Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy on Postoperative Morbidity after Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer

Background/Aims: Patients with locally advanced gastric cancer benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Potential disadvantages of neoadjuvant chemotherapy include increased surgical complications, leading to increased postoperative morbidity. Methods: We retrospectively studied medical records of 135 patients with resectable cancer of the stomach who underwent gastrectomy between 2002 and 2009. The impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on postoperative morbidity was investigated. We compared demographic, clinical and operative data, morbidity and mortality from 105 patients who received surgical treatment immediately after diagnosis (SURG group), versus 30 patients who first received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CHEMO group). Results: Demographic, clinical and surgical procedure parameters did not differ significantly between both groups. Postoperative morbidity was 46.7% in CHEMO- and 41.9% in SURG-patients (p = 0.680). There were eight cases of death, 2/30 (6.7%) in CHEMO and 6/105 (5.7%) in the SURG group (p = 1). The overall complications according to Clavien-classification did not differ significantly (p = 0.455). The wound infection rate (23.3 vs. 3.8%; p = 0.002) and insufficiency of the duodenal stump (13.3 vs. 1.9%; p = 0.022) were significantly higher in the CHEMO group. Conclusion: This study showed no significant impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on postoperative morbidity after gastrectomy using the Clavien-classification. Only an increase in wound infections in CHEMO compared with the SURG group were noted. Therefore, neoadjuvant chemotherapy can be considered safe and feasible.
Using path analysis to explore vigilance behavior in the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis)

Abstract Group size and vigilance are tools that animals can use to mitigate predation risk, and many studies have reported a negative relationship between them. Vigilance studies often investigate the direct effect of group size on vigilance, but they ignore the effect of ecological factors on group size. As a consequence, these studies can overlook important indirect effects of ecological factors on vigilance via group size. We investigated how ecological factors affect vigilance behavior in rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis), both directly and indirectly via group size. First, we showed a direct negative relationship between group size and vigilance behavior by measuring vigilance behavior before and after a change in group size. Second, we conducted a path analysis that included group size and several ecological factors (distance from shelter, distance from center of kopje, vegetation cover, and time since start of foraging session). Similar to the 1st analysis, the path analysis identified a strong negative relationship between group size and vigilance behavior; however, the other variables had little effect on group size or vigilance behavior, or both.
A Novel 11β‐Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Inhibitor Contained in Saiboku‐To, a Herbal Remedy for Steroid‐dependent Bronchial Asthma

Abstract— To identify the inhibitor of prednisolone metabolism contained in Saiboku‐To, we conducted in‐vitro experiments of 11β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β‐HSD), using rat liver homogenate and Cortisol as a typical substrate. We studied the effects often herbal constituents on 11β‐HSD. Five herbal extracts showed inhibitory activity with Glycyrrhiza glabra > Perillae frutescens< Zizyphus vulgaris > Magnolia officinalis > Scutellaria baicalensis. This suggests that unknown 11β‐HSD inhibitors are contained in four herbs other than G. glabra which contains a known inhibitor, glycyrrhizin (and glycyrrhetinic acid). Seven chemical constituents which have been identified as the major urinary products of Saiboku‐To in healthy and asthmatic subjects were studied; magnolol derived from M. officinalis showed the most potent inhibition of the enzyme (IC50, 1·8 × 10−4 m). Although this activity was less than that of glycyrrhizin, the inhibition mechanism (non‐competitive) was different from a known competitive mechanism. These results suggest that magnolol might contribute to the inhibitory effects of Saiboku‐To on prednisolone metabolism through inhibition of 11β‐HSD.
THE INFLUENCE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ON THE FINANCIAL FIRMS’ PERFORMANCE DURING AND AFTER GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISES: COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND EMERGING MARKETS

This research aims to advance previous researches about the relationship between banks’ performance and corporate governance by presenting the differences between developed countries and emerging market countries in terms of banks’ performances and corporate governances during and after global financial crisis. Panel data was used on a sample of 80 publicly listed banks across 15 countries, including 8 developed countries and 7 emerging market countries, for the year 2007 to 2010 and was analyzed with multiple regressions. This paper found some evidence that board size has significant negative and large ownership has significant positive relationship to bank performance, which support the findings that banks in emerging markets which have smaller board size and larger presence of block-holders performed better during crisis. The comparative analysis found that within developed countries, board size and board independence have significant influence on bank performance, while the significant relationship in emerging markets appears in CEO duality variable and the ownership monitoring mechanisms.
Comparative aspects of the primate posterior cingulate cortex

Cytoarchitecturally defined cortical areas of the posterior cingulate gyrus differ morphometrically among the major taxonomic divisions of primates. Prosimians and anthropoids have different laminar proportions in the isocortical regions (areas 30, 23, and 31); anthropoids have relatively larger outer main laminae and granular layers than prosimians. In the granular retrosplenial cortex (area 29), however, prosimians and anthropoids differ only in the proportion of the molecular layer to the rest of the cortex. On the other hand, the proportions of the inner and outer main laminae of area 29 differ between the infraorder divisions of Anthropoidea, the catarrhines, and the platyrrhines. The platyrrhines (New World monkeys) have apparently specialized by increasing the outer main lamina of area 29, which contains afferent and intracortical connections. Among all primates, the amount of neuropil in each cortical region changes as a function of brain weight, but within each area, the neuropil maintains a constant ratio between the outer and inner laminae. These observations suggest that neuropil ratios are conservative features in primates and that evolutionary changes more frequently involve shifts in volumetric proportions. Furthermore, the platyrrhine‐catarrhine differences in area 29 likely evolved after the prosimian‐anthropoid differences were established in the isocortical cingulate regions.
Interplay between Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Candida and the involvement of exopolysaccharides

A number of clinical studies have shown protective effects of lactobacilli against Candida species in the gastrointestinal tract, the urogenital tract and the oral cavity, while others did not show clear effects. Evidence on the mode of action of lactobacilli against Candida is also still lacking. In this study, the anti‐Candida activity of the model probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG was explored in different assays to determine molecular interactions. We found that L. rhamnosus GG was able to interfere with Candida growth, morphogenesis and adhesion. These three aspects of Candida's physiology are all crucial to its opportunistic pathogenesis. In follow‐up assays, we compared the activity of L. rhamnosus GG wild‐type with its exopolysaccharide (EPS)‐deficient mutant and purified EPS to evaluate the involvement of this outer carbohydrate layer. Our data demonstrate that purified EPS can both interfere with hyphal formation and adhesion to epithelial cells, which indicates that EPS is part of a combined molecular mechanism underlying the antihyphal and anti‐adhesion mechanisms of L. rhamnosus GG.
Gastric tube transposition for cancer of the hypopharynx and cervical oesophagus

A study of 20 cases of gastric tube transposition following total laryngopharyngoesophagectomy during an eight-year period is presented. The site of the tumour was: hypopharynx in 13 cases (12 pyriform sinus, 1 postcricoid); and cervical oesophagus in seven cases. There were nine (45 per cent) Stage III lesions and 11 (55 per cent) Stage IV lesions (UICC, 1987). Post-operative morbidity rate was 15 per cent. Hospital mortality rate was 10 per cent (cause of death was myocardial infarction). Anastomotic fistula rate was five per cent. Excluding hospital mortality, the three year actuarial survival rate was 35 per cent for the whole series and 53 per cent for patients with hypopharyngeal cancer. The actuarial survival rate for patients with oesophageal cancer at one and two years was 41 and zero per cent respectively. The transposition of a tubed stomach provided successful swallowing in two-thirds of the patients for a period of more than a year and these patients developed good neoesophageal speech.
Muscular Atrophy in the Hemiplegic Thigh in Patients After Stroke

Metoki N, Sato Y, Satoh K, Okumura K, Iwamoto J: Muscular atrophy in the hemiplegic thigh in patients after stroke. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2003;82:862–865. Objectives This study evaluated muscular atrophy in the hemiplegic limbs by assessing the muscle volume of the thighs in stroke patients. Design Muscle volume of the bilateral thighs was determined by computed tomographic scanning in 50 hemiplegic patients after stroke. Results The average muscle volume in the hemiplegic side was significantly lower than that in the nonhemiplegic side. When the patients were divided into the two groups aged <65 yr old and ≥65 yr, age-dependent reduction in the muscle volume was significant only in the nonhemiplegic side. In addition, the ratio of the muscle volume in the hemiplegic side to that in the nonhemiplegic side was significantly lower in the older group than in the younger group. Muscle volume in both hemiplegic and nonhemiplegic sides correlated positively with Barthel index and negatively with patient age. Conclusion Muscle volume decreases in the hemiplegic side in stroke patients.
Distribution of IS901 in strains of Mycobacterium avium complex from swine by using IS901-detecting primers that discriminate between M. avium and Mycobacterium intracellulare

The presence of the mycobacterial insertion sequence IS901 was studied by PCR with reference strains of Mycobacterium avium complex; 122 veterinary strains of mycobacteria, mainly M. avium complex, isolated from swine; and 15 clinical strains. Four kinds of DNA extraction methods for PCR were compared. Use of the commercial extraction matrix allowed for the faster and easier preparation of PCR-amplifiable DNA than use of NaOH heating extraction or sodium dodecyl sulfate extraction of pretreated mycobacteria. It also provided more effective protection than boiling extraction against the destruction of DNA. Four reference strains of serovars 1 to 3 possessed IS901. Nine reference strains of serovars 1, 4 to 6, 8 to 11, and 21 possessed only IS901 insertion sites. A novel PCR product was found in the other reference strains of serovars 7, 12 to 17, 19, and 20 and two clinical strains of serovar 15. It is suggested that the primers that amplified the insertion portion of IS901 divided the M. avium complex into M. avium, Mycobacterium intracellulare, and other mycobacteria. None of the 110 strains of M. avium complex isolated from swine possessed IS901. It is suggested that the absence of IS901 might be characteristic of swine-derived strains of M. avium complex.
Forensic Evaluation in Alleged Sibling Incest Against Children

Sibling incest is a serious form of intrafamilial sexual abuse with health, social, and legal relevance. A retrospective study was conducted through the analysis of forensic medical reports of the alleged sibling incest of victims under 18 years old (n = 68) from 2004 to 2011 as well as the respective judicial outcomes. Results demonstrated that sibling’s sexual abuse is associated with several circumstances that might exacerbate its severity such as vaginal, anal, and/or oral penetration. Moreover, the victim’s young age, the proximity between victim and abuser, and the fact that it is committed at the victim’s and/or abuser’s home and by using physical violence and verbal threats justify a late detection of these cases.
Leukotriene B4 pathway activation and atherosclerosis in obstructive sleep apnea[S]

Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) production increases in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) and is linked to early vascular remodeling, the mechanism of which is unknown. The objective of this study was to to determine the molecular mechanisms of LTB4 pathway activation in polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) and early vascular remodeling in OSA and the specific contribution of intermittent hypoxia (IH). PMNs were isolated from 120 OSA patients and 33 healthy subjects and used for measurements of LTB4 production, determination of mRNA and protein expression levels, or exposed for four cycles of in vitro IH. PMNs derived from OSA patients exhibited increased LTB4 production, for which apnea-hypopnea index was an independent predictor (P=0.042). 5-Lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) mRNA and protein increased significantly in PMNs from OSA patients versus controls and were associated with carotid luminal diameter and intima-media thickness. LTB4 (10 ng/ml) increased IL-6 (P=0.006) and MCP-1 (P=0.002) production in OSA patient monocytes. In vitro exposure of PMNs from controls to IH enhanced FLAP mRNA levels (P= 0.027) and induced a 2.7-fold increase (P=0.028) in LTB4 secretion compared with PMNs exposed to normoxia. In conclusion, upregulation of FLAP in PMNs in response to IH may participate in early vascular remodeling in OSA patients, suggesting FLAP as a potential therapeutic target for the cardiovascular morbidity associated with OSA.
Associations of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 and Tissue Inhibitory Factor-1 Polymorphisms With Parkinson Disease in Taiwan

Abstract Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) function in the degradation of extracellular matrix and are considered to play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson disease (PD). MMPs activities are modulated by tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). This study examined whether the genetic polymorphisms of MMP-3, gelatinase (MMP-2 and MMP-9), TIMP-2, and TIMP-1 were associated with PD in Taiwan. A total of 359 PD patients and 332 controls were enrolled. The candidate genetic variants included MMP-2 rs2285053 (−735 C > T), MMP-3 rs3025058 (−1171 5A > 6A), MMP-9 rs3918241 (−1831 T > A), rs17576 (G > A, R279Q), and rs3787268 (G > A, intron), TIMP-1 rs4898 (T > C, F124F), and TIMP-2 rs7503607 (−269 G > T). Associations were tested by logistic regression, adjusted with gender and age at onset. Minor allele frequency of TIMP-1 rs4898 (36.0%) was significantly lower in the male PD patients than in the male controls (51.2%) (&khgr;2 test, P = 0.004). When adjusted with gender and age at onset, MMP-9 rs17576 AA genotype was associated with PD susceptibility in a recessive fashion (odds ratios [OR] = 2.28, 95% confidence intervals [95% CI] = 1.12–4.62, P = 0.02). In males, TIMP-1 rs4898 C allele was associated with a protective effect on PD (OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.60–0.94, P = 0.014). We did not find association between the examined genetic variants of MMP-2, MMP-3, and TIMP-2 and PD susceptibility. This is the first study that demonstrated a protective effect of TIMP-1 rs4898 C allele on male PD and a modest association of MMP-9 rs17576 AA genotype with PD susceptibility in the Taiwan population. Further replication is needed for confirmation.
Performing systematic literature reviews in software engineering

Context: Making best use of the growing number of empirical studies in Software Engineering, for making decisions and formulating research questions, requires the ability to construct an objective summary of available research evidence. Adopting a systematic approach to assessing and aggregating the outcomes from a set of empirical studies is also particularly important in Software Engineering, given that such studies may employ very different experimental forms and be undertaken in very different experimental contexts.Objectives: To provide an introduction to the role, form and processes involved in performing Systematic Literature Reviews. After the tutorial, participants should be able to read and use such reviews, and have gained the knowledge needed to conduct systematic reviews of their own.Method: We will use a blend of information presentation (including some experiences of the problems that can arise in the Software Engineering domain), and also of interactive working, using review material prepared in advance.
Reversible Right Heart Failure in Scurvy Rediscovery of an Old Observation.

A previously healthy 50-year-old woman presented with 3 months of progressively worsening shortness of breath associated with extreme fatigue, anorexia, a 5 to 10 pound weight loss, yellowing of her eyes, heavy menstrual bleeding, and a lower extremity rash. She denied recent trauma. She had never been admitted to the hospital before and had no history of surgical procedures. She took no medications. There was no significant family history. She was a housewife who had worked in the past as a secretary and had never smoked, drank alcohol, or used recreational drugs. Physical examination revealed blood pressure 91/56 mm Hg, heart rate 92/min, respiratory rate 20/min, and temperature 37°C. Oxygen saturation was 85% on room air. Her skin and conjunctiva were pale, and scleral icterus was present. Her neck veins were distended to her earlobes when sitting, and there was massive hepatomegaly. A nonconfluent, nonblanching petechial rash was noted on her anterior legs (Figure 1A and 1B), and there was a large ecchymosis on her thighs and buttocks (Figure 2). Figure 1. A and B , The petechial rash spreading from the dorsal aspects of her feet up to her knees. Figure 2. Spontaneous ecchymosis on her thighs and buttocks. Laboratory data showed severe normocytic anemia with hemoglobin 3.4 g/dL, hematocrit 12%, mean corpuscular volume 90 fL, reticulocyte count 9.7%, serum iron 9 µg/dL, total iron binding capacity 271 …
Wartime estimates of Iraqi civilian casualties

Abstract Challenges exist when making reliable and valid estimates of civilian mortality due to war. This article first discusses a framework used to examine war's impact on civilians and then considers challenges common to each statistical approach taken to estimate civilian casualties. It examines the different approaches that have been used to estimate civilian casualties associated with the recent fighting in Iraq to date and compares the results of different approaches. The author concludes by proposing that after fighting has ceased, other approaches to estimating Iraqi civilian mortality, such as post-war retrospective surveys and demographic analysis, should be employed.
How to Regulate Cooperatives in the EU

The cooperative as an economic concept and legal business form goes back to the midst of the nineteenth century. It is widely acknowledged that the 1844 established ‘Rochdale Equitable Pioneers’ was the first consumer cooperative, promoted by philanthropist Robert Owen. Since the founding of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers, the concept of the cooperative showed endemic developments in Germany, where banking cooperatives based on the ideas of Raiffeisen and Schulze-Delitzsch as well as agricultural cooperatives emerged – followed later with a similar pattern in the Netherlands, while earlier in France socialist rooted worker cooperatives as well as agricultural cooperatives developed. By the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the cooperative as a legal business form had been addressed by legislators and incorporated in private law by providing statutes on cooperative law. Meanwhile, the stock company rapidly rose to the occasion and has dominated the economic and company law arena ever since. The cooperative as an economic and legal construct lost much of its appeal after the Second World War, as was clearly illustrated by Kalmi,1 who demonstrated that the cooperative after the Second World War vanished from economic text books as an alternative vis-à-vis the investor-owned firm. Also in legal scholarship, the cooperative has not been able to equal the attention for the stock company, privately held or listed, and different types of partnerships. That is not to say that cooperatives did not provide in societal and economic needs. On the contrary, strong cooperatives developed in the previous century, notably in agriculture and banking including mutual insurance compa-
Continuous Queries for Multi-Relational Graphs

Acting on time-critical events by processing ever growing social media or news streams is a major technical challenge. Many of these data sources can be modeled as multi-relational graphs. Continuous queries or techniques to search for rare events that typically arise in monitoring applications have been studied extensively for relational databases. This work is dedicated to answer the question that emerges naturally: how can we efficiently execute a continuous query on a dynamic graph? This paper presents an exact subgraph search algorithm that exploits the temporal characteristics of representative queries for online news or social media monitoring. The algorithm is based on a novel data structure called the Subgraph Join Tree (SJ-Tree) that leverages the structural and semantic characteristics of the underlying multi-relational graph. The paper concludes with extensive experimentation on several real-world datasets that demonstrates the validity of this approach.
CD8 T-cell recognition of macrophages and hepatocytes results in immunity to Listeria monocytogenes

CD8 T cells are effective mediators of specific immunity to infection by Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterial pathogen that initially infects macrophages in the spleen and liver and subsequently spreads to hepatocytes and unidentified parenchymal cells in the spleen. To identify the in vivo target cells of L. monocytogenes-immune CD8 T cells, adoptive transfer assays were performed with bone marrow chimeric or transgenic host mice which had been manipulated to alter the major histocompatibility complex molecules expressed on macrophages or hepatocytes. L. monocytogenes-immune CD8 T cells mediate significant immunity in BDF1-->beta 2 M-/- chimeras, comparable to that seen in unmanipulated BDF1 recipients. L. monocytogenes-immune CD8 T cells also mediate significant antilisterial immunity in parent-->F1 chimeras when the CD8 T cells are syngeneic with the bone marrow donor. These data demonstrate that bone marrow-derived macrophages are major targets for L. monocytogenes-immune CD8 T cells in adoptive transfer assays. Interestingly, significant immunity was observed in parent-->F1 chimeras when the L. monocytogenes-immune CD8 T cells were not syngeneic with the bone marrow donor, suggesting that recognition of Listeria-infected non-bone-marrow-derived cells such as hepatocytes may also occur in vivo. Consistent with this possibility, H-2Kb-restricted CD8 T cells specific for the listeriolysin O molecule mediate significant immunity in the liver, but not the spleen, in transgenic mice expressing H-2Kb only on hepatocytes. In addition, Listeria-specific CD8 T cells lyse Listeria-infected hepatocyte-like cells in vitro. Thus, Listeria-infected hepatocytes can be recognized by CD8 T cells in vivo and in vitro.