Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of sleep dysfunction on cognition, affect, and quality of life in individuals with cerebellar ataxia.

STUDY OBJECTIVE Cerebellar ataxia comprises a group of debilitating diseases that are the result of progressive cerebellar degeneration. Recent studies suggest that, like other neurodegenerative diseases, sleep impairments are common in cerebellar ataxia. In light of the role of sleep in mood regulation and cognition, we sought to assess interactions between sleep, cognition, and affect in individuals with cerebellar ataxia. METHODS A survey of 176 individuals with cerebellar ataxia was conducted. The battery of instruments included a modified International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Restless Leg Syndrome Questionnaire, REM Behavior Disorder Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and a Composite Cognitive Questionnaire. RESULTS Fifty-one percent of individuals indicated significant sleep disturbances on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, 73% of participants had two or more symptoms of restless leg syndrome, and 88% had two or more symptoms of REM behavior disorder. Ataxia severity, based on the modified International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale, predicted scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and REM Behavior Disorder Questionnaire. Median split analyses revealed that cognitive function appeared to be reduced and depressive symptoms were greater for those individuals with poor subjective sleep quality and severe RLS. Importantly, sleep appears to play a mediatory role between disease severity and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that disturbed sleep may have detrimental effects on cognition and affect in individuals with cerebellar ataxia. While objective measures are needed, such results suggest that treating sleep deficits in these individuals may improve cognitive and mental health as well as overall quality of life.
Interprofessionalism: Educating to meet patient needs

Interprofessional teams in health care are showing promise in achieving the triple aim—providing better care for the individual patient, reducing costs, and improving population health. To complement current changes in health care delivery in the United States, there is a growing consensus among health professions educators that students should be trained in interprofessional models prior to entering clinical practice. Current interprofessional education (IPE) efforts in anatomy education are producing positive results in enhancing professional respect, collaboration, and teamwork among health professions students. In spite of existing structural and cultural barriers to IPE, health professions educators must continue to lead and grow IPE efforts as a critical component to improving the health of our nation. Anat Sci Educ 8: 296–298. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.
CA-125 concentration in serum and peritoneal fluid in patients with endometriosis – preliminary results

Introduction Cancer antigen 125 (CA-125), known as a biomarker for women genital tract malignancies, could be also useful in detecting and monitoring endometriosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate CA-125 in serum and peritoneal fluid (PF) as an indicator of endometriosis. Material and methods Fifty-six patients admitted to the First Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology for diagnostic or therapeutic laparoscopy conducted for infertility, pelvic pain, suspected endometriosis or ovarian cysts entered the study. Those with laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis were assigned to group A, those without this condition to group B. Blood for CA-125 was taken prior to surgery, centrifuged and assayed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions (VIDAS CA-125 II). Peritoneal fluid and an endometrial biopsy were taken during laparoscopy. Statistical comparisons were performed using Statistica 7.1. Results Group A consisted of 44 women with laparoscopically confirmed diagnosis; 15 patients served as a control group. The mean value of CA-125 concentration in the endometriosis group was 33.98 U/ml, vs. 9.3 U/ml in the control group. The mean value of CA-125 in peritoneal fluid was 1241.88 U/ml in the non-endometriosis group versus 2640.23 U/ml in the study group; both results were statistically significant (p < 0.05). There was a significant correlation between the stage of endometriosis and CA-125 plasma concentration (R = 0.5993, p < 0.001). Cancer antigen 125 concentration in serum was a moderate predictor to distinguish between patients with and without endometriosis (AUC 0.794; 95% CI 0.668-0.921; p = 0.001). Conclusions Cancer antigen 125 is a well-known biomarker for endometriosis and helpful in daily clinical practice when endometriosis is suspected. The cut-off value in serum suggesting endometriosis with 68% sensitivity is 11 U/ml. This value is normal range for Ca-125 concentration.
The influence of heparin resistance on postoperative complications in patients undergoing coronary surgery

Summary Background Heparin resistance is relatively frequent in patients undergoing coronary surgery. We aimed to assess the impact of heparin resistance on the outcome of patients undergoing coronary surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CABG). Three definitions of heparin resistance were adopted. Material/Methods We performed a retrospective review of 756 consecutive patients undergoing isolated CABG. All anaesthesia records were reviewed manually. Heparin resistance was recognized if: ACT was less than 400 seconds after 300 U/kg heparin (local criteria), ACT was less than 480 seconds after 400 U/kg or more heparin (stringent criteria), or if heparin sensitivity index was lower than 1.3. Postoperative assessment included perioperative morbidity and mortality. A multiple logistic regression model was used to investigate the influence of all demographic, preoperative and surgical variables, as well as heparin resistance (variably defined) on hospital mortality and postoperative complications. Results Heparin sensitivity index, local criteria and stringent criteria identified 64.8%, 12.0% and 4.3% heparin resistant patients, respectively. Heparin-resistant patients more frequently had preoperative heparin administration, unstable course of coronary artery disease, and higher coronary symptoms scoring. Severe form of heparin resistance (expressed by the ACT less than 480 seconds after 400 U/kg heparin) was an independent predictor of death (OR 4.92; CI 1.11–21.89). Conclusions Mild forms of heparin resistance are relatively frequent and are not associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The isolation of severe heparin resistance as an independent predictor of death in our large cohort of coronary patients suggests that this phenomenon should be given more attention in future studies.
Coming Clean and Cleaning Up: Does Voluntary Self-Reporting Indicate Effective Self-Policing?

Regulatory agencies are increasingly establishing voluntary self-reporting programs both as an investigative tool and to encourage regulated firms to commit to policing themselves. We investigate whether voluntary self-reporting can reliably indicate effective self-policing efforts that might provide opportunities for enforcement efficiencies. We find that regulators used self-reports of legal violations as a heuristic for identifying firms that are effectively policing their own operations, shifting enforcement resources away from those that voluntarily disclose. We also find that these firms that voluntarily disclosed regulatory violations and committed to self-policing improved their regulatory compliance and environmental performance, which suggests that the enforcement relief they received was warranted. Collectively, our results suggest that self-reporting can be a useful tool for reliably identifying and leveraging the voluntary self-policing efforts of regulated companies.
Infection with GB virus C and reduced mortality among HIV-infected patients.

BACKGROUND The flavivirus GB virus C (GBV-C, also designated hepatitis G virus) was identified in a search for hepatitis viruses, but no disease is currently known to be associated with it. We investigated the relation between coinfection with GBV-C and the long-term outcome in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). METHODS A total of 197 HIV-positive patients were followed prospectively beginning in 1993 or 1994. Of these patients, 33 (16.8 percent) tested positive for GBV-C RNA, 112 (56.9 percent) had detectable antibodies against the GBV-C envelope protein E2, and 52 (26.4 percent) had no marker of GBV-C infection and were considered unexposed. We assessed the relation between GBV-C infection and the progression of HIV disease. We also tested 169 GBV-C-positive plasma samples with a quantitative branched-chain DNA (bDNA) assay in order to investigate possible correlations between GBV-C viral load and both the CD4+ cell count and the HIV load. RESULTS Among the patients who tested positive for GBV-C RNA, survival was significantly longer, and there was a slower progression to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (P<0.001 for both comparisons). Survival after the development of AIDS was also better among the GBV-C-positive patients. The association of GBV-C viremia with reduced mortality remained significant in analyses stratified according to age and CD4+ cell count. In an analysis restricted to the years after highly active antiretroviral therapy became available, the presence of GBV-C RNA remained predictive of longer survival (P=0.02). The HIV load was lower in the GBV-C-positive patients than in the GBV-C-negative patients. The GBV-C load correlated inversely with the HIV load (r=-0.33, P<0.001) but did not correlate with the CD4+ cell count. CONCLUSIONS Coinfection with GBV-C is associated with a reduced mortality rate in HIV-infected patients. GBV-C is not known to cause any disease, but it is possible that its presence leads to an inhibition of HIV replication. However, GBV-C infection could also be a marker for the presence of other factors that lead to a favorable HIV response.
On the Troll-Trust Model for Edge Sign Prediction in Social Networks

In the problem of edge sign prediction, we are given a directed graph (representing a social network), and our task is to predict the binary labels of the edges (i.e., the positive or negative nature of the social relationships). Many successful heuristics for this problem are based on the troll-trust features, estimating at each node the fraction of outgoing and incoming positive/negative edges. We show that these heuristics can be understood, and rigorously analyzed, as approximators to the Bayes optimal classifier for a simple probabilistic model of the edge labels. We then show that the maximum likelihood estimator for this model approximately corresponds to the predictions of a Label Propagation algorithm run on a transformed version of the original social graph. Extensive experiments on a number of real-world datasets show that this algorithm is competitive against state-of-the-art classifiers in terms of both accuracy and scalability. Finally, we show that troll-trust features can also be used to derive online learning algorithms which have theoretical guarantees even when edges are adversarially labeled.
Algorithmic Survey of Parametric Value Function Approximation

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a machine learning answer to the optimal control problem. It consists of learning an optimal control policy through interactions with the system to be controlled, the quality of this policy being quantified by the so-called value function. A recurrent subtopic of RL concerns computing an approximation of this value function when the system is too large for an exact representation. This survey reviews state-of-the-art methods for (parametric) value function approximation by grouping them into three main categories: bootstrapping, residual, and projected fixed-point approaches. Related algorithms are derived by considering one of the associated cost functions and a specific minimization method, generally a stochastic gradient descent or a recursive least-squares approach.
Examining Smoking Dependence Motives among African American Light Smokers.

INTRODUCTION Despite smoking fewer cigarettes per day, African American smokers have greater difficulty quitting compared to Caucasian smokers. Further elucidating the impact of smoking motivations on smoking behavior would contribute to understanding the factors that maintain smoking. AIMS This study examined the factor structure of a brief assessment examining smoking dependence motives among a sample of African American light smokers. METHODS Data from a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized smoking cessation trial involving 540 participants. Results were analyzed using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a randomly split EFA. RESULTS/FINDINGS Findings from the initial EFA analysis produced an 8-factor model, explaining 69% of the variation in responses. The overall Measure of Sampling Adequacy (MSA) was 0.88 with item level MSA ranging 0.68-0.94 across the 30 items. Results from the randomly split EFA replicated the findings of the original EFA; with the exception of the item "I smoke within the first 30 minutes of awakening in the morning". CONCLUSIONS These findings support the hypothesis of a multidimensional approach to conceptualizing nicotine dependence, and provide information regarding characteristics of nicotine dependence in African American light smokers which may be helpful in identifying targets for cessation treatment in this population of smokers.
RUNX1: A MicroRNA Hub in Normal and Malignant Hematopoiesis

Hematopoietic development is orchestrated by gene regulatory networks that progressively induce lineage-specific transcriptional programs. To guarantee the appropriate level of complexity, flexibility, and robustness, these networks rely on transcriptional and post-transcriptional circuits involving both transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs). The focus of this review is on RUNX1 (AML1), a master hematopoietic transcription factor which is at the center of miRNA circuits necessary for both embryonic and post-natal hematopoiesis. Interference with components of these circuits can perturb RUNX1-controlled coding and non-coding transcriptional programs in leukemia.
Posaconazole Tablet Pharmacokinetics: Lack of Effect of Concomitant Medications Altering Gastric pH and Gastric Motility in Healthy Subjects

ABSTRACT Posaconazole oral suspension is an extended-spectrum triazole that should be taken with food to maximize absorption. A new posaconazole tablet formulation has demonstrated improved bioavailability over the oral suspension in healthy adults in a fasting state. This study evaluated the effects of concomitant medications altering gastric pH (antacid, ranitidine, and esomeprazole) and gastric motility (metoclopramide) on the pharmacokinetics of posaconazole tablets. This was a prospective open-label 5-way crossover study in 20 healthy volunteers. In each treatment period, a single 400-mg dose (4 100-mg tablets) of posaconazole was administered alone or with 20 ml antacid (2 g of aluminum hydroxide and 2 g of magnesium hydroxide), ranitidine (150 mg), esomeprazole (40 mg), or metoclopramide (15 mg). There was a ≥10-day washout between treatment periods. Posaconazole exposure, time to maximum concentration of drug in serum (Tmax), and apparent terminal half-life (t1/2) were similar when posaconazole was administered alone or with medications affecting gastric pH and gastric motility. Geometric mean ratios (90% confidence intervals [CIs]) of the area under the concentration-time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC0–inf) (posaconazole with medications affecting gastric pH and gastric motility versus posaconazole alone) were 1.03 (0.88–1.20) with antacid, 0.97 (0.84–1.12) with ranitidine, 1.01 (0.87–1.17) with esomeprazole, and 0.93 (0.79–1.09) with metoclopramide. Geometric mean ratios (90% CIs) of the maximum concentration of drug in serum (Cmax) were 1.06 (0.90–1.26) with antacid, 1.04 (0.88–1.23) with ranitidine, 1.05 (0.89–1.24) with esomeprazole, and 0.86 (0.73–1.02) with metoclopramide. In summary, in healthy volunteers, the pharmacokinetics of a single 400-mg dose of posaconazole tablets was not altered to a clinically meaningful extent when posaconazole was administered alone or with medications affecting gastric pH or gastric motility.
A GARCH Option Model with Variance-Dependent Pricing Kernel

We develop a GARCH option model with a variance premium by combining the HestonNandi (2000) dynamic with a new pricing kernel. While the pricing kernel is monotonic in the stock return and in variance, its projection onto the stock return is nonmonotonic. A negative variance premium makes it appear U-shaped. We present new semi-parametric evidence to con…rm this U-shaped relationship between the risk-neutral and physical probability densities. The new pricing kernel substantially improves our ability to reconcile the time series properties of stock returns with the cross-section of option prices. It provides a uni…ed explanation for the implied volatility puzzle, the overreaction of long-term options to changes in short-term variance, and the fat tails of the risk-neutral return distribution relative to the physical distribution.
Phenomena of Illusory Form: Can We Bridge the Gap between Levels of Explanation?

The study of illusory brightness and contour phenomena has become an important tool in modern brain research. Gestalt, cognitive, neural, and computational approaches are reviewed and their explanatory powers are discussed in the light of empirical data. Two well-known phenomena of illusory form are dealt with, the Ehrenstein illusion and the Kanizsa triangle. It is argued that the gap between the different levels of explanation, bottom—up versus top—down, creates scientific barriers which have all too often engendered unnecessary debate about who is right and who is wrong. In this review of the literature we favour an integrative approach to the question of how illusory form is derived from stimulus configurations which provide the visual system with seemingly incomplete information. The processes that can explain the emergence of these phenomena range from local feature detection to global strategies of perceptual organisation. These processes may be similar to those that help us restore partially occluded objects in everyday vision. To understand better the Ehrenstein and Kanizsa illusions, it is proposed that different levels of analysis and explanation are not mutually exclusive, but complementary. Theories of illusory contour and form perception must, therefore, take into account the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms and their possible interactions with cognitive and attentional processes.
Preparation and Evaluation of Ethyl Cellulose Microspheres Containing Diclofenac Sodium by Novel W/O/O Emulsion Method

The aim of present study was to formulate and evaluate microencapsulated controlled release preparations of a highly water/soluble drug, Diclofenac Sodium by (water in oil) in oil emulsion technique. Ethylcellulose, a biocompatible polymer is used as the retardant material. Various processing and formulation parameters such as drug/polymer ratio, volume and concentration of processing medium were optimized to maximize the entrapment efficiency. The release of DFS from ethyl cellulose microsphere was compared and possible release mechanism proposed by fitting in to different kinetic models. Microspheres were prepared by water in oil in oil emulsion technique using dichloromethane/ethanol solvent system. Span 80 was used as the dispersing agent and n-hexane was added to harden the microspheres. The prepared microspheres were characterized for their particle size and drug loading and drug release. The in-vitro release studies were carried out in phosphate buffer at pH 7.4. The prepared microspheres were white, free flowing and spherical in shape. The drug-loaded microspheres showed 51.2% of entrapment and release was extended up to 10 h. The in vitro drug release from the microspheres was affected by drug/polymer ratio. The best/fit release kinetics was achieved with Higuchi plot followed by zero order and first order. The release of DFS was influenced by altering the drug to polymer ratio and the drug release was found to be diffusion controlled.
Initial Results of the S3-Humerus Plate

Fractures of the humeral head account for 5% of all fractures and incidence increases with age. Depending on fracture form and patients age a wide variety of therapeutical options exist. Stable fractures can be treated conservatively, while the majority of unstable and displaced fractures require surgical treatment. Many different surgical options are available; open reduction and internal fixation are widely preferred. The S3 Proximal Humerus Plate is a contoured plate to match the complex shape of the proximal humerus. It is designed to be positioned distal to the greater tuberosity preventing subacromial impingement. Between august 1 and 30, 2007, 5 patients meeting the inclusion criteria (that is primary operative stabilization within 7 days after trauma in a standardized way and minimal follow up period of 3 month) with acute fractures of the proximal humerus were treated with S3 Proximal Humerus Plate. Follow up was performed using the Constant Score. The mean age was 59.0 years. According to the Neer classification fractures were rated as Neer 2,3 and 4. A mean Constant score of 72.3 (57-86) points was obtained. We did not observe any complications like humeral head necroses, loss of reduction, deep infection or breakage of the plate.
The Conceptualization of Digitally Networked Participation

The conceptualization and measurement of political participation has been an issue vibrantly debated for more than 50 years. The arrival of digital media came to add important parameters to the debate complicating matters further. Digital media have added inexhaustive creative and nonpolitical ways to engage in social and political life that not only often appear to form the basis of political participation but also, in a plethora of everyday contexts, seem to become embedded into what eventually evolves to become a politically meaningful act. This article argues that digitally networked participation—and its manifestations—is a form of political participation and should be conceptualized, identified, and measured as one. Relying on recent conceptual and empirical work, it shows how various common manifestations of digitally networked participation conform to minimalist, targeted, and motivational definitions of political participation. Finally, tackling common misconceptions about the value of such acts, this article argues that nonpolitical forms of digitally networked participation can occasionally be far more impactful than forms of participation commonly accepted as political. This article concludes by recommending the systematic development of measures for digitally networked participation and its formal integration in the study of political participation.
An experiment on relative rotation estimation from distant points with monocular vision

This paper proposes a method to determine the relative rotation between two images acquired with a camera. It is considered that the camera is calibrated, and that the relative motion between the two images is small. The method is appropriate for a camera mounted on a moving vehicle and it is proven that the changes in yaw, pitch and roll angles can be accurately determined in this setup. We propose a RANSAC process that selects the distant points based on a new motion model for image pixels valid only for the points at infinite. Additionally, robustness of the method is increased by considering the fact that image deformations are 0 for the points at infinite.