Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Associations Between End-of-Life Cancer Care Patterns and Medicare Expenditures.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which patterns of intensive end-of-life care explain geographic variation in end-of-life care expenditures among cancer decedents. METHODS Using the SEER-Medicare database, we identified 90,465 decedents who were diagnosed with cancer in 2004-2011. Measures of intensive end-of-life care included chemotherapy received within 14 days of death; more than 1 emergency department visit, more than 1 hospitalization, or 1 or more intensive care unit (ICU) admissions within 30 days of death; in-hospital death; and hospice enrollment less than 3 days before death. Using hierarchical generalized linear models, we estimated risk-adjusted expenditures in the last month of life for each hospital referral region and identified key contributors to variation in expenditures. RESULTS The mean expenditure per cancer decedent in the last month of life was $10,800, ranging from $8,300 to $15,400 in the lowest and highest expenditure quintile areas, respectively. There was considerable variation in the percentage of decedents receiving intensive end-of-life care intervention, with 41.7% of decedents receiving intensive care in the lowest quintile of expenditures versus 57.9% in the highest quintile. Regional patterns of late chemotherapy or late hospice use explained only approximately 1% of the expenditure difference between the highest and lowest quintile areas. In contrast, the proportion of decedents who had ICU admissions within 30 days of death was a major driver of variation, explaining 37.6% of the expenditure difference. CONCLUSIONS Promoting appropriate end-of-life care has the potential to reduce geographic variation in end-of-life care expenditures.
In Vivo Characterization of Murine Myocardial Perfusion With Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography: Validation and Application in Nitric Oxide Synthase 3–Deficient Mice

Background— The ability to noninvasively evaluate murine myocardial blood flow (MBF) in vivo would provide an important tool for cardiovascular research. Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) has been used to measure MBF; however, it has not been validated in mice. This study assesses whether MCE can evaluate MBF at rest and after vasodilation and measure the maximal augmentation (coronary reserve) of MBF in mice. Wild-type (WT) and nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3)–deficient (NOS3−/−) mice were studied. Methods and Results— MCE was performed at baseline and after intravenous infusion of acetylcholine or adenosine. Definity contrast agent was infused, and parasternal views were acquired in real-time mode. Replenishment curves of myocardial contrast were obtained, and rates of signal rise (&bgr;) and plateau intensity (A) were calculated. MBF estimated by the product of A and &bgr; (A&bgr;) was compared with that measured with fluorescent microspheres. MCE analysis was feasible in 98% (52/53) of mice. MBF measured by microspheres increased with adenosine and correlated closely with A&bgr;. There was no difference in MCE-derived MBF between WT and NOS3−/− mice at rest. Adenosine infusion increased MBF by 3.0±0.6-fold in NOS3−/− mice and 2.5±0.3-fold in WT (P=0.58 between genotypes). Acetylcholine induced an increase of 2.4±0.2-fold in MBF in WT mice but did not increase MBF in NOS3−/− mice (P<0.0005 versus WT). Conclusions— MBF, coronary reserve, and vasodilator responses can be evaluated accurately in the intact mouse by MCE. This method demonstrated a preserved coronary response to adenosine but an impaired acetylcholine-induced vasodilation in NOS3−/− mice compared with WT mice.
A Novel Cardiac-Restricted Target for Doxorubicin

Doxorubicin (Dox), a cardiotoxic antineoplastic drug, disrupts the cardiac-specific program of gene expression (Kurabayashi, M., Dutta, S., Jeyaseelan, R., and Kedes, L. (1995) Mol. Cell. Biol. 15, 6386–6397; Jeyaseelan, R. , Poizat, C. , Wu, H. Y. , and Kedes, L. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 5828–5832). To determine whether this drug might interfere with the function of cardiac-specific regulatory pathways, we used a differential display strategy to clone from neonatal rat cardiomyocyte candidate mRNAs that were rapidly sensitive to Dox. We report here the identification of a constitutively expressed, cardiac-restricted, nuclear protein whose mRNA level is exquisitely sensitive to Dox. Hence we have named this protein cardiacadriamycin-responsive protein (CARP). CARP mRNA is present at the earliest stages of cardiac morphogenesis. It was detected by in situ hybridization within the cardiogenic plate of 7.5-day post coitum (p.c.) embryos, and in 8.5-day p.c. embryos CARP transcripts are present in uniformly high levels in the myocardium. Throughout cardiac development, CARP expression is specific for the myocardium; endocardial cushions and valves exhibit only background levels of signal. Transcript levels persist but gradually decrease in neonatal, 2-week-old, and adult hearts. There were no stages when CARP mRNA could not be detected. The pattern and timing of CARP mRNA expression, including transient expression in the tongue at 14.5 days p.c. , coincides with that of Nkx2.5/Csx (a putative homolog of tinman, theDrosophila melanogaster gene responsible for cardiac development). The cloned full-length 1749 nucleotide CARP cDNA encodes a 319-amino acid 40-kDa polypeptide containing five tandem ankyrin repeats. CARP appears to be the rat homolog of a previously reported human single-copy gene (C-193; Chu, W., Burns, D. K., Swerlick, R. A., and Presky, D. H. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 10236–10245), whose mRNA is inducible by cytokines only in human endothelial cells. CARP appears to function as a negative regulator of cardiac-specific gene expression. Overexpression of CARP in cardiomyocytes suppresses cardiac troponin C and atrial natriuretic factor transcription. Cotransfection experiments in HeLa cells indicate that CARP inhibits Nkx2.5 transactivation of atrial natriuretic factor promoter. When fused to a GAL4 DNA-binding domain, CARP has transcriptional inhibitory properties in noncardiac cells. CARP thus represents the first example of a cardiac-restricted transcriptional regulatory protein that is sensitive to Dox.
Combined Surgical/Orthodontic Treatment and Autotransplantation of a Premolar in a Patient with Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate

Objective The treatment of a patient with a complete unilateral left cleft lip and palate, agenesis of the left upper second premolar, and a severely malformed left upper lateral incisor is reported. Treatment included placement of an autologous bone graft from the left iliac crest into the alveolar cleft at 8 years of age and transplantation of a lower premolar into the reconstructed alveolar process at 10 years of age. During the succeeding orthodontic treatment, the dental arches were aligned and corrected toward a Class I molar occlusion. One year after the end of treatment, the status of the transplanted premolar was good.
Unfolding strategic management practices in leading European technological Universities

This paper explores the study results conducted in the framework of a LLP-European project on the field of university modernization that carried out a survey amongst leading European universities in Science and Technology. The focus of the study was to better understand how strategy is developed within these universities, which tools are mostly used and how the strategic management processes are organized and implemented. The paper is framed to analyze the fundamental questions being examined: how is the strategy definition process in these universities like; what tools and models of strategy development and monitoring are used; how they assure that strategies are implemented and aligned; what supporting instruments are at place and how do universities establish the feedback mechanisms of the strategy development and ensure organizational learning from this process. The paper explores these central questions and sets forth a comprehensive discussion on the main practices trends and perspectives.
Neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity in cutaneous sympathetic and sensory neurons during development of the guinea pig

Different levels of the cutaneous vasculature are innervated selectively by subpopulations of sympathetic neurons distinguished by the presence or absence of immunoreactivity (‐IR) for neuropeptide Y (NPY). This study used multiple‐labelling immunohistochemistry to examine the appearance of NPY‐IR in neurons innervating cutaneous vessels in the ear pinna of embryonic, fetal, and neonatal guinea pigs. NPY‐immunoreactive axons were detected in the ear bud at embryonic day 25. However, these axons lacked IR for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and often ran in bundles with substance P (SP)‐immunoreactive axons close to the epidermis. Many neuronal somata in the cervical dorsal root ganglia (DRG) at late embryonic stages contained NPY‐IR with or without SP‐IR, but no NPY‐IR was detected in DRG or subepidermal axons by late fetal stages. IR for calcitonin gene‐related peptide increased in DRG neurons from midfetal to late fetal stages, after the decrease in NPY‐IR. Populations of TH‐IR neurons with or without NPY‐IR were present in the superior cervical ganglion (SCG) from midembryonic stages. TH‐immunoreactive axons were not detected in the ear pinna until midfetal stages, when axons with TH‐IR and NPY‐IR innervated proximal arteries and TH‐immunoreactive axons without NPY‐IR innervated distal vessels. Vasoactive intestinal peptide‐IR was detected transiently in most fetal SCG neurons with TH‐IR and NPY‐IR but was not detected in cutaneous axons. These results demonstrate that selective expression of NPY by subpopulations of sympathetic neurons occurs prior to innervation of their targets. This suggests that target contact is not required to establish appropriate patterns of expression of peptide neurotransmitters by cutaneous sympathetic neurons. J. Comp. Neurol. 437:321–334, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis: a follow-up study in Taiwan

Background: Acute-disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system, whose epidemiology, clinical presentations and functional outcome are incompletely understood in Asian populations. Objective: To assess the clinical presentations, predisposing factors and functional outcome of ADEM in Taiwan. Methods: 50 patients initially diagnosed with ADEM (male, 19; female, 31) were enrolled from 1991 to 2005. Diagnosis of ADEM or multiple sclerosis was established during a follow-up period of 2–120 months. 8 adult patients were noted to have taken the immunomodulatory drug, levamisole, within 3 months before onset of symptoms. The remaining 42 patients (male, 17; female, 25) were categorised by age as children (<16 years, n = 12), young adults (16–49 years, n = 21) and elderly adults (⩾50 years, n = 9). The clinical manifestations, predisposing factors and radiological findings were compared between different age groups and adult patients with or without levamisole use. Functional outcome was compared by a log-rank test. Results: Preceding upper respiratory tract infection was evident in 21 (50%) patients and only one young-adult patient had received Rubella vaccine immunisation. The frequency of fever was higher in children (p = 0.04) and psychiatric symptoms were more prevalent in elderly patients (p = 0.03). Functional recovery was faster in children than in adults (p = 0.002). Initial Expanded Disability Status Scale score (odds ratio (OR) 1.9, p = 0.03) and no fever (OR 0.04, p = 0.06) were associated with poor outcome (modified Rankin scale ⩾2). After a mean (SD) follow-up of 31.8 (9.9) months, 4 (9.5%) patients developed multiple sclerosis (3 (25%) children, 1 (4.7%) young adult, p = 0.03). The neurological disability, radiological and cerebrospinal fluid findings did not differ between patients with and without levamisole use. One elderly adult patient previously receiving levamisole developed multiple sclerosis of relapse-remitting type after a mean follow-up period of 36.9 months. Conclusion: The clinical presentations, functional outcome and risk of developing multiple sclerosis differed between different age groups. Functional recovery was faster in children than in adults. Poor functional outcome was related to initial high Expanded Disability Status Scale score and absence of fever.
Acute Stroke Admission and Diagnostic Procedures According to the Hour and Day of Onset: The SIRIO Collaborative Data

Background: Variations in stroke onset are related to stroke type and severity. We evaluated the impact of hourly and daily stroke onset variations on the pattern of patient hospital referral and on the time interval from stroke onset to hospital admission and brain neuroimaging investigations. Methods: This multicenter observational study recorded all incident acute strokes within a 4-month period. Results: One hundred and three participating centers collected data on 3,018 stroke cases. Stroke onset was more frequent on Mondays and between 08.00 and 10.59 h. Median time to admission after symptom onset was higher on Fridays (173.5 min) and between 20.00 and 22.59 h (207 min). Rescue by ambulance was associated with a greater stroke severity. Median time from hospital admission to brain neuroimaging investigations was higher on Saturdays (178.5 min) and between 23.00 and 10.59 h when the most severe strokes were hospitalized. Conclusions: The pattern of patient hospital referral and the time interval from stroke onset to hospital admission and brain neuroimaging investigations varied widely according to the hour and weekday of onset as well as to the reduced availability of hospital resources. An adequate distribution of the available resources should be planned in order to meet the demand.
Automated Augmented Reality Operator Aids for Space Robotic Teleoperations

Collision-free teleoperation of robotic arms is a critical requirement on the International Space Station (ISS). Astronauts manually navigate robotic arms using video views and are hindered by factors such as limited fields of view, displaycontrol misalignments and poor depth perception. Augmented reality (AR) interfaces can be useful in mitigating many of these issues. An AR technique that synthesizes computer-generated end-effector trajectories in multiple exocentric camera views of the remote robot in the form of colour-coded 3D visual aids is presented. Using these visual-aids, the user manipulates the end-effector through a series of rotations and translations from start to goal. An experiment to determine manual end-effector performance under three conditions was conducted: with AR (AR), with the same aids presented in a stand-alone 3D VR display (VR), and finally, a combination of the two (AR-VR). The AR and AR-VR constrained the robotic arm to well-defined safe regions while VR alone led to significant deviations. The results of the experiment are presented along with a discussion on the benefits and limitations of automation-supported operator aiding during robotic tele-operations.
Comparison of power consumption of synchronous reluctance and induction motor drives in a 0.75 kW pump unit

This paper is devoted to the comparative study of performance data of a 0.75 kW variable speed electric drive with synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM) and induction motor (IM) in a pump application. The experimental data on the IM and SynRM drives efficiency within a wide range of working modes are used to assess the power consumption. The working modes of motors are calculated with the help of nameplate data and the mathematical model of a pump. It is shown that the use of SynRM significantly reduces the power consumption of a pump unit.
Attentional influences on affective priming: Does categorisation influence spontaneous evaluations of multiply categorisable objects?

Previous research suggests that spontaneous evaluative responses to a stimulus depend on how that stimulus is categorised. The present research indicates that such categorisation effects depend on task-specific aspects of the measure, thereby concealing or overriding effects of unattended category cues. Results showed that affective priming effects in a paradigm based on response interference depended on participants' attention to the category membership of the primes. These effects were reflected in: (a) reduced effect sizes; (b) reduced internal consistencies; and (c) reduced correlations to corresponding self-reports when attention was directed toward alternative categories. Such attention-related decrements were not obtained for a priming paradigm based on affect misattribution, which showed reliable priming effects irrespective of participants' attention to the relevant categories. These results challenge the ubiquity of categorisation effects on spontaneous evaluations, suggesting that the impact of unattended category cues depends on conditions inherent in specific tasks.
On derivability

1. The notion of derivability. Italic capitals, with or without subscripts, will be used as variables. They are to take as values some manner of elements which may for the present be left undetermined. Now let us consider abstractly the notion of the derivability of an element X from one or more specified elements by a series of steps of a specified kind. This involves reference to two conditions upon elements. One of these conditions, expressible by some statement form containing a single free variable, determines the elements from which X is said to be derivable. The other condition, expressed say by a statement form containing k + 1 free variables, determines the kind of steps by which the derivation is to proceed; it is the condition which any elements Z1, … Zk, Y must fulfill if progress from Zi, …, Zk to Y is to constitute a step of derivation in the intended sense. Supposing “f(Y)” supplanted by the first of these statement forms, whatever it may be, and “g(Z1, …, Zk, Y)” supplanted by the other, let us adopt the form of notation to express derivability of X in the suggested sense. The meaning of (1) can be formulated more accurately as follows: (i) There are elements Y1 to Ym (for some m) such that Ym = X and, for each i≦m, either f(Yi) or else there are numbers j1 to Ym, each less than i, for which g(Yj1, …, Yjk, Yi). (Variable subscripts are to be understood, here and throughout the paper, as referring only to positive integers.) The notion (1) is illustrated in the ancestral R* of a relation R;1 for, Another illustration is afforded by metamathematics. Suppose our elements are the expressions used in some formal system; suppose we have defined “Post(Y)”, meaning that Y is a postulate of that system; and suppose we have defined “Inf(ZI, …, Zk, Y)” (for some fixed k large enough for all purposes of the system in question), meaning that Y proceeds from Z1, …, Zk by one application of one or another of the rules of inference of the system. Then would mean that X is a theorem of the system.
Fine Structural and Cytochemical Observations on the Dental Epithelial Cells During Cap Enameloid Formation Stages in Polypterus senegalus, a Bony Fish (Actinopterygii)

Tooth germs during cap enameloid formation stages in Polypterus senegalus were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and enzyme histo- and cytochemistry. Enameloid formation was divided into three stages: matrix formation, mineralization, and maturation. The enamel organ consisted of the inner dental epithelial cells, stellate reticulum, and outer dental epithelial cells during cap enameloid formation stages, but no stratum intermedium was found. During the matrix formation stage, the tall inner dental epithelial cells contained well-developed Golgi apparatus, abundant cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. Spindle-shaped vesicles containing a filamentous structure were seen in the distal cytoplasm. During mineralization and maturation stages, many ACPase positive lysosomes were present in the cytoplasm, whereas the organelles were decreased in number. The infoldings of the distal plasma membrane of the inner dental epithelial cells were visible in the mineralization stage but were not marked in the maturation stage. The activity of nonspecific ALPase, Ca-ATPase, and K-NPPase was detected at the plasma membrane of the inner dental epithelial cells during the stages of mineralization and maturation. The results of fine structure and enzyme cytochemistry suggested that the dental epithelial cells were mainly involved in the degeneration and removal of enameloid matrix and in material transportation during the enameloid mineralization and maturation stages, rather than in the enameloid matrix formation. The results also showed that the structure of the dental epithelial cells in Polypterus was different from that in teleosts and gars, but that the function of the dental epithelial cells was similar to that in teleosts possessing well-mineralized cap enameloid.
Identification of high‐ and low‐risk patients before liver transplantation: A prospective cohort study of nutritional and metabolic parameters in 150 patients

The clinical relevance of malnutrition and hypermetabolism in end‐stage liver disease, as well as their effects on survival after liver transplantation (LTx), are largely unknown. This study investigates the prognostic value of nutritional and metabolic parameters obtained before LTx for survival after LTx. One hundred fifty patients with end‐ stage liver disease undergoing LTx were assessed prospectively and followed for a mean period of 46 ± 16 months after LTx. All patients were randomized into a study group and a validation group, each comprising 75 patients. Body composition analysis (24‐hour urinary creatinine excretion, anthropometry, bioelectrical impedance analysis), deviation of measured from predicted resting energy expenditure (ΔREE), year of transplantation, and several variables known to be of prognostic relevance in patients with liver disease undergoing conservative treatment were analyzed. Kaplan‐Meier and log rank analysis showed that hypermetabolic patients (ΔREE > +20%) and patients with a body cell mass (BCM) < 35% of body weight tended to have reduced survival after LTx. A risk profile on the basis of ΔREE and BCM identified patients with high risk (5‐year survival rate, 54%) and low risk (5‐year survival rate, 88%; P < .01). The predictive power of this risk profile was independent of the presence of ascites and clinical edema, and its validity was confirmed in the validation group (P < .01). The Child‐Pugh score was not of prognostic value. We conclude that a poor nutritional state, as well as hypermetabolism, adversely affects survival after LTx. These potentially treatable presurgical factors deserve close attention in interventional studies.