Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The value of prophylactic antibiotics during the insertion of long‐term indwelling silastic right atrial catheters in cancer patients

Over a 3.5 year period from August 1982 to December 1985, 200 Hickman catheters (Evermed, Medina, WA) were inserted into patients at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. One hundred sixty catheters were placed in patients with malignant disease, many of whom were immunosuppressed at the time of catheter insertion. Seventy of 160 (44%) patients received prophylactic antibiotics and 90 (56%) did not. The mean age of each group was 23 years (range, 2 to 70 years), and the patients in each group were statistically similar in sex, underlying disease, and routine preoperative hematologic and biochemical evaluation. Exit‐site wound infections occurred in 50 of 90 (55.5%) patients who did not receive prophylaxis and in 12 of 70 (17%) patients who received prophylaxis (P < 0.0001). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of tunnel and incision site infections. The mean duration of antibiotic prophylaxis was 2.9 days (SD, 1.2 days) Organisms cultured from catheter associated infections, included Staphylococcus epidermidis 36, S. aureus 30, Klebsiella pneumoniae 1, Pseudomonas aeruginosa 3, Eschericia coli 1, and diphtheroids non‐CDC‐JK 3. Vancomycin was used as antibiotic prophylaxis in 64 patients, Kefzol (Eli Lilly, Indianapolis, IN) in one, oxacillin in three, nafcillin in one, and Septra (Burroughs Wellcome, Research Triangle Park, NC) in one. The data indicate that the use of intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis significantly reduces exit site infection and may reduce both tunnel and incision site infection. Prophylactic antibiotic coverage should be provided to patients during insertion of long‐term indwelling right atrial catheters.
Immunotherapy of human cervical high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia with microparticle-delivered human papillomavirus 16 E7 plasmid DNA.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of the administration of a bacterial expression plasmid encoding a 13 amino acid sequence that is highly homologous with human papillomavirus E7 within poly (lactide-co-glycolide) microparticles (ZYC101) in women with HLA A2+ antigen and persistent cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3 and human papillomavirus 16. STUDY DESIGN Fifteen women entered an institutional review board-approved dose-escalating phase I study with the use of three levels of blood monitoring and urine studies, Papanicolaou tests, and colposcopy. Escalation required no serious adverse events. Immunologic responses were evaluated in peripheral blood with the use of human papillomavirus peptide-stimulated interferon gamma enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for T-cell reactivity. In cervical secretions, immunoglobulin A anti-human papillomavirus 16 E2 concentrations were measured. Three doses every 3 weeks were followed 4 weeks later by surgical excision. RESULTS No serious adverse events occurred. Five women had complete histologic responses; 11 women had human papillomavirus-specific T-cell responses. Four of five complete histologic responses developed immunoglobulin A anti-E2-specific antibody. CONCLUSION ZYC101 warrants further investigation because of a 33% complete histologic responses, a 73% immunologic response, and no serious adverse events.
Mixed H2/H∞ output-feedback control for stochastic discrete-time systems

The paper deals with the finite-horizon mixed H<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>infin</sub> output-feedback control of the discrete-time stochastic systems with multiplicative noise.It is shown that the H<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>infin</sub> output-feedback control of the discrete-time stochastic systems is equivalent to solving six coupled matrix-valued Riccati equations. The output feedback control has many applications in practice, and the proposed approach can be further used to deal with many problems such as infinite-horizon mixed H<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>infin</sub> control and the mixed H<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>infin</sub> control for stochastic time-delayed systems.
Current Status of Reliability in Extended and Beyond CMOS Devices

In the history of electronics, solid-state materials replaced the vacuum parts to reduce power consumption and to obtain better reliability at a reduced cost. The size of solid-state transistors continued to reduce since its introduction, and currently, we have transistors with dimensions on the order of ~10 nm. This downscaling of transistor dimension accompanied with proportionate changes in supply voltage so that the overall power consumption stays below a tolerable limit. The situation dramatically changed when requirements of proper electrostatic control over the entire length of the transistor and its reliable operation stopped supply voltage scaling, increased OFF-state leakage, and hence caused exponential increase in power consumption. The introduction of a high-κ gate dielectric and then a multiple/ surround gate within the CMOS architecture have improved the situation, but still have not provided the complete solution for the future. For future electronic devices, we need switches with extremely low OFF-state leakage, small supply voltage, and high-drive current without compromising the yield and reliability currently available in modern-day nanoscale transistors. The available options are based on extensions of current CMOS transistors by using nanowires, III-V compounds, carbon nanomaterials, transition metal dichalcogenides as channel, ferroelectrics as dielectric, and ferromagnets as source/drain. On the other hand, device architectures that are completely different from conventional CMOS (so-called beyond CMOS devices) such as tunnel transistors, nanoelectromechanical devices, and impact ionization transistors are also under consideration for future electronics. The performance of many of these beyond CMOS devices is yet to be comparable to that obtained in the current-day CMOS transistors. In addition, many of these proposed devices have a number of classical and some novel reliability concerns. This review article presents reliability concerns for a set of extended and beyond CMOS devices and shows that defects in different parts of these devices require detailed study to ensure their usability in electronics industry. Therefore, in addition to the current ongoing research to obtain better performance using the proposed devices, a parallel reliability analysis is also needed. This kind of early-stage reliability analysis may reveal whether any reliability concern is intrinsically related to the device design-hence suggests us to look for alternative device concepts for future CMOS.
Novel blood test to predict neoplastic activity in healthy patients and metastatic recurrence after primary tumor resection

We reported that single oncosuppressor-mutated (SOM) cells turn malignant when exposed to cancer patients’ sera. We tested the possibility to incorporate this discovery into a biological platform able to detect cancer in healthy individuals and to predict metastases after tumor resection. Blood was drawn prior to tumor resection and within a year after surgery. Blood samples from healthy individuals or metastatic patients were used as negative and positive controls, respectively. Patients at risk for cancer were included in the screening cohort. Once treated, cells were injected into nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency mice to monitor tumor growth. All samples of sera coming from metastatic patients transformed SOM cells into malignant cells. Four samples from screened patients transformed SOM cells. Further clinical tests done on these patients showed the presence of early cancerous lesions despite normal tumor markers. Based on the xenotransplants size, we were able to predict metastasis in three patients before diagnostic tests confirmed the presence of the metastatic lesions. These data show that this serum-based platform has potentials to be used for cancer screening and for identification of patients at risks to develop metastases regardless of the Tumor Node Metastasis (TNM) stage or tumor markers level.
Clinical and imaging features of autoimmune pancreatitis with focal pancreatic swelling or mass formation: comparison with so-called tumor-forming pancreatitis and pancreatic carcinoma

OBJECTIVES:Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) with a mass formation or swollen pancreas located in one or two segments of the gland (focal type AIP) has been reported. The aims of this study were to elucidate the relationship of the disease entity between this focal variant and so-called tumor-forming pancreatitis (TFP) and to describe the clinical and imaging features discriminating focal AIP from pancreatic carcinoma (Pca). METHODS:The clinical, radiologic, and pathologic profiles of nine patients with focal AIP were reviewed retrospectively and compared with those of 11 patients with alcohol-induced TFP and 80 patients with Pca.RESULTS:The patients with focal AIP were predominantly older (mean age 64.7 ± 13.6 yr, range 28–78 yr), male, and presenting with obstructive jaundice or focal pancreatic enlargement accompanied by mild abdominal symptoms. In comparison, the patients with alcohol-induced TFP who were mostly middle-aged (mean age 50.1 ± 7.95 yr, range 39–62 yr), male, and often had attacks of pancreatitis associated with findings of CT scans showing pseudocysts or peripancreatic effusion. Focal AIP usually demonstrated no abnormalities on pancreatograms downstream from the stricture or obstruction and often presented few contrast-filled side branches in the area of main pancreatic duct (MPD) stenosis. These characteristics were similar to the imaging features of Pca. Significant factors differentiating focal AIP from Pca were lower serum levels of CA19-9, homogeneous delayed enhancement evident in dynamic CT scans, and ERCP findings exhibiting a longer stenosed MPD and a thinner MPD upstream from the stricture.CONCLUSIONS:Focal AIP is associated with clinical and radiologic features that are different from those of alcohol-induced TFP. In TFP there are two causative factors, namely, AIP and alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis. Differential diagnosis of focal AIP from Pca seems to be possible in many cases by evaluating imaging findings such as dynamic CT and ERCP, although focal AIP sometimes shows clinical and radiologic features similar to those of Pca.
Ca2+/Calmodulin-dependent Protein Kinase II Regulates Tiam1 by Reversible Protein Phosphorylation*

A number of guanine nucleotide exchange factors have been identified that activate Rho family GTPases, by promoting the binding of GTP to these proteins. We have recently demonstrated that lysophosphatidic acid and several other agonists stimulate phosphorylation of the Rac1-specific exchange factor Tiam1 in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts, and that protein kinase C is involved in Tiam1 phosphorylation (Fleming, I. N., Elliott, C. M., Collard, J. G., and Exton, J. H. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 33105–33110). We now show, through manipulation of intracellular [Ca2+] and the use of protein kinase inhibitors, that both protein kinase Cα and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II are involved in the phosphorylation of Tiam1 in vivo. Furthermore, we show that Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II phosphorylates Tiam1 in vitro, producing an electrophoretic retardation on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Significantly, phosphorylation of Tiam1 by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, but not by protein kinase C, enhanced its nucleotide exchange activity toward Rac1, by approximately 2-fold. Furthermore, Tiam1 was preferentially dephosphorylated by protein phosphatase 1 in vitro, and treatment with this phosphatase abolished the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activation of Tiam1. These data demonstrate that protein kinase Cα and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II phosphorylate Tiam1 in vivo, and that the latter kinase plays a key role in regulating the activity of this exchange factorin vitro.
Evidence of gene–environment correlation for peer difficulties: Disruptive behaviors predict early peer relation difficulties in school through genetic effects

Abstract Early disruptive behaviors, such as aggressive and hyperactive behaviors, known to be influenced by genetic factors, have been found to predict early school peer relation difficulties, such as peer rejection and victimization. However, there is no consensus regarding the developmental processes underlying this predictive association. Genetically informative designs, such as twin studies, are well suited for investigating the underlying genetic and environmental etiology of this association. The main goal of the present study was to examine the possible establishment of an emerging gene–environment correlation linking disruptive behaviors to peer relationship difficulties during the first years of school. Participants were drawn from an ongoing longitudinal study of twins who were assessed with respect to their social behaviors and their peer relation difficulties in kindergarten and in Grade 1 through peer nominations measures and teacher ratings. As predicted, disruptive behaviors were concurrently and predictively associated with peer relation difficulties. Multivariate analyses of these associations indicate that they were mainly accounted for by genetic factors. These results emphasize the need to adopt an early and persistent prevention framework targeting both the child and the peer context to alleviate the establishment of a negative coercive process and its consequences.
The 1992 Presidential Debates in Focus

About the Series by Robert F. Denton Foreword by Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr. and Paul G. Kirk, Jr. Acknowledgments Researching Presidential Debates A Rationale for a Focus Group Study by Diana B. Carlin Design & Implementation of the Focus Group Study by Mitchell S. McKinney The Focus Group as a Research Tool by Beverley Davenport Sypher Structuring the Debates Debating the Debates by Elizabeth R. Lamoureux, Heather S. Entrekin, and Mitchell S. McKinney The Impact of Formats on Voter Reactions by John Meyer and Diana B. Carlin Let the People Speak: The Emergence of Public Space in the Richmond Presidential Debate by Stephen P. Depoe and Cady Short-Thompson "Children in a Sandbox:" Reaction to the Vice Presidential Debate by Jack Kay and Timothy A. Borchers Flirting with Perot: Voter Ambivalence about the Third Candidate by Mari Boor Tonn The Impact of Debates Debates as a Voter Education Tool by Michael A. Mayer and Diana B. Carlin The Presidential Debate as a Source of Citizen Disagressment by Mark S. Kuhn Debates versus Other Communication Sources: The Pattern of Information and Influence by Michael Pfau and William P. Eveland, Jr. The Gender Gap? Male and Female Reactions to the 1992 Presidential Debates by Sally J. Perkins and Gerri L. Smith The Student Voter by Julie Apker and Cary R.W. Voss Conclusions Implications for Future Debates by Diana B. Carlin Appendixes Bibliography Index
Epidemiology of alcohol-related liver and pancreatic disease in the United States.

BACKGROUND The epidemiology of acute alcoholic pancreatitis (AP), chronic alcoholic pancreatitis (CP), acute alcoholic hepatitis (AH), and chronic alcoholic hepatitis with cirrhosis (CH) alone or in combination is not well described. To better understand alcohol-related liver and pancreas effects on and associations with different ethnic groups and sexes, we analyzed the trends of AP, CP, AH, CH, AP plus AH, and CP plus CH in the United States. METHODS We examined discharge records from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, the largest representative sample of US hospitals. Hospital discharges, case-fatality, and sex and race contributions were calculated from patients with discharge diagnoses of AP, CP, AH, CH, AP plus AH, or CP plus CH between 1988 and 2004. RESULTS The distribution of overall hospital discharges per 100 000 persons between 1988 and 2004 was as follows: AP, 49.2; CP, 8.1; AH, 4.5; and CH, 13.7. Overall hospital discharges per 100 000 persons for AP plus AH were 1.8; and for CP plus CH, 0.32. There were higher male to female ratios for AH and CH, and less so for AP and CP. A markedly higher frequency of AP (63.5) and CP (11.3) was seen among blacks than among whites (AP, 29.6 and CP, 5.1), Hispanics (AP, 27.1 and CP, 3.7), Asians (AP, 12.8 and CP, 1.4), and American Indians (AP, 15.5 and CP, 2.3). This higher frequency remained stable between 1994 and 2004. Overall case fatality steadily decreased in all categories, but remains highest in CH (13.6%) with similar racial distributions. CONCLUSIONS In the United States, AP is the most common discharge diagnosis among alcohol-related liver or pancreas complications, while CH has the highest case fatality rate and male to female ratio. Blacks have the highest frequency of alcohol-related pancreatic disease.
[Clinical efficiency of computer-assisted pedicle screw placement versus conventional method: a meta-analysis].

OBJECTIVE To compare the clinical efficacy of computer-assisted pedicle screw placement and conventional placement in the treatment of spinal disease. METHODS A systematic search of studies published between Jan. 1990 and Feb. 2012 was conducted using Medline, Embase, OVID, ScienceDirect and Cochrane Review databases. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective controlled trials of comparing computer-assisted pedicle screw placement to conventional method performed at one center or multi-centers providing data on accuracy of placement and clinical effects were identified. Two study authors independently reviewed the 93 articles originally identified and selected 10 for analysis. Study title,demographic characteristics,number of pedicle screw,anatomical area and outcomes were extracted manually from all selected studies. RevMan 5.1 software was used for meta-analysis. RESULTS Ten studies encompassing 2813 pedicle screws met the inclusion criteria. Overall,the result of meta-analysis indicated that there were significant differences between two groups in accuracy in placement of pedicle screw [OR = 2.58, 95% CI (1.18, 5.63)], insertion time [WMD = -2.15, 95% CI (-2.36, -1.94)]. However, there was only one study reported preparation time of pedicle screw of navigation group was longer than conventional group. No neurological complication in navigation group was reported. CONCLUSION As a safety supplementary measure, computer navigation provide better accuracy in placement of pedicle screw and insertion time. The preparation time of pedicle screw may prolong due to the complexity of navigation system. Further reseach should include randomized controlled trials with well-planned methodology to limit bias.
Inhaled corticosteroids plus long-acting β2-agonists as a combined therapy in asthma

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are the mainstay of asthma treatment. Since 1994, when the first trial showed an equivalent effect of doubling the ICS dose or adding salmeterol, it has repeatedly been shown that the combinations of beclomethasone dipropionate and salmeterol, budesonide and formoterol, or fluticasone propionate and salmeterol have at least the same efficacy as doubling the dose of the ICS in adults, though a conclusive trial in asthmatic children is still lacking. The addition of a long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) to ICS appears more efficacious than adding a short-acting β2-agonist or an antileukotriene, even though available data are sparse. Concurrent (two inhalers) and combination (same inhaler) modes of administration are equivalent from the clinical point of view, as is also true regarding administration via metered dose inhaler or dry powder inhaler. Using a single inhaler might eventually have a positive effect on treatment compliance, but there are no confirmatory data yet. Despite some clues regarding a presumed agonist effect of ICS and LABAs, there are still more doubts than certainties. Even though there are still unanswered questions, the data available strongly suggest that the fixed combination of ICS and LABAs using the same inhaler is an efficacious, safe and practical approach for those asthmatic patients who are not well controlled with low doses of ICS alone.
Significance of Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism in Tinnitus

Objectives: To assess the role of serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) polymorphism in tinnitus. Materials and Methods: Fifty-four consecutive patients experiencing subjective tinnitus and 174 healthy controls were allocated for the study. Psychoacoustic parameters of tinnitus were measured. Beck Depression Inventory was used to assess the depression level of the patients. Tinnitus Handicap Inventory was used to assess the severity of tinnitus. A visual analog scale was designed to measure the impact of tinnitus on quality of life of the patients. The 44-bp insertion-deletion in the promoter region (5-HTTLPR) and 17-bp variable number tandem repeats in the second intron of the serotonin transporter gene were assessed. Results: No difference was found between the genotypes and allele frequencies of the patients and controls regarding variable number tandem repeats and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms (p > 0.05). There was no association between the psychoacoustic parameters of tinnitus and SLC6A4 polymorphism (p > 0.05). There was a significant association between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and scores from the visual analog scale of the patients (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Generation of tinnitus signal is not associated with SLC6A4 polymorphism and possibly with serotonergic mechanisms. However, the "ll" genotype variant of the SLC6A4 polymorphic promoter region seems associated with the limbic and autonomic nervous system symptoms of the patients with tinnitus. Therefore, serotonergic mechanisms may help explain the neurophysiological model of tinnitus, and serotonin replacement or serotonin reuptake inhibitors may increase the success rate of tinnitus treatment modalities based on the neurophysiologic model of tinnitus.
Productivity and Health: An Application of Three Perspectives to Measuring Productivity

Objective: The objective of the study was to illustrate the meaningful relationship between self-reported measures of productivity and health status from three different perspectives. Methods: Health risk data was drawn from 577,186 individuals who completed the HealthMedia Succeed Health Risk Assessment and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire over a span of nearly four years. Analyses were conducted for 10 modifiable health risks and five chronic conditions. Results: Productivity impairment was greater for high-risk participants for the modifiable health risks and those who had been diagnosed with a chronic condition. Improvements in health status led to significant gains in productivity. Modifiable health risks are nearly five times more costly than chronic conditions. Conclusions: The value in a self-report measurement approach to productivity was demonstrated by illustrating the meaningful relationships between health status and productivity as measured by the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment.