Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High-dose therapy followed by autologous stem-cell transplantation with and without rituximab for primary treatment of high-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND We aimed to determine safety and efficacy of rituximab (R) in combination with repetitive high-dose therapy (HDT) as primary treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients aged 18-60 years and elevated lactate dehydrogenase were treated with four cycles of MegaCHOEP and transplantation of autologous stem cells after cycles 2, 3 and 4. Rituximab (375 mg/m²) was given before each cycle and 12 and 33 days after start of the last cycle of chemotherapy. Sixty-four patients given R-MegaCHOEP were compared with 29 patients who had received identical treatment without rituximab. RESULTS Overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) after 3 years were significantly improved in patients treated with R-MegaCHOEP (OS: 78.7% versus 55.0%, P = 0.045; EFS: 72.7% versus 47.2%, P = 0.013). In a Cox regression model adjusted for performance status and stage, relative risk of treatment failure was lower (relative risk 0.5, P = 0.041) and OS was better (relative risk 0.4, P = 0.054) for patients given R-MegaCHOEP. Grade 3/4 infections were more frequent in the R-MegaCHOEP group (18.5% versus 6.0%, P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS The addition of rituximab to MegaCHOEP significantly improved outcome in young patients with high-risk DLBCL. The higher incidence of grade 3/4 infections needs consideration when rituximab and HDT regimens are combined.
Anomalies and Investor Sentiment: Empirical Evidences in the Brazilian Market

This study examined the relationship between investor sentiment and value anomalies in Brazil. In addition, it analyzed if pricing deviations caused by investors with optimistic views are different from those caused by pessimistic investors. The sample included all non-financial firms listed on the B3 (Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão) stock exchange from July 1999 to June 2014. We used the Principal Component Analysis multivariate technique to capture the component common to four different proxies for investor sentiment. The study empirically tested the index series and its variation on the return series of Long-Short portfolios of 12 anomaly-based strategies. The study found that the measure of the sentiment index had a partial explanatory power for the anomalies only when included in the CAPM. Yet, when using the index sentiment changes as an explanatory variable, the study found a relationship with future returns, robust to all risk factors. Thus, it is possible to relate investor sentiment index to anomaly-based portfolio returns. When analyzing average returns after optimistic and pessimistic periods, the values we found in our empirical test were not statistically significant enough to infer the possible existence of short-sale constraints.
The role of social ties in the process of settlement of migrant survivors of political violence : a critical ethnographic study

In spite of the growing numbers of civilians who are fleeing their homes for the reasons of political violence, migrant survivors of political violence are significantly overlooked in psychological theory and research. In addition, clinical and social practices and polices involving this population are seldom based on empirical findings. Even though established psychological literature identifies the significant positive role of social factors in coping with stress, trauma, and life transitions, the role of social relationships in the successful settlement of migrant survivors has seldom been explored. Due to a lack of attention to the needs of migrant survivors, and psychology’s narrow research focus on individual “pathology”, little is known about factors, such as social ties, that may contribute to successful settlement outcomes of this population. This critical ethnographic study explored the diverse experiences and roles of social ties in the process of settlement for 8 migrant survivors of political violence residing in Vancouver and Winnipeg. The research design of this study involved three distinct, yet tightly interwoven, stages: reflexivity, dialogical stage, and system’s analysis, based on information collected in the interviews, participant observation, and conversations with 8 providers of clinical services. The results of the current study contribute to Counselling Psychology’s theoretical literature on transition and multiculturalism by identifying and describing various types of migrant survivors’ social ties and their diverse roles in the participants’ settlement process. In contrast to linear, universalizing, and apolitical psychological theories of acculturation, these results suggest a conceptualization of settlement as a continuous, dynamic, interactive, and social process rooted in its larger socio-political and economic contexts. In addition to their theoretical value, these results will serve to inform clinical and social practices designed to aid settlement of migrant survivors of political violence.
Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Blocks Caspase-3-Independent and Caspase-Dependent Pathways to Cell Death

ABSTRACT Earlier reports have shown that herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) mutants induce programmed cell death and that wild-type HSV blocks the execution of the cell death program triggered by viral gene products, by the effectors of the immune system such as the Fas and tumor necrosis factor pathways, or by nonspecific stress agents such as either osmotic shock induced by sorbitol or thermal shock. A report from this laboratory showed that caspase inhibitors do not block DNA fragmentation induced by infection with the HSV-1 d120 mutant. To identify the events in programmed cell death induced and blocked by HSV-1, we examined cells infected with wild-type virus or the d120 mutant or cells infected and exposed to sorbitol. We report that: (i) the HSV-1 d120 mutant induced apoptosis by a caspase-3-independent pathway inasmuch as caspase 3 was not activated and DNA fragmentation was not blocked by caspase inhibitors even though the virus caused cytochrome c release and depolarization of the inner mitochondrial membrane. (ii) Cells infected with wild-type HSV-1 exhibited none of the manifestations associated with programmed cell death assayed in these studies. (iii) Uninfected cells exposed to osmotic shock succumbed to caspase-dependent apoptosis inasmuch as cytochrome c was released, the inner mitochondrial potential was lost, caspase-3 was activated, and chromosomal DNA was fragmented. (iv) Although caspase-3 was activated in cells infected with wild-type HSV-1 and exposed to sorbitol, cytochrome c outflow, depolarization of the inner mitochondrial membrane, and DNA fragmentation were blocked. We conclude that although d120 induces apoptosis by a caspase-3-independent pathway, the wild-type virus blocks apoptosis induced by this pathway and also blocks the caspase-dependent pathway induced by osmotic shock. The block in the caspase-dependent pathway may occur downstream of caspase-3 activation.
Management trend and safety of vaginal delivery for term breech fetuses in a tertiary care hospital of Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract Aim: To investigate the safety of vaginal delivery for term breech fetuses in a tertiary-care hospital of Pakistan. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of all live singleton breech deliveries at or beyond 37 weeks of gestation, at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 1988 to December 1995. Results: Rate of cesarean section increased from 48% (1988) to 74% (1995). Out of 287 subjects, 158 underwent elective cesarean section while 129 received a trial of labor, 77% of which delivered vaginally. There was no neonatal or maternal death. Compared to babies delivered by emergency or elective cesarean section, those delivered vaginally had significantly more neonatal intensive-care unit admissions (none and 5% versus 13 %) and higher rates of birth trauma (none and 0.6% versus 7%). However, there was no significant difference in the Apgar score at 5 minutes and the risk of maternal complications by delivery mode. Conclusion: Allowing trial of labor to carefully selected mothers can result in vaginal delivery in 77% of the cases. However, the risk of trauma and neonatal intensive-care unit admissions, among vaginal births may favor the decision of elective cesarean section, unless rigorous pre-delivery assessment and conduct of delivery by adequately trained obstetricians is performed.
A Reply to Abramson and Inglehart's "Education, Security, and Postmaterialism"

Abramson and Inglehart (1994, this issue) raise a number of reasonable criticisms about our earlier paper. Our reply addresses the shortcomings they identify and points out areas where we believe they are incorrect. We begin with a general point about their critique. First, while we are not fanatics about multivariate analysis, one of the principal criticisms we make is that Inglehart does not subject his hypotheses to multivariate tests. A review of the tables and figures in Abramson and Inglehart's article indicates that they continue to eschew this multivariate strategy that we believe is critical to a proper test of the Inglehart arguments. Moreover, in virtually every section of the critique, they "refute" our case by referring to bivariate correlations, either ones they have generated or ones from other studies. With the presentation of simple bivariate findings (with no measures of association), they cannot counter our argument, which at least makes an attempt to specify a multivariate model and gives some indication of the statistical significance of the correlations. Our reply to Abramson and Inglehart follows the four-point organization of their critique.
Excessive Credit Growth Or Catching Up Process: The Case Of Central, Eastern And Southeastern European Countries

Most CESEE countries had an impressive credit growth prior to the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008. Nevertheless, that experience has taught us that the strong expansion of private sector credit must not be ignored. In an attempt to investigate whether the rapid credit growth was a result of the catching-up process or was a risky process with well-known consequences, we performed empirical analysis by applying statistical (HP filter) and econometric (pooled OLS, fixed effect OLS, and PMG) approaches. The empirical results of both out-of-sample and in-sample approaches suggest that in the pre-crisis period excessive credit growth in terms of higher actual than estimated credit growth was recorded for the majority of the countries observed. Compared to the outof-sample approach, in-sample estimates, which turned out to be more reliable, indicate that the pre-crisis growth was less pronounced and that over the post-crisis period actual credit growth fluctuated around the estimated growth, pointing to the fact that the former was in line with movements in its fitted values.
Advanced QFN packaging for low cost and solution

The advanced QFN (aQFN) package is an enhanced version of conventional QFN (Quad Flat No-Lead) with multiple row terminals of featuring higher number of I/O ports. aQFN thermal and electrical performance are superior due to smaller profile, shorter interconnects. Also, the solder wettability control and board-level thermo-mechanical reliability are greatly enhanced over conventional QFN because of the higher package standoff. aQFN provides similar I/O number approaching that of a BGA-type chip-scale package (CSP) but much less cost since the expensive substrate is replaced by lead frame. aQFN turns out to be an ideal low cost solution for electrical components of portable telecommunication applications. With such advantages, the replacement of BGA-type CSP with aQFN from low pin-count up to medium high pin-count applications is therefore highly expectable, especially for handheld & PDA devices with its relative applications. In this paper, aQFN is introduced in terms of its application advantages, development, fabrication process flow, SMT process with stencil design guideline. The simulation results indicate that thermal and electrical performances of aQFN are much better than BGA-type CSP, when the same functions are to be designed in SMT process.
ANTIBIOTIC SENSITIVITY AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF FUSOBACTERIUM SPP. AND ARCANOBACTERIUM PYOGENES ISOLATED FROM FARMED WHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS) WITH NECROBACILLOSIS

Abstract Bacterial cultures from 32 living and dead farmed white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with necrobacillosis yielded Fusobacterium necrophorum from nine individuals, F. varium from six individuals, and Arcanobacterium pyogenes from 16 individuals. The isolates were characterized biochemically using automated identification systems. Gram-stained smears suggested the presence of Fusobacterium spp. in eight cases from which organisms were not cultured. Minimum inhibitory concentration determinations in 23 strains of gram-negative anaerobic bacteria detected resistance to enrofloxacin and clindamycin. Enrofloxacin resistance was detected in A. pyogenes isolates, and although biochemical profiling indicated that the deer strains of A. pyogenes could be grouped, it is uncertain whether these biochemical characteristics correlate with antigenic or virulence factors. Deer-specific or autogenous vaccines may provide a useful alternative to generic vaccines.
The Hurricane Katrina aftermath and its impact on diabetes care: observations from "ground zero": lessons in disaster preparedness of people with diabetes.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the coastal U.S. and one of the most destructive natural disasters to hit the country. As brutal and destructive as the winds and storm surge were, it was the aftermath of this storm that wreaked the greatest havoc. Katrina will continue to have an impact on our daily lives, particularly for those of us who lived and continue to live in the area affected. Clearly the greatest destruction of property from this storm occurred in the New Orleans area, surrounding parishes, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. However, in the aftermath of Katrina, Baton Rouge, the closest major city to the massive destruction and a major route for evacuation, served as the staging area for disaster relief for a number of agencies. In the days immediately after the hurricane, hundreds of thousands of evacuees flooded Baton Rouge, and in this sense, Baton Rouge became “ground zero” for the medical disaster relief effort and nongovernmental organizations. We summarize below our observations on this disaster and suggest that guidelines are needed for health care organizations, health care professionals, and people with chronic diseases like diabetes to have a “plan of action” for major disasters, natural and man made (including terrorist attacks and industrial accidents). Table 1 outlines a potential list of items needed by a person with diabetes for disaster preparedness. The disruption of a normal routine was particularly difficult for those who had to deal with chronic diseases. Caring for a chronic disease, particularly one such as diabetes, demands significant attention on a daily basis. An individual with diabetes must be certain that supplies of insulin and/or other medications are up to date and available. Individuals must find time to monitor their glucose and, once the value is obtained, make …
Systematic review of published evidence regarding trauma system effectiveness.

OBJECTIVE Provide a systematic review of the published literature assessing the affect of trauma center/system implementation on patient outcomes. DATA SOURCES A bibliographic search of MEDLINE (1966-May of 1998), HealthSTAR (1995-May of 1998), and CINAHL (1982-May of 1998). Additional manuscripts were identified in the references of reviewed manuscripts. Literature was limited to English language reports on trauma systems in the United States and Canada. STUDY SELECTION Initial inclusion criteria were based on methodologic criteria (i.e., a comparative [controlled] study). Authors independently assessed the strength of evidence demonstrated by each article. DATA EXTRACTION Included articles were classified into three groups based on study design: panel review studies, trauma registry comparison studies, and population-based studies. Key demographic, sampling frame, study design, and outcome variables were tabulated for each included study. Potential sources of bias were also identified and tabled. DATA SYNTHESIS A total of 12, 11, and 17 studies were incorporated into individual evidence tables for panel review, registry comparison, and population-based studies, respectively. Included studies rely on weak evidence (Class III) to assess the impact of trauma systems on patient care and outcome. CONCLUSIONS To date, studies assessing trauma system efficacy rely on hospital deaths as the primary indicator of effectiveness. Future research should use more sophisticated study designs (Class II) and expand available outcome measures to assess the entire continuum of care, including prehospital, rehabilitation outcomes, and long-term quality of life.
The Potential Promises and Pitfalls of Using Local Norms for Gifted Identification

The Potential Promises and Pitfalls of Using Local Norms for Gifted Identification M. Sabrina Hartman Who are the gifted? This question has plagued the field since its inception. Historically, gifted education has been predicated on the values of the Caucasian, upperto middle-class majority. As a result, underrepresentation of students from economically disadvantaged and culturally diverse families have been well documented in the literature and continues to this day. Some scholars have suggested the use of expanded definitions of giftedness to increase participation of students from underrepresented segments of the population. This study used regression and hierarchical linear models to predict the proportion of students identified across various thresholds focusing on how definitions impacted differential rates of gifted identification across schools with different proportions of students who are eligible for free and reduced lunches (FRL) and school locale. Results indicated that when school building norming procedures were used with cut scores associated with the top 5%, 10%, or 20% of students that school proportion of FRL students was either unrelated or positively related to proportion of identified students. Local school-based norming also led to more equal distributions of identified gifted students across schools serving diverse populations.
Structure‐function studies for in vitro chemical inhibition of Fcγ receptor–mediated phagocytosis

BACKGROUND: Previous studies [Transfusion 2005;45:384] showed that certain chemical compounds containing sulfur‐reactive groups can inhibit Fcγ receptor (FcγR)‐mediated phagocytosis in vitro. These studies, however, did not prove that only sulfur functionality–induced reactivity was efficacious. In an effort to develop a drug‐based approach for the future treatment of immune‐mediated cytopenias, these earlier findings have now been extended and this chemically induced interference with FcγR‐mediated phagocytosis of anti‐D‐coated red cells (RBCs) was examined to assess the optimal structural requirements for the inhibitory effect.
Spontaneous Facial Mimicry Is Enhanced by the Goal of Inferring Emotional States: Evidence for Moderation of “Automatic” Mimicry by Higher Cognitive Processes

A number of studies have shown that individuals often spontaneously mimic the facial expressions of others, a tendency known as facial mimicry. This tendency has generally been considered a reflex-like “automatic” response, but several recent studies have shown that the degree of mimicry may be moderated by contextual information. However, the cognitive and motivational factors underlying the contextual moderation of facial mimicry require further empirical investigation. In this study, we present evidence that the degree to which participants spontaneously mimic a target’s facial expressions depends on whether participants are motivated to infer the target’s emotional state. In the first study we show that facial mimicry, assessed by facial electromyography, occurs more frequently when participants are specifically instructed to infer a target’s emotional state than when given no instruction. In the second study, we replicate this effect using the Facial Action Coding System to show that participants are more likely to mimic facial expressions of emotion when they are asked to infer the target’s emotional state, rather than make inferences about a physical trait unrelated to emotion. These results provide convergent evidence that the explicit goal of understanding a target’s emotional state affects the degree of facial mimicry shown by the perceiver, suggesting moderation of reflex-like motor activities by higher cognitive processes.
Conic Portfolio Theory

Portfolios are designed to maximize a conservative market value or bid price for the portfolio. Theoretically this bid price is modeled as reflecting a convex cone of acceptable risks supporting an arbitrage free equilibrium of a two price economy. When risk acceptability is completely defined by the risk distribution function and bid prices are additive for comonotone risks, then these prices may be evaluated by a distorted expectation. The concavity of the distortion calibrates market risk attitudes. Procedures are outlined for observing the economic magnitudes for diversification benefits reflected in conservative valuation schemes. Optimal portfolios are formed for long only, long short and volatility constrained portfolios. Comparison with mean variance portfolios reflects lower concentration in conic portfolios that have comparable out of sample upside performance coupled with higher downside outcomes. Additionally the optimization problems are robust, employing directionally sensitive risk measures that are in the same units as the rewards. A further contribution is the ability to construct volatility constrained portfolios that attractively combine other dimensions of risk with rewards.
Environmental lead exposure among primary school children in Shebin El-Kom District, Menoufiya Governorate, Egypt.

BACKGROUND Lead still remains an important problem for poor, inner-city, ethnic minority children, with a particular emphasis on lead paint and dust. In Egypt, there is no national survey about the prevalence of elevated blood lead level among children. OBJECTIVE To assess the environmental lead level as well as to determine blood lead level among primary school children and find out its relationship with their intelligent quotient (IQ), hemoglobin level, hearing impairment and school performance. METHODS 190 primary school children from rural and urban areas were selected and their blood lead levels (BLL), hemoglobin concentrations, IQ, hearing threshold and school performance were measured. Also, environmental lead level was measured in the school and home. RESULTS The mean value of environmental lead (μg/m3) in urban schools air was significantly higher than that in rural areas. BLL had a significant negative correlation with hemoglobin level and IQ; it was positively correlated with the hearing threshold. With increasing BLL, the school performance of children decreased significantly. CONCLUSION Exposure to lead would deteriorate IQ, school performance and hearing level of school children. Even in the absence of overt clinical manifestations of lead toxicity, lead intoxication should be among differential diagnosis in children presenting anemia, intellectual impairment, poor academic performance and hearing impairment.