Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new measure of contemporary life stress: development, validation, and reliability of the CRISYS.

OBJECTIVE To develop and validate a measure of contemporary life stressors. STUDY SETTING Three interview studies: Study 1 (pilot), 32 caregivers receiving case management services for a child with chronic illness; Study 2 (validation), 311 caregivers of children receiving general pediatric care at a university clinic; Study 3 (reliability), 17 caregivers of children with a complex medical diagnosis. STUDY DESIGN Study 1: item development via discussions with case managers; piloted with caregivers. Study 2 examined psychometric properties of the measure and correlated it with the CES-D, a measure of depressive symptomatology and the PRQ85-Part 2, a measure of perceived social support, to establish its convergent construct validity. Study 3 established the test-retest reliability of the measure over two weeks by correlating two administrations of the index. DATA COLLECTION Face-to-face interviews in homes (Study 1) or in clinic waiting rooms (Studies 2 and 3) and by telephone (Study 3 retest). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The CRISYS is a flexible, multidimensional tool that demonstrates strong face, content, and construct validity, and excellent test-retest reliability. The format is easy to use and well accepted by respondents and is suitable for low-income populations. CONCLUSIONS Researchers will find the CRISYS useful when evaluating the success of a clinical model or a healthcare system, and the effectiveness of an insurance plan or a government program. Clinicians may also find that the CRISYS is an effective screen for family needs.
Endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer: a large-scale feasibility study

Objective: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has the advantage over conventional endoscopic mucosa resection, permitting removal of early gastric cancer (EGC) en bloc, but long-term clinical outcomes remain unknown. A follow-up study on tumour recurrence and survival after ESD was conducted. Method: ESD was performed for patients with EGC that fulfilled the expanded criteria: mucosal cancer without ulcer findings irrespective of tumour size; mucosal cancer with ulcer findings ⩽3 cm in diameter; and minute submucosal invasive cancer ⩽3 cm in size. 551 patients with 589 EGC lesions were enrolled. The patients underwent ESD and then received periodic endoscopic follow-up and metastatic surveys for 6–89 months (median, 30 months). The main outcome measures were resectability (en bloc or piecemeal resection), and curability (curative or non-curative). Complications were assessed, and factors related to each were analysed statistically. The overall and disease-free survival rates were estimated. Results: En bloc resection was achieved in 94.9% (559/589), and larger lesions were at higher risk of piecemeal resection. 550 of 581 lesions (94.7%) were deemed to have undergone curative resection. En bloc resection was the only significant contributor to curative ESD. Patients with non-curative resection developed local recurrence more frequently. The 5-year overall and disease-specific survival rates were 97.1% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion: Precise assessment of curability with successful one-piece resection may reduce tumour recurrence after ESD. The prognosis of EGC patients treated by ESD is likely to be excellent, though further longer follow-up studies are warranted.
Modeling of Conducted EMI in Adjustable Speed Drives

This paper deals with conducted electromagnetic interferences (EMIs) in adjustable-speed drive (ASD) systems. For some years, the use of high-speed switching power devices in ASDs induces high-voltage ( dv/dt) and high-current ( di/dt) variations that excite the parasitic elements of the power circuit, inducing conducted emissions. The advent of these devices has thus generated several unexpected problems, such as premature deterioration of motor ball bearings and high increases in the EMI levels, which are caused by the circulation of the high-frequency currents. In order to evaluate the level of the common-mode (CM) and the differential-mode (DM) currents in the ASD system, it is necessary to use a precise model of the pulse width modulation (PWM) inverter, power cable, and ac motor that takes into account various phenomena, which appear when the frequency increases. First, a PWM inverter and shielded four-wire power cable model are presented. Then, a new high-frequency modeling method of the ac motor is proposed. Finally, the ASD system is simulated and the obtained results are compared to the experimental measurements in the frequency and time domains.
Design and implementation of dynamic mobile sensor network platform

This article presents the design and implementation of a dynamic mobile sensor network platform consisting of stationary sensors, mobile sensors, mobile sensor gateways, and sink servers. The sensor network platform supports heterogeneous protocols in the network layer and performs ID-based communications to deliver sensor data from the sensors to the sinks, as well as to send control and monitoring commands from the sensor owner or administrator to the mobile sensors and mobile sensor gateways. To provide sensor data reliably irrespective of the sensor locations, the mobile sensors and mobile sensor gateways natively support mobility and multihoming and possess network access authentication and data transport security functions. The sensor owners can freely install new applications over already-deployed mobile sensors and mobile sensor gateways. They can configure the mobile sensors to operate in lightweight or full-function modes depending on the sensor application requirements or available networking environments. The technical feasibility of the proposed mobile sensor network platform has been demonstrated by implementing a prototype system.
Detection of Spatial Defect Patterns Generated in Semiconductor Fabrication Processes

Spatial defect patterns generated during integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing processes contain information about potential problems in the processes. The detection of these defect patterns is crucial to improve yield and reliability in IC manufacturing. This paper proposes a multistep defect analysis approach that provides clustering results with different levels of accuracy. A defect denoising step, based on the K th nearest-neighbor noise removal technique, determines the existence of any clustered local defects on a wafer. If local defects exist, the denoising step separates local defects from global defects. A defect clustering step applies a similarity-based clustering technique to group the local defects into clusters according to their spatial locations. A pattern identification step identifies the pattern for each of the local defect clusters (i.e., linear, curvilinear, amorphous, or ring-shaped patterns) via various model selection criteria. Finally, a fine tuning step is applied in order to improve the accuracy of the clustering performance. The fine tuning step is based on model-based clustering with a fixed number of clusters and known patterns for each cluster. The results of both simulated and real wafer map data demonstrate the potential of our approach, both in terms of computational speed and detection accuracy, for analyzing general defect patterns generated during the IC fabrication process.
Parkin Enhances the Expression of Cyclin-dependent Kinase 6 and Negatively Regulates the Proliferation of Breast Cancer Cells*

Although mutations in the parkin gene are frequently associated with familial Parkinsonism, emerging evidence suggests that parkin also plays a role in cancers as a putative tumor suppressor. Supporting this, we show here that parkin expression is dramatically reduced in several breast cancer-derived cell lines as well as in primary breast cancer tissues. Importantly, we found that ectopic parkin expression in parkin-deficient breast cancer cells mitigates their proliferation rate both in vitro and in vivo, as well as reduces the capacity of these cells to migrate. Cell cycle analysis revealed the arrestment of a significant percentage of parkin-expressing breast cancer cells at the G1-phase. However, we did not observe significant changes in the levels of the G1-associated cyclin D1 and E. On the other hand, the level of cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) is dramatically and selectively elevated in parkin-expressing breast cancer cells, the extent of which correlates well with the expression of parkin. Interestingly, a recent study demonstrated that CDK6 restrains the proliferation of breast cancer cells. Taken together, our results support a negative role for parkin in tumorigenesis and provide a potential mechanism by which parkin exerts its suppressing effects on breast cancer cell proliferation.
Mild exacerbations and eosinophilic inflammation in patients with stable, well-controlled asthma after 1 year of follow-up.

OBJECTIVES To determine the time to exacerbation and probability of a mild exacerbation of asthma, and the impact of eosinophilic inflammation on these parameters in patients with stable, well-controlled asthma. PATIENTS AND METHODS A cohort of 31 patients with stable, well-controlled asthma receiving inhaled steroid treatment regularly were followed up for 1 year or until a mild exacerbation occurred. Mild exacerbation was defined as symptoms of asthma lasting > 48 h with a fall in peak expiratory flow > 20%. FEV(1), provocative concentration of methacholine causing a 20% fall in FEV(1), eosinophil count, and eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP) levels in blood and in sputum were measured at the first visit and every 2 months. RESULTS At baseline, the mean (SD) eosinophil count was 0.39 x 10(9)/L (0.21 x 10(9)/L) in blood and 13% (14%) in sputum; ECP was 30 microg/L (28 microg/L) in blood and 75 microg/L (85 microg/L) in sputum. Thirteen subjects experienced a mild exacerbation during the 1-year follow-up period. The mean time to mild exacerbation was 293 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 248 to 337 days), and the cumulative probability of not experiencing a mild exacerbation in 1 year was 49% (95% CI, 39 to 59%). An increased risk of mild exacerbation was associated with blood eosinophil count > 0.4 x 10(9)/L (relative risk 4.5; 95% CI of relative risk, 1.8 to 38.0), blood ECP > 20 microg/L (relative risk, 2.1; 95% CI of relative risk, 1.0 to 9.2), and sputum ECP > 40 microg/L (relative risk, 2.5; 95% CI of relative risk, 1.2 to 11.2), but was unassociated with other variables. CONCLUSIONS Patient with stable, well-controlled asthma are at risk of mild exacerbation during 1 year of follow-up despite regular inhaled steroid treatment. Eosinophilic inflammation expressed as eosinophil count and ECP is associated with higher risk of mild exacerbation.
Endoscopic ultrasound and fine needle aspiration in chronic pancreatitis: differential diagnosis between pseudotumoral masses and pancreatic cancer.

CONTEXT Pseudotumoral chronic pancreatitis can be difficult to differentiate from pancreatic carcinoma. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the role of endoscopic ultrasound and fine needle aspiration in differentiating between inflammatory masses and malignancies in chronic pancreatitis. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Tertiary care endoscopy unit. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS Between February 1997 and December 2006, 69 pancreatic head masses from patients with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis underwent EUS-FNA using a linear echoendoscope and 22-gauge needles. Final diagnoses were obtained from surgery or clinical follow-up. The patients were subdivided into two groups: pseudotumoral chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. RESULTS Pseudotumoral masses and adenocarcinoma were found in 58 and 11 patients, respectively. The size of the lesions and the clinical presentation were similar in both groups, but the cancer patients were older than the patients with pseudotumoral masses (P=0.020). Fourteen of the 58 (24.1%) pseudotumoral masses were misdiagnosed as cancers, and 4 of the 11 (36.4%) cancers were erroneously diagnosed as pseudotumoral masses when evaluated by EUS alone. EUS-FNA confirmed the final diagnosis in 66 of the 69 (95.7%) cases. Cytopathology correctly classified 8 of the 11 (72.7%) malignancies and all benign cases. Three of the 11 (27.3%) cancers were misdiagnosed as pseudotumoral masses, and no pseudotumoral mass was diagnosed as a cancer. In two cases, the specimens were inadequate for cytopathological assessment. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and the diagnostic accuracy of EUS-FNA were 72.7%, 100%, 100%, 95.1% and 95.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound alone for differentiating between pseudotumoral masses and pancreatic cancer arising from chronic pancreatitis is unsatisfactory. Fine needle aspiration of these tumors significantly improves diagnostic capability.
Executive Function Profile of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

We explored the neuropsychological profile for executive functions of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to assess whether problems associated with the two most cited relevant processes-inhibition and attentional problems-were the core of any executive function difficulty. A battery of executive function tests was administered to 31 children with a clinical diagnosis of ADHD and to 33 normal control participants, all aged between 7 and 12. The executive function battery encompassed a number of tasks, selected because each had multiple measures: a sustained attention reaction time task, a related vigilance task, an adaptation of the Hayling Sentence Completion Test, an adaptation of the Brixton Spatial Rule Attainment Test, a Letter Fluency task, a number Stroop task, and an "n-back" working memory task. The overall pattern of the results fit well with those obtained in previous studies as far as abnormalities of the ADHD group in the domain of inhibitory processes, attentional functions, and executive functions. The children with ADHD, although performing well on baseline tasks, performed more poorly than the controls on all the experimental tasks with one borderline exception: Letter Fluency, where the children with ADHD showed a very different pattern than most adult frontal lobe subgroups. However, there was no specific impairment on measures of inhibitory processes. In addition, strategy generation and use were severely affected in the ADHD group. Particular findings fitted well with disorders of a high-level effort system and of a monitoring system.
Immunomodulatory Role of Interleukin-10 in Visceral Leishmaniasis: Defective Activation of Protein Kinase C-Mediated Signal Transduction Events

ABSTRACT Leishmania donovani, an intracellular protozoan parasite, challenges host defense mechanisms by impairing the signal transduction of macrophages. In this study we investigated whether interleukin-10 (IL-10)-mediated alteration of signaling events in a murine model of visceral leishmaniasis is associated with macrophage deactivation. Primary in vitro cultures of macrophages infected with leishmanial parasites markedly elevated the endogenous release of IL-10. Treatment with either L. donovani or recombinant IL-10 (rIL-10) inhibited both the activity and expression of the Ca2+-dependent protein kinase C (PKC) isoform. However, preincubation with neutralizing anti-IL-10 monoclonal antibody (MAb) restored the PKC activity in the parasitized macrophage. Furthermore, we observed that coincubation of macrophages with rIL-10 and L. donovani increased the intracellular parasite burden, which was abrogated by anti-IL-10 MAb. Consistent with these observations, generation of superoxide (O2−) and nitric oxide and the release of murine tumor necrosis factor-α were attenuated in response to L. donovani or rIL-10 treatment. On the other hand, preincubation of the infected macrophages with neutralizing anti-IL-10 MAb significantly blocked the inhibition of nitric oxide and murine tumor necrosis factor-α release by the infected macrophages. These findings imply that infection with L. donovani induces endogenous secretion of murine IL-10, which in turn facilitates the intracellular survival of the protozoan and orchestrates several immunomodulatory roles via selective impairment of PKC-mediated signal transduction.
Flavoring culture / Le goût pour la cannelle. How the universally recognized spice cassia-cinnamonum gains and loses prestige throughout history

Depuis la nuit des temps, la cannelle a permis creer des liens entre les groupes en transmettant des traditions et un sentiment « d’appartenance ». Pourtant d’un autre point de vue, la cannelle a aussi mis en evidence les differences sociales a travers ses attributs lies au statut, au prestige et a l’exclusivite. Afin de trouver des reponses a ces questions de recherche, nous avons tente de mieux comprendre les facteurs qui affectent la popularite de cette epice en nous referant a des sources aussi diverses que textes modernes et historiques, recettes de cuisine et entretiens. De nombreux auteurs expliquent la proeminence historique de la cannelle par ses proprietes « entremelees » de facon unique : son sens symbolique, ses vertus pour la sante, son doux parfum et son gout. Toutefois, plus recemment dans l’Histoire, cette epice a perdu une grande partie de ses capacites a promouvoir l’exclusivite ou le prestige. Les informations collectees et presentees dans cet article permettent de mieux saisir les multiples facons dont les ingredients culinaires peuvent creer des relations sociales et « connecter des vies ».
Titus's Tinnitus

Historical approaches to tinnitus have depended highly on cultural factors. While ancient Oriental mysticism regarded it as sensitivity to the divine, Roman medicine associated it with depressive and seizure disorders on the basis of presumed common pathophysiology shared by the three conditions. In the Babylonian Talmud, tinnitus appears as Titus's curse: a gnat buzzing in the brain, responding to sound therapy, and then habituating. Various sources show varied emphases with common attention for contextual and emotional aspects that have become an important focus in modern management of tinnitus.
Short- and long-term outcome of constraint-induced movement therapy after stroke: a randomized controlled feasibility trial

Objective: Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a method to improve motor function in the upper extremity following stroke. The aim of this trial was to determine the effect and feasibility of CIMT compared with traditional rehabilitation in short and long term. Design: A randomized controlled trial. Setting: An inpatient rehabilitation clinic. Subjects: Thirty patients with unilateral hand impairment after stroke. Intervention: Six hours arm therapy for 10 consecutive weekdays, while using a restraining mitten on the unaffected hand. Main measures: The patients were assessed at baseline, post-treatment and at six-month follow-up using the Wolf Motor Function Test as primary outcome measure and the Motor Activity Log, Functional Independence Measure and Stroke Impact Scale as secondary measurements. Results: The CIMT group (n=18) showed a statistically significant shorter performance time (4.76 seconds versus 7.61 seconds, P= 0.030) and greater functional ability (3.85 versus 3.47, P= 0.037) than the control group (n=12) on the Wolf Motor Function Test at post-treatment assessment. There was a non-significant trend toward greater amount of use (2.47 versus 1.97, P= 0.097) and better quality of movement (2.45 versus 2.12, P=0.105) in the CIMT group according to the Motor Activity Log. No such differences were seen on Functional Independence Measure at the same time. At six-month follow-up the CIMT group maintained their improvement, but as the control group improved even more, there were no significant differences between the groups on any measurements. Conclusions: CIMT seems to be an effective and feasible method to improve motor function in the short term, but no long-term effect was found.
Generation of hair cells by stepwise differentiation of embryonic stem cells

The increase in life expectancy is accompanied by the growing burden of chronic diseases. Hearing loss is perhaps the most prevalent of all chronic diseases. In addition to age-related hearing loss, a substantial number of cases of audiological impairment are either congenital in nature or acquired during childhood. The permanence of hearing loss is mainly due to the inability of the cochlear sensory epithelium to replace lost mechanoreceptor cells, or hair cells. Generation of hair cells from a renewable source of progenitors that can be transplanted into damaged inner ears is a principal requirement for potential cell replacement therapy in this organ. Here, we present an experimental protocol that enables us to routinely create inner ear progenitors from murine embryonic stem cells in vitro. These progenitors express a comprehensive set of marker genes that define the developing inner ear, in particular the organ's developing sensory patches. We further demonstrate that cells that express markers characteristic of hair cells differentiate from embryonic stem cell-derived progenitors. Finally, we show that these progenitors integrate into the developing inner ear at sites of epithelial injury and that integrated cells start expressing hair cell markers and display hair bundles when situated in cochlear or vestibular sensory epithelia in vivo.
The Role of HOX Homeobox Genes in Normal and Leukemic Hematopoiesis

A sizable amount of new data points to a role for the HOX family of homeobox genes in hematopoiesis. Recent studies have demonstrated that HOXA and HOXB genes are expressed in human CD34+ cells, and are downregulated as cells leave the CD34+ compartment. In addition, expression of certain genes, including HOXB3 and HOXB4, is largely restricted to the long‐term culture‐initiating cell enriched pool, containing the putative stem cell population. Studies have also shown that HOX genes appear to be important for normal T lymphocyte and activated natural killer cell function. Overexpression of Hox‐b4 in transplanted murine marrow cells results in a dramatic expansion of stem cells, while maintaining normal peripheral blood counts. In contrast, overexpression of Hox‐a10 resulted in expansion of progenitor pools, accompanied by unique changes in the differentiation patterns of committed progenitors. Overexpression of Hox‐a10 or Hox‐b8 led to the development of myeloid leukemias, while animals transfected with marrow cells overexpressing Hox‐b4 do not appear to develop malignancies. Blockade of HOX gene function using antisense oligonucleotides has revealed that several HOX genes appear to influence either myeloid or erythroid colony formation. Mice homozygous for a targeted disruption of the Hox‐a9 gene show reduced numbers of granulocytes and lymphocytes, smaller spleens and thymuses, and reduced numbers of committed progenitors. These studies demonstrate that HOX homeobox genes play a role in both the early stem cell function as well as in later stages of hematopoietic differentiation, and that perturbations of HOX gene expression can be leukemogenic.
In search of a Monad for system call abstractions

For programmers, Monads are a well-known way to represent an abstract data structure, but without knowing its true nature. Admittedly, the definition of Monads in Category Theory is too subtle and obscure so makes people to avoid from trying to understand them. In this paper, we attempt to explore popular Monads in a purely functional programming language, Haskell, with a Category-theoretic mindset. Starting from the definition of Monads, we describe how they are defined and implemented in Haskell. In particular, we classify Monads by their implementation style, and it turns out that a common fallacy of using Monad metaphors can be understood in this vein. Also, we explain why IO Monad is particularly important in Haskell and what its role is, in a programmer’s perspective. Furthermore, we design a new Monad, called S Monad, in order to represent the system call abstractions, and shed light on a future Haskell OS using S Monad to represent the system call abstractions.