Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Family Nursing Therapeutic Conversations in Heart Failure Outpatient Clinics in Denmark

As part of the Heart Failure Family Trial presently being conducted in Denmark, this qualitative process evaluation explored the perceptions of seven practicing cardiac nurses who offered family nursing therapeutic conversations (FNTC) to families in three heart failure outpatient clinics. FNTC were guided by the Calgary Family Assessment and Intervention Models. Data consisted of 34 case reports written by the nurses which documented the use of FNTC, including family responses to the FNTC. A focus group interview with the six of the nurses about their experience of offering FNTC was also conducted. Content analysis was performed using a combined deductive and inductive process. Nurses reported developing a distinct, closer, and more constructive relationship with the patients and their families and reported FNTC increased family bonding and strengthened family relationships. The nurses considered FNTC to be feasible interventions in the routine care provided in heart failure outpatient clinics.
Edinburgh Research Explorer A Calculus of Mobile Processes, I

We present the a-calculus, a calculus of communicating systems in which one can naturally express processes which have changing structure. Not only may the component agents of a system be arbitrarily linked, but a communication between neighbours may carry information which changes that linkage. The calculus is an extension of the process algebra CCS, following work by Engberg and Nielsen, who added mobility to CCS while preserving its algebraic properties. The rr-calculus gains simplicity by removing all distinction between variables and constants; communication links are identified by names, and computation is represented purely as the communication of names across links. After an illustrated description of how the n-calculus generalises conventional process algebras in treating mobility, several examples exploiting mobility are given in some detail. The important examples are the encoding into the n-calculus of higher-order functions (the I-calculus and combinatory algebra), the transmission of processes as values, and the representation of data structures as processes. The paper continues by presenting the algebraic theory of strong bisimilarity and strong equivalence, including a new notion of equivalence indexed by distinctions-i.e., assumptions of inequality among names. These theories are based upon a semantics in terms of a labeled transition system and a notion of strong bisimulation, both of which are expounded in detail in a companion paper. We also report briefly on work-in-progress based upon the corresponding notion of weak bisimulation, in which internal actions cannot be observed.
Had Prevalence of Cleft Lip and Palate Differed During the Iran-Iraq War?

AbstractCleft lip and palate are among the most common congenital defects with multifactorial etiology, and maternal stress may have a role in the development of the malformation; thus, the aim of this study was to explore the role of war on cleft lip and palate (CL/P) prevalence.In this study, records of 101,435 newborn infants delivered in the teaching hospitals of Mashhad and Ahwaz during wartime (1982–1987) and recent years (2005–2010) were reviewed. Samples were analyzed for prevalence of anomaly in both cities at 2 time intervals as well as some related factors; &khgr;2 and t tests were used for data analysis.Results showed the incidences of CL/P in Mashhad during 1982 to 1987 and 2005 to 2010 were 2 and 2.2 per 1000 live births, respectively; however, its incidence in Ahwaz was 1 per 1000 during wartime and 0.7 per 1000 live births for recent years.Despite significant differences that were found in the prevalence of both cities in recent years (P = 0.001), no significant differences were observed during wartime (P = 0.28). The results revealed that CL/P was more prevalent in both cities, but in contrast to Ahwaz, cleft lip was more prevalent than isolated cleft palate in Mashhad, and significant differences were found between both cities (P = 0.007). The study concluded that the prevalence of CL/P in Ahwaz decreased after the war. However, in Mashhad, its prevalence, which was not affected during wartime, gradually increased. Thus, genetic research may be necessary to establish a genetic predisposition in northeast Iran.
Etodolac transdermal cubosomes for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: ex vivo permeation and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies

Abstract In this study, transdermal etodolac-loaded cubosomes were developed in order to relieve patient pain and joints stiffness by providing stable etodolac concentration at the targeting sites through controlled drug delivery via the noninvasive skin route with more sustaining and less frequent dosing. Different ratios and percentages of poloxamer 407 and monoolein were used to formulate the cubosomes using emulsification and homogenization processes. The etodolac-loaded cubosomes showed particle size values ranging from 135.95 to 288.35 nm and zeta potential values ranging from −18.40 to −36.10 mV. All the cubosomes offered an encapsulation efficiency value of about 100% and showed drug loading capacity ranging from 1.28 to 6.09%. The in vitro drug release studies revealed a controlled drug release profile with a drug release rate up to 15.08%/h. Increasing poloxamer concentration in etodolac-loaded cubosomes resulted in nanoparticles with less particle size and faster drug release. The particles exhibited cubic and hexagonal shapes. The DSC and X-ray analysis demonstrated that the drug was encapsulated in the cubosomes bicontinuous structures in amorphous form. In addition, investigated cubosomes exhibited fast drug penetration through excited mice skin followed by slower drug penetration for up to 24 h. The pharmacokinetic study in human volunteers showed that the selected etodolac-loaded cubosomes enhanced the bioavailability of etodolac as compared to the oral capsules (266.11%) with evidence of longer half-life and higher MRT that reached 18.86 and 29.55 h, respectively. The etodolac-loaded cubosomes propose a promising system for treatment of arthritis simply through skin application.
R-Ras Protein Inhibits Autophosphorylation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 2 in Endothelial Cells and Suppresses Receptor Activation in Tumor Vasculature*

Background: Excessive stimulation of endothelial cells by VEGF is a major cause of aberrant angiogenesis and leaky blood vessels in various medical conditions. Results: The Small GTPase R-Ras inhibits VEGF-induced internalization and tyrosine phosphorylation of VEGF receptor 2. Conclusion: R-Ras suppresses chronic and acute endothelial cell stimulation by VEGF. Significance: Our study identifies a mechanism of attenuating VEGF signaling by a Ras homolog and offers mechanistic insights into the regulation of angiogenesis by this small GTPase. Abnormal angiogenesis is associated with a broad range of medical conditions, including cancer. The formation of neovasculature with functionally defective blood vessels significantly impacts tumor progression, metastasis, and the efficacy of anticancer therapies. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) potently induces vascular permeability and vessel growth in the tumor microenvironment, and its inhibition normalizes tumor vasculature. In contrast, the signaling of the small GTPase R-Ras inhibits excessive angiogenic growth and promotes the maturation of regenerating blood vessels. R-Ras signaling counteracts VEGF-induced vessel sprouting, permeability, and invasive activities of endothelial cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of R-Ras on VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) activation by VEGF, the key mechanism for angiogenic stimulation. We show that tyrosine phosphorylation of VEGFR2 is significantly elevated in the tumor vasculature and dermal microvessels of VEGF-injected skin in R-Ras knockout mice. In cultured endothelial cells, R-Ras suppressed the internalization of VEGFR2, which is required for full activation of the receptor by VEGF. Consequently, R-Ras strongly suppressed autophosphorylation of the receptor at all five major tyrosine phosphorylation sites. Conversely, silencing of R-Ras resulted in increased VEGFR2 phosphorylation. This effect of R-Ras on VEGFR2 was, at least in part, dependent on vascular endothelial cadherin. These findings identify a novel function of R-Ras to control the response of endothelial cells to VEGF and suggest an underlying mechanism by which R-Ras regulates angiogenesis.
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE GROWTH IN STARBURST GALAXIES OVER COSMIC TIME: CONSTRAINTS FROM THE DEEPEST CHANDRA FIELDS

We present an analysis of deep multiwavelength data for z ≈ 0.3–3 starburst galaxies selected by their 70 μm emission in the Extended-Chandra Deep Field-South and Extended Groth Strip. We identify active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in these infrared sources through their X-ray emission and quantify the fraction that host an AGN. We find that the fraction depends strongly on both the mid-infrared color and rest-frame mid-infrared luminosity of the source, rising to ∼50%–70% at the warmest colors (F24 μm/F70 μm ≲ 0.2) and highest mid-infrared luminosities (corresponding to ultraluminous infrared galaxies), similar to the trends found locally. Additionally, we find that the AGN fraction depends strongly on the star formation rate (SFR) of the host galaxy (inferred from the observed-frame 70 μm luminosity after subtracting the estimated AGN contribution), particularly for more luminous AGNs (L0.5 − 8.0keV ≳ 1043 erg s−1). At the highest SFRs (∼1000 M☉ yr−1), the fraction of galaxies with an X-ray detected AGN rises to ≈30%, roughly consistent with that found in high-redshift submillimeter galaxies. Assuming that the AGN fraction is driven by the SFR (rather than stellar mass or redshift, for which our sample is largely degenerate), this result implies that the duty cycle of luminous AGN activity increases with the SFR of the host galaxy: specifically, we find that luminous X-ray detected AGNs are at least ∼5–10 times more common in systems with high SFRs (≳ 300 M☉ yr−1) than in systems with lower SFRs (≲ 30 M☉ yr−1). Lastly, we investigate the ratio between the supermassive black hole accretion rate (inferred from the AGN X-ray luminosity) and the bulge growth rate of the host galaxy (approximated as the SFR) and find that, for sources with detected AGNs and star formation (and neglecting systems with low star formation rates to which our data are insensitive), this ratio in distant starbursts agrees well with that expected from the local scaling relation assuming the black holes and bulges grew at the same epoch. These results imply that black holes and bulges grow together during periods of vigorous star formation and AGN activity.
Referral Patterns and Diagnostic Yield of Lung Scintigraphy in the Diagnosis of Acute Pulmonary Embolism

Introduction. The purpose of this study is to assess referral patterns and the yield of ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) scintigraphy in patients referred for acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients who underwent V/Q studies between April 1, 2008, and March 31, 2010. Patients were subdivided into 4 groups based on their referral source: emergency department (ED), hospital inpatient ward, outpatient thrombosis clinic, and all other outpatient sources. Results. A total of 1008 patients underwent V/Q scintigraphy to exclude acute PE. The number of ED, inpatient, thrombosis clinic, and outpatient studies was 43 (4.3%), 288 (28.6%), 351 (34.8%), and 326 (32.3%). Proportion of patients with contrast contraindication varied significantly among the different groups. Of the 1,008 studies, 331 (32.8%) were interpreted as normal, 408 (40.5%) as low, 158 (15.7%) as intermediate, and 111 (11.0%) as high probability for PE. 68 (6.7%) patients underwent CTPA within 2 weeks following V/Q. Conclusion. The rate of nondiagnostic studies is lower than that reported in previously published data, with a relatively low rate of intermediate probability studies. Only a small fraction of patients undergoing a V/Q scan will require a CTPA.
A Heat Map of Superior Cervical Ganglion Location Relative to the Common Carotid Artery Bifurcation

BACKGROUND: Determining the superior cervical ganglion's precise anatomical location for local anesthetic block, when stellate block is not feasible or is contraindicated, is difficult. METHODS: We dissected the superior cervical ganglion in 60 embalmed cadaveric specimens. Multiple regressions determined whether subject characteristics predicted the distance between the superior cervical ganglion and common carotid artery bifurcation and the superior cervical ganglion dimensional width and area. Based on these regressions, we mapped the ganglion and common carotid artery bifurcation using a pseudocolor statistical heat map. RESULTS: The statistical model significantly predicted the superior cervical ganglion–common carotid artery bifurcation distance (P = 0.01), and the superior cervical ganglion dimensional width (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: This study determined that the common carotid artery bifurcation is a good landmark for localizing the superior cervical ganglion for anesthetic block.
Case-mix in rehabilitation: FIM-based function-related groups

The editorial by Dr Derick T Wade, ‘Case-mix in rehabilitation: alternative ways of achieving the same goals’,1 calls for clarification. Comparing the outcomes of patients in medical rehabilitation is key to judging effectiveness and efficiency of care and improving care. Without comparisons driven by objective validation, practitioners rely on their own or authorities’ expertise. In medical rehabilitation, case-mix adjustment is a method that combines patients into clinically homogeneous groups for comparison. An excellent summary of the topic appears in an article by Margaret Stineman, of the University of Pennsylvania.2 In the United States, case-mix adjustment was initiated by the federal health insurer, Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), to convert from a fee-for-service payment system to a prospective payment system. This was accomplished in acute care through the Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG) system, which accounts for more than 30% of the variance in explaining length of stay. The DRG system is totally unsuitable for restorative rehabilitation patients because type of impairment alone does not sufficiently explain variation in length of stay (approximately 18%). Studies have shown repeatedly that the major factor explaining length of stay is the level of functioning of the patient, measured with standardized instruments. Such instruments have included a modification of the Katz Index of ADL (activities of daily living), the Barthel Index, and the FIMTM instrument, which was developed here at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr Stineman used FIMTM data, working with our staff at the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation, to develop the Penn Ability Systems® (PASTM) FIM-FRGs (FIM-based function-related groups). Utilizing admission function level, impairment type, and age, the FIM-FRG system explains approximately 30% of the variance in length of stay. The FIM-FRG with discharge motor-FIM score as the dependent variable explains more than 65% of the variance in the level of function achieved. To use the FIM-FRG system, clinicians must be properly trained to accurately rate patient functioning. Medical rehabilitation professionals responsible for quality of care can use the FRG system to make fairer comparisons of length of stay and functional status data. They are finding increasing value in using the power of comparing homogeneous groups of patients against national or regional benchmarks for monitoring the outcomes of care, and for accreditation of their rehabilitation facilities. The benchmark indicators specific to each FIM-FRG grouping are:
Phenotypic and molecular variability of the holoprosencephalic spectrum

Since 1996, a European network has been organized from Rennes, France and holoprosencephalic files were collected for clinical and molecular study. Familial instances of typical and atypical holoprosencephaly (HPE) were found in 30% of cases. All affected children had psychomotor delay with microcephaly, often associated with endocrine, digestive, and respiratory abnormalities, and thermal dysregulation. Among 173 subjects in the molecular study, 28 heterozygous mutations were identified (16%): 15 SHH mutations, 6 ZIC2 mutations, 5 SIX3 mutations, and 2 TGIF mutations. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Lipolysis is stimulated by PEGylated conjugated linoleic acid through the cyclic adenosine monophosphate‐independent signaling pathway in 3T3‐L1 cells: Activation of MEK/ERK MAPK signaling pathway and hyper‐secretion of adipo‐cytokines

We previously reported that PEGylated conjugated linoleic acid (PCLA) as a pro‐drug treatment of cultures of 3T3‐L1 cells containing differentiated adipocytes caused de‐differentiation by downregulation of PPARγ2‐induced adipogenesis, and cell apoptosis induced by PCLA was lower than that induced by conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) owing to the biocompatible and hydrophilic properties of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). To further investigate our previous observations, the present study is designed to evaluate the lipolytic action of PCLA and its role in biochemical signaling pathways of 3T3‐L1 cells when compared to the CLA itself. Although both CLA and PCLA stimulated lipolysis, our results indicated a sensitivity difference between CLA and PCLA treatment: a time‐dependent effect on lipolysis and p‐extracellular signal‐related kinases (ERK) expression was observed for PCLA‐treated, but not for CLA‐treated cultures. Also, the induction by PCLA of mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/ERK mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation was linked to secretion of adipo‐cytokines, interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), and interleukin‐8 (IL‐8), in time‐dependent manners. Interestingly, adenylyl cyclase inhibitor, 2′, 5′‐dideoxyadenosine (DDA), pre‐treatment did not prevent PCLA‐stimulated lipolysis. In fact, isoproterenol, but not PCLA, caused a significant increase in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels, suggesting that the PCLA‐induced lipolysis was not mediated in the conventional cAMP‐dependent pathway and the cAMP was the intracellular mediator for isoproterenol‐induced lipolysis. Overall, our findings provide support for a role for PCLA as a pro‐drug in the regulation of metabolism in adipose tissue. J. Cell. Physiol. 214: 283–294, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life in school-going adolescents: validation of PedsQL instrument and comparison with WHOQOL-BREF.

BACKGROUND Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) studies are gaining importance. Yet there is a dearth of crossculturally validated generic HRQoL instruments for Indian adolescents. Two HRQoL instruments, namely World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) and Pediatric Quality of Life inventory™ 4.0 (PedsQL), are widely used internationally, with both measuring four domains (physical, psychological/emotional, social relations and environment/school) but each having different questions with 26 in the former and 23 in the latter. This study was done among adolescents in the city of Lucknow to evaluate the psychometric properties of PedsQL and compare its performance with previously validated and culturally revised WHOQOL-BREF. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted in February 2010 after institutional ethical approval. Data were collected by a self-administered, redesigned questionnaire in which items of PedsQL and revised WHOQOL-BREF were intermingled. Reliability, content and construct validity were evaluated for PedsQL. Convergent validity of PedsQL with revised WHOQOL-BREF was calculated for domains with similar questions. RESULTS Parents of 76.5% adolescents (385/503) provided consent. Mean age of adolescents was 13.6 years (1.6 SD and 44.7% were girls). PedsQL showed substantial reliability (Cronbach alpha=0.82, p<0.00001) but poor to fair validity as compared to revised WHOQOL-BREF. CONCLUSIONS For Indian adolescents, PedsQL is a reliable and valid instrument. However, on comparison with revised WHOQOL-BREF, PedsQL has poor to fair validity. We conclude that revised WHOQOL-BREF is a better HRQoL instrument for Indian adolescents.
Tackling the digitalization challenge: how to benefit from digitalization in practice

Digitalization has been identified as one of the major trends changing society and business. Digitalization causes changes for companies due to the adoption of digital technologies in the organization or in the operation environment. This paper discusses digitalization from the viewpoint of diverse case studies carried out to collect data from several companies, and a literature study to complement the data. This paper describes the first version of the digital transformation model, derived from synthesis of these industrial cases, explaining a starting point for a systematic approach to tackle digital transformation. The model is aimed to help companies systematically handle the changes associated with digitalization. The model consists of four main steps, starting with positioning the company in digitalization and defining goals for the company, and then analyzing the company’s current state with respect to digitalization goals. Next, a roadmap for reaching the goals is defined and implemented in the company. These steps are iterative and can be repeated several times. Although company situations vary, these steps will help to systematically approach digitalization and to take the steps necessary to benefit from it.
Does Phase Matter For Monaural Source Separation?

The "cocktail party" problem of fully separating multiple sources from a single channel audio waveform remains unsolved. Current biological understanding of neural encoding suggests that phase information is preserved and utilized at every stage of the auditory pathway. However, current computational approaches primarily discard phase information in order to mask amplitude spectrograms of sound. In this paper, we seek to address whether preserving phase information in spectral representations of sound provides better results in monaural separation of vocals from a musical track by using a neurally plausible sparse generative model. Our results demonstrate that preserving phase information reduces artifacts in the separated tracks, as quantified by the signal to artifact ratio (GSAR). Furthermore, our proposed method achieves state-of-the-art performance for source separation, as quantified by a mean signal to interference ratio (GSIR) of 19.46.