Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HIV testing in nonhealthcare facilities among adolescent MSM

Objectives: To describe the extent to which Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded HIV testing in nonhealthcare facilities reaches adolescent MSM, identifies new HIV infections, and links those newly diagnosed to medical care. Methods/design: We describe HIV testing, newly diagnosed positivity, and linkage to medical care for adolescent MSM who received a CDC-funded HIV test in a nonhealthcare facility in 2015. We assess outcomes by race/ethnicity, HIV-related risk behaviors, and US geographical region. Results: Of the 703 890 CDC-funded HIV testing events conducted in nonhealthcare facilities in 2015, 6848 (0.9%) were provided to adolescent MSM aged 13–19 years. Among those tested, 1.8% were newly diagnosed with HIV, compared with 0.7% among total tests provided in nonhealthcare facilities regardless of age and sex. The odds of testing positive among black adolescent MSM were nearly four times that of white adolescent MSM in multivariable analysis (odds ratio = 3.97, P < 0.001). Among adolescent MSM newly diagnosed with HIV, 67% were linked to HIV medical care. Linkage was lower among black (59%) and Hispanic/Latino adolescent MSM (71%) compared with white adolescent MSM (88%). Conclusion: CDC-funded nonhealthcare facilities can reach and provide HIV tests to adolescent MSM and identify new HIV infections; however, given the low rate of HIV testing overall and high engagement in HIV-related risk behaviors, there are opportunities to increase access to HIV testing and linkage to care for HIV-positive adolescent MSM. Efforts are needed to identify and address the barriers that prevent black and Hispanic/Latino adolescent MSM from being linked to HIV medical care in a timely manner.
Accuracy of Replicating Static Torque and its Effect on Shooting Accuracy in Young Basketball Players

Purpose. Accurate shooting in basketball is a prerequisite for success. Coordination ability, one of the abilities that determine the repeatability of accurate shooting, is based on kinesthetic differentiation. The aim of the study was to evaluate the strength component of kinesthetic differentiation ability and determine its relationship with shooting accuracy. Methods. Peak muscle torque of the elbow extensors under static conditions was measured in 12 young basketball players. Participants then reproduced the same movement at a perceived magnitude of 25%, 50%, and 75% of static peak torque, with error scores calculated as a measure of kinesthetic differentiation. The results were compared with players’ field goal percentages calculated during game play in a regional championship. Results. No statistically significant relationships were found between the level of kinesthetic differentiation ability and field goal percentage. Additionally, no upper limb asymmetry was found in the sample. Conclusions. The relatively high levels of elbow static peak torque suggest the importance of upper limb strength in contemporary basketball. The lack of a statistically significant difference between the right and left limbs decreases the risk of suffering injury. It is likely that choosing other suitable tests would demonstrate the relationships between field goal percentage and kinesthetic differentiation ability.
The ironson-woods spirituality/religiousness index is associated with long survival, health behaviors, less distress, and low cortisol in people with HIV/AIDS

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of an instrument that measures both spirituality and religiousness, to examine the relation between spirituality and religiousness and important health outcomes for people living with HIV, and to examine the potential mediators of these relations. One aim was to determine whether subscales of spirituality, religiousness, or both would be independently related to long survival in people living with AIDS. The Ironson-Woods Spirituality/Religiousness (SR) Index is presented with evidence for its reliability and validity. Four factors were identified on the Ironson-Woods SR Index (Sense of Peace, Faith in God, Religious Behavior, and Compassionate View of Others). Each subscale was significantly related to long survival with AIDS. That is, the long-term survivor (LTS) group (n = 79) scored significantly higher on these factors than did the HIV-positive comparison (COMP) group (n = 200). Long survival was also significantly related to both frequency of prayer (positively) and judgmental attitude (negatively). In addition, the Ironson-Woods SR Index yielded strong and significant correlations with less distress, more hope, social support, health behaviors, helping others, and lower cortisol levels. The relation between religious behavior and health outcomes was not due to social support. Further analyses were conducted, which identified urinary cortisol concentrations and altruistic behavior as mediators of the relation between SR and long survival.
Throwing Fuel–Firefighters Injured by Live Fire Practices: 100.

Introduction: Live fire training exercises are mandatory for the structural fire fighting curriculum. Many factors create safety concerns, including unstable structural components, limited exit access, and the use of combustible materials. In 2005 we cared for seven firefighters injured in training fires, and investigated the causes of this relative epidemic. Methods: Charts of seven adult male firefighters injured during training exercises were retrospectively reviewed. Throughout this period of time there was ongoing communication with the local fire department for understanding of the cause of the incidents. Results: All seven patients sustained second degree burns of the head and upper extremities. Two patients were also burned on the back, and two others on the lower extremities. Total number of days lost to disability was more than 400 days (see table). Many of the injuries occurred from the practice of “throwing fuel”, in which flammable liquid is thrown into a structure in which interior fire operations are being taught live. Because it creates rapid acceleration of the fire, some fire instructors consider it valuable preparation for managing flashover conditions. Although NFPA 1403 “Live Burn Training Standard” bans this practice, it has recently regained popularity in our state. Conclusions: At a state meeting of the Fire Commission, this practice was removed from state fire training procedures. In addition, a campaign was started to educate fire instructors and officers in the danger of this practice. When firefighters are injured, close communication with the local or state fire service must occur to prevent unnecessary injuries in the future.
Live Service Migration in Mobile Edge Clouds

Mobile edge clouds (MECs) bring the benefits of the cloud closer to the user, by installing small cloud infrastructures at the network edge. This enables a new breed of real-time applications, such as instantaneous object recognition and safety assistance in intelligent transportation systems, that require very low latency. One key issue that comes with proximity is how to ensure that users always receive good performance as they move across different locations. Migrating services between MECs is seen as the means to achieve this. This article presents a layered framework for migrating active service applications that are encapsulated either in virtual machines (VMs) or containers. This layering approach allows a substantial reduction in service downtime. The framework is easy to implement using readily available technologies, and one of its key advantages is that it supports containers, which is a promising emerging technology that offers tangible benefits over VMs. The migration performance of various real applications is evaluated by experiments under the presented framework. Insights drawn from the experimentation results are discussed.
Large Vessel Occlusion Scales Increase Delivery to Endovascular Centers Without Excessive Harm From Misclassifications

Background and Purpose— Clinical large vessel occlusion (LVO) triage scales were developed to identify and bypass LVO to endovascular centers. However, there are concerns that scale misclassification of patients may cause excessive harm. We studied the settings where misclassifications were likely to occur and the consequences of these misclassifications in a representative stroke population. Methods— Prospective data were collected from consecutive ambulance-initiated stroke alerts at 2 stroke centers, with patients stratified into typical (LVO with predefined severe syndrome and non-LVO without) or atypical presentations (opposite situations). Five scales (Rapid Arterial Occlusion Evaluation [RACE], Los Angeles Motor Scale [LAMS], Field Assessment Stroke Triage for Emergency Destination [FAST-ED], Prehospital Acute Stroke Severity scale [PASS], and Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Severity Scale [CPSSS]) were derived from the baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scored by doctors and analyzed for diagnostic performance compared with imaging. Results— Of a total of 565 patients, atypical presentations occurred in 31 LVO (38% of LVO) and 50 non-LVO cases (10%). Most scales correctly identified >95% of typical presentations but <20% of atypical presentations. Misclassification attributable to atypical presentations would have resulted in 4 M1/internal carotid artery occlusions, with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ≥6 (5% of LVO) being missed and 9 non-LVO infarcts (5%) bypassing the nearest thrombolysis center. Conclusions— Atypical presentations accounted for the bulk of scale misclassifications, but the majority of these misclassifications were not detrimental, and use of LVO scales would significantly increase timely delivery to endovascular centers, with only a small proportion of non-LVO infarcts bypassing the nearest thrombolysis center. Our findings, however, would require paramedics to score as accurately as doctors, and this translation is made difficult by weaknesses in current scales that need to be addressed before widespread adoption.
Religious service attendance and decline in pulmonary function in a high-functioning elderly cohort

Background: Pulmonary function is an important indicator of respiratory and overall health, yet little is known about the psychosocial factors that predict pulmonary function itself. At the same time, religious activity is emerging as a potential health promoting factor, especially among the elderly. Whether there is a connection between religious activity and pulmonary function is unknown.Purpose: In this study, we sought to examine the association between religious attendance and rate of decline in pulmonary function.Methods: The sample consisted of 1,174 healthy elderly persons enrolled in the MacArthur Study of Successful Aging who were followed for an average of 4.6 years. Information on frequency of religious service attendance and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) was collected over 3 waves. A linear mixed model with repeated measures was used to compare rate of decline in PEFR between those who attended religious services regularly and those who did not.Results: Regular religious service attendance was associated with a slower pulmonary function decline among men (by 3.71 L/min per year, p = .02) and women (by 3.27 L/min per year, p = .02), compared to those who never attend services. The findings could not be explained by differences in smoking or physical activity.Conclusions: Overall findings support the hypothesis that religious activity may play a protective role in maintaining pulmonary health among the elderly.
Cardiovascular Disease Mortality and Cancer Incidence in Vegetarians: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Background: Prospective cohort studies have examined mortality and overall cancer incidence among vegetarians, but the results have been inconclusive. Aims: The objective of the present meta-analysis was to investigate cardiovascular disease mortality and cancer incidence among vegetarians and nonvegetarians. Methods: Medline, EMBASE and Web Of Science databases were searched for cohort studies published from inception to September 2011. Studies were included if they contained the relative risk (RR) and corresponding 95% CI. Participants were from the UK, Germany, California, USA, the Netherlands and Japan. Results: Seven studies with a total of 124,706 participants were included in this analysis. All-cause mortality in vegetarians was 9% lower than in nonvegetarians (RR = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.66–1.16). The mortality from ischemic heart disease was significantly lower in vegetarians than in nonvegetarians (RR = 0.71; 95% CI, 0.56–0.87). We observed a 16% lower mortality from circulatory diseases (RR = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.54–1.14) and a 12% lower mortality from cerebrovascular disease (RR = 0.88; 95% CI, 0.70–1.06) in vegetarians compared with nonvegetarians. Vegetarians had a significantly lower cancer incidence than nonvegetarians (RR = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.67–0.97). Conclusions: Our results suggest that vegetarians have a significantly lower ischemic heart disease mortality (29%) and overall cancer incidence (18%) than nonvegetarians.
Improving Population Health Management Strategies: Identifying Patients Who Are More Likely to Be Users of Avoidable Costly Care and Those More Likely to Develop a New Chronic Disease

OBJECTIVE To explore using the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) for identifying patients more likely to have ambulatory care-sensitive (ACS) utilization and future increases in chronic disease. DATA SOURCES Secondary data are extracted from the electronic health record of a large accountable care organization. STUDY DESIGN This is a retrospective cohort design. The key predictor variable, PAM score, is measured in 2011, and is used to predict outcomes in 2012-2014. Outcomes include ACS utilization and the likelihood of a new chronic disease. DATA Our sample of 98,142 adult patients was drawn from primary care clinic users. To be included, patients had to have a PAM score in 2011 and at least one clinic visit in each of the three subsequent years. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS PAM level is a significant predictor of ACS utilization. Less activated patients had significantly higher odds of ACS utilization compared to those with high PAM scores. Similarly, patients with low PAM scores were more likely to have a new chronic disease diagnosis over each of the years of observation. CONCLUSIONS Assessing patient activation may help to identify patients who could benefit from greater support. Such an approach may help ACOs reach population health management goals.
Impact of Early Versus Late Diuretic Exposure on Metabolic Bone Disease and Growth in Premature Neonates.

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to determine whether there are differences in the incidence of metabolic bone disease (MBD) between preterm neonates first exposed to diuretics prior to 2 weeks of life versus those exposed after 2 weeks. METHODS This study was a retrospective analysis of premature neonates born at a tertiary care center between 2011 and 2015 who received either furosemide or chlorothiazide. The primary outcome was incidence of MBD. Secondary outcomes included growth, electrolyte disturbances, oxygen requirement, and length of stay. RESULTS A total of 147 patients were included. Early initiation (n = 90) and late initiation (n = 57) arms were balanced with respect to birth weight and gestational age. There was no difference in incidence of MBD in the early group (76%) versus the late group (65%; p = 0.164). Stratification by cumulative dose showed incidence of 85% in patients receiving ≥8 mg/kg of furosemide, compared with 68% and 64% of those in the <4 mg/kg and 4 to 7.9 mg/kg strata, respectively (p = 0.06). The early group experienced greater reductions in length-for-age growth during diuretic therapy (-70% versus -40%; p = 0.009). Electrolyte abnormalities were more prevalent in the early group. Although there was no difference in duration of mechanical ventilation, duration of supplemental oxygen requirement was reduced in the late group (75 versus 89 days; p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS Timing of diuretic initiation did not affect incidence of MBD. Increased cumulative furosemide exposure may be associated with higher incidence. Patients first exposed to diuretics within 2 weeks of life are at higher risk for electrolyte abnormalities and reduced growth velocity.
Experimental Validation of a Ku-Band Dual-Circularly Polarized Metasurface Antenna

The experimental validation of a Ku-band dual-circularly polarized (CP) broadside-beam metasurface (MTS) antenna is presented. A radially modulated anisotropic single-layer MTS has been synthesised employing subwavelength elliptical slotted metallic patches printed on top of a thin Arlon grounded substrate. In the structure, two decoupled phase-matched transverse magnetic and transverse electric surface waves (SWs) are excited, which interact with the modulated surface leading to a CP broadside radiation. Two different orthomode transducers have been designed to excite the SWs with orthogonal polarization and equal amplitude. The first feeding system is composed of a metallic stepped septum inside an air-filled square waveguide. A conical section is included to match the output port of the square waveguide with the terminal, dielectric filled circular waveguide. The second feed is much more compact and efficient, and it is composed of a circular waveguide completely filled by a dielectric. Depending on the input port excited on the feeds, two TE11 modes are excited with ±90° phase shift, which determine the right-hand or left-hand sense of the broadside beam generated by the MTS. Manufacturing details of the MTS and excitations are given, and the measurements are compared with the simulation results. Finally, conclusions are drawn.
Cytoprotective Mechanisms Mediated by Polyphenols from Chilean Native Berries against Free Radical-Induced Damage on AGS Cells

The prevalence of cytoprotective mechanisms induced by polyphenols such as activation of intracellular antioxidant responses (ICM) and direct free radical scavenging was investigated in native Chilean species of strawberries, raspberries, and currants. Human gastric epithelial cells were co- and preincubated with polyphenolic-enriched extracts (PEEs) from Chilean raspberries (Rubus geoides), strawberries (Fragaria chiloensis ssp. chiloensis f. chiloensis), and currants (Ribes magellanicum) and challenged with peroxyl and hydroxyl radicals. Cellular protection was determined in terms of cell viability, glyoxalase I and glutathione s-transferases activities, and carboxymethyl lysine (CML) and malondialdehyde levels. Our results indicate that cytoprotection induced by ICM was the prevalent mechanism for Rubus geoides and F. chiloensis. This agreed with increased levels of glyoxalase I and glutathione S-transferase activities in cells preincubated with PEEs. ORAC index indicated that F. chiloensis was the most efficient peroxyl radical scavenger. Moreover, ICM mediated by F. chiloensis was effective in protecting cells from CML accumulation in contrast to the protective effects induced by free radical scavenging. Our results indicate that although both polyphenol-mediated mechanisms can exert protective effects, ICM was the most prevalent in AGS cells. These results suggest a potential use of these native berries as functional food.
Multi-metallic sensing layers for surface plasmon resonance sensor

This article describes the analytical study of multi-metallic sensing layer of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor. The monolayer gold, bimetallic silver-gold, trimetallic gold-silver-gold, and four-metallic layer silver-gold-silver-gold are characterized in this study. Furthermore, novel adhesive layer 3 nm of the aluminum film is proposed to replace the chromium. The four-layer of silver and gold around 40 nm in total thickness is proposed to enhance the quality factor of reflectivity dip, sensitivity, and the dynamic range of the sensing. The four-metallic sensing achieves the highest intrinsic sensitivity value of 27.6 RIU−1 and the detection range of refractive index value up to 1.407 RIU. This finding is potential for the sensor development for high refractive index solution.
Recommendations for managing cutaneous disorders associated with advancing age

The increasingly aged population worldwide means more people are living with chronic diseases, reduced autonomy, and taking various medications. Health professionals should take these into consideration when managing dermatological problems in elderly patients. Accordingly, current research is investigating the dermatological problems associated with the loss of cutaneous function with age. As cell renewal slows, the physical and chemical barrier function declines, cutaneous permeability increases, and the skin becomes increasingly vulnerable to external factors. In geriatric dermatology, the consequences of cutaneous aging lead to xerosis, skin folding, moisture-associated skin damage, and impaired wound healing. These problems pose significant challenges for both the elderly and their carers. Most often, nurses manage skin care in the elderly. However, until recently, little attention has been paid to developing appropriate, evidence-based, skincare protocols. The objective of this paper is to highlight common clinical problems with aging skin and provide some appropriate advice on cosmetic protocols for managing them. A review of the literature from 2004 to 2014 using PubMed was performed by a working group of six European dermatologists with clinical and research experience in dermatology. Basic topical therapy can restore and protect skin barrier function, which relieves problems associated with xerosis, prevents aggravating moisture-associated skin damage, and enhances quality of life. In conclusion, the authors provide physicians with practical recommendations to assist them in implementing basic skin care for the elderly in an integrated care approach.
Enhanced Anticancer Efficacy by Drug Chemotherapy and Cold Atmospheric Plasma Against Melanoma and Glioblastoma Cell Lines In Vitro

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) interacting with tumor cells, and finally, leading to selective cell death has opened new horizons in cancer therapy. Despite significant progress in modern cancer treatment using immunologic and targeted therapies melanoma and glioblastoma (GBM) presenting as brain metastases or primary tumor with poor prognosis are still a therapeutic challenge. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the potential of CAP (indirect treatment) in combination with the chemotherapeutics bleomycin, paclitaxel, and dacarbazine to inhibit proliferation on human melanoma and GBM cells in vitro. Cell lines of mouse melanoma (B16) were exposed for 1, 4, 12, 24, and 48 h, and of human melanoma (A375) and GBM (A172) for 24 h to bleomycin, dacarbazine, and paclitaxel together with plasma activated phosphate buffered saline. Directly after exposure, cell proliferation after single (CAP and chemotherapeutic) or combined (CAP plus chemotherapeutic) treatment was assessed by cytotoxicity assay. Indirect CAP treatment of cell lines of GBM and melanoma was followed by a strong reduction of proliferation most prominent after 24 and 48 h exposure. With all drugs maximal reduction was achieved when drug-CAP combinations were used. Combination with CAP treating B16 melanoma cells reached 98% (48 h, combined with paclitaxel), A375 melanoma cells 82% (24 h, combined with bleomycin), and GBM cells 96% (24 h, combined with paclitaxel). The combination of chemotherapy with CAP as indirect treatment may be beneficial in therapy of melanoma and GBM by enhanced tumor reduction and less drug toxicity of chemotherapeutics.