Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hodgkin transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Incidence, outcomes, and comparison to de novo Hodgkin lymphoma

Although transformation to Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a recognized complication in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), its incidence, clinical characteristics and outcomes are not well defined. We used the Mayo Clinic CLL and Lymphoma Databases to identify CLL patients who developed biopsy‐proven HL (CLL/HL) on follow‐up, as well as cases of de novo HL (i.e., without prior CLL). Among 3887 CLL patients seen at Mayo Clinic from January 1995 through August 2011, 26 (0.7%) developed HL. In a nested cohort of 2,465 newly diagnosed CLL patients followed prospectively, the incidence of HL was 0.05%/year (10 year risk = 0.5%). The median overall survival (OS) from date of HL diagnosis in patients with CLL/HL was 3.9 years compared to not reached for de novo HL patients (n = 709) seen during the same time interval (P < 0.001). The shorter OS of CLL/HL patients persisted after adjusting for differences in age and Ann Arbor stage of disease. The International Prognostic score (IPS) developed for de novo HL stratified prognosis among CLL/HL patients with median survival of not reached, 6.2, 2.4, and 0.3 years (P = 0.006) for those with IPS scores of ≤2, 3, 4, and ≥5, respectively. In summary, approximately 1 of every 200 CLL patients will develop HL within 10 years. Survival after HL diagnosis in patients with CLL is shorter than de novo HL patients. The IPS for de novo HL may be useful for stratifying survival in CLL/HL patients. Am. J. Hematol. 90:334–338, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effect of Ti-doping on optical and structural properties of ZnO films grown by spin coating method

ABSTRACT ZnO films with and without Ti doping were deposited on the glass substrate by the spin coating method. Zn1-xTixO films have been investigated by the XRD, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive x- ray spectroscopy, UV-VIS spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses. FESEM images have shown that films surface morphology clearly altered with different Ti content. AFM measurements have shown that the root mean square roughness have increased from 6.18 nm to 12.3 nm by increasing Ti doping content. By increasing Ti concentration, the transparency of the ZnO films decreased while the optical band gap increased.
A Comparison of the Cardiorespiratory Effects of Methohexital and Thiopental Supplementation for Outpatient Dental Anesthesia

There has been great disparity in the reported results of the cardiorespiratory effects of methohexita11.4,j as, indeed, of thiopental.6 These differences are related to differences in methods of administration, prernedication, and supplementation of the anesthesia. As outpatient dental anesthesia differs from surgical anesthesia in a hospital environment,T we evaluated the cardiorespiratory effects of the two agents in a controlled situation simulating outpatient oral surgical practice.
Interaction between Polyamines and Bacterial Outer Membranes as Investigated with Ion-Selective Electrodes

ABSTRACT We analyzed the interaction between polyamines and the outer membrane of Escherichia coli cells using potentiometric measurements with Ca2+, tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP+), and K+ electrodes. The Ca2+ electrode was used to examine the ability of the polyamines to release Ca2+ from the outer membrane. The TPP+ electrode was used to examine the ability to permeabilize the outer membrane, since the uptake of TPP+ was enhanced when the permeability barrier of the outer membrane was disrupted. The K+ electrode was used to examine permeabilization in the cytoplasmic membrane by monitoring the efflux of K+ in cytosol. Although Ca2+ release was remarkably enhanced by increasing the number of amino groups in polyamines, no TPP+ uptake was observed with polyamines of a simple structure, such as ethylenediamine, spermidine, and spermine. TPP+ uptake was observed when appropriate lipophilic moieties were further attached to the polyamines with three or four amino groups, indicating that the existence of bulky moieties as well as the number of amino groups is important to induce outer membrane permeabilization. Thus, 1-naphthylacetylspermine and N,N′-bis[6-[[(2-methoxyphenyl)methyl]amino]hexyl]-1,8-octanediamine (methoctramine) were especially effective in increasing the permeability of the outer membrane of E. coli cells, being comparable to polymyxin B nonapeptide, a well-known cationic peptide showing such action.
Mutant FLT3: a direct target of sorafenib in acute myelogenous leukemia.

BACKGROUND Internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutations in the juxtamembrane domain-coding sequence of the Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) gene have been identified in 30% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and are associated with a poor prognosis. The kinase inhibitor sorafenib induces growth arrest and apoptosis at much lower concentrations in AML cell lines that harbor FLT3-ITD mutations than in AML cell lines with wild-type FLT3. METHODS The antileukemic activity of sorafenib was investigated in isogenic murine Ba/F3 AML cell lines that expressed mutant (ITD, D835G, and D835Y) or wild-type human FLT3, in primary human AML cells, and in a mouse leukemia xenograft model. Effects of sorafenib on apoptosis and signaling in AML cell lines were investigated by flow cytometry and immunoblot analysis, respectively, and the in vivo effects were determined by monitoring the survival of leukemia xenograft-bearing mice treated with sorafenib (groups of 15 mice). In a phase 1 clinical trial, 16 patients with refractory or relapsed AML were treated with sorafenib on different dose schedules. We determined their FLT3 mutation status by a polymerase chain reaction assay and analyzed clinical responses by standard criteria. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Sorafenib was 1000- to 3000-fold more effective in inducing growth arrest and apoptosis in Ba/F3 cells with FLT3-ITD or D835G mutations than in Ba/F3 cells with FLT3-D835Y mutant or wild-type FLT3 and inhibited the phosphorylation of tyrosine residues in ITD mutant but not wild-type FLT3 protein. In a mouse model, sorafenib decreased the leukemia burden and prolonged survival (median survival in the sorafenib-treated group vs the vehicle-treated group = 36.5 vs 16 days, difference = 20.5 days, 95% confidence interval = 20.3 to 21.3 days; P = .0018). Sorafenib reduced the percentage of leukemia blasts in the peripheral blood and the bone marrow of AML patients with FLT3-ITD (median percentages before and after sorafenib: 81% vs 7.5% [P = .016] and 75.5% vs 34% [P = .05], respectively) but not in patients without this mutation. CONCLUSION Sorafenib may have therapeutic efficacy in AML patients whose cells harbor FLT3-ITD mutations.
Cerebrospinal fluid amyloid beta42/phosphorylated tau ratio discriminates between Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

BACKGROUND The differentiation of Alzheimer's disease (AD) from vascular dementia (VaD) is hampered by clinical diagnostic criteria with disappointing sensitivity and specificity. The objective of this study was to investigate whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of total tau protein (t-tau), amyloid beta42 protein (Abeta42), and tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (p-tau181) are useful biomarkers to distinguish AD patients from VaD patients. METHODS We measured CSF levels of p-tau181, Abeta42, and t-tau in 86 patients with a clinical diagnosis of AD or VaD and in 30 control participants. RESULTS Optimal differentiation between AD and VaD was achieved by using the ratio of the CSF levels of Abeta42 and p-tau181 (Q Abeta42/p-tau) with sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values all > or = 85%. CONCLUSIONS Our results support further efforts to prospectively validate the use of Q Abeta42/p-tau as a biomarker to discriminate between AD and VaD.
2D time-of-flight MR venography in neonates: anatomy and pitfalls.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The dural venous sinuses in neonates differ from those in adults or older children in that the caliber of venous sinuses is smaller and there is skull molding. The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the presence of flow gaps in venous sinuses in neonates on 2D time-of-flight (TOF) MR venography (MRV). METHODS Fifty-one neonates underwent coronal 2D TOF MRV. Nine also had CT venography (CTV) for comparison. In 1 neonate, a further 2D TOF MRV was performed in the sagittal plane; in another neonate, images were captured in the axial plane; and in another, a further coronal TOF MRV with shorter echo time was performed. RESULTS Flow gap was seen in the posterior aspect of the superior sagittal sinus in 35 of 51 (69%). Focal narrowing of the superior sagittal sinus, in the region of convergence of lambdoid sutures, was detected in 7 of 51 (14%). The right and left transverse sinuses demonstrated flow gap in 13 of 51 (25%) and 32 of 51 (63%) respectively. There was normal filling of contrast on CTV in the superior sagittal sinus, transverse sinus and sigmoid sinus in those cases with flow gap detected on coronal 2D TOF MRV. Right, left, and codominance of the transverse sinuses are as follows: 32 of 51 (63%), 5 of 51 (10%), and 14 of 51 (27%), respectively. The right and left sigmoid sinuses demonstrated flow gap in 7 of 51 (14%) and 8 of 51 (16%), respectively, and the left sigmoid sinus was absent in 1 of 51 (2%). CONCLUSION The high proportion of flow gap in the venous sinuses of neonates, particularly of the superior sagittal sinus, could be attributed to the smaller caliber venous sinuses, slower venous flow, and skull molding.
Epidemic algorithms for replicated database maintenance

When a database is replicated at many sites, maintaining mutual consistency among the sites in the face of updates is a significant problem. This paper describes several randomized algorithms for distributing updates and driving the replicas toward consistency. The algorithms are very simple and require few guarantees from the underlying communication system, yet they ensure that the effect of every update is eventually reflected in all replicas. The cost and performance of the algorithms are tuned by choosing appropriate distributions in the randomization step. The algorithms are closely analogous to epidemics, and the epidemiology literature aids in understanding their behavior. One of the algorithms has been implemented in the Clearinghouse servers of the Xerox Corporate Internet. solving long-standing problems of high traffic and database inconsistency.
Learning to Compose Spatial Relations with Grounded Neural Language Models

Language is compositional: we can generate and interpret novel sentences by having a notion of meaning of their individual parts. Spatial descriptions are grounded in perceptional representations but their meaning is also deﬁned by what neighbouring words they co-occur with. In this paper we examine how language models conditioned on perceptual features can capture the semantics of composed phrases as well as of individual words. We generate a synthetic dataset of spatial descriptions referring to perceptual scenes and examine how grounded language models built with deep neural networks can account for compositionality of descriptions – by evaluating how the learned language models can deal with novel grounded composed descriptions and novel grounded decomposed descriptions, constituents previously not seen in isolation
Stainless Steel Tubular Beams - Tests and Design

The paper presents tests on square and circular stainless steel tubular beams. An important part of the test programme was to quantify the increase in bending strength resulting from cold-work during the fabrication process. Tension and compression tests on coupons cut from finished tubes were also included in the test programme. Stress strain curves for shear were obtained using the coupon test results and the concept of affini ty factors. A design method is proposed for stainless steel tubular beams. The method incorpo rates the increase in strength produced by the cold-rolling process and is validated by comparing it to the test strengths. Design rules are proposed for the bending and shear strengths and for combined bending and shear. The paper describes a simple non-iterative method for calculating deflections of stainless steel tubular beams. The method is suitable for design. It is shown to produce deflec tions which agree closely with the tests and a comprehensive finite element analysis. paper to calculate deflections of stainless steel tubular beams. The method includes nonlinear material properties and is in close agreement with tests.
Enhanced Cycle-Conserving Dynamic Voltage Scaling for Low-Power Real-Time Operating Systems

SUMMARY For battery based real-time embedded systems, high performance to meet their real-time constraints and energy e ﬃ ciency to extend battery life are both essential. Real-Time Dynamic Voltage Scaling (RT-DVS) has been a key technique to satisfy both requirements. This paper presents EccEDF (Enhanced ccEDF), an e ﬃ cient algorithm based on ccEDF. ccEDF is one of the most simple but e ﬃ cient RT-DVS algorithms. Its simple structure enables it to be easily and intuitively coupled with a real-time operating system without incurring any signiﬁcant cost. ccEDF, however, overlooks an important factor in calculating the available slacks for reducing the operating frequency. It calculates the saved utilization simply by dividing the slack by the period without considering the time needed to run the task. If the elapsed time is considered, the maximum utilization saved by the slack on completion of the task can be found. The proposed EccEDF can precisely calculate the maximum unused utilization with consideration of the elapsed time while keeping the structural simplicity of ccEDF. Further, we analytically establish the feasibility of EccEDF using the ﬂuid scheduling model. Our simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms ccEDF in all simulations. A simulation shows that EccEDF consumes 27% less energy than ccEDF.
Management of Variceal Hemorrhage

Variceal hemorrhage is a frequent and lethal complication of portal hypertension. Bleeding occurs in 30%-40% of patients with cirrhosis and varices. The first episode of variceal bleeding is associated with a high mortality as well as a high incidence of re-bleeding. Thus, management of variceal hemorrhage should be categorized into 3 phases: primary prophylaxis (prevention of the first episode of bleeding), emergency treatment (management of acute bleeding), and secondary prophylaxis (prevention of re-bleeding). Modalities involved include pharmacological, endoscopic, surgical, interventional radiological therapy and balloon tamponade. This review summarizes the current choices of management during each phase, and concentrates on the following questions, what can we do to prevent the formation and development of varices; how can we predicate the risk of bleeding; what should we do in case of bleeding; what is the first-line therapy; what should we do when current therapy fails; when should we give up and what is the optimal strategy for secondary prophylaxis.
Frequency and clinical implications of fluid dynamically significant diffuse coronary artery disease manifest as graded, longitudinal, base-to-apex myocardial perfusion abnormalities by noninvasive positron emission tomography.

BACKGROUND Diffuse coronary atherosclerosis is the substrate for plaque rupture and coronary events. Therefore, in patients with mild arteriographic coronary artery disease without significant segmental dipyridamole-induced myocardial perfusion defects, we tested the hypothesis that fluid dynamically significant diffuse coronary artery narrowing is frequently manifest as a graded, longitudinal, base-to-apex myocardial perfusion abnormality by noninvasive PET. METHODS AND RESULTS In this study, 1001 patients with documented coronary artery disease by coronary arteriography showing any visible coronary artery narrowing underwent rest-dipyridamole PET perfusion imaging. Quantitative severity of dipyridamole-induced, circumscribed, segmental PET perfusion defects was objectively measured by automated software as the minimum quadrant average relative activity indicating localized flow limiting stenoses. Quantitative severity of the graded, longitudinal, base-to-apex myocardial perfusion gradient indicating fluid dynamic effects of diffuse coronary artery narrowing was objectively measured by automated software as the spatial slope of relative activity along the cardiac longitudinal axis. CONCLUSIONS In patients with mild arteriographic disease without statistically significant dipyridamole-induced segmental myocardial perfusion defects caused by flow-limiting stenoses compared with normal control subjects, there was a graded, longitudinal, base-to-apex myocardial perfusion gradient significantly different from normal control subjects (P=0. 001) that was also observed for moderate to severe dipyridamole-induced segmental perfusion defects (P=0.0001), indicating diffuse disease underlying segmental perfusion defects; 43% of patients with or without segmental perfusion defects demonstrated graded, longitudinal, base-to-apex perfusion abnormalities beyond +/-2 SD of normal control subjects, indicating diffuse coronary arterial narrowing by noninvasive PET perfusion imaging.
Coupled wave and surge modelling and implications for coastal flooding

Abstract. The physical causes of coastal flooding due to marine storms are discussed. We examine the costs and impacts of storm surges and waves with reference to the UK. The mechanisms of interaction between waves and the mean circulation due to tides and wind are reviewed. A case study to illustrate the magnitude of surges, waves and their interactions is presented for Liverpool Bay in the eastern Irish Sea. Applications of surge and wave models to the Mediterranean, especially the Adriatic Sea, are considered.
Oncological outcomes following radical prostatectomy for patients with pT4 prostate cancer

ABSTRACT Objectives: Radical prostatectomy (RP) for locally advanced prostate cancer may reduce the risk of metastasis and cancer-specific death. Herein, we evaluated the outcomes for patients with pT4 disease treated with RP. Materials and methods: Among 19,800 men treated with RP at Mayo Clinic from 1987 to 2010, 87 were found to have pT4 tumors. Biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival, systemic progression (SP) free survival and overall survival (OS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the association of clinic-pathological features with outcome. Results: Median follow-up was 9.8 years (IQR 3.6, 13.4). Of the 87 patients, 50 (57.5%) were diagnosed with BCR, 30 (34.5%) developed SP, and 38 (43.7%) died, with 11 (12.6%) dying of prostate cancer. Adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy was administered to 77 men, while 32 received adjuvant external beam radiation therapy. Ten-year BCR-free survival, SP-free survival, and OS was 37%, 64%, and 70% respectively. On multivariate analysis, the presence of positive lymph nodes was marginally significantly associated with patients' risk of BCR (HR: 1.94; p=0.05), while both positive lymph nodes (HR 2.96; p=0.02) and high pathologic Gleason score (HR 1.95; p=0.03) were associated with SP. Conclusions: Patients with pT4 disease may experience long-term survival following RP, and as such, when technically feasible, surgical resection should be considered in the multimodal treatment approach to these men.
Stronger Neural Modulation by Visual Motion Intensity in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Theories of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have focused on altered perceptual integration of sensory features as a possible core deficit. Yet, there is little understanding of the neuronal processing of elementary sensory features in ASD. For typically developed individuals, we previously established a direct link between frequency-specific neural activity and the intensity of a specific sensory feature: Gamma-band activity in the visual cortex increased approximately linearly with the strength of visual motion. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we investigated whether in individuals with ASD neural activity reflect the coherence, and thus intensity, of visual motion in a similar fashion. Thirteen adult participants with ASD and 14 control participants performed a motion direction discrimination task with increasing levels of motion coherence. A polynomial regression analysis revealed that gamma-band power increased significantly stronger with motion coherence in ASD compared to controls, suggesting excessive visual activation with increasing stimulus intensity originating from motion-responsive visual areas V3, V6 and hMT/V5. Enhanced neural responses with increasing stimulus intensity suggest an enhanced response gain in ASD. Response gain is controlled by excitatory-inhibitory interactions, which also drive high-frequency oscillations in the gamma-band. Thus, our data suggest that a disturbed excitatory-inhibitory balance underlies enhanced neural responses to coherent motion in ASD.
Acetamiprid inhibits testosterone synthesis by affecting the mitochondrial function and cytoplasmic adenosine triphosphate production in rat Leydig cells

Abstract The insecticide acetamiprid is used to control noxious agricultural pests. However, it can cause mammalian toxicity. We evaluated the reproductive toxicity of acetamiprid in adult male Sprague Dawley rats. Rats were given oral acetamiprid alone or with vitamin E for 35 days. Rat plasma testosterone concentration and sperm quality decreased significantly as the levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) increased after exposure. At the same time, acetamiprid increased malondialdehyde and nitric oxide (NO) levels of Leydig cells. Further analysis showed that acetamiprid reduced the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production of Leydig cells, but the expression of luteinizing hormone/choriogonadotropin receptor (LHCGR) and the activity of adenylyl cyclase were not changed. Acetamiprid exposure also significantly diminished protein levels of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STAR), hydroxy-delta-5-steroid dehydrogenase, 3 beta- and steroid delta-isomerase cluster (HSD3B), and cytochrome P450, family 11, subfamily a, polypeptide 1 (CYP11A1), and testicular mRNA levels, which are cAMP-dependent proteins that are essential for steroidogenesis. Electron microscopy indicated mitochondrial membrane damage in the Leydig cells of the testes of exposed rats. Vitamin E ameliorated the impairment of acetamiprid on Leydig cells. Our results indicate that acetamiprid causes oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage in Leydig cells and inhibits the synthesis of testicular ATP and cAMP. Acetamiprid disrupts subsequent testosterone biosynthesis by decreasing the rate of conversion of cholesterol to testosterone and by preventing cholesterol from entering the mitochondria within the Leydig cells. These effects caused reproductive damage to the rats. Summary Sentence Mitochondrial inner membrane damage may be the mechanism by which acetamiprid inhibits the testosterone secretion of testicular interstitial Leydig cells.