Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Limited value of alarm features in the diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal malignancy: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Alarm features such as dysphagia, weight loss, or anemia raise concern of an upper gastrointestinal malignancy in patients with dyspepsia. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of alarm features in predicting malignancy by performing a metaanalysis based on the published literature. METHODS English-language studies were identified by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, and CINAHL. Cohort studies that measured alarm features and compared them with the endoscopic findings were included. Studies were screened for inclusion by 2 authors who independently extracted the data. Sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios were calculated by comparing the alarm feature with the endoscopic diagnosis. The summary receiver operating characteristic curve method was used to summarize test characteristics across studies. Individual alarm features were also assessed when the study report permitted. RESULTS Eighty-three of 2600 studies met the initial screening criteria; 15 met inclusion criteria after detailed review. These 15 studies evaluated a total of 57,363 patients, of whom 458 (.8%) had cancer. The sensitivity of alarm symptoms varied from 0% to 83% with considerable heterogeneity between studies. The specificity also varied significantly from 40% to 98%. A clinical diagnosis made by a physician was very specific (range, 97%-98%) but not very sensitive (range, 11%-53%). CONCLUSIONS Alarm features have limited predictive value for an underlying malignancy. Their use in dyspepsia management strategies needs further refinement and study.
Netrin‐1 Regulates Fibrocyte Accumulation in the Decellularized Fibrotic Sclerodermatous Lung Microenvironment and in Bleomycin‐Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis

Fibrocytes are collagen‐producing leukocytes that accumulate in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma)–related interstitial lung disease (ILD) via unknown mechanisms that have been associated with altered expression of neuroimmune proteins. The extracellular matrix (ECM) influences cellular phenotypes. However, a relationship between the lung ECM and fibrocytes in SSc has not been explored. The aim of this study was to use a novel translational platform based on decellularized human lungs to determine whether the lung ECM of patients with scleroderma controls the development of fibrocytes from peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
Spectral transmission of the human crystalline lens in adult and elderly persons: color and total transmission of visible light.

PURPOSE To experimentally measure the spectral transmission of human crystalline lenses belonging to adult and elderly persons, and to determine the color and total transmission of visible light of such crystalline lenses. METHODS The spectral transmission curve of 32 human crystalline lenses was measured using a PerkinElmer 800UV/VIS spectrometer. Total transmission of visible light and the chromatic coordinates of these crystalline lenses were determined from these curves for solar illumination. RESULTS The crystalline lens that filters UV and its transmission in the visible spectrum decreases with age; such a decrease is greater for short wavelengths. The total transmission of visible light decreases, especially after the age of 70 years, and the crystalline color becomes yellower and saturated. CONCLUSIONS The great variability existing in the spectral transmission of the human crystalline lens is lesser between the ages of 40 and 59 years, but greater from the age of 60 and older. The decrement in transmittance between these two age groups varies from 40% for 420 nm to 18% for 580 nm. Nevertheless, it is proven that age is not the only parameter affecting crystalline transmission. In the range of 40 to 59 years, age does not bear an influence on total transmission of light, but from 60 years and older it does. Moreover, the light transmitted decreases with age. This total transmission of light is similar to or lower than the amount that the different intraocular lenses transmit, even with a yellow or orange filter. The color of the human lens becomes yellowish and saturated with age.
Network Externalities in Collaborative Consumption: Theory, Experiment, and Empirical Investigation of Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is an internet fundraising mechanism for soliciting capital from the crowd to support entrepreneurial ventures. Entrepreneurs set a funding target and deadline. Investors independently decide whether to contribute, but the total of their contributions determine whether the project will be successfully funded. When deciding whether to participate, investors may estimate a project's chance of funding success not only from the amount of funding the project has attained, but also from the timing that this number was achieved. To illustrate this, suppose there are two projects that are identical except that one reaches 50% of its funding goal in 10 days whereas the other reaches this percentage in 20 days (suppose the funding period for both projects is 30 days). The two projects have attracted the same amount of funding, however, the temporal information (10 days vs. 20 days) may also provide essential information for investors to evaluate a project’s prospect and its chance of reaching the preset funding target by the pre-set deadline. The temporal dynamics of network externalities have not been well explored in the literature. Empirical results show that failing to account for time effects may lead to misleading estimation of network externalities.This paper investigates investors’ contribution behaviors in the presence of network externalities and a target/deadline. The empirical model captures investors' expectation on the prospect of a project based on its current funding status and time progress. Model estimation shows that investors are more likely to back a project that has already reached a large fraction of its funding goal (positive network externalities). For the same amount of achieved funding, the backing propensity declines over time (negative time effects). These two opposing forces give rise to a critical mass of funding the project must attain on time to achieve successful funding. Interestingly, this critical mass changes over the funding period. Simulation studies show that projects may fail to attain the critical mass due to unfavorable shocks at the early stage of the funding cycle. We provide actionable promotion strategies for entrepreneurs to dynamically manage their crowdfunding campaign. Our model and results shed light on the temporal dynamics of network externalities in collaborative consumption with a target and deadline.
OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE TO REWARD '

Pigeons' responses in the presence of two concurrently available (initial-link) stimuli produced entry into one of two different and mutually exclusive terminal link stimuli according to identical but independent variable-interval schedules. In one experiment, a twocomponent chained fixed-interval schedule produced food in one terminal link while a simple fixed-interval schedule produced food in the other terminal link. When the interreinforcement intervals were equal in the two terminal links (i.e., the simple fixed-interval was twice the size of each of the components in the chained schedule) pigeons preferred the simple fixed-interval as measured by their relative rates of responding in the concurrently available initial links. This preference increased as the duration of the terminal links increased. The preference could be reversed by making the simple fixed-interval schedule sufficiently longer than the chained schedule. In the second experiment, the terminal links consisted of twovs three-component chained fixed-intervals, again with equal interreinforcement intervals. Pigeons preferred the two-component chain to the three-component chain, although these results were less consistent and less dramatic than those in the first experinment. Again, preference increased as the duration of the terminal links increased. The results show that an organism's choice for a schedule will be substantially lowered by the chaining operation even when the interreinforcement interval remains constant.
Impact of broadcast, multicast and unknown unicast at low speed DSL connections based at SHDSL

In this paper we discussed about impact of broadcast/multicast/unknown unicast at low speed DSL connections that are based on SHDSL. We showed that impact of broadcast and multicast is negligee in comparing with unknown unicast. In presented case the unknown unicast has made an impact with fatal consequence (total break or very slow access to internet) in network with 500 Low Speed DSL users. At the end, we discussed three possible scenarios for remove this impact: filtering of unknown unicast, changing VLAN per location and correcting settings of transport network and we showed two experimental resultants of removing of this impact in case of the filtering and dedicated one VLAN per each location. Therefore, we demonstrated that an impact of unknown unicast was total removed in both cases. In addition, we showed the fatal impact on links can be occurred when only 0,1 % of uplink is unavailable.
Assessment of Sequential and Standard Triple Therapy in Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Children Dependent on Bacteria Sensitivity to Antibiotics.

BACKGROUND In the last decade a 10-day schema of sequential therapy of Helicobacter pylori infection based on proton pomp inhibitor (PPI), amoxicillin (AMO), clarithromycin (CLA) and metronidazole (MET) has been introduced. Many studies have emphasized greater efficacy of this therapy in comparison to the efficacy of the standard 7-day triple therapy (PPI + AMO + CLA or MET). OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to assess the sequential and standard triple therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS Sixty-nine children, aged 5 to 17 years, with symptoms of dyspepsia and gastric or duodenal ulcer were included in the study. The children were randomly divided into three groups. Group I - 23 children treated with PPI + AMO + CLA, group II - 23 children treated with PPI + AMO + MET, and group III - 23 children treated with sequential therapy. The diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection was based on histopathological evaluation of gastric mucosa sample and on culture. The sensitivity of bacterial strains to antibiotics was assessed based on E-tests. The efficacy of Helicobacter pylori eradication was assessed 6-8 weeks after the completion of the treatment. RESULTS In children infected with Helicobacter pylori strains, which were sensitive to clarithromycin, the highest rate of eradication was obtained in the group treated with PPI + AMO + CLA (100%) and in the group treated with sequential therapy (90.48%), the lowest was in the group treated with PPI + AMO + MET. CONCLUSIONS Efficiency of treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection in children depended on sensitivity of the strains to clarithromycin. Sensitivity to metronidazole did not influence significantly the eradication rate.
BPS Geometries of M 2 Giant Gravitons

We construct the general 1/2 BPS M2 giant graviton solutions asymptotic to the elevendimensional maximally supersymmetric plane wave background, based on the recent work of Lin, Lunin and Maldacena. The solutions have null singularity and we argue that it is unavoidable to have null singularity in the proposed framework, although the solutions are still physically relevant. They involve an arbitrary function F (x) which is shown to have a correspondence to the 1/2 BPS states of the BMN matrix model. A detailed map between the 1/2 BPS states of both sides is worked out.
Document clustering algorithms, representations and evaluation for information retrieval

This thesis presents new methods for classification and thematic grouping of billions of web pages, at scales previously not achievable. This process is also known as document clustering, where similar documents are automatically associated with clusters that represent various distinct topic. These automatically discovered topics are in turn used to improve search engine performance by only searching the topics that are deemed relevant to particular user queries.
Transient Hypoxemia Chronically Disrupts Maturation of Preterm Fetal Ovine Subplate Neuron Arborization and Activity

Preterm infants are at risk for a broad spectrum of neurobehavioral disabilities associated with diffuse disturbances in cortical growth and development. During brain development, subplate neurons (SPNs) are a largely transient population that serves a critical role to establish functional cortical circuits. By dynamically integrating into developing cortical circuits, they assist in consolidation of intracortical and extracortical circuits. Although SPNs reside in close proximity to cerebral white matter, which is particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress, the susceptibility of SPNs remains controversial. We determined SPN responses to two common insults to the preterm brain: hypoxia-ischemia and hypoxia. We used a preterm fetal sheep model using both sexes that reproduces the spectrum of human cerebral injury and abnormal cortical growth. Unlike oligodendrocyte progenitors, SPNs displayed pronounced resistance to early or delayed cell death from hypoxia or hypoxia-ischemia. We thus explored an alternative hypothesis that these insults alter the maturational trajectory of SPNs. We used DiOlistic labeling to visualize the dendrites of SPNs selectively labeled for complexin-3. SPNs displayed reduced basal dendritic arbor complexity that was accompanied by chronic disturbances in SPN excitability and synaptic activity. SPN dysmaturation was significantly associated with the level of fetal hypoxemia and metabolic stress. Hence, despite the resistance of SPNs to insults that trigger white matter injury, transient hypoxemia disrupted SPN arborization and functional maturation during a critical window in cortical development. Strategies directed at limiting the duration or severity of hypoxemia during brain development may mitigate disturbances in cerebral growth and maturation related to SPN dysmaturation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The human preterm brain commonly sustains blood flow and oxygenation disturbances that impair cerebral cortex growth and cause life-long cognitive and learning disabilities. We investigated the fate of subplate neurons (SPNs), which are a master regulator of brain development that plays critical roles in establishing cortical connections to other brain regions. We used a preterm fetal sheep model that reproduces key features of brain injury in human preterm survivors. We analyzed the responses of fetal SPNs to transient disturbances in fetal oxygenation. We discovered that SPNs are surprisingly resistant to cell death from low oxygen states but acquire chronic structural and functional changes that suggest new strategies to prevent learning problems in children and adults that survive preterm birth.
Misguided Use of Multivariable Analysis to Study Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients With Prior Coronary Artery Bypass Graft.

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery has been a great advance in the treatment of coronary artery disease, but the treatment of saphenous vein bypass graft (SVBG) disease remains a frustrating challenge. Although the natural history of coronary artery disease occurs over decades, the natural history of SVBG disease occurs over years. Denudation of endothelial cells in freshly harvested saphenous veins at the time of CABG results in acute platelet and thrombin deposition that can lead to early SVBG thrombosis if there is poor flow in the graft because of surgical issues or disease in the microcirculation.1 Although the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) graft adapts well to the hemodynamic stress of coronary perfusion, the SVBG must adapt to high-pressure pulsatile arterial flow and that can contribute to chronic endothelial dysfunction. The resulting platelet and leukocyte activation can stimulate smooth muscle cell proliferation that narrows the SVBG lumen diameter. SVBG atherosclerosis, similar to coronary artery atherosclerosis, can develop later, and acute plaque rupture can cause late SVBG thrombosis. See Article by Iqbal et al Compared with native coronary artery atherosclerosis, SVBG atherosclerosis can be more diffuse, the fibrous cap can be weaker and thinner, and the plaque can be more fragile and friable, making it prone to distal embolization of atherosclerotic debris during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). 1 In patients with acute SVBG thrombosis, the lack of side branches, the larger diameter of the vessel, and consequently, lower flow velocities promote excessive thrombus formation. The more distal the culprit lesion, the greater the thrombus burden in the proximal bypass conduit, and the more likely distal embolization will result in the microvascular no-reflow phenomenon with primary PCI. Early reports on fibrinolytic therapy in patients with ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction demonstrated lower SVBG reperfusion rates than in native coronary arteries.2, …
Cholesterol and synaptic transmitter release at crayfish neuromuscular junctions

During exocytosis of synaptic transmitters, the fusion of highly curved synaptic vesicle membranes with the relatively planar cell membrane requires the coordinated action of several proteins. The role of membrane lipids in the regulation of transmitter release is less well understood. Since it helps to control membrane fluidity, alteration of cholesterol content may alter the fusibility of membranes as well as the function of membrane proteins. We assayed the importance of cholesterol in transmitter release at crayfish neuromuscular junctions where action potentials can be measured in the preterminal axon. Methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (MβCD) depleted axons of cholesterol, as shown by reduced filipin labelling, and cholesterol was replenished by cholesterol–MβCD complex (Ch‐MβCD). MβCD blocked evoked synaptic transmission. The lack of postsynaptic effects of MβCD on the time course and amplitude of spontaneous postsynaptic potentials or on muscle resting potential allowed us to focus on presynaptic mechanisms. Intracellular presynaptic axon recordings and focal extracellular recordings at individual boutons showed that failure of transmitter release was correlated with presynaptic hyperpolarization and failure of action potential propagation. All of these effects were reversed when cholesterol was replenished with Ch‐MβCD. However, focal depolarization of presynaptic boutons and administration of a Ca2+ ionophore both triggered transmitter release after cholesterol depletion. Therefore, both presynaptic Ca2+ channels and Ca2+‐dependent exocytosis functioned after cholesterol depletion. The frequency of spontaneous quantal transmitter release was increased by MβCD but recovered when cholesterol was reintroduced. The increase in spontaneous release was not through a calcium‐dependent mechanism because it persisted with intense intracellular calcium chelation. In conclusion, cholesterol levels in the presynaptic membrane modulate several key properties of synaptic transmitter release.
Strategies of Policy Evaluations in Parliaments ∗

This article considers the question of which strategies parliamentarians pursue when they use parliamentary requests demanding an evaluation. In order to be re-elected, parliamentarians can either appeal to their constituency or to their party by adopting legislative roles. The study is based on twelve case studies of parliamentary requests from the Swiss parliament between 2010-2014. The analysis shows that parliamentarians of legislative committees submit parliamentary requests in order to oppose a policy, while parliamentarians of oversight committees submit parliamentary requests to obtain information on specific policies. On the contrary, the party membership of the responsible Federal Councillor does not influence the strategy. These findings suggest that parliamentarians use evaluations depending on their parliamentary allocation.
[Efficacy of an intervention to improve treatment compliance in hyperlipidemias].

OBJECTIVE To analyse the efficacy of the intervention through a telephone call about patients' compliance with lipaemia therapy. DESIGN Controlled, randomised clinical trial. SETTING Ten clinics at 6 primary care centres. PARTICIPANTS 126 people diagnosed with hypercholesterolaemia according to Spanish Consensus criteria were chosen. INTERVENTION Two groups were formed. The control group (CG) of 63 patients, who received the doctor's normal treatment; and the Intervention group (IG) of 63 patients, who received in addition a telephone call at 2 weeks, 2 months and 4 months. MAIN MEASUREMENTS Pills were counted and cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C and LDL-C determined at the start, and at the third and sixth months. Percentages of patients complying (80%-110%), the mean compliance percentage and the degree of control were compared. The reduction of absolute and relative risk (RAR and RRR) and the mean number of people that required an intervention in order to avoid non-compliance (NI) were calculated. RESULTS 115 people (91.26%) completed the survey, 56 in the IG and 59 in the CG. 77.1% complied with the therapy (CI, 68.4-85.8), (CG=64.4%, CI, 55.3-73.5; IG=93.5%, CI, 88.8-98 [P<.001]). Mean compliance ran at 88.7 +/- 10.2 overall, at 84.4 +/- 12.8 in the CG and at 93 +/- 8.2 in the IG (P<.001). The RAR was 29.1%, the RRR 81%, and the NI was 3.43 patients. The patients controlled ran at 43.9% in the IG (CI, 34.9-52.9) and 23.1% in the CG (CI, 15.4-30.8) (P<.005). CONCLUSIONS The telephone intervention is an efficacious way of improving the percentage of patients complying with lipaemia treatment.
Cocaine Hepatotoxicity and Its Potentiation by Lipopolysaccharide: Treatment and Gender Effects

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of a 7-day treatment as well as the influence of gender on cocaine hepatotoxicity (CH). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) potentiation of CH was also investigated. Male and female CF-1 mice were orally administered 20 mg/kg body weight cocaine hydrochloride once daily for 7 days. Four hours after the last cocaine administration, the mice were administered 12 × 106 EU LPS (or equal volume of sterile saline) intraperitoneally. Plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were evaluated as indices of liver injury. Blood and liver glutathione (GSH), glutathione reductase (GRx), and catalase (CAT) activities were also determined to investigate the oxidation stress induced by the treatment. Plasma ALT and AST concentrations were elevated in all males receiving cocaine alone or cocaine + LPS. Furthermore, blood GSH and CAT were decreased and GRx activity was elevated in the same males. Histological analysis revealed a high degree of focal necrosis in the male cocaine group, and severe necrosis in the male cocaine + LPS group. Unlike males, females showed no effect of either cocaine alone or cocaine + LPS treatments. These results indicate that gender plays a significant role in CH and its potentiation by LPS and lengthening the administration by two treatments increased the severity of cocaine + LPS hepatotoxicity dramatically in male mice.