Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The prognostic value of clinical and pathologic factors in esophageal adenocarcinoma: a mayo cohort of 796 patients with extended follow-up after surgical resection.

OBJECTIVE To identify and describe clinicopathologic prognostic factors in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma who underwent surgical resection with curative intent. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study cohort consisted of 796 patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, gastroesophageal junction, or gastric cardia who underwent complete tumor resection at Mayo Clinic from January 1, 1980, to December 31, 1997. We reviewed individual patient medical records and abstracted demographic, pathologic, perioperative, and cancer outcome data. Median follow-up for vital status and disease recurrence was 12.8 and 5.8 years, respectively. RESULTS Univariate analysis revealed the following factors to be statistically associated with worse 5-year disease-specific survival: higher N and T status, higher tumor grade, age older than 76 years, and the presence of extracapsular lymph node extension and signet ring cells. The following factors remained significantly linked with worse 5-year disease-specific survival on multivariate analysis: higher N and T status, grade, and age and the absence of preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Anatomic location of tumor was not associated with differential prognosis. Lymph node metastases were found in 25 (27%) of 93 T1b tumors, 397 (85%) of 468 T3 tumors, and 22 (67%) of 33 T4a tumors. Disease-specific survival was better in T3-4N0 than in T1bN1-3 carcinomas (hazard ratio, 0.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.28-0.89, adjusted for grade and age; P=.02). CONCLUSION Our results confirm the importance of T and N status and tumor grade and suggest that age may affect prognosis. In addition, we show that a significant proportion of superficial esophageal adenocarcinomas exhibit regional metastases and have worse prognosis than more invasive nonmetastatic tumors.
Noradrenaline uptake inhibition increases melatonin secretion, a measure of noradrenergic neurotransmission, in depressed patients

SYNOPSIS Eight patients with endogenous depression who had received no antidepressant treatment for the previous year were treated with the noradrenaline (NA) uptake inhibitor, desipramine (DMI). Pre-treatment plasma melatonin concentrations were normal. After one day of DMI treatment plasma melatonin concentrations were increased but the response was impaired compared to normal subjects. The acute effect of DMI on plasma melatonin persisted after six weeks of treatment. These findings question the hypothesis that beta adrenoceptors are supersensitive in depression and that antidepressant drugs act by down-regulating these receptors.
An Analytical Model for Optimum Byte-Level and Packet-Level FEC Assignment Using Buffer Dynamics

This letter presents an analytical model that jointly exploits the buffer dynamics of both the sending and receiving nodes to find the optimum number of byte-level and packet-level forward error correction (FEC) units for real-time multimedia transmission over wireless networks. The proposed analytical model first provides an optimum number of FEC units required at the byte-level, and then chooses the number of FEC units at the packet-level based on current channel and network conditions. The accuracy of the proposed model is dependent on two parameters: the variable deadline-time at the byte-level and fixed round-trip time (RTT) delay at the packet-level. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the model in reducing the unrecoverable error probability, which is achieved when the byte-level FEC scheme is supplemented by the packet-level FEC scheme.
Childhood Betrayal Trauma and Self-Blame Appraisals Among Survivors of Intimate Partner Abuse

Child abuse perpetrated by a close other, such as a parent, is linked to a wide range of detrimental effects, including an increased risk of self-blame. The current study evaluated whether experiences of childhood betrayal trauma were linked to self-blame following victimization in adulthood. A diverse sample of women (n = 230) from an urban city were recruited based on having experienced an incident of intimate partner abuse (IPA) reported to the local police. Women reported on their trauma histories and levels of self-blame for the target IPA incident. Results showed that a history of childhood betrayal trauma exposure predicted the degree of self-blame for the IPA incident. Women who experienced severe IPA during the target incident also indicated higher levels of self-blame. Findings from this study suggest that it may be important to target self-blame appraisals in interventions with adults exposed to abuse in childhood.
Effects of sequential treatments with chemotherapeutic drugs followed by TRAIL on prostate cancer in vitro and in vivo

Tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis‐inducing ligand/Apo2 ligand (TRAIL/Apo‐2L) is a novel anticancer agent, capable of inducing apoptosis preferentially in tumor and transformed cells. TRAIL‐R1/death receptor (DR)4 and TRAIL‐R2/DR5 are members of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor family, and can be activated by the TRAIL. We examined the clinical potential of chemotherapeutic drugs and TRAIL for the treatment of prostate cancer.
Trait positive affect buffers the effects of acute stress on skin barrier recovery.

OBJECTIVE This study examines the role of self-reported trait positive affect (PA) on skin barrier recovery after skin disruption, and whether the role of trait PA in wound healing is consistent with the direct effects model or the stress-buffering model of PA and health. DESIGN Sixty healthy participants (mean age 22.7 +/- 3.9 years) completed a self-report measure of trait positive and negative affect, underwent a "tape-stripping" procedure that disrupts normal skin barrier function, and were randomly assigned to a Stress (Trier Social Stress Test) or No Stress (reading task) condition. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Skin barrier recovery was assessed by measuring transepidermal water loss up to 2 hr after skin disruption. RESULTS Multilevel modeling indicated that greater trait PA was related to faster skin barrier recovery (p < .05). The effects of PA on skin barrier recovery were independent of levels of trait NA. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that trait PA may influence skin barrier recovery following a brief stressor. In addition, these results provide additional evidence that trait PA can positively impact objective health outcomes.
Cell death mediated by alloreactive cytotoxic T cells via the granule exocytosis or the Fas pathway is independent of p34cdc2 kinase: Fas dependent killing of cells arrested in the cell cycle

Inappropriate activation of p34cdc2 kinase has been shown to occur during apoptosis induced by cytotoxic T‐cell derived perforin and fragmentin. We analysed the effect of two inhibitors of p34cdc2 kinase on alloreactive Tc‐cell‐mediated lysis and DNA fragmentation of P815 and L1210 target cells. Olomoucine, a specific inhibitor of cyclin dependent kinases, did not affect DNA fragmentation in the target cells. Lysis of olomoucine‐treated target cells as assessed by 51Cr release over a typical 8‐h period was also unaffected. We also examined the effects of thapsigargin on target cell death. This toxin causes increased intracellular calcium rises that then result in irreversible inhibition of cyclin dependent kinases, including p34cdc2 kinase. The same extent of specific cell lysis was induced by cytotoxic T cells from perforin(–/–), granzyme B(–/–), granzyme A(–/–), perforin(–/–) X granzymeB(–/–) X granzymeA(–/–) KO mice or normal mice in untreated target cells or target cells treated with either olomoucine or thapsigargin. Similarly DNA fragmentation measured by release of tritiated DNA was also unaffected. Thus inhibition of p34cdc2 kinase affects neither the Fas nor the perforin/granzyme pathways of alloreactive cytotoxic T‐cell killing as measured by DNA fragmentation or chromium release. P815 cells treated with olomoucine were arrested in the cell cycle after 12–16 h exposure to the toxin. After cell cycle arrest, target cells now showed enhanced 51Cr release induced by effector cytotoxic T cells (CTL) derived from perforin(–/–) mice compared to untreated cells. This lysis was accompanied by an increase in cell surface Fas expression. Olomoucine induced cell cycle arrest and expression of Fas was reversible and when cells re‐entered the cell cycle, surface expression of Fas was lost.
A Phase I Study of the Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4/6 Inhibitor Ribociclib (LEE011) in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors and Lymphomas

Purpose: Ribociclib (an oral, highly specific cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor) inhibits tumor growth in preclinical models with intact retinoblastoma protein (Rb+). This first-in-human study investigated the MTD, recommended dose for expansion (RDE), safety, preliminary activity, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of ribociclib in patients with Rb+ advanced solid tumors or lymphomas. Experimental Design: Patients received escalating doses of ribociclib (3-weeks-on/1-week-off or continuous). Dose escalation was guided by a Bayesian Logistic Regression Model with overdose control principle. Results: Among 132 patients, 125 received ribociclib 3-weeks-on/1-week-off and 7 were dosed continuously. Nine dose-limiting toxicities were observed among 70 MTD/RDE evaluable patients during cycle 1, most commonly neutropenia (n = 3) and thrombocytopenia (n = 2). The MTD and RDE were established as 900 and 600 mg/day 3-weeks-on/1-week-off, respectively. Common treatment-related adverse events were (all-grade; grade 3/4) neutropenia (46%; 27%), leukopenia (43%; 17%), fatigue (45%; 2%), and nausea (42%; 2%). Asymptomatic Fridericia's corrected QT prolongation was specific to doses ≥600 mg/day (9% of patients at 600 mg/day; 33% at doses >600 mg/day). Plasma exposure increases were slightly higher than dose proportional; mean half-life at the RDE was 32.6 hours. Reduced Ki67 was observed in paired skin and tumor biopsies, consistent with ribociclib-mediated antiproliferative activity. There were 3 partial responses and 43 patients achieved a best response of stable disease; 8 patients were progression-free for >6 months. Conclusions: Ribociclib demonstrated an acceptable safety profile, dose-dependent plasma exposure, and preliminary signs of clinical activity. Phase I–III studies of ribociclib are under way in various indications. Clin Cancer Res; 22(23); 5696–705. ©2016 AACR.
Increase in ascites white blood cell and protein concentrations during diuresis in patients with chronic liver disease

Serum and ascites protein concentration and ascites cell concentration alterations were determined serially during diuresis in 27 patients with uncomplicated liver disease. The total protein concentration in ascites increased from 1.38 ± 0.96 gm% to 2.86 ± 1.28 gm% (p < 0.001); the serum protein concentration from 6.26 ± 0.81 gm% to 7.24 ± 0.93 gm% (p < 0.001), and the ascites to serum ratio of the total protein concentration from 0.21 ± 0.13 to 0.38 ± 0.14 (p < 0.001). The white blood cell (WBC) concentration in ascites increased from 289 ± 179 cells per mm3 to 1,108 ± 924 cells per mm3 (p < 0.001). Despite the increase in WBC concentration, the polymorphonuclear cell concentration remained constant (42 ± 52 cells per mm3 to 68 ± 96 cells per mm3). Protein concentration of the ascitic fluid greater than 3.0 gm% was demonstrated in 12 patients before completion of diuresis and ascitic fluid WBC concentration was greater than 750 cells per mm3 in 17 patients. Ten of 27 patients eventually developed ascites which had a combination of more than 3.0 gm% total protein concentration and greater than 750 cells per mm3. Ascitic fluid protein and WBC concentrations are not „fixed”︁ at a low level in chronic liver disease since each rose during diuresis. Thus, the interpretation of these parameters must be made with caution in patients following significant diuresis.
Comparison of the Incidence of Malignancy in Recipients of Different Types of Organ: A UK Registry Audit

An increased incidence of malignancy is an established complication of organ transplantation and the associated immunosuppression. In this study on cancer incidence in solid organ transplant recipients in Britain, we describe the incidence of de novo cancers in the allograft recipient, and compare these incidences following the transplantation of different organs. Data in the UK Transplant Registry held by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) were linked with data made available by the cancer registries in England, Scotland and Wales. Incidence rates in the transplanted population were then compared with the general population, using standardized incidence ratios matched for age, gender and time period. The 10‐year incidence of de novo cancer in transplant recipients is twice that of the general population, with the incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer being 13 times greater. Nonmelanoma skin cancer, cancer of the lip, posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease and anal cancer have the largest standardized incidence ratios, but the incidence of different types of malignancy differs according to the organ transplanted. Patterns in standardized incidence ratios over time since transplantation are different for different types of transplant recipient, as well as for different malignancies. These results have implications for a national screening program.
Gender and use of care: planning for tomorrow's Veterans Health Administration.

BACKGROUND Historically, men have been the predominant users of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care. With more women entering the system, a systematic assessment of their healthcare use and costs of care is needed. We examined how utilization and costs of VHA care differ in women veterans compared with men veterans. METHODS In this cross-sectional study using centralized VHA administrative databases, main analyses examined annual outpatient and inpatient utilization and costs of care (outpatient, inpatient, and pharmacy) for all female (n = 178,849) and male (n = 3,943,532) veterans using VHA in 2002, accounting for age and medical/mental health conditions. RESULTS Women had 11.8% more outpatient encounters, 25.9% fewer inpatient days, and 11.4% lower total cost than men; after adjusting for age and medical comorbidity, differences were less pronounced (1.3%, 10.9%, and 2.8%, respectively). Among the 30.8% of women and 24.4% of men with both medical and mental health conditions, women used outpatient services more heavily than men (31.0 vs. 27.3 annual encounters). CONCLUSIONS VHA's efforts to build capacity for women veterans must account for their relatively high utilization of outpatient services, which is especially prominent in women who have both medical and mental health conditions. Meeting their needs may require delivery systems integrating medical and mental healthcare.
Effect of tibial coronal inclination on hindfoot kinematics: A biomechanical simulation study

Tibial coronal inclination is often recognized in everyday life, but the compensatory kinematic changes to maintain plantigrade of the hindfoot in response to tibial coronal inclination remain unclear. Lower legs and foot specimens obtained from seven human cadavers were loaded vertically with traction of Achilles’ tendon in different tibial inclinations: 0° (neutral), 5°, and 10° medial inclination, and 5° and 10° lateral inclination. The orientations of the tibia, talus, and calcaneus were recorded under vertical load by a three-dimensional digitizing stylus. The angular changes of the talocrural and subtalar joints in the tibial inclinations from neutral were analyzed. The heights of the origins of the talus and calcaneus were also recorded. As the tibia was medially inclined from neutral, the talocrural joint was significantly more dorsiflexed. The subtalar joint was significantly more inverted, plantarflexed, and internally rotated. However, such significant changes in the joint angles were not observed when the tibia was laterally inclined. The height of the talus decreased as the tibia was medially inclined, but it was vice versa when laterally inclined. The compensatory motions of the hindfoot to tibial medial inclination involved coupled movement of both the talocrural and subtalar joints; such motions flatten the medial foot by decreasing the height of the talus. However, such compensatory capacities of the hindfoot to tibial lateral inclinations were limited. Tibial medial inclination under axial loading affects the kinematics of the hindfoot, and this is an important factor to consider in the treatment of flatfoot as well as foot orthotic/footwear intervention.
Calculation on phase equilibrium temperature of X80 pipeline steel under hot deformation

Based on the KRC model as transformation thermodynamics, a new model of the phase equilibrium temperature of X80 pipeline steel has been established by C++ under the hot deformation conditions, on which analyzing the influences of true strain, deformed temperature and strain rate. The results given by the model have good agreements with the measured value. It shows that the model can have a good accuracy in predicting the phase equilibrium temperature of X80 pipeline steel under the hot deformation, and also can provide the theoretical for the prediction of γ transformation, evolution of microstructure and properties of X80 pipeline steel.
[Observation on therapeutic effect of acupuncture in the treatment of German hypertension patients].

OBJECTIVE To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of hypertension patients. METHODS A total of 80 out-patients and in-patients with primary hypertension were randomly and equally divided into acupuncture group and medication group. Patients of the acupuncture group were treated with acupuncture stimulation of Fengchi (GB20), Qu-chi (LI 11), Taichong (LR 3), etc. for 30 min, combined with Xingjian (LR 2), Xiaxi (GB43) for hyperactivity of the liver-yang, with Ganshu (BL 18) and Fuliu (KI 7) for severe phlegm-damp, and with Guanyuan (CV 4) and Shenshu (BL23) for deficiency of both yin and yang, once per day, continuously for one month except weekends. In addition, patients of the medication group were ordered to take Diovan (80 mg) once daily, continuously for 30 days. Both casual blood pressure (CBP) and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) were detected by using an auscult-type baumanometer and a dynamic blood monitor, respectively. RESULTS Of the two 40 cases in the medication and acupuncture groups, 18 (45.0%) and 27 (67.5%) experienced marked improvement in the reduction of blood pressure, 14 (35.0%) and 11 (27.5%) were improved, 8 (20.0%) and 2 (5.0%) failed, with the effective rates being 80.0% and 95.0%, respectively. The therapeutic effect of the acupuncture group was significantly superior to that of medication group in improving hypertension (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Acupuncture is superior to Diovan in relieving hypertension.
Allocations in Large Markets

Title of dissertation: ALLOCATIONS IN LARGE MARKETS Hossein Esfandiari, Doctor of Philosophy, 2017 Dissertation directed by: Professor MohammadTaghi Hajiaghayi Department of Computer Science Rapid growth and popularity of internet based services such as online markets and online advertisement systems provide a lot of new algorithmic challenges. One of the main challenges is the limited access to the input. There are two main reasons that algorithms have limited data accessibility. • The input is extremely large, and hence having access to the whole data at once is not practical. • The nature of the system forces us to make decisions before observing the whole input. Internet-enabled marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay deal with huge datasets registering transaction of merchandises between lots of buyers and sellers. It is important that algorithms become more time and space efficient as the size of datasets increase. An algorithm that runs in polynomial time may not have a reasonable running time for such large datasets. In the first part of this dissertation, we study the development of allocation algorithms that are appropriate for use with massive datasets. We especially focus on the streaming setting which is a common model for big data analysis. In the graph streaming, the algorithm has access to a sequence of edges, called a stream. The algorithm reads edges in the order in which they appear in the stream. The goal is to design an algorithm that maintains a large allocation, using as little space as possible. We achieve our results by developing powerful sampling techniques. Indeed, one can implement our sampling techniques in the streaming setting as well as other distributed settings such as MapReduce. Giant online advertisement markets such as Google, Bing and Facebook raised up several interesting allocation problems. Usually, in these applications we need to make the decision before obtaining the full information of the input graph. This enforces an uncertainty on our belief about the input, and thus makes the classical algorithms inapplicable. To address this shortcoming online algorithms have been developed. In online algorithms again the input is a sequence of items. Here the algorithm needs to make an irrevocable decision upon arrival of each item. In the second part of this dissertation, we aim to achieve two main goals for each allocation problem in the market. Our first goal is to design models to capture the uncertainty of the input based on the properties of problems and the accessible data in real applications. Our second goal is to design algorithms and develop new techniques for these market allocation problems. ALLOCATIONS IN LARGE MARKETS
Severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS): A critical care perspective

ObjectiveTo review the epidemiology, clinical features, etiology, diagnosis, and management of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) from a critical care perspective. Data SourcesA MEDLINE search was performed using the following terms: severe acute respiratory syndrome and SARS virus. Additional information and references were obtained from the Web sites for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and Health Canada. Study SelectionRecent case series were used to develop a review of the epidemiology, clinical features, outcomes, and management of patients with SARS from an intensive care unit (ICU) perspective. This was supplemented by epidemiology information obtained from other Web-based sources. Recent published studies describing the etiology of SARS were also included. Data SynthesisSARS has rapidly spread from Southeast Asia to numerous countries, including Canada and the United States. A new coronavirus has been isolated and detected from many affected patients. The mortality rate worldwide is approximately 10.5%. From five cohorts, the ICU admission rate ranged from 20% to 38%. Fifty-nine percent to 100% of the ICU patients required mechanical ventilatory support. The mortality rate of SARS patients admitted to the ICU ranged from 5% to 67%. The most common clinical symptoms and signs are fever, cough, dyspnea, myalgias, malaise, and inspiratory crackles. Common laboratory abnormalities included mild leukopenia, lymphopenia, and increased aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, lactic dehydrogenase, and creatine kinase. The chest radiograph pattern ranged from focal infiltrates to diffuse airspace disease. Management consisted of isolation, strict respiratory and contact precautions, ventilatory support as needed, empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics, ribavirin, and corticosteroids. Predictors of mortality included advanced age, the presence of comorbidities, and a high lactic dehydrogenase or high neutrophil count at admission. ConclusionsSARS is a highly contagious, infectious process that can advance to significant hypoxemic respiratory failure requiring ICU monitoring and support. Early recognition is critical for effective management and containment of this disease.