Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Life satisfaction 6-15 years after a traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVES To assess satisfaction with life as a whole and 10 domains of life satisfaction in Swedish individuals after a traumatic brain injury, to describe the relationship with demographic, social and injury related variables, and to compare the level of life satisfaction with a Swedish reference sample. SUBJECTS Fifty-one men and sixteen women, 6-15 years after a traumatic brain injury. METHODS Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSat-11). RESULTS Many of the participants were, to some degree, satisfied with life as a whole and with all 10 domains of life satisfaction, but significantly less satisfied with life as whole and with 6 of the other 10 domains of life satisfaction in comparison with the Swedish reference sample. The participants' sex, injury severity or years post-injury was not related to any domains in LiSat-11, whereas age at time of injury, marital status and vocational situation were significantly related to a few of the domains. CONCLUSION This study shows that life satisfaction can be affected several years after a traumatic brain injury. It appears that individuals who are married or cohabiting and productive had higher life satisfaction. This implies that regaining social participation is an important factor for life satisfaction many years after a traumatic brain injury.
Genetic, immunologic, and immunohistochemical analysis of the programmed death 1/programmed death ligand 1 pathway in human systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE A putative regulatory intronic polymorphism (PD1.3) in the programmed death 1 (PD-1) gene, a negative regulator of T cells involved in peripheral tolerance, is associated with increased risk for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We undertook this study to determine the expression and function of PD-1 in SLE patients. METHODS We genotyped 289 SLE patients and 256 matched healthy controls for PD1.3 by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Expression of PD-1 and its ligand, PDL-1, was determined in peripheral blood lymphocytes and in renal biopsy samples by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. A crosslinker of PD-1 was used to assess its effects on anti-CD3/anti-CD28-induced T cell proliferation and cytokine production. RESULTS SLE patients had an increased frequency of the PD1.3 polymorphism (30.1%, versus 18.4% in controls; P=0.006), with the risk A allele conferring decreased transcriptional activity in transfected Jurkat cells. Patients homozygous for PD1.3-but not patients heterozygous for PD1.3-had reduced basal and induced PD-1 expression on activated CD4+ T cells. In autologous mixed lymphocyte reactions (AMLRs), SLE patients had defective PD-1 induction on activated CD4+ cells; abnormalities were more pronounced among homozygotes. PD-1 was detected within the glomeruli and renal tubules of lupus nephritis patients, while PDL-1 was expressed by the renal tubules of both patients and controls. PD-1 crosslinking suppressed proliferation and cytokine production in both normal and lupus T cells; addition of serum from patients with active SLE significantly ameliorated this effect on proliferation. CONCLUSION SLE patients display aberrant expression and function of PD-1 attributed to both direct and indirect effects. The expression of PD-1/PDL-1 in renal tissue and during AMLRs suggests an important role in regulating peripheral T cell tolerance.
Predictions of the average surface separation and stiffness between contacting elastic and elastic–plastic sinusoidal surfaces

The behavior of regular wavy surfaces in contact is important for the study of rough surface contact, and therefore has applications to the prediction of friction, wear, surface fatigue, and electrical and thermal contact resistance. This work characterizes the average surface separation between a sinusoidal surface and a flat rigid surface as a function of the average contact pressure or load using the finite element method (FEM). The FEM results also agree well with the limiting spherical based solutions at low contact pressures and the other asymptotic solution at high contact pressures. Empirical fits are provided that can approximately predict the average surface separation for both elastic and elastic–plastic sinusoidal contacts over a wide range of material properties. Contact stiffness can also be predicted from surface separation results.
Two-dimensional photonic crystals: fabrication of the periodic arrays by visible light holographic technique

Application of photonic crystals in the future photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is one of the most interesting issues in modern photonics. With the photonic-crystal-based PICs it will be possible, at last, to realize compact in size, multicomponent optical integrated circuits. Nanostructured materials with ordered arrays of holes or rods are practical realization of photonic band-gap concept. In this paper we present a fabrication method for periodic arrays with openings of arbitrary shape and size. The method is based on exposition of thin photoresist film with two interfering laser beams 3rd harmonics of Nd-YAG laser source and positive photoresist has been used. Two examples of periodic structures are described here: obtained with 75° and 90° substrate rotation. In both cases the starting structure was one-dimensional diffraction grating with period of 1.26 μm. Two different patterns has been obtained in photoresist as a result of the test exposures. In one case nearly circular openings with diameter of 780 nm has been obtained. Periodicity of the resulting array, grid pattern, shape and size of the openings can be varied by adjustment of exposure parameters which can lead to fabrication of two-dimensional photonic crystal.
Network Slices toward 5G Communications: Slicing the LTE Network

The upcoming 5G ecosystem is envisioned to build business-driven network slices to accommodate the different needs of divergent service types, applications, and services in support of vertical industries. In this article, we describe the network slicing concept by unveiling a novel network slicing architecture for integrated 5G communications. Further, we demonstrate its realization for the case of evolved LTE using state-of-the-art technologies. Finally, we elaborate on the LTE-specific requirements toward 5G, and point out existing challenges and open issues.
Ospemifene in the Treatment of Vulvovaginal Atrophy

Objective: To review the pharmacology, efficacy, and safety of ospemifene in the management of dyspareunia. Data Sources: Literature was sought using PubMed (1966-January 2014) and EMBASE (1973-January 2014). Search terms included ospemifene, FC-1271a, dyspareunia, vulvovaginal atrophy, and vaginal atrophy. Study Selection and Data Extraction: All studies, including studies on humans, published in English with data assessing the efficacy and safety of ospemifene in the management of dyspareunia were evaluated. Data Synthesis: Ospemifene is a new oral estrogen receptor agonist/antagonist indicated for moderate to severe dyspareunia. Clinical trials evaluating efficacy have shown a significant improvement in superficial cells, parabasal cells, vaginal pH, vaginal dryness, and dyspareunia. The most frequently reported adverse drug reactions in the clinical trials included hot flashes, vaginal discharge, muscle spasms, and hyperhidrosis. Similar to systemic estrogen, boxed warnings with ospemifene include risk for thromboembolism and cerebrovascular disease. Additionally, patients with a uterus still need to use a progestogen with ospemifene to reduce the risk of hyperplasia. Conclusions: Ospemifene has been effective in improving symptoms of vulvovaginal atrophy when compared with placebo; however, no studies comparing ospemifene with estrogen products exist. Additional clinical trials are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety in specialty populations, and long-term safety data are needed to assess the potential for serious adverse events. With the risks being similar to that for systemic estrogen therapy, ospemifene appears to be an alternative agent to estrogen therapy but does not have any advantages over estrogen.
The daily life of elderly Germans: activity patterns, personal control, and functional health.

Aging processes are often described as an interacting system of personal and environmental conditions. It is surprising, therefore, to find an almost complete lack of reliable data describing the everyday lives of the elderly in terms of external components such as type of activities, locations, and companionship. The present study is an attempt to remedy this lack of information and thereby provide a basis for a better understanding of aging processes. Forty-nine mobile and independently living elderly people (mean age = 72.7) recorded their daily activities over a period of 6 months. During a randomly selected week per month they kept a prestructured diary about what activities they engaged in, where, when, and with whom. In addition, functional health and personal control beliefs were assessed. The diaries were coded along 37 activity categories (inter-rater reliability estimated via Cohen's Kappa: M = .93), 5 categories for location and 6 categories for companionship. The major findings can be summarized as follows: The typical activity profile is characterized, in terms of highest frequency, by obligatory activities. In terms of time, however, they make up but little more than half of the day, predominantly the mornings. Afternoons and evenings, were mostly spent with leisure activities. The paths of daily lives of the elderly were marked by two geographic domains. The first and foremost is the home, followed by public places. With regard to the relationship between activities and personal control, we find a close relationship particularly when functional health is low. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Antibody immunity to the p53 oncogenic protein is a prognostic indicator in ovarian cancer.

PURPOSE Presence of intratumoral T-cell infiltration has been linked to improved survival in ovarian cancer patients. We questioned whether antibody immunity specific for ovarian cancer tumor antigens would predict disease outcome. We evaluated humoral immune responses against ovarian cancer antigens p53, HER-2/neu, and topoisomerase IIalpha. PATIENTS AND METHODS Serum was collected from 104 women (median age, 59 years; range, 34 to 89 years) at the time of their initial definitive surgery for ovarian cancer. Serum was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for antibodies to p53, HER-2/neu, and topoisomerase IIalpha proteins. Antibody immunity to tetanus toxoid was assessed as a control. The incidence of humoral immunity at the time of diagnosis to any of these three antigens was tabulated. For patients with advanced-stage disease (III/IV), correlation was made between the presence of tumor-specific immunity at the time of diagnosis and overall survival. Patients were followed for a median of 1.8 years. RESULTS Multivariate analysis showed the presence of p53 antibodies to be an independent variable for prediction of overall survival in advanced-stage patients. Overall survival was significantly higher for patients with antibodies to p53 when compared with patients without p53 antibodies (P = .01). The median survival for p53 antibody-positive patients was 51 months (95% CI, 23.5 to 60.5 months) compared with 24 months (95% CI, 19.4 to 28.6 months) for patients without antibodies to p53. CONCLUSION Data presented here demonstrate that advanced stage ovarian cancer patients can have detectable tumor-specific antibody immunity and that immunity to p53 may predict improved overall survival in patients with advanced-stage disease.
Class I topical corticosteroid use by psoriasis patients in an academic practice

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder that can have a profound impact on the quality of life of patients. The treatment of psoriasis is complicated by the availability of numerous topical agents, systemic agents, and phototherapy. Of the topical preparations available, the ultra‐high potency, or Class I steroids, have an important role in treating psoriasis. Their use is most appropriate for the treatment of plaques in regions excluding the face, axilla, groin and genitals. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the prescribing patterns of Class I topical corticosteroids within a large academic dermatology practice for patients with all types of psoriasis. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 650 patients with psoriasis from an academic dermatology practice was performed. Class I steroid use was defined as those patients who were observed to be currently using clobetasol propionate, halobetasol propionate, diflorasone, or augmented betamethasone dipropionate. RESULTS: A total of 79% of patients were prescribed topical steroids of any class while 46% of patients were prescribed a Class I steroid. In all, 58% of patients who received topical steroid therapy received a Class I agent; 11% of patients prescribed Class I steroids also received systemic therapy for their psoriasis. Conversely, 35% of patients who received systemic therapy were also receiving Class I topical therapy. DISCUSSION: In our department, Class I topical steroids are commonly used in the treatment of psoriasis. The superpotent topicals are often used as an adjunct to systemic therapy and will likely remain a mainstay of psoriasis therapy.
Midterm health and personnel outcomes of recent combat amputees.

OBJECTIVE Warfighters who sustained combat amputations in Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) have unique challenges during rehabilitation. This study followed their outcomes. METHODS Subjects were 382 U.S. warfighters with major limb amputations after combat injury in OEF/OIF between 2001 and 2005. Outcome measures were diagnoses, treatment codes, and personnel events captured by health and personnel databases during 24 months postinjury. RESULTS Most patients had multiple complications generally within 30 days postinjury (e.g., infections, anemia), with important exceptions (e.g., heterotopic ossification). Lower limb amputees had 50% more complications than upper limb amputees. Two-thirds of patients had a mental health disorder (e.g., adjustment, post-traumatic stress disorder), with rates of major disorder categories between 18% and 25%. Over 80% of patients used physical and occupational therapy, prosthetic/orthotic services, and psychiatric care. CONCLUSIONS Combat amputees had a complex set of outcomes supporting the continued need for military amputee care programs.
Product Market Competition and Corporate Governance Structure Change: Evidence from the Telecommunications Industry Product Market Competition and Corporate Governance Structure Change: Evidence from the Telecommunications Industry

In this paper we investigate how product market competition and corporate governance structure are affected by technological, competitive, and regulatory shocks on telecommunications firms brought by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. We find that the effect varies across segments of the Telecommunications industry. Telecommunication equipment and service firms experience increased competition, but no relative strengthening in corporate governance. In contrast, entertainment firms do not experience a change in competition, but adopt stronger governance structures that better control owner-manager agency conflict. We conclude that competition and corporate governance are substitutes, and that both act to mitigate principal-agent problems.
Ranking documents with a thesaurus

This article reports on exploratory experiments in evaluating and improving a thesaurus through studying its effect on retrieval. A formula called DISTANCE was developed to measure the conceptual distance between queries and documents encoded as sets of thesaurus terms. DISTANCE references MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) and assesses the degree of match between a MeSH-encoded query and document. The performance of DISTANCE on MeSH is compared to the performance of people in the assessment of conceptual distance between queries and documents, and is found to simulate with surprising accuracy the human performance. The power of the computer simulation stems both from the tendency of people to rely heavily on broader-than (BT) relations in making decisions about conceptual distance and from the thousands of accurate BT relations in MeSH. One source for discrepancy between the algorithms' measurement of closeness between query and document and people's measurement of closeness between query and document is occasional inconsistency in the BT relations. Our experiments with adding non-BT relations to MeSH showed how these non-BT non-BT relations to MeSH showed how these non-BT relations could improve document ranking, if DISTANCE were also appropriately revised to treat these relations differently from BT relations.
Measuring quality of life

Progress in the assessment of quality of life (QoL) measures for children and their value in clinical practice are considered. The most parsimonious approach to assessment includes modular assessment of generic and disease-specific QoL. Differences occur between child and parent proxy ratings, so it is recommended that ratings from multiple observers are made where possible. QoL measures may be of value in clinical practice, but the inadequate availability of the resources necessary to analyse results and provide the required support is a major barrier. Although the assessment of QoL in children remains challenging, its value is increasingly recognised by both researchers and clinicians.
Serum levels of the myokine irisin in relation to metabolic and renal function.

OBJECTIVE Irisin has recently been introduced as a novel myokine which reverses visceral obesity and improves glucose metabolism in mice. However, regulation of irisin in humans in relation to renal and metabolic disease has not been comprehensively studied. DESIGN AND METHODS Serum irisin levels were quantified by ELISA and correlated with anthropometric and biochemical parameters of renal function, glucose and lipid metabolism, as well as inflammation, in 532 patients with stages 1-5 of chronic kidney disease (CKD). RESULTS Median serum irisin levels adjusted for age, gender, and BMI significantly decreased with increasing CKD stage and lowest concentrations were seen in patients with CKD stage 5. Furthermore, irisin concentrations were associated with facets of the metabolic syndrome including diastolic blood pressure, markers of impaired glucose tolerance, and dyslipidemia in univariate analysis. Moreover, markers of renal function, e.g. glomerular filtration rate, and insulin resistance, e.g. homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, remained independently associated with circulating irisin levels in robust multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS We show that irisin serum concentrations decrease with increasing CKD stage and are independently and positively predicted by renal function and insulin resistance. The physiological relevance of our findings, as well as the factors contributing to irisin regulation in humans, needs to be further defined in future experiments.
Evaluation of 294 psychiatric consultations involving in‐patients above 70 years of age in somatic departments in a university hospital

ABSTRACT: The integrated geropsychiatric service of the Psychiatric Department of the University Hospital in Linköping consists of an observation ward, a day unit and an out‐patient unit. One of the main tasks of the last‐mentioned unit is to provide geropsychiatric consultations for in‐patients in the non‐psychiatric departments of the hospital. During the first 2 years from October 1982 to October 1984 300 consultations were performed. The consultations included registration of social, medical and psychiatric data, a psychiatric examination, discussions with the staff and a psychiatric report. Out of the total number of 300 consultations 294 could be evaluated completely. They comprised 247 individuals. The evaluation was performed after the first 2 years by screening the patients’ psychiatric records and reports and by computer‐analysis of 89 variables covering medical as well as social data. The patients’ mean age was 78 years and 52% were treated in the Department of Internal Medicine. Fifty‐three percent had had previous psychiatric contacts. Many were suffering from serious somatic diseases and 22% from depressive states. Only 9% showed no signs of psychiatric disorders. Twenty‐three percent of the patients were transferred to the geropsychiatric observation ward or day unit and only 3% were recommended to be certified and transferred to a mental hospital. Pertinent findings are discussed in the light of international data on geropsychiatric consultations and liaison psychiatry. The study shows the importance of providing special geropsychiatric consultations for in‐patients in somatic departments as a part of an integrated geropsychiatric service.
Cellular and Infection Microbiology Comparative Genomics Evidence That Only Protein Toxins Are Tagging Bad Bugs

The term toxin was introduced by Roux and Yersin and describes macromolecular substances that, when produced during infection or when introduced parenterally or orally, cause an impairment of physiological functions that lead to disease or to the death of the infected organism. Long after the discovery of toxins, early genetic studies on bacterial virulence demonstrated that removing a certain number of genes from pathogenic bacteria decreases their capacity to infect hosts. Each of the removed factors was therefore referred to as a " virulence factor, " and it was speculated that non-pathogenic bacteria lack such supplementary factors. However, many recent comparative studies demonstrate that the specialization of bacteria to eukaryotic hosts is associated with massive gene loss. We recently demonstrated that the only features that seem to characterize 12 epidemic bacteria are toxin–antitoxin (TA) modules, which are addiction molecules in host bacteria. In this , study, we investigated if protein toxins are indeed the only molecules specific to patho-genic bacteria by comparing 14 epidemic bacterial killers (" bad bugs ") with their 14 closest non-epidemic relatives (" controls "). We found protein toxins in significantly more elevated numbers in all of the " bad bugs. " For the first time, statistical principal components analysis , including genome size, GC%, TA modules, restriction enzymes, and toxins, revealed that toxins are the only proteins other than TA modules that are correlated with the path-ogenic character of bacteria. Moreover, intracellular toxins appear to be more correlated with the pathogenic character of bacteria than secreted toxins. In conclusion, we hypothesize that the only truly identifiable phenomena, witnessing the convergent evolution of the most pathogenic bacteria for humans are the loss of metabolic activities, i.e., the outcome of the loss of regulatory and transcription factors and the presence of protein toxins, alone, or coupled as TA modules.