Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal and cross-sectional variability in markers of joint metabolism in patients with knee pain and articular cartilage abnormalities.

OBJECTIVE To determine the within- and between-patient variability in the concentrations of synovial fluid, serum and urine markers of joint tissue metabolism in a cohort of patients with knee pain and cartilage changes consistent with early-stage knee osteoarthritis. DESIGN Samples of synovial fluid, serum, and urine were obtained from 52 patients on eight different occasions during 1 year, as part of a clinical trial in patients with cartilage abnormalities and knee pain. In joint fluid, aggrecan fragments were quantified by dye precipitation and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and matrix metalloproteinases-1 and -3, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 by sandwich ELISAs. In serum, keratan sulfate was quantified by ELISA. Type I collagen N-telopeptide cross-links in urine were determined by ELISA. RESULTS The degree of cross-sectional variability in marker concentrations did not vary between the different sampling occasions, and did not differ between the periods of weeks 0 (baseline), 1-4 (treatment) and 13-26 (follow-up). Both between-patient and within-patient coefficients of variation varied for markers in different body fluid compartments, with the lowest variability for serum keratan sulfate, followed by urine type I collagen N-telopeptide crosslinks, and the highest for synovial fluid markers. For synovial fluid, aggrecan fragments showed the least variability, and matrix metalloproteinases the highest. One patient with septic arthritis showed a fivefold peak increase in joint fluid aggrecan fragment concentrations, while the concentration of matrix metalloproteinase-3 increased 100-fold. CONCLUSIONS Molecular markers of joint tissue metabolism have been suggested as, for example, outcome measures for clinical trials of disease-modifying drugs in osteoarthritis. This report is the first to present data on between- and within-patient variability for such molecular markers in three different body fluid compartments in stable cohort of patients. The availability of such data enables calculations to determine the number of patients needed in prospective studies using these markers as outcome measures.
Task-relevant Output Signals are Sent from Monkey Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex to the Superior Colliculus during a Visuospatial Working Memory Task

Visuospatial working memory is one of the most extensively investigated functions of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Theories of prefrontal cortical function have suggested that this area exerts cognitive control by modulating the activity of structures to which it is connected. Here, we used the oculomotor system as a model in which to characterize the output signals sent from the DLPFC to a target structure during a classical spatial working memory task. We recorded the activity of identified DLPFC–superior colliculus (SC) projection neurons while monkeys performed a memory-guided saccade task in which they were required to generate saccades toward remembered stimulus locations. DLPFC neurons sent signals related to all aspects of the task to the SC, some of which were spatially tuned. These data provide the first direct evidence that the DLPFC sends task-relevant information to the SC during a spatial working memory task, and further support a role for the DLPFC in the direct modulation of other brain areas.
Impact of interpretation method on clinic visit length

AbstractOBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of interpretation method on outpatient visit length. DESIGN: Time-motion study. SETTING: Hospital-based outpatient teaching clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Patients presenting for scheduled outpatient visits. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Over a 6-week study period, a research assistant recorded the following information for consecutive patient visits: patient age, gender and insurance type; type of interpreter used (none, hospital interpreter, telephone interpreter or patient-supplied interpreter); scheduled visit length; provider type (nurse practitioner; attending physician; resident in postgraduate year 1, 2 or 3, or medical student); provider gender; amount of time the patient spent in the examination room with the provider (provider time); and total time the patient spent in the clinic from check-in to checkout (clinic time). When compared to patients not requiring an interpreter, patients using some form of interpreter had longer mean provider times (32.4 minutes [min] vs 28.0 min, P<.001) and clinic times (93.6 min vs 82.4 min, P=.002). Compared to patients not requiring an interpreter, patients using a telephone interpreter had significantly longer mean provider times (36.3 min vs 28.0 min, P < .001) and clinic times (99.9 min vs 82.4 min, P=.02). Similarly, patients using a patient-supplied interpreter had longer mean provider times (34.4 min vs 28.0 min, P<.001) and mean clinic times (92.8 min vs 82.4 min, P=.027). In contrast, patients using a hospital interpreter did not have significantly different mean provider times (26.8 min vs 28.0 min, P=.51) or mean clinic times (91.0 min vs 82.4 min, P=.16) than patients not requiring an interpreter. CONCLUSION: In our setting, telephone and patient-supplied interpreters were associated with longer visit times, but full-time hospital interpreters were not.
CHRONIC DOPAMINE RECEPTOR STIMULATION USING BROMOCRIPTINE: FAILURE TO MODIFY THYROID FUNCTION

Administration of 2.5 mg bromocriptine (Parlodel), a dopamine agonist, on two occasions to six normal volunteers did not alter the plasma TSH response to an i.v. injection of 100 μg TRH, but significantly (P < 0.01) blunted it after 200 μg. Chronic bromocriptine treatment (7.5–50 mg/day) of fifteen acromegalic subjects failed to influence basal plasma TSH or the response pattern to 200 μg TRH. The thyroxine Binding Index (TBI) and the levels of T3 and T4 were not modified by treatment. These results indicate that chronic dopaminergic therapy with bromocriptine does not alter thyroid function.
MapReduce and Semantics Enabled Event Detection using Social Media

Abstract Social media is playing an increasingly important role in reporting major events happening in the world. However, detecting events from social media is challenging due to the huge magnitude of the data and the complex semantics of the language being processed. This paper proposes MASEED (MapReduce and Semantics Enabled Event Detection), a novel event detection framework that effectively addresses the following problems: 1) traditional data mining paradigms cannot work for big data; 2) data preprocessing requires significant human efforts; 3) domain knowledge must be gained before the detection; 4) semantic interpretation of events is overlooked; 5) detection scenarios are limited to specific domains. In this work, we overcome these challenges by embedding semantic analysis into temporal analysis for capturing the salient aspects of social media data, and parallelizing the detection of potential events using the MapReduce methodology. We evaluate the performance of our method using real Twitter data. The results will demonstrate the proposed system outperforms most of the state-of-the-art methods in terms of accuracy and efficiency.
Effect of Flow Rate and Glucose Concentration on Glucose Uptake Rate by the Rat Limb

Summary This investigation has defined a relationship that glucose concentration and flow rate have upon the rate of glucose uptake by the resting perfused rat hindlimb. The glucose uptake rate is linearly related to the perfusate glucose concentration within the range of glucose concentration studied (50-400 mg%). It has also been determined that glucose uptake rate is hyperbolically related to the perfusate flow rate. It appears as though the glucose uptake rate is flow limited for rat skeletal muscle at rest.
Use of a video-ethnographic intervention (PRECESS Immersion Method) to improve skin-to-skin care and breastfeeding rates.

PURPOSES Skin-to-skin care after birth often is absent, interrupted, or delayed for routine procedures. The purposes of this project were to improve skin-to-skin care and exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge. METHODS For Part 1, we used a descriptive observational design, with video-ethnography and interaction analysis (PRECESS-Practice, Reflection, Education and training, Combined with Ethnography for Sustainable Success), during a 5-day quality improvement pilot study in a U.S. hospital (August 13-17, 2010). For Part 2, we used electronic health record review to test for differences in monthly rates of skin-to-skin care and exclusive breastmilk feeding (baseline, July 2010; post-intervention, August-December 2010). RESULTS In Part 1, 11 mothers and babies participated: 10 (91%) received immediate skin-to-skin care, eight (73%) received uninterrupted skin-to-skin care, nine (82%) planned to breastfeed, six (67%) of these babies were exclusively breastfeeding at hospital discharge, and five (83%) of the six babies who completed all nine instinctive stages during skin-to-skin care were exclusively breastfeeding at hospital discharge. In our subsequent review (Part 2), we found a significant improvement (25% above baseline) in the overall rate of skin-to-skin care across post-intervention months (Pearson χ(2)=23.798, df=5, p<0.000), predominantly from improvements in the cesarean section population. The rates of exclusive breastfeeding showed no significant change. CONCLUSIONS The PRECESS immersion method may help to rapidly improve skin-to-skin care. Babies who undergo all nine stages during skin-to-skin care may be more likely to exclusively breastfeed. Mothers need support during skin-to-skin care to recognize their baby's readiness to breastfeed. Skin-to-skin care during cesarean surgery may reduce maternal stress and improve satisfaction with the surgical experience.
Cognitive burden and excess Lewy-body pathology in the Lewy-body variant of Alzheimer disease.

OBJECTIVES Authors compared the degrees of cognitive deficit among individuals with Alzheimer disease (AD), the Lewy-body variant of AD (LBV), and "pure" dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB); and compared cortical Lewy body (LB) counts in LBV versus DLB and neuritic plaque and neurofibrillary tangle severity in LBV versus AD. METHODS Authors examined brain specimens from consecutive autopsies of elderly nursing home subjects. Numbers and densities of plaques, Lewy bodies, and tangle severity were determined in multiple cortical regions, and demographic and clinical variables were compared among the three groups. RESULTS The three groups did not differ in demographic or clinical variables. The LBV group was significantly more impaired than the other groups. Cortical LB counts were significantly higher in LBV than in DLB. There was no evidence of increased plaque or tangle severity in LBV than in AD. CONCLUSION The co-occurrence of AD and LB pathology is associated with higher numbers of LBs and more severe dementia than when classical AD or LB lesions occur alone.
THE EFFECT OF PRESTIGE IN LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE: THE CASE OF CATALAN IN VALENCIA

The fact of speaking a language instead of another at a specific moment in a person’s life depends on many and diverse factors such as immigration, the language acquired and spoken at home, and what the dominant and official language is. In addition, in situations where it is possible to choose, speaking one language instead of another is not a neutral choice, in that the values associated with languages have a lot to do with that choice. In the Valencian Community, in Spain, two languages officially coexist: Castilian, the official language within the whole Spanish State, and Catalan, the historical language of the territory, which is undergoing a process of revitalization since the beginnings of the 1980s. At that time, Catalan was perceived as a second-rate language, associated with peasantry, with the rural context and uncultured people from the lower social classes. The technique employed to reveal these values or stereotypes, namely the matched-guise technique (Ros 1984), was used again during the 90s (Blas Arroyo 1995, Gómez Molina 1998) for evaluating the effects of the revitalization program. The results of this work showed that Catalan was gaining more and more prestige, i.e., it was increasingly associated with modern people, city life, learning and social progress. An underlying, though never proved, assumption was that the remarkable improvement in the image of Catalan would be reflected in its use, which would also be more frequent and more widespread. At the beginning of the new millennium the matched-guise technique was applied again, with one new twist: to assess the real extent of prestige associated with speaking Catalan (Casesnoves and Sankoff 2003). Ten years later that study was replicated in order to observe the evolution of linguistic attitudes as well as the progress of the linguistic revitaliza1 This research was supported by a Ramón y Cajal program of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology. Thanks are due to David Sankoff (University of Ottawa) for your constant support and to Jens Normann Jørgensen for your observations. I would also like to thank the students, teachers, and school administrators in Valencia who participated in the experiment. ESUKA – JEFUL 2011, 2 – 1: 57 – 74 58 Raquel Casesnoves Ferrer tion process. In this presentation, we compare the two data sets to evaluate the effects of linguistic attitudes on the use of Catalan. Has Catalan gained prestige throughout the years? If so, does it have an influence on language use or, on the contrary, are there any other factors such as identity that play a more important role in influencing the choice of speaking Catalan?
Channel load aware routing in wireless mesh networks

Load-aware routing metrics aim to address congestion and load-balancing issues in wireless mesh networks by directing traffic either around or away from loaded regions of the network. However, the fact that load estimates used to choose routes are in turn affected by resulting routing changes in a cyclical manner makes it difficult to preset the sensitivity of route adaptation to load. On the other hand, desensitizing nodes to traffic load may render them unresponsive, leading to inaccuracies in load estimates and difficulties in achieving proper traffic distribution. To address these issues, we present CLAW, a novel channel load-aware routing metric that handles the routing process in a manner analogous to a feedback control system. Simulations show that CLAW significantly improves network performance in both throughput and delay against hop count and other competing load-aware routing metrics found in the literature.
Cytogenetic aspects of the Canadian early and mid‐trimester amniotic fluid trial (CEMAT)

Cytogenetic results from a large multicentre randomized controlled study of 2108 amniotic fluids obtained at 11+0–12+6 weeks (EA) and 1999 fluids at 15+0–16+6 weeks (MA) were compared. There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of chromosome abnormalities (EA =1.9 per cent; MA=1.7 per cent) or level III mosaicism (EA=0.2 per cent; MA= 0.2 per cent) between the groups. Level I and Level II mosaicism occurred more frequently in MA.
Water, fog and the size-distance invariance hypothesis.

Objects generally appear too large under water. The usual explanation for this is that they are magnified by the change of refractive index between air and water. However, they are only magnified because they are optically nearer. If size constancy operates normally they should be seen the correct size but nearer, or enlarged in size but farther than the optical distance. The problem was investigated by requiring sixteen divers to make size and distance judgements of a range of white disks of different sizes set at various distances. Judgements were made for the same display both under water and on land. It was found that size judgements were greater under water, and that this corresponded to relative overestimation of distance. A weak form of size—distance invariance was found both under water and on land, but the relation between size and distance judgements was not the same in both conditions. Overestimation of size and distance was also found in a fog on land. It was suggested that the overestimation of distance in a fog and under water was due to the exaggerated reduction of brightness contrast with distance, which increases ‘aerial perspective’.
Influence of interleukin-10 gene G-1082A polymorphism on recurrent IgA nephropathy.

BACKGROUND The G-1082A polymorphism of the interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene has been associated with modified gene expression and the progression of primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN). In the present study, we evaluated its influence on recurrent IgAN after renal transplantation. METHODS We studied 103 patients who suffered from IgAN and underwent renal transplantation, followed up for 5.8 -/+ 3.4 years. A cohort of 206 matched renal allograft recipients with other primary diseases was analyzed as a control group. IL-10 gene G-1082A polymorphism was determined by PCR amplification. RESULTS Microscopic hematuria and/or proteinuria of more than 500 mg/24 hours occurred in 22 patients (21%). Histological confirmation of IgAN recurrence was obtained in 16 patients. Young recipient age was associated with biopsy-proven IgAN recurrence in the Kaplan-Meier analysis of recurrence-free survival (p=0.05). The presence of IgAN recurrence had no impact on graft survival (not significant [NS]). Furthermore, graft survival was similar in patients with IgAN and patients with other primary diseases (NS). The IL-10 GG genotype was associated with a higher recurrence rate in the Kaplan-Meier analysis of recurrence-free survival (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS IgAN recurrence is a common complication, especially in younger renal transplant recipients. IL-10 gene G-1082A polymorphism was associated with an increased recurrence rate.
Wearable Flexible Reconfigurable Antenna Integrated With Artificial Magnetic Conductor

This letter presents a wearable flexible reconfigurable folded slot antenna. The antenna is composed of a folded slot and a stub where the reconfigurability is achieved by turning a p-i-n diode on and off, which alters the radiation characteristics of the stub. The operating frequency and polarization of the slot and stub are different. Hence, a polarization-dependent dual-band artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) surface is integrated with the antenna to improve its radiation performance and to reduce the specific absorption rate (SAR). The antenna is designed and fabricated on a flexible substrate, and its performance is measured for both flat and curved configurations. The measurements show an excellent agreement with the simulations. To examine its performance as a wearable antenna, it is measured on a human body. Simulations show that the SAR level is reduced when the AMC surface is used as an isolator. The proposed wearable antenna structure can be used for wireless body area network (WBAN) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) body-worn wireless devices.
Neonatal complications following preterm birth

Improvements in neonatal intensive care during the last 20 years have increased the survival of the most immature newborns at 23 weeks from 0% to 65% at some centres, although rates vary widely among neonatal care centres. University of Utah, USA data show that each week in utero after week 23 raises survival by 6–9%, to 90% by 27–28 weeks and 95% by 33 weeks. Provision of care in specialised centres to provide high‐risk obstetric and neonatal intensive care, prenatal treatment with corticosteroids, postnatal treatment with surfactant and nitric oxide, and improvements in respirators and equipment to care for extremely immature infants all contribute to these changes. The increased rate of survival for extremely premature newborns has not been accompanied by an increased rate of severe intraventricular haemorrhage or neurological impairment, such as cerebral palsy. Regardless, intraventricular haemorrhage remains a significant problem, especially if associated with post‐haemorrhagic hydrocephalus, leading to long‐term neurological impairment and decreased survival. Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) is more common in premature than in term newborns and is the most frequent cause of short bowel syndrome in infancy. Survival after surgery for NEC has improved during the last two decades, but complications of nutritional support produce many long‐term problems. Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) remains a frequent cause of neurosensory impairment for extremely premature newborns. Laser photocoagulation for advanced ROP is more effective than cryotherapy for preventing retinal detachment and improving visual outcomes. Despite prenatal corticosteroid treatment and postnatal surfactant administration, many extremely premature newborns still develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Abnormal pulmonary function may persist into adulthood, but newer ventilators and management schemes appear to be reducing this long‐term morbidity. Many changes in neonatal care occur each year, but carefully controlled outcome studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these newer styles of neonatal intensive care.
Depression, apolipoprotein E genotype, and the incidence of mild cognitive impairment: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND It remains unknown whether depression and apolipoprotein E genotype are risk factors for incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI). OBJECTIVE To determine whether elderly individuals with depression (measured by the short Geriatric Depression Scale) are at increased risk of developing incident MCI. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Primary care clinic. PARTICIPANTS A cohort of 840 cognitively normal elderly subjects without depression at recruitment who were followed up prospectively for a median of 3.5 years (range, 0.4-12.8 years). Subjects who developed depression (score of >/=6 on the short Geriatric Depression Scale; depression cohort) were compared with all remaining subjects (referent cohort). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Incidence of MCI (primary outcome) and incidence of MCI or dementia (composite secondary outcome). RESULTS Individuals in the depression cohort were at significantly increased risk of subsequent incident MCI (hazard ratio [HR], 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-4.1) after adjusting for age (time scale), sex, and education, and considering dementia as a competing outcome. The association was stronger in men but did not vary by severity of depression. We observed a synergistic interaction between apolipoprotein E genotype (epsilon3/epsilon4 or epsilon4/epsilon4) and depression (joint effect HR, 5.1; 95% CI, 1.9-13.6; test for additive interaction, P = .03). We found a similar association between depression and the subsequent composite outcome of incident MCI or dementia (HR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.6-4.3). CONCLUSIONS Cognitively normal elderly individuals who develop depression are at increased risk of subsequent MCI. We found a synergistic interaction between depression and apolipoprotein E genotype.