Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mifepristone in Second-Trimester Medical Abortion: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the adjunctive use of mifepristone in second-trimester induction abortions using misoprostol 1 day after feticidal digoxin. METHODS: This is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of mifepristone in second-trimester induction termination using misoprostol after feticidal digoxin. Women seeking abortion between 18 and 23 weeks of gestation were offered enrollment. At the time of digoxin amnioinfusion, participants received a randomly allocated, identical-appearing capsule containing either mifepristone, 200 mg, or placebo. Patients returned the following day for induction with buccal misoprostol. The primary outcome was the time interval from the first misoprostol dose to abortion. Analysis utilized survival curves with log-rank testing. RESULTS: Of 64 women, 32 received mifepristone and 32 received placebo. The groups did not differ by ethnicity, age, parity, reason for termination, or gestational age. Median procedure time was significantly shorter for those who received mifepristone, 10 hours (95% confidence interval [CI] 8–12), than those who did not, 18 hours (95% CI 15–22), P<. 01, and those parous, 10 hours (95% CI 9–14), compared with nulliparous, 16 hours (95% CI 12–22, P=.02). Other findings in the mifepristone compared with placebo group included rates of placental retention, 3.1% compared with 6.3% (P=.61), length of hospitalization, 0.66 days compared with 0.8 days (P=.23), and analgesic requirements, 27.2 mg compared with 39.3 mg morphine (P=.22). Side effects during induction were similar between groups. CONCLUSION: Addition of mifepristone in second-trimester termination inductions using misoprostol significantly reduces the abortion time interval. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov, www.clinicaltrials. gov, NCT00382538 LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I
A New Framework for Understanding the Acquisition of Spatial Knowledge in Large-Scale Environments

People acquire knowledge about the spatial layout of the places they experience (cities, neighborhoods, buildings). This includes knowledge of locations, distances, and directions. The acquisition of this knowledge begins immediately, as soon as one arrives in a place, but presumably continues over long time periods, for months, years, and even decades. This knowledge can become quite extensive and elaborate. It provides a framework for the organization of experience and supports sophisticated spatial behavior such as creative wayfinding and direction giving. The developmental process of acquiring knowledge about the spatial layout of places over time is termed. Theoreticians from a variety of disciplines (cognitive, developmental, and environmental psychology; behavioral geography; planning and architec:ture; computer science) have attempted to describe and model spatial microgenesis. The long-dominant framework for understanding this process posits the following sequence: knowledge is initially acquired, followed by knowledge, which is followed by knowledge. In brief, according to this, landmark knowledge is knowledge of distinctive objects or scenes stored in memory. Route knowledge is knowledge of travel paths connecting landmarks. Survey knowledge is configurational knowledge of the locations and extents of features in some part of the environment that is not limited to particular travel paths. In this chapter I will reconsider the dominant framework in some detail, identify some problems with it, and offer an alternative framework that I believe is more conceptually coherent and more consistent with research evidence.
Review: semen extenders used in the artificial inseminarion of swine

This report reviews the latest knowledge on boar semen diluents used in artificial insemination procedures. The requirements of an effective fresh semen diluent are discussed and currently available extenders are compared. Finally, we suggest directions to be taken in future research on this topic. A semen extender should be carefully selected according to its proposed use. For a planned semen storage time lower than 72 h, it is preferable to use a short-term extender. This type of diluent is less expensive and has been associated with a similar reproduction outcome to that of long-term extenders. When semen doses need to be stored for more than 4 days (because of long distances, disease control procedures, etc.), we recommend the use of a long-term extender on a higher sperm concentration to compensate for reduced sperm viability due to ageing. The semen extender must be selected on the grounds of optimal performance (in terms of fertility and litter size), which, in turn, depends on the particular conditions of each pig farm. The choice of extender is crucial given its profound effect on the economic viability of the artificial insemination pro
Platelet activation in patients with the Raynaud phenomenon

Background: The Raynaud phenomenon (RP) is an exaggerated and reversible vasospasm of small arteries triggered by cold or emotional stress. Primary RP (PRP) term is used when the underlying condition is unknown. An altered regulation in vascular tone and/or release of soluble mediators from activated platelets plays a role in PRP through an increased oxidative stress. We assessed platelet activation and oxidative stress in patients with PRP by measuring platelet PAC‐1, an index of glycoprotein (Gp) IIb/IIIa receptor activation, thromboxane A2 (TXA2), an index of platelet activation and 8‐epi‐prostaglandin F2α (8‐epi‐PGF2α), a marker of endogenous in vivo peroxidation.
How are cognitive impairment, fatigue and signs of depression related to participation in daily life among persons with multiple sclerosis?

Abstract Purpose: Factors that impact participation are of scientific and clinical importance. Participation in everyday activities among persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) can be compromised by various factors however the combined contribution of these factors to participation has not been explored. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between cognitive impairment, physical disability and signs of depression and participation in daily life among persons with MS. Methods: Data from 200 participants were collected in an observational, prospective study. The majority was female, had mild physical disability, and an average age of 48.7. The impact of independent variables, including demographic and disease related data, levels of cognitive impairment, signs of depression and fatigue, on participation was investigated using path analysis. Results: Cognitive impairment was associated with restricted participation in domestic, leisure and outdoor domains. Restrictions in leisure and outdoor activities, but not domestic activities were related to signs of depression. Cognitive impairment was associated with the level of education and the level of physical disability. Conclusions: Increasing participation is an important outcome of rehabilitation. The results of this study suggest a multifactorial approach to intervention that considers physical, mental and emotional component to maximize participation among persons with MS. Implications for Rehabilitation Rehabilitation for persons living with multiple sclerosis (MS) should incorporate careful evaluation of physical disability, cognitive impairment and depression and their impact on participation. Clinicians need to evaluate participation in a variety of daily activities, including activities within and outside of the home, and leisure activities. Signs of depression may have a greater impact on participation in outdoor and leisure activities then on other activities.
Sight and Insight: Regional Cerebral Metabolic Activity in Schizophrenia Visualised by Positron Emission Tomography, and Competing Neurodevelopmental Perspectives

Over the past several years there has emerged a family of highly sophisticated but technically complex procedures for the visualisation of a range of cerebral functions in living man (Andreasen, 1988). The images they produce are so beguiling not just because of their potential to give new insights into the pathophysiology and treatment of major psychiatric disorders, but because they convey information through a quite fundamental modality: people are only convinced by what they can see. However, initial applications of such new technology have appeared just as likely to generate new questions and contradictions as to provide answers to current issues. This is readily illustrated by recent studies on the imaging of brain dopamine receptors in schizophrenic patients by positron emission tomography (PET) (see Waddington, 1989a).
Potential of tolerogenic dendritic cells for transplantation.

Dendritic cells (DC) are professional antigen (Ag)-presenting cells considered traditionally as the passenger leukocytes that, after migration from transplanted tissues, stimulate allospecific naive T cell responses and trigger acute rejection. However, there is recent evidence that, besides their role in central T lymphocyte deletion in the thymus, DC perform a crucial function to induce/maintain peripheral T cell tolerance. This paper outlines conceptual models that try to explain how DC may induce/maintain tolerance. It also considers how such ideas have been implemented recently in an effort to generate tolerogenic DC to induce donor Ag-specific tolerance/ immunosuppression and prolonged allograft survival. These approaches include genetic engineering of donor- or recipient-derived DC to express molecules capable of promoting tolerance to alloAg.
Energy expenditure by heart rate in children: an evaluation of calibration techniques.

PURPOSE To evaluate the impact of applying seven calibration equations (CE) in the estimation of free-living total energy expenditure (TEE) over 2-3 d in seven boys (mean +/- SD age 9.4+/-0.4 yr) by the Flex heart rate (HR) method. METHODS HR and oxygen consumption were measured simultaneously for eight activities (lying, sitting, standing, arm-reaching exercise, a stooping-and-twisting exercise, stepping, treadmill walking/running, and cycle ergometry) carried out in sequence. CE were derived from various combinations of activities. Flex HRs were identified for each CE. RESULTS There were no significant differences in TEE estimates [range (mean +/- SD); 6.65+/-0.72 to 7.27+/-0.89 MJ x d(-1)] derived from any of the CE. Mean daytime HR ranged from 86+/-4 to 122+/-15 beats x min(-1), and 82-98% of recorded daytime HR was < or = 140 beats x min(-1). As a result, within-subject CV in TEE from each of the CE ranged from 2.2% to 8.9%. Mean between-subject Flex HR ranged from 94+/-8 to 111+/-8 beats x min(-1). No significant differences were observed in corresponding TEE estimates. However, mean activity energy expenditure (AEE) ranged from 2.10+/-1.18 MJ x d(-1) (based on Flex HR 111+/-8 beats-min(-1)) to 3.55+/-1.44 MJ x d(-1) (based on Flex HR 94+/-8 beats x min(-1); NS). The corresponding estimates of resting energy expenditure (REE) were 1.89+/-0.82 MJ x d(-1) (Flex HR 111+/-8 beats-min(-1)) and 1.05+/-0.60 MJ x d(-1) (Flex HR 94+/-8 beats x min(-1)). Only the differences between the minimum and maximum estimates of REE were significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Unduly lengthy and complex calibration procedures for the estimation of Flex HR TEE may not be justified in most cases, particularly in sedentary children.
The use and effectiveness of electronic clinical decision support tools in the ambulatory/primary care setting: a systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND The 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report To Err is Human alerted the healthcare industry and the public to the lack of consistency in the delivery of quality care to the US population. Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have become a leading response to this report, and to the growing demand for the promotion of standards-based care delivery. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the recent literature for both the types and effectiveness of electronic CDSS in the primary care setting. METHODS An electronic search of the literature was conducted utilising MEDLINE (1996-2006), CINAHL (1982-2006) and all EBM Reviews--Cochrane DSR, ACP Journal Club, DARE and CCTR. The search included various combinations of the MeSH search terms 'clinical decision support systems', 'primary health care', 'ambulatory care' and 'practice guidelines' and was limited to articles published from 2000 to 2006. Studies were selected for review if they involved either non-randomised observational or randomised controlled trials (RCTs) utilising CDSS as a single intervention, were performed in an ambulatory primary care setting and included quantifiable outcome measures. RESULTS Seventeen studies were included in the review, including five non-randomised observational studies and 12 RCTs. Thirteen studies (76%) found either positive or variable outcomes related to CDSS intervention with four studies (24%) showing no significant effect. CONCLUSION Although there is validation that CDSS has the potential to produce statistically significant improvement in outcomes, there is much variability among the types and methods of CDSS implementation and resulting effectiveness. As CDSS will likely continue to be at the forefront of the march toward effective standards-based care, more work needs to be done to determine effective implementation strategies for the use of CDSS across multiple settings and patient populations.
Statins--beyond lipids in CKD.

correlates of prevalent coronary calcification. Int J Cardiol 2005; 98: 325–330 45. Shisen J, Leung DY, Juergens CP. Gender and age differences in the prevalence of coronary artery calcification in 953 Chinese subjects. Hearth Lung Circ 2005; 14: 69–73 46. London GM, Marchais SJ, Guerin AP et al. Association of bone activity, calcium load, aortic stiffness, and calcifications in ESRD. J Am Soc Nephrol 2008; 19: 1827–1835 47. Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) CKD-MBD Work Group. KDIGO Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis, Evaluation, Prevention, and Treatment of Chronic Kidney DiseaseMineral and Bone Disorder (CKD-MBD). Kidney Int Suppl 2009; 113: S1–S130 48. Stenvinkel P, Wang K, Qureshi AR et al. Low fetuin-A levels are associated with cardiovascular death: impact of variations in the gene encoding fetuin. Kidney Int 2005; 67: 2383–2392 49. Chiu YW, Teitelbaum I, Misra M et al. Pill burden, adherence, hyperphosphatemia, and quality of life in maintenance dialysis patients. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2009; 4: 1089–1096 50. Giachelli CM. The emerging role of phosphate in vascular calcification. Kidney Int 2009; 75: 890–897 51. Fan S, Ross C, Mitra S et al. A randomized, crossover design study of sevelamer carbonate powder and sevelamer hydrochloride tablets in chronic kidney disease patients on haemodialysis. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2009; 24: 3794–3799 52. Fishbane S, Delmez J, Suki WN et al. A randomized, parallel, openlabel study to compare once-daily sevelamer carbonate powder dosing with thrice-daily sevelamer hydrochloride tablet dosing in CKD patients on hemodialysis. Am J Kidney Dis 2010; 55: 307–315 53. Oliveira RB, Cancela AL, Graciolli FG et al. Early control of PTH and FGF23 in normophosphatemic CKD patients: a new target in CKD-MBD therapy? Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2010; 5: 286–291 54. Brandenburg VM, Jahnen-Dechent W, Ketteler M. Sevelamer and the bone-vascular axis in chronic kidney disease: bone turnover, inflammation, and calcification regulation. Kidney Int Suppl 2009; 114: S26–S33
Exhaled carbon monoxide levels after a course of oral prednisone in children with asthma exacerbation.

BACKGROUND Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FE(NO)) and exhaled carbon monoxide (ECO) have been proposed as markers of airway inflammation and oxidative stress. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the effect of oral prednisone treatment on FE(NO) and ECO levels in a group of 30 asthmatic children with asthma exacerbation. METHODS Thirty asthmatic children with asthma exacerbation were treated with oral prednisone for 5 days (1 mg/kg/day). Before and after prednisone therapy, ECO was measured by means of a chemical analyzer and FE(NO) was measured by means of a chemiluminescence analyzer. ECO and FE(NO) were also measured in a group of healthy nonatopic children. RESULTS Before therapy, both ECO values and FE(NO) values were higher in asthmatic children (ECO, 3.2 +/- 0.2 ppm; FE(NO) online, 74.9 +/- 6.2 ppb; FE(NO) offline, 20.2 +/- 1.4 ppb) than in healthy controls (ECO, 2.0 +/- 0.2 ppm [P <.01]; FE(NO) online, 10.1 +/- 0.8 [P <. 0001]; FE(NO) offline, 5.9 +/- 0.4 ppb [P <. 0001]). An overlap in ECO values was found between healthy controls and asthmatic children. After prednisone therapy, there was a significant reduction in FE(NO) values (FE(NO) online, 40.6 +/- 4.6 ppb [P <. 0001]; FE(NO) offline, 11.1 +/- 0.8 ppb [P < 0.0001]) and a slight but nonsignificant decrease in ECO values (2.7 +/- 0.2 ppm [P = not significant]) in the asthmatic group. No significant correlation between ECO values and FE(NO) values was found in either the asthmatic children or the controls. CONCLUSIONS After a course of prednisone therapy, in children with asthma exacerbation there is a significant decrease in FE(NO) but no significant change in ECO levels. This possibly suggests that ECO is less sensitive than FE(NO) to inhibition by corticosteroids.
Orbital granulomatosis with polyangiitis masquerading as invasive fungal sinusitis

ABSTRACT A 55-year-old man presented with unilateral orbital inflammation and no light perception vision. Imaging revealed infiltrative enhancement of the optic nerve, orbit, and intracranial tissue. The case was suspicious for invasive fungal disease, but ultimate workup and orbital biopsy revealed granulomatosis with polyangiitis. The patient’s inflammation resolved with corticosteroid and rituximab therapy. Granulomatosis with polyangiitis is a systemic vasculitis that can mimic a number of orbital pathologies.
Semiautomatic texture generation and transformation for cyber city building models

This paper describes a polygon-based procedure for generating texture information from digital photographs and mapping them onto 3D building models in a cyber city implementation. The developed texture generation and transformation procedure can produce seamless texture mosaics and transform generated texture information of regular and nonplanar shaped building facades onto model surfaces correctly. Test results demonstrate that the developed method can create near photo-realistic texture appearances for complex threedimensional building models. The algorithms are light-weighted and of high computational efficiency, therefore are suitable for cyber city applications. Keywords-texture mapping; image mosaic; cyber city; building models
Clinical and pathological spectrum of coeliac disease--active, silent, latent, potential.

Currently recognised forms of gluten sensitive enteropathy Within the framework of the current definition (a permanent gluten sensitive enteropathy), clinical, pathological, epidemiological, and immunological approaches are revealing several forms of coeliac disease. In so called active coeliac disease, malabsorption, and nutritional deficiencies range from profound to minimal; clinically silent coeliac disease is being increasingly recognised for example, in family studies. Pathologically there is also a degree of heterogeneity. Descriptive terms such as 'flat mucosa', or 'subtotal villus atrophy', are the pathologist's shorthand for a cluster of features (villus, crypt sizes, epithelial cell damage, intraepithelial and lamina propria lymphoid cell infiltrates) which together characterise the enteropathy of coeliac disease. Quantitative histology and computerised image analysis have shown that these features occur in a continuum, with the flat lesion at one end of the spectrum and a mucosa with normal villus and crypt architecture, but an abnormally high density or count of villus intraepithelial lymphocytes, at the other. 2 The latter would be reported as normal by most clinical pathologists. This fact is important when the evidence for the existence of latent coeliac disease is reviewed. This term should only be applied to patients who fulfil the following conditions: (i) have a normal jejunal biopsy while taking a normal diet; (ii) at some other time, before or since, have had a flat jejunal biopsy which recovers on a gluten free diet. The suggestion that there might be a 'precoeliac' state was first made by Weinstein who described two patients with dermatitis herpetiformis and normal jejunal biopsies in whom typical coeliac like enteropathy developed some weeks after 20 g gluten was added to their already gluten containing diet.3 Two studies from the United Kingdom have confirmed this observation45 and the concept is supported by
Characterization of Fully Embedded RF Inductors in Organic SOP Technology

In this paper, we investigate fully embedded circular spiral inductors in multilayered organic packaging substrate for radio-frequency (RF) and microwave applications. The proposed spiral inductors are designed with circular geometry to improve their quality factors and the vertically stacked geometry is utilized to reduce the component area resulting in the increment of packaging density. And also the embedded circular spiral inductors are designed with conductor backed coplanar waveguide (CBCPW) structures for utilizing them directly for compact RF modules and systems. They are evaluated and optimized by varying their geometry parameters such as a number of turns, inner diameter, and embedded layer. These embedded inductors are accurately designed and analyzed by 3-D EM simulation and equivalent circuit modeling. The planar circular spiral two-turn inductor has inductance of 8.6 nH and maximum quality factor of 67 at 1 GHz. The vertically stacked circular spiral two-turn inductor has inductance of 10.2 nH and maximum quality factor of 66 at 1 GHz. The size of the vertically stacked inductor is approximately 70% of the planar one. The measured performance characteristics are well matched with the 3-D EM simulated ones.
Civic hacking as data activism and advocacy: A history from publicity to open government data

The civic hacker tends to be described as anachronistic, an ineffective “white hat” compared to more overtly activist cousins. By contrast, I argue that civic hackers’ politics emerged from a distinct historical milieu and include potentially powerful modes of political participation. The progressive roots of civic data hacking can be found in early 20th-century notions of “publicity” and the right to information movement. Successive waves of activists saw the Internet as a tool for transparency. The framing of openness shifted in meaning from information to data, weakening of mechanisms for accountability even as it opened up new forms of political participation. Drawing on a year of interviews and participant observation, I suggest civic data hacking can be framed as a form of data activism and advocacy: requesting, digesting, contributing to, modeling, and contesting data. I conclude civic hackers are utopian realists involved in the crafting of algorithmic power and discussing ethics of technology design. They may be misunderstood because open data remediates previous forms of openness. In the process, civic hackers transgress established boundaries of political participation.