Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computed tomography with histological correlation for evaluating tumor regression of rectal carcinoma after preoperative chemoradiation therapy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Preoperative chemoradiation therapy (CRT) is standard procedure for locally advanced rectal cancer. The correlation of tumor response evaluated using CT according to response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) with the histo-logical tumor regression grade (TRG) is not well-documented. METHODOLOGY Ninety-one patients with rectal cancer underwent CT examinations before and after preoperative CRT and following surgery. Clinical tumor staging and tumor response assessed according to RECIST were done on paired CT scans. Pathological tumor staging and TRGs were reviewed in resected specimens.Post-CRT CT findings and histological findings were compared. Survival analysis for 73 patients was done. RESULTS TRG was positively correlated with the CT-assessed tumor response (r=0.276, p=0.009). Thickened fibrotic areas and muscle disarray caused by fibrosis were more frequently seen in cases of patients over-diagnosed as having residual tumors. The ycT status was positively correlated with ypT status (r=0.44, p<0.001;accuracy=61.5%). Downstaging of cT status was cor-related with a lower TRG (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS Fibrosis emerges after neoadjuvant therapy and is usual-ly accompanied by tumor reduction on CT scans of rec-tal cancer patients following preoperative CRT. There-fore, tumor response assessed using CT according to RECIST may serve as a supplementary tool for preoperative planning other than tumor restaging.
Sweet's syndrome: systemic signs and symptoms and associated disorders.

OBJECTIVE To characterize the findings associated with acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis (Sweet's syndrome [SS]) and the response of SS to treatment. DESIGN We retrospectively reviewed 48 cases of SS encountered at the Mayo Clinic between 1980 and 1992. MATERIAL AND METHODS Histopathologic specimens and medical records were studied to determine initial manifestations, patterns of involvement, systemic signs and symptoms (including mucosal, musculoskeletal, hematologic, pulmonary, hepatic, and renal findings), and conditions associated with SS. RESULTS In patients with SS, the typical manifestations are the acute onset of tender, erythematous or violaceous nodules or plaques in association with fever, leukocytosis, and dermal neutrophilia. In our study group, the cutaneous lesions most frequently involved the arms and legs. Of our 48 patients, 26 (54%) had a hematopoietic, plasma cell, or malignant disorder, and many of these patients had associated anemia, especially the male patients. No single laboratory finding specifically indicated an association with serious systemic disease. Most patients were treated with a tapering dose of prednisone, which yielded a good response. CONCLUSION Clinical acumen and appropriate laboratory tests are the main requirements for detection of hematologic disorders, internal malignant diseases, or other systemic conditions associated with SS.
Using Peer Trainers to Promote Social Behavior in Autism

Two children with autism and 8 typical peers participated in a study designed to investigate the efficacy of Pivotal Response Training (PRT), implemented by multiple peers to enhance the social competency of children with autism. Two main effects were investigated: (a) the effects of using multiple peer trainers on language use and toy play skills of children with autism and (b) the extent to which potential changes generalized to peers not part of the study. During training, peers were taught PRT strategies using didactic instruction, modeling, role playing, and feedback. After PRT training, peers implemented the treatment strategies with their schoolmates with autism during recess. After treatment, children with autism engaged in high levels of interactions, initiations, varied toy play, and language use. Generalization across settings, stimuli, and peers was found. Implications of these findings are discussed.
A comprehensive therapeutic recreation intervention: a woman with schizophrenia.

This case history summarizes the treatment of a woman with schizophrenia. This case also discusses the family leisure education and the work done by the unit recreation therapist and the treatment team. This case was chosen due to the severity of the patient's symptoms, the lack of previous hospitalizations and the increase in social and independent functioning over the fifteen months of treatment on the unit.
Volunteering on Nature Conservation Projects: Volunteer Experience, Attitudes and Values

In many countries volunteers are playing an increasing role in nature conservation. Many factors have lead to this trend including reduced government budgets assigned for conservation and an increased awareness and interest expressed by each country's general population to contribute to environmental health and nature conservation. This paper utilizes descriptions of volunteers' experiences participating in Volunteer for Nature, a volunteer programme operated by Canadian conservation NGOs, which facilitates the participation of Ontario-Residents' in 3 to 17-day working vacations involving habitat restoration and recreation infrastructure projects located in natural environments. This paper describes volunteer attitudes and values regarding nature, as highlighted through the description of their volunteering experiences and their characterization and perceptions of nature. Using a constructivist approach to data collection and analysis, the researchers found that volunteers conceptualized nature in four different ways: ‘nature in crisis,’ ‘nature as it should be,’ ‘nature as outside or something different,’ and ‘nature as nurturing. ’ Volunteers' egoistic concerns centred on the self (e.g., my health, my favourite activity, my grandchildren), altruistic concerns centred on other people (society in general, people in my community) and biocentric or ecocentric concerns, centred on living things (e.g., plants, ecosystems, birds, the environment in general). While biocentric concerns were cited as important, they were not ascribed greater value than the egoistic or altruists concerns. The volunteer tourism experience generally failed to change the volunteers' perceptions of nature from an ‘external’ phenomenon to an ‘internal’ one, (i.e., changing treatment of nature as ‘other’ to a more ecocentric approach, which incorporates nature into ‘self’). Implications for generating a pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours amongst citizens are discussed.
Seasonal cycle of C 16 O 16 O , C 16 O 17 O , and C 16 O 18 O in the middle atmosphere : Implications for mesospheric dynamics and biogeochemical sources and sinks of CO 2

[1] The isotopic anomaly of oxygen in atmospheric CO2 is caused by exchange reactions with isotopically anomalous O(D) in the middle atmosphere. In the stratosphere, the major source of O(D) is O3 photolysis; O3 is known to possess mass-independent isotopic composition, with dO3 dO3 100% relative to atmospheric O2. Higher in the mesosphere, Lyman a-driven photodissociation of O2 provides a more important source of heavy O(D) than O3 photolysis. Here we present a two-dimensional simulation of the isotopic composition of CO2 from the surface to an altitude of 130 km that adequately reproduce the observed seasonal cycle of CO2 in the upper troposphere and the age of air in the stratosphere. Our model results suggest that stratospheric-tropospheric exchange not only modifies the level of heavy CO2 in the troposphere, but also influences its seasonal cycle. Thus the isotopic composition of CO2 in the troposphere/biosphere could be affected by the downwelling air from the stratosphere. The predicted size of the effect is detectable by current instrumentation. Implications for the use of the isotopic composition of CO2 to constrain the gross carbon flux between the atmosphere and terrestrial biosphere and the dynamics in the remote mesosphere are discussed. Citation: Liang, M. -C. , G. A. Blake, and Y. L. Yung (2008), Seasonal cycle of COO, COO, and COO in the middle atmosphere: Implications for mesospheric dynamics and biogeochemical sources and sinks of CO2, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D12305, doi:10.1029/2007JD008392.
Transfusion‐Transmitted Cytomegalovirus Infections: Significance and Control

Abstract. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a herpes virus which can give rise to primary infections, reactivated infections, or reinfections in humans. Seroepidemiologic studies have shown CMV infection to be worldwide with the highest antibody prevalences detected in Third World countries; however, significant regional variations can be seen within a given country. Antibody prevalence varies directly with age and inversely according to socioeconomic status.
Interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing: Moderating effects of individual altruism and a social interaction environment

The relationship between interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing was explored, along with the impact of individual altruism and a social interaction environment. Participants were employees in Taiwanese high-tech industries. Employees’ perceived interpersonal trust, of either their colleagues or supervisor, was found to be positively correlated with their knowledge-sharing behaviors in the workplace. Employees’ altruism traits were found to be a factor for them to share knowledge in the workplace and the trait of altruism was also found to reduce the positive association between trust of colleagues and knowledge sharing. An organizational social interaction environment intensifies the positive association between trust of colleagues and knowledge sharing. Theoretical and managerial implications of the study are discussed.
Encouraging employees to report verbal violence in primary health care in Serbia: A cross-sectional study

Abstract Introduction Workplace violence is a serious and multidimensional problem that adversely affects professional and personal lives of employees. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and characteristics of verbal violence as a part of psychological violence among employees in primary health care in Belgrade, and to identify contributing factors of verbal violence in the workplace. Methods In this cross-sectional study, the final analysis included 1526 employees, using multi-stage sampling. Data were collected using the questionnaire Workplace Violence in the Health Sector Country Case Studies Research, developed by ILO/ICN/WHO/PSI. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to analyse the data. The general response rate was 86.8% (1526/1757). Results It was found that 47.8% of the participants were subjected to verbal violence. The main source of verbal violence was patient/client, 55.6% of employees did not report the incident. Among those who did not report the incident, 74.9% believed that reporting violence was useless. The interaction with patients (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.02-2.06) and work between 6pm and 7am (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.01-1.60) were significant contributing factors of verbal violence. Conclusion The results are indicative of a high prevalence of verbal violence against employees in primary health centres, which could have undesirable consequences. Conducting a better organizational measure and encouraging employees to report workplace violence could reduce the prevalence of verbal violence.
Automatic landmark detection in uterine cervix images for indexing in a content-retrieval system

This work is motivated by the need for visual information extraction and management in the growing field of content based image retrieval from medical archives. In particular it focuses on a unique medical repository of cervicographic images ("cervigrams") collected by the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, to study the evolution of lesions related to cervical cancer. The paper briefly presents a framework for cervigram segmentation and labelling, focusing on the identification of two anatomical landmarks: the cervix boundary and the os. These landmarks are identified based on their convexity, using adequate mathematical tools. Segmentation results are exemplified and an initial validation is carried out on a subset of 120 manually labelled cervigrams
Metabolic Fingerprinting to Assess the Impact of Salinity on Carotenoid Content in Developing Tomato Fruits

As the presence of health-promoting substances has become a significant aspect of tomato fruit appreciation, this study investigated nutrient solution salinity as a tool to enhance carotenoid accumulation in cherry tomato fruit (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Juanita). Hereby, a key objective was to uncover the underlying mechanisms of carotenoid metabolism, moving away from typical black box research strategies. To this end, a greenhouse experiment with five salinity treatments (ranging from 2.0 to 5.0 decisiemens (dS) m−1) was carried out and a metabolomic fingerprinting approach was applied to obtain valuable insights on the complicated interactions between salinity treatments, environmental conditions, and the plant’s genetic background. Hereby, several hundreds of metabolites were attributed a role in the plant’s salinity response (at the fruit level), whereby the overall impact turned out to be highly depending on the developmental stage. In addition, 46 of these metabolites embraced a dual significance as they were ascribed a prominent role in carotenoid metabolism as well. Based on the specific mediating actions of the retained metabolites, it could be determined that altered salinity had only marginal potential to enhance carotenoid accumulation in the concerned tomato fruit cultivar. This study invigorates the usefulness of metabolomics in modern agriculture, for instance in modeling tomato fruit quality. Moreover, the metabolome changes that were caused by the different salinity levels may enclose valuable information towards other salinity-related plant processes as well.
Skin Color, Physical Appearance, and Perceived Discriminatory Treatment

This paper examines the relation between observer-ratings of attractiveness and skin tone, weight, and height, and provides evidence on whether these physical characteristics affect the likelihood that individuals report discriminatory treatment in a variety of contexts. African Americans with lighter color, and white men with darker color, are rated as more attractive, as are taller men and both men and women of normal weight. Although a vast literature indicates that physical appearance influences how one is treated, there is little evidence that perceived discriminatory treatment is related to physical characteristics such as attractiveness, weight, or height. An exception is for African Americans with lighter skin color who report less discriminatory treatment in daily activities and on the basis of color.
Irrational schematic beliefs and psychological distress in caregivers of people with traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To investigate the relation between irrational schematic beliefs and psychological distress in caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: Cross-sectional mail survey. Participants: One hundred sixteen caregivers of persons with TBI living in the Australian states of Victoria and Queensland who were members of community support groups and brain injury associations. Measures: The Irrational Beliefs Inventory, Brief Symptom Inventory, income satisfaction, degree of personality and behavior change in the TBI individual, and injury severity. Results: Hierarchical regression analyses showed that after controlling for the effects of characteristics of the caregiving situation and the individual with TBI, greater adherence to irrational beliefs was related to higher levels of global psychological distress. Specifically, irrational beliefs related to Worrying were associated with all areas of psychological distress. Conclusion: Results support the cognitive theory proposal that irrational beliefs play an important role in the adaptation to TBI caregiving. Findings suggest the inclusion of cognitive therapy strategies in interventions for caregivers.
Comparison of four chronic toxicity tests using algae, bacteria, and invertebrates assessed with sixteen chemicals.

The performances of four chronic toxicity tests, comprising the Daphnia magna 21-day (d) (crustacean), Brachionus calyciflorus 2-d (rotifer), Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata 72-h (green algae), and the Microtox chronic 22-h (bacteria) tests, were compared. Sixteen chemicals with toxicity covering 6 orders of magnitude were studied. Very high correlations were found between the NOEC/EC(10) Pseudokirchneriella 72-h, NOEC/EC(10) Brachionus 2-d, and the NOEC Daphnia 21-d tests. The toxicological response of rotifers and microalgae were within the same order of magnitude as the response of Daphnia in 80% of cases (13/16 chemicals). The Microtox chronic test also anticipated the overall results of the Daphnia 21-d test, but the prediction was rather imprecise, compared with microalgae and rotifers. The test measuring the algal growth inhibition of P. subcapitata after 72h was the most sensitive bioassay. Toxicity on microalgae after 72h could be estimated after 5h by measuring either the direct fluorescence of either photosynthetic pigments or fluorescein diacetate in 56 and 43% of cases, respectively. The median value of the ratio between EC(10) and EC(50) was 3.75, 2, and 1.5 with the algae, the rotifers, and the bacteria, respectively.
Wealth Maximization in the Context of Blind Trust – A Neurobiological Research

This paper reviews the paradigm of financial decision making as being oblivious to sentiments such as blind trust. It is based on a recent neurobiological study in which participants' brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology. The study was devised on the tenets of the consolidated model of financial predation (CMFP). It is shown that participants do not target profit maximization concurrently with cost minimization when put in a situation of blind trust. Trust is revealed as a multidimensional construct having mathematical links with other constructs such as perceived predation, cooperation and reward.
Recurrent venous thrombosis and heparin therapy: an evaluation of the importance of early activated partial thromboplastin times.

BACKGROUND The presence of an association between early subtherapeutic activated partial thromboplastin times (aPTTs) and recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains controversial. OBJECTIVE To determine the relation between early subtherapeutic aPTTs and recurrent VTE in patients who were treated with intravenous (i.v.) unfractionated heparin (UFH). PATIENTS AND METHODS We studied 961 patients with acute VTE who received i.v. UFH in 3 randomized trials that compared the use of i.v. UFH (loading dose: 5000 U i.v.; initial infusion, 1250-1280 U/h) with that of subcutaneous low-molecular-weight heparin. According to aPTT criteria, patients were classified as being in a subtherapeutic or a therapeutic state during the first 24 and 48 hours of treatment. All episodes of possible recurrent VTE were adjudicated by an independent committee that was unaware of the aPTTs. RESULTS At 24 hours, in 886 patients who were eligible for the analysis, the rate of recurrent VTE in the subtherapeutic group was 6.7% (11/163) compared with 5.3% (38/723) in the therapeutic group. The odds ratio for recurrence in patients in the subtherapeutic vs the therapeutic group at 24 hours was 1.30 (95% confidence interval: 0.64-2.63; P = .46). At 48 hours, in 917 patients who were eligible for the analysis, the rate of recurrent VTE in the subtherapeutic group was 7.8% (5/64) compared with 5.7% (49/853) in the therapeutic group. The odds ratio for recurrence in patients in the subtherapeutic vs the therapeutic group at 48 hours was 1.32 (95% confidence interval: 0.51-3.44; P = .56). CONCLUSION In patients with acute VTE who receive an i.v. bolus of 5000 U, followed by a starting dose of at least 1250 U/h of UFH, a subtherapeutic aPTT response during the first 48 hours of treatment is not associated with a large increase in the risk of recurrent VTE.
Quantitation of CDH1 promoter methylation in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues of breast cancer patients using differential high resolution melting analysis

Background: E-cadherin (CDH1) plays an important role in cell–cell adhesion of epithelial tissues. Loss of E-cadherin expression can lead to loss of tissue integrity, metastasis, and cancer progression. Also loss of E-cadherin expression might be related to aberrant promoter methylation of the CDH1 gene. Many studies have been performed on CDH1 promoter methylation, especially in breast cancer. Although most of the studies have used qualitative methods for methylation analysis, this study is designed to quantitatively investigate CDH1 promoter methylation in breast cancer and its correlation with patients' clinicopathological features. Materials and Methods: Using differential high resolution melting analysis (D-HRMA), the methylation level of the CDH1 gene promoter was quantified in 98 breast cancer formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues and also 10 fresh frozen normal breast tissues. Results: All samples were detected to be methylated at the CDH1 promoter region. About 74.5% of the breast cancer samples were hypermethylated with an average methylation level of around 60%, while 25.5% of the patients were methylated with the mean methylation level of about 33%, and 90% of the normal samples had a mean methylation level of about 18%. Statistical analyses represented a significant correlation between CDH1 promoter methylation and cancer progression hallmarks, such as, clinical stage, nodal involvement, tumor size, and histological grade. Conclusion: In summary, quantitation of CDH1 promoter methylation can serve as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in breast cancer. Also D-HRMA can be used as a fast and reliable method for quantitation of promoter methylation.
Diversity of tandemly repetitive sequences due to short periodic repetitions in the chromosomes of Candida albicans

In a previous study, a repeated sequence, RPS1, was cloned from the genomic DNA of Candida albicans. It was 2.1 kb in length and was tandemly repeated in a limited region of almost all of the chromosomes. In this study, we examined and characterized the diversity of the repeating structure of the RPS units were of 2.1, 2.3, 2.5, and 2.9 kbp in length after digestion of the genomic DNA with SmaI and 2.1 and 2.3 kbp after digestion with PstI, with the differences being multiples of approximately 0.2 kbp. Moreover, one or two types of RPS unit were present specifically on each chromosome. We cloned 14 RPS units from the mixed DNA of chromosomes 1 and 2 and 59 RPS units from chromosome 6. These RPS units were classified into four types by their SfiI digestion profiles and chromosomal origins. Sequence comparisons revealed a tandem arrangement of internal, small repeating units of 172 bp. This unit of repetition was designated alt (C. albicans tandem repeating unit). The size of RPS units was variable, with sizes representing a series of increments of approximately 0.2 kbp that corresponded to the alt sequence. By contrast, the sequences other than the tandem repeats of alts were highly conserved, with homology of more than 98% among all cloned RPS units. These results suggested that RPS plays an important role in the organization and function of the chromosomes of C. albicans even though the actual function of RPS has not yet been clarified. Structural features of RPS that contains the repeated alt sequence are discussed in relation to human alpha-satellite DNA with its tandem repeats of about 170 bp that are similar in size to alt, the repetition of which is responsible for the variations in the size of the higher-order repeats.