Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Anatomic and Functional Results after Retinotomy for Retinal Detachment in Pediatric and Adult Patients

Purpose We investigated characteristics and treatment outcomes of pediatric vs adult retinal detachment managed by retinotomy and retinectomy. Methods This was a retrospective, nonrandomized, interventional study involving 20 pediatric patients and 25 adult patients operated with vitrectomy and retinectomy due to retinal detachment. Outcome measures included preoperative and postoperative visual acuity at 6 months and at final visit, postoperative proliferative vitreoretinopathy silicone oil removal, final intraocular pressure (IOP), and final anatomic success, defined as complete retinal reattachment. Results Reattachment was observed in 60% (12/20) of pediatric patients and 88% (22/25) of adults at final visit (p=0.041). Statistically significant improvement in visual acuity was observed in adults (p<0.001) but not in children (p=0.360) due to large proportion of anatomic failure. Children required a higher number of further reoperations (p=0.008). Postoperative proliferative vitreoretinopathy was significantly more frequent in pediatric eyes (p=0.003). Conclusions The clinical features and prognosis for pediatric retinotomies and retinectomies are different from those for adults. When a decision to perform retinotomy in children is made, we can anticipate significantly lower anatomic success than in adults. Even though the overall visual acuity was worse in children than in adults, 25% of pediatric eyes achieved 5/50 or better vision.
Functions of heat shock transcription factors involved in response to photooxidative stresses in Arabidopsis

Because plants are continually exposed to various environmental stresses, they possess numerous transcription factors that regulate metabolism to adapt and acclimate to those conditions. To clarify the gene regulation systems activated in response to photooxidative stress, we isolated 76 high light and heat shock stress-inducible genes, including heat shock transcription factor (Hsf) A2 from Arabidopsis. Unlike yeast or animals, more than 20 genes encoding putative Hsfs are present in the genomes of higher plants, and they are categorized into three classes based on their structural characterization. However, the multiplicity of Hsfs in plants remains unknown. Furthermore, the individual functions of Hsfs are also largely unknown because of their genetic redundancy. Recently, the developments of T-DNA insertion knockout mutant lines and chimeric repressor gene-silencing technology have provided effective tools for exploring the individual functions of Hsfs. This review describes the current knowledge on the individual functions and activation mechanisms of Hsfs. Graphical abstract Model for heat shock transcription factor (Hsf) signaling via several Hsfs in response to environmental stress in Arabidopsis.
Alexithymia, Risk Factor or Consequence of Work-Related Stress?

Background: Primary alexithymia has been proposed as a trait-like risk factor for various psychiatric disorders. Alternatively, secondary alexithymia has been conceptualized as an inadequate coping reaction to a stressful situation. This study investigated the level and the type of alexithymia associated with occupational stress. Method: On 2 occasions, 69 patients with work-related stress and 62 healthy participants completed self-report instruments to measure alexithymia (20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale), burnout complaints (Maslach Burnout Inventory) and general distress complaints (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, Checklist Individual Strength). Group differences in alexithymia were analyzed using ANOVAs. The type of alexithymia was investigated by (a) determining absolute and relative stability, (b) exploring state dependence by adjusting alexithymia for burnout and distress complaints and (c) associating recovery of complaints with change in alexithymia. Results: Alexithymia was significantly elevated among patients. In the patient group, absolute stability of two alexithymia dimensions (identifying feelings, describing feelings) and relative stability of one alexithymia dimension (identifying feelings) was lower than in the healthy group. Cross-sectional group differences became small and nonsignificant after adjustment for distress complaints. Among patients, change in alexithymia was moderately associated with symptom recovery. Conclusion: Elevated alexithymia among patients with occupational stress is highly state dependent, which indicates the presence of secondary alexithymia.
An impaired mitochondrial electron transport chain increases retention of the hypoxia imaging agent diacetylbis(4-methylthiosemicarbazonato)copperII

Radiolabeled diacetylbis(4-methylthiosemicarbazonato)copperII [CuII(atsm)] is an effective positron-emission tomography imaging agent for myocardial ischemia, hypoxic tumors, and brain disorders with regionalized oxidative stress, such as mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, and lactic acidosis with stroke-like episodes (MELAS) and Parkinson’s disease. An excessively elevated reductive state is common to these conditions and has been proposed as an important mechanism affecting cellular retention of Cu from CuII(atsm). However, data from whole-cell models to demonstrate this mechanism have not yet been provided. The present study used a unique cell culture model, mitochondrial xenocybrids, to provide whole-cell mechanistic data on cellular retention of Cu from CuII(atsm). Genetic incompatibility between nuclear and mitochondrial encoded subunits of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) in xenocybrid cells compromises normal function of the ETC. As a consequence of this impairment to the ETC we show xenocybrid cells upregulate glycolytic ATP production and accumulate NADH. Compared to control cells the xenocybrid cells retained more Cu after being treated with CuII(atsm). By transfecting the cells with a metal-responsive element reporter construct the increase in Cu retention was shown to involve a CuII(atsm)-induced increase in intracellular bioavailable Cu specifically within the xenocybrid cells. Parallel experiments using cells grown under hypoxic conditions confirmed that a compromised ETC and elevated NADH levels contribute to increased cellular retention of Cu from CuII(atsm). Using these cell culture models our data demonstrate that compromised ETC function, due to the absence of O2 as the terminal electron acceptor or dysfunction of individual components of the ETC, is an important determinant in driving the intracellular dissociation of CuII(atsm) that increases cellular retention of the Cu.
The International Journal of Biostatistics Regression Calibration for Dichotomized Mismeasured Predictors

Epidemiologic research focuses on estimating exposure-disease associations. In some applications the exposure may be dichotomized, for instance when threshold levels of the exposure are of primary public health interest (e.g., consuming 5 or more fruits and vegetables per day may reduce cancer risk). Errors in exposure variables are known to yield biased regression coefficients in exposure-disease models. Methods for bias-correction with continuous mismeasured exposures have been extensively discussed, and are often based on validation substudies, where the "true" and imprecise exposures are observed on a small subsample. In this paper, we focus on biases associated with dichotomization of a mismeasured continuous exposure. The amount of bias, in relation to measurement error in the imprecise continuous predictor, and choice of dichotomization cut point are discussed. Measurement error correction via regression calibration is developed for this scenario, and compared to naïvely using the dichotomized mismeasured predictor in linear exposure-disease models. Properties of the measurement error correction method (i.e., bias, mean-squared error) are assessed via simulations.
The Impact of Federal Breastfeeding Policy Initiatives on Women’s Breastfeeding Practices and Attitudes in Southern Indiana

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effects of a change in WIC federal policy for low-income mothers and children at nutritional risk in southern Indiana. The policy change was meant to encourage more WIC recipients to exclusively breastfeed their infants. However, most recipients reported that the change in policy did not influence their infant feeding decisions in the way that policy makers intended. Instead, nutritional factors and difficulties with breastfeeding were more influential in participants’ decisions to exclusively breastfeed or not. Importantly, the policy change did provide nutritional and financial support to low-income mothers who had already decided to exclusively breastfeed.
Colleges' Hospitality Programs

A survey of educators' and industry executives' perceptions of hospitality schools were used to rank bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs in the United States. No specific criteria were employed. Cornell finished first in every category except that educators ranked Virginia Tech's doctoral program as better than Cornell's, with Purdue's being third. For bachelor's programs, the raters placed Florida International, Michigan State, Penn State, Purdue, and UNLV after Cornell. For master's-level programs, the raters chose Michigan State, UNLV, and Florida International to follow Cornell.
G‐banding and molecular cytogenetic analyses of marginal zone lymphoma

We analysed the acquired chromosomal aberrations of 22 marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) patients by various genome‐wide cytogenetic techniques, such as G‐banding, multicolour fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M‐FISH), cross‐species colour banding (RxFISH), and comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH), as well as FISH with locus‐specific probes. Patients with an abnormal chromosome 3 (n = 11), the most frequently rearranged chromosome, showed a shorter median survival than patients with a normal chromosome 3 (n = 11, 74 months vs. 219 months, P < 0·03). Four of five patients with nodal MZL had chromosome 3 abnormalities and patients with nodal MZL had a shorter median survival than patients in the other morphological subgroups of MZL (P < 0·003). CGH analysis showed only gains of chromosome material, namely of chromosome regions 3p12–25, 3q12–21, 3q23–28, 12q13–15, 12q22–24, 19p13 and 19q13 in two to four cases each (20–40%). In two MZL, the novel unbalanced translocation der(13)t(3;13)(q24;p11) was detected as the sole karyotypic rearrangement, indicating that gain of 3q24‐qter could be an important event in the pathogenesis of these lymphomas. Another two cases showed, in addition to other abnormalities, a t(4;14)(p13;q32). Both these lymphomas had involvement of the IGH gene at 14q32, and one of them also of the RHOH/TTF gene at 4p13, which encodes a new member of the RHO protein subfamily.
The rat hippocampus as a target for prolonged stress: Biochemical and behavioral effects

The probability that an individual will suffer from a major depressive episode is often considered to be influenced by risk factors such as gender, premature parental loss, exposure to pathogenic parental rearing, personality, a history of traumatic events, a previous history of major depression, low social support, recent stressful life events and difficulties and predisposing genetic influences. Although several studies suffer from methodological limitations, major depression (endogenous depression) is regarded as a multifactorial disorder and understanding its etiology requires the rigorous integration of several risk factors.
Metabolic liver disease

The discovery of novel metabolic pathways and the genetic basis for diseases of the liver continues to yield new insights into the pathogenesis of inherited metabolic diseases of the liver, whereas the application of new technologies to their treatment continues to advance therapeutic options. This review of selected articles covers a wide range of subjects, from the identification of novel proteins and transport pathways to disease diagnosis and treatment of acute liver failure. Four selected topics, Wilson disease, hemochromatosis and iron overload disorders, &agr;-1 antitrypsin disease, and exciting new therapeutic options for lysosomal storage diseases are the focus of this review.
Late-onset post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorders after kidney transplantation: a monocentric study over three decades.

BACKGROUND Late-onset post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) occur 1 year after transplantation and are associated with poor prognosis. Initial treatment usually involves a reduction in immunosuppressive treatment. While early-onset PTLDs have a good prognosis following RI, this approach is generally inadequate for late-onset PTLDs. We assessed the specific outcome of late-onset PTLDs after kidney transplantation during the past three decades. METHODS We reviewed the clinical and biological data of 52 kidney transplant recipients who developed late-onset PTLDs at our centre between 1980 and 2010. We compared clinical features, long-term outcome and renal prognosis of late-onset PTLDs both before and after the era of rituximab. RESULTS Before 2000, 38% of the patients underwent surgery and 76% received chemotherapy either immediately or after surgery. After 2000, rituximab was administrated to 70% of the patients either alone (23%) or in combination with chemotherapy (77%). Chemotherapy alone was administrated in 26% of the cases. Before and after 2000, complete remission was achieved in 38 and 87% of the cases, respectively (P = 0.0005). The 5-year overall survival (OS) was 33.3 and 69% (P = 0.003), and 5-year disease-free survival was 37.5 and 80%, respectively (P = 0.19). Renal function was preserved in 70% of the cases at the end of the follow-up. CONCLUSIONS This study shows an increase in OS and low graft loss for patients with late-onset PTLDs during the last decade, which may be attributed to multiple changes in clinical practice, including a more standardized treatment and the use of rituximab in combination with chemotherapy.
Retinoids in cancer therapy.

PURPOSE Recent reports of the dramatic antitumor effect of all-trans retinoic acid (RA) in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) have generated renewed enthusiasm for clinical studies of retinoids for oncologic therapeutic indications. Here we provide an overview of relevant aspects of retinoid physiology and molecular biology, review preclinical studies indicating antitumor activity for retinoids, and summarize the current status of clinical investigations of retinoid use for the treatment of adult and pediatric tumors. DESIGN The published literature was reviewed with attention to areas of retinoid research that would shed insight into the oncologic uses of retinoids. RESULTS Retinoids play critical roles during normal fetal development and induce differentiation (and/or growth inhibition) in a variety of tumor-cell lines. Retinoid effects seem to result from changes in gene expression mediated via specific nuclear receptors (termed retinoic acid receptors, RAR-alpha, -beta, and -gamma), and a specific chromosomal translocation involving the RAR-alpha gene occurs in APL patients. In addition to the very high clinical response rate for RA in patients with APL, significant clinical responses have been observed for patients with cutaneous T-cell malignancies, juvenile chronic myelogenous leukemia, and dermatologic malignancies. Additionally, the combination of 13-cis-retinoic acid (cRA) with interferon alpha (IFN alpha) has produced high objective response rates for patients with squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck and of the cervix. CONCLUSIONS The antitumor activity demonstrated for retinoids (especially RA) alone and in combination with other agents supports the need for targeted phase II trials to define the spectrum of responsive tumors and for laboratory studies to further delineate the biologic mechanisms associated with therapeutic responses. High priority should then be given to phase III trials to delineate optimal strategies for improving outcome by combining retinoid-based treatments with conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy regimens.
Channel modeling for the stationary UE scenario

It has herein been shown that the stationary UE scenario is radically different from the moving UE scenario. The main difference is that the temporal fading for a stationary UE, in a rich scattering environment, is typically very small having Ricean statistics with large K values (K>10dB). This is in contrast to the traditional channel modeling scenario in which the UE is moving and the temporal fading exhibits Rayleigh statistics. Further, simple and straightforward temporal channel modeling, which conveniently may be added to standard ray based channel models, is presented and also successfully validated by measurements. The proposed modeling is simple and has thus some limitations. Firstly the model assumes that the scattered waves originate from a single point at the centre of the scatterer. Moreover, it is not taken into account that the scattered waves themselves are reflected off objects in the environment. This might have some negative impact if e.g. beamforming techniques are used to null out the temporal varying contribution. Secondly, the model has only been evaluated based on a few measured scenarios. In order to assess if the model is generally valid more measurements in different scenarios such as macrocell, outdoor, shopping mall etc. have to be performed.
English and American higher education access and completion policy regimes: similarities, differences and possible lessons

Abstract or Description: England and the United States provide a very interesting pairing as countries with many similarities, but also instructive dissimilarities, with respect to their policies for higher education access and success. The purpose of this paper is to explore these similarities and dissimilarities with an eye to what each country can learn from the other with regard to reducing social class and racial/ethnic differences in higher education access and success. We focus on seven policy strands affecting higher education access and completion: student information provision; outreach from higher education institutions; student financial aid; affirmative action or contextualisation in higher education admissions; higher education efforts to improve retention and completion; performance funding; and degree of reliance on sub-baccalaureate institutions. While not exhaustive, this list of interventions is meant to focus on key policies affecting the undergraduate student experience and to give a sense of their range. We explore possible lessons that England and the United States might draw from each other’s experiences, mindful of the dangers of uncritical “policy tourism”. In the case of the United States, we note why and how it might benefit from following England in the use of Access Agreements to govern the outreach efforts of its universities, making more use of income-contingent loans, and expanding the range of information provided to prospective college students about the programmes and institutions they are considering. Meanwhile, in the case of England, we examine how it might benefit from greater focus on the role of further education colleges, sceptical consideration of proposals to make greater use of for-profit higher education, greater use of grant aid in its financial aid system, more policy attention to decisions students are making in primary and early secondary school that affect their preparation for higher education, greater use of contextualised admissions, and very careful consideration of the possible downsides of performance funding.
CONVENTIONALITY AS A FACTOR FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIETY

The article discusses the social and conventional mechanisms of the society sustainable development. The author concludes that sustainable development of the society in the considered region is based on the organic solidarity and trust in the conditions of a frozen conflict. She also explains the ratio and mutual influence of subjective factors and objective conditions of the social convention and analyses the main principles of interrelation of conventionality and sustainable development of social systems. According to the author, strengthening the stability of society requires improved democratic mechanism of consolidated public interests and favorable conditions for the development of conventionality. The author introduces a methodology for measuring conventionality, which includes three areas of measurement: economic, political and social. Some examples from the study of trade interactions in the border are provided to illustrate the developed model. The methodology and the results of the research indicate the ability to control the sustainability of development in this area.
Challenges and Strategies for Building and Maintaining Effective Preceptor-Preceptee Relationships among Nurses.

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to determine the challenges encountered and strategies used by nurse preceptors to build effective professional relationships during the preceptorship of final year nursing students. METHODS This study was conducted in November 2012 at the College of Nursing in Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. A qualitative research design consisting of focus group discussions was used to investigate the challenges that preceptors encounter and the strategies that they use to build effective relationships with preceptees. A total of 21 preceptors from Sultan Qaboos University Hospital participated in the study as part of a training workshop for nurse preceptors. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. RESULTS The main challenges faced by preceptors included discrepancies in applying theory to practice; lack of trust; lack of time, and perceived lack of knowledge. The effective strategies identified by the preceptors to be used in building a healthy preceptor-preceptee relationship were proper orientation; effective communication; preparation for complex situations; appreciation and acknowledgment; positive feedback; assurance of support; spending time together; knowing preceptors personally; giving breaks, and encouraging self-commitment. CONCLUSION Preceptors should be encouraged to identify challenges that hinder the building of effective relationships with preceptees early during their preceptorship. The incorporation of appropriate and evidenced-based strategies, such as those identified in this study, can transform the preceptorship experience into one that is fulfilling for both preceptors and preceptees. This may lead to greater job satisfaction, personal and professional growth as well as higher self-esteem levels for preceptors and the realisation of clinical objectives for preceptees.