Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Technology dependence in home care: impact on patients and their family caregivers.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this review is to explore how home technology care affects patients, family caregivers, and quality of life (QOL). METHODS A literature search was conducted to identify studies of home parenteral nutrition (HPN) and other technology prescribed home care. RESULTS Technology dependence influences health-related QOL. Patients and their family caregivers must balance the positive aspects of being in the home environment with the challenges of administering complex therapies at home. Patients and caregivers need additional support to reduce the physical, emotional, social, and financial burdens they experience. CONCLUSIONS More research is needed to address effective interventions to reduce patient and caregiver burdens and to improve outcomes for technology-dependent individuals. A greater level of preparedness for managing home technology and technology-related problems may improve quality of life.
The Tomato Defensin TPP3 Binds Phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-Bisphosphate via a Conserved Dimeric Cationic Grip Conformation To Mediate Cell Lysis

ABSTRACT Defensins are a class of ubiquitously expressed cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAPs) that play an important role in innate defense. Plant defensins are active against a broad range of microbial pathogens and act via multiple mechanisms, including cell membrane permeabilization. The cytolytic activity of defensins has been proposed to involve interaction with specific lipid components in the target cell wall or membrane and defensin oligomerization. Indeed, the defensin Nicotiana alata defensin 1 (NaD1) binds to a broad range of membrane phosphatidylinositol phosphates and forms an oligomeric complex with phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate (PIP2) that facilitates membrane lysis of both mammalian tumor and fungal cells. Here, we report that the tomato defensin TPP3 has a unique lipid binding profile that is specific for PIP2 with which it forms an oligomeric complex that is critical for cytolytic activity. Structural characterization of TPP3 by X-ray crystallography and site-directed mutagenesis demonstrated that it forms a dimer in a “cationic grip” conformation that specifically accommodates the head group of PIP2 to mediate cooperative higher-order oligomerization and subsequent membrane permeabilization. These findings suggest that certain plant defensins are innate immune receptors for phospholipids and adopt conserved dimeric configurations to mediate PIP2 binding and membrane permeabilization. This mechanism of innate defense may be conserved across defensins from different species.
Comparison of nebivolol and atenolol on blood pressure, blood sugar, and lipid profile in patients of essential hypertension

Background: Nebivolol is a third-generation β-blocker, with highest β1 selectivity and nitric-oxide-derived vasodilatation. It also exhibits antiproliferative and antioxidant property that has beneficial metabolic profile compared to second-generation β blockers like atenolol. This study was planned to study the comparative effects of nebivolol and atenolol on metabolic parameters in patients with essential hypertension. Materials and Methods: A prospective, randomized, parallel, open-label clinical study was carried out on patients with essential hypertension. The patients were randomly assigned to receive tablet atenolol (Group A) and nebivolol (Group B) for a period of 24 weeks. Investigations were carried out at baseline and at the end of study period, that is, 24 weeks. Out of 69 patients, 60 completed the study and the data was analyzed using student's t-test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Atenolol and nebivolol both showed significant (P < 0.001) antihypertensive action after 24 weeks. Mean blood sugar and lipid profile were found to be significantly (P < 0.001) elevated after 24 weeks of treatment with atenolol but not with nebivolol. Heart rate was significantly (P < 0.001) decreased in both groups at 24 weeks. Conclusion: In view of metabolic adverse effects of atenolol, nebivolol is the better choice whenever β-blockers have to be used in essential hypertension.
A simple method for assessment of muscle force, velocity, and power producing capacities from functional movement tasks

ABSTRACT A range of force (F) and velocity (V) data obtained from functional movement tasks (e.g., running, jumping, throwing, lifting, cycling) performed under variety of external loads have typically revealed strong and approximately linear F–V relationships. The regression model parameters reveal the maximum F (F-intercept), V (V-intercept), and power (P) producing capacities of the tested muscles. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the level of agreement between the routinely used “multiple-load model” and a simple “two-load model” based on direct assessment of the F–V relationship from only 2 external loads applied. Twelve participants were tested on the maximum performance vertical jumps, cycling, bench press throws, and bench pull performed against a variety of different loads. All 4 tested tasks revealed both exceptionally strong relationships between the parameters of the 2 models (median R = 0.98) and a lack of meaningful differences between their magnitudes (fixed bias below 3.4%). Therefore, addition of another load to the standard tests of various functional tasks typically conducted under a single set of mechanical conditions could allow for the assessment of the muscle mechanical properties such as the muscle F, V, and P producing capacities.
Greater renal vascular involvement in the black patient with essential hypertension. A comparison of systemic and renal hemodynamics in black and white patients.

Systemic, splanchnic, and renal hemodynamic data were derived from 60 male and female, black and white, untreated and uncomplicated patients with essential hypertension. The systemic hemodynamic data confirmed our previous findings that at any level of arterial pressure, when black and white patients are matched for age, sex, and mean arterial pressure, cardiac index and total peripheral resistance were similar. This suggests that hypertensive vascular disease is no more severe in the black. This concept was supported further with respect to the splanchnic vasculature; however, renal blood flow was less and renal vascular resistance was higher at any level of mean arterial pressure (or total peripheral resistance) in the black. These physiological findings lend credence to those reports suggesting that at any level of pressure, hypertensive disease and morbidity (e.g., renal impairment) are more severe in the black patient. In addition, these data underscore the importance of understanding regional circulatory characteristics and they do not necessarily follow pari passu measured indices of systemic hemodynamics.
The effect of mephentermine sulfate on myocardial oxygen consumption, myocardial efficiency and peripheral vascular resistance.

Abstract The sympathomimetic amine, mephentermine sulfate (wyamine) produces a striking elevation of the ventricular function curve in the isolated supported dog heart and in the dog with an open chest with a complete circulation. It appears to have little effect on total peripheral vascular resistance. Under controlled hemodynamic conditions, the administration of the drug was observed to increase myocardial O 2 consumption and decrease efficiency in the non-dilated heart. When filling pressure was high, however, the agent was observed to decrease the O 2 consumption and increase myocardial efficiency. These data have been interpreted as being consonant with the importance of Laplace's law in the relationship between the total tension developed by the myocardium and its O 2 utilization. The possible role of other hemodynamic parameters such as the duration of systole and the rate of development of ventricular pressure have been considered.
Referral rates for a functional vision screening among a large cosmopolitan sample of Australian children

The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of functional vision problems in a large unselected cosmopolitan population of primary school‐age children and to investigate whether constant clinical criteria for functional vision problems would be implemented by the practitioners involved in the screening. Refractive errors, near point of convergence, stereopsis, strabismus, heterophoria and accommodative facility were assessed for 2697 children (3–12 years) of varying racial backgrounds living in Australia. The spherical component of the refractive error ranged from −7.75 to +9.50 D (mean +0.54 D, ±0.79) with a distribution skewed towards hypermetropia; astigmatism ranged from 0 to 4.25 D (mean −0.16 D, ±0.35). There was a trend towards less hypermetropia and slightly more astigmatism with age. Mean near point of convergence was 5.4 ± 2.9 cm, heterophoria at far and near was 0.12 ± 1. 58Δ exophoria and 1.05 ± 2. 53Δ exophoria, respectively, 0.55% of children exhibited vertical phoria at near >0. 5Δ, accommodative facility ranged from 0 to 24 cycles per minute (cpm) (mean 11.2 cpm, ±3.7), stereopsis varied from 20 to 800 s (′′) of arc with 50% of children having 40′′ or better. The prevalence of strabismus was particularly low (0.3%).
UIO design for singular delayed LPV systems with application to actuator fault detection and isolation

In this paper, the unknown input observer (UIO) design for singular delayed linear parameter varying (LPV) systems is considered regarding its application to actuator fault detection and isolation. The design procedure assumes that the LPV system is represented in the polytopic framework. Existence and convergence conditions for the UIO are established. The design procedure is formulated by means of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Actuator fault detection and isolation is based on using the UIO approach for designing a residual generator that is completely decoupled from unknown inputs and exclusively sensitive to faults. Fault isolation is addressed considering two different strategies: dedicated and generalised bank of observers’ schemes. The applicability of these two schemes for the fault isolation is discussed. An open flow canal system is considered as a case study to illustrate the performance and usefulness of the proposed fault detection and isolation method in different fault scenarios.
Analytic conditions for spontaneous self-excitation in induction generators

Spontaneous self-excitation in induction generators is a fascinating phenomenon triggered by the instability of a zero equilibrium state. Prediction of this condition for various values of free parameters requires many computations of the eigenvalues of a 6 × 6 matrix over a large space. The paper uses a novel approach to derive analytic conditions and predict precisely when instabilities occur. The formulas give the values of the minimum load resistance, the range of capacitor values, and the range of speeds for which spontaneous self-excitation appears. The paper concludes with an illustration of the theoretical results on an example.
The evolution of the mixing rate of a simple random walk on the giant component of a random graph

In this article we present a study of the mixing time of a random walk on the largest component of a supercritical random graph, also known as the giant component. We identify local obstructions that slow down the random walk, when the average degree d is at most O($ \sqrt{\ln n} $), proving that the mixing time in this case is Θ((n-d)2) asymptotically almost surely. As the average degree grows these become negligible and it is the diameter of the largest component that takes over, yielding mixing time Θ(n-d) a.a. s. We proved these results during the 2003–04 academic year. Similar results but for constant d were later proved independently by Benjamini et al. in [3]. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg. , 2008 Most of this work was completed while the author was a research fellow at the School of Computer Science, McGill University.
Cytogenetic analysis of 280 patients with multiple myeloma and related disorders: Primary breakpoints and clinical correlations

Cytogenetic analysis of unstimulated short‐term bone marrow cell cultures was performed on 280 patients with multiple myeloma and related disorders. In 65% of the cases, an additional short term B‐cell stimulated culture was also examined. Chromosomally abnormal clones were found in 31% of the patients, 15% in Waldenström macroglobulinemia, 25% in monoclonal gammopathies, 33% in multiple myeloma, and 50% in plasma cell leukemia. Three primary chromosomal breakpoints were recurrently involved: 14q32, 16q22, and 22q11. Structural rearrangements of chromosome I were the most frequent (26% of the abnormal cases), but always as a secondary change. Rearrangements of band 14q32 were found in 22% of the abnormal cases. Among the multiple myeloma patients who showed an abnormal karyotype, 33 (46%) were hyperdiploid, most frequently with 52–56 chromosomes, 29 patients (40%) were pseudodiploid, and the remaining 12 cases (14%) were hypodiploid. A highly significant relation was observed between the presence of an abnormal karyotype and the following clinical parameters: stage III (P = 0.0001), bone marrow plasma cell infiltration greater than 30% (P = 0.0001), presence of bone lesions (P = 0.0009), and β2‐microglobulin levels greater than 4 mg/L (P = 0.0001). Genes Chromosom. Cancer 18:84–93, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Discordant assessment of lupus activity between patients and their physicians: the Singapore experience

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus often assess their disease activity differently from their physicians. We studied the factors associated with this discordance. The data provided by 534 systemic lupus erythematosus patients were analyzed. We compared the physician and patient assessments of lupus activity on a visual-assessment scale from the same visit. We collected clinical data and scores from MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Quality-of-Life Questionnaire, Rheumatology Attitudes Index, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index, and revised Systemic Lupus Activity Measure. Patients tended to score their disease activity higher than do their physicians, when these factors were present: poorer general health assessment, presence of thrombocytopenia, hypertension and urinary sediments, and difficulty in carrying groceries. Physicians tended to score the disease activity higher than do the patients in these circumstances proteinuria, hemolysis, use of azathioprine or cyclophosphamide, tiredness, photosensitivity, higher revised Systemic Lupus Activity Measure score, casturia, and patient report of being more easily ill than are other patients. There was only moderate correlation between the discordance in the baseline and the subsequent visits. The physician assessment of disease activity at baseline correlated better with an objective measure of disease activity (revised Systemic Lupus Activity Measure) in the subsequent visit than the patient assessment. In conclusion, discordance in the perception of disease activity between patients and physicians may be amenable to intervention.
Self-efficacy in female and male undergraduate engineering students: Comparisons among four institutions

Researchers from four universities with strong engineering colleges collaborated on a project that seeks to isolate those factors and experiences that contribute most to the development of positive self-efficacy beliefs and, ultimately, to the increased retention of women in undergraduate engineering majors. A survey was developed to administer to students at each institution during their sophomore, junior, and senior years. Two of the engineering colleges require participation in cooperative education programs for fulfillment of the program of study and two do not. We suggest that a work experience could result in an increase in work self-efficacy that would bolster academic and career self-efficacy. Data analyses show similarities and differences between and among female and male students at these institutions with regard to their current self-efficacy levels (academic, work, and career), amount of support provided for female students, and how likely females are to take advantage of services provided.
Improvement of negative and positive symptoms in treatment-refractory schizophrenia: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with memantine as add-on therapy to clozapine.

BACKGROUND Glutamate deregulation may be involved in the neuropathology of schizophrenia, mainly through N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor dysfunction. Memantine, a drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease, acts as a weak nonselective NMDA receptor antagonist. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of memantine as an adjunctive treatment to clozapine in patients with refractory schizophrenia. METHOD In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, outpatients with refractory schizophrenia according to DSM-IV clinical criteria were randomly assigned, from March 2005 to February 2008, to receive either 20 mg/d memantine (n = 10) or placebo (n = 11), in addition to clozapine, for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the total score on the 18-item Brief Psychiatry Rating Scale (BPRS) and BPRS subscales of positive and negative symptoms. Secondary outcomes were global severity of disease as measured by the Clinical Global Impressions scale (CGI), cognition as assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and extrapyramidal symptoms as assessed by the Simpson-Angus Scale (SAS). RESULTS Twenty-one participants completed the study and were used in the analysis. Significant improvement (P < .01) on the total BPRS score, its subscales of positive (effect size [ES] = -1.38) and negative (ES = -3.33) symptoms, the CGI score (ES = 1.56), and the MMSE score was observed with memantine as compared with placebo. No significant changes in extrapyramidal symptoms were observed. CONCLUSIONS Memantine add-on to clozapine therapy was associated with improvement in negative and positive symptoms in refractory schizophrenia patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00757978.
Trans, Trans-Muconic Acid as a Biomarker of Occupational Exposure to High-Level Benzene in China

Objective: The work aimed to study the potential correlation between the high-level benzene exposure and its urinary metabolites S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA) and trans, trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA) in Chinese shoe-making workers. Methods: Individual benzene-exposed levels were determined by gas chromatography analysis, urinary t,t-MA, and urinary SPMA were determined by high performance liquid chromatography-an ultraviolet detector and liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method, respectively. Results: The concentration of benzene ranged from 2.57 to 146.11 mg/m3. And the correlation between benzene and t,t-MA was significantly higher than that of SPMA at the postshift, for example, the correlation coefficient was 0.905 and 0.537 for t,t-MA and SPMA, respectively. Moreover, The relative internal exposure index of t,t-MA (0.28 mg/g Cr: mg/m3) was more similar to the data supplied by American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists compared to the index of SPMA (0.025 mg/g Cr:mg/m3). Conclusions: t,t-MA appeared to be a more specific biomarker than SPMA at high-level benzene exposure.
A cross-sectional study of cardiovascular disease and associated factors.

OBJECTIVE Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a major cause of mortality and morbidity in Poland. Data on risk factors of CVD in this country are limited. The presented study investigated risk factors of self-reported CVD within the Polish- Norwegian Study (PONS). METHODS PONS is an ongoing prospective study in Poland. The data used was provided by 3,853 participants, aged 45-64, during baseline interviews. RESULTS Prevalence of chronic diseases among participants was as follows: hypertension, 38.4%; diabetes, 5.9%; and CVD, 11.0%. There was no association between CVD and gender and place of residence. CVD was associated with ever-smoking (OR= 1.25; 95% CI: 1.00-1.55), whereas there was an inverse association with alcohol drinking in the year preceding enrolment in the study (OR= 0.50; 95% CI: 0.39-0.63). CVD was associated with body mass index (BMI), as well as with measures of abdominal adiposity, in the following order: waist to height ratio>waist circumference>waist to hip ratio; however, none of these measures showed a stronger association with CVD than BMI. Both hypertension (OR= 1.33; 95% CI: 1.05-1.68) and diabetes (OR= 1.33; 95% CI: 1.05-1.68) were associated with CVD in adjusted models. CONCLUSIONS This study shows the association between several risk factors and prevalence of self-reported CVD and provides information about distribution of those factors among an adult population in Poland. The results of the ongoing PONS study in a prospective setting will provide more accurate risk estimates for the observed associations, as well as risk estimates for other risk factors of CVD, including dietary factors, and attributable risks for various factors.
Long term follow up after perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage

Marquardt et al describe the clinical course and long term outcome of 21 patients they diagnosed as having a perimesencephalic haemorrhage.1 The paper raises two questions. The first is an impression of an “emperor's new clothes syndrome” given by the first figure of the publication. This figure shows a slice of the CT made shortly after the initial episode of headache in the patient reported to have a recurrent episode of perimesencephalic haemorrhage. The legend of the figure states that the CT shows extravasated blood in the perimesencephalic subarachnoid space, but we fail to see any blood at all. Thanks to the electronic availability of the Journal we were able to review not only the paper version of the figure, but also an enlarged version on screen. Even after enlargement no blood was seen; the slice nicely shows the tentorium adjacent to the ambient cisterns, the proximal parts of the posterior cerebral arteries, and perfectly clear CSF in the perimesencephalic (chiasmatic and partly the ambient and quadrigeminal) cisterns and in the frontal interhemispheric and sylvian fissures. There are several explanations for this diagnostic mystery. Firstly, the authors may have submitted an inappropriate slice of the CT. In some patients with perimesencephalic haemorrhage, the prepontine cistern is the only site where CT shows blood.2 If blood was visible in the prepontine cistern in this particular patient, the authors have indeed found a patient with a perimesencephalic, non-aneurysmal haemorrhage with a recurrent haemorrhage. Given the unique character of this sequence of events, it would be fair to provide the appropriate slice to convince readers of the Journal . Secondly, if no evidence of blood is found even in the prepontine cistern, the patient may have had a CT negative subarachnoid haemorrhage. In patients with ruptured aneurysms CT can be … Dr G Marquardt