Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Detection of Chromosomal Aneusomy by Fluorescence In situ Hybridization in Sputum Predicts Lung Cancer Incidence

Lung cancer usually is disseminated (advanced) and has a poor prognosis at diagnosis. Current and former smokers are at a high risk for lung cancer and are candidates for prevention and early detection strategies. Sputum is a potential source of biomarkers that might determine either lung cancer risk or the presence of early lung cancer, but no current sputum test is sufficiently sensitive and specific for effective screening. We used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to measure chromosomal aneusomy (CA) in sputum samples collected prospectively from 100 incident lung cancer cases and 96 controls (matched on age, gender, and date of collection) nested within an ongoing high-risk cohort. The CA-FISH assay was aimed at four DNA targets: epidermal growth factor receptor, MYC, 5p15, and CEP 6. The sensitivity of a positive CA-FISH assay (abnormal for two or more of the four markers) for lung cancer was substantially higher for samples collected within 18 months (76% sensitivity) than for samples collected more than 18 months (31%) before lung cancer diagnosis. Sensitivity was higher for squamous cell cancers (94%) than for other histologic types (69%). CA-FISH specificity based on samples collected within 18 months before diagnosis was 88%. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of lung cancer for specimens collected within 18 months before a cancer diagnosis was higher for the CA-FISH assay [OR, 29.9; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 9.5-94.1] than for previously studied ORs of cytologic atypia (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.3-2.6) and gene promoter methylation (OR, 6.5; 95% CI, 1.2-35.5). Whether CA-FISH is an indicator of extreme risk for incident lung cancer or detects exfoliated cancer cells is unknown. The apparent promise of CA-FISH in sputum for assessing lung cancer risk and/or for lung cancer early detection now needs to be validated in a clinical screening trial. Cancer Prev Res; 3(4); 447–53. ©2010 AACR.
Motivational interviewing as a way to promote physical activity in obese adolescents: A randomised-controlled trial using self-determination theory as an explanatory framework

Using self-determination theory (SDT) as an explanatory framework, this randomised-controlled study evaluates the effect of a motivational interviewing (MI)-based intervention as an addition to a standard weight loss programme (SWLP) on physical activity (PA) practice in obese adolescents over a six-month period. Fifty-four obese adolescents (mean age = 13 years, mean BMI = 29.57 kg/m²) were randomly assigned to an SWLP group (n = 28) or SWLP + MI group (n = 26). Both groups received two SWLP sessions, supplemented for the SWLP + MI group, by six MI sessions. Perceived autonomy support, perceived competence, motivational regulations, PA and BMI were assessed at baseline, three and six months (i.e. the end of the programme). MLM analyses revealed that compared to SWLP, the SWLP + MI group had a greater BMI decrease and a greater PA practice increase over time. Moreover, the SWLP + MI group reported greater autonomy support from medical staff at the end of the programme, greater increase in integrated and identified regulations and a stronger decrease in amotivation. MI appears as an efficient counselling method as an addition to an SWLP to promote PA in the context of pediatric obesity.
Influenza surveillance in Australia: we need to do more than count

Laboratory‐confirmed influenza is a nationally notifiable disease in Australia. According to notification data, Queensland has experienced more severe influenza seasons than other states and territories. However, this method ignores available denominator data: the number of laboratory tests performed. We propose that negative results of laboratory tests for influenza should be made notifiable, alongside laboratory‐confirmed disease, and used to calculate the proportion of positive test results in real‐time. Using data from the public health pathology services of three Australian states — Queensland Health laboratories, the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory and Western Australia's PathWest — for 2004 to 2008, we show that incorporating laboratory‐negative test data into national surveillance data would add to and improve our understanding of influenza epidemiology.
Running coupling and the Lambda parameter from SU(3) lattice simulations.

We present new results on the static q¯q potential from high-statistics simulations on 324 and smaller lattices, using the standard Wilson action at β=6.0, 6.4, and 6.8 on the Connection Machine CM-2. Within our statistical errors (≈ 1%) we do not observe any finite-size effects affecting the potential values, on varying the spatial lattice extent from 0.9 fm up to 3.3 fm. We are able to see and quantify the running of the coupling from the Coulomb behavior of the interquark force. From this we extract the ratio √σΛL. We demonstrate that scaling violations on the string tension can be considerably reduced by introducing effective coupling schemes, which allow for a safe extrapolation of ΛL to its continuum value. Both methods yield consistent values for Λ:Λ–––––MS=0.555+0.019−0.017×√σ=244+8−7 MeV, where –––––MS denotes the modified minimal subtraction scheme. At the highest-energy scale attainable to us we find α(5 GeV)=0.150(3).
Inclusive Education: International Voices on Disability and Justice

The aim of this text is to convey the experience of excluded children, their parents, teachers and remaining classmates. Looking at all those involved, the book offers reflections on inclusion and exclusion in the context of schools that do not cater well for diversity. The contributors and issues raised are international, giving the reader everything necessary for considering concepts and practices across countries and cultures, and highlighting ways in which schools might bring down the barriers to participation and learning.
Lumbar Disc Herniation

P atients with lumbar disc herniation often present with radicular leg pain with or without neurologic deficits. In most cases, an appropriate course of conservative treatment should be given for at least 3 months before considering surgery. Pain medication, rest, and physiotherapy are effective nonoperative measures. Patients demonstrating cauda equina syndrome or profound and progressive weakness should be managed more aggressively. The surgical patient should have dermatomal pain distribution, a positive tension sign or a focal neurologic deficit, and a correlating positive imaging study. The techniques of surgery should always include adequate decompression of symptomatic nerve roots while minimizing destabilization effects of laminectomy and facetectomy. This manuscript is a summary of recent significant published literature involving lumbar disc herniation.
Mitochondrial dysfunction in mut methylmalonic acidemia

Methylmalonic acidemia is an autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism caused by defective activity of methylmalonyl‐CoA mutase (MUT) that exhibits multiorgan system pathology. To examine whether mitochondrial dysfunction is a feature of this organic acidemia, a background‐modified Mut‐knockout mouse model was constructed and used to examine mitochondrial ultrastructure and respiratory chain function in the tissues that manifest pathology in humans. In parallel, the liver from a patient with mut methylmalonic acidemia was studied in a similar fashion. Megamitochondria formed early in life in the hepatocytes of the Mut−/− animals and progressively enlarged. Liver extracts prepared from the mutants at multiple time points displayed respiratory chain dysfunction, with diminished cytochrome c oxidase activity and reduced intracellular glutathione compared to control littermates. Over time, the exocrine pancreas and proximal tubules of the kidney also exhibited megamitochondria, and older mutant mice eventually developed tubulointerstitial renal disease. The patient liver displayed similar morphological and enzymatic findings as observed in the murine tissues. These murine and human studies establish that megamitochondria formation with respiratory chain dysfunction occur in a tissue‐specific fashion in methylmalonic acidemia and suggest treatment approaches based on improving mitochondrial function and ameliorating the effects of oxidative stress. —Chandler, R. J., Zerfas, P. M. , Shanske, S. , Sloan, J., Hoffmann, V. , DiMauro, S. , Venditti, C. P. Mitochondrial dysfunction in mut methylmalonic acidemia. FASEB J. 23, 1252–1261 (2009)
Personality Factors Associated with Driving while Intoxicated: A Comparison Study of Adolescent Drivers.

Anger/hostility, powerlessness (I-E locus of control), impulsiveness, stressful life events and alcohol effects on emotional expression have been implicated as personality factors associated with adult DWI. Little is known regarding these factors in adolscent drivers or whether such factors discriminate young drivers at risk for DWI. One hundred fifty-two adolesecnt drivers (mean age 17.8 years) completed a questionnaire consisting of 4 inventories assessing the above mentioned personality factors. Comparison sub-groups consisted of high-school drivers without DWI citations (Group 1), adolescent DWI offenders (Group 2), and juvenile offenders without DWI (Group 3). Groups 2 and 3 showed similar responses to anger/hostility measures compared to Group 1, more often enforced feelings of powerlessness, and enforced more stressful life events. Young DWI offenders were much more likely to indicate that alcohol made them loud, unafraid, daring and aggressive than non-offenders. Results suggest that such personality traits and coping styles constitute behaviors which exist in new adolescent drivers and discriminate a high-risk driver population for DWI.
Systemic Risk and International Portfolio Choice

Returns on international equities are characterized by jumps; moreover, these jumps tend to occur at the same time across countries leading to systemic risk . In this Paper, we evaluate whether systemic risk reduces substantially the gains from international diversification. First, in order to capture these stylized facts, we develop a model of international equity returns using a multivariate system of jump-diffusion processes where the arrival of jumps is simultaneous across assets. Second, we determine an investor ’s optimal portfolio for this model of returns. Third, we show how one can estimate the model using the method of moments. Finally, we illustrate our portfolio optimization and estimation procedure by analysing portfolio choice across a riskless asset, the US equity index, and five international indexes. Our main finding is that, while systemic risk affects the allocation of wealth between the riskless and risky assets, it has a small effect on the composition of the portfolio of only-risky assets, and reduces marginally the gains to a US investor from international diversification – for an investor with a relative risk aversion of 3 and a horizon of one year, the certainty-equivalent cost of ignoring systemic risk is of the order $1 for every $1000 of initial investment. These results are robust to whether the international indexes are for developed or emerging countries, to constraints on borrowing and shortselling, and to reasonable deviations in the value of the parameters around their joint estimates; the cost increases with the investment horizon and decreases with risk aversion.
Investigation of the bindings of a class of inhibitors with GSK3β kinase using thermodynamic integration MD simulation and kinase assay

GSK3β kinase is a noteworthy target for discovery of the drugs that will be used to treat several diseases. In the effort to identify a new inhibitor lead compound, we utilized thermodynamic integration (TI)‐molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and kinase assay to investigate the bindings between GSK3β kinase and five compounds that were analogous to a known inhibitor with an available crystal structure. TI‐MD simulations of the first two compounds (analogs 1 and 2) were used for calibration. The computed binding affinities of analogs 1 and 2 agreed well with the experimental results. The rest three compounds (analogs 3–5) were newly obtained from a database search, and their affinity data were newly measured in our labs. TI‐MD simulations predicted the binding modes and the computed ΔΔG values have a reasonably good correlation with the experimental affinity data. These newly identified inhibitors appear to be new leads according to our survey of GSK3β inhibitors listed in recent review articles. The predicted binding modes of these compounds should aid in designing new derivatives of these compounds in the future.
Bone anabolic changes progress in psoriatic arthritis patients despite treatment with methotrexate or tumour necrosis factor inhibitors

Objectives To investigate whether methotrexate or tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) affect osteophyte formation in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods 41 patients with PsA were examined for the presence of osteophytes and erosions at the metacarpophalangeal joints by high-resolution micro-CT imaging. The size of each individual lesion was quantified at baseline and 1-year follow-up in PsA patients treated with TNFi (N=28) or methotrexate (N=13). Groups were comparable for age, sex, disease duration and activity and baseline burden of osteophytes. Results In total, 415 osteophytes (TNFi N=284, methotrexate N=131) were detected. Osteophyte size increased significantly from baseline to follow-up in the TNFi group (mean±SEM change +0.23±0.02 mm; p<0.0001) and the methotrexate group (+0.27±0.03 mm, p<0.0001). In both treatment groups, the majority of osteophytes showed progression (TNFi 54.3%, methotrexate 61.1%), whereas regression of lesions was rare (less than 10%). In contrast to osteophytes, clinical disease activity decreased in both groups of PsA patients and erosions showed an arrest of progression in both groups. Conclusions Osteophytes progress in PsA patients treated with either methotrexate or TNFi. These data provide the first evidence that pathological bone formation in the appendicular skeleton of patients with PsA is not affected by current antirheumatic treatment strategies.
DNA ploidy in oral lichen planus, determined by image cytometry.

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to use image cytometry to determine the degree and frequency of DNA ploidy in biopsies of reticular and atrophic-erosive oral lichen planus and to analyze 14 karyometric measurements of the nuclei of epithelial cells from each specimen. METHODS A total of 40 slides were analyzed, each of them representing one biopsy of one oral lichen planus (OLP) lesion from each one of the 40 patients (cases) studied. Specimens were embedded in paraffin and comprised 20 slides of reticular oral lichen planus (group R) and 20 slides of atrophic-erosive oral lichen planus (group AE). RESULTS Group R, the reticular lichen samples, had 18 diploid cases and two aneuploid cases. Group AE, the atrophic-erosive lichen samples, had 10 diploid cases, one tetraploid case, and nine aneuploid cases. Of the 14 karyometric measurements of the nuclei of OLP epithelial cells analyzed, the group R mean values for mean density and minimum density were significantly greater than the group AE mean values, and mean roundness in group AE was significantly greater than in group R (t-test: P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The most common degree of DNA ploidy in OLP lesions was diploidy. Comparing the two groups (chi-square test of association P = 0.021) demonstrated that diploidy was associated with the reticular clinical form of OLP, while aneuploidy was associated with the atrophic-erosive clinical form of oral lichen planus.
Detecting the Optic Disc Boundary in Digital Fundus Images Using Morphological, Edge Detection, and Feature Extraction Techniques

Optic disc (OD) detection is an important step in developing systems for automated diagnosis of various serious ophthalmic pathologies. This paper presents a new template-based methodology for segmenting the OD from digital retinal images. This methodology uses morphological and edge detection techniques followed by the Circular Hough Transform to obtain a circular OD boundary approximation. It requires a pixel located within the OD as initial information. For this purpose, a location methodology based on a voting-type algorithm is also proposed. The algorithms were evaluated on the 1200 images of the publicly available MESSIDOR database. The location procedure succeeded in 99% of cases, taking an average computational time of 1.67 s. with a standard deviation of 0.14 s. On the other hand, the segmentation algorithm rendered an average common area overlapping between automated segmentations and true OD regions of 86%. The average computational time was 5.69 s with a standard deviation of 0.54 s. Moreover, a discussion on advantages and disadvantages of the models more generally used for OD segmentation is also presented in this paper.
Energy Efficiency of Higher Education Buildings: A Case Study.

Purpose – This paper aims to propose an energy efficiency plan (with technical and behavioural improvement measures) for a Portuguese higher education building – the Teaching Building of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra (FEUC). Design/methodology/approach – The study was developed in the context of both the “Green Campus – Challenge for Energy Efficiency in Higher Education” and the Energy for Sustainability Initiative of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. An energy audit was conducted based on the analysis of the energy consumption profiles. A monitoring campaign was carried out to measure and disaggregate the electricity consumption. The consumption of natural gas and water were also assessed. The building envelope and the heating and lighting systems were also evaluated. Some patterns of energy-environmental behaviours of the academic community were investigated through a Web-based survey. Findings – The energy efficiency plan contemplates short-term tangible/intangible actions.
Minimum Wages and Spatial Equilibrium: Theory and Evidence

This paper introduces a spatial equilibrium model that relates earnings, employment, and internal migration responses to minimum wage increases. Population moves to or away from regions that increase minimum wages depending on the labor demand elasticity and on the financing of unemployment benefits. The empirical evidence shows that increases in minimum wages lead to increases in wages and decreases in employment among the low skilled. The labor demand elasticity is estimated to be around 1, which in the model is in line with the migration responses observed in the data. Low-skilled workers tend to leave regions that increase minimum wages.
Effects of Norspermidine and Spermidine on Biofilm Formation by Potentially Pathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica Wild-Type Strains

ABSTRACT Polyamines are present in all living cells. In bacteria, polyamines are involved in a variety of functions, including biofilm formation, thus indicating that polyamines may have potential in the control of unwanted biofilm. In the present study, the effects of the polyamines norspermidine and spermidine on biofilms of 10 potentially pathogenic wild-type strains of Escherichia coli serotype O103:H2, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium, and S. enterica serovar Agona were investigated. We found that exogenously supplied norspermidine and spermidine did not mediate disassembly of preformed biofilm of any of the E. coli and S. enterica strains. However, the polyamines did affect biofilm production. Interestingly, the two species reacted differently to the polyamines. Both polyamines reduced the amount of biofilm formed by E. coli but tended to increase biofilm formation by S. enterica. Whether the effects observed were due to the polyamines specifically targeting biofilm formation, being toxic for the cells, or maybe a combination of the two, is not known. However, there were no indications that the effect was mediated through binding to exopolysaccharides, as earlier suggested for E. coli. Our results indicate that norspermidine and spermidine do not have potential as inhibitors of S. enterica biofilm. Furthermore, we found that the commercial polyamines used contributed to the higher pH of the test medium. Failure to acknowledge and control this important phenomenon may lead to misinterpretation of the results.
A 2 . 4 GHz Monolithic Single-ended-Input / Differential-Output Low-Noise Amplifier

This paper describes the design and simulation of an innovative monolithic active balun integrated with low noise amplifier. The Single-ended-to-differential signal transformation circuit comprises a differential signal generation circuit, which is able to receive a single-ended signal and generate a pair of signals having a 180o (differential) relationship phase. The fully integrated circuit was implemented in a 0. 35μm AMS CMOS standard technology. The simulations, optimized to noise performance, minimum differential phase and magnitude error, were performed with BSIM3 model. The complete circuit presents 20.6dB of differential power gain at 2.4GHz, a phase and a transducer gain magnitude errors less than 0.2o and 0.04dB (0.32%), respectively, in a 1GHz span around 2.4GHz, a 3.7dB noise figure, a 2dBm output-referred 1dB compression point, 50Ω input and output match, while drawing 11mA from a 3V power supply.
Anthropometric and Biochemical Characteristics of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in South Indian Women Using AES-2006 Criteria

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine conditions affecting women of reproductive age with a prevalence of approximately 5-10% worldwide. PCOS can be viewed as a heterogeneous androgen excess disorder with varying degrees of reproductive and metabolic abnormalities, whose diagnosis is based on anthropometric, biochemical and radiological abnormalities. To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the anthropometric, biochemical and ultrasonographic characteristics of PCOS in Asian Indians of South India, using the Androgen Excess Society (AES-2006) diagnostic criteria. Objectives: To assess anthropometric, biochemical and ultrasonographic features of PCOS subgroups and controls among South Indian women using the AES-2006 criteria. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and four women clinically diagnosed with PCOS, and 204 healthy women controls aged 17 to 35 years were evaluated. PCOS was diagnosed by clinical hyperandrogenism (HA), irregular menstruation (IM), and polycystic ovary (PCO). PCOS was further categorized into phenotypic subgroups including the IM+HA+PCO (n = 181, 89%), HA+PCO (n = 23, 11%), IM+HA (n = 0), and also into obese PCOS (n = 142, 70%) and lean PCOS (n = 62, 30%) using body mass index (BMI). Anthropometric measurements and biochemical characteristics were compared among the PCOS subgroups. Results: The PCOS subgroups with regular menstrual cycles (HA+PCO), had more luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and high insulin resistance (IR) expressed as the Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA) score, compared with the IM+HA+PCO subgroups and controls. Similarly, the obese PCOS had high BMI, waist to hip ratio (WHR), fasting glucose, LH, LH/FSH, fasting insulin, HOMA score (IR), and dyslipidemia, compared with lean PCOS and controls. Unilateral polycystic ovary was seen in 32 (15.7%) patients, and bilateral involvement in 172 (84.3%) patients. All the controls showed normal ovaries. Conclusions: Anthropometric, biochemical, and ultrasonographic findings showed significant differences among PCOS subgroups. The PCOS subgroups with regular menstrual cycles (HA+PCO), had high insulin resistance (IR) and gonadotropic hormonal abnormalities, compared with the IM+HA+PCO subgroups and controls.