Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Background: The Self-Perception and Relationships Tool (S-PRT) is intended to be a clinically responsive and holistic assessment of patients' experience of illness and subjective Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL). Methods: A diversity of patients were involved in two phases of this study. Patient samples included individuals involved with renal, cardiology, psychiatric, cancer, chronic pelvic pain, and sleep services. In Phase I, five patient focus groups generated 128 perceptual rating scales. These scales described important characteristics of illnessrelated experience within six life domains (i.e., Physical, Mental-Emotional, Interpersonal Receptiveness, Interpersonal Contribution, Transpersonal Receptiveness and Transpersonal Orientation). Item reduction was accomplished using Importance Q-sort and Importance Checklist methodologies with 150 patients across the participating services. In Phase II, a refined item pool (88 items) was administered along with measures of health status (SF-36) and spiritual beliefs (Spiritual Involvements and Beliefs Scale – SIBS) to 160 patients, of these 136 patients returned complete response sets. Results: Factor analysis of S-PRT results produced a surprisingly clean five-factor solution (Eigen values> 2.0 explaining 73.5% of the pooled variance). Items with weaker or split loadings were removed leaving 36 items to form the final S-PRT rating scales; Intrapersonal Well-being (physical, mental & emotional items), Interpersonal Receptivity, Interpersonal Contribution, Transpersonal Receptivity and Transpersonal Orientation (Eigen values> 5.4 explaining 83.5% of the pooled variance). The internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha) of these scales was very high (0.82–0.97). Good convergent correlations (0.40 to 0.67) were observed between the S-PRT scales and the Mental Health scales of the SF-36. Correlations between the S-PRT Intrapersonal Well-being scale and three of SF-36 Physical Health scales were moderate (0.30 to 0.46). The criterion-related validity of the S-PRT spiritual scales was supported by moderate convergence (0.40–0.49) with three SIBS scales. Conclusion: Evidence supports the validity of the S-PRT as a generally applicable measure of perceived health status and HRQL. The test-retest reliability was found to be adequate for most scales, and there is some preliminary evidence that the S-PRT is responsive to patient-reported changes in determinants of their HRQL. Clinical uses and directions for future research are discussed. Published: 16 July 2004 Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2004, 2:36 doi:10.1186/1477-7525-2-36 Received: 08 April 2004 Accepted: 16 July 2004 This article is available from: http://www.hqlo. com/content/2/1/36 © 2004 Atkinson et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL.
Improving x-ray optics via differential deposition

Differential deposition, a post-fabrication figure correction technique, has the potential to significantly improve the imaging quality of grazing-incidence X-ray optics. DC magnetron sputtering is used to selectively coat the mirror in order to minimize the figure deviations. Custom vacuum chambers have been developed at NASA MSFC that will enable the implementation of the deposition on X-ray optics. A factor of two improvement has been achieved in the angular resolution of the full-shell X-ray optics with first stage correction of differential deposition. Current efforts are focused on achieving higher improvements through efficient implementation of differential deposition.
Characterization of Blood Flow in Capillaries by Numerical Simulation

This paper presents a numerical investigation of the axisymmetric, pressure driven motion of single file erythrocyte (i.e., red blood cell) suspensions flowing in capillaries of diameter 8-11 µm. Our study success-fully recreates several important in vivo hemodynamic and hemorheological properties of microscopic blood flow, such as parachute shape of the cells, blunt velocity profile, and the Fahraeus effect, and they have been shown to have strong dependence on cell deformability, hematocrit and vessel size.
On the geometry of constant mean curvature one surfaces in hyperbolic space

Abstract : We give a geometric classi cation of regular ends with constant mean curvature 1 and nite total curvature,embedded in hyperbolic space. We prove each such end is either asymptotic to a catenoid cousin or else is asymptoticto a horosphere. We also study some symmetry properties of constant mean curvature 1 surfaces in hyperbolic spaceassociated to minimal surfaces in Euclidean space. We describe the constant mean curvature 1 surfaces in H 3 associated(isometric) to the family of surfaces in R 3 isometric to the helicoid. Key words: hyperbolic space, constant mean curvature 1 surfaces, Bryant representation, regular ends, associatedsurfaces. Math. Classiﬁcation: 53C42IntroductionThe theory of constant mean curvature 1 surfaces in hyperbolic space was created byRobert Bryant in a pioneering paper [Br]. There, Bryant gives a holomorphic parametrizationof such surfaces (simply connected) which is a close analogue of the Weierstrass representationfor minimal surfaces in R 3 . Later on, Umehara and Yamada, following Bryant’s idea have givenimportant contributions to the theory. Particularly, they introduced the notion of regular ends(see Deﬁnition 2-1) and also they provided some new examples and techniques to constructcomplete constant mean curvature 1 surfaces with regular and non-regular ends (see [U-Y,1],[U-Y,2], [U-Y,3]). In this paper we prove that if
Continuing Bonds and Reconstructing Meaning: Mitigating Complications in Bereavement

Drawing on attachment theory and constructivist conceptualizations of bereavement, the authors assessed the relation between continuing bonds coping and meaning reconstruction following the death of a loved one and complicated grief symptomatology. Five hundred six young adults in the first two years of bereavement from a variety of losses completed the Inventory of Complicated Grief along with measures of the strength of their ongoing attachment to the deceased and their capacity to make sense of the loss, find benefit in the experience, and reconstruct a progressive sense of identity following the death. Several variables concerning the survivor, his or her relationship to the deceased, and the nature of the death functioned as risk factors for heightened distress, but their role was generally moderated by meaning-making, often to the point of non-significance. In contrast, higher levels of benefit-finding and positive identity change were associated with lower levels of bereavement complication. Finally, an interaction emerged between sense-making and ongoing attachment to the deceased, suggesting that strong continuing bonds predicted greater levels of traumatic and especially separation distress, but only when the survivor was unable to make sense of the loss in personal, practical, existential, or spiritual terms.
Tissue transglutaminase regulates β‐catenin signaling through a c‐Src‐dependent mechanism

Tissue transglutaminase (TG2) is a multifunctional enzyme involved in protein cross‐linking and cell adhesion to fibronectin (FN). In cancer, TG2 induces an epithelial to mesenchymal transition, contributing to metastasis. Because cadherins bind β‐catenin at cell‐cell junctions, disruption of adherens junctions destabilizes cadherin‐catenin complexes. The goal of the present study was to analyze whether and how TG2 interacts with and regulates β‐catenin signaling in ovarian cancer (OC) cells. We observed a significant correlation between TG2 and β‐catenin expression levels in OC cells and tumors. TG2 augmented Wnt/P‐catenin signaling, as evidenced by enhanced β‐catenin transcriptional activity, inducing transcription of target genes cyclin D1 and c‐Myc. By promoting integrin‐mediated cell adhesion to FN, TG2 physically associates with and recruits c‐Src, which in turn phosphorylates β‐catenin at Tyr654, releasing it from E‐cadherin and rendering it available for transcriptional regulation. By interacting with FN and enhancing β‐catenin signaling, complexed TG2 stimulates OC cell proliferation. In summary, our data demonstrate that TG2 regulates β‐catenin expression and function in OC cells and define the c‐Src‐dependent mechanism through which this occurs. —Condello, S. , Cao, L. , Matei, D. , Tissue transglutaminase regulates β‐catenin signaling through a c‐Src‐dependent mechanism. FASEB J. 27, 3100–3112 (2013). www.fasebj. org
Behavior Rule Specification-Based Intrusion Detection for Safety Critical Medical Cyber Physical Systems

We propose and analyze a behavior-rule specification-based technique for intrusion detection of medical devices embedded in a medical cyber physical system (MCPS) in which the patient's safety is of the utmost importance. We propose a methodology to transform behavior rules to a state machine, so that a device that is being monitored for its behavior can easily be checked against the transformed state machine for deviation from its behavior specification. Using vital sign monitor medical devices as an example, we demonstrate that our intrusion detection technique can effectively trade false positives off for a high detection probability to cope with more sophisticated and hidden attackers to support ultra safe and secure MCPS applications. Moreover, through a comparative analysis, we demonstrate that our behavior-rule specification-based IDS technique outperforms two existing anomaly-based techniques for detecting abnormal patient behaviors in pervasive healthcare applications.
[Birth weight of newborns and health behaviours and haematological parameters of pregnant women - results of preliminary studies].

U osób urodzonych z małą masą ciała stwierdza się zwiększone ryzyko wystąpienia nadciśnienia tętniczego, dyslipidemii, chorób układu sercowo-naczyniowego, cukrzycy typu 2 w wieku dorosłym. U osób urodzonych z makrosomią również występuje zwiększone ryzyko późniejszego wystąpienia cukrzycy typu 2 i chorób sercowo-naczyniowych w wieku dorosłym. Bardzo ważne są więc badania służące zidentyfikowaniu czynników ryzyka zaburzeń wewnątrzmacicznego wzrastania płodu. Cel pracy. Celem pracy była ocena zależności między zachowaniami zdrowotnymi oraz wskaźnikami hematologicznymi kobiet ciężarnych a masą urodzeniową noworodków. Materiał i metody. Materiał badań stanowiły dane 274 kobiet i ich dzieci. Przy pomocy ankiety zebrano informacje na temat miejsca zamieszkania, wysokości i masy ciała, palenia papierosów oraz sposobu żywienia w czasie ciąży. Informacje dotyczące kolejności ciąży, przebiegu i czasu trwania ciąży oraz parametrów hematologicznych zebrano na podstawie analizy dokumentacji medycznej. Wyniki. Kobiety z niedowagą przed ciążą częściej rodziły dzieci z małą masą w stosunku do wieku płodowego, natomiast dzieci z dużą masą w stosunku do wieku płodowego częściej rodziły kobiety z nadwagą lub otyłością przed ciążą (p=0.0076) oraz te, u których stwierdzono w ciąży przyrost masy większy niż zalecany (p=0.0081). Matki, które urodziły dzieci z dużą masą w stosunku do wieku płodowego, częściej posiadały wyższe wartości wskaźników hematologicznych w pierwszym trymestrze ciąży w porównaniu z matkami dzieci o niższej masie w stosunku do wieku płodowego. Spożycie poszczególnych grup produktów przez matki w czasie ciąży nie różnicowało w istotny sposób masy urodzeniowej noworodków. Wnioski. Czynnikami istotnie różnicującymi wielkość urodzeniowej masy ciała w stosunku do wieku płodowego były BMI matki przed ciążą oraz całkowity przyrost masy w czasie ciąży. Wśród kobiet z nadwagą i otyłością planujących prokreację wskazana jest normalizacja masy ciała w celu zmniejszenia ryzyka urodzenia noworodka z hipertrofią.
Ductile damage evolution law for proportional and non-proportional loading conditions

The characterization of ductile damage evolution, and its description, have been the object of extensive research in the continuum damage mechanic field. Many different models have been developed since the pioneering works carried out a few decades ago. In detail, the stress triaxiality and the Lode angle parameters have been identified as the two main variables that affect the material ductility. The literature offers a great number of investigations under monotonic loading conditions, however, a proper characterization of the damage evolution under cyclic loading or non-proportional loading is still missing. In this paper, an unconventional coupled elastoplastic and damage constitutive model with a Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is presented. The novelty of this study is represented by the modification of the ductile damage law in order to consider the damage evolution under non-proportional loading conditions. Therefore, the idea is to investigate the structural response of a steel bridge column subjected to a cyclic non-proportional loading, showing how, a different approach in the description of the ductile damage evolution, is necessary for a realistic description of the pier behavior.
Using an educational electronic documentation system to help nursing students accurately identify patient data.

PURPOSE This quantitative research study used a pretest/posttest design and reviewed how an educational electronic documentation system helped nursing students to identify the accurate "related to" statement of the nursing diagnosis for the patient in the case study. METHODS Students in the sample population were senior nursing students in a bachelor of science nursing program in the northeastern United States. Two distinct groups were used for a control and intervention group. The intervention group used the educational electronic documentation system for three class assignments. Both groups were given a pretest and posttest case study. The Accuracy Tool was used to score the students' responses to the related to statement of a nursing diagnosis given at the end of the case study. The scores of the Accuracy Tool were analyzed, and then the numeric scores were placed in SPSS, and the paired t test scores were analyzed for statistical significance. The intervention group's scores were statistically different from the pretest scores to posttest scores, while the control group's scores remained the same from pretest to posttest. IMPLICATIONS The recommendation to nursing education is to use the educational electronic documentation system as a teaching pedagogy to help nursing students prepare for nursing practice.
Renyi entropy of quadratic time-frequency distributions: effects of signal’s parameters

The Renyi Entropy (ER) of a time-frequency distribution (TFD) has been used for estimating the signal information content and the TFD complexity in the time-frequency (TF) plane. In this paper we provide an experimental comparison of the performance of ER obtained from Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), Spectrogram (SP), Choi-William Distribution (CWD), Born-Jordan Distribution (BJD) and Modified B Distribution (MBD). The performances are tested on two component Gabor logon and LFM signals with the goal of illustrating the effects on ER obtained from different TFDs when signalpsilas TF parameters varies. The presented analysis shows that high-resolution TFDs, such as the MBD, result into consistent ER measures.
Botryosphaeriaceae from Eucalyptus and Native Myrtaceae in Uruguay

Species of the Botryosphaeriaceae are important pathogens causing cankers and die-back on many woody plants. In Uruguay, Neofusicoccum eucalyptorum (=Botryosphaeria eucalyptorum), N. ribis (=B. ribis) and B. dothidea have previously been associated with stem cankers on plantation grown Eucalyptus globulus. These fungi also exist as endophytes in healthy Eucalyptus leaves, twigs and stems, typically causing disease after the onset of stress. There is good evidence to suggest that species of the Botryosphaeriaceae, other than those previously reported, could cause cankers on Eucalyptus spp. and native Myrtaceae trees in Uruguay. In this study, we identified the Botryosphaeriaceae present on Eucalyptus spp. and on native Myrtaceae trees, and considered the genetic diversity between isolates found on both groups of hosts. Symptomatic and asymptomatic material was collected countrywide from Eucalyptus spp. and native Myrtaceae. Monosporic cultures were identified based on conidial morphology and comparisons of DNA sequences for the ITS region of the rDNA operon. Results revealed that isolates of the N. parvum-N. ribis complex, and B. dothidea were present on both Eucalyptus spp. and native Myrtaceae. In contrast, N. eucalyptorum was found only on Eucalyptus spp. and Diplodia seriata-related (=B. obtusa) isolates were obtained only from native trees. This study expands the knowledge of the occurrence of Botryosphaeriaceae on native and introduced Myrtaceae in Uruguay.
The everyday used nomenclature of the aortic root components: the tower of Babel?

Modern analyses of data for scientific reporting and healthcare management purposes require standardized and consistent definitions, something which also holds true for aortic root surgery, as part of the cardiovascular surgery spectrum. The aim of the present study was to investigate the currently employed nomenclature of the aortic root components. A questionnaire was constructed on the terminology of aortic root components, providing a list of common definitions including anatomical descriptions, as well as fields for custom responses. Responses were received from 534 cardiothoracic surgeons registered at www.ctsnet. org. Remarkable variations in definitions were detected. The most unanimously accepted terms were: 'aortic leaflets', the freely moving parts (52.6% of responses); 'commissures', the distal part of the leaflet attachments plus the peripheral area of the free edges of the leaflets (52.2%); 'semi-lunar leaflet attachment', the anatomic site of leaflet attachment (58%); 'annulus', the circular line defined by the nadirs of the leaflets (38%); 'interleaflet triangle', the tissue between two leaflets and annulus (23%); 'aortic valve', the three leaflets only (55%); 'aortic root' as composed of sinuses, tissue between the leaflets, sinutubular junction, leaflets and their wall attachment (63%). The remarkable variability on the everyday-used definitions of the aortic root components can potentially lead to misinterpretation of data. More stringent adoption of consistent, standardized definitions of aortic root components is necessary in the modern era of data collection and management.
University of Birmingham Problematic Internet use, excessive alcohol consumption, their comorbidity and cardiovascular and cortisol reactions to acute psychological stress in a student population

Background and aims: Problematic Internet use and excessive alcohol consumption have been associated with a host of maladaptive outcomes. Further, low (blunted) cardiovascular and stress hormone (e.g. cortisol) reactions to acute psychological stress are a feature of individuals with a range of adverse health and behavioural characteristics, including dependencies such as tobacco and alcohol addiction. The present study extended this research by examining whether behavioural dependencies, namely problematic Internet use, excessive alcohol consumption, and their comorbidity would also be associated with blunted stress reactivity. Methods: A large sample of university students ( N = 2313) were screened using Internet and alcohol dependency questionnaires to select four groups for laboratory testing: comorbid Internet and alcohol dependence ( N = 17), Internet dependence ( N = 17), alcohol dependence ( N = 28), and non-dependent controls ( N = 26). Cardiovascular activity and salivary cortisol were measured at rest and in response to a psychological stress protocol comprising of mental arithmetic and public speaking tasks. Results: Neither problematic Internet behaviour nor excessive alcohol consumption, either individually or in combination, were associated with blunted cardiovascular or cortisol stress reactions. Discussion: It is possible that problematic Internet behaviour and excessive alcohol consumption in a student population were not related to physiological reactivity as they may not reflect ingrained addic tions but rather an impulse control disorder and binging tendency. Conclusions: The present results serve to indicate some of the limits of the developing hypothesis that blunted stress reactivity is a peripheral marker of the central motivational dysregulation in the brain underpinning a wide range of health and behavioural problems.
Comparison of Multidetector CT and Gadobutrol-Enhanced MR Imaging for Evaluation of Small, Solid Pancreatic Lesions

Objective To compare multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and MRI for lesion conspicuity, as well as the detection and characterization of small solid pancreatic lesions (SPLs). Materials and Methods 193 patients with small SPLs (< 3 cm) and 52 patients with normal pancreas who underwent both multiphasic MDCT and gadobutrol-enhanced MRI were included in our study. Two radiologists blinded to the pathologic diagnoses independently reviewed those images, and determined the detection of "SPL per se" and "SPL in consideration of secondary features", the lesion conspicuity, the probability of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and the most likely specific diagnosis. Results The sensitivity of MRI for "detection of SPL per se" was significantly higher than that of CT in both reviewers: 92.7% (179/193) and 97.9% (189/193), respectively, for reviewer 1 (p = 0.031) and 90.7% (175/193) and 99.5% (192/193), respectively, for reviewer 2 (p < 0.001). In addition, MRI provided better lesion conspicuity than MDCT for both reviewers (p < 0.001). However, CT and MRI did not show significant difference in sensitivity for "detection of SPL in consideration of secondary features", specificity for SPL detection, and differentiation of PDAC vs. non-PDAC (p > 0.05). The accuracies of CT and MRI for making a specific diagnosis were as follows: 85.7% (210/245) vs. 86.9% (213/245), respectively, for reviewer 1 (p = 0.736), and 91.8% (225/245) vs. 93.5% (229/245), respectively, for reviewer 2 (p = 0.454). Conclusion MRI showed better lesion conspicuity than MDCT, but did not show significantly different diagnostic performance compared with MDCT for detecting and characterizing small SPLs.
Differential Effect of Clofibrate on Adriamycin Cytotoxicity in P388 Murine Leukemia Cells Sensitive and Resistant to Adriamycin

Clofibrate (CPIB), an antihyperlipidemic agent, was utilized as a drug response modulator to modify the cytotoxicity of adriamycin (ADR) in vitro in P388 murine lymphocytic leukemia cells sensitive (P388/S) and resistant (P388/ADR) to ADR. CPIB elicited concentration and time dependent DNA biosynthesis inhibition which was completely reversible up to the concentration of 0.0025 % in P388/S. However, only a partial reversibility of DNA biosynthesis inhibition was observed in P388/ADR cells treated with 0.0025 % of CPIB. In both P388/S and P388/ADR there was complete and irreversible DNA biosynthesis inhibition at CPIB concentration of 0.005%. These findings were further confirmed by tumorigenicity anaysis. CPIB was ineffective in altering ADR cytotoxicity in P388/S ceils. However, in P388/ADR, CPIB enhanced ADR cytotoxicity at the lower concentrations of ADR and decreased the cytotoxicity upon increase in ADR concentrations. The enhancement in ADR cytotoxicity by CPIB in P388/ADR was due to increased ADR accumulation which was absent in P388/S cells. The present findings suggest the utility of CPIB as a selective agent to circumvent ADR resistance and to reduce host toxicity due to the drug.