Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Safety of Acupuncture: Results of a Prospective Observational Study with 229,230 Patients and Introduction of a Medical Information and Consent Form

Background: To evaluate the safety of acupuncture in a large number of patients receiving conventional health care and, based on these results, to develop a new medical consent form for acupuncture. Methods: The prospective observational study included patients who received acupuncture treatment for chronic osteoarthritis pain of the knee or hip, low back pain, neck pain or headache, allergic rhinitis, asthma, or dysmenorrhoea. After treatment, all patients documented adverse events associated with acupuncture (defined as adverse effects). Patients who reported a need for treatment due to an adverse effect completed an additional standardised questionnaire on the most important adverse effect. Based on this data and considering ethical and legal aspects a new consent form was developed. Results: A total of 229,230 patients received on average 10.2 ± 3.0 acupuncture treatments. Altogether, 19,726 patients (8.6%) reported experiencing at least one adverse effect and 4,963 (2.2%) reported one which required treatment. Common adverse effects were bleedings or haematoma (6.1% of patients, 58% of all adverse effects), pain (1.7%) and vegetative symptoms (0.7%). Two patients experienced a pneumothorax (one needed hospital treatment, the other observation only). The longest duration of a side effect was 180 days (nerve lesion of the lower limb). The resulting medical consent form consists of five modules: Introduction to acupuncture and moxibustion, Risks of acupuncture treatment, Conditions which can increase the risk, Doctor’s statement, and Consent. Conclusion: Acupuncture provided by physicians is a relatively safe treatment and the proposed consent form could support both patients and professionals in the process of obtaining informed consent.
An outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection caused by contaminated mouth swabs.

BACKGROUND Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterium that can cause severe infection in susceptible patients. During the winter of 2001-2002, we investigated an outbreak of P. aeruginosa infection among patients in several hospitals across Norway. METHODS A nationwide outbreak investigation was performed with case finding, questionnaires, and product sampling. All available clinical and environmental P. aeruginosa strains were genotyped. Detailed information was collected from patients with the outbreak strain or with any P. aeruginosa in blood or cerebrospinal fluid samples. To identify risk factors, we conducted a case-control study among patients with P. aeruginosa isolated from blood or cerebrospinal fluid samples during October 2001-December 2002. Case patients were patients infected with the outbreak genotype, and control subjects were patients infected with other genotypes. RESULTS A total of 231 patients from 24 hospitals were identified as having the outbreak strain; 39 of these patients had positive blood culture results. Seventy-one patients (31%) died while hospitalized; all of the patients who died had severe underlying disease. Among 39 case patients and 159 control subjects, use of the moist mouth swab (adjusted odds ratio, 5.3; 95% confidence interval, 2.0-13.6) and receipt of mechanical ventilation (adjusted odds ratio, 6.4; 95% confidence interval, 2.3-17.2) were associated with infection due to the outbreak strain. Genotypically identical strains of P. aeruginosa were identified in 76 mouth swabs from 12 different batches and from the production line. CONCLUSIONS Contamination of mouth swabs during production caused the largest-ever outbreak of P. aeruginosa infection in Norway. Susceptible patient groups should use only documented quality-controlled, high-level-disinfected products and items in the oropharynx.
Angioedema for the Epiglottis Associated With Enalapril

An 86-year-old woman was admitted to our emergency room with dyspnea and stridor. She woke up at 3:00 AM with the sudden onset of swelling in the mouth and tongue. This swelling gradually increased over the next 3 hours. She tried to call her family, who were sleeping on the floor above her, but she was unable to make herself heard. Finally, she roused their attention by banging on the floor. On examination, there was laryngeal stridor with angioedema of the tongue, oral cavity, and epiglottis (Fig. 1). The remaining part of the physical examination was unremarkable. Because an allergic reaction was suspected, 500 mg hydrocortisone was injected systemically. The angioedema was decreased and the dyspnea was also resolved 6 hours after the injection. The angioedema was resolved and the patient could speak, drink, and swallow 24 hours after admission. The patient had a 10-year history of hypertension which was controlled with an oral calcium channel blocker (amlodipine besilate). However, her family doctor changed her medication to an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor (5 mg enalapril per day). The angioedema began 6 hours after she took her first dose of enalapril. There had been no other medication changes or ingestion of new types of food. There was no medical or family history of an allergic reaction. During and for 2 days after the angioedema attack, the IgE and eosinophil concentrations were not elevated. Antigen testing for an enalapril reaction was negative. The patient was discharged 3 days after admission. ACE inhibitors are effective in the treatment of hypertension. Angioedema in association with enalapril has an estimated incidence of 0.1%. Angioedema is a rare but life-threatening complication of ACE inhibitor treatment, which is used in millions of patients with hypertension and heart failure. This side effect was first reported with captopril in 1984. Subsequently, angioedema has been reported as a side effect of all kinds of ACE inhibitors. It has been postulated that bradykinin activity plays a key role in drug-induced angioedema. In one report, an increased plasma bradykinin concentration was measured during an angioedema attack in a patient on captopril. Antagonists of angiotensin II receptors without kinin effects may be an alternative therapy for patients who cannot tolerate ACE inhibitors. If the angioedema is suspected, ACE inhibitor therapy should be interrupted. Angioedema involving the tongue, glottis, and epiglottis may cause respiratory distress. We advise the prompt systemic injection of 500 mg hydrocortisone to treat the angioedema. Epinephrine is not the first choice, because most patients on ACE inhibitors have systemic arterial hypertension. During an angioedema attack involving the tongue, the patient cannot speak. Therefore, the physician must inform the patient about the potential for this side effect when first prescribing this medication.
Structures and Properties of Gellan Polymers Produced bySphingomonas paucimobilis ATCC 31461 from Lactose Compared with Those Produced from Glucose and from Cheese Whey

ABSTRACT The dairy industry produces large quantities of whey as a by-product of cheese production and is increasingly looking for new ways to utilize this waste product. Gellan gum is reliably produced bySphingomonas paucimobilis in growth media containing lactose, a significant component of cheese whey, as a carbon source. We studied and compared polysaccharide biosynthesis by S. paucimobilis ATCC 31461 in media containing glucose, lactose (5 to 30 g/liter), and sweet cheese whey. We found that altering the growth medium can markedly affect the polysaccharide yield, acyl substitution level, polymer rheological properties, and susceptibility to degradation. Depression of gellan production from lactose compared with gellan production from glucose (approximately 30%) did not appear to occur at the level of synthesis of sugar nucleotides, which are the donors of monomers used for biosynthesis of the repetitive tetrasaccharide unit of gellan. The lactose-derived biopolymer had the highest total acyl content; the glucose- and whey-derived gellans had similar total acyl contents but differed markedly in their acetate and glycerate levels. Rheological studies revealed how the functionality of a gellan polysaccharide is affected by changes in the acyl substitution.
Multilayer Perceptron as the basis for Gaming Motion Generation

The computer gaming industry is large and growing rapidly. Consumers demand realistic motion in computer games. Consequently, the ability to realistically simulate motion is vital in computer games development. Currently, most simulation of motion is done through the use of a physics engine which essentially involves numerically solution of the set of differential equations which describe the corresponding physics situation in the real world. This paper proposes an alternative strategy using a multilayer perceptron to generate these simulations. Benchmarking against traditional physics engines shows that there are considerable advantages to the new
Peri-adolescent alcohol consumption enhances the reinforcing and stimulatory properties of ethanol within the adult mesolimbic dopamine system in alcohol preferring P rats

Toalston, Jamie E. Ph.D., Purdue University, August 2011. Peri-Adolescent Alcohol Consumption Enhances the Reinforcing and Stimulatory Properties of Ethanol Within the Adult Mesolimbic Dopamine System in Alcohol Preferring P Rats. Major Professor: James M. Murphy. Research in the alcohol preferring (P) rat has indicated that peri-adolescent alcohol (EtOH) consumption enhances the acquisition of oral operant EtOH selfadministration, inhibits the extinction of responding for EtOH, augments EtOH-seeking behaviors, and increases relative reward value of EtOH during adulthood. Experiment 1 was conducted to determine if these adult effects of peri-adolescent EtOH intake could be observed using an Intracranial Self-Administration (ICSA) model. It was hypothesized that an increased sensitivity to the rewarding actions of EtOH would be manifested in peri-adolescent-EtOH-exposed subjects compared to naive subjects when the opportunity to self-administer EtOH to the posterior ventral tegmental area (pVTA) is available in adulthood. The pVTA is a primary site for EtOH’s reinforcing and rewarding properties in the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system. Experiment 2 was a dose-response examination of the effects of EtOH administered to the pVTA on downstream DA efflux in the nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh) via a joint Microinjection-Microdialysis (MicroMicro) procedure. Male P rats were given 24-h free-choice exposure to 15% volume/volume EtOH from postnatal day (PD) 30 to PD 60, or remained experimentally naive, with ad lib food
Certification of mobile apps for health care--reply.

In Reply We share Dr Constantino’s interest in determining if there are differences in the etiology of ASD between males and females. We did not compare the heritability of ASD between males and females in the study for 2 reasons. First, even a large population-based study such as ours has limited power to detect statistically significant sex differences in heritability. Second, we addressed the question of sex effects in our recurrence risk analysis. We did not observe important or statistically significant differences in recurrence risk in siblings and cousins for the different sibling and cousin sex combinations. The relative risk for males or females was not dependent on the sex of the proband. Furthermore, an epidemiological study from Denmark also did not find support for sex-related differences in recurrence risk.1 We look forward to seeing this topic addressed further in future populationbased studies. Several factors may affect concordance rates. Some earlier twin studies used interviews, rating scales, or both to score different autistic traits and applied preselected cutoffs to define autism.2,3 The pairwise concordance using such an approach may differ from pairwise concordance based on clinical diagnosis as reflected in our study. The source population, methods of ascertainment, handling of time trends, and participation rates may also affect observed concordance rates. The models we fitted are complex and, like any statistical model, do come with some underlying assumptions. Furthermore, the models can only give crude estimates of the sources and nature of the disease, and therefore we were cautious not to overinterpret our estimates or speculate what the exact sources underlying our estimates might be. Yet one of the potential important results of an analysis such as ours is to facilitate and stimulate a discussion about the specific causes of the disorder. One way to address current concerns about behavioral genetic models of heritability is to complement them with modeling methods using molecular data to estimate heritable and nonheritable factors. We agree with Constantino that de novo mutations would inflate the nonshared environment component term and this may be important.
Self-Medication with Antibiotics among People Dwelling in Rural Areas of Sindh.

INTRODUCTION Self-medication with antibiotics is becoming increasingly common due to multiple factors. The public who are using these antibiotics generally do not have full information regarding their proper use, especially the dosages and possible side-effects. Hence, unregulated use of such medicines may cause dangerous adverse effects in the patients. AIM The study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence and practice of self-medication with antibiotics among people dwelling in the rural areas of province Sindh. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional survey was performed at Outpatient Department of Civil Hospital Karachi, from January to March 2015. Four hundred rural dwellers who lived in the outskirts of Karachi city area of province Sindh were recruited for the study in the aforementioned time period through non-probability convenience sampling. RESULTS The investigation reported a prevalence of 81.25% among rural dwellers of Sindh with regards to self-medication of antibiotics. The most common reason behind self-medication were economic reasons (88.0%). Amoxicillin (52.0%) was found to be the most self-prescribed antibiotic. Majority of the participants (74.7%) didn't know about the phenomena of antibiotic resistance associated with inadequate use of antibiotics and only 25 subjects identified correctly that the situation would lead to increase resistance. CONCLUSION The self-medication rates with antibiotic are higher in rural areas of Sindh. There is an urgent need for the government to enforce stricter laws on pharmacies dispensing medications, especially antibiotics, without prescriptions. Lastly, provision of cost effective treatment from public sector can significantly reduce self-medication with antibiotics among rural dwellers of Sindh.
VECTOR : Trajectory Analysis for Advanced Highway Monitoring

In a world that is increasingly reliant on automobiles, efficient management of the transportation network is a key functionality of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). A wide range of these ITS applications rely on the extraction of current data as well as historical information in order to perform appropriately. This work presents a novel computer vision based approach for traffic management. The VECTOR system processes live video traffic streams to track individual vehicles, classify vehicle type, and accumulate essential highway management measurements. This system provides a front end collection tool that can be used for a wide variety of other transportation tasks including congestion analysis, speed compliance and flow analysis, as well as trajectory pattern analysis. The system provides real-time situational awareness to highway monitoring and presents a trajectory analysis framework that can be extended into vehicle based monitoring.
Familial Mediterranean Fever: The First Adult Case in Korea

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is known to be a genetic disorder that prevalent among populations surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Since Mediterranean fever gene (MEFV) was discovered at 1997, some cases have been reported in countries not related or close to this area like Japan. In addition it has been generally accepted that the clinical onset of FMF begins before 20 yr of age in most patients. Onset of the disease at an older age may occur but is rare. Adult-onset FMF may be a form of disease with distinct clinical, demographic and molecular characteristics. We describe a case of adult-onset FMF confirmed by DNA analysis of the MEFV gene in a Korean patient. A 32-yr-old man, who has no family history of FMF, presented with periodic fever, abdominal pain and vomiting. Though several various tests were thoroughly performed to evaluate the cause of his symptoms, there was no evidence of infectious, autoimmune or neoplastic diseases. Several gene analysis of periodic fever syndrome was finally performed and two point mutations (p.Leu110Pro, p.Glu148Gln) were identified. We confirmed the first adult case of FMF through detection of MEFV gene mutations in Korea and describe his clinical characteristics.
E-plane choke waveguide aperture antenna for front-fed parabolic reflector

In this paper, an E-plane choke waveguide aperture antenna is designed for front-fed parabolic reflector. The aperture antenna consists of the radiating rectangular waveguide vertically jointed to the two coupling apertures or the E-plane choke to achieve the symmetrical beam for the X-band frequency operating from 10.00 GHz to 10.50 GHz. The simulated beamwidths in the E and H planes at −3 dB were equally 70° and at −10 dB also equally 137°, while the measured results at −3 dB were equally 70° and at −10 dB equally 135°. The simulation and measured results are in good agreement. The simulated and measured antenna gains are 8.24 dBi and 8.21 dBi respectively. The simulation and measured of waveguide aperture for parabolic front-fed reflector antenna results covering frequency range from 9.91 GHz to 10.61 GHz and 9.98 GHz to 10.51 GHz, respectively. The findings validate the applicability of the antenna as the prime feed for rotationally symmetric parabolic reflectors.
A Profile of Double Victims: Sexual Coercion by a Dating Partner and a Stranger

Victim profiles of sexual coercion might differ based on the type of perpetrator that initiates the coercion—namely, a stranger versus a dating partner. Some victims experience coercion from both types of perpetrators—referred to here as “double victims. ” Survey data from 2,322 undergraduates at two relatively large U.S. universities in the Midwest and Southeast revealed in a multinomial logistic regression analysis that victims of distinct types of perpetrators had unique predictors as part of their overall profiles. Background characteristics associated with each type were identified. In comparison to nonvictims, a profile of double victims emerged—a White female who had been abused as a child, who had cohabited with a partner, used alcohol or drugs, had been emotionally abused by a partner, had lied to a partner, used the Internet to find a partner, had dated interracially, and had engaged in sex in a noncommitted relationship. Implications and limitations of these findings are included in the discussion.
Product Line Design with Seller-Induced Learning

In practice, some well-established service providers sellers offer one-time experiences or product demonstrations for the services that have been introduced to the market for years. Such activities, labeled as seller-induced learning, not only help the consumers learn more about themselves but also exploit the consumers by elaborating on the consumer heterogeneity. When the seller-induced learning completely resolves the consumers' valuation uncertainty, it can facilitate a more sophisticated price discrimination scheme and may give rise to a relatively more efficient allocation. Nevertheless, if there is residual valuation uncertainty, the seller may abandon the seller-induced learning to avoid the exacerbated ex post cannibalization. We show that an exploding offer shall sometimes be offered in conjunction with the seller-induced learning to encourage immediate purchases when uncertainty arises in only some consumers. We identify regimes under which the seller-induced learning is charged at a strictly positive price. Under these regimes, the seller need not sacrifice the ex post efficiency upon inducing consumer learning. Therefore, our result indicates that the seller-induced learning may eliminate the conflict between rent extraction and efficiency initiatives. However, quality distortion prevails when the seller provides an identical menu for all the consumers or the free seller-induced learning. This paper was accepted by J. Miguel Villas-Boas, marketing.
Bmc Structural Biology Systematic Analysis of the Effect of Multiple Templates on the Accuracy of Comparative Models of Protein Structure

Background: Although multiple templates are frequently used in comparative modeling, the effect of inclusion of additional template(s) on model accuracy (when compared to that of corresponding single-template based models) is not clear. To address this, we systematically analyze two-template models, the simplest case of multiple-template modeling. For an existing target-template pair (single-template modeling), a two-template based model of the target sequence is constructed by including an additional template without changing the original alignment to measure the effect of the second template on model accuracy.
A review of the burden of vertigo.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES To provide an overview of vertigo and its management and identify its impact on individuals to offer strategies for managing the condition. BACKGROUND Dizziness and vertigo are symptoms common to many pathologies/dysfunctions ranging from the benign to the potentially serious; many are poorly understood. Although rarely life-threatening, vertigo is debilitating and significantly affects quality of life; it may be as disabling as paralysis or loss of a limb. Although 40-80% of cases remain unexplained, referral for specific investigation is rare. DESIGN A narrative literature review including descriptive, theoretical and empirical material reliant on the keywords 'dizziness' and 'vertigo' and the phrase 'vestibular disorders'. This provided diverse information that was used to address the research questions. RESULTS Vertigo is a widespread and potentially distressing symptom that may arise at any age and be acute or chronic. For most, it resolves spontaneously; for others, dizziness persists, causing significant distress. Its management is challenging, especially when the underlying cause is unclear. Pharmacological interventions, physiotherapy, psychotherapy or, rarely, surgery can be used in its management. Few nursing studies are available, suggesting that nursing knowledge may be limited. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Although nurses may frequently encounter patients with vertigo, there are few relevant nursing studies in this area; few consider appropriate nursing interventions or approaches to patient care. The information provided reveals that understanding the full impact of the condition and identification of patients' needs are essential to effective care. Some strategies to help affected patients are outlined. CONCLUSIONS Vertigo, a widespread, often intractable condition, affects significant numbers of people; diagnosis and management can be challenging. Treatment, care and support must be selected on an individual basis taking individuals into account. The primary goals are to maintain physical status, psychosocial interaction and quality of life.