Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Assessment of Satisfaction Among Outpatient Department Patients Visiting Secondary and Tertiary Level Government Hospitals of a District in Delhi

Other industries have been paying attention to customer satisfaction for years. Healthcare, especially in the public health sector, is the only industry that, for years, has left the customer out of it. (1) It is easier to evaluate the patient’s satisfaction toward the service, rather than evaluate the quality of medical services that they receive. (2) Therefore, a research on patient satisfaction can be an important tool to improve the quality of services. (1,3)
Deficient Thromboxane Synthesis and Response in Platelets from Premature Infants

In vitro function of cord blood platelets from 35 premature infants (gestational age 32 ± 3.2 wk) was compared with that of 12 full-term infants and 14 adult control subjects. In comparison with adult platelets, preterm platelets showed impaired aggregation, in response to thrombin, collagen, ADP, and U46619 [a stable analog of thromboxane A2(TxA2)], and impaired [14C]serotonin secretion in response to collagen and U46619. The production of TxB2 (the stable TxA2 metabolite) in response to collagen was reduced in preterm platelets (30.2± 5.5 ng/mL) compared with full-term (52.7 ± 12.6 ng/mL) or adult control platelets (132.3 ± 38.7 ng/mL). The deficient TxB2 production and U46619 response prompted further investigation of TxA2 receptor number and binding characteristics. Immunoblotting using an anti-TxA2 receptor antibody (anti-P2) identified a single, identical 55-kD band in solubilized membranes of control, full-term, and preterm platelets. Flow cytometry using anti-P2 produced histograms that did not differ between adults and neonates. Ligand binding studies using[3H]U46619 were carried out on 10 samples from each group. Scatchard analysis yielded a single class of binding sites with no significant difference among the Kd values (85 ± 16versus 99 ± 12 versus 100 ± 12 nM) or number of binding sites per platelet (1876 ± 460 versus 2450± 478 versus 2777 ± 536) for preterm and full-term infants and adults. Therefore platelets of preterm infants show impaired TxA2 production and response. The poor response is not related to altered binding characteristics of the TxA2 receptor but may lie in the postreceptor signal transduction pathway.
Cholesterol Risk Management: A Systematic Examination of the Gap from Evidence to Practice

Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, and data indicate that aggressive cholesterol reduction decreases mortality and morbidity associated with this disease. Many patients with hypercholesterolemia, however, are not screened, prescribed appropriate lipid‐lowering therapy, or treated to target cholesterol levels. Practice patterns are particularly inadequate for those patients at highest risk for having a cardiac event. We performed a literature search to identify studies of practice patterns in the management of patients with hypercholes‐terolemia with regard to screening, implementing lipid‐lowering therapy, and treating to lipid goals. The findings highlight the potential for substantial opportunities to improve patient outcomes. Future studies should evaluate reasons for suboptimal cholesterol management as well as provide steps to improve management.
Comparison of Sport Achievement Orientation of Male Wheelchair Basketball Athletes with Congenital and Acquired Disabilities

The study was designed to examine the sport achievement orientations of male wheelchair basketball athletes who differed by onset of experienced disability (congenital and acquired). The full Sport Orientation Questionnaire was administered to 166 U.S. national athletes. Athletes with congenital disabilities had higher mean scores than their peers with acquired disabilities on the three subscales of the full form and on the extraction items as a short form (Competitiveness, Win Orientation, and Goal Orientation). Multivariate analysis of variance yielded no significant differences between groups. Significant differences on Competitiveness and Goal Orientation, with a higher mean were found for the group with congenital disabilities than for the group with acquired disabilities. The results are discussed in relation to the literature, nature of wheelchair basketball, and application of the test to such athletes.
Establishing covert channel on shared cache architecture

Cache-based side channel attack has been extensively studied in recent years due to the possibly high damage it would cause. We are interested in replaying one instance of such attack to prove its feasibility and explore its details. Based on the literature review, we implemented a cache-based covert channel on a x86 machine and evaluated its performance by statistical analysis. Under certain limitations, we found that the channel can achieve a bandwidth as high as 1MB/s with over 99% accuracy, which is fairly enough to carry large amount of information.
Temperature Dependence of Avalanche Breakdown in InP and InAlAs

Simple analytical expressions for temperature coefficients of breakdown voltage of avalanche photodiodes (APDs) utilizing InP or InAlAs are reported. The work is based on measurements of temperature dependence of avalanche breakdown voltage in a series of InP and InAlAs diodes at temperatures between 20 and 375 K. While avalanche breakdown voltage becomes more temperature sensitive with avalanche region thickness for both materials, the InAlAs diodes are less sensitive to temperature changes compared to InP diodes.
Subchronic Oral Toxicity Study of Decitabine in Combination With Tetrahydrouridine in CD-1 Mice

Decitabine (5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine; DAC) in combination with tetrahydrouridine (THU) is a potential oral therapy for sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia. A study was conducted in mice to assess safety of this combination therapy using oral gavage of DAC and THU administered 1 hour prior to DAC on 2 consecutive days/week for up to 9 weeks followed by a 28-day recovery to support its clinical trials up to 9-week duration. Tetrahydrouridine, a competitive inhibitor of cytidine deaminase, was used in the combination to improve oral bioavailability of DAC. Doses were 167 mg/kg THU followed by 0, 0.2, 0.4, or 1.0 mg/kg DAC; THU vehicle followed by 1.0 mg/kg DAC; or vehicle alone. End points evaluated were clinical observations, body weights, food consumption, clinical pathology, gross/histopathology, bone marrow micronuclei, and toxicokinetics. There were no treatment-related effects noticed on body weight, food consumption, serum chemistry, or urinalysis parameters. Dose- and gender-dependent changes in plasma DAC levels were observed with a Cmax within 1 hour. At the 1 mg/kg dose tested, THU increased DAC plasma concentration (∼10-fold) as compared to DAC alone. Severe toxicity occurred in females receiving high-dose 1 mg/kg DAC + THU, requiring treatment discontinuation at week 5. Severity and incidence of microscopic findings increased in a dose-dependent fashion; findings included bone marrow hypocellularity (with corresponding hematologic changes and decreases in white blood cells, red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, reticulocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes), thymic/lymphoid depletion, intestinal epithelial apoptosis, and testicular degeneration. Bone marrow micronucleus analysis confirmed bone marrow cytotoxicity, suppression of erythropoiesis, and genotoxicity. Following the recovery period, a complete or trend toward resolution of these effects was observed. In conclusion, the combination therapy resulted in an increased sensitivity to DAC toxicity correlating with DAC plasma levels, and females are more sensitive compared to their male counterparts.
Effect of Soil Aging on Assessing Magnitudes and Accelerations of Prehistoric Earthquakes

Increase in strength due to aging of sands is reflected in higher blow counts and tip resistance values in penetration resistance measurements. This affects the magnitudes and peak ground acceleration estimates of prehistoric earthquakes obtained from an analysis of geotechnical observations at paleoliquefaction sites in the South Carolina Coastal Plain. In this study, corrections were made to account for the effects of soil aging, which were neglected in earlier estimates. The results show that when the effects of aging of soils on their geotechnical properties are incorporated, the resulting back-calculations reduced earlier magnitude estimates of prehistoric earthquakes by about 0.9 units. The peak ground acceleration estimates were reduced by about 15% for those earthquakes originally estimated at approximately 0.15 g. For those earthquakes whose original estimates were greater than 0.2 g, there was no noticeable change when a correction was made for the aging of soils.
Heightened condition dependence is not a general feature of male eyespan in stalk‐eyed flies (Diptera: Diopsidae)

Stalk‐eyed flies are exemplars of sexual selection leading to the evolution of exaggerated male ornaments (eyespan). In Sphyracephala beccarri, there is no evidence for female mate choice for exaggerated male eyespan and only minor sex differences in eyespan. We used S. beccarri to test whether heightened condition dependence only evolves when male eyespan becomes sexually exaggerated. Male eyespan showed heightened condition dependence under food stress compared with a control trait (wing length). However, female eyespan displayed a similar pattern and there was no sex difference in the degree of increased eyespan sensitivity. The finding that eyespan is a sensitive indicator of food stress, even in an unexaggerated state, suggests that this may have acted as a pre‐adaptation to the role of eyespan in sexual signalling in other Diopsid species. These results are consistent with handicap theory and Fisher's view of how sexual selection is initiated.
Multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of the plasma cell characterized by migration and localization to the bone marrow where cells then disseminate and facilitate the formation of bone lesions. Unfortunately, while treatment of this disease is effective in palliating the disease, and even prolonging survival, this disease is generally regarded as incurable. Understanding the basic biology of myeloma cells will ultimately lead to more effective treatments by developing target based therapy. In Section I, Dr. Bergsagel discusses the molecular pathogenesis of MM and shares insights regarding specific chromosomal translocations and their role in the genesis and progression of MM. New information regarding FGFR3 as an oncogene as well as how activating mutations may contribute to disease evolution and may be an important target for novel therapeutics of MM is presented. In Section II, Dr. Anderson elaborates on novel therapeutic approaches to MM also targeting fundamental genetic abnormalities in MM cells. Both preclinical and clinical studies of novel agents including PS-341 and IMiDs are highlighted. In Section III, Dr. Harousseau discusses the role of autologous stem cell transplant in MM. He highlights clinical trials addressing the question of conditioning regimens and the impact of tandem transplants. He also addresses the role of allogeneic BMT and the use of attenuated dose conditioning regimens (so called mini-allogeneic transplants) in the treatment of MM. In Section IV, Dr. Dalton provides an overview of the current state of myeloma therapy and summarizes the different and exciting approaches being undertaken to cure this disease.
Indian Women: From Purdah to Modernity

The basis of this volume is a series of nine lectures delivered under the auspices of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library during International Women's Year. The contributors belong to different disciplines: political science, history, sociology, psychology, and law. There is no apparent connection between most of the pieces besides the broad stated purpose to "explore the status of women in India. " From this viewpoint, the vague overarching title is appropriate, since there is no other way to characterize the variety of themes which are the subjects of the different articles. I was left with the impression that, individually, there are some interesting, introspective pieces in this volume, but they do not hang together as a collection, since the reader's attention is too scattered over different topics to arrive at some understanding of the subject. A good introductory article, independent of the contributions, might have helped to set the more generalized framework within which the status of women in India could be examined, with the articles serving to highlight specific problems. Instead, B.R. Nanda's introduction does little more than describe what is discussed in the various papers. The attempt to link the articles consists of a few lines emphasizing the interrelatedness of the topics, without any effort to provide a solid context or perspective to integrate meaningfully the different essays. Before discussing specific papers, I would like to comment on two impressions which stayed with me after reading the volume. The main reaction was that in a book about women, there is a heavy emphasis on the contribution of Nehru, Gandhi, and other leaders in the emancipation of Indian women. Three papers by Bimla Luthra, Vina Mazundar, and Lotika Sarkar deal with it in detail, while only Aparna Basu gives equal weight to the contributions of women leaders in the struggle for freedom. The point is not made to minimize the efforts of these leaders, but to stress again the often repeated comment regarding the invisibility of women in recorded history. As Shahida Lateef clearly demonstrates in a recent article ("Whither the Indian Women's Movement? " Economic and Political Weekly, 7, No. 47, [1977], 1948-51), the gains in public life enjoyed by Indian women were hard fought and won by women themselves. Yet, "neither the facts about the women's movement nor about its heroines are accorded more than passing mention. "
MOLECULAR GAS IN z ∼ 6 QUASAR HOST GALAXIES

We report our new observations of redshifted carbon monoxide emission from six z ∼ 6 quasars, using the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. CO (6–5) or (5–4) line emission was detected in all six sources. Together with two other previous CO detections, these observations provide unique constraints on the molecular gas emission properties in these quasar systems close to the end of the cosmic re-ionization. Complementary results are also presented for low-J CO lines observed at the Green Bank Telescope and the Very Large Array, and dust continuum from five of these sources with the SHARC-II bolometer camera at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. We then present a study of the molecular gas properties in our combined sample of eight CO-detected quasars at z ∼ 6. The detections of high-order CO line emission in these objects indicates the presence of highly excited molecular gas, with estimated masses on the order of 1010 M☉ within the quasar host galaxies. No significant difference is found in the gas mass and CO line width distributions between our z ∼ 6 quasars and samples of CO-detected 1.4 ⩽ z ⩽ 5 quasars and submillimeter galaxies. Most of the CO-detected quasars at z ∼ 6 follow the far-infrared–CO luminosity relationship defined by actively star-forming galaxies at low and high redshifts. This suggests that ongoing star formation in their hosts contributes significantly to the dust heating at FIR wavelengths. The result is consistent with the picture of galaxy formation co-eval with supermassive black hole (SMBH) accretion in the earliest quasar–host systems. We investigate the black hole–bulge relationships of our quasar sample, using the CO dynamics as a tracer for the dynamical mass of the quasar host. The median estimated black hole–bulge mass ratio is about 15 times higher than the present-day value of ∼0.0014. This places important constraints on the formation and evolution of the most massive SMBH-spheroidal host systems at the highest redshift.
Protein transduction of Rab9 in Niemann‐Pick C cells reduces cholesterol storage

Niemann‐Pick disease type C (NPC) is a genetic disorder in which patient cells exhibit lysosomal accumulation of cholesterol and sphingolipids (SLs) caused by defects in either NPC1 or NPC2 proteins. We previously demonstrated that NPC1 human skin fibroblasts overexpressing endosomal Rab proteins (Rab7 or Rab9) showed a correction in the storage disease phenotype. In the current study, we used protein transduction to further investigate Rab9‐mediated reduction of stored lipids in NPC cells. Recombinant human Rab9 fused with the herpes simplex virus VP22 protein fragment was overexpressed, purified, and added to culture medium to induce protein transduction. When VP22‐Rab9 was transduced into NPC1 fibroblasts, nearly all cells showed significant reduction in cellular free cholesterol levels, with no cytotoxicity up to 5 µM. A fraction of the VP22‐Rab9 that was transduced into the cells was shown to bind to rab GDP dissociation inhibitor, suggesting that this pool of VP22‐Rab9 had become prenylated. The reduction in cellular free cholesterol was associated with correction of abnormal intracellular trafficking of BODIPY‐lactosylceramide and an increase of sterols in the culture media. The clearance of lysosomal free cholesterol was also associated with a decrease in LDL‐receptor levels. In addition, we demonstrated reduction of intracellular cholesterol by VP22‐Rab9 transduction in NPC2 fibroblasts and in cultured mouse NPC1 neurons. These observations provide important new information about the correction of membrane traffic in NPC cells by Rab9 overexpression and may lead to new therapeutic approaches for treatment of this disease.
Alkynyl sugar analogs for the labeling and visualization of glycoconjugates in cells

Developing tools for investigating the cellular activity of glycans will help to delineate the molecular basis for aberrant glycosylation in pathological processes such as cancer. Metabolic oligosaccharide engineering, which inserts sugar-reporting groups into cellular glycoconjugates, represents a powerful method for imaging the localization, trafficking, and dynamics of glycans and isolating them for glyco-proteomic analysis. Herein, we show that the alkyne-reporting group can be incorporated into cellular glycans. The alkyne group is a small, inert, bio-orthogonal handle that can be chemoselectively labeled by using the Cu(I) catalyzed [3 + 2] azide-alkyne cycloaddition, or click chemistry. Alkynyl sugar monomers, based on fucose (Fuc) and N-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc), were incorporated into fucosylated and sialylated glycans in several cancer cell lines, allowing for cell surface and intracellular visualization of glycoconjugates, as well as, observation of alkyne-bearing glycoproteins. Similarly to our previous results with an azido Fuc/alkynyl probe system, we demonstrated that click-activated fluorogenic probes are practical tools for efficiently and selectively labeling alkynyl-modified glycans. Because Fuc and sialic acid are terminal glycan residues with a notably increased presence in many tumors, we hope that our method will provide useful information about their roles in cancer and ultimately can be used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Comparison of mortality in ESRD patients on convective and diffusive extracorporeal treatments. The Registro Lombardo Dialisi E Trapianto.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of convective [hemodiafiltration (HDF) or hemofiltration (HF)] versus diffusive treatments [hemodialysis (HD)] on end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patient mortality and dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA) using data from the Lombardy Registry. METHODS For this purpose, 6, 444 patients (aged 56.4 +/- 15.6 years, females 39.5%, diabetics 10. 6%) who started renal replacement therapy (RRT) on HD, HDF, or HF between 1983 and 1995 were considered. A total of 1,082 patients were treated with HDF or HF (first choice in the case of 188), with a median follow-up of 29.7 months. The median follow-up of the 6,298 patients on HD (first choice in the case of 6256) was 22.4 months. The time of survival on dialysis to carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) surgery was evaluated as a hard marker of DRA morbidity. Survival was compared by means of the Cox proportional regression hazards model, using CTS surgery and all deaths as events for morbidity and mortality, respectively. Explanatory covariates were age, gender, and comorbidities; dialysis modality was tested as a time-dependent covariate. RESULTS The relative risk (RR) for CTS surgery was significantly higher in older patients [RR = 1.04 per year of age on admission to RRT, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02 to 1.06; P = 0. 0001], in diabetics (RR = 2.63, 95% CI 1.30 to 5.31; P = 0.0007), and in patients with heart disease (RR = 5.36, 95% CI 2.27 to 12.68 P = 0.0001). Adjusting for age and diabetic status, the RR for CTS surgery was 42% lower in the patients treated with HDF or HF (RR = 0. 58, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.95, P = 0.03). The RR for mortality, adjusted for age, gender, and comorbidities, was 10% lower in patients treated with HDF or HF (RR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.06; P = NS). CONCLUSION These results support the hypothesis that convective treatments are associated with a nonsignificant trend toward better survival and significantly delay the need for CTS surgery. An older age and the presence of diabetes and heart disease are other important risk factors for CTS surgery. These results could have an important clinical impact given the relevance of DRA in dialysis patient morbidity.
Local cycles and dynamical properties of Boolean networks

We investigate the relationships between the dynamical properties of Boolean networks and properties of their Jacobian matrices, in particular the existence of local cycles in the associated interaction graphs. We define the notion of hereditarily bijective maps, and we use it to strengthen the property of unicity of a fixed point and to provide simplified proofs and generalizations of theorems relating attractors to the existence of local cycles, in particular local positive cycles. We then argue that this notion may not suffice to prove, under a suitable hypothesis such as the existence of a cyclic attractor or a stronger hypothesis, the existence of local negative cycles. We then consider a class of Boolean networks called and-or-nets, and for this class, we prove that the hypothesis of an antipodal attractive cycle implies the existence of a local negative cycle.
The Effect of Lumbar Flexion and Extension on Disc Contour Abnormality Measured Quantitatively on Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Study Design. Experimental study with subjects as their own control. Objective. To determine if lumbar disc contour abnormality dimensions, measured quantitatively, differ in flexed, neutral or extended positions. Summary of Background Data. MRIs obtained lying supine are used to determine the degree of lumbar disc contour abnormality (bulging or herniation). Variations in positioning are suspected to influence this assessment. Methods. Lumbar MR images for 26 male volunteers (24–74 years of age), with or without low back pain, were obtained with the subjects lying in neutral, maximal flexion, and maximal extension positions allowable within a conventional 1.5T MR scanner. Quantitative measures of anterior and posterior disc contour abnormality were obtained for each position. Results. Statistically significant differences in disc angles were obtained between positions (2°–5°) for all levels. Posterior contour abnormality was significantly smaller in flexion and extension than in the neutral position (9.5%–30.1%). Posterior contour abnormality in extension was similar or smaller than in flexion. Anterior contour abnormality was significantly smaller in extension than flexion and smaller in the neutral position than flexion. Conclusion. Spine position should be standardized when assessing disc contour abnormality with MRI. The largest measured disc contour abnormalities when lying supine in a standard MR scanner are observed in the neutral position, as opposed to flexion or extension.