Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of Censored Data to Monitor Surgical-Site Infections

Objective: To take into account the proportion of patients lost to follow-up when calculating surgical-site infection (SSI) rates. Design: A multicenter SSI monitoring network in Basse-Normandie, France, using the definitions for SSI of the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Patients: Between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 1999, 3,705 patients were operated on in 25 units of 10 institutions. Results: Of the patients, 41.2% (range, 5.1% to 95.5%) were seen 30 days or more after their operation. The global SSI attack rate was 2.19% (95% confidence interval, 1.72% to 2.66%). With the use of the Kaplan–Meier method, the incidence rate was 3.11% (95% confidence interval, 3.06% to 3.16%). The difference between the attack rate and the Kaplan–Meier incidence rate for each unit varied according to the percentage of patients seen on or after day 30 postoperatively and the number of SSIs diagnosed in patients seen on or after day 30. Conclusions: Practice guidelines are needed for the international monitoring for postdischarge SSIs and the calculation of SSI rates. The proportion of patients seen 30 days after their operation is a major quality criterion for SSI monitoring and should be routinely given in monitoring reports, oral communications, and publications to compare results obtained by different teams.
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Vpr induces apoptosis following cell cycle arrest

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vpr gene encodes a protein which induces arrest of cells in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. Here, we demonstrate that following the arrest of cells in G2, Vpr induces apoptosis in human fibroblasts, T cells, and primary peripheral blood lymphocytes. Analysis of various mutations in the vpr gene revealed that the extent of Vpr-induced G2 arrest correlated with the levels of apoptosis. However, the alleviation of Vpr-induced G2 arrest by treatment with the drug pentoxifylline did not abrogate apoptosis. Together these studies indicate that induction of G2 arrest, but not necessarily continued arrest in G2, was required for Vpr-induced apoptosis to occur. Finally, Vpr-induced G2 arrest has previously been correlated with inactivation of the Cdc2 kinase. Some models of apoptosis have demonstrated a requirement for active Cdc2 kinase for apoptosis to occur. Here we show that accumulation of the hypophosphorylated or active form of the Cdc2 kinase is not required for Vpr-induced apoptosis. These studies indicate that Vpr is capable of inducing apoptosis, and we propose that both the initial arrest of cells and subsequent apoptosis may contribute to CD4 cell depletion in HIV-1 disease.
Deaths in custody revisited

This study has surveyed deaths that have occurred while in police custody in Metropolitan Dade County from 1956 to 1982. Cases were then subdivided by age. race, sex, cause, and manner of death as well as place of death or incident leading to the victim's demise. The results of this study indicate that natural discase-predominantly cardiocercebral vascular and alcohol-related—was most common followed by suicides and accidents. The natural deaths occurred in an older age group. whereas suicides occurred in a younger age group. Racially, most deaths in all categories involved white people. Accidents were given an historical perspective with an admonition to the reader to document all findings should a case be presented to them. Homicides and unclassified deaths were infrequent and axiomatically a function of the facilities studied.
Mechanisms of hydrogen transport in flexible-wall narrow carbon nanotubes

Understanding the interaction between hydrogen and carbon nanotubes is crucial to enhancing the performance of hydrogen storage and nanofluidic carbon-adsorbent systems. Accordingly, this study performs a series of molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the transport properties of hydrogen molecules confined within a flexible narrow carbon nanotube. The tube's diameter is 10.8 A at temperatures in the range of 100∼800 K. The particle loadings inside carbon nanotubes are ranging from 0.01∼1 No/A. The results show that the hydrogen molecules exhibit three distinct diffusion regimes, namely, single-file, Fickian, and ballistic, depending on the value of the Knudsen number. In addition, it is shown that with the Knudsen number of less than 1, the tube-wall long wavelength acoustic phonons induced Rayleigh traveling wave prompts a longitudinal wave slip and compression-expansion of the hydrogen molecule crowds within the CNT, which leads to a significant increase in the mean square displacement of the molecules.
14 Analysis of the Impact of CD 200 on Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neuroinflammation, accompanied by neuronal loss and dysfunction, is a characteristic of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). It is well documented that inappropriate activation of glia is the primary cause of neuroinflammation (Masocha, 2009), but their role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases is not known. However it is certainly the case that dying neurons act to stimulate glia since they release alarmins which activate pathogen recognition receptors (PRR) and therefore the possibility exists that activation of glia especially microglia, may be a consequence, rather than a cause, of neurodegenerative processes which characterize diseases like AD and PD. Understanding microglial function remains a major goal since it is widely believed that modulating glial function will provide a possible strategy for limiting the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Consequently it is imperative to increase our understanding of the factors which control microglial function and the mechanisms by which expression of these factors are controlled.
Single-chamber ventricular pacing increases markers of left ventricular dysfunction compared with dual-chamber pacing.

AIMS Large randomized trials comparing DDD with VVI pacing have shown no differences in mortality, but conflicting evidence exists in regard to heart failure endpoints. Here we evaluated the effect of pacing mode on serum levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and amino-terminal-proBNP (NT-proBNP). Methods Forty-one patients (age 73 +/- 10 years) with dual-chamber pacemakers were included in a prospective, single-blind, randomized crossover study evaluating the impact of DDD(R)/VDD versus VVI(R) mode on objective and functional parameters. Data were collected after a 2-week run-in phase and after 2 weeks each of VVI(R) and DDD(R)/VDD pacing or vice versa. Results BNP and NT-proBNP levels during DDD(R)/VDD stimulation (151 +/- 131 and 547 +/- 598 pg/mL) showed no change compared with baseline (154 +/- 130 and 565 +/- 555 pg/mL), but a significant 2.4-fold increase was observed during VVI(R) mode [360 +/- 221 and 1298 +/- 1032 pg/mL; P < 0.001 compared with DDD(R)/VDD]. The assessment of functional class, the presence of pacemaker syndrome [49% in VVI(R) mode] and the patients' preferred pacing mode showed significant differences in favour of DDD(R)/VDD pacing. CONCLUSION Patients can differentiate between DDD(R)/VDD and VVI(R) pacing, and prefer the former. Compared with DDD(R)/VDD pacing, VVI(R) stimulation induces a two- to three-fold increase in serum BNP and NT-proBNP levels.
Malaria Infection and Anemia Prevalence in Zambia's Luangwa District: An Area of Near-Universal Insecticide-Treated Mosquito Net Coverage

We examined the relationship between insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs), malaria parasite infection, and severe anemia prevalence in children in Luangwa District, Zambia, an area with near-universal ITN coverage, at the end of the 2008 and 2010 malaria transmission seasons. Malaria parasite infection prevalence among children < 5 years old was 9.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 8.0–11.4%) over both survey years. Prevalence of severe anemia among children 6–59 months old was 6.9% (95% CI = 5.4–8.5%) over both survey years. Within this context of near-universal ITN coverage, we were unable to detect a significant association between malaria parasite or severe anemia prevalence and ITNs (possession and use). In addition to maintaining universal ITN coverage, it will be essential for the malaria control program to achieve high ITN use and laboratory diagnosis and treatment of all fevers among all age groups to further reduce the malaria burden in this area.
Interferon-γ and celecoxib inhibit lung-tumor growth through modulating M2/M1 macrophage ratio in the tumor microenvironment

Tumor-associated macrophages play an important role in tumor growth and progression. These macrophages are heterogeneous with diverse functions, eg, M1 macrophages inhibit tumor growth, whereas M2 macrophages promote tumor growth. In this study, we found that IFNγ and/or celecoxib (cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor) treatment consistently inhibited tumor growth in a mouse lung cancer model. IFNγ alone and celecoxib alone increased the percentage of M1 macrophages but decreased the percentage of M2 macrophages in the tumors, and thus the M2/M1 macrophage ratio was reduced to 1.1 and 1.7 by IFNγ alone and celecoxib alone, respectively, compared to the M2/M1 macrophage ratio of 4.4 in the control group. A combination of IFNγ and celecoxib treatment reduced the M2/M1 macrophage ratio to 0.8. Furthermore, IFNγ and/or celecoxib treatment decreased expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, and VEGF, as well as the density of microvessels in the tumors, compared to the control group. This study provides the proof of principle that IFNγ and/or celecoxib treatment may inhibit lung-tumor growth through modulating the M2/M1 macrophage ratio in the tumor microenvironment, suggesting that IFNγ and celecoxib have potential to be further optimized into a new anticancer therapy.
Quality of life related to fear of falling and hip fracture in older women: a time trade off study.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the utility (preference for health) associated with hip fracture and fear of falling among older women. DESIGN Quality of life survey with the time trade off technique. The technique derives an estimate of preference for health states by finding the point at which respondents show no preference between a longer but lower quality of life and a shorter time in full health. SETTING A randomised trial of external hip protectors for older women at risk of hip fracture. PARTICIPANTS 194 women aged >/= 75 years enrolled in the randomised controlled trial or who were eligible for the trial but refused completed a quality of life interview face to face. OUTCOME MEASURES Respondents were asked to rate their own health by using the Euroqol instrument and then rate three health states (fear of falling, a "good" hip fracture, and a "bad" hip fracture) by using time trade off technique. RESULTS On an interval scale between 0 (death) and 1 (full health), a "bad" hip fracture (which results in admission to a nursing home) was valued at 0.05; a "good" hip fracture (maintaining independent living in the community) 0.31, and fear of falling 0.67. Of women surveyed, 80% would rather be dead (utility=0) than experience the loss of independence and quality of life that results from a bad hip fracture and subsequent admission to a nursing home. The differences in mean utility weights between the trial groups and the refusers were not significant. A test-retest study on 36 women found that the results were reliable with correlation coefficients within classes ranging from 0.61 to 0.88. CONCLUSIONS Among older women who have exceeded average life expectancy, quality of life is profoundly threatened by falls and hip fractures. Older women place a very high marginal value on their health. Any loss of ability to live independently in the community has a considerable detrimental effect on their quality of life.
Investigation of the tensile properties of natural and natural/synthetic hybrid fiber woven fabric composites

The development of polymer composites containing natural fibers as a sustainable alternative material for certain engineering applications, particularly aerospace and automotive applications, is a popular area of research. In this study, the mechanical properties of flax, jute and jute/carbon woven fabric composites were investigated and compared with those of 3 K carbon woven fabric composites. The results of this study demonstrate the utility of natural fibers in composite applications. Furthermore, it is observed that the mechanical properties of natural fibres are significantly affected by changes in temperature. Experimental results prove that the mechanical properties of natural fiber composites are significantly lower than those of carbon fiber composites, but the hybridization of carbon and jute fibers can result in a composite material with enhanced mechanical properties.
An efficient phosphorus scavenging from aqueous solution using magnesiothermally modified bio-calcite

ABSTRACT Bio-calcite (BC) derived from waste hen eggshell was subjected to thermal treatments (calcined bio-calcite (CBC)). The BC and CBC were further modified via magnesiothermal treatments to produce modified bio-calcite (MBC) and modified calcined bio-calcite (MCBC), respectively, and evaluated as a novel green sorbent for P removal from aqueous solutions in the batch experiments. Modified BC exhibited improved structural and chemical properties, such as porosity, surface area, thermal stability, mineralogy and functional groups, than pristine material. Langmuir and Freundlich models well described the P sorption onto both thermally and magnesiothermally sorbents, respectively, suggesting mono- and multi-layer sorption. Langmuir predicted highest P sorption capacities were in the order of: MCBC (43.33 mg g−1) > MBC (35.63 mg g−1) > CBC (34.38 mg g−1) > BC (30.68 mg g−1). The MBC and MCBC removed 100% P up to 50 mg P L−1, which reduced to 35.43 and 39.96%, respectively, when P concentration was increased up to 1000 mg L−1. Dynamics of P sorption was well explained by the pseudo-second-order rate equation, with the highest sorption rate of 4.32 mg g−1 min−1 for the MCBC. Hydroxylapatite [Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2] and brushite [CaH(PO4)·2H2O] were detected after P sorption onto the modified sorbents by X-ray diffraction analysis, suggesting chemisorption as the operating sorption mechanism. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
QUANTITATIVE DESCRIPTORS OF FOOD-WEB MATRICES

A food web customarily describes the qualitative feeding relationships in a community. Descriptors have been used to extract ecologically meaningful information from such data, e.g., the proportion of top species (the proportion of taxa without consumers) or vulnerability (the average number of consumers per taxon). Analyses of collections of food webs based on these properties have revealed regularities that fostered the formulation of models of food-web structure. However, it has been shown that most of these qualitative descriptors are highly sensitive to the varying levels of sampling effort used to document a food web. The principal problem is that webs described extensively include trophic links of highly uneven magnitude, with typically few strong/important links and a wealth of weak ones; with qualitative descriptors, the same weight is given to all trophic interactions. To overcome this problem, food webs should be described and analyzed quantitatively. Consequently, we propose here a suite of food-web descriptors, which are built on information-theory indices and take the magnitude of the trophic interactions into account. We define descriptors having a similar meaning as the classical qualitative indices. Two versions of each quantitative descriptor are proposed, one giving the same weight to each taxon, and one weighting each taxon by the total amount of its incoming and outgoing biomass flows. We use a published quantitative food web to exemplify the computation of the new descriptors, and discuss their potential and limitations.
Olmesartan-based therapies: an effective way to improve blood pressure control and cardiovascular protection

The main purpose in hypertension treatment is the reduction of cardiovascular disease burden. Among different first-line antihypertensive drug classes, angiotensin-receptor blockers are characterized by their both good effectiveness and tolerability. Furthermore, the interruption of the renin-angiotensin cascade is related with several benefits in target organ protection and cardiovascular prevention. Among different angiotensin-receptor blockers, olmesartan has been examined in several trial of organ protection, showing improvements in several disease markers, such as microinflammation, regression of both plaque volume and vascular hypertrophy, as well as microalbuminuria prevention. Olmesartan has been also widely examined in combination of either hydrochlorothiazide or amlodipine, as well as with both drugs in a single-pill triple combination, showing improvements in antihypertensive efficacy without significant effects on tolerability. This treatment strategy based on a drug with such characteristics and the availability of different types of combinations with other first-line drug classes may represent an effective way for achieving blood pressure control in a majority of hypertensive patients and this could also be related with a better cardiovascular disease prevention.
Fatigue Crack Growth Rate in Mode I of a Carbon Fiber 5HS Weave Composite Laminate Processed via RTM

Delamination or crack propagation between plies is a critical issue for structural composites. In viewing this issue and the large application of woven fabrics in structural applications, especially the ones that requires high drapeability to be preformed in a RTM mold cavity such as the asymmetric ones, e.g HS series, this research aimed in dynamically testing the carbon fiber 5HS/RTM6 epoxy composites under opening mode using DCB set up in order to investigate the crack growth rate behavior in an irregular surface produced by the fabric waviness. The evaluation of the energy involved in each crack increment was based on the Irwin-Kies equation using compliance beam theory. The tests were conducted at constant stress ratio of R=0.1 with displacement control, frequency of 10 Hz, in accordance to ASTM E647-00 for measurement of crack growth rate. The results showed large scatter when compared to unidirectional carbon fiber composites due to damage accumulation at the fill tows.
Computational Models of Certain Hyperspaces of Quasi-metric Spaces

In this paper, for a given sequentially Yoneda-complete T_1 quasi-metric space (X,d), the domain theoretic models of the hyperspace K_0(X) of nonempty compact subsets of (X,d) are studied. To this end, the $\omega$-Plotkin domain of the space of formal balls BX, denoted by CBX is considered. This domain is given as the chain completion of the set of all finite subsets of BX with respect to the Egli-Milner relation. Further, a map $\phi:K_0(X)\rightarrow CBX$ is established and proved that it is an embedding whenever K_0(X) is equipped with the Vietoris topology and respectively CBX with the Scott topology. Moreover, if any compact subset of (X,d) is d^{-1}-precompact, \phi is an embedding with respect to the topology of Hausdorff quasi-metric H_d on K_0(X). Therefore, it is concluded that (CBX,\sqsubseteq,\phi) is an $\omega$-computational model for the hyperspace K_0(X) endowed with the Vietoris and respectively the Hausdorff topology. Next, an algebraic sequentially Yoneda-complete quasi-metric D on CBX$ is introduced in such a way that the specialization order $\sqsubseteq_D$ is equivalent to the usual partial order of CBX and, furthermore, $\phi:({\cal K}_0(X),H_d)\rightarrow({\bf C}{\bf B}X,D)$ is an isometry. This shows that (CBX,\sqsubseteq,\phi,D) is a quantitative $\omega$-computational model for (K_(X),H_d).
P21 cip-Overexpression in the Mouse β Cells Leads to the Improved Recovery from Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes

Under normal conditions, the regeneration of mouse β cells is mainly dependent on their own duplication. Although there is evidence that pancreatic progenitor cells exist around duct, whether non-β cells in the islet could also potentially contribute to β cell regeneration in vivo is still controversial. Here, we developed a novel transgenic mouse model to study the pancreatic β cell regeneration, which could specifically inhibit β cell proliferation by overexpressing p21 cip in β cells via regulation of the Tet-on system. We discovered that p21 overexpression could inhibit β-cell duplication in the transgenic mice and these mice would gradually suffer from hyperglycemia. Importantly, the recovery efficiency of the p21-overexpressing mice from streptozotocin-induced diabetes was significantly higher than control mice, which is embodied by better physiological quality and earlier emergence of insulin expressing cells. Furthermore, in the islets of these streptozotocin-treated transgenic mice, we found a large population of proliferating cells which expressed pancreatic duodenal homeobox 1 (PDX1) but not markers of terminally differentiated cells. Transcription factors characteristic of early pancreatic development, such as Nkx2.2 and NeuroD1, and pancreatic progenitor markers, such as Ngn3 and c-Met, could also be detected in these islets. Thus, our work showed for the first time that when β cell self-duplication is repressed by p21 overexpression, the markers for embryonic pancreatic progenitor cells could be detected in islets, which might contribute to the recovery of these transgenic mice from streptozotocin-induced diabetes. These discoveries could be important for exploring new diabetes therapies that directly promote the regeneration of pancreatic progenitors to differentiate into islet β cells in vivo.
Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Dengue Fever among the Healthy Population of Highland and Lowland Communities in Central Nepal

Background Dengue fever (DF) is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. In this decade it has expanded to new countries and from urban to rural areas. Nepal was regarded DF free until 2004. Since then dengue virus (DENV) has rapidly expanded its range even in mountain regions of Nepal, and major outbreaks occurred in 2006 and 2010. However, no data on the local knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of DF in Nepal exist although such information is required for prevention and control measures. Methods We conducted a community based cross-sectional survey in five districts of central Nepal between September 2011 and February 2012. We collected information on the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding DF using a structured questionnaire. We then statistically compared highland and lowland communities to identify possible causes of observed differences. Principal Findings Out of 589 individuals interviewed, 77% had heard of DF. Only 12% of the sample had good knowledge of DF. Those living in the lowlands were five times more likely to possess good knowledge than highlanders (P<0.001). Despite low knowledge levels, 83% of the people had good attitude and 37% reported good practice. We found a significantly positive correlation among knowledge, attitude and practice (P<0.001). Among the socio-demographic variables, the education level of the participants was an independent predictor of practice level (P<0.05), and education level and interaction between the sex and age group of the participants were independent predictors of attitude level (P<0.05). Conclusion Despite the rapid expansion of DENV in Nepal, the knowledge of people about DF was very low. Therefore, massive awareness programmes are urgently required to protect the health of people from DF and to limit its further spread in this country.