Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maternal body mass index before pregnancy is associated with increased bronchodilator dispensing in early childhood: A cross‐sectional study

Maternal prepregnancy obesity has been associated with early wheeze and childhood asthma in their offspring. Some of these studies have been in minority, urban, and disadvantaged populations using parental recall and questionnaires. The association of maternal prepregnancy obesity with bronchodilator dispensing to their offspring, in a primarily insured, non‐urban, White population in the United States is unknown.
A New Autonomous Adaptive MAC Protocol in Wireless Networks

Efficient sharing of the network spectrum is required to meet the exponentially growing demand of wireless communications, and the role of the medium access control (MAC) protocols has been becoming more important. In this regard, a novel MAC protocol called the renewal access protocol (RAP) was recently proposed. It was shown that the RAP achieves optimal throughput, high short-term fairness, and near-optimal delay performances when the number of nodes in the network is known to all nodes. However, it is not easy for a node to know the number of nodes in the network. So we propose an adaptive version of the RAP called the adaptive renewal access protocol (A-RAP) in this paper. A node equipped with the A-RAP estimates the number of nodes utilizing two dimensional backoff selection state, the estimated number of nodes and phase, based on its transmission results. We carefully determine two key parameters of the A-RAP, the adjustment probabilities and the numbers of phases. We also tackle the outlier problem in the A-RAP that is recently found and provide a solution to the problem. Numerical and simulation results are provided to verify that the proposed A-RAP achieves good throughput as the RAP. The results also show that the A-RAP achieves better short-term fairness than other MAC protocols proposed in the open literature.
Risk factors and topographies for self‐injurious behaviour in a sample of adults with intellectual developmental disorders

BACKGROUND Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) is a prevalent form of challenging behaviour in people with intellectual developmental disorders (IDD). Existing research has yielded conflicting findings concerning the major risk factors involved, and in addition, SIB shows multiple topographies and presentations. Although presence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and severity of intellectual disability (ID) are known risk factors for SIB, there are no studies comparing SIB topographies by severity degrees of ID and ASD. The purpose of the present paper has been to identify risk factors and topographies for SIB in a representative, stratified and randomised sample of adults with IDD. METHOD This study was conducted on the basis of data collected by the POMONA-ESP project, in a sample of 833 adults with IDD. Data concerning demographic and health information, ASD symptoms, psychopathology and ID, have been analysed to determine the presence of risk factors for SIB among participants and to explore the occurrence and topographies of SIB across different severity levels of ID and ASD symptoms. RESULTS Self-injurious behaviour prevalence in the sample was 16.2%. Younger age, oral pain, greater severity of ID, presence of dual diagnosis, psychiatric medication intake and higher scores on Childhood Autism Rating Scale were risk factors for SIB among participants, whereas number of areas with functioning limitations, place of residence, diagnosis of epilepsy and sex were not. SIB was more frequent in participants with ASD symptoms regardless of its severity level, and they displayed a higher number of different topographies of SIB. People with profound ID without co-morbid ASD symptoms showed similar results concerning SIB prevalence and topographies. CONCLUSIONS Knowledge on risk factors and topographies of SIB might play a vital role in the development of prevention strategies and management of SIB in people with IDD. The mere presence of ASD symptoms, regardless of its severity level, can be a crucial factor to be taken into account in assessing SIB. Accordingly, the presence of SIB in people with ID, especially when presented with a varied number of topographies, might provide guidance on ASD differential diagnosis.
Artificial urinary sphincters for male stress urinary incontinence: current perspectives

The artificial urinary sphincter (AUS), which has evolved over many years, has become a safe and reliable treatment for stress urinary incontinence and is currently the gold standard. After 4 decades of existence, there is substantial experience with the AUS. Today AUS is most commonly placed for postprostatectomy stress urinary incontinence. Only a small proportion of urologists routinely place AUS. In a survey in 2005, only 4% of urologists were considered high-volume AUS implanters, performing >20 per year. Globally, ~11,500 AUSs are placed annually. Over 400 articles have been published regarding the outcomes of AUS, with a wide variance in success rates ranging from 61% to 100%. Generally speaking, the AUS has good long-term outcomes, with social continence rates of ~79% and high patient satisfaction usually between 80% and 90%. Despite good outcomes, a substantial proportion of patients, generally ~25%, will require revision surgery, with the rate of revision increasing with time. Complications requiring revision include infection, urethral atrophy, erosion, and mechanical failure. Most infections are gram-positive skin flora. Urethral atrophy and erosion lie on a spectrum resulting from the same problem, constant urethral compression. However, these two complications are managed differently. Mechanical failure is usually a late complication occurring on average later than infection, atrophy, or erosions. Various techniques may be used during revisions, including cuff relocation, downsizing, transcorporal cuff placement, or tandem cuff placement. Patient satisfaction does not appear to be affected by the need for revision as long as continence is restored. Additionally, AUS following prior sling surgery has comparable outcomes to primary AUS placement. Several new inventions are on the horizon, although none have been approved for use in the US at this point.
Prolyl-hydroxylase 3: evolving roles for an ancient signaling protein

The ability of cells to sense oxygen is a highly evolved process that facilitates adaptations to the local oxygen environment and is critical to energy homeostasis. In vertebrates, this process is largely controlled by three intracellular prolyl-4-hydroxylases (PHD) 1–3. These related enzymes share the ability to hydroxylate the hypoxia-inducible transcription factor (HIF), and therefore control the transcription of genes involved in metabolism and vascular recruitment. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that PHD controls much more than HIF signaling, with PHD3 emerging as an exceptionally unique and functionally diverse PHD isoform. In fact, PHD3-mediated hydroxylation has recently been purported to function in such diverse roles as sympathetic neuronal and muscle development, sepsis, glycolytic metabolism, and cell fate. PHD3 expression is also highly distinct from that of the other PHD enzymes, and varies considerably between different cell types and oxygen concentrations. This review will examine the evolution of oxygen sensing by the HIF family of PHD enzymes, with a specific focus on the complex nature of PHD3 expression and function in mammalian cells.
A survey exploring National Health Service ePrescribing Toolkit use and perceived usefulness amongst English hospitals

Background There is currently limited guidance for hospitals to implement ePrescribing systems and we have developed an ePrescribing Toolkit designed to support ongoing implementation, adoption and optimisation of efforts. This work was part of an independent evaluation of the introduction of ePrescribing systems into National Health Service (NHS) England, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Aim To investigate the perceived usefulness, reported use and areas for further development of the Toolkit by ePrescribing implementers in English hospitals. Methods Questionnaire-based survey of hospitals that has or is interested in implementing ePrescribing systems. Results We received responses from a total of 78 individuals representing 49 English NHS Trusts (out of 82 different Trusts who were emailed the survey, 60% response rate). The overwhelming majority of respondents (92%) were familiar with the ePrescribing Toolkit and 66% reported using it to guide their ongoing implementation efforts. The majority of ePrescribing Toolkit users (85%) viewed it as a helpful resource. Implementers particularly valued the case studies describing lessons learnt from hospitals that had already implemented ePrescribing systems. Suggestions for improvement included more information in relation to the progress of hospitals implementing systems, the names of key contacts in these sites, a list of available systems and the contact details of ePrescribing vendors. Respondents also highlighted the need for more information on optimisation and specialist prescribing. Conclusions Interactive elements and learning lessons from early adopter sites that had accumulated experiences of implementing systems were viewed as the most helpful aspect of the ePrescribing Toolkit. The Toolkit now needs to be further developed to facilitate the continuing implementation/optimisation of ePrescribing and other health information technology across the NHS.
An Adaptive Synthetic Aperture Method Applied to Ultrasound Tissue Harmonic Imaging

In recent years, the minimum variance (MV) beamformer has been highly regarded since it provides high resolution and contrast in B-mode ultrasound imaging compared with nonadaptive delay-and-sum (DAS) beamformer. However, the performance of MV beamformer is degraded in the presence of the noise due to inaccurate estimation of the covariance matrix resulting in low-quality images. The conventional tissue harmonic imaging (THI) offers multiple advantages over conventional pulse-echo ultrasound imaging, including enhanced contrast resolution and improved axial and lateral resolutions, but low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is a major problem facing this imaging method, which uses a fixed transmit focus and dynamic receive focusing (DRF). In this paper, a synthetic aperture method based on the virtual source, namely, bidirectional pixel-based focusing (BiPBF), has been combined with the MV beamformer and then applied to second-harmonic ultrasound imaging. The main objective is suppressing the noise level to enhance the performance of the MV beamformer in the harmonic imaging, especially in lower and deeper depths where the SNR is low. In addition, combining the BiPBF and MV weighting results in simultaneous improvement in imaging resolution and contrast, in comparison with the conventional methods: DRF (DAS), BiPBF (DAS), and DRF (MV). The performance of the proposed method is evaluated on simulated and experimental RF data. The THI is achieved using the pulse-inversion technique. The results of the simulated wire phantom demonstrate that the proposed beamformer can achieve the best lateral resolution, along different depths, compared with DRF (DAS), BiPBF (DAS), and DRF (MV) methods. The results of the simulated and experimental cyst phantoms show that the new beamformer improves the contrast ratio (CR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the resulting images. In results of simulated cyst phantom, in average, the new beamformer improves the CR and CNR of the cyst about (7.4 dB, 49%), (3.2 dB, 16%), and (5 dB, 26%) compared with DRF (DAS), BiPBF (DAS), and DRF (MV), respectively. In results of experimental cyst phantom, these relative improvements are about (4.2 dB, 22%), (1.7 dB, 7%), and (2.6 dB, 15%). In addition, BiPBF (MV) method offers improved edge definition of cysts in comparison with the other methods.
Posttransplant Lymphoproliferative Disease after Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation

Patients after solid organ transplantation (SOT) carry a substantially increased risk to develop malignant lymphomas. This is in part due to the immunosuppression required to maintain the function of the organ graft. Depending on the transplanted organ, up to 15% of pediatric transplant recipients acquire posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), and eventually 20% of those succumb to the disease. Early diagnosis of PTLD is often hampered by the unspecific symptoms and the difficult differential diagnosis, which includes atypical infections as well as graft rejection. Treatment of PTLD is limited by the high vulnerability towards antineoplastic chemotherapy in transplanted children. However, new treatment strategies and especially the introduction of the monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody rituximab have dramatically improved outcomes of PTLD. This review discusses risk factors for the development of PTLD in children, summarizes current approaches to therapy, and gives an outlook on developing new treatment modalities like targeted therapy with virus-specific T cells. Finally, monitoring strategies are evaluated.
Mucus accumulation in COPD of goblet cells and inflammatory cells in peripheral airway epithelium

License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress. com/permissions.php International Journal of COPD 2014:9 139–150 International Journal of COPD Dovepress
Vitamin B 12 , bone mineral density and fracture risk in adults : A systematic review

3 MD, Geriatrician, Hospital Universitário da Universidade Federal do Piauí (HU-UFPI). Internal Medicine Residency Training Program at Hospital Regional da Asa Norte (HRAN) and Geriatric Medicine Residency Program at Hospital Universitário da Universidade de Brasília (HU-UnB), Teresina, PI, Brazil 4PhD in Medical Sciences from Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp). Associate Professor I of Nutrition, UFPI, Teresina, PI, Brazil
How bilingualism protects the brain from aging: Insights from bimodal bilinguals

Bilingual experience can delay cognitive decline during aging. A general hypothesis is that the executive control system of bilinguals faces an increased load due to controlling two languages, and this increased load results in a more “tuned brain” that eventually creates a neural reserve. Here we explored whether such a neuroprotective effect is independent of language modality, i.e., not limited to bilinguals who speak two languages but also occurs for bilinguals who use a spoken and a signed language. We addressed this issue by comparing bimodal bilinguals to monolinguals in order to detect age‐induced structural brain changes and to determine whether we can detect the same beneficial effects on brain structure, in terms of preservation of gray matter volume (GMV), for bimodal bilinguals as has been reported for unimodal bilinguals. Our GMV analyses revealed a significant interaction effect of age × group in the bilateral anterior temporal lobes, left hippocampus/amygdala, and left insula where bimodal bilinguals showed slight GMV increases while monolinguals showed significant age‐induced GMV decreases. We further found through cortical surface‐based measurements that this effect was present for surface area and not for cortical thickness. Moreover, to further explore the hypothesis that overall bilingualism provides neuroprotection, we carried out a direct comparison of GMV, extracted from the brain regions reported above, between bimodal bilinguals, unimodal bilinguals, and monolinguals. Bilinguals, regardless of language modality, exhibited higher GMV compared to monolinguals. This finding highlights the general beneficial effects provided by experience handling two language systems, whether signed or spoken. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4109–4124, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Prevalence of BRCA 1 mutations and responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy among BRCA 1 carriers and non-carriers with triple-negative breast cancer

Background: The frequency of BRCA1 germline mutations among Chinese women with triple-negative breast cancer is unclear, and the association between BRCA1 mutations and the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in women with triple-negative breast cancer has not been determined. Patients and methods: Nine hundred and fifty-six triple-negative breast cancer patients were treated at our institute between 2003 and 2012; we tested the BRCA1/2mutations for 956 patients and 953 patients in this cohort, respectively. Among the 956patients, 652 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Results: In this cohort, 7.1% (68/956) and 2.3% (22/953) of patients carried a BRCA1 or BRCA2mutation, respectively. The BRCA1/2 mutation rates were 10.5% and 3.0% among the patients who were diagnosed at or before the age of 50 in this cohort, respectively. The pCR (pathologic complete response) rate was 31.6% in the 652 patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. BRCA1 carriers had a significantly higher pCR rate than non-carriers (BRCA1 carriers versus non-carriers, 53.8% versus 29.7%, P < 0.001). Among women treated with anthracycline with or without taxane regimens, the pCR rate was 57.1% for BRCA1 carriers, 29.0% for non-carriers (P < 0.001); among women treated with taxane regimens, the pCR rate was 40.0% for BRCA1 carriers, 32.9% for non-carriers (P = 0.73). At a median follow-up of 43 months, the recurrence-free survival was similar between BRCA1 carriers and non-carriers among the 947 patients of this study (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.92; 95% confidence interval: 0.45–1.90; P = 0.82). Conclusions: Chinese women with triple-negative breast cancer who are diagnosed at or before age of 50 are candidates for BRCA1 genetic testing. Among triple-negative breast cancer patients, BRCA1 carriers are more likely to respond to neoadjuvant anthracycline-based regimens than are non-carriers.
Anticoagulation beyond direct thrombin and factor Xa inhibitors: indications for targeting the intrinsic pathway?

Summary Antithrombotic drugs like vitamin K antagonists and heparin have been the gold standard for the treatment and prevention of thromboembolic disease for many years. Unfortunately, there are several disadvantages of these antithrombotic drugs: they are accompanied by serious bleeding problems, it is necessary to monitor the therapeutic window, and there are various interactions with food and other drugs. This has led to the development of new oral anticoagulants, specifically inhibiting either thrombin or factor Xa. In terms of effectiveness, these drugs are comparable to the currently available anticoagulants; however, they are still associated with issues such as bleeding, reversal of the drug and complicated laboratory monitoring. Vitamin K antagonists, heparin, direct thrombin and factor Xa inhibitors have in common that they target key proteins of the haemostatic system. In an attempt to overcome these difficulties we investigated whether the intrinsic coagulation factors (VIII, IX, XI, XII, prekallikrein and high-molecular-weight kininogen) are superior targets for anticoagulation. We analysed epidemiological data concerning thrombosis and bleeding in patients deficient in one of the intrinsic pathway proteins. Furthermore, we discuss several thrombotic models in intrinsic coagulation factor-deficient animals. The combined results suggest that intrinsic coagulation factors could be suitable targets for anticoagulant drugs.
Differential flatness and cooperative tracking in the Lorenz system

In this paper the control of the Lorenz system for stabilization and tracking problems is studied via feedback linearization and differential flatness. By using the Rayleigh number as the control, only variable physically tunable, a barrier in the controllability of the system is incidentally imposed. This is reflected in the appearance of a singularity in the state transformation. Composite controllers that overcome this difficulty are designed and evaluated. The transition through the manifold defined by such a singularity is achieved by inducing a chaotic response within a boundary layer that contains it. Outside this region, a conventional feedback nonlinear control is applied. In addition, the differential parametrization of the problem is used to make the system track nonlinear functions of one state variable (single tracking) as well as several state variables (cooperative tracking). Control tasks that lead to integrable and non-integrable differential equations for the nominal flat output in steady-state are considered. In particular, a novel numerical strategy to deal with the non-integrable case is proposed.
SPECIAL REVIEW: UTILITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF MICROFLUIDIC PLATFORMS FOR PLATELET RESEARCH Flow chamber and microfluidic approaches for measuring thrombus formation in genetic bleeding disorders

Platelet adhesion and aggregation, coagulation, fibrin formation, and fibrinolysis are regulated by the forces and flows imposed by blood at the site of a vascular injury. Flow chambers designed to observe these events are an indispensable part of doing hemostasis and thrombosis research, especially with human blood. Microfluidic methods have provided the flexibility to design flow chambers with complex geometries and features that more closely mimic the anatomy and physiology of blood vessels. Additionally, microfluidic systems with integrated optics and/or pressure sensors and on-board signal processing could transform what have been primarily research tools into clinical assays. Here, we describe a historical review of how flowbased approaches have informed biophysical mechanisms in genetic bleeding disorders, challenges and potential solutions for developingmodels of bleeding in vitro, and outstanding issues that need to be addressed prior to their use in clinical settings.
Intergenerational relationships of Korean older adults and implications for their health and well-being: Co-residence and grandchild care

This dissertation examines inter-generational families in the contemporary Korean cultural context and their connections with health and well-being. The dissertation is comprised of two studies. The first study investigates the changes in patriarchal kinship structure centered on the eldest son across periods and cohorts. The second study explores the association between caring for grandchildren and grandparents‘ health over time. Using the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA), the first study compares parent-child co-residence in the Korean War after Liberation Day (KWALD) cohort born between 1945 and 1953 and the Korean Baby Boomer (KBB) cohort born between 1954 and 1962 at Waves 1 (in 2006) and 5 (in 2014). The results show that parent–child co-residence is predicted by the oldest son status, and suggests that the patriarchal family norm has been maintained. One notable finding is that the effect of the oldest son status on co-residence with parents in the KBB cohort varies over time. In other words, in the younger cohort, the family structure based on the oldest son status has been weakened. In the second study, using latent class analysis grandparents who are the KLoSA respondents at Waves 1-5 are classified into four groups according to the transition and duration of caring for grandchildren: continuous grandchild care (labeled continuous care), initiated grandchild care (labeled started care), ended grandchild care (labeled stopped care) and did not engage in grandchild care (labeled no care). Using growth curve modeling analysis the differences in initial physical and mental health of grandparents and changes over time were analyzed. The main results of the second study are that the initial physical and mental health of the grandparents were different among the grandchild care classes, but