Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sequential bone mineral content in small preterm infants with and without fractures and rickets

Seventy‐four infants with birth weights 1009 ± 28 grams and gestational age 28.6 ± 0.3 weeks (M ± SEM) were studied prospectively to test the hypotheses that bone mineral content (BMC) measured by photon absorptiometry, would be: (1) lower in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with radiographic evidence of fractures and/or rickets (F/R), and (2) will continue to be lower over the first year when compared to VLBW infants without F/R. BMC and bone width (BW) of the distal one‐third of left radius and ulna were measured at 5 weeks (n = 8), 14 weeks (n = 61), 26 weeks (n = 58), 40 weeks (n = 59), and 1 year (n = 52). Standardized radiographs of both forearms, and weight, length, and head circumferencce were also determined at each study age. Investigators and technicians involved in the photon absorptiometry measurements were unaware of the radiographic findings and vice versa. Twenty‐three of 74 infants were found to have F/R. BMC of studied infants remained markedly below our previously determined range of “intrauterine bone mineralization,” even at 26 weeks after birth. There was no significant difference in BMC or BW between infants with and without F/R, either at the time of confirmation of F/R or during early follow‐up; however, BMC was lower at ≥6 months and BW was lower at ≥9 months in infants with F/R. We suggest that the extremely low BMC measurements in early infancy predispose all VLBW infants to fractures and rickets.
Long-term outcome of modified radical mastoidectomy

The primary aim of treatment of cholesteatoma is to attain a dry, safe, stable ear, free of disease. Maintaining or improving hearing is important but the pursuit of a hearing result should not compromise this primary aim. This study reviews the long-term outcome of 133 patients, suffering from advanced disease, who underwent modified radical mastoidectomy between 1995 and 2000. Of these, 49 per cent had had previous mastoid surgery elsewhere. A dry, waterproof ear was attained in 95 per cent of patients. In 77 per cent of patients, hearing was unchanged or improved. In this period, there were two cases of significant post-operative loss in bone conduction, including one dead ear secondary to suppurative labyrinthitis. There were epithelial pearls on follow up in two per cent. These results indicate that when properly performed, modified radical mastoidectomy provides safe surgical access and clears disease with low recurrence rates while mostly maintaining or improving hearing.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing as a therapeutic intervention for traumatized children and adolescents: a systematic review of the evidence for family therapists

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a relatively new form of psychotherapy for post-traumatic symptoms of relevance to systemic therapists. The literature available on individual EMDR in traumatized children is reviewed in this article. A sample of eight studies was examined, consisting of three controlled trials, two uncontrolled studies and three case reports or series. The controlled trials compared EMDR with waiting list controls or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The study samples were small and their methodological quality variable. In all the studies, the results suggested a positive effect for EMDR but did not appear superior to CBT. It is therefore possible that systemic interventions may be improved by the integration of EMDR and family therapy with children and adolescents.
Improving Override Rates for Computerized Prescribing Alerts in Ambulatory Care

Computerized drug prescribing alerts can improve patient safety, but are often overridden because of poor specificity and alert overload. We developed a selective knowledge base of only clinically significant drug alerts and designated only critical-high severity alerts to be interruptive to clinician workflow (a tiered approach). Using this approach, we were able to achieve a 67% clinician accept rate for ambulatory computerized prescribing alerts.
Broadband SVD and non-linear precoding applied to broadband MIMO channels

We address the problem of precoding and equalisation of broadband MIMO systems. A new non-block based methods is based on a broadband singular value decomposition, which can decouple a broadband MIMO channel into independent dispersive SISO subchannels. We thereafter apply Tomlinson-Harashima precoding to mitigate the dispersiveness of these SISO subchannels. We present arguments why this is a suitable approach compared to existing methods, underlined by some simulation results.
Colonic Transit Time and Gut Peptides in Adult Patients with Slow and Normal Colonic Transit Constipation

Purpose To investigate whether pathophysiological differences exist among healthy controls (HC) and patients with slow and normal transit constipation (STC and NTC), we evaluated (1) gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms using validated questionnaires; (2) circulating concentrations of neurotensin, motilin, corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), and somatostatin; and (3) possible differences in frequency distribution of the neurotensin rs1800832 A/G and Neurotensin Receptor 1 rs6090453 C/G SNPs. Methods Fifty-one patients with severe functional constipation and 20 HC completed the study. Symptoms were evaluated by GSRS and Constipaq scoring system. Plasma concentrations of GI peptides were evaluated by ELISA on fasting and six sequential blood samples after a standard meal. Genotyping was performed by PCR and endonuclease digestion. Results Symptom profiles largely overlapped between NTC and STC patients. As for peptide profiles, neurotensin showed lower concentrations at 60 and 90 min in STC versus HC, and motilin showed throughout the curve 85% and 82% lower levels in STC than HC and NTC, respectively. Finally, neurotensin polymorphism resulted in being associated with the peptide levels. Conclusions Symptom profile is not a reliable tool to discriminate STC, whilst the GI peptide profiles might help in identifying it.
Prognostic value of MR and magnetization transfer imaging findings in patients with clinically isolated syndromes suggestive of multiple sclerosis at presentation.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The extent of abnormalities on T2-weighted MR images of the brain of patients with clinically isolated syndromes (CIS) suggestive of multiple sclerosis (MS) at presentation is associated with an increased risk of developing clinically definite MS (CDMS). We evaluated whether subtle changes outside T2-visible lesions are present in the brain of these patients and whether their extent increases the risk of subsequent development of CDMS. METHODS Dual-echo, T1-weighted, and magnetization transfer (MT) images of the brain were obtained from 24 patients with CIS at presentation. These patients were followed up for a mean period of 33 months (range, 25-42 months). Twenty age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers served as control subjects. To create MT histograms of the normal-appearing brain tissue (NABT), macroscopic lesions were segmented from dual-echo images, were superimposed automatically, and were nulled out from the coregistered and scalp-stripped MT ratio (MTR) maps. The following MTR histogram-derived measures were considered: average MTR, MTR(25), MTR(50), MTR(75), peak height, and peak position. T2 and T1 lesion loads, average lesion MTR, and brain volume were also measured. RESULTS Patients with CIS had lower average NABT-MTR (P < .0001) and peak position (P = .002) than did control volunteers, but patient brain size was similar to that of volunteers. At follow-up, 10 (41%) patients developed CDMS. Patients who developed CDMS during the follow-up period had higher T2 lesion volume (P = .003) and lower average NABT-MTR (P = .005) and peak position (P = .006) than did those who did not develop CDMS. T2 lesion volume (odd ratio, 3.54; P = .0005) and average NABT-MTR (odd ratio, 0.81; P = .01) were independent predictors of the subsequent development of CDMS. CONCLUSION Subtle changes occur outside lesions visible on conventional MR images among patients with CIS suggestive of MS at presentation. The greater the extent of such abnormalities is, the higher is the risk of subsequent development of CDMS.
Escala de Autorreflexão e Insight: Nova Medida de Autoconsciência Adaptada e Validada para Adultos Brasileiros

The aim of this study was to adapt and validate the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale (SRIS) in a sample of 690 Brazilian adults. The SRIS is an improvement of the traditional Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS) applied to self-regulation processes. The original SRIS’ factor structure was composed of two dimensions: Self-reflection and Insight. In this study, the SRIS was translated and adapted into Portuguese and, for convergent validity purposes, it was administered along with other measures of self-consciousness (Self-Absorption Scale, Reflection-Rumination Questionnaire, and Self-Consciousness Scale). The outcomes presented satisfactory reliability, and factorial structure of the scale was confirmed. Correlations between subscales indicated adequacy between the extracted model and theoretical expectations. Findings reinforce the division between public and private aspects that underlie measures related to self-consciousness. The use of the Brazilian version is suggested as a measure of self-monitoring processes.
Quantitative criteria for native energetic heterogeneity influences in the prediction of protein folding kinetics

Energy landscape theory requires that the protein-folding mechanism is generally globally directed or funneled toward the native state. The collective nature of transition state ensembles further suggests that sufficient averaging of the native interactions can occur so that the knowledge of the native topology may suffice for predicting the mechanism. Nevertheless, while simple homogeneously weighted native topology-based models predict the folding mechanisms for many proteins, for other proteins knowledge of the native topology, by itself, seems not to suffice in determining the folding mechanism. Simulations of proteins with differing topologies reveal that the failure of homogeneously weighted topology-based models can, however, be completely understood within the framework of a funneled energy landscape and can be quantified by comparing the fluctuation of entropy cost for forming contacts to the expected fluctuations in contact energy. To be precise, we find the transition state ensembles of proteins with all-α topologies, which are more uniform in the specific entropy cost of contact formation, have transition state ensembles that are more readily perturbed by differences in energetic weights than are the transition state ensembles of proteins with significant amounts of β-structure, where the specific entropy costs of contact formation are more widely distributed. This behavior is consistent with a random-field Ising model analogy that follows from the free energy functional approach to folding.
Astigmatism correction with toric intraocular lenses: wavefront aberrometry and quality of life

Background/aim To evaluate wavefront aberrations and subjective quality of life after toric intraocular lens (TIOL) implantation. Methods Three groups of subjects who underwent unilateral cataract surgery with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation were compared: (1) toric group (n=40): corneal astigmatism >1.50 D, implanted with Acrysof toric SN60TT IOL (Alcon Inc, Fort Worth, Texas, USA); (2) astigmatic SN60AT group (n=40): corneal astigmatism >1.50 D, implanted with Acrysof SN60AT IOL; and (3) control group (n=40): corneal astigmatism <1.00 D, implanted with Acrysof SN60AT IOL. Uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), refraction, lower order astigmatism (Z22, Z−22), Strehl ratio and the modulation transfer function area ratio were evaluated over a 3 month follow-up period. A standardised quality of life test (National Eye Institute Refractive Error Quality of Life Instrument-42) was distributed to both astigmatic groups 3 months postoperatively. Results Postoperative UDVA and aberrometric values were significantly better (p<0.001) and mean postoperative spherical equivalent was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the toric and control groups compared with the astigmatic SN60AT group. The toric group had significantly better postoperative quality of life compared with the astigmatic SN60AT group (p<0.05). Conclusions Acrysof TIOL implantation resulted in better visual, refractive and aberrometric results than SN60AT spherical IOL implantation in astigmatic patients, similar to the control group. The better objective optical and retinal image quality resulted in better subjective quality of life after TIOL implantation.
Chloroplast NADPH-Thioredoxin Reductase Interacts with Photoperiodic Development in Arabidopsis1[W][OA]

Chloroplast NADPH-thioredoxin reductase (NTRC) belongs to the thioredoxin systems that control crucial metabolic and regulatory pathways in plants. Here, by characterization of T-DNA insertion lines of NTRC gene, we uncover a novel connection between chloroplast thiol redox regulation and the control of photoperiodic growth in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Transcript and metabolite profiling revealed severe developmental and metabolic defects in ntrc plants grown under a short 8-h light period. Besides reduced chlorophyll and anthocyanin contents, ntrc plants showed alterations in the levels of amino acids and auxin. Furthermore, a low carbon assimilation rate of ntrc leaves was associated with enhanced transpiration and photorespiration. All of these characteristics of ntrc were less severe when plants were grown under a long 16-h photoperiod. Transcript profiling revealed that the mutant phenotypes of ntrc were accompanied by differential expression of genes involved in stomatal development, chlorophyll biosynthesis, chloroplast biogenesis, and circadian clock-linked light perception systems in ntrc plants. We propose that NTRC regulates several key processes, including chlorophyll biosynthesis and the shikimate pathway, in chloroplasts. In the absence of NTRC, imbalanced metabolic activities presumably modulate the chloroplast retrograde signals, leading to altered expression of nuclear genes and, ultimately, to the formation of the pleiotrophic phenotypes in ntrc mutant plants.
3D elastic optical networking in the temporal, spectral, and spatial domains

Conventional elastic optical networking, EON, uses elasticity in two domains, time and frequency, to optimize utilization of optical network resources in the presence of fluctuating traffic demand and link quality. Currently, networking exploiting a third domain, space, is the focus of significant research efforts since space-division multiplexing, SDM, has the potential to substantially improve future network capacity and spectral efficiency. This article extends 2D-EON to include elasticity in all three domains: time, frequency, and space. We introduce enabling technologies, architectures, and algorithms for 3D-EONs. Based on sample network topologies, we investigate algorithms for routing, spectrum, spatial mode, and modulation format assignment - RSSMA. In particular, we investigate fragmentation-aware RSSMA and how the constraints in the formation of super-channels in MIMO-based SDM systems can impact the network performance in terms of blocking probability.
Meta Index Model Based Matchmaking for Human Resource Management: An Approach for Similarity Comparing between Employee and Job Position Using Meta Index Model

One of the most important tasks in Human resource management is to find a suitable human for the given position. It is a difficult task because for human beings what they can do well is not always what they want to do and even if they have capability of fulfilling the requested task, the relationship among the team members can prevent them from being the good worker in the given position. Therefore, the ability of finding which employee is best for the given task is regarded as the expert knowledge of recruiters. In this paper, we propose a meta index model based matchmaking method for human resource management. This model describes each employee's ability and each employer's requirement. According to the model, the similarity between employees and jobs is calculated.
Dietary Pulverized Konjac Glucomannan Prevents the Development of Allergic Rhinitis-Like Symptoms and IgE Response in Mice

Konjac is a traditional Japanese food with a peculiar texture, and it has been suggested that its main ingredient, konjac glucomannan (KGM), ameliorates metabolic disorders such as diabetes and hypercholesteremia. We have found that feeding with pulverized KGM (PKGM) prevents skin inflammation in a murine model of atopic dermatitis. Here, we show that dietary PKGM suppresses allergic rhinitis-like symptoms in mice upon immunization and nasal sensitization with ovalbumin (OVA). The PKGM-fed mice showed a much lower frequency of sneezing than in control animals. We also found that PKGM supplementation exclusively suppressed OVA-specific IgE response without affecting IgG1/IgG2a responses as well as systemic Th1/Th2 cytokine production. These results suggest that PKGM can be a beneficial foodstuff in preventing nasal allergy such as seasonal pollinosis.
Memoria autobiográfica: un sistema funcionalmente definido

This article seeks to define and explain autobiographical memory from a functional standpoint. For this, definitions are analyzed from cognitive and sociocultural perspectives highlighting how they converge in relation to components assumed as constituent of autobiographical memory and tasks attributed to it. A theoretical model about its functioning is reviewed and allows us to understand how the memory systems that constitute it interacting with process control and cultural patterns to generate autobiographical memories essential to maintain a consistent image of the individual and a moderately accurate record of the experiences. Its functions are described: self-definition, social interaction and self-regulation. It raises that autobiographical memories are multimodal, are distributed among memory systems and executive processes, and are mediated by sociocultural contexts
L’operatore dell’Ufficio Relazioni con il Pubblico (U.R.P.) in ambito socio-sanitario e la comunicazione educativa e interculturale

The (URP) operator of the Public Relations Office in the health care system educative intercultural communication This work describes some aspects related to the role and the competencies of a communication officer working in a communication and public relations area in the health care system. The communication in the public sector, origins from the centrality of the concept of communication itself, that has brought public administrations to consider it as an essential resource for whichever institution that need to inform a general public including the health care system. Especially when we need to communicate about health care it’s necessary to have a more sensitive approach. There are difficulties to convey a ethically correct message in giving the right information and overcoming the complexity of medical terms, due to the large number of information available or because of cultural differences. In providing a communication services in the health care sector is essential to be able to assess different variety of people, bearing in mind the real need of the audience and adapt to cultures diversity. We will see as the assumption of the bio-psycho-social model enables to consider the patient globally; the idea is that the treatment starts from the information supported by health operator. Therefore the communication and pubblic relation operator plays a key role because they can give, to the communication and relation with the patient, an educational imprint, by using their communication and relationship skills they could be able to produce a change towards a better context for the patient that usually expresses some sort of discomfort. The goal is to lead the patient to overcome this discomfort area with an educational message and not only taking care of the therapeutically side in order to supports self-sufficiency and lead to empowerment and possibly more involvement through the different counselling and listening structures arranged by the public administration. To this regards we consider that a communication officer’s key skill, apart from the technical and professional competencies, it’s the ability to “educate”.
Generalized Lasso based Approximation of Sparse Coding for Visual Recognition

Sparse coding, a method of explaining sensory data with as few dictionary bases as possible, has attracted much attention in computer vision. For visual object category recognition, l1 regularized sparse coding is combined with the spatial pyramid representation to obtain state-of-the-art performance. However, because of its iterative optimization, applying sparse coding onto every local feature descriptor extracted from an image database can become a major bottleneck. To overcome this computational challenge, this paper presents "Generalized Lasso based Approximation of Sparse coding" (GLAS). By representing the distribution of sparse coefficients with slice transform, we fit a piece-wise linear mapping function with the generalized lasso. We also propose an efficient post-refinement procedure to perform mutual inhibition between bases which is essential for an overcomplete setting. The experiments show that GLAS obtains a comparable performance to l1 regularized sparse coding, yet achieves a significant speed up demonstrating its effectiveness for large-scale visual recognition problems.
Lesion Bypass by Human DNA Polymerase μ Reveals a Template-dependent, Sequence-independent Nucleotidyl Transferase Activity*

DNA polymerase μ (pol μ), which is related to terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase and DNA polymerase β, is thought to be involved in non-homologous end joining and V(D)J recombination. Pol μ is induced by ionizing radiation and exhibits low fidelity. Analysis of translesion replication by purified human pol μ revealed that it bypasses a synthetic abasic site with high efficiency, using primarily a misalignment mechanism. It can also replicate across two tandem abasic sites, using the same mechanism. Pol μ extends primers whose 3′-terminal nucleotides are located opposite the abasic site. Most remarkably, this extension occurs via a mode of nucleotidyl transferase activity, which does not depend on the sequence of the template. This is not due to simple terminal nucleotidyl transferase activity, because pol μ is unable to add dNTPs to an oligo(dT)29 primer or to a blunt end duplex oligonucleotide under standard conditions. Thus, pol μ is a dual mode DNA-synthesizing enzyme, which can act as either a classical DNA polymerase or as a non-canonical, template-dependent, but sequence-independent nucleotidyl transferase. To our knowledge, this is the first report on a DNA-synthesizing enzyme with such properties. These activities may be required for its function in non-homologous end joining in the processing of DNA ends prior to ligation.