Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How accurate are dermatologists in the diagnosis of melanoma? Degree of accuracy and implications.

To the Editor. — This study was undertaken to determine the degree of accuracy of dermatologists engaged in office practice in making specific diagnoses of malignant melanoma in both flat and elevated lesions (the term melanoma in this communication is a synonym for malignant melanoma). To that end, slips that accompany biopsy specimens and that provide clinical information about lesions and the patients who bore them were culled specifically for diagnoses of melanoma made consecutively in the dermatopathology unit in the Department of Dermatology, New York (NY) University Medical Center, during a 6-month period between January and June 1990. (Only specimens submitted in formalin, not sections sent in consultation, were included in this study.) Of the 354 melanomas diagnosed by conventional microscopy, 128 (36%) were not recognized as melanoma by the dermatologist who performed the biopsy. (A clinical diagnosis of melanoma was considered to be "correct" if the word "melanoma"
Speech and driving - solution or problem?

Besides travel-related information (speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, and so on), driver-related information (navigation devices, telephone calls, email and so on) is now an increasing feature of modern-day driving. In order to process this information and still be able to drive safely at the same time, an information management system in the vehicle would seem to be necessary. Speech interfacing offers a good solution as verbal interactions use resources that are not needed when driving. However, in practice, experiments have shown that verbal interactions may distract the driver from the primary task. It is thus crucially important that verbal interactions are designed in such a way that the 'driving' task remains the focus of attention for the driver
Psychosocial factors, lifestyle, and fetal growth: the added value of both pre- and post-natal assessments.

BACKGROUND Psychosocial resources as well as lifestyle habits during pregnancy have been shown to effect the risk of having a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) child. Most previous studies are based on a single assessment of these exposures, which does not take into account the possibility of different effects during early and late stages of pregnancy. METHODS The impact of psychosocial and lifestyle factors on the risk of giving birth to an SGA child (as measured by ultrasound) was examined among 747 nulliparous Swedish women who completed both a prenatal baseline, and a post-partum assessment. RESULTS Those registering low social participation on both assessments showed increased risk of giving birth to an SGA infant (OR = 2.44 and 95% CI: 1.06-5.66), while at one assessment (OR = 1.70 and 95% CI: 0.74-3.91). Maternal smoking confirmed by both or one assessments yielded an OR = 2.72 and 95% CI: 1.37-5.39 and OR = 1.60 and 95% CI: 0.58-4.46, respectively. During early pregnancy, poor instrumental support, maternal smoking, or passive smoking yielded increased risks of SGA, adjusted for confounding (OR = 2.39 and 95% CI: 1.11-5.17; OR = 2.38 and 95% CI: 1.27-4.49; OR = 2.92 and 95% CI: 1.17-7.32, respectively). In late pregnancy, only maternal smoking yielded a significant association (OR = 2.34 and 95% CI: 1.24-4.41). CONCLUSION Scheduling repeated assessments of psychosocial resources and lifestyle factors during pregnancy yielded additional information. The findings suggest that there can be differential effects of such exposures depending on gestational stage. This information is of importance when designing appropriate intervention strategies for maternal health services as well as for public health relevant policy formulation (e.g. regarding exposure to environmental tobacco during pregnancy).
Resistance to Bleomycin-Induced Lung Fibrosis in MMP-8 Deficient Mice Is Mediated by Interleukin-10

Background Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) may have pro and antifibrotic roles within the lungs, due to its ability to modulate collagen turnover and immune mediators. MMP-8 is a collagenase that also cleaves a number of cytokines and chemokines. Methodology and Principal Findings To evaluate its relevance in lung fibrosis, wildtype and Mmp8−/− mice were treated with either intratracheal bleomycin or saline, and lungs were harvested at different time points. Fibrosis, collagen, collagenases, gelatinases, TGFβ and IL-10 were measured in lung tissue. Mmp8−/− mice developed less fibrosis than their wildtype counterparts. This was related to an increase in lung inflammatory cells, MMP-9 and IL-10 levels in these mutant animals. In vitro experiments showed that MMP-8 cleaves murine and human IL-10, and tissue from knockout animals showed decreased IL-10 processing. Additionally, lung fibroblasts from these mice were cultured in the presence of bleomycin and collagen, IL-10 and STAT3 activation (downstream signal in response to IL-10) measured by western blotting. In cell cultures, bleomycin increased collagen synthesis only in wildtype mice. Fibroblasts from knockout mice did not show increased collagen synthesis, but increased levels of unprocessed IL-10 and STAT3 phosphorylation. Blockade of IL-10 reverted this phenotype, increasing collagen in cultures. Conclusions According to these results, we conclude that the absence of MMP-8 has an antifibrotic effect by increasing IL-10 and propose that this metalloprotease could be a relevant modulator of IL-10 metabolism in vivo.
Extraoral Retrograde Root Canal Filling of an Orthodontic-induced External Root Resorption Using CEM Cement

Inflammatory external root resorption (IERR) after orthodontic treatments is an unusual complication. This case report describes a non-vital maxillary premolar with symptomatic extensive IERR (with a crown/root ratio of 1:1) after receiving orthodontic treatment. The first appointment included drainage, chemo-mechanical preparation of the canal and intra-canal medication with calcium hydroxide (CH) along with prescription of analgesic/antibiotic. The subsequent one-week follow-up revealed the persistence of symptoms and formation of a sinus tract. Finally, extraoral endodontic treatment was planned; the tooth was atraumatically extracted and retrograde root canal filling with calcium enriched mixture (CEM) cement was placed followed by tooth replantation. Clinical signs/symptoms subsided during 7 days postoperatively. The sinus tract also resolved after one week. Six-month and one-year follow-ups revealed complete healing and a fully functional asymptomatic tooth. This case study showed favorable outcomes in a refractory periapical lesion associated with orthodontically induced extensive IERR. The chemical as well as biological properties of CEM cement may be a suitable endodontic biomaterial for these cases.
Cardamonin Attenuates Tamoxifen Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats through Modulation of Inflammatory Mediators, Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis

Tamoxifen (TAM) is an anti-estrogen used in the prevention and treatment of hormone dependent breast cancer. TAM therapy may cause hepatic injury, which may indicate the stoppage of the drug. Therefore the present study was done to clarify the possible protective role of cardamonin (CAR) against TAM induced hepatotoxicity. In this work, the protective effects of CAR against TAM hepatotoxicity were studied in female rats. Sex groups of rats were used each formed of eight rats Group I (control group): received normal 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose vehicle orally for 7 weeks. Group II (CAR group): received CAR (30 mg/kg), orally suspended in 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose vehicle for 7 weeks . Group III (TAM 0.6 mg group): received tamoxifen in a dose of (0.6 mg /Kg/ day) for 6 weeks. Group IV: (TAM 0.6 mg & CAR group): TAM in a dose of (0.6mg /Kg/ day) orally for 6 weeks and CAR (30 mg/kg) orally, for 7 weeks. Group IV (TAM 45mg group): received TAM in a dose of (45 mg /Kg/ day) i.p., for 7 successive days. Groups VI (TAM 45mg& CAR group): TAM in a dose of (45 mg /Kg/ day) i.p., for 7 successive days and CAR (30 mg/kg) orally, for 2 weeks. TAM intoxication caused elevation of serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase, malondyde(MDA) and tumor necrosis factor – α (TNF α) as well as depletion of reduced glutathione(GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD)with degeneration and necrosis of the hepatocytes there was also decrease in serum concentrations of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol , LDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentration compared to control group. Histopathological study revealed that CAR treatment resulted in marked improvement in histopathological and immunohistochemical pictures. Furthermore CAR treatment improves all biochemical markers compared TAM intoxicated group. In Conclusion, CAR supplementation appeared to be beneficial to a great extent in treating TAM hepatotoxicity.
A high-power and high-efficiency CMOS VCO for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system

This paper presents CMOS VCO circuit, as a part of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transmitter, operating at 978 MHz, delivers highest output power with highest efficiency ever reported to the best of authors' knowledge. The 0.738 mm × 0.606 mm VCO chip fabricated using 0.18 um CMOS technology, exhibits the differential peak output power of 2.54 dBm at 1 GHz, with the frequency tuning range from 954.3 MHz to 1009.4 MHz and phase noise of -109 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz offset centered at 978 MHz, consuming 35 mW power from 1.8V supply, thus, showing state-of-the-art-performances.
Two-Fund Separation under Model Mis-Specification

The two-fund separation theorem tells us that an investor with quadratic utility can separate her asset allocation decision into two steps: First, find the tangency portfolio (TP), i.e., the portfolio of risky assets that maximizes the Sharpe ratio (SR); and then, decide on the mix of the TP and the risk-free asset, depending on the investor’s attitude toward risk. In this paper, we describe an extension of the two-fund separation theorem that takes into account uncertainty in the model parameters (i.e., the expected return vector and covariance of asset returns) and uncertainty aversion of investors. The extension tells us that when the uncertainty model is convex, an investor with quadratic utility and uncertainty aversion can separate her investment problem into two steps: First, find the portfolio of risky assets that maximizes the worst-case SR (over all possible asset return statistics); and then, decide on the mix of this risky portfolio and the risk-free asset, depending on the investor’s attitude toward risk. The risky portfolio is the TP corresponding to the least favorable asset return statistics, with portfolio weights chosen optimally. We will show that the least favorable statistics (and the associated TP) can be found efficiently by solving a convex optimization problem.
Impact of chronic treatment of ewes with estradiol-17beta or progesterone on oxytocin receptor gene transcription and ovarian oxytocin secretion.

Three experiments were conducted, the objectives of which were to 1) examine the effects of exogenous estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) on uterine concentrations of oxytocin receptors (OTR) and OTR mRNA, as well as the effect of exogenous P4 on progesterone receptors (PR) during the late luteal phase of the cycle, and 2) ascertain whether chronic E2 treatment of ewes during the cycle would alter prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha)-induced secretion of luteal oxytocin (OT). In experiment 1, 15 ewes were assigned to a control (n = 5; 2 ml corn oil [CO] s.c. on Days 4-14 of the estrous cycle) and two treatment groups (n = 5 each) receiving either 250 microg E2 s.c. (Days 4-14) or 10 mg P4 s.c. (CO on Days 4-10 and P4 on Days 11-14). Endometria and corpora lutea were removed on Day 15 of the cycle. Mean luteal weights were greater in treated than in control ewes (p < 0.05). Endometrial concentrations of OTR and OTR mRNA were significantly greater in control than in E2- or P4-treated ewes. In experiment 2, five ewes each were treated s.c. with CO or 10 mg P4 on Days 11-14 of the cycle; endometria were then removed on Day 15 for PR assay. Endometrial concentration of PR did not differ between groups. Experiment 3 consisted of 20 ewes assigned to four groups in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. Treatment consisted of two dosages of E2 (0 or 250 microg/day) in 2 ml CO and two dosages of PGF2alpha analogue (0 or 125 microg Estrumate). All ewes were injected s.c. with E2 or CO for 11 days as described for experiment 1. On Day 15, all ewes received an i.v. injection of PGF2alpha or saline (Time 0); then jugular blood was collected at frequent intervals for analysis of serum concentrations of OT. PGF2alpha induced a release of OT in control and E2-treated ewes (p < 0.05) compared to the value in saline-treated ewes. Collectively, these data suggest that in cycling ewes, exposure of the uterus to increased concentrations of E2 or P4 causes down-regulation of OTR as a consequence of suppression of the OTR gene. Chronic E2 treatment of ewes during the cycle does not act directly on the ovary to alter the stores of luteal OT.
A Preferred Scale for Warm-Core Instability in a Nonconvective Moist Basic State

Abstract The existence, scale, and growth rates of subsynoptic-scale warm-core circulations are investigated with a simple parameterization for latent heat release in a nonconvective basic state using a linear two-layer shallow-water model. For a range of baroclinic flows from moderate to high Richardson number, conditionally stable lapse rates approaching saturated adiabats consistently yield the most unstable modes with a warm-core structure and a Rossby number ∼O(1), with higher Rossby numbers stabilized. This compares to the corresponding most unstable modes for the dry cases that have cold-core structures and Rossby numbers ∼O(10−1) or in the quasigeostrophic range. The maximum growth rates of 0.45 of the Coriolis parameter are an order of magnitude greater than those for the corresponding most unstable dry modes. Because the Rossby number of the most unstable mode for nearly saturated conditions is virtually independent of Richardson number, the preferred scale of these warm-core modes varies direct.
Power efficient and secure multiuser communication systems with wireless information and power transfer

In this paper, we study resource allocation algorithm design for power efficient secure communication with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (WIPT) in multiuser communication systems. In particular, we focus on power splitting receivers which are able to harvest energy and decode information from the received signals. The considered problem is modeled as an optimization problem which takes into account a minimum required signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) at multiple desired receivers, a maximum tolerable data rate at multiple multi-antenna potential eavesdroppers, and a minimum required power delivered to the receivers. The proposed problem formulation facilitates the dual use of artificial noise in providing efficient energy transfer and guaranteeing secure communication. We aim at minimizing the total transmit power by jointly optimizing transmit beamforming vectors, power splitting ratios at the desired receivers, and the covariance of the artificial noise. The resulting non-convex optimization problem is transformed into a semidefinite programming (SDP) and solved by SDP relaxation. We show that the adopted SDP relaxation is tight and achieves the global optimum of the original problem. Simulation results illustrate the significant power saving obtained by the proposed optimal algorithm compared to suboptimal baseline schemes.
Long-term outcome, relapse patterns, and toxicity after radiotherapy for orbital mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma: implications for radiotherapy optimization.

OBJECTIVES Although mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (MALToma) is sensitive to radiation therapy (RT), the optimal RT dose and treatment volumes have not been established. This study aimed to assess the relapse patterns and outcomes of patients with orbital MALToma who underwent RT and to suggest implications for optimized RT. METHODS We reviewed 212 patients (246 orbits) diagnosed with orbital MALToma who received RT between 1993 and 2013. Median RT dose was 25.2 Gy. Generally, conjunctival and eyelid lesions were irradiated with electrons, whereas retrobulbar and lacrimal gland lesions with photons. Lens shielding was used for 70% of treated eyes, mainly conjunctival and eyelid tumors. RESULTS Relapse occurred in 29 patients. Among 11 patients with local relapse (LR), 4 were attributed to insufficient dose (n = 2) and improper RT volume (n = 2). The 10-year LR, contralateral orbit relapse, and distant relapse rates were 8.6%, 12.8% and 4.9%, respectively. Twelve patients died of disease-specific causes (n = 1) and intercurrent diseases (n = 11). The 10-year relapse-free survival, overall survival, and cause-specific survival rates were 69.7%, 88.2% and 98.8%, respectively. Grade 3 cataracts and nasolacrimal duct obstruction were observed in 27 and 4 orbits, respectively. CONCLUSION Low-dose RT with proper lens shielding is an appropriate treatment for orbital MALToma in terms of high disease control rate and acceptable morbidity. However, lower RT dose may be attempted to further reduce toxicity while maintaining excellent outcomes.
Study of factors determining caregiver burden among primary caregivers of patients with intracranial tumors

Background: Caregivers of patients with intracranial tumors handle physical, cognitive, and behavioral impairments of patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the magnitude of burden experienced by primary caregivers of patients operated for intracranial tumors and evaluate factors influencing it. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional design was used to assess home-care burden experienced by primary caregivers of patients operated for intracranial tumors. Using purposive sampling, 70 patient-caregiver pairs were enrolled. Modified caregiver strain index (MCSI) was used to assess the caregiver burden. Mini mental status examination (MMSE), Katz index of independence in activities of daily living (ADL), and neuropsychiatric inventory questionnaire (NPI-Q) were used to assess the status of patients. Results: Of 70 caregivers, 45 had mild, and 22 had moderate MCSI burden. A number of behavioral changes in NPI-Q had a significant correlation with MCSI burden (P < 0.001), whereas MMSE and Katz-ADL of patients did not show significant relation with caregiver burden. In NPI-Q, irritability, agitation, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances had a significant impact on MCSI. Among caregiver factors, unemployment, low per capita income, time spent, inability to meet household needs, quitting the job, and health problems had a significant impact on MCSI. In separate multivariate analyses, irritability component (P = 0.004) among behavioral changes of patients and caregivers’ inability to meet household needs (P < 0.001) had a significant association with caregiver burden independent of other factors. Conclusions: Behavioral changes in patients (especially irritability) and financial constraints had a significant independent impact on the burden experienced by primary caregivers of patients operated for intracranial tumors. Identifying and managing, these are essential for reducing caregiver burden.
Composition, Acquisition, and Distribution of the Vi Exopolysaccharide-Encoding Salmonella enterica Pathogenicity Island SPI-7

ABSTRACT Vi capsular polysaccharide production is encoded by the viaB locus, which has a limited distribution in Salmonella enterica serovars. In S. enterica serovar Typhi, viaB is encoded on a 134-kb pathogenicity island known as SPI-7 that is located between partially duplicated tRNApheU sites. Functional and bioinformatic analysis suggests that SPI-7 has a mosaic structure and may have evolved as a consequence of several independent insertion events. Analysis of viaB-associated DNA in Vi-positive S. enterica serovar Paratyphi C and S. enterica serovar Dublin isolates revealed the presence of similar SPI-7 islands. In S. enterica serovars Paratyphi C and Dublin, the SopE bacteriophage and a 15-kb fragment adjacent to the intact tRNApheU site were absent. In S. enterica serovar Paratyphi C only, a region encoding a type IV pilus involved in the adherence of S. enterica serovar Typhi to host cells was missing. The remainder of the SPI-7 islands investigated exhibited over 99% DNA sequence identity in the three serovars. Of 30 other Salmonella serovars examined, 24 contained no insertions at the equivalent tRNApheU site, 2 had a 3.7-kb insertion, and 4 showed sequence variation at the tRNApheU-phoN junction, which was not analyzed further. Sequence analysis of the SPI-7 region from S. enterica serovar Typhi strain CT18 revealed significant synteny with clusters of genes from a variety of saprophytic bacteria and phytobacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri. This analysis suggested that SPI-7 may be a mobile element, such as a conjugative transposon or an integrated plasmid remnant.
Distal and Proximal Resource Influences on Economic Dependency among the Oldest Old

Background: As exceptional survivors, centenarians may have characteristics that reduce their dependency on family and community support systems despite the expectation that their extreme age creates a burden on those systems. The Georgia Centenarian Study obtained information about assistance for income, medical care, and caregiving of all types for a sample of centenarians and octogenarians. Previous studies have not established which characteristics may contribute to economic dependency among the oldest old. Objective: To identify distal and proximal resource influences on economic dependency, considering past lifestyle, proximal health, economic resources, personality, and coping behavior. Methods: Analysis sample sizes ranged from 109 to 138 octogenarians and centenarians. Blockwise multiple regressions predicted whether they received income assistance, number of medical care events, number of caregiving types, and total caregiving hours. Results: Past life style, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, functional health, and coping were not related to economic dependency. With the exception of the number of types of care, centenarians were not more dependent than octogenarians. Cognitive ability had the strongest effects for medical care and caregiving services. ‘Extraversion’, ‘ideas’, ‘neuroticism’, and ‘competence’ personality factors had significant effects for caregiving types and total hours of care received. Conclusion: Monitoring and intervention to maintain cognitive ability are critical practices for autonomy and reduced economic dependency among the oldest old. Psychological resources are more important influences on social support than functional health and other proximal economic resources.
Mindsets Affect Risk Perception and Risk-Taking Behavior: Illusory Optimism and the BART

In two experiments, we investigated the downstream consequences of activating deliberative versus implemental mindsets on risk perception (Experiment 1) and risk-taking behavior (Experiment 2). We hypothesized that participants in an implemental versus deliberative mindset arrive at more optimistic judgments about their own risks of experiencing negative life events, compared to other peoples’ risks. The results of Experiment 1 confirm this hypothesis and reveal perceived controllability as an important moderator. Experiment 2 further augments these findings by demonstrating that participants in a deliberative mindset show less risk-taking behavior than participants in an implemental mindset using a behavioral risk task. Implications for research on mindset theory of action phases and mindset-dependent effects on risk perception and risk-taking behavior are discussed.