Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of laparoscopic fertility-sparing surgery in clinically early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer

Objective Fertility-sparing surgery (FSS) is becoming an important technique in the surgical management of young women with early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). We retrospectively evaluated the outcome of laparoscopic FSS in presumed clinically early-stage EOC. Methods We retrospectively searched databases of patients who received laparoscopic FSS for EOC between January 1999 and December 2012 at Samsung Medical Center. Women aged ≤40 years were included. The perioperative, oncological, and obstetric outcomes of these patients were evaluated. Results A total of 18 patients was evaluated. The median age of the patients was 33.5 years (range, 14 to 40 years). The number of patients with clinically stage IA and IC was 6 (33.3%) and 12 (66.7%), respectively. There were 7 (38.9%), 5 (27.8%), 3 (16.7%), and 3 patients (16.7%) with mucinous, endometrioid, clear cell, and serous tumor types, respectively. Complete surgical staging to preserve the uterus and one ovary with adnexa was performed in 4 patients (22.2%). Two out of them were upstaged to The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IIIA1. During the median follow-up of 47.3 months (range, 11.5 to 195.3 months), there were no perioperative or long term surgical complications. Four women (22.2%) conceived after their respective ovarian cancer treatments. Three (16.7%) of them completed full-term delivery and one is expecting a baby. One patient had disease recurrence. No patient died of the disease. Conclusion FSS in young patients with presumed clinically early-stage EOC is a challenging and cautious procedure. Further studies are urgent to determine the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic FSS in young patients with presumed clinically early-stage EOC.
Advanced Glycation End Products Activate Endothelium Through Signal-Transduction Receptor RAGE: A Mechanism for Amplification of Inflammatory Responses

Background—The products of nonenzymatic glycation and oxidation of proteins, the advanced glycation end products (AGEs), form under diverse circumstances such as aging, diabetes, and kidney failure. Recent studies suggested that AGEs may form in inflamed foci, driven by oxidation or the myeloperoxidase pathway. A principal means by which AGEs alter cellular properties is through interaction with their signal-transduction receptor RAGE. We tested the hypothesis that interaction of AGEs with RAGE on endothelial cells enhances vascular activation. Methods and Results—AGEs, RAGE, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and E-selectin are expressed in an overlapping manner in human inflamed rheumatoid synovia, especially within the endothelium. In primary cultures of human saphenous vein endothelial cells, engagement of RAGE by heterogeneous AGEs or N &egr;(carboxymethyl)lysine–modified adducts enhanced levels of mRNA and antigen for vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and E-selectin. AGEs increased adhesion of polymorphonuclear leukocytes to stimulated endothelial cells in a manner reduced on blockade of RAGE. Conclusions—AGEs, through RAGE, may prime proinflammatory mechanisms in endothelial cells, thereby amplifying proinflammatory mechanisms in atherogenesis and chronic inflammatory disorders.
Detection and analysis of drive-by-download attacks and malicious JavaScript code

JavaScript is a browser scripting language that allows developers to create sophisticated client-side interfaces for web applications. However, JavaScript code is also used to carry out attacks against the user's browser and its extensions. These attacks usually result in the download of additional malware that takes complete control of the victim's platform, and are, therefore, called "drive-by downloads. " Unfortunately, the dynamic nature of the JavaScript language and its tight integration with the browser make it difficult to detect and block malicious JavaScript code. This paper presents a novel approach to the detection and analysis of malicious JavaScript code. Our approach combines anomaly detection with emulation to automatically identify malicious JavaScript code and to support its analysis. We developed a system that uses a number of features and machine-learning techniques to establish the characteristics of normal JavaScript code. Then, during detection, the system is able to identify anomalous JavaScript code by emulating its behavior and comparing it to the established profiles. In addition to identifying malicious code, the system is able to support the analysis of obfuscated code and to generate detection signatures for signature-based systems. The system has been made publicly available and has been used by thousands of analysts.
Loss of Sodium Modulation of Plasma Kinins in Human Hypertension

We studied the effect of salt intake and hypertension on the systemic kallikrein-kinin system (KKS), as measured by bradykinin (BK) 1-5, a stable circulating bradykinin metabolite, and the tissue KKS, as measured by urinary kallikrein excretion. Venous BK 1-5, urinary kallikrein, and components of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system were measured in 35 normotensive and 19 hypertensive subjects who were maintained on a high (200 mmol/day) or low (10 mmol/day) salt diet. Salt restriction decreased mean arterial pressure (MAP) (P < 0.001 overall) and the plasma angiotensin-converting enzyme (P = 0.017) and increased plasma renin activity (P < 0.001) and serum aldosterone (P < 0.001). There was an interactive effect of salt intake and hypertension on plasma BK 1-5 (P = 0.043), with BK 1-5 significantly lower during low compared with high salt intake in normotensive (24.7 ± 2.6 versus 34.9 ± 5.6 fmol/ml, P = 0.002) but not hypertensive subjects (30.6 ± 4.6 versus 27.5 ± 2.8 fmol/ml, P = 0.335). In normotensives, the change in plasma BK 1-5 from high to low salt intake correlated with the change in MAP (r = 0.533, P = 0.004). Urinary kallikrein was higher during low compared with high salt intake (P < 0.001) in both groups. There was no effect of salt intake on urinary BK 1-5. In summary, the systemic and renal KKSs act in tandem to modulate the response to salt intake. The systemic system is activated during high salt intake and counterbalances increased vascular response to pressors. With sodium restriction, the renal system is activated and counterbalances the increased sodium-retaining state induced by activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. With hypertension, these modulating effects are diminished or lost, supporting a role for both systems in the development/maintenance of hypertension.
Evolution of a Performance Metric for Urban Search and Rescue Robots (2003)

Abstract : This paper discusses the advancement and proliferation of the Reference Test Arenas for Urban Search and Rescue Robots as representative search and rescue environments, which allow objective performance evaluation of mobile robot capabilities. These arenas have hosted annual rescue robot competitions sponsored by the American Association for Artificial Intelligence since 2000 and the RoboCupRescue Robot League since 2001. The rules of these competitions have evolved each year to encourage robots to negotiate complex and collapsed structures, find simulated victims, determine their condition and location, and generate human readable maps to enable victim recovery. The associated performance metric has also evolved as it attempts to quantify and encourage these and other robot capabilities pertinent to urban search and rescue applications. This paper presents the competition rules, performance metric, and generalized results of the 2003 competitions which included some inspiring robotic implementations. Performance data captured during these competitions is discussed along with recently available development tools which can quicken the pace of innovation in the field of search and rescue robotics.
Searching and Mining Trillions of Time Series Subsequences under Dynamic Time Warping

Most time series data mining algorithms use similarity search as a core subroutine, and thus the time taken for similarity search is the bottleneck for virtually all time series data mining algorithms. The difficulty of scaling search to large datasets largely explains why most academic work on time series data mining has plateaued at considering a few millions of time series objects, while much of industry and science sits on billions of time series objects waiting to be explored. In this work we show that by using a combination of four novel ideas we can search and mine truly massive time series for the first time. We demonstrate the following extremely unintuitive fact; in large datasets we can exactly search under DTW much more quickly than the current state-of-the-art Euclidean distance search algorithms. We demonstrate our work on the largest set of time series experiments ever attempted. In particular, the largest dataset we consider is larger than the combined size of all of the time series datasets considered in all data mining papers ever published. We show that our ideas allow us to solve higher-level time series data mining problem such as motif discovery and clustering at scales that would otherwise be untenable. In addition to mining massive datasets, we will show that our ideas also have implications for real-time monitoring of data streams, allowing us to handle much faster arrival rates and/or use cheaper and lower powered devices than are currently possible.
Preparing for the Worst While Hoping for the Best: The Relevance of Hope in the Heart Failure Illness Trajectory

Background: Patients with heart failure have higher mortality rates than those with most malignant diseases. The heart failure illness trajectory is one of gradual decline characterized by unpredictable events such as acute decompensation of heart failure or a sudden cardiac death. Health professionals have an obligation to give patients and their families concise and honest information concerning their prognosis. The challenge exists to give what ostensibly may seem a bleak prognosis within a context of hope and optimism. Aim: To explore the role of hope in heart disease and the potential utility of this construct in the development of nursing interventions. Methods: The electronic databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, EmBASE, and PSYCHlit were searched from 1982 to August 2004 using the key words "hope," "hopelessness," "heart disease," and "heart failure. " Articles were subsequently sorted to meet the inclusion criteria of (1) a philosophical discussion of the construct of hope and/or (2) investigation of hope in heart disease. Results: This search retrieved 768 articles, and 24 met the inclusion criteria. Key findings from the review indicate that "hope" and "hopelessness" are underdeveloped, yet important constructs and conceptually linked with depression and spirituality. Intriguing findings from descriptive, observational studies have demonstrated the positive impact of expression of hope on cardiovascular outcomes. These findings need to be validated in randomized controlled trials. Conclusions: This critical literature review has determined that "hope" is strongly associated with the individual's future orientation. Increased understanding of this concept may assist in refining patient-focused interventions and developing therapeutic strategies to enhance hope.
Prognostic Relevance of Promoter Hypermethylation of Multiple Genes in Breast Cancer Patients

Background: Methylation-mediated suppression of detoxification, DNA repair and tumor suppressor genes has been implicated in cancer development. This study was designed to investigate the impact of concurrent methylation of multiple genes in breast tumors on disease prognosis. Methods: Methylation specific PCR was carried out to analyze the methylation status of seven genes in archived breast tissues and determine the effect of aberrant methylation of multiple genes on disease prognosis and patients’ survival. Results: Promoter hypermethylation was observed in PRB 67%, ERα 64%, RASSF1A 63%, p16INK4A 51%, PRBβ2 22%, GSTP1 25% and BRCA1 27% of the breast cancers, respectively. Concurrent methylation of BRCA1, ERα, GSTP1 and RARβ2, was observed in a large proportion of breast cancers analyzed, suggesting that these genes do not appear to be methylated alone. Patients with high methylation indices had poor prognosis (p < 0.001, Hazards ratio = 14.58). Cox regression analysis showed RARβ2 promoter methylation to be an independent important determinant of breast cancer prognosis. Conclusions: Our results suggest that methylation of multiple genes plays an important role in prognosis of breast cancer. Our study not only describes the association of methylation mediated silencing of multiple genes with the severity of disease, but also drives to speculate the molecular crosstalk between genes or genetic pathways regulated by them individually.
Reliability of self-report versus chart-based prostate cancer, PSA, DRE and urinary symptoms.

INTRODUCTION Medical chart-review and self-reported questionnaire are two common methods of determining cancer screening and symptoms. We investigate the validity of these methods and therefore of a class of clinical/epidemiological studies. We compare variables on prostate cancer, any prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, asymptomatic screening PSA, any digital rectal exam (DRE), and urinary symptoms. We used data from a 2005 case control study of PSA and metastatic prostate cancer (253 cases and 496 controls). Data were collected from 1999 to 2002. METHODS We calculated kappa, percent agreement (PPA) and prevalence adjusted bias adjusted kappa (PABAK). We compared percentage positive response (PPR) and sensitivities/specificities of questionnaire against chart and vice versa. We measured the degree of differential agreement between cases and controls using odds ratios. RESULTS We found almost perfect agreement on prostate cancer, moderate agreement on any PSA and DRE, and slight agreement on asymptomatic screening PSA and urinary symptoms. PABAK ranged from 0.134 (urinary symptoms) to 0.879 (prostate cancer). Differences between cases/controls in PPR are similar according to chart or questionnaire, though PPR itself is usually higher on the questionnaire. Only for any PSA (including diagnostic), cases had better recall than controls. We found no evidence of differential agreement that might lead to bias in a case control study. CONCLUSIONS Some variables are more reliable than others comparing medical chart review and self-report. Diagnosis of prostate cancer has near perfect agreement, but for less catastrophic events such as PSA (especially asymptomatic screening tests), DRE or urinary symptoms, agreement ranges from slight to moderate.
Implementation of the Veder contact method in daily nursing home care for people with dementia: a process analysis according to the RE‐AIM framework

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To perform a process analysis of the implementation of the Veder contact method for gaining insight into factors that influence successful implementation. BACKGROUND Research showed that the original Veder method, which is a 'living-room theatre performance' provided by actors, positively influenced mood and quality of life of people with dementia. Training caregivers to execute such 'performances' and accomplish the same effects as actors proved difficult. However, key elements of the method were considered suitable for application in daily care, resulting in the development of a modified version of the method, named the Veder contact method. The Veder contact method combines elements from existing psychosocial interventions, e.g. reminiscence, validation and neuro-linguistic-programming with theatrical, poetic and musical communication, and applies this into daily care. DESIGN For this process analysis a multiple case study design was used with the nursing home ward (n = 6) as the unit of analysis. METHODS Eight focus groups with caregivers (n = 42) and 12 interviews with stakeholders were held. Using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance framework, a thematic analysis was conducted. RESULTS The reach of the intervention (43-86%) and aspects of implementation-effectiveness (e.g. increased experienced reciprocity in contact with residents) facilitated implementation. For adoption and implementation, both facilitators (e.g. development of competences, feasibility of the Veder contact method without requiring extra time investment) and barriers (e.g. insufficient support of management, resistance of caregivers against the Veder contact method, organisational problems) were identified. Little effort was put into maintenance: only one nursing home developed a long-term implementation strategy. CONCLUSIONS The Veder contact method can be applied in daily care without additional time investments. Although adopted by many caregivers, some were reluctant using the Veder contact method. Organisational factors (e.g. staffing and management changes, budget cuts) impeded long-term implementation. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The findings from this study can be used for the development of successful implementation strategies for the Veder contact method and other person-centred care methods.
Open Heart Surgery in Patients With Sickle Cell Hemoglobinopathy

Background— In patients with sickle cell trait or disease, reduced life expectancy and a tendency for complications are believed to negatively affect likelihood of survival after open heart surgery. The aim of this study was to review retrospectively the perioperative results of patients undergoing cardiac surgery at our institution. Methods and Results— Between January 1995 and December 2006, 47 patients with either sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait underwent open heart surgery at our institution. The average age of the 29 male and 18 female patients was 20 years. Patient outcomes were analyzed through the use of the institutional database. Clinical and echocardiographic follow-up was complete in all patients except 3, with a mean follow-up period of 46 months. Current status could be confirmed in 32 patients. The most common operations included the treatment of congenital and valvular heart diseases. There were no coronary artery bypass grafting procedures. Average weight of the patients was 45 kg. Exchange transfusion was performed both preoperatively and during surgery. Mean preoperative hemoglobin S concentration was 30.4±3.2% and decreased to 8.1±2.6% while on pump. Average on-pump hematocrit value was 25.4±3.7%; in the postoperative period, it increased to 32.7±4.9%. Mean cardiopulmonary bypass and cross-clamp times were 95 and 69 minutes, respectively. None of the patients had sickling crisis or acidosis. Postoperative complications included exploration for hemorrhage in 3 patients (6.4%), stroke in 2 patients (4.3%), renal failure in 2 patients (4.3%), and prolonged ventilation in 1 patient (2.1%). Average hospital stay was 8.3 days (range, 4 to 27 days). Early in-hospital death occurred in 1 patient (2.1%); currently, 31 patients (66%) remain alive and free of cardiac symptoms. Conclusion— Heart valve surgery and surgery for congenital heart diseases can be performed safely in patients with sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait with acceptable outcome and survival rates.
What is the Source of Social Capital? The Association between Social Network Position and Social Presence in Communities of Inquiry

It is widely accepted that the social capital of students – developed through their participation in learning communities – has a significant impact on many aspects of the students’ learning outcomes, such as academic performance, persistence, retention, program satisfaction and sense of community. However, the underlying social processes that contribute to the development of social capital are not well understood. By using the well-known Community of Inquiry (CoI) model of distance and online education, we looked into the nature of the underlying social processes, and how they relate to the development of the students’ social capital. The results of our study indicate that the affective, cohesive and interactive facets of social presence significantly predict the network centrality measures commonly used for measurement of social capital.
A simple indentation device for measuring micrometer-scale tissue stiffness

Mechanical properties of cells and extracellular matrices are critical determinants of function in contexts including oncogenic transformation, neuronal synapse formation, hepatic fibrosis and stem cell differentiation. The size and heterogeneity of biological specimens and the importance of measuring their mechanical properties under conditions that resemble their environments in vivo present a challenge for quantitative measurement. Centimeter-scale tissue samples can be measured by commercial instruments, whereas properties at the subcellular (nm) scale are accessible by atomic force microscopy, optical trapping, or magnetic bead microrheometry; however many tissues are heterogeneous on a length scale between micrometers and millimeters which is not accessible to most current instrumentation. The device described here combines two commercially available technologies, a micronewton resolution force probe and a micromanipulator for probing soft biological samples at sub-millimeter spatial resolution. Several applications of the device are described. These include the first measurement of the stiffness of an intact, isolated mouse glomerulus, quantification of the inner wall stiffness of healthy and diseased mouse aortas, and evaluation of the lateral heterogeneity in the stiffness of mouse mammary glands and rat livers with correlation of this heterogeneity with malignant or fibrotic pathology as evaluated by histology.
Serum level of copper in patients with coronary artery disease

Background: Atherosclerotic disease is the most important cause of mortality in the world. Oxidation is an important pathway in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD) through oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and free radical formation. Copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient for enzymes that catalyse LDL oxidation reactions. Therefore, an evaluation of Cu in the atherosclerotic disease is important. Materials and Methods: In this study, 334 subjects without recent cardiac event and history of collagen vascular or infectious disease were investigated. All patients divided into four groups to evaluate severity of CAD according to Syntax scoring system. All groups were matched in cardiovascular risk factors. Results: The serum level of Cu was significantly higher in total atherosclerotic groups than normal group (P value = 0.001) and significantly increased with severity of atherosclerosis. Conclusion: The finding indicated that the serum level of Cu is higher in atherosclerotic patients and it increases with severity of atherosclerosis. Therefore, it may be possible that the basic relationship exist between serum Cu level and atherosclerosis and an association between Cu level and severity of atherosclerosis.
Structural, optical, and electronic studies of wide-bandgap lead halide perovskites

We investigate the family of mixed Br/Cl organolead halide perovskites which enable light emission in the blue-violet region of the visible spectrum. We report the structural, optical and electronic properties of this air-stable family of perovskites, demonstrating full bandgap tunability in the 400–550 nm range and enhanced exciton strength upon Cl substitution. We complement this study by tracking the evolution of the band levels across the gap, thereby providing a foundational framework for future optoelectronic applications of these materials.