Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trends in incidence, treatment and survival of borderline ovarian tumors in the Netherlands: a nationwide analysis

Abstract Background: Population-based data on borderline ovarian tumors (BOTs) are scarce and information regarding recent trends in incidence, treatment and survival is lacking. The purpose of this study was to analyze these trends in the Netherlands and to assess the risk of developing a subsequent invasive ovarian tumor. Material and methods: All consecutive patients diagnosed with BOTs between 1993 and 2016 (n = 7113) were identified from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR). Annual age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated. Relative survival (RS) analyses and multivariable analyses estimating excess mortality were conducted. Patients with a subsequent invasive ovarian tumor were identified by the NCR. Results: Age-adjusted incidence increased from 2.1/100,000 person-years in 1993 to 4.2/100,000 in 2011, after 2011 the incidence declined. The proportion of bilateral tumors decreased over time from 16% in 1993–1998 to 11% in 2005–2010 and remained stable onwards. Survival improved over time (excess mortality ratioadjusted 2011–2016 versus 1993–1998: 0.25; 95%CI: 0.13–0.47). Five-year RS increased from 91% in 1993–1998 to 98% in 2011–2016 and 10-year RS from 88% in 1993–1998 to 96% in 2005–2010. Fewer patients were treated with chemotherapy (4.4% in 1993–1998 versus 0.7% in 2011–2016). During a median follow-up time of 8 years, 0.9% developed a subsequent invasive ovarian carcinoma. Conclusions: The incidence of BOTs increased over time from 1993 until 2010 but declined since 2011. This decline may be partly due to changes in the classification of gynecological tumors, as serous BOTs are now more often diagnosed as low grade serous ovarian cancers. Survival is high and has improved since 1993. The risk of a subsequent invasive ovarian carcinoma seems low.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Use of Virtual Reality for Needle-Related Procedures in Children and Adolescents in the Emergency Department.

Objective: A large number of children report fear and distress when undergoing blood work and intravenous placement. In pediatric departments, Child Life interventions are considered to be the gold standard in nonmedical pain management techniques. Virtual reality (VR) has also been identified as an effective tool for pain distraction in children undergoing painful medical procedures. The aim of this study was to document the efficacy of VR as a mode of distraction during a medical procedure compared with two comparison conditions: watching television (TV, minimal control condition) and distraction provided by the Child Life (CL, gold standard control condition) program. Materials and Methods: A total of 59 children aged 8-17 years (35% female) were recruited through the emergency department (ED) of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario and randomly assigned to one of the three conditions. The key outcome measures were visual analog scale ratings of pain intensity and fear of pain, administrated before and right after the procedure. Patient satisfaction was also measured after the intervention. Results: A significant reduction in fear of pain and pain intensity was reported in all three conditions. A larger and statistically significant reduction in fear of pain was observed among children who used VR distraction compared with the CL and TV conditions, but this effect was not observed for pain intensity. The children's satisfaction with the VR procedure was significantly higher than for TV and comparable to CL. Discussion: The advantages of using VR in the ED to manage pain in children are discussed.
Barbiturate‐induced transmitter release at a frog neuromuscular junction

1 The influence of barbiturates on neuromuscular transmission at end‐plates of frog sartorius muscles was investigated electrophysiologically on preparations bathed in Ringer solution containing a low concentration of calcium and a high concentration of magnesium. 2 Effects of a convulsant barbiturate, 5‐(2‐cyclohexylideneëthyl)‐5‐ethyl barbituric acid (CHEB), were compared with those of phenobarbitone. 3 CHEB and phenobarbitone increased the mean quantum content of the end‐plate potentials and decreased the mean amplitude of the miniature end‐plate potentials. 4 Both barbiturates enhanced the duration of the nerve‐terminal action potential and had little or no effect on the effective resistance of the skeletal muscle membrane.
Binomial-gated service: a method for effective operation and optimization of polling systems

The binomial-gated service, designed for cyclic polling systems, is proposed as a new service method. The important properties of this method are: (1) it allows one to prioritize the system queues using a set of priorities, and (2) it is mathematically analyzable. The method can be implemented in the token ring network and in many other communications systems. The nonsymmetric cyclic-polling system with binomial-gated service is analyzed and equation sets are derived from which the expected delay figures can be calculated numerically. A pseudoconservation law for nonsymmetric systems and a closed-form mean-delay expression for fully symmetric systems are derived as well. The effect of the priority parameters on the system performance is demonstrated in numerical examples. >
Attrition in Longitudinal Data is Primarily Selective with Respect to Level Rather than Rate of Change

Abstract Objectives: An important question in longitudinal research is whether the individuals who discontinue participation differ in their level of, or their change in, cognitive functioning relative to individuals who return for subsequent occasions. Methods: Performance in five cognitive domains was examined in nearly 5000 participants between 18 and 85 years of age who completed between one and five longitudinal occasions. Results: Little or no differences in cognitive performance were apparent between young adults who did or did not return for subsequent longitudinal occasions. However, among adults above about 45 years of age, returning participants had higher levels of cognitive performance, but approximately similar magnitude of longitudinal change, as participants completing fewer occasions. Conclusions: These results suggest that generalizability of longitudinal comparisons may be restricted to individuals with relatively high levels of cognitive functioning, but that rates of cognitive change are nearly comparable for individuals completing different numbers of longitudinal occasions.
Pharmacist Provision of Hormonal Contraception in the Oregon Medicaid Population.

OBJECTIVE To describe early utilization of pharmacist prescription of contraception in Oregon's Medicaid program. METHODS Using Oregon Medicaid claims data, we conducted a retrospective analysis and quantified overall and monthly trends in pharmacist-prescribed contraceptives from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2017. Our population was restricted to patients obtaining a new prescription for oral and transdermal methods and who had continuous Medicaid coverage during the study period. We summarized demographic and utilization characteristics, including whether patients were continuing or switching methods or initiating contraception. New prescriptions were those written to patients who did not have one for hormonal contraception in the prior 30 days. To assess program safety, we examined rates of prescriptions to patients with medical contraindications to contraceptive use. RESULTS Among the 3,614 patients receiving a new prescription for oral or transdermal contraceptives in the Oregon Medicaid program from all health care providers, 367 (10%) received their prescription from a pharmacist. Five months after implementation, pharmacists filled an average of 61 prescriptions per month as the prescriber. Most claims originated from retail chain pharmacies (94%) in urban locations (71%). The majority of patients who were prescribed contraception by pharmacists (73.8%) had no history of contraceptive prescriptions in the preceding 30 days (n=252). Ages ranged from 13 to 49 years, fewer patients lived in a rural location (35.7%), most received a combined hormonal pill (90.5%), and the average day's supply dispensed was 65 (range of 21-364 days). Fewer than 5% (12) of patients had a diagnostic code indicating a possible contraindicating comorbidity. CONCLUSION Among Medicaid enrollees, we found that 10% of all new oral and transdermal contraceptive prescriptions were written by pharmacists.
The potential role of human multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1) and multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP2) in the transport of Huperzine A in vitro

Abstract 1. More than 30% of epilepsy patients suffer pharmacoresistance. Transport of antileptic drugs by P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and MRP2 plays an important role in drug-resistant epilepsy. Huperzine A (Hup-A) is a natural compound, which might have potential in treating neurological disorders including epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, we investigated whether human P-gp and MRP2 transport Hup-A. 2. LLC-PK1 and MDCKII cells transfected with human P-gp or MRP2 were used to establish concentration equilibrium transport assays (CETAs) and determine the transport profile of Hup-A. The expression of P-gp and MRP2 was detected by qPCR and western blotting. The transport function of P-gp and MRP2 was measured by Rho123 and CDFDA cell uptake assay. 3. In CETAs, Hup-A at concentrations of 10 ng/mL or 2 µg/mL was transported by MDR1 and MRP2 from basolateral to apical sides of the cell monolayers. P-gp and MRP2 inhibitors completely blocked the efflux of Hup-A. There was no efflux of Hup-A in LLC-PK1 or MDCKII wild-type (WT) cells. 4. We demonstrate that Hup-A is a substrate of P-gp and MRP2. These results imply the efflux of Hup-A across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in vivo, suggesting potential drug resistance of Hup-A.
Use of technology for delivery of mental health and substance use services to youth living with HIV: a mixed-methods perspective

ABSTRACT Disparities in HIV treatment outcomes among youth living with HIV (YLWH) present a challenge for ending the HIV epidemic. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence can be impacted by comorbidities such as mental health and substance use. Technology use has shown promise in increasing access to mental health and substance use services. Using a mixed-methods approach, we conducted formative research to describe the relationship between mental health, substance use, and medication adherence in 18–29 year-old YLWH, and explored technology use as an approach to supporting these services. Among 101 YLWH, ART adherence was significantly negatively associated with mental health measures such as depression, trauma, and adverse childhood experiences and marijuana and stimulants use. Depression had the highest level of relative importance in its association with ART adherence. During in-depth interviews with 29 participants, barriers to and facilitators of accessing and maintaining mental health services were identified. Most participants favored technology use for mental health and substance use service delivery, including videoconferencing with a counselor. Provision of ongoing mental health and substance use treatment is an important mechanism to achieving HIV treatment engagement. Technology, particularly videoconferencing, may have the capacity to overcome many barriers to care by increasing accessibility of these services.
Targeted Regulation of miR-26a on PTEN to Affect Proliferation and Apoptosis of Prostate Cancer Cells.

Objective: PI3K/AKT signal pathway is important for negative regulation of FoxO3a/p27Kip1, maintaining cell survival and inhibiting apoptosis. Phosphatase and tensin homology deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) gene negatively regulates PI3K/AKT signal pathway. It's downregulation is correlated with prostate cancer (PC) pathogenesis. Previous study showed significantly elevated miR-26a expression in PC tissues, indicating its tumor facilitating role in PC. Bioinformatics analysis revealed targeted relationship between miR-26a and 3'-UTR of PTEN mRNA. This study investigated if miR-26a and PTEN dysregulation played a role in proliferation and apoptosis of PC-3 cells. Materials and Methods: PC tumor tissues were collected along with benign prostate hyperplasia samples. Expression of miR-26a and PTEN was detected. The targeted relationship between miR-26a and PTEN was analyzed by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. In vitro-cultured PC-3 cells were treated with miR-26a inhibitor and/or pIRES2-PTEN. Flow cytometry was employed to detect cell apoptosis, cycle, and Ki-67 expression. Expression of miR-26a and PTEN was analyzed. Western blot was employed to detect protein levels of p-AKT, p-FoxO3a, and p27Kip1. Results: PC tissues had elevated miR-26a expression and lower PTEN expression compared with benign hyperplasia. miR-26a targeted and inhibited PTEN expression. Transfection of miR-26a inhibitor and/or overexpression of PTEN significantly decreased phosphorylation activity of AKT and FoxO3a, enhanced p27Kip1 expression, cell apoptosis, weakened proliferation ability, and arrested cell cycle at G0/G1 phase. Conclusions: PC tissue had higher miR-26a and lower PTEN expressions. miR-26a targeted and inhibited PTEN, potentiated phosphorylation activity of AKT and FoxO3a, downregulated p27Kip1 expression, decreased cell apoptosis, and facilitated proliferation.
Observations of cluster substructure using weakly lensed sextupole moments

Since dark matter clusters and groups may have substructure, we have examined the sextupole content of Hubble images looking for a curvature signature in background galaxies that would arise from galaxy-galaxy lensing. We describe techniques for extracting and analyzing sextupole and higher weakly lensed moments. Indications of substructure, via spatial clumping of curved background galaxies, were observed in the image of CL0024 and then surprisingly in both Hubble deep fields. We estimate the dark cluster masses in the deep field. Alternatives to a lensing hypothesis appear improbable, but better statistics will be required to exclude them conclusively. Observation of sextupole moments would then provide a means to measure dark matter structure on smaller length scales than heretofore.
Modèles réduits et hybrides de réseaux de réactions biochimiques : applications à la modélisation du cycle cellulaire. (Reduced and hybrid models of biochemical reaction networks : Applications to cell cycle modeling)

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Modèles réduits et hybrides de réseaux de réactions biochimiques : applications à la modélisation du cycle cellulaire Vincent Noël
Effects of Concussion in Adolescent Students: Perceptions and Performance

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare adolescent students with and without concussion on a battery of academic, neurocognitive, and socioemotional measures and assess the aftereffects of concussion across domains of functioning. Methods: Twenty-four adolescents (ages 13–17) reporting postconcussion symptoms were compared to 24 controls matched for age and gender across a battery of tests and surveys. Results: After correcting for multiple comparisons, there were no significant differences on any neuropsychological measures. Similarly, there were no significant group differences on academic measures of vocabulary, word recognition, or reading comprehension. Self-reported concussion symptoms were much greater for students with concussion, as were self-reports of anxiety, depression, and somatization symptoms. Parents also rated those with concussion as having greater depression and somatization symptoms, but not to a degree that survived Bonferroni correction. Lastly, those with concussion reported a significantly greater number of school problems and academic concerns. Conclusions: Results indicated that adolescents who reported postconcussion symptoms do not perform differently from peers on most neurocognitive and academic tasks, yet they showed considerably more worry, somatization, academic concerns, and feelings of inadequacy than matched controls. The findings suggest that interventions to address psychological and academic stress may be indicated for adolescents symptomatic from concussion.
Validation of Simplified Chinese Version of the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SC-PSEQ) and SC-PSEQ-2 for Patients with Non-Specific Low Back Pain in Mainland China.

STUDY DESIGN A prospective study. OBJECTIVE To develop the simplified Chinese version of PSEQ (SC-PESQ) and PSEQ-2 (SC-PSEQ-2), and evaluate the psychometric properties of the two questionnaires in patients with non-specific low back pain. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Pain self-efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ) has been cross-culturally adapted into many languages with excellent reliability and validity. Recently, the short form of PSEQ-2 was developed and exhibited satisfactory psychometric properties. However, PSEQ and PSEQ-2 has not been translated or validated in mainland China. METHODS The original version of PSEQ and PSEQ-2 were linguistically translated and adapted to formulate the simplified Chinese version, which were then administrated by 219 patients with low back pain, along with a set of self-report health-related instruments. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the SC-PESQ and SC-PSEQ-2. RESULTS 219 patients with non-specific low back pain were enlisted into the analysis. The SC-PSEQ and SC-PSEQ-2 had been determined excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha, 0.95 and 0.83), test-retest reliability (overall ICC, 0.91 and 0.88) and sound construct validity, which were supported by moderately strong association with the criterion measures. respectively. Additionally, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis have found and confirmed one factor solution in SC-PSEQ as hypothesized. CONCLUSION The SC-PESQ and SC-PSEQ-2 showed satisfactory psychometric properties in Chinese population with low back pain, and could be safely utilized to evaluating the self-efficacy in clinical and research setting. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4.
Prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the southwest Albanian adult population.

The subjects were evaluated at the Internal Medicine Department of the Military Hospital of Gyrocaster in Albania, which is run by both Greek and Albanian military health personnel. Serum glucose, lipids (total cholesterol, triglycerides) were measured enzymatically on a Technicon RA-XT analyzer (Technicon, Dublin, Ireland). The personal information, medical history and the somatometric values of the subjects were obtained by the hospital’s medical staff. The diagnosis of type 2 diabetes was established using the 1999 WHO criteria 1 . Results were analyzed using SPSS v12 software (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA).
Health-related Quality of Life, Cognitive Performance, and Incident Dementia in a Community-based Elderly Cohort

Background: We hypothesized that higher quality of life would be associated with better cognitive function and a reduced risk of incident all cause dementia and Alzheimer disease (AD) in older adults. Materials and Methods: Participants included 1183 older adults with an average age of 78.2 (SD=5.3) from Einstein Aging Study. The 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey was used to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We investigated baseline associations between the cognitive domains of memory, executive function, and general fluid ability with 8 subscales of the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (physical functioning, role limitations due to physical problems, bodily pain, general health perceptions, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems, vitality, and general mental health) and the 2 component summary scores of physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS). Next, we used Cox proportional hazard models to assess the predictive validity of HRQoL subscales for the onset of incident dementia and incident AD. Results: At baseline, higher scores (better HRQoL) on MCS and its 4 subscales (social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems, vitality, and general mental health) were associated with higher performance on both memory and executive function domains. Higher scores in role limitation due to physical problems, role limitation due to emotional problems, and general mental health subscales were associated with reduced risk of incident dementia. Higher MCS, but not PCS, predicted a reduced incident of all-cause dementia and AD. Conclusions: These findings suggest that diminution of HRQoL precedes the onset of diagnosable dementia and may be useful in the prediction of dementia onset.
Flight and Seizure Motor Patterns in Drosophila Mutants: Simultaneous Acoustic and Electrophysiological Recordings of Wing Beats and Flight Muscle Activity

Abstract Tethered flies allow studies of biomechanics and electrophysiology of flight control. We performed microelectrode recordings of spikes in an indirect flight muscle (the dorsal longitudinal muscle, DLMa) coupled with acoustic analysis of wing beat frequency (WBF) via microphone signals. Simultaneous electrophysiological recording of direct and indirect flight muscles has been technically challenging; however, the WBF is thought to reflect in a one-to-one relationship with spiking activity in a subset of direct flight muscles, including muscle m1b. Therefore, our approach enables systematic mutational analysis for changes in temporal features of electrical activity of motor neurons innervating subsets of direct and indirect flight muscles. Here, we report the consequences of specific ion channel disruptions on the spiking activity of myogenic DLMs (firing at ∼5 Hz) and the corresponding WBF (∼200 Hz). We examined mutants of the genes enconding: 1) voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (cacophony, cac), 2) Ca2+-activated K+ channels (slowpoke, slo), and 3) voltage-gated K+ channels (Shaker, Sh) and their auxiliary subunits (Hyperkinetic, Hk and quiver, qvr). We found flight initiation in response to an air puff was severely disrupted in both cac and slo mutants. However, once initiated, slo flight was largely unaltered, whereas cac displayed disrupted DLM firing rates and WBF. Sh, Hk, and qvr mutants were able to maintain normal DLM firing rates, despite increased WBF. Notably, defects in the auxiliary subunits encoded by Hk and qvr could lead to distinct consequences, that is, disrupted DLM firing rhythmicity, not observed in Sh. Our mutant analysis of direct and indirect flight muscle activities indicates that the two motor activity patterns may be independently modified by specific ion channel mutations, and that this approach can be extended to other dipteran species and additional motor programs, such as electroconvulsive stimulation-induced seizures.