Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal Cut-Off Points on the Health Anxiety Inventory, Illness Attitude Scales and Whiteley Index to Identify Severe Health Anxiety

Background Health anxiety can be viewed as a dimensional phenomenon where severe health anxiety in form of DSM-IV hypochondriasis represents a cut-off where the health anxiety becomes clinically significant. Three of the most reliable and used self-report measures of health anxiety are the Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI), the Illness Attitude Scales (IAS) and the Whiteley Index (WI). Identifying the optimal cut-offs for classification of presence of a diagnosis of severe health anxiety on these measures has several advantages in clinical and research settings. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the HAI, IAS and WI as proximal diagnostic instruments for severe health anxiety defined as DSM-IV hypochondriasis. Methods We investigated sensitivity, specificity and predictive value on the HAI, IAS and WI using a total of 347 adult participants of whom 158 had a diagnosis of severe health anxiety, 97 had obsessive-compulsive disorder and 92 were healthy non-clinical controls. Diagnostic assessments were conducted using the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule. Results Optimal cut-offs for identifying a diagnosis of severe health anxiety was 67 on the HAI, 47 on the IAS, and 5 on the WI. Sensitivity and specificity were high, ranging from 92.6 to 99.4%. Positive and negative predictive values ranged from 91.6 to 99.4% using unadjusted prevalence rates. Conclusions The HAI, IAS and WI have very good properties as diagnostic indicators of severe health anxiety and can be used as cost-efficient proximal estimates of the diagnosis.
Negative effect of ranitidine on the results of urea breath test for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori

OBJECTIVES:In analogy with proton pump inhibitors, H2- antagonists may also be responsible for false-negative results on urea breath test for the detection of Helicobacter pylori. In this study we assessed the frequency and duration of false-negative urea breath tests in patients given different doses of ranitidine.METHODS:A total of 120 consecutive dyspeptic patients infected with H. pylori on the basis of concomitant positive results of CLO-test, histology and urea breath test were recruited for this prospective, open, parallel-group study performed in an urban university gastroenterological clinic. They were randomized to receive an acute treatment with either ranitidine 300 mg once a day in the evening, ranitidine 300 mg once a day in the morning, ranitidine 150 mg b.i. d. , or ranitidine 300 mg b.i. d. for 14 days. The urea breath test was performed on day 14 while patients were still taking ranitidine, and on day 21, 1 wk after completion of therapy. The test was repeated on day 28 in those patients who were still negative on day 21. Duplicate breath samples were collected after ingestion of 75 mg 13C-urea plus citric acid. A δ value >5‰ was considered positive.RESULTS:Of 118 patients infected with H. pylori, 15 (13%) had a negative urea breath test on day 14. The false-negative results were equally distributed among the four groups of ranitidine dosage. Nine of these patients reverted to positive at 7 days and the remaining six at 14 days after completion of therapy.CONCLUSIONS:Our study shows that ranitidine negatively affects the results of urea breath testing, independent of the given dosage. Patients undergoing this examination for H. pylori diagnosis should discontinue use of H2-antagonists 2 wk before testing.
Opportunistic Coding for Multi-Packet Flooding in Wireless Sensor Networks with Correlated Links

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), existing work on flooding mainly focuses on single-packet problem, while work in sequential multi-packet problem is surprisingly little. This paper proposes OppCode, a new opportunistic network-coding based flooding architecture for multi-packet dissemination in WSNs, where both unreliable and correlated links commonly exist. Instead of flooding a single packet each time, each node encodes multiple native packets chosen from a specific fixed-size page to an encoded packet, and then rebroadcasts it further. The key idea consists of two parts: one is opportunistically coding decision, in which each node grasps every possible coding opportunity greedily to conduct an encode-and-forward operation in order to maximize its total (or aggregate) coding gain of all neighbors based on the probabilistic estimations of packets each neighbor already has (i.e., coverage), the other is paged collective acknowledgements (ACKs), in which one rebroadcast that arrives at a receiver acts as not only an implicit ACK of successful disseminations of all packets in the entire page for the sender, but also probabilistic ACK to update page-scale per-packet coverage estimations for its neighbors in a batch. We evaluate our design using extensive simulations and on a 20-node WSNs testbed, and show that OppCode largely increases performance of multi-packet flooding compared with state-of-the-art solutions, especially when links are highly unreliable and correlated with each other. The gains vary from a few percent to several folds depending on the network density, link conditions, coverage threshold and page size.
Fluoroquinolone Resistance in the Clinical Isolates of Kashmir Valley and In-Vitro Efficacy of Fosfomycin in Multiple Infections

Microbiologist, Transworld Muslim University Diagnostic Center, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Lecturer, Department of Microbiology, SKIMS Medical College, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Professor, Postgraduate Department of Botany, St. Josephs College & Research Center, Bangalore, India
Pediatric rehabilitation with the reachMAN's modular handle

This paper presents the results of a preliminary study with one cerebral palsy child using the ReHaptic Handle, a novel robotic device for the pediatric rehabilitation of upper limb function. The device has two degrees-of-freedom to train pinching, forearm supination/pronation and wrist flexion/extension movements. Interactive computer games have been implemented to increase subjects' participation and engagement, thus promoting motor recovery. Pinching, with the index finger and thumb, forearm supination/pronation as well as wrist flexion/extension were trained two or three times a week for 15 minutes each. An increase in forearm supination/pronation movement precision and smoothness was observed with the subject, as well as a reduction in the movement duration.
Functional Genetic Screen Identifies Increased Sensitivity to WEE1 Inhibition in Cells with Defects in Fanconi Anemia and HR Pathways

WEE1 kinase regulates CDK1 and CDK2 activity to facilitate DNA replication during S-phase and to prevent unscheduled entry into mitosis. WEE1 inhibitors synergize with DNA-damaging agents that arrest cells in S-phase by triggering direct mitotic entry without completing DNA synthesis, resulting in catastrophic chromosome fragmentation and apoptosis. Here, we investigated how WEE1 inhibition could be best exploited for cancer therapy by performing a functional genetic screen to identify novel determinants of sensitivity to WEE1 inhibition. Inhibition of kinases that regulate CDK activity, CHK1 and MYT1, synergized with WEE1 inhibition through both increased replication stress and forced mitotic entry of S-phase cells. Loss of multiple components of the Fanconi anemia (FA) and homologous recombination (HR) pathways, in particular DNA helicases, sensitized to WEE1 inhibition. Silencing of FA/HR genes resulted in excessive replication stress and nucleotide depletion following WEE1 inhibition, which ultimately led to increased unscheduled mitotic entry. Our results suggest that cancers with defects in FA and HR pathways may be targeted by WEE1 inhibition, providing a basis for a novel synthetic lethal strategy for cancers harboring FA/HR defects. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(4); 865–76. ©2015 AACR.
Restoration of cardiopulmonary function with 21% versus 100% oxygen after hypoxaemia in newborn pigs

Objective: To assess the consequences of hypoxaemia and resuscitation with room air versus 100% O2 on cardiac troponin I (cTnI), cardiac output (CO), and pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) in newborn pigs. Design: Twenty anaesthetised pigs (12–36 hours; 1.7–2.7 kg) were subjected to hypoxaemia by ventilation with 8% O2. When mean arterial blood pressure fell to 15 mm Hg, or arterial base excess was ⩽ −20 mmol/l, resuscitation was performed with 21% (n = 10) or 100% (n = 10) O2 for 30 minutes, then ventilation with 21% O2 for 120 minutes. Blood was analysed for cTnI. Ultrasound examinations of CO and PAP (estimated from tricuspid regurgitation velocity (TR-Vmax)) were performed at baseline, during hypoxia, and at the start of and during reoxygenation. Results: cTnI increased from baseline to the end point (p<0.001), confirming a serious myocardial injury, with no differences between the 21% and 100% O2 group (p = 0.12). TR-Vmax increased during the insult and returned towards baseline values during reoxygenation, with no differences between the groups (p = 0.11) or between cTnI concentrations (p = 0.31). An inverse relation was found between increasing age and TR-Vmax during hypoxaemia (p = 0.034). CO per kg body weight increased during the early phase of hypoxaemia (p<0.001), then decreased. Changes in CO per kg were mainly due to changes in heart rate, with no differences between the groups during reoxygenation (p = 0.298). Conclusion: Hypoxaemia affects the myocardium and PAP. During this limited period of observation, reoxygenation with 100% O2 showed no benefits compared with 21% O2 in normalising myocardial function and PAP. The important issue may be resuscitation and reoxygenation without hyperoxygenation.
Contribution à l'Appréhension du Système Cardiovasculaire Modélisation et Traitement de Signaux issus de la Macrocirculation et de la Microcirculation sanguines. (Contribution to the understanding of the Cardiovascular System Modeling and Processing of Signals from the Macrocirculation and the Micro

Le reseau arteriel du systeme cardiovasculaire (SCV) est compose de deux sous-systemes, la macrocirculation (arteres elastiques et musculaires) et la microcirculation (arterioles et capillaires), qui interagissent afin de permettre une adaptation optimale de l'organisme aux differentes perturbations rencontrees. Avec l'âge et/ou des facteurs de risque comme l'hypertension, des lesions apparaissent au niveau du reseau arteriel et le couplage macrocirculation/microcirculation semble avoir un role important dans le developpement des pathologies vasculaires. Une meilleure apprehension de ce couplage pourrait permettre de mieux comprendre les processus physiopathologiques de certaines maladies vasculaires. Nous avons ainsi etudie les interactions entre la macrocirculation et la microcirculation sanguines a l'aide de deux approches : (1) l'analyse et le traitement de signaux physiologiques, (2) la construction d'un modele du SCV. Suite a l'acquisition simultanee de signaux issus du coeur, de la macrocirculation et de la microcirculation, chez des sujets sains, nous avons mis en oeuvre differents concepts de traitement du signal (analyse spectrale, analyse multifractale, entropie multi-echelle) qui nous ont permis de mettre en evidence de potentielles relations entre la macrocirculation et la microcirculation sanguines. Parallelement, nous avons developpe un modele du SCV capable de predire les courbes de pression et de debit dans les reseaux macrocirculatoire et microcirculatoire. Ce modele permet, en outre, d'observer les interactions entre la macrocirculation et la microcirculation dans des conditions normales et pathologiques.
A Class of Limit Algebras Associated with Directed Graphs

Abstract Every directed graph defines a Hilbert space and a family of weighted shifts that act on the space. We identify a natural notion of periodicity for such shifts and study their C* -algebras. We prove the algebras generated by all shifts of a fixed period are of Cuntz-Krieger and Toeplitz-Cuntz-Krieger type. The limit C* -algebras determined by an increasing sequence of positive integers, each dividing the next, are proved to be isomorphic to Cuntz-Pimsner algebras and the linking maps are shown to arise as factor maps. We derive a characterization of simplicity and compute the K-groups for these algebras. We prove a classification theorem for the class of algebras generated by simple loop graphs.
Breakthrough Technologies Large-Scale Phosphoprotein Analysis in Medicago truncatula Roots Provides Insight into in Vivo Kinase Activity in Legumes 1 [ W ]

Nitrogen fixation in legumes requires the development of root organs called nodules and their infection by symbiotic rhizobia. Over the last decade, Medicago truncatula has emerged as a major model plant for the analysis of plant-microbe symbioses and for addressing questions pertaining to legume biology. While the initiation of symbiosis and the development of nitrogenfixing root nodules depend on the activation of a protein phosphorylation-mediated signal transduction cascade in response to symbiotic signals produced by the rhizobia, few sites of in vivo phosphorylation have previously been identified in M. truncatula. We have characterized sites of phosphorylation on proteins from M. truncatula roots, from both whole cell lysates and membrane-enriched fractions, using immobilized metal affinity chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Here, we report 3,457 unique phosphopeptides spanning 3,404 nonredundant sites of in vivo phosphorylation on 829 proteins in M. truncatula Jemalong A17 roots, identified using the complementary tandemmass spectrometry fragmentation methods electron transfer dissociation and collision-activated dissociation. With this being, to our knowledge, the first large-scale plant phosphoproteomic study to utilize electron transfer dissociation, analysis of the identified phosphorylation sites revealed phosphorylation motifs not previously observed in plants. Furthermore, several of the phosphorylation motifs, including LxKxxs and RxxSxxxs, have yet to be reported as kinase specificities for in vivo substrates in any species, to our knowledge. Multiple sites of phosphorylation were identified on several key proteins involved in initiating rhizobial symbiosis, including SICKLE, NUCLEOPORIN133, and INTERACTING PROTEIN OF DMI3. Finally, we used these data to create an open-access online database for M. truncatula phosphoproteomic data.
Is perceptual anticipation a motor simulation? A PET study

A large body of psychophysical evidence suggests that perception of human movement is constrained by the observer's motor competence. PET measurements of regional cerebral blood flow were performed in eight healthy subjects who were requested, in a forced-choice paradigm, to anticipate the outcome of a single moving dot trajectory depicting the beginning of either mechanical, pointing, or writing movements. Selective activation of the left premotor cortex and of the right intraparietal sulcus was associated with visual anticipation of pointing movements while the left frontal operculum and superior parietal lobule were found to be activated during anticipation of writing movements. These results are discussed in the perspective that the motor system is part of a simulation network, which is used to interpret perceived actions.
Learning through a multiple approach competing practical exercise MACPE: a case study with a teacher's and a student's assessment

A Multiple Approach Competing Practical Exercise (MACPE), is an open exercise that confronts a group of students with a practical engineering problem using their own resources and choosing among multiple approaches in a competing environment. A case study with a teacher’s assessment and a student’s assessment has shown that this sort of exercise is able to motivate the students’ learning process. It has also been found that it is a fun way to foster team work and constitutes an open door to innovation.
From Foster Care to Adulthood: The Role of Income

This study explores the role of income for young people with experience in foster care transitioning to adulthood. It draws on in-depth structured interviews with eight staff members and 38 current and former foster youths age 18 years and older, who were participants in an innovative program to build their assets and financial capability. Interviews took place in four sites in three states. This study illuminates how those with experience in foster care seek to obtain and manage money to transition successfully to adult financial roles. Findings suggest that early and practical experiences with money are important for gaining financial capability. The study also highlights the need for child welfare professionals to develop expertise in financial literacy and understand the pitfalls that lie in both traditional and nontraditional financial services. By deepening understanding among staff of the economic realities facing the young people today, child welfare agencies will be more likely to prepare former foster youths for life on their own.
Ethical Problems in Book Publishing

A set of open-ended questionnaires formed the basis for this inductive inquiry into the ethics of 140 practitioners in book publishing. The four most explicit concerns expressed by these decision makers was for quality in all editorial and production processes, for handling morally the tensions between authors and editors, for treating support personnel fairly, and for promoting materials truthfully. The researchers (1) conclude that the respondents reflect a classical liberal view of free expression and (2) ask for further investigation into book publishing's awareness of its social responsibility.
Beat-to-beat variability of T-wave amplitude for the risk assessment of ventricular tachyarrhythmia in patients without structural heart disease.

AIMS Increased temporal repolarization lability, assessed by beat-to-beat variability of T-wave amplitude (TAV), has been shown to be associated with ventricular tachyarrhythmia in patients with a variety of clinical conditions. The aim of this study was to test the ability of TAV to identify patients presenting with malignant ventricular arrhythmia and to predict subsequent occurrences. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied 20 consecutive patients (age 42 ± 15 years, mean ± standard deviation) presenting with ventricular tachyarrhythmia who did not have substantial underlying heart disease and compared them with 40 age- and sex-matched control subjects. The TAV was determined by Holter recording (Ela Medical). Patients with ventricular tachyarrhythmia had a higher maximum value of TAV (max TAV: 38 ± 18 vs. 22 ± 15 μV, P < 0.001) than did the controls. The sensitivity and specificity of max TAV > 22.4 μV for detecting the occurrence of ventricular tachyarrhythmia were 77 and 90%, respectively. During a mean follow-up period of 23 months, three patients had relapses of ventricular tachyarrhythmia. Patients with a recurrence of ventricular tachyarrhythmia had a trend towards a higher max TAV as compared with those who had ventricular tachyarrhythmia but did not relapse (56 ± 23 vs. 36 ± 16 μV, P = 0.061). CONCLUSION Our results suggest that Holter-derived TAV might be associated with the occurrence and recurrence of ventricular tachyarrhythmia in patients without structural heart disease. Prospective validation will be necessary to assess the potential diagnostic value of the TAV in a large general population.
Short communication Mediating mechanisms for the impact of bupropion in smoking cessation treatment

Several studies have documented the effectiveness of bupropion for smoking cessation, yet little is known about the mechanisms by which it facilitates abstinence. In this placebo-controlled randomized trial. We examined whether bupropion’s effects on cessation were mediated by changes in withdrawal and/or negative or positive affect (PA). Two hundred and fifty-one smokers received 10-week treatment with bupropion or placebo, plus behavioral counseling. Changes in affect and withdrawal symptoms from pre-quit to 1 week post quit were examined as mediating variables in structural equation models. Cotinine-verified 7-day point prevalence cessation rates at the end of treatment (8-weeks post quit date) were 48% for bupropion and 29% for placebo (P � /0.001). There were significant treatment effects on withdrawal and negative affect (NA); however, only change in NA predicted cessation. In a path model, change in NA was a significant mediator of bupropion’s effects on cessation. However, the proportion of variance accounted for by this mediator was small, suggesting that other unmeasured factors play an important role. Laboratory-based paradigms may be useful to identify other mediators of bupropion’s effects, thereby pointing to mechanisms of effect that can be bolstered in future treatment studies. # 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.
Is the deformation space of complete affine structures on the 2-torus smooth?

Periods of parallel exterior forms define natural coordinates on the deformation space of complete affine structures on the two-torus. These coordinates define a differentiable structure on this deformation space, under which it is diffeomorphic to $R^2$. The action of the mapping class group of $T^2$ is equivalent in these coordinates with the standard linear action of $\SL_2(Z)$ on $R^2$.
Combination of a free jejunal flap and a Roux‐en‐Y colojejunostomy for reconstruction of esophageal stricture secondary to a distant blast injury: A case report

Pneumatic perforation of the esophagus caused by blast injury is very rare. Our patient presented with esophageal stricture in the context of a previous reconstruction of an esophageal rupture secondary to a distant air‐blast injury. The ruptured esophagus was initially reconstructed with a left pedicled colon interposition in an antiperistaltic pattern. However, dysphagia developed 4 years later because of severe reflux‐induced stenosis at the junction of the cervical esophagus and the left pedicled colon segment. A free isoperistaltic jejunal flap was performed to replace the cervical esophagus, with an anti‐reflux Roux‐en‐Y colojejunostomy between the caudal segment of the left pedicled colon and the jejunum. The patient was discharged uneventfully 29 days later with smooth esophageal transit and no further reflux, as shown by scintigraphic scan. Esophageal reconstruction in an isoperistaltic pattern using a free isoperistaltic jejunal flap combined with an anti‐reflux Roux‐en‐Y colojejunostomy has never been reported in the literature and appears to be an effective method to provide smooth passage of food and prevent restenosis of the esophagus. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2011.