LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Neurochemical, Electrophysiological and Pharmacological Profiles of the Selective Inhibitor of the Glycine Transporter-1 SSR504734, a Potential New Type of Antipsychotic

Noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) blockers induce schizophrenic-like symptoms in humans, presumably by impairing glutamatergic transmission. Therefore, a compound potentiating this neurotransmission, by increasing extracellular levels of glycine (a requisite co-agonist of glutamate), could possess antipsychotic activity. Blocking the glycine transporter-1 (GlyT1) should, by increasing extracellular glycine levels, potentiate glutamatergic neurotransmission. SSR504734, a selective and reversible inhibitor of human, rat, and mouse GlyT1 (IC50=18, 15, and 38 nM, respectively), blocked reversibly the ex vivo uptake of glycine (mouse cortical homogenates: ID50: 5 mg/kg i.p.), rapidly and for a long duration. In vivo, it increased (minimal efficacious dose (MED): 3 mg/kg i.p.) extracellular levels of glycine in the rat prefrontal cortex (PFC). This resulted in an enhanced glutamatergic neurotransmission, as SSR504734 potentiated NMDA-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in rat hippocampal slices (minimal efficacious concentration (MEC): 0.5 μM) and intrastriatal glycine-induced rotations in mice (MED: 1 mg/kg i.p.). It normalized activity in rat models of hippocampal and PFC hypofunctioning (through activation of presynaptic CB1 receptors): it reversed the decrease in electrically evoked [3H]acetylcholine release in hippocampal slices (MEC: 10 nM) and the reduction of PFC neurons firing (MED: 0.3 mg/kg i.v.). SSR504734 prevented ketamine-induced metabolic activation in mice limbic areas and reversed MK-801-induced hyperactivity and increase in EEG spectral energy in mice and rats, respectively (MED: 10–30 mg/kg i.p.). In schizophrenia models, it normalized a spontaneous prepulse inhibition deficit in DBA/2 mice (MED: 15 mg/kg i.p.), and reversed hypersensitivity to locomotor effects of d-amphetamine and selective attention deficits (MED: 1–3 mg/kg i.p.) in adult rats treated neonatally with phencyclidine. Finally, it increased extracellular dopamine in rat PFC (MED: 10 mg/kg i.p.). The compound showed additional activity in depression/anxiety models, such as the chronic mild stress in mice (10 mg/kg i.p.), ultrasonic distress calls in rat pups separated from their mother (MED: 1 mg/kg s.c.), and the increased latency of paradoxical sleep in rats (MED: 30 mg/kg i.p.). In conclusion, SSR504734 is a potent and selective GlyT1 inhibitor, exhibiting activity in schizophrenia, anxiety and depression models. By targeting one of the primary causes of schizophrenia (hypoglutamatergy), it is expected to be efficacious not only against positive but also negative symptoms, cognitive deficits, and comorbid depression/anxiety states.
Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with carboplatin followed by carboplatin and 5- fluorouracil in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

BACKGROUND
This study aimed to evaluate acute major toxicities, the response rate, 3-year overall survival and progression-free survival rate of locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients on concurrent carboplatin chemoradiotherapy followed by carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil.


METHODS
A prospective study of fifty patients diagnosed with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma received conventional radiation therapy with a total dose of 6600-7000 cGy in 6-7 weeks and concurrent chemotherapy of three cycles of carboplatin during radiotherapy, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy using carboplatin plus 5-fluorouracil for two cycles.


RESULTS
Weight loss and mucositis were the two most common acute major grades 3-4 toxicities (42%). Myelosuppression occurred subsequently, including leukopenia (30%), neutropenia (20%), anemia (12%), and thrombocytopenia (6%). Only 8% of patients developed grades 3-4 nausea and vomiting. No patients had renal and electrolyte abnormalities. Regarding the response evaluation, 100% of patients achieved an objective response rate of the primary tumor (92% complete response, and 8% partial response). Similarly, all patients also achieved an objective response rate of the neck node (64% complete response and 36% partial response). The 3-year overall survival rate and progression-free survival rate were 89.7% and 72.7%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with carboplatin followed by carboplatin and 5- fluorouracil could be considered as an alternative regimen for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients pertaining to a good overall response rate, 3-year overall survival and progression-free survival rate with good tolerability.
Effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation combined with palonosetron on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a single-blind, randomized, controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting adversely affects the quality of life of patients who receive chemotherapy via intravenous infusion or transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). This study aimed to investigate the clinical effects of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on nausea and vomiting after TACE.


METHODS
A total of 142 patients who received TACE with cisplatin for primary or metastatic liver cancer were assigned to the active-acupuncture (n = 72) or placebo-acupuncture (n = 70) groups using a covariate-adaptive randomization at a ratio of 1:1. The acupoints Hegu (LI4), Neiguan (P6), and Zusanli (ST36) were stimulated twice daily for 6 days. The effects of TEAS on nausea and vomiting were assessed by using occurrence rate and severity of these symptoms. Anorexia scale and M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) scores were secondary endpoints and were used to assess the effect of TEAS on patient appetite and quality of life. The safety of the treatments was also monitored.


RESULTS
Between the two groups, the differences in occurrence rates and severities of nausea and vomiting after TACE were not significant (all P > 0.05). From the second day after TACE, anorexia scores were significantly lower in the active-acupuncture group than in the placebo-acupuncture group and continued to decrease over time with treatment (all P values less than 0.01). On days 0, 1, and 2, the mean MDASI scores for the active-acupuncture group were slightly lower than those for the placebo-acupuncture group, but the differences were not statistically significant (all P > 0.05). No significant differences were found between the two groups in the occurrence rate of any adverse event (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSION
TEAS appears to be a safe and effective therapy to relieve patients' gastrointestinal discomfort after chemotherapy. Trial registration NCT01895010. Registered 21 June 2013.
Flavonoid-rich orange juice is associated with acute improvements in cognitive function in healthy middle-aged males

PURPOSE
Epidemiological evidence suggests that chronic consumption of fruit-based flavonoids is associated with cognitive benefits; however, the acute effects of flavonoid-rich (FR) drinks on cognitive function in the immediate postprandial period require examination. The objective was to investigate whether consumption of FR orange juice is associated with acute cognitive benefits over 6 h in healthy middle-aged adults.


METHODS
Males aged 30-65 consumed a 240-ml FR orange juice (272 mg) and a calorie-matched placebo in a randomized, double-blind, counterbalanced order on 2 days separated by a 2-week washout. Cognitive function and subjective mood were assessed at baseline (prior to drink consumption) and 2 and 6 h post consumption. The cognitive battery included eight individual cognitive tests. A standardized breakfast was consumed prior to the baseline measures, and a standardized lunch was consumed 3 h post-drink consumption.


RESULTS
Change from baseline analysis revealed that performance on tests of executive function and psychomotor speed was significantly better following the FR drink compared to the placebo. The effects of objective cognitive function were supported by significant benefits for subjective alertness following the FR drink relative to the placebo.


CONCLUSIONS
These data demonstrate that consumption of FR orange juice can acutely enhance objective and subjective cognition over the course of 6 h in healthy middle-aged adults.
PTV margin definition in hypofractionated IGRT of localized prostate cancer using cone beam CT and orthogonal image pairs with fiducial markers

PURPOSE
To evaluate PTV margins for hypofractionated IGRT of prostate comparing kV/kV imaging or CBCT.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
Between 2009 and 2012, 20 patients with low- (LR), intermediate- (IR) and high-risk (HR) prostate cancer were treated with VMAT in supine position with fiducial markers (FM), endorectal balloon (ERB) and full bladder. CBCT's and kV/kV imaging were performed before and additional CBCT's after treatment assessing intra-fraction motion. CTVP for 5 patients with LR and CTVPSV for 5 patients with IR/HR prostate cancer were contoured independently by 3 radiation oncologists using MRI. The van Hark formula (PTV margin =2.5Σ +0.7σ) was applied to calculate PTV margins of prostate/seminal vesicles (P/PSV) using CBCT or FM.


RESULTS
172 and 52 CBCTs before and after RT and 507 kV/kV images before RT were analysed. Differences between FM in CBCT or in planar kV image pairs were below 1 mm. Accounting for both random and systematic uncertainties anisotropic PTV margins were 5-8 mm for P (LR) and 6-11 mm for PSV (IR/HR). Random uncertainties like intra-fraction and inter-fraction (setup) uncertainties were of similar magnitude (0.9-1.4 mm). Largest uncertainty was introduced by CTV delineation (LR: 1-2 mm, IR/HR: 1.6-3.5 mm). Patient positioning using bone matching or ERB-matching resulted in larger PTV margins.


CONCLUSIONS
For IGRT CBCT or kV/kV-image pairs with FM are interchangeable in respect of accuracy. Especially for hypofractionated RT, PTV margins can be kept in the range of 5 mm or below if stringent daily IGRT, ideally including prostate tracking, is applied. MR-based CTV delineation optimization is recommended.
Light-Front Field Theory of Hot and Dense Quark Matter

Abstract.Extending the concepts of light-front field theory to quantum statistics provides a novel approach towards nuclear matter under extreme conditions. Such conditions exist, e.g., in neutron stars or in the early stage of our universe. They are experimentally expected to occur in heavy ion collisions, e.g., at RHIC and accelerators to be built at GSI and CERN. Light-front field theory is particularly suited, since it is based on a relativistic Hamiltonian approach. It allows us to treat the perturbative as well as the nonperturbative regime of QCD and also correlations that emerge as a field of few-body physics and is important for hadronization. Last but not least the Hamiltonian approach is useful for nonequilibrium processes by utilizing, e.g., the formalism of nonequilibrium statistical operators.
From Verbs to Tasks: An Integrated Account of Learning Tasks from Situated Interactive Instruction

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Chapter
Surveying stock market forecasting techniques - Part II: Soft computing methods

0957-4174/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. A doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2008.07.006 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +3
Impact of Sea Grass Density on Carbonate Dissolution in Bahamian Sediments

Carbonate dissolution has been widely observed in shallow water tropical sediments. However, sediment budgets have generally not been closed with respect to the amount of acid required to produce the observed carbonate dissolution. Recently it has been suggested that enhanced oxygen transport into sediments through the roots and rhizomes of sea grasses might play a role in resolving this mass balance problem. We conducted studies of sea grass–carbonate sediment interactions around Lee Stocking Island, Exuma Islands, Bahamas to further examine this problem. Our studies showed that alkalinity, total dissolved inorganic carbon (SCO2) and Ca21 increased with depth in the pore waters, while pH and calculated carbonate ion concentration decreased with depth. These observations are consistent with the occurrence of carbonate dissolution in these sediments. The magnitude of pore water alkalinity, SCO2, and Ca21 changes was also related to sea grass density, with the largest gradients seen in the sediments of dense sea grass beds. Calculations suggested that less than ;50% of the O2 needed to drive aerobic respiration (and ultimately carbonate dissolution via CO2 production) could be supplied by transport processes such as diffusion, bioturbation, and physical pore water advection. Furthermore, the O2 needed to balance the carbonate dissolution budget could be provided by the transport of ,15% of the photosynthetically derived O2 to the sediments through sea grass roots and rhizomes without enhancing the removal of carbonate dissolution end products. Thus sea grasses play an important role in controlling the rates of carbonate dissolution in shallow water tropical marine sediments. The dissolution of calcium carbonate in marine sediments is an important component of the oceanic and global carbon cycle on a variety of spatial and temporal scales (e.g., Morse and Mackenzie 1990; Milliman 1993). Carbonate dissolution occurs in aerobic sediments as a result of aqueous CO2 production during oxic remineralization of sediment organic matter (SOM, or CH2O here), expressed here approximately as CH2O 1 O2 → CO2 1 H2O (1) (ignoring any alkalinity contributions associated with N and P remineralization, as well as acid production associated with the oxidation of metal sulfides such as FeS). In sediments overlain by bottom waters supersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate, the metabolic acid produced by this reaction is first neutralized by titration with dissolved carbonate ion (e.g., Emerson and Bender 1981), producing bicarbonate according to, CO2 1 H2O 1 CO → 2HCO 22 2 3 3 (2) 1 Corresponding author (dburdige@odu.edu).
What constrains Africa ' s exports ? Preliminary and incomplete

What is the binding constraint to Africa's exports: transit, paperwork, or ports and customs costs? We use detailed data on the breakdown of trade times to answer this question. We find that transit costs are the most constraining. A one percent reduction in inland travel times leads to a 1-2 percent increase in exports. Put another way, a one day reduction in inland travel times translates into nearly a three percentage point reduction in all importing country tariffs. In contrast, higher times in the other areas are not robustly significant in reducing exports. We control for the possibility that greater trade leads to improvements in transit in a three ways. First, we examine the effect of trade costs in a transit country on the exports of landlocked countries. Second, we use a sample of food products, ranging from perishable goods where time is most critical to preserved goods, and show that transit costs reduce exports by relatively more for goods with a shorter lifespan. Third, we show that transit times have a greater effect on existing exports, while other costs also affect new exports. One explanation for the domination of transit is that it is associated with more uncertainty than other costs. Our results imply that improvements in moving goods inland must be included in trade facilitation programs in Africa. * Development Economic Research Group, The World Bank. ς Economic Research and Statistics Division, World Trade Organization.
Multi-criteria assessment and ranking system of sport team formation based on objective-measured values of criteria set

Keywords: Basketball team formation Ranking Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) TOPSIS a b s t r a c t Basketball is one of the most popular sports games in the world. Professional basketball has become a significant contributor to global economics and business. Considerable funds attracted by the game motivate participants of the sporting process (players, coaches, club owners, administration and etc.) to strive for better athletic results, this way promoting internal and external rivalry. A large number of players and the desire of teams to attract better team members as well as improve the quality of the already available athletes, boost the use of assessment and rating processes. The most popular and widely used player rating systems are based on performance statistics, which reflect situational factors of the game. Most specialists believe that such systems lack objectivity. Meanwhile, the Authors suggest a systematic solution, i.e. an adjusted well-known TOPSIS method and principles for the design of the algorithm based on the method. As a consistent problem solving system, algorithms based on multi-criteria decision-making are regarded to be simple and clear, suitable to substantiate solutions as well as easily applied in practise. Methodologies used by the Authors will help ensuring a greater efficiency of player and team rating, more accurate prognoses of sports results, team formation, and optimisation of the training process considering individualism of team players and encouraging their versatility, i.e. conformity to general physical preparedness norms of the team. The suggested research methods could be used in other sports. Furthermore , these principles could be used in business management for team formation. Some authors argue that basketball requires reciprocal coaching with leadership and decision-making based on sharing (Erculj & Supej, 2009) as well as on a collaborative and facilitating environment , which is rather different from dominant and controlling basketball coaching described by (Adler & Adler, 1988). Basketball involves many continuous motor skills. However, shooting is a relatively discreet skill (Stec, 2012). Thus, basketball requires a tremendous amount of gross motor skills that involve the movement of the whole body. In basketball, taking a foul shot is a relatively closed environment when compared to the movement required to execute an offensive set. The sequence of plays is unpredictable and dependant on a situation. To a large extent, success depends on the ability to effectively execute discrete tasks. This does not imply that basketball has nothing to do with continuous motor …
Lowest common ancestors in trees and directed acyclic graphs

We study the problem of finding lowest common ancestors (LCA) in trees and directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). Specifically, we extend the LCA problem to DAGs and study the LCA variants that arise in this general setting. We begin with a clear exposition of Berkman and Vishkin’s simple optimal algorithm for LCA in trees. The ideas presented are not novel theoretical contributions, but they lay the foundation for our work on LCA problems in DAGs. We present an algorithm that finds all-pairs-representative LCA in DAGs in Õ(n) operations, provide a transitive-closure lower bound for the all-pairs-representative-LCA problem, and develop an LCA-existence algorithm that preprocesses the DAG in transitive-closure time. We also present a suboptimal but practical O(n) algorithm for all-pairs-representative LCA in DAGs that uses ideas from the optimal algorithms in trees and DAGs. Our results reveal a close relationship between the LCA, all-pairs-shortest-path, and transitive-closure problems. We conclude the paper with a short experimental study of LCA algorithms in trees and DAGs. Our experiments and source code demonstrate the elegance of the preprocessing-query algorithms for LCA in trees. We show that for most trees the suboptimal Θ(n log n)-preprocessing Θ(1)-query algorithm should be preferred, and demonstrate that our proposed O(n) algorithm for allpairs-representative LCA in DAGs performs well in both low and high density DAGs.
Phase III study of cyclophosphamide , doxorubicin , and etoposide compared with carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with extensive disease small-cell lung cancer 5 , 55

The progression-free survival (PFS) of cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin/etoposide (CDE) and carboplatin/paclitaxel (CP) was compared in chemonaive patients with extensive disease small-cell lung cancer (ED-SCLC). A total of 203 patients were randomised to three-weekly CDE (n = 102) or CP (n = 101) for five cycles. Tumour response rates in CDE and CP were 60% and 61%. PFS of CP was 5.2 months, PFS of CDE 4.9 months (p = 0.60). The major difference in toxicity between CDE and CP was grade 4 leukocytopaenia in 64% and 9% of the patients (p < 0.0001), leading to febrile neutropaenia in 30% and 4% of the patients (p < 0.0001), respectively. This was the reason for differences in the total number of hospital admissions (63 for CDE and 40 for CP, p = 0.0025). This study failed to demonstrate any benefit in PFS with CP compared with CDE. CP was associated with significantly less haematological toxicity, leading to 37% less hospital admissions for febrile neutropaenia. 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Chronic care clinics for diabetes in primary care: a system-wide randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impact of primary care group visits (chronic care clinics) on the process and outcome of care for diabetic patients.


RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
We evaluated the intervention in primary care practices randomized to intervention and control groups in a large-staff model health maintenance organization (HMO). Patients included diabetic patients > or = 30 years of age in each participating primary care practice, selected at random from an automated diabetes registry. Primary care practices were randomized within clinics to either a chronic care clinic (intervention) group or a usual care (control) group. The intervention group conducted periodic one-half day chronic care clinics for groups of approximately 8 diabetic patients in their respective doctor's practice. Chronic care clinics consisted of standardized assessments; visits with the primary care physician, nurse, and clinical pharmacist; and a group education/peer support meeting. We collected self-report questionnaires from patients and data from administrative systems. The questionnaires were mailed, and telephoned interviews were conducted for nonrespondents, at baseline and at 12 and 24 months; we queried the process of care received, the satisfaction with care, and the health status of each patient. Serum cholesterol and HbA1c levels and health care use and cost data was collected from HMO administrative systems.


RESULTS
In an intention-to-treat analysis at 24 months, the intervention group had received significantly more recommended preventive procedures and helpful patient education. Of five primary health status indicators examined, two (SF-36 general health and bed disability days) were significantly better in the intervention group. Compared with control patients, intervention patients had slightly more primary care visits, but significantly fewer specialty and emergency room visits. Among intervention participants, we found consistently positive associations between the number of chronic care clinics attended and a number of outcomes, including patient satisfaction and HbA1c levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Periodic primary care sessions organized to meet the complex needs of diabetic patients imrproved the process of diabetes care and were associated with better outcomes.