Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A preliminary study of the feasibility of wound telecare for the elderly

We have developed a method for remote wound assessment in the elderly. Wound images were taken with a digital camera at a resolution of 640×480 pixels. JPEG compression was then used to produce images of about 100 kByte. Selected clinical data were transmitted by email, together with standardized digital images of wounds. The remote physician then read the clinical data and viewed the digital images on a 38 cm colour display monitor, at a resolution of 800×600 pixels, in 16-bit colour, using standard software. Three elderly inpatients with pressure sores or leg ulcers had both bedside and remote examinations, by different physicians. The diagnosis and therapeutic recommendations proposed after each of the two examinations were compared qualitatively. There was reasonable agreement between the two physicians in the assessment of wound size, anatomical classification, wound bed and status of infection. However, the lack of palpation represented a major limitation to remote wound assessment, despite the use of probes to delineate the depth of any opening in the wound bed.
On a frequency-domain L2-stability condition for a class of switched linear systems

The paper is concerned with the L2-stability analysis of linear feedback systems described by integral equations and with a time-varying (more specifically, periodic switching) feedback gain. In contrast to Lyapunov approaches widely used in the literature of switched systems, a non-Lyapunov framework is employed in this paper. The results obtained are in the frequency domain, which can be (i) applied to higher-order systems and (ii) easily verified based on the phase plot of the plant, which are illustrated by examples.
Consequences of bile salt biotransformations by intestinal bacteria

ABSTRACT Emerging evidence strongly suggest that the human “microbiome” plays an important role in both health and disease. Bile acids function both as detergents molecules promoting nutrient absorption in the intestines and as hormones regulating nutrient metabolism. Bile acids regulate metabolism via activation of specific nuclear receptors (NR) and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). The circulating bile acid pool composition consists of primary bile acids produced from cholesterol in the liver, and secondary bile acids formed by specific gut bacteria. The various biotransformation of bile acids carried out by gut bacteria appear to regulate the structure of the gut microbiome and host physiology. Increased levels of secondary bile acids are associated with specific diseases of the GI system. Elucidating methods to control the gut microbiome and bile acid pool composition in humans may lead to a reduction in some of the major diseases of the liver, gall bladder and colon.
Longitudinal increases in waist circumference are associated with HIV-serostatus, independent of antiretroviral therapy

Background:The relative contributions of the different classes of antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV infection per se, and aging to body shape changes in HIV-infected patients have not been clearly defined in longitudinal studies. Methods:Since September 1999, men enrolled in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study have undergone measurements of body mass index (BMI) and body circumferences at each semi-annual visit. The effect of HIV-serostatus and cumulative exposure to the three major ART classes on changes in anthropomorphic measurements occurring between 1999 and 2004 among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected men were determined using linear mixed effects regression models. Results:At baseline, average BMI and circumference measurements were greater in HIV-uninfected men (n = 392) than HIV-infected men (n = 661) (BMI, 27.3 versus 25.3 kg/m2; waist, 96.4 versus 90.2 cm; hip 101.3 versus 95 cm, thigh 54.1 versus 50.8 cm; arm 33.3 versus 31.7 cm, P < 0.001 for each comparison). Cumulative nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) exposure, but not protease inhibitor or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor exposure, was associated with statistically significant changes in BMI (−0.11 ± 0.04 kg/m2 per year) and in circumferences of waist (−0.27 ± 0.07 cm/year), hip (−0.24 ± 0.05 cm/year), and thigh (−0.16 ± 0.03 cm/year) over the 5 years of follow-up. Independent of ART exposure, HIV-infected men had a more rapid increase in waist circumference over the study interval than did the HIV-uninfected men (difference 0.33 ± 0.15 cm/year, P = 0.02). Conclusion:Cumulative NRTI therapy was associated with longitudinal decreases in body circumference measurements, whereas HIV-serostatus was associated with increases in waist circumference independent of ART.
Stigma of mental illness, religious change, and explanatory models of mental illness among Jewish patients at a mental-health clinic in North Jerusalem

During 3 months in 2004, 38 recent referrals to a Community Mental Health Clinic in North Jerusalem, a substantially Ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, were evaluated by the Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue. This questionnaire, which includes a 13-item scale measuring stigma towards mental illness, was adapted and translated into Hebrew. Patients with a more religious upbringing expressed a greater sense of stigma towards mental illness; however, patients who now had a more religious affiliation did not. The 14 patients who had experienced a religious change toward a more religious affiliation reported a lower level of stigma than the 24 non-returnees. Even when controlling for religious upbringing, the partial correlation between stigma score and religious change was significant. Stigma was lower among younger but not older returnees. Findings from this study support the hypothesis that a stigma of mental illness may be a deterrent to the use of a public mental-health clinic for religious Jews in Israel. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish patients (especially non-Hasidic) used a nonreligious explanatory model (perception and understanding) of mental illness more often than a religious explanatory model. This last finding could reflect a shift in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities from a religious to a more medical and psychological explanatory model.
Sow body condition at weaning and reproduction performance in organic piglet production

Abstract The objective was to investigate the variation in backfat at weaning and its relations to reproduction results in organic sow herds in Denmark. The study included eight herds and 573 sows. The average backfat at weaning (mean = 13 mm; SD = 4.2 mm) ranging from 10.5 to 17.3 mm among herds shows that it is possible to avoid poor body condition at weaning even with a lactation length of seven weeks or more. No main effect of backfat at weaning on reproduction performance was found, but the probability of a successful reproduction after weaning tended to decrease with decreasing backfat for first parity sows, whereas the opposite was the case for multiparous sows.
Induction of interleukin-1β by mouse mammary tumor irradiation promotes triple negative breast cancer cells invasion and metastasis development

Abstract Purpose: Radiotherapy increases the level of inflammatory cytokines, some of which are known to promote metastasis. In a mouse model of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), we determined whether irradiation of the mammary tumor increases the level of key cytokines and favors the development of lung metastases. Materials and methods: D2A1 TNBC cells were implanted in the mammary glands of a Balb/c mouse and then 7 days old tumors were irradiated (4 × 6 Gy). The cytokines IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17 and MIP-2 were quantified in plasma before, midway and after irradiation. The effect of tumor irradiation on the invasion of cancer cells, the number of circulating tumor cells (CTC) and lung metastases were also measured. Results: TNBC tumor irradiation significantly increased the plasma level of IL-1β, which was associated with a greater number of CTC (3.5-fold) and lung metastases (2.3-fold), compared to sham-irradiated animals. Enhancement of D2A1 cell invasion in mammary gland was associated with an increase of the matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9 activity (MMP-2, -9). The ability of IL-1β to stimulate the invasiveness of irradiated D2A1 cells was confirmed by in vitro invasion chamber assays. Conclusion: Irradiation targeting a D2A1 tumor and its microenvironment increased the level of the inflammatory cytokine IL-1β and was associated with the promotion of cancer cell invasion and lung metastasis development.
Treating multiple sclerosis with natalizumab

Natalizumab is the first monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis. Pivotal trials demonstrated the efficacy of natalizumab on clinical and paraclinical measures of disease activity and disability progression. Although a direct comparison has not been performed yet, natalizumab seems to be more efficacious than the currently available immunomodulant drugs, such as IFN-β and glatiramer acetate. Despite its efficacy, the occurrence of an increased risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy with the treatment, raises concerns about its widespread use in multiple sclerosis patients. This paper provides an overview of the most relevant results from the Phase I–IV studies on natalizumab and highlights the challenges addressed to minimize and manage its adverse events in clinical practice.
Oxidized Low Density Lipoproteins Regulate Synthesis of Monkey Aortic Smooth Muscle Cell Proteoglycans That Have Enhanced Native Low Density Lipoprotein Binding Properties*

Oxidized low density lipoproteins (Ox-LDL) affect several biological processes involved in atherogenesis. However, it is not known whether Ox-LDL can regulate proteoglycan expression and thus affect arterial wall lipoprotein retention. This study evaluated whether Ox-LDL, as compared with native LDL, regulates proteoglycan expression by monkey arterial smooth muscle cells in vitroand whether proteoglycans synthesized in the presence of Ox-LDL exhibit altered lipoprotein binding properties. Ox-LDL stimulated glycosaminoglycan synthesis, as measured by35SO4 incorporation, by 30–50% over that of native LDL. The effect was maximal after 72 h of exposure to 5 μg/ml of Ox-LDL. The molecular sizes of versican, biglycan, and decorin increased in response to Ox-LDL, as indicated by size exclusion chromatography and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These effects could be mimicked by the lipid extract of Ox-LDL. These size increases were largely due to chain elongation and not to alterations in the ratio of 35SO4 to [3H]glucosamine incorporation. Affinity chromatography indicated that Ox-LDL stimulated the synthesis of proteoglycans with high affinity for native LDL. Ox-LDL also specifically stimulated mRNA expression for biglycan (but not versican or decorin), which was correlated with increased expression of secreted biglycan. Thus, Ox-LDL may influence lipoprotein retention by regulating synthesis of biglycan and also by altering glycosaminoglycan synthesis of vascular proteoglycans so as to enhance lipoprotein binding properties.
Controversies in the Treatment of Sepsis

Sepsis is a common illness of intensive care unit patients that carries a high morbidity, mortality, and increases hospital cost. Although mortality from sepsis remains high when compared with other critical illnesses, it has declined over the last few decades due to several adjunctive therapies and focused care programs or guidelines. Many interventions, such as early appropriate antibiotic therapy and lung protective, low tidal volume ventilation are commonplace and carry little controversy in their benefit. However, other therapies still have an unclear benefit and remain controversial. This article discusses the controversial roles of intensive insulin therapy, corticosteroids, and activated protein C in the treatment of sepsis.
Reinnervation by the contralateral facial nerve in patients with peripheral facial palsy

Introduction: Reinnervation activity is triggered after complete unilateral peripheral facial palsy (PFP). Methods: In 27 patients with PFP we recorded electromyographic activity with a concentric needle electrode inserted 1 cm lateral to the oral commissure of the affected side. We applied electrical stimuli to the unaffected (contralateral) facial nerve from the tragus to the mid‐lower lip and measured the response latency variability and segmental conduction velocity. Results: Responses to electrical stimulation of the unaffected facial nerve were found in all patients. Mean conduction velocity was 49.6 ± 6.2 m/s between tragus and oral commissure, and 6.0 ± 1.9 m/s between oral commissure and mid‐lower lip. Latency variability was 0.27 ms to facial nerve stimulation and 0.08 ms to oral commissure stimulation. Conclusion: Short distance sprouting of axons that innervate muscle fibers, which originate from the unaffected facial nerve, results in propagation of impulses to muscle fibers in the midline. Muscle Nerve 2011
Effects of pancrelipase on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease after pancreaticoduodenectomy

Postoperative nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) has recently become recognized. However, the pathoetiology of postoperative NAFLD is largely unknown. Furthermore, the optimal treatment has not been established. The aim of this prospective study was to clarify whether pancrelipase, which contains digestive pancreatic enzymes, could reverse NAFLD.
An analysis of two-population coevolutionary computation

Coevolutionary computation (CoEC) is the subfield of evolutionary computation (EC) centered around the notion of interaction among simultaneously evolving entities. While it promises important problem-solving advantages, coevolution also brings many challenges. A practitioner trying to use a coevolutionary algorithm (CoEA) to solve a problem is generally interested in how the choices made in designing the algorithm affect its performance on that particular problem. In other words, they would like to have information about the dependency: problem properties + algorithm properties → performance. For traditional evolutionary algorithms (EAs), our understanding of this dependency has reached reasonably satisfactory levels. For CoEAs it has not, as they have proven notoriously more complex and less intuitive. The main contribution of my dissertation is advancing the understanding of this dependency for traditional two-population coevolutionary algorithms. The way I achieve this is through extensive analysis that connects algorithm, problem and performance through one key aspect: dynamics. While the importance of understanding the dynamics of coevolutionary systems has been pointed out by previous research, this dissertation is the first study that "glues" all four pieces together. Additionally, an important feature of the analysis is that it spans subareas of CoEC that were previously studied independently (compositional cooperative and test-based competitive). It bridges them by identifying a problem property and introducing tools for analyzing this property that are applicable across subareas, thus providing a more holistic perspective of the field of CoEC. The analysis is performed both for previously unstudied aspects of CoEAs and for ones that have been investigated using other techniques. The power of the new analysis approach is particularly visible in the latter case, where it is shown to explain prior "mysterious" results.
Skin immunofluorescence in the diagnosis of primary bullous diseases—a review of 279 cases

Immunofluorescence (IF) findings are reviewed in 279 consecutive patients with a suspected primary bullous disorder (PBD), IF substantiated the diagnosis of PBD in 51%. The most frequent disorders were bullous pemphigoid (44%), dermatitis herpetiformis (25%) and pemphigus (13%) A diagnosis of PBD was refuted in 29% of cases with bullae; whereas 18% of cases presenting with an itchy papular eruption were shown to have a PBD.
Spatial Interpolation of Above-Ground Biomass in Labanan Concession Forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

This study applied a geostatistical approach to quantify above-ground biomass (AGB) of the Labanan Concession Forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Forest inventory data collected via transect sampling were converted to AGB, and two approaches of estimating the spatial distributions of biomass, the global and stratified approaches, were compared. The global approach does not take local varying structures into account, whereas the stratified approach accounts for the heterogeneity of land cover types. Thus, AGBs estimated from each land cover type were pooled for the stratified approach. Ordinary kriging was performed to predict AGB at unsampled locations. The total estimates of AGB and RMSCVEs for the global and stratified methods were 13,512,392.2 tons (161.92 ton/ha) and 13,607,205.5 tons (163.05 ton/ha), respectively, for AGB and 81.0 ton/ha and 81.2 ton/ha, respectively, for RMSCVE. Considering the different environmental conditions for each land cover type, the stratified method was expected to better capture the spatial structure particular to each land cover type, leading to more accurate estimates of AGB. However, the results suggest the degree of accuracy for the two methods was nearly similar.
Diabetes services in the UK: fourth national survey; are we meeting NSF standards and NICE guidelines?

Background: Previous surveys of children’s diabetes service provision in the UK have shown gradual improvements but continuing deficiencies. Aim: To determine whether further improvements in services have occurred. Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to all paediatricians in the UK identified as providing care for children and adolescents with diabetes. Responses were compared with results of three previous surveys, and with recommendations in the Diabetes NSF and the NICE type 1 diabetes guidelines. Results: Replies were received from 187 consultant paediatricians in 169 centres looking after children; 89% expressed a special interest in diabetes, 98% saw children in a designated diabetic clinic, and 95% clinics now have more than 40 patients. In 98% of the clinics there was a specialist nurse (82% now children’s trained), but 61% clinics had a nurse:patient ratio <1:100; 39% of clinics did not have a paediatric dietician and in 78% there was no access to psychology/psychiatry services in clinics. Glycated haemoglobin was measured routinely at clinics in 86%, annual screening for retinopathy performed in 80%, and microalbuminuria in 83%. All centres now have local protocols for ketoacidosis, but not for children undergoing surgery (90%) or severe hypoglycaemia (74%). Mean clinic HbA1c levels were significantly lower in the clinics run by specialists (8.9%) than generalists (9.4%). There have been incremental improvements over the last 14 years since the surveys began, but only two clinics met all the 10 previously published recommendations on standards of care. Conclusions: The survey shows continuing improvements in organisational structure of services for children with diabetes but serious deficiencies remain. Publication and dissemination of the results of the previous surveys may have been associated with these improvements and similar recurrent service review may be applicable to services for other chronic childhood conditions.
Results of a 12-month quality-circle prescribing improvement programme for GPs.

BACKGROUND The impact of a quality-circle GP prescribing improvement programme, implemented in France in 2001-2002, was assessed by a controlled study. The study involved all 27 GPs of three semi-rural areas of Brittany, France. Practice data (overall prescribing cost and markers of prescribing efficiency) were collated in an intention-to-treat analysis, using the Mann-Whitney U test. Twenty-four GPs attended the meetings regularly. The reduction in drug expenditure exceeded the cost of the programme, although variations in size effects were observed among the settings.
The efficacy of once weekly compared with two or three times weekly subcutaneous epoetin beta: results from a randomized controlled multicentre trial. Swedish Study Group.

BACKGROUND Anaemia in haemodialysis patients can be effectively treated with erythropoietin. We investigated whether subcutaneous (SC) epoetin ss administered once weekly was as effective as the same weekly dosage given in two to three divided doses. METHODS One hundred and fifty-eight patients (delivered Kt/V >1.0, where K=dialyser-renal urea clearance, t=dialysis time and V=filtration volume, obtained by urea kinetic modelling) were randomized to treatment with SC epoetin beta either once weekly (n=118), or to their original dosage two or three times weekly (control group, n=40) for 24 weeks. All patients received intravenous iron supplementation when necessary. RESULTS Eight-eight patients in the once weekly group and 30 patients in the control group were treated for at least 16 weeks and are included in the analysis. Stable haemoglobin levels were maintained without epoetin dose increases in 73% of patients in both groups. Mean haemoglobin levels at randomization and after 16 and 24 weeks were 11.4, 11.1 and 11.1 g/dl, respectively, in the once weekly group compared with 11.2, 11.3 and 11.2 g/dl, respectively, in the control group. The mean weekly epoetin beta dosages at randomization and after 16 and 24 weeks were 102, 103 and 106 IU/kg bodyweight, respectively, in the once weekly group compared with 109, 109 and 115 IU/kg bodyweight, respectively, in the control group. No statistically significant between-group differences were apparent for changes in haemoglobin levels or epoetin beta dosages at week 24. CONCLUSIONS Once weekly SC administration of epoetin beta is as safe and effective in maintaining haemoglobin levels in stable haemodialysis patients as two or three times weekly administration of the same total dose. By using the once weekly regimen, patients can avoid up to 104 injections per year. This would reduce clinic time for patients who do not self administer, and may also encourage self-administration and improve overall compliance.
Production of Bacteriocins in a Liquid Medium by Streptococcus mutans

A sterile-filtered, liquid medium composed of one-half-strength APT broth and 4% (wt/vol) yeast extract was found to support the production of bacteriocins by Streptococcus mutans strains BHT and GS-5. Culture supernatants, adjusted to pH 7.0 and sterilized by filtration, contained bacteriocin-like activity, which could be demonstrated by spotting dilutions onto top agar lawns seeded with Streptococcus pyogenes as the sensitive indicator and by adding dilutions to log-phase indicator broth cultures. A quantitative assay was developed for BHT bacteriocin, based on its lethal effects. Bacteriocin production did not occur until after the log phase of growth had ceased and was not inducible by ultraviolet irradiation or treatment with mitomycin C. Non-bacteriocinogenic clones of strain BHT occurred spontaneously at high frequency, suggesting control by a plasmid, but this frequency was not increased by treatment with the plasmid-curing agents acridine orange and ethidium bromide.