Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ISR II study: A long‐term evaluation of sirolimus‐eluting stent in the treatment of patients with in‐stent restenotic native coronary artery lesions

The aim of this pilot study was to determine the safety and long‐term efficacy of treating intrastent restenosis (ISR) with the slow‐release sirolimus‐eluting stent Bx Velocity (Cypher stent) without intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance. Of patients who received a bare metal stent implantation and presented an ISR, 30–80% of the patients will develop a second restenosis within the stent, at the stent edges or both. To date, intravascular brachytherapy using β‐ and γ‐radiation has been the only effective treatment for ISR. Twenty‐three patients with ISR and evidence of ischemia were treated with Cypher stent. Clinical information was collected 1, 8, 12, and 24 months after stent implantation. During the first 8 months of the study, in‐stent lumen diameter remained essentially unchanged from postprocedure in 80% of the case. The target lesion repeat revascularization (TLR) was 17%, of which 50% were oculostenotic reflexes. Only one patient presented a restenosis greater than 70%. During the 2‐year study period, the TLR rate was 17%; the major adverse coronary event rate was 26%, and the non‐Q‐wave myocardial infarction (MI) rate was 9%. There were no reports of death, coronary artery bypass grafting, or Q‐wave MI during the study. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using sirolimus‐eluting stents without IVUS guidance for the treatment of ISR, providing long‐term stability of immediate results. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Ultrasound combined with targeted cationic microbubble-mediated angiogenesis gene transfection improves ischemic heart function

The present study aimed to construct targeted cationic microbubbles (TCMBs) by synthesizing cationic microbubbles conjugated to an intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) antibody, and then to use the TCMBs to deliver the angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) gene into infarcted heart tissue using ultrasound-mediated microbubble destruction. It was hypothesized that the TCMBs would accumulate in higher numbers than non-targeted cationic microbubbles (CMBs) in the infarcted heart, and would therefore increase the efficiency of targeted Ang-1 gene transfection and promote angiogenesis. The results of the study demonstrated that the ability of TCMBs to target inflammatory endothelial cells was 18.4-fold higher than that of the CMBs in vitro. The accumulation of TCMBs was greater than that of CMBs in TNF-α-stimulated human umbilical cord veins, indicated by a 212% higher acoustic intensity. In vivo, the TCMBs specifically accumulated in the myocardial infarct area in a rabbit model. Three days after ultrasound microbubble-mediated gene transfection, Ang-1 protein expression in the TCMB group was 2.7-fold higher than that of the CMB group. Angiogenesis, the thickness of the infarct region and the heart function of the TCMB group were all significantly improved compared with those in the CMB and control groups at 4 weeks following gene transfection (all P<0.01). Therefore, the results of the current study demonstrate that ultrasound-mediated TCMB destruction effectively delivered the Ang-1 gene to the infarcted myocardium, resulting in improved cardiac morphology and function in the animal model. Ultrasound-mediated TCMB destruction is a promising strategy for improving gene therapy in the future.
Randomized, Blinded, 3-Arm Clinical Trial Assessing Optimal Temperature and Duration for Treatment With Minimally Invasive Fractional Radiofrequency

BACKGROUND A previous multicenter clinical trial of a needle-based fractional radiofrequency (FRF) treatment for facial and neck rhytides and laxity counterintuitively demonstrated a mean target temperature and treatment duration of 69.5°C and 4.9 seconds for subjects with lesser improvement and 67°C and 4.2 seconds for greater improvement. OBJECTIVE To determine optimal temperature and duration settings for maximal clinical results in rhytides and laxity from a single FRF treatment of the face and neck. METHODS A randomized, blinded, 3-arm clinical evaluation of FRF at a series of temperatures from 52–57°C to 67°C. Three blinded plastic surgeons and dermatologists scored rhytides using the Fitzpatrick Wrinkle Assessment Scale and laxity using the Alexiades Laxity Assessment Scale at 1, 3, and 6 months. RESULTS Blinded grading showed optimal improvement at 67°C and 3 seconds and decreased efficacy below 67°C, with mean rhytide reductions of 40, 29, and 25% and mean laxity reductions of 34, 36, and 25% in Arms 3 (67°C), 2 (62°C), and 1 (52°C–57°C), respectively. A 100% response rate was observed for all subjects treated at 62°C to 67°C target temperature. CONCLUSION The optimal target dermal temperature for facial and neck rhytide and laxity treatment is 67°C and duration of 3 to 4 seconds with a 100% response rate after a single FRF treatment.
Revisiting the Motivational Bases of Public Service: Twenty Years of Research and an Agenda for the Future

How has research regarding public service motivation evolved since James L. Perry and Lois Recascino Wise published their essay “The Motivational Bases of Public Service” 20 years ago? The authors assess subsequent studies in public administration and in social and behavioral sciences as well as evolving definitions of public service motivation. What have we learned about public service motivation during the last two decades? What gaps in our understanding and knowledge have appeared with respect to the three propositions offered by Perry and Wise? This essay charts new directions for public service motivation scholarship to help clarify current research questions, advance comparative research, and enhance our overall understanding of individuals’ public service motives.
THE RELATION OF THE CAPSULAR SUBSTANCE OF B. COLI TO ANTIBODY PRODUCTION

The relation between a strain of B. coli and its mutant with reference to the production of agglutinins and protective antibodies may be expressed by the statement that the original strain when injected into cows develops antibodies both towards itself and the mutant whereas the mutant produces them only towards itself. The results point to the capsular substance as the material carrying virulence or, expressed somewhat differently, the factor which protects the microorganism in the host.
Treatment of fibromyalgia with tropisetron – dose and efficacy correlations

Previous studies evaluating the efficacy and tolerance of tropisetron for the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM) used the drug either intravenously or orally, and at different dosage levels ranging from 2 mg to 15 mg daily. The shortest treatment was a single dose and the longest treatment period covered 28 days. A significant reduction of the pain intensity was achieved by using tropisetron 5 mg per day. Apart from the fact that treatment periods were different, the efficacy of oral and intravenous administration did not differ significantly. Tropisetron was well tolerated; but in the 15 mg group in one of the studies, the decrease in pain was less than in the placebo group, however, the frequency of constipation and other gastrointestinal symptoms increased. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that due to the impacts of CYP2D6 activities, a daily dose of tropisetron 2 mg may be efficacious in slow metabolizers only. Although tropisetron proved to be efficacious in a group of fibromyalgia patients, the dose‐response curves cannot yet be explained in a fully satisfactory manner, which may encourage research focusing on possible subgroups of FM.
Laboratory diagnosis of autoimmune cytopenias

The past year’s literature shows that little progress has been achieved in the laboratory diagnosis of autoimmune hemolytic anemia. The direct antiglobulin test is the only diagostic test for autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Advantages of new techniques, such as the gel test, have to be determined. Today, cephalosporins are known to cause both drug-dependent and -independent autoantibodies. The diagnosis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is a clinical one. The new assays that measure antibodies against specific glycoproteins offer improved specificity. New laboratory advancements and accumulation of data on granylocytes’ antigens and antibodies enabled us to recommend guidelines for the laboratory investigation of autoimmune neutropenia.
Applications of morphometric and diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging to the study of brain abnormalities in the alcoholism spectrum.

Background: The International Conference on Applications of Neuroimaging to Alcoholism was held at Yale University in New Haven, CT, in January 2004. The following is a brief summary of the contributions of five speakers who presented their work during the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) session. Methods: This session addressed how MRI and DTI are used to assess macro- and microstructural brain alterations in alcoholism. Structural MRI methods can address regional gray and white matter volumetric/ morphometric abnormalities, and DTI methods can address microstructural disruptions of white matter tracts. These methods can be applied across the spectrum of alcoholism to elucidate distinct brain abnormalities underlying clinical subtypes, to disentangle brain volume deficits that precede, from those that follow, the onset of alcoholic drinking in chronic alcoholics, and to examine effects of prenatal alcohol exposures on brain development in children. The presentations highlighted recent scientific findings and methodological advances in these areas. Results: Disease-specific probabilistic atlases, designed to reflect the unique anatomy and physiology of particular clinical subpopulations, can be developed for alcoholism. Such an atlas can be used to identify efficiently patterns of altered structure or function in alcoholism and can guide algorithms for knowledge-based image analysis. DTI is sensitive to constraints on the random diffusion of water molecules in axons, allowing assessment of white matter tract integrity in neuropsychiatric diseases, including alcoholism. Recent MRI and DTI data were presented showing region-specific brain abnormalities at both macro- and microstructural levels that varied differentially according to sex, time of alcohol exposure in life, and alcoholism subtype. Conclusion: The International Conference on Applications of Neuroimaging to Alcoholism brought together leading experts in MRI and DTI techniques to discuss their applications to the study of alcoholism. The extant and new imaging technologies provide us with multiple modalities to study the brain in vivo. These noninvasive tools enable us to monitor the time course of alcohol effects on the brain and to characterize macro- and microstructural brain abnormalities across the full spectrum of alcoholism, including its precursors and its sequelae.
High prevalence of low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations and other dyslipidemic phenotypes in an Iranian population.

OBJECTIVE This study was designed to determine the prevalence of different atherogenic dyslipidemic phenotypes, especially decreased serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in an Iranian population and its relationship to other coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factor. METHODS The prevalence of lipid abnormalities was assessed in 2941 people, including 1396 males and 1545 females, aged more than 20 years. The population is representative of Iranian urban adults living in northwestern Iran. In addition to isolated forms of hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, and hypoalphalipoproteinemia, some dyslipidemic phenotypes including hypertriglyceridemia/low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) combination, mixed dyslipidemias, and severe dyslipidemias were assessed. RESULTS The most prevalent abnormality was low HDL cholesterol (HDL-C; 73% including 63% for men and 93.3% for women). Hypertriglyceridemia (>150 mg/dL) was the second most prevalent abnormality (40.6%). Increased total cholesterol (>200 mg/dL) was observed in 35.4% of the subjects. The combination of hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-C was observed in 9.9% of the population. Fifty eight percent of the low HDL-C cases were not accompanied with hypertriglyceridemia, and 24.4% of hypertriglyceridemic subjects had low HDL-C. Among subjects younger than 30 years, 19% had hypercholesterolemia, 13% had isolated low HDL-C less than 35 mg/dL, and 63% had HDL-C less than 40 mg/dL. Unexpectedly, except for the hypertriglyceridemia/low HDL-C pattern, which was more common in males, the other abnormal lipid profiles were more common in females. CONCLUSION The prevalence of dyslipidemia, especially low HDL cholesterol, in Iranian adults is very high. Urgent preventive programs and changes in lifestyle are needed in this area.
Comparative Personality Judgments: Replication and Extension of Robust Findings in Personality Perception Using an Alternative Method

The scientific study of accuracy in personality judgment typically involves the utilization of rating scales to make absolute decisions about a target individual. Although this method has many merits, it restricts some experimental options and is further removed from ecological validity than one would desire. These studies represent an attempt to develop an alternative methodology for the study of personality judgment—specifically for use in explorations of judgment process. A series of photo sets containing pictures of 3 individuals, each representing a different level of a specific personality trait, was created. The participant's task was to select high and low scorers on a dimension from the photos. Study 1 demonstrates that people can select targets with extreme scores from a photo lineup at a rate better than chance across several personality dimensions. Study 2 shows that this ability has some degree of temporal consistency. Study 3 represents an improvement on the general method via enhanced criteria for stimulus selection, incorporating both self and peer reports.
Production of mental state terms in narratives of Mandarin-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder

ABSTRACT This study investigates the ability of Mandarin-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to use mental state terms in narratives. The narrative data are from 16 children with ASD and 16 typically developing children, matched on language and cognitive abilities. The narratives were elicited using Frog, where are you? Participants’ use of lexical expressions referring to emotion, cognition, desire and perception was examined. The ‘deer episode’ of the story was chosen to analyse children’s ability to talk about misrepresentation. The results reveal that the two groups of children performed comparably in basic narrative measures, overall use of mental state terms and references to the misrepresentation. The outcomes underscore the importance of examining different types of mental state terms separately. These findings are discussed in relation to linguistic and cognitive factors in mental-state attribution.
Managing Identity While Living With Alzheimer’s Disease

Although any illness can negatively affect the self, Alzheimer’s disease poses a special threat. Based on interviews with nine Canadians diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, and adopting a symbolic interactionist perspective, this study examines the impact of the illness on identity. Findings indicate that, given the necessary resources, persons with Alzheimer’s can live meaningful, purposeful lives and creatively manage to protect and preserve identity. In contrast to previous research, participants did not reveal a great deal of concern about potential loss of self.
Phonetic modification of vowel space in storybook speech to infants up to 2 years of age.

PURPOSE A large body of literature has indicated vowel space area expansion in infant-directed (ID) speech compared with adult-directed (AD) speech, which may promote language acquisition. The current study tested whether this expansion occurs in storybook speech read to infants at various points during their first 2 years of life. METHOD In 2 studies, mothers read a storybook containing target vowels in ID and AD speech conditions. Study 1 was longitudinal, with 11 mothers recorded when their infants were 3, 6, and 9 months old. Study 2 was cross-sectional, with 48 mothers recorded when their infants were 3, 9, 13, or 20 months old (n=12 per group). The 1st and 2nd formants of vowels /i/, /ɑ/, and /u/ were measured, and vowel space area and dispersion were calculated. RESULTS Across both studies, 1st and/or 2nd formant frequencies shifted systematically for /i/ and /u/ vowels in ID compared with AD speech. No difference in vowel space area or dispersion was found. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that a variety of communication and situational factors may affect phonetic modifications in ID speech, but that vowel space characteristics in speech to infants stay consistent across the first 2 years of life.
Eculizumab treatment efficiently prevents C5 cleavage without C5a generation in vivo.

To the editor: We read with interest the letter by Burwick et al in Blood [1][1] and were surprised by their conclusion that eculizumab failed to inhibit C5a generation in vivo. Eculizumab is a monoclonal antibody binding to human C5 preventing its cleavage to C5a and C5b. The authors investigated
Neural bases of social anxiety disorder: emotional reactivity and cognitive regulation during social and physical threat.

CONTEXT Social anxiety disorder is thought to involve emotional hyperreactivity, cognitive distortions, and ineffective emotion regulation. While the neural bases of emotional reactivity to social stimuli have been described, the neural bases of emotional reactivity and cognitive regulation during social and physical threat, and their relationship to social anxiety symptom severity, have yet to be investigated. OBJECTIVE To investigate behavioral and neural correlates of emotional reactivity and cognitive regulation in patients and controls during processing of social and physical threat stimuli. DESIGN Participants were trained to implement cognitive-linguistic regulation of emotional reactivity induced by social (harsh facial expressions) and physical (violent scenes) threat while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging and providing behavioral ratings of negative emotion experience. SETTING Academic psychology department. PARTICIPANTS Fifteen adults with social anxiety disorder and 17 demographically matched healthy controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Blood oxygen level-dependent signal and negative emotion ratings. RESULTS Behaviorally, patients reported greater negative emotion than controls during social and physical threat but showed equivalent reduction in negative emotion following cognitive regulation. Neurally, viewing social threat resulted in greater emotion-related neural responses in patients than controls, with social anxiety symptom severity related to activity in a network of emotion- and attention-processing regions in patients only. Viewing physical threat produced no between-group differences. Regulation during social threat resulted in greater cognitive and attention regulation-related brain activation in controls compared with patients. Regulation during physical threat produced greater cognitive control-related response (ie, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) in patients compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS Compared with controls, patients demonstrated exaggerated negative emotion reactivity and reduced cognitive regulation-related neural activation, specifically for social threat stimuli. These findings help to elucidate potential neural mechanisms of emotion regulation that might serve as biomarkers for interventions for social anxiety disorder.
Interprofessional non-technical skills for surgeons in disaster response: a literature review

Abstract Natural disasters impose a significant burden on society. Current disaster training programmes do not place an emphasis on equipping surgeons with non-technical skills for disaster response. This literature review sought to identify non-technical skills required of surgeons in disaster response through an examination of four categories of literature: “disaster"; “surgical”; “organisational management”; and “interprofessional”. Literature search criteria included electronic database searches, internet searches, hand searching, ancestry searching and networking strategies. Various potential non-technical skills for surgeons in disaster response were identified including: interpersonal skills such as communication, teamwork and leadership; cognitive strategies such flexibility, adaptability, innovation, improvisation and creativity; physical and psychological self-care; conflict management, collaboration, professionalism, health advocacy and teaching. Such skills and the role of interprofessionalism should be considered for inclusion in surgical disaster response training course curricula.
Social norms and obesity prevalence: From cohort to system dynamics models

Summary Group‐level obesity can be seen as an emergent property of a complex system, consisting of feedback loops between individual body weight perception, individual weight‐related behaviour and group‐level social norms (a product of group‐level ‘normal' body mass index (BMI) and sociocultural ‘ideal' BMI). As overweight becomes normal, the norm might be counteracting health awareness in shaping individual weight‐related behaviour. System dynamics modelling facilitates understanding and simulating this system's emergent behaviour. We constructed six system dynamics models (SDMs) based on an expert‐informed causal loop diagram and data from six sociocultural groups (Dutch, Moroccan and South‐Asian Surinamese men and women). The SDMs served to explore the effect of three scenarios on group‐level BMI: ‘what if' weight‐related behaviour were driven by (1) health awareness, (2) norms or (3) a combination of the two. Median BMI decreased approximately 50% and 30% less in scenarios 2 and 3, respectively, than in 1. In men, the drop in BMI was approximately two times larger in scenario 1 versus 3, whereas in women, the drop was approximately equal in these scenarios. This study indicates that the overweight norm in men holds group‐level BMI close to overweight despite health awareness. Since norms are counteracting health awareness less strongly in women, other drivers of obesity must be more relevant.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY IN GIANT PLANETS, BROWN DWARFS, AND LOW-MASS DWARF STARS. III. IRON, MAGNESIUM, AND SILICON

We use thermochemical equilibrium calculations to model iron, magnesium, and silicon chemistry in the atmospheres of giant planets, brown dwarfs, extrasolar giant planets (EGPs), and low-mass stars. The behavior of individual Fe-, Mg-, and Si-bearing gases and condensates is determined as a function of temperature, pressure, and metallicity. Our equilibrium results are thus independent of any particular model atmosphere. The condensation of Fe metal strongly affects iron chemistry by efficiently removing Fe-bearing species from the gas phase. Monatomic Fe is the most abundant Fe-bearing gas throughout the atmospheres of EGPs and L dwarfs, and in the deep atmospheres of giant planets and T dwarfs. Mg- and Si-bearing gases are effectively removed from the atmosphere by forsterite (Mg2SiO4) and enstatite (MgSiO3) cloud formation. Monatomic Mg is the dominant magnesium gas throughout the atmospheres of EGPs and L dwarfs and in the deep atmospheres of giant planets and T dwarfs. Silicon monoxide (SiO) is the most abundant Si-bearing gas in the deep atmospheres of brown dwarfs and EGPs, whereas SiH4 is dominant in the deep atmosphere of Jupiter and other gas giant planets. Several other Fe-, Mg-, and Si-bearing gases become increasingly important with decreasing effective temperature. In principle, a number of Fe, Mg, and Si gases are potential tracers of weather or diagnostic of temperature in substellar atmospheres.