Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Autologous stem cell transplantation for elderly patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma in the era of novel agents.

BACKGROUND High-dose therapy (HDT) with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is considered the standard of care for multiple myeloma (MM) patients <65 years. Safety and outcome of ASCT for patients >65 years is currently uncertain, especially since the introduction of novel agents for induction and maintenance therapy. Furthermore, there are no conclusive data available on risk assessment in elderly patients treated with HDT. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 202 patients ≥60 years with newly diagnosed MM who underwent ASCT at our institution. Patients were stratified by age into three groups (60-64, 65-69 and 70-75 years). For safety assessment, we compared data about hospitalization, hematopoetic reconstitution and early mortality. Remission before and after ASCT was analyzed according to age and application of novel agents. Event-free (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed to identify impact of age, remission before/after ASCT and maintenance therapy as well as ISS score and cytogenetic aberrations on outcome in elderly patients. RESULTS The assessment of safety, remission before/after ASCT as well as EFS and OS showed no significant differences between the three groups (median EFS: 60-64 years: 27 months; 65-69 years: 23 months; 70-75 years: 23 months; median OS: not reached). Patients receiving novel agents as part of induction therapy achieved significantly higher nCR + CR rates than patients treated without novel agents. In Cox regression analysis, ISS and cytogenetics as well as remission after ASCT had the highest prognostic impact on EFS and OS. Maintenance therapy was associated with longer EFS in uni- and multivariate analyses. CONCLUSION ASCT is feasible for selected patients >65 and >70 years without increased mortality. Age at transplantation has no prognostic significance on outcome after ASCT. Novel agents during induction therapy and maintenance therapy improves outcome of older patients eligible for ASCT. ISS and cytogenetic analysis should be carried out routinely for risk assessment.
Triple Valvulopathy and Jaccoud's Arthropathy: A Case Report and Literature Review

Cardiac involvement is fairly common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It may involve all layers of the heart and coronary arteries as well as the heart valves. We report an extremely rare presentation of valvulitis and valvular dysfunction associated with systemic lupus erythematosus. This is the first case of lupus valvulitis which required three mechanical prosthetic valve replacements with disease recurrence leading to a fatal outcome. This is, in our point of view, the consequence of aggressive natural history of the disease and perhaps late diagnosis and treatment of underlying SLE which was unsuccessful.
Evaluation of Protein Expression in Housekeeping Genes across Multiple Tissues in Rats

Background Housekeeping genes, which show constant protein expression patterns between different tissue types, are very important in molecular biological studies as an internal control for protein research. Methods The protein expression profiles of seven housekeeping genes (HPRT1, PPIA, GYS1, TBP, YWHAZ, GAPDH and ACTB) in various rat tissues (cerebrum, cerebellum, cardiac ventricle and atrium, psoas muscle, femoral muscle, liver, spleen, kidney, and aorta) were analyzed by Western blot and compared by coefficient of variation (CV). Results HPRT1 was stably expressed (CV≤10%) in six tissues (cerebrum, cerebellum, ventricle, femoral muscle, spleen, and kidney), PPIA was stably expressed in five tissues (cerebrum, cerebellum, ventricle, spleen and kidney), YWHAZ was stably expressed in three tissues (cerebrum, cerebellum, and kidney), and GAPDH was stably expressed in four tissues (cerebrum, ventricle, psoas muscle, and kidney). In comparison, GYS1, TBP, and ACTB were found to have CV values over 10% in all tissues. Of the seven genes examined, four (HPRT1, PPIA, YWHAZ, and GAPDH) were found to be stably expressed across multiple organs, with low CV values (≤10%). Conclusions These results will provide fundamental information regarding internal controls for protein expression studies and can be used for analysis of postmortem protein degradation patterns in forensic medicine.
Modelling of P450 active site based on Consensus 3D structures

P450 enzymes constitute a large superfamily of haemthiolate proteins involved in the metabolism of numerous substrates such as drugs, carcinogens and sex hormones. Description of the structure of cytochrome P450 active sites is a key element to design better drugs. However, to date there are less than 150 known structures of P450 proteins. The generation of biologically meaningful 3D patterns or motifs from the simultaneous alignment of several P450 structures is a way of overcoming that lack of data. In order to address this problem, we investigated the simultaneous structural alignments of these proteins. Our new method is based on the comparison of sets of homologue proteins the 3D structures of which are known. Proteins are aligned according to the position of their haem groups. Then, from that multiple alignment, a consensus 3D template is produced providing information concerning atom and chemical group positions as well as cavity location. Experiments on human CYP17 show that these templates contain biologically significant patterns and highlight residues involved in catalytic reactions. Moreover, our 3D templates prove consistent with models of CYP17 active sites generated independently. Therefore, these 3D templates could be exploited for drug design.
Expert recommendation with usage expertise

Global and distributed software development increases the need to find and connect developers with relevant expertise. Existing recommendation systems typically model expertise based on file changes (implementation expertise). While these approaches have shown success, they require a substantial recorded history of development for a project. Previously, we have proposed the concept of usage expertise, i.e., expertise manifested through the act of calling (using) a method. In this paper, we assess the viability of this concept by evaluating expert recommendations for the ASPECTJ and ECLIPSE projects. We find that both usage and implementation expertise have comparable levels of accuracy, which suggests that usage expertise may be used as a substitute measure. We also find a notable overlap of method calls across both projects, which suggests that usage expertise can be leveraged to recommend experts from different projects and thus for projects with little or no history.
Reliability of Raman measurements of thermal conductivity of single-layer graphene due to selective electron-phonon coupling: A first-principles study

Raman spectroscopy has been widely used to measure thermal conductivity ( κ ) of 2D materials such as graphene. This method is based on a well-accepted assumption that different phonon polarizations are in near thermal equilibrium. However, in this work we show that in laser irradiated single layer graphene, different phonon polarizations are in strong non-equilibrium, using predictive simulations based on first principles density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) and a multi-temperature model. We first calculate the electron cooling rate due to phonon scattering as a function of the electron and phonon temperatures, and the results clearly illustrate that optical phonons dominate the hot electron relaxation process. We then use these results in conjunction with the phonon scattering rates computed using perturbation theory to develop a multi-temperature model, and resolve the spatial temperature distributions of the energy carriers in graphene under steady state laser irradiation. Our results show that electrons, optical phonons, and acoustic phonons are in strong non-equilibrium, with the ZA phonons showing the largest non-equilibrium to other phonon modes, mainly due to their weak coupling to other carriers in suspended graphene. Since ZA phonons are the main heat carriers in graphene, we estimate that neglecting this non-equilibrium leads to under-estimation of thermal conductivity in experiments at room temperature by a factor of 1.35 to 2.6, depending on experimental conditions and assumptions used. Under-estimation is also expected in Raman measurements of other 2D materials when the optical-acoustic phonon coupling is weak.
Effectiveness of a School-Based Media Literacy Curriculum in Encouraging Critical Attitudes about Advertising Content and Forms among Boys and Girls

This study examines the effectiveness of media literacy education (MLE) in fostering critical attitudes toward advertising in both traditional and newer, more embedded forms (e.g., product placement or in social media), as well as toward gender stereotypes and violence in advertising. It uses pre- and post-MLE comparisons following a four-hour, four-week in-school program conducted with a sample of 117 participating students (average age =10.53) at a location in the United States, exploring whether advertising literacy outcomes differ by gender. Results suggest stronger dislike of ads and a stronger critique of the lack of realism in ads upon completion of the MLE program among participants as a whole. Stronger unfavorable attitudes toward stereotypical portrayals of boys and girls in advertising as well as toward violence in advertising were found only among girls. No support was registered for increased scrutiny of the practice of hidden or embedded advertising. Implications of MLE for the ways in which children can be encouraged to approach advertising from a critical point of view are discussed.
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing

Automatic building extraction is currently an important research topic in the fi eld of photogrammetry. An active contour model is a well-received approach in this fi eld. This paper proposes an improved active contour model that focuses on building extraction from aerial images and lidar data. The main research concern in this paper is the development of energy functions to the optimum use of expert human knowledge in the overall process. Based on this approach, a new fuzzy inference system for evaluating energy functions was developed by modeling the human perception of various effective parameters in the energy functions. Compared to the existing active contour models, the new algorithm is capable of directing the initial contour to building feature boundaries more quickly and robustly. Accuracy assessment showed that the proposed model is capable of achieving a shape accuracy of 98 percent and a total accuracy of 97 percent in complex urban areas.
First Record of a living Platycopida (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from Antarctic waters and a Discussion on Cytherella serratula (Brady, 1880)*

Previous records of Platycopida (Ostracoda) from the Antarctic region of the Southern Ocean include only a few fossil species from the Late Cretaceous to the Palaeocene: Cytherelloidea megaspirocostata Majoran & Widmark, 1998, [sic] Cytherella serratula (Brady, 1880), plus seven species left in open nomenclature. The present study documents the first record of a living platycopid from the Antarctic region and describes Cytherella rwhatleyi sp. nov. as new. Comparison among specimens collected at stations 60° longitude and 10° of latitude apart from each other show that very little intraspecific variation in outline and ornamentation of the valves, as well as on the hemipenis is presented by this new species. Otherwise, clear differences on valve and hemipenis are observed between different species (herein, Jellinek & Swanson 2003). Review of the literature indicates that several species (with great differences in valve outline and ornamentation) have been erroneously assigned to Cytherella serratula (Brady, 1880) demonstrating that this so-called cosmopolitan taxon is in truth most probably restricted to bathyal depths of the Northwestern Atlantic. Finally, the abundances of Cytherella rwhatleyi sp. nov. in the samples studied herein (considering O 2 concentration measurements) contradict the proposed relationship between Platycopida and O 2 concentration in water masses (Whatley et al. 2003).
Development of Health Equity Indicators in Primary Health Care Organizations Using a Modified Delphi

Objective The purpose of this study was to develop a core set of indicators that could be used for measuring and monitoring the performance of primary health care organizations' capacity and strategies for enhancing equity-oriented care. Methods Indicators were constructed based on a review of the literature and a thematic analysis of interview data with patients and staff (n = 114) using procedures for qualitatively derived data. We used a modified Delphi process where the indicators were circulated to staff at the Health Centers who served as participants (n = 63) over two rounds. Indicators were considered part of a priority set of health equity indicators if they received an overall importance rating of>8.0, on a scale of 1–9, where a higher score meant more importance. Results Seventeen indicators make up the priority set. Items were eliminated because they were rated as low importance (<8.0) in both rounds and were either redundant or more than one participant commented that taking action on the indicator was highly unlikely. In order to achieve health care equity, performance at the organizational level is as important as assessing the performance of staff. Two of the highest rated “treatment” or processes of care indicators reflects the need for culturally safe and trauma and violence-informed care. There are four indicators that can be used to measure outcomes which can be directly attributable to equity responsive primary health care. Discussion These indicators and subsequent development of items can be used to measure equity in the domains of treatment and outcomes. These areas represent targets for higher performance in relation to equity for organizations (e.g., funding allocations to ongoing training in equity-oriented care provision) and providers (e.g., reflexive practice, skill in working with the health effects of trauma).
Reporting the Relative Equity Portion of Convertible Debt Issues

The fair presentation of financial statements requires that the values reported in the statements reliably present the position and performance of the entity. Accountants attempt to adhere to this criterion, while at the same time not deviating too much from values that can be verified based on objective evidence. However, there are some areas where subjective estimates are fully accepted by the accounting profession and the users of financial statements. Those areas include estimates for allowance for doubtful accounts, depreciation, pensions, and, as needed, contingent liabilities. Those estimates are accepted because of the reasonable degree of accuracy that can be placed on their estimation and the materiality of the amounts. Other areas also exist where estimates, when made with a fair degree of accuracy, would enhance the relevance of financial reporting. One of those areas is the presentation of convertible debt on the balance sheet. The continuing controversy about accounting for convertible securities raises doubts about the relevance of the financial statements of entities with outstanding convertible debt, even though they have complied with generally accepted accounting principles. In present practice, convertible debt is accounted for as entirely a liability. This treatment is required by Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 14 (APB No. 14) (1969) because the APB considered the debt and equity portions inseparable. In the 23 years since APB No. 14 was issued, the idea of separating the “inseparable” has become commonplace. Forms of the Black/Scholes option-pricing model (OPM) have been used by Ingersoll (1977), Brennan and Schwartz (1980), and King (1984) to estimate the debt and equity portions of convertible bonds. More recently, Billingsley, Lamy, and Thompson (hereafter, BLT [ 19861) presented a two-equation model that overcomes tnany of the empirical problems encountered in the earlier models. All of those models have been used to estimate the debt and
Distinctive Similarity of Clausal Coordinate Ellipsis in Russian Compared to Dutch, Estonian, German, and Hungarian

Elliptical constructions can help to avoid repetition of identical constituents during natural-language generation. From grammar books, it is not easy to extract executable rules for ellipsis—in our case in Russian. Therefore we follow a different strategy. We test the accuracy of a rule set that has been evaluated for the two Germanic languages, Dutch and German, and the two Finno-Ugric languages, Estonian and Hungarian. For a Russian test corpus of about 100 syntactically annotated coordinated sentences that systematically vary the conditions of rule application, our Java program can automatically produce all elliptical variants. Overand undergeneration in the resulting lists have been tested in two experiments with native speakers. Basically, the rules work very well for Russian. Within the four target languages, Russian works best with the Estonian amendments. Here we report two slight deviations partially known from the linguistic literature.
Technique efficacy when using a student response system in the reading classroom

Although studies using student response systems (SRSs) within the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom are relatively rare, there is increasing evidence from a range of disciplines to highlight the potential behind application of these systems for student learning. Consequently, this study contributes to filling this gap by demonstrating the efficacy of SRS-integration in the EFL reading classroom for formative assessment when supported by teacher-interaction and peer-interaction utilization techniques. Relying on a quasi-experimental design, results suggest that a Plickers SRS-integrated classroom can provide a digitally interactive learning environment and active learning opportunities, particularly when coupled with a peer-interaction technique. It also enhances Korean EFL learner engagement with content while supporting the development of reading comprehension skills. Further, findings indicate that learners are receptive to ongoing SRS utilization as an alternative to traditional methods, viewing it as useful for highlighting their knowledge gaps, focusing their attention, and stimulating their engagement.
Decadal acidification in the water masses of the Atlantic Ocean

Significance We provide the first (to our knowledge) observation-based acidification trends in the water masses of the Atlantic basin over the past two decades and compare them with climate model results. Observations and model output confirm that pH changes in surface layers are dominated by the anthropogenic component. In mode and intermediate waters, the anthropogenic and natural components are of the same order of magnitude and sign. Large changes in the natural component of newly formed mode and intermediate waters are associated with latitudinal shifts of these water masses caused by the Southern Annular Mode in the South Atlantic and by changes in the rates of water mass formation in the North Atlantic. Global ocean acidification is caused primarily by the ocean’s uptake of CO2 as a consequence of increasing atmospheric CO2 levels. We present observations of the oceanic decrease in pH at the basin scale (50°S–36°N) for the Atlantic Ocean over two decades (1993–2013). Changes in pH associated with the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 (ΔpHCant) and with variations caused by biological activity and ocean circulation (ΔpHNat) are evaluated for different water masses. Output from an Institut Pierre Simon Laplace climate model is used to place the results into a longer-term perspective and to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for pH change. The largest decreases in pH (∆pH) were observed in central, mode, and intermediate waters, with a maximum ΔpH value in South Atlantic Central Waters of −0.042 ± 0.003. The ΔpH trended toward zero in deep and bottom waters. Observations and model results show that pH changes generally are dominated by the anthropogenic component, which accounts for rates between −0.0015 and −0.0020/y in the central waters. The anthropogenic and natural components are of the same order of magnitude and reinforce one another in mode and intermediate waters over the time period. Large negative ΔpHNat values observed in mode and intermediate waters are driven primarily by changes in CO2 content and are consistent with (i) a poleward shift of the formation region during the positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode in the South Atlantic and (ii) an increase in the rate of the water mass formation in the North Atlantic.
Decision-making patterns, conflict sytles, and self-esteem

Patrones de decision, estilos de afrontamiento del conflicto y autoestima. Dado el creciente interes en la literatura en lengua inglesa respecto a patrones o estilos personales en la toma de decisiones, el presente articulo adapta el "Melbourne d.m. q. " del profesor Leon Mann (1997) a nuestro contexto. Este cuestionario es, a su vez, una revision del "Flinders d.m. q. " (Mann, 1982), estando ambos instrumentos soportados en el modelo de conflicto de decision propuesto en 1977 por Irving Janis y Leon Mann. Se llevan a cabo dos estudios con un triple objetivo: (1) validar psicometricamente nuestra adaptacion del cuestionario de Mann; (2) analizar en nuestro contexto similitudes y diferencias entre nuestros universitarios y los de otras culturas respecto al uso de patrones de decision y autoestima como tomadores de decisiones; y finalmente, (3) estudiar la posible relacion entre patrones de decision y estilos de afrontamiento del conflicto. Por ultimo, el articulo examina algunas implicaciones teoricas de los resultados mencionados.
Food bodies in Cissus verticillata (Vitaceae): ontogenesis, structure and functional aspects.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The distinction between pearl bodies (or pearl glands) and food bodies (FBs) is not clear; neither is our understanding of what these structures really represent. The present work examined the ontogenesis, structure, ultrastructure and histochemical aspects of the protuberances in Cissus verticillata, which have been described since the beginning of the 19th century as pearl glands or pearl bodies, in order to establish a relationship between their structure and function. METHODS Segments of stems and leaves in different stages of development were collected and fixed for study under light microscopy as well as electron transmission and scanning microscopy. Samples of FBs were subjected to chemical analysis using thin-layer chromatography. KEY RESULTS The FBs in C. verticillata are globose and attached to the plant by a short peduncle. These structures are present along the entire stem during primary growth, and on the inflorescence axis and the abaxial face of the leaves. The FBs were observed to be of mixed origin, with the participation of both the epidermis and the underlying parenchymatic cells. The epidermis is uniseriate with a thin cuticle, and the cells have dense cytoplasm and a large nucleus. The internal parenchymatic cells have thin walls; in the young structures these cells have dense cytoplasm with a predominance of mitochondria and plastids. In the mature FBs, the parenchymatic cells accumulate oils and soluble sugars; dictyosomes and rough endoplasmic reticulum predominate in the cytoplasm; the vacuoles are ample. Removal of the FBs appears to stimulate the formation of new ones, at the same place. CONCLUSIONS The vegetative vigour of the plant seems to influence the number of FBs produced, with more vigorous branches having greater densities of FBs. The results allow the conclusion that the structures traditionally designated pearl glands or pearl bodies in C. verticillata constitute FBs that can recruit large numbers of ants.