Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
18F-FDG PET and CT Scans Detect New Imaging Patterns of Response and Progression in Patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma Treated by Anti–Programmed Death 1 Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor

The response evaluation criteria in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) were designed for the assessment of chemotherapy and targeted molecular agents. We investigated the accuracy of 3-mo 18F-FDG PET/CT for the identification of HL patients responding to immune-checkpoint blockade by anti–programmed death 1 antibodies (anti-PD1). We also reported the frequency of new immune patterns of response and progression. Methods: Retrospectively, we recruited consecutive HL patients treated by anti-PD1 (pembrolizumab or nivolumab) at Gustave Roussy from 2013 to 2015. 18F-FDG PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT scans were acquired every 3 mo. We recorded the best overall response according to the International Harmonization Project Cheson 2014 criteria and LYmphoma Response to Immunomodulatory therapy Criteria (LYRIC) (2016 revised criteria). Patients achieving an objective response at any time during the anti-PD1 treatment were classified as responders. Results: Sixteen relapsed or refractory classic HL patients were included. The median age was 39 y (age range, 19–69 y). The median previous lines of therapy was 6 (range, 3–13). The mean follow-up was 22.6 mo. Nine of 16 patients (56%) achieved an objective response. Two deaths occurred due to progressive disease at 7 mo. 18F-FDG PET/CT detected all responders at 3 mo and reclassified best overall response in 5 patients compared with CT alone. A decrease in tumor metabolism and volume (SUVmean, metabolic tumor volume) and increase in healthy splenic metabolism at 3 mo were observed in responders (area under the curve > 0.85, P < 0.04). Five of 16 patients (31%) displayed new imaging patterns related to anti-PD1; we observed 2 transient progressions consistent with indeterminate response according to the LYRIC (2016) (IR2b at 14 mo and IR3 at 18 mo) and 3 patients with new lesions associated with immune-related adverse events. Conclusion: Three-month 18F-FDG PET/CT scans detected HL patients responding to anti-PD1. New patterns were encountered in 31% of patients, emphasizing the need for further evaluation in larger series and close collaboration between imaging and oncology specialists on a per-patient basis.
Aripiprazole augmentation of incomplete treatment response in an adolescent male with obsessive‐compulsive disorder

We report the case of adolescent male with obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) who had an incomplete response to combined cognitive‐behavioral therapy (CBT) and sertraline before successful augmentation of CBT with aripiprazole. Standardized assessments indicated significant reductions in OCD symptomatology associated with both initial treatment and aripiprazole augmentation. This case suggests that aripiprazole may have utility as an augmenting agent of CBT in adolescents with OCD and underscores the need for conducting controlled studies to test this hypothesis. Depression and Anxiety 25:172–174, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Abortion in four Asian countries: patient characteristics, morbidity, and contraceptive acceptance.

To determine the characteristics, complications, and postoperative contraceptive acceptance among patients undergoing abortion in Asia, the data on 5951 patients from 4 Asian centers were analyzed. Patients with (PEMC) preexisting medical conditions, most of whom had incomplete or inevitable abortions, were analyzed separately from patients artificially aborted and having (NPEMC) no preexisting medical conditions. Most of the patients with NPEMC were married, multiparous, urban residents ranging in age from 29-32 years. Their rate of potentially serious complications was higher with second trimester procedures than with first trimester procedures (and highest with hysterotomy), and higher in India where increased artificial abortion has recently been initiated than in Singapore where the data were collected at least 2 years after the law was changed to increase the indications for abortion. Complication rates in patients with NPEMC were highest in patients less than 20 years of age, nulliparous, and more than 12 weeks pregnant. Concurrent sterilization appeared to increase the complication rate. There appeared to be no benefit to hospitalizing patients after first trimester abortion with (D and C) dilatation and curettage suction unless complications were suspected. Abortion during the second trimester with intraamniotic saline and hysterotomy was not only associated with higher complication rates, but with longer operative and hospitalization times than those associated with first trimester abortions with suction and D and C. Not only did the frequency of women using contraceptives increase, but the use of more effective methods increased after artificial abortion in India and Singapore. Patients with PEMC had different frequencies of specific patient characteristics, different management, and generally higher complications than patients with NPEMC. To decrease morbidity associated with artificial abortion, pregnancies should be aborted in the first trimester if possible, physicians must know how to perform the procedure, and improved abortion techniques and concurrent sterilization techniques must be devised, tested, evaluated, and implemented.
Low baseline levels of NK cells may predict a positive response to ipilimumab in melanoma therapy

The introduction of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has been a breakthrough in the therapy of metastatic melanoma. The influence of ICB on T‐cell populations has been studied extensively, but little is known about the effect on NK cells. In this study, we analysed the relative and absolute amounts of NK cells and of the subpopulations of CD56dim and CD56bright NK cells among the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 32 patients with metastatic melanoma before and under treatment with ipilimumab or pembrolizumab by flow cytometry. In 15 (47%) patients, an abnormal low amount of NK cells was found at baseline. Analysis of the subpopulations showed also low or normal baseline levels for CD56dim NK cells, whereas the baseline levels of CD56bright NK cells were either normal or abnormally high. The relative and absolute amounts of NK cells and of CD56dim and CD56bright NK cell subpopulations in patients with a normal baseline did not change under treatment. However, patients with a low baseline of NK cells and CD56dim NK cells showed a significant increase in these immune cell subsets, but the amounts remained to be lower than the normal baseline. The amount of CD56bright NK cells was unaffected by treatment. The baseline levels of NK cells were correlated with the number of metastatic organs. Their proportion increased, whereas the expression of NKG2D decreased significantly when more than one organ was affected by metastases. Low baseline levels of NK cells and CD56dim NK cells as well as normal baseline levels of CD56bright NK cells correlated significantly with a positive response to ipilimumab but not to pembrolizumab. Survival curves of patients with low amounts of CD56dim NK cells treated with ipilimumab showed a trend to longer survival. Normal baseline levels of CD56bright NK cells were significantly correlated with longer survival as compared to patients with high baseline levels. In conclusion, analysis of the amounts of total NK cells and of CD56dim and CD56bright NK cells subpopulations at baseline may help to predict the outcome of treatment with ipilimumab.
Evaluation of Three Northern Quahog (=Hard Clam) Mercenaria mercenaria (Linnaeus) Strains Grown in Massachusetts and New Jersey for QPX-Resistance

ABSTRACT Three selected aquaculture strains of the commonly used hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria (Linnaeus, 1758)—Massachusetts (MA), New Jersey (NJ), and South Carolina (SC)—were reared in a single hatchery. They were planted in replicate plots in Barnstable Harbor, MA, and Dry Bay, NJ, in spring 2008 and grown to market size. Growth, survival, and QPX (quahog parasite unknown) prevalence and severity were measured in fall 2008, spring 2009, and fall 2009. Growth was similar at both sites for the first summer, but during the second year growth was better in Massachusetts. Overall survival was better for all strains in New Jersey when compared with Massachusetts. Survival of strains in New Jersey was 53.4% and 34.8% for NJ and MA, respectively, closely followed by those in Massachusetts (41.8% and 26.2% for NJ and MA, respectively). Strains from SC seed had the highest prevalence and severity of QPX and the lowest survival (36% and 6.6% in New Jersey and Massachusetts, respectively). Infections with QPX were low at both sites, but this study confirms earlier work indicating that QPX infection rates appear to be strain specific, with strains of southern origin being more susceptible than those of northern origin. Our study also supported anecdotal reports that QPX disease is more severe in Massachusetts than in more southern sites where it has been found. As in most previous field studies, we found that although mortality was correlated with QPX levels, it was considerably higher than infection prevalence would indicate, which suggests that strain interactions with stressful environmental conditions or unidentified factors may be also involved in mortality.
Chromosome organization in wheat endosperm and embryo

We have analysed the chromosome organization in endosperm and embryo of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), in order to compare these tissues with developing anthers, in which the centromeres associate, and the developing root xylem vessel cells, in which the chromosomes endoreduplicate to become polytene and associate via their centromeres. Both endosperm and embryo showed a typical Rabl configuration and a degree of non-homologous centromere association and the endosperm also showed extensive telomere association. Wheat endosperm is initially triploid and during its development a percentage of the nuclei increase their DNA content to 6C and 12C. 6C nuclei showed twice as many centromeres as 3C nuclei and the centromere number increased further in 12C nuclei. The higher the C-content of a nucleus the more the telomeres associated in endosperm. The vast majority of 12C nuclei showed six rye chromosome arms, although a few showed three associated groups of rye chromosome arms. This means that during endosperm development wheat nuclei show both polyploidization and polytenization.
A Resistive Sensor Readout Circuit With Intrinsic Insensitivity to Circuit Parameters and Its Evaluation

A novel readout circuit for interfacing single element resistive sensors is presented in this paper. The proposed scheme is based on a new relaxation oscillator (RO). The RO, along with a timer counter provides a digital output proportional to the resistance of the sensor. The output characteristic of most of the existing readout circuits for resistive sensors suffers from gain, offset, and nonlinearity errors. The sources of errors include various nonideal circuit parameters and their drift. The output of the proposed readout circuit has a special feature that it is not a function of the circuit parameters such as: 1) offset voltages of the opamps and comparators; 2) bias currents of the opamps and comparators; 3) gain of various units employed; 4) ON-resistance of the switches; 5) value or mismatch in the magnitudes of the reference voltages employed; 6) delay of the switches and comparator; 7) leakage current of the switch; and 8) slew rate of the opamp. Such a scheme will be useful for high accuracy measurements, even when the parameters 1)–8) may vary or drift, due to variation in the measurement environment. A prototype of the proposed readout scheme has been developed in the laboratory and the performance has been evaluated under various conditions. The output was found to be linear with a worst-case nonlinearity of 0.05%. Test results from a prototype developed show that the proposed scheme possesses all the features, described above, as expected.
DESIRED FAMILY SIZE, FAMILY PLANNING AND FERTILITY IN ETHIOPIA

Summary. This paper models the proximate determinants of children born to over 13,000 Ethiopian women and of the women’s stated preferences for additional births using the data from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey 2000. Empirical models for the number of children born to women were estimated using Poisson and ordinal regressions. The results show the importance of variables such as maternal education for smaller family size, and that variables reflecting desired family size are strong predictors of the numbers of children born to women. Secondly, binary logistic models for dichotomous variables for women not wanting more children and if getting pregnant would be a ‘big problem’ showed non-linear effects of the surviving and ‘ideal’ number of children. Moreover, the results indicated a desire on the part of women to limit family size, especially as the number of surviving children increased. Probit models were estimated to address potential endogeneity of certain variables. Overall, the results indicated that counselling couples about small family size and increasing the utilization of health care services can lower fertility in Ethiopia.
A Quantitative Study of Electroencephalography, Eye Movements and Neck Electromyography Characterizing the Sleep—Wake Cycle of the Guinea‐pig

The qualitative and quantitative characteristics of cerebral cortex electrical activity, ocular motility and muscular activity were studied in six head‐restrained guinea‐pigs during wakefulness, slow‐wave and paradoxical sleep. Animals were chronically implanted with bipolar electrodes in the obliquus capitis muscle for electromyographic recordings and epidurally through the parietal bones for electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. Eye movements were recorded using the scleral search‐coil technique. After postoperative recovery and a short period of habituation to immobilization, head‐restrained animals exhibited a polyphasic sleep–wake cycle similar to what has already been described in the unrestrained guinea‐pig. Paradoxical sleep periods of mean duration 110 ± 42 s occurred at a mean interval of 32.2 ± 7.2 min. Amplitude and frequency components of EEG activity were different for each state of vigilance. EEG amplitude was highest and frequency range lowest—with two well‐defined peaks at 4 and 10 Hz—during slow‐wave sleep. During paradoxical sleep, frequencies were higher and amplitudes lower than during wakefulness. Three types of eye movement intermingled with periods of ocular fixation were recorded: saccadic movements during wakefulness and paradoxical sleep, slow drifts during slow‐wave sleep and paradoxical sleep, and a new type of eye movement—bursts of high‐velocity eye oscillations during paradoxical sleep. Saccadic eye movements during paradoxical sleep were more frequent and showed higher velocities and amplitudes than during wakefulness. During paradoxical sleep the episodes of eye oscillation (8–14 Hz) occurred quite regularly every 1.6 s and had a mean duration of 1.4 s. During wakefulness, the obliquus muscle activity displayed a burst‐tonic pattern. Bursting components were closely related to saccadic eye movements directed to the side of the recorded muscle. The muscle activity was predominantly tonic during slow‐wave sleep and was completely absent during paradoxical sleep except for small bursts or twitches. These twitches were tightly synchronized with the occurrence of the rapid eye movements oriented towards the side of the recorded obliquus muscle, as during wakefulness. These results strongly suggest that paradoxical sleep is characterized by the oscillatory discharge of at least two neuronal populations: the brainstem saccadic generators and the tecto‐reticular spinal network which underlies gaze‐orienting behaviour during wakefulness. The occurrence of rhythmic discharges at ˜11 Hz may explain the spinal motoneurons’ inhibition during paradoxical sleep in order to avoid anarchic motor behaviour. Whether these neuronal oscillations are simply an epiphenomenon or have functional implications remains to be determined.
Filtering Out Use of DOACs in Hemodialysis

Published data exploring the best approach to initiating and maintaining anticoagulation in the setting of renal support therapy are scarce, as these patients were excluded in clinical trials. When developing an anticoagulation regimen in this setting, it is important to assess thrombosis risk, identify the unique drivers for thrombosis and bleeding, and recognize the limitations of supporting evidence behind approved prescribing indications for renal impairment. Available literature and considerations for using direct acting oral anticoagulants in the setting of renal support are reviewed.
Allergy to pine nuts

drugs. The drug concentration and the use of petrolatum as vehicle have yielded fair results, confirming the conclusions of other authors (7, 9) who obtained better diagnostic results in the patch test by using these vasoactive drugs in petrolatum than in aqueous solution. Finally, we would like to emphasize that, in dermatitis induced by mixed drug preparations, the successful accomplishment of the patch test with different drugs and excipients may obviate the performance of the oral challenge test with drugs.
Facilitated diagnosis of CMT1A duplication in chromosome 17p11.2‐12: Analysis with a CMT1A‐REP repeat probe and photostimulated luminescence imaging

Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A) is a common autosomal dominant demyelinating peripheral neuropathy. Most patients with CMT1A have been found to have a 1.5 megabase tandem DNA duplication in chromosome 17p11.2‐12. Meiotic unequal crossover mediated by the CMT1A‐REP repeat is a proposed mechanism for generation of the duplication in CMT1A and a reciprocal deletion seen in hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies. Testing for the CMT1A duplication is frequently the first step in the molecular diagnosis of patients with suspected inherited demyelinating neuropathy. We used a 1.0 kb EcoRI‐PstI DNA fragment (pHK1.OP) from the proximal CMT1A‐REP repeat as a probe for Southern blot analysis and detected increased gene dosage in CMT1A by determining measuring radioactivity ratios with a photostimulated luminescence imaging plate. We found that this method is useful for rapid diagnosis of the DNA duplication associated with CMT1A. Hum. Mutat. 9:563–566, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Socioeconomic disparities in low birth weight outcomes according to maternal birthplace in Québec, Canada

Objective: Studies in the USA suggest that the association between maternal birthplace, socioeconomic status (SES), and low birth weight (LBW) can vary across different immigrant groups. Less is known outside the USA about these associations. Our study assesses the association of maternal birthplace and SES on the likelihood of LBW infants in Québec, Canada. Methods: Using 2000 Québec birth registry data, logistic regression was used to examine differentials in LBW according to maternal birthplace and SES. Singleton infants born to Québec mothers (n=47,988) were grouped into nine regions based on maternal birthplace: (1) Canada; (2) the USA and western Europe; (3) eastern Europe; (4) Latin America; (5) the Caribbean; (6) Sub-Saharan Africa; (7) north Africa and Middle East; (8) South Asia; and (9) East Asia and Pacific. SES was classified into four categories according to maternal educational attainment: (1) low SES (<11 years); (2) medium–low SES (11–12 years); (3) medium–high SES (13–14 years); and (4) high SES (more than 14 years). Covariates included maternal age, gestational duration, and parity. LBW was defined as between 500 and 2499 g. Results: Compared to a LBW prevalence of 4.5 for Canadian-born mothers, South Asian- and Caribbean-born mothers had prevalence percentages of 9.2 and 8.2, respectively. After adjusting for SES and other covariates, the likelihood (odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence intervals (CI)) of LBW outcomes remained greater for South Asian- (OR 2.84; 95% CI, 1.90–4.24) and Caribbean-born mothers (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.11–2.10). After pooling these two groups and testing for moderation by SES, we found that high SES immigrant mothers (OR 3.82; 95% CI 2.33–6.25) had a higher likelihood of LBW infants than low SES mothers (OR 2.00; 95% CI 1.22–3.33) compared to high SES Canadian-born mothers. Discussion: In Québec, the association between foreign-born status and LBW varies according to maternal birthplace.
Testing the utility of three social-cognitive models for predicting objective and self-report physical activity in adults with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE Theory-based interventions to promote physical activity (PA) are more effective than atheoretical approaches; however, the comparative utility of theoretical models is rarely tested in longitudinal designs with multiple time points. Further, there is limited research that has simultaneously tested social-cognitive models with self-report and objective PA measures. The primary aim of this study was to test the predictive ability of three theoretical models (social cognitive theory, theory of planned behaviour, and protection motivation theory) in explaining PA behaviour. METHODS Participants were adults with type 2 diabetes (n = 287, 53.8% males, mean age = 61.6 ± 11.8 years). Theoretical constructs across the three theories were tested to prospectively predict PA behaviour (objective and self-report) across three 6-month time intervals (baseline-6, 6-12, 12-18 months) using structural equation modelling. PA outcomes were steps/3 days (objective) and minutes of MET-weighted PA/week (self-report). RESULTS The mean proportion of variance in PA explained by these models was 6.5% for objective PA and 8.8% for self-report PA. Direct pathways to PA outcomes were stronger for self-report compared with objective PA. CONCLUSIONS These theories explained a small proportion of the variance in longitudinal PA studies. Theory development to guide interventions for increasing and maintaining PA in adults with type 2 diabetes requires further research with objective measures. Theory integration across social-cognitive models and the inclusion of ecological levels are recommended to further explain PA behaviour change in this population. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Social-cognitive theories are able to explain partial variance for physical activity (PA) behaviour. What does this study add? The testing of three theories in a longitudinal design over 3, 6-month time intervals. The parallel use and comparison of both objective and self-report PA measures in testing these theories.