Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Post-traumatic stress outcomes in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors.

PURPOSE A large body of evidence suggests that being diagnosed with and treated for cancer adversely affects functioning and quality of life, yet less is known about longer term outcomes. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in survivors of adult non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) who are at least 2 years postdiagnosis and identify the risk factors associated with PTSD symptoms, with a focus on those that are amenable for screening and modifiable. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 886 NHL survivors identified from the cancer registries of two hospitals in North Carolina participated, ranging in age from 25 to 92 years old and ranging from 2 to 44 years postdiagnosis. Survivors were mailed a survey that assessed PTSD symptoms and quality of life. RESULTS Participants averaged 10.2 years postdiagnosis, and most (61%) reported no PTSD symptoms. The adjusted prevalence for full PTSD was 7.9%, with an additional 9.1% meeting criteria for partial PTSD. Modifiable risk factors that were independently associated with PTSD in multiple linear regression included less social support, negative appraisals of life threat and treatment intensity, and more employment and insurance issues. Additionally, several demographic characteristics (nonwhite race, less education, and younger age) and clinical or health-related factors (active disease, more recent diagnosis, and more comorbidity) were independently associated with PTSD. CONCLUSION Although only 8% of survivors met PTSD diagnostic criteria, the impact of a cancer diagnosis and treatment persists for many survivors, as evidenced in 39% of this sample. Early identification of those at risk could enable treatment to minimize PTSD symptomatology.
Family History of Alcohol Use as Predictor of Alcohol and Tobacco Use During Pregnancy

&NA; Because alcohol and tobacco use are known teratogenic substances that negatively affect the fetus, screening for alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy is included as part of the nursing standard of care in obstetrical nursing (and some screening tools include family history as a risk factor for use during pregnancy. However, the only empirical evidence for including family history as a risk factor is located in the general addictions literature. The purpose of this study was to determine if parental history of alcohol and/or tobacco use increases the risk for use of these substances during pregnancy. This was a descriptive retrospective study based on the epidemiological model of risk. Mothers in the third month of pregnancy provided self‐reported data on their use of alcohol and tobacco during pregnancy and their parents' lifetime use of these substances. Maternal history of alcohol use increased the odds of tobacco use during pregnancy (OR = 4.02, CI 1.732–9.343). Maternal family history of alcohol and tobacco use had a greater impact on increasing the odds for alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy than paternal history of alcohol and tobacco use.
A Hybrid Amplitude/Time Encoding Scheme for Enhancing Coding Efficiency and Dynamic Range in Digitally Modulated Power Amplifiers

Digitally modulated power amplifiers (DMPA) are a promising architecture for practical and highly efficient software-defined radio transmitters. Signal encoding schemes for DMPAs have primarily focused either on amplitude or time domain encoding, neither of which can simultaneously provide high coding efficiency, high dynamic range and low design complexity. In this paper, we propose, analyze and evaluate a new hybrid amplitude/time signal encoding scheme that significantly improves the coding efficiency and dynamic range of DMPAs without significantly increasing design complexity. The proposed hybrid amplitude/time encoding scheme combines both the amplitude domain and the time domain to optimally encode information. Evaluation results show that hybrid amplitude/time encoding yields a 35% increase in the average coding efficiency with respect to conventional time encoding, and is only 6.7% lower than peak efficiency when applied to a Wireless Local Area Network signal with a peak to average power ratio equal to 9.9 dB. A new DMPA architecture, based on the proposed hybrid encoding, is also proposed.
Long-term outcome of complete cytogenetic responders after imatinib 400 mg in late chronic phase, philadelphia-positive chronic myeloid leukemia: the GIMEMA Working Party on CML.

PURPOSE Imatinib mesylate (IM) has rapidly become the front-line treatment of Philadelphia-positive (Ph-pos) chronic myeloid leukemia, but the number of patients who were treated and are being treated with IM second-line is still substantial. PATIENTS AND METHODS We have monitored and analyzed the cytogenetic and molecular response to IM 400 mg/d in a cohort of 277 late chronic phase (LCP) patients who were resistant or intolerant to interferon-alpha and were observed for 48 to 79 months (median, 72 months). RESULTS One hundred fifty-three patients (55%) achieved a complete cytogenetic response (CCgR). Seventy-seven percent of them were still in CCgR after 5 years. The rate of response loss did not increase over time. The 6-year progression-free survival and overall survival of these 153 complete cytogenetic responders were 90% and 91%, respectively. Molecular response was less than major in 21%, major in 78%, and complete in one patient only. CONCLUSION These data confirm that, in LCP the CCgR rate to IM is 50% to 60%, and show that CCgR is stable and is associated with a prolonged survival, even if leukemia continues to be molecularly detectable.
Effect of breast cancer radiotherapy and cigarette smoking on risk of second primary lung cancer.

PURPOSE Prior studies have found that postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) for breast cancer (BC) increases the risk of lung cancer (LC). We explored the joint effects of cigarette smoking and PMRT on LC risk. METHODS We conducted a population-based nested case-control study among women registered in the Connecticut Tumor Registry diagnosed with nonmetastatic BC between January 1, 1965 and December 31, 1989. Patient cases developed a LC >or= 10 years after BC diagnosis. Controls were matched to patient cases on age, year of BC diagnosis, and length of survival. Medical records were reviewed for pathology, BC therapy, and smoking history. We used conditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios for the independent and joint effects of smoking and PMRT on risk of overall, ipsilateral, and contralateral LC. RESULTS Among 113 second primary LC patient cases and 364 controls, compared with nonsmoking women who did not receive PMRT, nonsmoking women who received PMRT had no higher risk of LC; adjusted odds ratios were 5.9 (95% CI, 2.7 to 12.8) for ever-smokers who did not receive PMRT and 18.9 (95% CI, 7.9 to 45.4) for ever-smokers who received PMRT. Adjusted odds ratios for the joint effects of smoking and PMRT were 10.5 (95% CI, 2.9 to 37.8) for the contralateral lung and 37.6 (95% CI, 10.2 to 139.0) for the ipsilateral lung. Smoking and PMRT were associated with increased risk for all histologic types of LC. CONCLUSION PMRT after a diagnosis of BC sharply increased the risk of second primary LC, especially in the ipsilateral lung, among ever-smokers. Clinicians should consider including smoking history in their discussions with patients about the risks and benefits of PMRT.
Phase III randomized, intergroup trial assessing imatinib mesylate at two dose levels in patients with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors expressing the kit receptor tyrosine kinase: S0033.

PURPOSE To assess potential differences in progression-free or overall survival when imatinib mesylate is administered to patients with incurable gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) at a standard dose (400 mg daily) versus a high dose (400 mg twice daily). PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with metastatic or surgically unresectable GIST were eligible for this phase III open-label clinical trial. At registration, patients were randomly assigned to either standard or high-dose imatinib, with close interval follow-up. If objective progression occurred by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, patients on the standard-dose arm could reregister to the trial and receive the high-dose imatinib regimen. RESULTS Seven hundred forty-six patients with advanced GIST from 148 centers across the United States and Canada were enrolled onto this trial in 9 months. With a median follow-up of 4.5 years, median progression-free survival was 18 months for patients on the standard-dose arm, and 20 months for those receiving high-dose imatinib. Median overall survival was 55 and 51 months, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in objective response rates, progression-free survival, or overall survival. After progression on standard-dose imatinib, 33% of patients who crossed over to the high-dose imatinib regimen achieved either an objective response or stable disease. There were more grade 3, 4, and 5 toxicities noted on the high-dose imatinib arm. CONCLUSION This trial confirms the effectiveness of imatinib as primary systemic therapy for patients with incurable GIST but did not show any advantage to higher dose treatment. It appears reasonable to initiate therapy with 400 mg daily and to consider dose escalation on progression of disease.
The Arabidopsis protein CGLD 11 is required for chloroplast ATP syn thase accumulation

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Fruit Quality Attributes of Sour Cherry Cultivars

The aim of this study is the evaluation of two sour cherry cultivars (“Oblacinska”, “Cigancica”) grown at Cacak (Western Serbia) by determining main physical properties such as fruit linear dimensions, arithmetic and geometric mean diameter, fruit volume, sphericity, surface area, and aspect ratio at the commercial stage. Also, some attributes related to fruit quality (fruit weight, soluble solids, total acidity, ripening index, and pH juice) were evaluated at different ripening stages. “Oblacinska” shows better physical properties, except aspect ratio, when compared with “Cigancica”. Sphericity was similar in both cultivars. Fruit weight, soluble solids content, ripening index, and pH increased during ripening process, whereas titratable acidity decreased over above process. In general, “Oblacinska” had better chemical composition than “Cigancica”. Finally, fruit of both cultivars is suitable for processing and also for fresh consumption.
Cancer incidence within a cohort occupationally exposed to asbestos: a study of dose–response relationships

Objectives The aim of our study was to analyse the dose–response relationship between occupational asbestos exposure and risk of cancer. Methods Our study was a retrospective morbidity study based on 2024 subjects occupationally exposed to asbestos, conducted over the period 1 January 1978 to 31 December 2004. Analysis of the dose–response relationship between occupational asbestos exposure, as a time-dependant variable, and risk of cancer was performed using a Cox model. In order to account for the effect of latency, we conducted the analysis with a lag of 10 years. Results 285 cases of cancers were observed in our cohort. The relative risk of pleuro-peritoneal mesothelioma, lung cancer and colorectal cancer associated with asbestos exposure, adjusted for age as a time-dependant variable and for sex, was correlated with exposure intensity (or average exposure level, AEL). The risk of cancer, whatever the anatomical site, did not increase with the duration of exposure to asbestos. Conclusion While confirming the established relationship between asbestos exposure and pleuropulmonary and peritoneal cancers, this study also suggests a causal relationship between asbestos exposure and colorectal cancer.
Multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of thalidomide plus dexamethasone compared with dexamethasone as initial therapy for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

PURPOSE The long-term impact of thalidomide plus dexamethasone (thal/dex) as primary therapy for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) is unknown. The goal of this study was to compare thalidomide plus dexamethasone versus placebo plus dexamethasone (placebo/dex)as primary therapy for newly diagnosed MM. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, patients with untreated symptomatic MM were randomized to thal/dex (arm A) or to placebo plus dexamethasone (dex) (arm B). Patients in arm A received oral thalidomide 50 mg daily, escalated to 100 mg on day 15, and to 200 mg from day 1 of cycle 2 (28-day cycles). Oral dex 40 mg was administered on days 1 through 4, 9 through 12, and 17 through 20 during cycles 1 through 4 and on days 1 through 4 only from cycle 5 onwards. Patients in arm B received placebo and dex, administered as in arm A. The primary end point of the study was time to progression. This study is registered at http://ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00057564). RESULTS A total of 470 patients were enrolled (235 randomly assigned to thal/dex and 235 to placebo/dex). The overall response rate was significantly higher with thal/dex compared with placebo/dex (63% v 46%), P < . 001. Time to progression (TTP) was significantly longer with thal/dex compared with placebo/dex (median, 22.6 v 6.5 months, P < .001). Grade 4 adverse events were more frequent with thal/dex than with placebo/dex (30.3% v 22.8%). CONCLUSION Thal/dex results in significantly higher response rates and significantly prolongs TTP compared with dexamethasone alone in patients with newly diagnosed MM.
EPLQ: Efficient Privacy-Preserving Location-Based Query Over Outsourced Encrypted Data

With the pervasiveness of smart phones, location-based services (LBS) have received considerable attention and become more popular and vital recently. However, the use of LBS also poses a potential threat to user's location privacy. In this paper, aiming at spatial range query, a popular LBS providing information about points of interest (POIs) within a given distance, we present an efficient and privacy-preserving location-based query solution, called EPLQ. Specifically, to achieve privacy-preserving spatial range query, we propose the first predicate-only encryption scheme for inner product range (IPRE), which can be used to detect whether a position is within a given circular area in a privacy-preserving way. To reduce query latency, we further design a privacy-preserving tree index structure in EPLQ. Detailed security analysis confirms the security properties of EPLQ. In addition, extensive experiments are conducted, and the results demonstrate that EPLQ is very efficient in privacy-preserving spatial range query over outsourced encrypted data. In particular, for a mobile LBS user using an Android phone, around 0.9 s is needed to generate a query, and it also only requires a commodity workstation, which plays the role of the cloud in our experiments, a few seconds to search POIs.
Association between long-term exposure to traffic particles and blood pressure in the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study

Objectives Particulate air pollution is associated with cardiovascular events, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. The main objective was to assess the relationship between long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and blood pressure (BP). Methods The authors used longitudinal data from 853 elderly men participating in the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study, followed during 1996–2008. Long-term average exposures to traffic particles were created from daily predictions of black carbon (BC) exposure at the geocoded address of each subject, using a validated spatiotemporal model based on ambient monitoring at 82 Boston-area locations. The authors examined the association of these exposures with BP using a mixed model. The authors included the following covariates: age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol, fasting glucose, creatinine clearance, use of cardiovascular medication, education, census-level poverty, day of week and season of clinical visit. Results The authors found significant positive associations between 1-year average BC exposure and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. An IQR increase in 1-year average BC exposure (0.32 μg/m3) was associated with a 2.64 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure (95% CI 1.47 to 3.80) and a 2.41 mm Hg increase in diastolic blood pressure (95% CI 1.77 to 3.05). Conclusions Long-term exposure to traffic particles is associated with increased BP, which may explain part of the association with myocardial infarctions and cardiovascular deaths reported in cohort studies.
Unresolved grief in a national sample of bereaved parents: impaired mental and physical health 4 to 9 years later.

PURPOSE To assess unresolved parental grief, the associated long-term impact on mental and physical health, and health service use. PATIENTS AND METHODS This anonymous, mail-in questionnaire study was performed as a population-based investigation in Sweden between August 2001 and October 2001. Four hundred forty-nine parents who lost a child as a result of cancer 4 to 9 years earlier completed the survey (response rate, 80%). One hundred ninety-one (43%) of the bereaved parents were fathers, and 251 (56%) were mothers. Bereaved parents were asked whether or not, and to what extent, they had worked through their grief. They were also asked about their physical and psychological well-being. For outcomes of interest, we report relative risk (RR) with 95% CIs as well as unadjusted odds ratios and adjusted odds ratios. RESULTS Parents with unresolved grief reported significantly worsening psychological health (fathers: RR, 3.6; 95% CI, 2.0 to 6.4; mothers: RR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.9 to 4.4) and physical health (fathers: RR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.8 to 4.4; mothers: RR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.6 to 3.3) compared with those who had worked through their grief. Fathers with unresolved grief also displayed a significantly higher risk of sleep difficulties (RR, 6.7; 95% CI, 2.5 to 17.8). Mothers, however, reported increased visits with physicians during the previous 5 years (RR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.6) as well as a greater likelihood of taking sick leave when they had not worked through their grief (RR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.2 to 3.5). CONCLUSION Parents who have not worked through their grief are at increased risk of long-term mental and physical morbidity, increased health service use, and increased sick leave.
Breaking through the Bars: Exploring the Experiences of Addicted Incarcerated Parents Whose Children Are Cared for by Relatives

Researchers conducted a series of open-ended semistructured interviews with 25 incarcerated men and women who received substance abuse treatment while their children were being cared for by relatives. Research questions were developed on the basis of the gaps in knowledge identified in the available data on addicted incarcerated parents whose children are in kinship care. Respondents in this study were asked questions designed to explore issues such as parent–child bonding, relationships with caregivers, and the impact of drug abuse and incarceration on the family. Results of this study indicate that there is a need for a multidisciplinary, wraparound approach to designing services for affected parents, children, and caregivers.
The Jade Ribbon Campaign: a systematic, evidence-based public awareness campaign to improve Asian and Pacific Islander health

Abstract Hepatitis B and its resultant liver cancer are leading causes of morbidity and mortality among Asians and Pacific Islanders (API). In the United States, the disproportionately high prevalence rates of these diseases in the API population constitute some of the nation's greatest health disparities. However, public awareness remains poor and public health efforts need to be strengthened. The Jade Ribbon Campaign is a culturally and linguistically targeted, evidence-based model programme for health communication to improve awareness among API. This model demonstrates that cultural competency does not simply entail a straightforward transfer of ideas, strategies, and materials from one culture or language to another. Rather, it requires a deep understanding of a target community, a multi-faceted approach, and the buy-in of diverse stakeholders, many of whom may not be in health-care-related fields. This paper discusses the Jade Ribbon Campaign as a model programme to illustrate the strategies and components for developing a successful, culturally competent health awareness campaign.
Psychosocial factors and survival of young women with breast cancer: a population-based prospective cohort study.

PURPOSE Most women with early-stage breast cancer believe that psychosocial factors are an important influence over whether their cancer will recur. Studies of the issue have produced conflicting results. PATIENTS AND METHODS A population-based sample of 708 Australian women diagnosed before age 60 years with nonmetastatic breast cancer was observed for a median of 8.2 years. Depression and anxiety, coping style, and social support were assessed at a median of 11 months after diagnosis. Hazard ratios for distant disease-free survival (DDFS) and overall survival (OS) associated with psychosocial factors were estimated separately using Cox proportional hazards survival models, with and without adjustment for known prognostic factors. RESULTS Distant recurrence occurred in 209 (33%) of 638 assessable patients, and 170 (24%) of 708 patients died during the follow-up period. There were no statistically significant associations between any of the measured psychosocial factors and DDFS or OS from the adjusted analyses. From unadjusted analyses, associations between greater anxious preoccupation and poorer DDFS and OS were observed (P = .02). These associations were no longer evident after adjustment for established prognostic factors; greater anxious preoccupation was associated with younger age at diagnosis (P = .03), higher tumor grade (P = .02), and greater number of involved axillary nodes (P = .008). CONCLUSION The findings do not support the measured psychosocial factors being an important influence on breast cancer outcomes. Interventions for adverse psychosocial factors are warranted to improve quality of life but should not be expected to improve survival.