Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring personal recovery – psychometric properties of the Swedish Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (QPR-Swe)

Abstract Background: Personal recovery, defined as an individual process towards meaning, is an important target within mental health services. Measuring recovery hence requires reliable and valid measures. The Process of Recovery Questionnaire (QPR) was developed for that purpose. Aims: The aim was to develop a Swedish version of the QPR (QPR-Swe) and explore its psychometric properties in terms of factor structure, internal consistency, construct validity and sensitivity to change. Methods: A total of 226 participants entered the study. The factor structure was investigated by Principal Component Analysis and Scree plot. Construct validity was addressed in terms of convergent validity against indicators of self-mastery, self-esteem, quality of life and self-rated health. Results: A one-factor solution of QPR-Swe received better support than a two-factor solution. Good internal consistency was indicated, α = 0.92, and construct validity was satisfactory. The QPR-Swe showed preliminary sensitivity to change. Conclusions: The QPR-Swe showed promising initial psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency, convergent validity and sensitivity to change. The QPR-Swe is recommended for use in research and clinical contexts to assess personal recovery among people with mental illness.
Effect of Bovine Lactoferrin Treatment Followed by Acute Stress on the IgA-Response in Small Intestine of BALB/c Mice

ABSTRACT Secretory IgA (SIgA) has a pivotal role in gut homeostasis, which can be disturbed by stress. SIgA is formed by IgA-dimers (associated by the J-chain) and the secretory component, a protein derivative of polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR). Given the gut immuno-modulatory properties of bovine lactoferrin (bLf), the aim of this study was to compare, after bLf treatment followed by acute stress, the IgA response and IgA-associated parameters in proximal versus distal small intestine. Male BALB/c mice (n = 6) were orally treated with bLf (50, 500, and 5000 μg) for 7 days, then stressed by immobilization for 1 h, and sacrificed. In proximal and distal segments, levels were determined of IgA in gut secretions (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]), the α-/J-chain and pIgR proteins in epithelial cells (Western-blot), and mRNA expression of the α-/J-chain, pIgR, and interleukins (ILs) in mucosa (RT-PCR). Data were compared by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (significance at P < 0.05). Under acute stress, bLf triggered higher levels of IgA, SIgA, and anti-bLf-IgA as well as greater mRNA expression of pIgR, IL-4, and IL-6 (500 µg) in proximal intestine, while inducing higher levels of the total IgA, α-/J-chain, and pIgR proteins as well as greater mRNA expression of the α-chain and IL-4 (5000 µg) in distal intestine. Compared to unstressed/bLf-untreated mice, plasma corticosterone (a stress biomarker, measured by ELISA) increased in stressed/bLf-treated (0, 50 and 500 µg) and unstressed/bLf-treated (5000 µg) mice. The interplay of corticosterone with gut neuroendocrine factors may have elicited signals creating anti-inflammatory conditions for an IgA-response profile in each intestinal region, according to the bLf concentration administered.
Role of NSAIDs in acute treatment of headache

Headache is one of the most common neurological disorders worldwide. Tension‐type headache (TTH) represents the most frequent headache form, involving 82% of sufferers. Of this population, 14% are affected by migraine and 4% by a chronic form of headache (chronic daily headache [CDH]). Nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) represent the most used acute therapy for TTH and migraine because of issues with coxibs safety. NSAIDs play a minor role is the treatment in trigeminal‐autonomic cephalgias (TACs); if excluding indomethacin in the acute management of paroxysmal hemicrania (PH). Despite limitations in their utilization, NSAIDs still constitute drugs of primary importance, being effective and being well tolerated in the treatment of acute episodes. Drug Dev Res 68:276–281, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Specifying the correlation structure in inverse-probability- weighting estimation for repeated measures.

years (24%). The incidence of traffic accident– related admission was higher among men than among women. The annual incidence of traffic accident-related admission was 44 per 10,000 persons in 1996 and decreased gradually during the study period to 26 per 10,000 persons in 2008. Among all traffic accidents resulting in hospital admission during the study period, 7% involved patients with sleep disorders. We found traffic accident–related admission rates were 49 per 10,000 person-years with sleep disorders and 37 per 10,000 person-years without sleep disorders (Table). Although patients of all ages with sleep disorders were at increased risk of admission due to traffic accidents, the risk was highest for the age groups 30–39 and 40–49. However, the NHI claim data did not include information on whether the patient was the driver or the passenger. Therefore, our result probably underestimates the true impact of sleep disorders on traffic accidents. Except for an increased incidence of ICU admission in patients 50–59 years of age with sleep disorders, we did not find evidence to link severity of traffic accidents to sleep disorders. In the NHI claim data, patients with sleep disorders had received pharmacologic interventions for an average of 20 days during follow-up (mean 2.0 years). The impact of pharmacologic sleep aids on the incidence of traffic accidents could not be explored in this study and needs further investigation. We find that sleep disorders are associated with an increased risk of traffic accidents but not with accident severity. These results may be useful in providing a reference for actuarial calculation by national or commercial insurance companies and in suggesting possibilities for further research.
Ultrasound versus fluoroscopic-guided epidural steroid injections in patients with degenerative spinal diseases: A randomised study

BACKGROUND Epidural steroid injections are routinely performed under fluoroscopic guidance, but could also be performed using preprocedure ultrasound spine examination. OBJECTIVES To compare ultrasound-assisted and fluoroscopy-controlled epidural steroid injections with regard to technical feasibility (accuracy, average procedure time) and outcome (pain relief and degree of disability score). DESIGN A randomised study. SETTING University hospital between January 2010 and September 2012. PATIENTS One hundred and twelve patients with axial chronic lower back and extremity pain diagnosed with degenerative diseases of the spine, receiving three lumbar interlaminar epidural steroid injections, were randomly assigned between two groups. INTERVENTION In the fluoroscopic group, injections were performed under fluoroscopic guidance, and in the ultrasound group, ultrasound scanning of the lumbar spine was performed before the injection to determine the puncture site, depth of the epidural space and needle trajectory. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Procedure time, numbers of needle insertion attempts and needle passes, visual analogue scale for pain and Oswestry disability index at 1 and 3 months posttreatment. RESULTS There was no significant difference between the two groups in mean procedure time, number of needle insertion attempts or needle passes. The mean pain intensity and degree of disability scores before the procedure, and at 1 and 3 months postprocedure, were similar in the two groups. Neither group had serious complications. CONCLUSION We have demonstrated the feasibility of ultrasound-assisted epidural steroid injections.
Bispectral index guided titration of sevoflurane in on-pump cardiac surgery reduces plasma sevoflurane concentration and vasopressor requirements: A prospective, controlled, sequential two-arm clinical study

BACKGROUND Electroencephalographic-based monitoring systems such as the bispectral index (BIS) may reduce anaesthetic overdose rates. OBJECTIVE We hypothesised that goal-directed sevoflurane administration (guided by BIS monitoring) could reduce the sevoflurane plasma concentration (SPC) and intraoperative vasopressor doses during on-pump cardiac surgery. DESIGN A prospective, controlled, sequential two-arm clinical study. SETTING German university medical centre with more than 2500 cardiac surgery interventions per year. PATIENTS Sixty elective on-pump cardiac surgery patients. INTERVENTION In group Sevo1.8% (n = 29), the sedation depth was maintained with a sustained inspired concentration of sevoflurane 1.8% before and during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). In group SevoBIS (n = 31), the inspired sevoflurane concentration was titrated to maintain a BIS target between 40 and 60. OUTCOME MEASURES SPC during CPB and the intraoperative administration of noradrenaline. Additional analyses were performed on intraoperative awareness, postoperative blood lactate concentration, duration of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit length of stay and kidney injury. RESULTS Mean inspired sevoflurane concentration was 0.8% in group SevoBIS, representing a 57.1% reduction (P < 0.001) compared with group Sevo1.8%. The mean SPC was 42.3 &mgr;g ml−1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 40.0 to 44.6] in group Sevo1.8% and 21.0 &mgr;g ml−1 (95% CI 18.8 to 23.3) in group SevoBIS, representing a 50.2% reduction (P < 0.001). During CPB, the mean cumulative dose of noradrenaline administered was 13.48 &mgr;g kg−1 (95% CI 10.52 to 17.19) in group Sevo1.8% and 4.06 &mgr;g kg−1 (95% CI 2.67 to 5.97) in group SevoBIS (P < 0.001). Pearson's correlation coefficient (between the cumulative applied dosage of sevoflurane calculated from the area under the curve of the SPC over time and the administered cumulative noradrenaline dose) was 0.607 (P < 0.001). No intraoperative awareness signs were detected. CONCLUSION BIS-guided titration of sevoflurane reduces the SPC and decreases noradrenaline administration compared with routine care during on-pump cardiac surgery.
Advanced image processing in radiology

Radiology is in the process of making a transition between “analogue” imaging and digital imaging and between two-dimensional and three-dimenstional imaging.Advanced processing methods need to incorporate clinical knowledge and be defined using clinical constraints.Two classes of method are important: data driven and hypothesis driven.In the analysis of such data, tests against reference data sets (atlases) are required.The availability of distributed image processing and data, usually called “grid” computing, is likely to significantly change the types of methods used and their availability.
Occupational Therapists and Therapeutic Riding

ABSTRACT Statistics indicate that physical therapists considerably outnumber occupational therapists in utilizing therapeutic horseback riding as a treatment modality. This study was conducted in an effort to gain insight into the reasons for the discrepancy. Two different questionnaires were developed and distributed to two different populations, occupational therapy practitioners, and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) accredited schools offering occupational therapy programs. Three hundred and twenty-four occupational therapy (OT) practitioners responded to a questionnaire about their knowledge and interest in therapeutic horseback riding (THR). These practitioners included both registered occupational therapists (OTR) and certified occupational therapy assistants (COTA) in the United States, who were randomly selected from a mailing list obtained through the AOTA. The first questionnaire addressed the research question, “Why are there so few occupational therapy practitioners involved in therapeutic horseback riding? ” The most frequent response cited by OT practitioners was a lack of horse knowledge, followed closely by a lack of time. Additionally, 181 schools offering occupational therapy programs responded to a questionnaire addressing the research question, “Do AOTA approved occupational therapy programs include therapeutic horseback riding as a treatment option in their curriculum? ” The most frequent manner in which THR was included in a curriculum was through informal discussion or student presentation.
A Distributed Neural Approach For Causal Reasoning Using Cooperative And Competitive Neural Computations

ABSTRACT In this work, we develop a neural model to solve causal reasoning problems (also called abduction) in the open, independent, and incompatibility classes. We model the reasoning process by a single and global energy function using cooperative and competitive neural computation. The update rules of the distinct connections of the network are derived from its energy function, using gradient descent techniques. Simulation results reveal a good performance of the model.
Clinical, radiological and bacteriological findings in canine periodontitis

The clinical and radiological features and bacterial flora were studied in 16 small dogs with periodontitis. Gingival retraction, bleeding and alveolar bone loss were the most typical findings, whereas deep periodontal pockets were infrequently found. Periodontitis was frequently localised to certain regions of the dentition, most often in premolars or incisors. However, the deepest periodontal pockets were found in canine teeth. The mean pocket depth was 2·0 ± 0·4 mm (mean ± SD). The mean percentage of the sites with a pocket depth of more than 3 mm was 10·5 per cent. The mean occurrence of gingival bleeding after probing was 22·7 ± 12·7 per cent and the mean percentage of furcation lesions in multirooted teeth per dog was 46·0 ± 23·5 per cent. Tooth mobility was seen in 26·7 ± 13·3 per cent of the teeth. In each case subgingival plaque samples were taken for microbiological examination from two teeth with periodontitis and one healthy tooth. There was a clear difference between the diseased and healthy pockets in the detection frequency of the following Gram-negative anaerobes: pigmented, non-pigmented slime producing and fusiform rods. The counts of Gram-negative pigmented, other non-pigmented and fusiform rods as well as Gram-positive cocci were clearly higher in the diseased pockets. Pigmented Gram-negative rods (mainly asaccharolytic, Porphyromonas-like species) were the most common finding in both diseased and healthy pockets.
Leg venous ulcer healing process after application of membranous dressing with silver ions

Summary Aim: To assess the efficiency of application of new membranous dressing with silver ions in patients with chronic venous ulceration. Methods: 58 patients were divided randomly into two groups. In group A (n=30) mean ulcer surface area was 8.52 cm2, in group B (n=28) mean wound surface area was 8.29 cm2. In group A membranous dressings with silver ions (Textus Bioactiv® by Biocell GmbH, Germany) were used. In group B hydrocolloid dressing Unna’s boot was applied. All dressings were changed every 7 days until the wound was completely healed. Changes in wound area were calculated and the speed of healing process was measured every week with healing per day index (cm2/day). Results: After 7 weeks ulcers healed in all patients of group A. Ulcers in group B healed after 16 weeks of treatment. Conclusion: On the basis of this outcome the authors concluded that application of membranous dressing with silver ions speeds up the process of treating chronic lower leg ulceration.
Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease in People With Diabetes Through Lifestyle Modification: Current Evidence-Based Recommendations

In Brief People with diabetes are at much higher risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than the average population. Evidence-based, prioritized, and strategic management of CVD risk factors among people with diabetes is necessary for the improvement of its burden on disability, morbidity, mortality, and high health care costs. Risk factors for diabetes and CVD are similar, and most can be effectively decreased by lifestyle modification. Medical nutrition therapy and other lifestyle recommendations for CVD prevention and treatment are discussed.
The IFCC recommendations for determining reference intervals: strengths and limitations / Die IFCC-Empfehlungen für die Bestimmung von Referenzbereichen: Stärken und Schwächen

Abstract Based on the original recommendation of the Expert Panel on the Theory of Reference Values of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) dating back to the 1980s, updated guidelines were recently published under the auspices of the IFCC and the Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI). Whereas the theory and the fundamentals of the reference value concept (definition, selection of reference individuals, preanalytical and analytical requirements, analysis of reference values) have not been modified, the updated guidelines add valuable improvements (transference, validation and verifying reference intervals). However, certain limitations remain which will be discussed in the present article. Zusammenfassung Die ursprünglichen Empfehlungen des Expert Panel on the Theory of Reference Values der International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) datieren aus den 1980er-Jahren. Auf der Grundlage dieser Empfehlungen wurden kürzlich überarbeitete Empfehlungen unter der Schirmherrschaft der IFCC und des Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) herausgegeben. Die Theorie und die Konzepte der Referenzwerte (Definition, Auswahl der Referenzindividuen, präanalytische und analytische Anforderungen, statistische Analyse der Referenzwerte) wurden nicht verändert. Dagegen bringen die geänderten Empfehlungen deutliche Verbesserungen (Transferierbarkeit, Bestätigung der Referenzbereiche). Dennoch, verbleiben einige Problemfelder, die in diesem Artikel ebenfalls diskutiert werden.
Tradares: A Tool for the Automatic Evaluation of Human Translation Quality within a MOOC Environment

Abstract In this paper, we introduce TradARES, a tool for the automatic evaluation of human translation quality developed in the context of an OpenEdx MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), setting the foundation for a tool that provides efficient and trustful feedback to students. Our further goal is to release a small corpus of Arabic-Spanish translations from the first edition of the course. The evaluation tool is based on prediction models and at the moment is able to indicate the quality of a given piece of text—in the numerical scale {1,2,3,4}—as a translation of another piece of text.
Determining the path search graph and finding a collision-free path by the modified A* algorithm for a 5-link closed chain

Two tightly coordinated 2-link planar manipulators and the straight line between their two bases can be considered as a 5-link closed chain. Since the coordination of robot manipulators has broad applications in manufacturing, hazardous material handling, undersea operation, and space exploration, automatic collision-free path planning for a 5-link closed chain is an important unsolved engineering problem. This paper describes a collision-free path planning algorithm for a 5-link closed chain with revolute joints. In the algorithm the 5-link closed chain is first represented by a path search graph that is built on the basis of the concept of the newly developed C subspace model. Subsequently, a collision-free path is searched upon the graph by the modified A* algorithm. The significance of this path planning algorithm is its convergence and efficiency. The convergence is guaranteed by the C subspace model, which constructs unique mapping between the planned path in C subspaces and that in the world space.
Warrant Selection for an Intelligent Argumentation Tool

An important question in the design of a computer-based argumentation support tool is how such a system would interface with the decision environment within which it operates. One aspect of this interaction is the effect of decision environment on the selection of each warrant. The purpose of the present article is to suggest a grammar of types of relevant objects such as SOLUTION and CONFLICT and to hypothesize that these elements determine the appropriateness of WARRANT used.
Restore: The Journey Toward Self-Forgiveness: A Randomized Trial of Patient Education on Self-Forgiveness in Cancer Patients and Caregivers

The present study evaluated “Restore: The Journey Toward Self-Forgiveness,” a brief psycho-spiritual curriculum for encouraging self-forgiveness. This was a randomized, wait-list controlled trial including 83 cancer patients and caregivers. Restore encourages self-acceptance, self-improvement, and commitment using prayer/meditation, reflection, and expressive writing in a workbook format. Measures of self-forgiveness, acceptance, self-improvement, and optimism/pessimism were collected before and after participation. Using Analysis of Covariance to control initial levels, post-session levels showed that Restore participants scored higher than wait-list controls on self-forgiveness (F(1,78) = 9.85, p < . 001), acceptance (F(1,77) = 4.84, p < . 05), and self-improvement (F(1,79) = 5.28, p < . 05) and lower than wait-list controls on pessimism (F(1,77) = 5.01, p < . 05). Changes in acceptance, self-improvement, and pessimism mediate the Restore effect on self-forgiveness (Beta = −.08, p < .05). This is the first known brief, evidence-based program for facilitating self-forgiveness in patients with self-forgiveness issues.
The Importance of Serum Albumin and Phosphorous as Predictors of Mortality in ESRD Patients

Secondary hyperparathyroidism and abnormal calcium/phosphate balance are common complications of ESRD and significant cardiovascular risk factors. It has also been demonstrated that malnourished dialysis patients have a much higher mortality than well-nourished patients. There is a lack of research looking at combined mortality with altered mineral metabolism and a low serum albumin. Using our renal database, we analyzed outcomes on 1,007 chronic dialysis patients, commencing dialysis between January 1990 and December 2004. The association between median values of serum phosphate, calcium, albumin (between three and six months post-commencement of dialysis), and long-term survival was examined. Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the combined effects of these variables on patient outcome. The results showed that 18% of patients had serum phosphorous >1.8 mmol/L (5.5 g/dL), and the five-year survival of these patients was 48.4% compared with 58.6% for those with a serum phosphorous <1.8 mmol/L (p = 0.047). For serum albumin, 34.9% had a value <35 g/L, and this group also had a highly significant risk of increased mortality (p < 0.001). When combined with corrected calcium, 40.9% of patients reached all three target levels and had the greatest long-term survival (five-year survival of 62.5% for all three targets reached, compared to 30.7% for 0 or 1 targets reached). Poor control of calcium/phosphorous balance appears to have long-term deleterious effects on patient survival in ESRD patients. This risk of death is increased by poor serum albumin levels reflecting inadequate nutrition.