Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plastic stents are more cost-effective than lumen-apposing metal stents in management of pancreatic pseudocysts

Abstract Background and study aims Endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage is an effective and accepted primary modality for management of pancreatic pseudocyst (PP). A lumen-apposing metal stent (LAMS) has recently been developed specifically for drainage of pancreatic fluid collections which may be superior to using traditional plastic stents (PS) but is more expensive. Because use of a stent involves a risk of unplanned endoscopy, percutaneous drainage (PCD) and surgery, their costs should also be included in the comparison and a cost-effectiveness analysis of LAMS and PS should therefore be performed Patients and methods A decision tree was developed assessing both endoscopic drainage strategies for patients with PP: LAMS and PS over a 6-month time horizon. For each strategy, inpatients received a stent and were followed for subsequent need for direct further interventions or adverse events leading to unplanned endoscopy, PCD, surgery, or successful endoscopic drainage using probabilities obtained from the literature. The unit of effectiveness was successful endoscopic drainage without need for PCD or surgery. Sensitivity analyses were performed. Results Success rates were 93.9 % for LAMS and 96.96 % for PS. Respective costs per successful drainage were US $ 18,129 (LAMS) and US $ 10,403 (PS). The LAMS strategy was thus characterized as dominated by the PS approach because it was costlier and less effective than PS. Both deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings. Conclusion Use of LAMS is not less effective and more costly than PS in management of patients with PP. As such, PS should be preferred over LAMS as initial management of these patients.
Leveraging Antimicrobial Stewardship in the Emergency Department to Improve the Quality of Urinary Tract Infection Management and Outcomes

Abstract Background The complex and fast-paced emergency department (ED) practice setting presents unique challenges that demand a tailored approach to antimicrobial stewardship. In this article, we describe the strategies applied by 1 institution’s antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) that were successful in improving prescribing practices and outcomes for urinary tract infection (UTI) in the ED. Methods Core strategies included pre-implementation research characterizing the patient population, antimicrobial resistance patterns, prescribing behavior, and morbidity related to infection; collaboration across multiple disciplines; development and implementation of a UTI treatment algorithm; education to increase awareness of the algorithm and the background and rationale supporting it; audit and feedback; and early evaluation of post-implementation outcomes. Results We observed a rapid change in prescribing post-implementation with increased empiric nitrofurantoin use and reduced cephalosporin use (P < .05). Our elevation of nitrofurantoin to firstline status was supported by our post-implementation analysis showing that its use was independently associated with reduced 30-day return visits (adjusted odds ratio, 0.547; 95% confidence interval, 0.312–0.960). Furthermore, despite a shift to a higher risk population and a corresponding decrease in antimicrobial susceptibility rates post-implementation, the preferential use of nitrofurantoin did not result in higher bug-drug mismatches while 30-day return visits to the ED remained stable. Conclusions We demonstrate that an outcomes-based ASP can impart meaningful change to knowledge and attitudes affecting prescribing practices in the ED. The success of our program may be used by other institutions as support for ASP expansion to the ED.
Transcriptomic Profiling of Obesity-Related Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Reveals a Core Set of Fibrosis-Specific Genes

Abstract Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is strongly associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. The molecular factors underlying the development of inflammation and severe fibrosis in NASH remain largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify gene expression patterns related to obesity-related NASH inflammation and fibrosis. We performed sequencing-based mRNA profiling analysis of liver samples from individuals with normal histology (n = 24), lobular inflammation (n = 53), or bridging fibrosis, incomplete cirrhosis, or cirrhosis (n = 65). Hepatic expression of a subset of mRNAs was validated using an orthogonal method, analyzed in a hepatic stellate cell line, and used to identify transcriptional patterns shared by other forms of cirrhosis. We observed evidence for differential levels of 3820 and 2980 transcripts in lobular inflammation and advanced fibrosis, respectively, compared with normal histology (false discovery rate ≤0.05), including 176 genes specific to fibrosis. Functional enrichment analysis of these genes revealed participation in pathways involving cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, focal adhesion, and extracellular matrix-receptor interaction. We identified 34 differentially expressed transcripts in comparisons of lobular inflammation and fibrosis, a proportion of which were also upregulated during activation of hepatic stellate cells. A set of 16 genes from a previous independent study of NASH bridging fibrosis/cirrhosis were replicated, several of which have also been associated with advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis due to hepatitis viruses or alcohol in human patients. Dysregulated mRNA expression is associated with inflammation and fibrosis in NASH. Advanced NASH fibrosis is characterized by distinct set of molecular changes that are shared with other causes of cirrhosis.
Spiritual health mediates the relationship between ego-strength and adjustment to heart disease

This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of spiritual health in the relationship between ego-strength and adjustment to heart disease. In total, 327 patients with coronary artery disease (138 women, 189 men) completed the Ego-Strength Scale, Adjustment to Illness Scale, and Spiritual Well-Being Scale. Results showed that both ego-strength and spiritual health had a significantly positive correlation with adjustment to heart disease. Results also revealed that spiritual health mediated the relationship between ego-strength and adjustment to heart disease. More improvement in adjustment to heart disease requires more improvement in patients’ spiritual health as well as to ego-strength.
Life History Theory and Evolutionary Psychology

In this chapter we present an overview of life history theory and review its main psychological applications. We first discuss basic trade-offs in life history allocations and introduce the concept of life history strategies. We then consider the evolution of life history strategies at the population level and their development at the individual level. Next, we explore the question of which physiological and psychological mechanisms mediate the development and organization of life history strategies. Finally, we review current applications of life history theory to human growth and development, individual differences in developmental trajectories, personality, and psychopathology. We conclude with a summary of the theoretical and empirical challenges facing future research in this area. Keywords: development; life history theory; personality; psychology; psychopathology
Maize Combined Insect Resistance Genomic Regions and Their Co-localization With Cell Wall Constituents Revealed by Tissue-Specific QTL Meta-Analyses

Combinatorial insect attacks on maize leaves, stems, and kernels cause significant yield losses and mycotoxin contaminations. Several small effect quantitative trait loci (QTL) control maize resistance to stem borers and storage pests and are correlated with secondary metabolites. However, efficient use of QTL in molecular breeding requires a synthesis of the available resistance information. In this study, separate meta-analyses of QTL of maize response to stem borers and storage pests feeding on leaves, stems, and kernels along with maize cell wall constituents discovered in these tissues generated 24 leaf (LIR), 42 stem (SIR), and 20 kernel (KIR) insect resistance meta-QTL (MQTL) of a diverse genetic and geographical background. Most of these MQTL involved resistance to several insect species, therefore, generating a significant interest for multiple-insect resistance breeding. Some of the LIR MQTL such as LIR4, 17, and 22 involve resistance to European corn borer, sugarcane borer, and southwestern corn borer. Eleven out of the 42 SIR MQTL related to resistance to European corn borer and Mediterranean corn borer. There KIR MQTL, KIR3, 15, and 16 combined resistance to kernel damage by the maize weevil and the Mediterranean corn borer and could be used in breeding to reduce insect-related post-harvest grain yield loss and field to storage mycotoxin contamination. This meta-analysis corroborates the significant role played by cell wall constituents in maize resistance to insect since the majority of the MQTL contain QTL for members of the hydroxycinnamates group such as p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and other diferulates and derivates, and fiber components such as acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and lignin. Stem insect resistance MQTL display several co-localization between fiber and hydroxycinnamate components corroborating the hypothesis of cross-linking between these components that provide mechanical resistance to insect attacks. Our results highlight the existence of combined-insect resistance genomic regions in maize and set the basis of multiple-pests resistance breeding.
Layout Find Redundant Via Candidates Express solution by multiplets Conflict Graph Construction Contraction Graph Construction Solve the MMC Problem Legalization Output Layout MWIS Solver ILP Solver RG DS Fast Assignment for Some Vias

Inserting redundant vias is necessary for improving via yield in circuit designs. Block copolymer directed self-assembly (DSA) is an emerging and promising lithography technology for manufacture of vias and redundant vias, in which guiding templates are used to enhance the resolution. Considering manufacturability of via layer, multiple patterning lithography is also needed in advanced designs. In this paper, we study the redundant via insertion and guiding template assignment for DSA with multiple patterning problem at the post-routing stage. We propose a graph methodology based solution framework: Firstly, by analyzing the structure of guiding templates, we propose a new solution expression by introducing the concept of multiplet to discard redundant solutions. Then, honoring the compact solution expression, we construct a conflict graph on the grid model. Secondly, we formulate the problem with single patterning as a constrained maximum weight independent set problem, for which a fast linear interpolation algorithm is introduced to obtain a local optimal solution. To avoid undesirable local optima, we propose an effective initial solution generation method. Our framework is general and is further extended to solve the problem with double patterning or triple patterning in a two stage manner. Experimental results validate the efficiency and effectiveness of our method. Specifically, compared with the state-of-the-art work for the problem with single, double and triple patterning, our method can save 58%, 82% and 96% runtime, respectively.
The C . elegans Zonula Occludens Ortholog ZOO-1 Cooperates with the Cadherin-Catenin Complex to Recruit Actin during Epidermal Morphogenesis

The dramatic cell shape changes necessary to form a multicellular organism require cell-cell junctions to be both pliable and strong. The Zonula Occludens (ZO) subfamily of membrane-associated guanylate kinases (MAGUKs) are scaffolding molecules thought to regulate cell-cell adhesion [1– 3], but there is little known about their roles in vivo. To elucidate the functional role of ZO proteins in a living embryo, we have characterized the sole C. elegans ZO family member, ZOO-1. ZOO-1 localizes with the cadherin-catenin complex during development and its junctional recruitment requires the transmembrane proteins HMR1/E-cadherin and VAB-9/claudin, but surprisingly, not HMP-1/α-catenin or HMP-2/β-catenin. zoo-1 knockdown results in lethality during elongation, resulting in the rupture of epidermal cell-cell junctions under stress and failure of epidermal sheet sealing at the ventral midline. Consistent with a role in recruiting actin to the junction in parallel to the cadherin-catenin complex, zoo-1 loss of function reduces the dynamic recruitment of actin to junctions and enhances the severity of actin filament defects in hypomorphic alleles of hmp-1 and hmp-2. These results show that ZOO-1 cooperates with the cadherin-catenin complex to dynamically regulate strong junctional anchorage to the actin cytoskeleton during morphogenesis.
RCAN1 Knockdown Reverts Defects in the Number of Calcium-Induced Exocytotic Events in a Cellular Model of Down Syndrome

In humans, Down Syndrome (DS) is a condition caused by partial or full trisomy of chromosome 21. Genes present in the DS critical region can result in excess gene dosage, which at least partially can account for DS phenotype. Although regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) belongs to this region and its ectopic overexpression in neurons impairs transmitter release, synaptic plasticity, learning and memory, the relative contribution of RCAN1 in a context of DS has yet to be clarified. In the present work, we utilized an in vitro model of DS, the CTb neuronal cell line derived from the brain cortex of a trisomy 16 (Ts16) fetal mouse, which reportedly exhibits acetylcholine release impairments compared to CNh cells (a neuronal cell line established from a normal littermate). We analyzed single exocytotic events by using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) and the vesicular acetylcholine transporter fused to the pH-sensitive green fluorescent protein (VAChT-pHluorin) as a reporter. Our analyses showed that, compared with control CNh cells, the trisomic CTb cells overexpress RCAN1, and they display a reduced number of Ca2+-induced exocytotic events. Remarkably, RCAN1 knockdown increases the extent of exocytosis at levels comparable to those of CNh cells. These results support a critical contribution of RCAN1 to the exocytosis process in the trisomic condition.
HELMINTHFAUNA OF BATS IN SPAIN. IV. PARASITES OF RHINOLOPHUS FERRUMEQUINUM (SCHREBER, 1774) (CHIROPTERA: RHINOLOPHIDAE)

The helminthological analysis of 108 specimens of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774) (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae), coming from 17 different Spanish provinces, allowed us to find the following 13 parasitic species: Plagiorchis sp. , Mesotretes peregrinus (Braun, 1900), l.ecithodendrium (Lecithodendrium) linstowi Dollfus, 1931, Pycnoporus heteroporus (Dujardin, 1845), Prosthodendrium (Prosthodendrium) par- vouterus (Bhalerao, 1926), P. (Prosthodendrium) corberensis Esteban, Oltra-Ferrero, Botella et Granel, 1991 and Lecithodendriidae gen. sp. (Tre- matoda: Digenea), Hymenolepis grisea (Beneden, 1873) and Hymenolepis sp. (Cestoda) and Strongylacantha glycirrhiza Beneden, 1873, Litomosa ottavianii Lagrange et Bettini, 1948, Physaloptera brevivaginata Seurat, 1917, and Ascarididae gen. sp. (larvae) (Nematoda). Larvae of Ascaridi- dae gen. sp. are found in bats of the Old Word for the first time. H. grisea and Hymenolepis sp. are new for the Spanish helminthfauna. L. (L.) lins- towi, P. heteroporus, P. (P.) parvouterus and L. ottavianii are found for the first time in R. ferrumequinum in Spain. R. ferrumequinum becomes a new host for P. brevivaginata.
Forward Forecast of Stock Price Using Sliding-Window Metaheuristic-Optimized Machine-Learning Regression

Time series forecasting has been widely used to determine the future prices of stock, and the analysis and modeling of finance time series importantly guide investors’ decisions and trades. In addition, in a dynamic environment such as the stock market, the nonlinearity of the time series is pronounced, immediately affecting the efficacy of stock price forecasts. Thus, this paper proposes an intelligent time series prediction system that uses sliding-window metaheuristic optimization for the purpose of predicting the stock prices of Taiwan construction companies one step ahead. It may be of great interest to home brokers who do not possess sufficient knowledge to invest in such companies. The system has a graphical user interface and functions as a stand-alone application. The developed hybrid system exhibited outstanding prediction performance and it improves overall profit for investment performance. The proposed model is a promising predictive technique for highly nonlinear time series, whose patterns are difficult to capture by traditional models.
Gaze Behaviour , Motivational Factors , and Knowledge Sharing Completed Research Paper

Despite the development and implementation of knowledge management systems, the translation from individual knowledge to organisational knowledge is not an easy or automatic process. Co-worker knowledge sharing is an important step in such a translation. This paper examines co-worker knowledge-sharing via an experiment. Specifically, the relationships between gaze behaviour and knowledge sharing, as well as the mediating factors convincingness, power, and attractiveness, are investigated. Behaviour of the sender and receiver of a knowledge sharing request is examined using eye tracking technology and subjective responses. The results of the study indicate that direct eye contact from the sender of a request increases the willingness to adhere to the request, but we do not find evidence that the gaze behaviour of the receiver influences knowledge sharing behaviour. Perceived convincingness and attractiveness were identified as partial mediators, while no mediating relationship was found for power.
Stability in the temporal dynamics of word meanings

Words show complex dynamics of meaning change. In some cases, a word may acquire novel senses. In other cases, existing senses of a word may become obsolete. The rates at which words gain and lose senses may vary, but it is an open question which factors might account for this variation. Building on work in computational linguistics and cognitive science, we develop a computational approach that explores this question by leveraging word sense records from a large historical database of English. Our results suggest that polysemous words tend to gain and lose senses more than words with fewer senses, and that these effects are robust when word frequency and length are both controlled for. These results are consistent with recent findings on the mechanisms of emergent word meanings and they further suggest stability in the temporal dynamics of word meanings.
ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF LIGNIN FROM STIPA TENACISSIMA L . AND PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA

* Materials, Environment and Energy Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences of Gafsa, University of Gafsa, Tunisia ** Research Unity of Applied Chemistry and Environment, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Monastir, 5019 Tunisia *** Laboratoire de Génie des Procédés Papetiers UMR CNRS 5518, Grenoble INP-Pagora, 461, rue de la papeterie, CS10065, 38402 Saint Martin d’Hères Cedex, France
Formoterol ( OXIS s ) Turbuhaler s as a rescue therapy compared with salbutamol pMDI plus spacer in patients with acute severe asthma

Formoterol has a similar onset of effect to salbutamol but a prolonged duration of action. However, the relative efficacy of the two drugs in acute severe asthma is not known. This double-blind, double-dummy study compared the safety and efficacy of the maximum recommended daily dose of formoterol and a predicted equivalent dose of salbutamol in 88 patients presenting to the emergency department with acute severe asthma. Patients were randomized to formoterol 54 mg via Turbuhaler or salbutamol 2400 mg via pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI) plus spacer in three equal doses over 1 h. Following the full dose, mean FEV1 at 75min increased by 37% for formoterol and 28% for salbutamol (P 1⁄4 0:18). The maximum increase in FEV1 over 4 h was significantly greater with formoterol compared with salbutamol (51% vs. 36%, respectively Po0:05) and formoterol was as effective as salbutamol at improving symptoms and wellbeing. Both treatments were well tolerated. Formoterol caused a greater decrease in serum potassium (difference – 0.2mmol/l). In severe acute asthma, bronchodilator therapy with high-dose (54 mg) formoterol Turbuhaler provided equally rapid improvements in lung function of greater magnitude over 4 h than high-dose (2400 mg) salbutamol pMDI plus spacer. r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KEYWORDS
Pain Intensity after an Ice Pack Application Prior to Venipuncture among School-age Children: An experimental Study

Venipuncture and other invasive procedures as blood draws, intramuscular injections or heel pricks are the most commonly performed painful procedures in children. These can be a terrifying and painful experience for children and their families. The present study aimed to identify Pain intensity after an ice pack application prior to venipuncture among school-age children. Fifty (50) school-age children aged from 6-12 years whom ordered to vein-puncture were included in the study, and they are chosen by simple random sample from the pediatric medical, surgical wards and pediatric emergency department in King Fahd Hospital of the University (KFUH) at the Al-Khobar city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They divided equally into 2 groups, the study group who received an ice pack application for three minutes prior to venipuncture procedure over the insertion site while the control group received routine hospital care. A structured interview questionnaire sheet was used included age, gender, venipuncture procedure data and log table for recorded child’s blood pressure, pulse rate and oxygen saturation as well as Wong-Baker (FACES) Self- report Pain Rating Scale, to assess pain intensity during the venipuncture among children in both groups. Results of the study revealed that, during venipuncture procedure, mean self-report pain score was lower among children in the study group than those in the control group with statistically significant difference, Mean ±SD (1.92±0.316 and 4.40±0.490) respectively P<0.001. Self-reported pain intensity was decreased in older school-age children than the younger ones and was higher among male’s children than females. The study concluded that the application of an ice pack prior to vein puncture procedure was effective in reducing pain intensity among school age children and it recommended that application of an ice pack has to be a part of the routine care of all children admitted to venipuncture procedure, so educational course related the ice back storage, uses and its application time over the vein puncture site should be conducted.
A Probe-then-Refine Beam Tracking Algorithm for Millimeter Wave MISO Systems

This paper is concerned with beam tracking problem in millimeter wave communication systems. We use a Markov process to describe the evolution of the beam steering angle, and its temporal correlation is characterized by a transition probability matrix. A two-stage beam tracking algorithm, termed probe-then-refine (PTR), is proposed. In the probing stage, a coarse range of the beam steering angle is determined via a set of training beams with a fixed beamwidth. In the refining stage, the attained coarse range is further divided using a multi-stage hierarchical codebook-based approach. The successful tracking probability, average required number of measurements and average energy consumption of the proposed PTR algorithm are derived, respectively. By exploiting the a priori transition probabilities, the optimal probing beamwidth that can minimize the average number of measurements of the PTR algorithm is obtained. Numerical results show that our PTR algorithm significantly reduces the required number of measurements and achieves a much better tracking performance relative to the benchmark scheme.