Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy as predictor of clinical response in human extremity sarcomas treated by single dose TNF‐α+ melphalan isolated limb perfusion

Irresectable extremity sarcomas are large (grade II/III) tumors requiring amputation of the limb for local control. Limb salvage can be achieved by isolated limb perfusion (ILP) with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α), interferon‐γ and melphalan. To obtain insight into the effects of single dose ILP on extremity tumors, phosphate metabolism was monitored by 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) using the chemical shift imaging (CSI) technique. 2D CSI was used in combination with a slice select gradient in the third dimension to obtain true 3D localization. Spectral maps obtained prior to ILP revealed reductions in phosphocreatine (PCr) level and increases in phosphomonoester (PME) and phosphodiester (PDE) in tumor compared with muscle tissue. ILP treated tumors showed highly divergent changes in Pi while PME decreased in all cases (n = 11). Tumor volume, unchanged on day 8 after ILP, was decreased by 58±29% (mean±SD) at 2 months. Linear regression analysis revealed correlation between the changes in tumor metabolites measured on day 8, with percent volume decrease (Pi: r=‐0.88, p<0.001) and percent necrosis at resection (PME: r=‐0.79, p‐0.01). Correlation between pretreatment spectra and effectiveness of ILP treatment was not found. It is concluded that a single ILP with TNF‐α+melphalan induced changes in tumor metabolite levels (measured on day 8) that reflect treatment efficacy. 31P MRS can thus provide information facilitating the decision as to when to remove tumor (residue) and, in the case where tumor remains inoperable, whether or not to apply additional therapy.
The relationship between cord blood cytokine levels and perinatal factors and retinopathy of prematurity: a gestational age-matched case-control study.

PURPOSE To investigate the relationship between cytokine levels in cord blood and perinatal factors and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in gestational age-matched, preterm, newborn infants. METHODS Each of 20 premature singleton infants with ROP (gestational age < 32 weeks) was matched for gestational age, birth weight, and sex with two control infants without ROP. The concentration of 10 cytokines in cord blood extracted at birth was measured using a multiplex bead array assay. Data on maternal factors, labor and delivery characteristics, and neonatal parameters were also collected from both groups. The variables obtained were compared using the conditional logistic regression model. RESULTS No differences in the levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, interferon-γ, and TNF-α) and growth factors (insulin-like growth factor-1 and VEGF) were detected between the two groups. Multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis indicated that elevated maternal leukocyte count on admission and low Apgar scores at 5 minutes were significantly associated with an increased risk of ROP. CONCLUSIONS Cytokine levels in cord blood are not associated with the risk of ROP, whereas elevated maternal blood leukocyte count and low Apgar score are associated with ROP. These data suggest that the determination of cytokine levels in cord blood samples in premature infants may be of little value for predicting ROP.
The Cpx Envelope Stress Response Affects Expression of the Type IV Bundle-Forming Pili of Enteropathogenic Escherichiacoli

ABSTRACT The Cpx envelope stress response mediates adaptation to potentially lethal envelope stresses in Escherichiacoli. The two-component regulatory system consisting of the sensor kinase CpxA and the response regulator CpxR senses and mediates adaptation to envelope insults believed to result in protein misfolding in this compartment. Recently, a role was demonstrated for the Cpx response in the biogenesis of P pili, attachment organelles expressed by uropathogenic E. coli. CpxA senses misfolded P pilus assembly intermediates and initiates increased expression of both assembly and regulatory factors required for P pilus elaboration. In this report, we demonstrate that the Cpx response is also involved in the expression of the type IV bundle-forming pili of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC). Bundle-forming pili were not elaborated from an exogenous promoter in E. coli laboratory strain MC4100 unless the Cpx pathway was constitutively activated. Further, an EPEC cpxR mutant synthesized diminished levels of bundle-forming pili and was significantly affected in adherence to epithelial cells. Since type IV bundle-forming pili are very different from chaperone-usher-type P pili in both form and biogenesis, our results suggest that the Cpx envelope stress response plays a general role in the expression of envelope-localized organelles with diverse structures and assembly pathways.
Phonological Awareness and Degree of Foreign Accent : An Exploratory Study

Research in foreign accent has reported various factors of accentedness. However, very little attention has been given to the relationship between L2 speakers’ accentedness and their awareness of, or sensitivity to, L2 phonological system. The present study aims to explore the relationship between ESL learners’ phonological awareness, as measured by several tasks, and their accentedness, as rated by native speakers of English. Twelve advanced adult ESL speakers participated in seven tasks purported to tap into their sensitivity to English sounds and sound structures. They also read an English passage, and four native speakers rated their foreign accentedness on a 9-point scale. The learners showed individual differences in their phonological awareness despite the fact that they were from an intact class presumably at the same proficiency level. They also exhibited varying degrees of foreign accent. Correlational analyses revealed that in general there was a nonsignificant correlation between the learners’ L2 phonological awareness and their accentedness, and that the awareness did not seem to have translated into L2 production. The study addresses some methodological and procedural issues that suggest crucial points for refinement of the phonological awareness tasks and the L2 speech data collection method.
Kinetics of Carbon Nanotube scission under Sonication

A dispersion of individualised carbon nanotubes is commonly obtained by means of sonication. Under sonication bundles of nanotubes are debundled, a process known as exfoliation. During sonication small bubbles within a liquid are brought into oscillation by an acoustic field. Under certain conditions these oscillations can end in the violent collapse of the bubble. This disruptive process disperses the nanotubes and is known as transient cavitation. From experiments it is well known that this process is also responsible for the scission of individual nanotubes. The scission of carbon nanotubes under sonication is investigated in this report. A mechanical model for scission based on the interaction between a single bubble and nanotube is constructed. The model indicates that scission will occur at the middle of the nanotube as long as it is sufficiently long. Furthermore it is shown how a length-dependent scission rate can be derived and how the presence of defects can slow down the scission process. The scission process is modeled as a series of consecutive first-order ‘reactions’. A mathematical description of the length distribution is obtained and the possibility of scale invariance in the length distribution is investigated. Finally both the mechanical model and the mathematical description of a consecutive process are combined to obtain a mathematical description of the scission process. This description is compared to simulation results and it is shown that theory and simulation are mostly in agreement.
The DAWN Youth WebTalk Study: methods, findings, and implications

It has long been understood that psychosocial issues are important to an understanding of diabetes among young people. The diagnosis and management of diabetes places a substantial burden on youths and their families. This burden may disrupt normal developmental processes, and can have a major impact on psychosocial adjustment and successful disease management. The multinational DAWN Study was a pioneering effort to identify psychosocial barriers to optimal health and quality of life of people with diabetes and new ways to overcome those barriers. The DAWN Study interviewed more than 5000 adults with diabetes and almost 4000 diabetes care professionals, but did not include children and young people with diabetes, their families, or their care providers because it was recognized that diabetes in young people presents different psychosocial issues and challenges than diabetes in adults, and that a separate study would be required to identify opportunities to improve outcomes among young people with diabetes and their families. This realization gave rise to the DAWN Youth WebTalk Study. The objectives of this study were to:
Erythrocyte autoantibodies in paediatric patients with sickle cell disease receiving transfusion therapy: frequency, characteristics and significance

The formation of erythrocyte autoantibodies following transfusion therapy has been described in case reports and small series. To determine the frequency, serological characteristics, and clinical significance of this phenomenon in paediatric patients with sickle cell disease, we analysed the patient database at the Duke University Pediatric Hematology Clinic. We identified children who received multiple erythrocyte transfusions, then reviewed clinical records to identify children who developed erythrocyte autoantibodies in association with transfusions. Among 184 paediatric patients who received multiple erythrocyte transfusions, 14 children (7.6%) developed warm (IgG) erythrocyte autoantibodies. Median transfusion exposure at the time of autoantibody formation was 24 erythrocyte units, range 3–341 units. The autoantibody reacted as a panagglutinin in 11 cases but had anti‐e specificity in three patients. Surface complement also was detected in five patients. Clinically significant haemolysis was documented in four patients, each of whom had both surface IgG and C3 detected. The development of erythrocyte autoantibodies was associated with the presence of erythrocyte alloantibodies. Formation of warm erythrocyte autoantibodies in association with transfusions is not rare in paediatric patients with sickle cell disease. Clinicians should be aware of this complication and recognize that the presence of surface C3 is often associated with significant haemolysis.
Structural and dynamical properties of nanographene molecular wires: A Molecular Dynamics study

The structural and dynamical properties of molecular wires comprised of nanographene molecules with linear aliphatic chains grafted around their periphery are studied via empirical force field-based Molecular Dynamics simulations. A detailed analysis of the internal structure of the wires is carried out, focusing on the stacking patterns of the molecules and the way side chains protrude from each molecular pillar and occupy the surrounding space. Coupled with dynamical studies that quantify the molecular mobility, this analysis helps draw a unified picture of the temporal behavior of the molecular wires.
Dissecting the role of sessional anatomy teachers: A systematic literature review

Worldwide there is a growing reliance on sessional teachers in universities. This has impacted all disciplines in higher education including medical anatomy programs. The objective of this review was to define the role and support needs of sessional anatomy teachers by reporting on the (1) qualifications, (2) teaching role, (3) training, and (4) performance management of this group of educators. A systematic literature search was conducted on the 27 July 2017 in Scopus, Web of Science, and several databases on the Ovid, ProQuest and EBSCOhost platforms. The search retrieved 5,658 articles, with 39 deemed eligible for inclusion. The qualifications and educational distance between sessional anatomy teachers and their students varied widely. Reports of cross‐level, near‐peer and reciprocal‐peer teaching were identified, with most institutes utilizing recent medical graduates or medical students as sessional teachers. Sessional anatomy teachers were engaged in the full spectrum of teaching‐related duties from assisting students with cadaveric dissection, to marking student assessments and developing course materials. Fourteen institutes reported that training was provided to sessional anatomy teachers, but the specific content, objectives, methods and effectiveness of the training programs were rarely defined. Evaluations of sessional anatomy teacher performance primarily relied on subjective feedback measures such as student surveys (n = 18) or teacher self‐assessment (n = 3). The results of this systematic review highlight the need for rigorous explorations of the use of sessional anatomy teachers in medical education, and the development of evidence‐based policies and training programs that regulate and support the use of sessional teachers in higher education. Anat Sci Educ 11: 410–426. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.
Blood Pressure in Puberty

ABSTRACT. The effects of sexual maturation, height, weight, body mass index, triceps skinfold and heart rate on systolic and diastolic blood pressure were studied among 13‐year‐old children in North Karelia, Eastern Finland. Cross‐sectional and two‐year longitudinal data were analyzed for 851 children in the six schools participating in the North Karelia Youth Project. In boys, the levels of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased during puberty. In girls, the level of systolic blood pressure did not change, but diastolic blood pressure increased as much as in boys. The change in systolic blood pressure was found to be associated with physical growth and stage of sexual maturation. Physical growth seemed to contribute more to the change in the level of systolic blood pressure than the stage of sexual maturation did.
Multi-Hop Collaborative Relay Networks with Consideration of Contention Overhead of Relay Nodes in IEEE 802.11 DCF

In a WLAN setting, the system throughput may be heavily affected by a small number of low data rate clients due to the packet-fairness property provided by IEEE 802.11 DCF. This is regarded as the performance anomaly problem. Client relay is a technology widely adopted to solve this problem. An important issue of client relay is to decide when a client's traffic should be relayed and who relays it. However, the existing protocols fail to consider the overhead introduced by DCF contentions, resulting in an inaccurate performance analysis and lead to wrong decisions for client relay. In this paper, we focus on the performance analysis for multi-hop relay networks with consideration of contention overhead of relay nodes in IEEE 802.11 DCF protocols. The main work of this paper includes: we consider the contention overhead in the performance analytical model of collaborative relay networks. This model is more accurate than the existing models. We present a throughput analytical model that considers different traffic demands of clients for the traffic pattern of relay networks. Extensive simulations have been done in NS-2. The simulation results show that our algorithm is more accurate and achieves higher relay performance, compared with existing methods.
Gram‐Positive Resistance: Pathogens, Implications, and Treatment Options Insights Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists

Despite the advent of new antibiotics, resistance in gram‐positive pathogens, including staphylococci and enterococci, continues to increase. This is evident with the recent emergence of vancomycin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Newer treatment agents are available, including quinupristin‐dalfopristin, linezolid, and daptomycin. In addition, investigational agents are being explored. Clinical trials have been conducted for various infections, such as skin and skin structure infections, pneumonia, and bloodstream infections. Antibacterial activity, site of infection, and potential for adverse effects must be taken into account when making decisions regarding therapy.
Tumor necrosis factor‐α inhibitors alleviation of experimentally induced neuropathic pain is associated with modulation of TNF receptor expression

Inflammation plays a key role in the development of sensitization after peripheral nerve damage. We recently demonstrated that tumor necrosis factor‐α receptor (TNFR) levels in the spinal cord correlate with pain sensation in herniated disc patients in a rat chronic constriction injury (CCI) model. By using the sciatic nerve CCI model, we studied the effect of anti‐TNF‐α treatment on recovery from hypersensitivity and TNFR expression in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and dorsal horn (DH). Experimental groups consisted of sham‐operated and CCI‐operated rats that received two s.c. injections (one immediately after surgery, the other 5 days later), both containing saline, etanercept (3 mg/kg body weight), or infliximab (10 mg/kg body weight). Mechanical allodynia (with von Frey filaments) and thermal hyperalgesia (Hargreaves test) were assessed preoperatively and weekly during the first 4 postoperative weeks. DRG and DH samples were collected 2 and 4 weeks after surgery and analyzed for TNFR1 and TNFR2 protein levels by Western blotting and analyzed for mRNA levels by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Anti‐TNF‐α treatment resulted in a significant alleviation of pain. TNFR levels were increased five‐ to sixfold in CCI rats compared with sham controls. Both treatments significantly diminished these increased levels. Treated animals that showed a ≥50% alleviation of pain exhibited a significantly reduced TNF R1/R2 mRNA ratio compared with treated animals that recovered less well. These results demonstrate that attenuation of TNFR expression is associated with recovery from nerve injury and suggest that this may be one of the working mechanisms of anti‐TNF therapies. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Participants receiving dehydroepiandrosterone during treatment for cocaine dependence show high rates of cocaine use in a placebo-controlled pilot study.

Twenty-three cocaine-dependent participants were randomly assigned to receive either dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA; n = 11; 100 mg/day) or placebo (n = 12) in the context of 12 weeks of thrice weekly cognitive-behavioral group counseling. Outcomes were retention, urine drug screening, cocaine craving, adverse experiences, and medication compliance. DHEA-treated participants averaged 45.8 (SD = 28.8) days in treatment, compared with 70.7 (SD = 20.6) days for placebo, r(21) = -2.4, p =. 03, and provided 26.8% (SD = 29.3) of urine samples free of cocaine metabolite compared with 70.6% (SD = 39.9) for the placebo condition, r(21) = -3.0, p =. 01. No differences were detected between conditions for cocaine craving or adverse experiences. High levels of medication compliance were documented. Results argue against using high doses of DHEA as a pharmacotherapy for cocaine dependence.
Prolonged, wireless pH‐studies have a high diagnostic yield in patients with reflux symptoms and negative 24‐h catheter‐based pH‐studies

Background Catheter‐based esophageal pH‐monitoring is used to evaluate patients with suspected gastro‐esophageal reflux disease (GERD); however false‐negative results may occur due to poor tolerance of the catheter with reduced oral intake and activity, or high day‐to‐day variation in reflux and symptom events. We assessed diagnostic yield and clinical impact of prolonged, wireless pH‐monitoring in patients with negative results from 24‐h catheter‐based studies and ongoing symptoms.
Splinted and unsplinted short implants in mandibles: a retrospective evaluation with 5 to 16 years of follow-up.

BACKGROUND The aim of this retrospective study is to investigate the medium- to long-term prognosis of short implants in partially and totally edentulous patients with mandibular bone atrophy. METHODS The study involved 109 patients with 280 implants placed in the mandible. The implants were 7 or 8.5 mm long and 3.75 or 4 mm in diameter. The implant surfaces were machined (M; n = 176) or rough (R; n = 104). Patients were asked to attend a radiographic and clinical follow-up, and their previous clinical records and radiographs were assessed. Implant-related and prosthetic failures and complications were recorded. RESULTS The mean follow-up was 9 years (range of 5 to 16 years). The survival rate (SSR) and success rate (SR) were calculated using life-table analysis for both M and R short implants. The M implants had a 16-year SSR of 95.7% and a corresponding SR of 93.9%, whereas the 16-year SSR and SR for the R implants were 97.2% and 95.2%, respectively. The mean ± SD bone resorption for all implants was 1.37 ± 0.5 mm. For marginal bone loss, there was no statistically significant difference between the two implant lengths (P = 0.38) or diameters (P = 0.34) or between the M and R implant surfaces (P = 0.47). CONCLUSIONS Different implant lengths, diameters, and surface treatments do not appear to influence the prognosis of the implant. Within the limitation that most of the short implants were splinted to longer implants, the reduced length of the fixtures did not worsen the long-term survival of the implant-supported fixed prostheses.
Distinguishing second primary tumors from lung metastases in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND In patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the lung represents either another primary tumor or a metastasis. This distinction greatly influences patient prognosis and could guide treatment strategies, but the nature of a solitary lung nodule is often difficult to discern by use of standard clinical and histologic parameters. Comparison of genetic alterations in the tumors could resolve this dilemma. METHODS We compared paired tumors from 16 patients with HNSCC and a solitary lung SCC for loss (i.e., deletion) of loci on chromosomal arms 3p and 9p. Losses at these loci occur early during neoplastic transformation of the respiratory tract. DNA from microdissected tumors and normal tissues was subjected to polymerase chain reaction-based microsatellite analysis. An effort was also made to distinguish primary lung cancers from lung metastases on the basis of clinical and histopathologic features. RESULTS In most cases, comparison of genetic alterations clarified the relationship between the lung tumor and the primary HNSCC. The paired tumors from 10 patients had concordant patterns of loss at all loci suggesting metastatic spread, whereas three paired tumors had discordant patterns of loss at all loci suggesting independent tumor origin. These observations were supported by the clinical and pathologic findings. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS In patients with HNSCC and a solitary SCC in the lung, microsatellite analysis provides a rapid genetic approach for discerning clonal relationships. In such patients, we found that a solitary SCC in the lung more likely represents a metastasis than an independent lung cancer. Microsatellite analysis could potentially be applied to any patient with multiple tumors, where tumor relationships are not clear on clinical, radiographic, or even histopathologic grounds.