Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cancer incidence and mortality in Europe, 2004.

BACKGROUND There are no recent estimates of the incidence and mortality from cancer at a European level. Those data that are available generally refer to the mid-1990s and are of limited use for cancer control planning. We present estimates of the cancer burden in Europe in 2004, including data for the (25 Member States) European Union. METHODS The most recent sources of incidence and mortality data available in the Descriptive Epidemiology Group at IARC were applied to population projections to derive the best estimates of the burden of cancer, in terms of incidence and mortality, for Europe in 2004. RESULTS In 2004 in Europe, there were an estimated 2,886,800 incident cases of cancer diagnosed and 1,711,000 cancer deaths. The most common incident form of cancer was lung cancer (13.3% of all incident cases), followed by colorectal cancer (13.2%) and breast cancer (13%). Lung cancer was also the most common cause of cancer death (341,800 deaths), followed by colorectal (203,700), stomach (137,900) and breast (129,900). CONCLUSIONS With an estimated 2.9 million new cases (54% occurring in men, 46% in women) and 1.7 million deaths (56% in men, 44% in women) each year, cancer remains an important public health problem in Europe, and the ageing of the European population will cause these numbers to continue to increase even if age-specific rates remain constant. To make great progress quickly against cancer in Europe, the need is evident to make a concerted attack on the big killers: lung, colorectal, breast and stomach cancer. Stomach cancer rates are falling everywhere in Europe and public health measures are available to reduce the incidence and mortality of lung cancer, colorectal cancer and breast cancer.
Music Pattern Discovery with Variable Markov Oracle: A Unified Approach to Symbolic and Audio Representations

This paper presents a framework for automatically discovering patterns in a polyphonic music piece. The proposed framework is capable of handling both symbolic and audio representations. Chroma features are post-processed with heuristics stemming from musical knowledge and fed into the pattern discovery framework. The pattern-finding algorithm is based on Variable Markov Oracle. The Variable Markov Oracle data structure is capable of locating repeated suffixes within a time series, thus making it an appropriate tool for the pattern discovery task. Evaluation of the proposed framework is performed on the JKU Patterns Development Dataset with state of the art performance.
Loss of life years after a hip fracture

Background Patients with a hip fracture have a high mortality; however, it is not clear how large the loss of life-years is over an extended observation period. Subjects and methods This was a cohort study involving all patients in Denmark who suffered a hip fracture between 1977 and 2001 (n = 169,145). The survival rate for these patients was compared to that for age- and sex-matched subjects without a hip fracture (n = 524,010). Results There was a substantial degree of excess mortality, with a pronounced variation in age and sex. The absolute number of life-years lost compared to age-matched subjects without a hip fracture was larger in younger subjects than in older subjects (men aged 51–60 years lived 7.5 years less on average while men over 80 years of age lived 3 years less). Expressed as a percentage, however, older subjects had the largest relative loss of expected remaining years of life. Men ≤ 50 years of age lost 18% of their expected remaining years of life, as opposed to men > 80 years of age who lost as much as 58% of their expected remaining years of life. In women, the trend was similar but less pronounced (27% loss in women ≤ 50 years of age vs. 38% in women > 80 years of age). Interpretation A large proportion of the estimated remaining life is lost after a hip fracture, even in younger patients. Prevention may save life years, although not all of the years lost after a hip fracture may be due to the hip fracture per se.
Molecular and Cellular Pathobiology the Oncogenic Lung Cancer Fusion Kinase Cd74-ros Activates a Novel Invasiveness Pathway through E-syt1 Phosphorylation

Patients with lung cancer often present with metastatic disease and therefore have a very poor prognosis. The recent discovery of several novel ROS receptor tyrosine kinase molecular alterations in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) presents a therapeutic opportunity for the development of new targeted treatment strategies. Here, we report that the NSCLC-derived fusion CD74-ROS, which accounts for 30% of all ROS fusion kinases in NSCLC, is an active and oncogenic tyrosine kinase. We found that CD74-ROS–expressing cells were highly invasive in vitro and metastatic in vivo. Pharmacologic inhibition of CD74-ROS kinase activity reversed its transforming capacity by attenuating downstream signaling networks. Using quantitative phosphoproteomics, we uncovered a mechanism by which CD74-ROS activates a novel pathway driving cell invasion. Expression of CD74-ROS resulted in the phosphorylation of the extended synaptotagmin-like protein E-Syt1. Elimination of E-Syt1 expression drastically reduced invasiveness both in vitro and in vivo without modifying the oncogenic activity of CD74-ROS. Furthermore, expression of CD74-ROS in noninvasive NSCLC cell lines readily conferred invasive properties that paralleled the acquisition of E-Syt1 phosphorylation. Taken together, our findings indicate that E-Syt1 is a mediator of cancer cell invasion and molecularly define ROS fusion kinases as therapeutic targets in the treatment of NSCLC.
Matrix Cracking in Impacted Glass/Epoxy Plates

In addition to delamination, which has been found to be the major failure mode in a fiber-reinforced laminated composite plate subjected to subperforation impact, matrix cracking and fiber breakage have also been observed. Each failure mode, however, does not generate independently. On the contrary, the different modes interact with one another. Therefore, in order to have an overview of the failure mechanism in an impacted com posite plate, it is necessary to find out the mechanism of every failure mode and the in teractions among them. Microscopic observations of the cross sections of impacted com posite materials have revealed the interaction between matrix cracking and delamination. In this study, however, several techniques have been used to present the matrix cracking patterns in impacted glass/epoxy plates with different thickness, geometries, boundary conditions, stacking sequences, and types of loading. The matrix cracking patterns on the surfaces of impacted plates have been enhanced by dye penetrant while those of the in ternal laminae have been investigated by edge replication. Results have shown that the delamination area on the second interface of a three-lamina glass/epoxy plate coincides with both the central matrix cracking zone of the impacted lamina and the middle crack- free zone of the non-impacted lamina. The matrix cracks in the internal lamina are also restricted by the projected delamination area. The association between delamination and matrix cracking has been discussed and also the effect on matrix cracking of the tensile stresses introduced by the flexural wave.
Vibronic and Vibrational Coherences in Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectra of Supramolecular J-Aggregates

In J-aggregates of cyanine dyes, closely packed molecules form mesoscopic tubes with nanometer-diameter and micrometer-length. Their efficient energy transfer pathways make them suitable candidates for artificial light harvesting systems. This great potential calls for an in-depth spectroscopic analysis of the underlying energy deactivation network and coherence dynamics. We use two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy with sub-10 fs laser pulses in combination with two-dimensional decay-associated spectra analysis to describe the population flow within the aggregate. Based on the analysis of Fourier-transform amplitude maps, we distinguish between vibrational or vibronic coherence dynamics as the origin of pronounced oscillations in our two-dimensional electronic spectra.
Extraction methods and bioautography for evaluation of medicinal plant antimicrobial activity

A comparative study on the antimicrobial properties of extracts from medicinal plants obtained by two different methods was carried out. The screening of the antimicrobial activity of extracts from six plants was conducted by a disc diffusion test against Gram‐positive, ‐negative and fungal organisms. The most active extracts (inhibition diameter ≥12 mm) were assayed for the minimum inhibitory concentration and submitted to phytochemical screening by thin‐layer chromatography and bioautography. The results obtained indicate that the diethyl ether extracts were the most efficient antimicrobial compounds. The activity was more pronounced against Gram‐positive and fungal organisms than against Gram‐negative bacteria. Bioautography showed that the antimicrobial activity was probably due to flavonoids and terpenes.
Redox Signaling and CBF-Responsive Pathway Are Involved in Salicylic Acid-Improved Photosynthesis and Growth under Chilling Stress in Watermelon

Salicylic acid (SA) plays an important role in plant response to abiotic stresses. This study investigated the potential role of SA in alleviating the adverse effects of chilling stress on photosynthesis and growth in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). Chilling stress induced the simultaneous accumulation of free and conjugated SA in watermelon plants, and the chilling-induced SA production was attributed to the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase pathway. Applying SA at moderate concentrations induced chilling tolerance, whereas inhibition of SA biosynthesis by L-α-aminooxy-β-phenylpropionic acid (AOPP) increased the photooxidation of PS II under chilling stress in watermelon, resulting in reduced photosynthesis and growth. Chilling induced a transient increase in the ratios of reduced to oxidized glutathione and reduced ascorbate to dehydroascorbate. Then, the expression of antioxidant genes was upregulated, and the activities of antioxidant enzymes were enhanced. Furthermore, SA-induced chilling tolerance was associated with cellular glutathione and ascorbate homeostasis, which served as redox signals to regulate antioxidant metabolism under chilling stress. AOPP treatment stimulated the chilling-induced expression of cold-responsive genes, particularly via C-repeat binding factors CBF3 and CBF4. These results confirm the synergistic role of SA signaling and the CBF-dependent responsive pathway during chilling stress in watermelon.
The molecular biology of mixed lineage leukemia

Mixed-lineage-leukemia is an aggressive leukemia that predominantly occurs in pediatric patients and is characterized by the expression of fusion genes involving the histone methyltransferase MLL and a variety of fusion partners. It is now clear that MLL fusion partners can activate transcription by two different mechanisms, which are discussed in this review article. Insights in these functions may open new avenues for rational drug development. See related papers on page 891 and 918. Mixed lineage leukemia is a very aggressive blood cancer that predominantly occurs in pediatric patients. In contrast to other types of childhood acute leukemias, mixed lineage leukemia presents with a dismal prognosis and despite the availability of advanced treatment methods cure rates have stagnated over the last years. Mixed lineage leukemia is characterized by the presence of MLL fusion proteins that are the result of chromosomal translocations affecting the MLL gene at 11q23. These events juxtapose the amino-terminus of the histone methyltransferase MLL with a variety of different fusion partners that destroy normal histone methyltransferase function of MLL and replace it by heterologous functions contributed by the fusion partner. The resulting chimeras are transcriptional regulators that take control of targets normally controlled by MLL with the clustered HOX homeobox genes as prominent examples. Recent studies suggested that MLL fusion partners activate transcription by two different mechanisms. Some of these proteins are themselves chromatin modifiers that introduce histone acetylation whereas other fusion partners can recruit histone methyltransferases. In particular, histone H3 specific methylation at lysine 79 catalyzed by DOT1L has been recognized as a hallmark of chromatin activated by MLL fusion proteins. Interestingly, several frequent MLL fusion partners seem to coordinate DOT1L activity with a protein complex that stimulates the elongation phase of transcription by phosphorylating the carboxy-terminal repeat domain of RNA polymerase II. The discovery of these novel enzymatic activities that are essentially involved in MLL fusion protein function presents potential new targets for a rational drug development.
Millions of targets under attack: a macroscopic characterization of the DoS ecosystem

Denial-of-Service attacks have rapidly increased in terms of frequency and intensity, steadily becoming one of the biggest threats to Internet stability and reliability. However, a rigorous comprehensive characterization of this phenomenon, and of countermeasures to mitigate the associated risks, faces many infrastructure and analytic challenges. We make progress toward this goal, by introducing and applying a new framework to enable a macroscopic characterization of attacks, attack targets, and DDoS Protection Services (DPSs). Our analysis leverages data from four independent global Internet measurement infrastructures over the last two years: backscatter traffic to a large network telescope; logs from amplification honeypots; a DNS measurement platform covering 60% of the current namespace; and a DNS-based data set focusing on DPS adoption. Our results reveal the massive scale of the DoS problem, including an eye-opening statistic that one-third of all / 24 networks recently estimated to be active on the Internet have suffered at least one DoS attack over the last two years. We also discovered that often targets are simultaneously hit by different types of attacks. In our data, Web servers were the most prominent attack target; an average of 3% of the Web sites in . com, . net, and . org were involved with attacks, daily. Finally, we shed light on factors influencing migration to a DPS.
Physiopathogenesis of Acute Aortic Coarctation Hypertension in Conscious Rats

We investigated the role of vasopressin, angiotensin II, and catecholamines in the onset of acute (45-minute) aortic coarctation hypertension in conscious rats. Partial aortic constriction was performed by means of a pneumatic cuff placed around the abdominal aorta above the renal arteries for 15 or 45 minutes. A sham-operated group was used as control. Mean carotid pressure before aortic constriction did not differ between rat groups. Aortic constriction produced a similar increase of mean carotid pressure during 15 minutes (36±3 to 37±3 mm Hg above basal levels) and 45 minutes (37±2 to 39±3 mm Hg). Plasma vasopressin concentration after 15 minutes of coarctation (4.4 ±0.5 pg/mL) did not differ from that observed in control rats (3.0±0.8 pg/mL), whereas after 45 minutes, it was significantly higher (14.3±3.3 pg/mL). Plasma renin activity increased significantly after coarctation (21.7±4.1 and 29.9±2.9 ng angiotensin I/mL per hour, at 15 and 45 minutes, respectively) when compared with control rats (3.9±0.5 ng angiotensin I/mL per hour). After coarctation, plasma norepinephrine concentration was consistently reduced, whereas plasma epinephrine concentration did not differ from control rats. In conclusion, these data provide evidence for an effective vasopressor role for vasopressin in the genesis of acute (45-minute) aortic coarctation hypertension in conscious rats. In addition, although the results confirm that the renin-angiotensin system participates earlier in the onset of coarctation hypertension, they rule out a significant vasopressor role for catecholamines in the early development of hypertension.
Altered Resting State Cortico-Striatal Connectivity in Mild to Moderate Stage Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by dopamine depletion in the striatum. One consistent pathophysiological hallmark of PD is an increase in spontaneous oscillatory activity in the basal ganglia thalamocortical networks. We evaluated these effects using resting state functional connectivity MRI in mild to moderate stage Parkinson's patients on and off l-DOPA and age-matched controls using six different striatal seed regions. We observed an overall increase in the strength of cortico-striatal functional connectivity in PD patients off l-DOPA compared to controls. This enhanced connectivity was down-regulated by l-DOPA as shown by an overall decrease in connectivity strength, particularly within motor cortical regions. We also performed a frequency content analysis of the BOLD signal time course extracted from the six striatal seed regions. PD off l-DOPA exhibited increased power in the frequency band 0.02–0.05 Hz compared to controls and to PD on l-DOPA. The l-DOPA associated decrease in the power of this frequency range modulated the l-DOPA associated decrease in connectivity strength between striatal seeds and the thalamus. In addition, the l-DOPA associated decrease in power in this frequency band correlated with the l-DOPA associated improvement in cognitive performance. Our results demonstrate that PD and l-DOPA modulate striatal resting state BOLD signal oscillations and cortico-striatal network coherence.
Prevalence of Sexual Dysfunction and its Associated Factors in Women Aged 40–65 Years with 11 Years or More of Formal Education: A Population-Based Household Survey

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and its associated factors in middle-aged women with 11 years or more of formal education. METHODS A cross-sectional, population-based study was carried out using an anonymous, self-response questionnaire. A total of 315 Brazilian-born women, 40–65 years of age with 11 years or more of schooling, participated in the study. The instrument used in the evaluation was based on the Short Personal Experiences Questionnaire. Sexual dysfunction was calculated from the mean score of sexual responsiveness (pleasure in sexual activities, excitation and orgasm), frequency of sexual activities and libido. Sociodemographic and clinical factors were evaluated. Poisson multiple regression analysis was carried out and the prevalence ratios with respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were calculated. RESULTS The prevalence of sexual dysfunction was 35.9% among our study population. Multiple regression analysis showed that sexual dysfunction was positively associated with older age (prevalence ratios=1.04; 95%CI:1.01–1.07) and with the presence of hot flashes (prevalence ratios=1.37; 95%CI:1.04–1.80). Having a sexual partner (PR=0.47; 95%CI:0.34–0.65) and feeling well or excellent (prevalence ratios= 0.68; 95%CI: 0.52–0.88) were factors associated with lower sexual dysfunction scores. CONCLUSIONS Sexual dysfunction was present in more than one-third of women that were 40–65 years of age with 11 years or more of formal education. Within that age group, older age and hot flashes were associated with higher sexual dysfunction scores, whereas feeling well and having a sexual partner were associated with better sexuality.
Impact of Prior Use or Recent Withdrawal of Oral Antiplatelet Agents on Acute Coronary Syndromes

Background—Oral antiplatelet agents (OAAs) can prevent further vascular events in cardiovascular disease. How prior use or recent discontinuation of OAA affects clinical presentation of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and clinical outcomes (death, myocardial infarction [MI]) is unclear. Methods and Results—We studied and followed up for up to 30 days a cohort of 1358 consecutive patients admitted for a suspected ACS; of these, 930 were nonusers, 355 were prior users of OAA, and 73 had recently withdrawn OAA. Nonusers were at lower risk, more frequently presented with ST-elevation MI on admission, and more frequently had Q-wave MI at discharge than prior users (36.6% versus 17.5%, P<0.001; and 47.8% versus 28.2%, P<0.001, respectively). However, there was no difference regarding the incidence of death or MI at 30 days between nonusers and prior users (10.3% versus 12.4%, P=NS). In addition, prior users experienced more major bleeds within 30 days compared with nonusers (3.4% versus 1.4%, respectively; P=0.04). Recent withdrawers were admitted on average 11.9±0.8 days after OAA withdrawal. Interruption was primarily a physician decision for scheduled surgery (n=47 of 73). Despite a similar cardiovascular risk profile, recent withdrawers had higher 30-day rates of death or MI (21.9% versus 12.4%, P=0.04) and bleedings (13.7% versus 5.9%, P=0.03) than prior users. After multivariate analysis, OAA withdrawal was found to be an independent predictor of both mortality and bleedings at 30 days. Conclusions—Among ACS patients, prior users represent a higher-risk population and present more frequently with non–ST-elevation ACS than nonusers. Although patients with a recent interruption of OAA resemble those chronically treated by OAA, they display worse clinical outcomes.
Dissociating divergent thinking and creative achievement by examining attentional flexibility and hypomania.

Creativity is predominantly measured in scientific research with divergent thinking tasks that assess the potential for creative ideation. The current study aimed to further foster a distinction between divergent thinking and a second measure of creativity, creative achievement (the production of tangible or visible pieces), by examining whether these 2 measures are differentially related to attentional flexibility and hypomania. Evidence was found linking divergent thinking to better attentional flexibility and creative achievement to poorer attentional flexibility in a novel variant of the Stroop task. Additionally, creative achievement, especially nonscience-related (e.g., artistic) achievement, was positively associated with risk for hypomania whereas divergent thinking was not related to hypomania. The findings support a distinction between measures of creativity (divergent thinking ability vs. creative achievement), which may have clinical implications (e.g., for bipolar disorder) and theoretical implications for the study of attentional flexibility and rigidity.