Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation of older, inhospital patients: Immediate efficacy and long-term outcome

Objective To determine the independent effect of advancing age on prognosis after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Design and Setting Retrospective analysis of clinical records of patients who received CPR in a geriatric department equipped with an intensive care unit. Patients A total of 245 patients (146 men, 99 women; mean age, 70 ± 11 yrs) received CPR. Of these, 221 had a cardiocirculatory arrest (CA) in the intensive care unit and 24 had a CA in the general ward of the department. Acute myocardial infarction was the most frequent admission diagnosis. Interventions CPR according to standard guidelines in all cases. Measurements and Main Results Immediate, short-term (hospital discharge), and long-term (median follow-up, 31.5 months; range, <1–124 months) survival. Older patients had a lower immediate survival (<70 yrs [72/137] 52.6% vs. ≥70 yrs [43/108] 39.4%;p < .05) and, less frequently, ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (VT/VF) as a cause of CA. VT/VF bore the lowest immediate mortality rate (19/104; 18.3%) as compared with asystole/complete heart block (66/102; 64.7%) or pulseless electrical activity (40/49; 81.6%;p < .001). Acute myocardial infarction, acute heart failure, hypotension, and occurrence of CA in the intensive care unit were also univariate predictors of unfavorable, immediate prognosis. However, in a multiple logistic analysis model, the mechanism of CA (asystole/complete heart block or pulseless electrical activity vs. VT/VF), acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and hypotension were independent predictors of unfavorable immediate prognosis, whereas advancing age was not. Similarly, after initially successful CPR, short-term survival was independently associated with acute myocardial infarction, hypotension before CA, initial rhythm at CA, and need for mechanical ventilatory support after CPR, but not with age. Long-term survival (42 patients; 17.2% of the original cohort; median survival, 32 months) was also independent of age, whereas it was negatively associated with heart failure. Conclusion Immediate, short- and long-term prognosis after inhospital CPR is independent of age, at least when possible confounders are simultaneously taken into account.
Optimized conditions for measuring lipolysis in murine primary adipocytes Published, JLR Papers in Press, May 4, 2006.

The current literature on lipolysis in murine primary adipocytes is rife with experiments performed under conditions not optimized for reproducible and reliable results. Here, we present conditions for optimizing the measurement of lipolysis in murine adipocytes. We demonstrate that adenosine management is of paramount importance in evaluating the lipolytic response under basal and stimulated conditions. Also, adipocyte concentrations in the 10,000–15,000 cells per milliliter range produce a greater increase in stimulated lipolysis than higher concentrations, and the response is further enhanced by agitating the cells.
Differential Expression of HrtA1 and ADAM12 in Placentas from Preeclamptic and Normotensive Pregnancies.

BACKGROUND High temperature requirement factor A 1 (HtrA1) and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 12 (ADAM12), which play roles in placental implantation and placental growth, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. METHODS We investigated relative mRNA expression of both genes in placental tissues from women with preeclampsia (N=18) (average gestational age 36 weeks) and an equal number of women with normotensive pregnancies (average gestational age 39 weeks). Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to measure mRNA extracted from term placental biopsies. Differential gene expression was evaluated using Student's T-test and fold change analyses. RESULTS Statistically significant increases in placental HtRA1 (1.69-fold, p=0.030) and ADAM12 (1.48-fold, p=0.010) mRNA expression were observed among preeclamptic cases as compared with normotensive controls. HtrA1 expression was correlated with maternal age (p-value <0.01) among preeclampsia cases. CONCLUSION Increases in HtRA1 and ADAM12 placental gene expression in placentas from preeclamptic pregnancies are consistent with some earlier reports of altered serum protein concentrations in preeclamptic pregnancies. This adds to the literature suggesting that defects in placentation (e.g. involving trophoblast invasion) are of etiologic importance in preeclampsia.
Distress Among Hospitalized Pediatric Cancer Patients Modified By Pet-Therapy Intervention to Improve Quality of Life

This state of the science, integrative literature review focuses on animal-facilitated therapy (AFT) and the benefits provided to quality of life in hospitalized pediatric oncology patients. Results showed physiological and psychological benefits in pediatric inpatients settings. AFT has been shown to decrease pain, change vital signs, provide distraction, decrease fear, increase socialization, increase pleasure and decrease emotional distress in hospitalized pediatric patients. AFT needs to be implemented with appropriate medical discretion, but for the appropriate high-risk patients, AFT can improve quality of life. Pain, adjustment difficulties, mood changes and symptom management can be improved in inpatient pediatric cancer patients receiving AFT, thus improving overall quality of life.
Seizures with Antidepressants: An In Vitro Technique to Assess Relative Risk

Summary: The relative potential of various antidepressants to induce seizures while being used at therapeutic doses was studied by examining their action on spike activity in perfused guinea pig hippocampal slices. Within the range of concentration studied, imipramine, amitriptyline, nortriptyline, maprotiline, and desipramine tended to increase spike activity in a descending order of effect. Doxepin and nomifensine increased spike activity at lower concentrations, but reduced it at higher concentrations. Protriptyline and trimipramine reduced spike activity with increasing concentrations, whereas mianserin and viloxazine had little effect at any concentration. These findings are discussed in light of previous clinical and laboratory reports, and the clinical implications of these findings are presented. Finally, results with the antidepressants are compared with those previously observed with neuroleptics. On the basis of this comparison and a review of clinical reports, the assumption that neuroleptics have greater epileptogenic potential than antidepressants is questioned.
A matter of measurement: rotation velocities and the velocity function of dwarf galaxies

The velocity function derived from large-scale surveys can be compared with the predictions of ? cold dark matter (? CDM) cosmology, by matching the measured rotation velocities Vrot of galaxies to the maximum circular velocity of dark matter (DM) haloes Vmax. For Vrot < 50 kms? 1, a major discrepancy arises between the observed and ? CDM velocity functions. However, the manner in which different observational measures of Vrot are associated with Vmax is not straightforward in dwarf galaxies. We instead relate galaxies to DM haloes using the empirical baryon-mass to halo-mass relation, and show that different observational measures of Vrot result in very different velocity functions. We show how the W50 velocity function, i.e. using the H i profile linewidth at 50 per cent of peak H i flux to measure Vrot, can be reconciled with a ? CDM cosmology. Our semi-empirical methodology allows us to determine the region of rotation curves that are probed by H i measurements (RHI), and shows that the Vrot of dwarfs are generally measured at a fraction of Rmax, explaining their tendency to have rising rotation curves. We provide fitting formulae for relating RHI and Reff (the effective radius) to the virial radius of DM haloes. To continue to use velocity functions as a probe of ? CDM cosmology, it is necessary to be precise about how the different measures of rotation velocity are probing the mass of the DM haloes, dropping the assumption that any measure of rotational velocity can be equally used as a proxy for Vmax.
Cut-off values of B-type natriuretic peptide for the diagnosis of congestive heart failure in patients with dyspnoea visiting emergency departments: a study on Korean patients visiting emergency departments

Objectives: To determine the optimal cut-off values of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) for the diagnosis of congestive heart failure (CHF) in 1040 Korean patients with dyspnoea visiting emergency departments. Methods: BNP values were measured for 662 patients without CHF to examine whether significant relationships existed between the BNP values and age, gender or underlying disease. In 378 patients with CHF, a similar analysis was performed in addition to the examination of the relationship between the mean BNP values and CHF severity. Results: The optimal threshold for the detection of heart failure was a BNP concentration of 296.5 pg/mL, regardless of age, sex and underlying disease among the Korean study population. In the non-CHF patients, women showed significantly higher mean BNP values than did men. Further, in these patients, the mean BNP values of men with underlying disease (hypertension, angina pectoris, chronic renal failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and those with at least two underlying diseases, one of which was hypertension, was higher than those without underlying disease, whereas no difference was observed between women with and without underlying disease. Based on the New York Heart Association classification, echocardiography findings and mortality rate of the CHF patients, the BNP value was found to be related to both the severity of heart failure and its prognosis. Conclusions: The BNP concentration used for the diagnosis of CHF in Korean people is considerably higher than the normal cut-off value of 100 pg/mL. In the non-CHF patients, the BNP values of women were influenced less by underlying disease. This suggests that the factors that influence BNP values in women are different from those in men.
Localization of glycosaminoglycan substitution sites on domain V of mouse perlecan.

Perlecan, the predominant basement membrane proteoglycan, has previously been shown to contain glycosaminoglycans attached at serine residues, numbers 65, 71, and 76, in domain I. However, the C-terminal domains IV and V of this molecule may also be substituted with glycosaminoglycan chains, but the exact substitution sites were not identified. The amino acid sequence of mouse perlecan reveals many ser-gly sequences in these domains that are possible sites for glycosaminoglycan substitution. We expressed recombinant domain IV and/or V of mouse perlecan in COS-7 cells and analyzed glycosaminoglycan substitution. Both heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate chains could be detected on recombinant domain V. One site, ser-gly-glu (serine residue 3593), toward the C-terminal region of domain V is a substitution site for heparan sulfate. When this sequence was absent, chondroitin/dermatan sulfate substitution was deleted, and the likely site for this galactosaminoglycan substitution was ser-gly-ala-gly (serine residue 3250) on domain V.
The geographical pattern of thyroid cancer mortality between 1980 and 2009 in Italy.

BACKGROUND Mortality for thyroid cancer (TC) is low and has been decreasing worldwide; yet few population studies based on mortality have been conducted. Several nonradiation risk factors have been associated with TC, including residence in goiter-endemic areas (as an indicator of iodine deficiency). We used mortality data to perform a spatial-temporal analysis regarding TC in Italy and investigated the association between mortality and socioeconomic status and geographical features (residing in a mountainous area is a proxy for iodine deficiency). METHODS We analyzed data from Italy's National Mortality Database (1980-2009). To evaluate temporal trends in mortality the age-standardized death rate (ASR) was used; to identify geographic areas with excess deaths due to TC standardized mortality rates (SMR) were calculated. We also calculated the rate ratios (RR) of the ASR and the 95% CI by sex. We performed a cluster analysis to identify municipalities with major departures from expected mortality, both in the entire study period and in two separate periods to evaluate the spatial-temporal variability. Finally, we evaluated the association between mortality and index of deprivation and altitude. RESULTS There were 16,473 deaths due to TC (10,690 females, 5783 males). The mean ASR was unsurprisingly low (0.58/100.000). There was a trend of decrease in mortality throughout Italy (-42% for 2007-2009 vs. 1980-1984), more pronounced among women. The decrease was greater in the north. Four geographic clusters were identified when considering the entire study period, two in the north and two in the south; however, the clusters in northern Italy refer to the earlier period (1980-1994) and those in southern Italy to the later period (1995-2009). Mortality was associated with residing in a mountainous area. A slight association with high socioeconomic status was found. CONCLUSIONS This study reveals space-time differences in TC mortality in Italy. It shows an association between mortality and residing in mountainous areas, which is a proxy of iodine deficiency. The observed temporal north-south shift cannot be explained by socioeconomic differences, whereas the efficient prophylaxis program implemented in the 1980s in some areas of northern Italy can help to explain the disappearance of the clusters in those areas in the period 1995-2009.
Impact of Preoperative Opioid Use on Total Knee Arthroplasty Outcomes

Background: There is growing concern about the use of opioids prior to total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and research has suggested that preoperative opioid use may lead to worse pain outcomes following surgery. We evaluated the pain relief achieved by TKA in patients who had and those who had not used opioids use before the procedure. Methods: We augmented data from a prospective cohort study of TKA outcomes with opioid-use data abstracted from medical records. We collected patient-reported outcomes and demographic data before and 6 months after TKA. We used the Pain Catastrophizing Scale and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) to quantify the pain experiences of patients treated with TKA who had had a baseline score of ≥20 on the WOMAC pain scale (a 0 to 100-point scale, with 100 being the worst score), who provided follow-up data, and who had not had another surgical procedure within the 2 years prior to TKA. We built a propensity score for preoperative opioid use based on the Pain Catastrophizing Scale score, comorbidities, and baseline pain. We used a general linear model, adjusting for the propensity score and baseline pain, to compare the change in the WOMAC pain score 6 months after TKA between persons who had and those who had not used opioids before TKA. Results: The cohort included 156 patients with a mean age of 65.7 years (standard deviation [SD] = 8.2 years) and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 31.1 kg/m2 (SD = 6.1 kg/m2); 62.2% were female. Preoperatively, 36 patients (23%) had had at least 1 opioid prescription. The mean baseline WOMAC pain score was 43.0 points (SD = 12.8) for the group that had not used opioids before TKA and 46.9 points (SD = 15.7) for those who had used opioids (p = 0.12). The mean preoperative Pain Catastrophizing Scale score was greater among opioid users (15.5 compared with 10.7 points among non-users, p = 0.006). Adjusted analyses showed that the opioid group had a mean 6-month reduction in the WOMAC pain score of 27.0 points (95% confidence interval [CI] = 22.7 to 31.3) compared with 33.6 points (95% CI = 31.4 to 35.9) in the non-opioid group (p = 0.008). Conclusions: Patients who used opioids prior to TKA obtained less pain relief from the operation. Clinicians should consider limiting pre-TKA opioid prescriptions to optimize the benefits of TKA. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Impact of Strain on Tunneling Current and Threshold Voltage in III–V Nanowire TFETs

A simulation study on the effects of different strain configurations on n-type III-V-based nanowire tunnel-FETs is presented, with the aim to determine optimal strain conditions to enhance device performance. We find that both the biaxial tensile and the uniaxial compressive stress shift up the valence band. Biaxial stress, however, lowers the conduction band as well, thus providing the largest reduction of the energy bandgap. Instead, the gap variation is limited for the biaxial compressive and uniaxial tensile strains. Moreover, for these strain conditions, the lowest conduction subband is not connected to the highest valence subband via the imaginary wave vector but to a lower one. This leads to an effective bandgap higher than the expected, which reflects into a large threshold increase and a degradation of the ON-state current.
Molecular Tools for the Detection and the Identification of Hymenoptera Parasitoids in Tortricid Fruit Pests

Biological control requires specific tools for the accurate detection and identification of natural enemies in order to estimate variations in their abundance and their impact according to changes in environmental conditions or agricultural practices. Here, we developed two molecular methods of detection based on PCR-RFLP with universal primers and on PCR with specific primers to identify commonly occurring larval parasitoids of the tortricid fruit pests and to estimate parasitism in the codling moth. Both methods were designed based on DNA sequences of the COI mitochondrial gene for a range of parasitoids that emerged from Cydia pomonella and Grapholita molesta caterpillars (102 parasitoids; nine species) and a range of potential tortricid hosts (40 moths; five species) damaging fruits. The PCR-RFLP method (digestion by AluI of a 482 bp COI fragment) was very powerful to identify parasitoid adults and their hosts, but failed to detect parasitoid larvae within eggs or within young C. pomonella caterpillars. The PCR method based on specific primers amplified COI fragments of different lengths (131 to 463 bp) for Ascogaster quadridentata (Braconidae); Pristomerus vulnerator (Ichneumonidae); Trichomma enecator (Ichneumonidae); and Perilampus tristis (Perilampidae), and demonstrated a higher level of sensibility than the PCR-RFLP method. Molecular estimations of parasitism levels in a natural C. pomonella population with the specific primers did not differ from traditional estimations based on caterpillar rearing (about 60% parasitism in a non-treated apple orchard). These PCR-based techniques provide information about within-host parasitoid assemblage in the codling moth and preliminary results on the larval parasitism of major tortricid fruit pests.
Factors affecting stakeholder management in construction projects in the Gaza Strip

One of the major emerging concerns in the management of construction projects is the recognition and management of project stakeholders, since the stakeholders are a major source of uncertainty in construction projects. The construction industry in the Gaza Strip has involved a diverse range of stakeholders. This research aims to evaluate the most common factors affecting the stakeholder management process in construction projects. A literature review was conducted on topics related to stakeholder management. A questionnaire survey was carried out among professionals in the construction industry. Ninety-eight questionnaires were distributed to experts from government, municipality, and non-government organizations. Sixty-seven questionnaires were received, with a 68% response rate. The mean and relative importance index were used to analyse the questionnaire results. The main factors affecting the stakeholder management process are hiring a project manager with high competency, transparent evaluation of the alternative solution, ensuring effective communication between the project and its stakeholder, setting common goals and objectives for the project, and exploring the stakeholders' needs and expectations.
SSRI and Motor Recovery in Stroke: Reestablishment of Inhibitory Neural Network Tonus

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are currently widely used in the field of the neuromodulation not only because of their anti-depressive effects but also due to their ability to promote plasticity and enhance motor recovery in patients with stroke. Recent studies showed that fluoxetine promotes motor recovery after stroke through its effects on the serotonergic system enhancing motor outputs and facilitating long term potentiation, key factors in motor neural plasticity. However, little is known in regards of the exact mechanisms underlying these effects and several aspects of it remain poorly understood. In this manuscript, we discuss evidence supporting the hypothesis that SSRIs, and in particular fluoxetine, modulate inhibitory pathways, and that this modulation enhances reorganization and reestablishment of excitatory-inhibitory control; these effects play a key role in learning induced plasticity in neural circuits involved in the promotion of motor recovery after stroke. This discussion aims to provide important insights and rationale for the development of novel strategies for stroke motor rehabilitation.
Lack of Association of Race/Ethnicity and Otitis Media in tie First 2 Years of Life

Race has been identified as a risk factor for otitis media (OM) in several studies. To further explore this, a database of visits with age at visit < 24 months was constructed from data captured electronically at a public health clinic in North Carolina between July 1994 and December 1996. Among 3,108 children with at least 1 visit, 45% were African-American, 26% were Latino, and 29% were White. There were no differences among the groups in episodes of OM per child or ratio of OM episodes to total visits per child. A cohort of 166 children with follow-up throughout their first 2 years of life was identified. In this group, being uninsured or having exposure to out-of-home child care was associated with an increased risk of OM. Race/ethnicity had no association with frequency of OM as measured by episodes per child, proportion with > 1 episode, or proportion with? 3 episodes.
Relying on the Information of Others: Debt Rescheduling with Multiple Lenders

Can inertia in terminating unsuccessful loans be due to the multiplicity of lenders in loan arrangements? Can a lender reschedule, betting against his odds? We show that fear of being last in a liquidation run prevents the aggregation of the lenders' information about the value of continuation. Private information in the form of bad but coarse news, that would prompt foreclosure on its own, will instead lead to rescheduling. The gamble is that other lenders may have sharper information. At equilibrium, rescheduling occurs even if all lenders received bad news. This is inefficient (increasing the cost of capital) compared to perfect information sharing. However, from a social point of view, barren information sharing, the equilibrium does not exhibit excessive reliance on the information of others.