Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rates of ERBB2 Alterations across Melanoma Subtypes and a Complete Response to Trastuzumab Emtansine in an ERBB2-Amplified Acral Melanoma

Purpose: Patients with BRAF V600 wild-type melanoma whose tumors progress on checkpoint inhibition currently have limited therapeutic options, and additional rational treatment targets are needed. ERBB2 alterations may be amenable to targeted inhibition, but the rate of ERBB2 alterations across melanoma subtypes is not well described. Patients and Methods: All patients with nonuveal melanoma (cutaneous, acral, mucosal, and unknown primary) whose tumors underwent multigene sequencing with MSK-IMPACT at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY) from 2014 to 2018 were reviewed for known or likely oncogenic somatic alterations in ERBB2 and the other known canonical driver genes BRAF, NRAS, KIT, NF1, GNAQ, and GNA11. Results: A patient with acral melanoma resistant to checkpoint inhibition was found to have ERBB2 amplification and achieved a durable complete response to trastuzumab emtansine. Tumor sequencing results from 732 melanoma cases were analyzed for ERBB2 and canonical driver gene alterations. ERBB2 amplifications were detected in acral (3%) and mucosal (3%) melanomas. ERBB2 mutations were found in cutaneous (1%), acral (2%), and mucosal (2%) subtypes and frequently cooccurred with NF1 alterations. Among the 140 patients whose tumors lacked canonical driver alterations, ERBB2 amplifications were detected in acral (7%) and mucosal (6%) melanomas. Conclusions: ERBB2 amplification is present in a minority of acral lentiginous and mucosal melanomas. Activating mutations in ERBB2 were identified in nonuveal melanoma subtypes and are frequently comutated with canonical drivers. HER2 could represent a therapeutically relevant target across melanoma subtypes.
Down Syndrome and the Risk of Severe RSV Infection: A Meta-analysis

Children with DS had a significantly higher risk of severe RSV infection (hospital admission, mortality, LOS, ICU admission, ventilation, and oxygen requirements) than children without DS. CONTEXT: Down syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal condition in live-born infants worldwide, and lower respiratory infection caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of hospital admissions. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate RSV-associated morbidity among children with DS compared with a population without DS. DATA SOURCES: Four electronic databases were searched. STUDY SELECTION: All cohorts or case-control studies of DS with an assessment of RSV infection and the associated morbidity or mortality were included without language restriction. DATA EXTRACTION: Two reviewers independently reviewed all studies. The primary outcomes were hospital admission and mortality. Secondary outcomes included length of hospital stay, oxygen requirement, ICU admission, need for respiratory support, and additional medication use. RESULTS: Twelve studies (n = 1 149 171) from 10 different countries met the inclusion criteria; 10 studies were cohort studies, 1 study was retrospective, and 1 study had both designs. DS was associated with a higher risk of hospitalization (odds ratio [OR]: 8.69; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.33–10.30; I2 = 11%) and mortality (OR: 9.4; 95% CI: 2.26–39.15; I2 = 38%) compared with what was seen in controls. Children with DS had an increased length of hospital stay (mean difference: 4.73 days; 95% CI: 2.12–7.33; I2 = 0%), oxygen requirement (OR: 6.53; 95% CI: 2.22–19.19; I2 = 0%), ICU admission (OR: 2.56; 95% CI: 1.17–5.59; I2 = 0%), need for mechanical ventilation (OR: 2.56; 95% CI: 1.17–5.59; I2 = 0%), and additional medication use (OR: 2.65 [95% CI: 1.38–5.08; I2 = 0%] for systemic corticosteroids and OR: 5.82 [95% CI: 2.66–12.69; I2 = 0%] for antibiotics) than controls. LIMITATIONS: DS subgroups with and without other additional risk factors were not reported in all of the included studies. CONCLUSIONS: Children with DS had a significantly higher risk of severe RSV infection than children without DS.
Self-Efficacy, Cognitive Load, and Emotional Reactions in Collaborative Algorithms Labs - A Case Study

While previous research has investigated psychological factors in introductory programming courses, only little is known about their impact in algorithms courses. Similarly, despite the importance of collaborative problem solving in both academic and non-academic settings, only a small number of studies reports on group work in domains other than programming. In our case study, we focused on the labs of an introductory algorithms course. We measured the cognitive load of the lab assignments as well as the students' emotional reaction to them. We connect these observations to self-efficacy, performance, psychological traits, and help-seeking behavior as well as to the insights gained from a comprehensive set of follow-up interviews. Even though our study is a small-scale study, the results from applying both quantitative and qualitative methods frame directions for both pedagogic interventions and further (revalidation) studies related to the connection of non-cognitive factors, learning experiences, and performance in collaborative algorithms labs.
[A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Treatment of Moderate and Severe Persistent Allergic Rhinitis of Spleen Deficiency Pattern by Herbal Cake-partitioned Moxibustion Combined with Rhinocort Nasal Spray].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical effect of herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion combined with medication in the treatment of moderate and severe persistent allergic rhinitis (PAR) patients of spleen deficiency pattern. METHODS Sixty patients with moderate and severe PAR of spleen deficiency pattern were randomized into medication (Rhinocort) group and herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion combined with medication group (combination group, n=30 cases in each). Medicinal cake-partitioned moxibustion was applied to Yintang (GV 29, for about 20 min), Shenque(CV 8, about 50 min), bilateral Zusanli (ST 36, about 40 min)and Hegu(LI 4, about 40 min)once every other day for successive 8 weeks. All the patients received treatment with Rhinocort nasal spray, 2 jets/day for each nostril (64 µg/jet) for 8 weeks. The patients' conditions (symptoms of nasal sufferings, sleeping, sniffle, eye, emotion, etc.) were assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS) and rhino conjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire (RQLQ, 24 items of 7 aspects, 0-6 points/item), respectively. The spleen deficiency syndrome score was determined according to "Guiding Principles for Clinical Research of New Drugs of Chinese Materia Medica" (2002). The therapeutic effect was assessed by referring to "the Diagnostic and Therapeutic Principles and Recommended Schemes for Allergic Rhinitis" (2004). RESULTS Following the treatment, the scores of VAS, RQLQ, spleen deficiency syndrome were significantly decreased on the 4thand the 8th week of treatment in both groups in comparison with those of their own individual pre-treatment (P<0.05, P<0.01). Four weeks' follow-up survey showed that the VAS score and RQLQ score of the combination group were obviously lower than those of the medication groups (P<0.05), suggesting a better post-effect of moxibustion. Of the two 30 cases in the medication and combination groups, 9 and 9 experienced marked improvement in their symptoms, 16 and 17 were effective, and 5 and 4 ineffective, with the effective rate being 83.3% and 86.7%, respectively. No significant differences were found between the two groups in the VAS and RQLQ scores on the 4th and 8th week during treatment and in the effective rate (P>0.05). CONCLUSION Herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion combined with hormone (Rhinocort) nasal spray is effective in relieving symptoms of moderate and severe PAR patients of spleen deficiency syndrome, and has a better post-effect.
Vital Signs: Zika-Associated Birth Defects and Neurodevelopmental Abnormalities Possibly Associated with Congenital Zika Virus Infection — U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States, 2018

Introduction Zika virus infection during pregnancy causes serious birth defects and might be associated with neurodevelopmental abnormalities in children. Early identification of and intervention for neurodevelopmental problems can improve cognitive, social, and behavioral functioning. Methods Pregnancies with laboratory evidence of confirmed or possible Zika virus infection and infants resulting from these pregnancies are included in the U.S. Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry (USZPIR) and followed through active surveillance methods. This report includes data on children aged ≥1 year born in U.S. territories and freely associated states. Receipt of reported follow-up care was assessed, and data were reviewed to identify Zika-associated birth defects and neurodevelopmental abnormalities possibly associated with congenital Zika virus infection. Results Among 1,450 children of mothers with laboratory evidence of confirmed or possible Zika virus infection during pregnancy and with reported follow-up care, 76% had developmental screening or evaluation, 60% had postnatal neuroimaging, 48% had automated auditory brainstem response-based hearing screen or evaluation, and 36% had an ophthalmologic evaluation. Among evaluated children, 6% had at least one Zika-associated birth defect identified, 9% had at least one neurodevelopmental abnormality possibly associated with congenital Zika virus infection identified, and 1% had both. Conclusion One in seven evaluated children had a Zika-associated birth defect, a neurodevelopmental abnormality possibly associated with congenital Zika virus infection, or both reported to the USZPIR. Given that most children did not have evidence of all recommended evaluations, additional anomalies might not have been identified. Careful monitoring and evaluation of children born to mothers with evidence of Zika virus infection during pregnancy is essential for ensuring early detection of possible disabilities and early referral to intervention services.
Volunteer and Career French Firefighters With High Cardiovascular Risk: Epidemiology and Exercise Tests

Objective: We aim to identify cardiovascular risk factors in firefighters of Loire (French district) with a high cardiovascular risk and report results of a screening program using exercise tests. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was performed in a cohort of 158 career and 400 volunteer firefighters with a high cardiovascular risk who had undergone an exercise test. Results: Five hundred fifty-eight exercise tests and cardiovascular profiles were analyzed. Prevalence was 18% for high blood pressure, 19% for dyslipidemia, and 48% for overweight. Exercise tests were positive in 91 cases (16.3%): sensitivity, 53%; specificity, 74%. Risk of onset of a predictive event was higher in the high-risk group: odds ratio, 3.2 (95% confidence interval 2.0 to 5.1). There were more events on exercise test in volunteer firefighters. Conclusion: Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the cohort of firefighters was acceptable in comparison to French general population and other firefighters’ cohort. Physical training of volunteer firefighters needs reinforcing.
Quantum Transport and Thermoelectric Properties of InAs/GaSb Superlattices

In recent years, artificially layered microstructure have been considered as candidates for better thermoelectrics. In this work we examine transport properties of the type-II broken-gap InAs/GaSb superlattice. We use the effective bond orbital model for an accurate description of the band structures. Theoretical results of thermoelectric transport coefficients and the dimensionless figure of merit for an (8, 8)-InAs/GaSb type-II superlattice are presented.
Self-reported adherence to foot care in type 2 diabetes patients: do illness representations and distress matter?

Abstract Aim This study examined the differences and the predictive role of clinical variables, illness representations, anxiety, and depression symptoms, on self-reported foot care adherence, in patients recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and assessed no longer than a year after the diagnosis (T1) and four months later (T2). Background The high rate of diabetes worldwide is one of the major public health challenges. Foot care is the behavior least performed by patients although regular foot care could prevent complications such as diabetic foot and amputation. Psychosocial processes such as illness representations and distress symptoms may contribute to explain adherence to foot self-care behaviors. Methods This is a longitudinal study with two assessment moments. The sample included 271 patients, who answered the Revised Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities, Brief-Illness Perception Questionnaire, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Findings Patients reported better foot care adherence at T2. Having a higher duration of T2DM and the perception of more consequences of diabetes were associated with better self-reported foot care adherence, at T1. At T2, the predictors were lower levels of HbA1c, better self-reported foot care adherence at T1, higher comprehension about T2DM, as well as fewer depressive symptoms. Interventions to promote adherence to foot care should have in consideration these variables. The results of the present study may help health professionals in designing interventions that early detect depressive symptoms and address illness beliefs, in order to promote foot self-care behaviors reducing the incidence of future complications.
Clinical Outcome After Completion Surgery in Patients With Ovarian Cancer: The Charite Experience

Objective The aim of this study was to estimate surgical outcome and survival benefit after completion surgery. Methods We evaluated 164 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent incomplete primary cytoreductive surgery or rather received only staging procedures from January 2000 to December 2014 in outside institutions. Patient-related data were registered in prospective database of Tumor Bank Ovarian Cancer. The outcome analyses were performed for early and advanced stages of ovarian cancer separately. Results The majority of patients were at the time of completion surgery in advanced stages of disease. From overall 111 advanced epithelial ovarian cancer patients, 74 (66.6%) could be operated macroscopically tumor free, minimal residual disease 1 cm or less was achieved in 15.3% of the cases. Mean overall survival for patients without versus those with any tumor residual was 70 months (95% confidence interval, 61.3–81.5) versus 24.7 months (95% confidence interval, 7.1–42.4; P ⩽ 0.0001). After applying completion surgery, 47 (28.6%) and 12 (6.7%) patients were upstaged in FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) IIIC and IV stages, respectively. Upstaging resulted in therapy changes in 10 patients (19%) with assumed FIGO IA stages. Major operative complications were registered in 28.8% of advanced cases, and 30-day mortality reached 1.8%. Conclusions Recent research has shown that the most profound impact on survivorship occurs when women get proper care from surgeons trained in the latest techniques for treating ovarian cancer. Completion surgery maintained that even after initial incomplete cytoreduction outside of the high specialized units, after applying appropriate surgery techniques macroscopically, disease-free situation is achievable and outcomes are comparable with the results of primary debulking surgery.
Radon inversion via deep learning

Radon transform is widely used in physical and life sciences and one of its major applications is the X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT), which is significant in modern health examination. The Radon inversion or image reconstruction is challenging due to the potentially defective radon projections. Conventionally, the reconstruction process contains several ad hoc stages to approximate the corresponding Radon inversion. Each of the stages is highly dependent on the results of the previous stage. In this paper, we propose a novel unified framework for Radon inversion via deep learning (DL). The Radon inversion can be approximated by the proposed framework with an end-to-end fashion instead of processing step-by-step with multiple stages. For simplicity, the proposed framework is short as iRadonMap (inverse Radon transform approximation). Specifically, we implement the iRadonMap as an appropriative neural network, of which the architecture can be divided into two segments. In the first segment, a learnable fully-connected filtering layer is used to filter the radon projections along the view-angle direction, which is followed by a learnable sinusoidal back-projection layer to transfer the filtered radon projections into an image. The second segment is a common neural network architecture to further improve the reconstruction performance in the image domain. The iRadonMap is overall optimized by training a large number of generic images from ImageNet database. To evaluate the performance of the iRadonMap, clinical patient data is used. Qualitative results show promising reconstruction performance of the iRadonMap.
Visualization of Geospatial Time Series from Environmental Modeling Output

Environmental models produce geospatial time series containing many spatio-temporal patterns. Scientists need to understand these patterns to analyze the behavior of the simulated environmental systems. We combine clustering and visualization to generate an intuitive visual summary of geospatial time series that captures the data’s prominent spatio-temporal information. As a ﬁrst step, we evaluated our approach with well-understood observational data. Our visualization depicted all prominent features of these data suggesting that our method is readily applicable to environmental model output
Cultural differences in conceptual representation of “Privacy”: A comparison between Iran and the United States

ABSTRACT Culture consists of shared conceptual representations in an individual’s cognition. Thus, there may be cultural differences in the representation of a concept. To assess this possibility, we compared the subjective semantic structure of “privacy” in Iran and the United States. Participants were 200 adults, 100 from Iran and 100 from the United States. In the first phase of the experiment, using the associative terms task, we detected nine of the most frequent terms that were associated with the concept of “privacy” in each culture. In the second phase, using the judged-similarity task, we asked participants to rate the degree to which each of the nine terms from the previous phase was associated with every other term and with the concept of “privacy. ” Results from a correspondence analysis model suggest similarities in the mapping of terms related to “privacy” along the dichotomous dimension of physical vs. informational concerns. However, cultural differences emerged in a second dimension, the extent to which individualism vs. collectivism was stressed. While “personal privacy” and an individual’s relationship with the government was important for American adults, the main focus for Iranian adults was “familial privacy” and family-centered living.
Reversible deficits in apical transporter trafficking associated with deficiency in diacylglycerol acyltransferase

Deficiency in diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT1) is a rare cause of neonatal diarrhea, without a known mechanism or in vitro model. A patient presenting at our institution at 7 weeks of life with failure to thrive and diarrhea was found by whole‐exome sequencing to have a homozygous DGAT1 truncation mutation. Duodenal biopsies showed loss of DGAT1 and deficits in apical membrane transporters and junctional proteins in enterocytes. When placed on a very low‐fat diet, the patient's diarrhea resolved with normalization of brush border transporter localization in endoscopic biopsies. DGAT1 knockdown in Caco2‐BBe cells modeled the deficits in apical trafficking, with loss of apical DPPIV and junctional occludin. Elevation in cellular lipid levels, including diacylglycerol (DAG) and phospholipid metabolites of DAG, was documented by lipid analysis in DGAT1 knockdown cells. Culture of the DGAT1 knockdown cells in lipid‐depleted media led to re‐establishment of occludin and return of apical DPPIV. DGAT1 loss appears to elicit global changes in enterocyte polarized trafficking that could account for deficits in absorption seen in the patient. The in vitro modeling of this disease should allow for investigation of possible therapeutic targets.
Comparison of Distichlis spicata and Suaeda aegyptiaca in response to water salinity: Candidate halophytic species for saline soils remediation

ABSTRACT Distichlis spicata and Suaeda aegyptiaca are two potential halophytic plant species for bioremediation of salt degraded soils, and development of saline agriculture. The physiological responses of the species to different levels of salinity (EC 0, 12, 24, 36, and 48 dS/m) in a controlled environment experiment were studied. Both species showed a high level of tolerance to elevated concentrations of salt in the irrigation water. The shoot fresh and dry weights in S. aegyptiaca increased till 36 dS/m and were sustained under 48 dS/m while in D. spicata, both parameters decreased as salinity increased. Glycine betaine accumulation did not change in D. spicata with increasing salinity, whereas proline content revealed a marked increase of 7.13 fold in 48 dS/m salinity compared to the control, which showed its critical osmoprotection role in the plant. In S. aegyptiaca, both osmolytes content significantly increased at high salinity levels (36 and 48 dS/m) up to 3.22 and 2.0 folds, respectively. Overall, S. aegyptiaca had a better potential of Na+ phytoremediation, and tolerated higher salinity compared to D. spicata. In contrast, the vigorous root and rhizome growth in D. spicata made it a proper solution for protecting the soils against further erosion under saline conditions.
Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents: A Position Statement by the American Diabetes Association

Since the American Diabetes Association (ADA) published the Position Statement “Care of Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes” (1) in 2005, innovations have transformed the landscape and management of type 1 diabetes: novel autoantibodies, sophisticated devices for delivering insulin and measuring glucose, and diabetes registries. However, strategies to prevent or delay type 1 diabetes in youth remain elusive, and meanwhile the number of affected children continues to grow. The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth (SEARCH) study found a 21.1% rise in the prevalence of type 1 diabetes from 2001 to 2009 in youth aged 0 through 19 years, with increases observed in all sex, age, and race/ethnic subgroups except those with the lowest prevalence (0–4 years old and American Indians) (2). Incidence has also increased; the adjusted risk for developing type 1 diabetes increased 1.4% annually between 2002 and 2012, with significant increases in all age-groups except those 0–4 years old (3). One theme of this Position Statement is that “children are not little adults”—pediatric-onset diabetes is different from adult diabetes because of its distinct epidemiology, pathophysiology, developmental considerations, and response to therapy (4,5). Diabetes management for children must not be extrapolated from adult diabetes care. In caring for children and adolescents, clinicians need to be mindful of the child’s evolving developmental stages and must adapt care to the child’s needs and circumstances. Timely anticipatory guidance and care coordination will enable a seamless child/adolescent/young adult transition for both the developing patient and his or her family. Although the ADA stopped developing new position statements in 2018 (6), this Position Statement was developed under the 2017 criteria (7) and provides recommendations for current standards of care for youth (children and adolescents) with type 1 diabetes. It is not intended to be an exhaustive compendium on all aspects …