Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reliability Study of the Sedation-Agitation Scale in an Intensive Care Unit

The management of sedation in critically ill patients is a complex issue for Intensive Care Units (ICU) worldwide. Notable complications of sedation practices have been identified and efforts to modify these practices in ICUs have begun. While sedation-scoring tools have been introduced into clinical practice in intensive care few have been tested for validity and reliability. One tool which has reliability and validity established is the Sedation-Agitation Scale (SAS). This study is an extension of a previous study by Riker, Picard and Fraser (1999) to determine whether doctors and nurses rate patients similarly using the SAS in a natural ICU setting. It is essential to establish whether these different professionals provide consistent scores and have a mutual understanding of the SAS and its constituent levels. This will help ensure that clinical decisions relating to sedation-needs can be made appropriately and consistently. This quasi-experimental reliability study was set in a 12-bed tertiary general ICU in New Zealand. The SAS had recently been introduced into this unit and a convenience sample of 42 nursing and medical staff performed paired ratings on 69 randomly selected adult ICU patients over an eight week time frame. The mean patient age was 58 years, and 79% of patients were on continuous infusions of Propofol. Intubated patients made up 91% of the sample. 74% of patients were given the same SAS score by the doctor-nurse pair. The weighted kappa score for inter-rater agreement was 0.82 indicating very good agreement. Of the 26% of scores where there was a difference, the two readings were only one score apart. Most of the difference occurred around SAS scores of 1-2 and 3-4. Further analysis found no staff or patient variables to be statistically significant in impacting on the ratings. The SAS was found to be a reliable sedation-scoring tool in a general ICU when used by nurses and doctors of varying experience. The implementation of the SAS should improve the quality of sedation management in critically ill patients, facilitate communication between nurses and medical staff with regard to the effectiveness of sedation regimes, and assist with the development of optimal sedation and analgesia guidelines for ICU patients.
Computational Genomic Signatures

Recent advances in development of sequencing technology has resulted in a deluge of genomic data. In order to make sense of this data, there is an urgent need for algorithms for data processing and quantitative reasoning. An emerging in silico approach, called computational genomic signatures, addresses this need by representing global species-specific features of genomes using simple mathematical models. This text introduces the general concept of computational genomic signatures, and it reviews some of the DNA sequence models which can be used as computational genomic signatures. The text takes the position that a practical computational genomic signature consists of both a model and a measure for computing the distance or similarity between models. Therefore, a discussion of sequence similarity/distance measurement in the context of computational genomic signatures is presented. The remainder of the text covers various applications of computational genomic signatures in the areas of metagenomics, phylogenetics and the detection of horizontal gene transfer. Table of Contents: Genome Signatures, Definition and Background / Other Computational Characterizations as Genome Signatures / Measuring Distance of Biological Sequences Using Genome Signatures / Applications: Phylogeny Construction / Applications: Metagenomics / Applications: Horizontal DNA Transfer Detection
Label swapper device for spectral amplitude coded optical packet networks monolithically integrated on InP.

In this paper the design, fabrication and experimental characterization of an spectral amplitude coded (SAC) optical label swapper monolithically integrated on Indium Phosphide (InP) is presented. The device has a footprint of 4.8x1. 5 mm2 and is able to perform label swapping operations required in SAC at a speed of 155 Mbps. The device was manufactured in InP using a multiple purpose generic integration scheme. Compared to previous SAC label swapper demonstrations, using discrete component assembly, this label swapper chip operates two order of magnitudes faster.
GADD45a-GFP GreenScreen HC genotoxicity screening assay

Background: Genetic toxicology is getting very interesting. The International Conference on Harmonisation has drafted new guidance that allows for the registration of pharmaceuticals without the submission of data from in vitro mammalian genotoxicity tests (in vitro micronucleus test, chromosomal aberrations, mouse lymphoma assay). These tests often produce falsely positive predictions of genotoxic carcinogenicity. Objectives: This article reviews the properties of the Gadd45a-GFP (green fluorescent protein) assay, for which positive results appear to provide more reliable predictions of genotoxic carcinogenicity. The criteria for assessment of genotoxicity assays are reviewed. Consideration is given to the value of genotoxicity hazard assessment early in pharmaceutical discovery. Methods: Peer-reviewed data have been reviewed, as well as information contributed to the public domain through conference presentations. Results/conclusion: The Gadd45a assay is increasingly used as a screening tool, and has utility in the prioritisation of Ames-negative compounds prior to in vivo genotoxicity assessment.
Security and Trust in Online Social Networks

The enormous success and diffusion that online social networks (OSNs) are encountering nowadays is vastly apparent. Users' social interactions now occur using online social media as communication channels; personal information and activities are easily exchanged both for recreational and business purposes in order to obtain social or economic advantages. In this scenario, OSNs are considered critical applications with respect to the security of users and their resources, for their characteristics alone: the large amount of personal information they manage, big economic upturn connected to their commercial use, strict interconnection among users and resources characterizing them, as well as user attitude to easily share private data and activities with strangers. In this book, we discuss three main research topics connected to security in online social networks: (i) trust management, because trust can be intended as a measure of the perception of security (in terms of risks/benefits) that users in an OSN have with respect to other (unknown/little-known) parties; (ii) controlled information sharing, because in OSNs, where personal information is not only connected to user profiles, but spans across users' social activities and interactions, users must be provided with the possibility to directly control information flows; and (iii) identity management, because OSNs are subjected more and more to malicious attacks that, with respect to traditional ones, have the advantage of being more effective by leveraging the social network as a new medium for reaching victims. For each of these research topics, in this book we provide both theoretical concepts as well as an overview of the main solutions that commercial/non-commercial actors have proposed over the years. We also discuss some of the most promising research directions in these fields. Table of Contents: Acknowledgments / Online Social Networks and Security Issues / Trust Management in Online Social Networks / Controlled Information Sharing in Online Social Networks / Identity Management in Online Social Networks / Conclusions and Further Research Directions / Bibliography / Authors' Biography
Aporte nutricional e desfechos em pacientes críticos no final da primeira semana na unidade de terapia intensiva

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the relationship between nutritional intake and protein and caloric requirements and observed clinical outcomes on the 7th day of intensive care unit stay. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of 126 patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit for >7 days. The patients were categorized according to the adequacy of energy and protein intake in relation to requirements (a >60% Adequate Intake Group and a <60% Inadequate Intake Group). The length of stay, ventilator free time and mortality in the intensive care unit and hospital were evaluated. RESULTS: Enteral nutrition was used in 95.6% of the 126 included patients, and nutrition was initiated 41 hours after admission to the intensive care unit. The adequacy of intake was 84% for energy and 72.5% for protein. No differences in the length of stay [16 (11-23) versus 15 (11-21) days, p=0.862], ventilator free time [2 (0-7) versus 3 (0-6) days, p=0.985] or mortality in the intensive care unit [12 (41.4%) versus 38 (39.1%), p=0.831] and hospital [15 (51.7%) versus 44 (45.4%), p=0.348] were observed between the adequate and inadequate energy intake groups, respectively. Similar results in protein intake and the length of hospital stay [15 (12-21) versus 15 (11-21) days, p=0.996], ventilator free time [2 (0-7) versus 3 (0-6) days, p=0.846], and mortality in the intensive care unit [15 (28.3%) versus 35 (47.9%), p=0.536)] and hospital [18 (52.9%) versus 41 (44.6%), p=0.262] were observed between groups. CONCLUSION: The results did not establish that energy and protein intakes of greater or less than 60% of nutritional requirements were reliable dividers of clinical outcomes.
Computational Methods for Integrating Vision and Language

Abstract "This is clearly the most comprehensive and thoughtful compendium of knowledge on language/vision integration out there, and I'm sure it will be a valuable resources to many researchers and instructors. " - Sven Dickinson, Series Editor (University of Toronto) Modeling data from visual and linguistic modalities together creates opportunities for better understanding of both, and supports many useful applications. Examples of dual visual-linguistic data includes images with keywords, video with narrative, and figures in documents. We consider two key task-driven themes: translating from one modality to another (e.g., inferring annotations for images) and understanding the data using all modalities, where one modality can help disambiguate information in another. The multiple modalities can either be essentially semantically redundant (e.g., keywords provided by a person looking at the image), or largely complementary (e.g., meta data such as the camera used). Redundancy and complementarity are two .
Interactive GPU-based Visualization of Large Dynamic Particle Data

Abstract Prevalent types of data in scientific visualization are volumetric data, vector field data, and particle-based data. Particle data typically originates from measurements and simulations in various fields, such as life sciences or physics. The particles are often visualized directly, that is, by simple representants like spheres. Interactive rendering facilitates the exploration and visual analysis of the data. With increasing data set sizes in terms of particle numbers, interactive high-quality visualization is a challenging task. This is especially true for dynamic data or abstract representations that are based on the raw particle data. This book covers direct particle visualization using simple glyphs as well as abstractions that are application-driven such as clustering and aggregation. It targets visualization researchers and developers who are interested in visualization techniques for large, dynamic particle-based data. Its explanations focus on GPU-accelerated algorithms for high-performa.
A Decision Aid Intervention to Improve Decisions about Weight Management Referral in Primary Care: Development and Feasibility Study

Patient non-attendance after referral to weight management support is a problem in routine health care. The decision making process prior to referral is a useful focus for research. The present study aimed to develop a patient decision aid intervention and to investigate patient and clinician perspectives on its acceptability and implementation in primary care. The content of a decision aid booklet was developed following in-depth interviews with 52 adults (mean age 56 years; 26 women, 26 men). The content was refined within a study of patients (n=21, 15 women) and clinicians (n=45) comprising doctors (n=12), nurses (n=15) and allied professions (n=18). An exploratory study of implementation was undertaken in primary care with feedback obtained from 18 patients (mean age 52 years; 12 women) and 5 nurses in relation to weight review consultations. Study findings show the weight management decision process is potentially complex and challenging to patients for both cognitive and social reasons. A decision aid developed to address patient needs was liked by patients and, to a lesser extent, by clinicians. The intervention was viewed as acceptable and feasible for implementation into routine practice. Active ingredients within a complex intervention appeared to be improvements in cognitive processing for patients but also improvements in rapport between patient and clinician. Further research should now evaluate outcomes including consultation rapport and patient attendance.
Statin Therapy is Associated with Improved Clinical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Emergency Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Purpose: Previous studies have suggested that the use of statins after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with better clinical outcomes. However, lipid-lowering treatment with statins is a neglected therapeutic approach in patients undergoing PCI in Taiwan. This study investigated the current status of statin use and the effect of statin treatment on clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing emergency PCI. Methods: Two hundred and forty patients (aged 61±13 years, M/F=192/48) with AMI were enrolled. All of them underwent emergency coronary angiography and PCI. Patients were classified into 2 groups, those who were receiving continuous statin therapy (n=149, 62%) and those who were not (n=91, 38%). Cox proportional hazards model was performed to determine if continuous statin therapy was independently associated with a reduction in the risk of adverse clinical outcomes. Results: Our data demonstrated that continuous statin therapy was independently associated with a significant reduction (~35%) in the risk of adverse events (55% versus 36%; P=0.019). The adjusted odds ratio for the development of adverse events in patients receiving continuous statin therapy compared with patients who were not was 0.60 (95% CI, 0.41 to 0.90, P=0.012). Conclusion: Continuous statin therapy may reduce the risk of adverse clinical outcomes after PCI for AMI patients. However, the low use of statins (62%) in the study patients indicates that there is substantial room for improvement in implementation of statin therapy in AMI patients undergoing PCI.
Preliminary Study for Elevated Serum CXCL10 and CXCL11 in Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis Compared with the Other Pulmonary Diseases

U). The level of CXCL10 in patients with stage III＋IV lung cancer was significantly higher than those with stage I＋II, but there was no significant difference in the level of CXCL11 between the groups (p＜0.001, p=0.07, respectively, Mann-Whitney U). There was no significant differe nce in the level of CXCL10 and CXCL11 between those with the presence and absence of lung cancer metastasis. There was a significant correlation between the level of CXCL10 and CXCL11 (r=0.223, p ＜0.001). Conclusion: CXCL10 and CXCL11 may be a potential useful markers for active pulmonary tuberculosis if used alongside other diagnostic methods.
Complexities in Understanding the Nature of the Dose-Response for Dioxins and Related Compounds

Following identification of potential for hazard, one of the key aspects in the assessment of health risk of any environmental agent of concern is an assessment of the dose response for effects observed with that agent. This refers not only to how the magnitude of the effect changes with dose, but also the shape of the dose response. This is especially important in extrapolating results from studies in experimental animals to exposures experienced by the human population.
Aspects of the Relationship between Drug Dose and Drug Effect

It is generally assumed that there exists a well-defined relationship between drug dose and drug effect and that this can be expressed by a dose-response curve. This paper argues that there is no such clear relation and that the dose-response curve provides only limited information about the drug effect. It is demonstrated that tolerance development during the measurement of the dose-response curve may cause major distortion of the curve and it is argued that the curve may only be used to indicate the response to the first administration of a drug, before tolerance has developed. The precise effect of a drug on an individual depends on the dynamic relation between several variables, particularly the level of tolerance, the dose anticipated by the organism and the actual drug dose. Simulations with a previously published mathematical model of drug tolerance demonstrate that the effect of a dose smaller than the dose the organism has developed tolerance to is difficult to predict and may be opposite to the action of the usual dose.
Seqüestro pulmonar: uma série de nove casos operados

Background: Pulmonary sequestration is a congenital anomaly involving the pulmonary parenchyma and its vascularization, and it presents as extralobar or intralobar. Aim: Describe the cases treated at the Institute of Heart (InCor) and Clinical Hospital of the Medical School of the University of Sao Paulo (FMUSP). Method: Retrospective analyses of the files of the patients treated over the 10-year period taking demographic, clinical and laboratorial data. Results: The patients were recurrent pulmonary infection and hemoptysis were frequent clinical findings in these patients. All cases were intralobar. The main localization was the left lower lobe (66%). Only one diagnosis was made intra-operatively. In the other eight cases, diagnosis was suggested on chest radiographs (100%) and confirmed by angiography (77%) and computed tomography (66%). Lobectomy (77%) was the most common surgical treatment, with low post-operative morbidity, and no mortality. Anatomic and histologic examination was performed in seven cases and confirmed the pathology. Conclusion: Pulmonary sequestration is an uncommon entity, in which the computed tomography and the angiography are the radiological investigations that provide the most information to a definitive and secure diagnosis. Resection of the involved tissue leads to excellent results.
Resveratrol Attenuates Exercise-Induced Adaptive Responses in Rats Selectively Bred for Low Running Performance

Low capacity runner (LCR) rats have been developed by divergent artificial selection for treadmill endurance capacity to explore an aerobic biology-disease connection. The beneficial effects of resveratrol supplementation have been demonstrated in endurance running. In this study it was examined whether 12 weeks of treadmill exercise training and/or resveratrol can retrieve the low running performance of the LCR and impact mitochondrial biogenesis and quality control. Resveratrol regressed running performance in trained LCR (p<0.05). Surprisingly, exercise and resveratrol treatments significantly decreased pAMPK/AMPK, SIRT1, SIRT4, forkhead transcription factor 1 (FOXO1) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) levels in these animals (p<0.05). Mitochondrial fusion protein, HSP78 and polynucleotide phosphorylase were significantly induced in LCR-trained, LCR-resveratrol treated, LCR-trained and resveratol treated groups compared to LCR-controls. The data indicate that the AMPK-SIRT1-NAMPT-FOXO1 axis could be important to the limited aerobic endurance capacity of low running capacity rats. Resveratrol supplementation was not beneficial in terms of aerobic endurance performance, mitochondrial biogenesis, or quality control.
Prevention of teenage smoking through negative information giving, a cluster randomized controlled trial

Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate the preventive effect of a clinic-based, emotionally arousing, negative information giving intervention on adolescents’ protective and risk factors of smoking. Methods: Data of 563 students (18 schools) from a cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in Heidelberg, Germany (2010–2011) were analysed. The intervention included a presentation about the risks of smoking, a live video session of a pulmonary endoscopy and a testimonial interview with a lung cancer patient. A prevention booklet served as the control condition. Students’ reaction to the intervention was assessed after 2 weeks, risk and protective factors of smoking and smoking status were assessed after 2.5 months. Findings: The clinic intervention received significantly better ratings of credibility, personal relevance and emotional arousal than the booklet. Differences between clinic and booklet groups failed to reach significance on smoking-related threat appraisal, coping appraisal, protection motivation, behavioural intention and smoking status. Conclusions: Although the clinic intervention generated a significant immediate reaction, there were no significant preventive effects at follow-up. These results are in line with previous research and add further evidence for the ineffectiveness of emotionally arousing negative information giving in smoking prevention with adolescents.
Papillary lesions of the breast diagnosed at percutaneous sonographically guided biopsy: comparison of sonographic features and biopsy methods.

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to retrospectively assess the potential role of sonographic features and biopsy in the management of patients with papillary lesions diagnosed at percutaneous sonographically guided biopsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Surgical or sonographic follow-up (> or = 2 years) was available in 123 women (age range, 21-75 years; mean age, 47 years) with 124 papillary lesions diagnosed at sonographically guided core needle or vacuum-assisted biopsy during a 7-year period. Surgical excision results or follow-up sonograms with no change at the 2-year follow-up served as the reference standard. We reviewed the sonographic features, biopsy results, and surgical or sonographic follow-up. Statistical analysis was performed using the Fisher's exact test for the difference of sonographic features. RESULTS Cancer incidence per BI-RADS category was as follows: category 3, zero (0%) of 21; category 4a, 14 (17%) of 85; category 4b, four (36%) of 11; category 4c, one (20%) of five; and category 5, one (50%) of two. On sonography, two features distinguishing benign from malignant papillary lesions were echo pattern and margins of masses. Core needle biopsy gave a sensitivity of 28% and specificity of 100%, whereas both sensitivity and specificity were 100% with vacuum-assisted biopsy. Of 117 lesions with benign biopsy results, upgrade to malignancy or high-risk lesion was found in 17% of benign papillomas, 24% of atypical papillomas, and 0% of multiple papillomas. CONCLUSION Vacuum-assisted biopsy was more accurate than core needle biopsy in diagnosing papillary lesions, and both sonographic features and core needle biopsy were not sufficiently accurate. Therefore, surgical excision should be performed for the accurate diagnosis of papillary lesions.