Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feasibility and acceptability of yoga for treatment of hot flushes: A pilot trial

Objective: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of a yoga intervention for the treatment of hot flushes in postmenopausal women. 12 13 Methods: A pilot trial in 14 postmenopausal women experiencing ≥4 moderate to severe hot flushes per day or ≥30 moderate to severe hot flushes per week. The intervention consisted of eight restorative yoga poses taught in a 3-h introductory session and 8 weekly 90-min sessions. Feasibility was measured by recruitment rates, subject retention and adherence. Acceptability was assessed by subject interview and questionnaires. Efficacy measures included change in frequency and severity of hot flushes as recorded on a 7-day diary. 14 15 16 17 18 Results: Recruitment was accomplished as planned. The majority of study subjects (93%) completed the trial. Of those who completed the trial, 92% attended seven or more of the eight yoga sessions. The majority of the subjects were satisfied with the study and 75% continued to practice yoga 3 months after the study. Mean number of hot flushes per week decreased by 29.9% (95% CI 13.2–46.6%) and mean hot flush score decreased 32.8% (95% CI 12.8–52.7%) from baseline to week 8. No adverse events were observed. 19 20 21 22 23 Conclusions: This pilot trial demonstrates that it is feasible to teach restorative yoga to middle-aged women without prior yoga experience. The high rates of subject retention and satisfaction suggest that yoga is an acceptable intervention in this population. Our results indicate that a larger, randomized controlled trial to explore the efficacy of yoga for treatment of menopausal symptoms would be safe and feasible. 24 25 26 27
Chimney Technique for Aortic Arch Pathologies: An 11-Year Single-Center Experience

Purpose To report our single-center experience with the chimney technique for aortic arch pathologies and the mid- to long-term results in these patients. Methods From June 2002 to May 2013, 26 patients (18 men; mean age 71.2 years, 53–86) underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) combined with chimney technique. Indications for treatment were: a proximal landing zone <15 mm long distal to the left subclavian artery (LSA), thoracic aortic aneurysm (n=13), complicated type B aortic dissection (n=10), type I endoleak after previous TEVAR (n=2), and penetrating aortic ulcer (n=1). Treatment was performed in the emergency setting in 7 cases. The 28 chimney stent-grafts (double chimneys in 2 patients) were deployed in the innominate artery (n=7), left common carotid artery (n=10), and LSA (n=11). All patients underwent computed tomography before discharge, at 1, 6, and 12 months, and yearly thereafter. Results Technical success was 100%. One (3.8%) perioperative death was due to a cerebral hemorrhage. No major stroke was registered, but 3 (11.5%) minor strokes occurred (all resolved). Paraparesis developed in 2 (7.7%) patients. Median follow-up was 36.8 months (range 1–131), during which an additional 4 (15.4%) patients died, but only 1 death was aneurysm-related. Chimney graft patency was 89.3% (25/28); an asymptomatic fracture was found in a patent chimney stent-graft at the 18-month follow-up. The type I endoleak rate was 23% (n=6); 3 endoleaks associated with aneurysm sac enlargement were treated. Conclusion The chimney technique for aortic arch pathologies is safe and feasible and may be an option in patients considered at high risk for surgery or who are ineligible for conventional TEVAR, especially in the emergency setting. Concern persists regarding type I endoleak, and long-term follow-up remains mandatory.
Five-Year Prognosis After Endovascular Therapy in Claudicant Patients With Iliofemoral Artery Disease

Purpose To examine the prognosis of patients with intermittent claudication who received treatment with endovascular techniques. Methods A retrospective multicenter study was performed involving 2930 consecutive patients (2307 men; mean age 71.5±8.9 years) with intermittent claudication who underwent an endovascular procedure for a de novo iliofemoral artery lesion. The primary outcome measure was overall survival. The secondary outcomes were freedom from major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE: all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and stroke) and from major adverse cardiovascular and limb events (MACE with repeat revascularization or above-knee amputation of the target limb). Cox multivariate regression analysis of selected baseline characteristics, procedure-related complications, and medication use was performed to determine predictors for all-cause mortality. Positive predictors from this analysis were used to stratify patients into low- (1410, 48.1%), moderate- (1406, 48.0%), and high-risk (114, 3.9%) categories. Results The overall survival rates were 97.2%, 90.8%, and 83.4% at 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively. The cause of death was cardiovascular in 42.8% of cases. Freedom from MACE was 96.7%, 88.6%, and 77.3% at 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively. Cox multivariate regression analysis identified age, dialysis, left ventricular dysfunction, insulin-dependent diabetes, hematoma prolonging hospitalization, coronary artery disease, and superficial femoral plus iliac lesions as positive predictors of all-cause mortality. In the risk stratification analysis, the overall 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in high-risk patients compared to the other groups (90.1% vs. 78.6% vs. 53.5%, p<0.0001). Conclusion The prognosis in patients with intermittent claudication after endovascular therapy was relatively good but extremely poor for the high-risk patient subgroup.
RSR13: Effects on tumor oxygenation and response to therapy

RSR13,[2,4‐[[(3,5‐dimethylanilino) carbonyl]methyl]phenoxy]‐2‐methylpropionic acid], is a new allosteric effector of hemoglobin which causes hemoglobin to off‐load oxygen more readily. Intravenous administration of RSR13 to rats bearing the 13762 mammary carcinoma resulted in a decrease in the hypoxic fraction (percent of pO2 readings <5 mmHg) of the tumor that was dependent upon RSR13 dose and was maximal at 30 min after RSR13 administration. Breathing carbogen (95% oxygen/5% carbon dioxide) along with RSR13 administration markedly increased tumor oxygenation. Intravenous infusion of RSR13 (200 mg/kg) over 60 min resulted in maximal tumor oxygenation at 40 min into the infusion. By 30 min after completion of the infusion, tumor oxygenation had returned to baseline. RSR13 was very modestly cytotoxic to EMT‐6 murine mammary carcinoma cells when administered to tumor‐bearing animals in doses up to 500 mg/kg and was not toxic toward the bone marrow colony forming unit‐granulocyte‐macrophage (CFU‐GM) from the same animals. Administration of RSR13 to animals bearing the Lewis lung carcinoma prior to each fraction of a fractionated radiation therapy regimen resulted in dose modification with dose‐modifying factors up to 1.66. RSR13 administration also resulted in decreased numbers of lung metastases in these same animals. When RSR13 was administered on days 4–18, the modification of fractionated radiation remained the same but the number of lung metastases was decreased further. The combination of RSR13 with chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, 5‐fluorouracil, or cis‐diamminedichloroplatinum II) resulted in 1.2–1.5‐fold increases in the response of the primary tumor and marked decreases in lung metastases. In animals bearing the MB‐49 bladder carcinoma, administration of RSR13 resulted in increased responses to both fractionated radiation therapy and chemotherapy and marked decreases in lung metastases. RSR13 was effective in decreasing the number of lung colonies formed by intravenously injected tumor cells if administered on the day prior to, on the same day as, or on the day after the tumor cells. Further investigation of this interesting new drug is warranted. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Kinematic and kinetic analysis of “la marche à petits pas” *

To better understand “la marche à petits pas”, we focused on ground reactions forces, a key interface between muscular activity and gait kinematics. Computerized recordings were used to measure kinematic and kinetic variables in 11 patients aged between 65 and 84 years and 13 control subjects aged between 65 and 86 years. Kinematics was studied with an ELITE 3D motion analysis system. Anteroposterior and vertical reaction forces were measured under each foot with three force platforms. Free gait and gait with comparable stride lengths in the patients and the control subjects were analysed. Patients displayed higher vertical displacements of toes, ankle, and knee during gait and difficulty in initiating and maintaining rhythmic stepping. In patients, the amplitude and direction of anteroposterior forces were impaired under the starting foot and under both feet during gait. Their vertical forces were weaker and less symmetrical than in control subjects at the start and while walking. Short stride lengths, high vertical foot displacements and laborious rhythm installation seem to be due to perturbations observed in amplitude and regularity of the time course in both vertical and anteroposterior ground reaction forces.
Analysis of back gate and gate all around CNTFET structure

Current CMOS technology has put forth many challenges like scaling issues, short channel effects, etc. The various remedies proposed to solve these include the use of strained silicon, silicon on insulator structure, double, tri-gate and Gate All around structures for CMOS, use of Graphene and Carbon Nanotube (CNT) devices, quantum cellular automata etc. Among these solutions, CNT technology can be the most promising technology due to its remarkable electronic and mechanical properties. Also the structural development in carbon nanotube field effect transistor (CNTFET) shows improvements. This paper shows that Gate All Around structure (GAA) shows improved characteristics like transconductance, capacitance, etc. as compared to Back gate structure.
Helping Patients Make and Sustain Healthy Changes: A Brief Introduction to Motivational Interviewing in Clinical Diabetes Care

D iabetes self-management refers to the full range of activities (or “behaviors”) in which patients care for their illness and promote their health. The three broad self-management tasks include 1 ) managing the disease (taking medications, following a diet, engaging in physical activity, self-monitoring); 2 ) maintaining one's daily life while living with chronic illness; and 3 ) dealing with emotional aspects of the disease, such as anger, fear, frustration, and depression.1,2 There is consensus on the key preconditions for effective diabetes self-management. These include 1 ) sufficient knowledge of the condition and its treatment; 2 ) skills to manage the condition and to maintain functioning (ability to identify problems, barriers, and supports and to generate solutions); 3 ) internal, or autonomous, motivation (belief in treatment effectiveness and its relevance to one's goals, values, and priorities);3,4 4 ) confidence in one's ability to successfully execute specific tasks (self-efficacy);5 5 ) adequate environmental support to initiate and sustain behavioral changes (assistance to overcome obstacles, reminders, encouragement, and support from valued people at appropriate times and places); and 6 ) effective affect management (coping with possible depression and other emotional responses to living with diabetes). 2,6 Primary care providers can play a key role in multiple ways to help their patients manage their condition, offering informational (therapeutic advice, education), behavioral (realistic self-management goals), emotional (empathy, acceptance, assessment and treatment of depression, recommendation for support groups), and tangible (insulin, test strips) support.7 Many physicians, however, are more comfortable in their role providing information and education than they are providing emotional support and facilitating behavioral changes.8 Although knowledge and information are necessary for patients to manage their disease effectively, they are not sufficient to motivate them to make and sustain behavior changes.9,10 As Robert M. Anderson, PhD, an internationally recognized diabetes …
The national guidelines on physical activity for Ireland

The guidelines begin the process of setting national policy on physical activity in Ireland in terms of health, education, environment, sport and transport. According to the World Health Organisation, physical activity “interacts positively with strategies to improve diet, discourages the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs, helps reduce violence, enhances functional capacity and promotes social interaction and integration. ” (WHO, 2003) The steering group reviewed international research (see page 25) and consulted with professionals in Ireland, Australia, the US and the UK (see page 26), to ensure that the guidelines reflect the international expertise and evidence which support the importance of physical activity for people’s health.
Immune system

As humans move from the natural environment in which we evolved into modern urban settings, there are striking increases in chronic inflammatory and psychiatric disorders. To understand and eventually take control of this phenomenon we have to understand how humans, and in particular our immune systems, evolved in partnership with microorganisms in the environment and in our own bodies. Humans are holobionts, composed of human cells containing the human genome passed on via the germline, but also a much larger number of microbial cells acquired from mother, family members, and the environment. This microbiota provides signals involved in the development of essentially all organ systems, including the brain, and provides data and signals that regulate metabolism and the immune system. The immune system evolved to perform the dual functions of managing this microbiota, while simultaneously protecting us from pathogens. By considering the evolution of the immune system and the ways in which lifestyle changes have altered our exposures to, and colonisation by microorganisms, we can identify the crucial factors leading to the modern urban pattern of disease.
Selective organ preservation for the treatment of muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder: a review of current and future perspectives

Radical treatment remains underutilized for those with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Radical radiotherapy, in particular, continues to be perceived by many as reserved only for patients unfit for cystectomy. However, with concurrent use of radiosensitizers, radiotherapy can achieve excellent local control and survival comparable to modern surgical series, thus presenting a real alternative to surgery. The possibility of further enhancing patient outcome is likely to come from both advances in radiotherapy treatment delivery and appropriate candidate selection. Growing evidence from selective bladder preservation trials demonstrate long term survival with functional organ preservation. In the era of personalized medicine, we review the evidence supporting an individualized treatment approach, in particular case selection for radical radiotherapy.
Preventing Traffic Injuries: Strategies That Work

Motor vehicle crashes result in more than 40 000 deaths and 4.3 million nonfatal injuries annually. Many known effective strategies to address these preventable deaths and injuries are closely related to lifestyle factors. Clinicians can play a large part in supporting effective interventions in their practice, for example, by counseling patients about seat belt use. Clinicians can also have an impact in their community by supporting positive public policy change.
Social networking as a vehicle to foster cross-cultural awareness

The growth of online social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, and Linked-In has transformed the way in which individuals establish and maintain relationships for both business and entertainment. In this paper we present the analysis of a similar online social network that was used to foster cross-cultural awareness among users ages 14--17. The social network provided students across the globe with an environment to establish online identities, explore their own culture and the culture of peers who were located in three different countries. We make recommendations to network designers to reconsider friendship metaphors, work within existing network tools, and replace text as the default medium in communication.
Predicting cardiovascular risk using conventional vs ambulatory blood pressure in older patients with systolic hypertension.

ContextThe clinical use of ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring requires further validation in prospective outcome studies.ObjectiveTo compare the prognostic significance of conventional and ambulatory BP measurement in older patients with isolated systolic hypertension.DesignSubstudy to the double-blind placebo-controlled Systolic Hypertension in Europe (Syst-Eur) Trial, started in October 1988 with follow up to February 1999. The conventional BP at randomization was the mean of 6 readings (2 measurements in the sitting position at 3 visits 1 month apart). The baseline ambulatory BP was recorded with a noninvasive intermittent technique.SettingFamily practices and outpatient clinics at primary and secondary referral hospitals.ParticipantsA total of 808 older (aged ≥60 years) patients whose untreated BP level on conventional measurement at baseline was 160 to 219 mm Hg systolic and less than 95 mm Hg diastolic.InterventionsFor the overall study, patients were randomized to nitrendipine (n=415; 10-40 mg/d) with the possible addition of enalapril (5-20 mg/d) and/or hydrochlorothiazide (12.5-25.0 mg/d) or to matching placebos (n=393). Main Outcome MeasuresTotal and cardiovascular mortality, all cardiovascular end points, fatal and nonfatal stroke, and fatal and nonfatal cardiac end points.ResultsAfter adjusting for sex, age, previous cardiovascular complications, smoking, and residence in western Europe, a 10-mm Hg higher conventional systolic BP at randomization was not associated with a worse prognosis, whereas in the placebo group, a 10-mm Hg higher 24-hour BP was associated with an increased relative hazard rate (HR) of most outcome measures (eg, HR, 1.23 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.00-1.50] for total mortality and 1.34 [95% CI, 1.03-1.75] for cardiovascular mortality). In the placebo group, the nighttime systolic BP (12 AM-6 AM) more accurately predicted end points than the daytime level. Cardiovascular risk increased with a higher night-to-day ratio of systolic BP independent of the 24-hour BP (10% increase in night-to-day ratio; HR for all cardiovascular end points, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.03-1.94). At randomization, the cardiovascular risk conferred by a conventional systolic BP of 160 mm Hg was similar to that associated with a 24-hour daytime or nighttime systolic BP of 142 mm Hg (95% CI, 128-156 mm Hg), 145 mm Hg (95% CI, 126-164 mm Hg) or 132 mm Hg (95% CI, 120-145 mm Hg), respectively. In the active treatment group, systolic BP at randomization did not significantly predict cardiovascular risk, regardless of the technique of BP measurement.ConclusionsIn untreated older patients with isolated systolic hypertension, ambulatory systolic BP was a significant predictor of cardiovascular risk over and above conventional BP.
Rolapitant for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting is a significant clinical issue which affects patient’s quality of life and treatment decisions. Significant improvements in the control of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting have occurred in the past 15 years with the introduction of new antiemetic agents 5-HT3, receptor antagonists, neurokinin-1 (NK-1) receptor antagonists, and olanzapine. Aprepitant was the first NK-1 receptor antagonist introduced (2003) for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in combination with a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist and dexamethasone. A second NK-1 receptor antagonist netupitant was approved for use in October 2014. Phase III clinical trials of an additional NK-1 receptor antagonist rolapitant have been completed, and the data have been submitted for regulatory approval. A description of rolapitant and its role in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting will be presented, along with a comparison of the other neurolinin-1 receptor antagonists aprepitant and netupitant.
Native T1 Relaxation Time and Extracellular Volume Fraction as Accurate Markers of Diffuse Myocardial Fibrosis in Heart Valve Disease　- Comparison With Targeted Left Ventricular Myocardial Biopsy.

BACKGROUND The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between the cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-derived native T1 relaxation time and myocardial extracellular volume (ECV) fraction and the extent of diffuse myocardial fibrosis (DMF) on targeted myocardial left ventricular (LV) biopsy. METHODSANDRESULTS The study population consisted of 40 patients (age 63±8 years, 65% male) undergoing valve and/or ascending aorta surgery for severe aortic stenosis (77.5%), root dilatation (7.5%) or valve regurgitation (15%). The T1 relaxation time was assessed in the basal interventricular septum pre- and 10-min post-contrast administration using the modified Look-Locker Inversion recovery sequence prior to surgery. LV myocardial biopsy specimen was obtained during surgery from the basal interventricular septal segment matched with the T1 mapping assessment. The percentage of myocardial collagen was quantified using picrosirius red staining. The average percentage of myocardial collagen was 22.0±14.8%. Both native T1 relaxation time with cutoff value ≥1,010 ms (sensitivity=90%, specificity=73%, area under the curve=0.82) and ECV with cutoff value ≥0.32 (sensitivity=80%, specificity=90%, area under the curve=0.85) showed high accuracy to identify severe (>30%) DMF. The native T1 relaxation time showed significant correlation with LV mass (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Native T1 relaxation time and ECV at 10 min after contrast administration are accurate markers of DMF. (Circ J 2016; 80: 1202-1209).
Nivolumab for the treatment of classical Hodgkin lymphoma after failure of autologous stem cell transplant and brentuximab

Cancer cells are able to escape surveillance from the immune system by co-opting physiologic mechanisms such as the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) receptor pathway. Agents able to block the interaction between the PD-1 receptor and its ligands have the potential to release T cells from tumor-induced suppression and eradicate malignant cells. Nivolumab – a PD-1 inhibitor – is approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma and lung cancer. This agent has been tested in patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and showed impressive results in a phase I trial. Here we review the profile of Nivolumab including its pharmacological properties, clinical efficacy and safety in patients with advanced classical HL.