Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low-dose cyclophosphamide selectively decreases regulatory T cells and inhibits angiogenesis in dogs with soft tissue sarcoma.

BACKGROUND Low-dose, continuous (metronomic) chemotherapy improves tumor control by inhibiting tumor angiogenesis and suppressing regulatory T cells (Treg) in mice and humans. The effects of metronomic chemotherapy on Treg and tumor angiogenesis in dogs has not been investigated previously. OBJECTIVE To determine whether metronomic cyclophosphamide (CYC) therapy decreases Treg or exhibits antiangiogenic activity or both in dogs with soft tissue sarcoma (STS). We hypothesized that Treg numbers would be increased in dogs with STS and that continuous dosing of CYC would decrease Treg in a dose-dependent manner, as well as exhibit antiangiogenic activity. ANIMALS Eleven client-owned dogs with grade I or II STS. Twenty-one healthy dogs were used as controls. METHODS Prospective, open, clinical trial. Dogs with STS were enrolled in 2 dose cohorts and administered CYC at 12.5 or 15 mg/m(2) p.o. once daily for 28 days. Whole blood and tumor biopsy specimens were obtained on days 0, 14, and 28 to assess changes in T lymphocyte subsets by flow cytometry and tumor microvessel density (MVD), respectively. RESULTS Administration of CYC at 12.5 mg/m(2)/d significantly decreased the number of Treg from days 0 to 28, but there was no change in the percentage of Treg or tumor MVD. In dogs that received CYC at 15.0 mg/m(2)/d, both the number and percent of Treg as well as tumor MVD were significantly decreased over 28 days. CONCLUSIONS CYC administered at 15 mg/m(2)/d should be used in further studies examining the antitumor properties of low-dose CYC in dogs.
Effects of Item Order and Response Options in College Student Surveys

Givennumerouspressurestowardgreateraccountabilityandtransparencyin higher education, obtaining high-quality data about students’ experi-encesandoutcomesismoreimportantthanever.Anumberofrecentstudieshaveexaminedissuesrelatedtocollegestudentsurveys,includingsurveynonresponse(AdamsULaguilles,Williams,SLaguillesetal.,2011),socially desirable responding (Bowman & Hill, 2011; Gonyea & Miller,2011),andsatisficing(i.e.,suboptimalcognitiveprocessingthatresultsinlow-qualityresponses;BargeGChen,2011). Asawhole,thesestudiessuggestthatcarefulattentionandinquiryiscriticalfordraw-ingvalidconclusionsfromcollegestudentsurveys.Thisstudyexplorestwoissuesthathavereceivedverylimitedattentioninhighereducation. First,theorderinwhichitemsarepresentedmayplayaroleinshapingstudents’responses.Forexample,theCooperativeInstitu-tionalResearchProgram’sCollegeSeniorSurvey(CIRPCSS)askedstudentsabouttheirownlearningandgrowthatthebeginningofthequestionnairefrom2010to2012,whereastheseitemswereplaceddifferently—towardthemiddleofthesurvey—inthepreceding17years(seeHigherEducationResearchInstitute[HERI],2014). TheNationalSurveyofStudentEngage-ment(NSSE)askedaboutself-reportedgainstowardtheendoftheques-tionnairefrom2003to2013(appearingbeforethedemographics),whereastheseweresomewhatclosertothemiddleoftheinstrumentin2000–2002(NSSE,2014). Towhatextentmighttheseitemorderdifferenceswithinandacrosssurveysaffectstudentresponses? Second,theresponseoptionsthatareprovidedforagivenitemorsetofitemsmayalsoshapetheresults.TheCIRPCSSandNSSE,alongwithmanyothersurveysthatareadministeredwithinandacrossinstitutions,askaboutthenumberofhoursperweekinwhichstudentsengageinvariousactivities
Nutritional Significance and Metabolism of Very Long Chain Fatty Alcohols and Acids from Dietary Waxes

Very long chain fatty alcohols obtained from plant waxes and beeswax have been reported to lower plasma cholesterol in humans. This review discusses nutritional or regulatory effects produced by wax esters or aliphatic acids and alcohols found in unrefined cereal grains, beeswax, and many plant-derived foods. Reports suggest that 5–20 mg per day of mixed C24–C34 alcohols, including octacosanol and triacontanol, lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by 21%–29% and raise high-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 8%–15%. Wax esters are hydrolyzed by a bile salt–dependent pancreatic carboxyl esterase, releasing long chain alcohols and fatty acids that are absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. Studies of fatty alcohol metabolism in fibroblasts suggest that very long chain fatty alcohols, fatty aldehydes, and fatty acids are reversibly inter-converted in a fatty alcohol cycle. The metabolism of these compounds is impaired in several inherited human peroxisomal disorders, including adrenoleukodystrophy and Sjögren-Larsson syndrome. Reports on dietary management of these diseases confirm that very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) are normal constituents of the human diet and are synthesized endogenously. Concentrations of VLCFA in blood plasma increase during fasting and when children are placed on ketogenic diets to suppress seizures. Existing data support the hypothesis that VLCFA exert regulatory roles in cholesterol metabolism in the peroxisome and also alter LDL uptake and metabolism.
Effect of Caffeine on the Repeated Modified Agility Test from Some Cardiovascular Factors, Blood Glucose and Rating of Perceived Exertion in Young People

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of the ingestion of either the caffeine (CAF) or the placebo (PLA) on performance of repeated modified agility test (RMAT), some cardiovascular factors, metabolic and notes of perceived exertion (RPE) in young males and females. Methods: In a randomized double-blind study, we enrolled 18 active students (10 males and 8 females) in Sport Sciences pursuing degrees in Exercise Science and Physical Education at the University of Sports of Kef (Tunisia), during the academic year 2013–2014. All participants were ingested CAF (5 mg.kg−1) or PLA 60 min before performing an RMAT. Total times (TT), peak time (PT) and fatigue index (FI) were identified as the RMAT indices. Heart rate (HR), arterial pressures (PA), blood glucose (BG) and RPE were assessed before, during and after the RMAT. Results: Taking caffeine had been improved the performance by the significant decreased of TT on male gender better than female gender and the entire group. In addition, there was a significant improvement on HR during and after RMAT in both genders and the whole group, except after RMAT among male gender. However, the repeated measurement results had demonstrated no effect of caffeine on PA, BG and RPE. Conclusion: Caffeine supplement had a beneficial effect on agility performance and HR in male better than in female, although, there was no improvement in PA, BG and RPE.
Adaptation on personalized public displays driven by social context

Public displays gain increasing popularity in research and consumer society. They are wide spread indoors in offices and institutions, and outdoors being seamlessly integrated in the urban scene. They aim to entertain, inform, promote, and persuade. Sensor technologies brought an important advance in human interaction with public displays. By means of modern ambient and mobile sensors the screen can sense and recognize its spectators. Being able to recognize people standing in front of it, the screen can flexibly adapt its content. It is a challenging task, however, to recognize the social context, and further, to understand how to adapt the screen. The recognition of context must consider a fusion of comprehensive sources of social context. Adaptation of the screen must consider not only presentation of content, but also interaction with the content. The adaptation must also consider the character of the data presented on the screen, for example, how privacy-critical the content is. The adaptation mechanism must be able to handle a large variety of spectators, appearing as groups or single individuals, having diverse and arbitrary identities. This thesis investigates adaptation to social context from diverse sides, tackling the described research challenges. First, the author studies how to recognize social context, using ambient and mobile sensors. Being able to recognize the context, the author proposes an approach for automatic learning and real-time adaptation of the screen content. The approach is based on recognition of the spectator groups, and tagging the screen content according to the group’s interests. Further, the author studies how social context impacts user preferences in interaction style. The empirical studies take a closer look on mobile, physical, and bodily interaction, analyzing interaction preferences in singleand multi-user scenarios, with singleand multiple displays involved in the interaction process. The thesis treats the question of privacy on personalized public displays. The author investigates which type of social context plays a deciding role in user’s choice of the display adaptation in privacy-critical scenarios. To round up the thesis, the author provides an approach for automatic decision making on adaptation behaviour. The approach is based on trust-centered Bayesian Network. Relying on the context data delivered by the sensors, the network generates adaptation decisions, best fitting to the current social context. The thesis aims to contribute to the knowledge of the researchers and practitioners working in the field of interactive public displays, inspiring them to explore new ways of implicit interaction with the screen – interaction driven by the social context.
Transient expression of fluorescent tau proteins promotes process formation in PC12 cells: Contributions of the tau C‐terminus to this process

The neuronal microtubule‐associated protein tau promotes microtubule assembly and has been implicated in the development of axonal morphology. In this study, PC12 cells were transiently transfected with constructs coding fusion proteins of human tau with green fluorescent protein (GFP). Expression of tau constructs actively stabilized microtubules. Expression of the C‐terminus of tau can mimic this effect in living cells, though to a lesser extent because of the absence of the tau N‐terminus. However, tau colocalization with microtubules did not require the presence of the tau N‐terminus. Transient expression of tau (including tau24, a four‐repeat human tau isoform encoded in 383 residues, and tau23, human fetal tau isoform encoded in 352 residues) stimulated process formation in PC12 cells, and this occurred faster with tau24 than with tau23. The residues (residues 154–172 in tau23) that confer microtubule nucleation activity of tau in vitro are not required for tau‐directed process formation. However, when tau induces the formation of cellular processes in response to cortical breakdown by cytochalasin B, residues 154–172 must be present. Thus, it appears that tau may serve to promote cellular process outgrowth in cultured neuronal cells and that C‐terminus of tau is essential to this process. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Energy balances for propagating gravity currents: homogeneous and stratified ambients

The exchange of energy for an inviscid gravity current which is released from a lock and then propagates over a horizontal boundary is considered. Attention is focused on effects due to stratification in the ambient. The investigation uses both a one-layer shallow-water model and Navier–Stokes finite-difference simulations. There is good agreement between these two approaches for the energy of the dense fluid (the current). The results indicate that with respect to the behaviour of energy as a function of time we can distinguish between: ($a$) currents propagating at supercritical speed (with respect to the fastest internal wave in the ambient), including a nose propagating into an unstratified ambient; and ($b$) currents propagating at subcritical speed, including the strongest effective stratification for which the density at the base of the ambient is equal to that of the current. The stratification enhances the accumulation of potential energy in the ambient and reduces the energy decay (dissipation) of the two-fluid system. The interaction of the internal waves with the head of the current in the subcritical case has no significant influence on the energy balance of the current.
Prevalence of headache and migraine in schoolchildren

Abstract Objectives: To determine the prevalence rates of the various causes of severe headache in school-children, with special emphasis on migraine and its impact on school attendance. Design: Population based study in two stages, comprising an initial screening questionnaire followed by clinical interviews and examination of children with symptoms and a control group of asymptomatic children matched for age and sex. Setting: 67 primary and secondary schools in the city of Aberdeen. Subjects: 2165 children, representing a random sample of 10% of schoolchildren in Aberdeen aged 5-15 years. Main outcome measures: (a) the prevalence of20migraine (International Headache Society criteria) and of other types of headache; (b) the impact of migraine on school attendance. Results: The estimated prevalence rates of migraine and tension headache were 10.6% (95% confidence interval 9.1 to 12.3) and 0.9% (0.5 to 1.5) respectively. The estimated prevalence rates for migraine without aura and migraine with aura were 7.8% (95% confidence interval 6.5 to 9.3) and 2.8% (2.0 to 3.8) respectively. In addition, 10 children (0.7%) had headaches which, though lasting less than two hours, also fulfilled the International Headache Society criteria for migraine, 14 (0.9%) had tension headaches, and 20 (1.3%) had non-specific recurrent headache. The prevalence of migraine increased with age, with male preponderance in children under 12 and female preponderance thereafter. Children with migraine lost a mean of 7.8 school days a year due to all illnesses (2.8 days (range 0-80) due to headache) as compared with a mean of 3.7 days lost by controls. Conclusions: Migraine is a common cause of headache in children and causes significantly reduced school attendance.
What is the value of the routine use of patient-reported outcome measures toward improvement of patient outcomes, processes of care, and health service outcomes in cancer care? A systematic review of controlled trials.

PURPOSE The systematic use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) has been advocated as an effective way to standardize cancer practice. Yet, the question of whether PROMs can lead to actual improvements in the quality of patient care remains under debate. This review examined whether inclusion of PROM in routine clinical practice is associated with improvements in patient outcomes, processes of care, and health service outcomes during active anticancer treatment. METHODS A systematic review of five electronic databases (Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL [Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature], PsycINFO, and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection [PBSC]) was conducted from database inception to May 2012 to locate randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials of patients receiving active anticancer treatment or supportive care irrespective of type of cancer. RESULTS Based on prespecified eligibility criteria, we included 26 articles that reported on 24 unique controlled trials. Wide variability in the design and use of interventions delivered, outcomes evaluated, and cancer- and modality-specific context was apparent. Health service outcomes were only scarcely included as end points. Overall, the number of statistically significant findings were limited and PROMs' intervention effect sizes were predominantly small-to-moderate. CONCLUSION The routine use of PROMs increases the frequency of discussion of patient outcomes during consultations. In some studies, PROMs are associated with improved symptom control, increased supportive care measures, and patient satisfaction. Additional effort is required to ensure patient adherence, as well as additional support to clinicians who will respond to patient concerns and issues, with clear system guidelines in place to guide their responses. More research is required to support PROM cost-benefit in terms of patient safety, clinician burden, and health services usage.
Statistical analysis of efficacy in falls prevention trials.

BACKGROUND Many different and sometimes inappropriate statistical techniques have been used to analyze the results of randomized controlled trials of falls prevention programs for elderly people. This makes comparison of the efficacy of particular interventions difficult. METHODS We used raw data from two randomized controlled trials of a home exercise program to compare the number of falls in the exercise and control groups during the trials. We developed two different survival analysis models (Andersen-Gill and marginal Cox regression) and a negative binomial regression model for each trial. These techniques a) allow for the fact that falls are frequent, recurrent events with a non-normal distribution; b) adjust for the follow-up time of individual participants; and c) allow the addition of covariates. RESULTS In one trial, the three different statistical techniques gave surprisingly similar results for the efficacy of the intervention but, in a second trial, underlying assumptions were violated for the two Cox regression models. Negative binomial regression models were easier to use. CONCLUSION We recommend negative binomial regression models for evaluating the efficacy of falls prevention programs.
Characterization of the Fibrinogen Binding Factor from Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis in Quantitative Immunoelectrophoresis

Summary: The fibrinogen binding factor (FBF) was characterized in Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis reference systems by crossed immunoaffinoelectrophoresis (CIAE) with free fibrinogen in the first dimension gel. The FBF of Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis showed the same mobility and reactivity and corresponded to a cross reactive glycoproteic antigen. Thus CIAE provides a useful tool for the identification of biologically active antigens.
Competition for Specific Intrathymic Ligands Limits Positive Selection in a TCR Transgenic Model of CD4+ T Cell Development1

Efficient positive selection of a broad repertoire of T cells is dependent on the presentation of a diverse array of endogenous peptides on MHC molecules in the thymus. It is unclear, however, whether the development of individual TCR specificities is influenced by the abundance of their selecting ligands. To examine this, we analyzed positive selection in a transgenic mouse carrying a TCR specific for the human CLIP:I-Ab class II complex. We found that these mice exhibit significantly reduced CD4+ T cell development compared with two other transgenic mice carrying TCRs selected on I-Ab. Moreover, many of the selected cells in these mice express endogenous and transgenic receptors as a consequence of dual TCRα expression. Dramatic enhancement of the selection efficiency is observed, however, when fewer transgenic cells populate the thymus in mixed bone marrow chimeras. These results suggest that positive selection is limited by the availability of selecting peptides in the thymus. This becomes apparent when large numbers of thymocytes compete for such peptides in TCR transgenic animals. Under such conditions, thymocytes appear to undergo further TCRα gene rearrangement to produce a receptor that may be selected more efficiently by other thymic self-peptides.
Cystatin C as Predictor of Microalbuminuria in the Early Stage of Hypertension

Background/Aims: Predictors of microalbuminuria in the early stage of hypertension are not well known. We did a prospective study to investigate whether glomerular hyperfiltration assessed from serum cystatin C predicts development of microalbuminuria in hypertension. Methods: We assessed 101 treatment-naive subjects screened for stage 1 hypertension and followed-up for a median 3.1 years. Cystatin C was measured at entry and glomerular filtration rate was estimated using the Hoek formula (CystGFR). Urinary albumin and ambulatory blood pressure were measured at entry and during the follow-up. Results: Subjects in the top CystGFR tertile (>115 ml/min/1.73m2) were leaner (p = 0.002) and developed microalbuminuria more frequently (p = 0.02) than the rest of the group. In univariate Cox regression, CystGFR was associated with future microalbuminuria (hazard ratio, 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02–1.10, p = 0.001). After controlling for baseline albumin excretion rate and several confounders, CystGFR remained a significant predictor of microalbuminuria development (hazard ratio, 1.19, 95% CI, 1.03–1.37, p = 0.019). The association between future microalbuminuria and creatinine clearance or glomerular filtration rate estimated with the Cockroft-Gault or the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease formula did not attain the level of statistical significance in this sample. Conclusions: The present findings indicate that CystGFR is more sensitive than creatinine clearance or estimated glomerular filtration rate for predicting microalbuminuria development in the early stage of hypertension and confirm that hyperfiltration precedes microalbuminuria in this clinical entity.
Diversity of Sarcosaprophagous Calyptratae (Diptera) on Sandy Beaches Exposed to Increasing Levels of Urbanization in Brazil

Abstract Sandy beaches are among the most impacted ecosystems worldwide, and the effects of urbanization on the biodiversity of these habitats are largely unknown, particularly in Brazil. We investigated the composition and structure of assemblages of sarcosaprophagous insects (Diptera: Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, and Muscidae) on six sandy beaches exposed to differential levels of human impact in Pernambuco State, Brazil. In total, 20,672 adults of 40 species were collected, of which 70% were Calliphoridae. Sarcophagidae had the highest diversity with 26 species of nine genera. A strong overlap in the composition of the assemblages across the six beaches was observed, with only a few species being restricted to one type of beach. The flesh flies Dexosarcophaga carvalhoi (Lopes), Peckia intermutans (Walker), and Titanogrypa larvicida (Lopes) occurred exclusively in beaches under low anthropogenic impact. Species with strong medical and veterinary importance such as Synthesiomyia nudiseta (Wulp) occurred even in beaches under low human presence. The invasive species Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) and Chrysomya megacephala (F.) (Calliphoridae) were dominant in all beaches, which exposes the vulnerability of sandy beaches to exotic species. Our data imply that sarcosaprophagous flies can be used as early biological indicators to suggest urbanization in coastal environments.
A Simplified Equalization Method for Dual PN-Sequence Padding TDS-OFDM Systems

Time domain synchronous orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (TDS-OFDM) modulation scheme can improve the spectrum efficiency over the traditional cyclic prefix (CP) OFDM technology at the cost of computational efforts due to the iterative padding subtraction (IPS) at the receiver to mitigate the inter symbol interference caused by the multipath propagation. In this paper, a simplified equalization scheme is presented for the dual PN-sequence padding (DPNP) TDS-OFDM systems. Although the length of the padded PN sequence needed is double compared to what needed by the IPS, leading to slight decrease of the spectrum efficiency, this method can save about 90% computational effort in practice compared with that of the IPS algorithm. It also outperforms IPS method under the time-varying fading channel in terms of symbol error rate and maximum Doppler frequency, verified by the computer simulation.