Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of artichoke leaf extract supplementation on lipid profile of chronic kidney disease patients; a double-blind, randomized clinical trial

Introduction: Hyperlipidemia is considered a prominent risk factor for coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of mortality and morbidity in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of artichoke leaf extract (ALE) supplementation on the lipid profile of CKD patients. Patients and Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted in 38 CKD subjects (GFR<60 and >15 mL/min/1.73 m2 ) with hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol ≥ 200 mg/dL or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C] ≥ 110 mg/dL). The intervention group received an artichoke capsule (320 mg) and an indistinguishable placebo was given to the control group twice daily for 6 weeks. Lipid profile and appetite were assessed at week 8 and the results were compared with the baseline data. Results: ALE supplementation was correlated with a statistically significant decrease in mean total cholesterol (P=0.028) and LDL-C (P=0.005) compared to the control group. The two groups did not show a significant difference in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (P=0.071) and triglyceride levels (P=0.22). There was a statistically significant difference in appetite between the two groups (P=0.016). Conclusion: This randomized controlled trial demonstrated that consumption of ALE supplement may improve appetite and lipid profile in CKD patients.
Is Fiscal Adjustment More Durable When The IMF is Involved?

This paper investigates fiscal developments in 112 countries during the 1990s. It finds that while the overall fiscal balance improved in most of them, the composition of this improvement differed. In countries without IMF-supported programmes, revenues increased modestly and expenditure declined sharply, while in programme countries both post-programme revenue and expenditure declined. However, in countries with programmes that included fiscal structural conditions, the adjustment was effected primarily through sharp expenditure compression. No evidence of a statistically significant impact of IMF conditionality was found. Moreover, fiscal developments were influenced by cyclical factors and by the general stance of macroeconomic policies.
Type, course and outcome of community acquired infections in hospitalized diabetics

Diabetes mellitus has been associated with increased frequency of serious infections which are attributed to immune deficiencies. The aims of this study were to investigate the type, course and outcomes of community acquired infections, and especially bacteremia in diabetics hospitalized for infection. One hundred and thirty-four consecutive patients (67 diabetics and 67 non-diabetics) matched for age, who were admitted to a general District Hospital in Greece due to infection, were included in this case control study. Diabetics presented urinary infections (46.3% vs. 26.8%, P=0.006), skin infections (9% vs. 0%, P=0.007) and bacteremia (11.1% vs. 1.5%, P=0.023) more often than controls. The most common microorganisms in diabetics were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus species and fungi. Diabetics had a significantly prolonged hospital stay (6.7±5.4 vs. 4.5±2.4, P=0.003) compared to controls. In-hospital mortality was similar in both groups (10.4% vs. 3%, P=0.082) but diabetics had an increased risk from death due to bacteremia (Log-odds 4.2, SE=1.1, P<0.0001). Although the analyzed cohorts are small, we found that patients with diabetes mellitus have longer hospitalization related to infections and are at increased risk of bacteremia which may result in adverse outcome.
Reedy categories and the Θ -construction

We use the notion of multi-Reedy category to prove that, if C is a Reedy category, then Θ C is also a Reedy category. This result gives a new proof that the categories Θ n are Reedy categories. We then deﬁne elegant Reedy categories, for which we prove that the Reedy and injective model structures coincide.
Resistivity and IP measurements at the Bolmen Tunnel and Ådalsbanan, Sweden

In all tunnel construction projects geophysical methods are important as a foundation for engineering geological conceptual models. Detailed information about the condition and the physical properties of rocks at depth is desirable, and geophysical methods have the potential to exploit these properties. This work is based on geophysical investigations with focus on the geoelectrical methods. The methods are direct current (DC) resistivity and induced polarisation (IP). The use of the continuous vertical electrical sounding (CVES) gives continuous data in a time and cost efficient way. The methods have been tested at two tunnel investigation sites in Sweden, at the Bolmen tunnel and Adalsbanan. Complementary magnetic and VLF (Very Low Frequency) measurements has also been carried out. Pre-investigations of tunnelling construction projects commonly include core drilling. The resistivity and IP methods provide significant geological information and by including these methods at an initial stage, the selection of drilling site can be optimized. By combining different geophysical methods with drilling a more reliable model can be compiled. The resistivity method is based on the fact that each rock has a specific physical character. The physical property of the rock can then be interpreted in terms of geological properties and in some cases even allow an assessment of the rock mass quality. The main purpose in this work was to estimate the applicability and the limitations of these methods used for pre-investigation in tunnel construction projects. This material includes geological interpretations and estimations of the quality of the rock based on geoelectrical methods. With the resistivity method several low resistive zones were detected and interpreted as weakness zones. Many of these were verified by data from earlier tunnel investigations. The IP method gave information about the character (e.g. water and clay content) of the fracture zones and served as a complement to the resistivity method. These methods provided general information, from which a geological model was estimated. The results show that the resistivity and IP are useful methods in pre-investigation for sub-surface tunnel constructions.
Improving the Adherence of Providers to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Guidelines for the Evaluation, Treatment, and Management of Obstructive Sleep

The purpose of this project is to increase the adherence of clinic providers to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s Clinical Guidelines for the Evaluation, Management, and Longterm Care of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults. OSA is a chronic condition that effects from 2% to 10% of the U.S. adult population. Implications of undiagnosed OSA include excessive daytime sleepiness, fatigue, irritability, difficulty controlling chronic diseases including diabetes and hypertension, heart arrhythmias, gastroesophageal reflux disease, mood disorders, attention deficit disorder, and an increased potential for dementia if left untreated. A protocol was created to align providers with the clinical guidelines. Provider responsibilities included screening all patients 18 and over for OSA, referring patients with a positive screen for a sleep study, prescribing CPAP when indicated, and providing short-term follow-up. At project completion 293/405 patients (72%) ages 18 and over had been screened, 58 (20%) had positive screens, 53 (91%) with a positive screen were referred for sleep study, 19 (35%) completed the sleep study, 19 (100%) were diagnosed with OSA and prescribed CPAP, and 18 (95%) were scheduled for short-term follow-up. There were no significant differences noted between age distribution and the receipt of a positive diagnosis of OSA, F (3,504) = . 066, p = . 679. During implementation 19 (7%) patients were identified and treated for OSA. The relationship between using a screening tool to assess risk of OSA and receipt a positive diagnosis of OSA was significant, χ2 (1, 505) = 5.982, p < . 05. Only 19 out of 53 patients referred for sleep study completed a sleep study indicating a need for continued work on intervention models that will facilitate patient completion of diagnostic testing with subsequent referral for treatment.
Multi-Leader Gravitational Search Algorithm For Multi-Objective Optimization Problem

Recently, we have introduced Multi-Leader Particle Swarm Optimization (MLPSO) algorithm for multi-objective optimization problem. Better convergence and diversity have been observed over the conventional Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization. In this paper, the same concept is extended to Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA). The performance is investigated by solving a set of ZDT test problem. An analysis also is performed by varying the value of initial gravitational constant.
Spanish Translation and Validation of the Office Gossip Scale of Schmidt in a Sample of Workers in Puerto Rico

Abstract The aim of the research was to translate and validate the 10-item Office Gossip 7-point Likert-Scale by Schmidt (2010) English version to a Spanish version since there were no available studies and instruments to measure workplace gossip in Puerto Rico. The scale was translated using the Brislin’s Back-Translation Method (1986), which two certified translators conducted the translation. The scale Spanish version was administrated to working adults in PR. The sample consisted of 150 participants, 21 years old and older, 41.3% (n = 62) work in the public sector and 58.7% (n= 88) in the private sector. The scale was tabulated using the SPSS computer software to explore the corrected item-scale correlation, reliability analysis, and applied an Exploratory Factor Analysis to select the items of the scale. The results show that the scale Spanish version was constructed into nine items and has a strong (α = .92) similar to the scale English version. Traduccion y Validacion al espanol de la escala Schmidt de chismes en el trabajo en una muestra de trabajadores en Puerto Rico Resumen El objetivo del estudio consistio en traducir y validar La Office Gossip 7-point Scale de Schmidt (2010) version en ingles a una version en espanol. Debido a que no existen estudios e instrumentos para medir el chisme laboral disponibles para Puerto Rico. La escala fue traducida utilizando el Metodo Brislin (1986). Dos traductores certificados en PR llevaron a cabo la traduccion. La version en espanol fue administrada a 150 empleados, mayores de 21 anos de edad y 41.3% (n = 62) del sector publico y 58.7% (n = 88) del sector privado. Se procesaron los datos a traves del software informatico SPSS para explorar la correlacion de los items de la escala y el analisis de la confiabilidad. Se realizo un analisis factorial exploratorio para seleccionar los reactivos de la escala. Los resultados muestran que la version en espanol posee una confiabilidad (α = .92) similar a la version en ingles.
In-situ characterisation of the dynamics of a growing dust particle cloud in a direct-current argon glow discharge

The growth and the dynamics of a tungsten nanoparticle cloud were investigated in a direct-current low pressure argon glow discharge. Real-time analyses of the dust particle size and number concentration were performed in-situ by light extinction spectrometry, while spatial dynamics of the cloud was investigated with the laser light-sheet scattering method. Additional off-line electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy measurements were also performed for comparison purpose. This experimental work reveals the existence of an agglomeration phase followed by the appearance of a new dust particle generation. While growing, the dust cloud is pushed towards the anode and the discharge edge. Afterwards, a new dust particle generation can grow in the space freed by the first generation of nanoparticles. The continuous growth, below the light extinction spectrometry scanning positions, explains the apparent dissimilarities observed between the in-line optical and the off-line electron microscopy analyses.
of global erythroid gene activation Ldb1-nucleated transcription complexes function as primary mediators

http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary. org/content/121/22/4575.full. html Updated information and services can be found at: (501 articles) Red Cells, Iron, and Erythropoiesis  Articles on similar topics can be found in the following Blood collections http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary. org/site/misc/rights.xhtml#repub_requests Information about reproducing this article in parts or in its entirety may be found online at: http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary. org/site/misc/rights.xhtml#reprints Information about ordering reprints may be found online at: http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary. org/site/subscriptions/index.xhtml Information about subscriptions and ASH membership may be found online at:
Social Media and Forecasting:What is the Predictive Power of Social Media

The emergence and growing usage of Social Media has resulted in extremely vast amounts of data that can be collected and accumulated. Businesses are furthermore increasingly interested in using customer generated Social Media Data to generate useful insights about their customers. However, the data from Social Media platforms is very complex in nature and thus poses a variety of challenges which have to be overcome to successfully implement Social Media based forecasting. The purpose of this paper is consequently to evaluate upon Data processing techniques that can be used to make predictions about future customer needs and future market trends. A critical literature review has discussed and critically elaborated on past findings in Social Media based forecasting, presented different data processing techniques, highlighted the importance of organizational prerequisites and pointed out limitations of making predictions based on data derived from Social Media activity. The results indicate that Social Media data can indeed be used to make predictions about market needs and market trends if analyzed in a professional manner. In an attempt to position this paper as helpful for practitioners a framework is proposed to enable effective forecasting with Social Media Data.
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy - Risk Stratification and Long-Term Outcome

Heart failure is a condition that will affect 2-3% of the population. Around one third of the patients have a decreased LVEF and a widened QRS complex as a sign of ventricular dyssynchrony. CRT has emerged as a treatment that reduces morbidity, mortality and improve functional status in this population. However, a substantial amount of treated patients do not respond satisfactory after implantation. This thesis sought to assess characteristics and factors associated with long term mortality and outcome in a cohort of CRT patients.The thesis includes four papers:Paper I assessed the association between early subjective response after implantation and long term outcome in CRT-P patients. We found that those who exhibited a self-assessed positive therapy response after 1-2 months had a significantly better survival rate compared with those who did not. The second paper investigated long term mortality in CRT-P and primary prophylactic CRT-D patients. Patients with CRT-D had better crude survival rates than those with CRT-P. However, the CRT-P group was older and had more comorbidities. CRT-D was not significantly associated with better survival when adjusting for confounders, as compared to CRT-P.The third paper assessed a method of estimating myocardial scar burden from a standard 12-lead ECG (Selvester QRS score) in patients with Left Bundle Branch Block. 401 patients were assessed and divided into a high-score and a low-score group. The group with high Selvester QRS score was found to have a worse survival rate compared to the group of patients with lower scores.The last paper found that the CHA2DS2-VASc score, which is commonly used for stroke risk estimation in atrial fibrillation patients, was associated with long term mortality and a composite endpoint of mortality or hospitalization for heart failure in a CRT population. When comparing CHA2DS2-VASc to other, CRT-specific scores, it performed approximately as well in predicting mortality and the composite endpoint.
Does chronic obstructive pulmonary disease increase the risk of prostate cancer? A nationwide population-based study

Purpose Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major pulmonary disease. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between COPD and prostate cancer (PCa). This study aimed to investigate the association between COPD severity and PCa risk. Patients and methods We conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study utilizing data from 2001 to 2013 from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. Cox proportional hazards models with 1:1 propensity score-matched analysis were used to investigate the association between COPD and PCa risk. We further divided the COPD group according to severe complications (including acute respiratory failure, cardiopulmonary arrest, pneumonia, and acute exacerbation) to test for the relationship between COPD severity and PCa risk. Results This study included 47,634 patients (23,817 COPD patients and 23,817 matched non-COPD controls). Among them, 756 (1.59%) were diagnosed with PCa during a mean follow-up period of 7.05±4.13 years; 387 (1.62%) were from the COPD group and 369 (1.55%) were from the control group. Compared with the patients without COPD, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for PCa in the COPD patients was 1.10 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.95–1.27), while that in the COPD patients with complications was 2.46 (95% CI 1.96–3.61). Conclusions An increased risk for PCa was found among the COPD patients with complications. COPD complications included acute respiratory failure, cardiopulmonary arrest, pneumonia, and acute exacerbation. These findings may help physicians in treating COPD with complications and in remaining alert to the potential development of PCa.
Design and Analysis of Observational Studies

Appropriate study design forms the basis of any successful organized research. Irrespective of the underlying rationale of the research question, inappropriate design of an experiment or execution of a study may not give a valid result. As defined, the research should have the following characteristics: it should be undertaken within the framework of a set of philosophies, should have an unbiased objective and a design comprising of methods and techniques that have been tested for their validity and reliability. These principles of research clearly emphasize the need for an appropriate study design. The current review focuses on the planning and analysis of an observational study to obtain significant and accurate findings.
A new method for estimating national-scale CO2 from shipping: preliminary results from a UK study

The shipping sector facilitates over 90% of global trade and is essential to the UK given its geographic setting. However the anticipated growth of shipping, despite its efficiency in relative terms, has implications for a carbon constrained future. The UK’s Committee on Climate Change has recently discussed the methodological options for including shipping emissions within existing national targets and budgets. Any rational target requires establishing a credible baseline for current emissions, which is dependent on defining what is meant by “UK shipping. ” Previous research by Tyndall Centre researchers estimates UK annual shipping emissions at 7-42 Mt CO2 depending on the apportionment regime applied. Adopting a new bottom-up approach, this study seeks to contextualise this range through the development of a new method to estimate the emissions associated with UK trade by sea (including imports and exports) over the past decade. Annual emission estimates vary from approximately 15 Mt CO2 in 2002 to 20 Mt CO2 in 2008. This study reinforces the point that operational and technological measures are essential in reducing shipping emissions. However meeting the UK’s 2050 emission reduction target of 80% on 1990 levels will depend on both stronger policies at global and sub-global level in addition to managing the demand for shipped at the national scale.
Monitoring the impact of human activities in admiralty bay, King George Island, antarctica: preliminary results of the meiofauna community

Meiofauna is a component of the marine benthos widely used in environmental impact studies, especially in coastal areas. A monitoring program of Admiralty Bay has been underway since 2008 (INCT-APA/CNPq), and in the summer of 2010, the meiofauna and the phytodetritus were sampled at two sites in three areas of Martel Inlet (CF, UP, BP) and at one area in Mackellar Inlet (RE). Densities were in the range of those found in previous studies in the bay and did not differ significantly between the eight sampling sites. Nevertheless lower densities ( 5,000 inds. 4.9 cm 2 ) were found at Ullmann Point (UP) and at one site in Botany Point (BP1). Nematodes were the dominant meiofauna group. A change in the meiobenthic community structure was detected at the site under the sewage outfall influence (CF1: low density, different composition), suggesting some influence of human activities on the benthic system in front of the Brazilian Station.
The mechanism of partial rupture of a locked megathrust: The role of fault morphology

Assessment of seismic hazard relies on estimates of how large an area of a tectonic fault could potentially rupture in a single earthquake. Vital information for these forecasts includes which areas of a fault are locked and how the fault is segmented. Much research has focused on exploring downdip limits to fault rupture from chemical and thermal boundaries, and along-strike barriers from subducted structural features, yet we regularly see only partial rupture of fully locked fault patches that could have ruptured as a whole in a larger earthquake. Here we draw insight into this conundrum from the 25 April 2015 M w 7.8 Gorkha (Nepal) earthquake. We invert geodetic data with a structural model of the Main Himalayan thrust in the region of Kathmandu, Nepal, showing that this event was generated by rupture of a decollement bounded on all sides by more steeply dipping ramps. The morphological bounds explain why the event ruptured only a small piece of a large fully locked seismic gap. We then use dynamic earthquake cycle modeling on the same fault geometry to reveal that such events are predicted by the physics. Depending on the earthquake history and the details of rupture dynamics, however, great earthquakes that rupture the entire seismogenic zone are also possible. These insights from Nepal should be applicable to understanding bounds on earthquake size on megathrusts worldwide.