Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Psychological Effects Women Experience Before and After a Colposcopic Examination and Primary Care Appointment

Objective. To estimate the psychological impact, health and behavior concerns, and coping styles of women awaiting colposcopic examination compared with women awaiting a scheduled primary care appointment. Materials and Methods. A convenience sample of 150 women presenting for a scheduled colposcopy examination and 201 women scheduled for a primary care appointment were assessed for demographic status, depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies/Depressed Mood Scale), anxiety, health beliefs and concerns, and coping style (Miller Behavioral Style Score). Subjects also completed a postexamination questionnaire. Mean responses were compared using Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results. Mean anxiety scores were considered “mild” and equivalent for women in the two groups. Although the colposcopy group had a significantly greater mean depression score (36.3) compared with the noncolposcopy group (33.4, p = .03, Wilcoxon test), both mean scores indicated mild depression. Women undergoing colposcopy reported greater mean scores for concern about their disease, the procedure, and potential consequences (p < .01, Wilcoxon test). Conclusion. Women scheduled for colposcopy have a similar level of mild anxiety and mild depression as women scheduled for a primary care appointment. Consequently, universal, instead of selective, use of anxiolytic agents before colposcopy appears unjustified. Avoidance of triage to colposcopy for atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance Pap smear results may be unwarranted based on concerns for causing excessive anxiety. In fact, colposcopy provides substantial reassurance.
Early Biochemical Indicators of Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy after Birth Asphyxia

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) after perinatal asphyxia is a condition in which serum concentrations of brain-specific biochemical markers may be elevated. Neuroprotective interventions in asphyxiated newborns require early indicators of brain damage to initiate therapy. We examined brain-specific creatine kinase (CK-BB), protein S-100, and neuron-specific enolase in cord blood and 2, 6, 12, and 24 h after birth in 29 asphyxiated and 20 control infants. At 2 h after birth, median (quartiles) serum CK-BB concentration was 10.0 U/L (6.0–13.0 U/L) in control infants, 16.0 U/L (13.0–23.5 U/L) in infants with no or mild HIE, and 46.5 U/L (21.4–83.0 U/L) in infants with moderate or severe HIE. Serum protein S-100 was 1.6 μg/L (1.4–2.5 μg/L) in control infants, 2.9 μg/L (1.8–4.7 μg/L) in asphyxiated infants with no or mild HIE, and 17.0 μg/L (3.2–34.1 μg/L) in infants with moderate or severe HIE 2 h after birth. No significant difference was detectable in serum neuron-specific enolase between infants with no or mild and moderate or severe HIE 2 and 6 h after birth. A combination of serum protein S-100 (cutoff value, 8.5 μg/L) and CK-BB (cutoff value, 18.8 U/L) 2 h after birth had the highest predictive value (83%) and specificity (95%) of predicting moderate and severe HIE. Cord blood pH (cutoff value, <6.9) and cord blood base deficit (cutoff value, >17 mM) increase the predictive values of protein S-100 and CK-BB. We conclude that elevated serum concentrations of protein S-100 and CK-BB reliably indicate moderate and severe HIE as early as 2 h after birth.
Fathers’ Occupational Contacts and Risk of Childhood Leukemia and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Background: There is evidence to suggest that childhood leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma have an infective etiology. We investigated the risk of childhood leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in relation to paternal occupational contact with other individuals, a surrogate for potential exposure to infection. Methods: We carried out a case–control study using 792 cases from the Northern Region Young Persons’ Malignant Disease Registry, United Kingdom, 1968–1997, and 2 large population-based control groups. Paternal occupations at birth were classified as having standard, high, or very high levels of contact. Conditional logistic regression was used in the analysis. Results: There was an increased risk of childhood leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in those children whose fathers’ occupational contacts were high or very high compared with standard (odds ratio = 1.3; 95% confidence interval = 1.0–1.5). The excess risk in the very high group was most pronounced for 245 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia aged 2 to 5 years at diagnosis (1.5; 1.1–2.1). The risk with paternal occupational contacts was greater in rural areas, although it was also present in urban areas. The risks of leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma were also higher among the offspring of men employed as policemen, sales representatives, or teachers. Conclusions: Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis of an infective etiology for childhood leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and they add to the evidence that infections could be transmitted to children by adults.
A Novel Experimental Method for Measuring Vergence and Accommodation Responses to the Main Near Visual Cues in Typical and Atypical Groups

Binocular disparity, blur, and proximal cues drive convergence and accommodation. Disparity is considered to be the main vergence cue and blur the main accommodation cue. We have developed a remote haploscopic photorefractor to measure simultaneous vergence and accommodation objectively in a wide range of participants of all ages while fixating targets at between 0.3 and 2 m. By separating the three main near cues, we can explore their relative weighting in three-, two-, one-, and zero-cue conditions. Disparity can be manipulated by remote occlusion; blur cues manipulated by using either a Gabor patch or a detailed picture target; looming cues by either scaling or not scaling target size with distance. In normal orthophoric, emmetropic, symptom-free, naive visually mature participants, disparity was by far the most significant cue to both vergence and accommodation. Accommodation responses dropped dramatically if disparity was not available. Blur only had a clinically significant effect when disparity was absent. Proximity had very little effect. There was considerable interparticipant variation. We predict that relative weighting of near cue use is likely to vary between clinical groups and present some individual cases as examples. We are using this naturalistic tool to research strabismus, vergence and accommodation development, and emmetropization.
Books' interest grading and dwell time in metadata in selecting fiction

It is studied by eye-tracking how searchers explore metadata in book pages when selecting novels of varying interest levels. 30 participants searched interesting novels for four search tasks in two public library catalogs. The results showed that the associations of dwell time in book pages and in many metadata types, and novels' interest grading were non-linear. Most time was used for assessing a somewhat interesting novel compared to a non-interesting or very interesting one. Therefore, the binary classification of interest grading hides and over-emphasizes the contribution of "somewhat interesting" category in modeling interest by dwell time in book pages or metadata. Non-linear regression models showed that the explanatory power was greater in a three-level classification of interest grading compared to a binary classification.
Testing community resilience to the introduction of poker machines

There is strong evidence that problem gambling is a localised behaviour, and that one in seven regulars at poker machine venues are having problems with their gambling. Collectively, these regulars are contributing 40 per cent of the entire revenue from poker machines in Australia. They are losing more money than they can afford, and the community loses too. These losses have an impact on the strength of community wellbeing, beyond the devastations experienced by the individuals. How does a community cope with the introduction of poker machines? As local government social and health planners, we ask ourselves this question when a gaming application appears and the social impact assessment takes place. The City of Whittlesea has some of the highest poker machine losses in Victoria, but successfully limiting the number of poker machines as a harm minimisation measure is difficult to achieve. When a unique opportunity presented itself, Whittlesea Council partnered with Federation University to undertake ‘pre and post’ surveys of local residents to see if the impact could be measured. This study analyses data collected on community wellbeing before and after the introduction of poker machines in a locality. Reporting on preliminary findings, there was a noticeable decline in sense of community measured by sense of safety and sense of belonging. The responses from the pre survey accurately predicted the impact on wellbeing reported in the post survey. There was little change detected in gambling behaviours and risk of problem gambling. Community attitudes toward gambling had remained stable. Quantifying these aspects of community strength and studying the impacts will contribute to local government social and health planning. The research will help establish useful indicators for assessing measurable impacts of poker machines on communities, particularly in the vicinity of new housing developments.
Differences in Cardiotoxicity of Bupivacaine and Ropivacaine Are the Result of Physicochemical and Stereoselective Properties

Background Ropivacaine is believed to have a lower incidence of clinical cardiac side effects than bupivacaine. The aim of this study was to compare the direct cardiac effects of the optically pure S (−)-ropivacaine isomer and its nonclinically used R (+)-isomer with both optically pure bupivacaine isomers in isolated hearts. The hypothesis was that differences in direct cardiac effects are distinguished not only by stereoselective actions of local anesthetic molecules to specific receptors, but also by physicochemical differences triggered by replacing the butyl- by a propyl-residual on pipecoloxylide. Methods Guinea pig hearts (n = 31) were excised and perfused by the Langendorff method. Atrial and ventricular bipolar electrodes were placed to measure heart rate and atrioventricular conduction time. Left ventricular pressure, coronary flow, and oxygen tensions were measured. Twelve hearts were perfused with increasing concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 5.0, and 10 &mgr;m) of both isomers of bupivacaine, and 13 hearts were perfused with the same concentrations of ropivacaine isomers. Six hearts were perfused with higher concentrations (20, 30, 40, and 50 &mgr;m) of both isomers of ropivacaine. The order of isomers and anesthetic chosen were randomized. Results Both anesthetics had negative inotropic and chronotropic effects without evidence of stereoselectivity. Equal concentrations of both isomers of bupivacaine had negative inotropic effects greater than that of ropivacaine isomers. Atrioventricular conduction time was prolonged by both anesthetics in a concentration-dependent manner, but bupivacaine isomers increased atrioventricular conduction time more than ropivacaine isomers. In contrast to other variables, atrioventricular conduction time showed evident stereoselectivity for bupivacaine at the lowest concentration (0.5 &mgr;m) but only at higher concentrations for ropivacaine (> 30 &mgr;m). The R (+)-isomer was more potent than the S (−)-isomer on increasing atrioventricular conduction time for both bupivacaine and ropivacaine. Conclusions The results confirm that stereoselectivity can be demonstrated by a lengthening of atrioventricular conduction time for the more fat-soluble bupivacaine. However, for the less fat-soluble ropivacaine, the S (−)-isomer has no advantage over the R (+)-isomer for preventing slowing of atrioventricular conduction in clinical concentrations. Neither anesthetic showed stereoselective inotropic effects, but ropicavaine isomers had lesser cardiodepressant effects than bupivacaine isomers because of the replacement of the butyl- by a propyl-terminal group.
Lenalidomide in patients with POEMS syndrome: a systematic review and pooled analysis

Abstract The purpose of this pooled analysis was to synthesize all available data so as to evaluate the efficacy and safety of lenalidomide in patients with POEMS syndrome. Eligible articles were identified by a search in MEDLINE and ClinicalTrials.gov databases using a predefined combination. Eligible cases of patients treated in our department were additionally included. Overall, 51 patients were included. The median age of patients was 54.5 years (range: 32–79 years). Lenalidomide was given as first- or second-line treatment in 28.6% and 47.6% of patients, respectively. Hematological responses included complete response in 18.6%, very good partial response in 39.5% and partial response in 37.2% of cases. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) reduction was reported in all cases. Neuropathy improved in 92.0% of cases and stabilized in 8%. The progression-free survival (PFS) estimate at 12 months was 93.9%. Lenalidomide can represent a safe and effective option for the treatment of patients with POEMS.
Hepatitis B virus-related combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma: clinicopathological and prognostic analysis of 390 cases

Background The reported treatment outcomes of combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (HCC-CC) are inconsistent and the clinicopathological factors influencing treatment outcome remain to be defined. Patients and methods Patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC-CC undergoing surgical treatment at our institution between January 1997 and September 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to identify independent clinicopathological factors affecting surgical outcome. Results A total of 390 patients with HBV-related HCC-CC were included in this study; there were 328 men and 62 women, with a median age of 49 years (range 21–77 years). Among these patients, 74.4% had underlying liver cirrhosis. The median tumor size was 6.5 cm (range 1.3–33 cm) with 68.7% microvascular invasion and 12.3% lymphatic metastasis. The median survival after surgical resection was 1.68 years and the cumulative survival at 1, 2, 5, and 10 years was 62.1, 46.4, 32, and 25.5%, respectively. The disease-free survival at 1, 2, 5, and 10 years was 36.1, 22.3, 15, and 11.3%, respectively. Independent predictors for decreased survival were male sex, tumor number (≥2), major thrombus, microvascular thrombus, &ggr;-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) over 60 U/l, and carbohydrate antigen 19–9 level. Independent negative factors affecting disease-free survival included tumor size (>5 cm), major thrombus, and GGT over 60 U/l. Conclusion Long-term surgical survival of HBV-related HCC-CC seemed to be influenced by sex, tumor-related factors (tumor number, major thrombus, and microvascular thrombus), serum GGT, and carbohydrate antigen 19–9 level. Tumor size, major thrombus, and serum GGT level tended to be associated with disease-free survival.
On the evaluation of SEU sensitiveness in SRAM-based FPGAs

The growing adoption of SRAM-based field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in safety-critical applications demands for efficient methodologies for evaluating their reliability. Single event upsets (SEUs) affecting the configuration memory of SRAM-based FPGAs are a major concern, since they can permanently affect the function implemented by the device. We exploited a fault-injection environment developed at our institution to analyze the impact of such faults on SRAM-based FPGAs when fault tolerant design techniques are adopted. The experimental results allow quantitative evaluations of the effects of these faults, and show that the sensitivity of the TMR design technique mainly depends on the characteristics of the adopted TMR architecture in terms of placing and routing.
The effect of sleep deprivation on memory and psychomotor function in healthy volunteers

Benzodiazepines and other psychotropic drugs have been implicated in the production of memory deficits. The mechanism is unclear, but both a distinct pharmacological action and a non‐specific sedative effect have been suggested as being causal or contributory. These two postulated mechanisms of action may be examined separately by using sleep deprivation as a method of non‐pharmacological sedation. We measured psychomotor and memory functions in eight sleep‐deprived healthy volunteers and eight controls. There was both subjective and objective evidence of sedation, but memory function was not affected. These findings support the view that the effect on memory of psychotropic drugs is principally caused by a direct amnestic effect rather than by drug‐induced sedation. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Hepatitis C Virus Core from Two Different Genotypes Has an Oncogenic Potential but Is Not Sufficient for Transforming Primary Rat Embryo Fibroblasts in Cooperation with the H-ras Oncogene

ABSTRACT Persistent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is associated with the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. To examine the oncogenic potential of the HCV core gene product, primary rat embryo fibroblasts (REFs) were transfected with the core gene in the presence or absence of the H-ras oncogene. In contrast to a previous report (R. B. Ray, L. M. Lagging, K. Meyer, and R. Ray, J. Virol. 70:4438–4443, 1996), HCV core proteins from two different genotypes (type 1a and type 1b) were not found to transform REFs to tumorigenic phenotype in cooperation with the H-ras oncogene, although the core protein was successfully expressed 20 days after transfection. In addition, REFs transfected with E1A- but not core-expressing plasmid showed the phenotype of immortalized cells when selected with G418. The biological activity was confirmed by observing the transcription activation from two viral promoters, Rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat and simian virus 40 promoter, which are known to be activated by the core protein from HCV-1 isolate. In contrast to the result with primary cells, the Rat-1 cell line, stably expressing HCV core protein, exhibited focus formation, anchorage-independent growth, and tumor formation in nude mice. HCV core protein was able to induce the transformation of Rat-1 cells with various efficiencies depending on the expression level of the core protein. These results indicate that HCV core protein has an oncogenic potential to transform the Rat-1 cell line but is not sufficient to either immortalize primary REFs by itself or transform primary cells in conjunction with the H-ras oncogene.
Progression and stability analysis of rain forest tree growth under environmental stochasticity

Changes in relative stem growth rate (rgr) across periods of multi-censused plot data in tropical forest allow response indices (RIs) to be related to environmental (climatic) variation over time. Among small trees (12.5 to <50 cm girth at breast height [gbh]) in two permanent 4-ha plots at Danum, Sabah, Borneo (lowland dipterocarp formation), growth responses were followed before, during, and after a major ENSO drying event in 1998 (censuses of 1986, 1996, 1999, 2001, and 2007 in subplots). Overall, RI was negative in the interval with the drought, increased or reflected overcompensation in rgr immediately afterwards, and then settled back to pre-event levels. However, among the various tree species, responses and trajectories were very different: Some species showed positive or negative trends, while others showed stabilizing ones, and several had stable and unstable oscillations. Response index was graphed for pairs of periods in two ways: “consecutive” and “constitutive,” allowing, respectively, progression (fundamental, implicit and explicit) and stability (fundamental, intended, and extended) to be examined. Strongest RIs were found among the understory species. Variation in RI was, nevertheless, very high between individuals within species and masked most average species' differences. Environmental stochasticity appears to lead to strong mixing effects of species composition over time, not necessarily randomly, but in a highly complicated manner depending on tree size, topographic location, neighborhood, and over–understory status, which would compound demographic stochasticity in recruitment to the small-tree class. Fluctuating responses cascade over one another in a highly unpredictable manner. These pluralistic responses may form the basis to a new understanding of tree population dynamics within the forest ecosystem, and to an improved theory about the maintenance of high species richness. Plasticity in allocation of resources to roots vs. shoots under water limitation offers a feasible hypothesis for high individual variation in growth. Instead of tropical rain forests being viewed as “complex,” an empirically more sound way is to regard them as being highly “complicated” within a mechanistic and functional approach. Multi-species tree population dynamics are accordingly highly unpredictable and quasi-indeterminate.
Understanding Travel Constraints Among the Elderly in Hong Kong: A Comparative Study of the Elderly Living in Private and in Public Housing

ABSTRACT This study aims to test the influence of constraints on travel of the elderly in Hong Kong and to compare perceived travel constraints of Hong Kong seniors in public and in private housing based on the hierarchical leisure constraints model. Face-to-face questionnaire interviews were conducted from December 2013 to April 2014. A total of 415 participants completed the interview successfully. Despite sharing the similar factor structure of the leisure constraints model, the two groups varied significantly in travel behavior, six constraint items, and seven regression paths.
The porcine coronary model of in‐stent restenosis: Current status in the era of drug‐eluting stents

Drug‐eluting stents are revolutionizing interventional cardiology. Sirolimus‐eluting stents are in widespread clinical use, associated with well‐documented remarkably low restenosis rates, and a number of other agents appear promising in clinical trials. These human studies have been preceded by numerous animal studies, foremost among them the pig coronary model of in‐stent restenosis (ISR). The histologic response to porcine coronary stenting was described over a decade ago. Porcine stenting studies now provide examinations not only of histology, but also mechanisms of action, toxicity, and biocompatibility. This review therefore examines the current status of this porcine coronary model of ISR. Contemporary methods of pig coronary stenting are discussed. The morphometric, cellular, and molecular analyses of the responses to stent injury are then described. Finally, recent pig coronary drug‐eluting stent studies are examined, with a discussion of their advantages, limitations, and possible future modifications. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 2003;60:515–523. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
CAN IN‐SERVICE Education HELP Prepare Nurses for Spiritual Care?

204 JCN / Volume 25, Number 4 provide spiritual care is not congruent with the emphasis placed on spiritual care by nursing codes of conduct and guides for practice of accrediting institutions (Taylor, 2002). This exploratory study was designed to determine the effects of an educational intervention focused on nurses’ role in providing spiritual care and on nurses’ spiritual perspectives and spiritual well-being.The research plan was based on the assumption that raising the registered nurse’s self-awareness about his or her spirituality would be the first step in preparing nurses to provide spiritual care to patients.The educational program was implemented for registered nurses (RNs) on medical, surgical, and telemetry units in one community hospital in the Northeast.