Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapid differential diagnosis between subarachnoid hemorrhage and traumatic lumbar puncture by D-dimer assay.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and traumatic lumbar puncture (TLP) are both associated with blood-tinged cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). It is often difficult if not impossible to distinguish between SAH and TLP (1)(2) by available CSF tests such as ( a ) measurement of xanthochromia of the supernatant after centrifugation, ( b ) counting of erythrocytes in the first and last tubes of collected CSF, or ( c ) searching of CSF microscopically for crenated erythrocytes (3)(4)(5). We investigated the measurement of D-dimer (DD) in CSF and evaluated DD measurement as a means to distinguish between SAH and TLP. We measured DD in CSF with the coagulation analyzer STA Compact ® by the immunoturbidimetric assay, STA Liatest D-DI® (Roche Diagnostics). Erythrocyte counts were performed by optical microscopy with a Fuchs-Rosenthal …
Suppression of chaperone-mediated autophagy in the renal cortex during acute diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND In the renal hypertrophy that occurs in diabetes mellitus, decreased proteolysis may lead to protein accumulation, but it is unclear which proteins are affected. Because the lysosomal proteolytic pathway of chaperone-mediated autophagy is suppressed by growth factors in cultured cells, we investigated whether the abundance of substrates of this pathway increase in diabetic hypertrophy. METHODS Rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes were pair-fed with vehicle-injected control rats. Proteolysis was measured as lysine release in renal cortical suspensions and protein synthesis as phenylalanine incorporation. Target proteins of chaperone-mediated autophagy were measured in cortical lysates and nuclear extracts by immunoblot analysis. Proteins that regulate chaperone-mediated autophagy [the lysosomal-associated membrane protein 2a (LAMP2a) or the heat shock cognate protein of 73 kD (hsc-73)] were measured in lysosomes isolated by density gradient centrifugation. RESULTS Proteolysis decreased by 41% in diabetic rats; protein synthesis increased at 3 days, but returned to baseline by 7 days. The abundance of proteins containing that chaperone-mediated autophagy KFERQ signal motif increased 38% and individual KFERQ containing proteins [e.g., M2 pyruvate kinase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and pax2] were more abundant. LAMP2a and hsc73 decreased by 25% and 81%, respectively, in cortical lysosomes from diabetic vs. control rats. CONCLUSION The decline in proteolysis in acute diabetes mellitus is associated with an increase in proteins degraded by chaperone-mediated autophagy and a decrease in proteins which regulate this pathway. This study provides the first evidence that reduced chaperone-mediated autophagy contributes to accumulation of specific proteins in diabetic-induced renal hypertrophy.
DNA fragmentation in cultured cells exposed to high linear energy transfer

The DNA double-strand break (DSB) is a critical lesion which, if not completely restored, can have serious biological consequences. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of many severe end-points are closely related to radiation quality, with increased effectiveness at elevated ionization density. Data presented provide information about the influence of radiation quality on the initial processes causing DNA damage, and the mechanisms leading to its restoration. Such information will increase the understanding of radiation action mechanisms in mammalian cells. Human cells were irradiated with accelerated ions having linear energy transfer (LET) values in the range 40-225 keV/μm, and 60Co-photons. Detailed analyses of the DNA fragment distributions were performed in the size-range 5 kilobasepairs to 6 megabasepairs by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. A non-random fragmentation of DNA was evident, with an elevated number of small and medium-sized fragments for ion irradiation, and the total number of breaks increased by 80-110% when these fragments were included in the analyses. The RBE for DSB induction was 1.2-1.5. A two-fold increase of the number of breaks induced per nitrogen ion passing the cell nuclues was found when LET was increased from 80 to 225 keV/μm, indicating a possible role of particle track structure in DSB induction. Furthermore, the ability to repair DNA was closely related to radiation quality, with an increased proportion of unrejoined breaks for densely ionizing radiation. Surprisingly, the majority of breaks were rapidly rejoined even following exposure to high-LET radiation. The proportion of breaks restored by the slow phase showed a five-fold increase for the highest LET tested, compared with photons. The results presented nominates the complexity of breaks as one determining factor for reduced reparability reported following high-LET exposure.
Utility, Revealed Preferences Theory, and Strategic Ambiguity in Iterated Games

Iterated games, in which the same economic interaction is repeatedly played between the same agents, are an important framework for understanding the effectiveness of strategic choices over time. To date, very little work has applied information theory to the information sets used by agents in order to decide what action to take next in such strategic situations. This article looks at the mutual information between previous game states and an agent’s next action by introducing two new classes of games: “invertible games” and “cyclical games”. By explicitly expanding out the mutual information between past states and the next action we show under what circumstances the explicit values of the utility are irrelevant for iterated games and this is then related to revealed preferences theory of classical economics. These information measures are then applied to the Traveler’s Dilemma game and the Prisoner’s Dilemma game, the Prisoner’s Dilemma being invertible, to illustrate their use. In the Prisoner’s Dilemma, a novel connection is made between the computational principles of logic gates and both the structure of games and the agents’ decision strategies. This approach is applied to the cyclical game Matching Pennies to analyse the foundations of a behavioural ambiguity between two well studied strategies: “Tit-for-Tat” and “Win-Stay, Lose-Switch”.
Carbaryl exposure and incident cancer in the Agricultural Health Study

Carbaryl is a carbamate insecticide with a broad spectrum of uses in agricultural, commercial and household settings. It has previously been linked with non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) but studies of cancer risk in humans are limited. We examined occupational carbaryl use and risk of all cancers in the Agricultural Health Study, a prospective study of a cohort of pesticide applicators in North Carolina and Iowa. This analysis included 21,416 subjects (1,291 cases) enrolled from 1993–1997 and followed for cancer incidence through 2003. Pesticide exposure and other data were collected using self‐administered questionnaires. Poisson regression was used to calculate rate ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) while controlling for potential confounders. Carbaryl was not associated with cancer risk overall. Relative to subjects who never used carbaryl, melanoma risk was elevated with >175 lifetime exposure‐days (RR = 4.11; 95%CI, 1.33–12.75; p‐trend = 0.07), >10 years of use (RR = 3.19; 95%CI, 1.28–7.92; p‐trend = 0.04), or ≥10 days of use per year (RR = 5.50; 95%CI, 2.19–13.84; p‐trend < 0.001). Risk remained after adjusting for sunlight exposure. Although not significant, there appeared to be a trend of decreasing prostate cancer risk with increasing level of exposure. A small increase in NHL risk was observed using some, but not all, exposure measures. No associations were observed with other examined cancer sites. Because the observed results were not hypothesized a priori and because of limited study of their biological plausibility, they should be interpreted with caution. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Symplectic Runge-Kutta Semidiscretization for Stochastic Schrödinger Equation

Based on a variational principle with a stochastic forcing, we indicate that the stochastic Schr\"odinger equation in Stratonovich sense is an infinite-dimensional stochastic Hamiltonian system, whose phase flow preserves symplecticity. We propose a general class of stochastic symplectic Runge-Kutta methods in temporal direction to the stochastic Schr\"odinger equation in Stratonovich sense and show that the methods preserve the charge conservation law. We present a convergence theorem on the relationship between the mean-square convergence order of a semi-discrete method and its local accuracy order. Taking stochastic midpoint scheme as an example of stochastic symplectic Runge-Kutta methods in temporal direction, based on the theorem we show that the mean-square convergence order of the semi-discrete scheme is 1 under appropriate assumptions.
Immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene rearrangements in Hodgkin's disease.

H. Daus, Medizinische Universitätsklinik, Landeskrankenhaus, D-6650 Homburg-Saar (FRG) Since it has been recognized as neoplastic element in Hodgkin’s disease (HD) the origin of Reed-Stern-berg (RS) cells is still controversial. In the past morphological, histochemical, immunophenotyping and cell culture techniques were used to determine RS cell line derivations and the suggested origin included B and T lymphocytes, macrophages, interdigitating and dendritic reticulum cells [1]. The recognition that during lymphoid development a DNA rearrangement process assembles the components of immunoglobulin (IgH) and T-cell antigen receptor (TcR) genes has provided an additional tool to identify monoclonal B-and T-cell populations in lymphoid neoplasms [2, 3]. We report here our results of Southern blot analysis of tumor tissue DNA (11 lymph nodes, 1 pleura effusion, 1 bone marrow biopsy) obtained from patients with HD (1 lymphocyte predominant, 4 mixed cellularity, 8 nodular sclerosing). A 2.2-kb Sau 3A fragment of the immunoglobulin heavy chain joining region (kindly provided by Dr. P. Leder, Boston, Mass., USA) and a 440-bp fragment specific for the constant region of the TcR ß-chain gene (a gift from Dr. T. Mak, Toronto, Ont., Canada) were used as gene probes. Three out of eight cases with nodular sclerosis and 1 out of 4 cases with mixed cellularity had a TcR gene rearrangement after Eco R I or Hind III digestions. In 1 case Cßi and Cß2 genes were rearranged (fig. la, b). One HD showed two rearranged IgH alleles (fig. lc). In 6 cases the intensity of the Eco RI 12-kb TcR-band was diminished according to the grade of polyclonality of the T-cell population. A summary of previously published genotypic analysis in HD is given in table 1. In most studies no correlation was found between the proportion of RS cells and the intensity of rearranged fragments in the autoradiograms and cases with gene rearrangement were not restricted to a particular subtype. In our study except of one TcR rearrangement signals of rearranged bands were weak, not reaching the level found in non-Hodgkin’s lym-phomas. Since the detection limit of mixing placenta DNA and Blast DNS was at the level of 2% clonal cells in a sample, clonal cell populations must be small in Hodgkin’s disease. In contrast to most mentioned studies, we detected 4 TcR and only 1 IgH rearrangement out of 13 Hodgkin samples. With an improved method of fixation, which sharply defined cell borders, Kadin et al. [12] could reveal T-cell antigens on RS cells in 8 out of 30 cases of HD. Our results also agreed with those
Polycrystalline Diamond MOSFET With MoO3 Gate Dielectric and Passivation Layer

We report the hydrogen terminated polycrystalline diamond MOSFET with a 10-nm MoO<sub>3</sub> gate dielectric and a 50-nm MoO<sub>3</sub> passivation layer. The device with a gate length of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> shows the saturation drain current (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{Dsat})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of 100mA/mm, the transconductance of 35 mS/mm, and the ON-resistance of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$76.54~\Omega \cdot $ </tex-math></inline-formula>mm at <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{GS} = -2.5$ </tex-math></inline-formula> V. The stability of the repeated <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{DS} $ </tex-math></inline-formula>–<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$ {V}_{GS}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> measurements was demonstrated by a mere <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{Dsat}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> decrease of 3.3% between the first and third sweepings. In addition, the devices worked well at 200 °C delivering even larger <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{Dsat}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> than that at room temperature. The possible mechanisms for <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{DS}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>–<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$ {V}_{GS}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> changes in the successive measurements and induced by the change of the ambient temperature are suggested.
Effect of an intense period of competition on race performance and self‐reported illness in elite cross‐country skiers

The aim of this study was to determine whether participating in a cross‐country skiing stage race (Tour de Ski; TDS) affects subsequent illness incidence, training, and race performance. Self‐reported training and illness data from 44 male and female elite cross‐country skiers were included. In total, 127 years of data were collected (2–3 seasons per athlete). Illness incidence, training load, and performance in international competitions were calculated for athletes who did and did not participate in TDS. Forty‐eight percent of athletes reported becoming ill during or in the days immediately after taking part in TDS vs 16% of athletes who did not participate. In both groups, illness incidence was somewhat lower for female athletes. For male athletes, race performance was significantly worse for 6 weeks following TDS vs 6 weeks before TDS. Furthermore, while female athletes who participated in TDS performed relatively better than controls in Olympics/World Championships, male athletes who participated in TDS typically performed worse in subsequent major championships. Participating in TDS appears to result in ∼ 3‐fold increase in risk of illness in this period. Male athletes appear more prone to illness and also see a drop in race performance following TDS, possibly linked to differences in training load before and after the event.
Evaluation of disc susceptibility tests performed directly from positive blood cultures

Aims: To evaluate the accuracy of direct disc susceptibility testing performed from positive BACTEC blood culture vials, using a predetermined dilution protocol. Methods: Direct susceptibility testing was performed from 432 positive blood culture vials, generating 3829 antibiotic-organism results. Results were compared with those obtained by standard disc susceptibility testing according to Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) methods. Results: When results were compared with the reference method, no very major errors were detected. One (0.03%) major error and 89 (2.3%) minor errors were found. Error rates by organism group ranged from 1.3% for Pseudomonas aeruginosa to 8.2% for β-haemolytic streptococci. Conclusions: Direct susceptibility testing provided accurate susceptibility results for most organism–antibiotic combinations, with the exception of the β-haemolytic streptococci.
Impact of PRISMA, a coordination-type integrated service delivery system for frail older people in Quebec (Canada): A quasi-experimental study.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the impact of a coordination-type integrated service delivery (ISD) model on health, satisfaction, empowerment, and services utilization of frail older people. METHODS Program of Research to Integrate Services for the Maintenance of Autonomy (PRISMA) is a population-based, quasi-experimental study with three experimental and three comparison areas. From a random selection of people 75 years or older, 1,501 persons identified at risk of functional decline were recruited (728 experimental and 773 comparison). Participants were measured over 4 years for disabilities (Functional Autonomy Measurement System), unmet needs, satisfaction with services, and empowerment. Information on utilization of health and social services was collected by bimonthly telephone questionnaires. RESULTS Over the last 2 years (when the implementation rate was over 70%), there were 62 fewer cases of functional decline per 1,000 individuals in the experimental group. In the fourth year of the study, the annual incidence of functional decline was lower by 137 cases per 1,000 in the experimental group, whereas the prevalence of unmet needs in the comparison region was nearly double the prevalence observed in the experimental region. Satisfaction and empowerment were significantly higher in the experimental group. For health services utilization, a lower number of visits to emergency rooms and hospitalizations than expected was observed in the experimental cohort. CONCLUSION The PRISMA model improves the efficacy of the health care system for frail older people.
Design Considerations When Accelerating an FPGA-Based Digital Microphone Array for Sound-Source Localization

The use of microphone arrays for sound-source localization is a well-researched topic. The response of such sensor arrays is dependent on the quantity of microphones operating on the array. A higher number of microphones, however, increase the computational demand, making real-time response challenging. In this paper, we present a Filter-and-Sum based architecture and several acceleration techniques to provide accurate sound-source localization in real-time. Experiments demonstrate how an accurate sound-source localization is obtained in a couple of milliseconds, independently of the number of microphones. Finally, we also propose different strategies to further accelerate the sound-source localization while offering increased angular resolution.
Expanding the Frame of “Voluntariness” in Informed Consent: Structural Coercion and the Power of Social and Economic Context

This paper introduces the term “structural coercion” to underscore the ways in which broader social, economic, and political contexts act upon individuals to compel them to enroll as subjects in clinical research. The paper challenges the adequacy of the concepts of “coercion” and “undue influence” in determining when research participation is voluntary. Acknowledging structural coercion shifts the frame of ethical deliberation away from specific individuals and specific studies to see important patterns in research participation by salient demographic characteristics. The effects of structural coercion manifest themselves in particular research settings, but unlike the conventional form of coercion, it is not rooted in the researcher–participant relationship or linked to particular study protocols. By extracting voluntariness from entrenched conceptions of the researcher–participant dyad, this paper proposes approaches to minimize the effects of structural coercion while creating new ethical imaginaries for review boards and researchers alike.
The Influence of Infants’ Characteristics on Breastfeeding Attitudes among Jordanian Mothers

Background: Breastfeeding is the desired nutritional method for infants. Some infants’ characteristics were found influential to mothers’ point of views toward breastfeeding. However, the relationship between infants’ characteristics and mothers’ attitudes toward breastfeeding is still uncertain. The aim of this study was to assess infants’ characteristics and their impact on Jordanian mothers’ attitudes toward breastfeeding. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. A sample of 130 mothers was selected conveniently from mothers attending four major governmental maternal-child health centers at Zarqa city in Jordan. The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale along with infants’ characteristics data sheet were used for data collection. Results: A more positive attitude toward breastfeeding was manifest (mean 63.5, SD: 4.67). Positive attitudes toward breastfeeding were higher among women who delivered normally than women who delivered by cesarean section (p = 0.040). In addition, women who had healthy infants were more likely to have positive attitudes toward breastfeeding compared to women with ill infants (p = 0.021). However, women with preterm deliveries were less likely to have positive attitudes compared to women with full-term deliveries (p = 0.013). Likewise, women whose infants admitted to neonatal intensive care unit recorded less positive attitudes toward breastfeeding than women with healthy neonates (p = 0.043). Gestational age, admission to neonatal intensive care unit, infant’s health status, and type of delivery, were factors influencing mothers’ attitudes towards breastfeeding. Conclusions: Jordanian mothers have positive attitudes toward breastfeeding. However, positive attitudes are subject to different infants’ characteristics that should be considered while undertaking heath education programs for promoting breastfeeding. More focusing is recommended for women who delivered preterm infants, women who have ill infants, and women who delivered by cesarean section.
Rehabilitation of refugee victims of torture and trauma: principles and service provision in New South Wales

A number of recently‐arrived refugees who are suffering from psychological disturbances and physical injuries that have resulted from torture or severe trauma has come to the attention of welfare workers and health personnel in New South Wales. A tentative estimate of more than 2000 refugees in New South Wales who are so affected, and clear evidence of extensive human rights abuses in the countries from which they came, indicate an urgent need for specialized care for the victims. Organized violence, including detention, torture and severe deprivation, is a tool of governments in many countries of the world. The varied forms of torture are all designed to destroy the trust, personality and self‐esteem of the victims and to foster dependency, debility and dread, both in the victims and in the societies in which they live. Those persons who survive torture and detention often are affected severely in body, mind and spirit. Many victims exhibit acute and chronic symptoms that are described commonly by the diagnostic categories “post‐traumatic stress disorder” and “torture syndrome”. Their kin, especially spouses and children, also suffer psychological and familial disturbances frequently, as a result of the arrest, detention and torture of the victim. Their suffering is compounded by the distress of fleeing their home country and the stresses of adjusting to a new country and way of life. In Europe and North America, services have been established to treat and to rehabilitate sufferers of these disorders. Treatment programmes differ in structure and size, but include commonly psychotherapy, physiotherapy, specialized medical care and parallel assistance with resettlement and social adjustment for both the patients and their families. This article cites illustrative case material from New South Wales and summarizes the recommendations for a community‐based rehabilitation service for victims both of torture and of other forms of organized violence, such as detention in “re‐education” camps or the genocide in Kampuchea.