Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
“My Determination Is To Live”: Narratives of African-American Women Who Have Lived with HIV for 10 or More Years

Exploring the experiences of African-American women who have lived with HIV for many years can inform public health practice on how to better serve high-risk populations along the care continuum. To understand the experiences of African-American women who are HIV positive, the researchers used a narrative approach to guide repeat interviews. Under a theoretical framework of Womanism, we interviewed six African-American women ages 48-66 (M=57) who have lived with HIV for 10 years or longer and conducted analyses of narrative to identify key themes. The primary themes were: recollecting early hardships, HIV infection, and diagnosis; embracing social support; surviving and thriving; meaning making and HIV. The findings highlight the need for programs specific to long-term survivors, including resilience training, education programs on dating and disclosure, and opportunities to engage in meaningful work or volunteer initiatives.
Koopman , Siem Jan ; Ooms , Marius Working Paper Time Series Modelling of Daily Tax Revenues

We provide a detailed discussion of the time series modelling of daily tax revenues. The main feature of daily tax revenue series is the pattern within calendar months. Standard seasonal time series techniques cannot be used since the number of banking days per calendar month varies and because there are two levels of seasonality: between months and within months. We start the analysis with a periodic regression model with time varying parameters. This model is then extended with a component for intra-month seasonality, which is specified as a stochastic cubic spline. State space techniques are used for recursive estimation and evaluation as they allow for irregular spacing of the time series. The model is recently made operational and used for daily forecasting at the Dutch Ministry of Finance. For this purpose a front-end for model configuration and data input is implemented with Visual C++, while statistical tools and graphical diagnostics are built around Ox and SsfPack. We present the current model and forecasting results up to December 1999. The model and its forecasts are evaluated. Address for correspondence: Marius Ooms, Department of Econometrics and Operations Research, Free University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands, E-mail: mooms@econ.vu. nl
Validación de la escala de satisfacción del paciente auto - diligenciada (SAPS) para artroplastia primara de rodilla y cadera

Introduccion: El uso de escalas en Ortopedia esta enfocado a evaluar la supervivencia del implante o cuantificar el rango de movimiento, estabilidad articular y resultados radiograficos pudiendo existir desacuerdos en terminos de satisfaccion con el procedimiento quirurgico entre el cirujano y el paciente. Es de especial interes el desarrollo de instrumentos como escalas que nos permitan objetivar en idioma espanol la satisfaccion del paciente en el posoperatorio de artroplastias de cadera y rodilla. Objetivos: El objetivo de este estudio consiste en realizar la validacion de la escala de satisfaccion del paciente auto-diligenciada para artroplastia primaria de cadera y rodilla (SAPS) del idioma ingles al espanol. Metodologia: Se hizo un proceso de validacion y adaptacion de la escala que incluye procesos de traduccion y retro traduccion, prueba piloto, evaluacion de las propiedades metricas de la escala que incluyen consistencia interna, validez de contenido y validez de criterio. Resultados: Luego de la adaptacion de la escala al idioma espanol se aplico a 105 pacientes en el Centro Medico Imbanaco en Cali - Colombia llevados a artroplastia de cadera y rodilla. La consistencia interna de la escala medida con el alfa de Cronbach presenta un rango de 0.783 a 0.810. Los resultados de la escala se correlacionan moderadamente con el componente fisico del SF-36 y los resultados de WOMAC (ρ 0.4882 – 0.5254). Conclusion: La escala SAPS adaptada al idioma espanol en Cali - Colombia es un instrumento es valido y seguro para medir la satisfaccion de los pacientes posterior a reemplazo total primario de cadera y rodilla.
Studies on migration strategies of multiple population parallel particle swarm optimization

In order to solve more complex application problems, parallel particle swarm optimization (PPSO) was proposed in recent years and attracted more and more interests from researchers. Multipopulation PPSO is one of important models, it needs less processors and its communication cost is lower than fine-grained PPSO. When to design multipopulation PPSO, several additional parameters for parallelization should be considered first. They are topological structure, migration strategy, migration interval, migration rate, etc. Among them, migration strategy is an important parameter that heavily affects the performance of multipopulation PPSO. However, there is few work on this important parameter. In this paper, we proposed 8 migration strategies for multipopulation PPSO. Compared with most used One-To-Migrate strategies on 36 commonly used test functions, we found that both strategies BW and BWM are more efficient for high dimensionality problem, while on low dimensionality functions One-To-Migrate strategies are more effective. And what is better than our expected is that the strategy RR is most effective on some functions.
The Use of Music to Promote Sleep in Older Women

Fifty-two women over the age of 70 participated in a study to investigate the use of an individualized music protocol to promote sleep onset and maintenance. They were recruited from the practices of physicians and nurse practitioners, and met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (1990), and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (1994). Results indicated that the use of music decreased time to sleep onset and the number of nighttime awakenings. Consequently, it increased satisfaction with sleep. Nurses may wish to recommend the use of music at bedtime to older women with insomnia.
[Secondary hypothyroidism after cervical irradiation: systematic evaluation of thyroid function in follow-up].

INTRODUCTION Sometimes Thyroid dysfunction is an underestimated consequence of radiation exposure. The underlying mechanism is not clearly understood, but it is likely to be multifactorial. As so, the specific risk factors associated with the development of secondary radiotherapy hypothyroidism remain undefined. The direct irradiation of the thyroid gland may result more frequently in hypothyroidism. This is an irreversible condition, requiring lifelong treatment and monitoring. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the incidence of hypothyroidism in patients with head and neck cancer who underwent neck irradiation on an intensive or adjuvant basis and determine whether it is justifiable to integrate the monitoring of parameters for evaluation of thyroid function (TSH, free fraction T3 e free fraction T4 ) in this patient group on the Institutional follow up protocol. MATERIAL AND METHODS This is an observational, retrospective descriptive study, which comprises a group of 376 patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiotherapy, on adjuvant or intensive basis, between the years 2007 and 2012, at Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Coimbra, E.P.E. 145 patients met all the inclusion criteria. Standardized rating scales for the definition of hypothyroidism have been used - LENT-SOMA scales (Late Effects Normal Tissues Subjective Objective Management Analysis). Grade 1 or higher was considered as a complication hypothyroidism. RESULTS The analysis of a cohort of 145 patients was carried out. The most frequent tumor site was the larynx (26.9%). Thirty-two patients received adjuvant radiotherapy and 113 were treated with intensive schemes. The most used radiotherapy technique was intensity modulated (IMRT), performed in 86.2% patients. The overall incidence rate of hypothyroidism at 12 months was 18.6%. The diagnosis for hypothyroidism was done between 9 and 12 months after treatment radiotherapy in 51.9% of the patients with this complication. DISCUSSION An analysis of the published literature, hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid complication after irradiation and affects a large percentage of patients undergoing cervical radiotherapy with curative intent. It has been shown that the risk of hypothyroidism increases with time after exposure, but the highest incidence appears to be in the first two years after treatment. From our analysis we obtained at 12 months, a rate of incidence of hypothyroidism of 18.6% (16.55% grade 1 and grade 2, 2.1%). CONCLUSIONS This study found an incidence of hypothyroidism corresponding to the lowest values reported in other published studies. The short duration of follow-up considered in this analysis, may justify these results. With these results and their correlation with the available literature, the authors consider justified and recommend the inclusion of the systematic evaluation of thyroid function in the follow-up protocol of these patients.
The mystical experience as a suicide preventive.

Three suicidal adolescents suffering from schizophrenic reactions developed the ability to conjure up a mystical consciousness. Directly experiencing this "oceanic" state (or just its memory) provided the patients with a reliably soothing safeguard against their overwhelming loneliness and possible suicide. Recognition by the psychiatrist of the mystical state as a transitional phenomenon points the way to the most effective therapeutic stance.
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Pegfilgrastim in Subjects With Various Degrees of Renal Function

A phase I study was conducted to evaluate the effects of renal function on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (absolute neutrophil count [ANC]) of pegfilgrastim in nonneutropenic subjects. Thirty subjects categorized into 5 renal function groups (normal, mildly impaired, moderately impaired, severely impaired, and end‐stage renal disease) received 1 subcutaneous injection of pegfilgrastim at 6 mg. The ANC profiles after pegfilgrastim administration were similar across different renal function groups. No discernable correlation between pharmacokinetic parameter values and degree of renal impairment was observed; the mean values ranged from 147 to 201 ng/mL for Cmax and from 7469 to 8513 ng×h/mL for AUC. Results suggest that the kidney has no important role in the elimination of pegfilgrastim. Therefore, no dosage adjustment for renal impairment is indicated for pegfilgrastim.
The N‐acetylglucosamine catabolic gene cluster in Trichoderma reesei is controlled by the Ndt80‐like transcription factor RON1

Chitin is an important structural constituent of fungal cell walls composed of N‐acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) monosaccharides, but catabolism of GlcNAc has not been studied in filamentous fungi so far. In the yeast Candida albicans, the genes encoding the three enzymes responsible for stepwise conversion of GlcNAc to fructose‐6‐phosphate are clustered. In this work, we analysed GlcNAc catabolism in ascomycete filamentous fungi and found that the respective genes are also clustered in these fungi. In contrast to C. albicans, the cluster often contains a gene for an Ndt80‐like transcription factor, which we named RON1 (regulator of N‐acetylglucosamine catabolism 1). Further, a gene for a glycoside hydrolase 3 protein related to bacterial N‐acetylglucosaminidases can be found in the GlcNAc gene cluster in filamentous fungi. Functional analysis in Trichoderma reesei showed that the transcription factor RON1 is a key activator of the GlcNAc gene cluster and essential for GlcNAc catabolism. Furthermore, we present an evolutionary analysis of Ndt80‐like proteins in Ascomycota. All GlcNAc cluster genes, as well as the GlcNAc transporter gene ngt1, and an additional transcriptional regulator gene, csp2, encoding the homolog of Neurospora crassa CSP2/GRHL, were functionally characterised by gene expression analysis and phenotypic characterisation of knockout strains in T. reesei.
Handheld versus wearable interaction design for professionals: a case study of hospital service work

With the blooming of new available wrist-worn devices there are potentials for these to support the work done in many professional domains. One such domain is hospital service work. This paper explores two wearable prototypes' challenges and opportunities to support future hospital service work. This explorative study was conducted with 4 experienced hospital orderlies who interacted with an application across two wearable concepts, and one handheld smartphone in five scenarios, not involving patients, in a hospital environment. The interactions were recorded with a chest-mounted camera afterwards semi-structured interviews with each participant were conducted. This study shows that wearable computers can effectively support the maintenance work of the orderlies and has domain-specific advantages over the handheld smartphone, e.g., the former support glancing at the task information. Furthermore, we outline aspects to aid designers of next generation wearable designs for hospital service work.
The Effectiveness of Suggestive Techniques in Reducing Postoperative Side Effects: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND:Suggestive interventions such as hypnosis and therapeutic suggestions are frequently used to alleviate surgical side effects; however, the effectiveness of therapeutic suggestion intervention has not yet been systematically evaluated. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that (1) suggestive interventions are useful for reducing postoperative side effects; (2) therapeutic suggestions are comparable in effectiveness to hypnosis; (3) live presentation is more effective than recordings; and (4) suggestive interventions would be equally effective used in minor and major surgeries. METHODS:We performed random effect meta-analysis with meta-regression and sensitivity analysis by moderating factors on a pool of 26 studies meeting the inclusion criteria (N = 1890). Outcome variables were postoperative anxiety, pain intensity, pain medication requirement, and nausea. RESULTS:Suggestive interventions reduced postoperative anxiety (g = 0.40; 99% confidence interval [CI] = 0.13–0.66; P < 0.001) and pain intensity (g = 0.25; 99% CI = 0.00–0.50; P = 0.010), but did not significantly affect postoperative analgesic drug consumption (g = 0.16; 99% CI = −0.16 to 0.47; P = 0.202) and nausea (g = 0.38; 99% CI = −0.06 to 0.81; P = 0.026). No significant differences were found for intervention type, presentation method, and severity of surgery; however, sensitivity analysis only supported the effectiveness of hypnosis (g = 0.62; 99% CI = 0.31–0.92; P < 0.001) and live presentation (g = 0.55; 99% CI = 0.23–0.88; P < 0.001) for decreasing postoperative anxiety, and that of live presentation for alleviating postoperative pain (g = 0.44; 99% CI = 0.07–0.82; P = 0.002). Sensitivity analyses also suggested that suggestive interventions are only effective for decreasing pain intensity during minor surgical procedures (g = 0.39; 99% CI = 0.00–0.78; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS:Suggestive techniques might be useful tools to alleviate postoperative anxiety and pain; however, strength of the evidence is weak because of possible bias in the reviewed articles. The lack of access to within-subjects data and the overlap between moderator conditions also limit the scope of the analysis. More methodologically correct studies are required with sensitivity to moderating factors and to within-subjects changes. For clinical purposes, we advise the use of hypnosis with live presentation to reduce postoperative anxiety and pain, until convincing evidence is uncovered for the effectiveness of therapeutic suggestions and recorded presentation. Pain management with adjunct suggestive interventions is mostly encouraged in minor rather than major surgeries.
Use of cloud model microphysics for passive microwave-based precipitation retrieval : Significance of consistency between model and measurement manifolds

Precipitation estimation from passive microwave radiometry based on physically based profile retrieval algorithms must be aided by a microphysical generator providing structure information on the lower portions of the cloud, consistent with the upper-cloud structures that are sensed. One of the sources for this information is mesoscale model simulations involving explicit or parameterized microphysics. Such microphysical information can be then associated to brightness temperature signatures by using radiative transfer models, forming what are referred to as cloud‐radiation databases. In this study cloud‐radiation databases from three different storm simulations involving two different mesoscale models run at cloud scales are developed and analyzed. Each database relates a set of microphysical profile realizations describing the space‐time properties of a given precipitating storm to multifrequency brightness temperatures associated to a measuring radiometer. In calculating the multifrequency signatures associated with the individual microphysical profiles over model space‐time, the authors form what are called brightness temperature model manifolds. Their dimensionality is determined by the number of frequencies carried by the measuring radiometer. By then forming an analogous measurement manifold based on the actual radiometer observations, the radiative consistency between the model representation of a rain cloud and the measured representation are compared. In the analysis, the authors explore how various microphysical, macrophysical, and environmental factors affect the nature of the model manifolds, and how these factors produce or mitigate mismatch between the measurement and model manifolds. Various methods are examined that can be used to eliminate such mismatch. The various cloud‐radiation databases are also used with a simplified profile retrieval algorithm to examine the sensitivity of the retrieved hydrometeor profiles and surface rainrates to the different microphysical, macrophysical, and environmental factors of the simulated storms. The results emphasize the need for physical retrieval algorithms to account for a number of these factors, thus preventing biased interpretation of the rain properties of precipitating storms, and minimizing rms uncertainties in the retrieved quantities.
Nasal extranodal natural killer T cell lymphoma: an atypical presentation

Abstract Objective: We report two cases of nasal natural killer T cell lymphoma which presented atypically following surgical intervention. Case report: Two patients with a previous history of endoscopic nasal surgery presented with progressive facial swelling and necrosis. The histology of several nasal biopsies was suggestive of acute, necrotising inflammation. Considering these patients' midline destruction of the nose and face, and their inconclusive biopsies, immunohistochemical studies were undertaken, enabling the diagnosis of peripheral natural killer T cell lymphoma. Conclusion: Natural killer T cell lymphoma of the sinonasal tract is an important differential diagnosis of destructive lesions of the nose and midface. The definitive diagnosis is often delayed. Hence, this tumour should be considered in patients with atypical presentations of acute inflammation following surgical intervention; such patients should be thoroughly investigated. Early immunohistochemical investigation is needed to enable prompt diagnosis in suspicious cases.
BEPERS pilot study: an experiment with X-band synthetic aperture radar over Baltic Sea ice

Abstract Remote-sensing methods are the primary ones used for ice mapping in the Baltic Sea. A major methodological improvement is now being introduced by satellite radars due to their weather independency and high resolution. To learn how to use ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, an extensive field programme BEPERS (Bothnian Experiment in Preparation for ERS-1) with airborne SARs has been arranged. The BEPERS pilot study was undertaken in 1987 using the French VARAN-S X-band SAR. The SAR was flown on 1 day over four study areas of size approximately 10 km x 50 km, and intensive validation observations were made. The data were most useful for the education they provided on how to work with SAR in sea-ice mapping. They have been used for developing SAR image-analysis methods, back-scatter modelling investigations and geophysical validation of SAR imagery. Cleaning-up of images consisted of speckle reduction and segmentation. Back-scatter characteristics of undeformed ice and ridges were examined. Ice-type classification was based on the box-classification method. Eight ice types were defined but basically only two types, undeformed ice/open water and deformed ice, could be discriminated. Two basic problems of high practical importance remained: how to discriminate between (1) open water and undeformed ice, and (2) ridged ice and brash ice. The data further showed illustrative examples of SAR imagery over sea ice.
Geospatial Applications in Disease Surveillance: Solutions for the Future

Given the current attention on national health care reform and the electronic exchange of health information, this article highlights the major developments in disease surveillance and identifies a number of public health opportunities for geospatial thought leaders to undertake. Issues surrounding spatial data quality and resolution, the legal and ethical issues of volunteered geographical health information, and the technical demands of formulating a synthetic and integrative disease surveillance system represent the types of research questions that only geographers can address successfully.
Syntactic and Semantic Structures for Relation Extraction

This study proposes to employ syntactic and semantic knowledge from the rich relations within a tree kernel structure for relation extraction. The underlying idea is that different tree kernels with a variety of representations of the available linguistic information will improve the performance of detecting useful pieces of information expressed in a sentence. Applying clause-based rules, clustering algorithms, and bootstrapping on them will help increase the performance of relation extraction. As outlined in this paper, we plan to conduct experiments on recent Information Extraction corpuses and compare the results with the state of the art.