Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transarterial Chemoembolization in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Renal Insufficiency

Background Renal dysfunction is often present in patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Acute renal failure (ARF) may occur after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) owing to radiocontrast agent. This study investigated the incidence and risk factors of ARF and prognostic predictors in HCC patients with preexisting renal insufficiency undergoing TACE. Methods A total of 566 HCC patients undergoing TACE were enrolled. Renal insufficiency was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Results In a mean follow-up duration of 18±16 months, 231 (40.8%) patients undergoing TACE died. Renal insufficiency that was present in 134 (23.7%) patients at baseline, independently predicted a poor prognosis in the Cox proportional hazards model [risk ratio (RR): 1.47, P=0.012]. Of them, 13 (10%) and 6 (5%) patients had transient and prolonged ARF after TACE, respectively. Post-TACE gastrointestinal bleeding [odds ratio (OR): 16.54, P=0.001] and higher Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP) scores (≥2; OR: 4.22, P=0.02) were independent risk factors for ARF in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. In the Cox model, prolonged ARF (RR: 3.28, P<0.001) and higher CLIP scores (≥2; RR: 2.13, P<0.001) were independent poor prognostic predictors for HCC patients with renal insufficiency receiving TACE. Conclusions Gastrointestinal bleeding and higher CLIP scores are associated with the development of ARF in patients with HCC and renal insufficiency undergoing TACE. Higher CLIP scores and renal insufficiency, either preexisting before TACE or as a complication of TACE, are poor prognostic predictors in HCC patients receiving TACE.
Integrated real‐time Raman system for clinical in vivo skin analysis

Background: Raman spectroscopy is a non‐invasive optical technique that can probe the molecular structure and conformation of biochemical constituents. The probability of Raman scattering is exceedingly low (∼10−10), and consequently up to now the practical application of Raman spectroscopy to clinical medicine has been limited by either the weak spectral signal or by the long data acquisition times. Recent advances in Raman hardware and probe design have reduced spectral acquisition times, paving the way for clinical applications.
Specific Sites within the Ligand-Binding Domain and Ion Channel Linkers Modulate NMDA Receptor Gating

Gating in the NMDA receptor is initiated in the extracellular ligand-binding domain (LBD) and is ultimately propagated via three linkers—S1-M1, M3-S2, and S2-M4—to the ion channel. M3-S2 directly couples LBD movements into channel gating, but the functional and structural contributions of S1-M1 and S2-M4 to the overall gating process are unknown. A scan of substituted cysteines in and around the NMDA receptor S1-M1 and S2-M4 with a bulky cysteine-reactive reagent identified numerous positions that showed potentiation of glutamate-activated as well as leak currents. As indexed by MK801 (dizocilpine hydrogen maleate), an open channel blocker, this potentiation was attributable to an increase in open probability, an interpretation confirmed for a subset of positions with single-channel recordings. The magnitude of this gating effect, acting through S1-M1 or S2-M4, was dependent on the intrinsic gating properties of the NMDA receptors, being more effective in the inherently low open probability GluN2C- than the higher open probability GluN2A-subunit-containing receptors. For the majority of these potentiation positions, we propose that alteration of gating arises from steric destabilization of contact interfaces where close apposition of the contacting partners is necessary for efficient channel closure. Our results therefore indicate that the NMDA receptor S1-M1 and S2-M4 linkers are dynamic during gating and can modulate the overall energetics of this process. Furthermore, the results conceptualize a mechanistic, as well as a possible structural, framework for pharmacologically targeting the linkers through noncompetitive and subunit-specific modes of action.
Choroidal melanoma metastasized to the ovary: case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND Malignant melanoma metastases to the female genital tract in only 2.5% of cases. Melanoma is characterized by clinical variability and unpredictable biological behavior with long remissions and relapses that develop rapidly. CASE AND REVIEW A 57-year-old woman was admitted for hypogastric pain and weight loss. She had presented enucleation of the right eye six years before for malignant choroid melanoma. Gynaecological examination revealed enlarged ovaries. Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, hysterectomy, and omentectomy were performed. Final pathology diagnosed a choroidal metastatic melanoma (CMM). The patient died seven months later. Only seven cases of CMM have been reported in the literature. Patients affected by CMM ranged in age from 38 to 83 years (median 51.2 years), the time to relapse ranged from 3-25 years (median 51.2 years), the size of the cysts ranged from 4-17 cm (median 9.7 cm) and the survival period ranged from 2-14 months (median 8.1 months). CONCLUSION Malignant melanoma is misdiagnosed because of lack of discriminatory symptoms, increased tumor markers, characteristic imaging findings and the capacity to mimic other tumors. Today CMM still represents a challenge for gynecologic oncologists.
The Seasonal Timing of Snowshoe Hare Virus Transmission on the Island of Newfoundland, Canada

Abstract Arthropod-borne diseases negatively affect humans worldwide. Understanding the biology of the arthropod vectors and the pathogens they harbor, the arthropods are moving targets as a result of climate change, ecosystem degradation, species introductions, and increased human travel. Viruses within the California serogroup of the genus Orthobunyavirus (family Bunyaviridae) are among the mosquito-borne viruses of concern owing to their zoonotic potential. Two of these, snowshoe hare virus (SSHV) and Jamestown Canyon virus, were shown, using a combination of serology and virus isolations, to circulate on the Island of Newfoundland, Canada, in the 1980s. More recently, serological analysis demonstrated that these two viruses continue to circulate on the Island in several domesticated and wild animals. Here, we detected the seroconversion to SSHV in wild snowshoe hares and in a single sentinel rabbit. The seroconversion in the sentinel rabbit occurred in early August (2011), which corresponded to the weeks of peak mosquito collections and the timing of the detection of SSHV in suspected mosquito vectors. A portion of the SSHV S segment sequence was generated from mosquito pools collected at sites near the sentinel rabbits and phylogenetically analyzed using the neighbor-joining method with other available California serogroup virus sequences. This analysis validated the SSHV identification but showed that the Newfoundland sequence fell outside the other SSHV sequences available, which originated from the United States between 1959 and 2005.
Latitudinal insect body size clines revisited: a critical evaluation of the saw-tooth model.

1. Insect body size is predicted to increase with decreasing latitude because time available for growth increases. In insects with changing voltinism (i.e. number of generations per season), sharp decreases in development time and body size are expected at season lengths where new generations are added to the phenology of a species, giving rise to saw-tooth clines in these traits across latitudes. Growth rate variation may affect the magnitude of variation in body size or even reverse the saw-tooth cline. 2. In this study, we analyse latitudinal body size clines in four geometrid moths with changing voltinism in a common laboratory environment. In addition to body size, we measured larval development time and growth rate and genetic correlations among the three traits. 3. The patterns of clinal variation in body size were diverse, and the theory was not supported even when saw-tooth body size clines were found. Larval development time increased and growth rate decreased consistently with increasing season length, the clines in these traits being uniform. 4. The consistencies of development time and growth rate clines suggest a common mechanism underlying the observations. Such a mechanism is discussed in relation to the complex interdependencies among the traits.
Patterns of Symptomatology and Patterns of Torture and Trauma Experiences in Resettled Refugees

Objectives: The purpose of this study was: (i) to examine the incidence of psychological and medical symptomatology, torture and related trauma in a sample of 191 refugee clients of the Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia; and (ii) to identify patterns of current symptoms, patterns of torture and trauma experiences and the relationships between symptoms and experiences. Method: Analysis of STARTTS client records permitted the coding of the presence/absence of 41 medical and psychological symptoms and of 33 torture and trauma experiences. Principal components analyses were used to identify patterns of current symptoms and patterns of torture and trauma experiences. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify relationships between current symptoms and traumatic events in the country of origin or en route to Australia. Results: Six factors were extracted for both the symptoms and trauma experiences; the first symptom factor was labelled ‘core posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)’. Regression analysis showed that threats and humiliation, and being forced to watch others being tortured best predicted scores on this factor. Conclusions: Although core PTSD is the dominant factor in symptomatology, comorbidity is high, with another three symptom factors emerging as meaningful. However, client reports of threats and humiliation or forced viewing of others being tortured should alert clinicians to the likely development of core PTSD, if it has not already occurred. Other implications of these findings for treatment and service development are discussed.
Microscopic tumor burden in sentinel lymph nodes predicts synchronous nonsentinel lymph node involvement in patients with melanoma.

PURPOSE We and others have demonstrated that additional positive lymph nodes (LNs) are identified in only 8% to 33% of patients with melanoma who have positive sentinel LNs (SLNs) and undergo complete therapeutic LN dissection (cTLND). We sought to determine predictors of additional regional LN involvement in patients with positive SLNs. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with clinically node-negative melanoma who underwent SLN biopsy (1991 to 2003) and had positive SLNs were identified. Clinicopathologic factors, including extent of microscopic disease within SLNs, were evaluated as potential predictors of positive non-SLNs. RESULTS Overall, 359 (16.3%) of the 2,203 patients identified had a positive SLN. Positive non-SLNs were identified in 48 (14.0%) of the 343 patients with positive SLNs who underwent cTLND. On univariate analysis, several measures of SLN microscopic tumor burden, one versus three or more SLNs harvested, tumor thickness more than 2 mm, age older than 50 years, and Clark level higher than III were predictive of positive non-SLNs; primary tumor ulceration and number of positive SLNs had no apparent impact. On multivariable logistic regression analysis, measures of SLN microscopic tumor burden were the most significant independent predictors of positive non-SLNs; tumor thickness more than 2 mm and number of SLNs harvested also predicted additional disease. A model was developed that stratified patients according to their risk for non-SLN involvement. CONCLUSION In melanoma patients with positive SLNs, SLN tumor burden, primary tumor thickness, and number of SLNs harvested may be useful in identifying a group at low risk for positive non-SLNs and be spared the potential morbidity of a cTLND.
Catullus : a commentary

This edition of eighty poems of Catullus is designed for both university and school use. An introduction deals with the life of Catullus, with his indebtedness to Alexandrian poetry, and with the later history of the poems. The Latin text comes from the Oxford Classical Text of Catullus edited by the late Sir Roger Mynors. The commentary attempts to interpret the poems in the light of modern linguistic and literary scholarship and to assist the student to understand the poet in his environment.
Rapid Detection of Klebsiella Pneumoniae by Capsular Polysaccharide Antigen

The aim of this study is to develop simple and rapid diagnostic method which can be utilized routinely for detection of Klebsiella pneumoniae. This study was done in India at DRDE, Gwalior. We had collected standard K.pneumoniae strain 3296 from Yamaguchi University, Japan and total fiftynine clinical isolates of Klebsiella species from Armed Force Medical College, Pune, and Patel chest hospital, New Delhi. Bacteria were grown on trypticase soy broth and two Newzealand wistar white rabbit were immunized subcutaneously with purified capsular polysaccharide (CPS) of K.pneumoniae. Specificity of hyper immune sera raised against CPS was tested by counter current immunoelectrophoresis. We have generated four monoclonal antibodies, out of which two IgM producing clones (KP-1 & KP-2) and hyper immune sera against CPS antigen were used for agglutination test. KP-1, KP-2 and CPS hyperimmune sera showed different reactions. Out of the twenty biochemically confirmed K.pneumoniae clinical isolates, hyperimmune sera to CPS detected sixteen as positive whereas KP-1 reacted to eleven and KP-2 to thirteen of these isolates. One clinical Klebsiella species biochemically negative for K.pneumoniae and other Enterobacteriaceae organisms were negative by agglutination test to all the three antibody reagents. K.aerogenes, however, reacted to KP-2 and CPS hyperimmune sera. Standard K.pneumoniae was positive to all the three antibodies. The rapidity and ease of performance merited the hyper immune sera to CPS and IgM monoclonal antibody based agglutination test as the preliminary identification system for K.pneumoniae. Keywords-Klebsiella pneumoniae; monoclonal antibodies; CPS; diagnostic method.
Does professional advice influence aspirin use to prevent heart disease in an HMO population?

OBJECTIVE Aspirin use seems to reduce coronary artery disease events in some groups of patients. Factors associated with use of aspirin to prevent heart disease in an HMO population were examined. DESIGN A population-based survey. SETTING A large HMO in the midwestern United States. PARTICIPANTS 8000 health plan members 40 years of age and older. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The survey assessed use of aspirin, professional advice to use aspirin, and coronary heart disease risk factors and status. The sample was stratified by whether members had none, one, or more than one of the following chronic conditions: diabetes, hypertension, lipid disorder, or heart disease. The mailed survey had a corrected response rate of 82.4%. RESULTS Overall, 38% of respondents reported using aspirin at least three times a week to prevent heart disease. Aspirin use did not vary in owned versus contracted clinics. Aspirin use was 71.3% in patients with and 27.7% in patients without diagnosed coronary heart disease (P < 0.001). In logistic regression models, professional advice to take aspirin was strongly associated with self-reported use of aspirin (odds ratio, 13.86) (P < 0.001) after adjustment for age, sex, level of education, and chronic disease status. CONCLUSIONS Aspirin is widely used by HMO members with coronary artery disease to prevent subsequent coronary artery disease events. Professional advice to use aspirin seems to be strongly related to aspirin use.
Somatically mutated B cell pool provides precursors for insulin antibodies.

Antibodies to insulin are products of autoreactive B lymphocytes that escape inactivation or clonal deletion and are examples of "clonal ignorance. " To understand the genetic origin of Abs from clonally ignorant B cells, the roles of somatic mutation and germ-line V(H) structures were examined for two murine IgG1 mAb that bind human and rodent insulin. Engineered mAb constructs that express germ-line or mutated V(H) genes show that somatic mutations introducing aspartic acid in or adjacent to CDRH2 play a key role in insulin binding. When either of the two anti-insulin V(H) regions is returned to its germ-line (unmutated) sequence, neither mAb binds insulin and the germ-line-encoded mAb are not polyreactive. Reconstruction of the somatic evolution of insulin binding in both mAbs shows that a single mutation in CDRH2 is sufficient to generate anti-insulin activity from a nonbinding precursor. When the role of somatic mutation in the binding of rodent insulin is examined, autoreactivity is associated with single mutations in both Abs. Together these findings indicate that, despite a low mutation frequency, IgG insulin Abs may not be derived directly from germ-line (unmutated) precursors. The requirement for somatic mutation as a prerequisite for measurable insulin binding suggests these Abs have their origin in a previously mutated B cell pool as a consequence of the individual's immune history. Low avidity interaction with endogenous insulin may play a role in selection of these B cells and contribute to the origin of clonal ignorance.
Nonmelanoma skin cancer is associated with reduced Alzheimer disease risk

Objective: To explore the association of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and Alzheimer disease (AD) in the Einstein Aging Study, an epidemiologic study of aging in New York City. Methods: Community-residing volunteers aged 70 years or older were assessed annually, followed by multidisciplinary diagnostic consensus. Cancer status and type was obtained by self-report. Cox proportional hazards models were used to test associations between NMSC and subsequent risk of developing a neurocognitive disorder. To deduce a biologically specific association between AD and NMSC, we considered 3 nested outcomes groups: only AD (probable or possible AD as the sole diagnosis), any AD (probable AD or possible AD, as well as mixed AD/vascular dementia), and all-cause dementia. Results: We followed 1,102 adults with a mean age of 79 years at enrollment. Prevalent NMSC was associated with reduced risk of only AD (hazard ratio = 0.21; 95% confidence interval = 0.051–0.87; p = 0.031) among subjects after adjustment for demographics, hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. APOE ε4 genotypes were available in 769 individuals. The association was similar in magnitude, but nonsignificant, when the number of APOE ε4 alleles was included in the model. No significant association was found between NMSC and subsequent development of any AD or all-cause dementia. Conclusions: This population-based longitudinal study shows that individuals older than 70 years with NMSC have a significantly reduced risk of developing AD compared with individuals without NMSC. We deduce Alzheimer-specific neuroprotection, because the effect is attenuated or eliminated when considering less-specific diagnoses such as AD with another diagnosis (any AD) or all-cause dementia.
Left atrial to aortic root indices using two-dimensional and M-mode echocardiography in cavalier King Charles spaniels with and without left atrial enlargement.

Two-dimensional (2-D) echocardiographic measurement of the left atrium (LA) has the potential to be more accurate than the standard M-mode method, because the LA body can be measured. We evaluated a 2-D method for measuring LA and aorta (AO) in a right parasternal short-axis view and compared it to the M-mode method. An index for LA size (LA/AO) was calculated in 166 cavalier King Charles spaniels, 56 normal and 110 dogs with mitral regurgitation (MR) of varying degrees secondary to chronic valvular disease. In normal dogs, the AO-2-D and LA/AO-2-D did not correlate to body weight (BW) or BW2; whereas, all M-mode values and the LA-2-D were significantly (p < .05) related to both BW parameters. In normal dogs, there was no difference between M-mode and 2-D indices. For all dogs (normal and dogs with MR) there was an 11% bias between the M-mode and 2-D index with the LA/AO-2-D being higher than the LA/AO-M. The association between the mean and the difference of the indices demonstrated a quadratic relationship. Dogs with a mean LA/AO of 2.0-2.5 showed the largest difference between the two indices. Small values for the 2-D coefficients of variation for respiration and stage of diastole were found; 3.4 and 3.1%, respectively. The 2-D index is more sensitive to LA enlargement than the M-mode index.
Verbal list learning and memory profiles in HIV-infected adults, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease: An evaluation of the “cortical hypothesis” of NeuroAIDS

ABSTRACT HIV+ population is getting older because of progress in treatments. Yet, there are concerns that Older HIV+ individuals (OHIV+) may be more vulnerable for developing a “cortical” dementia such as Alzheimer Disease (AD). Our aim was to explore the hypothesis that the cognitive deficit extends to ‘‘cortical’’ functions in OHIV+ by comparing serial position effects (SPE) in different groups of participants affected by “cortical” or “subcortical” damage. We enrolled a total of 122 subjects: 22 OHIV+ (≥60 years of age), 31 Younger HIV+ (YHIV+) (<60 years of age), 18 participants with AD, 23 subjects with Parkinson Disease (PD), and 28 healthy subjects. All subjects performed verbal learning tasks (VLT) to explore SPE. Factorial analysis of covariance showed a significant effect of “group” (p < 0.001) and “task” (Primacy vs Recency) (p < 0.001), but no significant group*task (p = 0.257) interaction. Compared with healthy subjects (p = 0.003), AD had the most severe reduction of Primacy, confirming a primary “encoding deficit,” while PD confirmed a “frontal pattern. ” OHIV+ showed a memory profile similar to that of PD with a worsening of the cognitive performance in comparison with YHIV+. In conclusion, we did not confirm the “cortical” hypothesis in OHIV+, at least in terms of learning and memory functions.
Performance comparison of supervised and unsupervised equalization algorithms for frequency selective channels

Adaptive equalization are mostly used in every wireless communication systems because the wireless channel is very unpredictable and time varying in nature. This fast randomly changing channel creates many issues in wireless communication system e.g. inter symbol interference (ISI) which degrade the overall performance of wireless communication system. To mitigate these types of channel affects, adaptive algorithms are the most powerful signal processing tool which helps in the removal of ISI. In this paper we compare the performance analysis of supervised/training based equalization and unsupervised/blind equalization algorithms for a wireless communication channel having exponentially decaying power delay profile (PDP). The algorithms selected for comparison are least mean square (LMS), recursive least square (RLS), Multimodulus algorithm (MMA) and Square Contour algorithm (SCA) respectively. The performance measuring parameters are ISI and bit error rate (BER). It is observed that training based equalization algorithms i.e LMS and RLS perform efficiently in terms of removal of ISI as compared to blind equalization algorithms i.e MMA and SCA respectively. The training based algorithms tends to converge at very fast rate as compared to blind algorithms and hence suitable for fast fading channels but with the cost of additional bandwidth required for training. The blind algorithms show more computational complexity as compared to training based algorithms. Achieving the same performance level in terms of BER, an SNR loss of 7 dB is noted if we use blind algorithms instead of training based algorithms.