Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Supervised training and home-based rehabilitation in patients with stabilized ankylosing spondylitis on TNF inhibitor treatment: a controlled clinical trial with a 12-month follow-up

Objective: To assess the 12-month’s follow-up effects on pain, mobility, and physical function outcomes of a supervised training and home-based rehabilitation for ankylosing spondylitis patients stabilized with TNF-inhibitor therapy. Design: Controlled clinical trial (sequentially determined allocation) with 12-months’ follow-up. Setting: Patients’ homes. Subjects: A total of 69 subjects were allocated to either a rehabilitation programme (rehabilitation group, n = 22), an educational-behavioural programme (educational group, n = 24), and to neither programme (control group, n = 23). Interventions: Rehabilitation programme included supervised training and home exercises (stretching, strengthening, aerobic, chest, and spine/hip joint flexibility exercises); educational-behavioural programme included information on ankylosing spondylitis, pain and stress mechanisms, and control. Main measures: Spinal pain intensity, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index, chest expansion, and cervical and lumbar spine active range of motion measured by a pocket goniometer. Results: At baseline, the three groups exhibited comparable demographic characteristics and basal evaluations. Intra-group changes in the rehabilitation group from baseline to 12 months yielded statistically significant gains (p < 0.05) for all outcomes. At 12-months follow-up, compared with the control and educational-behavioural, the rehabilitation group exhibited significant differences in chest expansion (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (p = 0.012 and p = 0.050), and in some goniometric measurements as cervical rotation (p = 0.007 and p = 0.014), toraco-lumbar rotation (p = 0.009 and p = 0.050), and total cervical movements (p = 0.009 and p = 0.001). Conclusion: In comparison with the educational-behavioural programme or no intervention, supervised training and home exercises improved long-term outcome in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
Compact and Broadband Rectangular Waveguide Power Divider/Combiner Using Microstrip-Fed Antisymmetric Tapered Probe

In this paper, a compact and broadband rectangular waveguide power divider using the T-junction with antisymmetric tapered probe is proposed. The power divider is compact due to the adoption of the microstrip-fed antisymmetric tapered probe. In addition, the power divider has a broadband performance that the transmission coefficients of the two output ports are around -3.2 dB and the reflection coefficient of the input port is smaller than -15 dB from 8.48 to 12.04 GHz, almost covering the whole X-band (8.2-12.4 GHz). To advance this power divider as a power divider/combiner, a Wilkinson power divider is used to replace the T-junction. The power divider/combiner using the Wilkinson power divider with antisymmetric tapered probe is compact and has a broadband performance that shows equal power division, small reflection, and good isolation for all ports in the whole X-band. The transmission coefficients of the two output ports are around -3.3 dB and the reflection coefficient of the input port is smaller than -15 dB. In addition, the reflection coefficients of the two output ports are smaller than -12.6 dB and the isolation between the two output ports is smaller than -17.5 dB.
Change in Vision, Visual Disability, and Health After Cataract Surgery

Purpose Cataract surgery improves vision and visual functioning; the effect on general health is not established. We investigated if vision, visual functioning, and general health follow the same trajectory of change the year after cataract surgery and if changes in vision explain changes in visual disability and general health. Methods One-hundred forty-eight persons, with a mean (SD) age of 78.9 (5.0) years (70% bilateral surgery), were assessed before and 6 weeks and 12 months after surgery. Visual disability and general health were assessed by the CatQuest-9SF and the Short Formular-36. Results Corrected binocular visual acuity, visual field, stereo acuity, and contrast vision improved (P < 0.001) from before to 6 weeks after surgery, with further improvements of visual acuity evident up to 12 months (P = 0.034). Cataract surgery had an effect on visual disability 1 year later (P < 0.001). Physical and mental health improved after surgery (P < 0.01) but had returned to presurgery level after 12 months. Vision changes did not explain visual disability and general health 6 weeks after surgery. Conclusions Vision improved and visual disability decreased in the year after surgery, whereas changes in general health and visual functioning were short-term effects. Lack of associations between changes in vision and self-reported disability and general health suggests that the degree of vision changes and self-reported health do not have a linear relationship.
A logic of “linking learning”: Leadership practices across schools, subject departments and classrooms

Abstract This article considers the roles of school leaders, a departmental-level leader and a teacher in implementing a reform within a school, and the nature of the relations between the groups and individuals that attended this process. Drawing upon Bourdieu’s “thinking tools”, the article analyses the nature of the leadership practices surrounding the implementation of a single-sex mathematics class from the perspective of key participants in the change process: two school-level leaders, one departmental chair, and the teacher charged with teaching the class. By considering a secondary school and one of its constituent departments as a field and sub-field, respectively, we argue that even as there is evidence of contestation over the nature of the practices that influence or potentially influence the leadership practices at play within the field and sub-field as a whole, there are also significant learnings in relation to student learning on the part of those involved which serve as “links” between the leadership practices at the school and department levels, and the leadership of learning of the teacher implementing the reform. In this way, a logic of “linking learning”, guided by an ethic of concern for students’ success, was evident across school, department and classroom.
Organizing Community Research Partnerships in the Struggle against AIDS

Despite pharmaceutical advances, AIDS remains a health problem difficult to treat, leaving preventive interventions as the primary means of promoting risk avoidance. Increasing the capacity of university-based researchers to develop culturally, developmentally, and contextually appropriate AIDS prevention strategies requires the collaboration of community service and advocacy partners. To date, neither university researchers nor community providers have a great deal of partnership experience. Thus, a common language and set of experiences are yet to be developed. This article reviews the history of university-community and researchercommunity collaboration for AIDS research and intervention, placing the innovative work of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Center for AIDS Prevention Studies and its community and foundation partnerships among those efforts at the forefront of the community-university dialogue. It concludes with suggestions derived from the collaborative work of UCSF researchers and community service partners to strengthen efforts to develop theory, research methods, and results that are immediately useful and productive of long-term prevention research efforts.
Effect of eliminating seropositive canines on the transmission of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil.

In Brazil, where Leishmania chagasi causes endemic American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL), the spread and maintenance of human disease are attributed to canine reservoirs. However, despite measures directed toward the elimination of infected canines, the incidence of human disease continues to increase. To evaluate the role of infected canines in the acquisition of AVL by humans, we undertook a controlled intervention study in three similar, but isolated, valleys of Pancas, Espírito Santo, Brazil. In the two experimental (intervention) valleys, infected dogs were eliminated whereas in the control valley, seropositive canines remained untouched. During the 12-month study period, human seropositivity rates, as measured by dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, increased from 15% to 54% in the intervention valleys and from 14% to 54% in the control valley. The elimination of infected canines in the intervention valleys did not result in a statistically significant difference between the incidences of human serological conversion in the intervention and control valleys at either 6 (20% and 22%, respectively; P = .5961) or 12 months (26% and 27%, respectively; P = .9442). The role of humans as a significant reservoir for AVL is proposed as an explanation for the study results.
Torsades de Pointes: 50 Years Later, Can We See It Coming?

> Prediction is very difficult, especially if it is about the future . > > — attributed to Niels Bohr and others This year marks the 50th anniversary of the description of torsades de pointes (TdP) by Dessertenne,1 an enigmatic form of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PMVT) with a distinctive fluctuating morphology that seems to magically twist around the baseline. See Article by Takasugi et al The beautiful elegance of classic electrocardiography stems from a remarkable history of keen observation and shrewd deductive reasoning. Dessertenne1 was a major contributor to this heritage, having become a distinguished scientist by being a meticulous observer of ECG tracings.2 His follow-up article of the same year focused on a painstaking description of TdP.3 The title’s proclamation of “A New Chapter of Electrocardiography” was not an understatement. On his description’s 25th anniversary, Dessertenne’s colleagues commended the demonstration that TdP is initiated by early after depolarizations, but lamented that understanding of TdP's mechanism of maintenance still remained elusive.2,4 Subsequently, ingenious research, naturally involving some controversy, has led to the understanding that the mechanism of TdP incorporates reentry within a substrate of inhomogeneous repolarization.5 TdP is the signature arrhythmia of long QT syndrome (LQTS). Other PMVTs have been labeled TdP, but in clinical classifications of PMVT, the label TdP has been restricted to refer only to PMVT occurring in the setting of LQTS.6–8 To complicate matters, patients with LQTS can have PMVT without a classic TdP pattern and when present, the classic pattern is often not apparent in every lead.9 Electric alternans is an every other beat variation in the ECG waveform.10 Hering11 first described electric alternans in 1908. Lewis12 was also fascinated. Electric alternans has long been appreciated to be an indicator of susceptibility to …
Students' web-based actions when linking theory and practice

This study used representational affordances of IT to trace meaning making as the semiotic actions of training teachers in a web-based educational practice. Eighteen weeks of asynchronous communications were analysed using mediated discourse analysis. Results showed a process orientation in communication. Students were exposed to a variety of experiences and opinions, helping them to find ways to relate to theory. The link between theory and practice was helped by strategies as: 1 building upon the collective - from I to we; 2 introducing a cultural or historical shift; 3 making 'different' known and shared by the group; 4 revisiting earlier established concepts from the course. Results point towards the importance to address design aspects of working with the impact of other's represented experience and 'distance' as representations of actions providing distance to self, practice and thought as pedagogical aspects of the web-based environment.
Surface Solid Dispersion and Solid Dispersion of Meloxicam: Comparison and Product Development

Purpose: A comparative study was carried out between surface solid dispersion (SSD) and solid dispersion (SD) of meloxicam (MLX) to assess the solubility and dissolution enhancement approach and thereafter develop as patient friendly orodispersible tablet. Methods: Crospovidone (CPV), a hydrophilic carrier was selected for SSD preparation on the basis of 89% in- vitro MLX adsorption, 19% hydration capacity and high swelling index. SD on the other hand was made with PEG4000. Both were prepared by co-grinding and solvent evaporation method using drug: carrier ratios of 1:1, 1:4, and 1:8. Formulation SSDS3 (MLX: CPV in 1:8 ratio) made by solvent evaporation method showed t50% of 28 min and 80.9% DE50min which was higher in comparison to the corresponding solid dispersion, SDS3 (t50% of 35min and 76.4% DE50min). Both SSDS3 and SDS3 were developed as orodispersible tablets and evaluated. Results: Tablet formulation F3 made with SSD3 with a disintegration time of 11 secs, by wetting time= 6 sec, high water absorption of 78%by wt and cumulative drug release of 97% proved to be superior than the tablet made with SD3. Conclusion: Conclusively, the SSD of meloxicam has the potential to be developed as fast acing formulation that can ensure almost complete release of drug.
Validation of the Japanese version of the Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire that includes physician-based assessments in a large observational cohort

The Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire (SLAQ) is a patient-reported outcome for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We aimed to translate it into Japanese and further investigate its validity and reliability. The English version of the SLAQ was translated into Japanese and administered to Japanese SLE patients at our university clinic. Physicians assessed disease activity using the SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K). The patients were prospectively followed for repeat assessment a year later. Ultimately, 255 patients participated. The patients’ 10-point ratings of disease activity and SLAQ scores were significantly correlated (Spearman’s ρ = 0.53). The SLAQ score was weakly correlated with the SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K)-nolab (omitting laboratory items; ρ = 0.18) but not with the SLEDAI-2K (ρ = 0.02). These results suggested its convergent and discriminant validity. The SLAQ demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.80), and good test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.85). The effect sizes and the standardized response means of the SLAQ were as follows: clinical worsening, 0.26 and 0.31, and improvement, −0.39 and −0.41, respectively, which indicated a small but significant responsiveness. The Japanese version of the SLAQ demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity; its performance was comparable to that of the original version.
Epidermal cell kinetics in lichen planus *

The epidermis in lichen planus presents an apparently paradoxical situation. There are on the one hand epidermal hypertrophy acanthosis and hypergranulosis, and on the other, destruction of the generative compartment with erosion of the basal layer. In order to understand how the two processes can co‐exist, thirty‐five lichen planus papules from twenty‐five patients were injected intracutaneously with IO μ Ci of tritiated thymidine. Sixteen of these lesions were removed after 50‐60 min and nineteen were removed after longer intervals of up to 10 days. Autoradiographs prepared from biopsied lesions demonstrated that keratinocytes had migrated into the lichen planus lesion from the intact margins, replaced the eroded basal layer and repopulated the epidermis of the lesion. It is concluded that the changes observed in the epidermis seen in lichen planus can be interpreted as the result of a continuous process of (1) erosion and (2) repopulation in an attempt at healing of the wounded area.
Psychotic Symptoms in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract Recent data suggest that the presence of psychotic symptoms in patients suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may represent an underrecognized and unique subtype of PTSD. Among combat veterans with PTSD, 30% to 40% report auditory or visual hallucinations and/or delusions. The presence of psychotic symptoms in PTSD is associated with a more severe level of psychopathology, similar to that of chronic schizophrenia. In this review, the differential diagnosis of psychotic symptoms in PTSD is discussed, including possible comorbid schizophrenia, psychotic depression, substance-induced psychosis, and personality disorder. A recent biologic study supporting the existence of a unique subtype of PTSD with psychotic features is also addressed, as are the similarities between PTSD with psychotic features and psychotic depression disorder. Finally, data on the treatment implications of psychotic symptoms in PTSD are presented. The intriguing recent findings on psychotic symptoms in PTSD need further investigation in noncombat-related PTSD populations before findings can be generalized to all individuals with PTSD.
The Relationship of Family Communication Patterns to Parental Mediation Styles

A telephone survey of parents (n = 216) of third-, sixth-, and ninth-grade children examined the relationship between reported family communication patterns and parental mediation styles. Concept orientation predicted parental involvement in both positive (endorsements of TV messages) and negative (counter-reinforcement of TV messages) mediation as well as critical discussion of a variety of issues with a child. Socio orientation predicted positive mediation and was associated with coviewing, but it was not related to the parental practice of either negative mediation or critical discussion. The results suggest that parents with an open communication style are more likely to make use of discussion-based intervention strategies applied to television. A parent's more control-oriented style translates into reinforcement of TV messages.
Differential BOLD responses to auditory target stimuli associated with a skin conductance response

Background: The orienting reflex (OR) is a fundamental biological mechanism thought to reflect automatic adaptive processing of environmental stimuli necessary for successful interaction with the environment. It has been hypothesized that the OR is generated in response to novelty such as in the case where a mismatch results between an internal neuronal template stored in working memory and incoming stimuli. Recent blood oxygenated level dependant (BOLD) activation studies that have investigated networks involved in the processing of novelty have suggested the recruitment of a distributed limbic-neocortical network. In the present study, event-related functional resonance imaging with simultaneous autonomic electrodermal activity was used to detect single trials of an auditory oddball task associated with the OR. Results: The pattern of activations indicated two distinct, but partially overlapping, networks. Predominantly, frontal activations were seen for the target stimuli that did elicit an OR, including the orbitofrontal gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus, as well as activations in the anterior thalamus and cerebellum. On contrary, parietal activations including the supramarginal gyrus and precuneus were seen for the target stimuli that that did not elicit an OR.
How consumers respond to product certification and the value of energy information

I study how consumers respond to competing pieces of information that differ in their degree of complexity and informativeness. In particular, I study the choice of refrigerators in the United States, where a mandatory disclosure labelling program provides detailed information about energy cost, and a certification labelling program provides a simple binaryâ€ star rating related to energy use. I find that the coarse certification may help some consumers to pay attention to energy information, but for others, it may crowd out efforts to process more accurate, but complex, energy information. The effect of the certification on overall energy use is thus ambiguous.
Prevalence of Sexual Trauma History Using Behaviorally Specific Methods of Assessment in First Year College Students

There are several challenges associated with evaluating the prevalence of sexual trauma, including child sexual abuse and adult sexual assault. The aim of this study was to assess sexual trauma prevalence rates among first year college students (N = 954) using behaviorally specific questions and a more representative recruitment sample that did not rely on self-selection. Participants completed a list of sexual trauma questions, including general questions containing labels such as “rape” or “abuse” as well as behaviorally specific questions that describe specific behaviors that qualify as sexual trauma without labels. Results indicated that 6.7% of the sample reported at least one incident of child sexual abuse, with similar rates for men and women. Women were more likely to report a history of adult sexual assault, which was reported by 12.4% of the total sample. Participants were also more likely to endorse a history of sexual trauma when answering behaviorally specific rather than general “label” questions. Women survivors in particular were more likely than men to identify their experiences as abuse/assault (66.7% versus 21.1% for child sexual abuse), which may help explain prevalence differences between men and women in prior research. Men may be less likely than women to label their experiences as abuse and may be underidentified in sexual trauma research without the use of behaviorally specific questions. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the prevalence of sexual trauma is better assessed using behaviorally specific questions and that this is an important topic of study among both men and women.
Meta-Analysis of Depressive Symptoms in Dual-Diagnosis Schizophrenia

Substance abuse is highly prevalent in schizophrenia and associated with numerous negative consequences. While studies have regularly reported more severe depressive symptoms in addicted schizophrenia patients relative to non-abusing patients, some studies have not corroborated this finding. The current meta-analysis was performed to quantify the relative severity of depressive symptoms in dual-diagnosis schizophrenia. A search of the literature using computerized engines was undertaken. Studies were retained in the analysis if (i) they assessed depressive symptoms using validated scales specific to depression (e.g. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale); and (ii) groups of schizophrenia patients were divided according to substance use disorders (alcohol, amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin and/or phencyclidine). According to the inclusion criteria, 20 studies were available for mathematical analysis. A small, positive and significant effect size estimate (n =3283; 1680 dual diagnosis; 1603 single diagnosis; adjusted Hedges's g =0.292; p =0.003) was obtained, within a random-effect model, suggesting that some dual-diagnosis patients experience more severe depressive symptoms than single-diagnosis patients. This significant difference was found only for studies using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale but not for other depression scales. The results of the present meta-analysis suggest that addicted schizophrenia patients experience more severe depressive symptoms compared to non-abusing patients, but that the difference is smaller than commonly assumed. The meta-analysis also shows that the significance of results is related to the scale used to measure depressive symptoms. These results have methodological implications for future studies of depressive symptoms in dual-diagnosis patients, and potential implications for the prevention and treatment of depressive symptoms in schizophrenia.