Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding associations between serious mental illness and hepatitis C virus among veterans: a national multivariate analysis.

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis in the United States and is known to be transmitted via pathways associated with substance use (e.g., injection drug use and intranasal drug use). OBJECTIVE Although individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) have a high prevalence of HCV, the nature of this relationship is unclear and is the subject of this investigation. METHOD The authors determined unadjusted and adjusted recorded prevalence of HCV among a national sample of veterans with and without SMI. RESULTS HCV was recorded in 8.1% of patients with bipolar disorder, 7.1% of patients with schizophrenia, and 2.5% of patients without SMI. Substance use increased HCV risk among SMI patients; patients with bipolar disorder had greater risk than patients with schizophrenia. CONCLUSION Efforts to address HCV among patients with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse are warranted.
Transport properties for pure strained Ge quantum well

Modulation doped heterostructures consisting of a strained Ge (sGe) quantum well on a Si0.2Ge0. 8 virtual substrate have been used to study enhancement of the transport properties of holes in the sGe channel due to the effective reduction of impurity scattering by placing the doping layer away from the channel. Electrical and structural analysis was performed for sGe heterostructures produced with a range of growth parameters. The highest hole mobility was 1.34×106 cm2 /Vs at 0.5 K for a sGe quantum well in a 'normal' structure (i.e. doped above the channel) at a sheet density of 2.9×1011 cm-2, which is the largest hole mobility reported in Ge to date. 'Inverted' structures (doping layer under the channel) were also studied for different sample parameters such as channel thickness, spacer thickness, doping and different temperature growth, with a hole mobility as high as 5.08×105 cm2 /Vs at a sheet density of 5.14×1011 cm-2 at 90 mK. Simulations of the scattering limited mobility for inverted and normal structures were performed and showed that at low sheet density background impurity scattering limits the low temperature hole mobility. However, as the sheet density increases interface roughness scattering becomes the mobility limiting process, especially in the case of inverted structures where the resistivity and mobility anisotropy is more pronounced. Magnetotransport measurements revealed the lowest reported effective mass for holes in Ge of 0.063±0.001 m0 for the normal structure and 0.07±0.002 m0 & 0.063±0.003 m0 for two inverted structures, and highest Dingle factors of α=78 and 33 for the normal and inverted structures, respectively. The low level of background impurities, high structural quality, and pure Ge channel revealed by structure characterisation are believed to be responsible for these exceptionally high values of mobility.
Impact of adhesive joints for the automotive industry at low and high temperatures

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the automotive industry in applying adhesive bonding in structural components of vehicles. Toughened, high performance adhesives can provide exceptional strength while producing lighter structures and, therefore, improve vehicle safety and efficiency. When adhesive joints are used in this area, some factors such as impact loading and temperature variation have a decisive role. Under these conditions, the joint must provide enough strength to transmit the load without fracturing, and thus assure the car’s integrity. Although several studies have characterized adhesives under both situations separately, very few have considered them at the same time. The objective of this study was to characterize the impact strength of a new crash resistant epoxy adhesive as a function of temperature. To achieve this, single lap joints specimens with ductile adherends were tested under drop weight impact at -20, +23 and +80 oC, in order to emulate real situations. Induction heating and nitrogen gas cooling systems were designed and implemented to reach homogeneously the high and low temperatures in the overlap. Then, properties of steel were obtained by conducting tensile tests. Bulk adhesive specimens were also tested at high and room temperatures in order to understand the influence of temperature on the adhesive properties. Finally, the results were discussed and analyzed, and a failure prediction was developed. As a result, at room temperature failure was mostly dictated by the adherends yielding due to the high strength of the adhesive. At high and low temperatures, it was found a high decrease in the adhesive strength with an increase of ductility and brittleness, respectively. Thus, in this case it was the adhesive which determined the joints strength. Furthermore, although at room temperature the adherend yielding model gave accurate prediction, at high temperature the values predicted using the static properties of the adhesive were below the experimental due to the adhesive sensitiviy to the high strain-rate.
Stomatal sensitivity to vapour pressure deficit relates to climate of origin in Eucalyptus species.

Selecting plantation species to balance water use and production requires accurate models for predicting how species will tolerate and respond to environmental conditions. Although interspecific variation in water use occurs, species-specific parameters are rarely incorporated into physiologically based models because often the appropriate species parameters are lacking. To determine the physiological control over water use in Eucalyptus, five stands of Eucalyptus species growing in a common garden were measured for sap flux rates and their stomatal response to vapour pressure deficit (D) was assessed. Maximal canopy conductance and whole-canopy stomatal sensitivity to D and reduced water availability were lower in species originating from more arid climates of origin than those from humid climates. Species from humid climates showed a larger decline in maximal sap flux density (JSmax) with reduced water availability, and a lower D at which stomatal closure occurred than species from more arid climates, implying larger sensitivity to water availability and D in these species. We observed significant (P < 0.05) correlations of species climate of origin with mean vessel diameter (R(2) = 0.90), stomatal sensitivity to D (R(2) = 0.83) and the size of the decline in JSmax to restricted water availability (R(2) = 0.94). Thus aridity of climate of origin appears to have a selective role in constraining water-use response among the five Eucalyptus plantation species. These relationships emphasize that within this congeneric group of species, climate aridity constrains water use. These relationships have implications for species choices for tree plantation success against drought-induced losses and the ability to manage Eucalyptus plantations against projected changes in water availability and evaporation in the future.
Reliability and Validity of Thoracolumbar Injury Classification and Severity Score (TLICS)

Study Design A new classification system for throacolumbar spine injury, Thoracolumbar Injury Classification and Severity Score (TLICS) was evaluated retrospectively. Purpose To evaluate intrarater and interrater reliability of newly proposed TLICS schemes and to estimate validity of TLICS's final treatment recommendation. Overview of Literature Despite numerous literature about thoracolumbar spine injury classifications, there is no consensus regarding the optimal system. Methods Using plain radiographs, computed tomography scanning, magnetic resonance imaging, and medical records, 3 clssifiers, consisting of 2 spine surgeons and 1 senior orthopaedic surgery resident, reviewed 114 clinical thoracolumbar spine injury cases retrospectively to classify and calculate injury severity score according to TLICS. This process were repeated on 4 weeks intervals and the scores were then compared with type of treatment that patient ultimately received. Results The intrarater reliability of TLICS was substantial agreement on total score and injury morphology, almost perfect agreement on integrity of the posterior ligament complex (PLC) and neurologic status. The interrater reliability was substantial agreement on injury morphology and integrity of the PLC, moderate agreement on total score, almost perfect agreement on neurologic status. The TLICS schems exhibited satisfactory overall validity in terms of clinical decision making. Conclusions The TLICS was demonstrated acceptable intrarater and interrater reliability and satisfactory validity in terms of treatment recommendation.
Elevated tissue factor expression contributes to exacerbated diabetic nephropathy in mice lacking eNOS fed a high fat diet

Summary. Background: Human eNOS (NOS3) polymorphisms that lower its expression are associated with advanced diabetic nephropathy (DN), and the lack of eNOS accelerates DN in diabetic mice. Diabetes is associated with fibrin deposition. Lack of nitric oxide and fatty acids stimulates the NF‐kB pathway, which increases tissue factor (TF). Objectives: To test the hypothesis that TF contributes to the severity of DN in the diabetic eNOS−/− mice fed a high‐fat diet (HF). Methods: We made eNOS−/− and wild‐type mice diabetic with streptozotocin. Half of them were placed on HF. Results: Blood glucose levels were not affected by either the diet or eNOS genotype. Lack of eNOS in the diabetic mice increased urinary albumin excretion, glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis, and glomerular basement membrane thickness. HF by itself did not affect DN in the wild‐type mice, but significantly enhanced DN in eNOS−/− mice. More than half of diabetic eNOS−/− mice on HF died prematurely with signs of thrombotic complications. Diabetic kidneys contained fibrin and TF, and their levels were increased by the lack of eNOS and by HF in an additive fashion. The HF diet increased the kidney expression of inflammatory genes. The increase in TF preceded DN, and administration of an anti‐mouse TF antibody to diabetic mice reduced the expression of inflammatory genes. Conclusion: Together, these data indicate a causal link between TF and the exacerbation of DN in eNOS−/− mice. The condition is significantly worsened by enhanced inflammatory responses to an HF diet via TF.
Evidence on the Response of Us Banks to Changes in Capital Requirements

This paper develops a structural, dynamic model of a banking firm to analyse how banks adjust their loan portfolios over time. In the model, banks experience capital shocks, face uncertain future loan demand, and incur costs based on their proximity to regulatory minimum capital requirements. Non-linear relationships between bank capital levels and lending are derived from the model, and key parameters are estimated using panel data on large US commercial banks operating continuously between December 1989 and December 1997. Using the estimated model, the optimal bank response to changes in capital requirements, shocks to bank capital, and changes to bank loan demand is simulated. The simulations predict that increases in risk-based and leverage capital requirements, negative capital shocks, or a decline in loan demand cause a reduction in loan growth. Nevertheless, by calculating the optimal portfolio response to these various changes, it is shown that changes in capital regulation are a necessary ingredient to explain the decline in loan growth and the rise in bank capital ratios witnessed nearly a decade ago. Thus, this study suggests that the current effort to redesign bank capital requirements should work under the assumption that banks will optimally respond to the economic incentives found in the regulation.
A CT-guided fat transversing coaxial biopsy technique for pancreatic lesion biopsy that avoids major organs and vessels

Background/Aims: The purpose of this study is to report our results using a computed tomography (CT)-guided fat transversing coaxial biopsy technique for pancreatic lesion biopsy that avoids major organs and vessels. We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients referred to our department for pancreatic mass biopsy. Patients and Methods: The records of patients (from June 2008 to August 2014) in whom biopsy was performed under CT guidance with a coaxial needle using a fat transversing technique were reviewed. Patient demographic data and biopsy outcomes were collected. We aimed to compare differences between lesion size and biopsy outcome, the independent two-samples t-test was used. Results: A total of 122 patients who underwent 17-G coaxial needle biopsy were included. The mean pancreatic lesion size was 3.2 cm, and in 30 patients it was more than 4 cm. The majority of lesions were located in the head of the pancreas (44.3%). No transorgan biopsies were performed. In most patients, the biopsy was performed via a fat traversing detour route (93.4%), and a successful diagnosis was made based on the biopsy outcome in 96.7% patients. Complications occurred in five patients (4.1%); three of the patients developed a fever, and two developed pancreatitis. All patients recovered with symptomatic treatment. Conclusion: CT-guided coaxial core biopsy of pancreatic lesions using a fat detour route appears to be a safe and effective method for obtaining pancreatic lesion biopsies with a high success rate and low complication rate.
Study on Fracture Behaviour of a Polymer‐Bonded Explosive Simulant Subjected to Uniaxial Compression Using Digital Image Correlation Method

Abstract: Quasi‐static uniaxial compression experiments were conducted on a polymer‐bonded explosive (PBX) simulant. At macro‐scale, the deformation and fracture process of samples were recorded using a charge‐coupled‐device camera. Microscopic examination was conducted to in situ observe the deformation and fracture processes of samples using SEM equipped with a loading stage. Microscopic damage modes, including interfacial debonding and particle fracture, were observed. The digital image correlation (DIC) technique was used to calculate the recorded images, and the macro‐ and micro‐scale displacement and strain fields were determined. Crack initiation, crack propagation, fracture behaviour and failure mechanism of samples were studied. The effects of aspect ratios on fracture behaviour and failure mechanism of PBX simulant were analysed.
IgG Endopeptidase in Highly Sensitized Patients Undergoing Transplantation.

n engl j med 377;17 nejm.org October 26, 2017 1692 Radecki and DeLoughery are concerned about the divergence in the median times to the cessation of bleeding that were reported in the interim and final analyses of the data from the RE-VERSE AD study. For patients with serious bleeding, the protocol mandated the assessment of the time to the cessation of bleeding up to 24 hours after the administration of the first vial of idarucizumab.1 The longer time that was reported in the interim analyses2,3 reflects the inclusion of patients with recorded times exceeding 24 hours and patients with intracranial hemorrhage, many of whom did not undergo repeat brain imaging until several days after admission. To adhere to the perprotocol definition, these patients were excluded in the final analysis, which explains the shorter times to the cessation of bleeding. We agree that their exclusion limits the generalizability of the findings to this subgroup. Therefore, postmarketing data are needed to better assess the effect of idarucizumab on the time to the cessation of bleeding in these patients.4 Sorigue correctly points out that the diluted thrombin time or ecarin clotting time is not available in many hospitals, and he requests information on the correlation between the aPTT and these tests. This information is provided in Figure 1D of our article and in Figure S2 in the Supplementary Appendix (available with the full text of our article at NEJM.org), which show that there is good correlation between the aPTT as measured in the central laboratory and the more specialized tests. Therefore, these data provide preliminary evidence that the aPTT can also be used to monitor dabigatran reversal, provided that the test is performed with a reagent that is sensitive to the anticoagulant effects of dabigatran. In the RE-VERSE AD study, the central laboratory used the CK-Prest reagent (Diagnostica Stago). It is important to point out, however, that coagulation testing before the administration of idarucizumab is not essential in patients who have life-threatening bleeding or in whom urgent surgery is indicated.
GABAB Receptor Activation Triggers BDNF Release and Promotes the Maturation of GABAergic Synapses

GABA, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the adult brain, has recently emerged as an important signal in network development. Most of the trophic functions of GABA have been attributed to depolarization of the embryonic and neonatal neurons via the activation of ionotropic GABAA receptors. Here we demonstrate a novel mechanism by which endogenous GABA selectively regulates the development of GABAergic synapses in the developing brain. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings on newborn mouse hippocampi lacking functional GABAB receptors (GABAB-Rs) and time-lapse fluorescence imaging on cultured hippocampal neurons expressing GFP-tagged brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), we found that activation of metabotropic GABAB receptors (GABAB-Rs) triggers secretion of BDNF and promotes the development of perisomatic GABAergic synapses in the newborn mouse hippocampus. Because activation of GABAB-Rs occurs during the characteristic ongoing physiological network-driven synaptic activity present in the developing hippocampus, our results reveal a new mechanism by which synaptic activity can modulate the development of local GABAergic synaptic connections in the developing brain.
Star cluster formation and evolution in nearby starburst galaxies — I. Systematic uncertainties

The large majority of extragalactic star cluster studies done to date have essentially used two or three-passband aperture photometry, combined with theoretical stellar population synthesis models, to obtain age, mass and extinction estimates, and sometimes also metallicities. The accuracy to which this can be done depends on the choice of (broad-band) passband combination and, crucially, also on the actual wavelengths and the wavelength range covered by the observations. Understanding the inherent systematic uncertainties (the main aim of this paper) is of the utmost importance for a well-balanced interpretation of the properties of extragalactic star cluster systems. We simultaneously obtain ages, metallicities and extinction values for ∼ 300 clusters in the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 3310, based on archival Hubble Space Telescope observations from the ultraviolet (UV) to the near-infrared (NIR). We show that, for ages 6 . log(age/yr) . 9, and if one can only obtain partial coverage of the spectral energy distribution (SED), an optical passband combination of at least four filters including both blue and red passbands results in the most representative age distribution, as compared to the better constrained ages obtained from the full UV–NIR SED coverage. We find that while blue-selected passband combinations lead to age distributions that are slightly biased towards younger ages due to the well-known age–metallicity degeneracy, red-dominated passband combinations should be avoided. NGC 3310 underwent a (possibly extended) global burst of cluster formation ∼ 3×10 7 yr ago. This coincides closely with the last tidal interaction or merger with a low-metallicity galaxy that likely induced the formation of the large fraction of clusters with (significantly) subsolar metallicities. The logarithmic slope of the Vband cluster luminosity function, for clusters in the range 17.7 . F606W . 20.2
Reliability and validity of the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale and a modified scale for testing muscle strength in patients with radial palsy.

OBJECTIVE To assess the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability and validity of the original and a modified Medical Research Council scale for testing muscle strength in radial palsy. DESIGN Prospective, randomized validation study. PATIENTS Thirty-one patients with peripheral paresis of radial innervated forearm muscles were included. METHODS Wrist extension, finger extension and grip strength were evaluated by manual muscle testing. Dynamometric measurement of grip strength was performed. Pair-wise weighted kappa coefficients were calculated to determine inter-rater and intra-rater reliability. The 2 scores were compared using the signed-rank test. Spearman's correlation coefficients of the maximal relative force measurements with the median (over-raters) Medical Research Council and modified Medical Research Council scores were calculated to determine validity. RESULTS Inter-rater agreement of the Medical Research Council scale (finger extension: 0.77; wrist extension: 0.78; grip strength: 0.78) and the modified Medical Research Council scale (finger extension: 0.81; wrist extension: 0.78; grip strength: 0.81) as well as intra-rater agreement of the Medical Research Council scale (finger extension: 0.86; wrist extension: 0.82; grip strength: 0.84) and the modified Medical Research Council scale (finger extension: 0.84, wrist extension: 0.81; grip strength: 0.88) showed almost perfect agreement. Spearman's correlation coefficients of the maximal relative force measurements with the median Medical Research Council and modified Medical Research Council score were both 0.78. CONCLUSION Medical Research Council and modified Medical Research Council scales are measurements with substantial inter-rater and intra-rater reliability in evaluating forearm muscles.
The Evidence for Nerve Repair in Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy Revisited

Strong scientific validation for nerve reconstructive surgery in infants with Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy is lacking, as no randomized trial comparing surgical reconstruction versus conservative treatment has been performed. A systematic review of the literature was performed to identify studies that compare nerve reconstruction to conservative treatment, including neurolysis. Nine papers were identified that directly compared the two treatment modalities. Eight of these were classified as level 4 evidence and one as level 5 evidence. All nine papers were evaluated in detail to describe strong and weak points in the methodology, and the outcomes from all studies were presented. Pooling of data was not possible due to differences in patient selection for surgery and outcome measures. The general consensus is that nerve reconstruction is indicated when the result of nerve surgery is assumedly better than the expected natural recovery, when spontaneous recovery is absent or severely delayed. The papers differed in methodology on how the cut-off point to select infants for nerve reconstructive surgical therapy should be determined. The justification for nerve reconstruction is further discussed.