biomechanics of the implants in advance. However, choosing the material needs attention, as their ability to model human bone depends on test type.
Role for Telomerase in Listeria monocytogenes Infection

ABSTRACT Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is the catalytic subunit of the human telomerase complex. Growing evidence suggests that hTERT also contributes to the cell physiology independently of telomere elongation. However, its role in bacterial infection is unknown. Here we show that hTERT is critical for Listeria monocytogenes infection, as the depletion of hTERT impaired bacterial intracellular replication. In addition, we observed that L. monocytogenes caused a decrease in hTERT levels at early time points of the infectious process. This effect was mediated by the pore-forming toxin listeriolysin O (LLO) and did not require bacterial entry into host cells. Calcium influx through the LLO pores contributed to a proteasome-independent decrease in hTERT protein levels. Together, our data provide evidence that these bacteria trigger hTERT degradation, an event that is detrimental to bacterial replication.
Should Optimal Discretionary Monetary Policy Look at Money?

This paper examines whether monetary indicators are useful in implementing optimal discretionary monetary policy when the policy maker has incomplete information about the environment. We find that money does not contain useful information for the policy maker, if we calibrate the model to the U.S. economy. If money demand were to be appreciably less variable, observations on money could be useful in response to productivity shocks but would be harmful in response to money demand shocks. We provide an incomplete information example where equilibrium welfare declines when the money demand volatility decreases.
The molecular polar disc in NGC 2768

We present CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) maps of the molecular polar disc in the elliptical galaxy NGC 2768 obtained at the Institute de Radioastronomie Millimetrique (IRAM) Plateau de Bure Interferometer. The maps have a resolution of 2''. 6 x 2". 3 and 1''. 2 x 1". 2 for the CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) lines, respectively. The CO maps complete the unique picture of the interstellar medium (ISM) of NGC 2768; the dust, molecular gas, ionized gas and neutral hydrogen (H i) trace the recent acquisition of cold and cool gas over two orders of magnitude in radii (and much more in density). In agreement with the other ISM components, the CO distribution extends nearly perpendicularly to the photometric major axis of the galaxy. Velocity maps of the CO show a rotating polar disc or ring in the inner kiloparsec. This cool gas could lead to kinematic substructure formation within NGC 2768. However, the stellar velocity field and Hβ absorption line-strength maps from the optical integral-field spectrograph SAURON give no indication of a young and dynamically cold stellar population coincident with the molecular polar disc. Very recent or weak star formation, undetectable in line strengths, nevertheless remains a possibility and could be at the origin of some of the ionized gas observed. Millimetre continuum emission was also detected in NGC 2768, now one of only a few low-luminosity active galactic nuclei with observed mm continuum emission.
Reperfusion Paradox in ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

A transformation in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) care in the United States has unfolded. It asserts superior reperfusion with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) over fibrinolysis on the basis of studies showing the former method to be superior for reperfusion of patients with STEMI. Although clear benefit has resulted from national programs directed toward achieving shorter times to PPCI in facilities with around-the-clock access, most patients present to non-PPCI hospitals. Because delay to PPCI for most patients with STEMI presenting to non-PPCI centers remains outside current guidelines, many are denied benefit from pharmacologic therapy. This article describes why this approach creates a treatment paradox in which more effort to improve treatment for patients with PPCI for acute STEMI often leads to unnecessary avoidance and delay in the use of fibrinolysis. Recent evidence confirms the unfavorable consequences of delay to PPCI and that early prehospital fibrinolysis combined with strategic mechanical co-interventions affords excellent outcomes. The authors believe it is time to embrace an integrated dual reperfusion strategy to best serve all patients with STEMI.
A Prospective Study of Pediatric Hand Fractures and Review of the Literature

Objective Hand fractures represent a leading cause of morbidity in children. However, little information exists correlating the mechanisms and environment of injury with outcomes and treatments. We examine the demographics, etiology, anatomic location, mechanism, and management of pediatric hand fractures in our center’s hand unit. Methods We conducted a prospective observational study on all children with acute hand fractures evaluated in the Plastic Surgery Emergency Clinic during a 3-month period in 2010. Data pertaining to demographics, referral patterns, injury pattern, clinical outcomes, and other factors related to hand fractures were then analyzed and interpreted. Results Most children were referred by our institution’s emergency department. More than 60% were boys, and nearly half were between 10 and 15 years old. The right and left hands were injured at equal rates. Most of the injuries (90%) occurred in the afternoon or evening. More than 85% occurred in urban, rather than rural, environments. Crush injuries were the leading cause in toddlers, whereas sports-related injuries became the major cause of injury in older groups. Proximal phalanges were the most common bone injured, and the fifth digit was the most commonly injured digit. More than 80% of the fractures were managed nonsurgically. Conclusions The pattern of pediatric hand fracture in different age groups is highlighted in this article. The observations from this study will hopefully encourage further review with a larger cohort and a focus on preventative measures for pediatric hand fractures.
Analysis of Time-Delayed Neural Networks via Rightmost Eigenvalue Positions

Neural networks have been frequently used in various areas. In the implementation of the networks, time delays and uncertainty are present and known to lead to complex behaviors, which are hard to predict using classical analysis methods. In this study, stability and robust stability of neural networks considering time delays and parametric uncertainty is studied. For stability analysis, the rightmost eigenvalues (or dominant characteristic roots) are obtained by using an approach based on the Lambert W function. The Lambert W function has already been embedded in various commercial software packages (e.g., MATLAB, Maple and Mathematica). In a way similar to non-delayed systems, stability is determined from the positions of the characteristic roots in the complex plane. Conditions for oscillation and robust stability are also given. Numerical examples are provided and the results are compared to existing approaches (e.g., bifurcation method) and discussed.
Dependency, Partiality and the Generation of Research Questions in Refugee Education.

From the late 1990s to the mid 2000s refugees who gained entry to Australia came mainly from the African region, in particular Sudan. This contrasts with earlier intakes from Asia, the Middle East and the former Yugoslavia. The change in regional focus sparked research into the resettlement of African refugees in Australia, but it is a new field and research is subsequently limited. This article reports ethical issues involved in research with adult South Sudanese students, specifically the impact of participants' dependency and the researchers' partiality. A qualitative approach, taken mainly due to ethics considerations, informed the generation of research questions. Far from inhibiting the research, we argue that an acceptance of these issues enabled the researchers to ask the 'right' questions.
Cache designs for energy efficiency

Caches usually consume a significant amount of energy in modern microprocessors (e.g. superpipelined or superscalar processors). In this paper, we examine contemporary cache design techniques and provide an analytical model for estimating cache energy consumption. We also present several novel techniques for designing energy-efficient caches, which include block buffering, cache sub-banking, and Gray code addressing. Experimental results suggest that both the block buffering and Gray code addressing techniques are ideal for instruction cache designs which tend to be accessed in a consecutive sequence. Cache sub-banking is ideal for both instruction and data caches. Overall, these techniques can achieve an order of magnitude energy reduction on caches. <<ETX>>
Field selection for job categorization and recommendation to social network users

Nowadays, in the Web 2.0 reality, one of the most challenging task for companies that aim to manage and recommend job offers is to convey this enormous amount of information in a succinct and intelligent manner such to increase the performances of matching operations against users profiles/curricula and optimize the time/space complexity of these processes. With this goal, this paper presents a novel method to formalize the textual content of job offers that aims at identifying the most relevant information and fields expressed by them and leverage this compact formalization for job recommendation and profile matching in social network environments. This method has been then developed and tested in the industrial environment represented by Multiposting and Work4, world leaders in digital solutions of e-recruitment problems. In this study three classes of documents are considered: job offers, job categories and social network user profiles (as potential job candidates); each class contains several fields with textual information. The proposed representation method permits to dynamically identify those text fields, for each class, that could help a cross-matching strategy in order to preserve, from one hand, the matching/recommendation performances and, on the other hand, reduce the cost of these operations (due to a straightforward dimensionality reduction mechanism). We then evaluated and compared the presented approach showing significant improvements on both categorization and recommendation tasks by also drastically reducing their computational costs.