Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nutrition in the Chemoprevention of Gastrointestinal Cancer: Where Are We in the New Millennium NUTRITION ISSUES IN GASTROENTEROLOGY, SERIES #15

With the increasing awareness and detection of gastrointestinal cancer, patients and physicians are asking what role diet plays in its development. The objective of this review is to provide a summary of the research to date in regards to nutrition and the prevention of gastrointestinal cancer. The gastrointestinal cancers that are addressed in this article include: esophageal cancer (squamous and adenocarcinoma), colorectal cancer, gastric cancer (adenocarcinoma), and pancreatic cancer. Based on the review of the best available literature, certain suggestions can be made to physicians and patients regarding nutritional prevention of gastrointestinal cancer.
Effect of perioperative red blood cell transfusion on 30-day and 1-year mortality following coronary artery bypass surgery *

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of peri-operative red blood cell (RBC) transfusion on 30-day and 1-year mortality following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods: We retrospectively analysed 3024 consecutive patients who underwent isolated CABG between January 1999 and December 2001. Patient records were linked to the National Strategic Tracing Service, which records all mortality in the UK. Thirty-day and 1-year mortality were derived from Kaplan–Meier curves. Confounding variables were controlled for by constructing a propensity score for the probability of receiving a transfusion from core patient characteristics including the lowest recorded laboratory haemoglobin (LL Hb) from a clinical chemistry database (C statistic 0.81). The propensity score and the comparison variable (transfusion versus no transfusion) were included in a Cox proportional hazards analysis, allowing calculation of adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and Kaplan–Meier survival curves. Results: Nine hundred and forty (31.1%) patients received RBC transfusion during or within 72 h of surgery. Predictors of the need for transfusion were LL Hb and lower body mass index, use of cardiopulmonary bypass, female sex, number of grafts, renal dysfunction, increased age, extent of disease, and prior CABG; these factors were all included in the propensity score. After 1-year of follow-up, 122 (4.03%) deaths occurred. The crude HR for 1-year mortality in patients transfused was 3.0 (P! 0.001). After adjusting for the propensity score, re-operation for bleeding, peri-operative blood loss and post-operative complications, the adjusted 30-day mortality was 1.9% in transfused patients compared to 1.1% in patients not transfused (P! 0.05). The adjusted HR for 1-year mortality in patients transfused was 1.88 (P! 0.01). Conclusions: Peri-operative RBC transfusion after CABG is associated with an increased risk of mortality during a 1-year followup period, with a large proportion of deaths occurring within 30-days. q 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Characteristics of ammonia and carbon dioxide releases from layer hen manure

1. Ammonia (NH3) is an important gaseous pollutant generated from manure in commercial poultry farms and has been an environmental, ecological, and health concern. Poultry manure also releases carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a greenhouse gas and is often used as a tracer gas to calculate building ventilation. 2. A 38-d laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the characteristics of NH3 and CO2 releases from layer hen manure using 4 manure reactors (122 cm tall, 38 cm internal diameter), which were initially filled with 66 cm deep manure followed by weekly additions of 5 cm to simulate manure accumulation in commercial layer houses. 3. The average daily mean (ADM) NH3 and CO2 release fluxes for the 4 reactors during the entire study were 161⋅5 ± 21⋅1 µg/s.m2 (ADM ± 95% confidence interval) and 10⋅0 ± 0⋅3 mg/s.m2, respectively. The daily mean NH3 and CO2 releases in individual reactors varied from 35⋅2 to 679⋅1 µg/s.m2 and from 6⋅6 to 20⋅5 mg/s.m2, respectively. 4. The ADM NH3 release flux was within the range of those obtained in 4 high-rise layer houses by Liang et al. (2005, Transactions of the ASAE, 48). However, the CO2 release flux in this study was about 10 to 13 times as high as the data reported by Liang et al. (2005). Fresh manure had greater NH3 release potential than the manure in the reactors under continuous ventilation. Manure with higher contents of moisture, total nitrogen, and ammonium in the 4th weekly addition induced 11 times higher NH3 and 75% higher CO2 releases immediately after manure addition compared with pre-addition releases.
More Than One Way to Make an Impression: Exploring Profiles of Impression Management

This research explores the use of impression management tactics in combination. Two studies were conducted to identify three profiles of impression management use and to examine how three individual difference variables are related to these patterns. The results suggest that women are less aggressive than men in using impression management, that high self-monitors favor positive impression management strategies, and that high Machs use impression management tactics rather indiscriminately. The findings also suggest that individuals who either avoid using impression management or who use only positive tactics are seen more favorably than those who use relatively high levels of all types of impression management. Some implications and directions for future research are discussed as well.
Reforming fossil fuel subsidies: drivers, barriers and the state of progress

This article outlines the current state of affairs in fossil fuel subsidy reform, and highlights its contribution at the nexus of climate policy, fiscal stability and sustainable development. It discusses common definitions, provides quantitative estimates, and presents the evidence for key arguments in favour of subsidy reform. The main drivers and barriers for reform are also discussed, including the role of (low) oil prices and political economy challenges. Commitments to subsidy reform by the international community are reviewed, as well as the progress at the country level. Although fossil fuel subsidy reform indeed plays a critical role in climate policy, experience shows that the rationale for such reforms is determined in a complex environment of political economy challenges, macro-economic, fiscal and social factors, as well as external drivers such as energy prices. The article synthesizes the key principles for designing effective reforms and emphasizes that subsidy reforms cannot only yield fiscal relief, but should also contribute to long-term sustainable development objectives. Areas for future research are also identified. Policy relevance There is an increasingly strong international consensus that fossil fuel subsidies are detrimental in terms of economic, social and environmental sustainability. Organizations including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency consider fossil fuel subsidy reform a critical measure for achieving any ambitious emissions mitigation target. The reason is that these subsidies not only incentivize overconsumption of carbon-intensive energy, but directly undermine any effort to impose a price on carbon (e.g. through carbon taxes). While subsidy reform is crucial from a climate change perspective, the wide range of externalities associated with fuel subsidies also underscores the fact that reform is a vital contribution to sustainable development objectives more generally. This article emphasizes that fossil fuel subsidy reform can make a substantial contribution to climate policy, but also discusses how strongly environmental objectives are intertwined with fiscal, macro-economic, political and social factors. Although the momentum for subsidy reform is building, reforms are often designed to deliver fiscal rather than environmental benefits.
Hyperaccumulation of Cadmium and Zinc in Thlaspi caerulescens and Arabidopsis halleri at the Leaf Cellular Level1

Vacuolar compartmentalization or cell wall binding in leaves could play a major role in hyperaccumulation of heavy metals. However, little is known about the physiology of intracellular cadmium (Cd) sequestration in plants. We investigated the role of the leaf cells in allocating metal in hyperaccumulating plants by measuring short-term 109Cd and 65Zn uptake in mesophyll protoplasts of Thlaspi caerulescens “Ganges” and Arabidopsis halleri, both hyperaccumulators of zinc (Zn) and Cd, and T. caerulescens “Prayon,” accumulating Cd at a lower degree. The effects of low temperature, several divalent cations, and pre-exposure of the plants to metals were investigated. There was no significant difference between the Michaelis-Menten kinetic constants of the three plants. It indicates that differences in metal uptake cannot be explained by different constitutive transport capacities at the leaf protoplast level and that plasma and vacuole membranes of mesophyll cells are not responsible for the differences observed in heavy metal allocation. This suggests the existence of regulation mechanisms before the plasma membrane of leaf mesophyll protoplasts. However, pre-exposure of the plants to Cd induced an increase in Cd accumulation in protoplasts of “Ganges,” whereas it decreased Cd accumulation in A. halleri protoplasts, indicating that Cd-permeable transport proteins are differentially regulated. The experiment with competitors has shown that probably more than one single transport system is carrying Cd in parallel into the cell and that in T. caerulescens “Prayon,” Cd could be transported by a Zn and Ca pathway, whereas in “Ganges,” Cd could be transported mainly by other pathways.
Motor Knowledge Modulates Attentional Processing during Action Judgment

Several studies have revealed the role of motor experience when humans have to judge human actions. However, the possible influence of motor knowledge on attentional processes has been neglected. This study used a flanker paradigm (Eriksen & Eriksen, 1974) to analyze the attentional responses of male and female participants during the judgment of running movements. Three running actions appeared simultaneously on a computer screen, with the target in the center and the flankers in the periphery. The target and flankers could be compatible or incompatible concerning both the direction of the movement and the sex of the runner. Moreover, flankers were presented upright or upside-down. The results indicate that the distracting effect of the flankers was different for male and female participants. Whereas direction-incompatible flankers systematically disturbed the female participants’ performance, regardless of the sex and the orientation of the flanker, male participants were only distracted when the flankers were upright males. This finding offers new directions to explain sex differences in the judgment of human action.
Bidirectional Inference with the Easiest-First Strategy for Tagging Sequence Data

This paper presents a bidirectional inference algorithm for sequence labeling problems such as part-of-speech tagging, named entity recognition and text chunking. The algorithm can enumerate all possible decomposition structures and find the highest probability sequence together with the corresponding decomposition structure in polynomial time. We also present an efficient decoding algorithm based on the easiest-first strategy, which gives comparably good performance to full bidirectional inference with significantly lower computational cost. Experimental results of part-of-speech tagging and text chunking show that the proposed bidirectional inference methods consistently outperform unidirectional inference methods and bidirectional MEMMs give comparable performance to that achieved by state-of-the-art learning algorithms including kernel support vector machines.
Cavaterm thermal balloon ablation for the treatment of menorrhagia

Fifty patients due to undergo endometrial ablation as a treatment of dysfunctional uterine bleeding were recruited to assess the efficacy and safety of a new thermal balloon ablation system (Cavaterm). The patients were followed up for a mean of 14 months (range 6–24): 34 (68%) have complete amen‐orrhoea, 12 (24%) only have spotting, two (4%) are eumenorrhoeic, and two (4%) have had failed treatments. There were no major complications, but two patients have required oral antibiotics for suspected endometritis. Although these preliminary results are encouraging, all patients remain under review to determine long term effect of the procedure. Further evaluation is also underway in the form of a randomised trial against endometrial laser ablation.
An evaluation of on-tool shrouds for controlling respirable crystalline silica in restoration stone work.

OBJECTIVES The task of grinding sandstone with a 5-inch angle grinder is a major source of exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS), known to cause diseases such as silicosis and lung cancer among workers who work with these materials. A shroud may be a suitable engineering control for this task. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of four commercially available shrouds at reducing respirable dust and RCS levels during the task of grinding sandstone using tools and accessories typical of restoration stone work. METHODS The task of grinding sandstone with a 5-inch angle grinder, equipped with different grinding wheels, was carried out over three trials at a restoration stone masonry site. Photometric and RCS data were collected when a 5-inch grinder, equipped with different grinding wheels, was used to grind sandstone with and without a shroud. A total of 24 short duration samples were collected for each no shroud and with shroud combination. Worker feedback on the practicalities of each shroud evaluated was also collected. RESULTS Respirable dust concentrations and RCS were both significantly lower (P < 0.001) when the grinders were equipped with a shroud compared with grinders without a shroud. Total geometric mean (GM) photometric respirable dust levels measured when grinding with a shroud were 0.5 mg m(-3), a reduction of 92% compared to grinding without a shroud (7.1 mg m(-3)). The overall GM RCS concentrations were reduced by the use of a shroud by 99%. GM photometric exposure levels were highest when using the Hilti 5-inch diamond grinding cup and Diamond turbo cup and lowest when using the Corundum grinding point. CONCLUSIONS Concentrations of respirable dust and RCS can be significantly reduced by using commercially available shrouds while grinding sandstone with a 5-inch angle grinder in restoration stonework. The short-term photometric respirable dust and RCS measurements collected with and without a shroud indicate that dust and RCS concentrations are reduced by between 90 and 99%. Supplemental exposure controls such as respiratory protective equipment would be required to reduce worker 8-h time-weighted average RCS exposure to below the Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits recommended occupational exposure limit value of 0.05 mg m(-3) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists threshold limit value of 0.025 mg m(-3).
Science responses to IUCN Red Listing

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is often advocated as a tool to assist decision-making in conservation investment and research focus. It is frequently suggested that research efforts should prioritize species in higher threat categories and those that are Data Deficient (DD). We assessed the linkage between IUCN listing and research effort in DD and Critically Endangered (CR) species, two groups generally advocated as research priorities. The analysis of the change in the research output following species classification indicated a listing effect in DD species, while such effect was observed in only a minority of CR species groups. DD species, while chronically understudied, seem to be recognized as research priorities, while research effort for endangered species appears to be driven by various factors other than the IUCN listing. Optimized conservation research focus would require international science planning efforts, harmonized through international mechanisms and promoted by financial and other incentives.
New Evidence of Convergence Across Canadian Provinces: The Role of Urbanization

COULOMBE S. (2000) New evidence of convergence across Canadian provinces: the role of urbanization, Reg. Studies 34, 713-725. This paper uses the conditional convergence model for explaining the relative evolution of per capita income across the 10 provinces of the Canadian federation between 1950 and 1996. Provincial relative per capita income steady states are determined by the relative rates of urbanization. Empirical results indicate that the provinces have converged at a speed of about 5% per year and, since the mid-1980s, most provinces appeared to be in the neighbourhood of their respective steady state. The analysis also indicates that for the provinces of Alberta and Québec, the convergence process was disturbed in the 1970s by different permanent level shocks to their long - run steady states. COULOMBE S. (2000) De nouvelles preuves de la convergence des provinces au Canada: le rôle de l'urbanisation, Reg. Studies 34, 713-725. Employant le modèle de convergence conditionnelle, cet article cherchè a expliquer l'évolution relative du revenu par têtè a travers les dix provinces au Canada entre 1950 et 1996. A partir des taux d'urbanisation relatifs, on détermine l'état stationnaire du revenu relatif provincial par tête. Les résultats empiriques laissent voir la convergence des provinces à raison de 5 pour cent par an et démontrent que, depuis le milieu des années 1980, la plupart des provinces sont voisines de leur état stationnaire. Quant à l'Alberta et au Québec, l'analyse montre aussi que le processus de convergence a été perturbé dans les années 70 suite aux divers chocs permanents à leur état stationnaire normal à long terme. COULOMBE S. (2000) Neue Anzeichen der Konvergenz in allen kanadischen Provinzen: die Rolle der Verstädterung, Reg. Studies 34, 713-725. Der vorliegende Aufsatz bedient sich des bedingten Konvergenzmodells zur Erklärung der relativen Entwicklung des pro-Kopf Einkommes in allen zehn Provinzen der kanadischen Föderation im Zeitraum 1950-1996. Dauerzustände provinzieller, relativer pro-Kopf Einkommen werden durch die relativen Raten der Verstädterung bestimmt. Empirische Ergebnisse lassen erkennen, daß die Provinzen sich einander mit einer Geschwindigkeit von etwa 5% per Jahr nähern, und die meisten seit Mitte der achtziger Jahre nicht weit von ihrem respektiven Dauerzustand entfernt waren. Die Analyse läßt auch erkennen, daß in den siebziger Jahren der Annäherungsprozeß in den Provinzen Alberta and Quebec verschiedene, ihre langfristigen Dauerzustände treffende, auf gleicher Höhe anhaltende Schläge erlitt.
Neurological Soft Signs and Their Relationships to Neurocognitive Functions: A Re-Visit with the Structural Equation Modeling Design

Background Neurological soft signs and neurocognitive impairments have long been considered important features of schizophrenia. Previous correlational studies have suggested that there is a significant relationship between neurological soft signs and neurocognitive functions. The purpose of the current study was to examine the underlying relationships between these two distinct constructs with structural equation modeling (SEM). Methods 118 patients with schizophrenia and 160 healthy controls were recruited for the current study. The abridged version of the Cambridge Neurological Inventory (CNI) and a set of neurocognitive function tests were administered to all participants. SEM was then conducted independently in these two samples to examine the relationships between neurological soft signs and neurocognitive functions. Results Both the measurement and structural models showed that the models fit well to the data in both patients and healthy controls. The structural equations also showed that there were modest to moderate associations among neurological soft signs, executive attention, verbal memory, and visual memory, while the healthy controls showed more limited associations. Conclusions The current findings indicate that motor coordination, sensory integration, and disinhibition contribute to the latent construct of neurological soft signs, whereas the subset of neurocognitive function tests contribute to the latent constructs of executive attention, verbal memory, and visual memory in the present sample. Greater evidence of neurological soft signs is associated with more severe impairment of executive attention and memory functions. Clinical and theoretical implications of the model findings are discussed.
SOX 2 Expression Is Regulated by BRAF and Contributes to Poor Patient Prognosis in Colorectal Cancer

Sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignancy and also one of the main causes of cancer deaths worldwide. Aberrant expression of the transcription factor SOX2 has recently been observed in several cancer types, but its role in CRC has not been fully elucidated. Here we studied the expression of SOX2 in 441 CRC patients by immunohistochemistry and related the expression to clinicopathological and molecular variables and patient prognosis. SOX2 was expressed in 11% of the tumors and was significantly associated to BRAF mutation, but not to KRAS mutations (codon 12 and 13). SOX2 positivity was correlated to poor patient survival, especially in BRAF mutated cases. In vitro studies showed that cells expressing the constitutively active BRAF had increased SOX2 expression, a finding not found in cells expressing KRAS. Furthermore, blocking downstream BRAF signalling using a MEK-inhibitor resulted in a decreased expression of SOX2. Since SOX2 overexpression has been correlated to increased migration and invasion, we investigated the SOX2 expression in human CRC liver metastasis and found that a SOX2 positive primary CRC also had SOX2 expression in corresponding liver metastases. Finally we found that cells overexpressing SOX2 in vitro showed enhanced expression of FGFR1, which has been reported to correlate with liver metastasis in CRC. Our novel findings suggest that SOX2 expression is partly regulated by BRAF signalling, and an increased SOX2 expression may promote CRC metastasis and mediate a poor patient prognosis. Citation: Lundberg IV, Löfgren Burström A, Edin S, Eklöf V, Öberg Å, et al. (2014) SOX2 Expression Is Regulated by BRAF and Contributes to Poor Patient Prognosis in Colorectal Cancer. PLoS ONE 9(7): e101957. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0101957 Editor: Andreas-Claudius Hoffmann, West German Cancer Center, Germany Received January 31, 2014; Accepted June 12, 2014; Published July 10, 2014 Copyright: 2014 Lundberg et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This study was supported by grants from The Cancer Research Foundation in Northern Sweden, OE and Edla Johanssons foundation, Petrus and Augusta Hedlunds Foundation, Magn Bergvall Foundation, The Swedish Cancer Society, The Swedish Research Council and Umeå University. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * Email: maria.wikberg@medbio.umu. se