Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feeling let down: An exploratory study of the experiences of older people who were readmitted to hospital following a recent discharge

Abstract Background: Readmission of older people to hospital following a recent discharge may be an indicator of gaps in services either prior to or after discharge. Aims and objectives: To explore the experiences of older people who have been readmitted to hospital following recent discharge to their homes. Design: A qualitative descriptive study. Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with three older people who were discharged from a large tertiary referral hospital in NSW Australia and readmitted. Interviews were conducted within the hospital setting in a private room. An interview guide was used to explore the reasons for admission and readmission to hospital and experiences upon discharge to home. In particular the researchers were interested in the events that led to readmission. Data were analysed thematically. Results: Three main themes emerged including: being left out, being cared for and feeling let down. Conclusion: While this study was undertaken in only one hospital with only three older people the findings provide valuable insight into their experiences. Nurses need to be proactive in ensuring and promoting a person-centred approach to the care and treatment of older people.
Making a difference with Vision 2020: The Right to Sight? Lessons from two states of North Western Nigeria.

UNLABELLED Settings and Aim: The World Health Organization launched in 1999 an initiative to eliminate the global avoidable blindness and prevent the projected doubling of avoidable visual impairment between 1990 and 2020 (Vision 2020: The Right to Sight). The World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted resolutions WHA 59.25, WHA 56.26 urging member states to adopt the Vision 2020 principles. More than 90 nongovernmental development organizations, agencies, and institutions, together with a number of major corporations, are now working together in this global partnership. Two neighboring states in North Western Nigeria provide eye care services using different approaches; one state uses the principles of Vision 2020, the other uses a different strategy. The aim of the study was to assess awareness and utilization of eye care services in two Nigerian states. DESIGN A population-based cross-sectional interview of households was conducted in two neighboring states using a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 21 and a P < 0.05 was considered as significant. FINDINGS Participation rate was 97% in the two states. The population in the Vision 2020-compliant state were significantly more aware about general eye care services (80% vs. 44%, P < 0.0005); had less proportion of households unaware of any eye care service (55% vs. 69%, P < 0.0005); and have a significantly higher felt the need to utilize eye care services (47% vs. 5.9%, P < 0.0005). The service utilization rate was however low in the two states. CONCLUSION The principles of Vision 2020: The Right to Sight is adaptable to different cultures/societies and has demonstrated a potential to increase awareness and a felt need for eye care in poor resource settings.
An efficient PIM (processor-in-memory) architecture for motion estimation

Motion estimation is the most time consuming stage of MPEG family encodings and it reportedly absorbs up to 90% of the total execution time of MPEG processing. Therefore, we propose a hardware/software co-design paradigm that uses a PIM module to efficiently execute motion estimation operations. We use a PIM module to reduce the memory access penalty caused by a large number of memory accesses. We segment the PIM module into small pieces so that each smaller PIM module can execute the operations in parallel fashion. However, in order to execute the operations in parallel, there are critical overheads that involve replicating a huge amount of data to many of these smaller PIM modules. Not only do these replications require a huge amount of additional memory accesses but also calculations when generating addresses. Therefore, we also present an efficient data distribution mechanism to effectively support parallel executions among these smaller PIM modules. With our paradigm, the host processor can be relieved from computationally-intensive and data-intensive workloads of motion estimation. We observed up to 2034/spl times/ improvement in reduction of the number of memory accesses and up to 439/spl times/ performance improvement for the execution of motion estimation operations when using our computing paradigm.
ects of ocean acidi W cation on invertebrate settlement at volcanic CO 2 vents

We present the Wrst study of the eVects of ocean acidiWcation on settlement of benthic invertebrates and microfauna. ArtiWcial collectors were placed for 1 month along pH gradients at CO2 vents oV Ischia (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). Seventy-nine taxa were identiWed from six main taxonomic groups (foraminiferans, nematodes, polychaetes, molluscs, crustaceans and chaetognaths). Calcareous foraminiferans, serpulid polychaetes, gastropods and bivalves showed highly signiWcant reductions in recruitment to the collectors as pCO2 rose from normal (336–341 ppm, pH 8.09–8.15) to high levels (886–5,148 ppm) causing acidiWed conditions near the vents (pH 7.08–7.79). Only the syllid polychaete Syllis prolifera had higher abundances at the most acidiWed station, although a wide range of polychaetes and small crustaceans was able to settle and survive under these conditions. A few taxa (Amphiglena mediterranea, Leptochelia dubia, Caprella acanthifera) were particularly abundant at stations acidiWed by intermediate amounts of CO2 (pH 7.41–7.99). These results show that increased levels of CO2 can profoundly aVect the settlement of a wide range of benthic organisms.
Evacuation Priorities in Mass Casualty Terror-Related Events: Implications for Contingency Planning

Objective:To assess evacuation priorities during terror-related mass casualty incidents (MCIs) and their implications for hospital organization/contingency planning. Summary Background Data:Trauma guidelines recommend evacuation of critically injured patients to Level I trauma centers. The recent MCIs in Israel offered an opportunity to study the impositions placed on a prehospital emergency medical service (EMS) regarding evacuation priorities in these circumstances. Methods:A retrospective analysis of medical evacuations from MCIs (29.9.2000–31.9.2002) performed by the Israeli National EMS rescue teams. Results:Thirty-three MCIs yielded data on 1156 casualties. Only 57% (506) of the 1123 available and mobilized ambulances were needed to provide 612 evacuations. Rescue teams arrived on scene within <5 minutes and evacuated the last urgent casualty within 15–20 minutes. The majority of non-urgent and urgent patients were transported to medical centers close to the event. Less than half of the urgent casualties were evacuated to more distant trauma centers. Independent variables predicting evacuation to a trauma center were its being the hospital closest to the event (OR 249.2, P < 0.001), evacuation within <10 minutes of the event (OR 9.3, P = 0.003), and having an urgent patient on the ambulance (OR 5.6, P < 0.001). Conclusions:Hospitals nearby terror-induced MCIs play a major role in trauma patient care. Thus, all hospitals should be included in contingency plans for MCIs. Further research into the implications of evacuation of the most severely injured casualties to the nearest hospital while evacuating all other casualties to various hospitals in the area is needed. The challenges posed by terror-induced MCIs require consideration of a paradigm shift in trauma care.
Modal Transition and Reduction in a Lossy Dielectric-Coated Waveguide for Gyrotron-Traveling-Wave Tube Amplifier Applications

A metal cylindrical waveguide coated with an inside layer of lossy dielectric which affects the propagation characteristics of a guided electromagnetic mode is investigated for gyrotron-traveling-wave tube (gyro-TWT) amplifier applications. This paper reveals a series of novel phenomena. The dispersion curve of a higher order mode has a turning point during its evolvement from the fast wave region to the slow wave region. An electromagnetic mode in the lossy dielectric-coated waveguide exhibits a transverse partial-standing-wave distribution. The dielectric loss induces modal transition which results in the dispersion curves of a pair of nearby modes crossing each other and interchanging mode structures. Modal reduction caused by strong dielectric loss merges a pair of nearby modes into one. In this one merged mode, the dielectric-coated waveguide is equivalent to a conventional cylindrical waveguide with imperfect conducting wall. This improved understanding of lossy dielectric-coated metal cylindrical waveguide is of value and usefulness for application toward gyro-TWTs capable of high-power and wide bandwidth.
DnaJ/Hsc70 chaperone complexes control the extracellular release of neurodegenerative‐associated proteins

It is now known that proteins associated with neurodegenerative disease can spread throughout the brain in a prionlike manner. However, the mechanisms regulating the trans‐synaptic spread propagation, including the neuronal release of these proteins, remain unknown. The interaction of neurodegenerative disease‐associated proteins with the molecular chaperone Hsc70 is well known, and we hypothesized that much like disaggregation, refolding, degradation, and even normal function, Hsc70 may dictate the extracellular fate of these proteins. Here, we show that several proteins, including TDP‐43, α‐synuclein, and the microtubule‐associated protein tau, can be driven out of the cell by an Hsc70 co‐chaperone, DnaJC5. In fact, DnaJC5 overexpression induced tau release in cells, neurons, and brain tissue, but only when activity of the chaperone Hsc70 was intact and when tau was able to associate with this chaperone. Moreover, release of tau from neurons was reduced in mice lacking the DnaJC5 gene and when the complement of DnaJs in the cell was altered. These results demonstrate that the dynamics of DnaJ/Hsc70 complexes are critically involved in the release of neurodegenerative disease proteins.
Secreted Trefoil Factor 2 Activates the CXCR4 Receptor in Epithelial and Lymphocytic Cancer Cell Lines*

The secreted trefoil factor family 2 (TFF2) protein contributes to the protection of the gastrointestinal mucosa from injury by strengthening and stabilizing mucin gels, stimulating epithelial restitution, and restraining the associated inflammation. Although trefoil factors have been shown to activate signaling pathways, no cell surface receptor has been directly linked to trefoil peptide signaling. Here we demonstrate the ability of TFF2 peptide to activate signaling via the CXCR4 chemokine receptor in cancer cell lines. We found that both mouse and human TFF2 proteins (at ∼0.5 μm) activate Ca2+ signaling in lymphoblastic Jurkat cells that could be abrogated by receptor desensitization (with SDF-1α) or pretreatment with the specific antagonist AMD3100 or an anti-CXCR4 antibody. TFF2 pretreatment of Jurkat cells decreased Ca2+ rise and chemotactic response to SDF-1α. In addition, the CXCR4-negative gastric epithelial cell line AGS became highly responsive to TFF2 treatment upon expression of the CXCR4 receptor. TFF2-induced activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases in gastric and pancreatic cancer cells, KATO III and AsPC-1, respectively, was also dependent on the presence of the CXCR4 receptor. Finally we demonstrate a distinct proliferative effect of TFF2 protein on an AGS gastric cancer cell line that expresses CXCR4. Overall these data identify CXCR4 as a bona fide signaling receptor for TFF2 and suggest a mechanism through which TFF2 may modulate immune and tumorigenic responses in vivo.
Decreased Myocardial β-Adrenergic Receptor Density in Relation to Increased Sympathetic Tone in Patients with Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy

Cardiac sympathetic function plays an important role in the regulation of left ventricular (LV) function and the pathophysiology of LV dysfunction. 11C-CGP-12177 (11C-CGP) has been used to assess myocardial β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) density in vivo using PET. The aim of this study is to measure myocardial β-AR density in patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy and to compare the measurements with various standard parameters of heart failure (HF), particularly with presynaptic function assessed by 123I- metaiodobenzylguanidine (123I-MIBG) imaging. Methods: 11C-CGP PET was performed on 16 patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy and 8 age-matched healthy volunteers using a double injection method. A 11C-CGP dynamic scan for 75 min was performed after the injection of 11C-CGP with a high specific activity. After 30 min, 11C-CGP with a low specific activity was injected. The β-AR density of the whole LV was calculated on the basis of the graphical analysis method. Additionally, β-AR density was compared with LV ejection fraction (LVEF), sympathetic presynaptic function assessed using 123I-MIBG kinetics, and neurohormonal parameters. Results: The β-AR density of patients was significantly lower than that of healthy volunteers (3.80 ± 0.96 vs. 7.70 ± 1.92 pmol/mL; P < 0.0001). In the patients, β-AR density correlated significantly with LVEF (r = 0.62, P < 0.05). Furthermore, β-AR density correlated significantly with the 123I-MIBG washout rate (r = −0.68, P < 0.01) and delayed heart-to-mediastinum ratio (H/M ratio) (r = 0.61, P < 0.05). On the other hand, the correlation between β-AR density and early H/M ratio was not significant (r = 0.40, P = 0.13). The β-AR density of patients with severe HF (New York Heart Association functional [NYHA] class III) was significantly lower than that of those with NYHA functional class I or class II HF (3.24 ± 0.96 vs. 4.24 ± 0.73 pmol/mL; P < 0.05). Conclusion: A reduction in β-AR density measured by 11C-CGP PET was observed in patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy. This downregulation may be due to the increased presynaptic sympathetic tone as assessed by 123I-MIBG imaging.
Two-Stage Co-Salient Object Detection

Most of the existing methods achieve co-saliency detection at single level. In this work, we combine the object-level and region-level processing to detect co-salient objects in a group of images. At the object level, we formulate proposal selection as an outlier detection problem. We find good region proposals and generate a template for each image. At the region level, we introduce the smoothness constrain to present a multi-constraint classification model and use the templates from an image group to self-train a group-specific classifier, thereby predicting the saliency labels for each superpixel. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms other state-of-the-art co-saliency methods.
Effect of Aspirin and Acetaminophen on Proinflammatory Cytokine-Induced Pain Behavior in Mice

Aspirin (ASA) is a widely used oral analgesic which acts as an inhibitor of cyclooxygenase. Acetaminophen (ACET) is also an effective analgesic and may selectively inhibit brain prostaglandin synthetase. Various proinflammatory cytokines injected into the central nervous system show pain behavior. In the present study, the effects of orally administered ASA and ACET on pain behaviors induced by various proinflammatory cytokines were examined. At a dose of 100 mg/kg, ASA or ACET did not affect the pain behavior induced by TNF-α (100 pg), IL-1β (100 pg) or IFN-γ (100 pg) administered intrathecally. However, at doses of 200 and 300 mg/kg, ASA or ACET significantly and dose-dependently attenuated pain behavior induced by TNF-α, IL-1β or IFN-γ administered intrathecally. Our results suggest that orally administered ASA and ACET produce antinociception by inhibiting the nociceptive action of TNF-α, IL-1β or IFN-γ administered intrathecally.
Lingual artery CTA-guided midline partial glossectomy for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome

Abstract Conclusion: Midline partial glossectomy guided by lingual artery computed tomographic angiography (CTA) demonstrated a satisfactory safety profile and therapeutic effect for patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) due to tongue hypertrophy. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of midline partial glossectomy guided by lingual artery CTA for the treatment of OSAHS due to tongue hypertrophy. Methods: Sixty-seven OSAHS patients with a narrowed airway at the hypopharyngeal region due to tongue hypertrophy underwent uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) in combination with midline partial glossectomy. The operation zone was determined according to the anatomic measurement obtained from lingual artery CTA and the resected region was much larger than with conventional midline partial glossectomy. Postoperative complications were closely monitored and sleep condition was followed up for more than 6 months and re-evaluated by polysomnography (PSG). Results: All the operations proceeded uneventfully without any complications, demonstrating a satisfactory safety profile. After a follow-up period of more than 6 months, of the 67 patients undergoing the procedure, 24 were cured and 34 exhibited markedly improved sleep, whereas 9 showed little or no improvement, giving an effectiveness rate of 86.6% for the operation.
Urinary tract infections in women: diagnosis and management in primary care

Urinary tract infections are the second most common infections, causing considerable anxiety and morbidity in women. Care is not always optimal—prophylaxis is rarely considered and unnecessary investigations are requested. This evidence based approach to management of urinary tract infections in women highlights that some common recommendations, such as postcoital voiding, have no evidence base
Effects of 18β‐Glycyrrhetinic acid on the junctional complex and steroidogenesis in rat adrenocortical cells

Cellular junctions play important roles in cell differentiation, signal transduction, and cell function. This study investigated their function in steroid secretion by adrenal cells. Immunofluorescence staining revealed the presence of gap junctions and adherens junctions between adrenal cells. The major gap junction protein, connexin43, was seen as a linear dotted pattern of the typical gap junction plaques, in contrast to α‐, β‐, and γ‐catenin, which were seen as continuous, linear staining of cell–cell adherens junction. Treatment with 18β‐glycyrrhetinic acid, a gap junction inhibitor, reduced the immunoreactivity of these proteins in a time‐ and dose‐dependent manner, and caused the gap junction and adherens junction to separate longitudinally from the cell–cell contact sites, indicating the structural interdependency of these two junctions. Interestingly, 18β‐glycyrrhetinic acid stimulated a two‐ to three–fold increase in steroid production in these adrenal cells lacking intact cell junctions. These data raise the question of the necessity for cell communication for the endocrine function of adrenal cells. Pharmacological analyses indicated that the steroidogenic effect of 18β‐glycyrrhetinic acid was partially mediated by extracellular signal‐related kinase and calcium/calmodulin‐dependent kinase, a pathway distinct from the protein kinase A signaling pathway already known to mediate steroidogenesis in adrenal cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 90: 33–41, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Optimal Design of Semi-Orthogonal Multiple-Access Massive MIMO Systems

We study an uplink scenario of single-cell multi-user massive multiple-input multiple-output (mMIMO) communication systems with a semi-orthogonal multiple-access (SOMA), where the channel state information is acquired by transmitting uplink pilot signals superimposed on uplink data signals. We analytically find the optimal resource allocation parameters; e.g., pilot and data transmit power and training duration, which maximize achievable sum-rates by minimum mean-square error (MMSE) channel estimation and maximum ratio combining (MRC) for data detection. Our results indicate that the optimized SOMA encouragingly outperforms the optimized conventional time-division duplex protocol in terms of both energy- and spectral efficiency.
Galaxy cluster mass estimation with deep learning and hydrodynamical simulations

We evaluate the ability of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to predict galaxy cluster masses in the BAHAMAS hydrodynamical simulations. We train four separate single-channel networks using: stellar mass, soft X-ray flux, bolometric X-ray flux, and the Compton $y$ parameter as observational tracers, respectively. Our training set consists of $\sim$6400 synthetic cluster images generated from the simulation, while an additional $\sim$1600 images form a test set. We also train a `multi-channel' CNN by combining the four observational tracers. We utilize $\texttt{Keras}$ with a $\texttt{Tensorflow}$ backend to train the network, and all four converge within 2000 epochs. The cluster masses predicted from these networks are evaluated using the average fractional difference between predicted cluster mass and true cluster mass. The resulting predictions are especially precise for halo masses in the range $10^{13.25}M_{\odot}<M<10^{14.5}M_{\odot}$, where all five networks produce mean mass biases of order $\approx 1\%$ with a scatter on the mean bias of $\approx 0.5\%$. The network trained with Compton $y$ parameter maps yields the most precise predictions. We interpret the network's behaviour using two diagnostic tests to determine which features are used to predict cluster mass. The CNN trained with stellar mass images detect galaxies (not surprisingly), while CNNs trained with gas-based tracers utilise the shape of the signal to estimate cluster mass.
Identification and Selective Inhibition of the Channel Mode of the Neuronal GABA Transporter 1

The function of GAT1, the transporter for the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, is characterized by expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes and measurements of GABA-induced uptake of [3H]GABA, 22Na+, and 36Cl-, and GABA-evoked currents under voltage-clamp conditions. N-[4,4-Diphenyl-3-butenyl]-nipecotic acid (SKF-89976-A), a specific inhibitor of GAT1, is used in our system as a pharmacological tool. The GABA-evoked current can be decomposed into a transport current, which is coupled to the GABA uptake, and a transmitter-gated current, which is uncoupled from the GABA uptake. The transport current results from a fixed stoichiometry of 1 GABA/2 Na+/1 Cl- transported during each cycle, as determined by radioactive tracer flux measurements. The transmitter-gated current is mediated by an Na+-conductance pathway. As a competitive inhibitor for GABA uptake, SKF-89976-A can separate the two current components. The GABA uptake is blocked with a KI value of approximately 7 μM, whereas the uncoupled transmitter-gated current is inhibited with a KI value of approximately 0.03 μM. Thus, the results of this study not only identify the transport mode and the channel mode of GAT1 but also raise the possibility of separating these components in a physiological environment.
Issues of Elder Care and Elder Abuse in the Indian Context

Summary With 7% of the population of India being elderly, two-thirds of whom live in villages and nearly a half of them in poor conditions, the care of the elderly is a difficult problem to be tackled. The dwindling of the joint family, the rise of dual-career families, a possible shift in filial piety values, the increasing life expectancy with greater chances of a prolonged old age characterized by poverty, degeneration, more empty-nest years, and dependency, have all added to the seriousness of the problem and made the elderly more susceptible than ever to abusive treatment. This paper examines these issues as well as the issue of elder abuse in light of available data and suggests some strategies to meet the problem. Also discussed are the problems, stresses, and strains of caregivers of the elderly. A greater role is envisaged for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) than the state in the care of the elderly, particularly in providing support services to family caregivers.