Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The clinical impact of a brief transition programme for young people with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: results of the DON'T RETARD project.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical impact of a brief transition programme for young people with JIA. METHODS The Devices for Optimization of Transfer and Transition of Adolescents with Rheumatic Disorders (DON'T RETARD) project is a mixed method project in which we first conducted a quasi-experimental study employing a one-group pre-test-post-test with a non-equivalent post-test-only comparison group design. In this quantitative study, we investigated clinical outcomes in patients with JIA and their parents who participated in the transition programme (longitudinal analyses). The post-test scores of this intervention group were compared with those of patients who received usual care (comparative analyses). Second, a qualitative study was conducted to explore the experiences of adolescents with JIA and their parents regarding their participation in the transition programme. RESULTS The primary hypothesis of improved physical (effect size 0.11), psychosocial (effect size 0.46) and rheumatic-specific health status (effect size ranging from 0.21 to 0.33), was confirmed. With respect to the secondary outcomes, improved quality of life (effect size 0.51) and an optimized parenting climate (effect size ranging from 0.21 to 0.28) were observed. No effect was measured in medication adherence (odds ratio 1.46). CONCLUSION Implementation of a transition programme as a brief intervention can improve the perceived health and quality of life of adolescents with JIA during the transition process, as well as the parenting behaviours of their parents. Based on the present study, a randomized controlled trial can be designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the transition programme.
Measuring the impact of Ebola control measures in Sierra Leone

Significance Between June 2014 and February 2015, thousands of Ebola treatment beds were introduced in Sierra Leone, alongside other infection control measures. However, there has been criticism of the timing and focus of this response, and it remains unclear how much it contributed to curbing the 2014–2015 Ebola epidemic. Using a mathematical model, we estimated how many Ebola virus disease cases the response averted in each district of Sierra Leone. We estimated that 56,600 (95% credible interval: 48,300–84,500) Ebola cases were averted in Sierra Leone as a direct result of additional treatment beds. Moreover, the number of cases averted would have been even greater had beds been available 1 month earlier. Between September 2014 and February 2015, the number of Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases reported in Sierra Leone declined in many districts. During this period, a major international response was put in place, with thousands of treatment beds introduced alongside other infection control measures. However, assessing the impact of the response is challenging, as several factors could have influenced the decline in infections, including behavior changes and other community interventions. We developed a mathematical model of EVD transmission, and measured how transmission changed over time in the 12 districts of Sierra Leone with sustained transmission between June 2014 and February 2015. We used the model to estimate how many cases were averted as a result of the introduction of additional treatment beds in each area. Examining epidemic dynamics at the district level, we estimated that 56,600 (95% credible interval: 48,300–84,500) Ebola cases (both reported and unreported) were averted in Sierra Leone up to February 2, 2015 as a direct result of additional treatment beds being introduced. We also found that if beds had been introduced 1 month earlier, a further 12,500 cases could have been averted. Our results suggest the unprecedented local and international response led to a substantial decline in EVD transmission during 2014–2015. In particular, the introduction of beds had a direct impact on reducing EVD cases in Sierra Leone, although the effect varied considerably between districts.
Taste and smell disturbance with the alpha-adrenoceptor agonist midodrine.

OBJECTIVE To report a case of a disturbance of taste and smell associated with the alpha-adrenoceptor agonist midodrine. CASE SUMMARY A 64-year-old white man with autonomic failure was started on midodrine 5 mg/day as treatment for orthostatic hypotension. After 3 months, the dose was increased to 12.5 mg/day, whereupon he noted a new onset of taste and smell disturbance. These symptoms made eating so unpleasant that the man greatly reduced his food intake, leading to significant weight loss. In addition, he experienced well-recognized adverse effects of midodrine, such as scalp pruritus, after the dose increase. All symptoms resolved with a dose reduction of midodrine (to 5 mg/day), and the patient increased his food intake, resulting in a return to his initial body weight. DISCUSSION Midodrine is commonly associated with dose-dependent adverse effects, such as scalp pruritus and cutis anserina. Disorders of taste and smell have not been previously reported with midodrine, although it has been suggested that other sympathomimetic drugs may have effects on the olfactory threshold. Severe disorders of taste and smell may impact not only on a patient's quality of life, but also on their physical well-being, with significant weight loss being reported in this case. According to the Naranjo probability scale, this patient's taste and smell disturbance was probably associated with midodrine. CONCLUSIONS The use of midodrine may be associated with taste and smell disturbance. This case suggests that such an association is likely to be dose dependent.
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Alzheimer's Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND The application of non-invasive proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) could potentially identify changes in cerebral metabolites in the patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, whether these metabolites can serve as biomarkers for the diagnosis of AD remains unclear. OBJECTIVE Using meta-analysis, we aimed to investigate the patterns of cerebral metabolite changes in several cerebral regions that are strongly associated with cognitive decline in AD patients. METHODS Using Hedges' g effect size, a systematic search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Ovid, Embase, and EBSCO, and 38 studies were integrated into the final meta-analysis. RESULTS According to the observational studies, N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) in AD patients was significantly reduced in the posterior cingulate (PC) (effect size (ES) =-0.924, p < 0.005) and bilateral hippocampus (left hippocampus: ES =-1.329, p < 0.005; right hippocampus: ES =-1.287, p < 0.005). NAA/Cr (creatine) ratio decreased markedly in the PC (ES =-1.052, p < 0.005). Simultaneously, significant elevated myo-inositol (mI)/Cr ratio was found not only in the PC but also in the parietal gray matter. For lack of sufficient data, we failed to elucidate the efficacy of pharmacological interventions with the metabolites changes. CONCLUSION The available data indicates that NAA, mI, and the NAA/Cr ratio might be potential biomarkers of brain dysfunction in AD subjects. Choline (Cho)/Cr and mI/NAA changes might also contribute toward the diagnostic process. Thus, large, well-designed studies correlated with cerebral metabolism are needed to better estimate the cerebral extent of alterations in brain metabolite levels in AD patients.
Primary open-angle glaucoma: association with cholesterol 24S-hydroxylase (CYP46A1) gene polymorphism and plasma 24-hydroxycholesterol levels.

PURPOSE Genetics has made significant contributions to the study of glaucoma over the past few decades. Cholesterol-24S-hydroxylase (CYP46A1) is a cholesterol-metabolizing enzyme that is especially expressed in retinal ganglion cells. CYP46A1 and its metabolic product, 24S-hydroxycholesterol, have been linked to neurodegeneration. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the CYP46A1 gene, designated as rs754203 and associated with Alzheimer disease, was evaluated as a genetic risk factor for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), as well as plasma 24S-hydroxycholesterol levels. METHODS The frequency of the CYP46*C and CYP46*T alleles was analyzed in 150 patients with POAG and 118 control subjects. Plasma 24S-hydroxycholesterol levels were quantified. Sex, age, alleles, and genotype frequencies between patients with POAG and control subjects were compared by using the chi(2) and Student's t-tests. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by logistic regression to assess the relative association between disease and age, sex, and genotypes. RESULTS The frequency of the TT genotype was significantly higher in patients with POAG than in control subjects (61.3% versus 48.3%, respectively, OR = 1.26; 95% CI = 1.006-1.574, P < 0.05). Plasma 24S-hydroxycholesterol levels did not differ between control subjects and patients with POAG. The ratio of estimated brain weight to liver volume as an estimate of the capacity of the human body to synthesize and metabolize 24S-hydroxycholesterol was found to correlate to plasma 24S-hydroxycholesterol in control subjects and patients with POAG. CONCLUSIONS The rs754203 SNP in CYP46A1 was associated with a risk for POAG. This polymorphism was not associated with changes in plasma 24S-hydroxycholesterol, highlighting that despite its retinal origin, 24S-hydroxycholesterol cannot be used as a biomarker for POAG.
The effectiveness of assessment and referral on immunization coverage in the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children.

BACKGROUND The use of immunization assessment and referral (A/R) in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has been shown to produce dramatic improvements in vaccination coverage when coupled with parental incentive; however, data are lacking to support the use of A/R alone. OBJECTIVE To determine the effectiveness of A/R in increasing immunization coverage among WIC participants. DESIGN Participating WIC centers were assigned to1 of 3 interventions that delivered A/R of varying frequency or a control group. SETTING Twenty of the largest Public Health Foundation Enterprises-WIC centers in Los Angeles County. PARTICIPANTS Children continuously enrolled in participating WIC centers from 6 to 24 months of age. INTERVENTION Assessment of child's vaccination status followed by referral to a health care provider for those lacking indicated vaccinations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Up-to-date (UTD) status at 24 months of age for all recommended vaccines. RESULTS Baseline coverage rates were similar among all study sites (overall, 77% UTD). After the study period, compared with the controls (88% UTD), we found no differences in immunization coverage among WIC centers that administered A/R at every visit (every 2 months) to all children (90% UTD; adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54-1.94), every 6 months to all children (89% UTD; OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.62-1.56), or every visit to children found to be behind at 8 months of age (89% UTD; OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.48-1.68). CONCLUSION In this urban population of WIC children with high baseline immunization coverage, A/R was not effective in increasing immunization coverage.
How do you know I was about to say “book”? Anticipation processes affect speech processing and lexical recognition

Most event-related brain potential (ERP) studies that showed the role of anticipation processes during sentence processing focused on reading. However, in everyday conversation speech unfolds at higher speed; the present study examines whether comprehenders anticipate words when processing auditory sentences. In high-constrained Spanish sentences, we time-locked ERPs on the article preceding the critical noun, which was muted to avoid overlapping effects. Articles that mismatched the gender of the expected nouns triggered an early (200–280 ms) and a late negativity (450–900 ms), suggesting that anticipation processes are at play also during speech processing. A subsequent lexical recognition task revealed that (muted) “expected” words were (falsely) recognised significantly more often than (muted) “unexpected” words, and as often as “old” words that were actually presented. These results suggest that anticipation processes allow creating a memory trace of a word prior to presentation. The findings support a top-down view of spoken sentence comprehension.
Patient-Reported Outcomes and Satisfaction After Total Skin-Sparing Mastectomy and Immediate Expander-Implant Reconstruction

BackgroundTotal skin-sparing mastectomy (TSSM) with preservation of the nipple-areolar complex skin has become more widely accepted. Few studies looking at outcomes after TSSM and immediate reconstruction have focused on patient-reported outcomes and trends in satisfaction over time. MethodsProspective evaluation of patients undergoing TSSM and immediate expander-implant reconstruction was performed. Patients completed the BREAST-Q questionnaire preoperatively and again at 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively. Mean scores in each BREAST-Q domain were assessed at each time point. Domains were scored on a 0- to 100-point scale. ResultsSurvey completion rate was 55%; BREAST-Q scores were calculated from responses from 28 patients. Mean overall satisfaction with breasts declined at 1 month (69.8 to 46.1, P < 0.001), but then returned to baseline by 1 year. Mean scores also declined at 1 month in the psychosocial (75.7–67.4, P = 0.2) and sexual (58.3–46.7, P = 0.06) domains, but returned to baseline by 1 year. Mean nipple satisfaction score was 76.4 at 1 year, with 89% of patients reporting satisfaction with nipple appearance. Satisfaction with nipple position and sensation was lower, with only 56% of patients reporting satisfaction with nipple position and 40% with nipple sensation. ConclusionsAfter TSSM and immediate reconstruction, patient satisfaction with their breasts, as well as psychosocial and sexual well-being, returns to baseline by 1 year. Although overall nipple satisfaction is high, patients often report dissatisfaction with nipple position and sensation; appropriate preoperative counseling is important to set realistic expectations.
Lloyd Morgan ' s Canon

"Perhaps the most quoted statement in the history of comparative psychology is Lloyd Morgan's canon" (Dewsbury, 1984, p. 187). To this it can be added that perhaps the most misrepresented statement in the history of comparative psychology is Lloyd Morgan's canon. Apparently a version of Morgan's canon was first published in 1892 (Dixon, 1892; Morgan, 1892). However, the most cited version of the canon is from the first edition of An Introduction to Comparative Psychology (Morgan, 1894): "In no case may we interpret an action as the outcome of the exercise of a higher psychical faculty, if it ~an be interpreted as the outcome of the exercise of one which stands lower in·the psychological scale" (p. 53). In later editions, Morgan made it clear that "psychological processes" could be substituted for psychical faculties. 1
An Empirical Study of Activity, Popularity, Size, Testing, and Stability in Continuous Integration

A good understanding of the practices followed by software development projects can positively impact their success — particularly for attracting talent and on-boarding new members. In this paper, we perform a cluster analysis to classify software projects that follow continuous integration in terms of their activity, popularity, size, testing, and stability. Based on this analysis, we identify and discuss four different groups of repositories that have distinct characteristics that separates them from the other groups. With this new understanding, we encourage open source projects to acknowledge and advertise their preferences according to these defining characteristics, so that they can recruit developers who share similar values.
Field and laboratory methods in human milk research

Human milk is a complex and variable fluid of increasing interest to human biologists who study nutrition and health. The collection and analysis of human milk poses many practical and ethical challenges to field workers, who must balance both appropriate methodology with the needs of participating mothers and infants and logistical challenges to collection and analysis. In this review, we address various collection methods, volume measurements, and ethical considerations and make recommendations for field researchers. We also review frequently used methods for the analysis of fat, protein, sugars/lactose, and specific biomarkers in human milk. Finally, we address new technologies in human milk research, the MIRIS Human Milk Analyzer and dried milk spots, which will improve the ability of human biologists and anthropologists to study human milk in field settings. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Control of Carbon and Electron Flow in Clostridium acetobutylicum Fermentations: Utilization of Carbon Monoxide to Inhibit Hydrogen Production and to Enhance Butanol Yields

Extracts prepared from non-solvent-producing cells of Clostridium acetobutylicum contained methyl viologen-linked hydrogenase activity (20 U/mg of protein at 37°C) but did not display carbon monoxide dehydrogenase activity. CO addition readily inhibited the hydrogenase activity of cell extracts or of viable metabolizing cells. Increasing the partial pressure of CO (2 to 10%) in unshaken anaerobic culture tube headspaces significantly inhibited (90% inhibition at 10% CO) both growth and hydrogen production by C. acetobutylicum. Growth was not sensitive to low partial pressures of CO (i.e., up to 15%) in pH-controlled fermentors (pH 4.5) that were continuously gassed and mixed. CO addition dramatically altered the glucose fermentation balance of C. acetobutylicum by diverting carbon and electrons away from H2, CO2, acetate, and butyrate production and towards production of ethanol and butanol. The butanol concentration was increased from 65 to 106 mM and the butanol productivity (i.e., the ratio of butanol produced/total acids and solvents produced) was increased by 31% when glucose fermentations maintained at pH 4.5 were continuously gassed with 85% N2-15% CO versus N2 alone. The results are discussed in terms of metabolic regulation of C. acetobutylicum saccharide fermentations to achieve maximal butanol or solvent yield.
Poor knowledge of colorectal cancer in Brunei Darussalam.

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common gastrointestinal cancer and the incidence is increasing in many developing countries. While it can be detected early and even prevented through screening and removal of premalignant lesions, there are barriers to screening which include low level of knowledge and awareness of CRC. This study assessed the level of knowledge of CRC in Brunei Darussalam. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 431 (262 male and 161 female) subjects participated in this questionnaire study. Subjects were scored on their knowledge of signs/symptoms (maximum 10 correct answers) and known risk factors for CRC (maximum 10 correct answers) and were categorised into poor (0-2), moderate (3-4) and satisfactory (5-10). Comparisons were made between the various patient factors. RESULTS Overall, 54.1% could not name any CRC signs/symptoms or associated risk factors. Most were not aware of any screening modalities. The overall scores for CRC signs/symptoms and risk factors were 1.3±1.39 (range 0-6) and 0.6±1.05 (range 0-5) respectively. Overall, the breakdown of scores was: poor (78.1%), moderate (20.3%) and satisfactory (6.2%) for signs/symptoms and poor (93.2%), moderate (6.2%) and satisfactory (0.7%) for risk factors. Higher level of education, female gender and non-Malay race were associated with higher scores for both signs/symptoms and knowledge of screening modality; however the overall scores were low. CONCLUSIONS Our study showed that the general knowledge of CRC in Brunei Darussalam is poor. Being female, with higher levels of education and non-Malay race were associated with higher scores, but they were still generally poor. More needs to be done to increase the public knowledge and awareness of CRC.
High-Resolution and Analytical Transmission Electron Microscopy of Mineral Disorder and Reactions

Crystal defects and chemical reactions occurring at scales beyond the resolution of light microscopes have major effects on the chemical and physical properties of rocks and minerals. High-resolution imaging, diffraction, and chemical analysis in the transmission electron microscope have become important methods for exploring mineral defect structures and reaction mechanisms and for studying the distribution of phases resulting from reactions. These techniques have shown that structural disorder is common in some rock-forming minerals but rare in others. They have also established mechanisms by which many reactions occur at the atomic cluster scale. These data thus provide an atomistic basis for understanding the kinetics of geological reactions. Furthermore, apparent major-element, minor-element, and trace-element chemistry of minerals can be influenced by submicroscopic inclusions or intergrowths, which commonly form as products of solid-state reactions.
Development and Update of Guidelines to Perform and Report Partial Least Squares Path Modeling in Information Systems Research

Partial least squares (PLS) path modeling has been widely and dominantly used in the field of Information Systems (IS) during decades. The usage and prescriptions for performing PLS path modeling has been recently examined, debated, and improved, which have generated substantial changes, contributions, and developments (e.g., composite models, confirmatory composite analysis, bootstrap-based test of overall model fit evaluation) on a separate manner that requires a holistic piece of work to guide IS scholars. This paper introduces PLS path modeling to be skilled to perform and report a high quality PLS analysis by following the latest suggested standards. We provide a constructive and illustrative example on a model on business value of social media in companies using data simulated for 300 observations to explain the latest contributions in PLS path modeling. The key contribution of this manuscript is the description, position, explanation, development, and illustration at the user-level, of the when, why, and how to perform a high-quality PLS estimation by following the latest standards suggested in prior methodological literature on PLS path modeling.