Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality of life in rectal cancer patients with permanent colostomy in Xi'an.

OBJECTIVES To observe the quality of life (QOL) in rectal cancer patients with permanent colostomy in different periods after operation. METHODS A 1-,3-,6-month prospective study of QOL in 51 rectal cancer patients with permanent colostomy and 50 without permanent colostomy was assessed using European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QOL-30 and CR38 questionnaires. RESULTS The variation of QOL in different periods was "v" type. In the 1st postoperative month, these patients had the lowest quality of life scores, accompanied significantly varied functions and severe symptoms. Almost of all indexes of these patients had improved consistently in the postoperative period. The scores of global QOL even better than pre-operative level at 6th months post-operation, but the social function, body image, chemotherapy side effects and financial difficulties had not restored to the baseline level. Patients without permanent colostomy had a better score in most of categories of QOL-30 and CR38. CONCLUSIONS The 1st postoperative month was crucial for patients' recovery, in which we should pay great attention to these problems which relate to the recovery of rectal cancer patients with permanent colostomy.
What explains the resolution of property tax delinquency prior to forfeiture? Evidence from Hennepin County, Minnesota

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the rate of redemption for tax delinquent properties in suburban and central city contexts of Hennepin County, Minnesota. Using a county-wide data set of properties that became tax delinquent in 2004, time-to-event (survival) models assess how the rate of redemption for tax-delinquent properties differs for properties subject to different redemption periods determined by property type and location. After controlling for a variety of other property and neighborhood-level characteristics, results indicate that the rate of redemption for tax-delinquent properties differs by location in ways that are not completely explained by different redemption policies associated with location and property type. These results suggest that in areas with healthy economies and minor tax delinquency problems government redemption policies may play less of a role in shaping redemption behavior than the characteristics of the property, neighborhood conditions, and regional factors that influence the perceived value of tax-delinquent properties in central cities and suburbs. These results have important implications for how local governments in the United States consider tax-delinquency issues in an era when economic and social changes in suburbs have made property tax delinquency a problem for central cities and suburbs alike.
Some Results on New Preconditioned Generalized Mixed-Type Splitting Iterative Methods

: In this paper, we present new preconditioned generalized mixed-type splitting (GMTS) methods for solving weighted linear least square problems. We compare the spectral radii of the iteration matrices of the preconditioned and the original methods. The comparison results show that the preconditioned GMTS methods converge faster than the GMTS method whenever the GMTS method is convergent. Finally, we give a numerical example to confirm our theoretical results.
Localization of am3 using EL Congenic Mouse Strains

EL/Sea mice have 100% incidence of the absence of third molars (M3). Our previous linkage analysis using EL/Sea and MSM/Msf mouse strains provides statistical evidence of a major locus for the absence of M3, designated am3, of EL/Sea at the middle region of chromosome 3. To obtain independent evidence for linkage and more precisely determine the location of the am3 locus, we generated EL/Sea congenic strains for am3 in which the restricted interval of chromosome 3 of EL/Sea was replaced by an MSM/Msf-derived homologue. EL/Sea congenic mice that were either heterozygous or homozygous for the MSM/Msf-derived interval exhibited a significant decrease in the incidence of the absence of third molars, confirming previous genome scan results. These results confine the am3 locus to an approximately 4.4-cM region, and demonstrate that other unmapped genes are also involved in the absence of M3 in EL/Sea mice.
Nontargeted rapid human immunodeficiency virus screening provided by dedicated personnel does not adversely affect emergency department length of stay.

OBJECTIVES In September 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended routine (nontargeted) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening for all patients in the emergency department (ED). Although the American College of Emergency Physicians has endorsed these recommendations, the College expressed concern that that their adoption may lead to an increase in the length of stay (LOS) for ED patients. This study therefore analyzed the effect of nontargeted HIV screening on LOS in a cohort of ED patients. METHODS The analysis was performed in an urban, Level I trauma center that offers nontargeted opt-out HIV screening using dedicated HIV screeners. The LOS of all discharged patients who accepted HIV screening between May 2008 and December 2009 were compared with those of a cohort of patients over the same time period who were offered an ED HIV screening test but declined or were found to be not eligible. Median LOS was compared using the Wilcoxon rank sum test, and a multivariable linear model was used to assess the relationship between the acceptance of HIV testing and ED LOS. RESULTS Over the 20-month study period, there were 18,577 records of discharged patients who were offered an HIV screening test and for whom there were data about LOS. Of these, 10,286 patients accepted HIV screening, and 8,291 patients declined or were found not to be eligible. Individuals who accepted the HIV test had an LOS that was 2% longer compared to those who did not accept the test (regression beta coefficient = 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00 to 1.03, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS Human immunodeficiency virus screening using an additional staff model has no clinically significant effect on the overall LOS for discharged patients.
Ploidy distribution in the explant tissue and the calluses induced during the initial stage of internode segment culture of Asparagus officinalis L.

SummaryTo pursue the causal factors of ploidy variation in tissue culture of asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.), ploidy status of stem explants and the calluses induced from these explants were examined using flow cytometry (FCM). The frequency of higher ploidy (>8C) cells in the stem explants increased with increasing distance from the shoot apex. Calluses derived from sections far from the apex also showed higher ploidy distributions, and also higher ploidy (16C) in general than was observed in the explant tissue. Detailed studies using FCM and charge-coupled device (CCD)-equipped fluorescence microscopy showed that 16C cells appeared in the explant tissues within 1 wk of culture, possibly induced by the plant growth regulators (PGRs), especially 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), in the culture medium.
Effects of cholesterol levels on the excitability of rat hippocampal neurons

Changes in the cholesterol levels dynamically alter the microenvironment of the plasma membrane and have been shown to modify functions of ion channels. However, the cellular effect of these modifications is largely unknown. In this report, we demonstrate that cholesterol levels modulate neuronal excitability in rat hippocampal neurons. Reduction of cholesterol levels shortened the duration and increased the firing frequency and peak amplitude of action potentials, while enrichment of cholesterol reversed the effect. Furthermore, we showed that reduction of cholesterol levels increased, while enrichment of cholesterol decreased the amplitude of the delayed rectifier IK currents. On the other hand, reduction of cholesterol levels slowed down the inactivation of the fast transient IA currents, but enrichment of cholesterol had no significant effect on the IA currents. Besides, alteration in cholesterol levels had no significant effect on the action potential in the presence of blockers for both IK and IA currents. These observations demonstrate that cholesterol levels bi-directionally regulate the neuronal excitability mainly through modifications of the IK and IA currents, suggesting an optimum level of cholesterol for the optimum excitability of neurons. Alterations in the neuronal cholesterol levels have been associated with aging, cognitive decline, neurodegenerative diseases, etc. Therefore, our findings are important for a deeper understanding of the relationship between the cholesterol level and dysfunctions of the brain at the molecular level.
Analysis of the simultaneous effects of renewable energy consumption and GDP, using Dynamic Panel Data

In the recent years, renewable energy sources are an important component of world energy consumption. GDP is one of the main measures of a country’s economic activity. Most of the studies examine the impact of renewable energy consumption on GDP with single equation model and the others use dynamic panel data. Since the Granger causality analysis’s findings of this paper establish bidirectional causality between GDP and renewable energy consumption, the purpose of this study is to develop a simultaneous-equations model to explore the interaction between GDP and renewable energy consumption in a dynamic panel data. This model uses GDP and renewable energy consumption as endogenous variables and seven factors as exogenous variables. By using a dynamic panel data of 34 OECD countries from 1990 to 2012, the model is estimated by using the two-stage least-squares method. The results confirm the important influence of renewables and non-renewables as well as capital and labor force on GDP in OECD countries. Based on the results, both GDP and real oil price play an important role in renewable energy consumption. Our findings suggest that energy planners and policy makers need to increase renewable energy investment to ensure sustainable economic development in future.
Hierarchical modelling of small area and hospital variation in short‐term prognosis after acute myocardial infarction A longitudinal study of 35‐ to 74‐year‐old men in Denmark between 1978 and 1997

Models for analysis of trends in hospital and small area variation in case fatality after acute myocardial infarction are presented. The data are from administrative registries in Denmark. Hierarchical modelling in a logistic regression with a Bayesian approach is used. Model selection is undertaken using the deviance and the Bayesian information criteria. There is a modest trend for hospital variation in case‐fatality rates that coincides with the introduction of new treatment strategies. This hospital variation is considerably larger than the variation at the area level. There is no trend for variation of the case‐fatality rates at the area level. Unstructured random effects slightly outperform spatially correlated random effects at the area level. Somewhat high correlations over time within hospitals and within areas were detected for the case‐fatality rates. Heavy‐tailed distributions (T‐distributions) could be an alternative for the random effect distribution in data from administrative registries and compete in the model selection with the normal distribution in this study. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An adaptive controller to realize smooth input for systems with relative degree less than 3

In this paper, the main attention is focused on transient of control input signal, and then, we propose a novel model reference adaptive controller for SISO systems with relative degree less than three. When we control real devices by using the elementally conventional adaptive controller, we have an experience that high frequency oscillations with large amplitude occur in the control input signals. This is one of serious problems in actual applications. To generate a control input signal without oscillation, a novel estimator using an observer for the output tracking error signal is proposed. Using the estimator, it is shown theoretically that the control input signal converges with any convergent rate to an ideal input signal given by adding the exact model matching input signal and a smooth exponential damping signal. From the property it can be expected that. oscillations are hard to occur in the control input signals. Moreover, it is also proved theoretically that. the transient output error responses can be specified by setting design parameters.
Mechanistic basis for the chemopreventive effects of black raspberries at a late stage of rat esophageal carcinogenesis

The present study used a postinitiation protocol to investigate molecular mechanisms by which black raspberries (BRBs) influence the late stages of N‐nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA)‐induced esophageal tumorigenesis in rats. F344 rats were injected with NMBA and then fed either control diet or a diet containing 5% BRB powder. Control rats were injected with DMSO/water (20:80), the vehicle for NMBA. Esophagi from control, NMBA‐ and NMBA + BRB‐treated rats were collected at 35 wk for histopathological, molecular, and immunohistochemical analyses. Treatment with 5% BRBs reduced the number of dysplastic lesions and the number and size of esophageal papillomas in NMBA‐treated rats. When compared to esophagi from control rats, NMBA treatment led to the differential expression of 4807 genes in preneoplastic esophagus (PE) and 17 846 genes in esophageal papillomas. Dietary BRBs modulated 626 of the 4807 differentially expressed genes in PE and 625 of the 17 846 differentially expressed genes in esophageal papillomas towards normal levels of expression. In both PE and in papillomas, BRBs modulated the mRNA expression of genes associated with carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, cell proliferation and death, and inflammation. In these same tissues, BRBs modulated the expression of proteins associated with proliferation, apoptosis, inflammation, angiogenesis, and both cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways of arachidonic acid metabolism. Interestingly, matrix metalloproteinases involved in tissue invasion and metastasis, and proteins associated with cell–cell adhesion, were also modulated by BRBs. This is the first report of the effects of berries on the expression of genes associated with the late stages of rat esophageal carcinogenesis. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
In the Aftermath of Act 10: The Changed State of Teaching in a Changed State

Act 10, the 2011 legislative ruling in Wisconsin that reduced public-sector unions' collective bargaining power, provides a descriptive case study to examine what happens to teachers when collective bargaining disappears. Analysis of interviews with social studies teachers (n = 26) from a stratified random sample of 13 districts shows that the most salient changes for teachers post-Act 10 include increased workloads, reduced pay and benefits, decreased job stability, and unchecked school board and administrative power. These findings are consistent across communities of different sizes and political leanings. In concert with a slew of other reforms initiated within a context of decreased union power, these changes have led to teachers feeling uncertain and vulnerable as well as experiencing a loss of “meaningful teaching. ” Interviewees expressed doubts about whether they should continue teaching and concerns for the future of the profession.
Temporal Data Management and Processing with Column Oriented NoSQL Databases

This article introduces how temporal data can be maintained and processed by utilizing Column-oriented NoSQL databases CoNoSQLDBs. Although each column in a CoNoSQLDB can store multiple data versions with their corresponded timestamps, its implicit temporal interval representation can cause wrong or misleading results during temporal query processing. In consequence, the original table representation supported by CoNoSQLDBs is not suitable for storing temporal data. To maintain the temporal data in the CoNoSQLDB tables, two alternative table representations can be adopted, namely, explicit history representation EHR and tuple time-stamping representation TTR in which each tuple data version has an explicit temporal interval. For processing TTR, the temporal relational algebra is extended to TTRO operator model with minor modifications. For processing EHR, a novel temporal operator model called CTO is proposed. Both TTRO and CTO contain eight temporal data operators, namely, Union, Difference, Intersection, Project, Filter, Cartesian product, Theta-Join and Group by with a set of aggregation functions, such as SUM, AVG, MAX and etc. Moreover, the authors implement each temporal operator by utilizing MapReduce framework to indicate which temporal operator model is more suitable for temporal data processing in the context of CoNoSQLDBs.
Current experiences with community-based distribution of family planning in Kenya: A review prepared for USAID/Kenya

Kenya has been one of the leading countries worldwide in developing and implementing community-based distribution (CBD) programs as part of the national family planning (FP) program. CBD activities in Kenya are coordinated by the National Council for Population and Development, with support from USAID and other donor agencies. Kenya’s CBD program has been widely publicized because of its success in improving access to FP information and services, and its diversity of organizational structures. USAID would like to review the current situation and possible future directions before designing its CBD strategy for the next five-year bilateral project. The Africa OR/TA II Project was requested to assist in preparing its CBD strategy because of its experience with CBD activities throughout Africa. Following this review, the Africa OR/TA II Project will be coordinating a large-scale field research study to evaluate the impact of CBD in terms of a variety of indicators. This review has provided the first step in preparing for this research study by identifying what is known about CBD in Kenya and highlighting key issues that need addressing. This report presents a wide-ranging review of data currently available on a number of aspects of CBD in Kenya.
Cks1, Cdk1, and the 19S Proteasome Collaborate To Regulate Gene Induction-Dependent Nucleosome Eviction in Yeast

ABSTRACT Cks1, Cdk1 (Cdc28), and the proteasome are required for efficient transcriptional induction of GAL1 and other genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We show here that one function of these proteins is to reduce nucleosome density on chromatin in a gene induction-specific manner. The transcriptional requirement for Cks1 can be bypassed if nucleosome density is reduced by an alternative pathway, indicating that this is the primary function of Cks1 in the context of gene induction. We further show that Cks1, Cdk1, and the 19S subunit of the proteasome are recruited to chromatin by binding directly to the histone H4 amino-terminal tail. However, this activity of the proteasome does not require the protease activity associated with the 20S subunit. These data suggest a model where binding of a complex consisting of Cks1, Cdk1, and the 19S proteasome to histone H4 leads to removal of nucleosomes via a nonproteolytic activity of the proteasome.
Factors Associated With Psychotropic Drug Usage Among Nursing Home Residents With Dementia

Background: Although federal regulations hold nursing homes responsible for monitoring psychotropic drug (PD) usage, there is a high prevalence of PD usage and significant variation in use across nursing homes. Objectives: The aims of study were to (a) describe current PD usage in nursing homes and (b) examine resident and nursing home factors associated with PD usage in nursing home residents with dementia. Methods: A multivariate, multisite, cross-sectional descriptive study was used on data from 107 dementia patients residing in nine randomly selected nursing homes in southeastern Michigan. The PD usage of interest included antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics or sedatives, and mood stabilizers. Regression analysis tested resident factors, including cognitive ability, functional ability, presence of depressive symptoms, and demographic characteristics, and three facility factors (nursing home size, type of ownership, and level of registered nurse [RN] staffing) in comparison with PD usage. Results: In this study, 67.3% of the participants received at least one PD. The most frequently prescribed PDs were antidepressants (41.1%) and antipsychotics (37.4%). Newly developed antipsychotics such as risperidone were given more frequently to residents than were conventional drugs such as haloperidol. Regression analysis suggests that the presence of depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR]= 3.5, p < .01) and low levels of RN staffing (OR = 1.0, p < .01) were associated with the use of PD. Discussion: Psychotropic drugs are prescribed frequently for nursing home residents, although such usage is variable. Behavioral symptoms were not an independent predictive factor for PD use. Rather, combined resident and facility characteristics best predicted the use of PDs in nursing home residents. The evaluation of nursing home systems for these characteristics as predictive factors for PD usage in nursing home patients with dementia is suggested by the results. Likewise, attention to new drugs such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and their appropriate use is recommended.