Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Medicare data to estimate the prevalence of breast cancer screening in older women: comparison of different methods to identify screening mammograms.

OBJECTIVES To compare different methods for defining screening mammograms with Medicare claims and their impact on estimates of breast cancer screening rates. METHODS Medicare outpatient facility and physician claims for 61,962 women in 1993 and 59,652 women in 1998 were reviewed for evidence of receipt of screening mammography. We compared the estimates of screening mammography use derived from CPT (Current Procedure Terminology) codes to categorize mammograms as screening or diagnostic versus using an algorithm that uses CPT codes plus breast-related diagnoses in the prior two years. We also compared estimates obtained from review of physician claims alone, facility claims alone, or the combination of the two sources of claims. RESULTS Use of physician claims alone produced estimates of screening rates similar to rates calculated from use of both physician and outpatient (facility) claims. In 1993, the CPT code for screening mammography underestimated the rate of screening compared to estimates generated by using the algorithm (8.3 percent versus 18.0 percent prevalence, p<0.001). By 1998, the screening prevalence rate generated from using the CPT code for screening mammography more closely approximated the rate generated by the algorithm (23.0 percent versus 25.1 percent). By all methods of estimating screening mammography with Medicare claims, its prevalence increased substantially between 1993 and 1998. CONCLUSION Providers increased their use of the screening mammography code in their charges to Medicare during the 1990s. This has improved the claims' ability to distinguish screening from diagnostic mammograms, but screening rates computed with claims continue to fall below those generated from self-reports of mammography use among general populations of older women.
Effect of Polarization-Matched n-Type AlGaInN Electron-Blocking Layer on the Optoelectronic Properties of Blue InGaN Light-Emitting Diodes

A design approach is proposed to improve the performances of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at high current by using of the polarization-matched n-type AlGaInN electron-blocking layer (EBL) instead of conventional EBLs, owing to the more uniform carrier distribution across the multiply quantum well (MQW) active regions. And the response parameters of the blue InGaN LEDs, such as the radiative recombination rate, the internal quantum efficiency and output power, are calculated by the advanced physical model of semiconductor devices (APSYS) software. The simulation results reveal that the total power and the radiative recombination rates of the blue InGaN LEDs with the n-type AlGaInN EBL have been greatly promoted, and their efficiency droop has also been evidently moderated, compared with that of the LEDs with three types of EBL which are p-type AlGaN EBL, p-type AlGaInN EBL and n-type AlGaN EBL.
Fibrosis and hypertensive heart disease

The normal myocardium is composed of a variety of cells: cardiac myocytes and noncardiomyocytes, which include endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts. Hypertensive heart disease involves a structural remodeling of muscular and nonmuscular compartments. It is not the quantity but rather the quality of myocardium that accounts for pathologic hypertrophy and predisposes to ventricular dysfunction and arrhythmias, which, in turn, confer increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events. Herein, factors regulating growth of these compartments are reviewed and in particular signals involved in promoting adverse remodeling of intramyocardial coronary arteries and arterioles by fibrous tissue.
Usability and impact of digital libraries: a review

Purpose - The main objective of this paper is to review work on the usability and impact of digital libraries. Design/methodology/approach - Work on the usability and impact of digital libraries is reviewed. Specific studies on the usability and impact of digital libraries in specific domains are also discussed in order to identify general and specific usability and impact measures. Findings - The usability studies reviewed in this paper show that a number of approaches have been used to assess usability. In addition to the technical aspects of digital library design (e.g. architecture, interfaces and search tools), there are a number of usability issues such as globalisation, localisation, language, culture issues, content and human information behaviour. Digital libraries should, however, be evaluated primarily with respect to their target users, applications and contexts. Research limitations/implications - Although a digital library evaluation study may have several objectives, ranging from the evaluation of its design and architecture to the evaluation of its usability and its impact on the target users, this paper focuses on usability and impact. Originality/value - This paper provides insights into the state-of-the art in relation to the usability and impact of digital libraries.
A 'key to all quotations'? A corpus-based parameter model of intertextuality

Categorization and taxonomy are topical issues in intertextuality studies. Instead of increasing the number of overlapping or contradictory definitions (often established with reference to limited databases) which exist even for key concepts such as "allusion " or "quotation", we propose an electronically implemented data-driven approach based on the isolation, analysis and description of a number of relevant parameters such as general text relation, marking for quotation, modification etc. If a systematic parameter analysis precedes discussions of possible correlations and the naming of features bundles as composite categories, a dynamic approach to categorization emerges which does justice to the varied and complex phenomena in this field. The database is the HyperHamlet corpus, a chronologically and generically wide-ranging collection of Hamlet references that confront linguistic and literary researchers with a comprehensive range of formal and stylistic issues. Its multi-dimensional encodings and search facilities provide the indispensable ‘freedom from the analytic limits of hardcopy', as Jerome McGann put it. The methodological and heuristic gains include a more complete description of possible parameter settings, a clearer recognition of multiple parameter settings (as implicit in existing genre definitions), a better understanding of how parameters interact, descriptions of disregarded literary phenomena that feature unusual parameter combinations and, finally, descriptive labels for the most polysemous areas that may clarify matters without increasing taxonomical excess.
Bloodstream Isolates of Enterococcus faecium Enriched with the Enterococcal Surface Protein Gene, esp, Show Increased Adhesion to Eukaryotic Cells

ABSTRACT Infection-derived Enterococcus faecium strains enriched with esp had increased ability to adhere to Caco-2 cells (P < 0.05) and were less genetically diverse than esp-negative isolates. esp-negative E. faecium fecal isolates from healthy individuals adhered significantly better than esp-negative infection isolates (P < 0.05), indicating additional factors of importance to adhesion.
Cognitive Subprocesses of Mental Rotation: Why is a Good Rotator Better Than a Poor One?

The Vanderberg-Kuse Mental Rotation Test is a standard test of mental rotation ability. Recent experiments have demonstrated that mental rotation is a complex cognitive process wherein different subprocesses (focused attention, visual scanning, perceptual decision, visual memory) play important roles in performance. We classified the population as good and poor rotators by performance of mental rotation (n s = 47: 22 men and 25 women, respectively; mean age: 20.7 yr.). To examine differences cognitive subprocesses of mental rotation of these two groups were compared. There were significant differences between poor and good rotators in performance on Raven's test and the Pieron Focused Attention test scores. The good rotators scored better because their perceptual decision-analytical intelligence (Raven) and focused attention scores were higher.
Cytotoxic, genotoxic, and neurotoxic effects of Mg, Pb, and Fe on pheochromocytoma (PC‐12) cells

Metals such as lead (Pb), magnesium (Mg), and iron (Fe) are ubiquitous in the environment as a result of natural occurrence and anthropogenic activities. Although Mg, Fe, and others are considered essential elements, high level of exposure has been associated with severe adverse health effects including cardiovascular, hematological, nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, and neurologic abnormalities in humans. In the present study we hypothesized that Mg, Pb, and Fe are cytotoxic, genotoxic and neurotoxic, and their toxicity is mediated through oxidative stress and alteration in protein expression. To test the hypothesis, we used the pheochromocytoma (PC‐12) cell line as a neuro cell model and performed the LDH assay for cell viability, Comet assay for DNA damage, Western blot for oxidative stress, and HPLC‐MS to assess the concentration levels of neurological biomarkers such as glutamate, dopamine (DA), and 3‐methoxytyramine (3‐MT). The results of this study clearly show that Mg, Pb, and Fe, respectively in the form of MgSO4, Pb(NO3)2, FeCl2, and FeCl3 induce cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, and genotoxicity in PC‐12 cells. In addition, exposure to these metallic compounds caused significant changes in the concentration levels of glutamate, dopamine, and 3‐MT in PC‐12 cells. Taken together the findings suggest that MgSO4, Pb(NO3)2, FeCl2, and FeCl3 have the potential to induce substantial toxicity to PC‐12 cells. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 30: 1445–1458, 2015.
Sickness allowance histories among disability retirees due to mental disorders: A retrospective case–control study

Objectives: The aim was to describe sickness allowance histories before disability retirement due to mental disorders and to examine whether receiving sickness allowance due to mental disorders and somatic conditions predicts future disability retirement. Method: Pre-retirement sickness allowance histories were traced backwards for 7 years among Finnish residents aged 25–64 years who had retired due to mental disorders in 2011 (n=5.544). For each retiree, five sex- and age-matched controls were drawn from the non-retired population. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the risk for disability retirement by sickness allowance history and to control for the effects of educational level, social class, marital status and the urbanisation level of the municipality. Results: The proportion of sickness allowance recipients increased steadily during the years preceding disability retirement, and was highest among those who retired due to bipolar disorders or depression. Those who had received sickness allowance due to mental disorders 6–7 years earlier had 6.5 times higher risk and those with sickness allowance 1–2 years earlier 11.7 times higher risk for disability retirement. Sickness allowance due to somatic conditions increased the risk for disability retirement 1.6–1.9 times. Sickness allowance most strongly predicted retirement due to bipolar disorders and depression. Adjustment for covariates had little effect. Conclusion: Those who retired due to mental disorders more often had sickness allowance due to both mental disorders and somatic conditions, but in particular sickness allowance due to mental disorders predicted disability retirement due to mental disorders.
Self-Filtering Low-Noise Horn Antenna for Satellite Applications

In this letter, we present the design and the experimental realization of an innovative self-filtering low-noise horn antenna. The proposed radiator consists of the following: a regular WR-62 waveguide connected to a horn antenna, a metallic screen with a vertical slit placed at the section connecting the waveguide and the horn, and a dielectric slab, with metallic omega shapes printed on both faces, placed across the slit. The goal of this design is to reduce the bandwidth of operation of the regular WR-62 horn in order to self-filter the noise captured within the antenna operation band. In the receiving mode, the metallic omega shapes placed across the slit allow transmission only in a narrow frequency band centered around the resonant frequency of the omegas. In such a frequency band, the radiating performances of the proposed antenna are comparable to the ones of a regular WR-62 horn radiator. A proper set of numerical simulations and measurements confirm the effectiveness of the proposed design, which can be successfully used in receiving satellite communication systems.
Local fields in random dielectrics: Distribution characteristics and the effects of microstructure.

Developpement d'une approche de Onsager generalisee, pour le calcul des champs loxaux dans les dielectriques aleatoires. La distribution des champs locaux obtenue presente un caractere a deux pics d'environnement local definis par rapport au champ applique. Consideration de deux types de structures aleatoires, caracterisees par des correlations spatiales uniformes ou percolatives. Discussion des implications des resultats, aux theories du milieu effectif et aux proprietes optiques des systemes de petites particules aleatoires
Bystander effect induced by UV radiation; why should we be interested?

The bystander effect, whose essence is an interaction of cells directly subjected to radiation with adjacent non-subjected cells, via molecular signals, is an important component of ionizing radiation action. However, knowledge of the bystander effect in the case of ultraviolet (UV) radiation is quite limited. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species generated by UV in exposed cells induce bystander effects in non-exposed cells, such as reduction in clonogenic cell survival and delayed cell death, oxidative DNA damage and gene mutations, induction of micronuclei, lipid peroxidation and apoptosis. Although the bystander effect after UV radiation has been recognized in cell culture systems, its occurrence in vivo has not been studied. However, solar UV radiation, which is the main source of UV in the environment, may induce in human dermal tissue an inflammatory response and immune suppression, events which can be considered as bystander effects of UV radiation. The oxidative damage to DNA, genomic instability and the inflammatory response may lead to carcinogenesis. UV radiation is considered one of the important etiologic factors for skin cancers, basal- and squamous-cell carcinomas and malignant melanoma. Based on the mechanisms of actions it seems that the UV-induced bystander effect can have some impact on skin damage (carcinogenesis? ), and probably on cells of other tissues. The paper reviews the existing data about the UV-induced bystander effect and discusses a possible implication of this phenomenon for health risk.
Early in the morning Mr . Sider , an estate lawyer , pores over last wills and testaments

Word embeddings, which can better capture the finegrained semantics of words, have proven to be useful for a variety of natural language processing tasks. However, because discourse structures describe the relationships between segments of discourse, word embeddings cannot be directly integrated to perform the task. In this paper, we introduce a mixed generativediscriminative framework, in which we use vector offsets between embeddings of words to represent the semantic relations between text segments and Fisher kernel framework to convert a variable number of vector offsets into a fixed length vector. In order to incorporate the weights of these offsets into the vector, we also propose the Weighted Fisher Vector. Experimental results on two different datasets show that the proposed method without using manually designed features can achieve better performance on recognizing the discourse level relations in most cases.
Lane Detection based on Guided RANSAC

In this paper, a robust and real-time lane detection method is proposed. The method consists of two steps, the lane-marking detection and lane model fitting. After detecting the lane marking by the Intensity bump algorithm, we apply the post filters by constraining the parallelism of lane boundary. Then, a novel model fitting algorithm called Guided RANSAC is presented. The Guided RANSAC searches lanes from initial lane segments and the extrapolation of lane segments is used as the guiding information to elongate lane segments recursively. With the proposed method, the accuracy of the model fitting is greatly increased while the computational cost is reduced. Both theoretical and experimental analysis results are given to show the
Phase space methods for multi-arrival wavefronts

Most body wave seismic imaging schemes only exploit information contained in the first arrival of a seismic record. Later arrivals in the wavetrain, however, contain additional structural information, as the corresponding rays tend to sample slower regions of a medium that are often avoided by first-arrival raypaths. Here we investigate a Lagrangian (ray-based) and an Eulerian (grid-based) approach for the calculation of later arrivals. The Eulerian approach is based on the level set method, which implicitly evolves a wavefront by solving a pair of PDEs over a gridded velocity field in phase space. Our Lagrangian solver also uses phase space and represents the wavefront by a set of points, which are progressively moved through the velocity field using local ray tracing, with linear interpolation used to maintain a constant density of points. We compare the two methods using a velocity model of the subduction zone in the Tonga region. In theory both approaches can provide traveltimes for later arrivals. Our results clearly show that the Lagrangian approach is currently superior to the Eulerian scheme for the prediction of multi-arrival traveltimes when computation speed, ease of implementation, and accuracy are considered. In our experiments the Lagrangian solver is up to 6000 times faster, and successfully predicts later arrivals for our source receiver configuration in the subduction zone example. We then demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of the Lagrangian solver by tracking later arrivals in a smoothed version of the Marmousi model. By placing source points in certain parts of this model, we are able to find more than 60 secondary arrivals at surface receivers.
Development and design of a multidisciplinary training program for outpatient children and adolescents with psoriasis and their parents

Abstract Introduction: To describe and illustrate in a case-study design the development and design of a multidisciplinary training program for outpatient children and adolescents with psoriasis and their parents. Methods: For the development of the program, a steering group was assembled, systematic semi-structured interviews were held and the literature was reviewed. Results: Aim of the training program was to strengthen patients and their parents in coping with and diminishing psoriasis-related problems in an outpatient setting. The program included treatment modules of medical information and skin care, itch and scratch problems, psychological issues in coping with the psoriasis, sleep hygiene and relapse prevention. Descriptive results in the case patient showed improvement of all outcome variables in the expected direction. Conclusion: This is the first multidisciplinary training program for outpatient children and adolescents with psoriasis and their parents. It aims at improving coping skills and self-management and could be a promising addition to regular treatment.
Influence of Severity of Illness on the Effects of Eritoran Tetrasodium (E5564) and on Other Therapies for Severe Sepsis

Disease severity varies widely in patients with severe sepsis. Eritoran tetrasodium (E5564), a TLR4 antagonist, blocks the binding of endotoxin and is being evaluated as a novel therapy for severe sepsis. This analysis aimed to assess the efficacy of eritoran based on severity of illness and similar effects in other recent sepsis trials. Prospective covariates from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial were analyzed for treatment interaction measured by 28-day mortality. Five statistical interaction methodologies were used. The modified intent-to-treat population (n = 292), all-cause 28-day mortality was as follows: placebo, 33.3% (32/96); eritoran 45 mg/105 mg, 29.6% (58/196). Logistic regression analysis identified Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores, predicted-risk-of-mortality scores, IL-6, age, sex, race, and eritoran use as associated with survival. Significant treatment interactions were observed (eritoran vs. placebo) for baseline covariates: Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (P = 0.035), predicted-risk-of-mortality scores (P = 0.008), number of organ failures (P = 0.079), international normalized ratio (P = 0.05), and acute physiology score (P = 0.039). I2 analysis showed that 38% of the total eritoran treatment variance was explained by the severity-of-illness heterogeneity rather than by chance. No interactions observed with other variables. Consistent with the finding in this eritoran trial, other sepsis trials (IL-1 receptor antagonist, TNFsr-p55, antithrombin, drotrecogin alfa-activated) also demonstrated significant treatment by severity interaction. Potential survival benefits of eritoran in severe sepsis patients were associated with high severity of illness. These findings were used to design a phase 3 trial. Similar treatment by severity-of-illness interaction was found in most recent sepsis trials.
Cell Vacuolation Caused by Vibrio cholerae Hemolysin

ABSTRACT Non-O1 strains of Vibrio cholerae implicated in gastroenteritis and diarrhea generally lack virulence determinants such as cholera toxin that are characteristic of epidemic strains; the factors that contribute to their virulence are not understood. Here we report that at least one-third of diarrhea-associated nonepidemicV. cholerae strains from Mexico cause vacuolation of cultured Vero cells. Detailed analyses indicated that this vacuolation was related to that caused by aerolysin, a pore-forming toxin ofAeromonas; it involved primarily the endoplasmic reticulum at early times (∼1 to 4 h after exposure), and resulted in formation of large, acidic, endosome-like multivesicular vacuoles (probably autophagosomes) only at late times (∼16 h). In contrast to vacuolation caused by Helicobacter pylori VacA protein, that induced by V. cholerae was exacerbated by agents that block vacuolar proton pumping but not by endosome-targeted weak bases. It caused centripetal redistribution of endosomes, reflecting cytoplasmic alkalinization. The gene for V. choleraevacuolating activity was cloned and was found to correspond tohlyA, the structural gene for hemolysin. HlyA protein is a pore-forming toxin that causes ion leakage and, ultimately, eukaryotic cell lysis. Thus, a distinct form of cell vacuolation precedes cytolysis at low doses of hemolysin. We propose that this vacuolation, in itself, contributes to the virulence of V. choleraestrains, perhaps by perturbing intracellular membrane trafficking or ion exchange in target cells and thereby affecting local intestinal inflammatory or other defense responses.