Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The attitudes of health care staff to information technology: a comprehensive review of the research literature.

OBJECTIVES What does the publicly available literature tell us about the attitudes of health care staff to the development of information technology in practice, including the factors which influence them and the factors which may be used to change these attitudes? METHODS Twelve databases were searched for literature published between 2000 and 2005 that identified research related to information technology (IT), health professionals and attitude. English language studies were included which described primary research relating to the attitudes of one or more health care staff groups towards IT. Letters, personal viewpoints, reflections and opinion pieces were not included. RESULTS Complex factors contribute to the formation of attitudes towards IT. Many of the issues identified were around the flexibility of the systems and whether they were 'fit for purpose', along with the confidence and experience of the IT users. The literature suggests that attitudes of practitioners are a significant factor in the acceptance and efficiency of use of IT in practice. The literature also suggested that education and training was a factor for encouraging the use of IT systems. CONCLUSIONS A range of key issues, such as the need for flexibility and usability, appropriate education and training and the need for the software to be 'fit for purpose', showed that organizations need to plan carefully when proposing the introduction of IT-based systems into work practices. The studies reviewed did suggest that attitudes of health care professionals can be a significant factor in the acceptance and efficiency of use of IT in practice. Further qualitative and quantitative research is needed into the approaches that have most effect on the attitudes of health care staff towards IT.
Tracking the Total CD8 T Cell Response to Infection Reveals Substantial Discordance in Magnitude and Kinetics between Inbred and Outbred Hosts1

Determining the magnitude and kinetics, together with the phenotypic and functional characteristics of responding CD8 T cells, is critical for understanding the regulation of adaptive immunity as well as in evaluating vaccine candidates. Recent technical advances have allowed tracking of some CD8 T cells responding to infection, and a body of information now exists describing phenotypic changes that occur in CD8 T cells of known Ag-specificity during their activation, expansion, and memory generation in inbred mice. In this study, we demonstrate that Ag but not inflammation-driven changes in expression of CD11a and CD8α can be used to distinguish naive from Ag-experienced (effector and memory) CD8 T cells after infection or vaccination. Interestingly and in contrast to inbred mice, tracking polyclonal CD8 T cell responses with this approach after bacterial and viral infections revealed substantial discordance in the magnitude and kinetics of CD8 T cell responses in outbred hosts. These data reveal limitations to the use of inbred mouse strains as preclinical models at vaccine development and suggest the same dose of infection or vaccination can lead to substantial differences in the magnitude and timing of Ag-specific CD8 expansion as well in differences in protective memory CD8 T cell numbers in outbred individuals. This concept has direct relevance to development of vaccines in outbred humans.
Vascular response to everolimus- and biolimus-eluting coronary stents versus everolimus-eluting bioresorbable scaffolds--an optical coherence tomography substudy of the EVERBIO II trial.

QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY Head-to-head optical coherence tomography (OCT) data comparing metallic stents with bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) are lacking. This study assessed vascular healing at 9-month follow-up after implantation of everolimus- and biolimus-eluting stents (EES; BES) and everolimus-eluting BVS. METHODS OCT was performed in 74 patients enrolled in the EVERBIO II (NCT01711931) trial (23 with EES: 26 lesions, 7 625 struts; 23 with BES: 26 lesions, 6 140 struts; 28 with BVS: 33 lesions, 10 891 struts). OCT images were acquired using the pullback and nonocclusive flushing technique and analysed offline. RESULTS BVS demonstrated fewer uncovered struts per patient (12 ± 27 [3.8 ± 8.4%] vs 59 ± 55 [21.8 ± 13.7%] in the EES&BES group, p <0.001), and thicker neointimal hyperplasia (BVS 102 ± 44 µm vs EES&BES 66 ± 36 µm, p <0.01). There was no significant difference with regard to malapposed struts (2.1 ± 2.7% in the BVS vs 4.4 ± 8.8% in the EES&BES group, p = 0.41). In a predefined signal intensity scale, quantitative analysis of the "key component" (black) revealed lower intensity in BVS than EES&BES (14 ± 23% vs 13 ± 12%, p = 0.007). Intensity was lower in polylactide-containing stents (BVS&BES) than in EES (15 ± 19% vs 10 ± 10%, p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS BVS has fewer uncovered struts and presents with a thicker neointimal coverage compared with EES&BES. It is not known whether this improved capping correlates with superior vascular healing. Polylactide-containing stents (BVS and BES) demonstrate lower peristrut intensity compared with EES.
Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis andNeisseria gonorrhoeae by Enzyme Immunoassay, Culture, and Three Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare three commercially available nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) for the detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis. Roche PCR and Becton Dickinson strand displacement amplification (SDA) were performed on 733 endocervical swab specimens from commercial sex workers. Abbott ligase chain reaction (LCR) was performed on a subset of 396 samples. Endocervical specimens from all women were also tested by culture for N. gonorrhoeae and by Syva MicroTrak enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for C. trachomatis. A positive N. gonorrhoeae result was defined as a positive result by culture or by two NAATs, and a positive C. trachomatis result was defined as a positive result by two tests. According to these definitions, the sensitivities and specificities for the subsample of 396 specimens of N. gonorrhoeae culture, PCR, SDA, and LCR were 69.8, 95.2, 88.9, and 88.9% and 100, 99.4, 100, and 99.1%, respectively; the sensitivities and specificities ofC. trachomatis EIA, PCR, SDA, and LCR were 42.0, 98.0, 94.0, and 90.0% and 100, 98.0, 100, and 98.6%, respectively. The performance characteristics of N. gonorrhoeae culture, PCR, and SDA and C. trachomatis EIA, PCR, and SDA for all 733 specimens were defined without inclusion of LCR results and by discrepant analysis after resolution of discordant N. gonorrhoeae PCR results and of discordant C. trachomatis EIA and PCR results by LCR testing. The sensitivities of N. gonorrhoeae culture, PCR, and SDA before and after LCR resolution were 67.8, 95.7, and 93.9% and 65, 95.8, and 90.0%, respectively. The sensitivities of C. trachomatis EIA, PCR, and SDA decreased from 39.4, 100, and 100% to 38.7, 98.7, and 94.7%, respectively. All three NAATs proved to be superior to N. gonorrhoeae culture and to C. trachomatis EIA. The accuracies of the different NAATs were quite similar. SDA was the only amplification assay with 100% specificity for detection of bothN. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis in endocervical specimens.
Metformin, an Antidiabetic Agent, Suppresses the Production of Tumor Necrosis Factor and Tissue Factor by Inhibiting Early Growth Response Factor-1 Expression in Human Monocytes in Vitro

Metformin, an antidiabetic agent, has been shown to reduce atherothrombotic disease in diabetic patients independent of antihyperglycemic effect. Recent studies have demonstrated that metformin attenuates the proinflammatory responses in human vascular wall cells and macrophages. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying these therapeutic effects remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effects of metformin on tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production and tissue factor (TF) expression in isolated human monocytes stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL). Metformin significantly inhibited both TNF production and TF expression in isolated human monocytes stimulated with LPS or oxLDL. Metformin also significantly inhibited TNF and TF mRNA in human monocytes stimulated with LPS. Although metformin did not inhibit the activation of either nuclear factor-κB or activator protein-1, it inhibited the expression of early growth response factor-1 (Egr-1) and phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) 1/2 in monocytes stimulated with LPS or oxLDL. These results suggest that metformin may attenuate the inflammatory responses, at least in part, by suppressing the production of both TNF and TF through the inhibition of the ERK1/2-Egr-1 pathway in human monocytes.
Analysis of motor skills for throwing darts: Measurement of release timing

Recently, measurement, analysis, and modeling of human motor functions have been intensively studied, because motor skills are useful for various applications, such as digital archiving, sports training, and rehabilitation. Targeting these practical applications, we focused on the throwing darts motion, which requires sophisticated control of the upper arm to realize precise throwing. In our previous research, we confirmed that both motion trajectories and muscle activities of experts become more stable during the throwing motion. However, we did not examine release timing, which is a significant factor for dart control. In this paper, we investigated the relationships among motion trajectories, muscle activities, and precision of the throwing darts motion from the viewpoint of release timing. To precisely measure release timing, we developed a measuring apparatus. Experimental results showed that skilled subjects demonstrated high stability of both motion trajectories and muscle activities, particularly before release timing. It was confirmed that the skilled subjects tried to reduce the degree of freedom of their upper arms to keep their throwing motion trajectories stable at this phase. In addition, it was suggested that the motion trajectory, release timing, and the muscle activity were optimized in this order as the throwing precision improved.
The Ewing family of tumors--a subgroup of small-round-cell tumors defined by specific chimeric transcripts.

BACKGROUND Precise diagnosis of small-round-cell tumors is often a challenge to the pathologist and the clinical oncologist. In Ewing's sarcomas and related peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors, a t(11;22) translocation or a (21,22) rearrangement is associated with hybrid transcripts of the EWS gene with the FLI1 or ERG gene. To investigate the diagnostic implication of this observation, we searched for these hybrid transcripts in tumors from patients with clinical and radiologic features of Ewing's sarcoma or peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors. METHODS Samples of RNA from 114 tumors were reverse transcribed and subjected to the polymerase chain reaction with primers designed to amplify the relevant chimeric transcripts. All amplified products were sequenced. RESULTS In-frame hybrid transcripts were observed in 89 cases. A hybrid transcript was found in 83 of 87 cases (95 percent) of Ewing's sarcoma or peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors. Samples of RNA from all of 12 tumors that had been proved to be other than Ewing's sarcoma or neuroectodermal tumors had no hybrid transcript. However, 6 of 15 undifferentiated tumors whose type was ambiguous (nonsecreting, poorly differentiated neuroblastoma or undifferentiated sarcoma) contained a hybrid transcript, suggesting that they might have to be reclassified. CONCLUSIONS A subgroup of small-round-cell tumors identified as belonging to the Ewing family of tumors can be defined according to a specific molecular genetic lesion that is detectable by a rapid, reliable, and efficient method. This approach can be applied to small specimens obtained by fine-needle biopsies.
Multiplication of antenna genes as a major adaptation to low light in a marine prokaryote.

Two ecotypes of the prokaryote Prochlorococcus adapted to distinct light niches in the ocean have been described recently. These ecotypes are characterized by their different (divinyl-) chlorophyll (Chl) a to Chl b ratios and 16S rRNA gene signatures, as well as by their significantly distinct irradiance optima for growth and photosynthesis [Moore, L. R. , Rocap, G. & Chisholm, S. W. (1998) Nature (London) 393, 464-467]. However, the molecular basis of their physiological differences remained, so far, unexplained. In this paper, we show that the low-light-adapted Prochlorococcus strain SS120 possesses a gene family of seven transcribed genes encoding different Chl a/b-binding proteins (Pcbs). In contrast, Prochlorococcus sp. MED4, a high-light-adapted ecotype, possesses a single pcb gene. The presence of multiple antenna genes in another low-light ecotype (NATL2a), but not in another high-light ecotype (TAK9803-2), is demonstrated. Thus, the multiplication of pcb genes appears as a key factor in the capacity of deep Prochlorococcus populations to survive at extremely low photon fluxes.
Antennas and propagation for on-body communication systems

On-body communication channels are of increasing interest for a number of applications, such as medical-sensor networks, emergency-service workers, and personal communications. This paper describes investigations into channel characterization and antenna performance at 2.45 GHz. It is shown that significant channel fading occurs during normal activity, due primarily to the dynamic nature of the human body, but also due to multipath around the body and from scattering by the environment. This fading can be mitigated by the use of antenna diversity, and gains of up to 10 dB are obtained. Separation of the antenna's performance from the channel characteristics is difficult, but results show that for many channels, an antenna polarized normal to the body's surface gives the best path gain. Simulation and modeling present many challenges, particularly in terms of the problem's scale, and the need for accurate modeling of the body and its movement.
Differential regulation of intestinal efflux transporters by pregnancy in mice

Abstract 1. In the intestines, the nuclear receptors farnesoid X receptor (Fxr) and pregnane X receptor (Pxr) regulate the transcription of metabolizing enzymes and transporters that dictate the absorption of nutrients and xenobiotics. 2. Here, we sought to determine whether Fxr and Pxr signaling pathways are disrupted in response to high-circulating concentrations of steroid hormones late in pregnancy leading to altered transporter expression. To test this, ileum were collected from virgin and pregnant C57BL/6 mice on gestation days 14, 17 and 19. 3. Ileum from pregnant mice exhibited suppression of Fgf15 and Cyp3a11 mRNAs, which are the prototypical target genes for Fxr and Pxr, respectively. An overall reduction in the expression of apical efflux transporters, including Mdr1, Mrp2 and Bcrp, was observed in pregnant mice. To assess the ability of steroid hormones to alter intestinal nuclear receptor signaling, transporter mRNA expression was quantified in human intestinal LS174T adenocarcinoma cells. In vitro data demonstrated that progestins reduced CYP3A4, MDR1 and MRP2 mRNA expression by 30–40%. 4. These data suggest that progesterone may act as a mediator to negatively regulate efflux transporter expression in the mouse ileum during pregnancy possibly by reducing PXR/Pxr signaling. This may affect drug absorption and disposition during pregnancy.
An Efficient Data Structure for Mining Generalized Association Rules

The goal of this paper is to use an efficient data structure to improve our earlier research. In the earlier research, we attempted to find the generalized association rules between the items at different levels in the taxonomy tree under the assumption that the original frequent itemsets and association rules were generated in advance. In the paper, we proposed an efficient data structure called a frequent closed enumeration table (FCET) to store the relevant information using a well-known algorithm. It stores only maximal itemsets, and can be used to derive the information of the subset itemsets in a maximal itemset through a hash function. From experimental results, we found that the combinations of FCET and the hash function not only save spaces, but also speed up producing the generalized association rules.
Interaction and domain networks of yeast

Data of currently available protein‐protein interaction sets and protein domain sets of yeast are used to set up protein and domain interaction and domain sequence networks. All of them are far from being random or regular networks. In fact, they turn out to be sparse and locally well clustered indicating so‐called scale‐free and partially small‐world topology. These subtle topologies display considerable indirect properties which are measured with a newly introduced transitivity coefficient. Fairly small sets of highly connected proteins and domains shape the topologies of the underlying networks, emphasizing a kind of backbone the nets are based on. The biological nature of these particular nodes is further investigated. Since highly connected proteins and domains accumulated a significant higher number of links by their important involvement in certain cellular aspects, their mutational effect on the cell is considered by a perturbation analysis. In comparison to domains of yeast, what factors force domains to accumulate links to other domains in protein sequences of higher eukaryotes are investigated.
Viral and host factors in the prediction of response to interferon‐α therapy in chronic hepatitis C after long‐term follow‐up

Acute infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) develops into a chronic hepatitis in about 50–70% of patients. Treatment of these patients with interferon‐α (IFN‐α) results in a sustained long‐term response in only 15–20% but causes numerous unwanted side‐effects in a higher percentage of patients. The aim of our study was to define host or viral parameters that would allow identification of responders and non‐responders to IFN‐α prior to the onset of treatment. We studied a group of 87 patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C who were treated with IFN‐α. After long‐term follow‐up, 18 patients (21%) showed a sustained response to IFN‐α therapy (normalization of serum transaminases and loss of viral RNA from serum) for up to 7 years after therapy had ceased. By univariate and multivariate analyses, no host factors were found to be predictive of response to therapy. Neither the degree of inflammation or fibrosis in liver biopsy samples obtained before treatment nor immunogenetic factors (major histocompatibility complex II haplotype and tumour necrosis factor‐α promoter polymorphism) were associated with response to therapy. In contrast, viral parameters showed a strong association with response to therapy. HCV genotype 3 was found significantly more frequently in responders (P = 0.034), and mean HCV RNA concentration was lower in responders (3.1 × 104) than in non‐responders (2.5 × 105) (P = 0.01). By multivariate analysis, both HCV genotype and HCV RNA concentration were independent predictors of response to therapy. However, exact prediction of response to treatment for an individual patient was not possible on the basis of pretreatment viral RNA concentration or viral genotype. The best association with response to therapy was found to be clearance of HCV RNA from serum 3 months after the start of treatment (32 of 34 partial and sustained responders vs 0 of 53 non‐responders; P = 0.001). In conclusion, determination of pretreatment viral factors, but not host factors, was significantly correlated with treatment response but did not give an accurate prediction for patients, whereas clearance of HCV RNA from serum after 3 months of therapy was predictive of response to therapy.
Baridi: A Culture-Bound Syndrome Among the Bena Peoples in Tanzania

The aim of this ethnographic study is to describe baridi, a culture-bound syndrome of the Bena peoples in the village of Ilembula, Tanzania. The data were collected through open-ended interviews (n = 49), observation and personal field diary, and analyzed by qualitative content analysis. The findings showed that baridi, emotional coldness, was a slowly progressing condition. It started with mild symptoms, such as feeling cold, tired and sick. Later, it influenced the sufferer’s physical, mental, social, sexual, and economical well being. Treatment of baridi was based on identification of the cause, asking for forgiveness and sharing a ritual confirming family unity. Prevention of baridi required respect of the elderly and familial norms. The findings may advance professional understanding of cultural knowledge by demonstrating how sociocultural conditions produce variations in health.
Disentangling Pooled Triad Genotypes for Association Studies

Association studies that genotype affected offspring and their parents (triads) offer robustness to genetic population structure while enabling assessments of maternal effects, parent‐of‐origin effects, and gene‐by‐environment interaction. We propose case‐parents designs that use pooled DNA specimens to make economical use of limited available specimens. One can markedly reduce the number of genotyping assays required by randomly partitioning the case‐parent triads into pooling sets of h triads each and creating three pools from every pooling set, one pool each for mothers, fathers, and offspring. Maximum‐likelihood estimation of relative risk parameters proceeds via log‐linear modeling using the expectation‐maximization algorithm. The approach can assess offspring and maternal genetic effects and accommodate genotyping errors and missing genotypes. We compare the power of our proposed analysis for testing offspring and maternal genetic effects to that based on a difference approach and that of the gold standard based on individual genotypes, under a range of allele frequencies, missing parent proportions, and genotyping error rates. Power calculations show that the pooling strategies cause only modest reductions in power if genotyping errors are low, while reducing genotyping costs and conserving limited specimens.
The multiple roles of the cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitory protein p57KIP2 in cerebral cortical neurogenesis

The members of the CIP/KIP family of cyclin‐dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitory proteins (CKIs), including p57KIP2, p27KIP1, and p21CIP1, block the progression of the cell cycle by binding and inhibiting cyclin/CDK complexes of the G1 phase. In addition to this well‐characterized function, p57KIP2 and p27KIP1 have been shown to participate in an increasing number of other important cellular processes including cell fate and differentiation, cell motility and migration, and cell death/survival, both in peripheral and central nervous systems. Increasing evidence over the past few years has characterized the functions of the newest CIP/KIP member p57KIP2 in orchestrating cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration during neurogenesis. Here, we focus our discussion on the multiple roles played by p57KIP2 during cortical development, making comparisons to p27KIP1 as well as the INK4 family of CKIs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 72: 821–842, 2012