Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A preliminary study of the safety of red light phototherapy of tissues harboring cancer.

OBJECTIVE Red light phototherapy is known to stimulate cell proliferation in wound healing. This study investigated whether low-level light therapy (LLLT) would promote tumor growth when pre-existing malignancy is present. BACKGROUND DATA LLLT has been increasingly used for numerous conditions, but its use in cancer patients, including the treatment of lymphedema or various unrelated comorbidities, has been withheld by practitioners because of the fear that LLLT might result in initiation or promotion of metastatic lesions or new primary tumors. There has been little scientific study of oncologic outcomes after use of LLLT in cancer patients. METHODS A standard SKH mouse nonmelanoma UV-induced skin cancer model was used after visible squamous cell carcinomas were present, to study the effects of LLLT on tumor growth. The red light group (n=8) received automated full body 670 nm LLLT delivered twice a day at 5 J/cm(2) using an LED source. The control group (n=8) was handled similarly, but did not receive LLLT. Measurements on 330 tumors were conducted for 37 consecutive days, while the animals received daily LLLT. RESULTS Daily tumor measurements demonstrated no measurable effect of LLLT on tumor growth. CONCLUSIONS This experiment suggests that LLLT at these parameters may be safe even when malignant lesions are present. Further studies on the effects of photoirradiation on neoplasms are warranted.
Development and Usability Testing of a Web-Based Decision Support for Users and Health Professionals in Psychiatric Services

Objective: Shared decision making (SMD) related to treatment and rehabilitation is considered a central component in recovery-oriented practice. Although decision aids are regarded as an essential component for successfully implementing SDM, these aids are often lacking within psychiatric services. The aim of this study was to use a participatory design to facilitate the development of a user-generated, web-based decision aid for individuals receiving psychiatric services. The results of this effort as well as the lessons learned during the development and usability processes are reported. Method: The participatory design included 4 iterative cycles of development. Various qualitative methods for data collection were used with potential end users participating as informants in focus group and individual interviews and as usability and pilot testers. Results: Interviewing and testing identified usability problems that then led to refinements and making the subsequent prototypes increasingly user-friendly and relevant. In each phase of the process, feedback from potential end-users provided guidance in developing the formation of the web-based decision aid that strengthens the position of users by integrating access to information regarding alternative supports, interactivity between staff and users, and user preferences as a continual focus in the tool. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: This web-based decision aid has the potential to strengthen service users’ experience of self-efficacy and control as well as provide staff access to user knowledge and preferences. Studies employing participatory models focusing on usability have potential to significantly contribute to the development and implementation of tools that reflect user perspectives.
FIR-GEM: A SOE-DSGE Model for Fiscal Policy Analysis in Ireland

This paper presents FIR-GEM: Fiscal IRish General Equilibrium Model. FIR-GEM is a small open economy DSGE model designed as fiscal toolkit for fiscal policy analysis in Ireland. To illustrate the model's potential for fiscal policy analysis, we conduct three types of experiments. First, we analyse the fiscal transmission mechanism through which Irish fiscal policy affects the Irish economy. Second, we compute fiscal multipliers for the main tax-spending instruments, namely government consumption, public investment, public wage bill, public transfers, consumption, labour and capital tax. We focus on a fiscal policy stimulus that is either implemented through spending increases or tax cuts. Third, we perform robustness analysis on key structural characteristics that can affect quantitatively the size of fiscal multipliers. We find that the size of fiscal multipliers in the Irish economy heavily depends on its degree of openness, the method of fiscal financing employed, the elasticity of the sovereign risk premia to Irish debt dynamics and the flexibility of Irish labour and product markets.
Firm Value and Marketability Discounts

The marketability of an asset refers to the degree to which an asset can be converted to cash quickly, without incurring large transactions costs or price concessions. All else equal, the more marketable an asset, the higher the price an investor will be willing to pay for the asset. The lack of marketability of an asset is costly to investors because it potentially causes the investor to miss opportunities to allocate capital to alternative uses, such as liquidity or portfolio rebalancing. In this article we review and critique the various methods that appear in the literature and are used in practice to estimate valuation discounts when an asset lacks marketability. We also present findings from our own original empirical research which offer further insights into the estimation of such discounts.
Durable Complete Response from Metastatic Melanoma after Transfer of Autologous T Cells Recognizing 10 Mutated Tumor Antigens

On-target/off-tumor effects can be problematic if the antigen target for CAR T-cell therapy is also expressed on normal tissue. An inducible CAR expression strategy was used that controlled CAR expression and shows promise in discriminating between tumor and B-cell expression of CD19. Immunotherapy treatment of patients with metastatic cancer has assumed a prominent role in the clinic. Durable complete response rates of 20% to 25% are achieved in patients with metastatic melanoma following adoptive cell transfer of T cells derived from metastatic lesions, responses that appear in some patients to be mediated by T cells that predominantly recognize mutated antigens. Here, we provide a detailed analysis of the reactivity of T cells administered to a patient with metastatic melanoma who exhibited a complete response for over 3 years after treatment. Over 4,000 nonsynonymous somatic mutations were identified by whole-exome sequence analysis of the patient's autologous normal and tumor cell DNA. Autologous B cells transfected with 720 mutated minigenes corresponding to the most highly expressed tumor cell transcripts were then analyzed for their ability to stimulate the administered T cells. Autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes recognized 10 distinct mutated gene products, but not the corresponding wild-type products, each of which was recognized in the context of one of three different MHC class I restriction elements expressed by the patient. Detailed clonal analysis revealed that 9 of the top 20 most prevalent clones present in the infused T cells, comprising approximately 24% of the total cells, recognized mutated antigens. Thus, we have identified and enriched mutation-reactive T cells and suggest that such analyses may lead to the development of more effective therapies for the treatment of patients with metastatic cancer. Cancer Immunol Res; 4(8); 669–78. ©2016 AACR.
The Indirect Effects of Trading Restrictions

Stock market trading restrictions directly affect stock prices and liquidity via constraints on investors’ transactions. They also have indirect effects by altering the information environment. We isolate these indirect effects by analyzing the effect of stock market restrictions on the corporate bond market. Using the staggered relaxation of the restrictions on margin trading and short selling in the Chinese stock market as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that the relaxation of these restrictions on a firm’s stock reduces the credit spread of its corporate bond. This effect is more pronounced for firms with more opaque information or lower credit ratings.
Application of Game Theory against Nature in the Assessment of Technical Solutions Used in River Regulation in the Context of Aquatic Plant Protection

The anthropogenic transformation of riverbeds causes a violation of the dynamic equilibrium of the river and its environment, threatening the ecological safety of aquatic ecosystems and dependent waters. However, the differing results of these transformations are dependent on many factors and it is difficult to determine them precisely before the works start. The designers and contractors of these works are dealing with the riverbed, which in terms of hydromorphological and biological features is variable, unique, and strongly diverse. Thus, decisions are followed by an unknown result concerning changes in the riverbed ecosystems. The aim of this study is to determine the suitability of game theory as a tool supporting decision-making in the design of regulatory works including ecological aspects, as well as an indication of a regulatory works model that would meet the expectations of water users while corresponding to environmentally friendly riverbed regulation. The analysis was made on the basis of observed changes in the number of species in aquatic plant vascular communities—one of the most important elements of a riverbed ecosystem. Using game theory, it is possible to create an effective tool for the design of regulatory works and decision-making process.
Hepatic Overexpression of Insulin-like Growth Factor-II in Adulthood Increases Basal and Insulin-stimulated Glucose Disposal in Conscious Mice (*)

The physiological role of circulating insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF-II) in adult humans is poorly understood. We recently generated an IGF-II transgenic murine model of persistent IGF-II production (plasma IGF-II 30-fold increased above normal) through overexpression of the transgene driven by the major urinary protein promoter (Rinderknecht, E., and Humbel, R. E.(1978) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 13779-13784). To determine whether in vivo insulin action is improved in these transgenic mice, we performed euglycemic insulin (18 milliunits/kg•min) clamp studies in conscious IGF-II transgenic and in age- and weight-matched control mice. Plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were significantly lower in the IGF-II transgenic compared with both control groups. Despite decreased plasma glucose concentration, basal hepatic glucose production (HGP) and glucose clearance were increased. During the insulin clamp studies in IGF-II transgenic mice compared with control mice (a) the rates of glucose infusion and glucose uptake were increased by 65 and 55%, respectively; (b) glycolysis was increased by 12% while glycogen synthesis was 2-fold higher; (c) while the suppression of plasma free fatty acid was similar, the increment in plasma lactate concentration was significantly higher; (d) although HGP was similarly inhibited by insulin, phosphoenolpyruvate gluconeogenesis was enhanced and accounted for a larger portion of HGP (64% versus 40% in control mice). Our data suggest that the persistence of circulating IGF-II in adult mice to levels commonly observed in adult humans (50-70 nM) causes a marked improvement in peripheral (skeletal muscle) insulin action, which is not due to changes in body composition. These results suggest that circulating IGF-II may exert a regulatory role on insulin sensitivity and body composition in humans.
Contribution of N-Glucuronidation to Efavirenz Elimination In Vivo in the Basal and Rifampin-Induced Metabolism of Efavirenz

ABSTRACT In this study, the contribution of efavirenz N-glucuronidation to efavirenz elimination in vivo was assessed. In a two-period placebo-controlled crossover trial design, a single 600-mg oral dose of efavirenz was administered to healthy volunteers (n = 10) pretreated with placebo pills or 600 mg/day rifampin orally for 10 days. Urine and plasma concentrations of efavirenz and 8-hydroxyefavirenz were measured by the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method after enzymatic hydrolysis with β-glucuronidase (conjugated and unconjugated) and without enzymatic hydrolysis (unconjugated). Pharmacokinetic parameters of efavirenz within the placebo- or rifampin-treated group obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis did not show any statistically significant difference compared with those obtained without enzymatic hydrolysis (P > 0.05; paired t test, two-tailed). The amount of efavirenz excreted over 12 h was significantly larger after enzymatic hydrolysis in both the placebo (P = 0.007) and rifampin (P = 0.0001) treatment groups, supporting the occurrence of direct N-glucuronidation of efavirenz, but the relevance of this finding is limited because the amount of efavirenz excreted as unchanged or conjugated in urine is less than 1% of the dose administered. In both the placebo- and rifampin-treated groups, plasma concentrations of 8-hydroxyefavirenz and the amount excreted over 12 h were significantly larger (P < 0.00001) after enzymatic hydrolysis than without enzymatic hydrolysis. These findings suggest that although the occurrence of direct efavirenz N-glucuronidation is supported by the urine data, the abundance of efavirenz N-glucuronide in plasma is negligible and that the contribution of the N-glucuronidation pathway to the overall clearance of efavirenz seems minimal.
Organisational silence among nurses and physicians in public hospitals

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To define the underlying reasons that lead physicians and nurses who provide patient care and treatment, to maintain silence in their work and how they perceive the consequences of such silence in public hospitals. BACKGROUND The concept of organisational silence is described as employees' avoidance of stating his/her opinions, thoughts and suggestions, which would improve the organisation and enable it to provide better processes or services. This concept has been examined more frequently in the international literature in the past decade, and it has drawn attention as one of the most important barriers to employees' contributions to their organisation. DESIGN Descriptive and cross-sectional study. METHODS The study sample consisted of 601 physicians and nurses who work in five hospitals with bed capacities of 100 or more. The data were collected using a two-part form: an introductory information form and an organisational silence scale. RESULTS Administrative and organisational topics were prominent among the reasons for employees of healthcare organisations to remain silent for both physicians and nurses. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study should be considered by physicians and nurses to realise and improve themselves. Also, decision makers and managers of public hospitals might evaluate and remove organisational and communicative barriers to employees' contributions to their organisations based on these results. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Physicians and nurses are responsible for the fulfilment of highly important tasks for their organisations. Their contributions help their organisations remain competitive, improve the health services, ensure and sustain patient safety. Hence, these results will provide information to facilitate an understanding of the topics, causes and consequences of organisational silence among physicians and nurses, two key healthcare professions, and will be helpful in the development of medical and nursing human resources in clinical settings.
Long term preservation of motion with artificial cervical disc implants: A comparison between cervical disc replacement and rigid fusion with cage

Background: With the advancement of technologies there is more interest in the maintenance of the spine′s biomechanical properties focusing on the preservation of the functional motion segment. In present article we describe our experience with 25 cases managed with artificial cervical discs with 28 Solis cage following cervical discectomy with a mean follow-up period of 7.5 year. Materials and Methods: All surgeries were performed by single surgeon from March 2004 to June 2005 with a follow-up till date. Patients with symptomatic single or multiple level diseases that had no prior cervical surgery were candidates for the study. Cohort demographics were comparable. Standardized clinical outcome measures and radiographic examinations were used at prescribed post-operative intervals to compare the treatment groups. Relief in radicular pain, cervical spine motion, and degenerative changes at follow-up were noted. Results: In a total 53 cases, the mean age in prosthesis group was 47 years (age range: 30-63 years) and mean age in cage group was 44 years (32-62 years). Mean hospital stay was 2.7 days in both the groups. At 4 weeks complete cervical movements could be achieved in 19 cases in artificial disc group. Maintenance of movement after 7.5 years was in 76% of these patients. Lordosis was maintained in all cases till date. There was no mortality or wound infection in our series. Conclusions: We conclude that artificial cervical disc could be an alternative to fixed spinal fusion as it represents the most physiological substitute of disc. However, there is need for further studies to support the use of artificial cervical disc prosthesis.
Comparing Two Modalities of Screening for Prostate Cancer: Digital Rectal Examination + Transrectal Ultrasonography Vs. Prostate-Specific Antigen

Aims and background To evaluate the performance and feasibility of screening for prostate cancer by comparing screening modalities. Methods Prospective study of two comparable cohorts of healthy resident males aged 60 to 75 years. Screening attenders in the two invited cohorts were screened either by digital rectal examination (DRE) and transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS), or by serum prostate-specific antigen determination (PSA: cutoff 4 ng/ml). Attendance and biopsy rates, predictive values, prevalence of screen-detected cancers, as well as screening costs were determined, and the efficiency of the two screening modalities was compared. Results 1425 subjects were screened by DRE + TRUS. Attendance rate was 33.7%, the biopsy rate was 2.7%, and the prevalence of detected cancers was 1.82%. A total of 1315 subjects was screened by PSA. Attendance rate was 66.9%, the biopsy rate was 2.8%, and the prevalence of detected cancers was 1.67%. Screen-detected cancer stage was more favorable than observed in clinical practice, and early detection was evident, with the prevalence/incidence ratio higher than 10:1 in both programs. The cost per subject screened was about 34,000 Lire for DRE + TRSU and about 30,000 Lire for PSA program. Conclusions The study confirms that early detection of prostate cancer is possible and that screening is practically feasible. Both screening modalities achieved comparable results as regards early detection, but screening by PSA had a higher compliance and lower costs. PSA seems the ideal test to be used in prospective controlled studies aimed at demonstrating screening efficacy.
Hospital care in later life among former world-class Finnish athletes.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the use of hospital care from all causes among former top-level athletes from different vigorous sports to determine whether health benefits or adverse effects have the greater influence. DESIGN National, population-based cohort study with a 21-year follow-up. SETTING Finland. SUBJECTS A total of 2049 male athletes who had represented Finland during 1920 to 1965, and 1403 male controls classified healthy at 20 years of age. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE In-hospital care from all causes was extracted from the national hospital discharge registry for the period 1970 through 1990 expressed as hospital days per person-years of exposure. RESULTS Compared with controls, the rate ratios (RRs) for all-cause hospital days per person-years of exposure were lower in athletes from endurance sports (RR, 0.71; 95% confidence interval [Cl], 0.70-0.73), mixed sports (including endurance and weight training) (RR, 0.86; 95% Cl, 0.85-0.87), and power sports (RR, 0.95; 95% Cl, 0.94-0.96) (P < .001 for all comparisons) after adjustment for age and occupational group. The lower RR among athletes from endurance sports and other sports involving aerobic activity was largely explained by lower rates of hospital care for heart disease, respiratory disease, and neoplasms, but not for musculoskeletal disorders. CONCLUSIONS Former elite athletes, particularly those in aerobic sports, use less hospital care. Other beneficial health habits are known to be associated with a physically active lifestyle.
A Potential Biomarker in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Can Assessment of Brain Iron Deposition with SWI and Corticospinal Tract Degeneration with DTI Help?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Iron-mediated oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This study aimed to assess iron deposition qualitatively and quantitatively by using SWI and microstructural changes in the corticospinal tract by using DTI in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventeen patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and 15 age- and sex-matched controls underwent brain MR imaging with SWI and DTI. SWI was analyzed for both signal-intensity scoring and quantitative estimation of iron deposition in the anterior and posterior banks of the motor and sensory cortices and deep gray nuclei. The diffusion measurements along the corticospinal tract at the level of pons and medulla were obtained by ROI analysis. RESULTS: Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis showed reduced signal-intensity grades in the posterior bank of the motor cortex bilaterally. Quantitative analysis confirmed significantly higher iron content in the posterior bank of the motor cortex in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In contrast, no significant differences were noted for the anterior bank of the motor cortex, anterior and posterior banks of the sensory cortex, and deep nuclei. Receiver operating characteristic comparison showed a cutoff of 35μg Fe/g of tissue with an area under the curve of 0.78 (P = .008) for the posterior bank of the motor cortex in discriminating patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from controls. Fractional anisotropy was lower in the pyramidal tracts of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at the pons and medulla on either side, along with higher directionally averaged mean diffusivity values. The combination of SWI and DTI revealed an area under the curve of 0.784 for differentiating patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from controls. CONCLUSIONS: Measurements of motor cortex iron deposition and diffusion tensor parameters of the corticospinal tract may be useful biomarkers for the diagnosis of clinically suspected amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.