Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Allogeneic stem-cell transplantation using a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen has the capacity to produce durable remissions and long-term disease-free survival in patients with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplasia.

PURPOSE The toxicity of allogeneic stem-cell transplantation can be substantially reduced using a reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen. This has increased the proportion of patients with myeloid malignancies eligible for allogeneic transplantation. However, the capacity of RIC allografts to produce durable remissions in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplasia (MDS) has not yet been defined, and consequently, the role of RIC allografts in the management of these diseases remains conjectural. PATIENTS AND METHODS Seventy-six patients with high-risk AML or MDS received an allograft using a fludarabine/melphalan RIC regimen incorporating alemtuzumab. The median age of the cohort was 52 years (range, 18 to 71 years). RESULTS The 100-day transplantation-related mortality rate was 9%, and no patient developed greater than grade 2 graft-versus-host disease. With a median follow-up of 36 months (range, 13 to 70 months), 27 patients were alive and in remission, with 3-year actuarial overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates of 41% and 37%, respectively. The 3-year OS and DFS rates of patients with AML in complete remission at the time of transplantation were 48% and 42%, respectively. Disease relapse was the most common cause of treatment failure and occurred at a median time of 6 months after transplantation. All but one patient destined to relapse did so within 24 months of transplantation. CONCLUSION The extended follow-up in this series identifies a high risk of early disease relapse but provides evidence that RIC allografts can produce sustained DFS in a significant number of patients with AML who would be ineligible for allogeneic transplantation with myeloablative conditioning.
Laser Photo Chemotherapy: An Alternative Treatment for Cancer

The application of quantum electronic devices like lasers and high speed MRI provide the potential for less invasive detection techniques and drastically improved treatment of cancer (Upile et al., 2011). Lasers employ the principle of stimulated photon emission to produce light that markedly differs in quality, depending on the wavelength of the radiation in ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR) or visible regions of the spectrum (Joffee et al., 1989). In this context, laser fiber optics have been used for minimally invasive access and treatment of inoperable cerebral and head and neck neoplasms as well as tumors in other organs and systems (Feyh et al., 1996; Jager et al., 1996; Vogl et al., 2002a; Vogl et al., 2002b). For the past 50 years, several laser technologies have been employed in surgical oncology, including CO2 laser for cutting and coagulating and laser-induced thermal therapy (LITT) for thermal ablation of cancer. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an approach which has a wide range of application from acne to wrinkles, bactericidal cleansing, cancer treatment, etc (D'Cruz et al., 2004). In PDT, the absorption of photons by organic compounds can excite orbital electrons and increase kinetic energy levels leading to chemical reactions, but also may include light emission as fluorescence or transfer energy directly to oxygen molecules forming singlet and free radical species (Carmichael et al., 1983; Paiva et al., 1996). Anthracyline derivatives, such as adriamycin and daunomycin, are the most common anticancer agents that interact with light to elicit fluorescence, membrane photo labeling, laser activation and killing of tumor cells (Andreoni et al., 1991; Nahabedian et al., 1988; Saxton et al., 1996). Studies with these anticancer agents include reports of excited states of these drugs and further generation of radical oxygen species which appear to be wavelength dependent, from 313 to 498nm (Paiva et al., 1996). Some reports have shown that yeast cells were sensitized and killed by adriamycin after irradiation at 365nm, a wavelength that presented no effect in the absence of the drug. Also, cytotoxicity of several anthracycline derivatives are significantly enhanced by continuous wave green light of argon (514nm) or KTP (532nm) laser illumination of different types of cancer, both in vitro (Li and Chignell, 1987; Paiva et al., 1996) and in vivo. (Nahabedian et al., 1988; Peavy et al., 1992; Soudant et al., 1992; Paiva et al., 1995).
WHAT DO PATIENT's EXPECT OF THEIR GENERAL PRACTITIONERS?

Objective: To explore patient's expectations before consulting their general practitioners (GPs) and determine the factors that influence them. Methods: A cross sectional survey was carried out in five primary care centers representing different areas of Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to patients before consulting general practitioners. A sample of 944 Saudi patients was randomly selected. Results: 74.6% preferred Saudi doctors, and 92.6% would like to have more laboratory tests for the diagnosis of their illnesses. More than two third of the patients (78.0%) felt entirely comfortable when talking with GPs about the personal aspects of their problems. About half thought that the role of GP was mainly to refer patients to specialists, while 55.2% believed that the GP cannot deal with the psychosocial aspect of organic diseases. The commonest reason for consulting GPs was for a general check up. Conclusion: The GP has to explore patients’ expectations so that they can either be met or their impracticality explained. GPs should search for patient's motives and reconcile this with their own practice. GP should be trained to play the standard role of Primary Care Physician.
Pulsed radiofrequency denervation for the treatment of sacroiliac joint syndrome.

OBJECTIVE Current therapies for sacroiliac joint (SIJ) dysfunction offer discouraging results in alleviating low back pain. The innervation and target nerves for radiofrequency denervation (RFD) of the SIJ remain unclear. We present a prospective case series on the treatment of intractable SIJ dysfunction with pulsed radiofrequency denervation (PRFD) of lateral branches from L4-S3. INTERVENTIONS A total of 126 patients with presumptive SIJ dysfunction based on history and physical examination underwent arthrographically confirmed steroid/local anesthetic SIJ injection. Fifty-two patients (41.3%) had >75% pain relief after two consecutive injections, physical therapy, repeated SIJ injections, and/or analgesics. Twenty-two patients failed to respond. These patients underwent PRFD of the medial branch of L4, posterior primary rami of L5, and lateral branches S1 and S2. OUTCOME MEASURES Visual analog score (VAS) and quality of life (QOL) assessments were performed prior to and after treatment. RESULTS Sixteen patients (72.7%) experienced "Good" (>50% reduction in VAS), or "Excellent" (>80% reduction in VAS) pain relief following PRFD. Duration of pain relief range was 6-9 weeks in four patients, 10-16 weeks in five patients, and 17-32 weeks in seven patients. In addition, QOL scores improved significantly in all measured categories. Six patients (26.1%) did not respond to PRFD and had less than 50% reduction in VAS and were considered failures. CONCLUSIONS PRFD of the lateral branch of the medial branch of L4, posterior primary rami of L5, and lateral branches S1 and S2 is an effective treatment for some patients with SIJ pain unresponsive to other forms of therapy.
Progressive necrotizing surgical infections--a unified approach.

Four types of progressive necrotizing surgical infections have been described, based on the type of infecting organism, the type and depth of soft tissue penetration and clinical findings, and the type of surgical therapy recommended, e.g., necrotizing fasciitis, clostridial cellulitis. A mortality rate of up to 50% continues to be reported. An experience with 20 such cases indicates that there is a considerable overlap in clinical-physical findings and bacteriology such that classification schemes are confusing and lead to treatment delays and the use of inappropriate therapy. The infections all seem to be variations of the same disease process, a spreading, necrotizing infection. Of the 20 cases, four were treated with antibiotics and delayed (1 to 3 days) excision of necrotic tissue with 75% deaths; four cases received antibiotics and multiple surgical incisions with 100% deaths. The other 12 cases were treated with a unified approach of resuscitation, antibiotics (penicillin, clindamycin, tobramycin), immediate surgical excision (3 to 4 hours) of all necrotic tissue, aggressive nutritional support, and early skin coverage, with an 8.3% mortality. We conclude that there seems to be no need to classify necrotizing infections into different types. Recognizing them as the same disease process and treating them with a unified approach resulted in a significant reduction in mortality.
Cardiovascular drug use prior to diagnosis of diabetes: A pilot study in community pharmacy

Objectives The literature indicates that cardiovascular drug use is higher during the years prior to diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. As there are pharmaco‐epidemiological and economic consequences of enhanced medication use prior to diagnosis of diabetes, there is a need for a comparative analysis of the drug‐use pattern by patients with a subsequent diagnosis of diabetes and control patients. This pilot study aimed to investigate cardiovascular drug use in patients with a subsequent diagnosis of diabetes using data extracted from 200 community pharmacies in the Belgian township of Hasselt.
Coupled resonator filter with single-layer acoustic coupler

We discuss the operation of novel coupled-resonator filters with single-layer acoustic couplers. Our analysis employs the physical Mason model for acoustic resonators. Their simpler fabrication process is counterbalanced by the high acoustic attenuation of suitable coupler materials. At high levels of attenuation, both the phase and the acoustic impedance must be treated as complex quantities to accurately predict the filter insertion loss. We demonstrate that the typically poor near-band rejection of coupled resonator filters can be improved at the die level by connecting a small capacitance between the input and output of the filter to produce a pair of tunable transmission minima. We make use of these theoretical findings to fabricate coupled resonators filters operating at 2.45 GHz.
A Reappraisal of the Locomotion and Habitat Preference of Theropithecus oswaldi

The one modern member of the genus Theropithecus, T. gelada (Primates, Cercopithecidae), inhabits grassland and is highly terrestrial. It is often supposed that Theropithecus oswaldi, one of the most common primates of the Plio-Pleistocene of East and southern Africa, was also a highly terrestrial open habitat species. Ecomorphic analysis was used to assess the locomotor strategy and habitat preference of T. oswaldi, and it was found that this species was unlikely to have had a locomotor strategy and habitat preference identical to that of T. gelada, with T. oswaldi possibly using arboreal substrates in a manner similar to some modern baboon groups. Thus, it appears that there has been considerable ecological diversity in the genus Theropithecus over the course of its evolution, mirroring the diversity evident in the hominin fossil record.
African and non‐African admixture components in African Americans and an African Caribbean population

Admixture is a potential source of confounding in genetic association studies, so it becomes important to detect and estimate admixture in a sample of unrelated individuals. Populations of African descent in the US and the Caribbean share similar historical backgrounds but the distributions of African admixture may differ. We selected 416 ancestry informative markers (AIMs) to estimate and compare admixture proportions using STRUCTURE in 906 unrelated African Americans (AAs) and 294 Barbadians (ACs) from a study of asthma. This analysis showed AAs on average were 72.5% African, 19.6% European and 8% Asian, while ACs were 77.4% African, 15.9% European, and 6.7% Asian which were significantly different. A principal components analysis based on these AIMs yielded one primary eigenvector that explained 54.04% of the variation and captured a gradient from West African to European admixture. This principal component was highly correlated with African vs. European ancestry as estimated by STRUCTURE (r2=0.992, r2=0.912, respectively). To investigate other African contributions to African American and Barbadian admixture, we performed PCA on ∼14,000 (14k) genome‐wide SNPs in AAs, ACs, Yorubans, Luhya and Maasai African groups, and estimated genetic distances (FST). We found AAs and ACs were closest genetically (FST=0.008), and both were closer to the Yorubans than the other East African populations. In our sample of individuals of African descent, ∼400 well‐defined AIMs were just as good for detecting substructure as ∼14,000 random SNPs drawn from a genome‐wide panel of markers. Genet. Epidemiol. 34:561–568, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
GFAP promoter elements required for region‐specific and astrocyte‐specific expression

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is the major intermediate filament protein in astrocytes, one of the most abundant cell types in the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS). Transcriptional regulation of GFAP is of interest because of its astrocyte‐specificity and its upregulation during development and CNS injury. A 2.2 kb human GFAP promoter, gfa2, has been found to express in astrocytes throughout the CNS. In contrast, we recently found that the 448 bp gfa28 promoter expresses in only restricted CNS regions, and is active in neurons as well as astrocytes. In the present study we have used transgenic mice to investigate which DNA regions deleted from gfa2 in the formation of gfa28 are responsible for these differences. We have found that a 55 bp segment spanning bp −1488 to −1434 with respect to the RNA start site contains region‐specific elements and that a 45 bp sequence spanning bp −1443 to −1399 is required for silencing expression in neurons. These data also further confirm the heterogeneity of astrocytes and neurons in the activation and repression of the GFAP gene, respectively. These studies also generated a novel 681 bp GFAP promoter, gfaABC1D, that has essentially the same expression pattern as the 2210 bp gfa2 promoter, and about twofold greater activity, recommending it for gene targeting applications in which size matters. In addition, a 681 bp gfaABC1(mC1.1)D variant was generated that could limit expression of transgenes to astrocytes in the dorsal and caudal cortex, hippocampus and caudal vermis of the cerebellum. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Modulation by neurosteroids of the in vivo (+)‐[3H]SKF‐10,047 binding to σ1 receptors in the mouse forebrain

Recent reports suggest an interaction between neuro‐(active)steroids and sigma1 (σ1) receptors, affecting biochemical parameters as well as physiological responses mediated by σ1 ligands in the rodent brain. In this study, we examined the modulation by neurosteroids of the haloperidol‐sensitive in vivo (+)‐[3H]SKF‐10,047 binding to σ1 sites in the mouse hippocampus and cortex. Progesterone (PROG; 2–40 mg/kg), pregnenolone sulfate (PREGS; 10–40 mg/kg), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS; 10–40 mg/kg) were administered systemically 10 min before the radioactive tracer. The total amount of (+)‐[3H]SKF‐10,047 bound in each structure was significantly affected by PROG and PREGS only at the highest dose tested and was unaffected by DHEAS. However, bound to free (B/F) radioactivity ratios were highly significantly decreased by 30–40% in each structure by PROG and PREGS. DHEAS, at 40 mg/kg, induced a significant 20% decrease in the hippocampus. Furthermore, the in vivo (+)‐[3H]SKF‐10,047 binding parameters were diminished in pregnant female mice compared to non‐pregnant or male mice. These results confirm the in vitro binding results, bring a direct in vivo demonstration of the interaction between neurosteroids and σ1 receptors, and show that physiologic modulations of the steroidal concentrations affect the σ1 systems. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
MEIS C Termini Harbor Transcriptional Activation Domains That Respond to Cell Signaling*

MEIS proteins form heteromeric DNA-binding complexes with PBX monomers and PBX·HOX heterodimers. We have shown previously that transcriptional activation by PBX·HOX is augmented by either protein kinase A (PKA) or the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA). To examine the contribution of MEIS proteins to this response, we used the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay to show that MEIS1 in addition to PBX1, HOXA1, and HOXB1 was recruited to a known PBX·HOX target, the Hoxb1 autoregulatory element following Hoxb1 transcriptional activation in P19 cells. Subsequent to TSA treatment, MEIS1 recruitment lagged behind that of HOX and PBX partners. MEIS1A also enhanced the transcriptional activation of a reporter construct bearing the Hoxb1 autoregulatory element after treatment with TSA. The MEIS1 homeodomain and protein-protein interaction with PBX contributed to this activity. We further mapped TSA-responsive and CREB-binding protein-dependent PKA-responsive transactivation domains to the MEIS1A and MEIS1B C termini. Fine mutation of the 56-residue MEIS1A C terminus revealed four discrete regions required for transcriptional activation function. All of the mutations impairing the response to TSA likewise reduced activation by PKA, implying a common mechanistic basis. C-terminal deletion of MEIS1 impaired transactivation without disrupting DNA binding or complex formation with HOX and PBX. Despite sequence similarity to MEIS and a shared ability to form heteromeric complexes with PBX and HOX partners, the PREP1 C terminus does not respond to TSA or PKA. Thus, MEIS C termini possess transcriptional regulatory domains that respond to cell signaling and confer functional differences between MEIS and PREP proteins.
Village Elections, Public Goods Investments and Pork Barrel Politics, Chinese-style

Abstract A key issue in political economy concerns the accountability that governance structures impose on public officials and how elections and representative democracy influence the allocation of public resources. In this paper we utilise a unique set of survey data set from nearly 2450 randomly selected villages describing China's recent progress in village governance reforms and its relationship to the provision of public goods in rural China between 1998 and 2004. Two sets of questions are investigated using an empirical framework based on a theoretical model in which local governments must decide to allocate fiscal resources between public goods investments and other expenditures. The empirical analysis – both in the descriptive and econometric analyses – suggests that when the village leader is elected directly, ceteris paribus, the provision of public goods rises (compared to when the leader is not elected directly by villagers). Thus, in this way it is possible to conclude that democratisation – at least at the village level in rural China – appears to increase the quantity of public goods investment. Second, we seek to understand the mechanism that is driving the results. Also based on the survey data, we find that when village leaders (who had been directly elected) were able to implement more public projects during their terms of office, they, as the incumbent, were more likely to be re-elected. In this way, we argue that the link between elections and investment may be a rural China version of pork barrel politics.
The effect of thyroid hormone therapy on angiographic coronary artery disease progression.

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of adequacy of thyroid hormone replacement therapy on coronary atherosclerosis. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study of elderly hypothyroid patients with coexisting coronary artery disease. The association between the adequacy of thyroid replacement and the progression of angiographic coronary artery disease was investigated. Fisher's exact test was used for statistical analysis. SETTING Coronary angiographies were performed at the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory of the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, Nova Scotia, the only tertiary referral centre for Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Information about the past and current thyroid status of the subjects was collected from their family physicians. PATIENTS Of 4103 patients admitted for coronary angiography during 1992 and 1993, 25 were on thyroid replacement therapy to treat hypothyroidism. Ten patients who underwent more than one coronary arteriography were selected (seven females and three males, mean age 65 +/- 10 years). RESULTS Of five patients inadequately treated for hypothyroidism, all demonstrated angiographic evidence of coronary atherosclerosis progression. However, five of seven who were treated adequately did not show atherosclerosis progression (P = 0.02, OR = 0.72, 95% CI 1.36 to infinity). Decreasing or maintaining the dose of L-thyroxine at 100 micrograms or less resulted in coronary atherosclerosis progression in six of six patients, whereas five of six patients taking fixed or increasing doses of L-thyroxine 150 micrograms or higher were spared from disease progression (P = 0.015, OR = 0.41, 95% CI 2.4 to infinity). CONCLUSIONS Angiographic coronary artery disease progression may be prevented by adequate thyroid replacement in hypothyroidism. With the help of modern, sensitive thyroid stimulating hormone assays higher doses of L-thyroxine may be safer and more effective in the atherosclerosis management of this patient population. Thyroid hormones can protect against atherosclerosis, presumably due to their metabolic affects on plaque progression.
Phase transition between cubic and monoclinic polymorphs of the tetracyanoethylene crystal: the role of temperature and kinetics

Prediction of the relative stabilities and phase transition behavior of molecular crystalline polymorphs is highly coveted as distinct phases can possess different physical and chemical properties while having similar energies. Crystalline tetracyanoethylene (TCNE, C6N4) is known to exhibit rich solid state phase behavior under different thermodynamic conditions, as demonstrated by a wealth of experimental studies on this system. Despite this fact, the role of temperature and kinetics on the phase diagram of TCNE remains poorly understood. Here, first-principles calculations and high-resolution Fourier-transformed infrared (HR-FTIR) spectroscopy experiments are used to study the relative stabilities of the cubic and monoclinic phases of TCNE as a function of temperature. Specifically, density-functional theory with the van der Waals interactions method of Tkatchenko and Scheffler (DFT+vdW) is employed. The accuracy of this approach is demonstrated by the excellent agreement between the calculated and experimental structures. We find that the cubic phase is the most stable polymorph at 0 K, but becomes less favorable than the monoclinic phase at 160 K. This temperature-induced phase transition is explained on the basis of varying close contacts and vibrational entropies as a function of temperature. These findings are supported by a temperature-dependent HR-FTIR linewidth study of the CN vibrons.