Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emotional Distress Patterns Among Women Having First or Repeat Abortions

Thirty-five percent of a sample of 413 women undergoing first-trimester abortions were repeating abortions. All patients rated their emotional symptoms on an SCL-90 scale and completed a brief demographic questionnaire. Preabortion and postabortion emotional distress factors and associated demographic characteristics were compared for women having first and those undergoing repeat abortions. Elevated distress levels were similar in both groups prior to abortion procedures, particularly depression, anxiety, and somatization. After abortion, repeat aborters continued to have significantly higher emotional distress scores in dimensions relating to interpersonal relationships. The variables that discriminated most between first and repeat abortion groups were number of living children, race, and phobic anxiety.
Inhibitory activity of Paenibacillus polymyxa SCE2 against human pathogenic micro‐organisms

Paenibacillus polymyxa strain SCE2 was shown to inhibit the growth of different potential human pathogenic bacterial strains and fungi in vitro. To determine the genetic characterization of this antimicrobial substance, strain SCE2 was transformed with plasmid pTV32(Ts), a delivery vector for Tn917‐lac. After transposition, four mutants were shown to have lost their capability to inhibit Micrococcus sp. and Staphylococcus aureus RN450, but they continued to inhibit the growth of Corynebacterium fimi NCTC7547 and Escherichia coli HB101. Hybridization experiments using the DNA of the four mutants digested with different endonucleases and pTV32(Ts) as a probe showed that the place of insertion of Tn917‐lac in the chromosome was the same in mutants 4 and 36 and in mutants 31 and 59, but different between these pairs. It is thought possible that more than one antimicrobial substance is being produced by strain SCE2.
Comparison of self-gripping mesh with mesh fixation with fibrin-glue in laparoscopic hernia repair (TAPP).

AIM Comparison of self-gripping mesh with fibrin-glue mesh fixation for laparoscopic hernia repair using TAPP technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS The trial has a prospective randomized design. The primary end-point was the evaluation of pain at 2 days, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery. The pain occurring 3 months after the surgery was considered as chronic pain. RESULTS We have compared a group of 50 patients with self-gripping mesh with a group of 50 patients with fibrin glue mesh fixation using TAPP technique. There was no statistical difference between the basic group parameters (sex distribution, average age). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of postoperative pain 1 month and 3 months after the surgery (p>0.05). There was no patient with chronic pain at 3-month follow-up in our trial. The mean operation time was 44 minutes in the group with self-gripping mesh and 48.5 minutes in the group with fibrin glue mesh fixation. There was a significant difference between both groups (p=0.006) CONCLUSION Both fixation methods appear to be a well-tolerated alternative to classical methods for mesh fixation with clips. According to our trial there is no difference in the postoperative pain incidence in self-gripping mesh and fibrin glue mesh fixation groups for laparoscopic hernia repair. Our data has showed that self-gripping mesh represents a tendency to a faster technique in comparison with fibrin-glue fixation. Both techniques are easy-to-use. There is no superior technique according to our trial (Tab. 2, Fig. 2, Ref. 23).
Spatial distribution and inhibition by ammonium of methane oxidation in intertidal freshwater marshes

In two intertidal marshes, the vertical distribution in the sediment and inhibition by ammonium of methane oxidation were investigated by slurry incubation experiments. The two sites differ in their dominant vegetation type, i.e., reed and bulrush, and in their heights above sea level. The reed site was elevated with respect to the bulrush site, resulting in a lower frequency and duration of flooding and, consequently, a higher potential for methane oxidation. Methane oxidation decreased with depth in the bulrush and reed slurries, although methane oxidation associated with root material from the bulrush plants increased with depth. Reed root material had a limited capacity for methane oxidation and showed no significant increase with depth. Inhibition of methane oxidation by ammonium was observed in all samples and depended on methane and ammonium concentrations. Increasing ammonium concentrations resulted in greater inhibition, and increasing methane concentrations resulted in less. Ammonium concentrations had to exceed methane concentrations by at least 30-fold to become effective for inhibition. This ratio was found only in the surface layer of the sediment. Hence, the ecological relevance for ammonium inhibition of methane oxidation in intertidal marshes is rather limited and is restricted to the surface layer. Nitrate production was restricted to the 0- to 5-cm-depth slurries.
INTEGRAL TURBULENT LENGTH AND TIME SCALES IN HYDRAULIC JUMPS: AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION AT LARGE REYNOLDS NUMBERS

A hydraulic jump is a rapidly-varied open channel flow characterised by the sudden transition from a supercritical flow motion to a subcritical regime. The transition is associated with a rapid increase of water depth, a highly turbulent flow with macro-scale vortices, significant kinetic energy dissipation, a two-phase flow region and some strong turbulence interactions with the free surface leading to splashes and droplet projection. The phenomenon is not a truly random turbulent process because of the existence of low-frequency, pseudo-periodic coherent structures and fluctuating motion in the jump roller. This study presents new measurements of turbulent air-water flow properties in hydraulic jumps, including turbulence intensity, longitudinal and transverse integral length and time scales, for a range of Froude numbers (3.8 < Fr1 < 8.5) at large Reynolds numbers (3×10 4 < Re < 2×10 5 ). The results showed a combination of both fast and slow turbulent components. The respective contributions of the fast and slow motions were quantified using a novel triple decomposition technique. The results highlighted the 'true' turbulent characteristics linked to the fast, microscopic velocity turbulence of hydraulic jumps, while showing that slow-fluctuation turbulence intensity was a significant contribution to the total. The high-frequency advection length scale and integral turbulent length scale exhibited some maxima in the lower shear flow next to the invert. The turbulent length scales decreased along the roller as the fast turbulence was dissipated. Comparison between the longitudinal advection and integral length scales indicated that the advection and diffusion were not independent processes in the flow region immediately downstream of the jump toe. The impact of slow fluctuations was large in the free-surface region and relatively smaller in the lower shear flow.
POSTPARTUM AMENORRHOEA IN RURAL EASTERN UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

This paper calculates the mean duration of the postpartum amenorrhoea (PPA) and examines its demographic, and socioeconomic correlates in rural north India, using data collected through 'retrospective' (last but one child) as well as 'current status' (last child) reporting of the duration of PPA. The mean duration of PPA was higher in the current status than in the retrospective data;n the difference being statistically significant. However, for the same mothers who gave PPA information in both the data sets, the difference in mean duration of PPA was not statistically significant. The correlates were identical in both the data sets. The current status data were more complete in terms of the coverage, and perhaps less distorted by reporting errors caused by recall lapse. A positive relationship of the mean duration of PPA was found with longer breast-feeding, higher parity and age of mother at the birth of the child, and the survival status of the child. An inverse relationship was found with higher education of a woman, higher education of her husband and higher socioeconomic status of her household, these variables possibly acting as proxies for women's better nutritional status.
Reduction in acquisition of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus after enforcement of routine environmental cleaning measures.

BACKGROUND The role of environmental contamination in nosocomial cross-transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been unresolved. Using vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) as a marker organism, we investigated the effects of improved environmental cleaning with and without promotion of hand hygiene adherence on the spread of VRE in a medical intensive care unit. METHODS The study comprised a baseline period (period 1), a period of educational intervention to improve environmental cleaning (period 2), a "washout" period without any specific intervention (period 3), and a period of multimodal hand hygiene intervention (period 4). We performed cultures for VRE of rectal swab samples obtained from patients at admission to the intensive care unit and daily thereafter, and we performed cultures of environmental samples and samples from the hands of health care workers twice weekly. We measured patient clinical and demographic variables and monitored intervention adherence frequently. RESULTS Our study included 748 admissions to the intensive care unit over a 9-month period. VRE acquisition rates were 33.47 cases per 1000 patient-days at risk for period 1 and 16.84, 12.09, and 10.40 cases per 1000 patient-days at risk for periods 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The mean (+/-SD) weekly rate of environmental sites cleaned increased from 0.48+/-0.08 at baseline to 0.87+/-0.08 in period 2; similarly high cleaning rates persisted in periods 3 and 4. Mean (+/-SD) weekly hand hygiene adherence rate was 0.40+/-0.01 at baseline and increased to 0.57+/-0.11 in period 2, without a specific intervention to improve adherence, but decreased to 0.29+/-0.26 in period 3 and 0.43+/-0.1 in period 4. Mean proportions of positive results of cultures of environmental and hand samples decreased in period 2 and remained low thereafter. In a Cox proportional hazards model, the hazard ratio for acquiring VRE during periods 2-4 was 0.36 (95% confidence interval, 0.19-0.68); the only determinant explaining the difference in VRE acquisition was admission to the intensive care unit during period 1. CONCLUSIONS Decreasing environmental contamination may help to control the spread of some antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals.
FLI-1 Distinguishes Ewing Sarcoma From Small Cell Osteosarcoma and Mesenchymal Chondrosarcoma

Small cell osteosarcoma and mesenchymal chondrosarcoma are 2 primary bone tumors with a small round blue cell component, which can mimic the appearance of Ewing sarcoma. Distinguishing these tumors from each other on biopsy material is important clinically, as optimal therapy differs according to the tumor type. However, separating these entities on morphology alone can be challenging. FLI-1 has been described to be a useful marker for Ewing sarcoma, particularly when hematolymphoid markers are negative. In small cell osteosarcoma and mesenchymal chondrosarcoma, the FLI-1 staining pattern has not been adequately characterized. Using a monoclonal FLI-1 antibody, nuclear immunoreactivity in tumor cells was evaluated in 10 small cell osteosarcomas, 10 mesenchymal chondrosarcomas, and 8 Ewing sarcomas, together with a number of other small, round, blue cell tumors. None of the small cell osteosarcomas or mesenchymal chondrosarcomas exhibited FLI-1 staining in the tumor cells, in contrast to the positive nuclear FLI-1 staining in the stromal endothelial cells. In comparison, 6 of the 8 Ewing sarcomas showed moderate-to-strong nuclear FLI-1 staining of the tumor cells in addition to strong staining of the stromal endothelial cell nuclei. With the exception of lymphoblastic lymphomas, FLI-1 positivity was not seen in the other small round blue cell tumors examined. These findings show that, in contrast to Ewing sarcoma, small cell osteosarcoma and mesenchymal chondrosarcoma lack FLI-1 immunoreactivity. FLI-1 is therefore useful in the differential diagnosis of small round blue cell tumors of the bone.
Zinc Supplementation Tightens “Leaky Gut” in Crohn’s Disease

ObjectivesSmall intestinal permeability is often increased in patients with Crohn’s disease and may be pathogenic for clinical relapses. No effective prophylactic treatment is available for these patients. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether zinc supplementation may improve intestinal permeability. MethodsWe studied 12 patients with quiescent Crohn’s disease who had been in remission for at least 3 months and had increased intestinal permeability on two separate occasions within the last 2 months. Patients received oral zinc sulfate supplements (110 mg three times a day) for 8 weeks and were followed-up for 12 months thereafter to monitor relapses. ResultsWe found that the lactulose/mannitol ratio was significantly higher before supplementation than after (0.041 ± 0.003 versus 0.026 ± 0.005). During follow-up, 10 patients had normal intestinal permeability and did not relapse; of the remaining two who had increased intestinal permeability, one relapsed. ConclusionsOur findings show that zinc supplementation can resolve permeability alterations in patients with Crohn’s disease in remission. Improving intestinal barrier function may contribute to reduce the risk of relapse in Crohn’s disease.
Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering KINETIC MODELLING OF CADMIUM AND LEAD REMOVAL BY AQUATIC MOSSES

Because biosorption is a low cost and effective method for treating metal-bearing wastewaters, understanding the process kinetics is relevant for design purposes. In the present study, the performance of the aquatic moss Fontinalis antipyretica for removing cadmium and lead from simulated wastewaters has been evaluated. Five kinetic models (first-order, pseudo-first-order, Elovich, modified Ritchie second-order and pseudo-second-order) were fitted to the experimental data and compared. Previously, the effect of parameters such as the initial solution pH, contact time, and initial metal ion concentration on biosorption was investigated. The initial pH of the solution was found to have an optimum value in the range of 4.0-6.0. The equilibrium sorption capacity of cadmium and lead by Fontinalis antipyretica increased with the initial metal concentration. For an initial metal concentration of 10 mg L, the uptake capacity of the moss, at equilibrium, is the same for both metals (4.8 mg g). Nevertheless, when the initial concentration increases up to 100 mg L, the uptake of Pb(II) was higher than 78%. The pseudo-second order biosorption kinetics provided the better correlation with the experimental data 2 ( 0.999) ≥ R .
Smoking cessation following CT screening for early detection of lung cancer.

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to assess the impact of lung cancer screening participation on smoking cessation. METHODS Individuals (n = 134) who reported active smoking at the time of enrollment in our Early Lung Cancer Action Program (ELCAP) completed a brief, follow-up telephone interview assessing any changes in smoking patterns following lung cancer screening. Using logistic regression, we estimated the probability of decreasing or quitting smoking using each enrollee's background information and computed tomography (CT) scan results. RESULTS Most survey respondents (74%) agreed that participation in the ELCAP increased their motivation for quitting smoking. In terms of self-reported changes in smoking behavior, 31 (23%) reported that they had quit and 35 (27%) decreased their smoking patterns. Several significant covariates of smoking cessation were identified: perceived benefit of quitting (OR 4.02), cancer anxiety (OR 2.49), younger age (OR 2.47), and abnormal CT finding (1.97). CONCLUSIONS Our analyses suggest that low-dose helical CT scanning may serve as a strong catalyst for smoking cessation and that delivery of effective smoking cessation interventions along with CT scanning represents a potential opportunity to increase the overall cancer prevention benefit of lung cancer screening.
Validating two survey methods for identifying cases of autism spectrum disorder among adults in the community

Background There are no tested methods for conducting epidemiological studies of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in adult general population samples. We tested the validity of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule module-4 (ADOS-4) and the 20-item Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ-20). Method Randomly sampled adults aged ⩾16 years were interviewed throughout England in a general population multi-phase survey. The AQ-20 was self-completed by 7353 adults in phase 1. A random subset completed phase 2, ADOS-4 assessments (n=618); the probability of selection increased with AQ-20 score. In phase 3, informant-based Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO) and Autism Diagnostic Interview – Revised (ADI-R) developmental assessments were completed (n=56). Phase 1 and 2 data were presented as vignettes to six experienced clinicians (working in pairs). The probability of respondents having an ASD was compared across the three survey phases. Results There was moderate agreement between clinical consensus diagnoses and ADOS-4. A range of ADOS-4 caseness thresholds was identified by clinicians: 5+ to 13+ with greatest area under the curve (AUC) at 5+ (0.88). Modelling of the presence of ASD using 56 DISCO assessments suggested an ADOS-4 threshold in the range of 10+ to 13+ with the highest AUC at ADOS 10+ to 11+ (0.93–0.94). At ADOS 10+, the sensitivity was 1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.59–1.0] and the specificity 0.86 (95% CI 0.72–0.94). The AQ-20 was only a weak predictor of ADOS-4 cases. Conclusions Clinically recommended ADOS-4 thresholds are also recommended for community cases: 7+ for subthreshold and 10+ for definite cases. Further work on adult population screening methods is needed.
Proximal axonal enlargement in motor neuron disease

THE PURPOSE OF TMS PAPER is to draw attention to a histological phenomenon which may be seen in certain cases of motor neuron disease, namely focal enlargement of axons of cells in the anterior horns of the spinal cord and in the somatic motor nuclei of the brainstem. Correlation between the clinical course of the disease and the presence of these axonal changes seems possible. The mechanism of their production is unknown, although some relevant data are available. The size and shape of the axonal enlargements may be such that they can be mistaken for chromatolytic neurons. This is perhaps the reason why they are seldom mentioned in pathological descriptions of the disease, although in 1957 Wohlfartl stated that argyrophilic axonal bodies were an invariable, though nonspecific, finding in motor neuron disease. He saw them in the ventral horns, the brainstem, and, to a lesser extent, the cerebral cortex. They were from 2 to 30 p in diameter. He felt that most of them represented terminal knobs of axons but that a few were separated from their parent axon. He envisaged 3 possibilities for their genesis: [l] that they were formed from collateral outgrowth from damaged axons of ventral horn cells, [2] that they were formed from axons having previous synaptic contact with now defunct ventral horn cells, or [3] that they were formed from dying back of terminal axons of corticospinal fibers entering the anterior horns. He noted that axonal enlargements were most numerous at the ventral side of the ventral horns but that they were seen fairly often close to neuronal perikarya. Hirano and associates2 have described swollen neuronal processes which were larger than neurons in a case of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from the United States. Cytoplasmic inclusions, often multiple, were seen within the anterior horn cells. These inclusions sometimes appeared to distend the axons. The duration of the disease was nine months.
Does pre-existing cognitive impairment no-dementia influence the outcome of patients treated by intravenous thrombolysis for cerebral ischaemia?

Approximately 10% of patients with a first-ever stroke and 30% with a recurrent stroke have pre-existing dementia,1 and many others have cognitive impairment no-dementia (CIND). A recent trial and an updated meta-analysis showed that rt-PA is also beneficial after 80 years of age. Cognitive impairment being frequent in elderly subjects, more patients eligible for rt-PA will have prestroke cognitive impairment. They often have an underlying brain pathology associated with an increased bleeding risk: brain microbleeds and leukoaraiosis are frequent and usually associated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy in Alzheimer's disease or hypertensive microangiopathy in vascular dementia. They are also less likely to recover because of pre-existing brain lesions, impaired brain plasticity and possibly higher sensitivity to the neurotoxic effects of rt-PA. Three studies evaluated the influence of pre-existing dementia on outcome after thrombolysis.2–4 They provided conflicting results, that is, a tendency towards increased in-hospital mortality and symptomatic haemorrhagic transformation (sHT),3 increased in-hospital mortality without increase in sHT4 and no significant difference in outcome.5 However, they did not take into account important predictors of outcome such as baseline stroke severity and did not evaluate the proportion of independent survivors at 3 months. Moreover, they did not take into account CIND. Therefore, the question of whether rt-PA is safe and effective in ischaemic stroke patients with cognitive impairment …
Vargas and Colombini 2 Deep Reinforcement Learning

Great results achieved by Deep Q-Networks on Atari games gathered a lot of attention from researchers in the past year. Despite this, not many research has been conducted on using these networks on real-world robots learning through high-dimensional sensory input. This work proposes ALE-Robot, which is an architecture that uses ALE (Arcade Learning Environment) and the V-REP environment to simulate a robot learning to play Atari directly from its camera and a game controller through Reinforcement Learning. Results have demonstrated that, when applied to real robotics architectures, longer training periods and re-shaping rewards functions are required. Moreover, more time and computational power is necessary to test the feasibility of the proposed approach over different hyperparameters.
Contributions of CCLM to advances in quality control

Abstract The discipline of laboratory medicine is relatively young when considered in the context of the history of medicine itself. The history of quality control, within the context of laboratory medicine, also enjoys a relatively brief, but rich history. Laboratory quality control continues to evolve along with advances in automation, measurement techniques and information technology. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) has played a key role in helping disseminate information about the proper use and utility of quality control. Publication of important advances in quality control techniques and dissemination of guidelines concerned with laboratory quality control has undoubtedly helped readers of this journal keep up to date on the most recent developments in this field.