Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Routine prenatal ultrasonography: The pregnant woman’s expectations and perspectives on safety in a Central African obstetric population

Background: Pregnant women are important stakeholders regarding prenatal ultrasound (US) scanning. Their specific needs and preferences have to be ascertained by healthcare providers to ameliorate service delivery. Objective: To assess the pregnant woman’s expectations during routine prenatal US scan and her perspective ofUSsafety during pregnancy in a Central African obstetric population. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey of consenting pregnant women who reported for routine prenatal US scan using an anonymous questionnaire. A convenient sample of 200 participants was adopted. Results: Thirty-three (16.8%) respondents (on a total of 196) declared they had never done anUSscan. One hundred and eleven (58.4%) on a total of 190 stated that they had not received any information on what ultrasonography is all about. Before theUSscan the respondents would like to receive information on the aim or purpose of ultrasonography, possible inconveniences or risks, and on how to prepare before the scan. The most reported expectations were assurance of the wellbeing of the fetus (58%), gender determination (44.5%) and information on fetal position (20.5%). Thirty-four respondents considered ultrasonography as not perfectly safe for the mother or the “baby”, with the relevant reasons being the use or production of some potentially harmful “rays”. Conclusion: Pregnant women would want to be assured of the wellbeing of the fetus, the gender and position during routine prenatal US. They however need to be informed of its purpose and safety.
Cirrus cloud susceptibility to the injection of ice nuclei in the upper troposphere

Due to their net warming effect, cirrus clouds play a crucial role in the climate system. A recently proposed climate engineering mechanism (CEM) intends to reduce high cloud cover by seeding cirrus clouds with efficient ice nuclei (IN) and therefore cool climate. Here, the susceptibility of cirrus clouds to the injection of ice nuclei in the upper troposphere is investigated in the extended Community Atmospheric Model version 5 (CAM5). Due to large uncertainties associated with the dominant ice nucleation mechanism in cirrus clouds, different control cases were simulated. In addition to pure homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation, cases with competition between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation and different fractions of mineral dust active as IN were considered. Whereas seeding in the pure heterogeneous case leads to a strong warming due to overseeding, an optimal seeding IN concentration of approximately 18 l−1 was found for the other cases. For the optimal seeding concentration, a reduction in the net cloud forcing (NCF) of up to 2 W m−2 was simulated, corresponding to a strong cooling effect. To optimize the cooling and minimize the amount of seeding material, globally nonuniform seeding strategies were tested, with minimal seeding in the summer hemisphere and in the tropics. With seeding applied to less than half the globe, an even stronger reduction in the NCF was achieved. This suggests that the CEM could work for an atmosphere even with considerable heterogeneous ice nucleation and that the desired cooling could be obtained without seeding the entire globe.
Expression and alteration of ras and p53 proteins in patients with lung carcinoma accompanied by idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

The ras oncogene and the p53 tumor suppressor gene play important roles in the carcinogenic process of lung carcinoma. The authors evaluated whether alterations of the ras and p53 proteins may contribute to the development of lung carcinoma in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and whether such alterations may explain the high incidence of lung carcinoma among patients with IPF.
Silencing of integrin-linked kinase suppresses in vivo tumorigenesis of human ovarian carcinoma cells.

Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) plays a role in the regulation of multiple cellular functions (e.g., promoting cell migration and proliferation, but inhibiting cell adhesion). This study investigated the inhibitory effects of ILK gene knockdown on the regulation of in vivo tumorigenesis of human ovarian carcinoma cells in nude mouse xenografts. HO-8910 cells were transfected with an ILK antisense oligonucleotide (ILK-ASO) to silence the ILK gene. Expression of ILK mRNA and protein was evaluated by RT-PCR and western blotting, respectively. The cell cycle was assessed by flow cytometric analysis. Cells with or without ILK-ASO transfection were subcutaneously injected into nude mice. The mouse body weight, tumor formation, tumor size and tumor weight were determined up to 30 days after inoculation. Tumor cells transfected with ILK-ASO had significantly decreased ILK mRNA and protein expression (P<0.01) when compared to the control cells. ILK gene silencing significantly increased the number of cells in the G0/G1 phase (67.61 vs. 43.29%, χ2=1197.15, P<0.01). After tumor cell inoculation, tumor cells transfected with ILK-ASO showed significantly delayed tumor formation when compared to control (9.10±0.74 vs. 5.30±0.67 days, respectively; P<0.01). In addition, tumor growth was suppressed in the 30 days following inoculation (P<0.01 compared with the controls). The average tumor weight in the ILK-ASO group was statistically lower than that of the control group (1.29±0.11 vs. 1.57±0.13 g, respectively; P<0.01). This study demonstrated that ILK-ASO transfection efficiently downregulated ILK expression in human ovarian carcinoma HO-8910 cells and that ILK gene silencing suppressed tumor growth in nude mice xenografts.
Randomized clinical trial of standard dietary treatment versus a low‐carbohydrate/high‐protein diet or the LighterLife Programme in the management of obesity *

Background: With the current obesity epidemic, the search for effective weight loss approaches is required. In the present study, changes in weight, body composition and cardiovascular (CV) risk in response to a low‐fat, reduced‐energy diet (LFRE), a low‐carbohydrate/high‐protein diet (LCHP), or a commercially available very low‐calorie diet (LighterLife; LL) were assessed.
Laser speckle contrast imaging: multifractal analysis of data recorded in healthy subjects.

PURPOSE The monitoring of microvascular blood flow can now be performed with laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), a new noninvasive laser-based technique. LSCI images have good spatial and temporal resolutions. Nevertheless, from now, few processing of these data have been performed to have a better knowledge on their properties. We herein propose a multifractal analysis of LSCI data recorded in the forearm of healthy subjects, based on the method from Halsey et al., one of the popular methods using the box-counting technique. METHODS In laser speckle contrast image time sequences, we studied time evolution of pixel values, as well as time evolution of pixel values averaged in regions of interest (ROI) of different sizes. The results are compared with the ones obtained with single-point laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) signals recorded simultaneously to LSCI images. RESULTS Our work shows that, for the range of scales studied and with the method from Halsey et al., time evolution of pixel values present narrow multifractal spectra, reminding the ones of monofractal data. However, we observe that when LSCI pixel values are averaged in ROI large enough and followed with time, the multifractal spectra become larger and closer to the ones of LDF signals. CONCLUSIONS Single pixels from laser speckle contrast images may not possess the same multifractal properties as LDF signals. These findings could now be compared with the ones obtained with other ranges of scales and with data recorded from pathological subjects.
Long-term results of carmustine wafer implantation for newly diagnosed glioblastomas: a controlled propensity-matched analysis of a French multicenter cohort.

BACKGROUND The standard of care for newly diagnosed glioblastoma is maximal safe surgical resection, followed by chemoradiation therapy. We assessed carmustine wafer implantation efficacy and safety when used in combination with standard care. METHODS Included were adult patients with (n = 354, implantation group) and without (n = 433, standard group) carmustine wafer implantation during first surgical resection followed by chemoradiation standard protocol. Multivariate and case-matched analyses (controlled propensity-matched cohort, 262 pairs of patients) were conducted. RESULTS The median progression-free survival was 12.0 months (95% CI: 10.7-12.6) in the implantation group and 10.0 months (9.0-10.0) in the standard group and the median overall survival was 20.4 months (19.0-22.7) and 18.0 months (17.0-19.0), respectively. Carmustine wafer implantation was independently associated with longer progression-free survival in patients with subtotal/total surgical resection in the whole series (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.76 [95% CI: 0.63-0.92], P = .005) and after propensity matching (HR, 0.74 [95% CI: 0.60-0.92], P = .008), whereas no significant difference was found for overall survival (HR, 0.95 [0.80-1.13], P = .574; HR, 1.06 [0.87-1.29], P = .561, respectively). Surgical resection at progression whether alone or combined with carmustine wafer implantation was independently associated with longer overall survival in the whole series (HR, 0.58 [0.44-0.76], P < .0001; HR, 0.54 [0.41-0.70], P < .0001, respectively) and after propensity matching (HR, 0.56 [95% CI: 0.40-0.78], P < .0001; HR, 0.46 [95% CI: 0.33-0.64], P < .0001, respectively). The higher postoperative infection rate in the implantation group did not affect survival. CONCLUSIONS Carmustine wafer implantation during surgical resection followed by the standard chemoradiation protocol for newly diagnosed glioblastoma in adults resulted in a significant progression-free survival benefit.
DOES ILLNESS FOSTER DEPENDENCY? A STUDY OF EPILEPTIC AND DIABETIC CHILDREN

The development of inappropriate dependency was investigated among two comparable groups of children, one with newly diagnosed epilepsy or diabetes, the other with chronic epilepsy or diabetes. The two groups of epileptic children were significantly more dependent than the two diabetic groups, and than children in the general population. Psychiatric disturbance was significantly more common among the epileptic children, and possibly is a factor in their inappropriate dependency. Specific advice and counselling for the parents is likely to help promote the children's sense of self‐esteem and independence.
Movement disorder in reflex sympathetic dystrophy: A case proven to be psychogenic by surveillance video monitoring

After the first report by Marsden et al. in 1984 (I) , a number of authors described patients who developed abnormal involuntary movements of a limb after often trivial injury (sometimes after a delay of C3 years) (2-6). Most cases had associated features of reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), including severe burning pain (causalgia) and vasomotor, sudomotor, and trophic changes in skin, subcutaneous tissue, and bone. Abnormal movements reported included myoclonic jerks, dystonia, tremor, and prolonged muscle spasms. After Schwartzman and Kerrigan’s report of 43 such patients (4), Lang and Fahn (7) and Ecker (8) raised the possibility that the movement disorder of RSD may, in fact, be a psychogenic condition. Lang (9) included one patient with clinical features of RSD in a review of 18 cases of psychogenic dystonia. In a recent review of the causalgia4ystonia syndrome, Bhatia et al. (5) concluded that “it is impossible to decide whether this distressing syndrome is a true functional disorder of the central nervous system, or is of psychogenic origin. ” We now report a patient who developed a movement disorder with diagnosed RSD, who was proven to have a psychogenic condition based on surveillance video monitoring performed as part of a legal proceeding.
Prevalence of juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome in an urban population of Turkish adolescents: impact on depressive symptoms, quality of life and school performance

Background Juvenile Fibromyalgia Syndrome (JFMS) is a chronic health condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and multiple tender points (TP). The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of JFMS in the urban population of Samsun and to determine the impact of JFMS on depression symptoms, school performance and quality of life (QOL). Methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted in 1109 children (mean age (14.8±2.0) years old). A questionnaire was applied to the children and a medical examination including TP was performed. Yunus and Masi's criteria were used for diagnosis of JFMS. The children with JFMS were compared with an age and sex matched non‐JFMS group. Depression was assessed with Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and QOL was evaluated with Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 (PedsQL4.0). Results Sixty‐one (5.5%) (13 boys and 48 girls) of 1109 children met the diagnostic criteria of JFMS. While PedsQL scores of children with JFMS were lower than the non‐JFMS group for physical, emotional, social, school functioning and total score (P=0.001), CDI total score was higher in the JFMS group than in the non‐JFMS group (P=0.001). The JFMS group reported more school absences (P=0.001) and the average school grade was lower in the JFMS group than in the non‐JFMS group (P=0.03). Conclusion The prevalence of JFMS is high in school age children. Since JFMS is a common problem of childhood, early diagnosis and identification of the disorder and more comprehensive and successful treatment approaches with appropriate psychological assistance may prevent more complex and severe problems in adulthood.
Cognitive function modifies the effect of physiological function on the risk of multiple falls--a population-based study.

BACKGROUND There is a poor understanding of the interplay between cognitive and physiological functions in leading to falls. We hypothesized that poorer physiological function would modify the effect of poorer cognitive function on increased risk of falling in older people. METHODS A range of cognitive (executive function/attention, memory, processing speed, and visuospatial ability) and physiological functions (vision, proprioception, sway, leg strength, reaction time) were measured using standardized tests in 386 randomly selected adults aged 60-86. Incident falls were recorded over 12 months. Log-multinomial regression was used to model the relationships and test for interactions between cognition and physiological function in explaining the risk of single or multiple falls. RESULTS Overall, 94 people (24.4%) had a single fall, and 78 (20.2%) had multiple falls. No significant associations were observed between cognitive function and the risk of single falls. The risk of multiple falls was increased with poorer function in Stroop dot time (RR = 1.03, 95% CI [1.01, 1.05], p = .002) and Stroop word time (RR = 1.02 [1.01, 1.03], p = .001) and reduced with better function in Category Fluency (RR = 0.94 [0.91, 0.98], p = .001) and visuospatial function (RR = 0.95 [0.92, 0.98], p < .001). These associations were amplified by the presence of greater body sway, less ambulatory physical activity, slower reaction time and gait speed, weaker muscle strength, and poorer visual contrast (p for interactions <.05). CONCLUSIONS Preventing falls due to physiological impairments in community-dwelling older people may need to be tailored based on cognitive impairment, a key factor in their inability to compensate for physical decline.
Diabetes Mellitus and Pancreatic Cysts in African Americans

*Inclusion criteria for DM2: fasting blood sugar ≥ 126; 1 random blood sugar ≥ 200 with symptoms; glycosylated hemoglobin ≥ 6.5; and 5-year history of DM. IQR indicates interquartile range; HX, history. P ancreatic cysts are collections of fluid near or within the pancreas. A few studies have evaluated their risk factors in patients without a history of pancreatitis. Pseudocysts are the most common cystic lesions and may be formed in the setting of acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis, or pancreatic trauma. Age, C-reactive protein, and high lactate dehydrogenase seem to be risk factors and indicators for pancreatic fluid collections and pseudocyst formation. One of the most common pancreatic-associated disorders is diabetes mellitus (DM). Whether DM is involved or not in pancreatic cysts formation is not well established.We investigated such an association in 207 African American patients with pancreatic cysts from 1988 to 2012. The rate of pancreatic cysts without a history of pancreatitis has been increasing in a stepwise fashion in the last 25 years on the basis of 5-year interval (33%–49%, Fig. 1), whereas pancreatic cysts with a history of pancreatitis have been decreasing (67%–51%, Fig. 1). At the same time, DM significantly increased from 8.3% to 52.7%. Patients with pancreatic cysts without a history of pancreatitis were older (P = 0.002) and more female (47% vs 29%, P = 0.01). Twenty-nine percent of patients without a history of pancreatitis were diabetic versus 11% of patients with a history of pancreatitis (P = 0.001, Table 1). Table 1 depicts the statistically significant parameters because it relates to pancreatic cysts in the analyzed cohort. Our data showed that in patients with pancreatic cysts, older age, DM, and female sex are associated with no history of pancreatitis. Parallel increasing trends of
Interbank Counterparty Risk and Recovery Rates in Credit Default Swaps

In this paper, I measure the interbank counterparty risk embedded in bank credit default swap (CDS) contracts. When a bank writes a CDS contract on the default of another bank, the buyer of that contract is faced with the risk of joint default by both banks. Using a unique feature of CDS data, I present a new approach for valuing CDS spreads that enables identification of the joint and conditional default probabilities, allowing for time variant recovery rates. I use the term structure of CDS spreads and option implied default probabilities to estimate time-variant joint default probabilities and time-variant recovery rates. In comparison to this approach, estimating interbank counterparty risk from CDS spreads assuming a fixed recovery rate underestimates joint default probability when the market is in distress. I apply the joint estimation method to measure interbank counterparty risk of CDS dealers from 2007 to 2010 and find that the fixed recovery rate model underestimates expected counterparty risk by approximately 21% when the market is in distress. In addition, I show that a bank’s vulnerability to systemic risk, defined as the average conditional default probability of a bank conditional on default of its counterparties, is correlated with existing measure of systemic risk. JEL Classification: G01, G12, G21
Ka-band Coplanar Low-Noise Amplifier Design with Power PHEMTs

The design of a coplanar low-noise amplifier (LNA) is presented in this paper. Pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors (PHEMTs), optimized for power applications, are used in order to evaluate the potentiality of this technology for mixed-mode applications. The three stages amplifier noise figure is lower than 2.6 dB on the 27 - 31 GHz frequency band with a 20 dB power gain.
Lactate Clearance Is a Useful Biomarker for the Prediction of All-Cause Mortality in Critically Ill Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis*

Objectives:Lactate clearance has been widely investigated for its prognostic value in critically ill patients. However, the results are conflicting. The present study aimed to explore the diagnostic accuracy of lactate clearance in predicting mortality in critically or acutely ill patients. Data Sources:Databases of Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Knowledge were searched from inception to June 2013. Study Selection:Studies investigating the prognostic value of lactate clearance were defined as eligible. The searched item consisted of terms related to critically ill patients and terms related to lactate clearance. Data Extraction:The following data were extracted: the name of the first author, publication year, subjects and setting, mean age of study population, sample size, male percentage, mortality of study cohort, definition of clearance, and the initial lactate level. Relative risk was reported to estimate the predictive value of lactate clearance on mortality rate, with relative risk less than 1 indicating that lactate clearance was a protective factor. Meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy of lactate clearance in predicting mortality was performed by using hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic model. Data Synthesis:A total of 15 original articles were included in the study. Because of the significant heterogeneity across studies (I 2 = 61.4%), random-effects model was used to pool relative risks. The pooled relative risk for mortality was 0.38 (95% CI, 0.29–0.50). The overall sensitivity and specificity for lactate clearance to predict mortality were 0.75 (95% CI, 0.58–0.87) and 0.72 (95% CI, 0.61–0.80), respectively. The diagnostic performance improved slightly when meta-analysis was restricted to ICU patients, with sensitivity and specificity of 0.83 (95% CI, 0.67–0.92) and 0.67 (95% CI, 0.59–0.75), respectively. Conclusion:Our study demonstrates that lactate clearance is predictive of lower mortality rate in critically ill patients, and its diagnostic performance is optimal for clinical utility.
Uses and Gratifications of Social Media: A Comparison of Facebook and Instant Messaging

Users have adopted a wide range of digital technologies into their communication repertoire. It remains unclear why they adopt multiple forms of communication instead of substituting one medium for another. It also raises the question: What type of need does each of these media fulfill? In the present article, the authors conduct comparative work that examines the gratifications obtained from Facebook with those from instant messaging. This comparison between media allows one to draw conclusions about how different social media fulfill user needs. Data were collected from undergraduate students through a multimethod study based on 77 surveys and 21 interviews. A factor analysis of gratifications obtained from Facebook revealed six key dimensions: pastime, affection, fashion, share problems, sociability, and social information. Comparative analysis showed that Facebook is about having fun and knowing about the social activities occurring in one’s social network, whereas instant messaging is geared more toward relationship maintenance and development. The authors discuss differences in the two technologies and outline a framework based on uses and gratifications theory as to why young people integrate numerous media into their communication habits.
A Dual-Layer Planar Leaky-Wave Antenna Designed for Linear Scanning Through Broadside

A low-cost planar leaky-wave antenna (LWA) offering directive antenna beam patterns as well as linear beam scanning through broadside is proposed. The design is based on a one-sided annular slot grating placed on a dual-layer grounded dielectric slab with an integrated TM$_0$ antenna feed system in the bottom ground plane. By appropriate selection of the width and the period of the top radiating annular slots, as well as the substrates, the structure is optimized to excite and perturb the dominant TM mode for the generation of directive beam patterns that can scan with frequency in the far field. In particular, the antenna parameters are chosen to obtain a narrow open stopband frequency range at broadside as well as control the dispersive scanning behavior. A method-of-moments dispersion analysis has also been developed to assist in the design and fully characterize the proposed antenna. These results are complemented by full-wave simulations and measurements of a LWA prototype offering realized gain values in excess of 14 dBi with scanning through broadside at 23.5 GHz.