Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nursing home quality, cost, staffing, and staff mix.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to describe the processes of care, organizational attributes, cost of care, staffing level, and staff mix in a sample of Missouri homes with good, average, and poor resident outcomes. DESIGN AND METHODS A three-group exploratory study design was used, with 92 nursing homes randomly selected from all nursing homes in Missouri and classified into resident outcome groups. Resident outcomes were measured by use of quality indicators derived from nursing home Minimum Data Set resident assessment data. Cost and staffing information were derived from Medicaid cost reports. Participant observation methods were used to describe the care delivery processes. RESULTS In facilities with good resident outcomes, there are basics of care and processes surrounding each that staff consistently do: helping residents with ambulation, nutrition and hydration, and toileting and bowel regularity; preventing skin breakdown; and managing pain. The analysis revealed necessary organizational attributes that must be in place in order for those basics of care to be accomplished: consistent nursing and administrative leadership, the use of team and group processes, and an active quality improvement program. The only facility characteristic across the outcome groups that was significantly different was the number of licensed beds, with smaller facilities having better outcomes. No significant differences in costs, staffing, or staff mix were detected across the groups. A trend in higher total costs of 13.58 dollars per resident per day was detected in the poor-outcome group compared with the good-outcome group. IMPLICATIONS For nursing homes to achieve good resident outcomes, they must have leadership that is willing to embrace quality improvement and group process and see that the basics of care delivery are done for residents. Good quality care may not cost more than poor quality care; there is some evidence that good quality care may cost less. Small facilities of 60 beds were more likely to have good resident outcomes. Strategies have to be considered so larger facilities can be organized into smaller clusters of units that could function as small nursing homes within the larger whole.
Analysis and design of a broadband dual-polarized planar antenna for 2G/3G/4G base stations

A broadband dual-polarized dual-dipole (DPDD) planar antenna is analyzed and designed for 2G/3G/4G base stations. The DPDD antenna consists of two perpendicularly crossed dual-dipole elements. Each dual-dipole element is comprised of two identical side-by-side dipoles which are connected through a coplanar strip line that also acts as an impedance transformer. Two dual-dipole elements are printed respectively on two sides of a thin substrate and are excited directly by two coaxial cables, making the antenna configuration planar, compact, and simple. Due to the mutual coupling between two crossed dual-dipole elements, a broad bandwidth can be obtained. It is shown that the DPDD antenna achieves a bandwidth of 51% (1.61–2.71 GHz) for return loss >15 dB with an isolation of higher than 30 dB. The DPDD antenna also features a high gain of about 9 dBi a half-power beamwidth (HPBW) of 65±5° over a broad bandwidth.
Lung carcinoma metastasis presenting as a pineal region tumor

An autopsy case is reported of pineal metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma, which is a rare manifestation of the disease. A 75‐year‐old man who had been found to have a lesion in the lung by chest CT 2 years previously, became aware of head heaviness and then suffered consciousness disturbance. Brain MRI revealed a solitary mass in the pineal region with hydrocephalus. At autopsy a midsagittal section of the brain disclosed a well‐circumscribed mass consisting of epithelial cells occupying the third ventricle. Although it should be recognized that such metastasis is very rare, the present case provides further information that might be useful for diagnosis.
A Minimally Invasive and Simple Screening Test for Detection of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Using Biomarkers in Duodenal Juice

Objectives The aim of this study was to establish a minimally invasive and simple screening test for detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) using duodenal juice (DJ). Methods Duodenal juice was collected prospectively before endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in 46 patients. A protease inhibitor was not added to the samples collected during the initial 2.5 minutes but was added in the latter 2.5 minutes. Thereafter, secretin was administered intravenously, and DJ was subsequently collected for additional 10 minutes. The sensitivities of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), S100 calcium-binding protein P (S100P), and interleukin 8 in DJ and pancreatic juice were assessed. Results There were 30 patients with PDAC and 16 with benign lesions. It was possible to collect an adequate amount of DJ without secretin administration. In the PDAC group, CEA concentrations in DJ were significantly higher than those in the benign group, even without the use of a protease inhibitor. S100P levels in DJ in the PDAC group were significantly higher than those in the benign group in the presence of the protease inhibitor. Conclusions Duodenal juice collection during routine upper endoscopy and assessments of CEA and S100P in DJ might become a useful screening test for detection of PDAC.
DCT coefficients recovery-based error concealment technique and its application to the MPEG-2 bit stream error

This paper presents a novel error concealment technique based on the discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients recovery and its application to the MPEG-2 bit stream error. Assuming a smoothness constraint on image intensity, an object function which describes the intersample variations at the boundaries of the lost block and the adjacent blocks is defined, and the corrupted DCT coefficients are recovered by solving a linear equation. Our approach can be regarded as a special case of Wang et al.'s (1991). However, we show that the linear equation in the proposed algorithm can be decomposed into four independent subequations, requiring much lower computational load and simpler hardware structure than existing algorithms, while providing adequate performances. To develop a generic error concealment (EC) system, the blocks corrupted by the random bit errors are identified by a multistage error detection algorithm. Thus, the proposed EC system can be applied to more realistic environments, such as concealment of random bit error in MPEG-2 bit stream. Computer simulation results show that the quality of a recovered image is significantly improved even at a bit error rate as high as 10/sup -5/.
Sonographic Evaluation of Bowel Wall Thickness in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis

Goals and Background Fibrosing colonopathy causing severe thickening of the colon wall was recently described in cystic fibrosis (CF). Since it has been suspected that subclinical colon-wall thickening is a common feature in CF patients, bowel-wall thickness was measured in a series of patients and compared with controls. Additionally, possible clinical factors influencing wall thickness were investigated. Study In 83 CF patients and 31 controls transabdominal ultrasound was performed in the terminal ileum, cecum, ascending and descending colon. The relation of the measured wall thickness to age, sex, pancreatic enzyme intake, and intestinal diseases was analyzed. Results In controls, mean wall thickness depending on gut region was 1.1 to 1.3 mm (SD 0.19–0.23). In CF patients, no evidence of severe thickening or stricture was found, but wall thickness was significantly higher than in controls in all measured regions (1.5–1.6 mm; SD 0.31–0.41). Patients with meconium ileus and distal intestinal obstruction syndrome had significantly increased thickness of the terminal ileum compared with patients without these complications. Neither the intake of high-strength enzymes nor enzyme dosage, age or sex were associated with wall thickness. Conclusions We found no evidence that a subclinical stage of fibrosing colonopathy is prevalent among the CF patients. Slightly thickened gut walls in CF can be interpreted as an expression of glandular dysfunction in the CF intestine.
Elution of enteric viruses from Mississippi estuarine sediments with lecithin-supplemented eluents

Isoelectric casein supplemented with lecithin was tested for its ability to recover enteric viruses from estuarine sediments of varied sand, silt, and clay composition. Recoveries were higher when lecithin was incorporated into an eluent as compared with trials with only the casein solution. Semipurified soybean lecithin (3%) allowed the highest overall recovery of virus from all sediments tested; crude soybean lecithin produced the lowest recovery. A difference in the percentage of virus able to be recovered from a sediment was related to the percentage of clay in the sample. Correlational statistics indicated a trend toward lower virus recovery as the clay composition of a sediment increased. Virus adsorption to the four sediments tested revealed differences between poliovirus, coxsackievirus, and echovirus adsorption that could not be explained on the basis of the clay content of a sediment.
ESPript: analysis of multiple sequence alignments in PostScript

MOTIVATION The program ESPript (Easy Sequencing in PostScript) allows the rapid visualization, via PostScript output, of sequences aligned with popular programs such as CLUSTAL-W or GCG PILEUP. It can read secondary structure files (such as that created by the program DSSP) to produce a synthesis of both sequence and structural information. RESULTS ESPript can be run via a command file or a friendly html-based user interface. The program calculates an homology score by columns of residues and can sort this calculation by groups of sequences. It offers a palette of markers to highlight important regions in the alignment. ESPript can also paste information on residue conservation into coordinate files, for subsequent visualization with a graphics program. AVAILABILITY ESPript can be accessed on its Web site at http://www.ipbs. fr/ESPript. Sources and helpfiles can be downloaded via anonymous ftp from ftp.ipbs. fr. A tar file is held in the directory pub/ESPript.
Cataloguer Support in Cultural Heritage

In the context of large and ever growing archives, generating annotation suggestions automatically from textual resources related to the documents to be archived is an interesting option in theory. It could save a lot of work in the time consuming and expensive task of manual annotation and it could help cataloguers attain a higher inter-annotator agreement. However, some questions arise in practice: what is the quality of the automatically produced annotations? How do they compare with manual annotations and with the requirements for annotation that were defined in the archive? If different from the manual annotations, are the automatic annotations wrong? In this chapter we automatically generate annotation suggestions for cataloguers from the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, the Dutch public archive for audiovisual broadcasts. We define three types of evaluation of these annotation suggestions: (1) a classic and strict evaluation measure expressing the overlap between automatically generated keywords and the manual annotations, (2) a loosened evaluation measure for which semantically very similar annotations are also considered as relevant matches, (3) an in-use evaluation of the usefulness of manual versus automatic annotations in the context of serendipitous browsing. During serendipitous browsing the annotations (manual or automatic) are used to retrieve and visualize semantically related documents.
A Simple Guide Screw Method for Intracranial Xenograft Studies in Mice

The grafting of human tumor cells into the brain of immunosuppressed mice is an established method for the study of brain cancers including glioblastoma (glioma) and medulloblastoma. The widely used stereotactic approach only allows for the injection of a single animal at a time, is labor intensive and requires highly specialized equipment. The guide screw method, initially developed by Lal et al.,1 was developed to eliminate cumbersome stereotactic procedures. We now describe a modified guide screw approach that is rapid and exceptionally safe; both of which are critical ethical considerations. Notably, our procedure now incorporates an infusion pump that allows up to 10 animals to be simultaneously injected with tumor cells. To demonstrate the utility of this procedure, we established human U87MG glioma cells as intracranial xenografts in mice, which were then treated with AMG102; a fully human antibody directed to HGF/scatter factor currently undergoing clinical evaluation2-5. Systemic injection of AMG102 significantly prolonged the survival of all mice with intracranial U87MG xenografts and resulted in a number of complete cures. This study demonstrates that the guide screw method is an inexpensive, highly reproducible approach for establishing intracranial xenografts. Furthermore, it provides a relevant physiological model for validating novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of brain cancers.
Impairment and Return to Work after Intra-Articular Fractures of the Calcaneus

Abstract Intra-articular fractures of the calcaneus typically occur in individuals working on ladders, scaffolding or roofs. Male individuals in their productive age are most at risk. The functional problems that frequently persist are a well-known risk since they may obstruct a safe resumption of the former job. According to the data of the National Institute for Sickness and Invalidity Insurance the number of calcaneal fractures in Belgium have stabilised over the last ten years. These figures indicate the necessity for a better prevention policy. Scientific literature about the problem of impairment and disability in these cases is rare and lacks uniformity. A retrospective study was therefore performed on 65 private insurance compensation patients who were treated for intra-articular calcaneal fractures. The mean period of work incapacity was 260.5 days and the mean percentage of impairment was 12.3%. A large group (86.2%) were able to resume their former activities including the height workers. More than half of the patients (57%) needed a supportive device. Working at heights and falls from a height were a significant risk factor for long-term work incapacity. The figures are compared with the limited literature and further discussed.
A Two-Dimensional Deflection Sensor Based on Force Sensing Resistors

A flexible deflection sensor for elastic shaft with the capability of measuring the amplitude and direction of bending is introduced in this paper. A thin force sensing resistors (FSR) film is taken as its basic material, which is sandwiched by an elastomer layer and a printed circuit board (PCB) with detecting electrode grids. Two fix rings are used to fix the three thin components perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the flexible shaft. When the shaft bends under forces, the fix rings will generate a normal pressure on FSR, which will cause the change of the resistance. Therefore, the amplitude of bending can be got based on the value of resistance. The electrode grid on the PCB is divided into four detection areas used to estimate the distribution of normal pressure on the FSR; thus the bending direction of shaft can also be obtained. Test results of a prototype (140 mm in length) show that the amplitude of deflection can reach 30 mm and the sensitivities of sensor are 40.37, 32.8, 37.77, and 39.47 mV/mm in the four directions, respectively. The proposed flexible deflection sensor can be applied in continuum robots or other applications, which require rapid measurement of bending amplitude and direction.
Efficacy of L-Asparaginase Combination Therapy in Localized Extranodal NK/T-Cell Lymphoma: A Single Institution Experience

Background: Nasal extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma are highly aggressive diseases with a poor outcome. Several studies have shown the interest of L-asparaginase in salvage therapy and first-line L-asparaginase combination therapy for advanced stage extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma should be tested in prospective trials. We report the first experience of treatment with L-asparaginase in salvage therapy and front-line based- regimen in localized nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma. Patients and methods: We reviewed 13 consecutive localized stages I/II nasal NK/T cell lymphomas, treated in our institution over a 6 years period. 8 patients were treated with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, oncovin and prednisone) regimen in first-line chemotherapy and with L-asparaginase-based regimen in salvage therapy. Five patients were treated with first-line chemotherapy, including L-asparaginase-based treatment. We report our results in a single retrospective study of these patients with localized stage NK/T-cell lymphoma. Results: The overall response was 70% and the OS was 54% at 52 months. Conclusion: These data confirm the efficacy of L-asparaginase-containing regimens in extranodal nasal NK/Tcell lymphoma.
Bacillus oleronius sp.nov., a member of the hindgut flora of the termite Reticulitermes santonensis (Feytaud).

A new rod-shaped endospore-forming bacterium is described, which was isolated from the hindgut of the termite Reticulitermes santonensis (Feytaud). The isolate stains Gram negative and its DNA has a guanine-plus-cytosine content of 35 mol%. Despite the Gram-staining reaction, both biochemical and physiological features place the isolate in the genus Bacillus and indicate a phenotypic resemblance to the Bacillus firmus-lentus group of species. On the basis of comparative 16S rRNA analysis and some phenotypic features the isolate clearly represents a new species for which the name Bacillus oleronius is proposed. The type strain is Bacillus oleronius Rt 10 (DSM 9356).
Tomographic incoherent phase imaging, a diffraction tomography alternative for any white-light microscope

In this paper, we discuss the possibility of making tomographic reconstruction of the refractive index of a microscopic sample using a quadriwave lateral shearing interferometer, under incoherent illumination. A Z-stack is performed and the acquired incoherent elecromagnetic fields are deconvoluted before to retrieve in a quantitative manner the refractive index. The results are presented on polystyrene beads and can easily be expanded to biological samples. This technique is suitable to any white-light microscope equipped with nanometric Z-stack module.
Changes in communication of Deaf people with dementia: A thematic interview with a close family member

Background and aim Learning about changes in communication of Deaf with dementia (DWD) is important in order to improve services and support DWD and their families. We explored family members’ views on the changes in communication DWD have and the ways communication was adapted due to progression of dementia. Methods A qualitative content analysis of thematic interviews that were conducted with eight close family members of DWD. Results With decreasing vocabulary and increasing sign-finding difficulties, conversations became poorer, and DWD tended to diverge from the topic. Nonverbal communication became more important as the verbal communication abilities of DWD deteriorated, and the adult children took a more active role by taking initiative and guiding conversations. Conclusion DWD seem to go through similar changes in communication as hearing people with dementia. Adult children of DWD need to get used to interpreting and assisting their parent’s communication through different phases of dementia.
Running economy of elite male and elite female runners.

Twenty female and 45 male middle and long-distance runners, in training for the U.S. Olympic Trials, served as subjects. Ninety percent of both men and women subjects reached the Trials; eight women and 12 men qualified for the Olympic Games and five won medals. Each subject completed a VO2max and a series of submax treadmill runs, for the purpose of comparing heart rate (HR), VO2, and blood lactate (HLa) among men and women and among runners of various event specialties. Results showed the men to be taller, heavier, to have a lower six-site skinfold sum and a higher VO2max, than the women (P less than 0.05); there was no difference in age. When compared in running economy, men used less oxygen (ml.min-1.kg-1) at common absolute velocities, but VO2 (ml.km-1.kg-1) was not different between men and women at equal relative intensities (%VO2max). When men and women of equal VO2max were compared, the men were significantly more economical, using any method of comparison. Also, when comparisons of men and women of equal economy were made, it was found that the men had an even greater advantage over the "matched" women subjects than the mean VO2max comparison using all subjects. In looking at the SD (800-/1500-m runners), MD (3-K/5-K/10-K runners) and LD (marathon runners), it was found that the SD runners used the least oxygen (ml.min-1.kg-1) at speeds of marathon race pace and faster, but not at slower speeds. Men and women responded similarly in this regard. Running economy data for speeds slower than typical race paces, tended to show the LD runners to be most economical, suggesting that the speeds over which runners are tested plays an important part in determining which subjects are the most economical. It was concluded that at absolute running velocities, men are more economical than women, but when expressed in ml.km-1.kg-1 there are no gender differences at similar relative intensities of running. Also, when men and women of equal VO2max or equal economy are matched, the men show a better aerobic profile. It is recommended that economy data be collected up to speeds equal to over 90% VO2max.
DNA Methylation Inhibitor 5-Aza-2′-Deoxycytidine Induces Reversible Genome-Wide DNA Damage That Is Distinctly Influenced by DNA Methyltransferases 1 and 3B

ABSTRACT Genome-wide DNA methylation patterns are frequently deregulated in cancer. There is considerable interest in targeting the methylation machinery in tumor cells using nucleoside analogs of cytosine, such as 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-azadC). 5-azadC exerts its antitumor effects by reactivation of aberrantly hypermethylated growth regulatory genes and cytoxicity resulting from DNA damage. We sought to better characterize the DNA damage response of tumor cells to 5-azadC and the role of DNA methyltransferases 1 and 3B (DNMT1 and DNMT3B, respectively) in modulating this process. We demonstrate that 5-azadC treatment results in growth inhibition and G2 arrest—hallmarks of a DNA damage response. 5-azadC treatment led to formation of DNA double-strand breaks, as monitored by formation of γ-H2AX foci and comet assay, in an ATM (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated)-dependent manner, and this damage was repaired following drug removal. Further analysis revealed activation of key strand break repair proteins including ATM, ATR (ATM-Rad3-related), checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1), BRCA1, NBS1, and RAD51 by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. Significantly, DNMT1-deficient cells demonstrated profound defects in these responses, including complete lack of γ-H2AX induction and blunted p53 and CHK1 activation, while DNMT3B-deficient cells generally showed mild defects. We identified a novel interaction between DNMT1 and checkpoint kinase CHK1 and showed that the defective damage response in DNMT1-deficient cells is at least in part due to altered CHK1 subcellular localization. This study therefore greatly enhances our understanding of the mechanisms underlying 5-azadC cytotoxicity and reveals novel functions for DNMT1 as a component of the cellular response to DNA damage, which may help optimize patient responses to this agent in the future.