Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plasma osteopontin levels in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing chemoradiotherapy.

OBJECTIVES To explore the prognostic role of plasma levels of osteopontin (OPN), a phosphoglycoprotein with adhesive properties, in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) undergoing concomitant chemoradiotherapy. Previous studies have proposed OPN level as a prognostic factor in several cancers. DESIGN Prospective analysis of plasma OPN levels, before and within 12 weeks after treatment, in a cohort of patients with HNSCC undergoing platinum-based chemoradiotherapy at our center. SETTING Academic center. PATIENTS Sixty-nine patients diagnosed as having HNSCC. INTERVENTIONS Plasma levels of OPN were assessed before the start and after the conclusion of chemoradiotherapy by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbency assay kit. Chemoradiotherapy was exclusive (n = 52) or adjuvant to surgery (n = 17). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Levels of OPN were correlated with clinicopathological characteristics, response to treatment, and overall survival. RESULTS Pretreatment plasma OPN levels were higher in patients with advanced T and N stages compared with patients with early stages (P = .009 and .07, respectively). Mean (SD) plasma levels of OPN measured before (102.5 [68.1] ng/mL) and after (104.0 [53.6] ng/mL) treatment did not differ (P = .18, paired t test). Pretreatment and posttreatment levels of OPN were lower in patients who achieved a complete response compared with those who failed to respond (75.0 [41.5] vs 131.2 [82.9] ng/mL [P = .005] and 86.8 [40.5] vs 141.6 [58.4] ng/mL [P = .004], respectively). Patients with high pretreatment OPN levels (>82.1 ng/mL) had shorter survival time (P < .001). Posttreatment OPN levels were marginally (P = .10) associated with survival time in univariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS In patients with HNSCC undergoing chemoradiotherapy, a low pretreatment plasma OPN level is associated with treatment response and better survival. Modulation of OPN levels by chemoradiotherapy may also be associated with outcome. Further studies with serial measurement of OPN levels are warranted in these patients.
Occurrence of partial RhD alleles in the Tunisian population

Dear Sir, The RH blood group locus is located on the short arm of chromosome 1p34-p36 and its alleles show significant ethnic variability. The great RHD allele variety is related to few molecular mechanisms. Weak D variant is caused by point mutations in intracellular RhD portion (Wagner et al., 1999). Whereas, partial D types are caused by either RHD/RHCE gene hybridization events or point mutations affecting extracellular loops (Wagner et al., 1999). Partial D subjects may produce anti-D and show a much higher incidence of alloimmunisation than weak D individuals (Wagner et al., 1999). Partial D individuals should be considered D− and transfused with D− red blood cells (RBC) units. More than 80 partial D alleles have been described (http://www.uniulm.de/∼fwagner/RH/RB). The frequency of partial D varies in different populations. However, data from the Tunisian population are rare (Ouchari et al., 2013). In a previous study, we have used the standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) multiplex approach to screen partial D especially with RHD/RHCE gene hybrid, and no partial D variant was detected. However, in another study, we have found one partial DBT-1 associated with Ccee phenotype among D− donors (Moussa et al., 2012). In Tunisia, data on the frequency of partial D alleles caused by point mutations in the RHD gene were lacking. Previous studies of polymorphism RH demonstrated the presence of both European and African ethnicities in the Tunisian population (Moussa et al., 2012; Ouchari et al., 2014). Hence, in this presented work, we have screened partial D alleles that were known to be more prevalent in Europeans (DVII, DNB and DHMi) and in Africa especially DAU, among 2000 blood donors. This study aims to highlight the genetic polymorphism of the RH blood group in our population, necessary for improving and developing the blood transfusion strategies. Blood donor samples (1777 D+ and 223 D−) were collected from native Tunisians blood donors from the Regional Blood Transfusion Center of Sousse, Tunisia. RBCs were Rh phenotyped as described previously (Ouchari et al., 2014). All DNA samples were screened for the presence of 1136 C>T, 329 T>C, 1063G>A and 848 C>T polymorphisms associated respectively with, DAU, DVII, DNB and DHMi alleles by sequence-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR-SSP). The primers used for PCR-SSP are previously described (Wagner et al., 1999; Müller et al., 2001; Wagner et al., 2002a, 2002b). The wild-type PCR-SSP specific for the RHD gene was performed in parallel only for markers 1136C (5′-TTGGCCATCGTGATAGCTCACAC-3′), 1063G (3′-cagtgacccacATGCCATTACC-5′) and 848C
Development of a Virus Concentration Method and Its Application to Detection of Enterovirus and Norwalk Virus from Coastal Seawater

ABSTRACT We developed a new procedure for concentration of enteric viruses from water using a negatively charged membrane. Rinsing the membrane with 0.5 mM H2SO4 (pH 3.0) in order to elute cations prior to viral elution with 1 mM NaOH (pH 10.5) promoted poliovirus recovery yields from 33 to 95% when applied to pure water and 38 to 89% when applied to natural seawater from Tokyo Bay, Japan, respectively. This method showed average recovery yields of spiked poliovirus of 62% (n = 8) from 1 liter of artificial seawater. This method showed higher recovery yields (>61%) than that of the conventional method using positively charged membrane (6%) when applied to seawater. This method is also free from beef extract elution, which has an inhibitory effect in the subsequent viral genome detection by reverse transcription-PCR. Naturally occurring Norwalk viruses from 2 liters of Tokyo Bay water in winter and infectious enteroviruses from 2 liters of recreational coastal seawater in summer were detected by using this viral concentration method.
Factors associated with academic performance of physical therapy students.

UNLABELLED Understanding the pre-matriculation factors that influence academic success facilitates the recruitment and retention of students who are more likely to graduate on time. OBJECTIVE To determine the factors associated with the academic performance of students enrolled in the physical therapy diploma programme. METHODS Records of 250 students enrolled over a twenty-year period at the School of Physical Therapy were reviewed. Data were collected and organized using a data collection sheet. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Relationships between the independent variables: age, gender marital status, work history and entry qualifications, and the dependent variables: academic performance (percentage of subjects passed at the first sitting of examinations and success in the Final Qualifying Examination), withdrawal and delayed graduation were examined using correlation coefficient, t-test, ANOVA and chi-square as appropriate. RESULTS Results revealed that students gaining the minimum entry qualifications at one sitting of GCE O' Level/CXC examinations (p < 0.01) and who had GCE A' Level passes (p < 0.05) were less likely to withdraw from the programme. Students without prior work experience performed better during the course of study (p < 0.05) but the older and married students were more likely to withdraw (p < 0.01). Older students performed better on the Final Qualifying Practical and Theory Examinations taken at the end of the academic programme (p < 0.05) but had a lower percentage of subjects passed at the first sitting of course examinations (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Students with better academic preparation demonstrated better academic performance. These findings were consistent with prior studies in the field.
Basic Theory of Fuzzy Bayesian Networks and Its Application in Machinery Fault Diagnosis

Bayesian network is an effective uncertain knowledge representation and reasoning method. Fuzzy sets can be used for expressing fuzzy events or fuzzy objectives in some special region. Combining these two theories, this paper discusses the probability of the fuzzy event and presents a hybrid inference system with fuzzy sets and Bayesian networks which are called "Fuzzy Bayesian Networks (FBNs) ". Then a case demonstrates the validity of FBNs in machinery fault diagnosis.
Reference values of renal tubular function tests are dependent on age and kidney function

Electrolyte disorders due to tubular disorders are rare, and knowledge about validated clinical diagnostic tools such as tubular function tests is sparse. Reference values for tubular function tests are based on studies with small sample size in young healthy volunteers. Patients with tubular disorders, however, frequently are older and can have a compromised renal function. We therefore evaluated four tubular function tests in individuals with different ages and renal function. We performed furosemide, thiazide, furosemide‐fludrocortisone, and desmopressin tests in healthy individuals aged 18–50 years, healthy individuals aged more than 50 years and individuals with compromised renal function. For each tubular function test we included 10 individuals per group. The responses in young healthy individuals were in line with previously reported values in literature. The maximal increase in fractional chloride excretion after furosemide was below the lower limit of young healthy individuals in 5/10 older subjects and in 2/10 patients with compromised renal function. The maximal increase in fractional chloride excretion after thiazide was below the lower limit of young healthy individuals in 6/10 older subjects and in 7/10 patients with compromised renal function. Median maximal urine osmolality after desmopressin was 1002 mosmol/kg H2O in young healthy individuals, 820 mosmol/kg H2O in older subjects and 624 mosmol/kg H2O in patients with compromised renal function. Reference values for tubular function tests obtained in young healthy adults thus cannot simply be extrapolated to older patients or patients with compromised kidney function. Larger validation studies are needed to define true reference values in these patient categories.
ties ( treadmill walking , treadmill tandem walking ) in young cerebellar patients with focal lesions

Winfried Ilg, Andrea Christensen, Oliver M. Mueller, Sophia L. Goericke, Martin A. Giese, and Dagmar Timmann Section Computational Sensomotorics, Department of Cognitive Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, and Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Germany; Department of Neurosurgery, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; and Department of Neurology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
Fat, fit, or famished? No clear answers from the Women's Health Initiative about diet and dieting for longstanding hot flashes.

We’ve learned a lot in the last decade about hot flashes thanks to a number of national and international longitudinal studies across the perimenopause transition. Specifically, results from SWAN, the study of women across the nation (SWAN;1), the Melbourne studies (2), the PENN Aging study (3) and the Seattle Midlife Women’s Health study (4) have all contributed to a better understanding of the etiology, risk factors, onset and duration of these bothersome but normal changes that accompany the final menstrual period around age 51 and the natural transition to post-reproductive life. In the US, women who smoke, are obese, stressed, have less than college education and difficulty paying the bills, or African-American are at highest risk for debilitating vasomotor symptoms (VMS: hot flashes and night sweats). The continuing analysis of these longitudinal data by members of the committee for Staging Reproductive Phases in Women (STRAW+10) has revealed that VMS peak in frequency relatively late in the transition during the two years after menses has ceased (approximately age 53), now referred to as the early postmenopause phase. (5)
Comparison of voice-automated transcription and human transcription in generating pathology reports.

CONTEXT Software that can convert spoken words into written text has been available since the early 1980s. Early continuous speech systems were developed in 1994, with the latest commercially available editions having a claimed accuracy of up to 98% of speech recognition at natural speech rates. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy of one commercially available voice-recognition software system with pathology vocabulary in generating pathology reports and to compare this with human transcription. To draw cost analysis conclusions regarding human versus computer-based transcription. DESIGN Two hundred six routine pathology reports from the surgical pathology material handled at St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, were generated simultaneously using computer-based transcription and human transcription. The following hardware and software were used: a desktop 450-MHz Intel Pentium III processor with 192 MB of RAM, a speech-quality sound card (Sound Blaster), noise-canceling headset microphone, and IBM ViaVoice Pro version 8 with pathology vocabulary support (Voice Automated, Huntington Beach, Calif). The cost of the hardware and software used was approximately Can 2250 dollars. RESULTS A total of 23 458 words were transcribed using both methods with a mean of 114 words per report. The mean accuracy rate was 93.6% (range, 87.4%-96%) using the computer software, compared to a mean accuracy of 99.6% (range, 99.4%-99.8%) for human transcription (P <.001). Time needed to edit documents by the primary evaluator (M.A.) using the computer was on average twice that needed for editing the documents produced by human transcriptionists (range, 1.4-3.5 times). The extra time needed to edit documents was 67 minutes per week (13 minutes per day). CONCLUSIONS Computer-based continuous speech-recognition systems in pathology can be successfully used in pathology practice even during the handling of gross pathology specimens. The relatively low accuracy rate of this voice-recognition software with resultant increased editing burden on pathologists may not encourage its application on a wide scale in pathology departments with sufficient human transcription services, despite significant potential financial savings. However, computer-based transcription represents an attractive and relatively inexpensive alternative to human transcription in departments where there is a shortage of transcription services, and will no doubt become more commonly used in pathology departments in the future.
Immunohistochemical localization of calbindin‐D28k and calretinin in the brainstem of anuran and urodele amphibians

Calbindin‐D28k (CB) and calretinin (CR) are calcium binding proteins present in distinct sets of neurons; they act as buffers regulating the concentration of intracellular calcium. CB and CR immunohistochemistry was studied in the brainstem of anuran and urodele amphibians in combination with other markers (choline acetyltransferase, tyrosine hydroxylase, and nitric oxide synthase), which served to clarify the localization and signature of many cell groups. CR labeled the retinorecipient layers of the optic tectum, and CB and CR labeled distinct tectal cell populations. The two proteins were largely complementary in the torus semicircularis and marked auditory and lateral line sensory regions, depending on the species. CB and CR in the mesencephalic and isthmic tegmentum specified the boundaries of basal and medial longitudinal bands. In the cerebellum, CB labeled Purkinje cells in all species, whereas CR was mainly found in fibers and labeled Purkinje cells only in Rana. In the parabrachial region, CB and CR allowed the distinction of the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus, isthmic nucleus, locus coeruleus, and rostral octavolateral nuclei. The distribution of CB‐ and CR‐immunoreactive cells in the reticular formation and central gray was consistent with the current models of brainstem segmentation in amphibians. CR was found in the auditory fibers and nuclei in Rana and in mechanosensory lateral line fibers in Xenopus and urodeles, whereas CB mainly labeled vestibular fibers and nuclei in all species. These results highlight the anatomical complexity of the amphibian brainstem and help in an understanding of its regional organization that is not cytoarchitectonically evident. J. Comp. Neurol. 515:503–537, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cellular Metabolism on T-Cell Development and Function

Cell metabolism is closely related to the host immunity in many respects. We herein briefly summarized the recent progress on the roles of cellular metabolism in T-cell development, homeostasis, differentiation and functions. Relatively quiescent naïve T cells only require energy for survival and migration, and they mainly metabolize glucose to carbon dioxide through oxidative phosphorylation. However, activated T cells engage in robust cell proliferation, produce of a range of effector molecules and migrate through peripheral tissues, so they utilizes glycolysis to convert glucose to lactate (termed aerobic glycolysis) to meet the significantly increased metabolic demands. Importantly, the differentiation of T-cell subsets and memory T cells (Tm) was also significantly shaped by distinct cellular metabolic pathways including glucose, amino acids (AA), fatty acids (FA), and others. Understanding the regulatory metabolic networks on immunity may offer new insights into the immune-related disorders and open novel potential therapies to prevent and treat immune diseases.
Effects of fi rm size and geographical proximity on different models of interaction between university and fi rm : A case study

This paper analyzes a total of 1930 collaboration projects, including contract research, joint research, technology transfer, and incubation models, between National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) and firms during the period between 2001 and 2009. Effects of both firm size and geographical proximity on the frequency of different models of collaboration are addressed. Results show that large-sized enterprises prefer adopting the contract research model and implementing it in a more comprehensive cooperation mechanism or with long-term cooperation relationships. By contrast, small and medium-sized enterprises prefer to give equal prominence to both contract research for research subject dominance and joint research due to low investment requirements. Results also show that geographical proximity is an important factor during the interaction between enterprises and NCKU. However, the influence is quite different when the cooperation models are compared individually. © 2015, College of Management, National Cheng Kung University. Production and hosting by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.
Does facial expression affect attention orienting by gaze direction cues?

In 6 experiments, the authors investigated whether attention orienting by gaze direction is modulated by the emotional expression (neutral, happy, angry, or fearful) on the face. The results showed a clear spatial cuing effect by gaze direction but no effect by facial expression. In addition, it was shown that the cuing effect was stronger with schematic faces than with real faces, that gaze cuing could be achieved at very short stimulus onset asynchronies (14 ms), and that there was no evidence for a difference in the strength of cuing triggered by static gaze cues and by cues involving apparent motion of the pupils. In sum, the results suggest that in normal, healthy adults, eye direction processing for attention shifts is independent of facial expression analysis.
Pharmacological characterization of substance P-induced nociception in mice: modulation by opioid and noradrenergic agonists at the spinal level.

Mice were tested for antinociceptive activity after intrathecal injection of opioid or noradrenergic agonists by lumbar puncture. Opioid agonists with mu or delta activity and adrenergic agonists with alpha activity demonstrated dose-related, receptor-mediated analgesia in the tail-flick assay, s.c. hypertonic saline assay and the intrathecal substance P behavioral assay. Inhibition of substance P-induced biting and scratching by intrathecally administered antinociceptive agents is likely mediated by post-synaptic receptors. This action of opioids and norepinephrine was antagonized by their respective pharmacological antagonists. Subanalgesic doses of Leu-enkephalin or norepinephrine potentiated the antinociceptive activity of morphine in the substance P assay. Similarly, opioid agonists potentiated the action of norepinephrine. These results suggest that opioid and alpha adrenergic agonists act on separate receptors to produce a synergistic inhibition of the transmission of nociceptive information at the spinal level.
High dimensional change point estimation via sparse projection

Change points are a very common feature of ‘big data’ that arrive in the form of a data stream. We study high dimensional time series in which, at certain time points, the mean structure changes in a sparse subset of the co‐ordinates. The challenge is to borrow strength across the co‐ordinates to detect smaller changes than could be observed in any individual component series. We propose a two‐stage procedure called inspect for estimation of the change points: first, we argue that a good projection direction can be obtained as the leading left singular vector of the matrix that solves a convex optimization problem derived from the cumulative sum transformation of the time series. We then apply an existing univariate change point estimation algorithm to the projected series. Our theory provides strong guarantees on both the number of estimated change points and the rates of convergence of their locations, and our numerical studies validate its highly competitive empirical performance for a wide range of data‐generating mechanisms. Software implementing the methodology is available in the R package InspectChangepoint.
Identifying migratory Salmo trutta using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios.

Many Salmo trutta populations consist of non-anadromous (freshwater-resident) brown trout and anadromous (sea-run migratory) sea trout. Although adult brown trout and sea trout can usually be identified using differences in size and body colouration, it is not possible to easily identify eggs/alevins as the progeny of brown trout or sea trout. In this study we show that delta(13)C and delta(15)N, measured using a continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer (CF-IRMS), can accurately identify fish eggs as the progeny of freshwater-resident (delta(13)C(egg) = -25.7 +/- 1.9 per thousand,delta(15)N(egg) = 9.2 +/- 1.8 per thousand) or migratory (delta(13)C(egg) = -19.9 +/- 1.1 per thousand, delta(15)N(egg) = 14. 3 +/- 1.5 per thousand) adult female Salmo trutta. Case studies show that stable isotope analysis is a more reliable technique for distinguishing anadromous adult fish than differentiation using morphological characteristics. For example, stable isotope analysis of brown trout from Loch Eck, Scotland, revealed that some individuals possessed delta(13)C and delta(15)N signatures indicative of marine feeding despite visual identification as freshwater-resident fish. It is most likely that these fish are misidentified sea trout although it possible that these fish may be brown trout that have adopted an estuarine feeding strategy to avoid interspecific competition for food within Loch Eck with salmon, powan and Arctic charr. Most stable isotope studies of fish ecology use terminal tissue sampling to provide sufficient biological material for isotopic analysis; however, our study suggests that adipose fin tissue could provide a comparable measure of delta(13)C and delta(15)N. Such a strategy would be invaluable when studying the trophic ecology or migration patterns of fish of high conservation value.