Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Randomised placebo-controlled trial of rituximab (anti-CD20) in active ulcerative colitis

I read with interest the study by Leiper and colleagues,1 and the authors should be commended for initiating this investigator-driven study. However, I beg to differ with the conclusion that reads ‘Rituximab has no significant effect on inducing remission in moderately active UC [ulcerative colitis] not responding to oral steroids. ’ The authors state that the sample-size calculations were based on 80% power for excluding, at p<0.05, an 80% remission rate with active treatment compared with a predicted 25% placebo remission rate …
Diagnostic accuracy of triple assessment in palpable breast lump

Background: Breast diseases constitute a heterogeneous group of lesions including developmental abnormalities, inflammatory lesions, epithelial and stromal proliferations, and neoplasms. With the use of clinical examination, mammography and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), the diagnosis of a benign breast disease can be accomplished without surgery in the majority of patients. Combined use of these diagnostic procedures (Triple assessment) gives nearly the same degree of accuracy as excisional biopsy in patients with palpable breast diseases. Currently a combination of three tests, i.e. clinical examination, radiological imaging (mammography, ultrasonography) and pathology called as triple assessment test is used to accurately diagnose all palpable breast lumps. The Triple Test Score (TTS) was developed to help physicians interpret discordant triple test results. A threepoint scale is used to score each component of the triple test (1 = benign, 2 = suspicious, 3 = malignant). A TTS of 3 or 4 is consistent with a benign lesion; a TTS of 6 or more indicates possible malignancy that may require surgical intervention. Excisional biopsy is recommended in patients with a TTS of 5 to obtain a definitive diagnosis. Materials and methods: The study was conducted for diagnostic accuracy of triple assessment in palpable breast lump in 50 patients. The components of the Triple Assessment are: Clinical examination (C/E), Mammography/ ultrasonograph and Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC). The diagnostic accuracy of triple asseserment was reached by comparing the results of this test with gold standard i.e. histopathological findings. Results : The TT was concordant in 46 cases (92%). In 17 of these lesions (34%), the results of TT were interpreted as benign and subsequently were proved to be benign pathologies histologically with NPV and Specificity of 100٪. Similarly, in 29 cases (58٪) the results of all elements of TT were interpreted as malignant, which proved to be malignant lesions on histopathological examination and the sensitivity and PPV were 100 ٪ . TT elements were non concordant in 4 cases (8٪), 3 of these cases were proved to have malignant masses and the remaining 1 case was proved to be benign on subsequent histopathological examination. In all the non concordant cases, where at least one of the elements was considered benign, FNAC was the most accurate with 0 false negative and 0 false positive results. Conclusion: The TT has proved to be accurate, reliable diagnostic approach for evaluation of breast masses, achieved (100%) accuracy rate when all elements were concordant or when all elements were either suspicious or malignant. The study shows that when TT is concordant, final treatment may be ensued without open biopsy. In non-concordant DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.22192/ijcrms.2017. 03.06. 001 Int. J. Curr. Res. Med. Sci. (2017). 3(6): 1-8 2 cases, FNAC stands as single most important investigation. However due to its false negative results, other components of triple test need to be employed to enhance its efficacy and diagnostic yield.
Characteristics of youth-onset noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus at diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE To describe the characteristics of youth-onset noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) at diagnosis and compare them with youths with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) when matched for age, sex, and geographic region of residence. STUDY DESIGN Medical records of youths referred for evaluation of diabetes to a pediatric tertiary care center from 1988 to 1995 were reviewed to identify youths diagnosed with NIDDM. Patients selected for study met National Diabetes Data Group criteria for type of diabetes. RESULTS Fifty patients with NIDDM were reviewed and compared with similar IDDM patients. The NIDDM female:male ratio was 1.6:1 and 74% were African-American. Only 18% of the IDDM patients were African-American. The mean body mass index +/- standard error at diagnosis of NIDDM patients was 35 +/- 1.1 kg/m in contrast to IDDM, 20 +/- . 8 kg/m. Ninety-six percent of NIDDM and 24% of IDDM youths had a body mass index >/=85th percentile. More then 30% of NIDDM youths presented with hypertension. Diabetic ketoacidosis was present in >25% of NIDDM patients. Acanthosis nigricans was documented in 86% of NIDDM and 0% of IDDM patients. CONCLUSIONS In Arkansas, youths with NIDDM are characterized by significant obesity in contrast to youths with IDDM. Physical characteristics such as obesity, acanthosis nigricans, and hypertension on examination of any youth with new-onset diabetes should raise suspicion of NIDDM.
Expression of Epstein–Barr virus in Hodgkin lymphoma in a population of United Arab Emirates nationals

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) shows wide geographic variation in histological subtypes and in its association with the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). HL has three main epidemiological patterns (I, II and III). Type I pattern, which is prevalent in developing countries, shows a relatively high incidence in male children, a low incidence in the third decade and a second peak of high incidence in older age groups. Type III, which is usually seen in developed countries, is characterised by a low rate in children and a pronounced initial peak in young adults. The third pattern (Type II), which is described in many Asian countries, is intermediate and reflects a transition between types I and III. In this pattern there is both a childhood and a third decade peak. The proportion of EBV positive HL is low in industrialised countries, high in non-industrialised countries and intermediate in early-industrialised countries. Reports from the Arabian Gulf and Middle East are few. The aim of this study is to determine the epidemiology of HL in a population of United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals, an early industrialised country in the Arabian Gulf, and to delineate the extent of its association with EBV. In total, 88 cases of HL were diagnosed in native patients during the period 1988 through 2004 at Tawam hospital. Forty-five paraffin blocks were available for this study. Five-micrometer sections were prepared and stained with hematoxylin and eosin and the immunohistochemical streptavidin–biotin methods for CD45, CD3, CD20, CD15 and CD30. Other sections were examined for the presence of EBV using the immunohistochemical streptavidin–biotin method for the latent membrane protein 1 and in situ hybridisation for EBV encoded RNA to determine the prevalence of EBV in Hodgkin cells and its possible role in the pathogenesis of HL. Nodular sclerosis (NS) subtype was the most common type of HL among UAE nationals followed by mixed cellularity (MC), lymphocytic predominant (LP), unclassified, lymphocytic depletion (LD) and lymphocyte rich (LR) subtypes, respectively. EBV was seen in 17 of 45 (38%) cases of HL and was predominately seen in the MC subtype followed by NS, LD and LR subtypes, respectively. EBV was more frequently expressed in HL in the pediatric age group than the adult age group. These data indicate that the epidemiology of HL in a native population of the UAE is suggestive of a type II epidemiologic pattern in terms of age distribution, and histopathologic subtypes, whereas the frequency of EBV expression is more suggestive of a type III epidemiologic pattern. The significant association between EBV and HL that we have found further strengthens the suggestion that all cases of HL should be assessed for EBV status, because its presence may have a significant impact on prognosis and response to therapy.
A Serious Game for Clinical Assessment of Cognitive Status: Validation Study

Background We propose the use of serious games to screen for abnormal cognitive status in situations where it may be too costly or impractical to use standard cognitive assessments (eg, emergency departments). If validated, serious games in health care could enable broader availability of efficient and engaging cognitive screening. Objective The objective of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of a game-based cognitive assessment delivered on tablet technology to a clinical sample and to conduct preliminary validation against standard mental status tools commonly used in elderly populations. Methods We carried out a feasibility study in a hospital emergency department to evaluate the use of a serious game by elderly adults (N=146; age: mean 80.59, SD 6.00, range 70-94 years). We correlated game performance against a number of standard assessments, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM). Results After a series of modifications, the game could be used by a wide range of elderly patients in the emergency department demonstrating its feasibility for use with these users. Of 146 patients, 141 (96.6%) consented to participate and played our serious game. Refusals to play the game were typically due to concerns of family members rather than unwillingness of the patient to play the game. Performance on the serious game correlated significantly with the MoCA (r=–.339, P <.001) and MMSE (r=–.558, P <.001), and correlated (point-biserial correlation) with the CAM (r=.565, P <.001) and with other cognitive assessments. Conclusions This research demonstrates the feasibility of using serious games in a clinical setting. Further research is required to demonstrate the validity and reliability of game-based assessments for clinical decision making.
SOCIAL INVESTING AND THE LAW OF TRUSTS

In October 1979 the United Auto Workers negotiated a threeyear labor contract with the Chrysler Corporation containing a provision that up to ten percent of new pension contributions would be invested in "socially desirable projects. " The agreement defines these investments to include residential mortgages in areas where UAW members live, as well as investments in nursing homes, nursery schools, health maintenance organizations, and "other socially desirable projects. "' The union also obtained the right "to recommend that pension trustees not invest in up to five companies that conduct business in South Africa. "'2 In Wisconsin and elsewhere there has been growing pressure to restrict large portions of the pension fundsof state employees to investments in enterprises and mortgages in the state. 3 These developments illustrate the increasing pressure on pension plan sponsors and fiduciaries to engage in what is called "social investing. "'4 For the last year or two there has been hardly a month in which the industry journal, Pensions and Investments, has failed to carry some story about the demand on the part of a labor union or other group for social investing. As the Chrysler agreement indicates, these efforts have begun to get results. Similar pressures have been directed for an even longer time at the trustees of university endowment funds; some universities have yielded to those pressures
Family-centred services in the Netherlands: validating a self-report measure for paediatric service providers

Objective: To validate the Dutch translation of the Canadian Measure of Processes of Care for Service Providers questionnaire (MPOC-SP) for use in paediatric rehabilitation settings in the Netherlands. Design: The construct validity, content validity, face validity, and reliability of the Dutch MPOC-SP were determined. Subjects: The 163 service providers that participated in the validation study represented seven children's rehabilitation centres and affiliated schools in the Netherlands (overall response rate 55.6%). In this sample 19 disciplines were represented. Main measures: The MPOC-SP consists of 27 items (assessing four domains) and was designed to examine how service providers think about the quality of care they provide and to assess the extent to which these services are family centred. Fifty-three service providers filled out an additional face validity questionnaire. Results: All items correlated best and significantly with their own scale score (rs 0.48-0.82, P < 0.001). The Pearson's correlation coefficients were all significant and confirmed that the four scales measure different aspects of a same construct, namely family-centred service. The content validity and the face validity of the Dutch MPOC-SP were good, indicating the questionnaire measures relevant aspects of family-centred service delivery in paediatric rehabilitation settings in the Netherlands. The test-retest analyses (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) 0.83-0.89) and the internal consistency analyses (alpha 0.65-0.84) showed that the Dutch MPOC-SP is a reliable tool. Conclusions: The Dutch MPOC-SP is a reliable and valid instrument to measure the family-centredness of service delivery.
Visual Versus Narrative Case Material: The Impact on Criminal Psychological Profiling

Although some literature has emerged to examine the validity and constituent skills required for psychological profiling, little research has scrutinized how the technique works. This study examined the effects of case material on profiling proficiency. This was accomplished by alternating the case material available to participants in a profiling exercise. Groups of participants were presented with either a full case package, only narrative or visual case material, narrative material with a written description of the visual material, or a control condition where no case material was provided. All participants then completed a profiling exercise designed to measure the accuracy of their predictions. The results found that profiling proficiency is influenced by the amount of case material available, with optimal proficiency likely achieved by the presence of all forms of material. A trend was also observed where participants supplied with only the narrative case materials surpassed those with visual materials.
Population History of the Onondaga and Oneida Iroquois, A.D. 1500–1700

Much of the discussion about North American precontact and contact-period populations has focused on continent-wide estimates. Although the associated work has produced valuable information on the demographic and cultural history of the continent, it has failed to generate agreed-upon estimates, population trends, or detailed demographic knowledge of Native American cultures. Using archaeological settlement remains and methods developed in recent research on Iroquoian cultures, this study estimates and examines population trends for the Onondaga and Oneida cultures of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) from A.D. 1500 to 1700. Onondaga population appears to have increased until the mid—seventeenth century, when drastic declines in settlement area and population size occurred. This depopulation event is both several decades after first contact with Europeans and at least a decade after the first known depopulation event among the Haudenosaunee. Oneida populations show a much more complex history that suggests the need for more detailed analyses of contact-period Native American population data. In conjunction with archaeological evidence and ethnohistoric information, the population trends generated by this study create a model of two precontact Native American populations and display the effects of European contact on those populations.
POSTTRANSPLANT INFUSION OF DONOR-SPECIFIC BLOOD INDUCES IMMUNOLOGICAL UNRESPONSIVENESS IN RAT HEPATIC ALLOGRAFTS

Background. We previously reported that pretransplant donor-specific blood transfusion (DST) induces CD45RC−CD4+ T cells, Th2-like effector cells, and prolongs rat hepatic allograft survival.Our study investigated the effects of posttransplant DST on rat hepatic allograft survival. Methods. Three days after transplantation, LEW (RT1l) recipient rats with ACI (RT1a) livers were injected i.v. with freshly heparinized donor-specific blood. The time kinetics of CD45RC−CD4+ and CD45RC+CD4+ T cell subsets in hepatic infiltrates were examined. Results. Posttransplant DST significantly prolonged rat hepatic allograft survival. Interferon (IFN)-&ggr;, interleukin (IL)-12, and IL-18 mRNA levels in hepatic allografts of untreated recipients were significantly greater than in recipients treated with posttransplant DST. However, hepatic allografts of recipients treated with posttransplant DST showed significantly higher IL-4, IL-10, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-&bgr; mRNA levels than untreated recipients. The ratio of CD45RC−CD4+ T cells to CD45RC+CD4+ T cells was significantly higher in hepatic allografts treated with posttransplant DST than in untreated animals. Immunostaining with anti-rat dendritic cell (OX-62) monoclonal antibody revealed that OX-62+ cells were distributed to the splenic red pulp of animals treated with posttransplant DST and to the splenic white pulp in untreated animals. Most OX62+ cells isolated from the spleen of recipients treated with posttransplant DST expressed donor RT1Ba class II major histocompatibility complex antigens, suggesting that OX-62+ cells were of donor origin. Conclusion. Posttransplant DST was associated with persistent infiltration of CD45RC−CD4+ T cells, Th2-like effector cells, in rat hepatic allografts, causing immunologic unresponsiveness and establishment of microchimerism in the spleen.
Hydrogen gas sensor using Pd nanowires electro-deposited into anodized alumina template

This paper demonstrates a new kind of hydrogen sensor using palladium (Pd) nanowires. Hydrogen sensors using Pd metal have usually been utilizing the incremental change in electrical resistance of Pd upon hydrogen incorporation. Unlike the conventional Pd hydrogen sensors, however, the electrical resistance of the present Pd nanowire sensor decreases when hydrogen is incorporated into Pd nanowires. It is considered to be due to swelling of the nanowires as the result of hydrogen incorporation and subsequent narrowing of gaps between the nanowires, even though each nanowire should have had the higher resistance inherently. Because of extraordinarily high surface area of nanowires, the performance of sensing the hydrogen concentration was found to superior by far to the conventional Pd sensors. The response and recovery times are quite fast to be about 0.7 and 20 s, respectively and the sensing range of 0.2 ~ 1% 1% hydrogen concentration is suitable for the hydrogen safety sensors. The sensor introduced in this paper is unique with regard to both the sensing mechanism and performance
Suicide note and the psychological autopsy: Associated behavioral aspects.

When a death occurs under traumatic, ambiguous, unknown, or uncertain circumstances, a death of suicidal origin can be considered. On many occasions, a suicide note is found next to body that helps to clarify certain aspects needed for the investigation to elucidate whether the death is really due to suicide or other causes. There are several types of suicide note (farewell, instructions, accusation of others, request for forgiveness, justification of one’s own suicide) that can contribute to the study of the victim’s psychological state and the circumstances that led to death. There is no unanimously approved way to conduct the psychological autopsy, but there are protocols for obtaining relevant information and preparing the report.
Estimating the Risk for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency among COPD Patients: Evidence Supporting Targeted Screening

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is known as a significant genetic risk factor for COPD for carriers of phenotype PIMZ, and for phenotypes PIZZ and PISZ. Genetic epidemiological studies for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency conducted by others on both COPD patients and concurrent non-COPD controls were used to estimate the risk factors for all six phenotypic classes (namely, the normal phenotype PIMM, and the 5 deficiency allele phenotypes: PIMS, PIMZ, PISS, PISZ, and PIZZ). Studies on alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in white (Caucasian) COPD and non-COPD populations in 6 countries were combined to obtain estimates of the prevalence of the PIS and PIZ deficiency alleles in the combined COPD and non-COPD cohorts. The odds ratios for each of the six phenotypic classes of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency were calculated for a hypothetical population of 19.3 million white COPD patients in the United States of America. This approach demonstrated that 1,829,673 alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency patients would be detected by testing 19.3 million white COPD patients and 536,033 in white non-COPD concurrent controls. The odds ratios for each of the phenotypic classes among white COPD patients demonstrate highly significant decreases in the normal phenotype PIMM, no significant change in the PIMS and PISS deficiency phenotypes, but highly significant increases in the prevalences of the PIMZ, PISZ, and PIZZ deficiency phenotypes. The result of the present study supports the concept of targeted screening for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in countries with large populations of white (Caucasian) COPD patients.
De Novo Generation and Enhanced Suppression of Human CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells by Retinoic Acid1

Therapies based on CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ T regulatory (Treg) cells offer promise for the restoration of tolerance in many immune-mediated disorders. However, it has been proven difficult to obtain large numbers of Treg cells with potent and stable suppressive ability from adult human peripheral blood because of the lack of specific markers for Treg isolation/characterization, compromised function of isolated CD4+CD25+/+ T cell populations, and the difficulty to convert conventional T cells, for example, by TGF-β, into Treg cells in a consistent manner. In this study, we show that 1) in the presence of TGF-β, all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) efficiently converts adult human peripheral blood naive CD4+ T cells into FOXP3+ Treg cells with stable and potent suppressive ability; 2) memory CD4+ T cells are resistant to FOXP3 induction and, moreover, inhibit Treg conversion of naive T cells that can be partially reversed by anti-IL-4; and 3) treatment of isolated CD4+CD25+/+ T cells with ATRA/TGF-β enhances their suppressive potential during expansion. Our results indicate that ATRA/TGF-β can be used to generate highly suppressive CD4+FOXP3+ Treg cells from adult human peripheral blood and are relevant for the development for Treg-based therapies.
Constraints on the Dark Matter Particle Mass from the Number of Milky Way Satellites

We have conducted N-body simulations of the growth of Milky Way-sized halos in cold and warm dark matter cosmologies. The number of dark matter satellites in our simulated Milky Ways decreases with decreasing mass of the dark matter particle. Assuming that the number of dark matter satellites exceeds or equals the number of observed satellites of the Milky Way, we derive lower limits on the dark matter particle mass. We find with 95% confidence m{sub s}>13.3 keV for a sterile neutrino produced by the Dodelson and Widrow mechanism, m{sub s}>8.9 keV for the Shi and Fuller mechanism, m{sub s}>3.0 keV for the Higgs decay mechanism, and m{sub WDM}>2.3 keV for a thermal dark matter particle. The recent discovery of many new dark matter dominated satellites of the Milky Way in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey allows us to set lower limits comparable to constraints from the complementary methods of Lyman-{alpha} forest modeling and x-ray observations of the unresolved cosmic x-ray background and of dark matter halos from dwarf galaxy to cluster scales. Future surveys like LSST, DES, PanSTARRS, and SkyMapper have the potential to discover many more satellites and further improve constraints on the dark matter particle mass.