Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Validation of three oscillometric blood pressure devices against auscultatory mercury sphygmomanometer in children

AimTo validate Welch-Allyn Vital Sign Monitor, Dinamap Procare-120 and Datascope Accutorr Plus against auscultatory mercury sphygmomanometer in children aged 5–15 years old according to the International Protocol of European Society of Hypertension adapted for validation in children. MethodOne hundred and thirty two children were studied (44 for each device; 67 boys, 65 girls). Each underwent seven sequential BP measurements on the right arm resting in the sitting position, alternately with the mercury sphygmomanometer read simultaneously by two independent, trained observers and the test device by a third observer. ResultsFor the Welch-Allyn monitor, the mean±SD of differences (device minus auscultatory BP) were −4.39±4.82 mmHg for systolic blood pressure and −4.1±7.07 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure. The device failed phase 2.1 for both systolic blood pressure (55, 91 and 98% were within 5, 10 and 15 mmHg, respectively) and diastolic blood pressure measurements (46, 82 and 95% were within 5, 10 and 15 mmHg, respectively). For the Dinamap device, the mean±SD of differences were −3.08±5.21 mmHg for systolic blood pressure and −4.61±9.35 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure. The device passed phase 2.1 for systolic blood pressure (71, 96 and 98% were within 5, 10 and 15 mmHg, respectively) but failed for diastolic blood pressure (51, 72 and 91% were within 5, 10, and 15 mmHg, respectively). For the Datascope device, mean±SD of differences were −0.9±4.33 mmHg for systolic blood pressure and −1.20±6.48 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure. The device passed phase 2.1 in that 84, 97 and 99% of systolic blood pressure, and 61, 89 and 97% of diastolic blood pressure readings were within 5, 10 and 15 mmHg, respectively. It also passed phase 2.2 for both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. ConclusionWe performed an independent validation of three oscillometric BP devices in children. Overall Datascope Accutorr Plus passed, whereas Welch-Allyn Vital Sign Monitor and Dinamap Procare-120 failed an adapted IP-ESH.
Prevalence of emotional and behavioral disorders in adolescents with asthma.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of emotional and behavioral disorders in adolescents with asthma and to compare it with that of adolescents without asthma. METHODS A transversal study using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, administered to adolescents with or without asthma, ranging from 14 to 16 years of age and randomly selected from schools in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. RESULTS The prevalence of emotional and behavioral disorders in adolescents with and without asthma was 20.4% (95% CI: 14.5-27.8%) and 9.0% (95% CI: 6.1-12.8%), respectively. Among adolescents with asthma, 56.6% (95% CI: 48.3-64.5%) presented normal scores, and 23.0% (95% CI 16.8-30.7%) presented borderline scores. Among adolescents without asthma, 75.0% (95% CI: 69.7-79.6%) presented normal scores, and 16.0% (95% CI: 12.2-20.7%) presented borderline scores. The median total score on the questionnaire was 14 and 12 among subjects with and without asthma, respectively (p < 0.01). In the final logistic regression model, adjusted for socioeconomic variables, the association between emotional/behavioral disorders and the following variables remained significant: being female (OR = 1.98; 95% CI: 1.10-3.56; p = 0.02) and having asthma (OR = 2.66; 95% CI: 1.52-4.64; p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of emotional and behavioral disorders is higher in adolescents with asthma than in those without asthma, underscoring the need for a holistic, interdisciplinary approach.
Patient and physician preferences for anticancer drugs for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer: a discrete-choice experiment

Objective Many publications describe preferences for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening; however, few studies elicited preferences for anticancer-drug treatment for metastatic CRC (mCRC). This study was designed to elicit preferences and risk tolerance among patients and oncologists in the USA for anticancer drugs to treat mCRC. Materials and methods Patients aged 18 years or older with a self-reported diagnosis of mCRC and board-certified (or equivalent) oncologists who had treated patients with mCRC were recruited by two survey research companies from existing online patient panels in the USA. Additional oncologists were recruited from a list of US physicians. Patients and oncologists completed a discrete-choice experiment (DCE) survey. DCEs offer a systematic method of eliciting preferences and quantifying both the relative importance of treatment attributes and the tradeoffs respondents are willing to make among benefits and risks. Treatment attributes in the DCE were progression-free survival (PFS) and risks of severe papulopustular rash, serious hemorrhage, cardiopulmonary arrest, and gastrointestinal perforation. Patients’ and physicians’ maximum levels of acceptable treatment-related risks for two prespecified increases in efficacy were estimated. Results A total of 127 patients and 150 oncologists completed the survey. Relative preferences for the treatment attributes in the study were mostly consistent with the expectation that better clinical outcomes were preferred over worse clinical outcomes. Risk tolerance varied between patients and physicians. On average, physicians were willing to tolerate higher risks than patients, although these differences were mostly not statistically significant. Post hoc latent-class analyses revealed that some patients and physicians were unwilling to forgo any efficacy to avoid toxicities, while others were willing to make such tradeoffs. Conclusion Differences in preferences between patients and physicians suggest that there is the potential for improvement in patients’ well-being. Initiating or enhancing discussions about patient tolerance for toxicities, such as skin rash and gastrointestinal perforations, may help prescribe treatments that entail more appropriate benefit–risk tradeoffs.
CNIDARIAN‐DERIVED FILAMENTOUS FUNGI FROM BRAZIL: ISOLATION, CHARACTERISATION AND RBBR DECOLOURISATION SCREENING

Abstract Marine‐derived fungi represent a valuable source of structurally novel and biologically active metabolites of industrial interest. They also have drawn attention for their capacity to degrade several pollutants, including textile dyes, organochlorides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), among others. The fungal tolerance to higher concentrations of salt might be considered an advantage for bioremediation processes in the marine environment. Therefore, filamentous fungi were isolated from cnidarians (scleractinian coral and zoanthids) collected from the north coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. A total of 144 filamentous fungi were morphologically and molecularly characterised. Among them there were several species of Penicillium and Aspergillus, in addition to Cladosporium spp. , Eutypella sp. , Fusarium spp. , Khuskia sp. , Mucor sp. , Peacilomyces sp. , Phoma sp. and Trichoderma spp. These fungi were tested regarding their decolourisation activity for Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR), a textile dye used as an initial screening for PAH‐degrading fungi. The most efficient fungi for RBBR decolourisation after 12 days were Penicillium citrinum CBMAI 853 (100%), Aspergillus sulphureus CBMAI 849 (95%), Cladosporium cladosporioides CBMAI 857 (93%) and Trichoderma sp. CBMAI 852 (89%). Besides its efficiency for dye decolourisation within liquid media, C. cladosporioides CBMAI 857 also decolourised dye on solid media, forming a decolourisation halo. Further research on the biotechnological potential, including studies on PAH metabolism, of these selected fungi are in progress.
A Dynamic Programming Approach for QoS-Aware Power Management in Wireless Video Sensor Networks

Limited battery power at wireless video sensor nodes, along with the transmission quality requirements for video data, makes quality-of-service (QoS) provisioning in a wireless video sensor network a very challenging task. In this paper, a dynamic power-management framework is proposed for a wireless video sensor node to improve the energy-saving performance while satisfying video transmission quality requirements. This framework is developed based on a Markov decision process that considers the video traffic arrival process in the sensor node, the sleep and wakeup processes in the camera and wireless transceiver electronics, the queue status, and the wireless channel condition. A dynamic programming approach is used to find the optimum policy to achieve the desired performance measures in an energy-limited sensor node.
The Progress of Humane Experimental Technique since 1959: A Personal View a

This is very much a personal interpretation of the Three Rs and the efforts by scientists connected with the more humane use of animals. It is intended to illustrate that scientists are given a job to do and, if it involves animals, they have little choice but to use them. It is also intended to illustrate that so many of those so involved are the very people who have made gigantic efforts in finding ways of replacing, reducing and/or refining techniques which require animals.
Homelessness and Health in Adolescents

Despite an abundance of resources, many of the world's wealthiest nations have a large homeless population. People at all stages of development are affected by this problem, but adolescents who are homeless face a unique set of challenges. In this critical narrative study the authors examined the experiences of homeless adolescents with particular attention to the role of gender and public policy, health experiences and perceptions, and barriers to health care services. Six girls and 7 boys participated in semistructured dialogic interviews. Their stories revealed that living without a home had a substantial impact on their health and wellness. The findings from this study support the need for health care professionals to work in collaboration with homeless youth so that more effective care that is sensitive to their unique health needs can be provided.
Related Party Transactions in India and Their Impact on Reported Earnings

ABSTRACT:A review of published financial reports of listed companies in India shows a large presence of related party transactions (RPTs). These transactions can be useful to the company through long-term sales or purchase contracts with these related parties. However, such transactions are often misused by company management to alter and influence reported earnings. This study focuses on the relationship of related party transactions (RPTs) with earnings using a sample of 66 non-financial listed companies, for the period 2009 to 2015. The companies selected are those listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and belong to the BSE 100 index. The study is conducted with two types of listed companies: Group and Non-Group companies. The data on related party transactions for sales, advances, loans to related parties and receivables outstanding has been obtained from the CMIE-Prowess database. The study reviews the impact of sales and loans/advances made to related parties on the earnings reported by the company. It further evaluates the influence of outstanding amounts due from related parties on bad debts/write-offs reported in the following year. Panel data regression is used to test the models. The study confirms that sales made to related parties impact earnings positively for both types of companies, whereas loans and advances to related parties have a mixed impact on earnings depending on the type of the company, Group or non-Group Company. Bad debts reported in the current period, have a positive relationship with amounts due from related parties in the previous period, an indication of diversion of funds. The results show that RPTs are being used extensively by companies for different reasons and there is a need to have regulations to control these transactions and enforce enhanced disclosure requirements. Companies should disclose what percentage of the total transactions related to sales, purchase, loans, and advances are made to related parties and publish them with prior years data. In their financial reports, companies should inform stakeholders if these transactions have increased or decreased in the financial year with explanatory notes.
The way we view cellular (glyco)sphingolipids

Mammalian cells synthesize ceramide in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and convert this to sphingomyelin and complex glycosphingolipids on the inner, non‐cytosolic surface of Golgi cisternae. From there, these lipids travel towards the outer, non‐cytosolic surface of the plasma membrane and all membranes of the endocytic system, where they are eventually degraded. At the basis of the selective, anterograde traffic out of the Golgi lies the propensity of the sphingolipids to self‐aggregate with cholesterol into microdomains termed ‘lipid rafts’. At the plasma membrane surface these rafts are thought to function as the scaffold for various types of (glyco) signaling domains of different protein and lipid composition that can co‐exist on one and the same cell. In the past decade, various unexpected findings on the sites where sphingolipid‐mediated events occur have thrown a new light on the localization and transport mechanisms of sphingolipids. These findings are largely based on biochemical experiments. Further progress in the field is hampered by a lack of morphological techniques to localize lipids with nanometer resolution. In the present paper, we critically evaluate the published data and discuss techniques and potential improvements.
Cold, clumpy accretion toward an active supermassive black hole

Grant R. Tremblay1,2,†, J. B. Raymond Oonk3,4, Françoise Combes5, Philippe Salomé5, Christopher O’Dea6,7, Stefi A. Baum6,8, G. Mark Voit9, Megan Donahue9, Brian R. McNamara10, Timothy A. Davis11,2,‡, Michael A. McDonald12, Alastair C. Edge13, Tracy E. Clarke14, Roberto Galván-Madrid15,2, Malcolm N. Bremer16, Louise O. V. Edwards1, Andrew C. Fabian17, Stephen Hamer5, Yuan Li18, Anaëlle Maury19, Helen Russell17, Alice C. Quillen20, C. Megan Urry1, Jeremy S. Sanders21, Michael Wise3
Formaldehyde Removal from Air by Adsorption - Photooxidation Technology

The experiments of formaldehyde (HCHO) removal from air were performed with photooxidation technology, adsorption technology, and photooxidation-adsorption technology respectively. According to results of experiments, the photooxidation-adsorption technology had the best removal efficiency of HCHO than two others, and the relative air humidity played an important role to these technologies. After the photooxidation-adsorption treatment, the concentration of HCHO was from 0.21mg/m3 down to 0.05mg/ m3 at relative humidity 80%.
Treatment patterns and factors associated with the use of everolimus among post-menopausal women with HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer: a retrospective US claims study

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the real-world use of everolimus in the treatment of hormone-receptor-positive/human-epidermal-growth-factor-receptor-2-negative (HR+/HER2-) metastatic-breast-cancer (mBC). Methods: Postmenopausal women with HR+/HER2- mBC who initiated a new therapy for mBC between 20 July 2012 and 31 March 2014 after a non-steroidal-aromatase-inhibitor were identified from two commercial claims databases. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with everolimus use versus endocrine-monotherapy or chemotherapy. Dosing patterns and adherence to everolimus were summarized. Results: A total of 940 everolimus, 6,134 endocrine-monotherapy, and 3,410 chemotherapy regimens were included across patients’ first four lines of therapy. Patients with bone and visceral metastases were more likely to use everolimus versus endocrine-monotherapy. Patients with more comorbidities, visceral or central-nervous-system metastases, and prior chemotherapy use for mBC were less likely to use everolimus versus chemotherapy. Approximately 80% of patients initiated everolimus at label-recommended-dose of 10 mg daily; 60–70% of patients had a medical possession ratio >0.8 to everolimus, and consistently high adherence was observed across lines of therapy. Conclusions: For HR+/HER2- mBC, patients treated with everolimus had more severe disease than patients treated with endocrine-monotherapy but less severe disease than patients treated with chemotherapy. Most patients used everolimus according to label-recommended dose and adherence was high across lines of therapy.
Proposed Methodology for Knowledge Acquisition: A Study on Congenital Heart Disease Diagnosis

Abstract “Knowledge and human power are synonymous, since the ignorance of the cause frustrates the effect:…“ Francis Bacon1 This paper proposes a methodology for knowledge acquisition (KA) from multiple experts, in an attempt to elicit the heuristic rules followed by the physician in diagnosing twelve frequently occurring congenital heart diseases (CHD). Twenty-two pediatric cardiologists and twenty-three general cardiologists were interviewed with this technique; 274 interviews were conducted, 169 with the 22 experts, 105 with the 23 non-experts. A graph formalism was employed to represent their reasoning model, leading to the construction of a “mean reasoning model” for each diagnosis, separately for experts and non-experts. The results indicate that experts, compared to non-experts, tend to build knowledge representation models (KRM) that are smaller and less complex. Qualitative differences in information utilization between the two groups were also observed. Entropy analysis suggests a greater objectivity and cohesion of the experts’ model.
The new productivity challenge.

"The single greatest challenge facing managers in the developed countries of the world is to raise the productivity of knowledge and service workers," writes Peter F. Drucker in "The New Productivity Challenge. " Productivity, says Drucker, ultimately defeated Karl Marx; it gave common laborers the chance to earn the wages of skilled workers. Now five distinct steps will raise the productivity of knowledge and service workers--and not only stimulate new economic growth but also defuse rising social tensions.
The commissioning of the GEM detector for the muon apparatus of the LHCb experiment

The 24 triple-GEM detectors for the innermost region of the first muon station (M1R1) of the LHCb experiment are ready to be installed. The major challenges have been the improvement of the time performance in terms of efficiency of the bunch crossing identification and a high radiation hardness in the harsh environment typical of LHC experiments. During the R&D phase we demonstrated, with several laboratory and beam tests, that GEMs operated with an Ar/CO2/CF4 (45/15/40) gas mixture can achieve a time resolution below 3 ns r.m. s, giving an efficiency better than 96% in 25 ns time window. A rate capability better than 50 MHz/cm2 and a robustness against discharges (tests with alpha and low momentum particles at PSI ) have been measured. A severe global irradiation test of the final detector has been required to study the compatibility of the construction materials with the gas mixture, showing that the detector survives, without permanent damages and serious performance losses, after an integrated charge of 2.2 C/cm2, corresponding to 12 years of LHCb. The construction of chambers, based on an innovative stretching technique of the GEM foils, has been realized in a class 1000 clean room. Quality control of components and the HV test of GEM foil, as well as the gas leak test and X-ray tomography of the detectors have been performed. The performances of the final GEM detector, integrated with the front-end electronics based on the CARIOCA-GEM chip, have been measured with the LHCb DAQ electronic chain in a recent beam test at the SPS operated with a 25 ns time structure, similar to the LHC running condition. The results demonstrate that the GEMs fulfill the experiment requirements with a safe working range of 90 V corresponding to a factor of 4 in gain.
Progesterone receptors in normal, dysplastic and tumourous feline mammary glands. Comparison with oestrogen receptors status.

The aims of the study were to standardise an immunohistochemical (IHC) method for the detection of progesterone receptors (PR) on formalin-fixed, paraffin wax-embedded tissue sections of feline mammary gland tumours and dysplasias, comparing the results with those obtained using the radiolabelled ligand dextran coated charcoal (DCC) assay applied to frozen tissue samples from the same cases. Also, to define the immunohistochemical distribution of PR in the different cellular compartments of the lesions and to compare the oestrogen receptor (ER) and PR status of the feline mammary lesions. Proliferative mammary lesions collected from 34 cats were studied; 25 malignant tumours and 9 benign tumours and dysplasias. PR protein was present at a concentration of 5 fmol mg(-1) (positivity threshold) in 37.5 per cent of malignant tumours and 66.7 per cent of benign tumours and dysplasias while immunoreative products to PR antibody were found in the nuclei of tumour cells in 38.5 per cent and 66.7 per cent of the cases, respectively. Concordance between DCC-PR and IHC-PR was 88.5 per cent (P<0.001). The specificity (true negatives) and sensitivity (true positives) of the IHC method were 89.4 per cent and 87.5 per cent respectively. The presence of PR was linked to the absence of ovariectomy (P<0.02). Oestrogen receptors, detected by either method, were also detected in half the cases in which PR had been detected. In malignant tumours, the most prevalent groups were the ER + PR + and ER-PR + groups.
Functional analyses of the CIF1–CIF2 complex in trypanosomes identify the structural motifs required for cytokinesis

ABSTRACT Cytokinesis in trypanosomes occurs uni-directionally along the longitudinal axis from the cell anterior towards the cell posterior and requires a trypanosome-specific CIF1–CIF2 protein complex. However, little is known about the contribution of the structural motifs in CIF1 and CIF2 to complex assembly and cytokinesis. Here, we demonstrate that the two zinc-finger motifs but not the coiled-coil motif in CIF1 are required for interaction with the EF-hand motifs in CIF2. We further show that localization of CIF1 depends on the coiled-coil motif and the first zinc-finger motif and that localization of CIF2 depends on the EF-hand motifs. Deletion of the coiled-coil motif and mutation of either zinc-finger motif in CIF1 disrupts cytokinesis. Furthermore, mutation of either zinc-finger motif in CIF1 mislocalizes CIF2 to the cytosol and destabilizes CIF2, whereas deletion of the coiled-coil motif in CIF1 spreads CIF2 over to the new flagellum attachment zone and stabilizes CIF2. Together, these results uncover the requirement of the coiled-coil and zinc-finger motifs for CIF1 function in cytokinesis and for CIF2 localization and stability, providing structural insights into the functional interplay between the two cytokinesis regulators. Summary: The trypanosome CIF1 zinc-finger motifs are essential for CIF1–CIF2 complex assembly, and along with the coiled-coil motifs in CIF1 are required for initiation of cytokinesis.