Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Abdominal Aorta Screening during Transthoracic Echocardiography

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of a modified abdominal ultrasound examination, performed as an extension of a routine diagnostic transthoracic echocardiography. This modified examination is arguably a simple, safe, quick, and accurate way to identify patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Methods: This prospective study, conducted over a 6‐month period, sought to obtain the maximum diameter of the abdominal aorta through a routine transthoracic echocardiography. Results: In 1285 patients, 1175 abdominal aortas were visualized (91.4%). The prevalence of AAA was 3.8% (45/1175), which increased with age. Six patients, who had diameters more than 5 cm, were referred to a surgeon. In the patients with AAA, left ventricular hypertrophy and left ventricular dilatation were more frequent. Conclusion: Routine screening of the abdominal aorta during transthoracic echocardiography is recommended on account of the prevalence of AAA in unselected and, in particular, older patients.
Risk factors for development of significant chronic subdural hematoma following conservative treatment of acute subdural hemorrhage

Abstract Objective. One of the complications of untreated acute subdural hemorrhage (aSDH) is the late development of chronic subdural hematomas (cSDH). cSDH may cause major neurologic deficits, requiring their surgical evacuation. The aim of our work was to find risk factors for the development of significant cSDH requiring surgery following conservative treatment of trauma-related aSDH. Methods. In a retrospective manner, we analyzed the data of 95 adult patients admitted with a non-surgical, traumatic aSDH. The patients were divided into two groups. The first group contained 52 patients who did not, on follow-up, develop cSDH requiring surgery. The second group contained 43 patients who ended up with a significant cSDH, based on clinical and radiological criteria, requiring surgical evacuation. Data acquisition and comparison between the two groups was performed by analyzing the patients’ charts for diverse medical conditions and other trauma-related parameters. Results. The operation rate was significantly higher in patients with medical history of ischemic heart disease (IHD) or hypertension (66.7% vs. 38%, p = 0.019 and 56.9% vs. 20%, p < 0.01, respectively), with a 4-fold increase in the risk for developing surgical cSDH in patients with IHD and a 6-fold increase in the risk in patients with hypertension (odds ratio 4.2 [95% CI for odds, 1.3–13.1] and 5.9 [95% C.I for odds, 1.6–21.5], respectively). Among 21 patients, 20 (95%) patients, who were either on more than 1 anti-aggregant agents (AAA), used Clopidrogrel, or took anti-coagulant drug were in the operative group (OG). A larger initial thickness of the aSDH was statistically significant in the OG as compared to the non-OG (8.9 mm ± 4.6 vs. 5.5 mm ± 2.1, p < 0.001). Conclusion. Head-trauma patients with a medical history of IHD or hypertension, patients on more than one AAA or anti-coagulant agents and patients with worse initial CT scan parameters are at risk of developing significant cSDH requiring surgery after conservative treatment of aSDH and consequently should have closer follow-up.
Serum ferritin level remains a reliable marker of bone marrow iron stores evaluated by histomorphometry in hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES As well as being a marker of body iron stores, serum ferritin (sFerritin) has also been shown to be a marker of inflammation in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The aim of this study was to analyze whether sFerritin is a reliable marker of the iron stores present in bone marrow of HD patients. DESIGN Histomorphometric analysis of stored transiliac bone biopsies was used to assess iron stores by determining the number of iron-stained cells per square millimeter of bone marrow. RESULTS In 96 patients, the laboratory parameters were hemoglobin = 11.3 +/- 1.6 g/dl, hematocrit = 34.3 +/- 5%, sFerritin = 609 +/- 305 ng/ml, transferrin saturation = 32.7 +/- 22.5%, and C-reactive protein (CRP) = 0.9 +/- 1.4 mg/dl. sFerritin correlated significantly with CRP, bone marrow iron, and time on HD treatment (P = 0.006, 0.001, and 0.048, respectively). The independent determinants of sFerritin were CRP (beta-coef = 0.26; 95% CI = 24.6 to 132.3) and bone marrow iron (beta-coef = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.54 to 2.09). Bone marrow iron was higher in patients with sFerritin >500 ng/ml than in those with sFerritin < or =500 ng/ml. In the group of patients with sFerritin < or =500 ng/ml, the independent determinant of sFerritin was bone marrow iron (beta-coef = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.48 to 1.78), but in the group of patients with sFerritin >500 ng/ml, no independent determinant of sFerritin was found. CONCLUSIONS sFerritin adequately reflects iron stores in bone marrow of HD patients.
Sustained complete molecular remissions after treatment with imatinib-mesylate in patients with failure after allogeneic stem cell transplantation for chronic myelogenous leukemia: results of a prospective phase II open-label multicenter study.

PURPOSE In the era of molecular therapy of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) applying BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors, the usefulness of molecular end points, in particular, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for BCR-ABL in monitoring responses has been broadly accepted. Therefore, we have designed a prospective phase II trial in CML, which, for the first time, evaluated the feasibility and safety of molecular end points as surrogate markers to guide through a stratified treatment algorithm within a multicenter trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS As a clinical model, we adopted minimal residual disease (MRD) found in relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) in CML. Forty-four patients were enrolled and received the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib (IM) at a starting dose of 400 mg/d. The quality of molecular responses achieved then decided on discontinuation of IM or dose escalation up to 800 mg/d, and finally, on application of donor lymphocyte infusions. Results Seventy percent of patients achieved a complete molecular response (CMR), defined as nested PCR-negativity for BCR-ABL in three consecutive samples. Interestingly, in four out of 10 patients who discontinued IM, CMR was durable even after cessation of IM with a median follow-up of 494 days. This suggests the possibility of long-term tumor control in a subset of patients. CONCLUSION The treatment strategy showed that IM treatment was well-tolerated and highly efficacious in MRD after allogeneic SCT. Moreover, this study demonstrated that evaluation of a molecular end point within a multicenter trial can be a safe and effective tool for clinical decision making.
The influence of patient acuity on satisfaction with emergency care: perspectives of family, friends and carers.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To investigate the factors that influence satisfaction with emergency care among individuals accompanying patients to the emergency department and explore agreement between the triage nurse and accompanying person regarding urgency. BACKGROUND Many patients seeking treatment in hospital are escorted by an accompanying person, who may be a friend, family member or carer. Several factors influence patient satisfaction with emergency care, including waiting time and time to treatment. It is also influenced by provision of information and interpersonal relations between staff and patients. Research on satisfaction has focused on the patient perspective; however, individuals who accompany patients are potential consumers. Knowledge about the ways accompanying persons perceive the patient's medical condition and level of urgency will identify areas for improved patient outcomes. DESIGN AND METHODS A prospective cross-sectional survey with a consecutive sample (n = 128 response rate 83.7%) was undertaken. Data were collected in an Australian metropolitan teaching hospital with about 32,000 visits to the emergency department each year. The Consumer Emergency Satisfaction Scale was used to measure satisfaction with nursing care. RESULTS Significant differences in perceptions of patient urgency between accompanying persons and nurses were found. Those people accompanying patients of a higher urgency were significantly more satisfied than those accompanying patients of a lower urgency. These results were independent of real waiting time or the accompanying person's knowledge of the patients' triage status. In addition, older accompanying persons were more satisfied with emergency care than younger accompanying persons. DISCUSSION Little attention has been paid to the social interactions that occur between nurses and patients at triage and the ways in which these interactions might impact satisfaction with emergency care. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Good interpersonal relationships can positively influence satisfaction with the emergency visit. This relationship can contribute to improved patient care and health outcomes.
Optimizing limited channel state information in wireless cooperative networks

Over the last decade, the development of resource allocation algorithms for cooperative communication networks has focused on optimal, or acceptable suboptimal, solutions assuming full knowledge of channel state information (CSI) in the network. This assumption is, unfortunately, unlikely to be satisfied in practice. Here we turn our attention to the effects of limited CSI on the performance of a cooperative network. We show that the performance gap between the fully centralized approaches and fully distributed algorithms falls exponentially with the number of CSI bits per link available at the central node. We use this to show that, for a large class of objective functions, a close-to-optimal solution is achievable with limited CSI. We also show that proper allocation of the CSI bits to different links in the network is a crucial issue. We propose a simple upper bound on the performance gap and a bit allocation algorithm that minimizes the upper bound. Our numerical results confirm that through optimal bit allocation considerable savings in CSI bits is achieved.
Quality of relationship and sexual risk behaviors among HIV couples in Lusaka, Zambia

Relationship quality and partner dynamics provide important insights into understanding sexual behavior within HIV sero-positive and sero-discordant couples. Individuals in long-term partnerships may be vulnerable to HIV/sexually transmitted infections (STI) within their relationships due to misperceptions of their partners risk behaviors and potential concurrent (e.g., extramarital, nonprimary) sexual partnerships. This study sought to examine relationship quality among HIV sero-positive and sero-discordant couples in Zambia, and its association with safer sex behavior. This study utilized data drawn from an ongoing translational study, The Partnership II Project – a couples-based sexual risk reduction intervention in Lusaka, Zambia. Couples (n=240) were assessed on demographics, relationship quality, and sexual risk behavior. Overall, couples perceiving their relationships more positively engaged in less risky sexual behavior (i.e., more condom use (b=0.011, t=3.14, p=0.002) and fewer partners (χ2=11.4, p=0.003). Within the dyad, condom use was “actor driven,” indicating that the association between relationship quality and condom use did not depend on the partner's evaluation of the relationship. Safer sex behavior was positively influenced by communication about condoms. Results support the paradigm shift from prevention strategies with HIV-positive and at-risk individuals to concentrated efforts addressing male–female dyads, and suggest that interventions to address the role of couples' relationship quality, a modifiable target for decreasing sexual risk behavior, are needed.
Maternal respiration and blood gases during aerobic exercise performed at moderate altitude.

We studied whether maternal acid-base status during aerobic exercise performed at moderate altitude is affected by pregnancy. Seven primiparus women were tested at 37 wk gestation and 12 wk postpartum. Subjects were studied at rest, and during two cycle (50 W, 75 W) and two treadmill (67 m.min-1; 2.5% grade, 67 m.min-1; 12% grade) protocols. Exercise bouts lasted 6 min with a 10-min rest between sessions. Minute (VE) and alveolar (VA) ventilation, tidal volume (VT), and ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide (VE/VCO2) were significantly (P less than 0.01) greater when exercise was performed during pregnancy. Physiological dead space (VD) was not affected by pregnancy status and did not differ between rest and exercise. Decreases (P less than 0.01) in arterial pH during exercise averaged 0.04 units in both pregnancy and postpartum. Despite similar change in maternal pH, carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) remained unchanged during exercise at 37 wk gestation but decreased at 12 wk postpartum. Decreases in arterial bicarbonate [HCO3-] associated with exercise were smaller during pregnancy. Our findings indicate that pregnancy did not compromise maternal acid-base status during aerobic exercise.
Uptake properties of lamivudine (3TC) by a continuous renal epithelial cell line.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the renal uptake properties of the cytidine analog and antiretroviral agent 3TC. The uptake of radiolabelled 3TC was measured at 37 degrees C in a continuous porcine renal epithelial cell line (i.e., LLC-PK1 cells) grown as a monolayer on an impermeable support. 3TC (5 microM) uptake (37 degrees C) by the monolayer cells was saturable (Km = 1.2 +/- 0.2 mM) but not significantly altered by various dideoxynucleoside analog drugs, nucleosides, and nucleoside transport inhibitors, suggesting that a nucleoside transporter is not involved in 3TC uptake. A number of endogenous organic cation probes and inhibitors significantly reduced 3TC uptake by the monolayer cells. Quinine, trimethoprim (TMP), and tetraethylammonium (TEA) inhibited 3TC uptake in a dose dependent manner with IC50 values of 0.6 mM, 0.63 mM, and 1.9 mM, respectively. In turn, the uptake of the typical organic cation substrate TEA was inhibited by high concentrations of 3TC. An outwardly directed proton gradient significantly increased the uptake of 3TC by the monolayer cells, suggesting the involvement of a proton exchange process. Conversely, in the presence of monensin, a Na+/H+ ionophore, the uptake of 3TC was significantly reduced. These results suggest that the uptake of 3TC by a cultured renal epithelium may be mediated by an organic cation-proton exchanger. The observed clinical interaction between 3TC and trimethoprim may be explained by competition for a common renal organic cation tubular transporter.
Selection for components of efficient lean growth rate in pigs 1. Selection pressure applied and direct responses in a Large White herd

Responses to divergent selection for lean growth rate with ad-libitum feeding (LGA), for lean food conversion (LFC) and for daily food intake (DFI) in Landrace pigs were studied. Selection was practised for four generations with a generation interval ofl year. A total of 2642 pigs were performance tested in the high, low and control lines, with an average of 37 boars and 39 gilts performance tested per selection line in each generation. The average within-line inbreeding coefficient at generation four was equal to 0·04. There was one control line for the DFI and LFC selection groups and another control line for the LGA selection group. Animals were performance tested in individual pens with mean starting and finishing weights of 30 kg and 85 kg respectively with ad-libitum feeding. The selection criteria had phenotypic s.d. of 32, 29 and 274 units, for LGA, LFC and DFI, respectively, and results are presented in phenotypic s.d. Cumulative selection differentials (CSD) were 5·1, 4·5 and 5·5 phenotypic s.d. for LGA, LFC and DFI, respectively. Direct responses to selection were 1·4,1·1 and 0·9 (s.e. 0·20) for LGA, LFC and DFI. In each of the three selection groups, the CSD and direct responses to selection were symmetric about the control lines. The correlated response in LFC (1·1, s.e. 0·19) with selection on LGA was equal to the direct response in LFC. In contrast, the direct response in LGA was greater than the correlated response (0·7, s.e. 0·18) with selection on LFC. There was a negative correlated response in DFI (-0·6, s.e. 0·18) with selection on LFC, but the response with selection on LGA was not significant (0·2, s.e. 0·16). Heritabilities for LGA, LFC and DFI ivere 0·25, 0·25 and 0·18 (s.e. 0·03), when estimated by residual maximum likelihood, with common environmental effects of 0·12 (s.e. 0·02). Genetic correlations for LFC with LGA and DFI were respectively positive (0·87, s.e. 0·02) and negative (-0·36, s.e. 0·09), while the genetic correlation between DFI and LGA was not statistically different from zero, 0·13 (s.e. 0·10). Selection on components of efficient lean growth has identified LGA as an effective selection objective for improving both LGA and LFC, without a reduction in DFI.
Enrichment of genomic DNA for polymorphism detection in a non-model highly polyploid crop plant.

Large polyploid genomes of non-model species remain challenging targets for DNA polymorphism discovery despite the increasing throughput and continued reductions in cost of sequencing with new technologies. For these species especially, there remains a requirement to enrich genomic DNA to discover polymorphisms in regions of interest because of large genome size and to provide the sequence depth to enable estimation of copy number. Various methods of enriching DNA have been utilised, but some recent methods enable the efficient sampling of large regions (e.g. the exome). We have utilised one of these methods, solution-based hybridization (Agilent SureSelect), to capture regions of the genome of two sugarcane genotypes (one Saccharum officinarum and one Saccharum hybrid) based mainly on gene sequences from the close relative Sorghum bicolor. The capture probes span approximately 5.8 megabases (Mb). The enrichment over whole-genome shotgun sequencing was 10-11-fold for the two genotypes tested. This level of enrichment has important consequences for detecting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from a single lane of Illumina (Genome Analyzer) sequence reads. The detection of polymorphisms was enabled by the depth of sequence at or near probe sites and enabled the detection of 270 000-280 000 SNPs within each genotype from a single lane of sequence using stringent detection parameters. The SNPs were present in 13 000-16 000 targeted genes, which would enable mapping of a large number of these chosen genes. SNP validation from 454 sequencing and between-genotype confirmations gave an 87%-91% validation rate.
Clinical significance of incidental finding of focal activity in the breast at 18F-FDG PET/CT.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical significance of the incidental finding of hypermetabolic foci in the breast at (18)F-FDG PET/CT in patients with malignant disease other than breast cancer or during a screening examination. MATERIALS AND METHODS The files of 13,897 women who underwent FDG PET/CT from November 2004 to October 2009 were retrospectively reviewed. Forty-eight patients with incidental breast uptake had undergone either tissue confirmation or clinical follow-up with additional sonographic imaging. The following four variables were evaluated: age, maximum standard uptake value (SUV(max)) of breast uptake at FDG PET, findings in the CT portion of PET/CT, and sonographic findings. Malignancy rates were calculated for each variable. RESULTS Malignancy was diagnosed in 18 (37.5%) patients and a benign condition in 30 (62.5%) patients. Statistically significant differences in malignancy rate were found between the groups with SUV(max) less than 2 (24.2%) and the group with SUV(max) of 2 or greater (66.7%) and between the group with lesions in a BI-RADS ultrasound category lower than 4 (10.7%) and the group with lesions in category 4 or higher (75.0%) (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in malignancy rates between the groups younger than 45 years (11.1%) and 45 years and older (53.3%) or between the group with lesions in a BI-RADS category lower than 4 (30.2%) and that with lesions in category 4 or higher (100%) on the CT portion of PET/CT. CONCLUSION Incidental hypermetabolic foci in the breast may represent malignancy in as many as 37.5% of cases. The SUV(max) and sonographic findings can be useful for differentiating benign from malignant lesions.
Hairpin Formation during DNA Synthesis Primer Realignmentin Vitro in Triplet Repeat Sequences from Human Hereditary Disease Genes*

Genetic expansion of DNA triplet repeat sequences (TRS) found in neurogenetic disorders may be due to abnormal DNA replication. We have previously observed strong DNA synthesis pausings at specific loci within the long tracts (>∼70 repeats) of CTG·CAG and CGG·CCG as well as GTC·GAC by primer extensions in vitro using DNA polymerases (the Klenow fragment ofEscherichia coli DNA polymerase I, the modified T7 DNA polymerase (Sequenase), and human DNA polymerase β). Herein, we have isolated and analyzed the products of stalled synthesis found at ∼30–40 triplets from the beginning of the TRS. DNA sequence analyses revealed that the stalled products contained short tracts of homogeneous TRS (6–12 repeats) in the middle of the sequence corresponding to the flanking region of the primer-template sequence. The sequence at the 3′-side terminated at the end of the primer, indicating that the primer molecule had served as a template. In addition, chemical probe and polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analyses revealed that the stalled products existed in hairpin structures. We postulate that these products of the DNA polymerases are caused by the existence of an unusual DNA conformation(s) within the TRS, during the in vitro DNA synthesis, enhancing the DNA slippages and the hairpin formations in the TRS due to primer realignment. The consequence of these steps is DNA synthesis to the end of the primer and termination. Primer realignment including hairpin formation may play an important intermediate role in the replication of TRS in vivo to elicit genetic expansions.
A Dual-Polarized Two-Dimensional Beam-Steering Fabry–Pérot Cavity Antenna With a Reconfigurable Partially Reflecting Surface

A dual-polarized two-dimensional beam-steering Fabry–Pérot cavity antenna with a reconfigurable partially reflecting surface (PRS) is proposed. A polarization-reconfigurable aperture-coupled patch antenna, which can work in two different linear polarizations, is adopted as the exciter. By controlling the PIN diodes, the PRS can have different reflection phase distributions, giving the antenna different beam tilted states in eight azimuthal directions. The PRS has the same function on different linear polarization waves, so the antenna can realize polarization reconfiguration and beam steering simultaneously. A prototype antenna is fabricated and measured. The measured results show that, beam angles greater than 8° were obtained for each azimuthal direction at 5.5 GHz. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results was achieved, which confirms the correctness of the design principle.