Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical and histopathological prognostic factors in locoregional advanced laryngeal cancer

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the clinical and histopathological factors affecting the prognosis of patients with squamous cell locoregional advanced laryngeal cancer. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted of 121 patients with locoregional advanced laryngeal cancer, primarily treated with surgery from 2007 to 2011. Disease-free survival and overall survival rates were analysed as oncological outcomes. Prognostic variables, namely gender, pharyngeal invasion, pathological assessment of tumour and nodal stage, adjuvant therapy, margin status, nodal extracapsular extension, tumour differentiation, lymphovascular and perineural invasion, and predominant growth pattern, were also analysed. Results: One-year and three-year disease-free survival rates were 81.3 per cent and 63.5 per cent, respectively. One-year and three-year overall survival rates were 88.3 per cent and 61.4 per cent, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that nodal extracapsular extension (p < 0.05) and an infiltrative growth pattern (p < 0.05) were associated with disease progression. Nodal extracapsular extension (p < 0.05) was associated with higher mortality. Conclusion: Nodal extracapsular extension and an infiltrative growth pattern were the main prognostic factors in locoregional advanced laryngeal cancer. The presence of pharyngeal invasion, pathologically confirmed node-positive stage 2–3 disease, close or microscopic positive margins, and lymphovascular and perineural invasion have a negative impact on prognosis.
The need to evaluate.

Five studies tested the hypothesis that stable individual differences exist in the chronic tendency to engage in evaluative responding. In 2 studies, the 16-item Need to Evaluate Scale (NES) was developed and demonstrated to possess high internal consistency, a single factor structure, high testretest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity. Three additional studies supported the predictive validity of the NES. In one, high-NES participants were more likely to report having attitudes toward a variety of important social and political issues than low-NES participants. In another study, high-NES participants wrote more evaluative thoughts in a free thought listing about unfamiliar paintings than low-NES participants. In a final study, high-NES participants wrote more evaluative thoughts in a free thought listing about a typical day in their lives than low-NES participants. Implications for research in social and personality psychology are discussed.
EFFECT OF PROBIOTICS AND AVOTAN ON THE LEVEL OF THYROID HORMONES IN THE BLOOD PLASMA OF BROILER CHICKENS

Chotinsky, D. and R. Mihaylov, 2013. Effect of probiotics and avotan on the level of thyroid hormones in the blood plasma of broiler chickens. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 19: 817-821 a feeding experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of lacto sacc, yea sacc and avotan in the diets on the level of thyroxin, triiodothyronine and thyrotrophin hormone in the blood plasma of broiler chickens. six hundred day old commercial broiler chickens were weighted and assigned randomly in four dietary treatments: 1. a basal diet (control); 2. a basal diet + 0.1 % lacto sacc ; 3. a basal diet + 0.1 % yea sacc ; 4. a basal diet + 0.01 % avotan. Each dietary treatment had three replicates with 50 broiler chickens per replicate. The quantity of thyroxine did not change significantly in the supplementation of 0.1 % Lacto Sacc, 0.1 % Yea Sacc and 0.01 % avotan in the diets of broiler chickens. The level of triiodothyronine in the blood plasma increased insignificantly with the supplementation of 0.01 % Avotan, while this level significantly increases in the supplementation of 0.1 % Lacto Sacc and 0.1 % Yea Sacc in the diets of broiler chickens. Plasma thyrotrophin levels were nоt significantly different between untreated and treated broiler chickens.
Blindness Caused by Pterygium – A Case Report

Pterygium leading to bilateral blindness and forcing patient to quit job is uncommon. This is a case report of a 46 year old indigent woman who had blinding pterygia over 10 years. She could not afford pterygium excision offered in a private eye clinic where she initially presented after a period of unsuccessful self medication. She was forced out of sewing job consequent to her inability to thread needle, difficulty reading number on the tape rule and difficulty recognising faces of her clients. Six years later, she presented at eye clinic of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria with advanced bilateral pterygia. Having defaulted from clinic over 4 months for lack of fund, the patient, after concession, had successful bilateral pterygia excision using bare sclera technique with Mitomycin C (MMC) dab. There was restoration of the lost vision. Pterygium is a cause of avoidable blindness with consequential impact on quality of life. Eye care providers should identify individual patient challenges to reduce avoidable blindness. Keywords: Avoidable blindness, Patient challenges, Pterygium, Quality of life
Linking Solubility and Permeability Assays for Maximum Throughput and Reproducibility

Solubility and permeability are intimately linked in drug absorption processes. They have, however, been traditionally assayed separately. To support this linkage, a combined solubility/permeability assay was developed for determining absorption properties of chemical entities. First, solubility is determined at 4 pH values by comparing the concentration of a saturated compound solution to its dilute, known concentration. The filtered, saturated solution from the solubility assay is then used as input material for the membrane permeability determination. The permeability assay is a parallel artificial membrane technique whereby a membrane is created on a solid support parallel artificial membrane permeation assay (PAMPA). The 2 artificial membranes presented here model the gastrointestinal tract and the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Data are presented for control compounds, which are well documented in the literature and exemplify a range of solubility and membrane permeability. The advantages of the combination method are 1) reduction of sample usage and preparation time, 2) elimination of interference from compound precipitation in membrane permeability determination, 3) maximization of input concentration to permeability assay for improved reproducibility, and 4) optimization of sample tracking by streamlining data entry and calculations. BBB permeability ranking of compounds correlates well with literature CNS activity.
Diacridinium hexachloridoplatinate(IV) dihydrate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, (C13H10N)2[PtCl6]·2H2O, contains a protonated acridine cation, one half of a [PtCl6]2− dianionic complex and a solvent water molecule. The octahedral [PtCl6]2− dianion is located on an inversion centre. π–π interactions between neighboring acridinium cations produce stacks along the a axis; the shortest distance between the centroids of the six-membered rings within the cations is 3.553 (9) Å. In the crystal, two independent intermolecular O—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, both involving the same Cl atom of the anion as acceptor, give rise to chains also running along the a axis; in addition each water molecule, as a hydrogen-bond acceptor, is linked to the acridinium N—H group.
Combined conventional/antioxidant "Astaxanthin" treatment for male infertility: a double blind, randomized trial.

AIM To evaluate the treatment of male infertility with a strong natural antioxidant, in addition to conventional treatment. METHODS Using a double blind, randomized trial design, 30 men with infertility of > or =2 months and female partners with no demonstrable cause of infertility received conventional treatment according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), and either a strong antioxidant Astaxanthin 16 mg/day (AstaCarox, AstaReal AB, Gustavsberg, Sweden) or placebo for 3 months. The effects of treatment on semen parameters, reactive oxygen species (ROS), zona-free hamster oocyte test, serum hormones including testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and Inhibin B, and spontaneous or intrauterine insemination (IUI)-induced pregnancies were evaluated. RESULTS ROS and Inhibin B decreased significantly and sperm linear velocity increased in the Astaxanthin group (n = 11), but not in the placebo group (n = 19). The results of the zona-free hamster oocyte test tended to improve in the Astaxanthin group in contrast with the placebo group, though not reaching statistical significance. The total and per cycle pregnancy rates among the placebo cases (10.5 % and 3.6 %) were lower compared with 54.5 % and 23.1 % respectively in the Astaxanthin group (P = 0.028; P = 0.036). CONCLUSION Although the present study suggests a positive effect of Astaxanthin on sperm parameters and fertility, the results need to be confirmed in a larger trial before recommending Astaxanthin for the complementary treatment of infertile men.
Increased dopamine activity associated with stuttering

POSITRON emission tomography using 6-FDOPA as a marker of presynaptic dopaminergic activity was used to investigate the role of the dopamine system in stuttering. Three patients with moderate to severe developmental stuttering were compared with six normal controls. Stuttering subjects showed significantly higher 6-FDOPA uptake than normal controls in medial pre-frontal cortex, deep orbital cortex, insular cortex, extended amygdala, auditory cortex and caudate tail. Elevated 6-FDOPA uptake in ventral limbic cortical and subcortical regions is compatible with the hypothesis that stuttering is associated with an overactive pre-synaptic dopamine system in brain regions that modulate verbalization.
Serological Analysis of the Deoxyribonucleic Acid Polymerase of Avian Oncornaviruses II. Comparison of Avian Deoxyribonucleic Acid Polymerases

Monospecific antiserum prepared against the isolated deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymerase of avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) neutralized the endogenous ribonucleic acid-instructed DNA polymerase activity of detergent-disrupted virus. The viral polymerase was serologically unrelated to the seven major structural polypeptides of AMV. Furthermore, the viral enzyme was distinguished from normal cellular DNA polymerases by serological criteria; thus, antiserum against the viral enzyme neutralized its homologous antigen but not normal cellular DNA polymerases. Neutralization by antibody of viral DNA polymerase activity was observed with all avian leukemia-sarcoma viruses tested, irrespective of viral antigenic subtype. The DNA polymerase activity of avian reticuloendotheliosis virus, and of a variety of mammalian oncornaviruses, was not neutralized by antisera against the AMV polymerase. Immunological analysis of the RSVα(O) mutant, which is deficient in DNA polymerase activity, shows this mutant to lack demonstrable polymerase antigen. Viral polymerase was identified by immunofluorescence as a cytoplasmic constituent in virus-producing chicken cells; polymerase antigen was not detected in uninfected (gs−) chicken cells.
The link between marine sediment records and changes in Holocene Saharan landscape: simulating the dust cycle

Abstract. Marine sediment records reveal an abrupt and strong increase in dust deposition in the North Atlantic at the end of the African Humid Period about 4.9 to 5.5 ka ago. The change in dust flux has been attributed to varying Saharan land surface cover. Alternatively, the enhanced dust accumulation is linked to enhanced surface winds and a consequent intensification of coastal upwelling. Here we demonstrate for the first time the direct link between dust accumulation in marine cores and changes in Saharan land surface. We simulate the mid-Holocene (6 ka BP) and pre-industrial (1850 AD) dust cycle as a function of Saharan land surface cover and atmosphere-ocean conditions using the coupled atmosphere–aerosol model ECHAM6.1-HAM2.1. Mid-Holocene surface characteristics, including vegetation cover and lake surface area, are derived from proxy data and simulations. In agreement with data from marine sediment cores, our simulations show that mid-Holocene dust deposition fluxes in the North Atlantic were two to three times lower compared with pre-industrial fluxes. We identify Saharan land surface characteristics to be the main control on dust transport from North Africa to the North Atlantic. We conclude that the increase in dust accumulation in marine cores is directly linked to a transition of the Saharan landscape during the Holocene and not due to changes in atmospheric or ocean conditions alone.
New Possible Role of Statins in Age‐Related Diseases

1. Guinness Book of World Records 2002. Dublin, Ireland: Guinness World Records Ltd., 2002 2. Deiana L, Ferrucci L, Pes GM et al. AKEntAnnos. The Sardinia Study of Extreme Longevity. Aging Clin Exp Res 1999;11:142–149. 3. Koenig R. Sardinia’s mysterious male Methuselahs. Science 2001;291:2074– 2076. 4. McKusick V. Mendelian Inheritance in Man, 9th Ed. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991. 5. Deiana L, Pes GM, Carru C et al. -thalassemia trait and G6PD deficiency are associated with increased longevity in Sardinia. Clin Chem 2000;46:A210. 6. Passarino G, Underhill PA, Cavalli-Sforza LL et al. Y chromosome binary markers to study the high prevalence of males in Sardinian centenarians and the genetic structure of the Sardinian population. Hum Hered 2001;52:136–139.
Loss of pollen‐specific phospholipase NOT LIKE DAD triggers gynogenesis in maize

Gynogenesis is an asexual mode of reproduction common to animals and plants, in which stimuli from the sperm cell trigger the development of the unfertilized egg cell into a haploid embryo. Fine mapping restricted a major maize QTL (quantitative trait locus) responsible for the aptitude of inducer lines to trigger gynogenesis to a zone containing a single gene NOT LIKE DAD (NLD) coding for a patatin‐like phospholipase A. In all surveyed inducer lines, NLD carries a 4‐bp insertion leading to a predicted truncated protein. This frameshift mutation is responsible for haploid induction because complementation with wild‐type NLD abolishes the haploid induction capacity. Activity of the NLD promoter is restricted to mature pollen and pollen tube. The translational NLD::citrine fusion protein likely localizes to the sperm cell plasma membrane. In Arabidopsis roots, the truncated protein is no longer localized to the plasma membrane, contrary to the wild‐type NLD protein. In conclusion, an intact pollen‐specific phospholipase is required for successful sexual reproduction and its targeted disruption may allow establishing powerful haploid breeding tools in numerous crops.
Rothamsted Repository Download

We consider the properties of the regression of phenotype on marker-type in F2 and backcross populations. We show that this regression provides exactly the same information about the location and effect of QTL as conventional regression mapping. For certain QTL configurations this information is insufficient to map the QTL. Where the QTL can be mapped, the position and effect of QTL can be estimated directly from the coefficients of the regression of phenotype on marker-type. This requires much less computational effort than conventional regression mapping. Examples are given to illustrate the development of the theory.
Sputum basophils are increased in eosinophilic asthma compared with non‐eosinophilic asthma phenotypes

Sputum basophil numbers are increased in allergic asthmatics, but it is unclear what role airway basophils play in “TH2‐low” asthma phenotypes. Using flow cytometry, we found that basophils were significantly increased in all asthmatics (n=26) compared with healthy controls (n=8) (P=0.007) with highest levels observed in eosinophilic asthma (EA); median 0.22%, IQR 0.11%‐0.47%; n=14) compared with non‐EA (NEA) (0.06%, 0.00%‐0.20%; n=12; P<0.05). In asthmatics, basophils were positively correlated with sputum eosinophils (r=0.54; P<0.005) and inversely with sputum neutrophils (r=−0.46: P<0.05), but not with FEV1 (% predicted), FEV1/FVC or bronchodilator reversibility. In a subgroup initially identified as inadequately controlled asthma (n=7), there was a trend (P=0.08) towards a reduction in sputum basophils following increased inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment. Our findings suggest that basophils may be particularly important in eosinophilic asthma and that sputum basophil assessment could be a useful additional indicator of “TH2‐high” asthma.
Specific Effects of Synthetic Oligopeptides on Cultured Animal Cells

Synthetic oligopeptides, tri‐ to pentaglycine and tri‐ and tetraalanine, were found to enhance viable cell density and culture viability when applied at concentrations higher than milllimolar to the cultures of a model hybridoma line. Oligoalanines, in addition, enhanced monoclonal antibody yields. Oligoglycines promoted solely the cell growth, unless the batch culture was fed with a medium concentrate. Examination of the effects of various tripeptides composed of glycine, alanine, serine, threonine, lysine, and histidine showed that some of the peptides promoted the growth of the culture, while other peptides suppressed the growth and enhanced the monoclonal antibody yield. Determination of the levels of amino acids and peptides in culture media indicated that the observed changes of culture parameters were caused by intact peptide molecules, rather than by amino acids liberated from the peptides by enzymic cleavage.
Acute resistance exercise induces Sestrin2 phosphorylation and p62 dephosphorylation in human skeletal muscle

Sestrins (1, 2, 3) are a family of stress‐inducible proteins capable of attenuating oxidative stress, regulating metabolism, and stimulating autophagy. Sequestosome1 (p62) is also a stress‐inducible multifunctional protein acting as a signaling hub for oxidative stress and selective autophagy. It is unclear whether Sestrin and p62Ser403 are regulated acutely or chronically by resistance exercise (RE) or training (RT) in human skeletal muscle. Therefore, the acute and chronic effects of RE on Sestrin and p62 in human skeletal muscle were examined through two studies. In Study 1, nine active men (22.1 ± 2.2 years) performed a bout of single‐leg strength exercises and muscle biopsies were collected before, 2, 24, and 48 h after exercise. In Study 2, 10 active men (21.3 ± 1.9 years) strength trained for 12 weeks (2 days per week) and biopsies were collected pre‐ and post‐training. Acutely, 2 h postexercise, phosphorylation of p62Ser403 was downregulated, while there was a mobility shift of Sestrin2, indicative of increased phosphorylation. Forty‐eight hours postexercise, the protein expression of both Sestrin1 and total p62 increased. Chronic exercise had no impact on the gene or protein expression of Sestrin2/3 or p62, but Sestrin1 protein was upregulated. These findings demonstrated an inverse relationship between Sestrin2 and p62 phosphorylation after a single bout of RE, indicating they are transiently regulated. Contrarily, 12 weeks of RT increased protein expression of Sestrin1, suggesting that despite the strong sequence homology of the Sestrin family, they are differentially regulated in response to acute RE and chronic RT.
Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization on Formalin-fixed and Paraffin-Embedded Tissue: Optimizing the Method

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is widely used to study numerical and structural genetic abnormalities in both metaphase and interphase cells. The technique is based on the hybridization of labeled probes to complementary sequences in the DNA or RNA of the cells. Interphase FISH is most often applied on cytologic material such as hematologic smears or imprints, but the method is also used to study genetic changes in tissue sections when morphology is important or when cytologic material is not available. In cases in which the presence of intact nuclei is of importance, such as quantitation of signals as in triploidy, it is possible to isolate nuclei from paraffin-embedded tissue. However, using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue, either in thin sections or as isolated nuclei, one encounters a range of technical problems, paralleling those met in immunohistochemistry. Variations in time lapse between removal of tissue and fixation, duration of fixation, enzymatic pretreatment, hybridization conditions, and posthybridization washing conditions are important factors in the hybridization. In this study, we have listed the results of a systematic approach to improve FISH on isolated nuclei and tissue sections from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue.
Transforming the LEGO Group for the Digital Economy

To avert bankruptcy in 2004, the LEGO Group had transformed itself by building an enterprise platform an adopting disciplined core processes. As it entered 2016, the company was poised for a new transformation to “become a digital company. ” Although the company already looked digital to many observers, management felt it had not become digital in its products and processes. Based on multiple interviews with LEGO Group executives, as well as reviews of related documents, this case describes the LEGO Group’s journey to becoming a successful digital company.
The relationship between paired associate learning and phonological skills in normally developing readers.

Seventy-five 6- to 11-year-old children were administered tests of phonological awareness, verbal short term memory (STM), and visual-verbal paired associate learning (PA learning) to investigate their relationship with word recognition and decoding skills. Phonological awareness was a stronger concurrent predictor of word recognition than verbal STM, and phonological awareness but not verbal STM was a predictor of learning in the PA learning task. Importantly, measures of phonological awareness and PA learning both accounted for independent variance in word reading, even when decoding skill was controlled. The results suggest that PA learning and phonological awareness tasks tap two separate mechanisms involved in learning to read. The results are discussed in relation to current theories of reading development.