Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Glutathione S-transferase gene polymorphisms and risk of gastric cancer in a Chinese population.

AIM The potential role of GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 polymorphisms in risk of gastric cancer in Chinese was studied. METHODS We collected 194 gastric cancers by pathologic examination and 412 controls from southern China during January 2007 to January 2011. Genotyping was based upon duplex polymerase-chain-reaction with the PCR-CTPP method. RESULTS Individuals carrying null GSTM1 and GSTT1 had 1.49 and 1.96 fold risk sof gastric cancer when compared with respective non-null genotypes. We also found a non-significant 37% excess risk of gastric cancer among carriers of GSTP1 1b/1b genotype when compared with 1a/1a genotype (OR=1.37, 95% CI=0.81-2.25). The combination of null/null GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes showed higher increased risk of gastric cancer (OR=3.17, 95% CI=1.68-4.21). Moreover, cancers in ever smokers and ever drinkers were observed to be strongly associated with null GSTM1 and GSTT1, and a significant cancer risk was observed in positive H.pylori infection individuals with null GSTT1. CONCLUSION Our study provided evidence that genetic deletion of GSTM1 and GSTT1 may contribute to increased susceptibility to gastric cancer in our Chinese population, while the GSTP1a/b polymorphism may not.
Trade Liberalization and Organizational Change

We embed a simple incomplete-contracts model of organization design in a standard two-country perfectly-competitive trade model to examine how the liberalization of product and factor markets affects the ownership structure of firms.In our model, managers decide whether or not to integrate their firms, trading off the pecuniary benefits of coordinating production decisions with the private benefits of operating in their preferred ways. The price of output is a crucial determinant of this choice, since it affects the size of the pecuniary benefits. In particular, non-integration is chosen at “low” and “high” prices, while integration occurs at moderate prices. Organizational choices also depend on the terms of trade in supplier markets, which affect the division of surplus between managers. We obtain three main results. First, even when firms do not relocate across countries, the price changes triggered by liberalization of product markets can lead to significant organizational restructuring within countries. Second, the removal of barriers to factor mobility can lead to inefficient reorganization and adversely affect consumers. Third, “deep integration” — the liberalization of both product and factor markets — leads to the convergence of organizational design across countries.
Success Rate and Risk Factors for Failure of Empirical Antifungal Therapy with Itraconazole in Patients with Hematological Malignancies: A Multicenter, Prospective, Open-Label, Observational Study in Korea

We assessed the success rate of empirical antifungal therapy with itraconazole and evaluated risk factors for predicting the failure of empirical antifungal therapy. A multicenter, prospective, observational study was performed in patients with hematological malignancies who had neutropenic fever and received empirical antifungal therapy with itraconazole at 22 centers. A total of 391 patients who had abnormal findings on chest imaging tests (31.0%) or a positive result of enzyme immunoassay for serum galactomannan (17.6%) showed a 56.5% overall success rate. Positive galactomannan tests before the initiation of the empirical antifungal therapy (P=0.026, hazard ratio [HR], 2.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-4.69) and abnormal findings on the chest imaging tests before initiation of the empirical antifungal therapy (P=0.022, HR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.11-3.71) were significantly associated with poor outcomes for the empirical antifungal therapy. Eight patients (2.0%) had premature discontinuation of itraconazole therapy due to toxicity. It is suggested that positive galactomannan tests and abnormal findings on the chest imaging tests at the time of initiation of the empirical antifungal therapy are risk factors for predicting the failure of the empirical antifungal therapy with itraconazole. (Clinical Trial Registration on National Cancer Institute website, NCT01060462)
Anti-inflammatory Effect of Antioxidant Pequi (Caryocar Brasiliense) Oil Capsules and Antioxidant Effect of Vitamin D and Physical Activity on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients

Objectives: Verifying in SLE patients whether antioxidant supplementation with pequi oil capsules could reduce oxidative DNA damage and inflammation in SLE patients. Patients and Methods: A controlled randomized, crossover, double-blind study was conducted with 38 SLE patients aged 18 to 60, with SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) below 10, chosen from 73 lupus patients consecutively seen in the University Hospital of Brasilia (HUB) Rheumatology Clinic. They were randomized into two groups: one group of 22 patients received one placebo capsule per day for 60 consecutive days, and the other 16 patients received one 400 mg pequi oil in capsule per day over the same period. There was a 60-day wash-out, and then the patients switched groups: those who had received pequi oil received placebo and vice versa, also for 60 consecutive days. We collected blood, urine, anthropometric and social data from patients before and after each period, totaling four collections. Results: Twenty-nine women finished this clinical trial. The mean age was 33.66 years, the mean BMI was 24.1 kg/m2 and the mean disease duration was 7.8 years. The irreversible damage index of the disease and the SLEDAI had no influence on DNA damage index (DDI). A correlation was found between DDI and HDL (r = −0.414, p = 0.029). A significant difference was detected in the average rate of DDI between physical activity practitioners and non-practitioners (p = 0.045) and between users and non-users of vitamin D (p = 0.006). Moreover, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) fell significantly after treatment with pequi oil (p = 0.0161). Conclusions: Although pequi oil did not significantly reduce the DNA damage index, it effectively reduced hs-CRP levels in these patients, indicating reduced inflammation with the use of antioxidant supplementation. Furthermore, the practice of physical activity and the use of vitamin D in patients with SLE could have an independent antioxidant effect.
Preventive Effect of Cow’s Milk Fermented with Lactobacillus paracasei CBA L74 on Common Infectious Diseases in Children: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Fermented foods have been proposed to prevent common infectious diseases (CIDs) in children attending day care or preschool. Objectives: To investigate the efficacy of dietary supplementation with cow’s skim milk fermented with the probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei CBA L74 in reducing CIDs in children attending day care or preschool. Methods: Multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on healthy children (aged 12–48 months) consuming daily 7 grams of cow’s skim milk fermented with L. paracasei CBA L74 (group A), or placebo (maltodextrins group B) attending day care or preschool during the winter season. The main outcome was the proportion of children who experienced ≥1 episode of CID during a 3-month follow-up. Fecal biomarkers of innate (α- and β-defensins, cathelicidin) and acquired immunity (secretory IgA) were also monitored. Results: A total of 126 children (71 males, 56%) with a mean (SD) age of 33 (9) months completed the study, 66 in group A and 60 in group B. At intention to treat analysis, the proportion of children presenting ≥1 CID was 60% in group A vs. 83% in group B, corresponding to an absolute risk difference (ARD) of −23% (95% CI: −37% to −9%, p < 0.01). At per-protocol-analysis (PPA), the proportion of children presenting ≥1 CID was 18% in group A vs. 40% in group B, corresponding to an absolute risk difference (ARD) of −22% (95% CI: −37% to −6%, p < 0.01). PPA showed that the proportion of children presenting ≥1 acute gastroenteritis (AGE) was significantly lower in group A (18% vs. 40%, p < 0.05). The ARD for the occurrence of ≥1 AGE was −22% (95% CI: −37% to −6%, p < 0.01) in group A. Similar findings were obtained at PPA regarding the proportion of children presenting ≥1 upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), which was significantly lower in group A (51% vs. 74%, p < 0.05), corresponding to an ARD of −23% (95% CI: −40% to −7%, p < 0.01). Significant changes in innate and acquired immunity biomarkers were observed only in subjects in group A. Conclusions: Dietary supplementation with cow’s skim milk fermented with L. paracasei CBA L74 is an efficient strategy in preventing CIDs in children.
Influence of Glacier Melting and River Discharges on the Nutrient Distribution and DIC Recycling in the Southern Chilean Patagonia

The Chilean Patagonia constitutes one of the most important and extensive fjord systems worldwide, therefore can be used as a natural laboratory to elucidate the pathway of both organic and inorganic matter in the receiving environment. In this study we use data collected during an intensive oceanographic cruise along the Magellan Strait into the Almirantazgo Fjord in southern Patagonia to evaluate how different sources of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and recycling may impact particulate organic carbon (POC) δ13C and influence the nutrients and carbonate system spatial distribution. The carbonate system presented large spatial heterogeneity. The lowest total alkalinity and DIC were associated to freshwater dilution observed near melting glaciers. The δ13CDIC analysis suggests that most DIC in the upper 50 m depth was not derived from terrestrial organic matter remineralization. 13C‐depleted riverine and ice‐melting DIC influence the DIC pool along the study area, but due to that DIC concentration from rivers and glaciers is relatively low, atmospheric carbon contribution or biological processes seem to be more relevant. Intense undersaturation of CO2 was observed in high chlorophyll waters. Respired DIC coming from the bottom waters seems to be almost insignificant for the inorganic carbon pool and therefore do not impact significantly the stable carbon isotopic composition of dissolved organic carbon and POC in the upper 50 m depth. Considering the combined effect of cold and low alkalinity waters due to ice melting, our results highlight the importance of these processes in determining corrosive waters for CaCO3 and local acidification processes associated to calving glacier in fjord ecosystems.
Grouping schemes of welding fume exposure in shipyard welders

ABSTRACT Welding fume exposure can increase the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the optimal grouping schemes of welding fume exposure in shipyard welders for future accurate examination of the association between welding fume exposure and COPD. Industrial hygiene records, including welding fume measurements between 2002 and 2009 were collected from a shipyard. A total of 2,360 personal welding fume measurements was compiled with a geometric mean of 1.66 mg/m3 and a geometric standard deviation of 4.02. Welding jobs were categorized into 8 groups. There were 9 working areas. To obtain the optimal grouping scheme, various grouping schemes were created using job, area, and job*area combination. To compare various grouping schemes, contrast and precision were calculated for each grouping scheme. For all measurement data, group mean ranking method created by ranking geometric means of the job*area combination into 3 groups (group mean ranking method) showed the best contrast and precision values among various grouping schemes, followed by grouping based on the job. For a subset of the data excluding job*area combinations with less than 10 measurements, grouping based on the job showed greater contrast than group mean ranking method, while for other subsets, including only repeated measurement data or further excluding job*area combinations with less than 10 measurements from the repeated measurement subset, group mean ranking method showed greater contrast than grouping based on the job. Our results showed that group mean ranking or grouping based on the job could be a candidate for the optimal grouping schemes in this shipyard. Our efforts for optimal grouping scheme may aid future cohort study to elucidate the association between welding fume exposure and COPD.
GRASP with path-relinking for the SONET ring assignment problem

In this paper, we consider a combinatorial optimization problem that arises in telecommunications networks design. It is known as the SONET ring assignment problem (SRAP). In this problem, each client site has to be assigned to exactly one SONET ring and a special ring interconnects the other rings together. The problem is to find a feasible assignment of the client sites minimizing the total number of rings used. We describe a hybrid greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP), including the path-relinking concept, for finding good-quality solutions of the SRAP. Computational experiments on benchmark instances are reported, comparing the GRASP with path-relinking with previously proposed pure GRASP (without path-relinking) and with other algorithms found in the literature. Experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, over other methods, to obtain solutions that are either optimal or very close to it.
Neuroimaging biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by an accumulation of abnormal plaques and tangles in the brain, a process that is estimated to begin years before the appearance of clinical symptoms. Individuals with subjective memory decline (SMD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) run a higher risk of developing AD than cognitively normal (CN) people. The main aim of this thesis was to investigate the potential use of structural neuroimaging biomarkers in AD. A disease severity index (SI) based on multivariate data analysis of MRIderived structural measures was generated. The SI was evaluated to discriminate AD patients from CN individuals as well as to monitor disease progression and predicting conversion to AD in SMD/MCI. In study I, the use of structural imaging and cerebrospinal fluid measures and factors that may affect the use of these methods in dementia work-up were investigated. The results showed that 94% of the patients had a brain scan performed. The results highlighted the role of MRI as an extended dementia investigation tool in younger patients with less severe cognitive impairment and a clinical presentation of less clear dementia symptoms. In study II, the performance of the SI in discriminating AD patients from CN subjects and in predicting conversion from MCI to AD was investigated. The role of age correction was also investigated and how it affected classification/prediction. Age correction did not only effectively eliminate the effect of age, it also highlighted age associations in other factors such as APOE genotype, global cognitive impairment and gender. In study III, the SI was longitudinally evaluated for monitoring disease progression in subjects with MCI. The results showed the potential of the SI to identify MCI subjects at risk of converting to AD and that disease progression could be monitored in an accurate way. Further, using the SI it could be observed that APOE genotype and amyloid pathology may independently modulate disease-related brain structural changes. In study IV, the SI was validated in a group of healthy individuals with SMD from a different cohort. Using the SI, a subgroup of SMD subjects who manifested structural brain patterns similar to AD was identified. These subjects had lower cognitive performance, higher amyloid burden and worse clinical progression compared to SMD individuals with structural brain patterns similar to CN. The SI as a neuroimaging biomarker was studied in the whole disease continuum from CN and SMD to MCI and AD. The SI showed strong potential to be used as a sensitive tool for predicting and monitoring disease progression in clinical trials or clinical practice. Nevertheless, in future the SI should be validated in clinical cohorts and the relationship between the SI and factors such as genotype and other AD biomarkers should be further
Existence and Wandering of Bumps in a Spiking Neural Network Model

We study spatially localized states of a spiking neuronal network populated by a pulse coupled phase oscillator known as the lighthouse model. We show that in the limit of slow synaptic interactions in the continuum limit the dynamics reduce to those of the standard Amari model. For non-slow synaptic connections we are able to go beyond the standard firing rate analysis of localized solutions allowing us to explicitly construct a family of co-existing one-bump solutions, and then track bump width and firing pattern as a function of system parameters. We also present an analysis of the model on a discrete lattice. We show that multiple width bump states can co-exist and uncover a mechanism for bump wandering linked to the speed of synaptic processing. Moreover, beyond a wandering transition point we show that the bump undergoes an effective random walk with a diffusion coefficient that scales exponentially with the rate of synaptic processing and linearly with the lattice spacing.
Systematic patient involvement for homebased outpatient administration of complex chemotherapy in acute leukemia and lymphoma

Based on experience with comprehensive patient involvement, we present data from implementation of portable, programmable infusion pumps (PPP) for home‐based chemotherapy administration in patients with acute leukaemia and in lymphoma patients receiving (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan) BEAM regimen. Data from 84 patients, receiving 177 cycles of PPP administered chemotherapy, showed convincing safety with minor equipment errors encountered and with high patient satisfaction. In‐hospital days could be reduced with 52% out of a total of 1197 treatment days. Homebased PPP has several advantages from a patient perspective and furthermore frees up in‐hospital beds for patients in need of them.
Genome-wide association study identiﬁes novel loci associated with resistance to bovine tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium bovis is a re-emerging disease of livestock that is of major economic importance worldwide, as well as being a zoonotic risk. There is signiﬁcant heritability for host resistance to bovine TB (bTB) in dairy cattle. To identify resistance loci for bTB, we undertook a genome-wide association study in female Holstein–Friesian cattle with 592 cases and 559 age-matched controls from case herds. Cases and controls were categorised into distinct phenotypes: skin test and lesion positive vs skin test negative on multiple occasions, respectively. These animals were genotyped with the Illumina BovineHD 700K BeadChip. Genome-wide rapid association using linear and logistic mixed models and regression (GRAMMAR), regional heritability mapping (RHM) and haplotype-sharing analysis identiﬁed two novel resistance loci that attained chromosome-wise signiﬁcance, protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor T ( PTPRT ; P ¼ 4.8 (cid:2) 10 (cid:3) 7 ) and myosin IIIB ( MYO3B; P ¼ 5.4 (cid:2) 10 (cid:3) 6 ). We estimated that 21% of the phenotypic variance in TB resistance could be explained by all of the informative single-nucleotide polymorphisms, of which the region encompassing the PTPRT gene accounted for 6.2% of the variance and a further 3.6% was associated with a putative copy number variant in MYO3B . The results from this study add to our understanding of variation in host control of infection and suggest that genetic marker-based selection for resistance to bTB has the potential to make a signiﬁcant contribution to bTB control.
Higher Ultrafiltration Rate Is Associated with Longer Dialysis Recovery Time in Patients Undergoing Conventional Hemodialysis

Background: Increased mortality and morbidity are reported in association with high ultrafiltration rate (UFR) and with long dialysis recovery time (DRT). We studied the association between UFR and DRT. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, observational study was conducted. Patients on thrice-weekly hemodialysis (HD) with self-reported DRT between August and December 2014 were included. We examined the association of 30-day average UFR with recovery time. Results: The total number of patients included in this study was 2,689. DRT in categories of immediate recovery, >0-≤2, >2-≤6, >6-≤12, and >12 h, were reported in 27, 28, 17, 9, and 20% of the patients respectively. In multivariable analysis, longer DRT was associated with female gender, non-black race, higher body weight, lower serum albumin, chronic heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, missed dialysis sessions, higher pre-dialysis systolic blood pressure, and larger UF volume. Compared to UFR of <10, UFR ≥13 mL/kg/h was associated with longer DRT, OR of 1.16 (95% CI 0.99-1.36), and 1.28 (95% CI 1.06-1.54) in the unadjusted and the adjusted analyses respectively. Intradialytic hypotension was also associated with longer DRT in the unadjusted (per 10% higher frequency, OR 1.04 [95% CI 1.01-1.07]) and adjusted analyses (OR 1.03 [95% CI 1.00-1.07]). Conclusion: Long recovery time is common after HD. Rapid fluid removal is associated with longer DRT.
Increasing incidence of brain and nervous tumours in urban Shanghai, China, 1983-2007.

BACKGROUND Wide use of cellular telephones has given rise to concerns about adverse health effects, especially in the brain, which might caused by the low power microwave-frequency signal transmitted by the antennas on handsets. Subscribers to cellular telephone services increased from mid-1990s in Shanghai; time trends in brain and nervous tumour after 2000 may supply information about possible associations between tumour risk and cellular telephones use. METHODS We investigated time trends in the incidence of brain and nervous tumour in urban Shanghai, from 1983 to 2007, applying joinpoint regression models to analyze the annual incidence rates and to predict future trends. RESULTS from 1983 to 2007, the age-adjusted incidence rate of brain and nervous tumours increased gradually by 1.2% per year (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.4% to 1.9%) among men and 2.8% per year (95% CI =2.1 to 3.4) among women. Age-adjusted incidences of brain and nervous tumours in urban Shanghai for 2020 were estimated to 7.4 and 10.9 per 100,000 person-years. CONCLUSION The study did not support an association between cellular telephone use and increased risk of brain and nervous tumours. However, considering the increasing incidence rate of brain and nervous tumours now and in the future, in addition to the high prevalence of mobile phone exposure in the population and worldwide, assessment of longer follow-up time trends in brain tumour incidence rates is warranted.