LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Toceranib/Piroxicam/Cyclophosphamide Maintenance Therapy on Outcome of Dogs with Appendicular Osteosarcoma following Amputation and Carboplatin Chemotherapy: A Multi-Institutional Study

BACKGROUND
We hypothesized that the addition of toceranib to metronomic cyclophosphamide/piroxicam therapy would significantly improve disease-free interval (DFI) and overall survival (OS) in dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma (OSA) following amputation and carboplatin chemotherapy.


METHODS AND FINDINGS
This was a randomized, prospective clinical trial in which dogs with OSA free of gross metastatic disease (n = 126) received carboplatin chemotherapy (4 doses) following amputation. On study entry, dogs were randomized to receive piroxicam/cyclophosphamide with or without toceranib (n = 63 each) after completing chemotherapy. Patient demographics were not significantly different between both groups. During or immediately following carboplatin chemotherapy, 32 dogs (n = 13 toceranib; n = 19 control) developed metastatic disease, and 13 dogs left the study due to other medical conditions or owner preference. Following carboplatin chemotherapy, 81 dogs (n = 46 toceranib; n = 35 control) received the metronomic treatment; 35 dogs (n = 20 toceranib; n = 15 control) developed metastatic disease during the maintenance therapy, and 26 dogs left the study due to other medical conditions or owner preference. Nine toceranib-treated and 11 control dogs completed the study without evidence of metastatic disease 1-year following amputation. Toceranib-treated dogs experienced more episodes of diarrhea, neutropenia and weight loss than control dogs, although these toxicities were low-grade and typically resolved with supportive care. More toceranib-treated dogs (n = 8) were removed from the study for therapy-associated adverse events compared to control dogs (n = 1). The median DFI for control and toceranib treated dogs was 215 and 233 days, respectively (p = 0.274); the median OS for control and toceranib treated dogs was 242 and 318 days, respectively (p = 0.08). The one year survival rate for control dogs was 35% compared to 38% for dogs receiving toceranib.


CONCLUSIONS
The addition of toceranib to metronomic piroxicam/cyclophosphamide therapy following amputation and carboplatin chemotherapy did not improve median DFI, OS or the 1-year survival rate in dogs with OSA.
A 18-pJ/Pulse OOK CMOS Transmitter for Multiband UWB Impulse Radio

This letter presents a new transmitter for multiband impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) systems. The ultra low-power, low-complexity UWB transmitter operates over three 528-MHz subbands in 3-5 GHz band. It consists of an on-off keying (OOK) modulator and a pulse generator which is based on the ON/OFF switching operation of an LC oscillator. Measurements show a pulse duration of 3.5 ns and a spectrum that fully complies with the FCC spectral mask with more than 20 dB of sidelobe rejection. Implemented in 0.18-mum CMOS technology, the transmitter operates in burst mode and dissipates only 18 pJ of energy consumption per pulse. The transmitter is best suited for energy detection receivers.
Black Counselor Educator in a Predominantly White Institution

An informal interview approach was used to examine the status of the black counselor educator in predominantly white institutions of higher learning. Attention is given to alienation of black professionals, their relationship with white colleagues, and their interaction with both white and black students. Although different points of view are presented, the discussion is admittedly directed toward obtaining a black perspective of what it is like to work in a predominantly white educational setting.
A Novel Driving Scheme for Synchronous Rectifiers in LLC Resonant Converters

This paper proposes a novel synchronous rectifier (SR) driving scheme for resonant converters. It is very suitable for high-frequency, high-efficiency, and high-power-density dc-dc resonant converters with SRs. In this paper, an LLC resonant converter with the proposed synchronous rectification is designed and analyzed. With the proposed driving scheme, the SR body diode conduction is reduced to almost zero. The driving scheme eliminates the reverse-recovery problem of SRs. Both current and voltage stresses are greatly decreased, and the conduction loss and switching loss of SRs are also reduced considerably. The experimental results show that the proposed LLC resonant converter with SRs can achieve low stress, high efficiency, and high power density.
Benefits for Type 2 Diabetes of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting With Brief Bouts of Light Walking or Simple Resistance Activities.

OBJECTIVE
To determine whether interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of light-intensity walking (LW) or simple resistance activities (SRA) improves postprandial cardiometabolic risk markers in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D).


RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
In a randomized crossover trial, 24 inactive overweight/obese adults with T2D (14 men 62 ± 6 years old) underwent the following 8-h conditions on three separate days (with 6-14 days washout): uninterrupted sitting (control) (SIT), sitting plus 3-min bouts of LW (3.2 km · h(-1)) every 30 min, and sitting plus 3-min bouts of SRA (half-squats, calf raises, gluteal contractions, and knee raises) every 30 min. Standardized meals were consumed during each condition. Incremental areas under the curve (iAUCs) for glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and triglycerides were compared between conditions.


RESULTS
Compared with SIT, both activity-break conditions significantly attenuated iAUCs for glucose (SIT mean 24.2 mmol · h · L(-1) [95% CI 20.4-28.0] vs. LW 14.8 [11.0-18.6] and SRA 14.7 [10.9-18.5]), insulin (SIT 3,293 pmol · h · L(-1) [2,887-3,700] vs. LW 2,104 [1,696-2,511] and SRA 2,066 [1,660-2,473]), and C-peptide (SIT 15,641 pmol · h · L(-1) [14,353-16,929] vs. LW 11,504 [10,209-12,799] and SRA 11,012 [9,723-12,301]) (all P < 0.001). The iAUC for triglycerides was significantly attenuated for SRA (P < 0.001) but not for LW (SIT 4.8 mmol · h · L(-1) [3.6-6.0] vs. LW 4.0 [2.8-5.1] and SRA 2.9 [1.7-4.1]).


CONCLUSIONS
Interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of LW or SRA attenuates acute postprandial glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and triglyceride responses in adults with T2D. With poor adherence to structured exercise, this approach is potentially beneficial and practical.
: Institutional Change and Globalization

University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher, except for reading and browsing via the World Wide Web. Users are not permitted to mount this file on any network servers.
Lightly-Supervised Attribute Extraction

Web search engines can greatly benefit from knowledge about a ttributes of entities present in search queries. In this paper, we introduce light ly-supervised methods for extracting entity attributes from natural language tex t. Using these methods, we are able to extract large numbers of attributes of differe nt entities at fairly high precision from a large natural language corpus. We compare o ur methods against a previously proposed pattern-based relation extractor, s h wing that the new methods give considerable improvements over that baseline. We a lso demonstrate that query expansion using extracted attributes improves retri eval performance on underspecified information-seeking queries. 1 Attributes in Web Search Web search engines receive numerous queries requesting inf ormation, often focused on a specific entity, such as a person, place or organization. These queri es are sometimes general requests, such as“bio of George Bush,”or specific requests, such as “new york mayor.” Accurately identifying the entity (new york) or related attributes ( mayor) can improve search results in several ways [1]. For example, knowledge of attributes and entities can identify a query as being a factual request [1, 2]. Query expansion using known attributes of the entity can als o improve results [3]. Additionally, an engine could suggest alternative queries based on attrib utes. If a user searches for just “Craig Ferguson” and “shows” is a known attribute of the entity ”Craig Ferguson”, then an alternative query suggestion could be “Craig Ferguson shows”which may guide the user to more informative results. The widely explored technique of pseudo relevance feedback can also benefit from a known list of entities and attributes [4]. Some view entity and att ribute extraction as a primary building block for the automatic creation of large scale knowledge ba ses aimed at addressing these issues [1]. The first step towards improving search results with attribu es is to create lists of entities and attributes. Towards that end, we propose new algorithms that, beginning with a small seed set of entities and attributes, learn to extract new entities and a ttributes from a large corpus of text. We adopt a bootstrapping approach, where the inputs for our lea rning algorithms are a large unlabeled corpus and the small seed set containing an entity type of int eres , such as seed pairs automatically extracted from query logs [1]. The seed pairs are matched aga inst the corpus to create training instances for the learning algorithms. The algorithms expl oit a wide range of instance features to alleviate the effects of noise and sparseness. The algorith ms produce a large list of entities and associated attributes, which can be directly applied towar ds improving web search. This paper proceeds as follows. We begin with some backgroun d n attribute extraction and web search applications. We then outline our extraction algori thms. Some examples and evaluations of extracted attributes and entities follow.
Parkinson disease

Parkinson disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disorder that affects 2–3% of the population ≥65 years of age. Neuronal loss in the substantia nigra, which causes striatal dopamine deficiency, and intracellular inclusions containing aggregates of α-synuclein are the neuropathological hallmarks of Parkinson disease. Multiple other cell types throughout the central and peripheral autonomic nervous system are also involved, probably from early disease onwards. Although clinical diagnosis relies on the presence of bradykinesia and other cardinal motor features, Parkinson disease is associated with many non-motor symptoms that add to overall disability. The underlying molecular pathogenesis involves multiple pathways and mechanisms: α-synuclein proteostasis, mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, calcium homeostasis, axonal transport and neuroinflammation. Recent research into diagnostic biomarkers has taken advantage of neuroimaging in which several modalities, including PET, single-photon emission CT (SPECT) and novel MRI techniques, have been shown to aid early and differential diagnosis. Treatment of Parkinson disease is anchored on pharmacological substitution of striatal dopamine, in addition to non-dopaminergic approaches to address both motor and non-motor symptoms and deep brain stimulation for those developing intractable L-DOPA-related motor complications. Experimental therapies have tried to restore striatal dopamine by gene-based and cell-based approaches, and most recently, aggregation and cellular transport of α-synuclein have become therapeutic targets. One of the greatest current challenges is to identify markers for prodromal disease stages, which would allow novel disease-modifying therapies to be started earlier.
Electronic-Paper : The Electronic Display of the Future .

Made of flexible material, requiring ultra-low power consumption, cheap to manufacture, and most importantly, easy and convenient to read, Epapers of the future are just around the corner, with the promise to hold libraries on a chip and replace most printed newspapers before the end of the next decade. This paper discusses the history, features, and technology of the electronic paper revolution. It also highlights the challenges facing E-paper and its various applications. The paper concludes that E-paper, which can be termed as the second paper revolution, is closer to changing the way we read, write and study; a revolution so phenomenal that some researchers see it as second only to the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in the 15th century. (
Long-term effect of cardiac resynchronisation in patients reporting mild symptoms of heart failure: a report from the CARE-HF study.

BACKGROUND
Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) improves symptoms and prognosis in patients with heart failure and cardiac dyssynchrony. Guidelines from the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence in the United Kingdom recommend CRT for patients with recent or persistent moderate or severe symptoms of heart failure. This analysis investigated whether the severity of symptoms was an important determinant of the prognostic benefits of CRT.


METHODS
In CARE-HF, patients with left ventricular ejection fraction < or =35% and markers of cardiac dyssynchrony who were, in the investigators' opinion, in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III/IV were randomly assigned to pharmacological treatment alone or with addition of CRT. This analysis investigated whether the severity of symptoms reported by patients, using Likert Scales from the EuroHeart Failure Questionnaire and self-assessed NYHA class, influenced prognosis and the response to CRT.


RESULTS
Of 813 patients, 175 (21.5%) assessed themselves to be in NYHA class I or II. These patients also reported less severe symptoms and better quality of life than patients who assessed themselves to be in NYHA class III or IV. No statistical interaction was observed between the severity of symptoms assessed in several ways and the benefits of CRT on morbidity and mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
The severity of symptoms was not an important determinant of the prognostic effects of CRT in patients with moderate or severe LVSD and markers of dyssynchrony in the CARE-HF study. This finding requires confirmation in an adequately powered prospective randomised controlled trial in patients with milder symptoms.
Improved Vector Play Model and Parameter Identification for Magnetic Hysteresis Materials

An improved vector play model for magnetic hysteresis materials is proposed, and its required parameters are identified from the input major hysteresis loop. Validation results show that this new vector hysteresis model improves the accuracy of core loss computation not only for rotating fields but also for alternating fields compared with the ordinary vector play models. The presented model has been successfully implemented in 2-D and 3-D transient finite element analysis (FEA). Some application results from the 2-D and 3-D transient FEAs are presented.
Three-year results of randomised clinical trial comparing lightweight mesh with heavyweight mesh for inguinal hernioplasty

The aim of the present randomised study was to find out whether usage of lightweight mesh in inguinal hernia repair, compared with heavyweight mesh, results in decreased incidence of chronic groin pain and foreign body feeling, as well as to evaluate the risk factors for chronic pain development and hernia recurrences. The patients were randomised into the heavyweight mesh (HW) group and lightweight mesh (LW) group. A tension-free mesh repair using the Lichtenstein technique was performed on all patients. Pain scores during different activities were measured on visual analogue scale. All patients underwent a clinical examination for any evidence of hernia recurrence. Of the patients, 17.2 % in the HW group and 29.3 % in the LW group reported that they experienced pain at 3-year follow-up (P = 0.1323). Pain was most often reported during physical activity. The median VAS score of all studied activities was 30.5 in the HW group and 30.0 in the LW group. There were more patients in the HW group than in the LW group who stated that they could feel the mesh in the groin (27.6 vs. 20.7 %, P = 0.3967). Among all patients, 42.9 % who had severe pain preoperatively also reported pain during different activities and 19.6 % of the patients who did not have severe pain preoperatively reported pain during different activities (P = 0.0481). At 3-year follow-up, there was 1 hernia recurrence in the HW group and 1 hernia recurrence in the LW group. Our study shows that compared with HW mesh, LW mesh has no advantage in reducing chronic groin pain and foreign body feeling at the operation site after inguinal hernioplasty at 3-year follow-up. Severe preoperative pain was correlated with the development of chronic pain. There was no difference between the two study groups in the recurrence rates.
Early cure rates with narrow-margin slow-Mohs surgery for periocular malignant melanoma.

BACKGROUND
Staged excision with rush-processed paraffin-embedded tissue sections (Slow-Mohs) is an effective treatment for periocular melanoma. Although there is no consensus on initial margins of excision, narrower margins in the eyelids have the functionally and cosmetically important consequence of smaller postoperative wounds.


OBJECTIVES
To report early cure rates for periocular melanoma using Slow-Mohs surgery with en-face margin sectioning.


METHODS
Retrospective, multicenter, noncomparative case series. Slow-Mohs surgery in 14 patients with periocular melanoma from 2000 to 2006.


RESULTS
Fourteen patients underwent 14 Slow-Mohs procedures for eight lentigo maligna, one nodular, and one superficial spreading melanoma, and four lentigo maligna, 12 primary, and two recurrent tumors. The most common site was the lower eyelid (8/14, 57.1%). Breslow thickness ranged from 0.27 to 1.70 mm, with four cases less than 0.76 mm and one case greater than 1.5 mm. Five cases were a Clark level II or greater. Complete excision was achieved with one level (6 cases) or two or three levels (8 cases), with 2- to 3-mm margins at each level in all but one case. With median follow-up of 36 months, there were two local recurrences (2/14, 14.3%).


CONCLUSION
Slow-Mohs with en-face sections achieves similar early cure rates to previously published margin-controlled excision techniques. Narrow margins of excision can optimize tissue preservation without compromising outcome.
Long-range sclerotome induction by sonic hedgehog: Direct role of the amino-terminal cleavage product and modulation by the cyclic AMP signaling pathway

A long-range signal encoded by the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) gene has been implicated as the ventral patterning influence from the notochord that induces sclerotome and represses dermomyotome in somite differentiation. Long-range effects of hedgehog (hh) signaling have been suggested to result either from local induction of a secondary diffusible signal or from the direct action of the highly diffusible carboxy-terminal product of HH autoproteolytic cleavage. Here we provide evidence that the long-range somite patterning effects of SHH are instead mediated by a direct action of the amino-terminal cleavage product. We also show that pharmacological manipulations to increase the activity of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A can selectively antagonize the effects of the amino-terminal cleavage product. Our results support the operation of a single evolutionarily conserved signaling pathway for both local and direct long-range inductive actions of HH family members.
Effects of periodontal therapy on C-reactive protein and HDL in serum of
subjects with periodontitis

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of nonsurgical periodontal therapy on levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in the sera and its association with body mass index and high density lipoprotein in subjects with severe periodontitis.


METHODS
Sera from 28 subjects (mean age: 34.36±6.24; 32% men) with severe periodontitis and 27 healthy controls (mean age: 33.18±6.42; 33% men) were collected prior to periodontal therapy. Blood samples were obtained from 23 subjects who completed therapy (9-12 months). Oral and systemic parameters such as the number of blood cells, glucose examination, lipid profile, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels accessed by high-sensitivity immunonephelometry assay, were included.


RESULTS
Before therapy, in the periodontitis group, the ratio of subjects with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein <0.3 mg/dL was statistically lower than in the control group (P<0.0216). After therapy, the ratio of subjects with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein <0.3 mg/dL was significantly higher (65.22%) (P<0.0339). The mean value for body mass index was statistically lower in subjects with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein <0.3 mg/dL (24.63±4.19), compared with those with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein >0.3 mg/dL (28.91±6.03) (P<0.0411). High density lipoprotein presented a mean value statistically higher after therapy (P<0.0027).


CONCLUSION
In systemically healthy subjects with periodontitis, periodontal therapy was associated with decreased levels of circulating high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and increase of high density lipoprotein in serum. The clinical trial was registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.br/, No. RBR-24T799.
Tropisetron (Navoban) in the control of nausea and vomiting induced by combined cancer chemotherapy in children.

BACKGROUND
We aimed to assess the potency and efficacy of tropisetron, a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, in the prevention of nausea and emesis observed in the pediatric patient population taking various chemotherapy protocols.


METHODS
Tropisetron (Navoban) was given to 100 children (62 boys and 38 girls aged 6 months to 15 years) with various malignancies. Patients received tropisetron during one or more courses of emetogenic chemotherapy for a total of 350 courses administered intravenously or intravenously and intrathecally. Tropisetron (0.2 mg/kg/day, maximum: 5 mg/day) was administered as a single intravenous dose slowly, before the start of chemotherapy on day 1 and intravenously or by mouth on subsequent days (median treatment duration: 5 days).


RESULTS
The patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy had a 70% complete response rate and a 24% partial response rate during the first 24 h period of the first course. We observed headache (five courses), diarrhea (three courses) and loss of appetite (one course) as side-effects (2.5%).


CONCLUSION
Tropisetron is safe, effective, easy to use, has no serious side-effects and can be recommended for pediatric patients. The efficacy of tropisetron may be enhanced by the addition of corticosteroids in patients receiving highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy.
Growth and lung function in Asian patients with cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND
The incidence of cystic fibrosis (CF) in Asians is rare. How these patients fare in terms of morbidity and mortality in the UK compared to their non-Asian peers is not well documented.


AIMS
To retrospectively study annual reviews of 31 Asian CF patients from three London paediatric CF centres.


METHODS
Disease severity was assessed by lung function, age at first infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and body mass index (BMI). The Asian children were compared with 143 matched non-Asian patients with CF. Matching criteria used were same sex and treatment centre as the Asian index patient. In addition, the controls were matched so that their date of birth, date of diagnosis, and date at annual review were within 12 months of the index patient.


RESULTS
There was no significant difference in age at diagnosis or age at annual review between the Asian and non-Asian children. Mean Z-scores for FEV1 and FVC were significantly lower for the Asian girls. There was no significant difference in Z-scores for BMI between the Asian children and their controls. Age at first isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Asian girls was significantly later than for their controls (8.3 years compared to 5.6 years for non-Asian girls).


CONCLUSIONS
While the Asian boys' lung function seems comparable with that of their non-Asian peers, the Asian girls emerge as a potentially vulnerable group and more work is required to discover why this is the case.