Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testing the effects of a decision-making and risk-reduction program for cancer-surviving adolescents.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To test the effects of a decision-making and risk-reduction program for cancer-surviving adolescents. DESIGN Prospective clinical trial using a quasi-experimental pretest/post-test design with repeated measures. SETTING Two survivor follow-up clinics and a camp for children and adolescents with cancer located in upstate New York. SAMPLE A convenience sample of 64 survivors (13-21 years of age). The intervention group consisted of 21 survivors who attended a workshop, and the comparison group consisted of 43 survivors who did not attend the workshop. METHODS Intervention-integrated information specific to survivorship, decision-making skills, risk behaviors, and social support from peers and healthcare professionals. The educational component of the program lasted one day (five one-hour units), and the social component lasted overnight. A single, semistructured interview at the time of the previous yearly evaluation visit was used for baseline data. Testing was conducted during home visits at 1, 6, and 12 months. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Decision making, risk motivation, and risk behaviors (i.e., smoking, alcohol use, and illicit drug use). FINDINGS The effect of the intervention for improving decision making was significant at 1-month postintervention, marginally significant at 6-months postintervention, and highly significant at 12-months postintervention. The effect of the intervention for motivation toward alcohol use was significant at 1-month postintervention and marginally significant at 6-months postintervention; however, the intervention had no effect on smoking motivation at any of the three time intervals. The effect of the intervention for improving smoking behavior was marginally significant at 6-months postintervention and was marginally significant at 12-months postintervention for alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS The intervention had a dampening effect on the upward trajectory of substance use, a path that is well-known to increase with age for both genders in the general population. This short, five-hour program for improving decision making and affecting substance use of teen survivors shows promise; however, a larger sample is needed to enhance findings. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE Besides tailoring risk-behavior information based on actual or potential late effects of treatment to each teen survivor during follow-up visits, oncology professionals need to provide booster programs to refine decision-making skills within meaningful decision context for teen survivors as a means of reducing risk behaviors.
Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Activity of Natural Animal Proteins/Peptides In Vitro

The objectives of this research were to validate the sensitivity and precision of an in vitro assay for evaluating the efficacy of antimicrobials, to evaluate the ability of natural animal proteins/peptides to kill in vitro antibiotic-resistant, as well as, -susceptible bacteria, and to determine the effects of key components of animal digesta (e.g., pH, mineral content, and proteolytic digestive enzymes) on the estimated antimicrobial activity of these proteins/peptides. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for polymyxin B (control antibiotic) were determined to be . 76, . 76, and . 90 μg/mL for Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli (nalidixic acid-resistant), and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The intraand inter-assay variation for MIC determination was . 18 and . 2%, respectively. The natural animal proteins and peptides (lactoferrin, lactoferricin B, hen egg lysozyme, and alphalactalbumin LDT2) were determined in in vitro (acetic acid medium) to kill selected bacteria. Each of the tested proteins/peptides was active against an antibiotic-resistant (nalidixic acid) strain of E. coli; however, the required concentrations for antimicrobial activity were 10 to 15 times higher than that of the nonantibioticresistant strain. The antimicrobial activity of each protein/peptide in animal digesta fluid was 130 to 300% greater than that in the acetic acid media. Overall, the intraand inter-assay variation values for the tested proteins/peptides was 3 and 3.4%, respectively. The antimicrobial activity of two of the three proteins/peptides was not affected by the presence of cationic minerals. The change in pH (digesta fluid and acetic acid media) from 7 to 2 resulted in a loss of antimicrobial activity of 33% for all proteins/peptides. Therefore, the increase in antimicrobial activity associated with the digesta fluid is not related to change in H or the mineral concentration of the digesta. Based on these data, natural proteins/peptides represent potential antibiotic substitutes.
Length of stay as risk factor for inappropriate hospital days: interaction with patient age and co-morbidity.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The likelihood of a hospital day being inappropriate depends on patient characteristics, on the organization of in-hospital care and on the co-ordination between hospital care and the rest of the health care sector. The aim of the study was to assess if certain socio-demographic and medical factors affect inappropriate hospital stay including possible interactions between age and co-morbidity. METHODS To determine the appropriateness of length of hospitalization, a prospective study was carried out using the European version of the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP). A total of 438 hospital days of stay was analysed in medical wards of a university-affiliated teaching hospital in the North of Italy for 3 days in September 2010. RESULTS 44.6% of hospitalization days were classified as inappropriate. Unjustified hospital use was more frequent in patients whose hospital length of stay exceeded 10 days. Age and co-morbidity were not per se risk factors for inappropriateness; however, in young patients hospitalized for more than 10 days, absence of chronic illness was a predictor. Conservative patient management, lack of discharge planning and delays in scheduling diagnostic tests or therapeutic interventions were the most common causal or contributory doctor- and hospital-related factors. CONCLUSIONS Doctor attitudes and hospital organization are still among the most common reasons for inappropriate in-hospital days of care. Monitoring whether the length of stay is appropriate combined with protocol interventions for scheduling of diagnosis, treatment and discharge are likely to improve efficiency in this area of medical care.
Optimizing the Combination of Acoustic and Electric Hearing in the Implanted Ear

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine an optimal approach to program combined acoustic plus electric (A+E) hearing devices in the same ear to maximize speech-recognition performance. Design: Ten participants with at least 1 year of experience using Nucleus Hybrid (short electrode) A+E devices were evaluated across three different fitting conditions that varied in the frequency ranges assigned to the acoustically and electrically presented portions of the spectrum. Real-ear measurements were used to optimize the acoustic component for each participant, and the acoustic stimulation was then held constant across conditions. The lower boundary of the electric frequency range was systematically varied to create three conditions with respect to the upper boundary of the acoustic spectrum: Meet, Overlap, and Gap programming. Consonant recognition in quiet and speech recognition in competing-talker babble were evaluated after participants were given the opportunity to adapt by using the experimental programs in their typical everyday listening situations. Participants provided subjective ratings and evaluations for each fitting condition. Results: There were no significant differences in performance between conditions (Meet, Overlap, Gap) for consonant recognition in quiet. A significant decrement in performance was measured for the Overlap fitting condition for speech recognition in babble. Subjective ratings indicated a significant preference for the Meet fitting regimen. Conclusions: Participants using the Hybrid ipsilateral A+E device generally performed better when the acoustic and electric spectra were programmed to meet at a single frequency region, as opposed to a gap or overlap. Although there is no particular advantage for the Meet fitting strategy for recognition of consonants in quiet, the advantage becomes evident for speech recognition in competing-talker babble and in patient preferences.
Association of Serum Lipid Profile and Arteriovenous Fistula Thrombosis in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients

Background: Vascular access thrombosis represents a major cause of morbidity in the hemodialysis population. The role of serum lipid profile in access thrombosis is not sufficiently established. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between serum lipid profile and native arteriovenous fistula (AVF) thrombosis. Methods: Clinical files of 99 maintenance hemodialysis patients were reviewed retrospectively for 3 years. Serum lipid profile, albumin and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured. Catheter angiography was performed in patients with AVF dysfunction and AVF thrombosis. Results: Patients with AVF thrombosis and patent AVF had similar serum levels of total cholesterol and triglyceride levels. However, patients with AVF thrombosis had significantly lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and albumin and higher serum CRP levels than patients with patent AVFs. Conclusions: Serum levels of lipid subfractions are associated with AVF thrombosis in maintenance hemodialysis patients. Larger and prospective cohort studies are needed to confirm these observations.
Communications in Mathematical Physics Structure of States Which Satisfy Strong Subadditivity of Quantum Entropy with Equality

We give an explicit characterisation of the quantum states which saturate the strong subadditivity inequality for the von Neumann entropy. By combining a result of Petz characterising the equality case for the monotonicity of relative entropy with a recent theorem by Koashi and Imoto, we show that such states will have the form of a so–called short quantum Markov chain, which in turn implies that two of the systems are independent conditioned on the third, in a physically meaningful sense. This characterisation simultaneously generalises known necessary and sufficient entropic conditions for quantum error correction as well as the conditions for the achievability of the Holevo bound on accessible information.
Separating the impacts of crop diversification and rotations on risk

It has been commonly accepted that crop rotations reduce risk compared with monoculture systems. Quantifying this phenomenon requires that effects of yield stability on risk (positive or negative) arising from rotating crops be separated from other risk elements. Using an ARS-University of Nebraska series of yields for corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ] grown over a 14-yr period, both in rotation and in monoculture, the impact of crop rotation on risk was isolated and estimated. Risk was defined as the failure to meet an annual per-hectare net return target. A corn-soybean rotation had significantly less risk than monoculture practices. Diversification was found to contribute to part of this reduction while higher yields and reduced cost contributed to the remainder. This reduction in risk occurred even though the corn-soybean rotation had a higher yield variance.
An NFC on Two-Coil WPT Link for Implantable Biomedical Sensors under Ultra-Weak Coupling

The inductive link is widely used in implantable biomedical sensor systems to achieve near-field communication (NFC) and wireless power transfer (WPT). However, it is tough to achieve reliable NFC on an inductive WPT link when the coupling coefficient is ultra-low (0.01 typically), since the NFC signal (especially for the uplink from the in-body part to the out-body part) could be too weak to be detected. Traditional load shift keying (LSK) requires strong coupling to pass the load modulation information to the power source. Instead of using LSK, we propose a dual-carrier NFC scheme for the weak-coupled inductive link; using binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation, its downlink data are modulated on the power carrier (2 MHz), while its uplink data are modulated on another carrier (125 kHz). The two carriers are transferred through the same coil pair. To overcome the strong interference of the power carrier, dedicated circuits are introduced. In addition, to minimize the power transfer efficiency decrease caused by adding NFC, we optimize the inductive link circuit parameters and approach the receiver sensitivity limit. In the prototype experiments, even though the coupling coefficient is as low as 0.008, the in-body transmitter costs only 0.61 mW power carrying 10 kbps of data, and achieves a 1 × 10−7 bit error rate under the strong interference of WPT. This dual-carrier NFC scheme could be useful for small-sized implantable biomedical sensor applications.
Induction of neural crest in Xenopus by transcription factor AP2α

We report experiments with Xenopus laevis, using both intact embryos and ectodermal explants, showing that the transcription factor AP2α is positively regulated by bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and Wnt signaling, and that this activation is an essential step in the induction of neural crest (NC). Ectopic expression of AP2α is sufficient to activate high-level expression of NC-specific genes such as Slug and Sox9, which can occur as isolated domains within the neural plate as well as by expansion of endogenous NC territories. AP2α also has the property of inducing NC in isolated ectoderm in which Wnt signaling is provided but BMP signaling is minimized by overexpression of chordin. Like other NC regulatory factors, activation of AP2α requires some attenuation of endogenous BMP signaling; however, this process occurs at a lower threshold for AP2α. Furthermore, AP2α expression domains are larger than for other NC factors. Loss-of-function experiments with antisense AP2α morpholino oligonucleotides result in severe reduction in the NC territory. These results support a central role for AP2α in NC induction. We propose a model in which AP2α expression, along with inactivation of NC inhibitory factors such as Dlx3, establish a feedback loop comprising AP2α, Sox9, and Slug, leading to and maintaining NC specification.
Pressure–temperature evolution and thermal regimes in the Barrovian zones, Scotland

Abstract: We constrain the P–T evolution of the Barrovian metamorphic zones from the southwestern to the northeastern coasts of Scotland using thermobarometry and pseudosection analysis based on mineral composition data, garnet zoning profiles and 2D garnet maps. Twenty-five samples were investigated from the garnet to the sillimanite zones. In the western half of the field area there was relatively high-P metamorphism (0.9–1.1 GPa) followed by near-isothermal decompression. In and around the Barrovian type area of Glen Clova maximum pressures were also high (c. 0.8–0.9 GPa); however, peak-T conditions were driven by a brief (of the order of 1 Ma or less) thermal pulse or pulses during exhumation at c. 0.6 GPa. Pressures at peak-T conditions along the eastern coast were the lowest observed, c. 0.4–0.5 GPa. These rocks were probably affected by the same thermal pulse activity evident around Glen Clova. All three regions initially developed during regional metamorphism associated with thermal relaxation of tectonically overthickened crust. The eastern part of the sequence, including Glen Clova, is fundamentally different from the western part because it required additional advective heat input to achieve peak thermal conditions. This heat was probably supplied by synorogenic magmas (e.g. Newer Gabbros) and the associated elevated crustal heat flow. Supplementary material: Electron microprobe methods, mineral and rock analyses, mineral activity–composition relations, criteria for identifying prograde mineral compositions, pseudosection and diffusion modelling methods, and profiles of XAlm and XPrp from garnets in Figures 7,8,9,10 are available at http://www.geolsoc. org.uk/SUP18491.
Iron, Landscape and Power in Iron Age East Yorkshire

More iron objects have been found in East Yorkshire than in any other part of Iron Age Britain of comparable size, largely in the burials of the Arras Culture, named after the excavations at Arras near Market Weighton (1815–17). The region also contains one of Britain's largest prehistoric iron production centres, contemporary with the Arras Culture. This article aims to contribute to re-establishing early iron production and consumption, and its social and economic significance in the archaeological mainstream, and demonstrate the importance of understanding ironworking for the Iron Age landscape.
ASIC implementation of a MIMO-OFDM transceiver for 192 Mbps WLANs

Next generation wireless local area networks (WLANs) such as the IEEE 802.11a standard are expected to rely on multiple antennas at both transmitter and receiver to increase throughput and link reliability. However, these improvements come at a significant increase in signal processing and hence hardware complexity compared to existing single-antenna systems. This paper presents, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first 4 /spl times/ 4 MIMO-OFDM WLAN physical layer ASIC based on the OFDM specifications of the IEEE 802.1 la standard. The ASIC achieves an uncoded throughput of 192 Mbps in a 20 MHz channel resulting in a spectral efficiency of 9.6 bits/s/Hz. We describe the hardware architectural differences to single-antenna OFDM systems as well as the extensions made necessary by the use of multiple antennas. Our implementation provides reference for the silicon complexity of MIMO-OFDM systems.
Evidence for a pathophysiological role of cysteinyl leukotrienes in classical Hodgkin lymphoma

Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is characterized histologically by a minority of malignant Hodgkin Reed‐Sternberg cells surrounded by abundant inflammatory cells, generally believed to be of major importance in the pathophysiology of the disease. Here, we present data that link inflammatory cell‐derived arachidonic acid metabolites, the cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLT), to the pathogenesis of cHL. Two HL cell lines, L1236 and KMH2, were shown to express functional CysLT1 receptors, responding with a robust calcium signal upon leukotriene (LT) D4 challenge. LTD4 stimulated protein release of tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐6 and ‐8 by L1236 cells and interleukin‐8 by KMH2 cells. Importantly, all these LTD4‐induced effects were blocked by the CysLT1 receptor‐specific antagonist zafirlukast. Immunohistochemical studies of cHL biopsies and microarray analysis of microdissected cells revealed that the CysLT1 receptor is expressed also by primary Hodgkin Reed‐Sternberg cells. As these cells are surrounded by CysLT‐producing eosinophils, macrophages and mast cells, our results suggest the CysLTs as mediators in the pathogenesis of cHL, contributing to the aberrant cytokine network of this lymphoma. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Neuroimaging variables related to development of Secondary Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder after closed head injury in children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To characterize children who develop Secondary Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (S-ADHD) after severe and moderate closed head injury (CHI) according to neuroimaging variables. METHOD Ninety-nine children from 4-19 years who suffered severe and moderate CHI were prospectively followed for a year after injury. Premorbid psychiatric status was determined by administration to the parent of a structured psychiatric interview. This interview was readministered 1 year after injury to determine the presence of post-closed head injury S-ADHD. An MRI was performed 3 months after injury to define lesion locations and volumes. RESULTS A set of multiple logistic regression models determined that the odds of developing S-ADHD were 3.64 times higher among children with thalamus injury, and 3.15 times higher among children with basal ganglia injury. There was no significant difference in lesion volumes in any of the locations of interest between the group who developed S-ADHD and the group who did not develop S-ADHD. CONCLUSION The data support an association between S-ADHD and injury in either or both the thalamus and basal ganglia, but they do not definitively demonstrate whether injury in either structure has an effect on S-ADHD in the absence of injury in the other.
The effects of a neutrophil elastase inhibitor on the postoperative respiratory failure of acute aortic dissection.

BACKGROUND Postoperative respiratory failure is often encountered in patients suffering from acute aortic dissection (AAD) and is believed to be influenced by release of neutrophil elastase after cardiopulmonary bypass. Sivelestat is a specific neutrophil elastase inhibitor, and this study aims to evaluate the effects of sivelestat on postoperative respiratory failure due to AAD. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients who were operated for AAD from January 2000 to April 2005 and who had less than 300 mmHg initial postoperative PaO (2)/FiO (2) were investigated retrospectively and divided into two groups. Group 1 (n = 9) received intravenous administration of sivelestat immediately after the operation, while Group II (n = 9) received no sivelestat. There were no significant differences between Group I and II with respect to patients' characteristics or background (age, body weight, operating time, cardiopulmonary bypass time, amount of bleeding, preoperative WBC number and initial PaO (2)/FiO (2)). Though patients in Group I showed a subtle improvement in certain parameters such as PaO (2)/FiO (2), A-aDO (2) and respiratory index (RI) over a 3-day observation period compared to those of Group II, there were no significant differences. Neither postoperative mechanical ventilation time nor ICU stay differed between Group I and II. However, Group I showed a significantly greater improvement in the ratio of RI to initial RI on the 3POD compared to that of Group II (61.6 +/- 44.2 % vs. 111.9 +/- 40.9 %, P = 0.02). CONCLUSION Inhibiting the activity of the neutrophil elastase may attenuate the postoperative respiratory complications of patients with AAD.