Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Treatment Type on Overall Survival in Elderly Brazilian Women with Breast Cancer

Objective: To analyze the survival of elderly patients with breast cancer according to the type of treatment used. Methods: A cohort study of women aged 80 or over with breast cancer registered with the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (Instituto Nacional do Câncer - INCA) between 2008 and 2009 was conducted. Prognosis was analyzed according to the cancer treatment performed: surgery, radiotherapy, or hormone therapy. Analysis of the overall 5-year survival rate was performed using the Kaplan - Meier method, and comparisons of curves were undertaken using the log-rank test. For multiple regression analysis, Cox regression was used, adjusting for age and clinical stage, considering values of p < 0.05 as significant. Data were all analyzed using the statistical package SPSS version 20. Results: 70 women with a mean age of 84.0 ± 3.7 years at diagnosis participated in the study. The median follow-up time was 37.1 months (range 0.5–75.5), and 31 deaths (44.3%) occurred during this time. The median survival time was 51.2 months (95% CI, 44.9–57.4), higher in those who underwent surgery (p = 0.012) and those who had hormone therapy (p=0.001). Treatment with surgery reduced the risk of death by 61.7% (HR 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1–0.6; p = 0.001) when adjusted for clinical stage and age at diagnosis. However, there was no significant benefit from radiotherapy (HR 1.2; 95% CI, 0.5–2.5; p = 0.694). Conclusion: Treatment with surgery and hormone therapy increased the survival of our Brazilian patients with breast cancer aged 80 or over.
Cynical hostility and the metabolic syndrome: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND Evidence suggests that metabolic syndrome and hostility are independent risk factors for the development of coronary heart disease. Recently, the combined effect of metabolic syndrome and hostility has shown to predict the incidence of myocardial infarction. This study tested whether cynical hostility was associated with the metabolic syndrome in a sample of Italian adults. METHODS 992 subjects participated in the study. Among them, 546 participants were classified as having metabolic syndrome and 446 as controls, not having any of the risk factors that constitute the metabolic syndrome. Cynicism, the cognitive component of hostility, was measured with a self-report questionnaire derived from the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale. Metabolic syndrome was based on having the following risk factors: obesity, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, and elevated arterial blood pressure. RESULTS The cross-sectional association of cynical hostility with metabolic syndrome was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Hostility was also associated with age (p < 0.0001) and educational level (p < 0.02). Predictors of having metabolic syndrome were higher cynicism (O.R. 1.12), older age (O.R. 1.39), and lower educational level (O.R. 1.05). CONCLUSIONS The results highlight the potential importance of intervention on psychological factors (i.e. hostility) to prevent coronary heart disease.
Segmentation and cross parameterization frameworks for scientific visualization

Scientific visualization provides useful insights and analysis for scientists through graphical representations of data. As numerical simulations become more sophisticated, interpretation of the underlying physical phenomena requires new tools to be developed that perform complex feature analysis and cross correlation of data parameters. Towards this end, this thesis presents two new frameworks that contribute to more effective data understanding. The first is a segmentation framework that can be used to effectively identify regions of interest in data sets. A format of higher-level data is defined from which meaningful derived features can be efficiently extracted and visualized. Furthermore, a higher-order interpolation scheme is presented that allows for extraction of smoother feature surfaces from scalar data. The second framework robustly computes cross parameterizations between two triangulated meshes of arbitrary and possibly unequal genus. Cross parameterizations can be used to describe the evolution of surfaces over time as well as to establish a shape deviation metric. Results are presented that demonstrate the effectiveness of both of the frameworks in a variety of data analysis applications.
0 Trade , Firms , and Wages : Theory and Evidence *

How does trade liberalization affect wages? This is the first paper to consider in theory and data how the impact of final and intermediate input tariff cuts on workers’ wages varies with the global engagement of their firm. Our model predicts that a fall in output tariffs lowers wages at import-competing firms, but boosts wages at exporting firms. Similarly, a fall in input tariffs raises wages at import-using firms relative to those at firms that only source locally. Using highly detailed Indonesian manufacturing census data for the period 1991 to 2000, we find considerable support for the model’s predictions.
Kinases by Lipopolysaccharide Regulation of IL-1 Receptor-Associated

IL-1R-associated kinase (IRAK) plays a pivotal role in IL-1R/Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated signaling and NF- (cid:1) B activation. IRAK from leukocytes undergoes rapid activation and inactivation/degradation following IL-1 or LPS stimulation. The rapid degradation of IRAK may serve as a negative feedback mechanism of down-regulating IL-1R/TLR-mediated signaling and cytokine gene transcription. Although IL-1/IL-1R-triggered IRAK degradation has been studied in detail, the mechanism of LPS-induced IRAK activation and degradation is not clearly deﬁned. In this study, we demonstrate that the IRAK N-terminal 186-aa region is required for LPS-induced degradation. The N-terminally truncated IRAK protein expressed in human monocytic THP-1 cells remains stable upon LPS challenge. In comparison, IRAK as well as the IRAK mutant with C-terminal truncation undergo degradation with LPS stimulation. We demonstrate that pretreatment with protein kinase C inhibitor calphostin inhibits LPS-induced IRAK degradation. Furthermore, we observe coimmunoprecipitation of endogenous IRAK and protein kinase C- (cid:2) protein. We show that functional TLR4 is required for LPS-mediated IRAK degradation. IRAK protein in the murine GG2EE cells harboring a mutated TLR4 gene does not undergo degradation upon LPS treatment. In sharp contrast, we observe that the IRAK homolog, IRAK2, does not undergo degradation upon prolonged LPS treatment, suggesting complex regulation of the innate immunity network upon microbial challenge. The Journal of Immunology, 2002, 168: 3910–3914.
The cyclin D1 G870A polymorphism and colorectal cancer susceptibility: a meta-analysis of 20 populations.

PURPOSE Studies of the association between the cyclin D1 (CCND1) G870A genetic polymorphism and risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) have generated conflicting results. In order to derive a more precise estimation, a meta-analysis was here performed. MATERIALS AND METHODS An extensive search of relevant studies was carried out as a meta-analysis of twenty studies with 5,975 cases and 8,333 controls. RESULTS Overall, a significantly elevated colorectal cancer risk was associated with variant allele 870A when all studies were pooled (AA vs. GG: OR = 1.23, 95%CI = 1.04-1.44; GA vs. GG: OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.01-1.26; dominant model: OR = 1.16, 95%CI = 1.03-1.31). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, significantly increased risks were detected among Caucasians (AA vs. GG: OR = 1.27, 95%CI = 1.04-1.44; and dominant model: OR = 1.17, 95%CI = 1.02-1.34). With stratification into sporadic CRC and hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), the former demonstrated increased cancer susceptibility (AA vs. GG: OR = 1.24, 95%CI = 1.04-1.48; dominant model: OR = 1.17, 95%CI = 1.04-1.33). However, no significant associations were found in either Asians or HNPCC patients for any genetic model. CONCLUSION The results suggest that the cyclin D1 870A allele is a low-penetrant risk factor for development of sporadic colorectal cancer, especially among Caucasians.
Nodes Density and Broadcast Management in Heterogeneous Environments of Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks

Problem statement: The research presented in this study looks into Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (MANETs) environment that has varying node densities, called heterogeneous density environment. Such environment can be roughly associated with situations varying from areas struck by disasters to normal city environments. Approach: This study improved the performance of existing MANETs routing protocols by reducing the communication overhead incurred during the route discovery process. This reduction in communication overhead is achieved by implementing a new broadcast protocol. The proposed broadcast protocol is based on the density and connectivity of the nodes and not just the number of nodes. It compared against the will known routing protocols using simulation. The simulation is conducted in three different environments: dense environment, varying dense environment, and sparse dense environment. Results: Extensive performance analysis proves the effectiveness of the proposed protocol in terms of packet delivery ratio and throughput in the three environments. In dense environments the increase in performance is obvious for packet deliver ratio which in the end translates into high throughput. The throughput is seen to be improved from the original protocol by at least 10% and this trend is also observed in other forms of environment. Conclusion: The performance of the proposed protocol has been encouraging by the fact that in the three different densities environments it has shown that there is a conspicuous increase in performance for packet delivery ratio and throughput. This illustrated the effectiveness of the proposed protocol in bandwidth utilization for data transfer in different environments.
The linker histone H1C contributes to the SCA7 nuclear phenotype

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a polyglutamine expansion in ataxin-7, a subunit of the SAGA coactivator, which leads to progressive neuronal dysfunction and cell death in cerebellum, brainstem and retina. Increased nuclear volume, chromatin decondensation and deregulated gene expression were reported in a SCA7 mouse model expressing mutant ataxin-7 in rod photoreceptors. We analyzed the SCA7-induced chromatin reorganization by immunogold labeling, stereology, electron tomography and showed that in SCA7 rods the most external heterochromatin ring, corresponding to facultative heterochromatin, becomes fragmented and decondensed. The amounts of acetylated histone H3 and H4 tails were found to be unchanged in nuclear extracts of SCA7 retinas and their cellular distribution appeared similar in wild-type and SCA7 mice in so far that in both cases acetylated histones are positioned at the interface between eu- and hetero-chromatin. We found that the amount of the linker histone H1c is strongly reduced in nuclear extracts of SCA7 retinas and that the cellular distribution of H1c is particularly altered in the facultative heterochromatin compartment. The decreased histone H1c content thus provides a coherent explanation for the chromatin decondensation observed in SCA7 rod photoreceptor nuclei.
Sexual Violence, Condom Negotiation, and Condom Use in the Context of Sex Work: Results From Two West African Countries

Background:Female sex workers (FSWs) are vulnerable to violence within and beyond the workplace. Violence is associated with increased burden of HIV, possibly explained through physiologic or behavioral causal pathways. These analyses sought to determine the relationship between lifetime sexual violence with unprotected, condomless vaginal intercourse (UVI) among FSWs in West Africa. Methods:FSWs (aged ≥18 years) were recruited into a cross-sectional study through respondent-driven sampling in two West African countries, Togo and Burkina Faso. A total of 1380 participants were enrolled from January to July 2013, and completed a sociobehavioral questionnaire and HIV testing. Measures included sex work history, lifetime experiences of violence victimization, sexual practices, and UVI (past month). Crude and adjusted robust log binomial regression was conducted to estimate prevalence ratios (PrR) as a measure of association between UVI with clients and the primary exposure, forced sex. Results:Self-reported lifetime physical abuse (47.3%), forced sex (33.0%), and any violence (57.9%) were common. Almost one-quarter (23.9%) reported recent UVI with clients. History of forced sex was independently associated with recent UVI with clients [vs. none, adjusted PrR: 1.49; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18 to 1.88], with evidence of partial mediation by difficult condom negotiation with regular (aPrR: 1.83; 95% CI: 1.43 to 2.34) and new clients (aPrR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.13 to 2.29). Discussion:These data demonstrate the significant relationship between sexual violence experienced by FSWs and unprotected sex with clients. Comprehensive interventions reducing vulnerabilities to violence combined with improved condom negotiation are needed to address the complex influences of condom use during sex work as a means of ultimately lowering HIV acquisition and transmission.
Parental sex discrimination and intralocus sexual conflict

Intralocus sexual conflict occurs when populations segregate for alleles with opposing fitness consequences in the two sexes. This form of selection is known to be capable of maintaining genetic and fitness variation in nature, the extent of which is sensitive to the underlying genetics. We present a one-locus model of a haploid maternal effect that has sexually antagonistic consequences for offspring. The evolutionary dynamics of these maternal effects are distinct from those of haploid direct effects under sexual antagonism because the relevant genes are expressed only in females. Despite this, we find the same opportunity for sexually antagonistic polymorphism at the maternal effect locus as at a direct effect locus. Thus, sexually antagonistic maternal effects may underlie some natural genetic variation. The model we present permits alternative interpretations of how the genes are expressed and how the fitness variation is assigned, which invites a theoretical comparison to models of both imprinted genes and sex allocation.
Interaction between FtsZ and FtsW of Mycobacterium tuberculosis *

The recruitment of FtsZ to the septum and its subsequent interaction with other cell division proteins in a spatially and temporally controlled manner are the keys to bacterial cell division. In the present study, we have tested the hypothesis that FtsZ and FtsW of Mycobacterium tuberculosis could be binding partners. Using gel renaturation, pull-down, and solid-phase assays, we confirm that FtsZ and FtsW interact through their C-terminal tails, which carry extensions absent in their Escherichia coli counterparts. Crucial to these interactions is the cluster of aspartate residues Asp367 to Asp370of FtsZ, which most likely interact with a cluster of positively charged residues in the C-terminal tail of FtsW. Mutations of the aspartate residues 367–370 showed that changing three aspartate residues to alanine resulted in complete loss of interaction. This is the first demonstration of the direct interaction between FtsZ and FtsW. We speculate that this interaction between FtsZ and FtsW could serve to anchor FtsZ to the membrane and link septum formation to peptidoglycan synthesis in M. tuberculosis. The findings assume particular significance in view of the global efforts to explore new targets in M. tuberculosis for chemotherapeutic intervention.
Effectiveness of Adjuvant Chemotherapy with 5-FU/Leucovorin and Prognosis in Stage II Colon Cancer

Purpose The aims of this study were to investigate the survival results and the prognostic factors of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage II colon cancer in the sparsity of Korean data. Methods From 1993 to 2006, 363 curatively resected pathologic stage II colon cancer patients were enrolled. Six cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy was performed: intravenous bolus 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 500 mg/m2 with leucovorin 20 mg/m2 for 2 hours daily for 5 days, followed by a 3-week resting period (n = 308). Fifty-five patients received only curative surgery. A high risk of recurrence was defined as the presence of one or more of the following factors: T4 tumor, lympho-vascular invasion, perineural invasion, perforation, obstruction, retrieved lymph node < 12, and poorly differention. The median follow-up period was 68 months (1 to 205 months). Results The five-year overall survival (OS) rate was 90.1%, and the five-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 84.7%. Among high-risk patients, the OS and the DFS rates of the treatment group were significantly higher than those of the non-treatment group (OS: 90.6% vs. 69.1%, P < 0.0001; DFS: 85.9% vs. 54.1%, P < 0.0001). Among low-risk patients, the survival results of the treatment group were also significantly superior (OS: 97.7% vs. 88.2%, P < 0.0001; DFS: 93.0% vs. 80.0%, P = 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, adjuvant chemotherapy was a significantly favorable prognostic factor for overall survival (hazard ratio, 0.41; 95% confidence interval, 0.22 to 0.75; P = 0.004). Conclusion In our population, adjuvant chemotherapy showed superior survival to curative surgery alone and significantly reduced the risk of death. A nationwide multicenter randomized trial is needed.
Age- and Sex-Specific Causal Effects of Adiposity on Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Observational studies have reported different effects of adiposity on cardiovascular risk factors across age and sex. Since cardiovascular risk factors are enriched in obese individuals, it has not been easy to dissect the effects of adiposity from those of other risk factors. We used a Mendelian randomization approach, applying a set of 32 genetic markers to estimate the causal effect of adiposity on blood pressure, glycemic indices, circulating lipid levels, and markers of inflammation and liver disease in up to 67,553 individuals. All analyses were stratified by age (cutoff 55 years of age) and sex. The genetic score was associated with BMI in both nonstratified analysis (P = 2.8 × 10−107) and stratified analyses (all P < 3.3 × 10−30). We found evidence of a causal effect of adiposity on blood pressure, fasting levels of insulin, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides in a nonstratified analysis and in the <55-year stratum. Further, we found evidence of a smaller causal effect on total cholesterol (P for difference = 0.015) in the ≥55-year stratum than in the <55-year stratum, a finding that could be explained by biology, survival bias, or differential medication. In conclusion, this study extends previous knowledge of the effects of adiposity by providing sex- and age-specific causal estimates on cardiovascular risk factors.
Arterial Vascular Compliance Response to Vasodilators by Fourier and Pulse Contour Analysis

Vasodilator drugs are widely used in the management of cardiovascular disease. They decrease systemic vascular resistance, but they also may influence vascular arterial compliance. This study evaluated the effects of three vasodilators—nitroprusside, nltroglycerin, and hydralazine—on vascular compliance using impedance parameters determined by pulse contour and Fourier analyses. The open chest study was performed on anesthetized dogs. Mean arterial pressure decreased by a minimum of 20% after vasodilator intervention. The decrease in systemic vascular resistance was significant (p < 0.01) only after hydralazine treatment. Proximal compliance increased after administration of all drugs, but the increase was not statistically significant. Distal compliance determined by pulse contour analysis increased by 60 to 120% after all three drug treatments (p < 0.05 for nitroprusside, p < 0.02 for nitroglycerin and hydralazine). Characteristic impedance from Fourier analysis responded variably, and changes were not statistically significant. The sensitivity of changes in distal compliance as a marker for the vascular effect of these drugs suggests that it might be used as a more reliable guide than blood pressure or vascular resistance in monitoring clinical response to such intervention. The more traditional measure of characteristic impedance provides a vascular measurement that is less sensitive than distal compliance to the effects of these vasodilator drugs.
Self-efficacy for Exercise in Cardiac Rehabilitation

Despite the numerous physical and psychosocial benefits of exercise for coronary heart disease survivors, non-adherence to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) exercise is a major problem. Adherence to the lifestyle behavior change associated with CR involves both physical and self-regulatory skills. While self-regulatory efficacy is clearly linked to exercise adherence and adjustment, the literature on the relationship between self-efficacy and exercise among CR participants has not been systematically reviewed. A search of relevant databases identified 41 CR studies. Few studies measured self-regulatory efficacy for actions that facilitate adherence. Most studies examined self-efficacy during the intensive center-based phase of CR, with little attention to long-term maintenance. The CR literature could benefit by examining (a) self-efficacy as a major rehabilitation outcome, (b) measurement of self-regulatory efficacy for behavior change, (c) suspected moderators of self-efficacy (i.e. gender, age), and (d) self-efficacy relative to maintenance.
Limited plasticity of mesenchymal stem cells cocultured with adult cardiomyocytes

In order to assess, in a controlled in vitro model, the differentiation potential of adult bone marrow derived stem cells we have developed a coculture procedure using adult rat cardiomyocytes and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from transgenic GFP positive rats. We investigated in the cocultured MSCs the time course of cellular processes that are difficult to monitor in in vivo experiments. Adult rat cardiomyocytes and adult rat MSCs were cocultured for up to 7 days and analyzed by confocal microscopy. Several markers were studied by immunofluorescence technique. The fluorescent ST‐BODIPY‐Dihydropyridine was used to label calcium channels in living cells. Intracellular calcium was monitored with the fluorescent probe X‐Rhod‐1. Immunofluorescence experiments showed the presence of connexin‐43 between cardiomyocytes and MSCs and between MSCs, while no sarcomeric structures were observed at any time of the coculture. We looked at the expression of calcium channels and development of voltage‐dependent calcium signaling in cocultured MSCs. MSCs showed a time‐dependent increase of labeling of ST‐BODIPY‐Dihydropyridine, reaching a relatively strong level after 72 h of coculture. The treatment with a non‐fluorescent DHP, Nifedipine, completely abolished ST‐BODIPY labeling. We investigated whether depolarization could modulate intracellular calcium. Depolarization‐induced calcium transients increased in MSCs in relation to the coculture time. We conclude that MSCs cocultured with adult cardiomyocytes present preliminary evidence of voltage‐dependent calcium modulation uncoupled with the development of nascent or adult myofibrils, thus showing a limited lineage specification and a low plasticity to differentiate in a full cardiomyocyte‐like phenotype. J. Cell. Biochem. 100: 86–99, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Challenging the Stigma of Mental Illness: Lessons for Therapists and Advocates

About the Authors. Foreword: Robert Lundin. Preface. Acknowledgments. 1 Stigma is Personal. 2 Understanding and Measuring Stigma. 3 Challenging the Public Stigma of Mental Illness. 4 Addressing Self-Stigma and Fostering Empowerment. 5 Addressing Structural Stigma. 6 Stigma as Social Injustice. References. Learn More About It: Resources and Chapter References (Jennifer D. Rafacz). Index.