Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinically relevant information from sentinel lymph node biopsies of melanoma patients

Careful laboratory evaluation of sentinel nodes (SNs) is critical to determine the presence of tumor. This requires evaluation of multiple full‐face sections from the SN, using H&E staining and immunohistochemistry. In the future, molecular and genetic approaches may be adjunctive to microscopy. Number of tumor‐positive SNs and the amount and location of tumor in SNs correlate with tumor spread to non‐sentinel nodes, subsequent recurrences and melanoma death, permitting patient assignment to a risk category. J. Surg. Oncol. 2011; 104:369–378. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Semi-automated quantification of methylmalonic acid in human serum by LC-MS/MS

Abstract Background. Methylmalonic acid (MMA), a sensitive biomarker of functional vitamin B12 deficiency, is commonly determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods using manual extraction and derivatization of MMA to reduce polarity prior to separation. Methods. In the present study we introduce a semi-automated extraction on a strong anion exchanger, HPLC separation on a BEH-amide column to separate serum MMA from its abundant isoform, succinic acid, followed by MS/MS detection and quantification. Results. The extraction of MMA plus internal standard provides full recovery and the method is linear between 0.03 μmol/L and 20.0 μmol/L (r2 = 1.0) with intra-and inter-assay imprecision of 2.2%. Agreement with other laboratories has been demonstrated in external proficiency testing. Compared to both conventional GC-MS and LC-MS/MS methods, the correlation is r2 > 0.99. Conclusions. The use of robotic pipetting, elimination of derivatization and improved separation by the BEH-amide column combined with HILIC chromatographic conditions significantly improve sample throughput compared to conventional methods. Using a single pipetting robot and LC-MS/MS instrument, this method is currently performing 180 analyses per day from10 regional hospitals and several additional distant sites.
VITAL PULPOTOMY IN PRIMARY TEETH WITH MINERAL TRIOXIDE AGGREGATE (MTA)

SUMMARY Mortal pulpotomy is the most commonly used technique in Bulgaria for treatment of pulp chronic infections in primary teeth. Data from the special literature reveal another method for pulp treatment in primary teeth – vital pulpotomy associated with good adaptive healing response. During the past several years, special attention has been paid to Mineral Trioxide Aggregate -MTA as probable alternative of formocresol. According to the current trends in dental medicine about cessation of arsenic usage and limitation on formalin – containing medicaments usage, there will be a revision of commonly used method of mortal amputation, including application of arsenic, tricresolformalin, resorcine or resorcine –formalin solutions. The aims of this study are to aprobate and popularize the technique of vital pulpotomy in primary teeth with MTA. The study was carried out with children (the children’s age was 4 – 8 years) with primary molars approximately equally affected by a carious process which had reached the dental pulp and had to be treated. The total number of studied primary teeth was 33. The methodology is “one visit” and was performed following equal clinical protocol for all teeth. The pulp stump was covered with an MTA paste- Angelus (Solucoes Odontologicas, Londrina, Brazil), prepared by mixing MTA powder with sterile saline using 3:1 powder/saline ratio. Restoration of the teeth was performed with GIC. All treated teeth were follow-up clinically and radiographically during 6 months, at 6 and 12 month after vital pulpotomy. Results: The success rate of all pulpotomized teeth with MTA was 100 % after 6 months and shows statistically insignificant decrease to 90, 9% after 12 months (p > 0, 05). The number of teeth with unsuccessful treatment is 3 or 9, 1 %. Conclusion: Vital amputation with MTA is a reliable biological method for pulp treatment of primary teeth and could be recommended for the clinical practice. Despite the advance in knowledge about the onset, nature, progression, prevention opportunities and nonoperative treatment of carious process, the disease and its complication are still main clinical problem (23). Extensive dental decay in the primary dentition, that reaches and progresses to the dental pulp, remains a serious problem in
Musculoskeletal disorder risk assessment in home care nurses.

BACKGROUND Nurses constitute a professional group associated with a high risk of work related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs). Several studies concerning to nurses reveal that they have high prevalence rates of injuries and also of symptoms associated to WRMSDs, mainly in the back. Tasks involving patient handling are those which most often arise associated to back pain. There is a scarcity of studies on WRMSDs in home care nurses. OBJECTIVE Based on these concerns, the main goals of the present study were to identify the main risk factors of WRMSDs for home care nurses and to perform an objective assessment of the risk for these professionals. METHODS Two methods to quantify the risk of WRMSDs associated with nursing activities were applied: REBA - Rapid Entire Body Assessment and MAC - Manual Handling Assessment Charts. REBA and MAC methods were applied to patient handling activities and to tasks involving manual material handling, respectively. RESULTS The results indicate the presence of multiple risk factors and their important contribution to the risk level obtained: generally moderate but considered high for some activities. CONCLUSIONS Home care nursing has specific characteristics, which clearly influence the adoption of risk behaviors by the nurses.
Study of Iron Metabolism and Restless Legs Syndrome in Blood Donors

Background: Blood donations may be associated with restless legs syndrome (RLS) despite some controversial results. In Spain blood donation is tightly regulated. Materials and methods: Study of 179 blood donors (56% women, mean age: 43.18 years) divided into sporadic and regular donors. A physical examination (blood pressure, BMI), hemoglobin (discarding subjects with level below 12 gr/dl), blood count and ferritin levels were performed. For the assessment of RLS we personally administered a questionnaire including four questions that probe the necessary features of RLS. We analyzed ferritin and number of positive answers to study the correlation between them. Results: Twenty-eight (15.4%, 18 women) donors answered positively to at least one question; 9 (4.5%) 2-questions; 10 (5%) 3-questions, 5 (2.5%) 4-questions. Mean ferritin was 48.69 µg/L in women and 131.81 µg/L in men. Women, had a higher risk of at least one RLS positive answer when adjusted for all variables (p=0,053). Regular donors showed a higher percentage of ferritin < 50 µg /L with a significantly lower mean ferritin (p=0.007). Ferritin was<12 µg /L in 4% of donors. We found a significant correlation between ferritin and BMI (p< 0.01). We did not found correlation between ferritin and RLS symptoms. Conclusions: Regular donors compared with sporadic donors have more frequently ferritin values <50 µg/L. No significant association of ferritin with RLS symptoms was found. Women had lower ferritin and a higher risk of RLS when adjusted for all variables.
Review of Contemporary Wind Turbine Concepts and Their Market Penetration

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the market penetration and share of different wind turbine concepts during the years 1998–2002, a period when the increase in the wind power capacity is starting to mark an abrupt evolution (more than two GW per year). A detailed overview is performed based on suppliers market data and concept evaluation for each individual wind turbine type sold by the Top Ten suppliers over the selected five years. The investigation is processing information on a total number of approximately 90 wind turbine types from 13 different manufacturers, which have been on the Top Ten list of wind turbine suppliers during 1998 to 2002. The analysis is based on very comprehensive data, which cover approximately 76% of the accumulated world wind power installed at the end of 2002. The paper also provides an overall perspective on the contemporary wind turbine concepts, classified with respect to both their speed control ability and to their power control type. Trends for wind turbine concepts are discussed.
Characterization of the CBF2 Binding Site within the Epstein-Barr Virus Latency C Promoter and Its Role in Modulating EBNA2-Mediated Transactivation

ABSTRACT The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) EBNA2 protein is a transcriptional activator that regulates viral and cellular gene expression and is also essential for EBV-driven immortalization of B lymphocytes. The EBNA2-responsive enhancer in the viral latency C promoter (Cp) binds two cellular factors, CBF1 and CBF2. The precise role of the CBF2 protein for Cp enhancer function is presently unclear. CBF2 does not appear to interact with EBNA2 and binds just downstream of CBF1 between positions −339 and −368 in the Cp EBNA2 enhancer. Within this region an 8-bp sequence, CAGTGCGT, can be found, and a similar sequence is also located downstream of CBF1 binding sites in other EBNA2-responsive promoters. Previous studies have indicated that mutations and methylation in this sequence affect EBNA2 responsiveness. To investigate the requirements for CBF2 binding, we synthesized a series of oligonucleotides carrying double transversion mutations spanning both the conserved core sequence and outside flanking sequences. Surprisingly, mutations outside of the conserved core sequence in 4 bases immediately flanking the 5′ end, GGTT, had the most deleterious effect on CBF2 binding. Mutations in the conserved core had a gradient effect, with those near the 5′ end having the most deleterious effects on CBF2 binding. In addition, the affinities of CBF2 for binding to the LMP-1, LMP-2, and CD23 promoters were also measured. These promoters contain the conserved core but lack the 5′ flanking GGTT motif and bound CBF2 weakly or not at all. Using Cp reporter plasmids containing CBF2 mutant binding sites, we were also able to show that at lower doses of EBNA2, Cp transactivation required a functional CBF2 binding site but that higher doses of EBNA2 transactivated CBF2 mutant promoters to 40% of wild-type levels. These assays indicate that CBF2 is important for EBNA2-mediated transactivation of the viral latency Cp. In addition, CBF2 activity was found to be associated with two polypeptides of 27 and 33 kDa.
Solifluction: A Model Experiment

Laboratory experiments that subjected soil to repeated freeze-thaw cycles in an inclined container revealed every process of solifluction, especially of frost creep. Multiple slope-angle effects on the amount of particle movement on the soil surface in every cycle are interpreted by several characteristic processes of frost creep. Gelifluction was found to occur in thicker layers of soil, owing to the excess water retained in soil after thawing. For further development of the problem, a similarity law for the model experiment was derived from thermal considerations.
Superior Pole Sleeve Fracture of the Patella

Patellar fractures in children are uncommon and represent 1% of all pediatric fractures. Of all patellar fractures, less than 2% occur in skeletally immature patients, and over half of these are sleeve fractures. Most reported cases of sleeve fractures involve the inferior patellar pole. There is a particularly high male predominance of this injury, with a ratio of 5:1. The sleeve fracture was first described in 1979 by Houghton and Ackroyd as an avulsion of a small subchondral osseous fragment from the distal pole of the patella together with an extensive sleeve of cartilage and retinaculum pulled from the main body of the patella. To our knowledge, there have been 13 cases reported in the literature of sleeve fractures involving the superior pole of the patella. In reviewing the literature, there is a lack of information pertaining to long-term results. The present case report is of a superior pole sleeve avulsion fracture in an otherwise normal athletic boy, treated operatively and seen back for a 3-year follow-up. The patient and his family were informed that data concerning the case would be submitted for publication, and the study was approved by our institutional review board.
Transhepatic therapeutic cardiac catheterization: A new option for the pediatric interventionalist

We evaluate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous transhepatic (TH) venous access for interventional cardiac catheterization. A retrospective review of all TH therapeutic catheterizations between January 1994 and September 1998 was performed. Patient demographics, pre‐ and postcatheterization hemoglobin and liver function studies, and complications were evaluated. TH access was performed for 30 interventional catheterizations in 25 patients with a median age of 39 months (range, 1 day to 41 years) and weight of 13.2 kg (3.1–87.0 kg). Indications for TH access were bilateral obstructed femoral veins (n = 15), obstructed femoral veins and superior vena cava (n = 3), Greenfield filter (n = 2), and presumptive improved route for intervention via TH access (n = 5). TH interventions were successful in 29/30 procedures (97%). Interventions via TH sheath sizes of 4–14 Fr included pulmonary angioplasty ± stent (n = 11), radiofrequency ablation (n = 4), atrial septal defect device occlusion (n = 2), coil occlusion of pulmonary artery pseduoaneurysm (n = 2), Fontan fenestration device occlusion (n = 2), pulmonary valvuloplasty (n = 2), stent dilation of the superior vena cava (n = 2), and one each of device retrieval, Fontan baffle stent placement and subsequent redilation, Fontan fenestration dilation, transseptal mitral valvuloplasty, and cardiac biopsy. There were no changes in pre‐ and post‐TH hemoglobin levels (mean ± SD, 12.9 ± 2.2 vs. 11.9 ± 1.9 gm/dL; P = NS) or alanine transferase (34.0 ± 27.5 vs. 43.4 ± 18.2 IU/L; P = NS). One patient developed important intraperitoneal bleeding and required exploratory laporatomy. Percutaneous TH access is safe and effective as a route for interventional catheter procedures for patients with limited venous access. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Intervent. 47:41–45, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Incorporating 3‐D parent nuclide zonation for apatite 4He/3He thermochronometry: An example from the Appalachian Mountains

The ability to constrain km‐scale exhumation with apatite 4He/3He thermochronometry is well established and the technique has been applied to a range of tectonic and geomorphic problems. However, multiple sources of uncertainty in specific crystal characteristics limit the applicability of the method, especially when geologic problems require identifying small perturbations in a cooling path. Here we present new 4He/3He thermochronometric data from the Appalachian Mountains, which indicate significant parent nuclide zonation in an apatite crystal. Using LA‐ICPMS measurements of U and Th in the same crystal, we design a 3‐D model of the crystal to explore the effects of intracrystal variability in radiation damage accumulation. We describe a numerical approach to solve the 3‐D production‐diffusion equation. Using our numerical model and a previously determined time temperature path for this part of the Appalachians, we find excellent agreement between predicted and observed 4He/3He spectra. Our results confirm this time‐temperature path and highlight that for complex U and Th zonation patterns, 3‐D numerical models are required to infer an accurate time‐temperature history. In addition, our results provide independent and novel evidence for a radiation damage control on diffusivity. The ability to exploit intracrystal differences in 4He diffusivity [i.e., temperature sensitivity) greatly increases the potential to infer complex thermal histories.
Regulation of Inflammatory Response in Neural Cells in Vitro by Thiadiazolidinones Derivatives through Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor γ Activation*

In most neurodegenerative disorders, including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease, and Alzheimer disease, a massive neuronal cell death occurs as a consequence of an uncontrolled inflammatory response, where activated astrocytes and microglia and their cytotoxic agents play a crucial pathological role. Current treatments for these diseases are not effective. In the present study we investigate the effect of thiadiazolidinone derivatives, which have been recently suggested to play a role in neurodegenerative disorders. We have found that thiadiazolidinones are potent neuroprotector compounds. Thiadiazolidinones inhibited inflammatory activation of cultured brain astrocytes and microglia by diminishing lipopolysaccharide-induced interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor α, inducible nitric-oxide synthase, and inducible cyclooxygenase type 2 expression. In addition, thiadiazolidinones inhibited tumor necrosis factor-α and nitric oxide production and, concomitantly, protected cortical neurons from cell death induced by the cell-free supernatant from activated microglia. The neuroprotective effects of thiadiazolidinones are completely inhibited by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ antagonist GW9662. In contrast the glycogen synthase kinase 3β inhibitor LiCl did not show any effect. These findings suggest that thiadiazolidinones potently attenuate lipopolysaccharide-induced neuroinflammation and reduces neuronal death by a mechanism dependent of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ activation.
Exogenous re-infection as a cause of recurrent tuberculosis in a low-incidence area.

SETTING Surveillance data from the National Tuberculosis Register for the period 1993-1997 complemented with DNA fingerprinting results of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates. OBJECTIVE To estimate the proportion of disease attributable to recent re-infection among Dutch tuberculosis patients with reported tuberculosis infection or disease before 1981. DESIGN Data from 1,547 Dutch patients diagnosed between 1994 and 1997 in the Netherlands were studied. Cases with reported tuberculosis infection or disease before 1981 were attributed to reactivation if their M. tuberculosis isolate was unclustered based on DNA fingerprinting or if they were the first case in a cluster, and to re-infection if they were clustered, but not as the first case. RESULTS In total, 183 Dutch tuberculosis patients (12%) had reported tuberculosis infection or disease before 1981. Tuberculosis in 29 of these patients (16%) was attributed to recent re-infection. CONCLUSION In this setting with a low tuberculosis incidence, approximately one in six new disease episodes among patients with previous tuberculosis infection or disease may be attributable to recent re-infection.
Extraction and Purification of lignan compound from flax seed Linum usitatissimum

The extraction and purification of lignan (Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside, SDG) from flax seed (Linum usitatissium) was made by using following chromatographic techniques: Liquid-liquid chromatographic, ionexchange chromatographic, thin layer chromatographic (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC).
Screening of Olfactory Function with a Four-Minute Odor Identification Test: Reliability, Normative Data, and Investigations in Patients with Olfactory Loss

The study aimed to create a screening test on the basis of the odor identification test as used in the “Sniffin‘ Sticks” olfactory test kit. It should appeal to the practitioner in terms of 1) time required for testing, 2) reliability, 3) separation of “normal” from “abnormal,” and 4) the fact that it allows lateralized screening. Experiments should provide a normative database (number of subjects > 1,000), establish test-retest reliability (n > 100), and compare results from patients with olfactory loss (n > 200). The correlation between results on 2 repetitive tests was . 78. The test differentiated anosmics, hyposmics, and normosmics (p < .001). None of the 112 anosmics reached a score higher than 8; the 90th percentile was at a score of 6. When only 6 odors were used for calculating scores, for anosmics the 95th percentile was at a score of 4. These data provide a basis for the screening of patients by means of “Sniffin' Sticks. ”
Excess heat supply collaborations within the district heating sector: Drivers and barriers

This article combines the theoretical field of Industrial Symbiosis (IS) with a business model perspective to increase the knowledge about drivers and barriers behind the emergence of excess heat supply collaborations between district heating companies and industrial firms. The increased knowledge is gained by identifying and examining drivers and barriers associated with collaborative efforts to funnel excess heat produced by industrial firms into district heating grids in Sweden. An increased recovery of excess heat has the potential to reduce the primary energy demands of district heating systems. This study examines both existing and potential developments of industrial collaborations of excess heat-based district heating systems. The focus of the study consists of two Swedish cases of existing collaboration between district heating companies and pulp and paper industries as well as 16 industrial firms that all produce unused excess heat as a by-product. Confirming earlier research results, this study shows that financial issues are both the main drivers and the main barriers behind the emergence and development of inter-organisational collaborations. In addition, this study confirms earlier research that found the trust, joint problem solving, and fine-grained information transfer are important elements of successful collaboration. This study complements and clarifies these three features by including honesty and shared visions on common goals as important qualities needed for well-functioning collaborations. Combining the IS and the business model perspective has made it possible to examine more factors related to collaboration. The business model perspective has contributed with knowledge about central components of the business agreement between the collaborating parties, and the IS-perspective has contributed knowledge of the important organisational factors behind the emergence and development of long-term sustainable business agreements between firms.