Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PML as a potential predictive factor of oxaliplatin/fluoropyrimidine‐based first line chemotherapy efficacy in colorectal cancer patients

PML regulates a wide range of pathways involved in tumorigenesis, such as apoptosis, which is also one of the main mechanisms through which oxaliplatin and fluoropyrimidine exert their antineoplastic activity. The present study aims to investigate PML expression as a predictive factor of oxaliplatin/fluoropyrimidine therapy efficacy. Seventy‐four metastatic colorectal cancer patients who received oxaliplatin/floropyrimidine‐based first line therapy have been included in this retrospective study. PML expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. PML down‐regulation was detected in 39 (52.7%) patients (14 complete and 25 partial PML loss). RR was significantly lower (25.6%) in patients with PML down‐regulation than in patients with preserved PML expression (60%) (P = 0.006). Median TTP was 5.5 months when PML was down‐regulated versus 11.9 months in case of preserved PML expression (P < 0.0001). A statistical significant difference was also detected in OS (15.6 and 24.5 months, respectively, P = 0.003). The impact of PML down‐regulation on TTP and OS was statistically significant also in a multivariate model. This study represents the first evidence of a possible correlation between PML protein expression and outcome of metastatic colorectal cancer patients treated with oxaliplatin/fluoropyrimidine‐based first line therapy. J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 927–933, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Two case studies in measuring software maintenance effort

In this paper we present the results of two measurement programs, that were aimed at investigating possible cost drivers for software maintenance. The two measurement programs were implemented in the software maintenance departments of two different organizations. Both programs were set up in roughly the same way. We use standard statistical techniques-principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis-to analyse the datasets. Surprisingly, with one of the datasets we are able to explain a fair amount of variance in the effort, while with the other dataset we can explain much less. From a closer inspection of the different environments we conjecture that the existence of a consistently applied process is an important prerequisite for a successful measurement program. In addition, if the process exists in multiple variants, it is important to know which variant is applied when.
Phantageusia and its Inhibition by Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Background: Phantageusia is an unpleasant, commonly persistent oral taste occurring without any oral stimulus. It is commonly experienced by patients subsequent to loss of taste acuity (hypogeusia). There is currently no defined treatment. We wished to describe phantageusia and efficacy of its treatment with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Methods: An open label controlled clinical trial of 30 patients with phantageusia of two months to six years duration. Phantageusia was judged subjectively on a 0-100% scale with 100 indicating greatest phantageusia intensity before treatment and changes measured on the same scale after treatment. Patients were initially treated with rTMS and followed after treatment initially for periods of 2-4 months and subsequently for 1-10 years. Results: rTMS inhibited phantageusia from a mean 58% before treatment to a mean 30% after treatment. Twentyfour of these 30 patients responded with significant phantageusia inhibition with six with total inhibition. Inhibition persisted for months-years without recurrence. These patients were labeled responders. Six of these 30 patients did not respond with significant phantageusia inhibition and were labeled non-responders. Repeated rTMS two or three additional times in some non-responders inhibited phantageusia similar to initial inhibition in responders. Conclusions: rTMS is an effective method to inhibit phantageusia. Inhibition in 80% of patients persisted for months to years after rTMS suggesting that placebo responses did not contribute significantly to this inhibition. Activation of brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and synaptic and cortical plasticity by rTMS may play roles in this inhibition. *Corresponding author: Robert I. Henkin, Center for Molecular Nutrition and Sensory Disorders, 5125 MacArthur Blvd. NW, #20, Washington, DC 20016, USA, Tel: 202-364-4180; Email: doc@tasteandsmell.com Received: November 28, 2018; Accepted: December 05, 2018; Published: December 12, 2018 Citation: Henkin RI, Abdelmeguid M, Potolicchio SJ (2018) Phantageusia and its Inhibition by Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. J Clin Exp Pathol 8: 358. doi:10.4172/2161-0681.1000358 Copyright: © 2018 Henkin RI, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Investigation of Cavitation in a Finite Journal Bearing Considering the Journal Speed and Couple Stress Fluids Effects

A theoretical analysis of the combined effect of journal speed and couple stress fluids (CSF) on the performance characteristics of a cavitated finite journal bearing (FJB) has been presented in this paper. Depending on the Elrod cavitation algorithm (ECA), the solution to the modified Reynolds equation is achieved. The bearing parameters are affected by both the journal speed and CSF. From the results obtained, it is detected that the nonNewtonian lubricants (CSF) produce enhanced in the fill-film pressure, load-capacity, as well as reduces the Sommerfield number and a small drop in the values of the bearing side leakage flow. The results obtained in this work specify that the characteristics of the bearing are affected significantly by this effect. The achieved results have been compared with that published by other works for the bearing operating with pure lubricant and showed to be in a good agreement. © 2018 Published by Faculty of Engineering Corresponding author: Mushrek A. Mahdi University of BabylonCollege of Engineering/ Al-Musayab, Babil, Iraq. E-mail: engmushrek@yahoo.com
N-Methyl d,l-Aspartate Induces the Release of Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone in the Prepubertal and Pubertal Female Rhesus Monkey as Measured by in Vivo Push-Pull Perfusion in the Stalk-Median Eminence1.

The role of the excitatory amino acid glutamate, N-methyl d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor agonist, in stimulating in vivo luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) release in the stalk-median eminence of conscious prepubertal and pubertal female rhesus monkeys was evaluated using push-pull perfusion. In Exp 1, the effects of iv bolus injection of N-methyl d,l-aspartate (NMA) on LHRH release were examined. Injection of NMA induced an increase in LHRH release in all maturational stages of monkeys. Although the LHRH response to NMA tended to be larger in the older groups, only the duration of the LHRH response in the midpubertal group was significantly longer than that in the prepubertal group. In Exp 2, the effects of direct infusion of NMA (0.1, 1, and 100 μm) into the stalk-median eminence on LHRH release were similarly examined. NMA infusion stimulated LHRH release in pubertal monkeys, whereas it did not induce any consistent changes in LHRH release in prepubertal monkeys except for the highest dose. Thes.
Theoretical investigation of superconductivity in the non-centrosymmetric SrPtGe3 and CaPtSi3 compounds

First-principles calculations are made to investigate structural, elastic, electronic, vibrational and electron–phonon interaction properties of non-centrosymmetric superconductors SrPtGe3 and CaPtSi3. Electronic structure calculation results show that the density of states at the Fermi level for both compounds mainly comes from the p electrons of Ge (or Si), which considerably hybridise with Pt d states. The calculated Eliashberg spectral function with and without spin–orbit interaction reveals that while all phonon branches are involved in the process of scattering of electrons near the Fermi level, the average electron–phonon coupling parameter values of 0.47 for SrPtGe3 and 0.49 for CaPtSi3 indicate that these compounds are phonon-mediated BCS-type superconductors with a weak strength. By using a reasonable value of = 0.11 for the effective Coulomb repulsion parameter, the superconducting transition temperatures for SrPtGe3 and CaPtSi3 are found to be 1.3 K and 2.4 K, respectively, which compare very well with the corresponding experimental values of 1.0 K and 2.3 K.
Abundance and short-term temporal variability of fecal microbiota in healthy dogs

Temporal variations of intestinal microorganisms have been investigated in humans, but limited information is available for other animal species. The aim of the study was to evaluate the abundance and short‐term temporal variability of fecal microbiota in dogs. Two fecal samples were collected (15 days apart) from six healthy dogs. The microbiota was evaluated using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and 454‐pyrosequencing targeting the 16S rRNA and its gene. Pyrosequencing revealed 15 families comprising >80% of all microbiota, over time intraindividual coefficients of variation (%CV) ranged from 2% to 141% (median: 55%). In contrast, the interindividual %CV ranged from 62% to 230% (median: 145%). Relative proportions of Faecalibacterium (important for intestinal health) and Subdoligranulum were low (two dogs harbored 4–7% of Subdoligranulum, the remaining dogs had <1% of either genus). Conversely, FISH revealed that Faecalibacterium comprised a median of 5% of total counts (range: 0–8%, probe Fprau645). A novel FISH probe (Faecali 698) was tested that, compared with Fprau645, can detect in silico a similar percentage of Faecalibacterium but higher proportions of Subdoligranulum. This probe revealed a high percentage of Faecalibacterium–Subdoligranulum (median: 16% of total counts). Future studies should consider the observed variability and discrepancies in microbial abundance between FISH and 454‐pyrosequencing.
Study and comparison of different EMAT configurations for SH wave inspection

Guided wave inspection has proven to be a very effective method for the rapid inspection of large structures. The fundamental shear horizontal (SH) wave mode in plates and the torsional mode in pipe-like structures are especially useful because of their non-dispersive character. Guided waves can be generated by either piezoelectric transducers or electro- magnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs), and EMATs can be based on either the Lorentz force or magnetostriction. Several EMAT configurations can be used to produce SH waves, the most common being Lorentz-force periodic permanent magnet and magnetostrictive EMATs, the latter being directly applied on the sample or with a bonded strip of highly magnetostrictive material on the plate. This paper compares the performance of these solutions on steel structures. To quantitatively assess the wave amplitude produced by different probes, a finite element model of the elementary transducers has been developed. The results of the model are experimentally validated and the simulations are further used to study the dependence of ultrasonic wave amplitude on key design parameters. The analysis shows that magnetostrictive EMATs directly applied on mild steel plates have comparatively poor performance that is dependent on the precise magneto-mechanical properties of the test object. Periodic permanent magnet EMATs generate intermediate wave amplitudes and are noncontact and insensitive to the variations in properties seen across typical steels. Large signal amplitudes can be achieved with magnetostrictive EMATs with a layer of highly magnetostrictive material attached between the transducer and the plate, but this compromises the noncontact nature of the transducer.
Efficacy of Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy in Frozen Shoulder

Background: Frozen shoulder has always been considered important because of the impact on the quality-of-life and long period of illness. Therefore, the use of noninvasive and safe techniques that can speed up the healing process of the disease is important. Methods: This study was a randomized clinical trial study on patients suffering from frozen shoulder who were referred to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences hospitals in 2011 and 2012. A total of 36 patients were enrolled in the study. Eligible patients were allocated into two groups. Intervention group received extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) once a week for 4 weeks. The control group received sham shockwave therapy once a week for 4 weeks. On the follow-up period, changes in individual performance and the amount of pain and disability were assessed by the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) questionnaire and the range of motion changes were assessed by a goniometer. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Variance analysis revealed a difference in the mean pain and disability score of the SPADI questionnaire, flexion, extension, and abduction, external rotation of involved shoulder between two groups before and after the shockwave therapy (P < 0.05). Improvement was more satisfactory in the intervention group, but the mean internal rotation did not differ significantly in two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The use of ESWT seems to have positive effects on treatment, quicker return to daily activities, and quality-of-life improvement on frozen shoulder.
Algal Biomass and Biodiesel Production

Biodiesel has become more attractive recently because of its environmental benefits and the fact that it is made from renewable resources. The cost of biodiesel, however, is the main hurdle to commercialization of the product. The used cooking oil and algae are used as raw material, adaption of continuous transesterification process and recovery of high quality glycerol from biodiesel by-product (glycerol) are primary options to be considered to lower the cost of biodiesel. There are four primary ways to make biodiesel, direct use and blending, microemulsions, thermal cracking (pyrolysis) and transesterification. The most commonly used method is transesterification of vegetable oils and animal fats. The transesterification reaction is affected by molar ratio of glycerides to alcohol, catalysts, reaction temperature, reaction time and free fatty acids and water content of oils or fats. In the present chapter we will focus on how algae have high potentials in biodiesel production compared with other sources.
Proving Theorems of Higher-Order Logic with SMT Solvers

Following the demand for increased proof automation in the interactive theorem prover Isabelle, this thesis describes how SMT solvers improve on the state of the art. Our main contributions are a sound translation from Isabelle's higher-order logic to the first-order logic of SMT solvers, and efficient checking of proofs found by the SMT solver Z3. Based on a large evaluation, we find that many theorems can now be proved automatically and almost instantaneously for which time-consuming user ingenuity was previously required. Checking Z3's proofs is fast thanks to our extensive optimizations. Further contributions are a new tool and methodology to verify the functional correctness of C code in conjunction with the automatic program verifier VCC. We demonstrate their suitability on real-world implementations of tree and graph algorithms.
Complex Formation and Interactions between Transcription Factors Essential for Human Prolactin Receptor Gene Transcription

ABSTRACT The protein association of estrogen receptor α ERα with DNA-bound SP1 and C/EBPβ is essential for the 17β-estradiol (E2)-induced activation of human prolactin receptor (hPRLR) gene transcription. Protein-protein interaction and complex formation at the hPIII promoter of hPRLR was investigated. The basic region and leucine zipper (bZIP) of C/EBPβ, zinc finger (ZF) motifs of SP1, and the DNA binding domain of ERα were identified as regions responsible for the interactions between transfactors. The E2-induced interaction was confirmed by bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) assays of live cells. The combination of BRET/bimolecular luminescence complementation assay revealed that ERα exists as a constitutive homodimer, and E2 induced a change(s) in ERα homodimer conformation favorable for its association with C/EBPβ and SP1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and small interfering RNA knockdown of members of the complex in breast cancer cells demonstrated the endogenous recruitment of components of the complex onto the hPIII promoter of the hPRLR gene. SP1 is the preferred transfactor for the recruitment of ERα to the complex that facilitates the C/EBPβ association. The E2/ERα-induced hPRLR transcription was demonstrated in ERα-negative breast cancer cells. This study indicates that the enhanced complex formation of ERα dimer with SP1 and C/EBPβ by E2 has an essential role in the transcriptional activation of the hPRLR gene.
Unfolding the story of chromatin organization in senescent cells

Cell senescence, the permanent withdrawal of a cell from the cell cycle, is characterized by dramatic, cytological scale changes to DNA condensation throughout the genome. While prior emphasis has been placed on increases in heterochromatin, such as the formation of compact Senescent Associated Heterochromatin Foci (SAHF) structures, our recent findings showed that SAHF formation is preceded by the unravelling of constitutive heterochromatin into visibly extended structures, which we have termed Senescent Associated Distension of Satellites or SADS. Interestingly, neither of these marked changes in DNA condensation appear to be mediated by changes in canonical, heterochromatin-associated histone modifications. Rather, several observations suggest that these events may be facilitated by changes in LaminB1 levels and/or other factors that control higher-order chromatin architecture. Here, we review what is known about senescence-associated chromatin reorganization and present preliminary results using high-resolution microscopy techniques to show that each peri/centromeric satellite in senescent cells is comprised of several condensed domains connected by thin fibrils of satellite DNA. We then discuss the potential importance of these striking changes in chromatin condensation for cell senescence, and also as a model to provide a needed window into the higher-order packaging of the genome.
Forecasting Regional Sugarcane Yield Based on Time Integral and Spatial Aggregation of MODIS NDVI

This study explored the suitability of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) obtained for six sugar management zones, over nine years (2002-2010), to forecast sugarcane yield on an annual and zonal base. To take into account the characteristics of the sugarcane crop management (15-month cycle for a ratoon, accompanied with continuous harvest in Western Kenya), the temporal series of NDVI was normalized through an original weighting method that considered the growth period of the sugarcane crop (wNDVI), and correlated it with historical yield datasets. Results when using wNDVI were consistent with historical yield and significant at P-value = 0.001, while results when using traditional annual NDVI integrated over the calendar year were not significant. This correlation between yield and wNDVI is mainly drawn by the spatial dimension of the data set (R 2 = 0.53, when all years are aggregated together), rather than by the temporal dimension of the data set (R 2 = 0.1, when all zones are aggregated). A test on 2012 yield estimation with this model realized a RMSE less than 5 t· ha −1 . Despite progress in the methodology through the weighted
Dynamics in the dynamic walk of a quadruped robot

Walk can be classified as 'static walk' and 'dynamic walk'. It is said that dynamic walk is superior in both speed and energy consumption. This paper describes how a quadruped robot should walk dynamically to realize these advantages. Such consideration is lacking in past research. In this paper, three criteria are introduced to evaluate the walk-'stability', 'maximum speed', and 'energy consumption'. The relations between these three criteria and the parameters (gait, speed, period, stride, length of the leg, joint angles, etc.) are formulated accordingly to the dynamics. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The shorter a period is, the more stably the quadruped can walk. (2) It is desirable to walk with a longer period and wider stride in order to increase the maximum speed. (3) There is a period which maximizes the speed. (4) There is a period which minimizes the energy consumption for a given speed. (5) Trot gait is desirable when the priority is placed on energy consumption. Pace gait is recommended w.
Perceived age discrimination in older adults

Objectives: to examine perceived age discrimination in a large representative sample of older adults in England. Methods: this cross-sectional study of over 7,500 individuals used data from the fifth wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a longitudinal cohort study of men and women aged 52 years and older in England. Wave 5 asked respondents about the frequency of five everyday discriminatory situations. Participants who attributed any experiences of discrimination to their age were treated as cases of perceived age discrimination. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratios of experiencing perceived age discrimination in relation to selected sociodemographic factors. Results: approximately a third (33.3%) of all respondents experienced age discrimination, rising to 36.8% in those aged 65 and over. Perceived age discrimination was associated with older age, higher education, lower levels of household wealth and being retired or not in employment. The correlates of age discrimination across the five discriminatory situations were similar. Conclusion: understanding age discrimination is vital if we are to develop appropriate policies and to target future interventions effectively. These findings highlight the scale of the challenge of age discrimination for older adults in England and illustrate that those groups are particularly vulnerable to this form of discrimination.
Zn(II)-curc targets p53 in thyroid cancer cells

TP53 mutation is a common event in many cancers, including thyroid carcinoma. Defective p53 activity promotes cancer resistance to therapies and a more malignant phenotype, acquiring oncogenic functions. Rescuing the function of mutant p53 (mutp53) protein is an attractive anticancer therapeutic strategy. Zn(II)-curc is a novel small molecule that has been shown to target mutp53 protein in several cancer cells, but its effect in thyroid cancer cells remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether Zn(II)-curc could affect p53 in thyroid cancer cells with both p53 mutation (R273H) and wild-type p53. Zn(II)-curc induced mutp53H273 downregulation and reactivation of wild-type functions, such as binding to canonical target promoters and target gene transactivation. This latter effect was similar to that induced by PRIMA-1. In addition, Zn(II)-curc triggered p53 target gene expression in wild-type p53-carrying cells. In combination treatments, Zn(II)-curc enhanced the antitumor activity of chemotherapeutic drugs, in both mutant and wild-type-carrying cancer cells. Taken together, our data indicate that Zn(II)-curc promotes the reactivation of p53 in thyroid cancer cells, providing in vitro evidence for a potential therapeutic approach in thyroid cancers.