Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the quality of life in patients with venous ulcers.

PURPOSE This prospective study aimed to validate a newly designed specific measure of quality of life for patients with venous ulcers. METHODS The study was set in a London teaching hospital and surrounding community clinics. Items for the questionnaire were selected by means of patient interviews, a literature review, and expert opinion. The questionnaire and the Short Form 36-item (SF-36) Health Survey were given to a prospective consecutive cohort of 98 patients with proven venous ulcers that were diagnosed by means of clinical and color duplex examination. Fifty-eight of the patients were women (60%), and the median age of patients was 76 years. The questionnaire was assessed for reliability, validity, and responsiveness. RESULTS The ulcer-specific questionnaire showed good reliability, as assessed by means of the internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.93) and test-retest analysis (r = 0.84). Factor analysis identified four important health factors: social function, domestic activities, cosmesis, and emotional status. Validity was demonstrated by means of a high correlation with all eight domains of the SF-36 general health measure (r > 0.55, P <.001). Responsiveness was demonstrated by means of a significant reduction in the score on the ulcer questionnaire as ulcers healed at 6 and 11 weeks (P <.05). CONCLUSION Good evidence exists that a clinically derived measure for patients with venous ulcers has validity to measure the quality of life.
Steroids for treating tuberculous meningitis.

BACKGROUND Even though corticosteroids have been used alongside antituberculosis drugs for tuberculous meningitis (TBM) since the 1950s their role remains controversial. Some believe corticosteroids improve outcome while others point to the lack of supportive evidence. In patients who are immunocompromised because of HIV infection the risks and benefits of steroids are unknown. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of steroids on death and disability in patients with TBM. SEARCH STRATEGY Electronic searching of MEDLINE, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, and Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Trials Register. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised controlled trials of steroids in people on TB treatment for TBM. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two independent reviewers applied study selection criteria, assessed methodological quality and extracted data. MAIN RESULTS Six trials of 595 patients met the inclusion criteria. No study described allocation concealment. Steroids were associated with fewer deaths (relative risk [RR] 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.65 to 0.97) and a reduced incidence of death and severe residual disability (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.88). Subgroup analysis suggests an effect on mortality in children (RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.96) but the results in a smaller number of adults are inconclusive (RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.50 to 1.84). There is little evidence that the severity of disease influences the effects of steroids on mortality. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS Adjunctive steroids might be of benefit in patients with TBM. However, existing studies are small, and poor allocation concealment and publication bias may account for the positive results found in this review. No data are available on the use of steroids in HIV positive persons. Future placebo-controlled studies should include patients with HIV infection and should be large enough to assess both mortality and disability.
Verbal Descriptions of Faces From Memory : Are They Diagnostic of Identification Accuracy ?

There is considerable forensic import to the hypothesis that the quality of an eyewitness' description of a face is useful for predicting the accuracy of a subsequent identification. Although previous studies have failed to support this hypothesis, those studies were designed to test only whether witnesses who are good describers also are good identifiers. The current study used 88 different target faces and found a significant point-biserial correlation between description accuracy and identification accuracy. This relationship was not due to a process wherein good describers are good identifiers, however, but was due to the fact that faces that are better described are better identified; a relationship that could not be tested in the designs of previous studies. The quality of a subject's description of a given face did no better than did a second subject's description of that face in terms of predicting the former subject's identification accuracy. Because the description-identification relationship was found to be mediated by target factors (rather than subject characteristics), it was suggested that different assessments (e.g., of target-face uniqueness) could better predict identification accuracy.
Direct Effect of Acute Metabolic and Respiratory Acidosis on Parathyroid Hormone Secretion in the Dog

Because both metabolic (Met Acid) and respiratory acidosis (Resp Acid) have diverse effects on mineral metabolism, it has been difficult to establish whether acidosis directly affects parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion. Our goal was to determine whether acute Met Acid and Resp Acid directly affected PTH secretion. Three groups of dogs were studied: control, acute Met Acid induced by HCl infusion, and acute Resp Acid induced by hypoventilation. EDTA was infused to prevent acidosis‐induced increases in ionized calcium, but more EDTA was needed in Met Acid than in Resp Acid. The PTH response to EDTA‐induced hypocalcemia was evaluated also. Magnesium needed to be infused in groups receiving EDTA to prevent hypomagnesemia. The half‐life of intact PTH (iPTH) was determined during hypocalcemia when PTH was measured after parathyroidectomy. During normocalcemia, PTH values were greater (p < 0.05) in Met Acid (92 ± 19 pg/ml) and Resp Acid (77 ± 22 pg/ml) than in controls (27 ± 5 pg/ml); the respective pH values were 7.23 ± 0.01, 7.24 ± 0.01, and 7.39 ± 0.02. The maximal PTH response to hypocalcemia was greater (p < 0.05) in Met Acid (443 ± 54 pg/ml) than in Resp Acid (267 ± 37 pg/ml) and controls (262 ± 48 pg/ml). The half‐life of PTH was greater (p < 0.05) in Met Acid than in controls, but the PTH secretion rate also was greater (p < 0.05) in Met Acid than in the other two groups. In conclusion, (1) both acute Met Acid and Resp Acid increase PTH secretion when the ionized calcium concentration is normal; (2) acute Met Acid may increase the bone efflux of calcium more than Resp Acid; (3) acute Met Acid acts as a secretogogue for PTH secretion because it enhances the maximal PTH response to hypocalcemia.
RISKY INCOME OR LUMPY INVESTMENTS ? 19 Table 1 Rice Prices and Sales ( 1 ) ( 2 ) Avg

Why do the poor have so many economic activities? According to one theory the poor do not specialize because relying on one income source is risky. I test the theory by measuring the response of Thai rice farmers to conditional volatility in the international rice price. Households expecting a harvest take on 1 extra activity when the volatility rises by 21 percent. I confirm the decrease in specialization costs households foregone revenue. I find no evidence to back a second theory in which households underspecialize because they cannot afford lumpy business investments. (JEL Codes: D13, O12)
Prognosis of patients receiving intensive care for lifethreatening medical complications of haematological malignancy

The mortality of patients admitted to intensive care units with haematological malignancy is high. A humane approach to the management of the critically ill as well as efficient use of limited resources requires careful selection of those patients who are most likely to benefit from intensive care. To delineate more accurately the factors influencing outcome in these patients the records of 60 consecutive admissions to the intensive care unit (37 male, 23 female) with haematological malignancy were reviewed retrospectively. Fifty patients were in acute respiratory failure, most commonly (34 patients) with a combination of pneumonia and septicaemic shock. The severity of the acute illness was assessed by the APACHE II (acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II) score and number of organ systems affected. Thirteen patients survived to leave hospital. The mortality of patients with haematological malignancy was consistently higher than predicted from a large validation study of APACHE II in a mixed population of critically ill patients. Moreover, no patient with an APACHE II score of greater than 26 survived. Mortality among the 22 patients with relapsed malignancy (21 deaths), was significantly higher than among the 35 patients at first presentation (26 deaths). On discharge from the intensive care unit all survivors had responded well to chemotherapy and had normal or raised peripheral white cell counts. They included seven patients who had recovered from leucopenia (white cell count <0.5 × 109/1). In contrast, 36 of the 47 patients who died were leucopenic at the time of death. The overall mortality of critically ill patients with haematological malignancy is higher than equivalently ill patients without cancer. The dysfunction of an increasing number of organ systems, an APACHE II score of greater than 30, failure of the malignancy to respond to chemotherapy, and persistent leucopenia all point to a poor outcome.
Internal initiation of translation in retroviral vectors carrying picornavirus 5' nontranslated regions

Previous work has shown that picornavirus 5' nontranslated regions (NTRs) can initiate internal translation of downstream coding regions both in vitro and in transient in vivo assays. We have used 5' NTR sequences from encephalomyocarditis virus and poliovirus to construct retroviral vectors that are designed to express two proteins from a single mRNA. Inclusion of 5' NTR sequences did not adversely affect vector titer. Protein expression was studied with stable cell lines generated by vector infection of mouse NIH 3T3 cells and human and canine skin fibroblasts. Expression of a coding region in the downstream position was at levels from 25 to 100% of the same coding region in the upstream position. Expression of downstream coding regions in control vectors that did not contain the 5' NTR sequences was very low, in agreement with the predictions of the scanning model for eukaryotic translation. These experiments demonstrate coordinate expression of two coding regions from a single mRNA in stable cell lines and provide further support for the model of internal translation initiation by sequences in the 5' NTRs of picornaviruses.
Pin-pricks and pins' tricks: a new method to reduce pin-prick pain of intramuscular and subcutaneous injections.

We read with interest the study of pulse oximeter probes (1), but must take exception to the study’s methodology and conclusions. The study was intended to evaluate and compare the accuracy of prototype nonproprietary probes (OSS/Dolphin Medical) to their counterpart proprietary sensors from the original equipment manufacturers (Nellcor, Datex-Ohmeda, and Criticare). The protocol used a bench-top patient simulator (BioTek Index) to compare the various sensors’ pulse oximeter Spo2 readings with the simulator set points. The study’s conclusions suggest equivalence or superiority of performance in nonproprietary probes. Unfortunately, the authors have grossly misinterpreted the ability of this simulator to evaluate the probe’s contribution to Spo2 reading accuracy. While the Index and several other commercially available patient simulators can test sensor and pulse oximeter functionality, they are incapable of providing the required data needed to properly evaluate the accuracy of Spo2 readings (according to a letter to Nellcor Puritan Bennett from Peter M. Weith, BioTek Instruments, October 1995). With respect to pulse oximeter probes, the patient simulator used in the study is capable only of “testing for shorts, continuity, opens and LED functionality” (2). Evaluating Spo2 reading accuracy would require, at a minimum, accommodating the wavelength characteristics of the sensor and reproducing the complex optical interaction of the sensor and the patient’s tissue. There are no bench-top simulators available today that can provide the data the authors would need to support their conclusion. The ASTM and ISO Committees for developing pulse oximetry standards have recognized the issue of bench-top accuracy testing (3), and an effort supported by the European Union to create such a device is currently underway (4,5). We are aware of only one validated method to assess Spo2 reading accuracy—direct comparison to sampled arterial blood Sao2 measured using a laboratory co-oximeter. We therefore disagree with the authors’ two conclusions; their study demonstrates neither equivalency of the nonproprietary probes, nor that a simulator can be used to evaluate pulse oximetry probe accuracy.
General aspects of the genetics of SLE

The application of genetic techniques to the study of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has identified candidate genes with diverse immunological function. There is a growing understanding that susceptibility to SLE is due to a complex interaction of multiple genes and environmental factors, and that many of these may be shared with other autoimmune diseases. In this first of a series of review articles we outline our current understanding of SLE genetics, in particular summarising the results of recent association studies.
European Society of Contraception Statement on Contraception in Obese Women

Abstract The obesity ‘epidemic’ continues to increase, mostly but not only in developed countries. As overweight and obese women are at an increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) at baseline and at a much higher risk during pregnancy, it is essential to help these women to plan pregnancies carefully and to use contraceptives with a positive ratio of benefits versus risks. The Expert Group on hormonal and molecular contraception of the European Society of Contraception convened to review the existing evidence and propose recommendations to the prescribers in line with most recent studies and with the Medical Eligibility Criteria of the World Health Organisation. Chinese Abstract 摘 要 不仅是在发达国家，肥胖症的发病率一直在升高。 由于超重和肥胖妇女本身发生静脉血栓栓塞的风险增加，而在妊娠期发生的风险将升高更多，因此帮助这些妇女慎重地做出妊娠计划以及采用利益超过风险的避孕方法是非常有必要的。 欧洲避孕社会研究激素以及分子避孕的专家召开会议，回顾现有的各项证据，并根据最新的研究以及《世界卫生组织的避孕方法使用的医学标准》提出了肥胖妇女避孕方法选择的声明。
Characterization of indigenous Aseel chicken breed for morphological, growth, production, and meat composition traits from India

&NA; Aseel is an important native chicken breed of India, known for its martial qualities (aggressive fighting abilities), pugnacity, and majestic gait. The aim of the study is to conserve and characterize the Aseel germplasm, which is considered to be endangered. The birds were maintained on deep litter under a simulated backyard type of housing having night shelter and a free‐range area. A total of 313 chicks produced in the second generation from the flock collected from native tract in Andhra Pradesh was characterized for morphological, growth, production, and meat quality parameters. Aseel birds were characterized by multicolored plumage (predominantly dark brown, black, golden, etc.) with solid feather patterns and normal distribution. Ear lobes were red (92%) and small in size, while 98% of the birds had red colored pea combs with variations in intensity of color. The shank color was yellow in the majority (65%) of the birds. The skin color was white (98%) with pinkish red coloration on exposed body parts, especially on the breast. The fertility and hatchability on total eggs were 67.2 and 41.4%, respectively. Cocks were heavier (P ≤ 0.05) with distinct sexual dimorphism in Aseel. The body weight of hens and cocks was 1,704.4 ± 23.2 and 2,702.5 ± 28.1 g at 40 wk and 2,333.7 ± 26.1 and 3,793.7 ± 20.8 g at 72 wk of age, respectively. The age at sexual maturity was 214.0 ± 6.0 days. The egg production up to 40, 52, and 64 wk of age was 18.0 ± 1, 30.0 ± 2.0, and 47 ± 3 eggs, respectively. The annual egg production (72 wk) was 64 ± 6 eggs. The proximate composition of breast muscle was; protein 21.5 ± 0.5%, fat 3.4 ± 0.1%, ash 2.0 ± 0.1%, and moisture 73.3 ± 0.5%. The pH of breast muscle was 6.0 ± 0.03 and the cholesterol content was 72.5 ± 6.7 mg/100 g. Efforts are on for improving the productivity in the flock without compromising the original breed characteristics.
Movement Scaling in Children With ADHD-Combined Type

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate motor performance in children with ADHD using a size-scaling handwriting task. Method: In all, 14 male children with ADHD and 14 typically developing (TD) children (age 7-15) wrote 10-mm and 40-mm cursive letter “l. ” Results: Children with ADHD were unable to maintain their writing accurately at 40 mm, falling short by several millimeters; this was not evident in the TD children. Children with ADHD also had slightly faster and more fluent writing than TD children. Conclusion: It was concluded that children with ADHD have difficulties scaling handwriting movement in the larger 40-mm condition that may reflect poor planning and modulation of movement, despite having faster and more fluent movements.
Desorption of heavy metals from ion exchange resin with water and carbon dioxide

Adsorption and regeneration of ion exchange resins were studied using a subcritical solution of a CO2-H2O mixture and a fixed bed column. The commercial Amberlite IRC-50/IRC-86 cation exchange resins and Amberlite IRA-67 anion exchange resin were tested for heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Cd) adsorption from a solution with different initial metal concentrations at different temperatures. After adsorption, the loaded resins were regenerated with water and carbon dioxide at different temperatures and a pressure of 25 MPa. The efficiency of the IRC-50 resin was lower than that of the IRC-86 resin for the adsorption of metals like Cd, Cu and Pb. Results obtained for desorption of these metals indicated that the process could be used for Cd and in principle for Cu. Sorption of metal ions depended strongly on feed concentration. Mathematical modeling of the metal desorption process was carried out successfully as an extraction process. For this purpose, the VTII Model, which is applied to extraction from solids using supercritical solvents, was used in this work.
Power save with Offset Listen Interval for IEEE 802.11ah Smart Grid communications

Communication is an enabling technology for the efficient control and management of next-generation Smart Grids. Energy conservation of the communication devices is essential for future large scale deployment of Smart Grid communication networks. However, existing power save protocols experience high contention in Smart Grid communication networks that have a large number of nodes and periodic traffic. We design a new energy conservation protocol, Power Save with Offset Listen Interval (PS-OLi), to address such contention problems. PS-OLi avoids message collisions by controlling the station wake up time with a calculated offset. A new analytical model is developed to characterize the power save performance of networks with periodic traffic. Simulation results show that our analytical model accurately predicts the collision probability and packet delay. We use our model to evaluate the energy efficiency of PS-OLi and standard power save protocols. Our results show that PS-OLi extends the lifetime of a Smart Grid communication network by more than 10%.
Cerebral Events are not Predicted by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy during Anesthesia for Aortic Arch Surgery with Bilateral Antegrade Selective Cerebral Perfusion and Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest

Background: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for brain monitoring has an uncertain value. We prospectively assessed the association of decreased NIRS tissue oxygenation index (TOI) with cerebral events in adults undergoing aortic arch repair with hypothermic circulatory arrest and bilateral antegrade selective cerebral perfusion. Methods: 76 consecutive patients (mostly aortic arch dissections/aneurysms) were studied. Desaturation was defined as unilateral or bilateral TOI decrease to <50% or to <80% of the individual patients’ baseline. No intervention was based on TOI data and the end-point was postoperative cerebral events shown by imaging. Results: Baseline TOI on left/right foreheads averaged 70.4% ± 10.8 (SD) and 67.9% ± 9.1, and did not change significantly thereafter. Twentysix of 76 patients (34%) showed a TOI decrease to <50% and 55 (72%) a decrease to <80% from baseline. Cerebral complications occurred in 26/76 patients (34%), i.e., regional brain infarction (n=22) or edema (n=4). Twenty-six of 76 (34%) patients, 11 (42%) with and 15 (58%) without decreased TOI, had cerebral events but neither absolute TOI nor its decrease from baseline was predictive (p=0.206). Conversely, in patients with events, the incidence of decreased TOI was not different (11 vs. 15 of 26; 42% vs. 58%; p=0.206), whereas duration of hypothermic circulatory arrest (59min ± 34 vs. 43 ± 33, p=0.049) and bilateral antegrade selective cerebral perfusion (66min ± 27 vs. 50 ± 26, p=0.013), hospital-stay (p=0.001), and mortality (p=0.014) were
Electromyographic activity in the cross‐reinnervated soleus muscle of unrestrained cats.

Electromyographic (e.m.g.) activity was recorded from cross‐ and self‐reinnervated soleus and extensor digitorum longus (e.d.l.) muscles of the cat during normal activity, including standing, walking and jumping. Activity patterns of normal soleus, e.d. l. , and lateral gastrocnemius (l.g.) were essentially similar to those shown by other investigators. The self‐reinnervated soleus fired phasically and synchronously with l.g. during walking but the activity was not trimmed to the extent that is seen in normal soleus. This is attributed to the relatively limited amount of proprioceptive information arising from such muscles. The activity pattern of the cross‐reinnervated soleus muscles was variable. During walking, the phase of activity was sometimes coincident with that of a normal e.d. l. , at other times (even in the same animal) it would be approximately coincident with l.g. The phase of activity usually consisted of an initial burst which was not sustained. Reflex activity elicited from the cross‐reinnervated soleus was very similar to that of normal e.d. l. , indicating the rigidity of connexions for reflex responses. reinnervated e.d. l. muscles; the activity attributable to the cross‐reinnervated portion was similar to that seen in a self‐reinnervated soleus. The activity pattern of soleus, reinnervated by the nerve to e.d. l. (an effective antagonist) is unlike that of either a normal soleus or e.d. l. muscle. This is attributed to a combination of lack of proprioceptive information and/or some degree of central remodelling.