Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nurse-administered propofol sedation for gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures: first Nordic results from implementation of a structured training program

Abstract Introduction. Proper training to improve safety of NAPS (nurse-administered propofol sedation) is essential. Objective. To communicate our experience with a training program of NAPS. Materials and methods. In 2007, a training program was introduced for endoscopists and endoscopy nurses in collaboration with the Department of Anaesthesiology. During a 2.5-year period, eight nurses were trained. Propofol was given as monotherapy. The training program for nurses consisted of a 6-week course including theoretical and practical training whereas the training program for endoscopists consisted of 2.5 h of theory. Patients were selected based on strict criteria including patients in ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) group I–III. Results. 2527 patients undergoing 2.656 gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures were included. The patients were ASA group I, II and III in 34.7%, 56% and 9,3%, respectively. Median dose of propofol was 300 mg. No mortality was noted. 119 of 2527 patients developed short lasting hypoxia (4.7%); 61 (2.4%) needed suction; 22 (0.9%) required bag-mask ventilation and 8 (0.3%) procedures had to be discontinued. In 11 patients (0.4%), anesthetic assistance was called due to short lasting desaturation. 34 patients (1.3%) experienced a change in blood pressure greater than 30%. Conclusion. NAPS provided by properly trained nurses according to the present protocol is safe and only associated with a minor risk (short lasting hypoxia 4.7%). National or international structured training programs are at present few or non-existing. The present training program has documented its value and is suggested as the basis for the current development of guidelines.
SEX RATIO AND DENSITY AFFECT SEXUAL SELECTION IN A SEX‐ROLE REVERSED FISH

Understanding how demographic processes influence mating systems is important to decode ecological influences on sexual selection in nature. We manipulated sex ratio and density in experimental populations of the sex‐role reversed pipefish Syngnathus typhle. We quantified sexual selection using the Bateman gradient ( β ss ′ ), the opportunity for selection (I), and sexual selection (Is), and the maximum standardized sexual selection differential ( smax′ ). We also measured selection on body length using standardized selection differentials (s′) and mating differentials (m′), and tested whether the observed I and Is differ from values obtained by simulating random mating. We found that I, Is, and s ' max , but not β ss ' , were higher for females under female than male bias and the opposite for males, but density did not affect these measures. However, higher density decreased sexual selection (m′ but not s′) on female length, but selection on body length was not affected by sex ratio. Finally, Is but not I was higher than expected from random mating, and only for females under female bias. This study demonstrates that both sex ratio and density affect sexual selection and that disentangling interrelated demographic processes is essential to a more complete understanding of mating behavior and the evolution of mating systems.
An Empirical Study of Testing and Integration Strategies Using Artificial Software Systems

There has been much discussion about the merits of various testing and integration strategies. Top-down, bottom-up, big-bang, and sandwich integration strategies are advocated by various authors. Also, some authors insist that modules be unit tested, while others believe that unit testing diverts resources from more effective verification processes. This article addresses the ability of the aforementioned integration strategies to detect defects, and produce reliable systems. It also explores the efficacy of spot unit testing, and compares phased and incremental versions of top-down and bottom-up integration strategies. Relatively large artificial software systems were constructed using a code generator with ten basic module templates. These systems were seeded with known defects and tested using the above testing and integration strategies. A number of experiments were then conducted using a simulator whose validity was established by comparing results against these artificial systems. The defect detection ability and resulting system reliability were measured for each strategy. Results indicated that top-down integration strategies are generally most effective in terms of defect correction. Top-down and big-bang strategies produced the most reliable systems. Results favored neither those strategies that incorporate spot unit testing nor those that do not; also, results favored neither phased nor incremental strategies. >
HMGIC expression in human adult and fetal tissues and in uterine leiomyomata

The high‐mobility‐group (HMG) protein gene, HMGIC, is localized to chromosome 12, band q15, a region often rearranged in benign mesenchymal tumors, including uterine leiomyomata. Although some evidence suggests a role in regulation of cell proliferation, the precise function of HMGIC in the development or progression of these tumors remains unclear. We investigated HMGIC expression in 17 fetal tissues (adrenal, aorta, bone, brain, heart, intestine, kidney, liver, lung, muscle, ovary, placenta, skin, spleen, stomach, testis, and uterus) and 10 adult tissues (aorta, brain, cerebellum, fat, kidney, liver, lung, lymph node, myometrium, and spinal cord) by Northern blot and reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) assays. Comparisons between HMGIC gene expression in tumor samples from 11 uterine leiomyomata and 7 normal matched myometrium or in vitro cell cultures (chorionic villi, placenta, myometrium, leiomyoma, and skin) were also performed. The gene was expressed in all fetal tissues tested but only in adult lung and kidney. HMGIC was also expressed in leiomyoma tumor samples containing t(12;14) and in all in vitro cell cultures. The pattern of HMGIC expression suggests that this gene is important in rapidly proliferating human fetal tissues. Restoration of expression in leiomyomata required dysregulation of HMGIC. Transcripts of HMGIC can also be detected after in vitro cell culture, suggesting that HMGIC expression may be affected by factors present in culture media and serum. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 25:316–322, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Site-specific measurement of the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) of individual NiFe/Pt multilayers nanowires

As devices shrink, there is a requirement to characterize the magnetic properties of individual inhomogeneous nanosized components. Here the site-specific giant magnetoresistance (GMR) of individual NiFe/Pt multilayer nanowires has been evaluated in the current perpendicular to plane (CPP) geometry using a new in-situ method directly inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In this method a controlled magnetic field is produced directly inside the SEM using a custom designed electromagnet. Two nanomanipulators equipped with sharp tips enable the site-specific measurement of the resistance of individual nanowires in the gap between the coils as the field is varied. The CPP-GMR measurement of ~70 nm diameter individual NiFe/Pt multilayer nanowires shows that, at 500 Oe, the nanowires have a magnetoresistance effect of up to 5.8 % dependant on the nanowire layer thicknesses and magnetic field orientation. This in-situ method of GMR measurement enables precise nanocharacterisation of magnetoresistance of nanowires as a function of local nanowire microstructure, geometry, length, and field orientation, whilst concurrently allowing the observation of any changes to the microstructure.
Preparation of Fluorescent Tellurium Nanowires at Room Temperature

We have demonstrated a simple approach to the synthesis of fluorescent trigonal tellurium (t-Te) nanowires in aqueous solution at room temperature. The t-Te nanowires were prepared from the reduction of tellurium dioxide (TeO2) with concentrated hydrazine solution through deposition of Te atoms that were reduced from telluride ions (Te2−) and dissolved from amorphous tellurium (a-Te) nanoparticles onto t-Te nanocrystallines. By carefully controlling the growth time from 40 to 120 min, we prepared different sizes of t-Te nanowires; the length changed from 251 to 879 nm, while the diameter only grew from 8 to 19 nm. The absorption wavelength against the diameter of t-Te nanowires displays the diameter dependence of band I ( 600 nm). By increasing the size of t-Te nanowires, their absorption is under a red shift. For example, the maximum wavelengths of the absorption bands fo.
Synaptotagmin VII Is Targeted to Secretory Organelles in PC12 Cells, Where It Functions as a High-Affinity Calcium Sensor

ABSTRACT Synaptotagmin (syt) I is thought to act as a Ca2+ sensor that regulates neuronal exocytosis. Fifteen additional isoforms of syt have been identified, but their functions are less well understood. Here, we used PC12 cells to test the idea that different isoforms of syt impart cells with distinct metal (i.e., Ca2+, Ba2+, and Sr2+) requirements for secretion. These cells express syt's I and IX (syt IX sometimes referred to as syt V), which have low apparent metal affinities, at much higher levels than syt VII, which we show has a relatively high apparent affinity for metals. We found that syt I and VII partially colocalize on large dense core vesicles and that upregulation of syt VII produces a concomitant increase in the divalent cation sensitivity of catecholamine release from PC12 cells. Furthermore, RNA interference-mediated knockdown of endogenous syt VII reduced the metal sensitivity of release. These data support the hypothesis that the complement of syt's expressed by a cell, in conjunction with their metal affinity, determines the divalent cation sensitivity of exocytosis.
Mini-Suffering State Examination: Suffering and Survival of End-of-Life Cancer Patients in a Hospice Setting

The objective of this study was to evaluate suffering of end-of-life cancer patients during their final hospice stay and the possible interrelations with survival. A cohort of consecutive patients hospitalized in an inpatient cancer hospice of a tertiary hospital was used for this study. Patients were evaluated upon admission and once weekly by the Mini-Suffering State Examination (MSSE). The distribution of patients for each MSSE score group, changes in MSSE scores (total and for each item of scale), and MSSE interrelation with clinical parameters associated with patients' condition during hospitalization were studied. In addition, the interrelation of MSSE score and survival was examined. Documentation of a high suffering level by the MSSE scale helps in identifying end-of-life cancer patients expected to benefit from enrollment in a hospice setting, provides quantitative information about various symptom dimensions, and may improve medical management and facilitate communication between these patients and caregivers.
Formaldehyde as a Potential Human Leukemogen: An Assessment of Biological Plausibility

The International Agency for Research on Cancer () recently reevaluated the epidemiological data on formaldehyde and concluded that there was “strong but not sufficient evidence for a causal association between leukaemia and occupational exposure to formaldehyde. ” This conclusion was tempered since a mechanism for leukemia induction could not be identified. Chemically induced leukemia is a well-studied phenomenon with benzene and a number of cancer chemotherapeutic drugs recognized as capable of causing this effect. Abundant in vitro and in vivo data in animals and humans demonstrate that exposure to sufficient doses of these recognized leukemogens can initiate a cascade of events leading to hematopoietic toxicity and the subsequent development of leukemia. This review addresses the biological plausibility that formaldehyde might be capable of causing any type of leukemia by providing a broad overview of the scientific data that must be considered in order to support or refute a conclusion that a particular substance might be leukemogenic. Data on benzene and selected chemotherapeutic cancer drugs are used as examples and are briefly summarized to demonstrate the similar biological events thought to result in leukemogenesis. These data are compared and contrasted with the available data on formaldehyde in order to judge whether they fulfill the criteria of biological plausibility that formaldehyde would be capable of inducing leukemia as suggested by the epidemiological data. Based on the epidemiological data, it is reasonable to expect that if formaldehyde was capable of inducing leukemia, in vivo and in vitro data would offer supporting evidence for biological plausibility. In particular, there is (1) no evidence to suggest that formaldehyde reaches any target organ beyond the site of administration including the bone marrow, (2) no indication that formaldehyde is toxic to the bone marrow/hematopoietic system in in vivo or in vitro studies, and (3) no credible evidence that formaldehyde induces leukemia in experimental animals. As discussed in this review, based on the key biological events that occur in the process of chemically induced leukemia, there is inadequate biological evidence currently available to corroborate existing weak epidemiological associations. This provides an insufficient database to conclude that there is a causal relationship for formaldehyde and leukemia risk.
CSR as Reputation Insurance: Primum Non Nocere

An overlooked but important benefit of CSR is to insure a firm against a decline in reputation in the face of adverse events. Through a case study and a multi-year analysis of stock price responses for S&P 500 companies following product recalls, we find that firms that have high CSR ratings fare better than those that do not. Furthermore, a firm that is exceptional in both doing good and avoiding harm suffers virtually no reputational damage following negative media publicity. Using the results of this study, we offer a guide to managers for determining the appropriate amount and mix of CSR activities.
Phonological Restriction Knowledge in Dyslexia: Universal or Language-Specific?

Developmental dyslexia is the most studied and well-documented of the specific learning disabilities in school-age children across languages, which reaches from 5-to-17.5% individuals (e.g., Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 2005; Snowling, 2001). There is now a consensus that developmental dyslexia stems from a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder that does not depend on inadequate intellectual or educational backgrounds (e.g., Lyon, Shaywitz, & Shaywitz, 2003; Sprenger-Charolles, Cole, Lacert, & Serniclaes, 2000; Vellutino, Fletcher, Snowling, & Scanlon, 2004). There is considerable evidence for a phonological deficit as the major correlate of language disabilities in dyslexia, which underpins the cognitive disorder (e.g., Ramus, Rosen, Dakin, Day, Castellote, White, & Frith, 2003; Ziegler & Goswami, 2005). However, an outstanding, long-lasting question that remains unclear, even unanswered, is what underlies the phonological deficit in dyslexia (e.g., Ramus, 2001). Three main directions have been proposed to account for the phonological deficit: 1) limited phonological short-term memory; 2) degraded, under-specified or, conversely, overspecified phonological representations; 3) speech perception disorders. However, the degraded, under-specified phonological representation hypothesis that is basically referred to accounts for the dyslexics’ phonological deficit has been recently challenged: it has been suggested that the dyslexics’ phonological deficit relies on difficulties to store, access, and retrieve the phonological representations (e.g., Ahissar, 2007; Ramus & Szenkovits, 2008; Szenkovits & Ramus, 2005). To date, to reconcile both views, it has been proposed that the phonological deficit results in multi-dimensional difficulties that include difficulties to learn and manipulate the speech units as well as difficulties to store, access, and retrieve the phonological representations (e.g., Snowling, 2001; Ziegler, Castel, Pech-Geogel, George, Alario, & Perry, 2008). Despite this tentative proposal, there is no consensus. Here, I propose to draw an up-to-date portrait of an alternative option that has not been studied so far to disentangle whether another possible source of the phonological deficit in dyslexia may be envisaged: Are dyslexics sensitive to universal phonological knowledge?
Helping patients access high quality health information

The provision of consumer health information was pioneered in the United States: organisations such as Planetree (a not for profit, community based healthcare initiative) were among the first to provide information services.1 Over the years several organisations in the United Kingdom—including the College of Health, the Help for Health Trust, the Health Education Authority, the Health Education Board for Scotland, and self help groups—have provided information on a wide range of health topics directly to patients or consumers. Similar initiatives have been undertaken in Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.2 More recently, developments in Britain such as local consumer health information services, the Patient Partnership Strategy,3 and initiatives at the King's Fund4 5 have improved awareness of and access to evidence based consumer health information. These developments have come at a time when the amount of health information is increasing, particularly through the internet—and amid increasing concern about the varying quality of health information accessed by patients. We outline some steps to help health professionals advise patients on where to find good quality health information in this rapidly changing field. #### Summary points Patients require access to good quality, evidence based information so they can take an active part in decisions about their health care The amount of information available to patients is increasing, particularly through the internet The quality of this information remains variable Health professionals need to be able to direct patients to sources of good quality consumer health information, including health related websites Some of the organisations in the United Kingdom that are funded to provide health information for patients and the public are listed in box 1. ### The internet The internet offers access to health information provided by many different organisations and agencies Several providers offer gateway services that operate a selective process, only including information …
Prevention of ochratoxin A in commodities and likely effects of processing fractionation and animal feeds

Whenever possible, preventing the formation of ochratoxin A (OTA) in susceptible food commodities such as cereals, grapes and coffee beans should be the primary aim. Each product tends to host a specific OTA-producing mould so that the environmental conditions and factors that encourage the subsequent formation of OTA need to be understood. Codes of Practice for prevention and management of OTA are being developed and can be used in conjunction with a HACCP approach to protect the end consumer, in line with EU statutory limits. If prevention fails, an understanding of how concentrations change during the whole food chain may be useful in minimizing the concentrations reaching the consumer. OTA is quite heat stable under neutral conditions but may be partly broken down, e.g. in extrusion processing. In milling or other separation procedures, OTA will be concentrated or reduced in the resulting components. By-products such as ‘cleanings’ or bran may contain high concentrations and are often used for animal feed. Introduction of guideline or statutory maximum concentrations for feed within the EU makes it essential that concentrations of ochratoxin A in such by-products are acceptable. This paper reviews recent literature and findings from recent 5th Framework EU-funded projects.
Ovarian Cancer: The Role of Functional Imaging as an End Point in Clinical Trials

The Gynaecological Cancer InterGroup conducts collaborative trials in gynecologic cancer and also aims to develop standards that can be used to strengthen all aspects of study methodology. There is an urgent need to develop more refined imaging end points that can be used as early treatment response biomarkers in ovarian cancer. Therefore, the Gynaecological Cancer InterGroup commissioned an expert position paper on the role of functional imaging as an end point in clinical trials in ovarian cancer. In this position paper, we state the limitation of current anatomical imaging methods used in clinical trials, highlight the potential of functional imaging, and provide key recommendations on the use of functional imaging as an end point in ovarian cancer clinical trials.
Augmentation of leptin and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α mRNAs in the pre-eclamptic placenta

The placenta is a major source of leptin in the fetomaternal circulation, although its physiological role remains to be clarified. Leptin in the fetomaternal circulation is proposed to be a marker of acute stress in the fetus, and the fetus suffering from pre-eclampsia would be under chronic stress. In 16 pre-eclamptic placentas, the expressions of leptin, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) and leptin receptor mRNAs were analyzed by semi-quantitative reverse-transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction and compared with clinical data. The co-expressions of leptin and the isoforms of the leptin receptor were observed in all the pre-eclamptic placentas. Leptin mRNA was significantly augmented in the pre-eclamptic placentas, although the level in fetal plasma was not high. The level of the expression of leptin mRNA was correlated with the placental HIF1α mRNA level and fetal body weight, but not with the levels of the leptin receptor isoforms in the pre-eclamptic placentas. This observation may suggest that autocrine/paracrine regulation of leptin exists in the human placenta and is up-regulated in the pre-eclamptic placenta.
Hippocampal and anterior cingulate activation deficits in patients with geriatric depression.

OBJECTIVE The authors assessed frontotemporal function in patients with geriatric depression, a debilitating and increasingly prevalent disorder that has not been examined with brain activation paradigms. METHOD Six depressed elderly patients and five healthy comparison subjects underwent high-sensitivity [(15)O]H(2)O positron emission tomography scans during a paced word generation task and a resting condition. RESULTS Bilateral activation deficits were noted in the dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus and hippocampus of the depressed geriatric patients relative to the comparison subjects. Patients had memory deficits that correlated with lower hippocampal activity during both rest and activation. CONCLUSIONS These initial findings suggest that hippocampal and dorsal anterior cingulate hypoactivation may constitute contributing neural substrates of geriatric depression. They also suggest that hippocampal dysfunction is related to the memory dysfunction characteristic of this disorder.