Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Weak associations between sociodemographic factors and breast cancer: possible effects of early detection

Differences in incidence and survival of breast cancer have been observed to vary with regard to sociodemographic factors. This might be related to variation in frequency of doctor consultation and in time of diagnosis, since sociodemographic factors appear to influence the individual's attention to cancer symptoms and susceptibility to participate in screening programmes. This study aimed to examine the variation in breast cancer incidence and case fatality in sociodemographic groups in Norway, and to discuss whether any variation can result from temporal variation in detection time. The study included 589 521 women with information on residential history, childbearing pattern, educational level and occupational physical activity. Analyses were conducted using Poisson and Cox regression models. Although all the associations were weak, breast cancer incidence was associated with residence in urban areas, high age at first childbirth and high level of education. The urban women also tended to have better survival compared with the rural women. Childlessness was associated with high incidence and high case fatality. A high educational level was associated with the lowest case fatality. This study may emphasize the importance of discussing potential effects of early cancer detection. This is particularly important in epidemiological studies revealing weak associations between sociodemographic factors and breast cancer. Mortality rates may be less influenced by problems associated with early detection and, thus, analyses of breast cancer-specific mortality could give additional information.
Comparison of Diagnostic Yield of a FISH Panel Against Conventional Cytogenetic Studies for Hematological Malignancies: A South Indian Referral Laboratory Analysis Of 201 Cases

Objectives: Genetic markers are crucial fort diagnostic and prognostic investigation of hematological malignancies (HM). The conventional cytogenetic study (CCS) has been the gold standard for more than five decades. However, FISH (Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization) testing has become a popular modality owing to its targeted approach and the ability to detect abnormalities in non-mitotic cells. We here aimed to compare the diagnostic yields of a FISH panel against CCS in HMs. Methods: Samples of bone marrow and peripheral blood for a total of 201 HMs were tested for specific gene rearrangements using multi-target FISH and the results were compared with those from CCS. Results: Exhibited a greater diagnostic yield with a positive result in 39.8% of the cases, as compared to 17.9% of cases detected by CCS. Cases of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) benefited the most by FISH testing, which identified chromosomal aberrations beyond the capacity of CCS. FISH was least beneficial in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) where the highest concordance with CCS was exhibited. Acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) demonstrated greater benefit with CCS. In addition, we found the following abnormalities to be most prevalent in HMs by FISH panel testing: RUNX1 (21q22) amplification in ALL, deletion of D13S319/LAMP1 (13q14) in CLL, CKS1B (1q21) amplification in multiple myeloma and deletion of EGR1/RPS14 (5q31/5q32) in MDS, consistent with the literature. Conclusions: In conclusion, FISH was found to be advantageous in only a subset of HMs and cannot completely replace CCS. Utilization of the two modalities in conjunction or independently should depend on the indicated HM for an optimal approach to detecting chromosomal aberrations.
Phrasing Questions in Terms of Current (Not Future) Knowledge Increases Preferences for Cue-Only Judgments of Learning

Effective learning demands knowledge about what learning strategies are most effective. Much research has addressed what students’ know about how to improve memory. However, to effectively study it is also important to accurately feel (i.e., monitor) how well or poorly you have learned; for example, a glossary list, because such monitoring is closely related to the decisions students make about what to restudy. Such monitoring, termed judgments of learning (JOLs), predict later recall of glossaries (i.e., word pairs) more accurately when they are made after a delay, while viewing the first word only (cue) compared with both words in a word pair (cue and target). We investigated whether people recognize the benefit of cue-only responses when making JOLs and whether their preferences depend on how JOL prompts are phrased. Forty participants studied glossaries and then made delayed cue-only and cue-target JOLs. When the JOL prompts were phrased as predictions of future memory performance, only 15% of the participants preferred the better cue-only strategy. When JOLs were instead phrased as assessments of the current state of learning, 55% preferred the cue-only strategy. To conclude, students do not seem to recognize the value of cue-only JOLs, but they picked the superior JOL strategy more often when the JOL phrasing focused their attention on their knowledge state at the time of the JOL, rather than on a future state. This indicates that study-advice to students should not only include information about how to improve memory, but also about how to improve monitoring.
Distant Metastases and Survival Prediction in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective This study was designed to identify the risk factors associated with distant metastases (DM) and survival outcomes in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Study Design Database analysis plus chart review. Setting Tertiary care academic medical center. Subjects and Methods Four hundred four eligible patients were involved who were treated with a minimum 2-year follow-up from January 2005 through August 2009. Confirmation of DM was performed by histopathology or follow-up imaging. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used for factors predictive of DM. The survival of patients was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Thirty-six of the 404 eligible patients (8.9%) developed DM, most frequently in the lungs (80.6%). Univariate analyses revealed that T and N classifications, lymphovascular invasion and perineural invasion of the primary tumor, and locoregional recurrences were each significantly associated with the development of DM (P < .05). Multivariate analyses showed that T and N classifications and locoregional recurrences were independent predictors of DM (P < .05). The overall 1- and 2-year survival rates of the 36 patients with DMs were 40.6% and 13.5%, respectively. Metastases to more than 1 organ negatively affected patient survival (P < .001). Conclusion Patients with advanced tumors, nodal involvement, or locoregional recurrences may require more frequent surveillance for the development of DMs.
ERRATIC FLARING OF BL LAC IN 2012–2013: MULTIWAVELENGTH OBSERVATIONS

BL Lac, the eponymous blazar, flared to historically high levels at millimeter, infrared, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths in 2012. We present observations made with Herschel, Swift, NuSTAR, Fermi, the Submillimeter Array, CARMA, and the VLBA in 2012–2013, including three months with nearly daily sampling at several wavebands. We have also conducted an intensive campaign of 30 hr with every-orbit observations by Swift and NuSTAR, accompanied by Herschel, and Fermi observations. The source was highly variable at all bands. Time lags, correlations between bands, and the changing shapes of the spectral energy distributions can be explained by synchrotron radiation and inverse Compton emission from nonthermal seed photons originating from within the jet. The passage of four new superluminal very long baseline interferometry knots through the core and two stationary knots about 4 pc downstream accompanied the high flaring in 2012–2013. The seed photons for inverse Compton scattering may arise from the stationary knots and from a Mach disk near the core where relatively slow-moving plasma generates intense nonthermal radiation. The 95 spectral energy distributions obtained on consecutive days form the most densely sampled, broad wavelength coverage for any blazar. The observed spectral energy distributions and multi-waveband light curves are similar to simulated spectral energy distributions and light curves generated with a model in which turbulent plasma crosses a conical shock with a Mach disk.
Hypersensitivity for capsaicin in patients with functional dyspepsia

Abstract The pathophysiology of functional dyspepsia is poorly understood, thus diagnostic and therapeutic options for this disease are limited. We assessed the relevance of a simple test for chemical hypersensitivity by applying an oral capsaicin load. After a preliminary dose‐finding study, 61 healthy controls and 54 functional dyspepsia patients swallowed a capsule containing 0.75 mg capsaicin. A graded questionnaire evaluated severity of symptoms before and after capsule ingestion; an aggregate symptom score was calculated by adding all symptom scores. Controls developed moderate symptoms (symptom score: 6.0 ± 4.1; median: 5.0). The 75% quartile (9.0) was considered the upper limit of normal. Functional dyspepsia patients had significantly higher symptom scores (10.0 ± 6.5) than controls. About 54% of functional dyspepsia patients tested positive; clinically this group was not different from the group testing negative besides being on average younger and suffering more from bloating. In additional 13 patients with functional dyspepsia who tested positive (symptom score: 15.8 ± 0.9), symptom response to placebo capsules (1.9 ± 0.6) was similar to controls. In reliability testing, the Cronbach α‐value of the capsaicin test was 0.86. The capsaicin test is a simple and non‐invasive method to detect a subgroup of functional dyspepsia with chemical hypersensitivity.
Mesoscopic fluctuations of eigenfunctions and level-velocity distribution in disordered metals.

We calculate the distribution of eigenfunction amplitudes and the variance of the inverse participation ratio (IPR) in disordered metallic samples. A relation is established between the distribution function of the IPR and that of level velocities\char22{}parametric derivatives of energy levels with respect to a random perturbation.
Understanding e-business adoption across industries in European countries

Purpose – The paper seeks to investigate the factors that affect the adoption of e‐business by firms belonging to European Union (EU) countries, by comparing the effect across two different industries: telecommunications (telco) and tourism.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 2,459 firms belonging to EU27 countries across two industries. The data were analyzed by employing factorial analysis and relevant hypotheses were derived and tested by logistic regression analysis.Findings – The results suggest that the perceived benefits and obstacles of e‐business, technology readiness, competitive pressure, and trading partner collaboration are the drivers that are important for both industries. Through the comparison of the industries, statistically significant differences between the telco and the tourism industries, i.e. the relative importance of all drivers for e‐business adoption differs between the industries, were found. The only exception is competitive pressure.Research limitations/im.
Slippery Slopes of Stress: Ordered Failure Events in German Banking

Outright bank failures without prior indication of financial instability are very rare. Supervisory authorities monitor banks constantly. Thus, they usually obtain early warning signals that precede ultimate failure and, in fact, banks can be regarded as troubled to varying degrees before outright closure. But to our knowledge virtually all studies that predict bank failures neglect the ordinal nature of bank distress. Exploiting the distress database of the Deutsche Bundesbank we distinguish four different distress events that banks experience. Only the worst entails a bank to exit the market. Weaker orders of distress are, first, compulsory notifications of the authorities about potential problems, second, corrective actions such as warnings and hearings and, third, actions by banking pillar's insurance schemes. Since the four categories of hazard functions are not proportional, we specify a generalized ordered logit model to estimate the respective probabilities of distress simultaneously. Our model estimates each set of probabilities with high accuracy and confirms, first, the necessity to account for different kinds of distress events and, second, the violation of the proportional odds assumption implicit in most limited dependent analyses of bank failure.
5. Sınıf İngilizce Dersi Öğretim Programı: Güncellenen Programın Bir Önceki Programla Karşılaştırılması ve Programa İlişkin Öğretmen Görüşleri

Arastirmanin amaci, 2013-2014 ogretim yilinda uygulanmaya baslayan yeni 5. sinif Ingilizce dersi ogretim programi ile 2008-2009 ogretim yilinda baslayarak uygulanmis olan 5. sinif Ingilizce dersi ogretim programinin karsilastirilmali olarak incelenmesi ve yeni programa iliskin ogretmenlerin goruslerinin belirlenmesidir. Arastirma iki asamadan olusmaktadir. Birinci asamada 2013’de yururluge giren 5. sinif Ingilizce dersi ogretim programi ile 2006’da gelistirilen ve 2008’den itibaren okutulmakta olan 5. sinif Ingilizce dersi ogretim programi karsilastirilmistir. Bu asamada nitel arastirma yontemlerinden dokuman analizi yontemi kullanilmistir. Arastirmanin Ikinci asamasinda 2013 programina iliskin Ingilizce ogretmenlerinin gorusleri belirlenmistir. Bu asamada nitel arastirma yontemlerinden gorusme yontemi kullanilmis ve yari yapilandirilmis gorusme sorulariyla ogretmenlerin gorusleri belirlenmistir. Amacli ornekleme yontemi kullanilan arastirmada, Istanbul ili Sultanbeyli ilcesinde Milli Egitim Bakanligina bagli okullarda gorev yapmakta olan 19 Ingilizce ogretmeni ile 2013-2014 ogretim yili ikinci donemde gorusmeler yapilmistir. Elde edilen veriler betimsel analiz yontemiyle cozumlenmistir. Arastirmanin sonucunda bir onceki programdan farkli olarak yeni programda yapilan yenilikler ortaya konulmus ve ogretmenlerin yeni programa iliskin genellikle olumsuz goruslere sahip oldugu belirlenmistir.
Zinc-Responsive Regulation of Alternative Ribosomal Protein Genes in Streptomyces coelicolor Involves Zur and σR

ABSTRACT Streptomyces coelicolor contains paralogous versions of seven ribosomal proteins (S14, S18, L28, L31, L32, L33, and L36), which differ in their potential to bind structural zinc. The paralogues are termed C+ or C− on the basis of the presence or absence of putative cysteine ligands. Here, mutational studies suggest that the C− version of L31 can functionally replace its C+ paralogue only when expressed at an artificially elevated level. We show that the level of expression of four transcriptional units encoding C− proteins is elevated under conditions of zinc deprivation. Zur controls the expression of three transcriptional units (including rpmG2, rpmE2, rpmB2, rpsN2, rpmF2, and possibly rpsR2). Zur also controls the expression of the znuACB operon, which is predicted to encode a high-affinity zinc transport system. Surprisingly, the zinc-responsive control of the rpmG3-rpmJ2 operon is dictated by σR, a sigma factor that was previously shown to control the response to disulfide stress in S. coelicolor. The induction of σR activity during zinc limitation establishes an important link between thiol-disulfide metabolism and zinc homeostasis.
Cancer treatment and age: patient perspectives.

BACKGROUND Despite some evidence that age does not meaningfully influence the efficacy or toxicity of cancer treatment, older patients tend to receive less comprehensive cancer therapies. PURPOSE We conducted a population-based study to evaluate the selection of cancer treatment among the elderly. METHODS Between September 1 and November 30, 1990, we interviewed by telephone a sample of 628 female Wisconsin residents recently diagnosed with breast (507) or colorectal (121) cancer. The women, aged 20-74 at the time of diagnosis, were identified through Wisconsin's statewide tumor registry. The approximately 30-minute long telephone interview, part of a larger study of cancer etiology, included questions on treatment history, physician specialty, and reasons for the selection of specific therapies. Analyses compared the proportion of subjects with various treatment characteristics according to age (< 65 and > or = 65 years). In evaluating the effect of age on selected therapies, we adjusted summary proportions for stage of disease using the indirect method. The Mantel-Haenszel chi square statistic was used to evaluate statistical significance of the differences in proportions. RESULTS After adjusting for stage of disease at diagnosis, substantial variation was observed in cancer treatment according to age for both breast and colorectal cancer. Older women (> or = 65 years) with breast cancer were less likely than younger women (< 65 years) to have received conservative surgery, radiation, and adjuvant therapy. Older women were, in fact, more likely than younger women to accept mastectomy (P = .03). Consultation with a medical or radiation oncologist was less common among older than younger patients (57% versus 73%). Older women were also less likely to have alternative therapies presented to them (19% versus 31%). While older patients were less likely to have been offered adjuvant treatments, like chemotherapy (P < .01), they were also more likely than younger women to reject these treatments when offered (P = .01). These differences were observed in both breast and colorectal cancer patients. Regardless of age, the most common reasons for not selecting treatments were physicians' recommendations and the desire for more comprehensive treatment. Concern about side effects, however, was more frequently reported by older women (P = .07). CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION Patients' ages influence the choice of treatment. Physicians offer older women with cancer different treatments from those offered to younger women and are less likely to recommend specialist consultation. Physicians' advice and description of toxicity may influence patients' selection of treatment. However, older patients' concerns about the consequences of cancer treatment may also influence treatment choice.
Implementation of Patient-Centered Medical Homes in Adult Primary Care Practices

There has been relatively little empirical evidence about the effects of patient-centered medical home (PCMH) implementation on patient-related outcomes and costs. Using a longitudinal design and a large study group of 2,218 Michigan adult primary care practices, our study examined the following research questions: Is the level of, and change in, implementation of PCMH associated with medical surgical cost, preventive services utilization, and quality of care in the following year? Results indicated that both level and amount of change in practice implementation of PCMH are independently and positively associated with measures of quality of care and use of preventive services, after controlling for a variety of practice, patient cohort, and practice environmental characteristics. Results also indicate that lower overall medical and surgical costs are associated with higher levels of PCMH implementation, although change in PCMH implementation did not achieve statistical significance.
Detection and Toxin Typing of Clostridium perfringens in Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Tissue Samples by PCR

Since current microbiology methods are not suitable to detect Clostridium perfringens in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples, we developed a PCR assay to detect toxin-encoding genes and the 16S rRNA gene of C. perfringens. We successfully detected and genotyped C. perfringens in tissue sections from two autopsy cases.
Effects of simulated firefighting on the responses of salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase and psychological variables

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a simulated firefighting intervention on salivary alpha-amylase (sA-A), free cortisol (sC), anxiety (STAI), and profile of mood states (POMS) in 20 male firefighters (age 32 ± 1 years, [Vdot]O 2peak: 43 ± 5 ml/kg per min). During the 12-min firefighting intervention (ambient temperature: 13 ± 1°C; relative humidity: 63 ± 1%), individuals spent 63 ± 28% of the time working at heart rate (HR) >85% of individual HRmax, [La] peak 9.2 ± 2.9 mM and ratings of perceived exertion 16 ± 2. At 30 min post-intervention significant (p < 0.001) increases in sA-A (174%) and sC (109%) were found with regard to values recorded before and after 90 min of the firefighting intervention. Since no differences emerged between pre-intervention and post intervention for STAI and POMS values, the hormonal changes were attributable to the intense physical stress of the simulated intervention. Further research is needed during real firefighting activities, where high emotional stress may also be present.
Natural history of dengue virus (DENV)-1 and DENV-4 infections: reanalysis of classic studies.

BACKGROUND The natural history of wild-type dengue virus (DENV) infections of humans, including incubation and infectious periods, requires further study. METHODS Two experimental studies in the Philippines of DENV-4 (1924-1925) and DENV-1 (1929-1930) were reexamined. The intrinsic incubation periods were fitted to log-normal distribution using the maximum likelihood method, and the infectious and extrinsic incubation periods were assessed by proportions of successful transmissions causing clinically apparent dengue. Correlations between the intrinsic incubation period and other variables and univariate associations between clinical severity and serotype were also examined. RESULTS Mean+/-SD incubation periods were 6.0+/-1.4 and 5.7+/-1.5 days for DENV-4 and DENV-1, respectively. Significant negative correlations were observed between the incubation period and duration of fever (r=-0.43 and -0.33). Even 1 and 2 days before the onset of fever, 80.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 44.9%-100%) and 25.0% (CI, 0%-67.4%) of biting experiments caused clinically apparent dengue. DENV-1 infections resulted in a significantly longer duration of fever than DENV-4 infections (P<.01). CONCLUSIONS Incubation period was negatively correlated with disease severity, potentially reflecting a dose-response mechanism. The historical data provided useful details concerning serotype differences in the natural history of primary DENV infections.