Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nurses' beliefs about nursing diagnosis: A study with cluster analysis

AIMS To identify clusters of nurses in relation to their beliefs about nursing diagnosis among two populations (Italian and Spanish); to investigate differences among clusters of nurses in each population considering the nurses' socio-demographic data, attitudes towards nursing diagnosis, intentions to make nursing diagnosis and actual behaviours in making nursing diagnosis. BACKGROUND Nurses' beliefs concerning nursing diagnosis can influence its use in practice but this is still unclear. DESIGN A cross-sectional design. METHODS A convenience sample of nurses in Italy and Spain was enrolled. Data were collected between 2014-2015 using tools, that is, a socio-demographic questionnaire and behavioural, normative and control beliefs, attitudes, intentions and behaviours scales. RESULTS The sample included 499 nurses (272 Italians & 227 Spanish). Of these, 66.5% of the Italian and 90.7% of the Spanish sample were female. The mean age was 36.5 and 45.2 years old in the Italian and Spanish sample respectively. Six clusters of nurses were identified in Spain and four in Italy. Three clusters were similar among the two populations. Similar significant associations between age, years of work, attitudes towards nursing diagnosis, intentions to make nursing diagnosis and behaviours in making nursing diagnosis and cluster membership in each population were identified. CONCLUSION Belief profiles identified unique subsets of nurses that have distinct characteristics. Categorizing nurses by belief patterns may help administrators and educators to tailor interventions aimed at improving nursing diagnosis use in practice.
The Excitotoxin Quinolinic Acid Induces Tau Phosphorylation in Human Neurons

Some of the tryptophan catabolites produced through the kynurenine pathway (KP), and more particularly the excitotoxin quinolinic acid (QA), are likely to play a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have previously shown that the KP is over activated in AD brain and that QA accumulates in amyloid plaques and within dystrophic neurons. We hypothesized that QA in pathophysiological concentrations affects tau phosphorylation. Using immunohistochemistry, we found that QA is co-localized with hyperphosphorylated tau (HPT) within cortical neurons in AD brain. We then investigated in vitro the effects of QA at various pathophysiological concentrations on tau phosphorylation in primary cultures of human neurons. Using western blot, we found that QA treatment increased the phosphorylation of tau at serine 199/202, threonine 231 and serine 396/404 in a dose dependent manner. Increased accumulation of phosphorylated tau was also confirmed by immunocytochemistry. This increase in tau phosphorylation was paralleled by a substantial decrease in the total protein phosphatase activity. A substantial decrease in PP2A expression and modest decrease in PP1 expression were observed in neuronal cultures treated with QA. These data clearly demonstrate that QA can induce tau phosphorylation at residues present in the PHF in the AD brain. To induce tau phosphorylation, QA appears to act through NMDA receptor activation similar to other agonists, glutamate and NMDA. The QA effect was abrogated by the NMDA receptor antagonist memantine. Using PCR arrays, we found that QA significantly induces 10 genes in human neurons all known to be associated with AD pathology. Of these 10 genes, 6 belong to pathways involved in tau phosphorylation and 4 of them in neuroprotection. Altogether these results indicate a likely role of QA in the AD pathology through promotion of tau phosphorylation. Understanding the mechanism of the neurotoxic effects of QA is essential in developing novel therapeutic strategies for AD.
Estimating the Associations between Snap and Food Insecurity, Obesity, and Food Purchases with Imperfect Administrative Measures of Participation

Administrative data are considered the “gold standard” when measuring program participation, but little evidence exists on the potential problems with administrative records or their implications for econometric estimates. We explore issues with administrative data using the FoodAPS, a unique dataset that contains two different administrative measures of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation as well as a survey-based measure. We first document substantial ambiguity in the two administrative participation variables and show that they disagree with each other almost as often as they disagree with self-reported participation. Estimated participation and misreporting rates can be meaningfully sensitive to choices made to resolve this ambiguity and disagreement. We then document similar sensitivity in regression estimates of the associations between SNAP and food insecurity, obesity, and the Healthy Eating Index. These results serve as a cautionary tale about uncritically relying on linked administrative records when conducting program evaluation research.
Immune functions in untreated and treated multiple sclerosis patients

Multiple sclerosis is probably mainly mediated by T-helper I (T H 1 Mymphocytes. T H l-function can be down-regulated in vitro and in animal experiments by pentoxifylline. Therefore, we included 20 multiple sclerosis patients in an open label pilot trial of pentoxifylline. Outcome parameter was the effect of treatment on levels of various cytokines and adhesion molecules in cerebrospinal fluid and serum, on production of T H 1-and T H 2-cytokines using cell stimulation assays, as well as on measures of T-cell activation and proliferation. Kurtzke's EDSS was a secondary efficacy parameter. A convincing and consistent effect of pentoxifylline could not be demonstrated
The GIRK1 subunit potentiates G protein activation of cardiac GIRK1/4 hetero-tetramers

G protein gated inward rectifier potassium (GIRK) channels are gated by direct binding of G protein beta-gamma subunits (Gβγ), signaling lipids, and intracellular Na+. In cardiac pacemaker cells, hetero-tetramer GIRK1/4 channels and homo-tetramer GIRK4 channels play a central role in parasympathetic slowing of heart rate. It is known that the Na+ binding site of the GIRK1 subunit is defective, but the functional difference between GIRK1/4 hetero-tetramers and GIRK4 homo-tetramers remains unclear. Here, using purified proteins and the lipid bilayer system, we characterize Gβγ and Na+ regulation of GIRK1/4 hetero-tetramers and GIRK4 homo-tetramers. We find in GIRK4 homo-tetramers that Na+ binding increases Gβγ affinity and thereby increases the GIRK4 responsiveness to G protein stimulation. GIRK1/4 hetero-tetramers are not activated by Na+, but rather are in a permanent state of high responsiveness to Gβγ, suggesting that the GIRK1 subunit functions like a GIRK4 subunit with Na+ permanently bound. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.15750. 001
SeerNet@INLI-FIRE-2017: Hierarchical Ensemble for Indian Native Language Identification

Native Language Identification has played an important role in forensics primarily for author profiling and identification. In this work, we discuss our approach to the shared task of Indian Language Identification. The task is primarily to identify the native language of the writer from the given XML file which contains a set of Facebook comments in the English language. We propose a hierarchical ensemble approach which combines various machine learning techniques along with language agnostic feature extraction to perform the final classification. Our hierarchical ensemble improves the TF-IDF based baseline accuracy by 3.9%. The proposed system stood 3rd across unique team submissions.
Laser- Drawn Features on Nanoparticle Films

Sanjeev Kumar Kandpal (*), Kody Allcroft (*), Michael D. Mason (*), Douglas W. Bousfield (*), David J. Neivandt (*) (*) Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering The University of Maine, Orono, Maine -04473 Presented at the 16 International Coating Science and Technology Symposium, September 9-12, 2012, Midtown Atlanta, GA Introduction: The present work explores the silver (Ag) nanoparticles film-Laser interaction based applications in the field of printed electronics, sensors, anti-counterfeiting, optical grating. Ag having the highest conductivity among metals makes it most sought after material for providing conductivity in electronics and even its oxide form is also conductive. Ag in nanoparticle size range show interesting optical, physical and electronic properties like melting point depression (Buffat & Borel, 1976), large absorption and scattering cross section when compared to bulk silver, have a color that depends upon the size and the shape of the particle, high surface to volume ratio, tunable surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) peak wavelength, metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF) (Geddes et al., 2003), surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERM) (Li & Peng, 2010) antibacterial application, diagnostic application, enhanced thermal and conductivity application. In the present work we fabricated three dimensional features on Ag nanoparticles film using laser, these structure showed interesting fluorescent properties. We are also looking into fabricating structure on polymer-Ag nanoparticles films and characterize them for the conductivity, optical, fluorescence properties. These structures might serve as conductive path on polymer-nanoparticle film, paving way for alternative way of fabricating printed circuits.
Novel Translucent and Strong Submicron Alumina Ceramics for Dental Restorations

An ideal ceramic restorative material should possess excellent aesthetic and mechanical properties. We hypothesize that the high translucency and strength of polycrystalline ceramics can be achieved through microstructural tailoring. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the superior optical and mechanical properties of a new class of submicron grain-sized alumina ceramics relative to the current state-of-the-art dental ceramic materials. The translucency, the in-line transmission (TIT) in particular, of these submicron alumina ceramics has been examined with the Rayleigh-Gans-Debye light-scattering model. The theoretical predictions related very well with the measured TIT values. The translucency parameter (TP) and contrast ratio (CR) of the newly developed aluminas were measured with a reflectance spectrophotometer on a black-and-white background. For comparison, the TIT, TP, and CR values for a variety of dental ceramics, mostly measured in-house but also cited from the literature, were included. The flexural strength of the aluminas was determined with the 4-point bending test. Our findings have shown that for polycrystalline alumina ceramics, an average grain size <1 µm coupled with a porosity level <0.7% could yield translucency values (TIT, TP, CR) similar to those of the commercial high-translucency porcelains. These values are far superior to the high-translucency lithium disilicate glass-ceramic and zirconias, including the most translucent cubic-containing zirconias. The strength of these submicron grain-sized aluminas was significantly higher than that of the cubic-containing zirconia (e.g., Zpex Smile) and lithia-based glass-ceramics (e.g., IPS e.max CAD HT). A coarse-grained alumina could also reach a translucency level comparable to that of dental porcelain. However, the relatively low strength of this material has limited its clinical indications to structurally less demanding applications, such as orthodontic brackets. With a combined high strength and translucency, the newly developed submicron grain-sized alumina may be considered a suitable material for dental restorations.
A novel genus of the class Actinobacteria, Longivirga aurantiaca gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from lake sediment.

A novel actinobacterial strain, designated X5T, was isolated from the sediment of Taihu Lake in China and was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic characterization. The strain formed orange-red colonies comprising aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped cells on R2A agar. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the organism was closely related to the genus Sporichthya and consistently formed a distinct clade along with the members of this genus. The closest phylogenetic neighbour was Sporichthya polymorpha NBRC 12702T with 93.7 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. The major fatty acids (>10 %) were iso-C16 : 0 (18.7 %), C18 : 1ω9c (18.6 %) and C17 : 1ω8c (14.0 %). The genomic DNA G+C content was 74.4 mol%. The organism contained menaquinone MK-8(H2), MK-9(H4) and an unidentified menaquinone. Polar lipids were composed of phosphatidylglycerol, an unidentified lipid, two unidentified phospholipids and two unidentified aminolipids. The whole-cell sugars contained ribose, xylose, mannose, glucose and galactose. The cell-wall peptidoglycan contained ll-diaminopimelic acid. Based on the physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic data, the organism is proposed to represent a novel genus and species, for which the name Longivirga aurantiaca gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is X5T (=CGMCC 4.7317T=NBRC 112237T).
Influence of spindle speed on tool wear in high-speed milling of Inconel 718 curved surface parts

High-speed milling, which provides an efficient approach for high-quality machining, is widely adopted for machining difficult-to-machine materials such as Inconel 718. For high-speed milling of Inconel 718 curved surface parts, the spindle speed which determines cutting speed directly is regarded as an important cutting parameter related to tool wear and machining efficiency. Meanwhile, because of the changing geometric features of curved surface, cutting force is changing all the time with the variation of geometric features, which influences not only tool wear but also machining quality significantly. In this study, the influence of spindle speed on coated tool wear in high-speed milling of Inconel 718 curved surface parts is studied through a series of experiments on considering tool life, cutting force, cutting force fluctuation, and machining efficiency. According to the experimental results, the appropriate spindle speed that can balance both the tool life and the machining efficiency is selected as 10,000 r/min for high-speed milling of Inconel 718 curved surface parts. In addition, the coated tool wear mechanism is investigated through scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis. The results show that at the beginning wear stage and the stable wear stage, the coated tool wear is mainly caused by mechanical wear. Then, with the increasing cutting temperature due to the blunt tool edge, the tool wear becomes compound wear which contains more than one wear form so as to cause a severe tool wear.
Oncofetal Chondroitin Sulfate Glycosaminoglycans Are Key Players in Integrin Signaling and Tumor Cell Motility

Many tumors express proteoglycans modified with oncofetal chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan chains (ofCS), which are normally restricted to the placenta. However, the role of ofCS in cancer is largely unknown. The function of ofCS in cancer was analyzed using the recombinant ofCS-binding VAR2CSA protein (rVAR2) derived from the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. We demonstrate that ofCS plays a key role in tumor cell motility by affecting canonical integrin signaling pathways. Binding of rVAR2 to tumor cells inhibited the interaction of cells with extracellular matrix (ECM) components, which correlated with decreased phosphorylation of Src kinase. Moreover, rVAR2 binding decreased migration, invasion, and anchorage-independent growth of tumor cells in vitro. Mass spectrometry of ofCS-modified proteoglycan complexes affinity purified from tumor cell lines on rVAR2 columns revealed an overrepresentation of proteins involved in cell motility and integrin signaling, such as integrin-β1 (ITGB1) and integrin-α4 (ITGA4). Saturating concentrations of rVAR2 inhibited downstream integrin signaling, which was mimicked by knockdown of the core chondroitin sulfate synthesis enzymes β-1,3-glucuronyltransferase 1 (B3GAT1) and chondroitin sulfate N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 1 (CSGALNACT1). The ofCS modification was highly expressed in both human and murine metastatic lesions in situ and preincubation or early intravenous treatment of tumor cells with rVAR2 inhibited seeding and spreading of tumor cells in mice. This was associated with a significant increase in survival of the animals. These data functionally link ofCS modifications with cancer cell motility and further highlights ofCS as a novel therapeutic cancer target. Implications: The cancer-specific expression of ofCS aids in metastatic phenotypes and is a candidate target for therapy. Mol Cancer Res; 14(12); 1288–99. ©2016 AACR.
Near-Capacity Iteratively Decoded Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo Aided BLAST System

In this treatise, we propose an iteratively decoded Bell-labs LAyered Space-Time (BLAST) scheme, which serially concatenates an IRregular Convolutional Code (IRCC), a Unity-Rate Code (URC) and a BLAST transmitter. The proposed scheme is capable of achieving a near capacity performance with the aid of our EXtrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) chart assisted design procedure. Furthermore, a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) based BLAST scheme is employed, which is capable of significantly reducing the complexity imposed. For the sake of approaching the maximum achievable rate, iterative decoding is invoked to attain decoding convergence by exchanging extrinsic information among the three serial component decoders. Our simulation results show that the proposed MCMC-based iteratively detected IRCC-URC-BLAST scheme is capable of approaching the system capacity.
Apoptosis Modulation in the Immune System Reveals a Role of Neutrophils in Tissue Damage in a Murine Model of Chlamydial Genital Infection

Background Chlamydial infection frequently causes damage to the female genital tract. The precise mechanisms of chlamydial clearance and tissue damage are unknown, but studies suggest immunopathology with a particular role of neutrophils. The goal of this study was to understand the contribution of the immune system, in particular neutrophils. Methods Using Chlamydia muridarum, we infected mice with a prolonged immune response due to expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) in hematopoietic cells (Bcl-2 mice), and mice where mature neutrophils are lacking due to the deletion of Myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl-1) in myeloid cells (LysM-cre-mcl-1-flox mice; Mcl-1 mice). We monitored bacterial clearance, cellular infiltrate, and long-term tissue damage. Results Both mutant strains showed slightly delayed clearance of the acute infection. Bcl-2 mice had a strongly increased inflammatory infiltrate concerning almost all cell lineages. The infection of Bcl-2 mice caused increased tissue damage. The loss of neutrophils in Mcl-1 mice was associated with substantial quantitative and qualitative alterations of the inflammatory infiltrate. Mcl-1 mice had higher chlamydial burden and reduced tissue damage, including lower incidence of hydrosalpinx and less uterine dilation. Conclusions Inhibition of apoptosis in the hematopoietic system increases inflammation and tissue damage. Neutrophils have broad functions, including a role in chlamydial clearance and in tissue destruction.
Taurine treatment prevents derangement of the hepatic γ‐glutamyl cycle and methylglyoxal metabolism in a mouse model of classical homocystinuria: regulatory crosstalk between thiol and sulfinic acid metabolism

Cystathionine β‐synthase‐deficient homocystinuria (HCU) is a poorly understood, life‐threatening inborn error of sulfur metabolism. Analysis of hepatic glutathione (GSH) metabolism in a mouse model of HCU demonstrated significant depletion of cysteine, GSH, and GSH disulfide independent of the block in trans‐ sulfuration compared with wild‐type controls. HCU induced the expression of the catalytic and regulatory subunits of γ‐glutamyl ligase, GSH synthase (GS), γ‐glutamyl transpeptidase 1, 5‐oxoprolinase (OPLAH), and the GSH‐ dependent methylglyoxal detoxification enzyme, glyoxalase‐1. Multiple components of the transcription factor nuclear factor (erythroid‐derived 2)‐like 2 (Nrf2)‐mediated antioxidant‐response regulatory axis were induced without any detectable activation of Nrf2. Metabolomic analysis revealed the accumulation of multiple γ‐glutamyl amino acids and that plasma ophthalmate levels could serve as a noninvasive marker for hepatic redox stress. Neither cysteine, nor betaine treatment was able to reverse the observed enzyme inductions. Taurine treatment normalized the expression levels of γ‐glutamyl ligase C/M, GS, OPLAH, and glyoxalase‐1, and reversed HCU‐ induced deficits in protein glutathionylation by acting to double GSH levels relative to controls. Collectively, our data indicate that the perturbation of the γ‐glutamyl cycle could contribute to multiple sequelae in HCU and that taurine has significant therapeutic potential for both HCU and other diseases for which GSH depletion is a critical pathogenic factor. —Maclean, K. N. , Jiang, H. , Aivazidis, S. , Kim, E. , Shearn, C. T. , Harris, P. S. , Petersen, D. R. , Allen, R. H. , Stabler, S. P., Roede, J. R. Taurine treatment prevents derangement of the hepatic γ‐glutamyl cycle and methylglyoxal metabolism in a mouse model of classical homocystinuria: regulatory crosstalk between thiol and sulfinic acid metabolism. FASEB J. 32, 1265‐1280 (2018). www.fasebj. org
Efficacy and tolerance of lactitol supplementation for adult constipation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Constipation is a common complaint in adults. Lactitol is an osmotic disaccharide laxative that increases fecal volume and stimulates peristalsis. In this paper, we present the first meta-analysis on the efficacy and tolerance of lactitol for adult constipation. Methods We searched MEDLINE® and Embase, with no date or language restrictions, for studies of lactitol supplementation on adult constipation. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed on pre- to posttreatment changes in stool frequency and consistency with lactitol among all studies, as well as a comparison of efficacy and tolerance outcomes in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of lactitol versus lactulose. Results A total of eleven studies representing 663 distinct patients were included in the final analysis, including five single-arm studies, four RCTs comparing lactitol with lactulose, one RCT comparing lactitol with placebo, and one nonrandomized controlled trial comparing lactitol with stimulant laxatives. Weekly stool frequency was significantly increased with lactitol compared with baseline (standardized mean difference [SMD]: 1.56, P<0.001). Stool consistency also improved over the supplementation period with lactitol (SMD: 1.04, P<0.001). Approximately one-third of patients experienced an adverse event; however, symptoms were generally mild and rarely (5%) resulted in study withdrawal. In RCTs of lactitol versus lactulose, lactitol was slightly more effective than lactulose in increasing weekly stool frequency (SMD: 0.19, P=0.06). No statistically significant differences between lactitol and lactulose were identified in any other efficacy or tolerance outcome. Lactitol demonstrated favorable efficacy and tolerance in individual studies when compared to stimulant laxatives and placebo. Conclusion Lactitol supplementation is well tolerated and improves symptoms of adult constipation. The efficacy and tolerance of lactitol and lactulose are similar, with a trend for more frequent stools with lactitol. Limited evidence suggests lactitol is superior to stimulant laxatives and placebo for relieving constipation symptoms.