Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mobilization of Intensive Care Cardiac Surgery Patients on Mechanical Circulatory Support

Historically, intensive care cardiac surgery patients remained on bed rest for several days postoperatively to prevent complications and promote rest and healing. Over time, the cardiac surgery discipline has acknowledged the benefits of early mobility, including reduced risk of venous thromboembolism and pulmonary emboli, improved pulmonary toilet, prevention of pneumonia, decreased length of stay, reduced deconditioning, and need for rehabilitation, among others advantages. These benefits have changed clinical practice, with emphasis on early extubation, progressive mobility, and reduced lengths of stay. Early mobility is a staple in postoperative intensive care of cardiac surgery patients. Patient mobility practices include range of motion, dangling at the bedside, and transition to the chair on the operative day, if able. Postoperative day 1 entails transferring from the bed to the chair 2 to 3 times and, if feasible, ambulation in the room and hallway. Patients with pulmonary artery catheters, arterial lines, chest tubes, and mechanical circulatory support devices are included in early progressive mobility to prevent postoperative complications. This article will discuss early progressive mobility in cardiovascular intensive care unit patients, with a focus on specific considerations for patients post–cardiac surgery and those with mechanical circulatory support devices.
Resubmitted lots with single sampling plans by attributes under the conditions of zero-inflated poisson distribution

ABSTRACT For a well-monitored process, occurrence of nondefect is a frequent event sampling inspection. A suitable model for this situation is a zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) distribution. In this manuscript, we will focus on the designing of a more flexible sampling plan called the resubmitted lots plan. The parameters of the proposed sampling plan are determined through the nonlinear optimization solution. The advantage of the proposed plan over the existing sampling in terms of average sample number is discussed. An example is given for the illustration purpose.
Biosynthesis of the Peptide Antibiotic Feglymycin by a Linear Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase Mechanism

Feglymycin, a peptide antibiotic produced by Streptomyces sp. DSM 11171, consists mostly of nonproteinogenic phenylglycine‐type amino acids. It possesses antibacterial activity against methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains and antiviral activity against HIV. Inhibition of the early steps of bacterial peptidoglycan synthesis indicated a mode of action different from those of other peptide antibiotics. Here we describe the identification and assignment of the feglymycin (feg) biosynthesis gene cluster, which codes for a 13‐module nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) system. Inactivation of an NRPS gene and supplementation of a hydroxymandelate oxidase mutant with the amino acid l‐Hpg proved the identity of the feg cluster. Feeding of Hpg‐related unnatural amino acids was not successful. This characterization of the feg cluster is an important step to understanding the biosynthesis of this potent antibacterial peptide.
Prevalence of Occult Hepatitis B Infection in Hemodialysis Patients

BACKGROUND The presence of low-level hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA has been demonstrated in some hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)–negative patients. This HBsAg-negative but HBV DNA–positive case has been named occult hepatitis B virus (OHBV) infection. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of OHBV in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. METHODS Eighty patients who were on dialysis and were previously detected as HBsAg negative were recruited in the study. Thirty-two patients (40%) were female, and the mean age was 51.56 ± 14.16 years (21–78 years). HBV DNA was searched for by the polymerase chain reaction method in the sera of all patients. RESULTS Sixty-eight patients (85%) positive for at least 1 of the serological markers used for hepatitis B, 3 patients (3.75%) positive for only antibody to hepatitis B core antigen, and 33 patients (41.25%) positive for only antibody to HBsAg were identified. The prevalence of OHBV infection was found to be 1.25%. CONCLUSIONS Even though the prevalence of OHBV infection was found to be low in patients undergoing dialysis, searching for HBV DNA, if possible, will be useful because there is contagiousness in OHBV infection, and activation of OHBV infection has been known to occur after immunosuppressive treatment.
Evaluating the effects of treatment switching with randomization as an instrumental variable in a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to utilize simulated data based on an ongoing randomized clinical trial (RCT) to evaluate the effects of treatment switching with randomization as an instrumental variable (IV) at differing levels of treatment crossovers, for continuous and binary outcomes. Data were analyzed using IV, intent-to-treat (ITT), and per protocol (PP) methods. The IV method performed the best, since it provided the most unbiased point estimates, and it had equal or higher power and higher coverage probabilities compared to the ITT estimates, and because a PP analysis can be biased due to its exclusion of non-compliant patients.
Treating Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer With Concurrent Chemoradiation Without Brachytherapy in Low-resource Countries

Objective:To summarize the literature on options of management of patients treated for locally advanced cervical cancers with a specific focus on resource-constrained settings where brachytherapy is not available. Materials and Methods:A Medline search was performed to summarize studies about treatment approaches including neoadjuvant chemotherapy, primary surgery for bulky cervical cancer, and chemoradiation followed by surgery. Summaries are by treatment approaches that are relevant to resource-constrained settings. Results:There are a lack of studies performed on neoadjuvant chemotherapy in low-resource settings. Primary surgery followed by chemoradiation therapy for selected patients with bulky cervical cancer is a feasible option. The disadvantage is the potential increase in treatment complications. Chemoradiation without brachytherapy followed by surgery has been found to have equivalent outcomes and is associated with acceptable morbidity. Conclusions:In resource-constrained settings where brachytherapy is not available, performing radical hysterectomy after chemoradiation therapy without brachytherapy has been shown to produce equivalent outcomes. It seems reasonable to adopt a modified therapeutic protocol of chemoradiation followed by extrafascial hysterectomy as an alternative treatment option in low-resource countries where brachytherapy is not readily available.
Subunit‐Specific Labeling of Ubiquitin Chains by Using Sortase: Insights into the Selectivity of Deubiquitinases

Information embedded in different ubiquitin chains is transduced by proteins with ubiquitin‐binding domains (UBDs) and erased by a set of hydrolytic enzymes referred to as deubiquitinases (DUBs). Understanding the selectivity of UBDs and DUBs is necessary for decoding the functions of different ubiquitin chains. Critical to these efforts is the access to chemically defined ubiquitin chains bearing site‐specific fluorescent labels. One approach toward constructing such molecules involves peptide ligation by sortase (SrtA), a bacterial transpeptidase responsible for covalently attaching cell surface proteins to the cell wall. Here, we demonstrate the utility of SrtA in modifying individual subunits of ubiquitin chains. Using ubiquitin derivatives in which an N‐terminal glycine is unveiled after protease‐mediated digestion, we synthesized ubiquitin dimers, trimers, and tetramers with different isopeptide linkages. SrtA was then used in combination with fluorescent depsipeptide substrates to effect the modification of each subunit in a chain. By constructing branched ubiquitin chains with individual subunits tagged with a fluorophore, we provide evidence that the ubiquitin‐specific protease USP15 prefers ubiquitin trimers but has little preference for a particular isopeptide linkage. Our results emphasize the importance of subunit‐specific labeling of ubiquitin chains when studying how DUBs process these chains.
Study of partial least squares and ridge regression methods

ABSTRACT This article considers both Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Ridge Regression (RR) methods to combat multicollinearity problem. A simulation study has been conducted to compare their performances with respect to Ordinary Least Squares (OLS). With varying degrees of multicollinearity, it is found that both, PLS and RR, estimators produce significant reductions in the Mean Square Error (MSE) and Prediction Mean Square Error (PMSE) over OLS. However, from the simulation study it is evident that the RR performs better when the error variance is large and the PLS estimator achieves its best results when the model includes more variables. However, the advantage of the ridge regression method over PLS is that it can provide the 95% confidence interval for the regression coefficients while PLS cannot.
Competing Causes of Death for Women With Breast Cancer and Change Over Time From 1975 to 2003

This study was to determine whether the proportion of death due to breast cancer changed over time in different cohorts of women diagnosed with breast cancer. We identified 316,149 women with breast cancer at age 20 or older during 1975–2003 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 9 tumor registries in the United States. Logistic regression models were used to assess the effects of time period on the likelihood of dying because of breast cancer as underlying cause of death, adjusting for other factors. Overall, underlying cause of death was 52.8% due to breast cancer, 17.8% due to heart disease, and 4.9% due to stroke. Percentage of death due to breast cancer did not change significantly from 1975 to 2003 in those who died <12 months after diagnosis, but decreased significantly in women who died between 1 and 15 years. Risk of death due to breast cancer in women diagnosed during 1995–1998 was significantly lower than those in 1975–1979 (odds ratio = 0.79, 95% confidence interval = 0.70–0.89), after adjusting for age, race, ethnicity, and tumor stage. Percentage of death due to breast cancer decreased significantly with age from 87.5% in women <40% to 30.7% in those 80 or older, which was not significantly affected by year of diagnosis. Proportion of death due to breast cancer increased with advanced tumor stage and was similar in various racial/ethnic groups of population. The findings demonstrated that the impact of breast cancer on overall death was reduced after 1 year of diagnosis, but suggested the need for continued cancer surveillance.
Disparities in Preventive Care by Body Mass Index Categories Among Women

ABSTRACT Objective: The present analyses examined the relationship of body mass index (BMI) categories to receiving age-appropriate preventive services among women. Method: Data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2003, N = 10,954) were analyzed using multiple logistic regressions. Outcomes were: age-appropriate Pap-test, mammography, colorectal, cholesterol and blood pressure screening, and influenza immunization. Results: Overall, 3% of participants were underweight, and 26.3% were obese. Obese women were less likely to receive Pap-tests (p < .01), and underweight women less likely to receive mammography (p < .001). Dental care was less likely across all BMI groups outside the normal weight range. Conclusions: The association between BMI categories and preventive services use varied by type of preventive care.
Consensus Report: Aggressive Periodontitis

Not all characteristics must be present to assign a diagnosis or classify the disease. The diagnosis may be based on clinical, radiographic, and historical data. Although helpful, laboratory testing may not be essential for assigning a diagnosis. The group agreed that there are enough specific features, which are sufficiently discriminating, to allow for the subclassification of Aggressive Periodontitis into localized and generalized forms. In addition to the features common to all forms of Aggressive Periodontitis, the following specific features were identified:
African American Social and Cultural Contexts and Physical Activity: Strategies for Navigating Challenges to Participation

We examined the influence of social and cultural contexts on participation in recommended levels of physical activity (PA) among African American women using a grounded theory approach. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus groups with 15 physically active African American women. Participants described social and cultural factors that served as challenges for participation in PA. Of particular importance, participants discussed their strategies for overcoming these challenges to initiate and maintain an active lifestyle. Strategies emerged to address three main areas: lack of PA exposure, PA norms and beliefs, and hair maintenance. Understanding contextually appropriate strategies to assist African American women in long-term PA maintenance will help inform effective health promotion efforts to reduce the burden of sedentary lifestyle and chronic disease in this community of women.
ADHD Among a Cohort of Ethnic Minority Women

Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder has focused primarily on Caucasian boys and men and resulted in limited insight about the experiences of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder among women from an ethnically diverse background. This descriptive qualitative study explored the experience of 16 women diagnosed with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder who were also engaged in their academic pursuits. Three themes emerged: (i) internalized chaos, (ii) cultivation of self-understanding, and (iii) commitment to building capacity. Comorbid psychological disorders (e.g., major depression and anxiety) among women with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder were associated with increased impairment. Broader criteria that demonstrate equitable assessment and recognition of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder symptoms for both genders are requisite to promote effective interventions and recovery.
“A Waste of Time”: Hispanic Women's Attitudes Toward Physical Activity

Despite a lack of studies on Hispanic midlife women's physical activity, the existing studies have indicated that Hispanics' ethnic-specific attitudes toward physical activity contributed to their lack of physical activity. However, little is still clearly known about Hispanic midlife women's attitudes toward physical activity. The purpose of this study was to explore Hispanic midlife women's attitudes toward physical activity using a feminist perspective. The study was a 6-month qualitative online forum among 23 Hispanic women who were recruited through Internet communities/groups. The data were collected using 17 online forum topics on attitudes toward physical activity and ethnic-specific contexts. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three major themes emerged from the data analysis process: (a) “family first, no time for myself,” (b) “little exercise, but naturally healthy,” and (c) “dad died of a heart attack. ” Although some of the women perceived the importance of physical activity due to their family history of chronic diseases, the study participants thought that physical activity would be a waste of time in their busy daily schedules. These findings provided directions for future health care practice and research to increase physical activity among Hispanic midlife women.
Attitudes Toward Menstruation, Menstrual-Related Symptoms, and Premenstrual Syndrome Among Adolescent Girls: A Rural School-Based Survey

Folk culture surrounding menstrual-related matters has considerable implications for symptom expression and treatment-seeking behavior. A cross-sectional survey of 1,295 rural adolescent girls aged 13 to 19 years was conducted between February 4 and April 16, 2009 to examine these associations. With a higher score indicating a more positive attitude toward menstruation, the mean attitude score was 3.84 (SD ± 1.62) out of a maximum of six. No significant association was observed between the severity of menstrual symptoms and attitudes. Most (63.1%) of the participants identified themselves as having premenstrual symptoms, and 61.1% viewed premenstrual symptoms as a normal part of menstrual cycle. Participants with a higher severity of symptoms in the premenstrual (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01–1.10) and menstrual phase (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.07), were more likely to consult a physician for premenstrual symptoms, and having a divorced/separated parents was associated with a reduced odds of consulting a physician compared to those having parents that were married (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.05–0.83). The findings imply the need for education to help adolescent girls manage menstrual symptoms and increase awareness of the benefit of treating them. Given that menstrual-related information was widely available from mothers, family, and social culture are potentially important in shaping good menstrual attitudes.
Hospital service quality and its effects on patient satisfaction and behavioural intention

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate hospital service quality and its effect on patient satisfaction and behavioural intention.Design/methodology/approach – A convenience sampling technique was used in this study. A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed and 216 were returned (61.7 per cent response rate). Findings – The results confirm that the five dimensions – admission, medical service, overall service, discharge and social responsibility – are a distinct construct for hospital service quality. Each dimension has a significant relationship with hospital service quality. The findings of this study indicate that the establishment of higher levels of hospital service quality will lead customers to have a high level of satisfaction and behavioural intention.Research limitations/implications – This research examined the concept of hospital service quality, patient satisfaction and behavioural intention from the perspective of patients. However, this study did not explore the perspecti.
A Comprehensive Study of the Interaction between Peptidoglycan Fragments and the Extracellular Domain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ser/Thr Kinase PknB

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ser/Thr kinase PknB is implicated in the regulation of bacterial cell growth and cell division. The intracellular kinase function of PknB is thought to be triggered by peptidoglycan (PGN) fragments that are recognized by the extracytoplasmic domain of PknB. The PGN in the cell wall of M. tuberculosis has several unusual modifications, including the presence of N‐glycolyl groups (in addition to N‐acetyl groups) in the muramic acid residues and amidation of d‐Glu in the peptide chains. Using synthetic PGN fragments incorporating these diverse PGN structures, we analyzed their binding characters through biolayer interferometry (BLI), NMR spectroscopy, and native mass spectrometry (nMS) techniques. The results of BLI showed that muropeptides containing 1,6‐anhydro‐MurNAc and longer glycan chains exhibited higher binding potency and that the fourth amino acid of the peptide stem, d‐Ala, was crucial for protein recognition. Saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy indicated the major involvement of the stem peptide region in the PASTA‐PGN fragment binding. nMS suggested that the binding stoichiometry was 1:1. The data provide the first molecular basis for the specific interaction of PGN with PknB and firmly establish PGNs as the effective ligands of PknB.
Barriers to Screening for Intimate Partner Violence

Background: Health care providers play a vital role in the detection of intimate partner violence among their patients. Despite the recommendations for routine intimate partner violence screening in various medical settings, health care providers do not routinely screen for intimate partner violence. The authors wanted to identify barriers to intimate partner violence screening and improve the understanding of intimate partner violence screening barriers among different health care providers. Methods: The authors conducted a systematic review to examine health care providers' perceived barriers to screening for intimate partner violence. By grouping the studies into two time periods, based on date of publication, they examined differences in the reported barriers to intimate partner violence screening over time. Results: The authors included a total of 22 studies in this review from all examined sources. Five categories of intimate partner violence screening barriers were identified: personal barriers, resource barriers, perceptions and attitudes, fears, and patient-related barriers. The most frequently reported barriers included personal discomfort with the issue, lack of knowledge, and time constraints. Provider-related barriers were reported more often than patient-related barriers. Conclusions: Barriers to screening for intimate partner violence are numerous among health care providers of various medical specialties. Increased education and training regarding intimate partner violence is necessary to address perceptions and attitudes to remove barriers that hinder intimate partner violence screening by health care providers.
A Simple Glycolipid Mimic of the Phosphatidylinositol Mannoside Core from Mycobacterium tuberculosis Inhibits Macrophage Cytokine Production

Glycolipids from Mycobacterium tuberculosis have a profound impact on the innate immune response of the host. Macrophage‐inducible C‐type lectin (Mincle) is a pattern‐recognition receptor that has been shown to bind trehalose dimycolate (TDM) from the mycobacterium and instigate intracellular signalling in the immune cell. There are structural similarities between the structures of TDM and phosphatidyl inositol mannoside (PIM). We thus hypothesized that these latter structures might also modulate an immune response in a similar manner. To test this, we synthesized a series of new mannose derivatives modified with fatty esters at the 6‐position and assessed the release of inflammatory cytokines in human U937 macrophages under the induction of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) after glycolipid treatment. The results showed that the amount of two major cytokines—tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α and interleukin (IL)‐6—released from LPS‐stimulated U937 cells decreased significantly when compared to a control upon treatment with the prepared glycolipids, thus indicating a reduction in cytokine production by the macrophages.