Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring younger onset dementia: A comprehensive literature search of the quantitative psychosocial research

Background Research is beginning to demonstrate the unique psychosocial effects of young onset dementia. Theorising remains at an early stage and there has been little discussion about measurement and methodological issues. Our aim was to conduct a comprehensive literature search of the young onset dementia psychosocial research, and to identify the domains of experience measured with patients and caregivers. Method We conducted a search of five electronic databases (Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, the Cochrane Library) using equivalent database controlled vocabulary terms. We supplemented this search by using free text searches within electronic databases, searching reference sections of salient papers, and using online search engines. We defined psychosocial as referring to patient and caregiver psychological, behavioural, and social functioning in the context of living with young onset dementia. Results We identified 72 published articles, 49 quantitative and 23 qualitative. The quantitative articles form the focus of the present review. We identified 10 domains of patient experience measured and 14 domains of caregiver experience. The patient domains measured most often were behaviour, cognition, functioning, and severity, and reflected a focus on symptoms and clinical features. Quality of Life (QoL) was the patient domain measured least often. The caregiver domains measured most often were mental health and burden, and reflected a focus on psychological well-being and coping. Conclusion The scope of measurement is broader in caregivers than patients. QoL although under-researched may be a useful domain to measure in future research. Risk factors, measurement and methodological issues are discussed.
Respiratory syncytial virus and metapneumovirus in children over two seasons with a high incidence of respiratory infections in Brazil

Abstract Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are one of the most important causes of death in children. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), a virus first described in 2001, has now been detected in almost all continents. HMPV causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia with a clinical spectrum similar to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). We describe the incidence of HMPV and RSV during two consecutive seasons with a high incidence of ARI in Aracaju, Brazil. HMPV was responsible for 24% of cases of bronchiolitis in the 1st season (April–May 2002) but was not found in the 2nd year (April–May 2003). RSV was recovered from 61 (55%) children with ARI in 2002 and from 72 (68%) in 2003. Children with RSV bronchiolitis in 2002 had more hypoxia but less wheezing than in 2003. The incidence of HMPV and RSV genotypes causing bronchiolitis varied between the years. Long-term prospective studies are required to better describe the epidemiology of these viruses in children.
A pilot study of a minimally supervised home exercise and walking program for people with Parkinson's disease in Jordan.

AIM This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and cultural considerations of a minimally supervised, home-based exercise program in Jordan. METHODS Quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. Thirty participants were randomly allocated to either an 8-week intervention group (n = 16), or a standard care group (n = 14). The intervention incorporated the home use of an exercise DVD, walking program and initial instructional sessions and weekly phone calls provided by a physiotherapist. Interviews were used to explore feasibility. Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS-III); balance and walking speed were assessed. RESULTS The retention rate was 86.7% and mean adherence rate was 77%. Personal and sociocultural barriers of adherence to the exercise program were identified. UPDRS-III at follow-up was lower in the intervention group. CONCLUSION A home exercise program was feasible. Sociocultural barriers specific to Arabic culture may affect the uptake of such an intervention in Parkinson's disease in these countries.
An adaptive H∞ tracking control for a class of nonlinear multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems

An adaptive H/sup /spl infin// tracking control equipped with a VSC algorithm is proposed for a class of nonlinear multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems that are represented by input-output models involving parametric uncertainties, unmodeled perturbations and external disturbances. In order to counteract the effect due to the unmodeled perturbation in the input weighting gain the H/sup /spl infin// tracking control requires to solve a modified algebraic Riccati-like matrix equation. The derived hybrid adaptive-robust tracking control schemes guarantee that all the signals and states are bounded, the tracking error is uniformly and ultimately bounded and an H/sup /spl infin// tracking performance is achieved. Compared with the conventional H/sup /spl infin// tracking control design the developed adaptive-robust H/sup /spl infin// tracking control scheme can be applied to a broader class of nonlinear MIMO systems in the presence of high-degree uncertainties.
Attention dysfunction predicts substance involvement in community youths.

OBJECTIVE Cognitive impairments influence alcohol and drug treatment outcomes, though little is known about how neurocognition affects the development of harmful substance use patterns. This study examined the influence of adolescent attention functioning on the development of substance use problems in 66 high-risk youths over an 8-year period. METHOD Participants were community youths who were free from any history of substance use disorders, neurological illness, and mood, anxiety, or psychotic disorders at project intake and were administered neuropsychological tests and substance involvement interviews from ages 15 through 23 on average. Substance involvement was assessed by self-report, resource person reports, and randomly sampled toxicology screens. RESULTS Attention/executive functioning scores obtained at the intake neuropsychological assessment significantly predicted substance use and dependence symptoms 8 years later, even after controlling for intake substance involvement, gender, education, conduct disorder, family history of substance use disorders, and learning disabilities. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that adolescents with limited attentional abilities, but not necessarily attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnoses, may be at risk for developing more problematic alcohol and drug involvement. Thus prevention and treatment efforts should target youths with attentional difficulties by using programs that are effective for those with compromised concentration and processing abilities.
Interface charge behavior of multi-layer oil–paper insulation under DC and polarity reversal voltages

Transformer oil, insulating paper, high voltage direct current (HVDC) bushings and on-load tap changer (OLTC) are essential parts of converter transformers. When the power flow of the HVDC system is reversed or a sudden outrage occurs, the charge field will deform the dielectric internal electric field, thus easily leading to the occurrence of discharge or insulation damage. In this case, it is necessary to carry out the characterization of the oil-paper interface to avoid these consequences. This paper analyses the interface charge accumulation and dissipation characteristics of an oil-paper insulation system under DC and polarity reversal voltages. In this paper, induced electrification was used to charge the composite oil-paper insulation. The amplitude of DC and polarity reversal voltages applied in this paper was 4 kV, and paper with thicknesses of 0.08 and 0.13 mm was used. This research offers a theoretical exploration to optimize the transformer oil- paper insulation structure and prevent damage to its insulation systems. From the research on different layers and thicknesses of paper, it can be concluded that the decay is fast in the initial period and then becomes slower with the lapse of time until finally the decay curve tends to become flat. With an increase in the number of the paper layers, the interface charge density decreases. So in real life multilayer paper is used to avoid failures owing to its structural weakness. Regarding the DC polarity reversal effect, increasing the thickness of the paper is equivalent to adding paper layers. The dissipation rate of the positive interface charge is quicker than that of the negative one. In the polarity reversal test, the dissipation rate becomes smaller as the reversal time gets longer.
A multicenter randomized comparison between high-definition white light endoscopy and narrow band imaging for detection of gastric lesions

Objective Narrow band imaging (NBI) is generally considered to be useful for lesion characterization, but not enhanced detection of gastric lesions, because of the dark endoscopic view. We tested whether the new generation of NBI (190-NBI or 290-NBI), which is twice as bright as the previous version, would improve detection of premalignant gastric lesions compared with high-definition white light endoscopy (HD-WLE). Patients and methods This was a multicenter prospective randomized study involving five tertiary institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. A total of 579 patients aged older than 50 years who underwent diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were randomized to either HD-WLE or NBI. The outcome measurements were detection of intestinal metaplasia (IM), focal gastric lesions, and gastric cancers. Results Focal gastric lesions were detected in 83/286 (29%) and 119/293 patients (40.6%) by HD-WLE and by NBI, respectively (P=0.003). IM was detected in 22/286 patients (7.7%) by HD-WLE and in 52/293 patients (17.7%) by NBI (P<0.001). Gastric cancer were found in 7/286 (2.4%) and 3/293 patients (1%) in HD-WLE and NBI groups, respectively (P=0.189). Conclusion NBI increased the detection rate of IM compared with HD-WLE.
Pediatric Care as Part of the US Army Medical Mission in the Global War on Terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq, December 2001 to December 2004

OBJECTIVE. Our objective in this report was to describe the epidemiologic features of and workload associated with pediatric admissions to 12 US Army military hospitals deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. METHODS. The Patient Administration Systems and Biostatistics Activity database was queried for all local national patients <18 years of age who were admitted to deployed Army hospitals in Afghanistan and Iraq between December 2001 and December 2004. RESULTS. Pediatric admissions during the study period were 1012 (4.2%) of 24227 admissions, occupying 10% of all bed-days. The median length of stay was 4 days (interquartile range: 1–8 days). The largest proportion of children were 11 to 17 years of age (332 of 757 children; 44%), although 45 (6%) of 757 children hospitalized were <1 year of age. The majority (63%) of pediatric patients admitted required either general surgical or orthopedic procedures. The in-hospital mortality rate for all pediatric patients was 59 (5.8%) of 1012 patients, compared with 274 (4.5%) of 6077 patients for all adult non-US coalition patients. CONCLUSIONS. Pediatric patients with injuries threatening life, limb, or eyesight are part of the primary responsibility of military medical facilities during combat and have accounted for a significant number of admissions and hospital bed-days in deployed Army hospitals in Afghanistan and Iraq. Military medical planners must continue to improve pediatric medical support, including personnel, equipment, and medications that are necessary to treat children injured during combat operations, as well as those for whom the existing host nation medical infrastructure is unable to provide care.
Inflation Thresholds and the Efficiency of the Banking Sector

This study re-examines the validity of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) by focusing on the real effective exchange rates (REERs) for the post-Bretton Woods period, using newly developed unit root tests that account for both nonlinearity and smooth temporary multiple breaks in the data. The tests are applied to the REERs of 23 developed countries and are able to reject the null hypothesis of a unit root in 20 cases. The test results reveal that large swings truly exist in most of the REERs, therefore it is crucial to model these infrequent smooth temporary mean changes in the data in testing the (non)stationarity of the REERs. The study provides stronger support than most of previous studies for that PPP holds in a stricter, multi-country version during the floating exchange rate period for the majority of developed countries.
Intraspecific trait variation can weaken interspecific trait correlations when assessing the whole‐plant economic spectrum

Abstract The worldwide plant economic spectrum hypothesis predicts that leaf, stem, and root traits are correlated across vascular plant species because carbon gain depends on leaves being adequately supplied with water and nutrients, and because construction of each organ involves a trade‐off between performance and persistence. Despite its logical and intuitive appeal, this hypothesis has received mixed empirical support. If traits within species diverge in their responses to an environmental gradient, then interspecific trait correlations could be weakened when measured in natural ecosystems. To test this prediction, we measured relative growth rates (RGR) and seven functional traits that have been shown to be related to fluxes of water, nutrients, and carbon across 56 functionally diverse tree species on (1) juveniles in a controlled environment, (2) juveniles in forest understories, and (3) mature trees in forests. Leaf, stem, and fine root traits of juveniles grown in a controlled environment were closely correlated with each other, and with RGR. Remarkably, the seven leaf, stem, and fine root tissue traits spanned a single dimension of variation when measured in the controlled environment. Forest‐grown juveniles expressed lower leaf mass per area, but higher wood and fine root tissue density, than greenhouse‐grown juveniles. Traits and growth rates were decoupled in forest‐grown juveniles and mature trees. Our results indicate that constraints exist on the covariation, not just the variation, among vegetative plant organs; however, divergent responses of traits within species to environmental gradients can mask interspecific trait correlations in natural environments. Correlations among organs and relationships between traits and RGR were strong when plants were compared in a standardized environment. Our results may reconcile the discrepancies seen among studies, by showing that if traits and growth rates of species are compared across varied environments, then the interorgan trait correlations observed in controlled conditions can weaken or disappear.
A study of skin disorders in patients with primary psychiatric conditions.

BACKGROUND The skin occupies a powerful position as an organ of communication and plays an important role in socialization throughout life. The interface between dermatology and psychiatry is complex and of clinical importance. AIMS To document the incidence of cutaneous disorders in patients with primary psychiatric conditions. METHODS Three hundred patients with a primary psychiatric condition who had cutaneous disease were entered into the study group. The patients were classified appropriately based on the classification of psychocutaneous disorders. The control group included 300 patients presenting with a skin disorder and without any known psychiatric complaint. RESULTS The majority of the cases in the study group were in the 3rd-5th decade. In this study, the most common primary psychiatric conditions were manic depressive psychosis (53.33%), depression (36.33%), schizophrenia (8.33%) and anxiety (2%). Of the study group, 68.66% patients had infective dermatoses and the rest had non-infective dermatoses. A high incidence of pityriasis versicolor and dermatophyte infections was noted in males from the study group. Among non-infective dermatoses, 8% had eczema, and psychogenic skin disorders were seen in 4.67% of the study group. Of these, delusions of parasitosis were the commonest (2%) followed by venereophobia (1%). CONCLUSIONS A statistically significant higher incidence of tinea versicolor and dermatophyte infections was seen in the study group. Delusion of parasitosis was the most common psychogenic skin disorder seen in the study group, followed by venereophobia.
Comparison of AC drives for electric vehicles-a report on experts' opinion survey

It is recognized that wide applications of electric vehicles (EVs) will bring tremendous social, economical and ecological benefits. With the growing interests in electric vehicles, much effort is demanded for the development of efficient, reliable and economical AC drives' for EV propulsion purpose. Both induction motor (IM) drives and permanent magnet brushless DC motor (IM) drives have been applied to EVs. Switched reluctance motor (SRM) drives have been proposed as an alternative for EV propulsion. In order to assess the suitability of IM, BDCM and SRM drives for EV applications and to provide a technical support for the development and selection of future EV propulsion systems, the existing EV AC propulsion drives were compared, and a survey of experts' opinions was conducted. Comparison of the three AC drives was made on a relative and a quantitative basis using the survey questionnaires. According to the majority of the experts, induction motor drives are best suited for EV propulsion purpose, due to their low cost, high reliability, high speed, established converter and manufacturing technology, low torque ripple/noise and absence of position sensors. BDCM drives feature compactness, low weight and high efficiency and therefore provide an alternative for EV propulsion. The experts regard insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) as the most suited power semiconductor devices for AC drive converters at the present stage. <<ETX>>
Aerobic exercise in depressed youth: A feasibility and clinical outcomes pilot

Major depressive disorder (MDD) onset generally occurs in adolescence/early adulthood. However, pharmacotherapy use in younger populations is restricted due to black box warnings. Aerobic exercise may be a viable treatment option for mild‐to‐moderate MDD, but little is known about its acceptability/effectiveness in young adults.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lung: Does the Nm23 Gene Expression Correlate to the Tumor Stage?

We examined the nm23 gene activity in 30 human squamous cell carcinomas of the lung using the Northern blot analysis. Matched healthy lung tissue was available from 10 patients. 26 tumor samples were obtained after resection treatment between 1986 and 1990, 4 additional samples of advanced stages from autopsy. We found a significant increase of nm23 expression towards advanced stages of squamous cell carcinoma (IIIa vs. I: p < 0.015, IV vs. II: p < 0.043, IV vs. I: p < 0.043). Furthermore in stage I and II, poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinomas contained significantly more nm23 mRNA than did moderately differentiated ones (p < 0.027). We could also demonstrate an inverse correlation between the levels of nm23 mRNA and disease-free survival after resection treatment (p < 0.016, chi 2-test for trend). Thus the nm23-gene activity correlates to the tumor stage and the grade of differentiation of the squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, and is therefore of prognostic relevance. It might be possible to describe the biological behaviour of the individual tumor more accurately by the additional measurement of the nm23 mRNA.
Different Forms of Oestrogen Rapidly Upregulate Cell Proliferation in the Dentate Gyrus of Adult Female Rats

Oestrogens are known to exert significant structural and functional effects in the hippocampus of adult rodents. The dentate gyrus of the hippocampus retains the ability to produce neurones throughout adulthood and 17β‐oestradiol has been shown to influence hippocampal neurogenesis in adult female rats. The effects of other oestrogens, such as oestrone and 17α‐oestradiol, on neurogenesis have not been investigated. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of 17β‐oestradiol, oestradiol benzoate, oestrone, and 17α‐oestradiol on cell proliferation in ovariectomised adult female rats at two different time points. Young ovariectomised female rats were injected with one of the oestrogens at one of three doses. In Experiment 1, rats were exposed to the hormone for 4 h and, in Experiment 2, rats were exposed to the hormone for 30 min prior to 5‐bromo‐2‐deoxyuridine injection to label proliferating cells and their progeny. We found that young ovariectomised females responded with increased cell proliferation to most oestrogens, except oestradiol benzoate, after 30 min of exposure. However, administration of oestrogens for a longer time interval was ineffective at increasing cell proliferation. After 30 min, 17β‐oestradiol and oestrone increased cell proliferation at low (0.3 μg) and high (10 μg) doses, whereas 17α‐oestradiol increased cell proliferation at medium (1 μg) and high doses. The results of the present study indicate that different oestrogens rapidly increase cell proliferation in a dose‐dependent manner, possibly through a nonclassical, nongenomic mechanism. Future experiments should focus on further elucidating the specific pathways utilised by each oestrogen. These results have important therapeutic implications because it may be possible to use 17α‐oestradiol and lower doses of oestrogens in hormone replacement therapies.
A single-amplifier 6-bit CMOS pipeline A/D converter for WCDMA receivers

An embedded single-amplifier 6-bit 15.36 MS/s CMOS pipeline A/D converter for WCDMA receivers is presented. By sharing an operational amplifier with two sequential stages and by using a mismatch insensitive dynamic comparator a total power dissipation of only 12 mW from 2.7 V supply is achieved. Special emphasis is put on the reduction of substrate noise coupling from the ADC's to the low noise amplifier and a very good isolation is achieved. The ADC's are implemented in a 0.35-/spl mu/m BiCMOS technology using only CMOS transistors and occupying 0.45 mm/sup 2/. According to the measurements, a DNL and INL of 0.27 LSB and 0.18 LSB are achieved while the SFDR and SNDR are 50 dB and 36 dB, respectively.
The upstream muscle-specific enhancer of the rat muscle creatine kinase gene is composed of multiple elements

A series of constructs that links the rat muscle creatine kinase promoter to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene was generated. These constructs were introduced into differentiating mouse C2C12 myogenic cells to localize sequences that are important for up-regulation of the creatine kinase gene during myogenic differentiation. A muscle-specific enhancer element responsible for induction of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression during myogenesis was localized to a 159-base-pair region from 1,031 to 1,190 base pairs upstream of the transcription start site. Analysis of transient expression experiments using promoters mutated by deletion indicated the presence of multiple functional domains within this muscle-specific regulatory element. A DNA fragment spanning this region was used in DNase I protection experiments. Nuclear extracts derived from C2 myotubes protected three regions (designated E1, E2, and E3) on this fragment from digestion, which indicated there may be three or more trans-acting factors that interact with the creatine kinase muscle enhancer. Gel retardation assays revealed that factors able to bind specifically to E1, E2, and E3 are present in a wide variety of tissues and cell types. Transient expression assays demonstrated that elements in regions E1 and E3, but not necessarily E2, are required for full enhancer activity.