Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Role of Specific Chemotherapy Agents

Cytotoxic chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) despite the promise of new targeted and biologic agents. Many studies have shown significant benefit of chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and metastatic treatment of TNBC. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy studies have consistently reported higher response rates in TNBC than non-TNBC, and pathologic complete response has been shown to predict improved long-term outcomes for TNBC. Although the specific adjuvant regimens that may be most effective for TNBC are still being determined, third-generation chemotherapy regimens using dose dense or metronomic polychemotherapy are among the most effective tools presently available. The role of specific chemotherapy agents in the treatment of TNBC remains incompletely defined and warrants careful review to ensure that the most effective therapy is delivered while minimizing unnecessary toxicity. Platinum agents have seen renewed interest in TNBC based on a growing body of preclinical and clinical data suggesting encouraging activity. Taxanes and anthracyclines are active in TNBC and remain important agents but have not shown specific benefit over non-TNBC. Capecitabine has limited reported data in TNBC, but some reports suggest differential activity in TNBC compared with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. TNBC is itself a heterogeneous group in which subgroups such as BRCA1 mutation carriers may have particular sensitivity to platinum agents and relatively less sensitivity to taxanes. Therefore, the identification of additional molecular biomarkers to predict response to specific chemotherapy is required to further improve treatment strategies with the current menu of chemotherapy options and future combinations with targeted therapies.
Comparison of results of autologous versus homologous blood transfusion in open-heart surgery

Background The aim of this study was to determine a method to decrease the use of homologous blood during openheart surgery using a simple blood-conservation protocol. We removed autologous blood from the patient before bypass and used isovolumetric substitution. We present the results of this protocol on morbidity and mortality of surgery patients from two distinct time periods. Methods Patients from the two surgical phases were enrolled in this retrospective study in order to compare the outcomes using autologous or homologous blood in open-heart surgery. A total of 323 patients were included in the study. The autologous transfusion group (group 1) comprised 163 patients and the homologous transfusion group (group 2) 160 patients. In group 1, autologous bloods were prepared via a central venous catheter that was inserted into the right internal jugular vein in all patients, using the isovolumetric replacement technique. The primary outcome was postoperative in-hospital mortality and mortality at 30 days. Secondary outcomes included the length of stay in hospital and in intensive care unit (ICU), time for extubation, re-intubations, pulmonary infections, pneumothorax, pleural effusions, atrial fibrillation, other arrhythmias, renal disease, allergic reactions, mediastinitis and sternal dehiscence, need for inotropic support, and low cardiac-output syndrome (LCOS). Results The mean ages of patients in groups 1 and 2 were 64.2 ± 10.3 and 61.5 ± 11.6 years, respectively. Thirty-eight of the patients in group 1 and 30 in group 2 were female. There was no in-hospital or 30-day mortality in either group. The mean extubation time, and ICU and hospital stays were significantly shorter in group 1. Furthermore, postoperative drainage amounts were less in group 1. There were significantly fewer patients with postoperative pulmonary complications, pneumonia, atrial fibrillation and renal disease. The number of patients who needed postoperative inotropic support and those with low cardiac output was also significantly less in group 1. Conclusion Autologous blood transfusion is a safe and effective method in carefully selected patients undergoing cardiac surgery. It not only prevents transfusion-related co-morbidities and complications but also enables early extubation time and shorter ICU and hospital stay. Furthermore, it reduces the cost of surgery.
Chapter 6 Microbiology of non-CF bronchiectasis

Non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis is a complex disorder characterised by recurrent chest infections and poorly regulated respiratory innate and adaptive immunity. These lead to a ‘‘vicious cycle’’ of impaired mucociliary clearance, chronic infection, bronchial inflammation and progressive lung injury. The most prevalent pathogenic bacteria are Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and Moraxella catarrhalis although variations in sampling techniques and detection methods have influenced their isolation rates. These organisms can inhibit mucociliary clearance, destroy respiratory epithelium and produce biofilms that promote persistent infection by blocking innate immune defences and increasing antibiotic resistance. While numerous studies have examined the role of different bacteria in CF and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, little is known about how they contribute to the pathogenesis of nonCF bronchiectasis. There is also a paucity of data regarding the role of respiratory viruses in this condition. This chapter describes the microbiology of non-CF bronchiectasis, defines the bacterial mechanisms that may contribute to persistent infection and airway damage and discusses the potential role for respiratory viruses in this condition. Understanding the pathogenic properties of these microorganisms may allow the development of novel therapies for the management of respiratory exacerbations.
A common framework for real-time emotion recognition and facial action unit detection

In this paper, we present a common framework for realtime action unit detection and emotion recognition that we have developed for the emotion recognition and action unit detection sub-challenges of the FG 2011 Facial Expression Recognition and Analysis Challenge. For these tasks we employed a local appearance-based face representation approach using discrete cosine transform, which has been shown to be very effective and robust for face recognition. Using these features, we trained multiple one-versus-all support vector machine classifiers corresponding to the individual classes of the specific task. With this framework we achieve 24.2% and 7.6% absolute improvement over the overall baseline results on the emotion recognition and action unit detection sub-challenge, respectively.
Saccadic foraging: reduced reaction time to informative targets

The study of saccadic reaction times has revealed a great deal about the neural mechanisms underlying neural decision, in terms of Bayesian factors such as prior probability and information supply. In addition, recent work has shown that saccades are faster to visual targets associated with conventional monetary or food rewards. However, because the purpose of saccades is to acquire information, it could be argued that this is an unnatural situation: the most natural and fundamental reward is the amount of information supplied by a target. Here, we report the results of a study investigating the hypothesis that a saccade to a target whose colour provides information about the location of a subsequent target is faster than to one that does not. We show that the latencies of saccades to a location that provides reliable information about the location of a future target are indeed shorter, their distributions being shifted in a way that implies that the rate of rise of the underlying decision signal is increased. In a race between alternative targets, this means that expected information will be an important factor in deciding where to look, so that ‘foraging’ saccades are more likely to be made to useful targets.
Les produits forestiers non ligneux alimentaires de l'Afrique Centrale sur les marchés français et belges : situation actuelle et perspectives

En France et en Belgique, existe depuis les annees 60 le commerce des produits forestiers non ligneux (pfnl) alimentaires de l’Afrique centrale qui n'a cesse d'evoluer depuis 1982. Nous avons etudie son evolution et son devenir. Nous avons identifie 63 pfnl alimentaires dont 18 sont issus de la flore spontanee, 29 sont cultives et 16 sont des produits transformes appartenant aussi bien au regne animal que vegetal. En France, 70% d'entre eux sont destines aux epiceries frequentees principalement par les ressortissants d’Afrique centrale et 30% au marche de produits biologiques, generalement francais, belges et autres europeens. Le premier debouche est le plus ancien et genere un chiffre d'affaires de 73 730 000 ff en France et 2 952 895 ff en Belgique. On y distingue quatre produits emergents : le kwanga ou bâton de manioc (manihot esculenta), le saka saka ou feuilles de manioc (manihot esculenta), le safou (dacryodes edulis), fruit tres apprecie en Afrique centrale et du fumbua (gnetum spp. ), un legume-feuille spontane tres apprecie. Emergents ou pas tous les produits commercialises peuvent etre divises en deux types : les pfnl alimentaires exotiques et les pfnl alimentaires ethniques constitues de pfnl alimentaires ethniques authentiques et les pfnl alimentaires ethniques standards. En depit de nouvelles lois europeennes de l'immigration, ce commerce peut continuer a se developper en raison de la croissance de la demande des aliments ethniques, les aliments biologiques et les aliments sante en France, en Belgique et en Europe. Dans cette perspective, les produits ethniques authentiques vont continuer a etre destines aux ressortissants de l’Afrique centrale tandis que les pfnl alimentaires exotiques et les pfnl alimentaires standards pourront etre destines aux autochtones et aux autres immigres par le biais des supermarches et de la restauration hors foyer. Leur succes et leur perennite dans ce nouveau circuit de distribution passeront par : la mise en place d'une politique de communication efficace sur les lieux de vente et sur les produits, la mise au point des produits conformes aux exigences sanitaires europeennes, la professionnalisation de l'exportation en Afrique centrale et la recherche sans cesse de l'equilibre entre les marches, le developpement local et la conservation des especes exploitees
Páramo is the world's fastest evolving and coolest biodiversity hotspot

Understanding the processes that cause speciation is a key aim of evolutionary biology. Lineages or biomes that exhibit recent and rapid diversification are ideal model systems for determining these processes. Species rich biomes reported to be of relatively recent origin, i.e., since the beginning of the Miocene, include Mediterranean ecosystems such as the California Floristic Province, oceanic islands such as the Hawaiian archipelago and the Neotropical high elevation ecosystem of the Páramos. Páramos constitute grasslands above the forest tree-line (at elevations of c. 2800–4700 m) with high species endemism. Organisms that occupy this ecosystem are a likely product of unique adaptations to an extreme environment that evolved during the last three to five million years when the Andes reached an altitude that was capable of sustaining this type of vegetation. We compared net diversification rates of lineages in fast evolving biomes using 73 dated molecular phylogenies. Based on our sample, we demonstrate that average net diversification rates of Páramo plant lineages are faster than those of other reportedly fast evolving hotspots and that the faster evolving lineages are more likely to be found in Páramos than the other hotspots. Páramos therefore represent the ideal model system for studying diversification processes. Most of the speciation events that we observed in the Páramos (144 out of 177) occurred during the Pleistocene possibly due to the effects of species range contraction and expansion that may have resulted from the well-documented climatic changes during that period. Understanding these effects will assist with efforts to determine how future climatic changes will impact plant populations.
Evolution of Experimental Techniques for the Study of the Electrical Properties of Insulating Materials

When an electric field is applied to an insulating material three basic processes can take place: the dipoles tend to rotate, ions migrate and space charge can be injected at the interfaces, depending on such parameters as temperature or applied electric field. For many years, a direct analysis was impossible since the experimentally observable variables gave only an average of what was taking place in the samples under study. Many methods were developed over the years combining available measuring techniques with theoretical hypotheses. They led to phenomenological descriptions but it appeared that a direct measurement of space charge or polarization distributions in the materials would be a way for understanding the physical processes involved. In this paper we will present the evolution of these methods and will describe on which at present seems the most promising. It uses the propagation in the sample of a pressure wave which acts as a virtual probe sensitive to charge, field or potential. A very elegant technique to generate this pressure wave involves the use of a short-duration laser pulse. It will be shown how this can find applications in a very large number of areas. Examples will be given in such different fields as electrets, HV insulation, and transducer materials.
Prenatal famine exposure, health in later life and promoter methylation of four candidate genes

Poor nutrition during fetal development can permanently alter growth, cardiovascular physiology and metabolic function. Animal studies have shown that prenatal undernutrition followed by balanced postnatal nutrition alters deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation of gene promoter regions of candidate metabolic control genes in the liver. The aim of this study was to investigate whether methylation status of the proximal promoter regions of four candidate genes differed between individuals exposed to the Dutch famine in utero. In addition, we determined whether methylation status of these genes was associated with markers of metabolic and cardiovascular disease and adult lifestyle. Methylation status of the GR1-C (glucocorticoid receptor), PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma), lipoprotein lipase and phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase p85 proximal promoters was investigated in DNA isolated from peripheral blood samples of 759 58-year-old subjects born around the time of the 1944–45 Dutch famine. We observed no differences in methylation levels of the promoters between exposed and unexposed men and women. Methylation status of PPARγ was associated with levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides as well as with exercise and smoking. Hypomethylation of the GR promoter was associated with adverse adult lifestyle factors, including higher body mass index, less exercise and more smoking. The previously reported increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease after prenatal famine exposure was not associated with differences in methylation status across the promoter regions of these candidate genes measured in peripheral blood. The adult environment seems to affect GR and PPARγ promoter methylation.
Chemical composition and nutritional value of a wild edible ectomycorrhizal mushroom, Tricholoma anatolicum

The chemical composition and nutritional value of a wild edible ectomycorrhizal mushroom from southwestern Anatolia, Tricholoma anatolicum, were analyzed. Moisture, crude oil, protein, ash, total carbohydrate content, and mineral composition of the mushrooms studied, including Fe, Na, K, Zn, Cu, Ca, Cd, and Pb, were determined. The energy values of the samples were also calculated. The analyses were conducted during the 3 different growing stages of the mushrooms: mycelium, young fruiting bodies, and mature fruiting bodies. The highest values for moisture and crude oil contents were found to be in the mycelium, ash, and carbohydrate content of young fruiting bodies. In addition, Na content was found to be the highest in mycelium. The highest values for Fe were found in the young fruiting bodies, and K, Zn, Cu, and Ca were at their highest values in mature bodies. None of the samples contained heavy metals Cd or Pb.
Alternate Day versus Once Daily Atorvastatin for Primary Prevention of (CHD) in Naïve Patients of Dyslipidemia.

INTRODUCTION Statins (or HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) have become drug of choice for raised Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) in treating. Of these, Atorvastatin, because of its prolonged 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase inhibition has been considered for alternate day therapy in primary prevention of (CHD). OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy and safety of daily versus alternate day 10 mg Atorvastatin on reduction of lipid levels in patients of dyslipidemia and to evaluate the number of patients reaching the target Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) goals in these groups. METHODOLOGY In this comparative, randomized, parallel group, non-blinded study, 100 naïve dyslipidemic patients in low to moderate risk group as per NCEP ATP (III) Guidelines were divided in two groups. Group A (n=50) received Atorvastatin 10 mg every alternate day for three months and Group B (n=50) received Atorvastatin 10 mg daily for three months. Apart from general examination and baseline investigations, lipid profile was also done. Efficacy was assessed by the percentage reduction in LDL and attainment of LDL goals as per NCEP ATP III Guidelines at the end of the study. Safety of the medication was assessed. RESULTS Atorvastatin 10 mg daily produced a significant reduction in Total Cholesterol (TC), LDL, Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) as compared to Atorvastatin 10 mg alternate day. The increase in the HDL level was also greater with a daily dose as compared to alternate day (but not statistically significant). In Low risk category 86.12 % patients (n=31) on daily dose reached their LDL-C goal vis-a-vis 66.67% (n=18) of patients on alternate day therapy. In the moderate risk category 100 % of daily Atorvastatin patients (n=10) achieved their LDL-C goal versus 33.33% patients (n=4) on alternate day therapy. Adverse events with alternate day therapy (n=4) were less as compared with daily treatment (n=10). CONCLUSION Atorvastatin 10 mg daily was found to be safe and efficacious in patients with dyslipidemia compared to an alternate day therapy.
Pulsed dye laser treatment of warts.

OBJECTIVE To determine the safety and efficacy of the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser for the treatment of uncomplicated and recalcitrant warts. DESIGN Observational study. PATIENTS A total of 142 patients with 703 recalcitrant and 25 previously untreated warts consecutively referred to two tertiary care laser centers from July 1993 through January 1994. INTERVENTION Photocoagulation with the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Complete resolution of treated warts after a follow-up ranging from 3 to 9 months. RESULTS The overall response rates were 99% for body, limb, and anogenital warts; 95% for hand warts; 84% for plantar warts; and 83% for periungual warts. Side effects were limited and infrequent. CONCLUSION Pulsed dye laser therapy is a highly effective and safe method used to selectively destroy warts without damaging the surrounding skin.
Impact of a national propofol shortage on duration of mechanical ventilation at an academic medical center*

Objective: To measure the impact of a national propofol shortage on the duration of mechanical ventilation. Design: Before–after study. Setting: Three, noncardiac surgery, adult intensive care units at a 320-bed academic medical center. Patients: Consecutive patients requiring mechanical ventilation ≥48 hrs, administered a continuously infused sedative ≥24 hrs, extubated, and successfully discharged from the intensive care unit were compared between before (December 1, 2008 to May 31, 2009) and after (December 1, 2009, to May 31, 2010) a propofol shortage. Intervention: None. Measurements and Main Results: Sedation drug use and common factors affecting time on mechanical ventilation were collected and if found either to differ significantly (p ⩽ .10) between the two groups or to have an unadjusted significant association (p ⩽ .10) with time on mechanical ventilation were included in a multivariable model. The unadjusted analyses revealed that the median (interquartile range) duration of mechanical ventilation increased from 6.7 (9.8; n = 153) to 9.6 (9.5; n = 128) days (p = .02). Fewer after-group patients received ≥24 hrs of continuously infused propofol (94% vs. 15%, p < .0001); more received ≥24 hrs of continuously infused lorazepam (7% vs. 15%, p = .037) and midazolam (30% vs. 81%, p < .0001). Compared with the before group, the after group was younger, had a higher admission Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, was more likely to be admitted by a surgical service, have acute alcohol withdrawal, and be managed with pressure-controlled ventilation as the primary mode of mechanical ventilation. Of these five factors, only the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, admission service, and use of a pressure-controlled ventilation affected duration of mechanical ventilation across both groups. Although a regression model revealed that Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (p < .0001), admission by a medical service (p = .009), and use of pressure-controlled ventilation (p = .02) each affected duration of mechanical ventilation in both groups, inclusion in either the before- or after-propofol shortage groups (i.e., high vs. low use of propofol) did not affect duration of mechanical ventilation (p = .35). Conclusions: An 84% decrease in propofol use in the adult intensive care units at our academic institution as a result of a national shortage did not affect duration of mechanical ventilation.
Estimating the number of unseen species: A bird in the hand is worth $\log n $ in the bush

Estimating the number of unseen species is an important problem in many scientific endeavors. Its most popular formulation, introduced by Fisher, uses $n$ samples to predict the number $U$ of hitherto unseen species that would be observed if $t\cdot n$ new samples were collected. Of considerable interest is the largest ratio $t$ between the number of new and existing samples for which $U$ can be accurately predicted. In seminal works, Good and Toulmin constructed an intriguing estimator that predicts $U$ for all $t\le 1$, thereby showing that the number of species can be estimated for a population twice as large as that observed. Subsequently Efron and Thisted obtained a modified estimator that empirically predicts $U$ even for some $t>1$, but without provable guarantees. We derive a class of estimators that $\textit{provably}$ predict $U$ not just for constant $t>1$, but all the way up to $t$ proportional to $\log n$. This shows that the number of species can be estimated for a population $\log n$ times larger than that observed, a factor that grows arbitrarily large as $n$ increases. We also show that this range is the best possible and that the estimators' mean-square error is optimal up to constants for any $t$. Our approach yields the first provable guarantee for the Efron-Thisted estimator and, in addition, a variant which achieves stronger theoretical and experimental performance than existing methodologies on a variety of synthetic and real datasets. The estimators we derive are simple linear estimators that are computable in time proportional to $n$. The performance guarantees hold uniformly for all distributions, and apply to all four standard sampling models commonly used across various scientific disciplines: multinomial, Poisson, hypergeometric, and Bernoulli product.