Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the benefits and risks of low-dose aspirin in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.

BACKGROUND In spite of the clear evidence of benefit of aspirin in the secondary prevention of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular thrombotic events, its use in patients at high risk due to a previous event remains suboptimal. A possible explanation for this underuse is concern regarding the relative benefit in relation to the potential risk for serious gastrointestinal events. OBJECTIVE To compare the benefit and gastrointestinal risk of aspirin use for the secondary prevention of thromboembolic events. DESIGN A meta-analysis was conducted using 6 trials (6300 patients) meeting the inclusion requirement of use of low-dose aspirin (< or =325 mg/d) in approved secondary prevention indications. RESULTS Aspirin reduced all-cause mortality by 18%. In addition, aspirin use reduced the number of strokes by 20%, myocardial infarctions by 30%, and other "vascular events" by 30%. Alternately, patients who took aspirin were 2.5 times more likely than those in the placebo group to have gastrointestinal tract bleeding. The number needed to treat for aspirin to prevent 1 death from any cause of mortality was 67, while 100 needed to be treated to detect 1 nonfatal gastrointestinal tract bleeding. CONCLUSION Aspirin use for the secondary prevention of thromboembolic events has a favorable benefit-to-risk profile and should be encouraged in those at high risk.
Combination of bone graft and resorbable membrane for alveolar ridge preservation: A systematic review, meta‐analysis, and trial sequential analysis

INTRODUCTION Alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) techniques aim to reduce resorption after tooth extraction. The combination of a graft material covered with a resorbable membrane represents one of the most common strategies performed in the clinical practice. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze evidence regarding potential benefits of ARP procedures performed with allogenic/xenogenic grafts in combination with a resorbable membrane coverage in comparison with spontaneous healing. METHODS Electronic databases were screened independently to select studies suitable for inclusion in this review. Horizontal ridge width reduction (HRWR) and vertical ridge height reduction (VRHR) were investigated as primary outcomes and volume changes (VC) as a secondary outcome. Meta-analysis was performed using the inverse of variance test with a random effect model. Adjustment for Type I and II errors and analysis of the power of evidence was performed with trial sequential analysis (TSA). RESULTS Seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the quantitative synthesis. Meta-analysis revealed that the combination therapy resulted in a lower rate of resorption for both HRWR (-2.19 mm, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -2.67 to -1.71 mm) and VRHR (-1.72 mm, 95% CI: -2.14 to -1.30 mm). For VC no meta-analysis was performed due to insufficient data. Analysis of the power of the evidence performed with TSA showed that the number of both studies and sockets analyzed is sufficient to validate such findings, despite the high rate of heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS Use of bone graft covered by a resorbable membrane can decrease the rate of alveolar ridge horizontal and vertical resorption after tooth extraction. The power and reliability of the evidence is strong enough to confirm the above-mentioned findings, despite the high rate of heterogeneity of included studies.
Impact of heat and drought stress on peroxisome proliferation in quinoa.

Although peroxisomes play a key role in plant metabolism under both normal and stressful growth conditions, the impact of drought and heat stress on the peroxisomes remains unknown. Quinoa represents an informative system for dissecting the impact of abiotic stress on peroxisome proliferation because it is adapted to marginal environments. Here we determined the correlation of peroxisome abundance with physiological responses and yield under heat, drought, and heat plus drought combination stresses in eight genotypes of quinoa. We found that all stresses caused a reduction in stomatal conductance and yield. Furthermore, H2 O2 content increased under drought and heat plus drought. Principal component analysis demonstrated that peroxisome abundance correlated positively with H2 O2 content in leaves and correlated negatively with yield. Person correlation coefficient for yield and peroxisome abundance (r=-0.59) was higher than for commonly used photosynthetic efficiency (r=0.23), but comparable to those for classical stress indicators such as soil moisture content (r=0.51) or stomatal conductance (r=0.62). Our work established peroxisome abundance as a sensitive parameter for responses to heat and drought stress in the genetically diverse populations. As heat waves threaten agricultural productivity in arid climates, our findings will facilitate identification of genetic markers for improving yield of crops under extreme weather patterns. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Estimating Step Heights from Top-Down SEM Images

Abstract Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is one of the most common inspection methods in the semiconductor industry and in research labs. To extract the height of structures using SEM images, various techniques have been used, such as tilting a sample, or modifying the SEM tool with extra sources and/or detectors. However, none of these techniques focused on extraction of height information directly from top-down images. In this work, using Monte Carlo simulations, we studied the relation between step height and the emission of secondary electrons (SEs) resulting from exposure with primary electrons at different energies. It is found that part of the SE signal, when scanning over a step edge, is determined by the step height rather than the geometry of the step edge. We present a way to quantify this, arriving at a method to determine the height of structures from top-down SEM images. The method is demonstrated on three different samples using two different SEM tools, and atomic force microscopy is used to measure the step height of the samples. The results obtained are in qualitative agreement with the results from the Monte Carlo simulations.
Helicobacter pylori infection in hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Studies on the relationship between high serum urea nitrogen, creatinine and Helicobacter pylori infection in hemodialysis patients still give conflicting results. In the present study we investigated the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori positivity in patients with hemodialysis [HD(+)] and without hemodialysis [HD(-)] and assessed the relationship between clinical factors, serum urea nitrogen, creatinine levels and Helicobacter pylori prevalence in these patients. METHODOLOGY 117 patients with dyspeptic complaints were included in the study. They consisted of 36 HD(+) patients (31%) and 81 HD(-) patients (69%). Endoscopy was performed and gastric antral biopsies were obtained for immunohistochemical analysis for Helicobacter pylori in all patients. RESULTS Helicobacter pylori was positive in 53(45%) of 117 patients [Hp(+)]. In univariate analysis Hp(+) patients received hemodialysis therapy significantly less often (P = 0.002) and had lower serum urea nitrogen (P = 0.0008) and creatinine (P = 0.003) levels than Hp(-) patients. There was no significant difference in age, gender, endoscopic findings or comorbid conditions (hypertension or diabetes mellitus) between these groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that only the serum urea nitrogen level was significantly associated with Helicobacter pylori prevalence (P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that high serum urea nitrogen seems to correlate with a low prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and hemodialysis patients with high serum urea nitrogen may be protected against Helicobacter pylori infection.
Independent effect of haemodialysis session frequency and duration on survival in non‐indigenous Australians on haemodialysis

End‐stage kidney disease patients have increased mortality compared to the general population. Haemodialysis (HD) of more frequent and of longer duration has been proposed to improve survival but it remains unclear if this is attributed to increased frequency, duration, or both. We aimed to examine the independent effects of session frequency and duration on mortality in incident HD patients.
Optimization of the Loading of an Environmentally Friendly Compatibilizer Derived from Linseed Oil in Poly(Lactic Acid)/Diatomaceous Earth Composites

Maleinized linseed oil (MLO) has been successfully used as biobased compatibilizer in polyester blends. Its efficiency as compatibilizer in polymer composites with organic and inorganic fillers, compared to other traditional fillers, has also been proved. The goal of this work is to optimize the amount of MLO on poly(lactic acid)/diatomaceous earth (PLA/DE) composites to open new potential to these materials in the active packaging industry without compromising the environmental efficiency of these composites. The amount of DE remains constant at 10 wt% and MLO varies from 1 to 15 phr (weight parts of MLO per 100 g of PLA/DE composite). The effect of MLO on mechanical, thermal, thermomechanical and morphological properties is described in this work. The obtained results show a clear embrittlement of the uncompatibilized PLA/DE composites, which is progressively reduced by the addition of MLO. MLO shows good miscibility at low concentrations (lower than 5 phr) while above 5 phr, a clear phase separation phenomenon can be detected, with the formation of rounded microvoids and shapes which have a positive effect on impact strength.
Local government retail incentives for healthier food retailers in the USA, 2014

Abstract Objective: National public health organizations recommend that local governments improve access to healthy foods. One way is by offering incentives for food retailer development and operation, but little is known about incentive use nationwide. We aimed to describe the national prevalence of local government reported incentives to increase access to healthy food options in three major food retail settings (farmers’ markets, supermarkets, and convenience or corner (smaller) stores) overall and by municipality characteristics. Design: Cross-sectional study using data from the 2014 National Survey of Community-Based Policy and Environmental Supports for Healthy Eating and Active Living. Setting: USA, nationally representative survey of 2029 municipalities. Participants: Municipal officials (e.g. city/town managers or planners; n 1853). Results: Overall, 67 % of municipalities reported incentives to support farmers’ markets, 34 % reported incentives to encourage opening new supermarkets, and 14 % reported incentives to help existing convenience or corner stores. Municipality characteristics significantly associated with incentive use were larger population size (all settings), location in Midwest v. West (supermarkets, smaller stores), higher poverty level (farmers’ markets) and ≤50 % of the population non-Hispanic White (supermarkets, smaller stores). The most commonly reported individual incentives were permission of sales on city property for farmers’ markets, tax credits for supermarkets and linkage to revitalization projects for smaller stores. Conclusions: Most municipalities offered food retail incentives for farmers’ markets, but fewer used incentives to open new supermarkets or assist existing smaller stores. National data can set benchmarks, provide relative comparisons for communities and identify areas for improvement.
Utility of routine follow-up head CT scanning after mild traumatic brain injury: a systematic review of the literature

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of routine follow-up CT scans of the head after complicated mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods 74 English language studies published from 1999 to February 2011 were reviewed. The papers were found by searching the PubMed database using a combination of keywords according to Cochrane guidelines. Excluding studies with missing or inappropriate data, 1630 patients in 19 studies met the inclusion criteria: complicated mild TBI, defined as a GCS score 13–15 with abnormal initial CT findings and the presence of follow-up CT scans. For these studies, the progression and type of intracranial haemorrhage, time from trauma to first scan, time between first and second scans, whether second scans were obtained routinely or for neurological decline and the number of patients who had a neurosurgical intervention were recorded. Results Routine follow-up CT scans showed hemorrhagic progression in 324 patients (19.9%). Routine follow-up head CT scans did not predict the need for neurosurgical intervention (p=0.10) but a CT scan of the head performed for decline in status did (p=0.00046). For the 56 patients (3.4%) who declined neurologically, findings on the second CT scan were worse in 38 subjects (67%) and unchanged in the rest. Overall, 39 patients (2.4%) underwent neurosurgical intervention. Conclusion Routine follow-up CT scans rarely alter treatment for patients with complicated mild TBI. Follow-up CT scans based on neurological decline alter treatment five times more often than routine follow-up CT scans.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of systemic exposure associated with molar incisor hypomineralization.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate systemic exposures associated with molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH). METHODS This systematic review was performed using published observational studies that evaluated the systemic exposures associated with MIH. The sources of articles searched were PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, BBO, Cochrane Library and Grey literature. The risk of bias was analysed according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for quality assessment. The meta-analysis was performed considering the exposures during the prenatal, perinatal and postnatal periods using the CMA software. RESULTS A total of 4207 articles were identified. Twenty-nine studies were eligible for inclusion and 27 were included in the meta-analysis. The studies presented low and moderate risks of bias, except for one that was classified as having a high risk of bias. Maternal illness during pregnancy (OR 1.40; 95% CI 1.18-1.65, P < 0.0001) and psychological stress (OR = 2.65; 95% CI 1.52-4.63; P = 0.001) was observed to be significantly associated with higher odds of MIH. During the perinatal period, caesarean delivery (OR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.11-1.57, P = 0.001) and delivery complications (OR = 2.06; 95% CI 1.47-2.88, P < 0.0001) were also associated with MIH. In the postnatal period, only respiratory diseases (OR = 1.98; 95% CI 1.45-2.70, P < 0.0001) and fever (OR = 1.50; 95% CI 1.22-1.84; P < 0.0001) were associated with higher prevalence of MIH. The evidence was graded as very low quality. CONCLUSIONS Maternal illness, psychological stress, caesarean delivery, delivery complications, respiratory diseases and fever during the first years of a child's life were significantly associated with a higher odds of MIH. However, this should be interpreted with caution, once the primary studies were observational, with serious limitations according to the risk of bias, imprecision, and inconsistency. Further, well-designed cohort studies are still required.
MRI-only based synthetic CT generation using dense cycle consistent generative adversarial networks.

PURPOSE Automated synthetic computed tomography (sCT) generation based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images would allow for MRI-only based treatment planning in radiation therapy, eliminating the need for CT simulation and simplifying the patient treatment workflow. In this work, the authors propose a novel method for generation of sCT based on dense cycle-consistent generative adversarial networks (cycle GAN), a deep-learning based model that trains two transformation mappings (MRI to CT and CT to MRI) simultaneously. METHODS AND MATERIALS The cycle GAN-based model was developed to generate sCT images in a patch-based framework. Cycle GAN was applied to this problem because it includes an inverse transformation from CT to MRI, which helps constrain the model to learn a one-to-one mapping. Dense block-based networks were used to construct generator of cycle GAN. The network weights and variables were optimized via a gradient difference (GD) loss and a novel distance loss metric between sCT and original CT. RESULTS Leave-one-out cross-validation was performed to validate the proposed model. The mean absolute error (MAE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), and normalized cross correlation (NCC) indexes were used to quantify the differences between the sCT and original planning CT images. For the proposed method, the mean MAE between sCT and CT were 55.7 Hounsfield units (HU) for 24 brain cancer patients and 50.8 HU for 20 prostate cancer patients. The mean PSNR and NCC were 26.6 dB and 0.963 in the brain cases, and 24.5 dB and 0.929 in the pelvis. CONCLUSION We developed and validated a novel learning-based approach to generate CT images from routine MRIs based on dense cycle GAN model to effectively capture the relationship between the CT and MRIs. The proposed method can generate robust, high-quality sCT in minutes. The proposed method offers strong potential for supporting near real-time MRI-only treatment planning in the brain and pelvis.
Knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices regarding breast and cervical cancer screening in selected ethnocultural groups in Northwestern Ontario.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To examine the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices regarding breast and cervical cancer screening in selected ethnocultural groups (i.e., Italian, Ukranian, Finnish, and the native population) in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. DESIGN Descriptive, exploratory. SETTING Rural and urban settings in Northwestern Ontario. SAMPLE 105 women aged 40 and older who were residents of Northwestern Ontario and members of selected ethnic groups, including Italian, Ukranian, Finnish, Ojibwa, and Oji-Cree. METHODS An interview guide was designed specifically for this study to gather information regarding knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices about breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE), mammography, and cervical cancer screening procedures. Data were obtained through face-to-face interviews (two or three hours) in English or the language spoken. Interviews in other languages were transcribed into English. FINDINGS Ojibwa and Oji-Cree women were more likely than any other group to not have practiced BSE, to have refused CBE or mammogram, to not have been told how to perform BSE, to not have received written information about breast examination, and to be uncomfortable and fearful about cervical cancer screening procedures (33% refused internal examination as compared to 0-8% in the other ethnic groups). Four issues emerged from the findings: (a) using multimedia sources to inform women about screening programs, (b) educating women regarding breast and cervical cancer screening, (c) reminding women when they are due for screening, and (d) identifying that Pap tests are uncomfortable and frightening. CONCLUSIONS Cultural beliefs, attitudes, and practices of marginal populations (e.g., native women) are important to consider when developing strategies to address barriers to effective breast and cervical screening. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Educational programs that are culturally sensitive to participants are imperative.
Functional immaturity of rat alveolar macrophages during postnatal development

Alveolar macrophages (AM) are important in the regulation of immune responses in the lung, through their role as scavenger cells and through the production of many bioactive factors. Because in early infancy pulmonary infections are a recurrent problem, we studied the postnatal functional maturation of AM in a rat model. AM were isolated from rat lungs by bronchoalveolar lavage at several time intervals after birth and tested for their ability to ingest Escherichia coli in the presence of surfactant protein A (SP‐A). Furthermore, their capacity to produce nitric oxide (NO) and interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) after in vitro lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation was analysed, as well as their capacity to downregulate proliferation of T cells from both mature and neonatal rats. SP‐A‐mediated phagocytosis of E. coli by AM was reduced in 14‐day‐old neonatal rats, as compared with mature rats (P≤0·05). Also the IL‐1β production by rat AM after LPS stimulation was impaired at 14 days of age, as compared with IL‐1β production by AM from mature rats (P≤0·05). In contrast, the LPS‐induced NO production by rat AM as well as the capacity to inhibit T‐cell proliferation were well developed at all ages tested. In conclusion, during postnatal development the rat AM is functionally immature, with respect to phagocytosis and secretion of inflammatory mediators. These differences may underly the enhanced susceptibility to pulmonary infections as found in human neonates.
Adjunctive use of InGaAsP and Er,Cr:YSGG lasers in nonsurgical periodontal therapy: a randomized controlled clinical study.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate clinically and microbiologically the outcomes following the combined application of InGaAsP diode laser and Er,Cr:YSGG laser for nonsurgical treatment of chronic periodontitis (ChP). METHOD AND MATERIALS Forty-two patients (age 45.31 ± 9.78 years, 22 female, 23 smokers) with ChP were randomly treated with subgingival debridement (SD) by means of ultrasonic and hand instruments (control group, n = 21) or with InGaAsP followed 1 week later by InGaAsP + SD + Er,Cr:YSGG (test group, n = 21). In the test group, a second laser treatment was performed for all residual sites (bleeding sites with probing depth [PD] ≥ 4 mm) 2 months after the first laser therapy. At baseline and 6 months after therapy, periodontal clinical and microbiologic parameters were evaluated. RESULTS Six months after therapy, statistically significant clinical and microbiologic improvements (PD reduction, clinical attachment level [CAL] gain, quantitative reduction of periopathogens) were observed in both groups compared to baseline. However, the use of InGaAsP followed by SD and the adjunctive use of an Er,Cr:YSGG laser, yielded statistically significantly higher clinical (PD, CAL, bleeding on probing, number of sites with PD ≥ 5 mm, PD ≥ 6 mm, PD ≥ 7 mm) and microbiologic (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia, Prevotella intermedia, Peptostreptococcus micros, Fusobacterium nucleatum) improvements (P < .05) compared to SD alone. CONCLUSIONS In patients with ChP, the adjunctive use of InGaAsP and Er,Cr:YSGG to SD may additionally improve the clinical and microbiologic parameters obtained with SD alone, thus representing a valuable approach in nonsurgical periodontal therapy.
Causation as a Secondary Quality

In this paper we defend the view that the ordinary notions of cause and effect have a direct and essential connection with our ability to intervene in the world as agents. ' This is a well-known but rather unpopular philosophical approach to causation, often called the manipulability theory. In the interests of brevity and accuracy, we prefer to call it the agency theory.2 Thus the central thesis of an agency account of causation is something like this: an event A is a cause of a distinct event B just in case bringing about the occurence of A would be an effective means by which a free agent could bring about the occurrence of B. In our view the unpopularity of the agency approach to causation may be traced to two factors. The first is a failure to appreciate certain distinctive advantages that this approach has over its various rivals. We have drawn attention to some of these advantages elsewhere, and we summarize below. However, the second and more important factor is the influence of a number of stock objections, objections that seem to have persuaded many philosophers that agency accounts face insuperable obstacles. In this paper we want to show that these objections have been vastly overrated.