Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Patients' attitudes towards the presence of medical students in family practice consultations.

BACKGROUND Patients' consent to being part of medical education is often taken for granted, both in primary and secondary care. Formal consent procedures are not used routinely during teaching and patients are not always aware of teaching activities. OBJECTIVE To investigate patients' attitudes and expectations on issues of consent regarding participation in teaching in general practice, and the influence of a student's presence on the consultation. METHODS The study took place in 46 teaching practices during the sixth year clinical internship in family medicine. Patients completed questionnaires at the end of 10 consecutive eligible consultations. The questionnaire contained data on the willingness to participate in teaching, the preferred consent procedure and the effects of the student's presence. The doctors were asked to estimate the sociodemographic level in their clinic area. RESULTS A total of 375 questionnaires were returned; the response rate was not affected by the clinic's sociodemographic level. Overall, 67% of the patients had come into contact with students in the past; 3.2% of the participants objected to the presence of a student during the consultation; 15% would insist on advance notification of the presence of a student, and another 13.9% would request it; 4% stated that the presence of students had a detrimental influence on the physical examination and history; and 33.6% would refuse to be examined by a student without the doctor's presence. CONCLUSION Most patients agreed to have a student present during the consultation; some would like prior notification; a minority refused the student's presence. A large minority would refuse to be examined without the tutor's presence. Our findings need to be taken into account when planning clinical clerkships.
Relationship Lending in Shadow Banking : Cross-Holding Relation through Money Market Funds

This paper explores the nature and impacts of shadow banks’ relationship lending by analyzing bilateral-connected financial firms who mutually hold each other’s debt through their own affiliated money market funds (MMFs). Using novel MMFs’ monthly holdings data, I show that, in the context of the 2011 Eurozone crisis, non-European financial firms surprisingly increased their MMFs’ stakes in bilateralconnected European financial firms, while MMFs generally reduced their exposure to European issuers. I provide evidence that this bias represents reciprocity between the bilateral-connected financial firms. In return, the European financial firms, through their affiliated MMFs, accepted more insecure than secure debt from their bilaterally-connected non-European partners during the same period. Issueror fundcharacteristics do not explain the results. Similar tests show that cross-holding relation (CHR) affects MMFs’ lending after the 2013 Dodd-Frank stress test in the same pattern. A further investigation shows that CHR also affects issuers unconnected with MMFs, because they are unable to raise money from new funds in a short time after their old lenders cut off the financing. JEL classifications: G21, G32, G10, G14
Soy Food Consumption and Lung Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis Using a Common Measure Across Studies

A published meta-analysis pooled individual studies by using the study-specific odds ratio (OR) or relative risk (RR) for the highest vs. lowest category of soy or isoflavone intake from each study, but it should be problematic to make comparison between studies/populations for lung cancer risk as the quantiles are so different from different studies/populations. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to explore the association between exposure of estimated daily soy protein intake in grams and lung cancer risk. We extracted ORs or RRs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), converted them to the estimated ones for daily soy protein intake and pooled them using fixed or random effects models from 11 epidemiologic studies. Overall, the inverse association between daily grams of soy protein intake and risk of lung cancer was borderline statistically significant (OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.96 to 1.00); the inverse association was statistically significant in nonsmokers (OR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.93 to 0.99) and stronger than in smokers (P for difference <0.05). No statistical significance for the associations was observed between genders, the origin of the participants, study design and types of soy intake. This study suggests a borderline reduction in risk of lung cancer with daily soy protein intake in grams, and a significant inverse association in nonsmokers.
Tune or text? Tune-text accommodation strategies in Portuguese

In Portuguese, different strategies for dealing with tune-text accommodation have been reported. However, no systematic research has been conducted exploring crucial cases of complex nuclear melodies realized in nuclear words with final stress, as in yes-no questions. Based on reading and semispontaneous data from ten regions in Brazil and eleven regions in Portugal, this study reveals that Brazilian and European Portuguese globally differ with respect to the strategies implemented: in Brazilian Portuguese, the text is preserved and the melody is changed (mostly by means of tonal truncation); in European Portuguese, the melody is preserved and the text is changed through various strategies, including schwa epenthesis. Faithfulness to the text or to the tune is thus a relevant dimension of variation both across and within languages, and text changes (through vowel lengthening, vowel split, vowel epenthesis, or blocking of vowel deletion) are crucial means to support tune realization that have recently been found in unrelated languages.
Assessment of fetal and placental blood flow in primates using contrast enhanced ultrasonography.

Ultrasonographic contrast agents that stay within the vascular space and do not cross the placenta may permit differentiation between the maternal and fetal portions of the placenta and may be clinically useful for diagnosis of placental abnormalities. This study was performed to assess the effects of Levovist (Schering AG, Berlin) on the placental circulation and to determine whether hemodynamic effects on the fetus occur. Ten studies were performed in five pregnant macaques (median weight, 9.15 kg; range, 6.15 to 11 kg; median gestational age, 121 days; range, 34 days to term) under anesthesia. Gray scale, color, and duplex Doppler sonographic scans of the fetus and placenta were acquired using a 5 MHz curved array transducer. Fetal heart rate, resistive index, and systolic‐diastolic ratios were measured in the fetal middle cerebral artery, aorta, umbilical artery, and uterine artery before and after administration of contrast agent. The following dose regimen was tested: 5 ml of physiologic saline solution followed by 0.1 ml/kg of 300 mg/ml Levovist (diagnostic dose), 0.5 ml/kg of 400 mg/ml Levovist (maximum dose), and 5 ml physiologic saline solution. The order of diagnostic dose and maximal dose was randomized among animals. Color enhancement of the basal portions of the placenta was documented after administration of contrast agent. Heart rate and middle cerebral artery systolic‐diastolic ratio did not change between baseline and injections. A 7% decrease of the resistive index from baseline to maximum dose was measured in the uterine artery (not significant). A 7.7% decrease in the systolic‐diastolic ratio from baseline to maximum dose was recorded in the umbilical artery. However, an identical change was measured after saline solution was injected. The resistive index in the aorta increased by 2.6% from baseline to maximum dose, a change that was not significant (P > 0.5). Ultrasonographic contrast enhancement of the maternal circulation in placenta is demonstrated to be without significant effects on the fetal circulation as measured in this limited population.
Observer and Biological Variation of a Rapid Whole Blood D-Dimer Test

Summary In consecutive patients with suspected venous thromboembolism the interobserver variability of the SimpliRED D-dimer test was evaluated by two observers who independently scored one plate, the between assay variation was performed simultaneously by a third independent observer, who assessed a second plate. The biological variation was studied, 1-4 hours later by an independent evaluation. A total of 155 patients entered the study, venous thromboembolism was present in 42 patients (28%). The interobserver variability was 2/83 samples, with a kappa of 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.88-1.0). The between assay variation was 2/98, with a kappa value of 0.96 (95% confidence interval 0.90-1.0). When testing the biological variation the observers disagreed in 2 of 69 patients (3%). The SimpliRED D-dimer assay has a good to excellent interobserver variability, between assay variation and reproducibility.
Relative Wage Variation and Industry Location in the United Kingdom

This paper shows that both relative wages and industry structure vary considerably across regions of the United Kingdom. In accordance with the neoclassical model of trade, regions abundant in a factor (i) exhibit lower relative prices of that factor than regions scarce in the factor, and (ii) tend to specialize in a mix of industries intensive in the use of the factor. We show that this specialization leads UK regions to be asymmetrically exposed to external macroeconomic or international trade shocks.
MRI measurements predict PSP in unclassifiable parkinsonisms

Objective: Magnetic resonance parkinsonism index (MRPI) has been proposed as a powerful tool to discriminate patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) from those with Parkinson disease (PD) or other parkinsonisms, on an individual basis. We investigated the usefulness of MRPI in predicting the clinical evolution in PSP of patients with clinically unclassifiable parkinsonism (CUP), i.e., parkinsonism not fulfilling the established clinical diagnostic criteria for any parkinsonian disorders, using a cohort study. Methods: Forty-five patients with CUP underwent baseline clinical evaluation and MRI with calculation of MRPI. All patients were divided in 2 groups according to MRPI values. A group included 30 patients with CUP with normal MRPI values while the other group included 15 patients with CUP with MRPI values suggestive of PSP (higher than 13.55). A clinical follow-up was performed in all patients. Results: Duration of clinical follow-up in these 2 groups was 28.4 ± 11.7 months (mean ± SD). None of the patients with CUP with normal MRPI values fulfilled established clinical criteria for PSP (follow-up ranging from 24 to 60 months). By contrast, 11 of 15 patients with CUP with abnormal MRPI values (higher than 13.55) developed during the follow-up (range from 6 to 48 months) additional clinical features characteristic of probable (1 patient) or possible (10 patients) PSP. MRPI showed a higher accuracy in predicting PSP (92.9%) than clinical features, such as vertical ocular slowness or first-year falls (61.9% and 73.8%, respectively). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that MRPI is more powerful than clinical features in predicting the evolution of CUP toward PSP phenotypes.
Parenting Styles, Individuation, and Mental Health of Arab Adolescents

The Psychological State Scale, Multigenerational Interconnectedness Scale, and the Parental Authority Questionnaire were administered to 2,893 Arab adolescents in eight Arab societies. In these tests, adolescents raised according to the inconsistent parenting scored lower in connectedness and higher in mental disorders than those raised according to the controlling or flexible-oriented parenting pattern. Authoritative parenting was associated with a higher level of connectedness with the family and better mental health of adolescents. A higher level of adolescent-family connectedness is associated with better mental health of adolescents. Results indicate that authoritarian parenting within an authoritarian culture does not harm the adolescents' mental health as it does within the Western liberal societies. These results give rise to the hypothesis that inconsistency in parenting and inconsistency between the parenting style and the culture cause harm to adolescents' mental health.
Follicular growth and regression during the 8 days after hypophysectomy in sheep.

Ewes were hypophysectomized on Day 0 and ovariectomized 1, 2, 4 or 8 days later. There was no effect of hypophysectomy on the overall population of follicles greater than 0.8 mm in diameter during the time studied. However, the growth of healthy follicles greater than 2 mm in diameter was prevented by Day 2. Turnover of follicles was very active in the ovaries of hypophysectomized ewes as shown by peaks in the proportion of follicles in early atresia at Day 4 and in advanced atresia at Days 1 and 8. By Day 8, most of the measures of the population of follicles 0.8 to 2 mm in diameter were back to the values of Day 0 ewes. The mitotic index of the granulosa cells of the healthy follicles exhibited a similar pattern with a nadir at Day 2 followed by a return at Days 4 and 8 to values similar to Day 0 ewes. Ink-marked preovulatory follicles underwent a steady decrease in their histological size after hypophysectomy and this was associated with time-related changes in the health status of these follicles. By Day 1, 4 out of 7 follicles were still healthy while at Days 2, 4 and 8, all follicles were in advanced, late and collapsing atresia respectively. There was no evidence of an ability of PMSG (1000 i.u.) to rescue large follicles in advanced atresia (48 h after hypophysectomy). Furthermore, at 24 h after hypophysectomy, only 2 out of 5 follicles were maintained. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Hypertonicity-Induced Expression of Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 through a Novel Cis-Acting Element and MAPK Signaling Pathways

MCP1 is upregulated by various stimuli, including LPS, high glucose, and hyperosmolality. However, the molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulation of the MCP1 gene under hyperosmolar conditions are poorly understood. Treatment of NRK52E cells with NaCl or mannitol resulted in significant elevation of MCP1 mRNA and protein in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Treatment with a p38MAPK inhibitor (SB203580), an ERK inhibitor (PD98059), or an MEK inhibitor (U0126), suppressed the increase in MCP1 expression caused by hypertonic NaCl, whereas a JNK inhibitor (SP600125) and an AP1 inhibitor (curcumin) failed to attenuate MCP1 mRNA expression by NaCl. In the 5′-flanking region of the MCP1 gene, there is a sequence motif similar to the consensus TonE/ORE as well as the consensus C/E binding protein (BP), NF-κB, and AP1/Sp1 sites. Luciferase activity in cells transfected with reporter constructs containing a putative TonE/ORE element (MCP1-TonE/ORE) enhanced reporter gene expression under hypertonic stress. Results of electrophoretic gel mobility shift assay showed a slow migration of the MCP1-TonE/ORE probe, representing the binding of TonEBP/OREBP/NFAT5 to this enhancer element. These results indicate that the 5′-flanking region of MCP1 contains a hypertonicity-sensitive cis-acting element, MCP1-TonE/ORE, as a novel element in the MCP1 gene. Furthermore, p38MAPK and MEK–ERK pathways appear to be, at least in part, involved in hypertonic stress-mediated regulation of MCP1 expression through the MCP1-TonE/ORE.
Chloroquine normalizes aberrant transforming growth factor beta activity in cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelial cells

Cystic fibrosis (CF) remains a fatal progressive disease in spite of the discovery and characterization of the CFTR gene. Transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β) has been implicated in pathophysiology of CF. Previous reports have shown the trans‐Golgi network (TGN) is hyperacdified in CF epithelial cells in culture and that this hyperacidification can be corrected with the membrane permeant weak base, chloroquine. In this study bioactive TGF‐β produced by CF and normal cells was measured using a reporter cell line with a TGF‐β responsive promoter linked to luciferase. Increased levels of TGF‐β were detected in the conditioned media from CF epithelial cells compared to their matched controls—(IB3‐1 vs. S9; pCEP‐R vs. pCEP, CuFi‐4 vs. NuLi‐1). Levels of TGF‐β were normalized with chloroquine indicating that the hyperacidification of the TGN of CF cells is responsible for the altered TGF‐β levels. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2006; 41: 771–778. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
On Nonparametric Variance Estimation for Second-Order Statistics of Inhomogeneous Spatial Point Processes With a Known Parametric Intensity Form

We introduce new variance estimation procedures for second-order statistics that are computed from a single realization of intensity reweighted stationary spatial point processes. The statistics are defined either on a subset B of the observation window or on the whole window. For the former, we use subblocks that have the same size and shape as B as “replicates” of B in order to estimate the target variance. For the latter, we develop a subsampling estimator for a key component in the target variance and estimate its other components by method-of-moment methods. Under some suitable conditions, we prove that the proposed variance estimators are consistent for the target variances in both cases. Simulations and an application to a real data example are used to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed methods. This article has supplementary material online.
Brain abscess: analysis of results in a series of 51 patients with a combined surgical and medical approach during an 11-year period.

OBJECT In this study the authors' goal was to present the clinical and imaging results of the combined surgical and medical treatment of intracranial abscesses. METHODS The authors retrospectively analyzed the data in 51 patients with intracranial abscesses who underwent surgery between January 1997 and November 2007. Patients were treated with aspiration through a single bur hole, total resection with open craniotomy, or image-guided stereotactic aspiration. Computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging was performed approximately 24 hours after surgery to evaluate the size of the abscess and almost weekly during follow-up until the abscess and/or cerebral edema was reduced. Clinical results were analyzed using modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores. RESULTS There were 36 male and 15 female patients, and their ages ranged from 14 months to 58 years (mean 29 years). Adjacent localized cranial infection was the most common predisposing factor in 31 patients (61%). Thirty-two patients were treated by repeated aspiration via a single bur hole. Streptococcus and Staphylococcus species were isolated most frequently. No statistically significant difference between causative organisms and clinical outcome was identified (p > 0.05). Assessment of overall 1-year clinical outcomes was favorable (mRS Scores 0-2) in 76.5% of patients (39 of 51 patients). The initial neurological condition was strongly correlated with the clinical outcome (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS A combination of surgical aspiration or removal of all abscesses > 2.5 cm in diameter, a 6-week or longer course of intravenous antibiotics, and weekly neuroimaging should yield cure rates of > 90% in patients with intracranial abscesses.
Impact of incorporating the 2C5 crystal structure into comparative models of cytochrome P450 2D6

Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) metabolizes approximately one third of the drugs in current clinical use. To gain insight into its structure and function, we have produced four different sets of comparative models of 2D6: one based on the structures of P450s from four different microorganisms (P450 terp, P450 eryF, P450 cam, and P450 BM3), another on the only mammalian P450 (2C5) structure available, and the other two based on alternative amino acid sequence alignments of 2D6 with all five of these structures. Principal component analysis suggests that inclusion of the 2C5 crystal structure has a profound effect on the modeling process, altering the general topology of the active site, and that the models produced differ significantly from all of the templates. The four models of 2D6 were also used in conjunction with molecular docking to produce complexes with the substrates codeine and 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP); this identified Glu 216 [in the F‐helix; substrate recognition site (SRS) 2] as a key determinant in the binding of the basic moiety of the substrate. Our studies suggest that both Asp 301 and Glu 216 are required for metabolism of basic substrates. Furthermore, they suggest that Asp 301 (I‐helix, SRS‐4), a residue thought from mutagenesis studies to bind directly to the basic moiety of substrates, may play a key role in positioning the B′‐C loop (SRS‐1) and that the loss of activity on mutating Asp 301 may therefore be the result of an indirect effect (movement of the B′‐C loop) on replacing this residue. Proteins 2002;49:216–231. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Robust control of digital-controlled buck converter based upon two-degree-of-freedom controller

The main theme of this paper is to present a robust controller for digital-controlled power converters. The controller design and digital implementation to robust control to achieve robustness to load disturbance while retaining steady state performance of digital-controlled buck converter are presented. The robust controller is designed based upon two-degree-of-freedom control law. The specifications of the designed and implemented buck converter include: input voltage of 12 V, output voltage of 3.3 V and output current of 20 A. Experimental results derived from the DSP-based system demonstrate that the buck converter based upon the designed two-degree-of-freedom digital controller provides superior tracking and load regulation performance as compared to conventional controller.
New method for ship detection in synthetic aperture radar imagery based on the human visual attention system

Abstract We propose a new algorithm for ship detection in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images based on the human visual attention system. The human visual attention system identifies the prominent objects in images or scenes so that these objects can be more noticeable. Since the ships in a SAR image of the ocean are prominent objects, they can easily be identified through the human visual attention system. Thus, for detection of ships in the SAR images, the present study (through its application) has modeled the human visual attention system in the detection stage. In this way, not only can the targets be precisely detected, but also the falsely detected pixels are significantly reduced. Compared to most existing algorithms in the literature, our proposed algorithm can be used for both homogeneous and nonhomogeneous images. Accordingly, its performance is independent of the image type (homogeneous or nonhomogeneous) and the computation time significantly decreases. Experimental results have shown the efficiency of the proposed algorithm for various SAR images from ERS-1, ERS-2, and ALOS PALSAR data.