Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) as a biomarker in gastric cancer: a review

Abstract Objective. The value of Tissue Inhibitor of MetalloProteinase-1 (TIMP-1) as a biomarker in patients with gastric cancer (GC) is widely debated. The aim of this review is to evaluate available literature describing the association between levels of TIMP-1 in tumor tissue and/or blood and the prognosis of patients suffering from GC. Material and methods. Using the search words ‘TIMP-1', ‘Gastric Cancer' and ‘Tumor marker', a search was carried out on PubMed. Exclusion criteria were articles never published in English, articles from before 1995 and articles evaluating tumor markers other than TIMP-1 in GC. Results. Of initially 50 articles, 17 were found to fulfill the selection criteria and relevant for this study. The 17 articles evaluated the usefulness of TIMP-1 levels in tumor tissue or blood, respectively, as a prognostic marker in patients with GC. Conclusions: A literature search showed that elevated protein levels of TIMP-1 in either tumor tissue extracts or in plasma from patients suffering from GC associates with poor patient outcome.
Capacity Building and Community Resilience: A Pilot Analysis of Education and Employment Indicators Before and After an Extension Intervention

This article reports on an analysis of the effects of a quasinatural experiment in which 16 rural communities participated in public discussion, leadership training, and community visioning as part of an Extension program at Montana State University. Difference-in-differences methods reveal that key U.S. Census socioeconomic indicators either improved more rapidly or declined more slowly in communities that took part in the program, relative to a statistically matched control group. These findings offer persuasive circumstantial evidence for the ability of Extension programs to build community resilience. The findings and methodology, therefore, have important implications for Extension's role in current public and academic resilience planning discourses.
Customer loyalty & face concerns: Differences between Eastern (Chinese) and Western (Dutch) consumers

Consider some of the issues confronting a typical marketing manager of a multinational company (MNC): Should our customer retention and customer acquisition strategies differ between Western and Eastern cultures? How should we adjust the elements of the marketing mix to appeal to Eastern and Western cultures? What are the best marketing strategies for our different products? This thesis argues that business executives can find better answers to such questions by recognizing the differences between Eastern and Western consumers with regard to two important constructs: customer loyalty and face concerns. This dissertation provides insights into both these important elements, from a cross-cultural perspective. Eastern (Chinese) consumers generally express higher loyalty intentions than Western (Dutch) consumers, whereas value, brand, and relationship equity all exert greater impacts on loyalty in Western than in Eastern cultures. Therefore, MNC managers need to focus their marketing efforts on customer acquisition, rather than customer retention, in Eastern markets. In Western cultures, MNCs instead should be customer focused and implement active relationship marketing strategies. Chinese consumers tend to purchase high-priced options more than do Dutch consumers, regardless of product visibility, product tangibility, or social presence. Furthermore, consumers with high face concerns are more likely to choose a high-priced option when purchasing material products, rather than for experiential products. These findings offer some implications for managers who need to define their MNC’s pricing strategies and design differentiated marketing mix strategies for various cultures and industries.
Ankle Brachial Pressure Index Correlation with Diastolic Blood Pressure , Dyslipidemia and Anthropometric Measurement in Patients of Essential Hypertension

Background: Hypertension is one of the most common worldwide diseases affecting humans. Due to the associated morbidity and mortality and the cost to the society, it is an important public health challenge. Therefore, health care professionals must not only identify and treat patients with hypertension but must also promote healthy lifestyle and preventive strategies to decrease the prevalence of hypertension in general population. Methods: Patients after satisfying inclusion criteria given below were divided into three groups as Stage I hypertensive, Stage II hypertensive (according to Joint National Committee [JNC] VII guidelines) and a control or the normotensive group. These are: (1) Essential hypertensive (according to JNC-VII) above 18 years of age, (2) Patients willing to give a written valid informed consent, (3) Control group included normotensive subject of either age above 18 years of age. Result: Out of the 93 subjects, 16 from Stage I had a coronary artery disease (CAD) and 20 from Stage II had a CAD. At the same time 15 from Stage I did not have a coronary vascular disease, and 11 from Stage II also did not have a CAD. This study shows that an inverse correlation with stage of hypertension, i.e., with an increase in blood pressure there is a decrease in ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) and increased risk of atherosclerosis. Conclusion: ABPI is simpler and safe alternative, but the confirmative IS coronary angiography. It cannot replace coronary angiography in the assessment of risk or prognosis of CAD, but it can help clinician to decide that the hypertensive patient is at higher risk for CAD and may help from coronary angiography.
Perfluorooctane Sulfonate Induces Apoptosis in N9 Microglial Cell Line

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is an environmental persistent acid found at low levels in human, wildlife, and environmental media samples. To study the apoptosis effects of PFOS on microglia, murine N9 cell line was used as a model in current research. The results showed that PFOS could reduce the cell viability significantly, and the cellular apoptosis induced by PFOS was closely accompanied with dissipation of mitochondria membrane potential, upregulation messenger RNAs (mRNAs) of p53, Bax, caspase 9, and caspase 3, and decreased expression of Bcl-2 mRNA. These results suggested that PFOS could disturb homeostasis of N9 cells, impact mitochondria, and affect gene expression of apoptotic regulators, all of which resulted in a start-up of apoptosis.
The U-Constructs: Four Information Drives

Facing a world of ubiquitous networks and universal devices, a world in which users can access networks at any time from any place using a range of devices to invoke unique and personalized services, it is time for IS researchers to take a new look at past, current, and future information needs. This article elaborates and extends several concepts that lay the foundation for thinking about next-generation information requirements. Specifically, four information drivers are identified that form the underlying cornerstones of our ideas. These drivers, which we call the uconstructs, euphonically comprise ubiquity, uniqueness, universality, and unison.
Zinc differentially modulates DNA damage induced by anthracyclines in normal and cancer cells.

UNLABELLED Zinc is one of the most essential trace elements in human organism. Low blood level of zinc is often noted in acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). Treatment with zinc adjuvant is hypothesized to accelerate recovery from ALL, and in conjunction with chemotherapy, cure ALL. AIM We determined the effect of zinc on DNA damage induced by doxorubicin and idarubicin, two anthracyclines used in ALL treatment. METHODS The experiment was performed on acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line (CCRF-CEM) and lymphocytes from peripheral blood of healthy, adult subjects. To evaluate the level of DNA damage the comet assay in the alkaline version was used. RESULTS We observed a significant difference in DNA damage level between normal and cancer cells in the presence of zinc. Cancer cells exhibited a significant increase of DNA damage in the presence of zinc, while in lymphocytes no such effect was observed. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that zinc may protect normal cells against DNA-damaging action of anthracyclins and increase this action in cancer cells.
Finite element modeling of compliance matrix and measurement of residual stress in EW75M plates

The crack-compliance method is an effective means of measuring the inherent residual stresses in EW75M plates. However, the complexity of calculating the compliance matrix in the data processing makes this method impossible for engineering applications. In order to complete modeling in pre-processing and results extracting in post-processing automatically in finite element software ABAQUS, the finite element calculation software for the compliance matrix was developed based on the secondary development technology of ABAQUS and user subroutines. The “Model Change” and “Load Case” were employed to improve the efficiency and accuracy. And finally, the software was verified through applying to measuring the residual stresses of EW75M plates in rolling and transverse directions.
The fatty acid composition of colostrum in three geographic regions of China.

PURPOSE To describe the fatty acid composition of human colostrum in three different regions of China. METHODS Women were recruited from river/lake, coastal and inland regions of China during late pregnancy. Their diet frequency was assessed during the 34th week of pregnancy. Colostrum samples were collected between postpartum days 3 and 5. Thirty-one different fatty acids were separated and identified in colostrum. RESULTS There were significant differences among the women in the three regions with respect to food and culinary oil consumption patterns. The mean±SD fat content (g/100 g) of colostrum from river/lake, coastal and inland regions was 2.17±1.26, 2.50±1.39 and 2.68±1.26, respectively (p=0.265, adjusted by pregnant women's age). The main saturated, monounsaturated, n-6 polyunsaturated and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in colostrum were 16:0, 18:1n9, 18:2n6 and 18:3n3, respectively. Colostrum from river/lake region had the lowest composition of total SFA and of total n-6 PUFA and the highest composition of total MUFA and of total n-3 PUFA. The amount of DHA (22:6n3) in colostrum (mean±SD, % wt/wt) was 0.51±0.18, 0.52±0.20 and 0.35±0.13 in the river/lake, coastal and inland regions, respectively (p=0.0002, adjusted by pregnant women's age). Frequency of maternal marine fish intake during the late pregnancy was positively correlated with DHA in colostrum (r=0.203, p=0.040). CONCLUSIONS The fatty acid composition of colostrum differs across geographical regions in China, which may be related to differences in maternal dietary pattern.
Pancoast tumor resection with preservation of brachial plexus and hand function.

OBJECT Pancoast tumors are aggressive bronchogenic lesions of the lung apex that are rapidly fatal if untreated. Modern treatment includes induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy prior to resection, but many authors also resect the T-1 nerve root (with or without the C-8 nerve root and the lower trunk of the brachial plexus) as part of the therapy, causing significant loss of hand function in many patients. The current authors determined whether a different approach allowing preservation of the brachial plexus and hand function could be adopted without compromising patient survival. An extensive historical review of Pancoast tumors is presented as a baseline for clinical comparison. METHODS Five patients harboring Pancoast tumors with brachial plexus involvement underwent surgery performed by both a neurosurgeon and thoracic surgeon. In all cases the tumor was resected from the brachial plexus using neurolysis while preserving the C-8 and T-1 nerve roots and lower trunk of the brachial plexus. RESULTS One patient died 3 years posttreatment; the other four patients remain alive and well 2 to 5 years postoperatively. Hand function improved or remained normal in all four survivors, with postoperative intrinsic hand muscle function being Louisiana State University Medical Center Grade 5 in each patient. These results (2-year survival rate of 100%) compare favorably with the Southwest Oncology Group Data (overall 2-year survival rate of 55%; 70% in patients who had undergone complete resection). With a minimum 2-year follow-up, 80% of patients remained alive and well, with normal hand function. CONCLUSIONS Although this patient series is small, the findings are extremely encouraging and suggest that the described treatment paradigm preserves survival as well as hand function in patients with Pancoast tumors.
Iron‐regulated haemolysin gene from Edwardsiella tarda

We have cloned and sequenced the haemolysin gene locus from Edwardsiella tarda (ETH). This region encoded two open reading frames, designated ethA and ethB. ethA is the haemolysin gene consisting of 4782 bp encoding a product of 165.3 kDa and ethB is an activation/secretion protein gene of 1677 bp that encodes a product of 61.9 kDa. There were two putative ferric uptake regulator (Fur) binding sites on the 5′ upstream region of the ethB gene overlapping the promoter region and ribosome‐binding site. The haemolysin produced by the cloned gene was secreted by Escherichia coli. The deduced amino acid sequences of the ethA and ethB genes were found to be homologous to those of the haemolysin and activation/secretion proteins of Haemophilus ducreyi, Proteus mirabilis, and Serratia marcescens. E. coli carrying the ethA gene but not the ethB gene completely lost haemolytic activity, although the ethA gene was transcribed. The protein expressed by E. coli carrying a recombinant plasmid which encoded the ethA gene had haemagglutination activity. The EthB protein was necessary for activation of EthA protein (haemolysin). The ethA and ethB genes were very prevalent in haemolytic E. tarda strains isolated from diseased fish. Transcription of the ethB gene was regulated by iron. The ethA and ethB genes were transcribed independently.
Adoption of Business Process Orientation Practices: Slovenian and Croatian Survey

Adoption of Business Process Orientation Practices: Slovenian and Croatian Survey Process orientation has been empirically linked to corporate performance. Several studies have shown that more process oriented companies perform better than less process oriented companies. Consequently, many researchers attempted to define what makes a company process oriented, which resulted in numerous frameworks and conceptualizations of process orientation. Based on concepts of business process orientation (BPO) the authors have developed and operationalised a concept of extended BPO to study its adoption in two countries, one EU member and one a candidate for EU membership (Slovenia and Croatia, respectively). Extensive field study has been carried out in these countries. The results of the analysis show that there are many statistically significant differences, namely companies in Slovenia have implemented process oriented practices to a higher degree than their counterparts in Croatia. The paper shows the main differences in BPO areas and practices.
Computerised cognitive training for older persons with mild cognitive impairment: A pilot study using a randomised controlled trial design

The results of a pilot randomised controlled trial of computerised cognitive training in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are reported. Participants (N = 25) were randomised into either the treatment or waitlist training groups. Sixteen participants completed the 30-session computerised cognitive training program using exercises that target a range of cognitive functions including attention, processing speed, visual memory and executive functions. It was hypothesised that participants would improve with practice on the trained tasks, that the benefits of training would generalise to nontrained neuropsychological measures, and that training would result in improved perceptions of memory and memory functioning when compared with waitlist controls. Results indicated that participants were able to improve their performance across a range of tasks with training. There was some evidence of generalisation of training to a measure of visual sustained attention. There were no significant effects of training on selfreported everyday memory functioning or mood. The results are discussed along with suggestions for future research.
The membrane protein universe: what's out there and why bother?

Chances are that you have come across membrane proteins many times in your professional life: ion channels, aquaporins, G‐protein‐coupled receptors, drug resistance proteins. But it is also quite likely that you have never bothered to think about what the implications are of being a membrane protein, as opposed to a soluble protein. What is special about membrane proteins in terms of structure and function, how many membrane proteins are out there, how are they made in the cell? Welcome to the membrane protein universe!
Coping Strategies Used by Breast, Prostate, and Colorectal Cancer Survivors: A Literature Review

Background: Individual coping strategies are a fundamental element underpinning psychosocial distress. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe coping strategies and their measurement used by survivors of breast, prostate, and/or colorectal cancer after treatment. Methods: A search of electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO) was conducted from January 1980 to March 2015. Data were extracted using standardized forms and included studies that explored the coping mechanisms of survivorship of breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer. Results: Two thousand one hundred forty-seven studies were retrieved for potential inclusion; 19 publications met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Conclusions: Breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer survivors seem to use different coping strategies that varied throughout the survivorship trajectory. Breast cancer survivors highlighted the importance of accepting their diagnosis and engaging in physical activities that provided social and emotional support. Personality seemed to have a significant effect on coping for prostate cancer survivors. Colorectal cancer survivors emphasized the importance of seeking information to master self-management and return to social activities. Implications for Practice: Understanding coping strategies, during the survivorship trajectories, is essential to planning contemporary care after cancer treatment. Nurses and other healthcare professionals may use this knowledge to improve quality of life and decrease distress after diagnosis.
Clinical performance of all-ceramic inlay and onlay restorations in posterior teeth.

PURPOSE The aim of this clinical retrospective study was to evaluate the clinical performance and longevity of glass-ceramic onlays and inlays in stress-bearing posterior teeth. MATERIALS AND METHOD Five hundred forty-seven posterior teeth in the maxillae and mandibles of 120 patients (46 males, 74 females) were restored with 213 onlays, 38 single-surface inlays, 141 two-surface inlays, and 155 three-surface inlays between 1987 and 2009 at Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria, by two experienced dentists. The restoration sample included 9 (1.6%) nonvital teeth and 40 (33%) patients diagnosed with bruxism. The study population was examined clinically during regularly scheduled maintenance appointments. The risk of failure was determined using Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. RESULTS The mean observation periods for onlays and all inlays were 80 ± 34 months and 111 ± 63 months, respectively. Twenty-seven failures were recorded. The estimated survival rates for onlays and all inlays after 5, 10, and 12 years were 98.9% and 98.9%, 92.4% and 96.8%, and 92.4% and 89.6%, respectively. Nonvital teeth showed a significantly higher risk of failure (P < .001). There was no greater risk of failure associated with existing parafunction (bruxism) (P = .408). Restorations on premolars survived longer in the first 15 years than restorations on molars, but no statistical significance was found (P = .913). CONCLUSION Glass-ceramic onlays and inlays were demonstrated to be successful in posterior teeth; however, at this time, their efficacy is inferior to that of cast gold restorations.
Differences in the Acute Toxic Effects of Breast Radiotherapy by Fractionation Schedule: Comparative Analysis of Physician-Assessed and Patient-Reported Outcomes in a Large Multicenter Cohort.

IMPORTANCE Randomized trials have established the long-term safety and efficacy of hypofractionated whole-breast radiotherapy, but little is known about the acute toxic effects experienced by patients treated with hypofractionation as compared with conventional fractionation, particularly in real-world settings and from the patient's own perspective. OBJECTIVE To evaluate prospectively collected data on acute toxic effects and patient-reported outcomes in a cohort treated with varying radiation fractionation schemes in practices collaborating in the Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium (MROQC). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We compared toxic effects in patients receiving hypofractionation (HF) vs conventional fractionation (CF) during treatment (through 7 days after treatment) and in follow-up (posttreatment days 8-210), after adjustment for sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment characteristics. The MROQC includes academic and community radiation oncology practices across Michigan. All 2604 patients who received adjuvant whole-breast radiotherapy after lumpectomy for unilateral breast cancer at MROQC participating sites from October 2011 through June 2014 were registered; we analyzed 2309 for whom there was a comprehensive physician toxicity evaluation within 1 week of completion of radiotherapy and at least 1 weekly toxicity evaluation during treatment. EXPOSURES Hypofractionation vs CF. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Physicians reported dermatitis, pain, fatigue, and other common toxic effects associated with breast radiotherapy at baseline, weekly during radiotherapy, and in follow-up. Patients who consented also rated their own experiences, including breast pain, fatigue, and being bothered by symptoms. RESULTS Of the 2309 evaluable patients, 578 received HF. During treatment, after adjustment for sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment factors, patients receiving CF had significantly higher maximum physician-assessed skin reaction (moist desquamation, 28.5% vs 6.6%, P < .001; grade ≥2 dermatitis, 62.6% vs 27.4%, P < .001), self-reported pain (moderate/severe pain, 41.1% vs 24.2%, P = .003), burning/stinging bother (often/always, 38.7% vs 15.7%, P = .002), hurting bother (33.5% vs 16.0%, P = .001), swelling bother (29.6% vs 15.7%, P = .03), and fatigue (29.7% vs 18.9%, P = .02) but slightly greater absence of skin induration in follow-up (84.5% vs 81.2%, P = .02). No significant differences were observed in any other measured outcomes during follow-up extending through 6 months. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Hypofractionation not only improves convenience but also may reduce acute pain, fatigue, and the extent to which patients are bothered by dermatitis in patients with breast cancer undergoing whole-breast radiotherapy.