Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Severity of asthma score predicts clinical outcomes in patients with moderate to severe persistent asthma.

BACKGROUND The severity of asthma (SOA) score is based on a validated disease-specific questionnaire that addresses frequency of asthma symptoms, use of systemic corticosteroids, use of other asthma medications, and history of hospitalization/intubation for asthma. SOA does not require measurements of pulmonary function. This study compared the ability of SOA to predict clinical outcomes in the EXCELS (Epidemiological Study of Xolair [omalizumab]: Evaluating Clinical Effectiveness and Long-term Safety in Patients with Moderate to Severe Asthma) patient population vs three other asthma assessment tools. EXCELS is a large, ongoing, observational study of patients with moderate to severe persistent asthma and reactivity to perennial aeroallergens. METHODS Baseline scores for SOA, asthma control test (ACT), work productivity and impairment index-asthma (WPAI-A), and FEV(1) % predicted were compared for their ability to predict five prespecified adverse clinical outcomes in asthma: serious adverse events (SAEs) reported as exacerbations, SAEs leading to hospitalizations, the incidence of unscheduled office visits, ED visits, and po or IV corticosteroid bursts related to asthma. Logistic regression analysis, area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCROCs), and classification and regression tree (CART) analysis were used to evaluate the ability of the four tools to predict adverse clinical outcomes using baseline and 1-year data from 2,878 patients enrolled in the non-omalizumab cohort of EXCELS. RESULTS SOA was the only assessment tool contributing significantly in all five statistical models of adverse clinical outcomes by logistic regression analysis (full model AUCROC range, 0.689-0.783). SOA appeared to be a stand-alone predictor for four of five outcomes (reduced model AUCROC range, 0.689-0.773). CART analysis showed that SOA had the greatest variable importance for all five outcomes. CONCLUSIONS SOA score was a powerful predictor of adverse clinical outcomes in moderate to severe asthma, as evaluated by either logistic regression analysis or CART analysis. TRIAL REGISTRY ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT00252135; URL: www.clinicaltrials. gov.
[Risk factors for infant mortality from diseases in Japan 1995-98].

OBJECTIVE Since 1995, additional information (i.e. birth weight, singleton/multiple births, gestational weeks, maternal age, maternal parity and stillbirth experience) has been required for certificates of infant (less than 1 year of age) death from diseases in Japan. The present study examined the effects of biological, demographic and social variables, as reported on birth and death certificates, on infant, neonatal and postneonatal mortality in Japan. METHODS Using data from vital statistics between 1995 and 1998, more than 4,787,000 livebirths and 16,000 infant deaths from diseases were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses with the Poisson regression model were employed to assess the effects of variables on infant, neonatal and postneonatal mortality by singleton and multiple livebirths separately. RESULTS The infant mortality rates from diseases were 3.2/1000 for singleton livebirths and 17.7/1000 for multiple livebirths. In singleton livebirths, low birth weight, infant born in earlier years, being a male infant, employment status as "unemployed or unknown", short gestational weeks, late birth in multiparity and maternal stillbirth experience were all significantly related to increased risk of neonatal and postneonatal deaths. Teenage mother were also at high risk of postneonatal deaths. Regional differences were observed. Compared with singleton livebirths, birthweight-specific mortality rates in multiple livebirths were relatively low among infants weighing under 2500 g. In multiple livebirths, elevated risk of death was associated with low birth weight, infant born in earlier years, employment status as "unemployed or unknown" and short gestational weeks. However, late birth in multiparity was related to a reduced risk of death, and maternal stillbirth experience was not a significant variable. CONCLUSION This study provided the first quantitative estimate of risk of infant mortality from diseases in Japan. Since a more detailed elucidation of actual conditions and risk factors of infant deaths by vital statistics has become possible, efficient measures for improvement of infant mortality are to be expected.
Implementing RTI in a High School

This case study chronicles the efforts of a small high school over a 2-year period as it designed an implemented a response to intervention (RTI) program for students at the school. Their efforts were largely successful, with improved achievement, attendance, and grade point averages and a decrease in special education referrals. Major themes include the need to focus on quality core instruction as a means for preventing school failure, adopting a schoolwide approach, and developing curriculum-based assessments that make intervention meaningful.
Relationship between a history of antecedent cancer and the probability of malignancy for a solitary pulmonary nodule.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To determine the probability of malignancy for a solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) as a function of cancer history. SETTING AND DESIGN Patients who had undergone resection of SPNs at Brigham and Women's Hospital between August 1989 and October 1998 were analyzed. The cohort was split into the following three groups: no history of cancer; history of lung cancer; and history of extrapulmonary malignancy. The histology of the SPN was determined after excision. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of covariates on the probability of malignancy. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS A total of 1,104 patients (55% women; median age, 64 years; age range, 17 to 88 years) underwent removal of 353 benign lesions (32%), 638 non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) [58%], and 113 metastases (10%). Antecedent cancer history was significantly associated with final diagnosis (p < 0.0001), with SPNs being malignant in 63% of patients with no previous cancer, 82% of those with a history of lung cancer (NSCLC, 80%; metastases, 2%), and 79% of patients with history of extrapulmonary cancer (NSCLC, 41%; metastases, 38%). There was no difference in the cause of SPNs between patients with a history of a single cancer and those with a history of multiple cancers. The probability of a benign cause ranged between 62% for nodules < 1 cm to 17% when nodules were > 3 cm, if the patient had no history of cancer (p < 0.0001). The probability of an SPN being benign was cut in half if there was a history of cancer. Among patients with previous extrapulmonary malignancy, age, smoking history, and histology were predictors of diagnosis (p < 0.0001). These variables were used to construct a clinical score to predict the probability of an SPN being a NSCLC or metastasis in these patients. CONCLUSIONS A history of cancer is an important predictor of the probability of malignancy in new SPNs. Metastases from previous cancer account for almost half of SPNs seen among patients in this subgroup. Diagnosis depends on the histology of previous malignancies, smoking history, age, and size of the SPN.
Image Retrieval by Emotional Semantics: A Study of Emotional Space and Feature Extraction

Image emotional semantic research is a promising and challenging issue. This paper analyzes the emotional space and builds a novel scheme that can annotate the image emotion semantic automatically and realize emotional image retrieval. Based on psychological experiments evaluating evoked feelings for art paintings, we first identify an orthogonal three-dimension emotional factor space of images through 12 pairs of emotional words. Then, the following three novel image features are designed for each emotional factor to predict it. They are luminance-warm-cool fuzzy histogram, saturation-warm-cool fuzzy histogram integrated with color contrast and luminance contrast integrated with edge sharpness. The values of emotional factors can be predicted from the image features automatically by using support vector machine of regression. Finally, we design and implement an emotion-based image retrieval system, which enables the users to perform retrieval using emotional semantic words. Experimental results show the effectiveness of our model.
Mindfulness and the Neuroscience of Influence

The concept of mindfulness as present-oriented awareness, coupled with ! exibility in thinking and creating new categories (Langer, 1989), has been directly applied to problems ranging from conceptualizing and promoting creativity to reducing prejudice to improving health and longevity (Alexander, Langer, Newman, Chandler, & Davies, 1989; Langer, 1989, 2009; Langer, Bashner, & Chanowitz, 1985; Langer & Imber, 1980). From an academic standpoint, the basic tenets of mindlessness versus mindfulness recur throughout social psychology. These ideas form a theoretical basis for models explaining a range of human behaviors, whether directly referred to in these terms or not. Indeed, this conceptualization of mindfulness and Eastern-inspired forms of mindfulness have been highly in! uential in elucidating the overlap and connection between mind and body, and in promoting health and well-being. Given the powerful effects of mindfulness on health, a growing body of literature has examined biological correlates of mindfulness practice. For example, neuroscientists have begun to uncover structural and functional correlates of Eastern-inspired forms of mindfulness in the brain. Although relatively little work has speci"cally examined the neural correlates of Langer’s mindfulness (present-oriented awareness, coupled with ! exibility in thinking and creating new categories), in the current chapter, I argue that doing so will shed light on important social neuroscience questions. First, extending current research beyond Eastern-inspired forms of mindfulness and related concepts such as mindfulness meditation to also understand the neural bases and effects of Langer’s social-cognitive mindfulness can help clarify common and distinct mechanisms associated with each. Second, understanding these neural underpinnings may shed light on common and distinct pathways leading to the cognitive and health bene"ts of each form of mindfulness. Third, this type of work will facilitate more ef"cient
Effect of Serum Uric Acid in Augmentation of Insulin Secretion and Improvement of HbA1c in Diabetic Patients: Proposed Statistical Regression Models for Uric Acid, HbA1c and Insulin

Currently serum uric acid is not considered a metabolic biomarker in diabetes. The purpose of the current study was to find the significant associations, correlations and to develop regression models between uric acid, HbA1c, and serum insulin among diabetic patients. The study enrolled type-1 and type-2 diabetic patients for 30 months. For HbA1c and uric acid, patients were divided into two groups: HbA1c＜7% or HbA1c≥7%, UA＜6.5 mg/dl or UA≥6.5mg/dl, respectively. For measurement of insulin levels, patients on diet/metformin only were selected. Data for 1205 patients were analyzed which included 754 (62.6%) males, 451 (37.4%) females, 92 (7.6%) type-1, and 1113 (92.4%) type-2diabetic subjects. For the group HbA1c＜7%, uric acid levels were higher (mean 5.8±4.7) as compared to HbA1c＞7% (mean 4.8±1.5); for the group UA＜6.5 mg/dl, serum insulin levels were lower (mean 39±15.7) as compared to the group with UA≥6.5 mg/dl (mean 73.4±20.5). Uric acid was significantly and inversely correlated with HbA1c (r=-0.13, p-value＜0.0001) and positively correlated with serum insulin (r=0.293, p-value=0.005). Regression models for uric acid and HbA1c was found to be HbA1c=10.235+(-0.094×uric acid); p-value＜0.000 and for uric acid with insulin was observed to be Serum insulin=-9.650+(11.595×uric acid); p-value 0.005. Higher levels of uric acid are associated with lower HbA1c both in type-1 and type-2 diabetic patients. Uric acid is involved in the augmentation of insulin secretion in type-2 subjects.
PGRMC1 participates in late events of bovine granulosa cells mitosis and oocyte meiosis

ABSTRACT Progesterone Receptor Membrane Component 1 (PGRMC1) is expressed in both oocyte and ovarian somatic cells, where it is found in multiple cellular sub-compartments including the mitotic spindle apparatus. PGRMC1 localization in the maturing bovine oocytes mirrors its localization in mitotic cells, suggesting a possible common action in mitosis and meiosis. To test the hypothesis that altering PGRMC1 activity leads to similar defects in mitosis and meiosis, PGRMC1 function was perturbed in cultured bovine granulosa cells (bGC) and maturing oocytes and the effect on mitotic and meiotic progression assessed. RNA interference-mediated PGRMC1 silencing in bGC significantly reduced cell proliferation, with a concomitant increase in the percentage of cells arrested at G2/M phase, which is consistent with an arrested or prolonged M-phase. This observation was confirmed by time-lapse imaging that revealed defects in late karyokinesis. In agreement with a role during late mitotic events, a direct interaction between PGRMC1 and Aurora Kinase B (AURKB) was observed in the central spindle at of dividing cells. Similarly, treatment with the PGRMC1 inhibitor AG205 or PGRMC1 silencing in the oocyte impaired completion of meiosis I. Specifically the ability of the oocyte to extrude the first polar body was significantly impaired while meiotic figures aberration and chromatin scattering within the ooplasm increased. Finally, analysis of PGRMC1 and AURKB localization in AG205-treated oocytes confirmed an altered localization of both proteins when meiotic errors occur. The present findings demonstrate that PGRMC1 participates in late events of both mammalian mitosis and oocyte meiosis, consistent with PGRMC1's localization at the mid-zone and mid-body of the mitotic and meiotic spindle.
Digital panoramic radiography as a useful tool for detection of bone loss: a comparative study.

This study was aimed to investigate the use of panoramic radiography in patients with low bone mineral density (BMD) in order to diagnose and prevent osteoporotic fractures. Panoramic radiographs of 60 patients (20 men and 40 women) aged from 40 to 70 years with cortical thicknesses of less than 3 mm in the mandibular angle were selected from patients referred to a dentomaxillofacial radiology clinic and were then examined for mandibular cortical angles. These were measured using Computed Radiography (CR) software. The bone densitometry was carried out using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA). Cortical thicknesses at the lower border of the mandibles were also measured by panoramic radiographs. Statistics analyses were then undertaken using Fisher's exact test, Chi-square, t-test, ANOVA and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. In most cases, no significant difference in mandibular angle cortical thickness was found between those patients with a normal BMD and those patients with a lowered BMD (P=0.621). There was a relationship between the cortical thicknesses of the mandibular lower border, and vertebral and femoral BMD (P<0.0001), and there was a significant difference between the thickness of the mandibular lower border and BMD. The results of this study also revealed a new marker of osteoporosis on the mandibular lower border under the third molar. A thickness of 2.80 mm of the mandibular lower border was detected as a threshold for the measurement of bone densitometry in the chosen Iranian population. Panoramic radiography is effective for screening patients who are at risk of having decreased bone mineral density. Patients with a threshold of 2.80 mm thickness of the mandibular lower border should be considered as individuals likely to have osteoporosis associated low bone density.
The Organization of CRF Neuronal Pathways in Toads: Evidence that Retinal Afferents Do Not Contribute Significantly to Tectal CRF Content

Previous work has suggested that the peptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) acts to inhibit visually guided feeding in anurans, but little is known about potential targets for CRF within the subcortical visuomotor circuitry. Here we investigated the relationship between CRF neuronal organization and visual pathways in toads. CRF-immunoreactive (ir) neurons and fibers were widely distributed throughout the ventral subpallial telencephalon and hypothalamus, although few fibers were found in telencephalic areas, such as the striatum, that are known to project to the tectum in anurans. Large populations of CRF-ir cells were observed in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and preoptic area as well as in the ventral infundibular hypothalamus. CRF-ir neurons and fibers also were observed in several midbrain and brain stem areas. Colchicine treatment significantly enhanced CRF-ir neurons and fibers throughout the brain, and revealed CRF-ir cell groups in several brain areas (including the dorsal hypothalamus) that were not observed in untreated animals. Intrinsic CRF-immunoreactive neurons were routinely observed in cell layer 8 and sometimes in layer 6 of the optic tectum in both untreated and colchicine-treated animals. CRF was detected in toad optic tectum by radioimmunoassay, although tectal CRF content was less than that of the hypothalamus and forebrain. Unilateral eye ablation did not affect CRF content of the contralateral optic tectum. We conclude that CRF-producing neurons are widely distributed in several areas of the toad brain known to be involved in regulating the behavioral, autonomic and endocrine response to stressors, including the optic tectum and several brain areas known to project to the optic tectum. Furthermore, retinal afferents do not contribute significantly to tectal CRF content.
Dose-response relationship of epirubicin-based first-line chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer: a prospective randomized trial.

PURPOSE We compared prospectively the antitumor efficacy of two combination chemotherapy regimens with two different dose levels of epirubicin as first-line treatment for advanced breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred forty-one fully assessable patients were randomized to receive either our intensified schedule (group A, n = 71) of epirubicin 50 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 (every 3 weeks), or a non-intensified program (group B, n = 70) in which epirubicin was only administered on day 1. Both groups also received fluorouracil (5 FU) and cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m2 on day 1 of each course. RESULTS A statistically significant difference in response rate was observed (69% in group A v 41% in group B, P < .001) for both locally advanced (LA) and recurrent metastatic (RM) disease. Response duration (22 v 14 months, P < .01) and time to progression (TTP; 19 v 8 months, P < .02) were also significantly improved. Overall survival was similar in both groups. However, univariate and/or multivariate analyses showed a meaningful relationship between type of treatment allocated, dose-intensity (DI) of epirubicin, and response rate, as well as between TTP and survival. Ultimately, TTP and survival were also influenced by further treatment modalities, namely, hormonotherapy and chemotherapy. CONCLUSION This study validates prospectively the concept of a dose-response relationship for an anthracycline-based chemotherapy in previously untreated advanced breast cancer.
An Accelerated Kernel-Independent Fast Multipole Method in One Dimension

A version of the fast multipole method (FMM) is described for charge distributions on the line. Previously published schemes of this type relied either on analytical representations of the potentials to be evaluated (multipoles, Legendre expansions, Taylor series, etc.) or on tailored representations that were constructed numerically (using, e.g., the singular value decomposition (SVD), artificial charges, etc.). The algorithm of this paper belongs to the second category, utilizing the matrix compression scheme described in [H. Cheng, Z. Gimbutas, P. G. Martinsson, and V. Rokhlin, SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 26 (2005), pp. 1389-1404]. The resulting scheme exhibits substantial improvements in the CPU time requirements. Furthermore, the scheme is applicable to a wide variety of potentials; in this respect, it is similar to the SVD-based FMMs. The performance of the method is illustrated with several numerical examples.
Gap junctions and connexins as therapeutic targets in cancer

Importance of the field: Connexins (Cxs) and gap junctional intercellular communications (GJICs) play roles in cancer development, growth and metastasis. Experimental studies suggest that targeting Cxs may be a novel technique, either to inhibit tumor cell growth directly or to sensitize to various therapies. Areas covered in this review: A brief introduction to the role of Cxs in cancer. The focus is mainly on data available in the literature regarding therapeutic aspects. What the reader will gain: This article reviews the various strategies that take advantage of gap junctions and connexins to eliminate cancer cells, including use of the bystander effect (BE) in gene therapy, the effect of connexins on chemosensitization, the role of apoptotic processes and interactions with the microenvironment. Attempts to restore connexin expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels are described, as well as promising strategies recently explored. The potential and limitations of the approaches are discussed. Take home message: Connexins have multiple facets, singly, in hemichannel complexes, in gap junctions or interacting with different proteins. The regulation of their expression is not fully resolved and selective manipulation of Cxs expression is therefore a challenge. Although the therapeutic potential of connexins is undeniable, more effort is needed to study the regulation and functions of these proteins.
A Review of the Eliurus tanala Complex (Rodentia: Muroidea: Nesomyidae), with Description of a New Species from Dry Forests of Western Madagascar

ABSTRACT Based on 372 specimens examined, we integrated information from two mitochondrial and four nuclear gene sequences, morphological comparisons and morphometric analyses, as well as distributional patterns and ecological occurrences to revise the Eliurus tanala species group (Nesomyinae), a rodent complex endemic to Madagascar's forests. These evidentiary sources generally proved concordant, supporting description of a new species, E. tsingimbato, indigenous to western dry deciduous forest, mostly associated with limestone karst (tsingy); the two other members of this species group, E. ellermani and E. tanala, are restricted to eastern montane humid forest. Phylogenetic relationships among the three species were poorly resolved, suggesting that their speciation was both recent and rapid. We encountered one instance of conflict between mitochondrial DNA and all other data sources, which we interpret as incomplete lineage sorting involving a population of the new western species. Attention was focused on molecular and morphometric discrimination of the E. tanala and E. antsingy groups where their species distributions overlap in limestone-associated forests of western and northern Madagascar. Phyletic divisions demonstrated within the E. tanala species group are discussed apropos of current models of speciation identified for Malagasy forest-dwelling organisms.