Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Current Prophylaxis and Treatment Approaches for Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD) continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality following allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). However, higher event-free survival (EFS) was observed in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and grade II aGvHD vs. patients with no or grade I GvHD in the randomised, controlled, open-label, international, multicentre Phase III For Omitting Radiation Under Majority age (FORUM) trial. This finding suggests that moderate-severity aGvHD is associated with a graft-versus-leukaemia effect which protects against leukaemia recurrence. In order to optimise the benefits of HSCT for leukaemia patients, reduction of non-relapse mortality—which is predominantly caused by severe GvHD—is of utmost importance. Herein, we review contemporary prophylaxis and treatment options for aGvHD in children with ALL and the key challenges of aGvHD management, focusing on maintaining the graft-versus-leukaemia effect without increasing the severity of GvHD.
Genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior and alcohol dependence from adolescence to early adulthood

Genetic and environmental influences on symptoms of adult antisocial behavior (AAB) and alcohol dependence at ages 17, 20, and 24 were examined cross-sectionally and longitudinally in 188 monozygotic and 101 dizygotic male twin pairs. A moderate genetic influence on both AAB and alcohol dependence was found at each age, with a substantial proportion of this influence common to the two disorders, suggesting they share susceptibility genes. Biometrical models showed that continuity effects accounted for most of the stable variance in symptoms of both AAB and alcohol dependence, indicating that genetic and environmental effects associated with each of these disorders were similar at each age. Significant cross-lag effects (effects of alcohol dependence contributing to variance in AAB and vice versa) were observed at ages 20 and 24 for both disorders. The largest and theoretically most interesting of these effects indicated that one sixth of the genetic influence on AAB at age 20 was due to genetic effects associated with alcohol dependence at age 17. Thus, alcohol dependence symptoms at age 17 in particular had an effect on antisocial behavior symptoms at age 20, suggesting that alcohol involvement in adolescence may ensnare otherwise desisting youth in persistent antisocial behavior.The present study was supported in part by grants from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (DA 05147) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA09367). We are grateful to a number of individuals for their assistance in coding and entering data that were not previously available. Our special thanks are due to Irene Elkins, Linda Springer, Kari Melchert, and Kristen Abernethy for their gracious and timely help.
Religious reflexivity and transmissive frequency

Le degre selon lequel les rituels religieux favorisent une posture reflexive depend de la frequence transmissive. Des rituels hautement repetitifs peuvent etre reproduits sur la base de procedures de savoir largement implicites, suscitant une reflexion d'exegese quasi spontanee (avec ses experiences relatives de doute et de scepticisme) la ou des rituels plus exceptionnels se voient reproduits grâce a des schemes de procedures explicites, ouvrant cette fois un processus plus riche mais aussi plus graduel de reflexion exegetique. L'A. propose un modele detaille de ces deux dynamiques en esquissant une combinaison possible du materiel ethnographique et de la decouverte experimentale.
Esophagogastrostomy reconstruction after limited proximal gastrectomy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Recent advances in diagnostic techniques have led to the detection of an increasing number of early gastric cancers in the upper third of the stomach. The objective of this study was to determine the most appropriate surgical treatment for these cancers. METHODOLOGY The clinicopathologic characteristics of 35 patients with early gastric cancer in the upper third of the stomach who underwent three different types of gastrectomies were reviewed retrospectively from hospital records between January 1992 and August 1999. RESULTS Patients undergoing limited proximal gastrectomy with esophagogastrostomy reconstruction had shorter operation times and less blood loss than those for patients undergoing total gastrectomy or proximal gastrectomy with jejunal interposition. No lymph node metastasis was identified in any of these patients. Heartburn due to reflux esophagitis was seen in a few patients of each group, but they were successfully treated by antacids. The extreme reduction in food intake volume was more frequently experienced in patients with total gastrectomy than those with both proximal gastrectomies. When mortality due to other disease was excluded, all patients survived without recurrence. CONCLUSIONS A limited proximal gastrectomy with esophagogastrostomy reconstruction decreased surgical risk and realized preservation of maximal function.
Split-bolus MDCT urography with synchronous nephrographic and excretory phase enhancement.

OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to evaluate the utility of CT urography performed using a split contrast bolus that yields synchronous nephrographic and excretory phase enhancement. MATERIALS AND METHODS Five hundred consecutive patients referred for evaluation of possible urinary tract abnormalities (327 for painless hematuria) underwent CT urography with unenhanced scanning of the abdomen and pelvis and scanning during concurrent nephrographic and excretory phase enhancement produced by administration of a split contrast bolus. The enhanced abdomen scan was obtained with abdominal compression; the enhanced pelvis scan was obtained after release of compression. Findings from axial sections and coronal maximum intensity projections were correlated with clinical follow-up and, as available, with laboratory and other imaging studies including cystoscopy, ureteroscopy, urine cytology, surgery, and pathology. Follow-up management for each patient was determined by the clinical judgment of the referring physician. RESULTS CT urography identified 100% of pathologically confirmed renal cell carcinomas (n = 10) and uroepithelial malignancies involving the renal collecting system or ureter (n = 8). An additional nine renal masses were identified for which no pathologic proof has yet been obtained, including eight subcentimeter solid renal masses and one multiloculated lesion. Fourteen of 19 confirmed cases of uroepithelial neoplasm involving the bladder were identified. CT urography yielded one false-positive for bladder tumor, two false-positives for ureteral tumor, and one patient with a bladder mass who refused further evaluation. CT urography yielded sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 99% and 74% and 99% and positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 80% and 100% and 93% and 99% for the renal collecting system and ureter and bladder, respectively. CT urography was ineffective in identifying 11 cases of noninfectious cystitis. CT urography also depicted numerous other congenital and acquired abnormalities of the urinary tract. CONCLUSION Split-bolus MDCT urography detected all proven cases of tumors of the upper urinary tract, yielding high sensitivity and specificity. The split-bolus technique has the potential to reduce both radiation dose and the number of images generated by MDCT urography.
Learner Support in Distance and Networked Learning Environments: Ten Dimensions for Successful Design

How do educators and instructional designers assess the effectiveness of the learning environments they design? One important means of ensuring the effectiveness of instruction in distance and face-to-face settings is through provision of learner support. Increasingly, as learners utilize the World Wide Web for collaborative learning, support systems contribute to the processes of learning and assist the learner in developing competencies and confidence in self-regulated learning and social interaction. Originating in the socio-cultural perspective of Vygotskyan theory, the term scaffolding refers to learning support based on social constructivist models of learning. As the World Wide Web becomes increasingly integrated into the delivery of learning experiences at primary, tertiary and secondary levels, the concept of scaffolding needs to be reconsidered because it is not readily translated into contexts where the teacher is not present, such as in online learning environments. The aim of this paper is to offer a conceptualization of the term scaffolding in distance learning, to provide examples of how learners can be supported in the processes of constructivist inquiry in a range of learning settings, and to offer principles for the design of learning support that can be applied across a range of instructional settings.
Diphenyl Furans and Aza Analogs: Effects of Structural Modification on In Vitro Activity, DNA Binding, and Accumulation and Distribution in Trypanosomes

ABSTRACT Human African trypanosomiasis is a devastating disease with only a few treatment options, including pentamidine. Diamidine compounds such as pentamidine, DB75, and DB820 are potent antitrypanosomal compounds. Previous investigations have shown that diamidines accumulate to high concentrations in trypanosomes. However, the mechanism of action of this class of compounds remains unknown. A long-hypothesized mechanism of action has been binding to DNA and interference with DNA-associated enzymes. The fluorescent diamidines, DB75 and DB820, have been shown to localize not only in the DNA-containing nucleus and kinetoplast of trypanosomes but also to the acidocalcisomes. Here we investigate two series of analogs of DB75 and DB820 with various levels of in vitro antitrypanosomal activity to determine whether any correlation exists between trypanosome accumulation, distribution, and in vitro activity. Despite wide ranges of in vitro antitrypanosomal activity, all of the compounds investigated accumulated to millimolar concentrations in trypanosomes over a period of 8 h. Interestingly, some of the less potent compounds accumulated to concentrations much higher than those of more potent compounds. All of the compounds were localized to the DNA-containing nucleus and/or kinetoplast, and many were also found in the acidocalcisomes. Accumulation in the nucleus and kinetoplast should be important to the mechanism of action of these compounds. The acidocalcisomes may also play a role in the mechanism of action of these compounds. This investigation suggests that the extent of accumulation alone is not responsible for killing trypanosomes and that organelle-specific accumulation may not predict in vitro activity.
Weak magnetism for antineutrinos in supernovae

Weak magnetism increases antineutrino mean free paths in core collapse supernovae. The parity violating interference between axial vector and vector currents makes antineutrino-nucleon cross sections smaller than those for neutrinos. We calculate simple, exact correction factors to include recoil and weak magnetism in supernova simulations. Weak magnetism may significantly increase the neutrino energy flux. We calculate, in a diffusion approximation, an increase of order 15% in the total energy flux for temperatures near 10 MeV. This should raise the neutrino luminosity. Weak magnetism also changes the emitted spectrum of ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{x}$ (with $x=\ensuremath{\mu}$ or $\ensuremath{\tau})$ and ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{e}. $ We estimate that ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{x}$ will be emitted about 7% hotter than ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{x}$ because ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{x}$ have longer mean free paths. Likewise weak magnetism may increase the ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{e}$ temperature by of order 10%. This increase in temperature coupled with the increase in neutrino luminosity should increase the heating in the low density region outside of the neutrino sphere. This, in turn, could be important for the success of an explosion. It is important to check our results with a full simulation that includes Boltzmann neutrino transport and weak magnetism corrections.
Learning to Drive a Bicycle Using Reinforcement Learning and Shaping

We present and solve a real-world problem of learning to drive a bicycle. We solve the problem by online reinforcement learning using the Sarsa(A)-algorithm. Then we solve the composite problem of learning to balance a bicycle and then drive to 'It goal. In our approach the reinforcement function is independent of the task the agent tries to learn to solve.
Sonic hedgehog promotes the generation of myelin proteins by transplanted oligosphere‐derived cells

The generation of large numbers of functionally relevant cells for transplantation remains central to the use of cell replacement as a therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases. In this study we have analyzed the effect of sonic hedgehog (Shh) pretreatment on the myelinating potential of transplanted oligosphere‐derived cells. The retina was chosen as a model for assessing this myelinating capability because 1) there is a lack of endogenous myelin in the normal rodent retina and 2) the retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons are receptive to myelination, once myelinating cells have access to the retinal nerve fiber layer. Initially, oligospheres were generated in the presence of B104 CM but without the addition of Shh. After transplantation, 60% of the animals developed tumors in the eye that had received the transplant and were not analyzed for the presence of myelin. In the remaining retinas, the transplanted oligosphere‐derived cells were not myelin competent, as indicated by the absence of myelin proteins in the retinal nerve fiber layer. In contrast, when B104 CM oligospheres were generated in the presence of Shh, myelin proteins were found in the nerve fiber layer after transplantation. In addition, the amount of myelin proteins synthesized increased with time posttransplantation, with the majority of the nerve fiber layer immunoreactive for these proteins in some retinas after 2 months. This study has demonstrated that growth as oligospheres and endogenously derived growth/differentiation factors alone are not sufficient to induce the differentiation of B104‐treated oligosphere‐derived cells and that pretreating the oligospheres by growth in the presence of Shh before transplantation is essential to induce their myelinating competence. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
GLUT1 mRNA and Protein Expression in Ovarian Borderline Tumors and Cancer

Objectives: Increased glucose uptake and utilization is a major feature of malignant tumors. Recent studies suggest that the key mechanism of enhanced glucose metabolism in carcinoma cells involves the overexpression of transmembrane glucose transporter proteins (GLUTs). The aim of the present study was to analyze the expression of different GLUT isoforms (GLUT1–4) and to investigate whether alterations in their expression pattern accompany the malignant transformation and progression of ovarian cancer. Methods: Tumor tissue of 94 patients suffering from primary ovarian cancer (n = 78) or borderline tumors (n = 16) and tissue from 16 patients with benign ovarian changes were examined in this study. Immunohistochemistry was performed using polyclonal GLUT1–4 antibodies. GLUT1 protein expression was quantified by Western blot analysis. GLUT1 mRNA expression was analyzed by mRNA in situ hybridization. Results: All of the invasive carcinomas were positive for GLUT1. In contrast, GLUT1 expression was moderate in borderline tumors and weak to negative in all benign ovarian neoplasms. High GLUT1 mRNA levels were observed only in ovarian cancer. The intensity of GLUT1 expression in malignant ovarian neoplasms was associated neither with tumor characteristics nor with patient survival. Only GLUT3 revealed weak but homogeneous expression in human ovarian cancer as well as in benign ovarian tumors. GLUT2 and GLUT4 showed no expression in ovarian tissue. Conclusions: GLUT1 mRNA and protein were found to be expressed specifically in primary ovarian cancer. The close relationship between GLUT1 mRNA and protein expression points towards the potential relevance of GLUT1 as a diagnostic tool and therapeutic target in ovarian cancer.
Fano resonances in quasi-one-dimensional electron waveguides.

In the spectroscopy of atoms and molecules, an asymmetric Fano resonance arises whenever a bound state associated with one electronic configuration is coupled to the ionisation continuum of a different configuration. A strikingly similar resonance appears for electronic transport in conductors with more than one subband, independent of the specific details of the system under study. We develop a two-subband approximation which describes the Fano resonances for conduction through an electron waveguide containing donor impurities, for Γ-X-Γ intervalley tunneling in a GaAs/Al x Ga 1-x As/GaAs heterojunction, and for an electron waveguide coupled to a resonant cavity. Interference between the direct and intersubband transmission channels gives rise to the asymmetric Fano resonance
The dynamic character of partial discharge in epoxy resin at different stages of treeing

Simultaneous imaging of electrical tree growth and partial discharge measurement have allowed 5 stages of tree growth to be identified. Partial discharge (PD) characteristics have been collected from tree growth in needle-plane epoxy resin samples under 15 kV peak AC voltage, and have been shown to behave differently at different stages of tree growth. Initial slow growth is accompanied by large discharges (about 10 pC). Thereafter, growth of fine channels is associated with smaller PDs (about 0.3 pC). It was observed that the tree propagation is further driven by even smaller PDs below the equipment sensitivity. However, when the tree approaches the counter electrode, the PD magnitude increases again and a more substantial tree grows with a low propagation rate. Reverse tree channels then occur from the planar electrode towards the needle, together with higher magnitude PDs characterized by thick and dark branches before breakdown.
Local Sufficiency for Partial Strategyproofness

In (Mennle and Seuken, 2017), we have introduced partial strategyproofness, a new, relaxed notion of strategyproofness, to study the incentive properties of non-strategyproof assignment mechanisms. In this paper, we present results pertaining to local sufficiency for partial strategyproofness: We show that, for any r in [0,1], r-local partial strategyproofness implies r^2-partial strategyproofness, and we show that this is the tightest polynomial bound for which a guarantee can be proven. Our results unify the two prior local sufficiency results for strategyproofness (Carroll, 2012) and lexicographic dominance-strategyproofness (Cho, 2012).
El Experimento Educativo Chileno 20 años Después: Una Mirada Crítica a los Logros y Falencias del Sistema Escolar

Hasta hace algunos años era difícil encontrar en Chile estudios e investigaciones que se refirieran a los resultados reales que han tenido las políticas educativas implementadas durante los últimos 15 años en el país. Por el contrario la mayoría de las publicaciones en el ámbito hacían referencia a explicar el diseño de la reforma educacional, sus principios y etapas. Con la publicación del “Informe de Políticos Nacionales de Educación: Chile” de la OCDE se abre otra etapa en la investigación educativa del país. Se coloca en el tapete el tema de los resultados de las políticas de reforma implementadas. El panorama que emerge es contradictorio, de luces y de sombras. Con enormes avances en algunas áreas, con estancamientos y retrocesos en otras. El presente artículo pretende ser un aporte a este debate. Para ello, y como una necesidad de recorte del objeto de estudio, se analizará la situación de nuestro sistema educativo escolar obligatorio (enseñanza básica y media) dejando de lado el análisis de la educación pre-escolar y superior. Se discutirán estos resultados a la luz de las dos grandes transformaciones sufridas por nuestro sistema escolar, la de comienzos de los años ’80 en un contexto dictatorial y la que viene ocurriendo desde principios de los años ’90 con los gobiernos democráticos.
ePub WU Institutional Repository

It is widely recognised that knowledge and highly skilled individuals as “carriers” of knowledge (i.e. knowledge spillover agents) play a key role in impelling the development and growth of cities and regions. In this paper we discuss the relation between the mobility of talent and knowledge flows. In this context, several issues are examined, including the role of highly skilled labour for regional development, the features that characterise knowledge spillovers through labour mobility, the key factors for attracting and retaining talent as well as the rise of “brain gain” policies. Although the paper deals with highly skilled mobility and migration in general, a particular attention will be paid to flows of (star) scientists.
HISTORICAL BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE NEW WORLD SOLITAIRES (MYADESTES SPP)

Abstract Solitaires (Myadestes spp.) are montane-forest birds that are widely distributed throughout the New World, ranging from Alaska to northern Bolivia and including both Hawaii and the West Indies. To understand the origins of this impressive distribution, we used five mitochondrial gene sequences to reconstruct the historical biogeography of the genus. The resulting phylogeny indicates a rapid initial spread of the genus to occupy most of its contemporary continental range at least as far south as lower Mesoamerica, plus Hawaii and the Greater Antilles. The North American M. townsendi appears to be the sister taxon of the rest of Myadestes. Myadestes obscurus of Hawaii is more closely allied to Mesoamerican lineages than to M. townsendi. The strongly supported sister relationship of the two West Indian taxa, M. elisabeth and M. genibarbis, indicates a single colonization of the West Indies. A more recent node links the Andean M. ralloides to the Mesoamerican M. melanops and M. coloratus. A standard molecular clock calibration of 2% sequence divergence per million years for avian mitochondrial DNA suggests that the initial diversification of Myadestes occurred near the end of the Miocene (between 5 and 7.5 mya). Cooler temperatures and lower sea levels at that time would have increased the extent of montane forests and reduced overwater dispersal distances, possibly favoring range expansion and colonization of the West Indies. The split between South American and southern Mesoamerican lineages dates to ∼3 mya, which suggests that Myadestes expanded its range to South America soon after the Pliocene rise of the Isthmus of Panama. Despite the demonstrated capacity of Myadestes for long-distance dispersal, several species of Myadestes are highly differentiated geographically. Phylogeographic structure was greatest in the West Indian M. genibarbis, which occurs on several islands in the Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles, and in the Andean M. ralloides. The phylogeographic differentiation within M. ralloides was not anticipated by previous taxonomic treatments and provides a further example of the importance of the Andes in the diversification of Neotropical birds. Overall, the historical biogeography of Myadestes suggests that range expansion and long-distance dispersal are transient population phases followed by persistent phases of population differentiation and limited dispersal. Biogeografía Histórica de los Zorzales del Género Myadestes