Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of shockwave lithotripsy and microperc for treatment of kidney stones in children.

PURPOSE We aimed to compare the outcomes of microperc and shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) for treatment of kidney stones in children. PATIENTS AND METHODS The medical records of 145 patients under the age of 15 years with opaque and single kidney stones treated with either SWL or microperc were retrospectively reviewed. Both groups were compared in terms of fluoroscopy and operative time, re-treatment, complications, success rate, and secondary and total number of procedures. RESULTS Microperc and SWL were performed on 37 and 108 pediatric patients, respectively. The mean age of the patients was 5.91±4.03 years (1-15) and 8.43±4.84 (1-15) years in the SWL and microperc groups, respectively (P=0.004). The mean stone size was 11.32±2.84 (5-20) mm in the SWL group and 14.78±5.39 (6-32) mm in the microperc group (P<0.001). In the SWL group, 31 (28.7%) patients underwent a second SWL session and 6 (5%) had a third session. Finally, 95 (88%) patients were stone free at the end of the SWL sessions. In the microperc group, the stone-free rate was 89.2% in a single session (P=0.645). The mean duration of hospitalization was 49.2±12.3 (16-64) hours in the microperc group and 8.4±2.3 (6-10) hours per one session in the SWL group (P<0.001). The fluoroscopy time was significantly longer in the microperc group compared with the SWL group (147.3±95.3 seconds vs 59.6±25.9 seconds, P<0.001). The rate of requirement for an auxiliary procedure was higher in the SWL group than in the microperc group. The overall complication rates for the microperc and SWL groups were 21.6% and 16.7%, respectively (P=0.498). CONCLUSIONS The results of our study demonstrate that microperc provides a similar stone-free rate and a lower additional treatment rate compared with SWL in the treatment of kidney stone disease in children.
Timing of intravenous patient‐controlled remifentanil bolus during early labour

Background: Remifentanil labour analgesia is superior to nitrous oxide but less potent than epidural analgesia. The short onset and offset times of effect suggest that the timing of the bolus in the contraction cycle could have importance. We hypothesised that administering a remifentanil bolus during contraction pause would improve analgesia in early labour.
The molecular mediators of type 2 epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and their role in renal pathophysiology

Common to all forms of chronic kidney disease is the progressive scarring of the tubulo-interstitial space, associated with the acquisition and accumulation of activated myofibroblasts. Many of these myofibroblasts are generated when tubular epithelial cells progressively lose their epithelial characteristics (cell–cell contact, microvilli, tight-junction proteins, apical–basal polarity) and acquire features of a mesenchymal lineage, including stress fibres, filopodia and augmented matrix synthesis. This process, known as epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), plays an important role in progressive kidney disease. For EMT to occur in tubular cells, the transcriptional activation (and derepression) of genes required to sustain mesenchymal-type structures and functions (e.g. vimentin, α-smooth muscle actin) must occur alongside repression (or deactivation) of genes that act to maintain the epithelial phenotype (e.g. E-cadherin, bone morphogenic protein 7). Several factors have been suggested as potential initiators of EMT. With a few key exceptions, these triggers require the induction of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and downstream mediators, including SMADs, CTGF, ILK and SNAI1. Activation of TGF-β receptors is also able to stimulate a range of additional pathways (so-called non-SMAD activation), including RhoA, mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphoinositide 3-kinase signalling cascades, that also contribute to EMT and renal fibrogenesis. This review examines in detail the molecular mediators of EMT in tubular cells and its potential role as a long-lasting mediator of metabolic stress.
Comparison of Three Methods for Testing Azole Susceptibilities of Candida albicans Strains Isolated Sequentially from Oral Cavities of AIDS Patients

ABSTRACT Three susceptibility testing procedures were compared to determine fluconazole, itraconazole, and ketoconazole MICs against 47Candida albicans strains isolated sequentially from the oral cavities of five AIDS patients undergoing azole therapy. They included the broth microdilution method (BM), performed according to the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards’ tentative standard, the agar dilution method (AD), and the Etest; the latter two tests were performed both in Casitone agar (AD-Cas and Etest-Cas) and in RPMI (AD-RPMI and Etest-RPMI). Twenty-four- and 48-h MICs obtained by AD and Etest were compared with 48-h MICs obtained by BM. The MICs of all the azoles determined by BM were usually lower than those obtained by the other methods, mainly due to different reading criteria. In order to assess the most appropriate way of evaluating the agreement of MICs obtained by different methods with those produced by the proposed reference method (BM), we used the mean differences calculated according to Bland and Altman’s method. Comparison of fluconazole MICs obtained by BM and AD-Cas yielded a mean difference of 3, and the percentages of agreement within ±2 dilutions were 98 and 100% at 24 and 48 h, respectively. For ketoconazole and itraconazole MICs, lower mean differences were noted, and agreement ranged from 96 to 100%. Agreement between the AD-RPMI and BM results was poor for all azoles, and an increase in MICs was always observed between the 1st- and 2nd-day readings. Similarly, Etest-Cas gave better agreement with BM than did Etest-RPMI for all the azoles. BM, AD-Cas, and Etest-Cas each demonstrated a progressive increase in fluconazole MICs against strains isolated sequentially from a given patient, in accordance with the decreased clinical response to fluconazole.
ERROR ANALYSIS ON STUDENTS’ WRITING

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui jenis-jenis kesalahan linguistik dan tahap-tahap kesalahan apa yang dibuat oleh para mahasiswa semester 1 Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Jurusan Ilmu Budaya, FISIP, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman Purwokerto dalam hal keahlian menulis bahasa Inggris. Penelitian ini menggunakan teori dari Politzer dan Ramirez, Burt dan Kiparsky tentang Linguistic Category Taxonomy untuk menganalisa jenis-jenis kesalahan linguistik serta menggunakan teori Comparative Taxonomy untuk membahas tahap-tahap kesalahan yang dibuat oleh para mahasiswa dalam tulisan mereka. Ada 10 tulisan mahasiswa yang dijadikan sampel penelitian dengan metode pengambilan sampel purposif dan penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif untuk menjabarkan hasil penelitian. Temuan penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kesalahan mahasiswa dalam tulisan mereka ada 142 jenis kesalahan yang 132 diantaranya masuk dalam kategori yang dinyatakan dalam Linguistix Category Taxonomy oleh Politzer dan Ramirez; Burt dan Kiparsky, sedangkan 10 yang lain termasuk jenis kesalahan yang tidak ada dalam kategori diatas. Berdasarkan teori Comparative Taxonomy, developmental error adalah tahap kesalahan terbesar yang dibuat oleh para mahasiswa.
All for one and one for all: condensations and the initiation of skeletal development.

Condensation is the pivotal stage in the development of skeletal and other mesenchymal tissues. It occurs when a previously dispersed population of cells gathers together to differentiate into a single cell/tissue type such as cartilage, bone, muscle, tendon, kidney, and lung and is the earliest stage during organ formation when tissue-specific genes are upregulated. We present a synopsis of our current understanding of how condensations are initiated and grown, how their boundaries and sizes are set, how condensation ceases, and how overt differentiation begins. Extracellular matrix molecules, cell surface receptors and cell adhesion molecules, such as fibronectin, tenascin, syndecan, and N-CAM, initiate condensation formation and set condensation boundaries. Hox genes (Hoxd-11-13) and other transcription factors (CFKH-1, MFH-1, osf-2), modulate the proliferation of cells within condensations. Cell adhesion is ensured indirectly through Hox genes (Hoxa-2, Hoxd-13), and directly via cell adhesion molecules (N-CAM and N-cadherin). Subsequent growth of condensations is regulated by BMPs, which activate Pax-2, Hoxa-2 and Hoxd-11 among other genes. Growth of a condensation ceases when Noggin inhibits BMP signalling, setting the stage for transition to the next stage of skeletal development, namely overt cell differentiation. BioEssays 22:138-147, 2000.
Interleukin-10 Predicts Preterm Birth in Acculturated Hispanics

Objective: Among Hispanics living in the United States, acculturation is associated with an increased risk for preterm birth. Inflammatory pathways are also associated with preterm birth. As such, the current study sought to investigate the potential relationships among preterm birth, acculturation of Hispanic women, and inflammatory markers. Study Design: The authors performed an observational study on pregnant Hispanic women in Texas at 22–24 weeks' gestation (n = 470). The authors obtained demographic data prenatally as well as birth outcome data from the medical chart after delivery. The authors obtained venous blood and used plasma to assay interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-10 (IL-10). The authors used logistic regression to understand whether the presence or the absence of IL-10 levels was related to acculturation and the risk of preterm birth. Results: The authors observed interactions between undetectable IL-10 levels and years in the United States and undetectable IL-10 levels and being born in the United States in models predicting preterm birth. Follow-up probes of these interactions suggested that when IL-10 was undetectable, preterm birth became more likely as time living in the United States increased, χ2 = 5.15 (1, 416), p = . 020, odds ratio (OR) = 3.17, and was more likely in participants born in the United States than in those born elsewhere, χ2 = 5.35 (1, 462), p = . 020, OR = 16.78. The authors observed no interactions among acculturation, preterm birth, and IL-1RA and IL-6 levels. Conclusion: Acculturated Hispanics who lack the protective effects of IL-10 experience a markedly higher risk of preterm birth than nonacculturated Hispanics.
Stronger Privacy Preserving Projections for Multi-Agent Planning

Collaborative privacy-preserving planning (CPPP) is a multi-agent planning task in which agents need to achieve a common set of goals without revealing certain private information. In many CPPP algorithms the individual agents reason about a projection of the multiagent problem onto a single-agent classical planning problem. For example, an agent can plan as if it controls the public actions of other agents, ignoring their unknown private preconditions and effects, and use the cost of this plan as a heuristic for the cost of the full, multi-agent plan. Using such a projection, however, ignores some dependencies between agents’ public actions. In particular, it does not contain dependencies between actions of other agents caused by their private facts. We propose a projection in which these private dependencies are maintained. The benefit of our dependency-preserving projection is demonstrated by using it to produce high level plans in a new privacy preserving planner that is able to solve more benchmark problems than any other state-of-the-art privacy preserving planner. This more informed projection does not explicitly share private information. In addition, we show that even if an adversary agent knows that an agent has some private objects of a given type (e.g., trucks), it cannot infer how many such private objects the agent controls. This introduces a novel strong form of privacy that is motivated by real-world requirements.
Changing Biogeochemistry of the Southern Ocean and Its Ecosystem Implications

The Southern Ocean plays a critical role in regulating global climate as a major sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), and in global ocean biogeochemistry by supplying nutrients to the global thermocline, thereby influencing global primary production and carbon export. Biogeochemical processes within the Southern Ocean regulate regional primary production and biological carbon uptake, primarily through iron supply, and support ecosystem functioning over a range of spatial and temporal scales. Here, we assimilate existing knowledge and present new data to examine the biogeochemical cycles of iron, carbon and major nutrients, their key drivers and their responses to, and roles in, contemporary climate and environmental change. Projected increases in iron supply, coupled with increases in light availability to phytoplankton through increased near-surface stratification and longer ice-free periods, are very likely to increase primary production and carbon export around Antarctica. Biological carbon uptake is likely to increase for the Southern Ocean as a whole, whilst there is greater uncertainty around projections of primary production in the Sub-Antarctic and basin-wide changes in phytoplankton species composition, as well as their biogeochemical consequences. Phytoplankton, zooplankton, higher trophic level organisms and microbial communities are strongly influenced by Southern Ocean biogeochemistry, in particular through nutrient supply and ocean acidification. In turn, these organisms exert important controls on biogeochemistry through carbon storage and export, nutrient recycling and redistribution, and benthic-pelagic coupling. The key processes described in this paper are summarised in the Graphical Abstract. Climate-mediated changes in Southern Ocean biogeochemistry over the coming decades are very likely to impact primary production, sea-air CO2 exchange and ecosystem functioning within and beyond this vast and critically important ocean region. Graphical Abstract Infographic summarising the key processes described in this paper. Drawn by Dr. Stacey McCormack, University of Tasmania.
Sediment transport by sea ice in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas : Increasing importance due to changing ice conditions ?

Sediment-laden sea ice is widespread over the shallow, wide Siberian Arctic shelves, with off-shelf export from the Laptev and East Siberian Seas contributing substantially to the Arctic Ocean’s sediment budget. By contrast, the North American shelves, owing to their narrow width and greater water depths, have not been deemed as important for basinwide sediment transport by sea ice. Observations over the Chukchi and Beaufort shelves in 2001/02 revealed the widespread occurrence of sediment-laden ice over an area of more than 100,000 km between 68 and 741N and 155 and 1701W. Ice stratigraphic studies indicate that sediment inclusions were associated with entrainment of frazil ice into deformed, multiple layers of rafted nilas, indicative of a flaw-lead environment adjacent to the landfast ice of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. This is corroborated by buoy trajectories and satellite imagery indicating entrainment in a coastal polynya in the eastern Chukchi Sea in February of 2002 as well as formation of sediment-laden ice along the Beaufort Sea coast as far eastward as the Mackenzie shelf. Moored upward-looking sonar on the Mackenzie shelf provides further insight into the ice growth and deformation regime governing sediment entrainment. Analysis of Radarsat Synthetic Aperture (SAR) imagery in conjunction with bathymetric data help constrain the water depth of sediment resuspension and subsequent ice entrainment (420m for the Chukchi Sea). Sediment loads averaged at 128 t km, with sediment occurring in layers of roughly 0.5m thickness, mostly in the lower ice layers. The total amount of sediment transported by sea ice (mostly out of the narrow zone between the landfast ice edge and waters too deep for resuspension and entrainment) is at minimum 4 10 t in the sampling area and is estimated at 5–8 10 t over the entire Chukchi and Beaufort shelves in 2001/02, representing a significant term in the sediment budget of the western Arctic Ocean. Recent changes in the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea ice regimes (reduced summer minimum ice extent, ice thinning, reduction in multi-year ice extent, altered drift paths and mid-winter landfast ice break-out events) have likely resulted in an increase of sediment-laden ice in the area. Apart from contributing substantially to alongand across-shelf particulate flow, an increase in the amount of dirty ice significantly impacts (sub-)ice algal production and may enhance the dispersal of pollutants. r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Information Literacy Grade of Secondary School Teachers in Spain - Beliefs and Self-Perceptions Grado de alfabetización informacional del profesorado de Secundaria en España: Creencias y autopercepciones

Information Literacy is one of the dimensions of digital competence and, in today’s information and media-based society, it should be a skill that everyone develops, especially secondary school teachers due to their influence on this crucial stage of student development. In this investigation we aim to determine the current level of information literacy of secondary school teachers in Spain. For this purpose we have designed a questionnaire (n=2,656) which is divided into two parts: the first asks questions related to belief and self-perception of information literacy indicators, and the second presents practical cases in which the teachers have to demonstrate their skills in information literacy. The results confirm that secondary school teachers’ beliefs show rather high values but that, even if the level of information literacy that the teachers have is acceptable, there are certain aspects of the indicators related to assessment, management and transformation of information in which the teachers display serious shortcomings. This highlights the need to establish a training plan for information literacy for secondary school teachers in Spain.
Behavioral pharmacological similarities between methylphenidate and cocaine in cocaine abusers.

Six human participants with recent histories of cocaine use were trained to discriminate 200 mg oral cocaine hydrochloride. A range of doses of oral cocaine (50-300 mg), methylphenidate (15-90 mg), triazolam (0.125-0.75 mg), and placebo were then tested to determine whether they shared discriminative-stimulus and participant-rated effects with 200 mg cocaine. Cocaine and methylphenidate dose-dependently increased cocaine-appropriate responding, produced prototypical stimulant-like participant-rated drug effects (e.g., increased participant ratings of Drug Liking), and increased heart rate and blood pressure. Triazolam produced low levels of cocaine-appropriate responding and impaired performance. Thus, consistent with previous studies, humans can reliably discriminate oral cocaine. Consistent with in vivo behavioral neuropharmacological data, the discriminative-stimulus, participant-rated, and physiological effects of oral cocaine and methylphenidate were similar.
Effective dose of escitalopram in moderate versus severe DSM-IV major depression.

INTRODUCTION Data from the three available placebo-controlled trials with fixed doses of escitalopram in the acute therapy of DSM-IV major depressive disorder (MDD) were pooled. The hypothesis tested was that escitalopram 10 mg/d might be an effective dose in moderate MDD, whereas escitalopram 20 mg/d might be needed in severe depression. METHODS The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Scale with all 10 items was used at baseline to differentiate between moderate (score range 22 to 29) and severe (scores > or = 30) major depression. The MADRS (6) was selected as the primary efficacy parameter, using a standardised effect size of 0.40 as indicator of clinically significant response. RESULTS After 8 weeks of therapy, escitalopram 10 mg was superior to placebo, with a standardised effect size above 0.40 for patients with moderate depression, but not for those with severe depression. In contrast, 20 mg escitalopram was superior to placebo, with a standardised effect size above 0.40 in severe depression, but not in moderate depression. The MADRS (6) showed response (standardised effect sizes above 0.40) for moderate depression after two weeks of treatment with 10 mg escitalopram and in severely depressed patients after 4 weeks with 20 mg escitalopram. CONCLUSION Escitalopram 10 mg/d was the optimal dose for the treatment of moderate DSM-IV MDD, while escitalopram 20 mg/d was an effective dose in patients with moderate to severe depression.
Smoking status, sports participation and mortality from coronary heart disease

Background: Since smoking and exercise have opposite effects on coronary risk factors, the hypothesis was proposed that smoking might weaken the protective effect of exercise on prevention of coronary heart disease. Objective: To determine the effect of smoking on the relationship between sports participation and mortality from coronary heart disease. Design: Population-based prospective cohort study in Japan. Participants: A total of 76 832 Japanese men and women, aged 40–79 years with no history of stroke, coronary heart disease, or cancer, completed a self-administered questionnaire between 1988 and 1990. Main outcome measures: Systematic mortality surveillance was carried out through 2003, and 638 deaths from coronary heart disease (496 myocardial infarction) were identified. Results: People who reported the longest time in sports participation (⩾5 hours/week) had an approximately 50–80% lower age-adjusted risk of mortality from coronary heart disease compared with those in the second lowest category (1–2 hours/week) among never and ex-smokers, but no association was found among current smokers. Adjustment for known risk factors and exclusion of subjects who died within 2 years of the baseline inquiry did not substantially alter these associations. The multivariable hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of coronary heart disease for the ⩾5 hours/week versus 1–2 hours/week of sports participation were 0.44 (0.23 to 0.86) among never smokers, 0.18 (0.05 to 0.60) among ex-smokers, and 0.82 (0.47 to 1.40) among current smokers. Similar associations were found for men and women. Conclusions: Smoking may reduce the beneficial effect of sports participation for reduction of fatal coronary heart disease.
Outcomes of Occupational Self-Efficacy in Older Workers

Because of the increasing number of older workers, it is important to develop models of work-related constructs for this population. The present article developed a model surrounding occupational self-efficacy, testing its relation to other factors (e.g., intrinsic job motivation), predictors (e.g., self-perceptions of aging), and outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction). Employed adults of ages 50 and older (n = 313) were recruited via organizations and social media sites. Study participants (M = 59.7, SD = 6.1, range = 50–78) volunteered to fill out an Internet survey. Occupational self-efficacy predicted job satisfaction, and intrinsic job motivation fully mediated this relationship. More negative self-perceptions of aging predicted poorer occupational self-efficacy. Occupational self-efficacy also predicted life satisfaction. Expected retirement age and job performance were unrelated to occupational self-efficacy. These findings may inform workplace interventions that seek to maintain or increase older worker job and life satisfaction.