Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased prevalence of regulatory T-cells in the peripheral blood of patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

BACKGROUND Although recent studies have shown that FoxP3 represent the most specific Treg marker only a few studies have reported on the presence of FoxP3(+)Treg in peripheral blood. PATIENTS AND METHODS Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were harvested from 37 healthy volunteers and 94 patients with gastrointestinal cancer. The prevalence of Treg co-expressing CD4(+)FoxP3(+) was analyzed using flow cytometry. RESULTS The prevalence of Treg in the peripheral blood of gastrointestinal cancer patients was significantly higher than that in healthy volunteers (p=0.012). In early stage I cancer, Treg levels tended to be higher than those in healthy volunteers (p=0.069); these levels were significantly reduced after tumor resection (p=0.0027). CONCLUSION The prevalence of Treg was increased in patients with gastrointestinal cancer, even in the early stages of the disease. Since Treg levels decreased after curative resection, it is possible that tumor cells may have induced and expanded the Treg pool.
Citric acid demineralization and subepithelial connective tissue grafts.

BACKGROUND The present study was designed to evaluate the effect, if any, of citric acid root demineralization in the outcome of subepithelial connective tissue grafts performed to cover localized gingival recessions. METHODS Thirty-six patients participated, each providing one gingival recession; 19 received citric acid demineralization, while 17 did not. All were treated surgically with subepithelial connective tissue grafts and followed for 6 months. At baseline and 6 months, the following parameters were recorded: plaque index, gingival index, recession height, probing depth, recession width, and amount of keratinized tissue. Data were analyzed statistically to 1) evaluate the results achieved with each procedure individually over time and 2) compare the results obtained with the 2 procedures after 6 months. RESULTS Results showed significant reductions in recession height after 6 months independently of whether citric acid was applied or not (2.79+/-0.79 versus 2.56+/-0.73). Similarly, recession width was significantly reduced (3.74+/-1.19 versus 3.50 +/-0.73), and the width of keratinized tissue was significantly increased (2.47+/-1.6 versus 2.3+/-1.2). No significant changes in probing depth were found (-0.16+/-0.06 versus -0.13+/-0.81). No significant differences were found when both techniques were compared in any one of the parameters analyzed (all P >0.30). CONCLUSIONS It is concluded that: 1) the subepithelial connective tissue graft procedure provides a satisfactory solution in the treatment of localized gingival recessions, and 2) citric acid demineralization does not affect the clinical outcome of the surgical technique.
Pediatric Crohn’s disease from onset to adulthood: granulomas are associated with an early need for immunomodulation

Abstract Objective. Childhood onset Crohn’s disease (CD) is considered more aggressive than adult onset disease. Epithelioid cell granulomas in intestinal biopsies are one, non-obligate, criterion of CD. We investigated granulomas as markers of CD severity in children followed to adulthood. Material and methods. Forty-five individuals with childhood onset CD were studied from diagnosis until attainment of final height, with data on disease location, medical and surgical management and with detailed growth data analyses. A blinded review of diagnostic biopsies was also performed. Results. We found granulomas in 22/45 (49%) children at diagnosis, altogether in 28/45 (62%) patients during the disease course (median overall follow-up – 12.3 years, range 9.3–18). Granulomas were found in 9/11 (82%) with upper gastrointestinal involvement (cumulatively 17/20, 85%) (p = 0.017 and p = 0.006, respectively). The time from diagnosis to initiating immune modulating treatment (median 4.5 months, range 0–75) was shorter in the granuloma-positive group (16/22) compared to the granuloma-negative group (18/23) (median 33 months, range 2–105; p = 0.01). The median standard deviation score height at diagnosis and final adult height (both adjusted for target height) did not correlate to findings of granulomas. Conclusions. Epithelioid cell granulomas were associated with a shorter time to initiating immune modulating drugs, as a possible sign of more severe disease, but growth was not affected.
Composition and Comprehensive Antioxidant Activity of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) Essential Oil from Ecuador

In the present study, the chemical composition and antioxidant potential of an essential oil of ginger rhizomes from Ecuador was elucidated. The analysis of the essential oil by GC/FID/MS resulted in identification of 71 compounds, of which the main are citral (geranial 10.5% and neral 9.1%), α-zingiberene (17.4%), camphene (7.8%), α-farnesene (6.8%) and β-sesquiphellandrene (6.7%). The in vitro antioxidant activity of the essential oil expressed by IC50 in descending order is: hydroxyl radical (OH•) scavenging (0.0065 μg/mL) > chelating capacity (0.822 μg/mL) > 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical cation (ABTS•+) scavenging (3.94 μg/mL) > xanthine oxidase inhibition (138.0 μg/mL) > oxygen radical (CV) scavenging (404.0 μg/mL) > 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH•) scavenging (675 μg/mL). Lipid peroxidation inhibition of the essential oil was less efficient than butylhydroxy-toluol (BHT) in both stages, i.e. hydroperoxide and malondialdehyde formation. In vivo studies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae demonstrated a significant dose-dependent increase in antioxidant marker enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), blocking the oxidation processes in yeast cells. Moreover, ginger essential oil in concentrations of 1.6 mg/mL increases the viability of cells to oxidative stress induced by H2O2.
Stimulation of p53 DNA Binding by c-Abl Requires the p53 C Terminus and Tetramerization

ABSTRACT The carboxyl terminus of p53 is a target of a variety of signals for regulation of p53 DNA binding. Growth suppressor c-Abl interacts with p53 in response to DNA damage and overexpression of c-Abl leads to G1 growth arrest in a p53-dependent manner. Here, we show that c-Abl binds directly to the carboxyl-terminal regulatory domain of p53 and that this interaction requires tetramerization of p53. Importantly, we demonstrate that c-Abl stimulates the DNA-binding activity of wild-type p53 but not of a carboxyl-terminally truncated p53 (p53Δ363C). A deletion mutant of c-Abl that does not bind to p53 is also incapable of activating p53 DNA binding. These data suggest that the binding to the p53 carboxyl terminus is necessary for c-Abl stimulation. To investigate the mechanism for this activation, we have also shown that c-Abl stabilizes the p53-DNA complex. These results led us to hypothesize that the interaction of c-Abl with the C terminus of p53 may stabilize the p53 tetrameric conformation, resulting in a more stable p53-DNA complex. Interestingly, the stimulation of p53 DNA-binding by c-Abl does not require its tyrosine kinase activity, indicating a kinase-independent function for c-Abl. Together, these results suggest a detailed mechanism by which c-Abl activates p53 DNA-binding via the carboxyl-terminal regulatory domain and tetramerization.
Distribution of pathologic findings in individuals with nephrotic proteinuria according to serum albumin.

BACKGROUND Previous studies of the nephrotic syndrome have not carefully examined the relationship between serum albumin and the distribution of pathologic diagnoses found at the time of biopsy. The spectrum of pathologic findings in individuals with nephrotic proteinuria and a normal serum albumin has not been determined. Knowledge regarding the spectrum of findings in nephrotic proteinuria according to serum albumin levels may help nephrologists in the clinical decision making of when to perform a renal biopsy and in determining proper management of these patients. METHODS Pathologic reports of native kidney biopsies performed for idiopathic proteinuria >3 g/24 h were reviewed. Clinical characteristics and biopsy findings were compared for individuals with serum albumin <30 g/L (Group I), 30 to <35 g/L (Group II) and >/=35 g/L (Group III). RESULTS There were 57 patients in Group I, 20 in Group II and 35 in Group III. The proportion of individuals with focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) increased according to group: 26% in Group I, 45% in Group II and 74% in Group III. Of 35 patients in Group III, 34 had FSGS or advanced nephrosclerosis from another cause. Seven of 17 Group III patients with follow-up required dialysis after a mean interval of 6 years. Few of these patients received immunosuppressive therapy. CONCLUSIONS As serum albumin increases in the nephrotic syndrome, the proportion of patients with FSGS increases. Patients with nephrotic proteinuria and a serum albumin >35 g/L suffer from FSGS, nephrosclerosis and have poor renal survival. When evaluating nephrotic patients, nephrologists should use this knowledge about the spectrum of disease in the clinical decision making of when to perform a biopsy and in providing the patient more precise information regarding risks, benefits and alternatives of the kidney biopsy procedure.
G-CSF-mobilized peripheral blood mononuclear cells added to marrow facilitates engraftment in nonmyeloablated canine recipients: CD3 cells are required.

Stable mixed donor/host hematopoietic chimerism can be uniformly established in dogs conditioned with 200 cGy TBI before dog leukocyte antigen (DLA)-identical marrow transplantation and immunosuppressed with a short course of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and cyclosporine (CSP) after the transplantation. A further decrease in the TBI dose to 100 cGy or the elimination of MMF in this model results in graft rejection. Here we asked whetherthe addition of G-CSF-mobilized peripheral blood mononuclear cells (G-PBMC) to marrow grafts would enhance donor engraftment in dogs conditioned with 100 cGy TBI and given postgrafting immunosuppression with CSP alone. Using this model, 7 of 9 dogs given only marrow cells rejected their grafts within 8 to 17 weeks after transplantation. In contrast, the addition of unmodified G-PBMC to marrow grafts resulted in stable mixed donor/host chimerism in 5 of 8 dogs studied (P = .06). However, addition of the CD3-depleted fraction of G-PBMC, which contained both CD34 cells and CD14 cells, resulted in engraftment in only 1 of 7 recipients. We conclude that adding G-PBMC to marrow grafts replaced the requirement of MMF and 100 cGy of TBI, and that CD3 cells were required to facilitate engraftment of marrow cells in DLA-identical recipients, whereas the additional CD34 cells present in G-PBMC were not sufficient for this effect.
Composite risk scores and depression as predictors of competing waiting‐list outcomes: the Waiting for a New Heart Study

We evaluated two composite risk scores, (Heart Failure Survival Score, HFSS; German Transplant Society Score, GTSS), and depression as predictors of mortality and competing waiting‐list outcomes [high‐urgency transplantation (HU‐HTx), elective transplantation, delisting because of clinical improvement] in 318 heart transplant (HTx) candidates (18% women; aged 53 ± 11 years) from 17 hospitals and newly registered with Eurotransplant. Demographic variables and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS) were assessed using questionnaires. Variables to compute HFSS and GTSS, age, medications, and outcomes were provided by Eurotransplant. At 12 months, 33 patients died, 83 received urgent HTx, 30 elective HTx, and 17 were delisted because of improvement. Applying cause‐specific Cox regressions, only the HFSS was significantly associated with 1‐year mortality [HR = 0.64 (95% CI = 0.43–0.95), P = 0.029]. The GTSS was the strongest predictor of HU‐HTx [HR = 1.02 (95% CI = 1.01–1.02), P < 0.001]. Low depression scores contributed significantly to clinical improvement, even after adjusting for age and risk scores [HADS: HR = 0.12 (95% CI = 0.02–0.89), P = 0.039]. These findings confirm the usefulness of composite risk scores for the prediction of mortality and HU‐HTx, validating both scores for their intended use. The finding that depression was an independent predictor of the waiting‐list outcome clinical improvement suggests that considering patients’ psychological attributes in addition to their medical characteristics is advisable.
Direct-to-Implant Breast Reconstruction in Women Older than 65 Years: A Retrospective Analysis of Complication Rate and Overall Outcomes

Background: Half of all cancers occur in women older than 65 years, yet only 4 to 14 percent of these women undergo reconstruction. Most studies on reconstruction in the elderly have focused on tissue expander/implant or autologous reconstruction. A direct-to-implant approach theoretically reduces the number of operations and postoperative visits, but has yet to be investigated in the elderly. Methods: Institutional review board approval was granted for a retrospective chart review for patients who underwent direct-to-implant reconstruction from 2012 to 2015 with any staff in the authors’ department. A control cohort of patients who underwent tissue expander/implant-based reconstruction from the same period was analyzed. Results: Direct-to-implant reconstruction was performed in 24 breasts in 19 patients with at least 30-day follow-up and in 17 breasts in 14 patients with at least 1-year follow-up. A control group analysis of tissue expander/implant patients was performed for 109 breasts in 88 patients. The tissue expander/implant group was significantly younger (p = 0.001), with a lower body mass index (p = 0.004). There was no difference in the rate of seroma, hematoma, infection, necrosis, or failed reconstruction. Direct-to-implant patients had significantly reduced numbers of drain days (p < 0.001), length of stay (p = 0.05 and p = 0.039), readmissions (p = 0.03 and 0.03), extra hospital days (p = 0.05 and p = 0.045), and postoperative visits (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Direct-to-implant breast reconstruction in the elderly yields similar complication and failure rates compared to tissue expander/implant reconstruction. However, direct-to-implant reconstruction patients had a reduced number of drain days and fewer readmissions, hospital stays, and postoperative visits. Direct-to-implant reconstruction is a powerful tool to use in elderly women with appropriate breast shape and ptosis. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, III.
Comparison Between Single Incision and Conventional Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy for Uncomplicated Cholelithiasis

Abstract Aim : To compare surgical outcomes of patients presenting with uncomplicated cholelithiasis and operated by single incision (SILC) or by conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy (CLC). Methods : The series concerned 58 consecutive patients operated between October 2008 and October 2009. There were 11 men and 47 women with a mean age of 47 years and a BMI of 29. Six patients had a past surgical history with a midline incision. The main parameters analysed were duration of operation, morbidity, postoperative pain, return to normal activities and aesthetic result. One month and one year after surgery, the cosmetic result was assessed on a visual analogue scale (VAS), a score between 9 and 10 was considered as an excellent cosmetic result. Results : A SILC was performed in 26 and a CLC in 32 patients. Patients in the SILC group were characterised by a lower BMI: 25 versus 32 (p < 0.001) and by the absence of previous midline incision: 0/26 (0%) versus 6/32 (19%) (p < 0.028). Outcomes were similar between groups except the aesthetic result. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the percentage of excellent cosmetic result was higher in SILC than in CLC group: respectively 73% (19/26) vs. 28% (9/32) one month postoperatively (OR: 5.3, 95% CI: 1–23, p < 0.03) and 92% (22/24) versus 55% (17/31) one year postoperatively (OR: 6.9, 95% CI: 1–46, p < 0.04). Conclusions : Our study demonstrates that SILC is a feasible and safe procedure in a selected population. Compared to CLC, the only obvious benefit is a better cosmetic result that is still observed one year after surgery.
Matrix metalloproteinases in the progression and regression of Kaposi’s sarcoma

Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are associated with Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) tumorigenesis. To date, only a few MMPs have been studied in KS lesions. Their role in KS regression has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of multiple MMPs in developing and pharmacologically regressed KS lesions.
Reply to ‘prognostic model for patients receiving arterial‐embolization for hepatocellular carcinoma: issues to consider’

To the Editor: We appreciate the valuable comments by Liu et al. on our recently published article (1). They raised some important questions concerning our prognostic model. As Liu et al. commented, trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the standard treatment for Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC)-B stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (2). However, when patients in a given BCLC stage do not satisfy the optimal conditions for undergoing the pre-allocated treatment modality, the next most suitable treatment option within the same or next stage can be offered, based on the concept of treatment stage migration (2). For instance, if local ablation, resection or transplantation cannot be performed in a patient with BCLC-A stage HCC, TACE can be offered instead. Although a significant proportion of our population comprised patients with early stage HCC, similar situations have also been identified in several major studies that have developed prognosis prediction models for patients with HCC undergoing TACE (3, 4). In addition, we found that mHAP-II score also has prognostic value in a subgroup of patients with BCLC-B HCC. In the same context, we believe that tumour multiplicity still holds clinical implications for the prognostication of HCC patients undergoing TACE. This notion is supported by previous studies that included a significant proportion of unifocal HCCs (3, 4). For example, ABCR score, which incorporated BCLC staging, is known to be useful in predicting prognosis among HCC patients undergoing TACE regardless of BCLC stage (4). Nevertheless, as different cut-offs, such as more than four tumours, have been shown to predict unsuccessful TACE outcomes (5), further studies are required to explore the optimal cut-off number of HCC nodules for predicting outcomes. Lastly, mHAP-II score consists of five variables which have been used as conventional factors with the cumulated evidences for staging HCC and predicting treatment outcomes. As Liu et al. commented, some factors related to systemic inflammation, such as neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) or C-reactive protein, may also be prognostic factors in HCC treatment. However, in our cohort, NLR had no prognostic value even in univariate analysis (P > 0.05). Therefore, whether these markers can be incorporated into a prediction model along with conventional predictors should be further investigated. Taken together, although we demonstrated that the addition of tumour multiplicity significantly improves the prognostic performance of HAP, further validation studies of our newly developed, simple-to-use mHAPII scoring system are required.
WWOX: A candidate tumor suppressor gene involved in multiple tumor types

We previously reported the construction of a P1-derived artificial chromosome (PAC) contig encompassing a set of homozygous deletions of chromosome 16q23–24.1 found in primary ovarian tumor material and several tumor cell lines. Using these PAC clones in a cDNA selection experiment, we have isolated a Sau3A fragment homologous to the WWOX transcript (GenBank accession no. AF211943) from normal human ovarian surface epithelial (HOSE) cells. We demonstrate the homozygous deletion of WWOX exons from ovarian cancer cells and three different tumor cell lines. We also identify an internally deleted WWOX transcript from a further primary ovarian tumor. In three of these samples the deletions result in frameshifts, and in each case the resulting WWOX transcripts lack part, or all, of the short chain dehydrogenase domain and the putative mitochondrial localization signal. Sequencing revealed several missense polymorphisms in tumor cell lines and identified a high level of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the WWOX gene. This evidence strengthens the case for WWOX as a tumor suppressor gene in ovarian cancer and other tumor types.
Searching for the elusive neural substrates of body part terms: A neuropsychological study

Previous neuropsychological studies suggest that, compared to other categories of concrete entities, lexical and conceptual aspects of body part knowledge are frequently spared in brain-damaged patients. To further investigate this issue, we administered a battery of 12 tests assessing lexical and conceptual aspects of body part knowledge to 104 brain-damaged patients with lesions distributed throughout the telencephalon. There were two main outcomes. First, impaired oral naming of body parts, attributable to a disturbance of the mapping between lexical-semantic and lexical-phonological structures, was most reliably and specifically associated with lesions in the left frontal opercular and anterior/inferior parietal opercular cortices and in the white matter underlying these regions (8 patients). Also, 1 patient with body part anomia had a left occipital lesion that included the “extrastriate body area” (EBA). Second, knowledge of the meanings of body part terms was remarkably resistant to impairment, regardless of lesion site; in fact, we did not uncover a single patient who exhibited significantly impaired understanding of the meanings of these terms. In the 9 patients with body part anomia, oral naming of concrete entities was evaluated, and this revealed that 4 patients had disproportionately worse naming of body parts relative to other types of concrete entities. Taken together, these findings extend previous neuropsychological and functional neuroimaging studies of body part knowledge and add to our growing understanding of the nuances of how different linguistic and conceptual categories are operated by left frontal and parietal structures.