Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Equity in the diagnosis of chest pain: race and gender.

OBJECTIVE To explore gender and racial equity in emergency room treatment of chest pain. METHODS Three hundred seventy-nine patient records were analyzed, taking into account effects of age, clinic, comorbid status, and insurance status. RESULTS Analysis of covariance and logistic regression revealed statistically significant differences between races but not between genders for time to first EKG and percent of patients receiving cardiac catheterization and echocardiography. Blacks waited longer than whites for an EKG and were less likely to receive cardiac catheterizations but more likely to receive echocardiography. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates a lack of equity by race in treatment of chest pain emergencies.
ARE WARNING COLORS HANDICAPS?

The handicap theory, in which the cost of waste guarantees honest advertising, is being used increasingly in solutions to the problems of biological signal evolution. However, it is usually applied to systems which are insufficiently understood to allow testing against alternative theories. In particular, the ability of the handicap theory to explain the design of signals has never been properly tested. We test its ability to explain signal design features in an unusually well studied area of biological signalling: warning coloration and mimicry. Since a full handicap model proves immediately unrealistic, we modify the model to incorporate realistic assumptions about predator learning. Using this model we explicitly compare the handicap theory with a purely “conventional” signalling model and with a null model. Predictions relating to three key design features (conspicuousness, pattern similarity, and Batesian mimicry) are compared, and tested against available data. Although many predictions remain to be tested adequately, we conclude that: (i) conspicuousness is most plausibly explained by the conventional signalling theory that ascribes the function of conspicuous coloration to signal efficacy rather than waste; (ii) pattern similarity, within and between species, is unlikely to be the result of the need to produce similar degrees of conspicuousness, as predicted by the handicap theory, but is plausibly explained as the result of pattern generalization amongst discriminating predators, as predicted by the conventional signalling theory; and (iii) Batesian mimicry is predicted by the conventional signalling theory, but not the handicap theory. Therefore the handicap theory fails to provide an adequate explanation of the main design features of at least one major signalling system.
Helicobacter pylori VacA Induces Programmed Necrosis in Gastric Epithelial Cells

ABSTRACT Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative bacterium that colonizes the human stomach and contributes to the development of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. The secreted pore-forming toxin VacA is one of the major virulence factors of H. pylori. In the current study, we show that AZ-521 human gastric epithelial cells are highly susceptible to VacA-induced cell death. Wild-type VacA causes death of these cells, whereas mutant VacA proteins defective in membrane channel formation do not. Incubation of AZ-521 cells with wild-type VacA results in cell swelling, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activation, decreased intracellular ATP concentration, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. VacA-induced death of these cells is a caspase-independent process that results in cellular release of histone-binding protein high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a proinflammatory protein. These features are consistent with the occurrence of cell death through a programmed necrosis pathway and suggest that VacA can be included among the growing number of bacterial pore-forming toxins that induce cell death through programmed necrosis. We propose that VacA augments H. pylori-induced mucosal inflammation in the human stomach by causing programmed necrosis of gastric epithelial cells and subsequent release of proinflammatory proteins and may thereby contribute to the pathogenesis of gastric cancer and peptic ulceration.
Wound healing properties and kill kinetics of Clerodendron splendens G. Don, a Ghanaian wound healing plant

As part of our general objective of investigating indigenous plants used in wound healing in Ghana, we hereby report our findings from some in vitro and in vivo studies related to wound healing activities of Clerodendron splendens G. Don (Verbanaceae). Methanolic extract of the aerial parts of the plant was tested for antimicrobial activity against Gram positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis, Micrococcus flavus, as well as resistant strains of Staph. aureus SA1199B, RN4220 and XU212), Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteous mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae) and Candida albicans using the micro-well dilution method. Survivor–time studies of the microorganisms, radical scavenging activity using 2,2’-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and various in vivo wound healing activity studies were also conducted on the extract. The extract exhibited biostatic action against all the test microorganisms with a Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) ranging between 64 and 512 μg/ml and a free radical scavenging property with an IC50 value of 103.2 μg/ml. The results of the in vivo wound healing tests showed that upon application of C. splendens ointment, there was a reduction in the epithelization period from 26.7 days (control) to 13.6 days along with a marked decrease in the scar area from 54.2 mm2 (control) to 25.2 mm2. Significant increase in the tensile strength and hydroxyproline content were also observed as compared to the control and was comparable to nitrofurazone. The above results appear to justify the traditional use of C. splendens in wound healing and treatment of skin infections in Ghana.
Tumorigenicity of human hematopoietic cell lines in athymic nude mice

Human hematopoietic cell lines, which had been classified on the basis of studies on clonality, and morphological, chromosomal and functional parameters as lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) of presumed non‐neoplastic origin, and lymphoma, myeloma and leukemia lines of proven malignant origin, were tested for tumorigenic potential on subcutaneous transplantation to nude mice and for capacity to grow in semi‐solid medium in vitro Recently established LCL failed to grow both in nude mice and in agarose. In contrast, some of the LCL which had developed secondary chromosomal alterations during continuous cultivation for periods exceeding several years were tumorigenic and/or had the capacity to form colonies in agarose. Most lymphoma lines formed colonies in agarose and tumors in the mice. One of the two myeloma lines formed subcutaneous tumor which, however, showed no progressive growth. The other myeloma line failed to grow. Both myeloma lines, however, formed colonies in agarose. The myeloid leukemia line was tumorigenic while two of the three tested lymphocytic leukemia lines failed to grow in the mice. All leukemia lines formed colonies in agarose. We conclude from this study that: (1) Of the two types of Epstein‐Barr virus containing cell lines [LCL and Burkitt lymphoma (BL) lines], only BL lines were shown to form tumors when inoculated subcutaneously in nude mice and had the capacity to grow in agarose in vitro. This shows that EBV transformation per se does not necessarily render lymphocytes tumorigenic in nude mice. The capacity to form colonies in agarose is not acquired either. (2) Changes of the karyotype and several phenotypic characteristics which occur in the originally diploid LCL during prolonged cultivation in vitro may be accompanied by the acquisition of the potential to grow subcutaneously in nude mice and in agarose in vitro. (3) The inconsistency with regard to the capacity of some of the neoplastic cell lines to grow in nude mice or in agarose seems to underline that neither of the two tests is a reliable criterion for malignancy of human lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma cell lines.
Signal-averaged P-wave duration does not predict atrial fibrillation after thoracic surgery.

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common dysrhythmia seen early after major thoracic surgery but occurs infrequently after minor thoracic or other operations. A prolonged signal-averaged P-wave duration (SAPWD) has been shown to be an independent predictor of AF after cardiac surgery. The authors sought to determine whether a prolonged SAPWD alone or in combination with clinical or echocardiographic correlates predicts AF after elective noncardiac thoracic surgery. METHODS Of the 250 patients enrolled, 228 were included in the final analysis. Preoperative SAPWD was obtained in 155 patients who had major thoracic surgery and in 73 patients undergoing minor thoracic or other operations who served as comparison control subjects. The SAPWD was recorded from three orthogonal leads using a sinus P-wave template. The filtered vector composite was used to measure total P-wave duration. Clinical, surgical, and echocardiographic parameters were collected and patients followed for 30 days after surgery for the development of symptomatic AF. RESULTS Symptomatic AF developed in 18 of 155 (12%) patients undergoing major thoracic surgery and in 1 of 73 (1%) patients having minor thoracic or abdominal surgery, most commonly 2 or 3 days after surgery. In comparison with similar patients undergoing major thoracic surgery without AF, those who developed AF were older (66+/-8 vs. 62+/-10 yr; P = 0.04) but did not differ in SAPWD (145+/-17 vs. 147+/-16, ms) in standard electrocardiographic P-wave duration (105+/-7 vs. 107+/-10 mns), incidence of left-ventricular hypertrophy on 12-lead electrocardiography, male sex, history of hypertension, diabetes, or coronary heart disease. Thoracic-surgery patients at risk for postoperative AF did not differ from all other patients at low risk for AF in clinical or SAPWD parameters. CONCLUSIONS Under the conditions of this study, SAPWD did not differentiate patients who did or did not develop AF after noncardiac thoracic surgery, and therefore its measurement cannot be recommended for the routine evaluation of these patients. Older age continues to be a risk factor for AF after thoracic surgery.
Severe Aplastic Anemia with Autoimmune Thyroiditis Showing No Hematological Response to Intensive Immunosuppressive Therapy

A 39-year-old woman with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) was transferred to our institution. She also had autoimmune thyroiditis with several positive autoantibodies. Clonal or oligoclonal T-cell proliferation was demonstrated by determining the size distribution of the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) of T-cell receptor β-chain (TCR-Vβ) subfamilies in the patient’s bone marrow and peripheral blood cells. The results suggested that hematopoiesis was suppressed by immune-mediated mechanisms. Immunosuppressive therapy for SAA using cyclosporin A (CsA) alone or concurrent CsA and antithymocyte globulin (ATG) failed to induce a hematological response. The intensity of the autoantibodies, however, partially decreased during this period. In addition, the CD4/CD8 ratio was inverted after immunosuppressive therapy. These observations indicate that, in a subset of SAA, immune-mediated hematopoietic suppression cannot be successfully treated by conventional immunosuppressive therapy, even though a substantial improvement in the underlying immunological changes can be achieved. Other therapies such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or more intensified repeated ATG therapy may be necessary for such patients.
Sensitivity Analysis for L-Band Polarimetric Descriptors and Fusion for Urban Land Cover Change Detection

A fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) image allows the generation of a number of polarimetric descriptors. These descriptors are sensitive to changes in land use and cover. Thus, the objective of this study is twofold: first, to identify the most effective descriptors for each change type and ascertain the best complementary pairs from the selected polarimetric descriptors; and second, to develop an information fusion approach to use the unique features found in each polarimetric descriptor to obtain a better change map for urban and suburban environments. The effectiveness of each descriptor was assessed through statistical analysis of the sensitivity index in selected areas and through change detection results obtained by using the supervised thresholding method. A good agreement was found between the statistical analysis and the performance of each descriptor. Finally, a polarimetric information fusion method based on the coupling of modified thresholding with a region-growing algorithm was implemented for the identified complementary descriptor pairs. The mapping accuracy, as measured by the Kappa coefficient, was improved by 0.09 (from 0.76 to 0.85) with a significant reduction of false and missing alarm rates compared to using single PolSAR images.
Microwave coagulation therapy: Ex vivo comparison of MR imaging and histopathology

We compared the findings of magnetic resonance (MR) images and pathological examination to determine whether or not MR images reflect pathological changes following microwave coagulation therapy (MCT) on liver tissue. We used microwave (generating frequency 2450 Mhz, wave length 12 cm, output 50 W, 60 second duration) to irradiate six canine livers under general anesthesia. After the animals were sacrificed, the livers were resected. The irradiated regions were cut with margins and divided into two pieces, one for MR study, and the other for pathological examination. The findings were compared. From the center to the marginal layer, the irradiated region presented 4/3 laminal patterns on T1/T2‐weighted images: low/high, high/low, very high/high, and iso‐low/high intensity. On gradient‐echo imaging, the irradiated regions presented no decreasing signals using several echo time lengths. With hematoxylin and eosin stain, MR laminar patterns reflected the histopathological changes, as follows: a tissue loss area surrounding the inserted needle, low/high; decreased sinusoidal width with/without necrotic tissue, high/low; sinusoidal width dilation at the periphery, very high/high; and fatty degenerated tissue surrounding the irradiated area at the boundary of the normal hepatocytes, iso‐low/high. The MR signal intensity, which reflected the histopathological changes, presented tissue characterization after MCT, and the macromolecular hydration effect influenced the high intensity on T1‐weighted images. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2000;11:168–173. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An analysis of measured and estimated creatinine clearance rates in normal weight, overweight, and obese patients with gynecologic cancers

Study objective: Different equations used to estimate creatinine clearance (Clcr) in obese oncology patients can produce divergent estimated creatinine clearance values, which in turn can result in significantly different calculated carboplatin doses. Standardization of the calculation of creatinine clearance in patients of all body types is a desirable goal. The objective of our study was to examine the impact of increasing body mass index on the accuracy of creatinine clearance estimation methods and to determine the optimal equation for creatinine clearance estimation in the obese adult female cancer patient. Design: Retrospective data analysis. Patients: We compared the estimated creatinine clearance values produced by each of 11 equations to 24-hour creatinine clearance values measured in 119 adult female patients with gynecologic cancers grouped according to body composition. Measurements and main results: We applied simple linear regression and Tukey mean-difference analysis to assess the relationship between estimated creatinine clearance values produced by these equations and measured creatinine clearance values for each patient. The relationship between measured creatinine clearance and estimated creatinine clearance produced by all equations displayed lower linear regression R2 values and higher limits of agreement in obese patients than in nonobese groups. Agreement between measured and estimated creatinine clearance produced by the Cockcroft-Gault equation is sensitive to the particular weight parameter incorporated and is lowest using ideal weight or actual body weight. The Cockcroft-Gault equation incorporating an intermediate weight value reduced estimation bias. The Jelliffe equation produced the lowest R2 values. Conclusion: Available model equations are less reliable for predicting creatinine clearance in obese female cancer patients (body mass index >30) than in nonobese patients. A measured glomerular filtration rate or creatinine clearance value is most accurate in obese female cancer patients. When using Cockcroft-Gault equation for estimation in this patient population, however, an intermediate weight value (adjusted or modified-adjusted) rather than ideal or actual body weight should be used.
ULTRASONIC ASSESSMENT OF THERMALTHERAPY IN RAT LIVER

A of Ele Urbana kemme Abstract—One way to assess the efficacy of thermal therapy is to quantify changes in tissue properties through ultrasonic interrogation, which requires knowledge of the acoustic properties of thermally treated tissues. In this study, estimates of ultrasonic attenuation, speed of sound, backscatter coefficient (BSC), and scattering property estimates were generated from rat liver samples submersed for 10 minutes in a saline bath that was heated to one of seven temperature values over a range of 37–70 C. The attenuation coefficient increasedmonotonically with exposure temperature, with a maximum increase of 90%. Speed of sound changed by,1% for the different treatment conditions. The BSC had close agreement for all thermal doses over the frequency range of 8–15MHz. Above this frequency range, samples heated $55 C demonstrated an increased BSC slope, and the effective scatterer diameter and effective acoustic concentration were able to distinguish treated from nontreated cases. The findings suggest that attenuation and either BSCs or scatterer property estimates above 15 MHz were sensitive to tissue changes in excised liver caused by thermal therapy. (E-mail: kemmere1@illinois.edu) Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.
Contraceptive use by 15-year-old students at their last sexual intercourse: results from 24 countries.

OBJECTIVES To identify and report cross-national patterns in contraceptive use among sexually active adolescents. DESIGN A cross-national cross-sectional survey. SETTING Data were collected in 2002 by self-report questionnaire from students in school classrooms. PARTICIPANTS A cluster sample of 33,943 students aged 15 years from 24 countries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES International standardized questions on ever having had sexual intercourse and contraceptive use at last sexual intercourse. RESULTS The percentages of students reporting having had sexual intercourse ranged from 14.1% in Croatia to 37.6% in England; 82.3% of those who were sexually active reported that they used condoms and/or birth control pills at last intercourse. Condom use only was most frequent and ranged from 52.7% in Sweden to 89.2% in Greece. Dual use of condoms and contraceptive pills was also relatively frequent, ranging from 2.6% in Croatia to 28.8% in Canada. The use of contraceptive pills was most frequent in northern and western Europe. No contraceptive use at last intercourse was reported by 13.2% of students. CONCLUSIONS A substantial minority of 15-year-olds have engaged in sexual intercourse. Condom use is the most frequent method of contraception reported by the sexually active respondents, followed by the dual use of condoms and contraceptive pills and contraceptive pills only. The proportions of poorly protected and unprotected youth remain high, and attention to international policy and practice determinants of young sexual behavior and contraceptive use is required.
“Making Up for Lost Time”: The Transition Experiences of Nontraditional Black Male Undergraduates

This qualitative study investigated the academic and social experiences and life events that propelled 13 Black male nontraditional undergraduates to transition back to college and explored the various programs and institutional agents these men used once on campus. Findings indicated that participant’s faced challenges with college as traditional-aged students due to being under and over involved with social activities on campus or choosing to pursue a work career. As a result, participants had either delayed entry into college or dropped out as traditional-aged students. However, participants transitioned back to college due to wanting to make up for not completing their degree earlier in life, needing to increase their employment opportunities, and wanting to prove their doubters wrong. Finally, findings indicated that while the men found support from certain professors on their campuses, there were few targeted programs specifically for nontraditional students on campus. Recommendations on how to support nontraditional Black male students are provided.
Content analysis model to analyze facets of social mission of public library on the Facebook and in the websites

In this paper we present the development and the implementation of a content analysis model for observing aspects relating to the social mission of the public library on Facebook pages and websites. The model is unique and it was developed from the literature. There were designed the four categories for analysis Generate social capital and social cohesion, Consolidate democracy and citizenship, Social and digital inclusion and Fighting illiteracies. The model enabled the collection and the analysis of data applied to a case study consisting of 99 Portuguese public libraries with Facebook page. With this model of content analysis we observed the facets of social mission and we read the actions with social facets on the Facebook page and in the websites of public libraries. At the end we discuss in parallel the results of observation of the Facebook of libraries and the websites. By reading the description of the actions of the social mission, the general conclusion and the most immediate is that 99 public libraries on Facebook and websites rarely publish social character actions, and the results are little satisfying. The Portuguese public libraries highlight substantially the actions in the category Generate social capital and social cohesion.