Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality of life and specific problems after cardiac surgery in adolescents and adults with congenital heart diseases

Background Grown-ups with congenital heart disease (GUCH) constitute an increasing population. Some of them reach adulthood without intervention and may present with symptoms, some require first intervention or re-operation for various reasons. Although interventions become more and more frequent in these patients, limited knowledge exists on their quality of life (QoL). The aim of the present study was to analyze QoL in GUCH patients who underwent cardiac surgery after the age of 14 years. Design A total of 296 patients with a mean age of 35±16 years (range 14–72 years) were operated on at our institution between July 1987 and December 2000, mainly for atrial septal defect (ASD), outflow tract lesion, Marfan syndrome and coarctation. Early mortality was 3.4%. During follow-up QoL was assessed with the short form 36 health survey questionnaire (SF-36) and an additional questionnaire focused on medical and psychosocial aspects. Results were analyzed for the total collective and in relation to the underlying congenital heart disease (CHD). Results Quality of life was excellent and similar to an age- and gender-matched standard population, except in patients following repair of complete AV-canal. The main restrictions in this group were found in the emotional aspect (62.5±29.9) and physical role function (60.5±25.0) and reflected in limitations of daily activity. Conclusion Outcome and QoL in adolescents and adults with CHD is excellent and similar to that of an age- and gender-matched standard population. In the future special attention should be focused more strongly on medical follow-up and psychosocial problems in this increasing group of patients. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 12: 138–143 © 2005 The European Society of Cardiology
Penalized AdaBoost: Improving the Generalization Error of Gentle AdaBoost through a Margin Distribution

Gentle AdaBoost is widely used in object detection and pattern recognition due to its efficiency and stability. To focus on instances with small margins, Gentle AdaBoost assigns larger weights to these instances during the training. However, misclassification of small-margin instances can still occur, which will cause the weights of these instances to become larger and larger. Eventually, several large-weight instances might dominate the whole data distribution, encouraging Gentle AdaBoost to choose weak hypotheses that fit only these instances in the late training phase. This phenomenon, known as “classifier distortion”, degrades the generalization error and can easily lead to overfitting since the deviation of all selected weak hypotheses is increased by the late-selected ones. To solve this problem, we propose a new variant which we call “Penalized AdaBoost”. In each iteration, our approach not only penalizes the misclassification of instances with small margins but also restrains the weight increase for instances with minimal margins. Our method performs better than Gentle AdaBoost because it avoids the “classifier distortion” effectively. Experiments show that our method achieves far lower generalization errors and a similar training speed compared with Gentle AdaBoost. key words: Gentle AdaBoost, generalization error, machine learning, modest AdaBoost, training error
Me, My Game-Self, and Others: A Qualitative Exploration of the Game-Self

Drawing on self-discrepancy theory and self-determination theory, recent studies have attempted to explain video games' motivational pull as a result of game-self and ideal-self convergence. Looking closer, evidence for different player motivational clusters suggests that different people may play the same games for different reasons and in a variety of ways. Game specifics may also influence play style and player-avatar identification. However, due to limitations regarding the types of games examined and the methods usually employed (e.g. questionnaires or online surveys), the concept of game-self and its potential role in one's well-being remain unclear. The aim of this study was to explore how players experience their game-self in various video games through semi-structured interviews. Nine participants (five female, mean age 25.9, age range 22 - 31) were recruited via a combination of convenience and snowball sampling. A thematic analysis generated five themes. Themes 1-3 were organized in a thematic cluster with a focus on narrative: (1) Player as a co-author, (2) Game-self as self-extension, (3) Game-self as Other. The other two themes were (4) Win-focused approach, player as a task manager, and (5) Flexibility. Approximations of the ideal-self through satisfaction of needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness seem to underlie all experiences of game-self, but the participants reported varying degrees of flexibility depending on game specifics, as well as intra-genre differences in play style and approach. More specifically, evidence in the win-focused approach suggests thatthis type of game-self may facilitate more relaxed play through emotional and moral disengagement, where game characters are seen as tools within a set of rules, used as means to reach a win state. Additionally, most participants' social gaming experiences were in this theme, mostly serving friendship maintenance purposes. Evidence in the narrative-focused cluster suggests that these game-self experiences may hold potential for psychological growth and well-being, meaningful and appreciative experiences, and relationships with game characters. Further exploration of parasocial relationships within games, especially their dissolution, is suggested, as well as examination of how game specifics, such as the point of view (first versus third person), may influence game-self experience. The study was conducted as part of the lead author's 4th year requirements for completing a BSc in Psychology.
A systematic review and economic evaluation of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography compared with diagnostic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

OBJECTIVES To compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) with diagnostic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for the investigation of biliary obstruction. DATA SOURCES Electronic bibliographic databases, the reference lists of relevant articles and various health services research-related resources. REVIEW METHODS The data sources were searched and selected studies were assessed using quality criteria. In total, 28 prospective diagnostic studies were identified reporting several suspected conditions plus one of patient satisfaction. Analyses were then performed to establish sensitivities, specificities, likelihood ratios and confidence intervals. The relative cost-effectiveness of adopting MRCP scanning in the investigation of the biliary tree was undertaken using a probabilistic economic model. RESULTS The median sensitivity for choledocholithiasis (13 studies) was 93% and the median specificity 94%. The median likelihood ratio for a positive value was 15.75 and for a negative value 0.08. Reported sensitivities for malignancy were somewhat lower, ranging from 81 to 86%, and specificities ranged from 92 to 100%. There was some evidence that MRCP is an accurate diagnostic test in comparison to ERCP, although the quality of studies was moderate. Claustrophobia prevented at least some patients from having MRCP in ten of the 28 studies. The other 18 studies did not mention claustrophobia. The probability of avoiding unnecessary diagnostic ERCP is estimated at 30%. These patients could avoid the unnecessary risk of complications and death associated with diagnostic ERCP, and substantial cost saving would be gained. The overall expected cost saving associated with MRCP is GBP149; the overall expected gain in quality-adjusted life-year is estimated at 0.011. CONCLUSIONS There is some evidence that MRCP is an accurate investigation compared with diagnostic ERCP, although the values for malignancy compared with choledocholithiasis were somewhat lower. The quality of studies was moderate. The limited evidence on patient satisfaction showed that patients preferred MRCP to diagnostic ERCP. The estimated clinical and economic impacts of diagnostic MRCP versus diagnostic ERCP are very favourable. The baseline estimate is that MRCP may both reduce cost and result in improved quality of life outcomes compared with diagnostic ERCP. Further research is suggested to compare MRCP and diagnostic ERCP with final diagnosis and also with the full range of target conditions; to examine patient satisfaction and ways of reducing problems with claustrophobia; to look at protocols to help identify who could most benefit from MRCP or ERCP; to assess the relative need and urgency of patient access to magnetic resonance imaging services, and also to determine how demand would affect availability and potential cost savings.
White matter integrity in the brains of professional soccer players without a symptomatic concussion.

into effect in 2006. Further labeling changes to specify whether a food product contains any quantity of TFAs would further increase transparency of a food’s TFA content. While we agree with Mr Katarey and Ms Francis that it is possible for a product labeled zero trans fat to have close to 0.5 g of trans fat per serving, we are unaware of any published data on the distribution of TFA content for foods labeled zero trans fat but still containing some partially hydrogenated oil that are necessary to estimate the proportion of these foods with close to 0.5 g per serving. We agree with Drs Backholer and Peeters that there are no known health benefits of industrially produced TFAs. We also agree that we cannot be sure that further food labeling changes would eliminate exposure to partially hydrogenated oil for all individuals. While we are not aware of any current data to indicate that persons of lower income have higher dietary intakes of TFAs or that less expensive brands of the same food product have higher TFA content than the more expensive brands, we agree these are important areas of research. A recent FDA study provided evidence of differences in the TFA content of different brands of the same food. For example, different brands of frozen pizza contained from 0 to 5 g of TFAs per serving. Therefore, elimination of partially hydrogenated oils from packaged foods would eliminate these differences and would help persons who may only have access to specific brands and those who are not aware of the different content levels of TFAs.
Evaluating video quality with temporal noise

Human can only perceive video distortions beyond certain intensity. Temporal variations of suprathreshold noise in a video induce annoying temporal noise (e.g., flickering artifacts). Prior studies on full-reference video quality assessment (VQA) focused mainly on spatial quality of impaired videos, and ignored or underestimated the impact of temporal noise on visual quality degradation. According to some characteristics of human visual system, we consider temporal noise as the most salient distortion in impaired videos and it can greatly influence the perceived video quality. Thus, we propose a novel and simple full-reference metric that evaluates quality of impaired videos by measuring the energy of temporal noise in them. This metric shows competitive performance with some state-of-the-art objective models on the LIVE VQA database.
[IL-18 expression in whole blood cell cultures from active lupus nephritis and the inhibitory effects of FK506, cyclosporin A and dexamethasone].

AIM To explore the expression of IL-18 in patients with active lupus nephritis(LN) and the inhibitory effects of immunosupressive agents FK506, cyclosporin A (CsA) and dexamethasone(DEX). METHODS Peripheral blood samples were collected from 16 LN patients and 10 health volunteers and cultured with or without PHA/LPS, PHA/LPS+FK506, PHA/LPS+CsA and PHA/LPS+DEX for 24 hours. The IL-18 level in cultured supernatants and the IL-18 mRNA expression in cultured whole blood cells were detected by ELISA and semi-quantitative RT-PCR respectively, and the inhibitory effects of FK506, CsA and DEX on IL-18 expression were investigated. RESULTS The expression levels of IL-18 mRNA and its protein in whole blood cell cultures from LN patients were higher than those in normal control group (P<0.01) either spontaneously or after stimulation with LPS/PHA. FK506, CsA and DEX suppressed significantly the expressions of IL-18 mRNA and its protein (P<0.001) in LPS/PHA-stimulated whole blood cell from LN patients. The inhibitory effects of FK506, CsA and DEX on the IL-18 protein expression in LN patients were stronger than that in normal control group (P<0.01 or P<0.05). CONCLUSION IL-18 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of LN and inhibition of IL-18 production may be an useful way to treat LN.
The Source and Secretion of Immunoactive Relaxin in Rat Milk

The milk of many mammalian species contains hormones and growth factors in addition to nutrients and immuocompetent substances. These factors can be absorbed into the circulation of suckling neonates to exert important effects on metabolism and promote tissue and organ growth. Frequently, there is uncertainty as to whether such substances are gene products of the mammary glands themselves or are produced elsewhere and concentrated from the systemic circulation. The 6 kD polypeptide, relaxin, appears in milk of several mammalian species, including that of the rat, but proof of its source of secretion (corpus luteum vs. mammary gland) is so far lacking. The specific monoclonal anti-rat relaxin antibody MCA1 has previously been utilized successfully to investigate many of relaxin’s actions in the rat, including those affecting the development of the mammary apparatus. In this report, MCA1 was utilized to aid in the identification of the source of relaxin in rat milk. Treatment of lactating rats with MCA1 completely neutralized the luteal relaxin circulating in serum but did not decrease the concentration of immunoactive relaxin secreted in milk. Moreover, the antibody did not appear to reach the mammary epithelium. The evidence thus supports the view that in the rat, the relaxin secreted in milk is primarily a product of the mammary glands and not concentrated from the systemic circulation.
Mitomycin: Effects on Laryngeal and Tracheal Stenosis, Benefits, and Complications

The management of laryngeal and tracheal stenosis continues to challenge us, despite advances in surgical techniques and better understanding of the wound healing process. Injury to the airway mucosa is the inciting event, regardless of the cause of the stenosis. Mitomycin-C is an antineoplastic antibiotic that acts as an alkylating agent by inhibiting DNA and protein synthesis. It can inhibit cell division, protein synthesis, and fibroblast proliferation. Topical application of mitomycin-C (0.4 mg/mL) was used as an adjuvant treatment in the endoscopic laser management of laryngeal and tracheal stenosis in 15 patients. Fourteen patients (93%) have shown improvement of their airway and resolution of their preoperative symptoms. After a mean follow-up of 18 months, no complication was noted with regard to the application of mitomycin-C. This study gives promising findings on the efficacy and safety of mitomycin-C as an adjuvant treatment in the management of selected cases of laryngeal and tracheal stenosis.
Effects of Long-Term Haemodialysis on Lipid, Lipoprotein and Apolipoprotein Levels of Black Patients with Chronic Renal Failure

Premature coronary artery disease is believed to be a major cause of death in patients undergoing long-term haemodialysis. We investigated the effects of chronic maintenance haemodialysis on lipid, lipoprotein and apolipoprotein levels of 42 black patients with chronic renal failure and compared them with those of 40 age- and sex-matched black controls to determine the changes in the lipoprotein profile and their possible contributions to increased risk of coronary heart disease in these patients. There were increases in triglyceride levels and in total/high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratios and decreases in high density lipoprotein cholesterol, in LDL cholesterol, in apolipoprotein AI and in apolipoprotein All in haemodialysis patients in comparison to controls. No significant differences were observed in any of the lipid, lipoprotein and apolipoprotein levels between male and female patients and between patients receiving anti-hypertensive therapy and those who were not. Our findings suggest that haemodialysis and/or events associated with maintenance dialysis may contribute to unfavourable variations in lipoprotein metabolism and, in turn, the increased mortality from coronary artery disease in this patient population.
Early assessment by a mobile stroke team: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND There is overwhelming evidence of the effectiveness of specialist stroke rehabilitation, but more limited evidence of the effectiveness of organised stroke care during the acute phase of stroke. OBJECTIVE To determine the impact on outcome of access to a mobile team during the acute phase of stroke among patients admitted to general wards. STUDY POPULATION 308 patients admitted to one of two hospitals within 5 days of the onset of a clinically diagnosed stroke. STUDY DESIGN Randomised controlled trial. STUDY GROUPS Following admission, patients in the intervention arm were visited by members of a mobile stroke team who advised clinical staff on appropriate and timely investigation and management. They co-ordinated early input from therapy groups and identified those ready for transfer to the stroke rehabilitation unit. Patients in the control arm were not visited by the mobile stroke team. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE All-cause mortality measured at 6 weeks and 12 months. RESULTS There was no statistically significant difference observed between study groups in mortality at 6 weeks (95% CI(adj) -7.4 to 7.4%) nor at 12 months ( 95% CI(adj) -4.1 to 15.9%). There were also no differences observed between study groups in morbidity outcomes or health-related quality of life measured at 12 months. CONCLUSION The trial was terminated before the necessary sample size was collected but findings suggest that the mobile stroke team failed to confer significant long-term mortality benefit compared with general ward-based care alone.
Prospective evaluation of unmet needs of rural and aboriginal cancer survivors in Northern British Columbia.

BACKGROUND The unmet needs of cancer survivors in rural, remote, and aboriginal communities are largely unexplored. We explored potential differences between rural survivors (rss) in 4 general population (gp) and 4 First Nations (fn) communities. METHODS We approached 4 gp and 4 fn rs communities to participate in a mixed-methods project. Participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (hads) and the Survivor Unmet Needs Survey (suns) and provided demographic information. Each question on the suns can be scored from 0 to 4, with 0 representing "no unmet need" and 4 representing "very high unmet need. " A directed approach to content analysis of focus group and interview data was used to triangulate the hads and suns results. RESULTS We prospectively accrued 23 fn rss and 56 gp rss for this study. More fn rss had borderline or abnormal anxiety (5% vs. 21%, p = 0.02). Compared with gp rss, fn rss had higher unmet needs scores in all categories: Information (2.29 vs. 0.8, p < 0.001), Work and Financial (1.66 vs. 0.5, p < 0.001), Access and Continuity of Health Care (1.83 vs. 0.44, p < 0.001), Coping and Sharing (2.22 vs. 0.62, p < 0.001), and Emotional (2.12 vs. 0.63, p < 0.001). The qualitative findings provided examples and insight into the unmet needs experienced by rss. CONCLUSIONS First Nations rss had significantly higher anxiety and unmet needs compared with their gp rs counterparts. In addition, different qualitative themes were identified in the groups. Our findings support the development of tailored approaches to survivorship for these populations.
Validity of symptoms and radiographic features in predicting positive AFB smears in adolescents with tuberculosis.

SETTING A cohort of 78 adolescents was selected for evaluation with culture or histologically proven pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) from a tertiary paediatric facility in northern Taiwan. OBJECTIVE To assess the validity of clinical features and radiographic findings for predicting positive smears of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in adolescents with PTB. DESIGN A retrospective descriptive study of adolescents with a confirmed diagnosis of PTB. Clinical symptoms and chest radiographs were assessed. Univariate analysis identified risk factors suggestive of a positive AFB smear, and the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for these features was calculated using logistic regression. RESULTS Patients who were AFB smear-positive and those who were smear-negative differed significantly on univariate analysis (P < 0.05) with respect to chronic cough, haemoptysis, multilobar or superior segment of lower lobe involvement, cavitations or presence of pleural effusions. Logistic regression analysis revealed that risk factors of positive smear in adolescents with PTB were chronic cough >4 weeks (aOR 13.8, 95%CI 2.3-83.1), lower lobe involvement (aOR 12.6, 95%CI 1.2-134.8) and pulmonary cavitations (aOR 7.7, 95%CI 1.0-57.7). CONCLUSIONS For adolescents with PTB, those suffering from chronic cough for >4 weeks, with involvement of the superior segment of the lower lobe or with cavitary lesions, have a greater likelihood of transmitting tuberculosis due to smear positivity.
Oviposition and Longevity of Coccinella Sp. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on Artificial Diets

Coccinella sp. is a polyphagous predator which is potential to be developed into a biological control agent for aphids. The research was aimed to determine the oviposition and longevity of the adults predators when given artificial diets and various kinds of drinks. The experiment was performed by placing a pair of insect adults into a Petri dish, covered with a piece of filter paper, containing five mg of food made of ground honey bee larvae (Apis cerana) and then given a drink that is stored or absorbed on a sponge or a cotton swab as a treatment. There were nine treatments and each repeated three times. The results showed that significant differences among the treatments were present, both in the number of groups of eggs and the number of individual eggs produced by an adult predator. The highest number of eggs (323.7 eggs) and the number of egg groups (69.3) laid by an adult was found when the adult was presented with the artificial food and drink of sugar solution in the sponge. When the predator was supplied with the artificial food and water in a sponge, the lowest number of individual eggs and groups of eggs were laid, 65.00 eggs and 19.7 egg groups, respectively. Longevity of the female predator was the longest when given a drink of sugar solution compared to the other treatments. For mass-rearing of predator Coccinella sp. on artificial diet, drinks solution made of honey or sugar solution prepared in the sponge should be added.