Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brainstem response patterns in deeply-sedated critically-ill patients predict 28-day mortality

Background and purpose Deep sedation is associated with acute brain dysfunction and increased mortality. We had previously shown that early-assessed brainstem reflexes may predict outcome in deeply sedated patients. The primary objective was to determine whether patterns of brainstem reflexes might predict mortality in deeply sedated patients. The secondary objective was to generate a score predicting mortality in these patients. Methods Observational prospective multicenter cohort study of 148 non-brain injured deeply sedated patients, defined by a Richmond Assessment sedation Scale (RASS) <-3. Brainstem reflexes and Glasgow Coma Scale were assessed within 24 hours of sedation and categorized using latent class analysis. The Full Outline Of Unresponsiveness score (FOUR) was also assessed. Primary outcome measure was 28-day mortality. A “Brainstem Responses Assessment Sedation Score” (BRASS) was generated. Results Two distinct sub-phenotypes referred as homogeneous and heterogeneous brainstem reactivity were identified (accounting for respectively 54.6% and 45.4% of patients). Homogeneous brainstem reactivity was characterized by preserved reactivity to nociceptive stimuli and a partial and topographically homogenous depression of brainstem reflexes. Heterogeneous brainstem reactivity was characterized by a loss of reactivity to nociceptive stimuli associated with heterogeneous brainstem reflexes depression. Heterogeneous sub-phenotype was a predictor of increased risk of 28-day mortality after adjustment to Simplified Acute Physiology Score-II (SAPS-II) and RASS (Odds Ratio [95% confidence interval] = 6.44 [2.63–15.8]; p<0.0001) or Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) and RASS (OR [95%CI] = 5.02 [2.01–12.5]; p = 0.0005). The BRASS (and marginally the FOUR) predicted 28-day mortality (c-index [95%CI] = 0.69 [0.54–0.84] and 0.65 [0.49–0.80] respectively). Conclusion In this prospective cohort study, around half of all deeply sedated critically ill patients displayed an early particular neurological sub-phenotype predicting 28-day mortality, which may reflect a dysfunction of the brainstem.
Card shark and thespis: exotic tools for hypertext narrative

Card Shark and Thespis are two newly-implemented hypertext systems for creating hypertext narrative. Both systems depart dramatically from the tools currently popular for writing hypertext fiction, and these departures may help distinguish between the intrinsic nature of hypertext and the tendencies of particular software tools and formalisms. The implementation of these systems raises interesting questions about assumptions underlying recent discussion of immersive, interactive fictions, and suggests new opportunities for hypertext research.
Pain catastrophizing,depression and their impact on pain intensity

: The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between catastrophizing and depression and their impact on pain severity in patients with orthopedic conditions. Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), the Depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 (DASS21-D) and the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) were administered to 104 patients of an outpatient orthopedic clinic. In addition, 65 healthy individuals from the community, matched for age and gender, were used as a control group. PCS assesses pain catastrophizing, DASS21-D assesses depression symtpomatology and NRS assesses pain severity. Multiple regression analyses, covariating for age and gender were used to estimate the predictive role of catastrophizing and depression on pain severity. Both catastrophic thinking and depression were statistically significant predictors of pain intensity. The PCS Helplessness subscale was found to be the strongest predictor.
Prevalence of Nasal Colonization Among Patients With Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection and Their Household Contacts

Objective. To evaluate the prevalence of colonization among patients with community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infection and their household contacts. Design. Prospective, observational laboratory study of nasal colonization among patients and their household members from September 15, 2004, to February 20, 2006. Setting. A 600-bed, urban, academic medical center. Patients. Fifty-one patients who presented with CA-MRSA infections and 49 household members had cultures of nasal swab specimens performed. Results. Skin and soft-tissue infections were seen in 50 patients (98%) and 2 household members. Twenty-one (41%) of 51 patients and 10 (20%) of 49 household members were colonized with MRSA. An additional 5 patients (10%) and 12 household members (24%) were colonized with methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus. Most MRSA isolates (95%; infective and colonizing) carried the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IV complex, and 67% represented a single clone, identical to USA 300. Of the colonized household members, 5 had isolates related to the patients' infective isolate. Conclusions. The frequency of CA-MRSA colonization among household members of patients with CA-MRSA infections is higher than rates reported among the general population. Among colonized household members, only half of the MRSA strains were related to the patients' infective isolate. Within the same household, multiple strains of CA-MRSA may be present.
The Inotropic Effect of 4−Aminopyridine and pH Changes in Rabbit Papillary Muscle

The effects of 4‐aminopyridine (4AP), and pH changes have been examined on tension responses and cyclic nucleotide levels in rabbit isolated right ventricular papillary muscles. 4AP augmented papillary muscle contractions in a concentration‐dependent manner. However, this positive inotropic action was largely due to an increase in extracellular pH produced by 4AP, rather than an intrinsic activity of the drug. Increases in extracellular pH (from 5 to 9) produced graded and reproducible increases in contractile force which were not blocked by propranolol (1 ± 10−7M) but were inhibited by verapamil in a concentration‐dependent manner. The positive inotropic effects of Ca2+ were enhanced and depressed by alkaline and acidic pH, respectively. Neither 4AP nor alkaline pH significantly changed cyclic AMP concentration in rabbit papillary muscles. The cyclic GMP content, however, was increased by 4AP only and this effect was blocked by atropine. The results suggest that the positive inotropic effect associated with a rise in pH from neutrality may be due to facilitation of translocation of membrane Ca2+ and/or to increase the release of Ca2+ from sources within the cell. They also illustrate that a major component of the inotropic effect of 4AP is a result of an increase in extracellular pH.
Self-Monitoring and Self-Recruited Praise

This study examines the relationship between self-monitoring plus self-recruited attention and problem behaviors, on-task behavior, overall teacher perception of student performance, task completion, and frequency of teacher praise. The research design employed an ABAB withdrawal analysis coupled with a two-series multiple baseline design across class periods for one fourth-grade student with learning disabilities and problem behavior in a general education classroom. The results indicate that implementation of self-monitoring combined with self-evaluation and self-recruitment of teacher attention was functionally related to a decrease in the frequency of problem behaviors, an increase in on-task behavior, and an increase in task completion. In addition, the intervention was associated with increased positive teacher perceptions of student performance. Results are discussed in terms of the application of (a) comprehensive, positive behavioral support in typical classrooms; (b) self management strategies to reduce problem behaviors; and (c) expanded research outcomes to document behavior change with social significance.
The Filament Sensor for Near Real-Time Detection of Cytoskeletal Fiber Structures

A reliable extraction of filament data from microscopic images is of high interest in the analysis of acto-myosin structures as early morphological markers in mechanically guided differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells and the understanding of the underlying fiber arrangement processes. In this paper, we propose the filament sensor (FS), a fast and robust processing sequence which detects and records location, orientation, length, and width for each single filament of an image, and thus allows for the above described analysis. The extraction of these features has previously not been possible with existing methods. We evaluate the performance of the proposed FS in terms of accuracy and speed in comparison to three existing methods with respect to their limited output. Further, we provide a benchmark dataset of real cell images along with filaments manually marked by a human expert as well as simulated benchmark images. The FS clearly outperforms existing methods in terms of computational runtime and filament extraction accuracy. The implementation of the FS and the benchmark database are available as open source.
A Decade of Experience With the UltraWide-Bore 900-MHz NMR Magnet

The ultrawide-bore (UWB) 900 MHz NMR magnet was commissioned in 2004. The magnet was conceived as part of the long range goal of NMR at fields in excess of 25 T that would require inner high temperature superconductor coils in the bore of a low temperature superconductor outer magnet of a sufficiently large bore. In order to address the combined interest in reaching 900 MHz while at the same time advancing the technology of large LTS NMR magnets, the decision was made to produce a 900 MHz magnet with an extended large bore to force the development of technology and for demonstration. Several advances in magnet technology were made in addition to the large bore in the areas of epoxy for impregnation and quench protection. During fabrication of the magnet, a joint between coil sections was possibly damaged, resulting in a large field drift in persistent mode. The cancelation of the field drift was initially a challenge but resulted in an excellent opportunity for the further development of drift compensation methods. Once the extended large bore was available, it was found to be increasingly of interest for unique NMR measurements. Since commissioning, the UWB magnet has played a central role in the NMR science program at the NHMFL. Major programs conducted in the magnet include biological solid state NMR both of uniformly oriented samples of membrane proteins that often represent drug targets for the pharmaceutical industry and magic angle sample spinning. The extended wide bore has allowed the magnet to be used for imaging at the high field of 21 T, including studies of high resolution 1H images of adult rodents, 23Na imaging in models ranging from single cells to in vivo rats to establish dynamic distributions of ionic sodium in pathological (stroke) and non-pathological (activation) conditions, and multi-modal nanoparticles used to track implanted cells as part of a cellular therapy for neurodegeneration. In addition 23Na and 35Cl images of in vivo tumors in animal models have suggested important potential roles for evaluating pharmaceutical efficacy and other medical applications.
Refocusing written feedback

Assessment has the potential to support students’ learning if it is accompanied by feedback that feeds forward to enhance future understanding and achievement and provides opportunities for students to close the gap between their own performance and the desired performance. Thus feedback should be sufficiently detailed for students to be able to understand and use it, as well as relating to a shared understanding between students and their assessors of the assessment criteria. Analyses of the type and depth of feedback provided to science students at the Open University (OU) and Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) revealed that it had limited potential to feed forward and that a disproportionately large amount appeared to serve mainly to justify the students’ grades. Explanatory detail was often missing and in some instances a shared understanding of the assessment criteria appeared to be lacking. An informed understanding of the roles of written feedback and the messages that it conveys can enable teachers to improve their practice by re-focusing the type of feedback they provide and the design of assessment tasks in order to enhance the formative potential of students’ assessment.
Reversibility of Heterotopic Proliferative Glands in Glandular Stomach of Helicobacter pylori‐infected Mongolian Gerbils on Eradication

Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection is an important factor in human gastric disorders. Mongolian gerbils can be easily infected with Hp and represent excellent experimental models to clarify the role of Hp in chronic active gastritis, peptic ulcers, intestinal metaplasia, and gastric carcinoma. We have proved the enhancing effects of Hp infection on all histological types of gastric cancers in Mongolian gerbils exposed to chemical carcinogens. Heterotopic proliferative glands (HPGs) also frequently develop with Hp infection in the glandular stomach of infected gerbils, with a slightly dysplastic change of constituent cells. Distinguishing reversible inflammatory lesions from true neoplasms upon eradication is necessary for further biological or histochemical investigations using this model. We employed an experimental model of long‐term Hp infection and eradication in gerbils. HPGs finally developed with a phenotypic shift of intestinalization with Paneth cells. After eradication, HPGs were obviously reduced, and gastric lesions in mucosa also improved with few remnants of the former injury. This shows that reversible HPGs are frequently induced solely by Hp infection in this annual species, and are related to severe gastritis, rather than being malignant in character. Thus, distinguishing reversible lesions from true neoplasms is necessary to investigate the relationship of Hp infection and gastric carcinogenesis in this animal model.
MODELING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MULTICRYSTALLINE SILICON BLOCKS BY QUASI-STEADY-STATE PHOTOCONDUCTANCE

A detailed knowledge of the distributions of carrier lifetimes, impurities and crystal defects in silicon ingots is key for understanding and improving wafer quality, as well as solar cell processing steps. In this work, we have applied a quasi-steady-state photoconductance tester developed for use on ingots for the measurement of lifetimes and dissolved iron concentrations along a p-type multicrystalline silicon block. The iron concentrations are determined by lifetime measurements taken before and after flashing the block to break the iron-boron pairs. The measured iron profile along the block is in qualitative agreement with those reported in previous work, and conforms to the expected trend due to impurity segregation. The impact of non-uniform carrier profiles during the block measurements on the extraction of the Fe profiles are discussed and quantified based on simulations of the quasi-steady-state measurement conditions. The lifetimes are also compared with a calibrated photoluminescence image on the same block, which shows similar qualitative trends, but lower magnitudes due to the lower injection level in the photoluminescence measurement.
A New Framework for Domain-Specific Hidden Web Crawling Based on Data Extraction Techniques

The World Wide Web continues to grow at an exponential rate which makes exploiting all useful information a standing challenge. Search engines like "Google" crawl and index a large amount of information, ignoring valuable data that represent 80% of the content on the Web, this portion of Web called Hidden Web (HW), they are "Hidden" in databases behind search interfaces. In this paper, a framework of a HW crawler is proposed to crawl and extract hidden Web pages. Two unique features of our framework are 1) the classification phase for grouping HW and Publicly Indexable Web (PIW) pages into distinct classes, so that making our crawler performs well in both the domain-specific and random mode of crawling and 2) the capability of dealing with single-attribute and multi-attribute databases. Three novel algorithms proposed in the framework, one for collecting Web pages, one for identifying relevant forms, and one for extracting labels. The effectiveness of proposed algorithms is evaluated through experiments using real Web sites. The preliminary results are very promising. For instance, one of these algorithms proves to be accurate (over 99% precision and 100 % recall).
Microbiological and chemical safety concerns regarding frozen fillets obtained from Pangasius sutchi and Nile tilapia exported to European countries.

BACKGROUND Microbiological and chemical safety concerns regarding frozen fillets from pangasius catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus) exported to Poland, Germany and Ukraine and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) exported to Poland and Germany were investigated by analyzing heavy metal residues, microbiological hazards, biogenic amines, and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content. RESULTS The heavy metal residues from all studied samples were far lower than the limits established by authorities. The most abundant biogenic amine found was histamine, with a maximum content of 9.6 mg 100 g(-1) , found in pangasius exported to Poland. The total viable counts were from 2.8 log cfu g(-1) in pangasius exported to Ukraine to 4.3 log cfu g(-1) in pangasius exported to Germany. Vibrio spp. were present in 70-80% of all studied pangasius groups, whereas there no Vibrio spp. were found in the studied tilapia samples. 30% of Pangasius fillets exported to Poland were contaminated with coagulase-positive staphylococci. No E. coli was found in any of the studied samples. Although the results of TBA analysis differed significantly between studied groups, the malonic aldehyde content in all studied groups was still very low. The TVB-N content in frozen fillets from pangasius was significantly lower than in frozen tilapia fillets. CONCLUSIONS We reported that pangasius catfish frozen fillets were widely contaminated with Vibrio spp. , which could prove hazardous for the final consumer if the fish is eaten raw or undercooked. The rest of the analysis showed no other reason for concern associated with Nile tilapia and Pangasius catfish frozen fillet consumption.
Impact of patient distance to radiation therapy on mastectomy use in early-stage breast cancer patients.

PURPOSE Treatment access underlies quality cancer care. We hypothesize that mastectomy rates in a rural state are independently influenced by distance to radiation therapy (XRT) and by changing XRT access through opening new facilities. PATIENTS AND METHODS Early-stage breast cancer patients diagnosed from 1996 to 2000 were identified in the Virginia state registry. Distance from patient zip code to nearest XRT facility was calculated with geographical software. Distance to XRT facility (< or = 10, > 10 to 25, > 25 to 50, and > 50 miles), American Joint Committee on Cancer tumor stage, age, race, and diagnosis year were evaluated for influencing mastectomy rate. Mastectomy use within 15 miles of five new facilities was assessed before and after opening. RESULTS Among 20,094 patients, 43% underwent mastectomy, 53% underwent lumpectomy, and therapy of 4% of patients is unknown. Twenty-nine percent of patients lived more than 10 miles from XRT facility. Mastectomy increased with distance to XRT facility (43% at < or = 10 miles, 47% at > 10 to 25 miles, 53% at > 25 to 50 miles, and 58% at > 50 miles; P < .001). Among 11,597 patients with T1 (< 2 cm) tumors, mastectomy also varied by distance (31% at < or = 10 miles, 36% at > 10 to 25 miles, 41% at > 25 to 50 miles, and 49% at > 50 miles; P < .001). In multivariate analysis, mastectomy use was independently influenced by XRT distance after adjusting for age, race, T stage, and diagnosis year. Over the study period, mastectomy rates declined from 48% to 43% across Virginia, and there were similar declines in a 15-mile area around four new radiation facilities in urban settings. However, mastectomies decreased from 61% to 45% around a new XRT facility in a rural setting. CONCLUSION Distance to XRT facility significantly impacts mastectomy use. Opportunities for increasing breast-conservation rates through improved XRT access exist.
Polyamines and apoptosis

The natural polyamines putrescine, spermidine and spermine are in multiple ways involved in cell growth and the maintenance of cell viability. In the course of the last 15 years more and more evidence hinted also at roles in gene regulation. It is therefore not surprising that the polyamines are involved in events inherent to genetically programmed cell death. Following inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase, a key step in polyamine biosynthesis, numerous links have been identified between the polyamines and apoptotic pathways. Examples of activation and prevention of apoptosis due to polyamine depletion are known for several cell lines. Elevation of polyamine concentrations may lead to apoptosis or to malignant transformation. These observations are discussed in the present review, together with possible mechanisms of action of the polyamines. Contradictory results and incomplete information blur the picture and complicate interpretation. Since, however, much interest is focussed at present on all aspects of programmed cell death, a considerable progress in the elucidation of polyamine functions in apoptotic signalling pathways is expected, even though enormous difficulties oppose pinpointing specific interactions of the polyamines with pro‐ and anti‐apoptotic factors. Such situation is quite common in polyamine research.
Beta‐interferon exposure and onset of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis

Beta‐interferons (IFNβ) are the most widely prescribed drugs for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, whether or not treatment with IFNβ can delay secondary progressive MS (SPMS) onset remains unknown. Our aim was to examine the association between IFNβ exposure and SPMS onset in patients with relapsing−remitting MS (RRMS).
The therapeutic potential of adenoviral gene therapy and angiotensine-(1-7) in proteinuric kidney disease

Chronische nierziekte is een progressieve, ernstige ziekte, waar veel patienten uiteindelijk aan overlijden. Het renine-angiotensine-aldosteron systeem (RAAS) speelt een belangrijke rol in de progressie van nierziekten en remming van het RAAS vormt de hoeksteen van de huidige behandeling. Deze behandeling is echter niet optimaal. Uit het promotieonderzoek van Els van der Wouden blijkt dat het mogelijk is met een gemodificeerd verkoudheidsvirus (adenovirus) DNA selectief in te brengen in bindweefselcellen van de nieren van proefdieren met een nierziekte. De therapeutische toepassing hiervan vraagt echter nog veel extra onderzoek. Onverwacht bleek ook het virus zelf de nierziekte van de proefdieren te verbeteren. Hoe dit precies werkt is nog onduidelijk, maar verdient zeker nader onderzoek. Ook onderzocht Van der Wouden de rol van het lichaamseigen angiotensine in gezonde en zieke nieren. Van angiotensine is bekend dat het RAAS afremt. In geisoleerde bloedvaten van gezonde ratten bleek angiotensine inderdaad als RAAS-remmer te fungeren. Echter in levende gezonde proefdieren bleek dit effect geheel afwezig te zijn. Ook in proefdieren met nierziekte bleek angiotensine geen enkel effect te hebben en blijkt het dus ongeschikt voor de behandeling van chronische nierziekten.