Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Autologous stem cell transplantation in first complete remission may not extend progression‐free survival in patients with peripheral T cell lymphomas

Patients with peripheral T cell lymphomas (PTCL) generally have a poor prognosis when treated with conventional chemotherapy. Consolidation with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has been reported to improve progression‐free survival. However, these studies have not compared consolidative ASCT with active observation in patients with PTCL achieving first complete remission (CR1) following induction chemotherapy. We conducted a retrospective analysis of PTCL patients treated at the University of Pennsylvania between 1/1/2007 and 12/31/2014. Patients with cutaneous T cell lymphoma, concurrent B cell lymphomas, and anaplastic lymphoma kinase‐positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALK‐positive ALCL) were excluded from the study. We compared progression‐free survival for patients who underwent ASCT in CR1 following CHOP‐like induction regimens and patients who underwent active observation during CR1. 48 patients met all inclusion and exclusion criteria and underwent either active observation (28 patients) or consolidative ASCT (20 patients) in CR1. The 1‐year cumulative incidence of relapse in the observation and ASCT groups was 50% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 30–67%) and 46% (95% CI: 23–67%), respectively (P = 0.55). Median progression‐free survival in the observation and ASCT groups was 15.8 and 12.8 months, respectively (log rank, P = 0.79). Estimated 3‐year progression‐free survival in the observation and ASCT groups was 37 and 41%, respectively. In conclusion, for PTCL patients achieving CR1 following CHOP‐like induction chemotherapy, ASCT does not appear to improve progression‐free survival compared to active observation. This finding should be confirmed in a larger, prospective study. Am. J. Hematol. 91:672–676, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The 24-hour recall for Senegalese weanlings: a validation exercise.

OBJECTIVE In Africa, where growth retardation is highly prevalent, the use of expensive and time-consuming diet assessment techniques is a major obstacle to the collection of dietary data on large samples of children. The 24-h recall could be a valuable alternative. Its validity and reproducibility were assessed by comparison with the precise weighing technique. DESIGN & SUBJECTS Intakes of complementary foods of 45 Senegalese weanlings, aged 11-18 months, were estimated with both techniques on the same days. RESULTS There was neither a level-dependent nor a systematic bias with the 24-h recall for energy and macronutrient intakes. Mean differences between techniques were < 11% of mean intakes. Rank order correlations (r) ranged from 0.60 to 0.81 for energy and macronutrients. However, the analysis by food group showed that the 24-h recall was less precise than the reference, especially for foods from the household common pot (r ranged from 0.31 to 0.61 for rice, oil and fish). In particular, measuring rice intake as a number of 'handfuls' was not satisfactory. The technique needs further improvement for these foods. CONCLUSION Since it provides unbiased estimates of weanlings' intakes, the 24-h recall can be used for diet surveys of groups of children. Its lack of precision, which could cause attenuation in epidemiological studies, can be compensated by increasing the number of days of survey. This study suggests that a precision equivalent to that of a 1-day weighed survey could be obtained with two 24-h recalls, at a considerably lower cost.
Abrogation of the invasion of human bladder tumor cells by using protease inhibitor(s)

It was shown previously that invasive human transitional cell carcinoma cell line EJ, but not the noninvasive RT4 cells, can degrade basement membrane laminin and that the degradation of basement membrane laminin was a result of a redistribution of activated cysteine proteinase cathepsin B to the plasma membrane of the invasive EJ cells. Using a modified Boyden chamber and an artificial basement membrane, it was found first that cysteine proteinase inhibitor E‐64 can abolish the ability of the EJ cells to invade through the artificial basement membrane to the underside of the filter. Second, E‐64 can prevent the degradation of purified human basement membrane laminin by the plasma membrane fraction of invasive EJ cells. Third, E‐64 does not affect the ability of the EJ cells to attach to the extracellular matrix nor is the inhibitory dose toxic to the cells when assayed with trypan‐blue dye exclusion. However, E‐64 does affect the ability of the EJ cells to respond to autocrine motility factor‐induced motility. Finally, in an in vivo model, E‐64 was not toxic to the animals tested and may have limited the blood‐borne metastatic ability of invasive EJ cells in the treated animals. It was concluded that proteinase cathepsin B may be involved in human bladder tumor invasion, in both extracellular matrix degradation and factor‐induced cellular motility, and the authors suggested that the use of inhibitor(s) to cysteine proteinases may limit the invasive potential of human bladder cancer cells.
Distribution of laminins in the basement membranes of the upper gastrointestinal tract and Barrett's oesophagus

Barrett's oesophagus predisposes to oesophageal adenocarcinoma. In vitro, laminin, a component of the epithelial basement membrane (BM), is important in regulation of cell differentiation. There is limited information on the distribution of laminin chains in the upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and none in Barrett's oesophagus. This study aimed to investigate qualitatively the distribution of laminins in the normal upper GIT mucosa and Barrett's oesophagus in order to understand the role of laminins in metaplasia. Immunoperoxidase staining for laminin chains α1, α2, α3, α5, β1, β2, β3, γ1, and γ2 was performed on frozen endoscopic squamous and Barrett's oesophageal biopsies and surgical resection specimens from squamous oesophagus (in resection specimens for oesophageal cancer), and in oesophageal and gastric biopsies from control subjects. α1 laminin was expressed in the BM of submucosal glands and ducts in squamous oesophagus and Brunner's glands in the duodenum, but not in Barrett's oesophagus or elsewhere in the upper GIT. α2 laminin chain was expressed in a granular distribution in the BM of squamous epithelium. In columnar epithelium, including Barrett's oesophagus, α2 laminin chain was expressed continuously in the BM of glands and deeper pits, but expression was reduced and granular in the surface epithelial BM. β2 laminin was continuous in squamous epithelial BM, but in Barrett's and cardia, gastric body, and duodenum, it was expressed faintly in the surface but continuously in the BM of glands and deeper pits. The constituents of laminin‐5 were continuously expressed in the BM of squamous epithelium, but in the cardia, gastric body, duodenum, and Barrett's, they were expressed only in the BM of surface epithelium, with a sharp decline in the glandular and deeper pit BM. Site‐specific distribution of the α2 and β2 laminin chains may therefore have an important role in Barrett's metaplasia. However, the absence of α1 laminin in Barrett's mucosa suggests that this is unlikely to play an important role in columnar metaplasia. Copyright © 2004 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Impact of Emergency Room Neurologists on Patient Management and Outcome

The frequency and impact of in-patient assessment by a neurologist in the emergency room (ER) setting remain largely underestimated. The objective of our study was to analyse the impact of neurologist in-patient management. Methods: Over a period of 12 months, we prospectively recorded the demographics of patients requiring examination in the ER, the ER team’s tentative neurological diagnosis, the neurology team’s final diagnosis and patient outcomes. The time interval between admission, call for a neurologist and the assessment by the neurologist were recorded. Results: Assessments by neurologists were performed in 14.7% (1,679/11,421) of all patients admitted to the ER. The mean time between admission and examination was 32 (± 36) min, irrespective of the day of the week, and dependent on the tentative diagnosis: shorter for stroke and status epilepticus (p < 0.05) and longer for confusion and vertigo (p < 0.05). The initial causes for examination were: stroke (33.1%), epilepsy (20%), loss of consciousness (9%), headaches (9%), confusion (5.4%), peripheral nervous system disorders (4.4%), vertigo (4.2%), cognitive dysfunctions (4%), gait disorders (3.2%) and miscellaneous (7.1%). Overall, false positive or negative diagnoses were produced by the ER in 37.3 and 36.6% of ER admissions, respectively. A complete change of diagnosis by the neurologist was found in 52.5% of patients. Of the patients undergoing a neurological examination, 18.4% were able to go home, 31.8% were admitted to the stroke unit, 32.4% to the general neurology unit and 17.4% to other departments. Conclusion: Our study stresses the need for a neurologist in the ER, both in quantitative terms and for the benefit of patient management.
Identification of underprivileged areas

risk of contracting rubella in pregnancy and giving birth to a handicapped child. If these observations are confirmed by an extension of our own experience and that of other laboratories, there are clear indications for health education since there may be groups of women needing vaccination programmes specifically directed at them. This might well necessitate special programmes in areas where the Asian population is concentrated. We would like to know whether other laboratories carrying out antenatal screening for rubella antibodies have made similar observations.
Modeling and simulation of brain lesions by the finite-element method

In this study the consolidation model is used to study the influence of the cerebrospinal fluid on the mechanical factors in the brain. First, in the model flow patterns similar to observations by CT were obtained. But these results were dependent on the boundary conditions and material constants. One must examine these factors more exactly with medical data. Second, stress concentration was observed near the horns of the lateral ventricle, areas that coincide with that of periventricular lucency. Cerebrospinal fluid plays an important role in brain lesions. MRI or CT images give one qualitative information, but no quantitative measure of force. Finite element simulations have the possibility of providing such information. The authors believe that if the qualitative model can be constructed, and using the technique of inverse analysis with the image information, it may be possible to obtain quantitative values of material constants from the clinical observations. <<ETX>>
Apoptosis in human atherosclerosis and restenosis.

BACKGROUND Apoptosis has been recognized in normal, including rapidly proliferating, cell populations and is inferred to be potentially responsible for the maintenance of stable cell numbers in tissues with various degrees of proliferative activity. Previous studies performed in rats indicated that despite the persistence of a relatively high level of injury-induced proliferative activity, total arterial smooth muscle content at 12 weeks remained unchanged from that measured at 2 weeks, suggesting that accrual of vascular smooth muscle cells is mitigated by cell death. The extent to which apoptosis may be observed in human atherosclerosis and/or restenosis, however, has not been previously established. METHODS AND RESULTS We performed immunohistochemical studies on 56 specimens retrieved from patients undergoing directional atherectomy for primary atherosclerotic lesions or recurrent arterial narrowing after percutaneous revascularization (restenosis). Immunohistochemical staining disclosed evidence of apoptosis in 35 (63%) of the 56 specimens studied. When present, immunohistochemical evidence of apoptosis was typically limited to < 2% of cells in the specimen. The finding of apoptosis, however, was not distributed equally among four groups of specimens studied. Specimens retrieved from patients with restenosis were more frequently observed to contain foci of apoptosis than specimens retrieved from patients with primary atherosclerotic lesions. Among 14 peripheral arterial specimens from patients with restenosis, 13 (93%) contained foci of apoptosis; in contrast, apoptosis was observed in only 6 (43%) of 14 peripheral specimens from patients with primary lesions (P = .0046). Among coronary arterial specimens, apoptosis was observed in 12 (86%) of 14 specimens from patients with restenosis versus 6 (29%) of 14 specimens from patients with primary obstructions (P < .0075). CONCLUSIONS Apoptosis is a feature of human vascular pathology, including restenotic lesions and, to a lesser extent, primary atherosclerotic lesions. The findings of the present study suggest that apoptosis may modulate the cellularity of lesions that produce human vascular obstruction, particularly those with evidence of more extensive proliferative activity.
Effect of cropping systems and crop rotations on weeds

Dynamics of weed populations in arable fields are influenced by environmental and soil characteristics and also by cropping system and management practices. Manipulation of cropping systems to improve weed management requires a better understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of weeds, seed losses and seed production. To assess the effect of different cropping systems and various crop rotations on the weed population and seed bank, we conducted a field study at the experimental farm in Khorasan Agricultural Research Center, Mashhad, Iran. The experimental design was a split plot with 3 crop rotations as the main plots, and five cropping systems consisting of high-input, medium-input, low-input, organic and integrated systems applied to the sub-plots. Our results show that weed seed densities in organic and integrated cropping systems, of about 5000–6000 seeds/m2 were higher than conventional and high-input cropping systems showing about 2000 seeds/m2. Weed seed density in continuous winter wheat of approximately 6300 seeds/m2 was higher than other rotations with about 5000 seeds/m2. Weed composition in the high-input system was 11 species with 66 plants/m2. Whereas in the low-input and organic systems, the weed populations were 15 and 13 species with 145 and 220 plants/m2, respectively. Changes in weed seed bank density and species composition often occur when crop management practices and crop rotations are altered. For example, continuous winter wheat fields showed more annual grass weeds, but broadleaf weeds were more abundant in sugar beet-winter wheat rotation. The weed population in continuous winter wheat plots comprised 90% grass and sedge weeds, while in sugar beet-wheat rotation, it was only 43% of total weed density. Broadleaf weeds were 55.2% in sugar beet-winter wheat but 9.4% of total weed density in continuous winter wheat. Different rotations that include crops with different life cycles such as winter wheat-maize and winter wheat-sugar beet could lead to additional benefits of reducing the weed seed bank.
Does social media matter for post typology? Impact of post content on Facebook and Instagram metrics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of post type (advertising, fan, events, information, and promotion) on two interaction metrics: likes and comments. The measuring involved two popular social media, Facebook and Instagram, and in business profiles of five different segments (food, hairdressing, ladies’ footwear, body design, fashion gym wear). Design/methodology/approach – The method used was multiple regression analysis with an estimator of the ordinary least squares for 1,849 posts from five different companies posted on Facebook (680 posts) and Instagram (1,169 Instagram) over an eight-month posting period. Regression analysis was used to identify the relationship between the dependent variables (likes and comments), and the independent variables (post typology, segments, week period, month, characters and hashtag). Findings – It was seen that the post types events and promotion led to a greater involvement of followers in Instagram, in particular. In Facebook, the events pos.
Trends in hospital emergency department utilization: United States, 1992-99.

OBJECTIVES This report describes trends in hospital emergency department (ED) visits in the United States. Statistics are presented for overall utilization, case mix of patients, services provided, and outcome measures. METHODS The data presented in this report were collected from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) from 1992 through 1999. To make the data points more reliable for trend analysis, the data were combined to provide 2-year annual averages for 1993-94, 1995-96, and 1997-98. The survey in 1992 was especially large so it was used alone. The 1999 data are the most recent year available and are presented separately. RESULTS The volume of ED visits in the United States increased by 14% from 1992 through 1999, from 89.8 million to 102.8 million annually. This increase is mainly due to an increase in visits for illness-related as opposed to injury-related conditions. Although the population rate for ED visits did not significantly increase over this time period (rates between 35.7 and 37.9 visits per 100 persons), the rate for illness-related visits rose from 21.0 to 24.0 visits per 100 persons (p < 0.01). The most dramatic increases were observed in the overall visit rate for black persons 65 years of age and over, which rose by 59% from 45.4 visits per 100 persons in 1992 to 72.2 in 1999. For black seniors, both illness and injury-related visit rates increased at a much higher rate compared with trends for white seniors. CONCLUSION Increased volume of ED encounters for persons 45 years of age and over was associated with a greater proportion of illness conditions presenting to the ED and the use of more services, medications, and mid-level providers.
Disability compensation and work among veterans with psychiatric and nonpsychiatric impairments.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the relationship of Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation payments and employment among veterans with psychiatric disorders and veterans whose impairments were nonpsychiatric. METHODS Data from a 1987-1988 national survey of Vietnam-era veterans (N = 1,634) were used to evaluate the relationship between compensation payments and employment. The employment activity of veterans whose application for benefits was rejected was compared with that of veterans who were awarded benefits. Multivariate analytic techniques were used to control for health status and other factors that also influence an individual's decision to work. RESULTS Veterans who received compensation of less than $500 a month were no less likely to work than were rejected applicants. Overall, the effect of compensation payment was significant but modest: each additional $100 a month was associated with a 2 percent decline in the number of veterans who worked, a decline of an hour a week in the number of hours worked, and a reduction of $1,000 a year in estimated employment income. No significant differences were observed in the relationship between disability payments and employment among veterans with psychiatric disorders and those with other functional impairments. CONCLUSIONS The association of disability compensation with nonparticipation in the labor force is generally small, except at high levels of payment, and is no greater for veterans with psychiatric disorders than for those with nonpsychiatric impairments.
Lamotrigine adjunctive treatment in resistant unipolar depression: an open, descriptive study

Adjunctive treatment of lamotrigine compared to other antidepressants in the treatment of partially responsive, poorly functioning patients with unipolar depression was assessed. Fourteen consenting patients with confirmed DSM‐IV‐R diagnosis of unipolar depression were identified as treatment resistant. All patients failed at least two 8‐week treatment trials with antidepressants. All were treated with lamotrigine as an adjunct to other antidepressants for at least 6 months. The primary effectiveness measure was the Clinical Global Impression Severity subscale (CGI‐S). Other scales included the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Scale (MADRS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF). Monitoring for skin rashes, headache, dizziness, somnolence, and gastrointestinal disturbances was carried out to assess for adverse events. Baseline measures prior to adding lamotrigine were compared to those at 8 weeks and 6 months with adjunctive treatment. Twelve patients of the total (n=14) completed the trial, and two discontinued treatment. There was significant, rapid, and robust resolution in symptoms in all effectiveness measures, including the core symptoms of depression, as shown by the changes from baseline in CGI‐S, and MADRS at 8 weeks. Social and occupational functioning was significantly improved at 6 months. Eight patients returned to gainful employment or started schooling. Patients tolerated the adjunctive lamotrigine treatment well. Lamotrigine may have antidepressant properties in patients with unipolar depression and may have an earlier onset of action when given in combination with antidepressants. Depression and Anxiety 23:485–488, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Myelofibrosis: an update on drug therapy in 2016

ABSTRACT Introduction: Primary myelofibrosis (PMF) is the least common but the most aggressive of the classic Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. Survival is much shorter in PMF than in polycythemia vera (PV) or essential thrombocythemia (ET). Post-PV/ET myelofibrosis (MF) is clinically indistinguishable from PMF and approached similarly. Areas covered: Current pharmacologic therapy of MF revolves around the Janus kinase 1/2 (JAK1/2) inhibitor ruxolitinib, which dramatically improves constitutional symptoms and splenomegaly in the majority of patients, and improves overall survival (OS). However, allogeneic stem cell transplantation remains the only potential cure. Other JAK inhibitors continue to be developed for MF, and momelotinib and pacritinib are in phase III clinical trials. Anemia is common in MF, and initially worsened by ruxolitinib. Momelotinib and pacritinib may prove advantageous in this regard. Current strategies for managing anemia of MF include danazol, immunomodulatory drugs and erythroid stimulating agents, either alone or in combination with ruxolitinib. Expert opinion: A number of other agents, representing diverse drug classes, are in various stages of development for MF. These include newer JAK inhibitors, other signaling inhibitors, epigenetic modifiers, anti-fibrotic agents, telomerase inhibitors, and activin receptor ligand traps (for anemia). Hopefully, these novel therapies will further extend the clinical benefits of ruxolitinib.