Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does an oral analgesic protocol improve pain control for patients with cancer? An intergroup study coordinated by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.

BACKGROUND Cancer pain is highly prevalent and commonly undertreated. This study was designed to determine whether dissemination of a clinical protocol for pain management would improve outcomes in community oncology practices. PATIENTS AND METHODS A pain management protocol was developed based on accepted guidelines. After baseline assessment, oncology practices were randomly assigned to 'analgesic protocol' (AP) sites, where oncologists implemented the guidelines in a group of lung or prostate cancer patients, or to 'physician discretion' (PD) sites, where customary treatment was continued. Patients treated on protocol and a comparison group of patients with pain due to breast cancer or myeloma were monitored for change in pain using the Brief Pain Inventory, and for change in other symptoms or mood. RESULTS The protocol terminated early because of poor accrual. We compared groups using proportions of patients who had no or mild pain at follow-up. Although measures of protocol adherence did not suggest the occurrence of major practice change, the proportion of lung or prostate cancer patients with no or mild pain increased significantly from baseline for those treated at AP sites compared with those treated at PD sites. There was no significant difference between the breast and myeloma patients treated at AP sites versus those treated at PD sites. CONCLUSION A protocol for cancer pain management can improve pain control. Diffusion of these benefits to other patients was not confirmed. Given the small sample size, these findings require confirmation in a larger trial.
Balance between Noise and Information Flow Maximizes Set Complexity of Network Dynamics

Boolean networks have been used as a discrete model for several biological systems, including metabolic and genetic regulatory networks. Due to their simplicity they offer a firm foundation for generic studies of physical systems. In this work we show, using a measure of context-dependent information, set complexity, that prior to reaching an attractor, random Boolean networks pass through a transient state characterized by high complexity. We justify this finding with a use of another measure of complexity, namely, the statistical complexity. We show that the networks can be tuned to the regime of maximal complexity by adding a suitable amount of noise to the deterministic Boolean dynamics. In fact, we show that for networks with Poisson degree distributions, all networks ranging from subcritical to slightly supercritical can be tuned with noise to reach maximal set complexity in their dynamics. For networks with a fixed number of inputs this is true for near-to-critical networks. This increase in complexity is obtained at the expense of disruption in information flow. For a large ensemble of networks showing maximal complexity, there exists a balance between noise and contracting dynamics in the state space. In networks that are close to critical the intrinsic noise required for the tuning is smaller and thus also has the smallest effect in terms of the information processing in the system. Our results suggest that the maximization of complexity near to the state transition might be a more general phenomenon in physical systems, and that noise present in a system may in fact be useful in retaining the system in a state with high information content.
Information Systems Project Continuation in Escalation Situations: A Real Options Model

Software project escalation has been shown to be a widespread phenomenon. With few exceptions, prior research has portrayed escalation as an irrational decision-making process whereby additional resources are plowed into a failing project. In this article, we examine the possibility that in some cases managers escalate their commitment not because they are acting irrationally, but rather as a rational response to real options that may be embedded in a project. A project embeds real options when managers have the opportunity but not the obligation to adjust the future direction of the project in response to external or internal events. Examples include deferring the project, switching the project to serve a different purpose, changing the scale of the project, implementing it in incremental stages, abandoning the project, or using the project as a platform for future growth opportunities. Although real options can represent a substantial portion of a project's value, they rarely enter into a project's formal justification process in the traditional quantitative discounted cash-flow-based project valuation techniques. Using experimental data collected from managers in 123 firms, we demonstrate that managers recognize and value the presence of real options. We also assess the relative importance that managers ascribe to each type of real option, showing that growth options are more highly valued than operational options. Finally, we demonstrate that the influence of the options on project continuation decisions is largely mediated by the perceived value that they add. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed.
HYPOGLYCEMIC AND HYPOLIPIDEMIC ACTIVITY OF SOLANUM NIGRUM IN ALLOXAN INDUCED DIABETIC ALBINO RATS

The objective of this study is to induce experimental diabetes mellitus using Alloxan monohydrate in normal adult albino rats and study the anti‐diabetic activity of changes in body weight, consumption of food and water, volume of urine and levels of glucose between normal and diabetic rats. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common endocrine disorder. Hypoglycemic agents from natural and synthetic sources are available for treatment of diabetes. Indian medicinal plants have been found to be useful to successfully manage diabetes. The effect of methanolic and water extract of Solanum nigrum leaves was investigated in normal, glucose load conditions and Alloxan monohydrate ‐induced diabetic rats. Significant hypoglycemic activity was exhibited by the poly herbal formulation. INTRODUCTION: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is common endocrine disorder affecting more than 150 million people worldwide and this number is likely to increase to 300million by the year 2025, 16 out of which more than one‐ fifth are Indians. According to the International Diabetes Federation, India has been declared as the diabetes capital of the world. Medicinal plants have been used as sources of drugs for treatment of diabetes in developing countries where the cost of conventional medicines is a burden to the population . Despite the introduction of hypoglycemic agents from natural and synthetic sources, diabetes and its secondary complications continue to be a major medical problem. Many indigenous Indian medicinal plants have been found to be useful to successfully manage diabetes. One of the great advantages of medicinal plants is that these are readily available and have no side effects. World Health Organization 36 has suggested the evaluation of the potential of plants as effective therapeutic agents, especially in areas in which we lack safe modern drugs. The objective of present study is to investigate the effect of methanolic and water extract of Solanum nigrum leaves was investigated in glucose load conditions in normal rats and alloxan monohydrate induced diabetic rats.
Maltreatment, the Oxytocin Receptor Gene, and Conduct Problems Among Male and Female Teenagers

The oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) influences human behavior. The G allele of OXTR rs53576 has been associated with both prosocial and maladaptive behaviors but few studies have taken account of environmental factors. The present study determined whether the association of childhood maltreatment with conduct problems was modified by OXTR rs53576 genotypes. In a general population sample of 1591 teenagers, conduct problems as well as maltreatment were measured by self-report. DNA was extracted from saliva samples. In males, there was a significant positive association between maltreatment and conduct problems independent of the genotype. In females, among G allele carriers, the level of conduct problems was significantly higher among those who had been maltreated as compared to those not maltreated. By contrast, among female AA carriers, conduct problems did not vary between those who were, and who were not, maltreated. The results indicate that OXTR rs53576 plays a role in antisocial behavior in females such that the G allele confers vulnerability for antisocial behavior if they experience maltreatment, whereas the A allele has a protective effect.
Improving Glyphosate Oxidation Activity of Glycine Oxidase from Bacillus cereus by Directed Evolution

Glyphosate, a broad spectrum herbicide widely used in agriculture all over the world, inhibits 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase in the shikimate pathway, and glycine oxidase (GO) has been reported to be able to catalyze the oxidative deamination of various amines and cleave the C-N bond in glyphosate. Here, in an effort to improve the catalytic activity of the glycine oxidase that was cloned from a glyphosate-degrading marine strain of Bacillus cereus (BceGO), we used a bacteriophage T7 lysis-based method for high-throughput screening of oxidase activity and engineered the gene encoding BceGO by directed evolution. Six mutants exhibiting enhanced activity toward glyphosate were screened from two rounds of error-prone PCR combined with site directed mutagenesis, and the beneficial mutations of the six evolved variants were recombined by DNA shuffling. Four recombinants were generated and, when compared with the wild-type BceGO, the most active mutant B3S1 showed the highest activity, exhibiting a 160-fold increase in substrate affinity, a 326-fold enhancement in catalytic efficiency against glyphosate, with little difference between their pH and temperature stabilities. The role of these mutations was explored through structure modeling and molecular docking, revealing that the Arg51 mutation is near the active site and could be an important residue contributing to the stabilization of glyphosate binding, while the role of the remaining mutations is unclear. These results provide insight into the application of directed evolution in optimizing glycine oxidase function and have laid a foundation for the development of glyphosate-tolerant crops.
Ghrelin Plasma Levels Are Not Altered in Major Depression

Background: In patients with major depression, the function of most endocrine axes is altered compared to healthy subjects. The orexigenic hormone ghrelin, which shows higher plasma levels in females than males, interacts with several of these endocrine axes. In addition, ghrelin levels in depressed patients decrease with psychopathological improvement. Therefore, we hypothesized that ghrelin levels in patients with major depression would be higher than in healthy subjects. Methods: Nocturnal (20:00–07:00 h) secretion patterns of ghrelin in 20 patients with major depression [11 females, age 39.4 ± 10.2 years (mean ± standard deviation); 9 males, age 38.3 ± 10.4 years] with a total score on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, 21-item version, of 24.8 ± 5.2 and 20 healthy subjects [11 females, age 38.7 ± 10.8 years; 9 males, age 39.1 ± 11.2 years] were determined following an adaptation night. Results: Ghrelin plasma levels of depressed patients and matched healthy subjects did not differ at any point in time when stratified for sex. Accordingly, the area under the curve was comparable: depressed females, 423.3 ± 103.4; healthy females, 398.0 ± 94.6; depressed males, 266.3 ± 56.9, and healthy males, 228.4 ± 41.3. Conclusion: This is the first comparison of ghrelin secretion patterns in patients with major depression and healthy controls. Surprisingly, no relevant differences were ascertained between the two groups.
Improving the nutritional value of traditional finger millet porridges for children aged 7-24 months in Bujenje County of Western Uganda

Child malnutrition is a major problem in Western Uganda where finger millet porridges are commonly used as complementary foods. This study aimed at improving the nutritional value and safety of finger millet porridges using Moringa oleifera, Cucurbita maxima and lactic acid fermentation. Proximate analysis, iron, zinc and vitamin A contents of composite flours was done according to AOAC methods while agar diffusion pouring technique and a seven point hedonic scale were used to analyse antimicrobial and organoleptic properties of the improved millet porridges, respectively. The porridges were developed with the aim of catering for at least 60% daily requirements for protein, vitamin A, iron and zinc for children aged 7-24 months. They were fermented using lactic acid starter cultures. Chi-square tests were used for comparing percentage acceptance of the porridges by mothers. Analysis of variance was carried out and differences among means were compared by Duncan’s test at p<0.05. Fermented millet porridge with 7% M. oleifera leaves had the best nutrient composition and antimicrobial properties while fermented millet porridge with 17% C. maxima flesh was more acceptable by mothers. The porridges are thus a potential solution to inadequate nutrient intakes and diarrhoeal infections attributed to child malnutrition in Western Uganda and most developing countries. Key words: Nutritional value, traditional millet porridges, western Uganda.
A Study of MatchPyramid Models on Ad-hoc Retrieval

Deep neural networks have been successfully applied to many text matching tasks, such as paraphrase identification, question answering, and machine translation. Although ad-hoc retrieval can also be formalized as a text matching task, few deep models have been tested on it. In this paper, we study a state-of-the-art deep matching model, namely MatchPyramid, on the ad-hoc retrieval task. The MatchPyramid model employs a convolutional neural network over the interactions between query and document to produce the matching score. We conducted extensive experiments to study the impact of different pooling sizes, interaction functions and kernel sizes on the retrieval performance. Finally, we show that the MatchPyramid models can significantly outperform several recently introduced deep matching models on the retrieval task, but still cannot compete with the traditional retrieval models, such as BM25 and language models.
SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF TiO2 NANOPOWDERS FOR FABRICATION OF DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanopowders were synthesized by sol-gel and refluxing methods, and compared with commercial titanium dioxide (P25). The as-synthesized TiO2 samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and UV-vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. In this research, the as-synthesized samples were used to fabricate dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and found that TiO2 synthesized by sol-gel method has the highest efficiency of VOC = 0.465 V, JSC = 1.361 mA/cm 2 and FF = 0.647.
High Resolution TEM Characterisation of Hydrogen Peroxide Treated Tooth Structures

In recent years, aesthetic dental treatments such as tooth whitening has gained popular demand from patients and established as a rapidly growing field of dentistry. Consumers are more conscious of their image and believe in a brighter smile as a way of maintaining beauty and health. Bleaching of teeth has a long history since 1864 and the observation of tooth lightening with Carbamide peroxide in 1989 marked the beginning of using 10% CP in a mouth guard [1].
Transvaginal Elastosonography as an Imaging Technique for Diagnosing Adenomyosis

To test the hypothesis that the lesional stiffness as measured by transvaginal elastosonography (TVESG) correlates with the extent of fibrosis in adenomyotic (AM) lesions, and thus TVESG can be used to diagnose AM, we conducted 2 studies. The first evaluated the relationship, if any, between lesional stiffness and lesional histology in 35 women with histologically confirmed AM in comparison with tissue stiffness in 11 control myometrial (CM) and 8 uterine fibroids (UFs) tissue samples. The second validated the relationship between lesional stiffness and the severity of dysmenorrhea and the amount of menses in AM patients by recruiting 112 patients diagnosed with AM, 67 with UF, and 130 controls. Transvaginal ultrasound and TVESG were both performed. We found that the stiffness of AM lesions was significantly higher than that of UF, which, in turn, was significantly higher than that of CM. Lesional stiffness correlated positively with uterine size and the extent of lesional fibrosis but negatively with E-cadherin and progesterone receptor expression levels. Lesional stiffness also correlated with the severity of dysmenorrhea as well as the amount of menses. Thus, TVESG can improve the diagnostic accuracy for AM, especially in differential diagnosis of AM from UF. The correlation between lesional stiffness and the extent of fibrosis and hormonal receptor expression and the severity of symptomology strongly suggests that TVESG not only can provide an instant assessment of the developmental stage of AM lesions but also may be used to guide the choice of the best treatment modality for the patient.
Identifying systematic DFT errors in catalytic reactions

Using CO2 reduction reactions as examples, we present a widely applicable method for identifying the main source of errors in density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The method has broad applications for error correction in DFT calculations in general, as it relies on the dependence of the applied exchange–correlation functional on the reaction energies rather than on errors versus the experimental data. As a result, improved energy corrections can now be determined for both gas phase and adsorbed reaction species, particularly interesting within heterogeneous catalysis. We show that for the CO2 reduction reactions, the main source of error is associated with the CO bonds and not the typically energy corrected OCO backbone.
Effect of temperature and water salinity on hydrophobicity of epoxy resin

The effects of temperature and water salinity on the hydrophobicity of epoxy resin, which is used as resin for molds of glass-fiber reinforced plastics, is investigated. The hydrophobicity of epoxy resin was determined by measuring the contact angle using a droplet of distilled water. The weight change of the specimens was also measured. The relationship between the changes in the hydrophobicity of the specimens and the deposits on the surface of the specimens after aging was analyzed by XPS. Aging of epoxy resin was attained by immersing it for up to about 1000 h in saline water solutions in the range 0.005-100 mS/cm and exposure to air at 0, 25, 46, 75 and 98/spl deg/C. After aging, the contact angle of the specimens was periodically measured in air at room temperature for up to about one year to study the recovery of hydrophobicity.
From Servicescape to Loyalty in the Medical Tourism Industry: A Medical Clinic’s Service Perspective

Medical tourism organizations have increasingly recognized that loyalty makes a medical clinic a marketing success. To increase understanding of the importance of medical clinics, this study examined the roles of servicescapes, emotions, and satisfaction in the development of customer loyalty toward medical clinics and destination. Data were collected among international medical tourists visiting Korea. Results identified that dimensions of medical clinics’ servicescape (ie, medical clinic environment, medical treatment, staff, and doctor) influenced emotions and satisfaction among international medical tourists. Also, positive emotions and the 2 dimensions of satisfaction with a medical clinic and doctor mediate the influence of medical clinics’ servicescapes on 2 types of loyalty (the medical clinic and Korea for medical care). Overall, these findings indicate that the interrelationship of servicescapes, positive emotion, and satisfaction is essential in influencing international medical tourists’ loyalty to a medical clinic.
Effect of ischemia reperfusion on rabbit VX2 cells in a hepatocellular carcinoma model.

BACKGROUND We established a rabbit VX2 cell liver carcinoma model to evaluate effects of ischemia reperfusion (IR) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) development and liver cell apoptosis rates. METHODS Thirty-six rabbits were divided into a control (n=6) and a VX2 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) model group (n=30), which received VX2 cell suspension injections into their livers. From the 30 HCC rabbits, 6 rabbits served as control without hepatic ischemia and the rest were treated with hepatic artery and portal vein clamps for 60 minutes. At 1 hour, 1 day, 3 days and 7 days of reperfusion, 6 rabbits were sacrificed and changes of catalase (CAT) and super-oxide dismutase (SOD) activities as well as apoptosis rates, measured by TUNEL assays, were compared between tumor tissues, normal tumor surrounding hepatic tissues and controls. RESULTS All treated animals developed liver tumors. The CAT activity increased in both tissues 1 hour after reperfusion (P < 0.05) and dropped to low levels in the hepatocarcinoma cells at day 1 after reperfusion (P < 0.01), but increased to higher levels than the control on day 3 (P < 0.05). SOD activity decreased significantly in both tissues until day 1 after reperfusion and kept low in the hepatocarcinoma cells until day 7 (P < 0.05). The apoptosis rates after IR increased more in cancer than in normal hepatic tissues (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION Injection of VX2 tumor cell suspension into rabbit liver parenchyma achieved good results for creating a liver tumor model. IR induced apoptosis of tumor tissue and normal hepatic tissues via ROS development.
Salvage Gamma Knife Radiosurgery after failed management of bilateral trigeminal neuralgia

Background: The incidence of bilateral trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is 1-6% of total number of TN cases. Gamma Knife Radiosurgery (GKRS) is effective in treating unilateral TN; however, outcomes of bilateral TN treated by GKRS have not been well evaluated. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the long-term GKRS outcomes of bilateral TN at our institution and compare with our published treatment outcomes of unilateral TN. Methods: Between 2000 and 2006, eight patients with bilateral TN were treated with GKRS. Data available on seven patients were collected. Facial pain outcomes were defined using the Barrow Neurological Institute pain intensity scale. Outcomes and toxicities were compared to published outcomes of unilateral TN patients treated with GKRS at our institution. Results: The incidence of bilateral TN in our series is 2.3%. Treatment outcomes were excellent in 5/14, good in 1/14, and poor in 8/14. Median follow-up time was 58 months. Median time-to-failure was 38 months. Pain control rate was 80% at 12 months and 65% at 36 months. Bothersome side effects were seen in 4/14 nerves treated. Compared with our long-term unilateral TN cohort, there was no statistically significant difference in outcome, time-to-failure, or rate of toxicity. Conclusion: Bilateral TN is rare, and effective treatment is crucial to improve the quality of life of those afflicted. Salvage GKRS is a reasonable treatment modality for individuals with bilateral TN.