Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Evaluation of Muscle Function, Gait, and Postural Control in People Experiencing Critical Illness After Discharge From the Intensive Care Unit

Background The path to recovery of muscle strength and mobility following discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU) has not been well described. Objective The study objective was to quantify muscle function, gait, and postural control at 3 and 6 months after discharge in people who were recovering from critical illness and who were ventilated for 7 days or more. Design This was a nested longitudinal study with continuous inclusion of individuals over a 2‐year period and with age‐ and sex‐matched controls. Methods Twenty‐four people were tested at 3 months after ICU discharge; 16 of them (67%) were reevaluated at 6 months (post‐ICU group). Healthy controls (n = 12) were tested at a single time point. Muscle function of the knee extensors (KEs), plantar flexors (PFs), and dorsiflexors (DFs) was assessed on a dynamometer. Gait was measured using an electronic walkway, and postural control was measured with 2 portable force plates. Results Muscle weakness was observed across all muscle groups at 3 months, with the greatest strength reductions in the ankle PFs (45%) and DFs (30%). Muscle power was reduced in the PFs and DFs but was not reduced in the KEs. Gait in the post‐ICU group was characterized by a narrower step, longer stride, and longer double‐support time than in the controls. Improvements were found in KE strength and in stride time and double‐support time during gait at 6 months. Leg muscle strength and power had moderate associations with gait velocity, step width, and stride length (r = .44‐.65). Limitations The small heterogeneous sample of people with a high level of function was a limitation of this study. Conclusions Muscle strength and power were impaired at 6 months after ICU discharge and were associated with gait parameters. Future studies are needed to examine the role of muscle strength and power training in post‐ICU rehabilitation programs to improve mobility.
Cyatta abscondita: Taxonomy, Evolution, and Natural History of a New Fungus-Farming Ant Genus from Brazil

Cyatta abscondita, a new genus and species of fungus-farming ant from Brazil, is described based on morphological study of more than 20 workers, two dealate gynes, one male, and two larvae. Ecological field data are summarized, including natural history, nest architecture, and foraging behavior. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from four nuclear genes indicate that Cyatta abscondita is the distant sister taxon of the genus Kalathomyrmex, and that together they comprise the sister group of the remaining neoattine ants, an informal clade that includes the conspicuous and well-known leaf-cutter ants. Morphologically, Cyatta abscondita shares very few obvious character states with Kalathomyrmex. It does, however, possess a number of striking morphological features unique within the fungus-farming tribe Attini. It also shares morphological character states with taxa that span the ancestral node of the Attini. The morphology, behavior, and other biological characters of Cyatta abscondita are potentially informative about plesiomorphic character states within the fungus-farming ants and about the early evolution of ant agriculture.
Effects of Early- and Late-Arriving Room Reflections on the Speech-Evoked Auditory Brainstem Response

Abstract Background: Room reverberation alters the acoustical properties of the speech signals reaching our ears, affecting speech understanding. Therefore, it is important to understand the consequences of reverberation on auditory processing. In perceptual studies, the direct sound and early reflections of reverberated speech have been found to constitute useful energy, whereas the late reflections constitute detrimental energy. Purpose: This study investigated how various components (direct sound versus early reflections versus late reflections) of the reverberated speech are encoded in the auditory system using the speech-evoked auditory brainstem response (ABR). Research Design: Speech-evoked ABRs were recorded using reverberant stimuli created as a result of the convolution between an ongoing synthetic vowel /a/ and each of the following room impulse response (RIR) components: direct sound, early reflections, late reflections, and full reverberation. Four stimuli were produced: direct component, early component, late component, and full component. Study Sample: Twelve participants with normal hearing participated in this study. Data Collection and Analysis: Waves V and A amplitudes and latencies as well as envelope-following response (EFR) and fine structure frequency–following response (FFR) amplitudes of the speech-evoked ABR were evaluated separately with one-way repeated measures analysis of variances to determine the effect of stimulus. Post hoc comparisons using Tukey’s honestly significant difference test were performed to assess significant differences between pairs of stimulus conditions. Results: For waves V and A amplitudes, a significant difference or trend toward significance was found between direct and late components, between direct and full components, and between early and late components. For waves V and A latencies, significant differences were found between direct and late components, between direct and full components, between early and late components, and between early and full components. For the EFR and FFR amplitudes, a significant difference or trend toward significance was found between direct and late components, and between early and late components. Moreover, eight, three, and one participant reported the early, full, and late stimuli, respectively, to be the most perceptually similar to the direct stimulus. Conclusions: The stimuli that are acoustically most similar (direct and early) result in electrophysiological responses that are not significantly different, whereas the stimuli that are acoustically most different (direct and late, early and late) result in responses that are significantly different across all response measures. These findings provide insights toward the understanding of the effects of the different components of the RIRs on auditory processing of speech.
Short-Term Blood Pressure Responses to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Exposures at the Extremes of Global Air Pollution Concentrations

BACKGROUND Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution is a leading cause of global cardiovascular mortality. A key mechanism may be PM2.5-induced blood pressure (BP) elevations. Whether consistent prohypertensive responses persist across the breadth of worldwide pollution concentrations has never been investigated. METHODS We evaluated the hemodynamic impact of short-term exposures to ambient PM2.5 in harmonized studies of healthy normotensive adults (4 BP measurements per participant) living in both a highly polluted (Beijing) and clean (Michigan) location. RESULTS Prior 7-day outdoor-ambient and 24-hour personal-level PM2.5 concentration averages were much higher in Beijing (86.7 ± 52.1 and 52.4 ± 79.2 µg/m3) compared to Michigan (9.1 ± 1.8 and 12.2 ± 17.0 µg/m3). In Beijing (n = 73), increased outdoor-ambient exposures (per 10 µg/m3) during the prior 1-7 days were associated with significant elevations in diastolic BP (0.15-0.17 mm Hg). In overweight adults (body mass index ≥25 kg/m2), significant increases in both systolic (0.34-0.44 mm Hg) and diastolic (0.22-0.66 mm Hg) BP levels were observed. Prior 24-hour personal-level exposures also significantly increased BP (0.41/0.61 mm Hg) in overweight participants. Conversely, low PM2.5 concentrations in Michigan (n = 50), on average within Air Quality Guidelines, were not associated with BP elevations. CONCLUSIONS Our findings demonstrate that short-term exposures to ambient PM2.5 in a highly polluted environment can promote elevations in BP even among healthy adults. The fact that no adverse hemodynamic responses were observed in a clean location supports the key public health importance of international efforts to improve air quality as part of the global battle against hypertension.
Research on the thermo-plastic composites reinforced by woven flax fabrics

Polypropylene filaments were employed to wrap the flax yarn.3 kinds of plain fabrics were woven with identical warp density and various weft density by using the produced yarns.Heat press was employed to fabricate 5-layer fabric into laminated composites,all together 3 groups of laminates were produced.The tensile strength of the composites was tested.The measurement revealed that fabric thread count has great impact on the tensile strength and elongation at break of laminates;under identical conditions,the warpwise tensile strength of the laminates increased with the decreased weft density,but the elongation at break decreased.
DESIGN AND CHARACTERIZATION OF BUCCAL FILMS OF TRAMADOL HYDROCHLORIDE

Opioid analgesics are important in both acute and chronic pain management. Tramadol Hydrochloride is a centrally acting analgesic having both opioid and non opioid effects, which is associated with little respiratory depression. Tramadol Hydrochloride is a water soluble drug. It is having relatively short duration of action it requires repeated dosage for therapeutic action. And it is having extensive first pass metabolism. Controlled released buccal films of Tramadol Hydrochloride were prepared and investigated using polymers HPMC K4M, sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, carbopol 934 in different ratios. Compatibility studies were done by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry techniques (DSC). FTIR spectra and DSC thermograph of Tramadol Hydrochloride, polymers, and all formulations indicates that there is no chemical interaction and confirmed the stability of the drug. The films were evaluated for their physical characteristics like weight variation, Thickness, folding endurance, surface pH, drug content uniformity, swelling index, Ex vivo bioadhesion time. In vitro drug release studies reveal that all films exhibited controlled release in the range of 75.87 to 91.22% for a period of 8 hours. Ex vivo permeation studies through sheep buccal mucosa indicate that films showed good controlled drug release in the range of 80.95 to 93.12% over a period of 10 hours.
“She Had a Smile on Her Face as Wide as the Great Australian Bite”: A Qualitative Examination of Family Perceptions of a Therapeutic Robot and a Plush Toy

Background and Objectives Recent years have seen social robotic pets introduced as a means of treating behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, and many show promising potential. In this study, we sought to explore family members' perceptions of the Japanese-developed baby harp seal, Paro (version 9), and a look-alike, nonrobotic Plush Toy, when used by their relative with dementia for 15 min, 3 afternoons per week for 10 weeks. Research Design and Method The study employed a descriptive qualitative approach, which was nested within a larger cluster randomized controlled trial. A convenience sample of 20 family members (n = 10 each from the Paro and Plush Toy conditions) with relatives in 9 long-term care facilities in Queensland, Australia, completed individual semi-structured interviews (telephone or face-to-face). Inductive, data-driven thematic analysis of the data was undertaken with the assistance of the qualitative management software, ATLAS.ti®. Results Family members of long-term care residents with dementia expressed positive perceptions of the Paro, perceiving that it improved mood, reduced agitation, and provided opportunity for communication for their relative. Negative perceptions of the Plush Toy were given by family members, primarily because of its lack of movement and engagement. Conclusion Family members were keen for their older relative with dementia to use a social robot that moved and engaged with them, and Plush Toys that were static and unresponsive were perceived as being unimportant in improving quality of life. However, the current cost of Paro was identified by family members as a major limitation to use.
Myoblast cell sheet transplantation enhances the endogenous regenerative abilities of infant hearts in rats with myocardial infarction

The shortage of heart transplantation donors for infants is severe. Regenerative cell therapy has been expected to offer new methods of treatment, and this study was about regenerative cell therapy for infant hearts. The aims of the present study were to clarify the effects of regenerative cell therapy on the infant heart. The heart impairment model and tissue‐engineered myoblast cell sheets were used for regenerative cell therapy. Infant rats (n = 54) aged 2 weeks and adult rats aged 12 weeks (n = 35) were used. Myocardial infarction (MI) was induced as the heart impairment model and triple‐layer myoblast cell sheets were used for transplantation to MI lesions. Infant rats after MI had better self‐regenerative ability in wall thickness, fibrosis and cardiac function and we observed greater numbers of proliferating cardiomyocytes than in adults. Moreover, infant MI rats treated with myoblast cell sheets showed better results in wall thickness, fibrosis and cardiac function than infant MI rats without myoblast cell sheets, because of the positive effect that myoblast cell sheets had on proliferating cardiomyocytes, increasing vascular networks and accumulating c‐kit‐positive cells. We clarified that regenerative cell therapy enhances the endogenous regenerative ability of infant hearts in rats with MI; moreover, it has a greater therapeutic effect on infant hearts than on adult hearts, because of the ability of infant hearts for cardiomyocyte proliferation. The present paper provides essential new data for clinical therapy in infant patients. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Color deconvolution method with DAB scatter correction for bright field image analysis

For histochemical staining, to highlight multiple biomarkers within a sample, multiple stains with different light spectral absorption characteristics are deployed (i.e. multiplexing). To reconstruct the single stain contrast from a multiplexed sample, the conventional color deconvolution method assumes that light extinction follows Lambert-Beer’s law during imaging process and the optical density (OD) measured from the image is linearly related to the stain amount. However, this assumption does not hold well for commonly used diaminobenzidine (DAB) stain due to its precipitate-forming reaction during sample processing. Besides absorption, scattering also contributes to the light extinction process which causes the non-linear relation between the OD value and the stain amount. Therefore, using the conventional method may not have sufficient accuracy for quantified stain analysis, especially when DAB presents at high concentration levels. In this paper, our study shows that DAB presents different chromatic properties at different concentration levels. Therefore, we propose a new color deconvolution method to address the issue by employing a set of reference colors vectors, each of which characterizes a DAB concentration level. Then, the reference color vector that best represents the true DAB concentration level in the mixture is automatically selected for color deconvolution. Both visual and quantified assessments are provided to show that the method enables detection for a broader dynamic range of DAB concentration and therefore should be preferred by the user for bright field image analysis.
The outage rate model based on the improved evidence theory considering various outage factors

This paper proposes an improved evidence theory and presents a method to get the outage rate of electrical equipment considering various outage factors. The improved evidence theory is proposed to obtain the real-time outage rate integrating various outage factors. Combined with the real-time power system operating information, the weather forecast information, the on-line monitoring information and the geographical information, this paper presents several outage rate models considering the occasional outages and protection devices' operation when the component is working abnormally. Then the correlations between the various outage factors and critical outage factor is analyzed, an integrated outage rate model is given considering the subjective judgement and objective data based on the improved evidence theory. This outage rate model could be used to discover the possible outage components in the current operating condition.
Telehealth Interventions to Support Self-Management of Long-Term Conditions: A Systematic Metareview of Diabetes, Heart Failure, Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Cancer

Background Self-management support is one mechanism by which telehealth interventions have been proposed to facilitate management of long-term conditions. Objective The objectives of this metareview were to (1) assess the impact of telehealth interventions to support self-management on disease control and health care utilization, and (2) identify components of telehealth support and their impact on disease control and the process of self-management. Our goal was to synthesise evidence for telehealth-supported self-management of diabetes (types 1 and 2), heart failure, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer to identify components of effective self-management support. Methods We performed a metareview (a systematic review of systematic reviews) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of telehealth interventions to support self-management in 6 exemplar long-term conditions. We searched 7 databases for reviews published from January 2000 to May 2016 and screened identified studies against eligibility criteria. We weighted reviews by quality (revised A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews), size, and relevance. We then combined our results in a narrative synthesis and using harvest plots. Results We included 53 systematic reviews, comprising 232 unique RCTs. Reviews concerned diabetes (type 1: n=6; type 2, n=11; mixed, n=19), heart failure (n=9), asthma (n=8), COPD (n=8), and cancer (n=3). Findings varied between and within disease areas. The highest-weighted reviews showed that blood glucose telemonitoring with feedback and some educational and lifestyle interventions improved glycemic control in type 2, but not type 1, diabetes, and that telemonitoring and telephone interventions reduced mortality and hospital admissions in heart failure, but these findings were not consistent in all reviews. Results for the other conditions were mixed, although no reviews showed evidence of harm. Analysis of the mediating role of self-management, and of components of successful interventions, was limited and inconclusive. More intensive and multifaceted interventions were associated with greater improvements in diabetes, heart failure, and asthma. Conclusions While telehealth-mediated self-management was not consistently superior to usual care, none of the reviews reported any negative effects, suggesting that telehealth is a safe option for delivery of self-management support, particularly in conditions such as heart failure and type 2 diabetes, where the evidence base is more developed. Larger-scale trials of telehealth-supported self-management, based on explicit self-management theory, are needed before the extent to which telehealth technologies may be harnessed to support self-management can be established.
A Mobile Infliximab Dosing Calculator for Therapy Optimization in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract Background Inadequate infliximab (IFX) drug exposure remains a clinical challenge and leads to high loss of response rates and therapy failure in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to determine the feasibility and pilot effectiveness of a novel, web-based, mobile IFX dosing calculator (mIDC) for therapy optimization. Methods We developed an mIDC leveraging the known clinical variables of C-reative protein (CRP), albumin, patient’s weight, disease activity indices, calprotectin, drug trough levels, and antibodies to IFX that significantly affect pharmacokinetics and/or outcomes. A prospective observational cohort study in pediatric and young adult IBD patients receiving maintenance IFX was performed. System-wide practice adoption of mIDC was achieved through a quality improvement (QI) initiative within a hospital-based infusion unit. Results Forty-nine patients (median age: 16.0 years; 55% female; 65% Crohn’s disease) were followed over 9 months. mIDC recommendations for dose optimization were followed by the treating physicians in 198 (89%) out of 222 infusions. Twenty-eight (13%) of 222 mIDC recommendations were to escalate IFX dosing; 15 (54%) of 28 escalation recommendations were declined, and these patients were more likely to already be receiving IFX dose intensification compared with those in whom escalation recommendations were followed (P < 0.05). From mIDC initiation to end of follow-up, mean albumin levels remained unchanged at 3.8 g/dL. Median CRP remained unchanged at 2 g/L. Median calprotectin levels showed a downward trend from 30 to 27 μg/g (n = 9, P < 0.05). The percentage of patients undergoing therapeutic drug monitoring in clinical care increased from 34% to 86% with the QI initiative. The target median IFX trough goal of >5 μg/mL was achieved with 81% probability throughout the QI initiative, an increase of 12% compared with pre-QI values. Conclusions The use of a novel mIDC is feasible and potentially effective, facilitating both standardization and individualization of therapy in clinical care. mIDC appears to be a practical IFX dosing tool for point-of-care use, leveraging individual pharmacokinetic considerations.10. 1093/ibd/izx037_video1izx037. video15721589594001
Differences in Growth Reading Patterns for at-Risk Spanish-Monolingual Children as a Function of a Tier 2 Intervention

Abstract The present study compares the patterns of growth of beginning reading skills (i.e., phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension) of Spanish speaking monolingual students who received a Tier 2 reading intervention with students who did not receive the intervention. All the students in grades K-2 were screened at the beginning of the year to confirm their risk status. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design was used: the treatment group received a supplemental program in small groups of 3 to 5 students, for 30 minutes daily from November to June. The control group did not receive it. All students were assessed three times during the academic year. A hierarchical linear growth modeling was conducted and differences on growth rate were found in vocabulary in kindergarten (p < .001; variance explained = 77.0%), phonemic awareness in kindergarten (p < .001; variance explained = 43.7%) and first grade (p < .01; variance explained = 15.2%), and finally we also find significant growth differences for second grade in oral reading fluency (p < .05; variance explained = 15.1%) and retell task (p < .05; variance explained = 14.5%). Children at risk for reading disabilities in Spanish can improve their skills when they receive explicit instruction in the context of Response to Intervention (RtI). Findings are discussed for each skill in the context of implementing a Tier 2 small group intervention within an RtI approach. Implications for practice in the Spanish educational context are also discussed for children who are struggling with reading.