Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
'Is gestational diabetes a severe illness?' exploring beliefs and self-care behaviour among women with gestational diabetes living in a rural area of the south east of China.

OBJECTIVE This study explores beliefs about illness and health and self-care behaviour among women with gestational diabetes living in a rural area of the south east of China. DESIGN A qualitative exploratory study using semi-structured interviews and qualitative content analysis. SETTING A hospital located in the outskirts of a city in the south east of China. PARTICIPANTS Seventeen women with gestational diabetes in 34-38th pregnant weeks. RESULTS The beliefs about gestational diabetes among the women in the present study were found to be bidirectional. Some of them feared the illness and its negative influence on health, while others believed that it was not a severe illness and disbelieved the diagnosis of gestational diabetes. They related their illness and health to the individual, social and natural factors. They mainly sought help from the professional sector, but did not fully comply with the professionals' advice. Diet control and exercise were their main self-care measures, but none of them self-monitored their blood glucose. They demonstrated their misunderstanding about diet control and self-monitoring of blood glucose. CONCLUSIONS This study highlighted the serious lack of knowledge, lower level of risk awareness and poor self-care behaviour among women in this group. Health professionals were found to be the most important source of knowledge about gestational diabetes for these women. The influence of Chinese culture was demonstrated. Gestational diabetes among these women can most likely be improved by training the health professionals and by health education involving individuals, families and the rural communities.
(3) Reversible immortalization of human pancreatic beta cells to develop diabetes‐targeted cell therapy

Therefore, in subsequent experiments, anti-CD154 therapy (H106) was replaced with a chimeric antihuman CD40 monoclonal antibody (Chi220) in pancreatectomized rhesus macaques; induction therapy with basiliximab and maintenance with sirolimus and belatacept remained unchanged. Recipients of neonatal porcine islets (approximately 50 000 IEQ/kg) treated with this alternative costimulation blockade-based regimen displayed adequate initial xenograft function with improved glucose control and detectable porcine c-peptide without evidence of PERV dissemination during the early post-transplant period. These preliminary results are comparable with our previous results using anti-CD154 monoclonal antibody in this regimen and suggest that, in NHPs, a CD28/CD40 costimulatory immunosuppressive protocol can protect neonatal porcine islet xenografts from rejection. In summary, our results demonstrate the potential of xenotransplantation of neonatal porcine islets to provide a solution to the problem of donor tissue shortage in clinical islet transplantation. Furthermore, these data highlight the ability of blockade of the CD28/B7 and CD40/154 costimulation pathways to synergize in promoting long-term survival of xenogeneic tissue transplants.
Plasma Cell Neoplasms in US Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

Transplant recipients have elevated risk for plasma cell neoplasms (PCNs, comprising multiple myeloma and plasmacytoma), but little is known about risk factors in the transplant setting. Through linkage of the US solid organ transplant registry with 15 state/regional cancer registries, we identified 140 PCNs in 202 600 recipients (1987–2009). PCN risk was 1.8‐fold increased relative to the general population (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] 1.80, 95%CI 1.51–2.12). Among cases, 102 were multiple myeloma (SIR 1.41) and 38 were plasmacytoma (SIR 7.06). PCN incidence increased with age, but due to the rarity of PCNs in younger people in the general population, SIRs were highest in younger transplant recipients (p = 0.03). PCN risk was especially high in recipients who were Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) seronegative at transplantation (SIR 3.93). EBV status was known for 18 tumors, of which 7 (39%) were EBV positive. Following liver transplantation, PCN risk was higher in recipients with cholestatic liver disease (SIR 2.78); five of these cases had primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). A role for primary EBV infection after transplantation is supported by the increased PCN risk in young EBV seronegative recipients and the presence of EBV in tumors. PBC may be another risk factor, perhaps by causing chronic immune activation.
BIG 1-98: A randomized double-blind phase III study evaluating letrozole and tamoxifen given in sequence as adjuvant endocrine therapy for postmenopausal women with receptor-positive breast cancer.

CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2008 Abstracts Abstract #13 Background: BIG 1-98 compares letrozole (Let), tamoxifen (Tam) and sequences of Let and Tam as adjuvant endocrine therapy for postmenopausal women with receptor-positive breast cancer. Initial results (published in 2005) demonstrated the superiority of Let over Tam in significantly prolonging disease-free survival (DFS) and reducing the risk of relapse in distant sites. Following these results, investigators were informed of the treatment allocation for patients randomized to Tam alone, and about one third of these patients opted to receive Let. The three Let-containing treatments remained blinded. We now evaluate Let and Tam given in sequence compared with Let alone and update the comparison of Let alone and Tam alone. Methods: 6182 patients were randomized to the 4-arm option (entry Sep99-May03) [Tam x 5 years (Tam), Let x 5 (Let), Tam x 2→Let x 3 (Tam→Let), or Let x 2→Tam x 3 (Let→Tam)]. Another 1828 patients were randomized to the 2-arm option (Tam vs. Let; entry Mar98-Mar00). The primary endpoint was DFS (time from randomization to first occurrence of invasive breast cancer recurrence, invasive contralateral breast cancer, second non-breast malignancy, or death from any cause). The presentation will focus on the clinically-relevant comparisons evaluating Tam→Let vs. Let and Let→Tam vs. Let, assessed from the time of randomization. Acknowledging multiple comparisons, the hazard ratios are presented with 99% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: The median follow-up time is 71 months. Hazard ratios comparing treatments from time of initial randomization in terms of DFS, overall survival, and time to distant recurrence are displayed below. [][1] With this long term follow-up, adverse events for Let and Tam are consistent with the known safety profile of both agents. A protocol-specified update of the previously-reported comparison of Let x 5 vs. Tam x 5 (i.e., the monotherapy arms, including patients in both the 2-arm and 4-arm options; N=4922) suggests improved survival for patients treated with Let (HR=0.87, 95% CI=0.75-1.02, p=0.08, 76 months median follow-up). In this comparison, about a quarter of the patients in the Tam arm crossed over to Let after 3-5 years of Tam. Conclusion: The sequential treatments did not improve DFS compared with Let alone. Trends support initial use of Let in patients at higher risk of relapse. Patients commenced on Let can be switched to Tam if required. Updated results of the monotherapy comparison suggest superior overall survival with Let compared with Tam. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 13. [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
Reactions which relate to environmental mobility of arsenic and antimony. II. Oxidation of trimethylarsine and trimethylstibine.

6,441-48 (1972). (9) Paciga, J. J., Chattopadhyay, A. , Jervis, R. E. , in “Nuclear Methods in Environmental . Research-11”, J. R. Vogt and W. Meyer, Eds., pp 286-300, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. , 1974. (10) Hoffman, G. L. , Duce, R. A,, Enuiron. Sci. Technol. , 5 , 1134 (1971). (11) Gordon, G. E. , Zoller, W. H. , Gladney, E. S. , in “Trace Substances in Environmental Health-VII”, D. D. Hemphill, Ed., pp 167-75, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. , 1973. (12) John, W. , Kaifer, R. , Rahn, K. , Wesolowski, J . J., Atmos. Enuiron. , 7, 107-18 (1973). (13) Pattenden, N. J., presented a t the 41st Ann. Conf. of the National Society for Clean Air, 14-18 October, Cardiff, UK, 1974. (14) Bogen, J., Atmos. Enuiron. , 7,1117-25 (1973). (16) Wedepohl, K. H. , in “Origin and Distribution of the Elements”, L. H. Ahrens, Ed., pp 999-1016, Pergamon Press, Oxford, England, 1968. (16) Lee, R. E. , Jr., Goranson, S. , Emiron. Sci. Technol. , 6,1019-24
Sickness absence and the time-varying excess risk of premature death: a Swedish population-based prospective cohort study

Background Previous studies have found that sickness absentees have an excess risk of premature death. Most of the studies compared sickness absentees with non-sickness absentees, with 1 report including the total population. However, no study to date has investigated in detail how the risk of premature death varies over the time course of a sick-leave spell. Methods A population-based cohort of all 5.6 million people aged 16–64 years was followed up for 6 years. Hazard rates with 95% CI for mortality in the total population, sickness absentees with sick-leave spells exceeding 30 days and non-sickness absentees, were estimated over time and were standardised so that the distribution of background variables in all 3 groups was as close as possible to that in the total population. Results The standardised hazard rate of premature death at the first day under risk for the sickness absentees was 13.58 (95% CI 13.26 to 13.95) deaths per 1000 person-years, 2.29 (2.24 to 2.35) in the total population and 0.90 (0.87 to 0.94) among non-sickness absentees. The standardised hazard rates of premature death at 6 years was 3.42 (3.22 to 3.62) among sickness absentees, 3.48 (3.43 to 3.52) in the total population and 2.61 (2.57 to 2.66) among the non-sickness absentees. The hazard rates varied greatly across sick-leave diagnoses. Conclusions Right after start of a sick-leave spell exceeding 30 days, sickness absentees were at higher risk of premature death than the total population. The difference in risk, however, decreased over time and vanished completely after 6 years of follow-up.
Timing yield estimation from static timing analysis

This paper presents a means for estimating parametric timing yield and guiding robust design for-quality in the presence of manufacturing and operating environment variations. Dual emphasis is on computational efficiency and providing meaningful robust-design guidance. Computational efficiency is achieved by basing the proposed methodology on a post-processing step applied to the report generated as a by-product of static timing analysis. Efficiency is also ensured by exploiting the fact that for small processing/environment variations, a linear model is adequate for capturing the resulting delay change. Meaningful design guidance is achieved by analyzing the timing-related influence of variations on a path-by-path basis, allowing designers perform a quality-oriented design pass focused on key paths. A coherent strategy is provided to handle both die-to-die and within-die variations. Examples from a PowerPC microprocessor illustrate the methodology and its capabilities.
Integrative Review of Facility Interventions to Manage Compassion Fatigue in Oncology Nurses.

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION Oncology nurses are regularly exposed to high-stress situations that may lead to compassion fatigue, and many institutions have implemented interventions to reduce burnout in nurses, but knowledge on the feasiblity, effectiveness, and nurses' experience of interventions is lacking. LITERATURE SEARCH Electronic search of literature published from 1992-2015 was performed to evaluate in-facility interventions to manage compassion fatigue in oncology nurses. Databases used included CINAHL®, PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO®. DATA EVALUATION The goal was to evaluate the effectiveness, feasibility, and nurses' experience of interventions to manage compassion fatigue. The study designs, methods, and limitations were independently screened by the authors. SYNTHESIS Of 164 studies, 31 met eligibility criteria. CONCLUSIONS The majority of the studies were conducted in Western countries, which suggests the need for additional research in other settings to determine effective interventions that address compassion fatigue and stress cross-culturally. Quantitative and qualitative studies failed to gain high scores in terms of quality. Limited conclusions can be drawn from small studies that report on outcomes with many confounding variables, such as turnover rate or general health of nurses, from a single institution. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH Lack of empirical precision in evaluating the effectiveness, feasibility, and nurses' experiences of interventions indicates a need for future, more rigorously designed experimental studies. Because of the global increase in the number of patients being diagnosed and living with cancer, oncology nurses should be able to recognize and manage compassion fatigue.
New SRAM design using body bias technique for ultra low power applications

A new SRAM design is proposed. Body biasing improves the static noise margin (SNM) improved by at least 15% compared to the standard cells. Through using this technique, lowering supply voltage is possible. This SRAM cell is working under 0.3V supply voltage offering a SNM improvement of 22% for the read cycle. Write Margin is not affected due to using body biasing technique. 65nm ST models are used for simulations.
Domino gate with modified voltage keeper

Using both the modified supply voltage and body voltage, an optimized keeper technique is presented in this paper to tradeoff the performance of domino OR gates. The simulation results show that the novel technique can highly improve power/speed efficiency and robustness to noise. In addition, because of employment of body biased voltage, the optimized keeper technique enables to minimize effect of the strong process parameter variation.
Costimulatory effects of IL‐1 on the expansion/differentiation of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ and CD4+CD25+Foxp3– T cells

CD4+CD25+forkhead box p3 (Foxp3)+ regulatory T cells (Treg) control peripheral tolerance. Although Treg are anergic when stimulated through the TCR, mature bone marrow‐derived, but not splenic, dendritic cells (DC) can induce their proliferation after TCR stimulation in the absence of IL‐2. One possibility is that the DC produce proinflammatory cytokines such as IL‐1 or IL‐6 that function as growth factors for Treg. We have analyzed the costimulatory effects of IL‐1 on the expansion of Foxp3+ Treg in vitro. When CD4+CD25+ T cells were cultured in the presence of splenic DC and IL‐1, marked expansion of the Foxp3+ T cells was observed. The effects of IL‐1 were mediated on CD4+CD25+Foxp3– T cells present in the starting population rather than on the DC or on the CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells. In contrast, stimulation of CD4+CD25+ T cells with plate‐bound anti‐CD3 and IL‐1 in the absence of DC resulted in the outgrowth of a CD4+CD25+Foxp3– T cell population composed of NKT cells and non‐NKT, IL‐17‐producing cells. Foxp3+ Treg purified from mice expressing the reporter gene enhanced GFP in the Foxp3 locus failed to proliferate when costimulated with IL‐1. These findings have important implications for the design of protocols for the expansion of CD4+CD25+ T cells for cellular biotherapy.
Serine Protease Inhibitor‐6 Differentially Affects the Survival of Effector and Memory Alloreactive CD8‐T Cells

The clonal expansion of effector T cells and subsequent generation of memory T cells are critical in determining the outcome of transplantation. While cytotoxic T lymphocytes induce direct cytolysis of target cells through secretion of Granzyme‐B (GrB), they also express cytoplasmic serine protease inhibitor‐6 (Spi6) to protect themselves from GrB that has leaked from granules. Here, we studied the role of GrB/Spi6 axis in determining clonal expansion of alloreactive CD8‐T cells and subsequent generation of memory CD8‐T cells in transplantation. CD8‐T cells from Spi6−/− mice underwent more GrB mediated apoptosis upon alloantigen stimulation in vitro and in vivo following adoptive transfer into an allogeneic host. Interestingly, while OT1.Spi6−/− CD8 T cells showed significantly lower clonal expansion following skin transplants from OVA mice, there was no difference in the size of the effector memory CD8‐T cells long after transplantation. Furthermore, lack of Spi6 resulted in a decrease of short‐lived‐effector‐CD8‐cells but did not impact the pool of memory‐precursor‐effector‐CD8‐cells. Similar results were found in heart transplant models. Our findings suggest that the final alloreactive CD8‐memory‐pool‐size is independent from the initial clonal‐proliferation as memory precursors express low levels of GrB and therefore are independent of Spi6 for survival. These data advance our understanding of memory T cells generation in transplantation and provide basis for Spi6 based strategies to target effector T cells.
Technical Advance: caspase‐1 activation and IL‐1β release correlate with the degree of lysosome damage, as illustrated by a novel imaging method to quantify phagolysosome damage

In addition to the lysosomeˈs important roles in digestion, antigen processing, and microbial destruction, lysosome damage in macrophages can trigger cell death and release of the inflammatory cytokine IL‐1β. To examine the relationship among endocytosis, lysosome damage, and subsequent events, such as caspase‐1 activation and IL‐1β secretion, we developed a method for measuring lysosome disruption inside individual living cells, which quantifies release of Fdx from lysosomes. Unperturbed, cultured BMM exhibited low levels of lysosome damage, which were not increased by stimulation of macropinocytosis. Lysosome damage following phagocytosis differed with different types of ingested particles, with negligible damage after ingestion of sRBC ghosts, intermediate damage by polystyrene (PS) beads, and high levels of damage by ground silica. Pretreatment with LPS decreased the amount of lysosome damage following phagocytosis of PS beads, silica microspheres, or ground silica. Activation of caspase‐1 and subsequent release of IL‐1β were proportional to lysosome damage following phagocytosis. The low level of damage following PS bead phagocytosis was insufficient to activate caspase‐1 in LPS‐activated macrophages. These studies indicate that lysosome damage following phagocytosis is dependent on particle composition and dose and that caspase‐1 activation and IL‐1β secretion correlate with the extent of lysosome damage.
Lung‐resident memory CD8 T cells (TRM) are indispensable for optimal cross‐protection against pulmonary virus infection

Previous studies have shown that some respiratory virus infections leave local populations of tissue TRM cells in the lungs which disappear as heterosubtypic immunity declines. The location of these TRM cells and their contribution to the protective CTL response have not been clearly defined. Here, fluorescence microscopy is used to show that some CD103+ TRM cells remain embedded in the walls of the large airways long after pulmonary immunization but are absent from systemically primed mice. Viral clearance from the lungs of the locally immunized mice precedes the development of a robust Teff response in the lungs. Whereas large numbers of virus‐specific CTLs collect around the bronchial tree during viral clearance, there is little involvement of the remaining lung tissue. Much larger numbers of TEM cells enter the lungs of the systemically immunized animals but do not prevent extensive viral replication or damage to the alveoli. Together, these experiments show that virus‐specific antibodies and TRM cells are both required for optimal heterosubtypic immunity, whereas circulating memory CD8 T cells do not substantially alter the course of disease.
Evolving Perspectives of mTOR Complexes in Immunity and Transplantation

Since the discovery of Rapamycin (RAPA) and its immunosuppressive properties, enormous progress has been made in characterizing the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR). Use of RAPA and its analogues (rapalogs) as anti‐rejection agents has been accompanied by extensive investigation of how targeting of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1), the principal target of RAPA, and more recently mTORC2, affects the function of immune cells, as well as vascular endothelial cells, that play crucial roles in regulation of allograft rejection. While considerable knowledge has accumulated on the function of mTORC1 and 2 in T cells, understanding of the differential roles of these complexes in antigen‐presenting cells, NK cells and B cells/plasma cells is only beginning to emerge. Immune cell‐specific targeting of mTORC1 or mTORC2, together with use of novel, second generation, dual mTORC kinase inhibitors (TORKinibs) have started to play an important role in elucidating the roles of these complexes and their potential for targeting in transplantation. Much remains unknown about the role of mTOR complexes and the consequences of mTOR targeting on immune reactivity in clinical transplantation. Here we address recent advances in understanding and evolving perspectives of the role of mTOR complexes and mTOR targeting in immunity, with extrapolation to transplantation.
ICOS promotes IL‐17 synthesis in colonic intraepithelial lymphocytes in IL‐10−/− mice

In the absence of IL‐10, colonic inflammation ensues, which is characterized by high levels of IL‐17. Here, we demonstrate a direct correlation between ICOS expression and IL‐17 production in cIELs. IL‐10−/− mice had increased numbers of cIELs and greater colon weight. Although the CD69 early activation antigen was expressed on cIELs from normal and IL‐10−/− mice, ICOS was expressed only on cIELs from IL‐10−/− mice. IL‐17‐producing cells in IL‐10−/− mice consisted of CD4+ and CD8+ cIELs; however, CD4+ cells were the predominant IL‐17‐producing cell population. Culture of cIELs from IL‐10−/− mice with IL‐23 resulted in an increase in ICOS and IL‐17 expression, whereas IL‐10 suppressed expression of ICOS and IL‐17. This occurred in primary cultures and recall stimulation experiments. The ICOS ligand B7RP‐1 was up‐regulated on colonic epithelial cells and on a population of large granular leukocytes during inflammation. Culture of cIELs with B7RP‐1+ DCs enhanced IL‐17A production from normal cIELs but failed to do so using cIELs from ICOS−/− mice. In vivo treatment of IL‐10−/− mice with antibody to ICOS resulted in a significant reduction in colonic pathology. These findings implicate ICOS as an activational signal of Th17 cells during chronic intestinal inflammation, and they suggest that under some conditions, control of ICOS expression may help to suppress chronic intestinal inflammation.
An incremental integration tool between requirements engineering and programming in the large

In the IPSEN research project at Aachen University in Germany, integration tools that integrate documents of different working areas have been developed. They execute a transformation algorithm and check the consistency incrementally by installing and maintaining links between those documents. A framework is introduced that allows the efficient realization of new integration tools. The functionality and architecture of such an integrator are described. It integrates a requirements engineering document and a programming in the large document that describe a software design in the IPSEN module interconnection language. <<ETX>>
On defining requirements for interaction

Requirements that involve the usability of systems can be properties of interactions rather than systems alone. This proposition is demonstrated by means of four examples. The authors suggest that a notation like CSP (communicating sequential processes) may be used to provide a framework for considering different modeling approaches. Interaction requirements that relate to multiwindowed systems, walk up and use systems, and dynamic systems such as power stations are considered. It is shown how models provide different representations to which advice from the different disciplines of human computer interaction may be applied. <<ETX>>