Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using medico-legal data to investigate fatal older road user crash circumstances and risk factors

ABSTRACT Objective: This study used medico-legal data to investigate fatal older road user (ORU, aged 65 years and older) crash circumstances and risk factors relating to 4 key components of the Safe System approach (e.g., roads and roadsides, vehicles, road users, and speeds) to identify areas of priority for targeted prevention activity. Method: The Coroners' Court of Victoria's (CCOV) Surveillance Database was searched to identify and describe the frequency and rate per 100,000 population of fatal ORU crashes in the Australian state of Victoria for 2013–2014. Information relating to the deceased ORU, crash characteristics and circumstances, and risk factors was extracted and analyzed. Results: One hundred and thirty-eight unintentional fatal ORU crashes were identified in the CCOV Surveillance Database. Of these fatal ORU crashes, most involved older drivers (44%), followed by older pedestrians (32%), older passengers (17%), older pedal cyclists (4%), older motorcyclists (1%), and older mobility scooter users (1%). The average annual rate of fatal ORU crashes per 100,000 population was 8.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.0–10.2). In terms of the crash characteristics and circumstances, most fatal ORU crashes involved a counterpart (98%), of which the majority were passenger cars (50%) or fixed/stationary objects (25%), including trees (46%) or embankments (23%). In addition, most fatal ORU crashes occurred close to home (73%), on-road (87%), on roads that were paved (94%), on roads with light traffic volume (37%), and during low-risk conditions: between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. (44%), on weekdays (80%), during daylight (75%), and under dry/clear conditions (81%). Road user (RU) error was identified by the police and/or the coroner for the majority of fatal crashes (55%), with a significant proportion of deceased ORUs deemed to have failed to yield (54%) or misjudged (41%). Conclusions: RU error was the most significant factor identified in fatal ORU crashes, which suggests that there is a limited capacity of the road system to fully accommodate RU errors. Initiatives related to safer roads and roadsides, vehicles, speed zones, as well as behavioral approaches are key areas of priority for targeted activity to prevent fatal ORU crashes in the future.
Functional added value of microprocessor-controlled knee joints in daily life performance of Medicare Functional Classification Level-2 amputees.

OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of using a microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joint on the functional performance of activities of daily living in persons with an above-knee leg amputation. OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of using a microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joint on the functional performance of activities of daily living in persons with an above-knee leg amputation. DESIGN Randomised cross-over trial. SUBJECTS Forty-one persons with unilateral above-knee or knee disarticulation limb loss, classified as Medicare Functional Classification Level-2 (MFCL-2). METHODS Participants were measured in 3 conditions, i.e. using a mechanically controlled knee joint and two types of microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joints. Functional performance level was assessed using a test in which participants performed 17 simulated activities of daily living (Assessment of Daily Activity Performance in Transfemoral amputees test). Performance time was measured and self-perceived level of difficulty was scored on a visual analogue scale for each activity. RESULTS High levels of within-group variability in functional performance obscured detection of any effects of using a microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joint. Data analysis after stratification of the participants into 3 subgroups, i.e. participants with a "low", "intermediate" and "high" functional mobility level, showed that the two higher functional subgroups performed significantly faster using microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joints. CONCLUSION MFCL-2 amputees constitute a heterogeneous patient group with large variation in functional performance levels. A substantial part of this group seems to benefit from using a microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joint when performing activities of daily living.
Biochemical characterization of USP7 reveals post‐translational modification sites and structural requirements for substrate processing and subcellular localization

Ubiquitin specific protease 7 (USP7) belongs to the family of deubiquitinating enzymes. Among other functions, USP7 is involved in the regulation of stress response pathways, epigenetic silencing and the progress of infections by DNA viruses. USP7 is a 130‐kDa protein with a cysteine peptidase core, N‐ and C‐terminal domains required for protein–protein interactions. In the present study, recombinant USP7 full length, along with several variants corresponding to domain deletions, were expressed in different hosts in order to analyze post‐translational modifications, oligomerization state, enzymatic properties and subcellular localization patterns of the enzyme. USP7 is phosphorylated at S18 and S963, and ubiquitinated at K869 in mammalian cells. In in vitro activity assays, N‐ and C‐terminal truncations affected the catalytic efficiency of the enzyme different. Both the protease core alone and in combination with the N‐terminal domain are over 100‐fold less active than the full length enzyme, whereas a construct including the C‐terminal region displays a rather small decrease in catalytic efficiency. Limited proteolysis experiments revealed that USP7 variants containing the C‐terminal domain interact more tightly with ubiquitin. Besides playing an important role in substrate recognition and processing, this region might be involved in enzyme dimerization. USP7 constructs lacking the N‐terminal domain failed to localize in the cell nucleus, but no nuclear localization signal could be mapped within the enzyme's first 70 amino acids. Instead, the tumor necrosis factor receptor associated factor‐like region (amino acids 70–205) was sufficient to achieve the nuclear localization of the enzyme, suggesting that interaction partners might be required for USP7 nuclear import.
Plasma isoflavone level and subsequent risk of breast cancer among Japanese women: a nested case-control study from the Japan Public Health Center-based prospective study group.

PURPOSE Because they have large variations in consumption, Asian countries are suitable settings for studies of the effect of relatively high-dose isoflavone intake on breast cancer risk. Nevertheless, no prospective study from Asia has assessed blood or urine levels as biomarkers of isoflavone intake. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 24,226 women ages 40 to 69 years in the Japan Public Health Center-based prospective study who responded to the baseline questionnaire and provided blood in 1990 to 1995 were observed to December 2002. During a mean 10.6 years of follow-up, 144 patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer were identified. Two matched controls for each patient were selected from the cohort. Isoflavone levels were assessed by plasma level and food frequency questionnaire, and the odds ratio of breast cancer according to isoflavone level was estimated using a conditional logistic regression model. RESULTS We found a statistically significant inverse association between plasma genistein and risk of breast cancer, but no association for plasma daidzein. Adjusted odds ratios for the highest versus lowest quartile of plasma level were 0.34 for genistein (95% CI, 0.16 to 0.74; P for trend, .02) and 0.71 for daidzein (95% CI, 0.35 to 1.44; P for trend, .54). Median plasma genistein values in the control group were 31.9 ng/mL for the lowest and 353.9 ng/mL for the highest quartile groups. Regarding dietary intake of isoflavones, nonsignificant inverse associations were observed for both genistein and daidzein. CONCLUSION This nested case-control study found an inverse association between plasma genistein and the risk of breast cancer in Japan.
Bilingual Babbling : Evidence for Language Differentiation in Dual Language Acquisition

In this study, we examined the babbling of a pre-verbal child who was learning English and French simultaneously. There were three overarching goals to the research: 1) To examine evidence for language differentiation during pre-lexical stages of bilingual acquisition; 2) To examine whether the time course of phonological development during the pre-verbal stages of bilingual acquisition is in line with that of children exposed to only one language or whether there are delays as a result of dual language exposure and learning; and 3) To examine evidence for babbling drift (Brown, 1958; Weir, 1966), that is, the notion that the babbling of pre-verbal children exhibits features of the target language system as the child approaches the stage of first-word productions. We regard these results as preliminary since further analyses must be done before we can provide a comprehensive picture of this child’s development and because acoustic analyses of certain features must be carried out to complement our phonological analyses. Moreover, analyses of additional children will be important to demonstrate the generalizability of these findings. A central issue in research on bilingual acquisition is when neuro-cognitive differentiation of two languages occurs in children exposed to two languages from birth (Genesee, 1989). Early conceptualizations argued that children exposed to two languages from birth go through an initial stage when there is a single linguistic system, comprised of fused subsystems (e.g., Volterra & Taeschner, 1978). However, recent evidence in our lab and other’s indicates that differentiation is evident in the one-word stage of bilingual development onward (see Deuchar & Quay, 2000; Genesee, 2001; and Meisel, 2001, for reviews). Evidence for differentiation can be found in lexical, syntactic, and pragmatic
Falls in Residential Carpentry and Drywall Installation: Findings From Active Injury Surveillance With Union Carpenters

Active injury surveillance was conducted with a large, unionized workforce of residential and drywall carpenters over a 3-year period. Injured carpenters were interviewed by trained carpenter investigators and sites were visited where falls occurred. Qualitative information was collected on exposures, risk perception, training, and mentoring. Falls accounted for 20% of injuries. Same-level falls were often related to weather, carrying objects—sometimes with an obstructed view—housekeeping, terrain of the lot, and speed of work. Falls from height occurred from a variety of work surfaces and involved ladders, scaffolding, roofs, work on other unsecured surfaces, unprotected openings, speed, and weather conditions. Recognized fall protection strategies, such as guardrails, toe boards, tying off to appropriate anchors, and guarding openings, would have prevented many of these falls; these practices were not the norm on many sites.
Vitamin A status in children with asthma

Low vitamin A levels have been found in a number of diseases in children. The aim of this study was to examine the vitamin A status in children with asthma and to correlate the changes with severity of disease. Serum levels of vitamin A, retinol‐binding protein (RBP), and albumin were estimated in 35 asthmatic children (24 males) in the age group of 2–12 years (mean 5.89 years) and 29 controls (19 males). Both study and control groups were similar with respect to age, sex, and overall nutritional status. Twenty‐four children in the study group (68.6%) had moderate to severe persistent asthma and eight children had mild persistent asthma. Only three patients suffered from mild intermittent asthma. Vitamin A levels in children with asthma (mean ± SD 22.14 ± 5.38 µg/dl) were found to be significantly lower than their controls (mean ± SD 27.54 ± 4.83 µg/dl) (p = 0.0001). Age, age of onset of asthma, and gender had no correlation with serum vitamin A levels. Low serum vitamin A levels (< 20 µg/dl) were observed four times more commonly in the study group (28.6%) than controls (6.9%). Severity of asthma had a negative correlation with serum vitamin A levels (r = − 0.61, p = 0.0001). Children with severe persistent asthma had markedly low serum vitamin A levels (mean ± SD 13.42 ± 5.19 µg/dl) as compared with mild intermittent asthma (mean ± SD 24.61 ± 2.32 µg/dl). Therapeutic trials are needed to prove whether low vitamin A levels contribute to asthma severity and the clinical utility of vitamin A supplementation in asthmatic children.
Effective Control of Adult Culex pipiens by Spraying an Attractive Toxic Sugar Bait Solution in the Vegetation Near Larval Habitats

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the use of an insecticide-treated fruit juice bait against adult Culex pipiens s.l. L. from sewage ponds in Israel. The attractive toxic sugar bait (ATSB) solution (fruit juice, sugar, food dye, oral insecticide spinosad, and BaitStab, a mixture of slow-release substances and preservatives) was sprayed onto 10–15% of the surrounding vegetation of these ponds. The same bait solution, without insecticide, was sprayed onto vegetation at a similar site as a control. Mosquito abundance was monitored in treatment and control sites with six CDC light traps. Mosquitoes in the experimental sites decreased from ≈125 to approximately eight per trap. Mosquito abundance in the control sites was fairly stable and averaged ≈60 per trap during the study. Before starting the study parity of mosquitoes from the experimental and control sites averaged ≈20% muciparous females. After bait/insecticide application, only ≈3% of the females were multiparous in the treatment area.
Optimisation of a Digital Ecosystem by a Distributed Intelligence

Can intelligence optimise Digital Ecosystems? How could a distributed intelligence interact with the ecosystem dynamics? Can the software components that are part of genetic selection be intelligent in themselves, as in an adaptive technology? We consider the effect of a distributed intelligence mechanism on the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of our Digital Ecosystem, which is the digital counterpart of a biological ecosystem for evolving software services in a distributed network. We investigate Neural Networks and Support Vector Machine for the learning based pattern recognition functionality of our distributed intelligence. Simulation results imply that the Digital Ecosystem performs better with the application of a distributed intelligence, marginally more effectively when powered by Support Vector Machine than Neural Networks, and suggest that it can contribute to optimising the operation of our Digital Ecosystem.
Tacrolimus is a class II low-solubility high-permeability drug: the effect of P-glycoprotein efflux on regional permeability of tacrolimus in rats.

The objective of this study is to investigate the role of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a membrane efflux pump associated with multidrug resistance (MDR) and a known substrate for tacrolimus, in determining the regional intestinal permeability of tacrolimus in rats. Thus, isolated segments of rat jejunum, ileum, or colon were perfused with tacrolimus solutions containing polyethoxylated hydrogenated castor oil 60 surfactant, and with or without verapamil, a P-gp substrate used to reverse the MDR phenotype. The results indicated that the intrinsic permeability of tacrolimus in the jejunum, calculated on the basis of the concentration of non-micellized free tacrolimus, was quite high ( approximately 1.4 x 10(-4) cm/s). The apparent permeability (P(app)) in the jejunum was unaffected by the presence of verapamil; however, the P(app) in the ileum and the colon increased significantly in the presence of verapamil and were similar to the values observed in the jejunum. The results suggest that systemic absorption of tacrolimus from the gastrointestinal tract could be significantly affected by P-gp efflux mechanisms. It is also possible that differences in P-gp function at various intestinal sites in a subject or at a given intestinal site in various subjects could lead to large intra- and interindividual variability in bioavailability of tacrolimus following oral administration.
Case-Control Study of Nutritional Antioxidant Intake in Essential Tremor

The theory that oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases has received considerable attention and studies have linked these diseases to the diminished use of antioxidant vitamins (vitamins E and C) and other dietary antioxidants. Essential tremor (ET) is a chronic, progressive disease. One possible disease mechanism is neurodegenerative. Whether nutritional antioxidant use differs between ET cases and controls is not known. Using a case-control design, we conducted detailed dietary assessments and tested the hypothesis that diminished use of nutritional antioxidants is associated with ET. Data on diet were collected on 156 ET cases and 220 controls using a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. There was no evidence that current nutritional antioxidant exposure differs in ET cases and controls. This does not exclude the possibility that nutritional antioxidant exposure was lower in ET cases prior to their disease onset.
Hypertension as a risk factor for cerebral injury during cardiopulmonary bypass

We studied 22 patients aged 53–78 years scheduled for cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass. Blood pressure, cardiac output, transcranial Doppler blood flow velocity, arterial blood gases, body temperature and protein S100B, as a marker for cerebral integrity, were evaluated in normotensive and hypertensive patients. Pre‐operative mean (SD) arterial blood pressure was 93 (11) mmHg in the normotensive group compared with 116 (15) mmHg in the hypertensive group. We found an increase in protein S100B levels in both groups. Serum protein S100B concentrations in the hypertensive group were significantly higher than in the normotensive group (p < 0.001). The highest mean (SD) values were 2.04 (0.65) µmol. l−1 in the normotensive group and 7.02 (4.55) µmol. l−1 in the hypertensive group. These results suggest that cardiopulmonary bypass is associated with a significantly higher rate of cerebral injury in hypertensive patients than in normotensive patients. This may be due to altered autoregulation and insufficient cerebral perfusion. Modifications of cardiopulmonary bypass management for hypertensive patients might be made to decrease the risk of cerebral injury.
Calculation of Lightning-Induced Voltages on Overhead Distribution Lines Including Insulation Breakdown

This paper investigates the influence of considering actual insulation volt-time curves both in the calculation of lightning-induced voltages and in the estimation of the number of flashovers an overhead wire may experience per year due to nearby lightning strokes. The flashover mechanism is modeled according with the integration method, which is used as a reference for comparisons with the simplified 1.5 CFO flashover criterion traditionally used in the estimation of the lightning performance of overhead distribution lines. Sensitivity analysis show the dependence of flashovers on the shape and front time of the assumed channel-base current. The obtained results suggest that the simplified 1.5 CFO flashover criterion is likely to underestimate the number of flashovers an overhead line may experience per year due to nearby lightning strokes. This result is confirmed by statistical analyses considering a Monte Carlo-based approach. It is also shown that more realistic flashover rate estimates can be obtained in the statistical analysis of lightning-induced voltages provided a reduced threshold level (1.2 CFO in the particular case evaluated in this paper) is considered instead of the 1.5 CFO level traditionally used in this type of study.
The expression of bcl-2 in chronic liver diseases.

OBJECTIVE Bcl-2 is an oncogene that prevents apoptosis (programmed cell death). Expression of bcl-2 protein has been reported in association with a variety of human tumors. METHODS This study was conducted in the Department of Gastroenterology and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey during the period 1996 to 2000 on formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue specimens of 69 liver biopsy with chronic liver disease. To evaluate the clinical importance of bcl-2 expression in chronic liver disease and its correlation with biochemical parameters, underlying liver disease types and histopathological parameters; we studied the bcl-2 expression in 69 biopsy proven patients. These were diagnosed with chronic liver disease, and had no other disease or had not received any treatment. Of these patients, 30 were diagnosed as having hepatitis C, 20 with hepatitis B, 19 with liver cirrhosis. RESULTS The bcl-2 expression was significantly higher in the hepatitis C group when compared with the hepatitis B group (p<0.001). No significant correlation was found among serum transaminase, bilirubin, albumin, hepatitis C virus-RNA, hepatitis B virus-DNA levels, prothrombin time and bcl-2 expression (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS The reason for the increased expression of bcl-2 in hepatitis C is unclear and may be related to difference in the injury mechanism of the virus, differences in the infection period, and immunology.
How Safe is my System?

The standard IEC/EN61508 provides the developer with guidelines to develop and implement safety related systems according to the international standard. The standard supplies qualitative and quantitative criteria to evaluated safety related systems, in order to apply it in safety critical applications. This paper details the criterion probability of failure on demand (PFD). This paper derives the necessary equations and calculates the PFD-values for different system architectures.
The malignant potential of small cystic ovarian tumors in women over 50 years of age.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the risk of malignancy in cystic ovarian tumors < 10 cm in diameter in asymptomatic postmenopausal women or women >or =50 years of age. METHODS All cystic ovarian tumors detected by transvaginal sonography screening in asymptomatic postmenopausal women or women > or =50 years of age were evaluated with respect to size and morphology. Histology was recorded on all tumors removed surgically. Follow-up data were available both on patients undergoing surgery and on those who elected to be followed without operative intervention. RESULTS Unilocular cystic tumors were detected in 256 of 7705 patients (3.3%). All tumors were < 10 cm in diameter and 90% were < 5 cm in diameter. One hundred twenty-five of these cysts (49%) resolved spontaneously within 60 days and 131 (51%) persisted. Forty-five patients with persisting ovarian cysts underwent operative removal of these tumors. Thirty-two patients had ovarian serous cystadenomas, and the remainder had a variety of benign lesions. There were no cases of ovarian carcinoma in this group. Eighty-six patients with unilocular cystic ovarian tumors were followed at 3- to 6-month intervals without surgery, and none have developed ovarian cancer. Complex cystic ovarian tumors were detected in 250 patients (3.2%). All tumors were < 10 cm in diameter and 89% were < 5 cm in diameter. One hundred thirty-five (55%) resolved spontaneously within 60 days, and 115 (45%) persisted. One hundred fourteen of these patients underwent operative tumor removal. Seven patients had ovarian carcinoma, 1 had primary peritoneal cancer, and 1 had metastatic breast cancer to the ovary. CONCLUSION Unilocular ovarian cysts < 10 cm in diameter in asymptomatic postmenopausal women or women > or =50 years of age are associated with minimal risk for ovarian cancer. In contrast, complex ovarian cysts with wall abnormalities or solid areas are associated with a significant risk for malignancy. These data are important in determining optimal strategies for operative intervention in these patients.