Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation of plasma coagulation tests and fibrinogenClauss with rotational thromboelastometry parameters and prediction of bleeding in dogs

Background Correlation of plasma fibrinogen concentration (fibrinogenClauss) with rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) parameters has not been investigated in dogs. Objectives To determine the correlation between plasma coagulation tests and fibrinogenClauss with ROTEM parameters and to evaluate their ability to predict bleeding in dogs. Animals Ninety‐seven dogs with concurrent determination of fibrinogenClauss and fibrin polymerization test (FIBTEM) analysis. Methods Signalment, pretreatment, clinical signs of bleeding, fibrinogenClauss, plasma coagulation test results, hematocrit, platelet count, FIBTEM, extrinsic (EXTEM) and intrinsic (INTEM) activated ROTEM assays were retrieved retrospectively. Correlations between fibrinogenClauss and FIBTEM maximum clot firmness (MCFFIBTEM) and between prothrombin time (PT) or activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and ROTEM parameters were determined. Dogs were further assigned to groups with or without clinical signs of bleeding. The prognostic significance of significantly different parameters to predict bleeding was evaluated. Results FibrinogenClauss showed strong correlation with MCFFIBTEM (r = 0.860, n = 97, P < .001). PT showed strong correlation with EXTEM clotting time (CTEXTEM) (r = 0.839, n = 53, P < .001), and aPTT was strongly correlated with INTEM CT (CTINTEM) (r = 0.664, n = 31, P < .001). Platelet count, PT/aPTT, EXTEM clot formation time (CFTEXTEM), MCFEXTEM, EXTEM maximum clot elasticity (MCEEXTEM), and CTINTEM were significantly different between groups. A CTINTEM >149 seconds was 100% sensitive to detect bleeding. Conclusions and Clinical Importance The MCFFIBTEM can be used to evaluate the effect of fibrinogen on hemostasis as an alternative to determination of fibrinogenClauss. In addition, CTEXTEM and CTINTEM are strongly correlated with PT and aPTT, respectively.
Ion channels as therapeutic antibody targets

ABSTRACT It is now well established that antibodies have numerous potential benefits when developed as therapeutics. Here, we evaluate the technical challenges of raising antibodies to membrane-spanning proteins together with enabling technologies that may facilitate the discovery of antibody therapeutics to ion channels. Additionally, we discuss the potential targeting opportunities in the anti-ion channel antibody landscape, along with a number of case studies where functional antibodies that target ion channels have been reported. Antibodies currently in development and progressing towards the clinic are highlighted.
Evaluation of a Wearable Device to Determine Cardiorespiratory Parameters From Surface Diaphragm Electromyography

The use of wearable devices in clinical routines could reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of assessment in patients with chronic respiratory diseases. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the capacity of a Shimmer3 wearable device to extract reliable cardiorespiratory parameters from surface diaphragm electromyography (EMGdi). Twenty healthy volunteers underwent an incremental load respiratory test whilst EMGdi was recorded with a Shimmer3 wearable device (EMGdiW). Simultaneously, a second EMGdi (EMGdiL), inspiratory mouth pressure (Pmouth) and lead-I electrocardiogram (ECG) were recorded via a standard wired laboratory acquisition system. Different cardiorespiratory parameters were extracted from both EMGdiW and EMGdiL signals: heart rate, respiratory rate, respiratory muscle activity, and mean frequency of EMGdi signals. Alongside these, similar parameters were also extracted from reference signals (Pmouth and ECG). High correlations were found between the data extracted from the EMGdiW and the reference signal data: heart rate (R = 0.947), respiratory rate (R = 0.940), respiratory muscle activity (R = 0.877), and mean frequency (R = 0.895). Moreover, similar increments in EMGdiW and EMGdiL activity were observed when Pmouth was raised, enabling the study of respiratory muscle activation. In summary, the Shimmer3 device is a promising and cost-effective solution for the ambulatory monitoring of respiratory muscle function in chronic respiratory diseases.
Understanding the bereavement experience of grandparents following the death of a grandchild from a life-limiting condition: A meta-ethnography.

AIM To increase understanding of grandparental grief following the death of a grandchild from a life-limiting condition. DESIGN Meta-ethnography. DATA SOURCES Academic Search Complete CINHAL, Embase, psycINFO, PubMed and Web of Science, supplemented by manual search strategies (in 2015, updated 2018). REVIEW METHODS Studies were appraised and synthesized using the principles of meta-ethnography. FINDINGS Three superordinate themes were identified: 'influence of the relationship with their grandchild', 'influence of the relationship with the grandchild's family' and 'pain'. The simultaneous, multigenerational position of grandparents meant individuals experience emotional pain from witnessing the experience of family members. CONCLUSION Many factors that contribute to the bereavement experience of grandparents are outside of their control. The roles, positions, and support needs of grandparents need to be acknowledged to better meet their needs as parents, grandparents, and individuals who have experienced a child death.
Assessment of Public Attitudes Toward Weight Loss Surgery in the United States

Discussion | Among a cohort of 393 older adults with multiple chronic conditions who are undergoing high-risk surgery, 101 (25.7%) had preoperative ACP documentation, including only 17 of 55 decedents (30.9%). Yet in a prior study,6 52% of surgeons self-reported having had preoperative ACP discussions. High-risk populations in this study, including patients 85 years and older, those with dementia, and those with greater health care use, were more likely to have ACP documentation. However, all older adults with multiple chronic conditions undergoing high-risk surgery would benefit from having ACP completed with documentation in medical records. Future studies should address the timing of ACP to the surgical visit and the question of whether ACP affects surgical decision making or outcomes. Outreach, education, and system workflow changes to increase ACP engagement in elderly populations are essential to preparing patients and their families prior to potentially life-changing events.
Hierarchical Tracking by Reinforcement Learning-Based Searching and Coarse-to-Fine Verifying

A class-agnostic tracker typically consists of three key components, i.e., its motion model, its target appearance model, and its updating strategy. However, most recent top-performing trackers mainly focus on constructing complicated appearance models and updating strategies, while using comparatively simple and heuristic motion models that may result in an inefficient search and degrade the tracking performance. To address this issue, we propose a hierarchical tracker that learns to move and track based on the combination of data-driven search at the coarse level and coarse-to-fine verification at the fine level. At the coarse level, a data-driven motion model learned from deep recurrent reinforcement learning provides our tracker with coarse localization of an object. By formulating motion search as an action-decision problem in reinforcement learning, our tracker utilizes a recurrent convolutional neural network-based deep Q-network to effectively learn data-driven searching policies. The learned motion model can not only significantly reduce the search space but also provide more reliable interested regions for further verifying. At the fine level, a kernelized correlation filter (KCF)-based appearance model is adopted to densely yet efficiently verify a local region centered on the predicted location from the motion model. Through use of circulant matrices and fast Fourier transformation, a large number of candidate samples in the local region can be efficiently and effectively evaluated by the KCF-based appearance model. Finally, a simple yet robust estimator is designed to analyze possible tracking failure. The experiments on OTB50 and OTB100 illustrate that our tracker achieves better performance than the state-of-the-art trackers.
Randomized control study of the effects of executive function training on peer difficulties of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder C subtype

Abstract Objective: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder C subtype (ADHD-C) is associated with social rejection and peer difficulties. The present study evaluates the comparative efficacy of group executive function training (GEFT) with social skills training (SST) in children with ADHD-C in China. Methods: A randomized, controlled treatment outcome study that comprised of 52 boys and 29 girls (age range: 9–12 years old) was conducted. The primary variable (peer relationship), secondary variables (executive functions [EFs] and social skills) and ADHD symptoms (inattention and hyperactive) were measured before and after the intervention and 3-month follow-up. Results: First, both GEFT and SST had instant effects on peer relationship. Second, GEFT mainly improved their EFs and self-control dimension of social skills. At the same time, ADHD symptoms were reduced. SST mainly improved their social skills, but had no effect on EFs and ADHD symptoms. Third, GEFT had better long-term effects than SST on peer relationship. Conclusion: Executive function training produced more effective and lasting changes on peer difficulties of ADHD children.
Coconditional Autoencoding Adversarial Networks for Chinese Font Feature Learning

In this work, we propose a novel framework named Coconditional Autoencoding Adversarial Networks (CocoAAN) for Chinese font learning, which jointly learns a generation network and two encoding networks of different feature domains using an adversarial process. The encoding networks map the glyph images into style and content features respectively via the pairwise substitution optimization strategy, and the generation network maps these two kinds of features to glyph samples. Together with a discriminative network conditioned on the extracted features, our framework succeeds in producing realistic-looking Chinese glyph images flexibly. Unlike previous models relying on the complex segmentation of Chinese components or strokes, our model can "parse" structures in an unsupervised way, through which the content feature representation of each character is captured. Experiments demonstrate our framework has a powerful generalization capacity to other unseen fonts and characters.
The DREAMS core package of interventions: A comprehensive approach to preventing HIV among adolescent girls and young women

In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) are 5 to 14 times more likely to be infected with HIV than their male peers. Every day, more than 750 AGYW are infected with HIV. Many factors make girls and young women particularly vulnerable to HIV, including gender-based violence, exclusion from economic opportunities, and a lack of access to secondary school. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is dedicating significant resources through the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) partnership to impact the lives of women and girls based on PEPFAR’s mission to help countries achieve epidemic control of HIV/AIDS. The data show that new HIV infections must be reduced in AGYW, or the global community risks losing the extensive progress made towards reaching epidemic control. With support from PEPFAR and private sector partners—the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gilead Sciences, Girl Effect, Johnson & Johnson and ViiV Healthcare, DREAMS works together with partner governments to deliver a core package of interventions that combines evidence-based approaches that go beyond the health sector, addressing the structural drivers that directly and indirectly increase girls’ HIV risk. Not only is DREAMS an effort to reduce new HIV infections, but it aims to reduce other critical vulnerabilities such as gender-based violence. When girls and young women thrive, the effects are felt throughout their families, communities and countries.
Berberine reversed the epithelial‐mesenchymal transition of normal colonic epithelial cells induced by SW480 cells through regulating the important components in the TGF‐β pathway

Stroma‐tumor interactions within microenvironment play a crucial role in tumor development and growth. Cellular transdifferentiation in the stroma is a prerequisite for tumor formation. Targeting the interactions maybe a promising anticancer strategy. Berberine (BBR) has been confirmed to have anticancer and anti‐inflammatory effects. We found for the first time that colon cancer cells SW480 induced spindle‐like morphological changes and downregulation of E‐cadherin and upregulation of vimentin and alpha‐smooth muscle actin in colon epithelial cells HCoEpiCs by using transwell coculture system and conditioned medium from SW480. The conditioned medium also promoted the migration of HCoEpiCs. This transition was inhibited by a transforming growth factor‐β receptor inhibitor LY364947. BBR (50 and 100 µg/ml) reversed the EMT‐like transition and repressed the migration in HCoEpiCs. Further results demonstrated that downregulation of TβRII, Smad2, p‐Smad3, and overexpression of Smad3 participated in the SW480‐induced phenotypic transition of HCoEpiCs. In addition, BBR upregulated the expressions of TβRII, Smad2, and p‐Smad3. In conclusion, our findings suggest that BBR exerts the anti‐EMT and antimigration effect by mediating the expression of TβRII, Smad2, and p‐Smad3.
Insecticidal Activity of Methyl Benzoate Analogs Against Red Imported Fire Ants, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract Although insecticidal properties of certain benzoates have been investigated for pest insects and mites, toxicity of benzoates to the red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, has never been reported. In this study, 15 commercially available benzoates were assessed for their contact and fumigation toxicity to S. invicta workers and their chemical structure–activity relationships. Among tested benzoates, benzylbenzoate, n-pentybenzoate, and n-hexylbenzoate were three most potent contact toxins against S. invicta workers (mean LD50 value = 23.31, 35.26, 35.99 μg per ant, respectively) and methyl-3-methoxybenzoate, methyl-3-methylbenzoate, and methylbenzoate were the three most potent fumigants (mean LC50 value = 0.61, 0.62, 0.75 μg/ml, respectively). For nonsubstituted alkyl benzoates (esters of benzoic acid and C1–C6 linear alcohols), the contact toxicity was positively correlated to the alkyl chain length (r = 0.89), while the fumigation toxicity was negatively correlated (r = 0.90). Presence of a methoxyl group at either the ortho or meta position of methylbenzoate significantly increased its contact toxicity, so did a methyl group at meta position. However, presence of a methyl group at ortho position reduced the contact toxicity. Presence of methyl or methoxyl group at the meta position did not have significant effect on the fumigation toxicity; however, methyl, methoxyl, chloro, or nitro groups at the ortho position significantly reduced fumigation toxicity. Hexylbenzoate has neither known Occupational Safety and Health Administration hazards nor aquatic toxicity, and methyl 3-methoxybenzoate is not considered a hazardous substance, indicating a great potential for their application in fire ant management.
Gender Differences of Achilles tendon Cross-sectional Area during Loading

Abstract The Achilles tendon (AT) is larger and stiffer in males compared to females. AT stiffness is determined by length differences during loading. However, as some collagen fibres run transversely, changes in cross-sectional area (CSA) are also expected. The study investigates the gender differences of AT-CSA during maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). Fifteen males and fifteen females were positioned prone on the isokinetic dynamometer with knee extended and ankle flexed 90°. AT-CSA [mm2] from rest to MVIC during plantar flexion was sonographically assessed. AT-CSA maximal deformation [mm2] was subtracted by CSAMVIC–CSArest. AT-CSA compliance [mm2/Nm] and strain [%] were calculated by dividing the CSA deformation [mm2] by peak torque [Nm] and CSA at rest [mm2], respectively. Gender differences were assessed by an independent sample t-test with Bonferroni correction (α=0.01). AT-CSA dimensions at rest (p=0.001) and contraction (p=0.001) as well peak torque (p=0.001) were statistically significant higher in males (54.4±5.1 mm2, 53.7±5.1 mm2, 120.1±26.8 Nm) compared to females (46.2±7.0 mm2, 43.4±6.9 mm2, 86.9±21.6 Nm). AT-CSA deformation (p=0.000) strain (p=0.000) and compliance (p=0.000) were found to be statistically significant higher in females (–2.8±0.9 mm2, –6.2±2.0%, –0.033±0.018 mm2/Nm) compared to males (–0.8±1.8 mm2, –1.4±3.3%, –0.007±0.008 mm2/Nm). During loading, the AT also deforms at the transverse level by reducing its CSA. CSA reduction was higher in females, indicating also higher CSA compliance compared to males. Higher CSA compliance might indicate higher adaptability towards loading and might be discussed as a protective factor.
Re-thinking of student skills to handling basic computer practice in junior high school

This study aimed to evaluate students’ skills in basic computer practice in junior high school. We evaluated the student’s skills to work with basics of Microsoft office software (Excel and Power Point) according to competency standards and school curriculum. The study involved 173 students who received the computer practice exam on March 2018. Data analysed using Rasch model approach. The results of this study showed that Microsoft Excel and Power Point practice exams are simply to be passed by 57 students. In general, the skills in setting up tables in Microsoft Excel have the highest difficulty level for students. Meanwhile, basic skill in locating information for Power Point objects is the easiest exam material for students. Unfortunately, although the quality as the exam material is good enough, but the material for computer practice exam is insufficient as to separate out the students’ skills. Several measurement property assessments also presented to enrich the information from the findings of this study. A further implication from this research is that educators require to reconsider the test material led to students. In addition, it also takes into history the experience of students in operating the computer and perform computer exam procedures.
A pilot survey of student perceptions on the benefit of the OSCE and MCQ modalities

Objective: The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) has become widely accepted as a form of assessment in medical education. At the same time, the more traditional multiple choice question (MCQ) examinations remain a central modality of student assessment. This pilot survey aimed to investigate students’ perceptions about the benefits of the OSCE and MCQs to yield data supporting the implementation of this assessment strategy into the national medical licensing examination in Germany. Methods: A questionnaire was delivered electronically to 34 German medical schools. Students in years 3-6 were invited to rate 11 items about objectives of good medical assessment. All items were presented for both the OSCE and MCQs using a 5-point Likert Scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree). Factor analysis was used to identify underlying components in the ratings. Average scores of items that belonged to a component were computed. Results: Data analysis included 1,082 students from 32 medical schools. For the OSCE, factor analysis revealed two components, which were labelled “educational impact” and “development of clinical competence”. The average scores of items were 3.37 and 3.55, respectively. For the MCQ modality, also two components emerged. These were labelled “perceived weaknesses of MCQs” and “perceived strengths of MCQs” (consisting of items such as “promotes my theoretical knowledge”). The average scores for these components were 1.85 and 3.62. Conclusion: The results of this pilot survey indicate that students consider both OSCE and MCQs as useful assessments for the purposes for which they were designed. The assessment strategy thus appears appropriate and it should be used in the national licensing examination.
Using Lexical Chains to Identify Text Difficulty: A Corpus Statistics and Classification Study

Our goal is data-driven discovery of features for text simplification. In this paper, we investigate three types of lexical chains: exact, synonymous, and semantic. A lexical chain links semantically related words in a document. We examine their potential with a document-level corpus statistics study (914 texts) to estimate their overall capacity to differentiate between easy and difficult text and a classification task (11 000 sentences) to determine usefulness of features at sentence-level for simplification. For the corpus statistics study we tested five document-level features for each chain type: total number of chains, average chain length, average chain span, number of crossing chains, and the number of chains longer than half the document length. We found significant differences between easy and difficult text for average chain length and the average number of cross chains. For the sentence classification study, we compared the lexical chain features to standard bag-of-words features on a range of classifiers: logistic regression, naïve Bayes, decision trees, linear and RBF kernel SVM, and random forest. The lexical chain features performed significantly better than the bag-of-words baseline across all classifiers with the best classifier achieving an accuracy of ∼90% (compared to 78% for bag-of-words). Overall, we find several lexical chain features provide specific information useful for identifying difficult sentences of text, beyond what is available from standard lexical features.
Diet and risk of breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer: UK Women's Cohort Study.

This study aimed to investigate the association between diet and the risk of breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer in the UK Women’s Cohort Study. A total of 35 372 women aged 35–69 years were enrolled between 1995 and 1998 and completed a validated 217-item FFQ. The individual foods were collapsed into sixty-four main food groups and compared using Cox proportional models, adjusting for potential confounders. Hazard ratio (HR) estimates are presented per portion increase in food items. After approximately 18 years of follow-up, there were 1822, 294 and 285 cases of breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer, respectively. A high consumption of processed meat and total meat was associated with an increased risk of breast and endometrial cancer. High intake of tomatoes (HR 0·87, 99 % CI 0·75, 1·00) and dried fruits (HR 0·60, 99 % CI 0·37, 0·97) was associated with a reduced risk of breast and endometrial cancer, respectively. Mushroom intake was associated with a higher risk of ovarian cancer (HR 1·57, 99 % CI 1·09, 2·26). Subgroup analysis by pre- or postmenopausal cancer further demonstrated an association between processed meat intake and both postmenopausal breast cancer and endometrial cancer. Intake of dried fruits was associated with a reduced risk of postmenopausal endometrial cancer (HR 0·55, 99 % CI 0·31, 0·98). Our findings suggest that while some foods may trigger the risk of these cancers, some foods may also be protective; supporting the call for further randomised controlled trials of dietary interventions to reduce the risk of cancer among pre- and postmenopausal women.