Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Awareness of Exodeviation in Children with Intermittent Exotropia

Purpose: To describe how children with intermittent exotropia (IXT) are aware of their exodeviation. Methods: Twenty-four children with IXT, aged 5 to 17 years, median 10.5 years, were recruited. Individual interviews with the children were audiotaped and transcribed. Interviews were based on 10 open-ended questions and discussion was encouraged. Transcripts were reviewed to identify phrases describing the child’s awareness of the exodeviation as distinct from phrases describing the way intermittent exotropia affects their quality of life. Phrases were reviewed to identify specific topic areas and the type and frequency of topics were analyzed. Results: Nineteen (79%) of 24 children expressed awareness of the exodeviation. One hundred twenty phrases were extracted and 18 topic areas identified. The most frequently mentioned topics were comments from others (15 [63%] of 24), general awareness of deviation (10 [42%] of 24), ocular sensation (10 [42%] of 24), and correction of exodeviation by blinking (7 [29%] of 24). Conclusions: In our study, most patients with IXT were aware of their eye condition, but patient experience varied. In individual interviews, children described awareness of their eye condition mainly due to comments from others. Awareness of ability to correct the exodeviation by blinking was common and may be related to mechanisms used to control IXT.
Visualization of Focal Nuclear Sites of DNA Repair Synthesis Induced by Bleomycin in Human Cells

Abstract Tomilin, N. V. , Solovjeva, L. V. , Svetlova, M. P., Pleskach, N. M. , Zalenskaya, I. A. , Yau, P. M. and Bradbury, E. M. Visualization of Focal Nuclear Sites of DNA Repair Synthesis Induced by Bleomycin in Human Cells. Radiat. Res. 156, 347–354 (2001). In this study, we examined DNA repair synthesis in human cells treated with the radiomimetic drug bleomycin, which efficiently induces double-strand breaks (DSBs). Using tyramide-biotin to amplify fluorescent signals, discrete nuclear foci from the incorporation of 5-iododeoxyuridine (IdU) were detected in proliferating human cells treated with bleomycin. We believe this comes from the repair of DSBs. An increase in the number of foci (>5 per nucleus) was detected in a major fraction (75%) of non-S-phase cells labeled for 30 min with IdU 1 h after the end of bleomycin treatment. The fraction of cells with multiple IdU-containing foci was found to decrease 18 h after treatment. The average number of foci per nucleus detected 1 h after bleomycin treatment was found to decrease twofold between 1 and 3.5 h, indicating that the foci may be associated with the slow component of DSB repair. The presence of DSBs in bleomycin-treated cells was confirmed using antibodies against phosphorylated histone H2AX (γ-H2AX), which is strictly associated with this type of DNA damage. After treatment with bleomycin, non-S-phase cells also displayed heterogeneous nuclear foci containing tightly bound proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), suggesting an ongoing process of unscheduled DNA synthesis. PCNA is known to be involved in base excision repair, but a fraction of the PCNA foci may also be associated with DNA synthesis occurring during the repair of DSBs.
Investigating the performance of process-observation-error-estimator and robust estimators in surplus production model: a simulation study

This study investigated the performance of the three estimators of surplus production model including process-observation-error-estimator with normal distribution (POE_N), observation-error-estimator with normal distribution (OE_N), and processerror-estimator with normal distribution (PE_N). Estimators with fat-tailed distributions including Student’s t distribution and Cauchy distribution were also proposed and their performances were compared with the estimators with normal distribution. This study used Bayesian method, revised Metropolis Hastings within Gibbs sampling algorithm (MHGS) that was previously used to solve POE_N (Millar and Meyer, 2000), developed the MHGS for the other estimators, and developed the methodologies which enabled all the estimators to deal with data containing multiple indices based on catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE). Simulation study was conducted based on parameter estimation from two example fisheries: the Atlantic weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) and the black sea bass (Centropristis striata) southern stock. Our results indicated that POE_N is the estimator with best performance among all six estimators with regard to both accuracy and precision for most of the cases. POE_N is also the robust estimator to outliers, atypical values, and autocorrelated errors. OE_N is the second best estimator. PE_N is often imprecise. The estimators with fattailed distribution usually result in some estimates more biased than the estimators with normal distribution. The performance of POE_N and OE_N can be improved by fitting multiple indices. Our study suggested that POE_N be used for population dynamic models in future stock assessment. Multiple indices from valid surveys should be incorporated into stock assessment models. OE_N can be considered when multiple indices are available.
Health investment, health outcomes and economic growth in China: an applied macroeconomic analysis

Health is regarded as an important dimension of human development and its crucial role as human capital has been long recognised; however, the strategic role of health investment remains undervalued in less developed regions. China is a very good example of this. Along with the economic transition in the past three decades, China’s health care system has also undergone several major changes. A key policy change was a shift of the main responsibility of health care finance to the individual in the early 1990s and a reversal of this in the early 2000s after the SARS epidemic. Possibly as a result of this, the population’s health status is reported to be performing below its potential. This thesis conducts a thorough empirical investigation of the various and varied relationships between health investment, health outcomes and economic growth in China, using publicly available macro data; thus it makes a significant contribution to the academic literature, as well as provides evidence for policy-makers in both China and other countries in transition. More specifically, this thesis empirically studies (1) the long-run relationship between health investment and economic output; and (2) the short-run nexus between health expenditure behaviours, health status and economic fluctuations, through both national time series and provincial-level panel data from mainland China. Overall, the results suggest that health investment has a significant and positive role in explaining the level of economic output in the long-run; and an estimated stronger effect in inland China may further highlight diminishing returns in health investment. The short-run results also suggest a significantly pro-cyclical movement of government health expenditure with economic growth. Furthermore, child health outcomes and infectious disease incidence are also significantly associated with economic fluctuations.
Effects of Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping vs Early Clamping on Anemia in Infants at 8 and 12 Months: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance Delayed umbilical cord clamping has been shown to improve iron stores in infants to 6 months of age. However, delayed cord clamping has not been shown to prevent iron deficiency or anemia after 6 months of age. Objective To investigate the effects of delayed umbilical cord clamping, compared with early clamping, on hemoglobin and ferritin levels at 8 and 12 months of age in infants at high risk for iron deficiency anemia. Design, Setting, and Participants This randomized clinical trial included 540 late preterm and term infants born vaginally at a tertiary hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, from October 2 to November 21, 2014. Follow-up included blood levels of hemoglobin and ferritin at 8 and 12 months of age. Follow-up was completed on December 11, 2015. Analysis was based on intention to treat. Interventions Infants were randomized to delayed umbilical cord clamping (≥180 seconds after delivery) or early clamping (⩽60 seconds after delivery). Main Outcomes and Measures Main outcomes included hemoglobin and anemia levels at 8 months of age with the power estimate based on the prevalence of anemia. Secondary outcomes included hemoglobin and anemia levels at 12 months of age and ferritin level, iron deficiency, and iron deficiency anemia at 8 and 12 months of age. Results In this study of 540 infants (281 boys [52.0%] and 259 girls [48.0%]; mean [SD] gestational age, 39.2 [1.1] weeks), 270 each were randomized to the delayed and early clamping groups. At 8 months of age, 212 infants (78.5%) from the delayed group and 188 (69.6%) from the early clamping group returned for blood sampling. After multiple imputation analysis, infants undergoing delayed clamping had higher levels of hemoglobin (10.4 vs 10.2 g/dL; difference, 0.2 g/dL; 95% CI, 0.1 to 0.4 g/dL). Delayed cord clamping also reduced the prevalence of anemia (hemoglobin level <11.0 g/dL) at 8 months in 197 (73.0%) vs 222 (82.2%) infants (relative risk, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.81-0.98; number needed to treat [NNT], 11; 95% CI, 6-54). At 8 months, the risk for iron deficiency was reduced in the delayed clamping group in 60 (22.2%) vs 103 (38.1%) patients (relative risk, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.44-0.77; NNT, 6; 95% CI, 4-13). At 12 months, delayed cord clamping still resulted in a hemoglobin level of 0.3 (95% CI, 0.04-0.5) g/dL higher than in the early cord clamping group and a relative risk for anemia of 0.91 (95% CI, 0.84-0.98), resulting in a NNT of 12 (95% CI, 7-78). Conclusions and Relevance Delayed cord clamping reduces anemia at 8 and 12 months of age in a high-risk population, which may have major positive effects on infants’ health and development. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02222805
Prevention by Mannan and other Sugars of in Vitro Damage of Rat Fetal Small Intestine Induced by Cereal Prolamin Peptides Toxic for Human Celiac Intestine

ABSTRACT. Peptic-tryptic-cotazym and peptic-tryptic digests wore obtained, simulating in vivo protein digestion, from pure “bread” wheat gliadins and from rye, barley, and oats prolamine and tested on small intestine cultures from fetal rats. When tested at a concentration of 0.1 mg of peptides/ml of culture medium the peptic-tryptic-cotazym and peptic-tryptic digests of gliadin and prolamines were very active in slowing in vitro development of fetal rat intestine and in increasing the occurrence and severity of degenerative changes. The ability of some sugars to interfere with inhibition of fetal intestinal morphogenesis induced by these peptides was also tested. Mannan at a concentration of 0.1 mM was effective in allowing intestinal morphogenesis to take place in the presence of prolamine peptic-tryptic-cotazym and prolamine peptic-tryptic digests of the four toxic cereals. Some oligomers of N-acetylglucosamine were also effective in blocking the inhibitory effect of “bread” wheat gliadin peptides. These data are compatible with the hypothesis that some sugars may exert a protective effect on the toxic activity of cereal prolamin peptides on the human celiac intestine.
Opinion: Why protect nature? Rethinking values and the environment

A cornerstone of environmental policy is the debate over protecting nature for humans’ sake (instrumental values) or for nature’s (intrinsic values) (1). We propose that focusing only on instrumental or intrinsic values may fail to resonate with views on personal and collective well-being, or “what is right,” with regard to nature and the environment. Without complementary attention to other ways that value is expressed and realized by people, such a focus may inadvertently promote worldviews at odds with fair and desirable futures. It is time to engage seriously with a third class of values, one with diverse roots and current expressions: relational values. By doing so, we reframe the discussion about environmental protection, and open the door to new, potentially more productive policy approaches.
Over 20 years experience with aortic homograft in aortic valve replacement during acute infective endocarditis.

OBJECTIVES Despite the controversy, the aortic homograft is supposedly the best option in acute infective endocarditis (AIE), due to its resistance to reinfection. However, the technical complexity and the risk of structural deterioration over time have limited its utilization. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term results of aortic homograft for the treatment of infective endocarditis in our institution with particular attention to predictors of survival and homograft reoperation. METHODS The cohort includes 112 patients who underwent aortic valve replacement with an aortic homograft for AIE between January 1990 and December 2014. RESULTS Fifteen patients (13.4%) died during the first 30 days after the operation. Two patients were lost to follow-up after discharge from the hospital; therefore, 95 patients were available for long-term analysis. The median duration of follow-up was 7.8 years (IQR 4.7-17.6). Five patients (5.3%) suffered a recurrence of infective endocarditis (1 relapse and 4 new episodes). Sixteen patients (16.8%) were reoperated for structural valve degeneration (SVD; n = 14, 87.5%) or for infection recurrence (n = 2, 12.5%). Freedom from homograft reoperation for infective endocarditis or structural homograft degeneration at 10 and 15 years postoperatively was 86.3 ± 5.5 and 47.3 ± 11.0%, respectively. For patients requiring homograft reoperation, the median interval to reintervention was 11.6 years (IQR 8.3-14.5). Long-term survival was 63.6% (95% CI 52.4-72.8%) and 53.8% (95% CI 40.6-65.3%) at 10 and 15 years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The use of aortic homograft in acute aortic valve endocarditis is associated with a remarkably low risk of relapsing infection and very acceptable long-term survival. The risk of reoperation due to SVD is significant after one decade especially in young patients. The aortic homograft seems to be ideally suited for reconstruction of the aortic valve and cardiac structures damaged by the infective process especially in early surgery.
Data from the Danish Veterinary Cancer Registry on the occurrence and distribution of neoplasms in dogs in Denmark

From May 15, 2005 to April 15, 2008, 1878 cases of neoplasms in dogs were reported to the web-based Danish Veterinary Cancer Registry. The proportions of malignant (38 per cent) and benign (45 per cent) tumours were similar. The most common malignant neoplasms were adenocarcinomas (21 per cent), mast cell tumours (19 per cent) and lymphomas (17 per cent). The benign neoplasms most commonly encountered were lipomas (24 per cent), adenomas (22 per cent) and histiocytomas (14 per cent). Skin (43 per cent) and the female reproductive system including mammary tissue (28 per cent) were the most common locations of neoplasia. There was a distinct breed predisposition for tumour development, with a high standard morbidity ratio (indicating a higher risk of cancer) for boxers and Bernese mountain dogs. A standard morbidity ratio below 1 was observed in German shepherd dogs and Danish/Swedish farm dogs, suggesting a lower risk of cancer in these breeds.
Intravenous Immunoglobulin to Treat Severe Atopic Dermatitis in Children: A Case Series

Abstract: Severe cases of atopic dermatitis (AD) may require systemic immunosuppression to achieve disease control. Unfortunately, some cases continue to be refractory to management or develop unacceptable adverse effects. There are limited reports of the use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in the treatment of severe AD, but results are inconsistent. In a retrospective study, we report 10 children with severe AD refractory to systemic immunosuppression and maximal topical therapy who were treated using IVIg. The children received monthly IVIg for an average of 24 months. This resulted in a significant improvement in symptoms, with fewer infection‐related exacerbations and hospitalizations, allowing systemic immunosuppression to be tapered. The effect was associated with a significant decrease in serum immunoglobulin E and was sustained after cessation of IVIg in 50% of cases. No significant side effects attributable to the IVIg infusions were noted. In this cohort of children with severe AD and recurrent cutaneous infections, IVIg provided an effective treatment with minimal side effects and significant benefits in school attendance and quality of life.
Is China Socialist

It has been 40 years since Deng Xiaoping broke dramatically with Maoist ideology and the Maoist variant of socialism. Since then, China has been transformed. Forty years ago, in 1978, China was unquestionably a socialist economy of the familiar and well-studied "command economy" variant, even though it was more decentralized and more loosely planned than its Soviet progenitor. Twenty years ago--that is, by the late 1990s--China had completely discarded this type of socialism and was moving decisively to a market economy. China today is quite different both from the command economy of 40 years ago, and from the "Wild West Capitalism" of 20 years ago. Throughout these enormous changes, China has always officially claimed to be socialist. Does the "socialist" label make sense when applied to China today?
Knowledge and awareness concerning chemical and biological terrorism: continuing education implications.

BACKGROUND A survey on knowledge and awareness concerning chemical and biological terrorism was used to assess the knowledge base of health care providers at an urban medical center in preparation for developing a workshop on domestic terrorism preparedness. A second survey assessing domestic terrorism preparedness of infection control personnel and nurse educators also was conducted. METHOD A total of 291 nurses, physicians, nursing students, and medical students completed the knowledge and awareness survey. A total of 24 infection control personnel and nurse educators completed the second survey on domestic terrorism preparedness. FINDINGS The knowledge scores of the respondents were low, with less than one fourth of the knowledge questions answered correctly. In addition, less than 23% of the respondents reported confidence to provide health care in a hypothetical chemical terrorism situation. CONCLUSION These findings indicate a need for nurses in continuing education and staff development to develop, implement, and evaluate innovative domestic terrorism preparedness programs.
BRAF V600E, TERT promoter mutations and CDKN2A/B homozygous deletions are frequent in epithelioid glioblastomas: a histological and molecular analysis focusing on intratumoral heterogeneity

Epithelioid glioblastoma (E‐GBM) is a rare aggressive variant of IDH‐wildtype glioblastoma newly recognized in the 2016 World Health Organization classification, composed predominantly of monotonous, patternless sheets of round cells with laterally positioned nuclei and plump eosinophilic cytoplasm. Approximately 50% of E‐GBM harbor BRAF V600E, which is much less frequently found in other types of glioblastomas. Most E‐GBM are recognized as primary/de novo lesions; however, several E‐GBM with co‐ or pre‐existing lower‐grade lesions have been reported. To better understand associations between E‐GBM and the lower‐grade lesions, we undertook a histological and molecular analysis of 14 E‐GBM, 10 of which exhibited lower‐grade glioma‐like components (8 E‐GBM with co‐existing diffuse glioma‐like components, 1 E‐GBM with a co‐existing PXA‐like component and 1 E‐GBM with a pre‐existing PXA). Molecular results demonstrated that the prevalence of BRAF V600E, TERT promoter mutations and CDKN2A/B homozygous deletions in E‐GBM were 13/14 (93%), 10/14 (71%) and 11/14 (79%), respectively, and concurrent BRAF V600E, TERT promoter mutations and CDKN2A/B homozygous deletions were observed in 7/14 (50%) of E‐GBM. These alterations were also frequently seen in the lower‐grade lesions irrespective of the histology. Genetic analysis including array comparative genomic hybridization performed for 5 E‐GBM with co‐ and pre‐existing lower‐grade components revealed that all molecular changes found in the lower‐grade components were also observed in the E‐GBM components, and additional changes were detected in the E‐GBM components. In conclusion, E‐GBM frequently exhibit BRAF V600E, TERT promoter mutations and CDKN2A/B homozygous deletions and these alterations tend to coexist in E‐GBM. Taken together with the facts that only one PXA preceded E‐GBM among these lower‐grade lesions, and that co‐occurrence of BRAF V600E, TERT promoter mutations and CDKN2A/B homozygous deletions have been reported to be rare in conventional lower‐grade diffuse gliomas, the diffuse glioma‐like components may be distinct infiltrative components of E‐GBM, reflecting intratumoral heterogeneity.
Scintillator-Based High-Throughput Fast Timing Spectroscopy for Real-Time Range Verification in Particle Therapy

Range verification of particle beams in real time is considered a key for tapping the full potential of radio-oncological particle therapies. The novel technique of prompt gamma-ray timing (PGT), recently proposed and explored in first proof-of-principle experiments, promises range assessment at reasonable expense but challenges detectors, electronics, and data acquisition. Energy-selected time distributions have to be measured at very high throughput rates to obtain the statistics necessary for range verification with single pencil beam spots. Clinically applicable systems should provide a time resolution of about 200 ps, to be obtained with large (about 2” diameter) scintillators, detector loads in the few-Mcps range, and data acquisition rates around 1 Mcps, if possible with compact and inexpensive systems. Such requirements can be met best with CeBr3 scintillators read out with conventional photomultiplier tubes, coupled to commercial but customized electronics featuring high-resolution pulse digitization and fast digital signal processing. The paper deduces design parameters from the constraints given by typical treatment conditions, and presents first results obtained with prototype detectors and electronics developed in accordance with the derived specifications.
Determination of α‐helix N1 energies after addition of N1, N2, and N3 preferences to helix/coil theory

Surveys of protein crystal structures have revealed that amino acids show unique structural preferences for the N1, N2, and N3 positions in the first turn of the α‐helix. We have therefore extended helix‐coil theory to include statistical weights for these locations. The helix content of a peptide in this model is a function of N‐cap, C‐cap, N1, N2, N3, C1, and helix interior (N4 to C2) preferences. The partition function for the system is calculated using a matrix incorporating the weights of the fourth residue in a hexamer of amino acids and is implemented using a FORTRAN program. We have applied the model to calculate the N1 preferences of Gln, Val, Ile, Ala, Met, Pro, Leu, Thr, Gly, Ser, and Asn, using our previous data on helix contents of peptides Ac‐XAKAAAAKAAGY‐CONH2. We find that Ala has the highest preference for the N1 position. Asn is the most unfavorable, destabilizing a helix at N1 by at least 1.4 kcal mol−1 compared to Ala. The remaining amino acids all have similar preferences, 0.5 kcal mol−1 less than Ala. Gln, Asn, and Ser, therefore, do not stabilize the helix when at N1.