Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Echocardiographic Structure and Function in Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: A Systematic Review

Background—Echocardiography is commonly used to direct the management of hypertensive disorders in medical patients, but its application in pregnancy is unclear. Our objective was to define the use of echocardiography in pregnancies complicated by gestational hypertension (GH) and preeclampsia. Methods and Results—We performed a systematic review of articles using an electronic search of databases from inception to March 2015, prospectively registered with PROSPERO (CRD42015015700). Eligible studies included pregnant women with GH or preeclampsia, evaluating left ventricular structure and function using echocardiography. The search strategy identified 36 studies, including 745 women with GH and 815 women with preeclampsia. The populations were heterogeneous with respect to clinical characteristics, parity, and risk of bias. Increased vascular resistance and left ventricular mass were the most consistent findings in GH and preeclampsia. Differentiating features from normal pregnancy were left ventricular wall thickness of ≥1.0 cm, exaggerated reduction in E/A, and lateral e′ of <14 cm/s. There was disagreement between studies with regard to cardiac output because of the timing of echocardiography, although reduced stroke volume was an indicator of adverse prognosis. Diastolic dysfunction and left ventricular remodeling are most marked in severe and early-onset preeclampsia, but are also markers of preeclampsia before clinical manifestation, and are associated with adverse outcomes. Conclusions—Echocardiography is a valuable tool to stratify risk and can guide management and counseling in the preclinical and clinical phases of GH and preeclampsia. Changes in cardiac function and morphology are recognizable at an asymptomatic early stage and correlate with disease severity and adverse outcomes.
Genetic Heterogeneity in a Susceptible Region for Essential Hypertension among Demographically Different Local Populations in Japan

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate genetic heterogeneity among local Japanese populations. Methods: We performed a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) study of four demographically distinct local populations (population 1: a large city; population 2: isolated islands; populations 3 and 4: rural areas). Seventy SNPs in a region spanning 5 Mb of chromosome 17 known to be a candidate region for essential hypertension were genotyped and linkage disequilibrium analyses were performed. Results: Statistical analyses of SNP allele frequencies and haplotype distribution showed significant divergence among the populations, mostly between population 2 and the other populations. Pairwise D′ declined with increasing population size, and smaller populations retained a high linkage disequilibrium. Conclusion: Population 2 is likely to have a different ancestry from the majority of the Japanese population, whereas the heterogeneity among the other populations may result from differences in population size or geographic background.
Continuous Interior Penalty Finite Element Method for Oseen's Equations

In this paper we present an extension of the continuous interior penalty method of Douglas and Dupont [Interior penalty procedures for elliptic and parabolic Galerkin methods, in Computing Methods in Applied Sciences, Lecture Notes in Phys. 58, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1976, pp. 207-216] to Oseen's equations. The method consists of a stabilized Galerkin formulation using equal order interpolation for pressure and velocity. To counter instabilities due to the pressure/velocity coupling, or due to a high local Reynolds number, we add a stabilization term giving L2-control of the jump of the gradient over element faces (edges in two dimensions) to the standard Galerkin formulation. Boundary conditions are imposed in a weak sense using a consistent penalty formulation due to Nitsche. We prove energy-type a priori error estimates independent of the local Reynolds number and give some numerical examples recovering the theoretical results.
Four-dimensional modulation with an eight-state trellis code

A trellis code is a “sliding window” method for encoding a binary data stream {a<sup>i</sup>}, a<sup>i</sup> = 0, 1, as a sequence of signal points drawn from R<sup>n</sup>. The rule for assigning signal points depends on the state of the encoder. In this paper n = 4, and the signal points are 4-tuples of odd integers. We describe an infinite family of eight-state trellis codes. For k = 3, 4, 5, … we construct a trellis encoder with a rate of k bits/four-dimensional signal. We propose that the codes with rates k = 8 and 12 be considered for use in modems designed to achieve data rates of 9.6 kb/s and 14.4 kb/s, respectively.
Batch scheduling algorithms: a class of wavelength schedulers in optical burst switching networks

This paper proposes a novel class of wavelength scheduling algorithms in optical burst switching networks. The proposed wavelength scheduling algorithms process a batch of data bursts together instead of processing them one by one. When a control burst with a reservation request arrives to a batch scheduler, the scheduler waits for a small amount of time, called the acceptance delay, before deciding to accept or reject the reservation request. After the acceptance delay has passed, the scheduler processes all the reservation requests that have arrived during the acceptance delay, then it accepts the requests that will maximize the utilization of the wavelength channels. We describe an optimal batch scheduler that serves as an upper bound on the performance of batch scheduling algorithms. Furthermore, we introduce four novel heuristic batch scheduling algorithms. The bursts of the proposed algorithms is evaluated using a discrete-event simulation model. Simulation results suggest that batch schedulers could decrease the blocking probability by 25% compared the best previously known wavelength scheduling algorithm.
The nature and extent of war injuries sustained by combat specialty personnel killed and wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq, 2003–2011

BACKGROUND Previous studies regarding combat wounding have a limited translational capacity due to inclusion of soldiers from all military branches and occupational specialties as well as a lack of information regarding soldiers who died in theater. METHODS A search was performed of the Department of Defense Trauma Registry and Armed Forces Medical Examiner data set for the years 2003 to 2011 to identify all injured personnel with the military specialty 19D (cavalry scout). A manual search was conducted for each record identified, and age, rank, location and manner of injury, mechanism of injury, Injury Severity Score (ISS), and extent of wounding were abstracted. The incidence of injuries by body region and rates for specific types of wounds were determined. Statistically significant associations between rank, location of injury, manner of injury, body region involved, and injury mechanism were assessed using &khgr;2 analysis. Associations between ISS, rank, manner of injury, and survival were evaluated by t test with Satterthwaite correction. RESULTS A total of 701 casualties were identified with 3,189 distinct injuries. Mean (SD) age of injured personnel was 25.9 (6.0) years. Thirty-five percent of the cohort was composed of soldiers who died in theater. Explosions were the most common mechanism of injury (70%), while 18% of wounds occurred owing to gunshot. Extremity wounds and injuries to the head and neck represented 34% of casualty burden. Thoracic trauma occurred in 16%, and abdominal injuries occurred in 17%. Wounds with a frequency exceeding 5% included skin, extremity, facial, brain, and gastrointestinal injuries. Vascular injury occurred in 4%. Gunshot wounds were a greater cause of injury in Afghanistan (p = 0.001) and resulted in a higher percentage of thoracic injuries (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION The nature and extent of trauma sustained by combat-specific personnel seems to be different from that experienced by all soldiers deployed to a war zone. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Epidemiologic/prognostic study, level III.
Long-term results of adjuvant radiotherapy in stage I endometrial cancer

Two hundred sixty-three patients with stage I endometrial adenocarcinoma, who were treated with postoperative radiotherapy between 1978 and 1998, were analyzed retrospectively. According to the 1988-FIGO staging system, the disease was stage IA in 19, stage IB in 128, and stage IC in 116 patients. One hundred and ninety-seven patients were treated with external and intracavitary irradiation, 45 patients with external radiotherapy and 21 patients with vaginal brachytherapy.
Counting Repetitions: An Observational Study of Outpatient Therapy for People with Hemiparesis Post-Stroke

Given the contemporary clinical belief that more practice is better, it is important to determine how much practice currently occurs during physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT). The purpose of this study was to examine the number of repetitions of various activities during PT and OT outpatient treatment sessions for people with hemiparesis post-stroke. We observed 36 treatment sessions and recorded the types of activities and the number of repetitions of each activity that were done. Observations were categorized and descriptive statistics were generated for each category and subcategory. Our results showed that treatment time averaged 36 minutes per session. In sessions addressing the upper extremity, the average number of repetitions per session were 39 for active-exercise movements, 34 for passive-exercise movements, and 12 for purposeful movements. In sessions addressing the lower extremity, the average number of repetitions per session were 33 for active-exercise movements, six for passive-exercise movements, and eight for purposeful movements. In sessions addressing gait, the average number of steps taken was 292. In sessions addressing transfers, the average number of repetitions per session was 11. For most categories, there was considerable variability in the number of repetitions observed. We conclude that the numbers of repetitions observed during PT and OT for people with hemiparesis post-stroke are relatively small, except for gait steps. The fact that the number of repetitions of upper extremity purposeful movements was smaller than the number of repetitions of upper extremity active- and passive-exercise movements was surprising. This finding is inconsistent with current teaching that practice of purposeful movements is an integral part of improving functional status.
Chronic marijuana use and psychosocial adaptation.

The authors studied the life history and adaptation of marijuana users and nonusers in a randomly selected representative sample of ten percent of the UCLA undergraduate student body. Statistically significant differences were discovered in family and personal history; educational and work performance; legal history; marital and sexual adjustment; current adaptation; political, religious, and other values; and the use of other drugs. Chronic use of marijuana was not accompanied by significant deterioration in functioning or adaptation but was accompanied by increasing acculturation into a relativistic, gratification-oriented, stimulus-seeking value system.
Evidence That Ibuprofen Antagonizes Selective Actions of Estrogen and Tamoxifen on Rat Bone

Studies were performed to determine if the nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug ibuprofen alters bone and mineral metabolism in female rats. In experiment 1, four groups of growing rats underwent either sham operation or ovariectomy (OVX). One week later, controlled‐release pellets with ibuprofen or placebo were implanted subcutaneously at the back of the neck. Following 3 weeks of treatment, rats were sacrificed and blood and bone samples were removed for serum assays and histomorphometric analysis. Body growth rate and the static cortical bone measurements made at the tibial diaphysis did not change in response to OVX. OVX, however, did increase radial bone growth, lowered serum 17β‐estradiol, reduced uterine weight, and decreased the cancellous bone area of the tibial metaphysis in the rats. Ibuprofen did not alter serum 17β‐estradiol or uterine weight but reduced radial bone growth as well as cancellous bone area of the tibial metaphysis in both sham‐operated and OVX animals. In experiments 2 and 3, we tested the influence of ibuprofen on the effects of the tissue‐selective estrogen agonist tamoxifen and of exogenous 17β‐estradiol in the OVX rat. Ibuprofen completely blocked the effects of tamoxifen and partially blocked the effects of 17β‐estradiol to prevent cancellous osteopenia. In contrast, ibuprofen did not influence the effects of tamoxifen and 17β‐estradiol to reduce radial bone growth. Besides the skeletal effects, ibuprofen suppressed estrogen‐induced uterine growth. Our data suggest that ibuprofen blocks selective estrogen receptor‐mediated activities in the rat.
Sensitivity to emotion, empathy and theory of mind: Adult performance following childhood TBI

Abstract Primary objective: To examine deficits in emotion perception for adults who had experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during childhood and investigate relationships between emotion perception skills, empathy and Theory of Mind (ToM). Design: Participants consisted of a random selection of individuals (n = 52) who had previously been recruited for a larger study. All participants had experienced an injury event as a child (0–17 years) (mild TBI, moderate/severe TBI or fractured limb) and were now aged between 18–30 years, with a minimum of 5 years post-injury. Methods and procedure: Each participant completed an emotion-sensitivity task, facial expression recognition task, the faux pas test (ToM) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Inventory (IRI: Empathy). Main outcomes: Individuals with moderate/severe TBI were less sensitivite to emotion and less accurate at facial expression recognition than those with mild TBI and orthopaedic controls. Difficulty with affective ToM but not empathy was also found. The emotion-sensitivity and the facial expression recognition tasks were unrelated, with only emotion sensitivity but not expression recognition related to ToM and IRI empathy. Conclusions: The current findings indicated that deficits in social skills are long lasting and raises the issue of whether intervention to improve sensitivity to genuine emotion can influence more complex social skills and improve quality of social interactions for individuals following TBI.
Childhood growth and coronary heart disease in later life

Coronary heart disease (CHD) originates early in life and numerous studies have shown inverse associations between body size at birth and CHD in adult life. Recently it has been shown that the increased risk for CHD associated with a small body size at birth is modified by growth during childhood. The greatest risk for CHD is noted in individuals with small body size at birth and who 'catch-up' in weight and body size during childhood. An increase in body weight and body mass index during the first year of life is however associated with a reduced risk of CHD. These recent findings add to the evidence that optimizing early growth is an important area in primary prevention of CHD. There are several potential mechanisms explaining the association between a non-optimal early growth and CHD. Behavioral, physiological, hormonal and genetic factors influence growth. Although socio-economic factors influence the risk of CHD, the association between slow fetal growth and CHD is not caused by confounding socio-economic factors. Biological programming -- the process whereby a stimulus during critical periods of development has long lasting or lifelong effects on metabolism -- is proposed to mediate the effects between early growth and adult diseases.
Indications for dual-chamber cardioverter defibrillators at implant and at 1 year follow-up: a retrospective analysis in the single-chamber defibrillator era.

AIM This retrospective four-centre study assessed the current indications for dual-chamber implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) at implant and during a medium-term follow-up period in a group of patients treated by single-chamber ICD in the pre dual-chamber ICD era. METHODS AND RESULTS The study population consisted of 153 consecutive patients (127 males, mean age 58 +/- 6 years) treated by single-chamber ICD for ventricular tachycardia and/or ventricular fibrillation. Definite indications for having a dual-chamber ICD included the presence of sinus node dysfunction and of second- or third-degree atrioventricular (AV) block, while possible indications were represented by paroxysmal atrial fibrillation or flutter and first-degree AV block. At implant, dual-chamber ICD would appear definitely indicated in 10.5% of cases, and possibly indicated in an additional 17.5% of cases. During 12 +/- 10 months follow-up, such percentages remained stable (11 and 19.5%, respectively). Inappropriate ICD intervention was documented in five of 13 patients (38%), with episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation or flutter. CONCLUSION In this non-selected study population, a dual-chamber ICD would have potentially benefited approximately 30% of the patients. During medium-term follow-up, there was no progression towards increasing dual-chamber ICD indications. The 15% cumulative incidence of paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmias justifies the activation of dedicated detection algorithms.
Total knee arthroplasty in combination with a one-stage tibial osteotomy: a technique for correction of a gonarthrosis with a severe (>15 degrees) tibial extra-articular deformity.

Patients with a gonarthrosis and an extra-articular axis deformity >/=15 degrees (Krackow type VI) were treated by an unconstrained total knee arthroplasty combined with a tibial osteotomy. This technique was applied to 10 patients with a Krackow type VI deformity. The knee score improved significantly (P<.005, Wilcoxon test) from 28 +/- 15.25 (SD) preoperatively to 80.60 +/- 15.94 postoperatively, and the function score improved significantly (P<.017, Wilcoxon test) from 46.50 +/- 8.83 preoperatively to 76.00 +/- 21.19 postoperatively. The axis was corrected to an alignment of 5 degrees to 10 degrees in 8 patients and to 0 degrees to 4 degrees in 2 patients according to the Knee Society score. There were no patella-related problems and no nonunions. The advantages of this procedure are the preservation of the stable collateral ligaments, the avoidance of problems associated with managing bone deficiencies, and a precise axis correction compared with conventional techniques.
The effects of single hemodialysis session on arterial stiffness in hemodialysis patients

Increased arterial stiffness in hemodialysis patients is a strong predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx), which are markers of arterial stiffness, were used to determine the severity of vascular damage noninvasively. This study aimed to investigate the effects of solute volume removal and hemodynamic changes on PWV and AIx of a single hemodialysis session. Thirty hemodialysis patients were enrolled in the study. Before initiation of hemodialysis, every 15 minutes during hemodialysis, and 30 minutes after the completion of the session, measurements of PWV and AIx@75 (normalized with heart rate 75 bpm) were obtained from each patient. Body composition was analyzed by bioimpedance spectroscopy device before and 30 minutes after completion of the hemodialysis session. During the hemodialysis, no significant change was observed in AIx@75. However, PWV decreased steadily during the session reaching statistically significant level at 135th minute (P = 0.026), with a maximal drop at 210th minute (P < 0.001). At 210th minute, decrease in PWV correlated positively with the decrease in central systolic blood pressure, central diastolic blood pressure, central pulse pressure, augmentation pressure, and AIx@75. Multiple regression analysis showed that decrease in PWV at 210th minute was associated with decrease in central systolic blood pressure and central pulse pressure. Ultrafiltration during hemodialysis had no significant effect on PWV and AIx@75. Delta urea correlated positively with delta PWV at 240th minute. A significant decrease in PWV was observed during hemodialysis and correlated with urea reduction; however, we were unable to document any effect of volume removal on arterial stiffness.
Trends in opioid prescriptions among children and adolescents in the United States: a nationally representative study from 1996 to 2012

Abstract Prescription opioid misuse is a major public health concern in the United States, yet little is known about national prescription patterns. We aimed to assess trends in opioid prescriptions made to children and adolescents, to their families, and to adults in the United States from 1996 to 2012. The sample was drawn from nationally representative data, the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys. We used survey design methods to examine trends in prescription opioid use over time and a logistic regression analysis to examine predictors associated with opioid use. Findings indicated that from 1996 to 2012 opioid prescriptions to children and adolescents remained stable and low. In 1996, 2.68% of children received an opioid prescription, and in 2012, 2.91% received an opioid prescription. In contrast, opioid prescriptions to family members of children and adolescents and adults in general significantly increased during this period. The most common opioid prescriptions to children and adolescents in 2012 were codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. Using multivariate logistic regression models, the white non-Hispanic race, older age, health insurance, and parent-reported fair to poor general health were associated with higher rates of opioid prescriptions in children and adolescents. Our main finding was that although the rates of opioid prescriptions have increased among adults in the United States, the rates have not changed among children and adolescents. Recent epidemiologic association studies have identified a strong link between increased opioid prescriptions and increased rates of opioid misuse and abuse in adults. Future studies should assess the association between adult opioid prescriptions and children or adolescent opioid misuse.
Higher-security thresholds for quantum key distribution by improved analysis of dark counts

We discuss the potential of quantum key distribution (QKD) for long-distance communication by proposing an analysis of the errors caused by dark counts. We give sufficient conditions for a considerable improvement of the key generation rates and the security thresholds of well-known QKD protocols such as the Bennett-Brassard 1984, Phoenix-Barnett-Chefles 2000, and six-state protocols. This analysis is applicable to other QKD protocols like the Bennett 1992 protocol. We examine two scenarios: a sender using a perfect single-photon source and a sender using a Poissonian source.