Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Renal cell carcinoma in Ibadan: a 5-year clinicopathologic review.

BACKGROUND To review all the cases of the patients with renal cell carcinoma seen during the study period and to determine the pattern of presentation, number of operable cases, histological types and outcome of treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS The data of the patients with renal cell carcinoma was retrieved from the Urology division audit book, theatre record books and case files from the health records department and pathology register in the department of pathology. The parameters studied were age, gender, pattern of presentation, number of patients who had surgery, histology types and the outcome of treatment. RESULTS In total, there were 69 patients with renal cell carcinoma that accounted for 59.5% of all renal masses seen. The male to female ratio was 1:1. Their age ranged from 16 to 88 with a mean of 48 years and median of 50 years. The main clinical feature was loin swelling (100%) and others were loin pain (29%), hematuria (18.8%), weight loss (4%) and paraneoplastic syndrome (anaemia without haematuria) was seen in 2.9%. Ten percent of the cases had the classical triad of hematuria, loin pain and loin swelling. All cases were unilateral disease and 15 (21.7%) had metastasis at presentation. The pre-operative tests were abdominal ultrasound (94%), intravenous urography (45%) and CT-Scan (11.6%). Twenty eight patients (40.6%) had surgery of which 5 were unresectable. 37 of the patients (53.6%) were subsequently lost to follow-up. The 28 operative specimens were histologically confirmed and 85.7% were clear cell carcinoma. The 23 patients whose tumours were resected have remained symptom free, some up to 5 years. However the five patients with unresectable tumours died between 3 to 6 months of exploratory surgery. CONCLUSION The patients with resectable tumour could remain disease free for a significant period afterwards despite late presentation. However, there is a high loss to follow-up rate.
The Gingrich Senators and Party Polarization in the U.S. Senate

The political parties in the Senate are almost as polarized at they are in the House. Nevertheless, the explanations for party polarization work better in the House than they do in the Senate. In this article, we argue that the polarization in the House has directly contributed to polarization in the Senate. We find that almost the entire growth in Senate party polarization since the early 1970s can be accounted for by Republican senators who previously served in the House after 1978—a group we call the “Gingrich Senators. ” While our analysis indicates that part of this effect has its roots in the senators’ constituencies, the experience of these representatives serving in the House continues to exert a real and substantial effect on their voting behavior in the Senate.
Strong Stationary Times for Non-Uniform Markov Chains

This thesis studies several approaches to bounding the total variation distance of a Markov chain, focusing primarily on the strong stationary time approach. While strong stationary times have been used successfully with uniform walks on groups, non-uniform walks have proven harder to analyze. This project applied strong stationary techniques to simple non-uniform walks in the hope of finding some more general tools.
Consumer Choice Among Product Assortments in Virtual QR Code Stores

Virtual QR Code Stores are currently expanding globally and it is commonplace in the market to put emphasis on purely hedonic product assortments. This practice reflects the widespread assumption that hedonic products should be more effective to stimulate purchases because they facilitate impulse buying behavior. Contrary to this argumentation, the results of our study demonstrate that purchasing related to Virtual QR Code Stores can better be explained by planned as opposed to impulse buying behavior. We show that more diverse product assortments consisting of utilitarian products in addition to hedonics are more effective to stimulate customers’ purchases in Virtual QR Code Stores. This is because utilitarian products cause improvements in customers’ utility perceptions of Virtual QR Code Stores resulting from enhanced shopping convenience. Based on this, we contribute by expanding the perspective on critical factors influencing customers in their purchase decision making process in Virtual QR Code Stores.
Endurance Exercise Ability in the Horse: A Trait with Complex Polygenic Determinism

Endurance horses are able to run at more than 20 km/h for 160 km (in bouts of 30–40 km). This level of performance is based on intense aerobic metabolism, effective body heat dissipation and the ability to endure painful exercise. The known heritabilities of endurance performance and exercise-related physiological traits in Arabian horses suggest that adaptation to extreme endurance exercise is influenced by genetic factors. The objective of the present genome-wide association study (GWAS) was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to endurance racing performance in 597 Arabian horses. The performance traits studied were the total race distance, average race speed and finishing status (qualified, eliminated or retired). We used three mixed models that included a fixed allele or genotype effect and a random, polygenic effect. Quantile-quantile plots were acceptable, and the regression coefficients for actual vs. expected log10 p-values ranged from 0.865 to 1.055. The GWAS revealed five significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) corresponding to 6 SNPs on chromosomes 6, 1, 7, 16, and 29 (two SNPs) with corrected p-values from 1.7 × 10−6 to 1.8 × 10−5. Annotation of these 5 QTL revealed two genes: sortilin-related VPS10-domain-containing receptor 3 (SORCS3) on chromosome 1 is involved in protein trafficking, and solute carrier family 39 member 12 (SLC39A12) on chromosome 29 is active in zinc transport and cell homeostasis. These two coding genes could be involved in neuronal tissues (CNS). The other QTL on chromosomes 6, 7, and 16 may be involved in the regulation of the gene expression through non-coding RNAs, CpG islands and transcription factor binding sites. On chromosome 6, a new candidate equine long non-coding RNA (KCNQ1OT1 ortholog: opposite antisense transcript 1 of potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member 1 gene) was predicted in silico and validated by RT-qPCR in primary cultures of equine myoblasts and fibroblasts. This lncRNA could be one element of the cardiac rhythm regulation. Our GWAS revealed that equine performance during endurance races is a complex polygenic trait, and is partially governed by at least 5 QTL: two coding genes involved in neuronal tissues and three other loci with many regulatory functions such as slowing down heart rate.
Function Point Analysis: Difficulties and Improvements

The method of function point analysis was developed by A. J. Albrecht (1979) to help measure the size of a computerized business information system. Such sizes are needed as a component of the measurement of productivity in system development and maintenance activities, and as a component of estimating the effort needed for such activities. Close examination of the method shows certain weaknesses, and the author proposes a partial alternative. A description is given of the principles of this Mark II approach. The results are presented of some measurements of actual systems to calibrate the Mark II approach, and conclusions are drawn on the validity and applicability of function point analysis generally. >
Factors Influencing Tenure Choice in European Countries

Homeownership rates are very different across European countries. They range from below 50% in Germany to over 80% in Greece, Spain or Ireland. However the differences lie not only in the overall homeownership rates but also in its structure, and this is the focus of this paper. Its aim is to study the impact of microeconomic factors on household’s tenure choice, using a cross-country comparative approach. Logit models are constructed for each country using data for year 2000 from the Consortium of Household Panels for European Socio-Economic Research micro-database. The models show that marriage is a significant determinant of the decision to move to homeownership in all analysed countries, while cohabitating households are more likely to rent, except for Denmark. Nationality, income and age proved to be significant explanatory variables in several countries, while staying insignificant in others.
Development of a novel in vivo cancer model using cell sheet engineering.

AIM Standard in vivo cancer models entail injecting single cancer cells, but this technique is not always successful. We developed a novel cancer cell sheet by using temperature-responsive polymer poly(N-isopropyl acryl amide)-coated plates, which allow controlled attachment and detachment of living cancer cells via simple temperature changes. MATERIALS AND METHODS Four human cancer cell lines were used to make cell sheets. The cancer cell sheets were subcutaneously transplanted into nude mice and compared regarding their tumor-forming ability with the conventional cell suspension technique. RESULTS Human cancer cell sheets were successfully transplanted into nude mice. The cancer cell sheets resulted in stable engraftment and showed a higher tumor volume determined by total flux with the IVIS® imaging system. CONCLUSION Novel cancer cell sheets are useful tools to make in vivo cancer models in mice for the assessment of anticancer therapeutics.
Low-dose acetylsalicylic acid and blood pressure control in drug-treated hypertensive patients

Background: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may increase blood pressure (BP) and potentially reduce the efficacy of several antihypertensive drugs. We evaluated the effect of low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on BP control in drug-treated hypertensive patients in a primary care population. Design/methods: Nine hundred and five successive patients aged 25–91 years (mean 65.5 years) from 15 health centers in south-west Finland were studied. The patients were on antihypertensive monotherapy (45.7%) or on combination therapy (54.3%). Office BP was measured twice with a 2-min interval after at least a 10-min rest using an ordinary sphygmomanometer. Results: Patients receiving ASA (n = 246) showed lower diastolic BP (83.9 ± 9.0 vs. 87.0 ± 9.6 mmHg; P < 0.001) compared with those who were not using any NSAIDs (n = 659). No significant difference in systolic BP was observed between the groups. As a result, pulse pressure was slightly higher in the ASA group (66.9 ± 18.9 vs. 63.3 ± 17.7 mmHg, P = 0.01). Mean arterial pressure was lower in the ASA group (106.2 ± 10.6 vs. 108.1 ± 10.4 mmHg, P = 0.02). In a stepwise linear multivariate model, ASA remained a significant predictor of lower diastolic BP even after the adjustment with the confounding effects of age and sex. Conclusion: According to our population-based study low-dose ASA does not have deleterious effects on BP control in drug-treated hypertensive patients.
Examination of a climate stabilization pathway via zero-emissions using Earth system models

Long-term climate experiments up to the year 2300 have been conducted using two full-scale complex Earth system models (ESMs), CESM1(BGC) and MIROC-ESM, for a CO2 emissions reduction pathway, termed Z650, where annual CO2 emissions peak at 11 PgC in 2020, decline by 50% every 30 years, and reach zero in 2160. The results have been examined by focusing on the approximate linear relationship between the temperature increase and cumulative CO2 emissions. Although the temperature increase is nearly proportional to the cumulative CO2 emissions in both models, this relationship does not necessarily provide a robust basis for the restriction of CO2 emissions because it is substantially modulated by non-CO2 forcing. CO2-induced warming, estimated from the atmospheric CO2 concentrations in the models, indicates an approximate compensation of nonlinear changes between fast-mode responses to concentration changes at less than 10 years and slow-mode response at more than 100 years due to the thermal inertia of the ocean. In this estimate, CESM1(BGC) closely approximates a linear trend of 1.7 °C per 1000 PgC, whereas MIROC-ESM shows a deviation toward higher temperatures after the emissions peak, from 1.8 °C to 2.4 °C per 1000 PgC over the range of 400–850 PgC cumulative emissions corresponding to years 2000–2050. The evolution of temperature under zero emissions, 2160–2300, shows a slight decrease of about 0.1 °C per century in CESM1(BGC), but remains almost constant in MIROC-ESM. The fast-mode response toward the equilibrium state decreases with a decrease in the airborne fraction owing to continued CO2 uptake (carbon cycle inertia), whereas the slow-mode response results in more warming owing to continued heat uptake (thermal inertia). Several specific differences are noted between the two models regarding the degree of this compensation and in some key regional aspects associated with sustained warming and long-term climate risks. Overall, elevated temperatures continue for at least a few hundred years under zero emissions.
Managing multiple myeloma: the emerging role of novel therapies and adapting combination treatment for higher risk settings

Novel therapies have transformed the treatment paradigm for multiple myeloma with significant improvements in survival now seen in both younger and older patients. Nonetheless, the disease is heterogeneous and high‐risk patients in particular continue to have poor outcome. Moreover, the disease remains incurable. Efforts to refine risk stratification and disease characteristics continue with the use of cytogenetics, enhanced imaging techniques and other new technologies, such as genomics. The integration of novel therapies into induction therapy, consolidation and maintenance continues to evolve, and the appropriate use of combination strategies including proteasome inhibition and immunomodulatory treatment is emerging as a platform with application across the disease spectrum. Despite these advances, resistance to novel agents occurs and so the identification of new targets and the recognition of clonal heterogeneity are especially important as improvements to current treatment strategies are developed, with the goal of further improving patient outcome.
Host resistance to an insecticide and selection at larval stage favour development of resistance in the parasitoid, Cotesia plutellae.

Laboratory selection for fenvalerate resistance was conducted in two colonies of the parasitoid, Cotesia plutellae, reared on two colonies of its host, Plutella xylostella, which differed in resistance to the insecticide. In the selection regime, the insecticide was applied to the host larvae that harboured the parasitoid larvae. Compared with the unselected parasitoid colony, the parasitoid colony selected with the susceptible hosts acquired 4.5 fold resistance after 14 selection cycles, while the colony selected with the more resistant hosts acquired 13.6 fold resistance after 13 selection cycles. These results demonstrate that parasitoid larvae could be exposed to insecticide selection via the hosts, selection with more resistant hosts could accelerate development of resistance in the parasitoid and resistance genes selected during larval development could be expressed at the adult stage. Comparison of detoxifying enzymes between the insect colonies revealed that fenvalerate resistance was positively related to increased monooxygenase activity, but was unrelated to carboxylesterases and general esterase in both the host and the parasitoid, indicating that the two insects shared a major metabolic mechanism for resistance to fenvalerate. This information can help improve selection procedures for the development of insecticide resistance in parasitoids.
Emotional Impact of a Task and its Setting on Work Performance of Screeners and Nonscreeners

This study explored desire to work at a task in a situation as a function of situational pleasantness, situational arousing quality, task pleasantness, and task arousing quality. The hypotheses which were based on a general theory of environmental psychology accounted for a major portion of the results. These showed that (1) the pleasantness of a task and/or situation is a direct correlate of desire to work, (2) the arousing quality of any situation-task combination is inversely related to the desire to work, and (3) desire to work is not affected by the arousing quality of a situation-task combination when that combination is pleasant, and decreases with arousing quality of a situation-task combination when that combination is either neutral (in terms of pleasantness) or unpleasant. An individual difference measure of stimulus screening was employed to assess characteristic differences in automatic screening of irrelevant stimuli and rapid habituation to distracting stimuli. Nonscreeners who are generally more arousable reported a lower desire to work than screeners. Further, as predicted, nonscreeners, compared with screeners, reported a greater desire to work at pleasant situation-task combinations. However, compared with screeners, they reported less desire to work at neutral (in terms of pleasantness) or unpleasant tasks.
A cross-national study of the relationship between elderly suicide rates and life expectancy and markers of socioeconomic status and health care

ABSTRACT Background: Socioeconomic status may influence cross-national variations in elderly suicide rates. Methods: The relationship between suicide rates in both sexes in the age-bands 65–74 years and 75+ years and (i) life expectancy, (ii) measures of socioeconomic status (per capita gross national domestic product (GDP) and the Gini coeffcient), and (iii) measures of the quality and quantity of available healthcare services (the proportion of GDP spent on health, per capita expenditure on health and child mortality rates) was examined using data from the World Health Organization and the United Nations. Results: The main findings were: (i) a significant negative correlation between the Gini coefficient and suicide rates for both sexes in both age-bands; (ii) a significant positive correlation between per capita expenditure on health and suicide rates for both sexes in both age-bands; (iii) the significant positive correlation between the proportion of GDP spent on health and suicide rates was only evident in males in both age-bands; (iv) a significant negative correlation between child mortality rates and suicide rates for both sexes in both age-bands; and, (v) the significant positive correlation between life expectancy and suicide rates was evident in females in both age-bands. Conclusions: A potentially testable model with five sequential stages was proposed to explain these findings.
Randomized controlled study of extracorporeal albumin dialysis for hepatic encephalopathy in advanced cirrhosis

Extracorporeal albumin dialysis (ECAD) may improve severe hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in patients with advanced cirrhosis via the removal of protein or non–protein‐bound toxins. A prospective, randomized, controlled, multicenter trial of the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of ECAD using molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) was conducted in such patients. Patients were randomized to ECAD and standard medical therapy (SMT) or SMT alone. ECAD was provided daily for 6 hours for 5 days or until the patient had a 2‐grade improvement in HE. HE grades (West Haven criteria) were evaluated every 12 hours using a scoring algorithm. The primary endpoint was the difference in improvement proportion of HE between the 2 groups. A total of 70 subjects [median age, 53; 56% male; 56% HE grade 3; 44% HE grade 4; median model for end‐stage liver disease (MELD) 32 (11–50) and CPT 13 (10–15)] were enrolled in 8 tertiary centers. Patients were randomized to ECAD + SMT (n = 39) or SMT alone (n = 31). Groups were matched in demographics and clinical variables. The improvement proportion of HE was higher in ECAD (mean, 34%; median, 30%) versus the SMT group (mean, 18.9%; median, 0%) (P = 0.044) and was reached faster and more frequently than in the SMT group (P = 0.045). Subjects receiving ECAD tolerated treatment well with no unexpected adverse events. Conclusion: The use of ECAD may be associated with an earlier and more frequent improvement of HE (grade 3/4). Because this 5‐day study was not designed to examine the impact of MARS on survival, a full assessment of the role of albumin dialysis awaits the results of additional controlled trials. (HEPATOLOGY 2007.)
The landscape of gene mutations and clinical significance of tumor mutation burden in patients with soft tissue sarcoma who underwent surgical resection and received conventional adjuvant therapy

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the landscape of gene mutations and the clinical significance of tumor mutation burden (TMB) in patients with soft tissue sarcoma who underwent surgical resection and received conventional adjuvant therapy. Methods A total of 68 patients with soft tissue sarcoma were included. Postoperative tumor tissue specimens from the patients were collected for DNA extraction. Targeted next-generation sequencing of cancer-relevant genes was performed for the detection of gene mutations and the analysis of TMB. Univariate analysis between TMB status and prognosis was carried out using the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, and multivariate analysis was adjusted by the Cox regression model. Results No specific genetic mutations associated with soft tissue sarcoma were found. The mutation frequency of TP53, PIK3C2G, NCOR1, and KRAS of the 68 patients with soft tissue sarcoma were observed in 19 cases (27.94%), 15 cases (22.06%), 14 cases (20.59%), and 14 cases (20.59%), respectively. With regard to the analysis of TMB, the overall TMB of the 68 patients with soft tissue sarcoma was relatively low (median: 2.05 per Mb (range: 0∼15.5 per Mb)). Subsequently, TMB status was divided into TMB-Low and TMB-Middle according to the median TMB. Patients with TMB-Low and TMB-Middle were 37 cases (54.41%) and 31 cases (45.59%), respectively. Overall survival analysis indicated that the median overall survival of patients with TMB-Low and TMB-Middle was not reached, and 4.5 years, respectively (P=0.015). Conclusion This study characterizes the genetic background of patients with STS soft tissue sarcoma. The TMB was of clinical significance for patients with soft tissue sarcoma who underwent surgical resection and received conventional adjuvant therapy.
Variation of lactoferrin and mastitis and their heritabilities.

Analyses were of lactoferrin and mastitis of milk samples taken every other month from 830 Holstein cows in eight herds for 1 yr. Patterns of variation and amounts in lactation, colostrum, and dry period were similar to reports. In negative mastitis tests of milk samples, lactoferrin content was lower during lactation and lower as age of the cow advanced than for positive tests. However, heritability of mastitis was . 14, whereas for lactoferrin was . 44 in records of 289 cows. This latter is high enough to be useful but unreliable with large standard error . 30. Several sire groups differed significantly.