Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tension-free vaginal tape-Abbrevo procedure for female stress urinary incontinence: a prospective analysis over 22 months.

INTRODUCTION We aimed to study the efficacy and safety of the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT)-Abbrevo procedure for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). METHODS This was a prospective cohort study that aimed to determine the subjective and objective cure, improvement of SUI and incidence of complications among women who underwent TVT-Abbrevo for SUI during a period of 22 months from September 2011 to June 2013. RESULTS A total of 76 patients, with a mean age of 48.2 ± 8.1 years, underwent TVT-Abbrevo during the study period. Among them, 86.8% had vaginal delivery and 5.3% had instrumental delivery. Mean parity was 2.3 ± 0.8 and mean body mass index was 27.0 ± 5.0 kg/m2. 11 (14.5%) patients had previously tried physiotherapy. Mean follow-up duration was 12.3 ± 5.6 months. The subjective cure rate for SUI at one-month, six-month and one-year follow-up was 95.7%, 90.8%, and 90.6%, respectively. Among the nine patients who completed the two-year follow-up, 88.9% reported either cure or improvement of SUI. At six months, the proportion of patients with objective cure was 86.8%, and the rates of postoperative groin pain and complications were low. In addition, overactive bladder symptoms disappeared in 76.3% of patients. CONCLUSION Our results are comparable with those of other studies, although long-term results remain to be seen.
The Psychological Cost of Making Control Responses in the Nonstereotype Direction

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a scale for the “psychological cost” of making control responses in the nonstereotype direction. Background: Wickens, Keller, and Small suggested values for the psychological cost arising from having control/display relationships that were not in the common stereotype directions. We provide values of such costs specifically for these situations. Method: Working from data of Chan and Hoffmann for 168 combinations of display location, control type, and display movement direction, we define values for the cost and compare these with the suggested values of Wickens et al.’s Frame of Reference Transformation Tool (FORT) model. Results: We found marked differences between the values of the FORT model and the data of our experiments. The differences arise largely from the effects of the Worringham and Beringer visual field principle not being adequately considered in the previous research. Conclusion: A better indication of the psychological cost for use of incorrect control/display stereotypes is given. It is noted that these costs are applicable only to the factor of stereotype strength and not other factors considered in the FORT model. Application: Effects of having controls and displays that are not arranged to operate with population expectancies can be readily determined from the data in this paper.
Shoulder Dynamic Control Ratio and Rotation Range of Motion in Female Junior Elite Handball Players and Controls

Objective: To compare glenohumeral range of motion and shoulder rotator muscle strength in healthy female junior elite handball players and controls. Design: Cross-sectional case–control study. Setting: Sports medical center. Participants: Forty elite female handball players and 30 controls active in nonoverhead sports participated in this study. Main Outcome Measures: Passive external rotator (ER), internal rotator (IR), and total range of motion (TROM) of the dominant and nondominant arm were examined with a goniometer. An isokinetic dynamometer was used to evaluate concentric and eccentric rotator muscle strength at 60 and 120 degrees/s with dynamic control ratio (DCR = ERecc:IRcon) as the main outcome parameter. Results: Except for the ER range of motion in the nondominant arm, no significant differences were found between groups for IR, ER of the dominant arm, and the TROM. Within the handball group, the side-to-side difference for IR of the dominant arm was −1.4 degrees. The ER and the TROM of the dominant arm were significantly larger, 6.3 and 4.9 degrees, respectively. For both groups, the DCR values were above 1 and no significant differences were found between the dominant and nondominant arm. The DCR values in the handball group were significantly lower than in the control group. Conclusions: Based on the adopted definitions for muscle imbalance, glenohumeral internal range of motion deficit and TROM deficit our elite female handball players seem not at risk for shoulder injuries. Prospective studies are needed to support the belief that a DCR below 1 places the shoulder at risk for injury.
Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and pulmonary infection in children

Abstract We assessed the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) among Chinese children. This observational study examined children aged 3 days to 14 years (n = 1582) from the Capital Institute of Pediatrics in 2009 to 2011. There were 797 children in the CAP group and 785 controls. The CAP group was divided into 2 groups: a pneumonia group and pneumonia-induced sepsis group. The serum 25(OH)D level was estimated using micro whole blood chemiluminescence. The average serum 25(OH)D level in all samples was 25.32 ± 14.07 ng/mL, with the CAP group showing a lower value than the control group (P < .001). There were also significant differences between the pneumonia group and pneumonia-induced sepsis group (P < .001). In the pneumonia-induced sepsis group, significant differences in serum 25(OH)D levels were observed in children who received mechanical ventilation or presenting with multiple organ dysfunction (P < .01). All serum 25(OH)D levels in the pneumonia group and pneumonia-induced sepsis group were below normal levels, particularly in the sepsis group. A lower serum 25(OH)D level was associated with more serious symptoms in CAP children. Children with low serum 25(OH)D levels may be at higher risk of receiving mechanical ventilation and presenting with multiple organ dysfunction. These findings suggest that vitamin D supplements are beneficial for the treatment and prevention of CAP.
Effectiveness of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination on Prevalence of Vaccine Genotypes in Young Sexually Active Women in France

Background Effectiveness of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines in the context of both guidelines, which recommend vaccination at 14 years and modest vaccine coverage, is poorly documented. Methods Residual specimens from females aged <25 years undergoing chlamydia testing were collected, together with demographic, sexual behavior, and vaccine status data. Human pappilomavirus genotypes were determined using the PapilloCheck test system. We compared vaccine type (VT; types 6, 11, 16, 18) prevalence according to vaccination status and identified factors associated with VT prevalence. Results Of 3736 eligible samples, 822 were from vaccinated women according to immunization record, 1021 from women self-reporting vaccination, and 1893 from unvaccinated women. Adjusted vaccine effectiveness for confirmed vaccinated compared with unvaccinated women was 95.93% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 90.22-98.32) against VT HPV and 38.37% (95% CI = 12.68-56.51) against cross-reactive genotypes (HPV 31, 33, 45), respectively. Vaccine type HPV prevalence was significantly lower (0.61%) among confirmed-vaccinated women than among those who self-reported vaccination or unvaccinated women (1.76% and 15.0%, respectively). Factors associated with prevalent VT in multivariable analysis were vaccine status, positive Chlamydia trachomatis and ≥4 partners in the preceding year. Conclusion Our study demonstrates evidence of high effectiveness of HPV prophylactic vaccines at an individual level, supporting that wider implementation will help to reduce cervical cancer and precursors incidence.
Biomarkers of Chronic Acrolein Inhalation Exposure in Mice: Implications for Tobacco Product-Induced Toxicity

Exposure to tobacco smoke, which contains several harmful and potentially harmful constituents such as acrolein increases cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Although high acrolein levels induce pervasive cardiovascular injury, the effects of low-level exposure remain unknown and sensitive biomarkers of acrolein toxicity have not been identified. Identification of such biomarkers is essential to assess the toxicity of acrolein present at low levels in the ambient air or in new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes. Hence, we examined the systemic effects of chronic (12 weeks) acrolein exposure at concentrations similar to those found in tobacco smoke (0.5 or 1 ppm). Acrolein exposure in mice led to a 2- to 3-fold increase in its urinary metabolite 3-hydroxypropyl mercapturic acid (3-HPMA) with an attendant increase in pulmonary levels of the acrolein-metabolizing enzymes, glutathione S-transferase P and aldose reductase, as well as several Nrf2-regulated antioxidant proteins. Markers of pulmonary endoplasmic reticulum stress and inflammation were unchanged. Exposure to acrolein suppressed circulating levels of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and specific leukocyte subsets (eg, GR-1+ cells, CD19+ B-cells, CD4+ T-cells; CD11b+ monocytes) whilst other subsets (eg, CD8+ cells, NK1.1+ cells, Ly6C+ monocytes) were unchanged. Chronic acrolein exposure did not affect systemic glucose tolerance, platelet-leukocyte aggregates or microparticles in blood. These findings suggest that circulating levels of EPCs and specific leukocyte populations are sensitive biomarkers of inhaled acrolein injury and that low-level (<0.5 ppm) acrolein exposure (eg, in secondhand smoke, vehicle exhaust, e-cigarettes) could increase CVD risk by diminishing endothelium repair or by suppressing immune cells or both.
Phosphatidylinositol 3‐Kinase–DNA Methyltransferase 1–miR‐1281–Histone Deacetylase 4 Regulatory Axis Mediates Platelet‐Derived Growth Factor–Induced Proliferation and Migration of Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells

Background Platelet‐derived growth factor BB, a potent mitogen of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), has been implicated in pulmonary arterial remodeling, which is a key pathogenic feature of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Previous microRNA profiling in platelet‐derived growth factor BB–treated PASMCs found a significantly downregulated microRNA, miR‐1281, but it has not been associated with any cellular function, and we investigated the possibility. Methods and Results Real‐time quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction assay proved that downregulation of miR‐1281 was a conserved phenomenon in human and rat PASMCs. Overexpression and inhibition of miR‐1281 in PASMCs promoted and suppressed, respectively, the cell proliferation and migration. Bioinformatic prediction and 3′‐untranslated region reporter assay identified histone deacetylase 4 to be a direct target of miR‐1281. Supporting this, proliferation and migration assay demonstrated the cellular function of histone deacetylase 4 is inversely correlated with that of miR‐1281. Mechanistically, it is found that platelet‐derived growth factor BB activates the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase pathway, which then induces the expression of DNA methyltransferase 1, leading to enhanced methylation of a flanking CpG island and repressed miR‐1281 expression. Finally, a reduced miR‐1281 level was consistently identified in hypoxic PASMCs in vitro, in pulmonary arteries of rats with monocrotaline‐induced pulmonary arterial hypertension, and in serum of patients with coronary heart disease–pulmonary arterial hypertension. These data suggest that there may be a diagnostic and therapeutic use for miR‐1281. Conclusions Herein, we report a novel regulatory axis, phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase–DNA methyltransferase 1–miR‐1281–histone deacetylase 4, integrating multiple epigenetic regulators that participate in platelet‐derived growth factor BB–stimulated PASMC proliferation and migration and pulmonary vascular remodeling.
Effects of Mobility and Cognition on Hospitalization and Inpatient Days in Women in Late Life

Background: This study examines effects of mobility and cognition on hospitalization and inpatient days among women late in life. Methods: Prospective study of 663 women (mean age 87.7 years) participating in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Year 20 examination (2006–2008) linked with their inpatient claims data. At Year 20, mobility ascertained by Short Physical Performance Battery categorized as poor, intermediate, or good. Cognitive status adjudicated based on neuropsychological tests and classified as normal, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia. Hospitalizations (n = 182) during 12 months following Year 20. Results: Reduced mobility and poorer cognition were each associated in a graded manner with higher inpatient health care utilization, even after accounting for each other and traditional prognostic indicators. For example, adjusted mean inpatient days per year were 0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.52–1.45) among women with good mobility increasing to 2.80 (95% CI 1.64–3.89) among women with poor mobility and 1.59 (95% CI 1.08–2.03) among women with normal cognition increasing to 2.53 (95% CI 1.55–3.40) among women with dementia. Women with poor mobility/dementia had a nearly sixfold increase in mean inpatient days per year (4.83, 95% CI 2.73–8.54) compared with women with good mobility/normal cognition (0.84, 95% CI 0.49–1.44). Conclusions: Among women late in life, mobility limitations and cognitive deficits were each independent predictors of higher inpatient health care utilization even after considering each other and conventional predictors. Additive effects of reduced mobility and poorer cognition may be important to consider in medical decision making and health care policy planning for the growing population of adults aged ≥85 years.
The neurobiology of parenting: A neural circuit perspective

Social interactions are essential for animals to reproduce, defend their territory, and raise their young. The conserved nature of social behaviors across animal species suggests that the neural pathways underlying the motivation for, and the execution of, specific social responses are also maintained. Modern tools of neuroscience have offered new opportunities for dissecting the molecular and neural mechanisms controlling specific social responses. We will review here recent insights into the neural circuits underlying a particularly fascinating and important form of social interaction, that of parental care. We will discuss how these findings open new avenues to deconstruct infant‐directed behavioral control in males and females, and to help understand the neural basis of parenting in a variety of animal species, including humans.
[Current state of influenza vaccination and factors affecting vaccination rate among pregnant women].

PURPOSE This study was done to examine the actual state of influenza vaccination among pregnant women and factors affecting vaccination rate. METHODS Data were collected using self-report questionnaires. Participants were pregnant women who participated in a prenatal education program at an acute care hospital in 2013. Data collected from 218 pregnant women were analyzed using the SPSS 18.0 Program. RESULTS Only 48.6% of the pregnant women had received vaccination when the influenza was prevalent. Statistically significant factors affecting the influenza vaccination rate among pregnant women were vaccination experience in the previous year, knowledge and attitude about vaccination, and gestation period. CONCLUSION Results indicate that the influenza vaccination rate among pregnant women is lower than that of elders, healthcare workers, and patients with chronic diseases, who have been considered to be the mandatory vaccination recipients. Therefore, it is necessary to develop programs and policies which provide information including safety of vaccines for pregnant women and to induce positive attitudes towards vaccination for these women, in order to ultimately improve the vaccination rate.
Universal Screening With Use of Immunoglobulin G Avidity for Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection

Background The aim of this prospective cohort study was to evaluate the efficacy of maternal screening for congenital cytomegalovirus infection (CCI) using cytomegalovirus (CMV) immunoglobulin G (IgG) and the IgG avidity index (AI). Methods Pregnant women underwent screening of CMV IgG and AI measurements. IgG-negative women underwent remeasurement of IgG after educational intervention. Women with an AI ≤45% received further examinations, including measurement of CMV IgM. All newborns received polymerase chain reaction analyses of the urine, and CCI was diagnosed by the detection of CMV-DNA in the urine. Primary infection was defined as an AI <35% and/or positive IgM (>1.20 index). Serum samples from women with an AI >45% were stored, and the IgM levels were measured after delivery. The efficacy of AI and IgM for CCI screening was compared. Results A total of 1562 (71.2%) women tested positive for IgG. In this study, 10 newborns with CCI were detected. The presence of infection in 3 newborns from mothers with primary infection was predicted by screening of IgG and AI <35%. However, infection in 7 newborns from women with nonprimary infection could not be predicted by screening of CMV IgG, AI <35%, or IgM. The application of an AI <35% for CCI screening yielded 22.2% sensitivity, 95.0% specificity, 2.5% positive predictive value, and 99.5% negative predictive value and was similar to that of IgM (11.1% sensitivity, 93.2% specificity, 0.9% positive predictive value, and 92.7% negative predictive value). Conclusions Maternal screening using CMV IgG and AI can identify pregnancies with CCI from primary infection, but overlooks a number of those from nonprimary infection.
Fast and Rigorous Computation of Gene and Pathway Scores from SNP-Based Summary Statistics

Integrating single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) p-values from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) across genes and pathways is a strategy to improve statistical power and gain biological insight. Here, we present Pascal (Pathway scoring algorithm), a powerful tool for computing gene and pathway scores from SNP-phenotype association summary statistics. For gene score computation, we implemented analytic and efficient numerical solutions to calculate test statistics. We examined in particular the sum and the maximum of chi-squared statistics, which measure the strongest and the average association signals per gene, respectively. For pathway scoring, we use a modified Fisher method, which offers not only significant power improvement over more traditional enrichment strategies, but also eliminates the problem of arbitrary threshold selection inherent in any binary membership based pathway enrichment approach. We demonstrate the marked increase in power by analyzing summary statistics from dozens of large meta-studies for various traits. Our extensive testing indicates that our method not only excels in rigorous type I error control, but also results in more biologically meaningful discoveries.
oherent clusters in source code

This paper presents the results of a large scale empirical study of coherent dependence clusters. All statements in a coherent dependence cluster depend upon the same set of statements and affect the same set of statements; a coherent cluster’s statements have ‘coherent’ shared backward and forward dependence. We introduce an approximation to efficiently locate coherent clusters and show that it has a minimum precision of 97.76%. Our empirical study also finds that, despite their tight coherence constraints, coherent dependence clusters are in abundance: 23 of the 30 programs studied have coherent clusters that contain at least 10% of the whole program. Studying patterns of clustering in these programs reveals that most programs contain multiple substantial coherent clusters. A series of subsequent case studies uncover that all clusters of significant size map to a logical functionality and correspond to a program structure. For example, we show that for the program acct, the top five coherent clusters all map to specific, yet otherwise non-obvious, functionality. Cluster visualization also brings out subtle deficiencies in program structure and identifies potential refactoring candidates. A study of inter-cluster dependence is used to highlight how coherent clusters are connected to each other, revealing higher-level structures, which can be used in reverse engineering. Finally, studies are presented to illustrate how clusters are not faults correlated with program
An Approach for Foliar Trait Retrieval from Airborne Imaging Spectroscopy of Tropical Forests

Spatial information on forest functional composition is needed to inform management and conservation efforts, yet this information is lacking, particularly in tropical regions. Canopy foliar traits underpin the functional biodiversity of forests, and have been shown to be remotely measurable using airborne 350–2510 nm imaging spectrometers. We used newly acquired imaging spectroscopy data constrained with concurrent light detection and ranging (LiDAR) measurements from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO), and field measurements, to test the performance of the Spectranomics approach for foliar trait retrieval. The method was previously developed in Neotropical forests, and was tested here in the humid tropical forests of Malaysian Borneo. Multiple foliar chemical traits, as well as leaf mass per area (LMA), were estimated with demonstrable precision and accuracy. The results were similar to those observed for Neotropical forests, suggesting a more general use of the Spectranomics approach for mapping canopy traits in tropical forests. Future mapping studies using this approach can advance scientific investigations and applications based on imaging spectroscopy.
Cost-utility analysis of the cochlear implant in children.

CONTEXT Barriers to the use of cochlear implants in children with profound deafness include device costs, difficulty assessing benefit, and lack of data to compare the implant with other medical interventions. OBJECTIVE To determine the quality of life and cost consequences for deaf children who receive a cochlear implant. DESIGN Cost-utility analysis using preintervention, postintervention, and cross-sectional surveys conducted from July 1998 to May 2000. SETTING Hearing clinic at a US academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS Parents of 78 profoundly deaf children (average age, 7.5 years) who received cochlear implants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Direct and total cost to society per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) using the time-trade-off (TTO), visual analog scale (VAS), and Health Utilities Index-Mark III (HUI), discounting costs and benefits 3% annually. Parents rated their child's health state at the time of the survey and immediately before and 1 year before implantation. RESULTS Recipients had an average of 1.9 years of implant use. Mean VAS scores increased by 0. 27, from 0.59 before implantation to 0.86 at survey. In a subset of participants, TTO scores increased by 0.22, from 0.75 to 0.97 (n = 40) and HUI scores increased by 0.39, from 0.25 to 0.64 (n = 22). Quality-of-life scores were no different 1 year before and immediately before implantation. Discounted direct costs were $60,228, yielding $9,029 per QALY using the TTO, $7,500 per QALY using the VAS, and $5,197 per QALY using the HUI. Including indirect costs such as reduced educational expenses, the cochlear implant provided a savings of $53,198 per child. CONCLUSIONS Cochlear implants in profoundly deaf children have a positive effect on quality of life at reasonable direct costs and appear to result in a net savings to society. JAMA. 2000;284:850-856