Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Literacy-Fair Measurement of Health-Related Quality of Life Will Facilitate Comparative Effectiveness Research in Spanish-Speaking Cancer Outpatients

Background:Health-related quality of life (HRQL) assessment is frequently used in comparative effectiveness research, but low-literacy patients are often excluded. Appropriately translated and user-friendly HRQL measures are essential to ensure inclusion of low-literate and non-English-speaking patients in comparative effectiveness research. Objectives:To compare HRQL responses across literacy levels in Spanish-speaking patients with cancer using a multimedia touch screen program. Subjects:A total of 414 adult patients with cancer (213 with low literacy and 201 with high literacy). Research Design:The touch screen system administered 3 questionnaires: The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General, the Short Form-36 Health Survey, and the Standard Gamble Utility Questionnaire. Measurement bias was evaluated using item response theory. Effects of literacy on HRQL were evaluated using regression models. Results:Patients rated the touch screen easy to use and commented favorably on the multimedia approach. There was statistically significant item response theory measurement bias in 6 of 10 HRQL subscales; however, only 3 showed meaningful bias. Low-literacy patients had significantly lower mean scores on 3 of 4 Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General subscales, before and after adjustment for patient characteristics. Low-literacy patients also had significantly lower mean scores on 5 of 6 Short Form-36 subscales; adjustment for patient characteristics attenuated or eliminated differences. Similar proportions of low- and high-literacy patients valued their current health as equivalent to perfect health. Conclusions:This study demonstrates the feasibility of this multimedia touch screen program for low-literacy patients. The program will provide opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in more diverse patient populations.
Normally-off Logic Based on Resistive Switches—Part II: Logic Circuits

Logic gates based on the resistive switching random access memory (RRAM) allow normally-off digital computing because of the nonvolatile nature of the RRAM switch [1]. An extremely small area consumption can be achieved because of the 2-terminal structure of the RRAM switch and its capability of 3-D stacking. However, the details of RRAM organization within the array must be thoroughly investigated. This paper discusses the array organization and the select/unselect schemes of the RRAM logic circuits. We demonstrate a 1-bit adder to support the high functionality of RRAM logic. These results support RRAM as a promising technology for nonvolatile logic circuits beyond CMOS.
Myocardial Cobalt Levels Are Elevated in the Setting of Total Hip Arthroplasty

Background: Arthroplasty implants commonly contain elemental metal that may undergo wear-related release. Recently, cases of hip implant-associated myocardial injury have been reported. However, we are not aware of any previous study that has systematically measured myocardial metal levels or examined the relationship with total hip arthroplasty (THA). Methods: Archives of our institution were queried for autopsies of individuals who had undergone THA between 1990 and 2013. Myocardial tissue samples were analyzed for cobalt (Co) and chromium (Cr) levels with inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. Seventy-five Co/Cr-on-polyethylene THA cases were included (mean age at time of death = 77.4 years; 49% women) as were 73 non-arthroplasty controls matched for age, sex, and history of hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Results: Significantly higher median myocardial concentrations of Co were observed in individuals with THA compared with controls (0.12 versus 0.06 &mgr;g/g, p < 0.0001). The median Co concentration was 69% higher in patients who had undergone THA revision (0.169 &mgr;g/g) than in those who underwent primary THA (0.100 &mgr;g/g; p = 0.004). In general, higher Co levels were observed in those with multiple replaced joints, although this finding only trended toward significance. Cardiomegaly, interstitial fibrosis, and decreased ejection fraction were observed more frequently in the postmortem samples of patients with implants than in those of controls (p = 0.0002, 0.044, and 0.0039, respectively). Conclusions: We believe this to be the first study to quantify metal levels in cardiac tissue in patients with and without joint replacement. The elevated Co levels, in concert with cardiomegaly and increased interstitial fibrosis found during autopsy, in the arthroplasty cohort are novel, important findings. Although Co levels were significantly elevated above those in controls, the majority were below those seen in clinical case reports of death from Co cardiotoxicity associated with metal-on-metal prostheses. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
(Acetato-κO)bis(1,10-phenanthroline-κ2 N,N′)copper(II) acetate heptahydrate

In the title complex, [Cu(CH3CO2)(C12H8N2)2](CH3CO2)·7H2O, the central CuII ion is five coordinate, being bound to four N atoms from two 1,10-phenanthroline ligands and one O atom from an acetate anion in a strongly distorted square-pyramidal configuration. Hydrogen-bonded water molecules and an uncoordinated acetate anion form a two-dimensional polymeric structure parallel to (010). The cations are linked to this layer via O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between one of the water molecules and the coordinated acetate anion.
Mycophenolate mofetil and curcumin provide comparable therapeutic benefit in experimental chronic kidney disease: role of Nrf2-Keap1 and renal dopamine pathways

Abstract Increased oxidative stress and inflammation have an important role in the pathophysiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD). On the other hand, more affordable therapeutic alternatives for treating this disease are urgently needed. Therefore, we compared the therapeutic efficacy of curcumin and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in 5/6 nephrectomy (5/6 Nx) model of CKD. Also, we evaluated whether both compounds provide benefit through the preservation of similar antioxidant mechanisms. Four groups of male Wistar were studied over a period of 4 wk. Control sham group (n= 12), 5/6 Nx (n = 12), 5/6 Nx + MMF (30 mg/k BW/day, n = 11) and 5/6 Nx + Curcumin (120 mg/k BW/day, n = 12). Renal function and markers of oxidative stress and inflammation were evaluated. Also Nrf2-Keap1 and renal dopamine, antioxidant pathways were assessed. 5/6 Nx induced an altered renal autoregulation response, proteinuria, and hypertension; these effects were in association with increased oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and renal inflammation. The mechanisms associated with these alterations included a reduced nuclear translocation of Nrf2 and hyperphosphorylation of dopamine D1 receptor with a concurrent overactivation of renal NADPH oxidase. Treatments with MMF and curcumin provided equivalent therapeutic efficacy as both prevented functional renal alterations as well as preserved antioxidant capacity and avoided renal inflammatory infiltration. Moreover, both treatments preserved Nrf2-Keap1 and renal dopamine antioxidant pathways. In summary, therapeutic strategies aimed to preserve renal antioxidant pathways can help to retard the progression of CKD.
Microdosimetric concepts in radioimmunotherapy.

In microdosimetry particular emphasis is placed on the stochastic fluctuation of dose in small target volumes such as individual cell nuclei or chromatin fiber, and their relevance to radiobiologic toxicity. Thus microdosimetry is intimately associated with models of radiation action. There are three principal areas where microdosimetry has been applied: (1) radiation protection, (2) high LET radiotherapy, e.g., neutron therapy, and (3) incorporated radionuclides, and in this latter category the importance of microdosimetry to the radiobiology of radiolabeled antibodies is becoming increasingly recognized. The objective of microdosimetry is the complete characterization of energy deposition within all target volumes throughout the tissue of interest. The importance and relevance of this pursuit will depend upon the properties of the radionuclide emissions and the spatial distribution of the radionuclide relative to the target volumes. If the distribution of internal emitters within both malignant and normal tissue is uniform, the application of microdosimetry to radioimmunotherapy (RIT) is limited to alpha-emitters and Auger emitters. Under such circumstances the traditional MIRD formalism for the evaluation of tumor and tissue doses from the commonly used beta-emitters is entirely adequate. This, however, is rarely the case. When the distribution of radiolabeled antibody is nonuniform, techniques of dose averaging over volumes greater in size than the individual target volumes can become inadequate predictors of the biological effect. The concepts, methods, and realm of applicability of microdosimetry within the field of radioimmunotherapy are emphasized in this paper.
Functional Impairment of Cytomegalovirus Specific CD8 T Cells Predicts High‐Level Replication After Renal Transplantation

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) remains an important cause of morbidity after allotransplantation, causing a range of direct effects including hepatitis, pneumonitis, enteritis and retinitis. A dominant risk factor for HCMV disease is high level viral replication in blood but it remains unexplained why only a subset of patients develop such diseases. In this detailed study of 25 renal transplant recipients, we show that functional impairment of HCMV specific CD8 T cells in the production of interferon gamma was associated with a 14‐fold increased risk of progression to high level replication. The CD8 T‐cell impairment persisted during the period of high level replication and was more prominent in patients above 40 years of age (odds ratio = 1.37, p = 0.01) and was also evident in dialysis patients. Threshold levels of functional impairment were associated with an increased risk of future HCMV replication and there was a direct relationship between the functional capacity of HCMV ppUL83 CD8 T cells and HCMV load (R2= 0.83). These results help to explain why a subset of seropositive individuals develop HCMV replication and are at risk of end‐organ disease and may facilitate the early identification of individuals who would benefit from targeted anti‐HCMV therapy after renal transplantation.
This Is How We Do It: Authentic and Strategic Technology Use by Novice English Teachers.

As the definition of literacy in the 21st century expands beyond print texts to include digital texts, media objects, images, sounds and social practices, what it means to be an English teacher in secondary schools also is shifting and growing in complexity. While there are many resources for integrating technology in the classroom, there remain few studies focused on how teachers are making choices related to technology use. This case study compares the ways in which two teachers make specific choices in relation to technology in their early careers as secondary English teachers. In doing so, the focal teachers are positioned as active agents (Lasky, 2005) in their professional development, from preservice to their early career classrooms, using technology strategically as a resource to within two distinct social settings: the preservice classroom where they are students, and the secondary classroom, where they are teachers.
THE INFLUENCE OF RTI UPON SPECIAL EDUCATION ELIGIBILITY

In 2004, the federal government gave states the option of using Response to Intervention as a prerequisite to referring children for special education eligibility for learning disabilities (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004). Research has generally supported this model although anecdotal evidence has suggested that the decrease in eligibility for learning disabilities is due to the reluctance of schools to refer children for learning disability eligibility because of the time required to implement the interventions prior to referral. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence that this model has had upon eligibility numbers in a large special education cooperative spanning 21 school districts. The study revealed that while the number of children eligible for services as a child with a learning disability dropped significantly over the past decade, the numbers of children eligible for other disability categories increased in a similar
The Future of Health Care

This study examined the students’ perceptions on the care of the older persons and their education and training in geriatrics and gerontology in India. Students (n = 229) from medicine, nursing, and social work programs completed a survey. Three key findings emerged: (a) strong family ties and filial piety in aging care, (b) acknowledging the importance of social, economic, and religious factors in the care of the older persons while not recognizing the age-related health needs, and (c) although participants described their education and training as being adequate, lack of awareness of aging policies highlight the need for formalized educational and training opportunities.
Survey of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases in Clinical Isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae: Prevalence of TEM-52 in Korea

ABSTRACT Two hundred ninety isolates of Escherichia coli were investigated for the production of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs). Fourteen (4.8%) of the 290 strains were found to produce ESBLs. Each of the 14 strains produced one or two ESBLs, as follows: 10 strains produced TEM-52, 1 strain produced SHV-2a, 1 strain produced SHV-12, 1 strain produced a CMY-1-like enzyme, and 1 strain expressed SHV-2a and a CMY-1-like enzyme. Another two strains for which the MICs of ceftazidime and cefoxitin were high, were probable AmpC enzyme hyperproducers. Because of the high prevalence of TEM-52 in E. coli isolates, we further investigated the TEM-type ESBLs produced by Klebsiella pneumoniae in order to observe the distribution of TEM-52 enzymes among Enterobacteriaceae in Korea. All TEM enzymes produced by 12 strains of K. pneumoniae were identified as TEM-52. To evaluate the genetic relatedness among the organisms, ribotyping of TEM-52-producingE. coli and K. pneumoniae was performed. The ribotyping profiles of the organisms showed similar but clearly different patterns. In conclusion, TEM-52 is the most prevalent TEM-type ESBL in Korea.
Real-time imaging of cell-cell adherens junctions reveals that Drosophila mesoderm invagination begins with two phases of apical constriction of cells.

Invagination of the epithelial cell sheet of the prospective mesoderm in Drosophila gastrulation is a well-studied, relatively simple morphogenetic event that results from dynamic cell shape changes and cell movements. However, these cell behaviors have not been followed at a sufficiently short time resolution. We examined mesoderm invagination in living wild-type embryos by real-time imaging of fluorescently labeled cell-cell adherens junctions, which are located at the apical zones of cell-cell contact. Low-light fluorescence video microscopy directly visualized the onset and progression of invagination. In an initial period of approximately 2 minutes, cells around the ventral midline reduced their apical surface areas slowly in a rather synchronous manner. Next, the central and more lateral cells stochastically accelerated or initiated their apical constriction, giving rise to random arrangements of cells with small and relatively large apices. Thus, we found that mesoderm invagination began with slow synchronous and subsequent fast stochastic phases of cell apex constriction. Furthermore, we showed that the mesoderm invagination of folded gastrulation mutant embryos lacked the normal two constriction phases, and instead began with asynchronous, feeble cell shape changes. Our observations suggested that Folded gastrulation-mediated signaling enabled synchronous activation of the contractile cortex, causing competition among the individual mesodermal cells for apical constriction. Movies available on-line: http://www.biologists. com/JCS/movies/jcs2073.html
The European Union and natural resources that fund armed conflicts: Explaining the EU’s policy choice for supply chain due-diligence requirements

Natural resources can be an important source of funding for warring parties in armed conflicts. Curbing the trade in these so-called conflict resources is, therefore, part of the European Union’s conflict management policies. The article explores the EU’s policies in this field and asks, specifically, why the EU is using supply chain due-diligence measures to achieve this goal. The author argues that they are the response to enforcement problems of most existing multilateral and unilateral sanction regimes because of state weakness in the targeted regions. This approach results from a broader idea from the EU that transparency can improve resource governance and, therefore, safeguard both its political and economic interests in conflict zones, such as the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, when the issue becomes specific—as in the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation—translating this idea into concrete policies becomes more contentious as the EU institutions set different priorities for the final policy design.
A lumped-element analog predistorter for VHF application

An analog predistorter (APD) for VHF application is presented. The proposed predistorter is fully composed of lumped elements. It has a moderate memory compensation capability by using a lowpass filter, and also includes a compact IM3 generator which is capable of canceling the fundamental components. For verification, the proposed predistorter is implemented and applied to a RF power amplifier for 57.463. 6MHz application with an average output power of 37dBm, the test results show that IMD3 of power amplifier improves more than 25dB for CW two-tone signal with a tone spacing of 1MHz, and significant improvement of IMD3 is obtained for two-tone signals with tone spacing varying from 5KHz to 3MHz.
The persistence and determinants of current account balances: The implications for global rebalancing

This paper examines the dynamics of current account balances with particular focus on the statistical nature of the persistency of current account balances and its determinants. With the assumption that stationary current account series ensures the long-run budget constraint while countries may experience “local nonstationarity” in current account balances, we examine the dynamics of current account balances across a panel of 70 countries. While linear unit root tests fail to reject the null hypothesis of a unit root for a number of countries, a Markovswitching (MS)-ADF econometric framework that allows for regime switches in current account dynamics not only lead us to reject the unit root null hypothesis for a much increased number of countries, but also provide notable cross country differences in the timing and duration of stationary and locally nonstationary regimes. Armed with the structural break dates the MS-ADF testing provides, we investigate the determinants of the different degrees of current account persistence. We find that the lack of trade openness, net foreign assets, and financial development help increase the degree of current account persistence. The type of exchange rate regimes is not found to be a robust determinant of current account persistence, but fixed exchange rate regime is more likely to lead an emerging market country to enter nonstationary current account regime. JEL Classification Nos.: F32, F41
Adeno-associated virus vector for high-frequency integration, expression, and rescue of genes in mammalian cells

We describe the construction of an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector in which the coding sequence of the procaryotic gene neo is expressed under the control of the major AAV promoter p40. This AAV-neo vector allowed stable expression of neo as a dominant selective marker in mammalian cells by selection of cells which were resistant to the antibiotic geneticin (G418). When the vector was introduced into human (293 or HeLa) cell lines by a DNA transfection procedure, stable geneticin-resistant colonies were obtained. When the vector was first packaged into AAV particles and then introduced into cells via particle infection, geneticin-resistant cells were obtained at higher frequencies than those obtained by DNA transfection. In geneticin-resistant cells the AAV-neo vector was integrated at low copy number and could be rescued by subsequent infection with wild-type AAV and the helper adenovirus or, in some cases, by infection with adenovirus alone. The rescued AAV-neo vector could then be recovered as amplified unintegrated DNA from a Hirt lysate. These results demonstrate that AAV can be used as a transducing viral vector for stable integration and expression of a foreign gene in mammalian cells. The high frequency of integration and the ability to rescue the integrated vector suggest that this vector system may be useful for selecting genes from cDNA libraries. This vector may also be useful for introduction of genes into cells which are refractory to transfection in procedures such as those involving the use of CaPO4 or DEAE-dextran.
Involvement of oxidative stress in apoptosis induced by a mixture of isothiazolinones in normal human keratinocytes.

A 3:1 combination of 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (CMI) and 2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (MI) is widely used to preserve cosmetic products. We show here that CMI/MI induced apoptosis in normal human keratinocytes (NHK) as at low concentrations (0.001-0.05% documented by subdiploid DNA content and phosphatidylserine exposure, while at the highest concentration (0.1% as supplied, 15 p.p.m.) the response was necrosis. Various molecular events accompanied the cytotoxic effects of CMI/MI. Generation of ROS and hyperpolarization of mitochondrial transmembrane potential (DeltaPsim) were early events, followed by increased Fas expression and activation of caspase-8, and then activation of caspase-3 and -9. The drop in DeltaPsim occurred only later in the cell death pathway, when NHK showed signs of apoptosis. Pretreatment of cells for 2 h with the redox-active agent N-acetyl-L-cysteine conferred complete protection against the CMI/MI-induced cytotoxic effects, DeltaPsim loss, and apoptosis. The pan-caspase inhibitor Z-Val-Ala-Asp(OMe)-CH2F blocked the CMI/MI-induced apoptosis without preventing ROS generation and the drop in DeltaPsim. These results indicate that the generation of ROS plays an important part in mediating apoptosis and necrosis associated with CMI/MI treatment. This new aspect of the in vitro toxicity of CMI/MI may provide important information about the relationship between the preservative's in vitro apoptotic activity and its in vivo toxicity.