Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonadherence in difficult asthma – facts, myths, and a time to act

Nonadherence to prescribed treatment is an important cause of difficult asthma. Rates of nonadherence amongst asthmatic patients have been shown to range between 30% and 70%. This is associated with poor health care outcomes and increased health care costs. There is no such thing as a “typical” nonadherent patient. The reasons driving nonadherence are multifactorial. Furthermore, adherence is a variable behavior and not a trait characteristic. Adherence rates can vary between the same individual across treatments for different conditions. There is no consistent link between socioeconomic status and nonadherence, and although some studies have shown that nonadherence is more common amongst females, this is not a universal finding. The commonly held perception that better adherence is driven by greater disease severity has been demonstrated to not be the case, in both pediatric and adult patients. Identification of nonadherence is the first step. If adherence is not checked, it is likely that poor adherence will be labeled as refractory disease. Failure to identify poor adherence may lead to inappropriate escalation of therapy, including the potential introduction of complex biological therapies. Surrogate measures, such as prescription counting, are not infallible. Nonadherence can be difficult to identify in clinical practice, and a systematic approach using a variety of tools is required. Nonadherence can be successfully addressed. Therefore, assessment of adherence is of paramount importance in difficult asthma management, in order to reduce exacerbations and steroid-related side effects as well as hospital and intensive care admissions, health care cost, and inappropriate treatment escalation. In this paper, we present an overview of the literature surrounding nonadherence in difficult asthma. We explore the facts and myths surrounding the factors driving nonadherence as well as how it can be identified and addressed.
Control in Multi-Motor Electric Vehicle with a FPGA platform

A new FPGA based platform is presented for controlling a Multi-Motor Electric Vehicle (EV). By exploring the FPGA parallel processing capabilities, two induction motor controllers, based on Field Orientation Control and Space Vector Modulation techniques, were merged in a single and compact chip. Implementation issues related with the limited number of dedicated multipliers were overcome using an efficient computational block, based on resource sharing strategy. The developed IP Cores were carefully optimized to fit in a low cost XC3S1000. Experimental results, obtained with a multi-motor EV prototype, demonstrate the proper operation of the proposed propulsion system.
Olfactory Functions in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are often characterized by atypical sensory behavior (hyper- or hyporeactivity) although evidence is scarce regarding olfactory abilities in ASD; 16 adults with high-functioning ASD (mean age: 38.2, SD: 9.7) and 14 healthy control subjects (mean age: 42.0 years, SD: 12.5) were assessed in odor threshold, free and cued odor identification, and perceived pleasantness, intensity, and edibility of everyday odors. Although results showed no differences between groups, the Bayes Factors (close to 1) suggested that the evidence for no group differences on the threshold and identification tests was inconclusive. In contrast, there was some evidence for no group differences on perceived edibility (BF01 = 2.69) and perceived intensity (BF01 = 2.80). These results do not provide conclusive evidence for or against differences between ASD and healthy controls on olfactory abilities. However, they suggest that there are no apparent group differences in subjective ratings of odors.
Who Is Governing Whom? Executives, Governance and the Structure of Generosity in Large U.S. Firms

We examine how organizational structure influences strategies over which corporate leaders have significant discretion. Corporate philanthropy is our setting to study how a differentiated structural element — the corporate foundation — constrains the influence of individual senior managers and directors on corporate strategy. Our analysis of Fortune 500 firms from 1996 to 2006 shows that leader characteristics at both the senior management and director levels affect corporate philanthropic contributions. We also find that organizational structure constrains the philanthropic influence of board members, but not of senior managers, a result that is contrary to what existing theory would predict. We discuss how these findings advance understanding of how organizational structure and corporate leadership interact and of how organizations can more effectively realize the strategic value of corporate social responsibility activities.
Decentralized spectral resource allocation for OFDMA downlink of coexisting macro/femto networks using filled function method

For an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) downlink of a spectrally coexisting macro and femto network, a resource allocation scheme would aim to maximize the area spectral efficiency (ASE) subject to constraints on the radio resources per transmission interval accessible by each femtocell. An optimal resource allocation scheme for completely decentralized deployments leads however to a nonconvex optimization problem. In this paper, a filled function method is employed to find the global maximum of the optimization problem. Simulation results show that our proposed method is efficient and effective.
Effective Reading Instruction Strategies for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

significant cognitive disabilities in school accountability systems using the outcomes of these research on reading was primarily focused on sight word instruction (Browder, Wakeman, we found two strategies to be especially effective. While teaching and assessing students with significant cognitive disabilities may be they are provided effective instruction and meaningful, individualized support. ion, writing or reading skills necessary to provide responses. Furthermore, strategies for increasing access to academic standards have helped special.
Natural Isoprenoids are Able to Reduce Inflammation in a Mouse Model of Mevalonate Kinase Deficiency

Mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD) is a rare disorder characterized by recurrent inflammatory episodes and, in most severe cases, by psychomotor delay. Defective synthesis of isoprenoids has been associated with the inflammatory phenotype in these patients, but the molecular mechanisms involved are still poorly understood, and, so far, no specific therapy is available for this disorder. Drugs like aminobisphosphonates, which inhibit the mevalonate pathway causing a relative defect in isoprenoids synthesis, have been also associated to an inflammatory phenotype. Recent data asserted that cell inflammation could be reversed by the addition of some isoprenoids, such as geranylgeraniol and farnesyl pyrophosphate. In this study, a mouse model for typical MKD inflammatory episode was obtained treating BALB/c mice with aminobisphosphonate alendronate and bacterial muramyldipeptide. The effect of exogenous isoprenoids—geraniol, farnesol, and geranylgeraniol—was therefore evaluated in this model. All these compounds were effective in preventing the inflammation induced by alendronate-muramyldipeptide, suggesting a possible role for these compounds in the treatment of MKD in humans.
Sleep rounds: a multidisciplinary approach to optimize sleep quality and satisfaction in hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND Poor sleep has adverse affects on heath, yet few studies have addressed the goal of improving sleep among hospitalized patients. We evaluated the effectiveness of a sleep-promoting intervention on the quality and quantity of sleep among inpatients. METHODS This study was conducted on a neurological ward in a large, tertiary care hospital. Sleep quality, quantity, and disruptors were assessed using questionnaires completed by patients during their hospital stay and Press Ganey surveys completed retrospectively. Room noise was also measured using noise meters. Data from each of 4 chronological phases of the study (baseline, basic intervention, "washout," and deluxe intervention) were analyzed. In the intervention phases, nurses conducted "Sleep Rounds" at bedtime, during which sleep-promoting practices were implemented, including lights out, television off, temperature adjustment, and a final restroom usage. RESULTS Patients reported 5 (interquartile range [IQR] 3) hours of sleep per night, awoke 3 (IQR 3) times nightly, and reported a median sleep latency of 11 to 15 minutes. Pain, staff interruptions, and roommates were the most significant barriers to good sleep. Noise levels were adequately low (35-40 dB) at night but were not positively impacted by our sleep-promoting interventions. Patients perceived noise on the unit to be worse during phases of the study in which there was no intervention. CONCLUSIONS Patient perception of sleep experience improved during the phases in which Sleep Rounds were implemented, despite the fact that there was no measurable improvement in sleep or sleep-disrupting factors.
Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors in Africa: A Clinicopathological Study

Introduction. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are rare, aggressive soft tissue sarcomas associated with poor prognosis, that most commonly affect patients aged 20 to 50 years, but have also been reported in children. There is little reported in literature on these tumors in Africa. Materials and Methods. A search of the hospital pathology database between 1992 and 2008 revealed 333 nerve sheath tumors, of which 31 were MPNSTs. Four representative case reports are presented. Discussion. MNPSTs have rarely been reported from sub-Saharan Africa; in this study, they constituted 9.3% of all nerve sheath tumors. The trunk (42%) and limbs (45%) were the most frequently affected anatomical sites. Late presentation of malignant lesions in this environment is exemplified by the four case presentations patients. Conclusions. This report confirms observations from studies on MPNSTs from other environments. Anatomically centrally located MPNSTs may have a higher incidence in sub-Saharan Africa than in the West. Because NF1-associated MPNSTs are difficult to diagnose clinically, and because surgery is the only mode of therapy that offers a complete cure, a lifetime follow-up is important, as this would enable diagnosis of early lesions amenable to surgical extirpation.
Psychologically induced cooling of a specific body part caused by the illusory ownership of an artificial counterpart

The sense of body ownership represents a fundamental aspect of our self-awareness, but is disrupted in many neurological, psychiatric, and psychological conditions that are also characterized by disruption of skin temperature regulation, sometimes in a single limb. We hypothesized that skin temperature in a specific limb could be disrupted by psychologically disrupting the sense of ownership of that limb. In six separate experiments, and by using an established protocol to induce the rubber hand illusion, we demonstrate that skin temperature of the real hand decreases when we take ownership of an artificial counterpart. The decrease in skin temperature is limb-specific: it does not occur in the unstimulated hand, nor in the ipsilateral foot. The effect is not evoked by tactile or visual input per se, nor by simultaneous tactile and visual input per se, nor by a shift in attention toward the experimental side or limb. In fact, taking ownership of an artificial hand slows tactile processing of information from the real hand, which is also observed in patients who demonstrate body disownership after stroke. These findings of psychologically induced limb-specific disruption of temperature regulation provide the first evidence that: taking ownership of an artificial body part has consequences for the real body part; that the awareness of our physical self and the physiological regulation of self are closely linked in a top-down manner; and that cognitive processes that disrupt the sense of body ownership may in turn disrupt temperature regulation in numerous states characterized by both.
Awareness, Knowledge and Practices of Breast Cancer Prevention among Women with Family History of Breast Cancer in Ede, Osun State, Nigeria

Women with Family History (FH) of Breast Cancer (BRCA) in first-degree relative have a relative risk >4 due to inherited genetic mutation genes. This study therefore assessed knowledge and practices of BRCA prevention among women with FH of BRCA in the study area. This is a cross-sectional study. Snowball sampling technique was used to select 189 women with FH of BRCA. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtained data and Descriptive statistics and t-test were used for the analysis. Respondents mean age was 43.4±9.2 years. Some (42.9%) were not aware of their susceptibility to BRCA. Some (42.9%) of respondents have family members who had died of BRCA and 13.2% have family members who currently have BRCA. Many (61.4%) believed that BRCA is not curable even when detected early and 65.1% did not know that painless lump in the breast is one of the signs of BRCA. Preventive practices among respondents included regular taking of herbs (67.5%) and breastfeeding for longer than 1 year (14.5%). Majority (96.3%) and 38.6% have never performed mammogram and breast self examination respectively. Incorrect preventive practices existed among respondents. Information, education and communication programme on breast cancer prevention should be intensified for these women.
Tirapazamine, Cisplatin, and Radiation versus Fluorouracil, Cisplatin, and Radiation in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer: a randomized phase II trial of the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG 98.02).

PURPOSE To select one of two chemoradiotherapy regimens for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck as the experimental arm for the next Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group phase III trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred twenty-two previously untreated patients with stage III/IV SCC of the head and neck were randomized to receive definitive radiotherapy (70 Gy in 7 weeks) concurrently with either cisplatin (75 mg/m(2)) plus tirapazamine (290 mg/m(2)/d) on day 2 of weeks 1, 4, and 7, and tirapazamine alone (160 mg/m(2)/d) on days 1, 3, and 5 of weeks 2 and 3 (TPZ/CIS), or cisplatin (50 mg/m(2)) on day 1 and infusional fluorouracil (360 mg/m(2)/d) on days 1 through 5 of weeks 6 and 7 (chemoboost). RESULTS Three-year failure-free survival rates were 55% with TPZ/CIS (95% CI, 39% to 70%) and 44% with chemoboost (95% CI, 30% to 60%; log-rank P = .16). Three-year locoregional failure-free rates were 84% in the TPZ/CIS arm (95% CI, 71% to 92%) and 66% in the chemoboost arm (95% CI, 51% to 79%; P = .069). More febrile neutropenia and grade 3 or 4 late mucous membrane toxicity were observed with TPZ/CIS, while acute skin radiation reaction was more severe and prolonged with chemoboost. Compliance with protocol treatment was satisfactory on both arms. CONCLUSION Both regimens are feasible and are associated with significant but acceptable toxicity profiles in the cooperative group setting. Based on the promising efficacy seen in this trial, TPZ/CIS is being evaluated in a large phase III trial.
Late-onset Bartter syndrome type II

Abstract Mutations in the ROMK1 potassium channel gene (KCNJ1) cause antenatal/neonatal Bartter syndrome type II (aBS II), a renal disorder that begins in utero, accounting for the polyhydramnios and premature delivery that is typical in affected infants, who develop massive renal salt wasting, hypokalaemic metabolic alkalosis, secondary hyperreninaemic hyperaldosteronism, hypercalciuria and nephrocalcinosis. This BS type is believed to represent a disorder of the infancy, but not in adulthood. We herein describe a female patient with a remarkably late-onset and mild clinical manifestation of BS II with compound heterozygous KCNJ1 missense mutations, consisting of a novel c.197T > A (p.I66N) and a previously reported c.875G > A (p.R292Q) KCNJ1 mutation. We implemented and evaluated the performance of two different bioinformatics-based approaches of targeted massively parallel sequencing [next generation sequencing (NGS)] in defining the molecular diagnosis. Our results demonstrate that aBS II may be suspected in patients with a late-onset phenotype. Our experimental approach of NGS-based mutation screening combined with Sanger sequencing proved to be a reliable molecular approach for defining the clinical diagnosis in our patient, and results in important differential diagnostic and therapeutic implications for patients with BS. Our results could have a significant impact on the diagnosis and methodological approaches of genetic testing in other patients with clinical unclassified phenotypes of nephrocalcinosis and congenital renal electrolyte abnormalities.
Climate change mitigation and health effects of varied dietary patterns in real-life settings throughout North America.

BACKGROUND Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) are a major consequence of our dietary choices. Assessments of plant-based compared with meat-based diets are emerging at the intersection of public health, environment, and nutrition. OBJECTIVES The objective was to compare the GHGEs associated with dietary patterns consumed in a large population across North America and to independently assess mortality according to dietary patterns in the same population. DESIGN Data from the Adventist Health Study 2 (AHS-2) were used to characterize the differential environmental and health impacts of the following 3 dietary patterns, which varied in the quantity of animal and plant foods: vegetarian, semivegetarian, and nonvegetarian. The GHGE intensities of 210 foods were calculated through life-cycle assessments and by using published data. The all-cause mortality rates and all-cause mortality HRs for the AHS-2 subjects were adjusted for a range of lifestyle and sociodemographic factors and estimated according to dietary pattern. RESULTS With the use of the nonvegetarian diet as a reference, the mean reductions in GHGEs for semivegetarian and vegetarian diets were 22% and 29%, respectively. The mortality rates for nonvegetarians, semivegetarians, and vegetarians were 6.66, 5.53, and 5.56 deaths per 1000 person-years, respectively. The differences were significant. Compared with nonvegetarians, mortality HRs were lower for semivegetarians (0.86) and vegetarians (0.91). CONCLUSIONS Moderate differences in the caloric intake of meat products provided nontrivial reductions in GHGEs and improved health outcomes, as shown through the mortality analyses. However, this does not mean that diets lower in GHGEs are healthy.
Popularity prediction in microblogging network: a case study on sina weibo

Predicting the popularity of content is important for both the host and users of social media sites. The challenge of this problem comes from the inequality of the popularity of content. Existing methods for popularity prediction are mainly based on the quality of content, the interface of social media site to highlight contents, and the collective behavior of users. However, little attention is paid to the structural characteristics of the networks spanned by early adopters, i.e., the users who view or forward the content in the early stage of content dissemination. In this paper, taking the Sina Weibo as a case, we empirically study whether structural characteristics can provide clues for the popularity of short messages. We find that the popularity of content is well reflected by the structural diversity of the early adopters. Experimental results demonstrate that the prediction accuracy is significantly improved by incorporating the factor of structural diversity into existing methods.
IFN-γ amplifies NFκB-dependent Neisseria meningitidis invasion of epithelial cells via specific upregulation of CEA-related cell adhesion molecule 1

Temporal relationship between viral and bacterial infections has been observed, and may arise via the action of virus‐induced inflammatory cytokines. These, by upregulating epithelial receptors targeted by bacteria, may encourage greater bacterial infiltration. In this study, human epithelial cells exposed to interferon‐gamma but not tumour necrosis factor‐alpha or interleukin 1‐beta supported increased meningococcal adhesion and invasion. The increase was related to Opa but not Opc or pili adhesin expression. De novo synthesis of carcinoembryonic antigen‐related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1), a major Opa receptor, occurred in epithelial cells exposed to the cytokine, or when infected with Opa‐expressing bacteria. Cell line‐dependent differences in invasion that were observed could be correlated with CEACAM expression levels. There was also evidence for Opa/pili synergism leading to high levels of monolayer infiltration by capsulate bacteria. The use of nuclear factor‐kappa B (NFκB) inhibitors, diferuloylmethane (curcumin) and SN50, abrogated bacterial infiltration of both untreated and interferon‐gamma‐treated cells. The studies demonstrate the importance of CEACAMs as mediators of increased cellular invasion under conditions of inflammation and bring to light the potential role of NFκB pathway in Opa‐mediated invasion by meningococci. The data imply that cell‐surface remodelling by virally induced cytokines could be one factor that increases host susceptibility to bacterial infection.
Further evidence of an inverse genetic relationship between innate differences in alcohol preference and alcohol withdrawal magnitude in multiple selectively bred rat lines.

BACKGROUND We have previously shown that a genetic association exists between low alcohol drinking and high alcohol withdrawal magnitude after acute alcohol exposure in alcohol-naïve rats. However, the behavioral rating scale used in this prior study was not optimal for assessing the magnitude of mild alcohol withdrawal. The present study examined whether a genetic relationship is again found between alcohol preference and alcohol withdrawal magnitude when a sensitive measure is used to index mild alcohol withdrawal in rats. METHODS Alcohol-naïve, male rats selectively bred for alcohol preference (P, HAD1, HAD2) or nonpreference (NP, LAD1, LAD2) received a single intragastric infusion of alcohol (4.0 g/20.3 ml/kg body weight; 25% v/v) or water followed by acoustic startle testing. RESULTS Startle probability and magnitude was greater in water-treated P than in water-treated NP rats. During alcohol withdrawal, startle probability and magnitude was suppressed in P rats and elevated in NP rats relative to water-treated controls. Startle probability and magnitude was greater in water-treated LAD1 rats than in water-treated HAD1 rats. During alcohol withdrawal, startle probability and magnitude was suppressed in HAD1 and elevated in LAD1 rats relative to water-treated controls at 20 hr after acute alcohol exposure. Startle probability and magnitude did not differ between water-treated HAD2 and water-treated LAD2 rats. During alcohol withdrawal, there was a trend toward decreased startle probability and magnitude in HAD2 rats compared with water-treated controls. CONCLUSIONS The acoustic startle response to a tone stimulus is a sensitive measure of mild alcohol withdrawal in rats. Rats selectively bred for low alcohol intake showed greater alcohol withdrawal magnitude than did rats selectively bred for high alcohol intake. These results provide further evidence that an inverse genetic association exists between alcohol withdrawal magnitude and propensity toward alcohol drinking in rats.