Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of MYCN Amplification and 1p Deletion in Neuroblastomas with High Tumor Vascularity

The biologic behavior of neuroblastoma (NB) is extremely variable; therefore, the clinical behavior may be reliably predicted based on the analysis of a panel of prognostic parameters. High vascular density has been correlated with aggressive tumor progression in many types of cancers. The goal of this study was to correlate the tumor vascularity in NB with status of MYCN and the short arm of chromosome 1 (1p) to address the association between angiogenesis and genetic markers of prognostic significance. The study population consisted of 33 patients with histologically proven diagnosis of primary NB and no history of previous chemotherapy. Histologic quantitation of tumor angiogenesis was performed using 3 different methods: microvessel density, vascular grading, and Chalkley counting. MYCN amplification and 1p deletion were determined by using fluorescence in situ hybridization technique. The differentiation and mitosis-karyorrhexis index of tumor cells were also assessed using the Shimada System. MYCN amplification was present in 12 cases (36.3%), and 1p deletion in 16 (48.5%). Both genetic changes significantly correlated with increased tumor vascularity. In addition, tumor vascularity was significantly increased in tumors with high mitosis-karyorrhexis index or of undifferentiated histology. We conclude that angiogenesis shows close association with histologic and genetic prognosticators in NB. Our data support the validity of recent applications of antiangiogenic agents which interfere or block NB progression.
Bus Based Synchronization Method for CHIPPER Based NoC

Network on Chip NoC reduces the communication delay of System on Chip SoC. The main limitation of NoC is power consumption and area overhead. Bufferless NoC reduces the area complexity and power consumption by eliminating buffers in the traditional routers. The bufferless NoC design should include live lock freeness since they use hot potato routing. This increases the complexity of bufferless NoC design. Among the available propositions to reduce this complexity, CHIPPER based bufferless NoC is considered as one of the best options. Live lock freeness is provided in CHIPPER through golden epoch and golden packet. All routers follow some synchronization method to identify a golden packet. Clock based method is intuitively followed for synchronization in CHIPPER based NoCs. It is shown in this work that the worst-case latency of packets is unbearably high when the above synchronization is followed. To alleviate this problem, broadcast bus NoC BBus NoC approach is proposed in this work. The proposed method decreases the worst-case latency of packets by increasing the golden epoch rate of CHIPPER.
Central Cannulation Through a Standard Left Thoracotomy for Surgery on the Descending Thoracic Aorta

Abstract Surgery on the descending thoracic aorta is often performed with hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass established via the femoral vessels. This, however, produces retrograde flow, which may potentially dislodge atheromatous debris from a diseased descending aorta or results in malperfusion due to cannulation of the false lumen in patients with descending aortic dissection. In view of this, we have described a technique of central cannulation of the ascending aorta and main pulmonary artery, established via a standard left thoracotomy, providing antegrade flow and limiting the cerebral ischemic time.
β‐Amyloid protein converting enzyme 1 and brain‐specific type II membrane protein BRI3: binding partners processed by furin

Using a yeast two‐hybrid system, we screened a human brain cDNA library for possible interacting proteins with the C‐terminal cytosolic tail of the β‐secretase β‐amyloid protein converting enzyme (BACE)1. This identified seven potential candidates, including the brain‐specific type II membrane protein BRI3. Co‐localization and co‐immunoprecipitation experiments confirmed that BACE1 and BRI3 co‐localize and interact with each other via the cytosolic tail of BACE1. Furthermore, pulse and pulse‐chase analyses revealed that the pro‐protein convertases furin, and to a lesser extent PC7 and PC5A, process BRI3 into a C‐terminal secreted ∼ 4‐kDa product. Thus, furin efficiently processes both pro‐BACE1 and its novel interacting protein pro‐BRI3.
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha receptor II polymorphism in patients from southern Europe with mild-moderate and severe rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To define the frequency of the exon 6 tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) receptor II (TNFRII) gene polymorphism in severe and mild-moderate rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its possible influence on anti-TNF-alpha treatment responsiveness. METHODS Two cohorts of patients with RA, the first (n = 97) defined as methotrexate responders (MTX-R) with mild-moderate synovitis, and the second (n = 78) defined as nonresponders to combination therapy and receiving anti-TNF-alpha treatment because of their severe and aggressive disease (TNF-T), were studied retrospectively and compared to age, sex, and ethnically matched controls (n = 84). In the prospective study, 66 patients with severe RA were followed over the first 6 months of anti-TNF-alpha therapy and their response was examined according to genotype. RESULTS We observed a trend towards an increased frequency of the GG genotype in patients with severe RA (6.4%) in comparison with patients with mild-moderate disease (3.1%) and controls (1.2%). When looking at the response to anti-TNF-alpha therapy, we observed that after 12 weeks of treatment, 37.8% of the TT versus 10.7% of the TG/GG patients passed from high to medium-low disease activity (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION In our cohorts of patients selected by response to the conventional therapy and by disease severity, our preliminary study results showed a trend towards a higher prevalence of the GG genotype for the exon 6 TNFRII polymorphism in the less responsive patients with more aggressive disease. We also found a lower degree of response to anti-TNF-alpha treatments in patients carrying the G allele.
Failure to fully disclose during pretransplant psychological evaluation in alcoholic liver disease: A driving under the influence corroboration study

The prevention of recidivism in alcoholic liver disease is one of the aims of pretransplant psychological evaluation (PE). Failure to fully disclose the extent of alcohol use is evidence of ongoing alcoholism. Driving under the influence (DUI) represents objective evidence of alcohol abuse, but verifying DUIs through official records is not standard during PE. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was failure to fully disclose alcohol abuse on the part of patients on the basis of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) DUI rate. Demographics, alcohol abuse/abstinence history, and DUIs admitted by the patient on PE were collected for 82 alcoholic patients with cirrhosis. The DOT was queried for DUIs before PE for all patients. Discrepancies between PE and DOT DUI numbers were evaluated and re‐presented to the psychologist without identifiers. Psychosocial recommendation was then evaluated in light of DOT/PE DUI discrepancies. Six patients did not drive. The remaining 76 had 29 ± 8 years of alcohol abuse and reported sobriety for 55 ± 64 months before PE. Eighteen DUIs that were not originally admitted were discovered; 63% of DUIs occurred in the period during which patients claimed to be sober. Two patients had been rejected for transplant for other causes. Re‐presenting the case to the psychologist with the new knowledge of DUIs would have prevented transplant clearance for the remaining 16 (21%, P = 0.000005 versus prior PE). In conclusion, official DUI records in prospective transplant candidates may identify patients who do not fully disclose the extent of their alcohol abuse and may be at risk for adverse outcomes. Liver Transpl 14:1632–1636, 2008. © 2008 AASLD.
Systematic Design of Pipelined Recursive Filters

Systematic design of pipelined recursive filters is presented. The procedure is based on a multiplication algorithm which generates the result with most significant digit first. Since the latency of such a multiplier is low, a reduced number of pipelining delays may be introduced in the reduction loop, resulting in a high sampling rate. The implementation obtained exhibits minimum hardware and ensures minimum latency. It is shown that its flexibility allows, on one hand, the ability to choose freely the number system radix and, on the other hand, the interleaving of two multiplier arrays into one. This is illustrated by the realization of a second-order all-pole filter, operating in a radix-4 representation and using only one array to perform two multiplications. In this way, long interconnections are avoided and denser and more regular layout is achieved. It turns out that the design procedure can also be applied successfully to various types of realization where multiplications are required. >
TGF-β1 Induces Preferential Rapid Expansion and Persistence of Tumor Antigen-specific CD8+ T Cells for Adoptive Immunotherapy

Adoptive cell transfer of expanded, autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) into lymphodepleted melanoma patients can induce the regression of bulky, metastatic disease. To generate the large numbers of T cells needed for infusion, TIL undergo a rapid expansion protocol (REP) in vitro using anti-CD3 antibody, interleukin-2, and irradiated peripheral blood feeder cells that typically results in an approximately 1000-fold expansion over 14 days. However, we have found that the conventional REP (C-REP) often favors the expansion of CD4+ T cells at the expense of tumor antigen-specific CD8+ T cells, which are the most potent cytolytic effector cells. In this study, we demonstrate that addition of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 to the TIL culture at the onset of rapid expansion (T-REP ) maintained the percentage of CD8+ T cells while not inhibiting overall T-cell expansion. Of T cells expanded from different melanoma patient tumors, 13 of 15 TIL demonstrated improved yields and percentages of both CD8+ and MART-1 melanoma antigen-specific T cells after 14 days of expansion in TGF-β1 compared with the C-REP. This was associated with a marked improvement in the antitumor activity of the resulting bulk TIL culture in terms of interferon-γ production and melanoma tumor-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte activity. In addition, T-REP T cells demonstrated a higher potential for continued expansion in vitro for up to 3 weeks after the expansion compared with C-REP T cells, suggesting that they may also be capable of increased persistence after adoptive cell transfer. Our results suggest that TGF-β1-expanded TIL have attributes that might predict efficacy superior to that of conventional TIL.
Function and diagnostic value of Anosmin‐1 in gastric cancer progression

Gastric cancer (GC) is a major global health problem that urgently requires novel molecular biomarkers for patient stratification as well as therapeutic targets. Anosmin‐1 (ANOS1) gene encodes a cell adhesion molecule that plays diverse roles in multiple malignancies. We performed global expression profiling of GC cell lines and small interfering RNA (siRNA) experiments to determine the effect of ANOS1 expression on phenotype. We evaluated the association of ANOS1 mRNA and protein levels in patients’ tissue and sera with clinicopathological factors of GC subtypes. Differential expression of ANOS1 mRNA by GC cell lines correlated positively to levels of ITGAV, FOXC2 and NODAL mRNAs and inversely with those of TFPI2. Inhibiting ANOS1 expression decreased the proliferation, invasion and migration of GC cells. The mean level of ANOS1 mRNA was significantly higher in 237 GC tissues compared with the corresponding noncancerous adjacent tissues. Elevated ANOS1 levels associated significantly with the phenotypes of GC, shorter disease‐free and overall survival. ANOS1 expression was a more significant prognostic marker for diffuse and distal nondiffuse GC. ANOS1 concentrations in sera increased sequentially in sera of healthy subjects, localized GC and disseminated GCs. Prognosis was worse for patients with preoperative serum ANOS1 ≥600 pg/ml compared with those with <600 pg/ml. ANOS1 may represent a biomarker for GC phenotypes and as a target for therapy.
Visual decomposition of UML 2.0 interactions

Interaction Fragment model (IF) is a specific notion added in Unified Modeling Language (UML) 2.0 superstructures. Using the graphical notation, it can be used to represent the behavioral aspect of a system in a given scenario. Transforming such models, at early stages, requires the identification of elementary elements and their chronology. In this paper, we propose a visual and intuitive solution to identify and isolate each of which of graphical components while preserving the initial control flow. To that end, we suggest a reusable graph grammar to establish and update the control flow leading to a decomposed interaction. Our proposal can be used as first step to each transformation process whose having an UML 2.0 interaction as a source model.
Dying trajectories in heart failure

Objectives: To explore dying trajectories in heart failure. Design: Prospective, longitudinal study. Setting: Sixteen GP surgeries in four demographically contrasting areas of the UK. Participants: A total of 27 heart failure patients, >60 years of age, who completed questionnaires for at least five time-points before death. Main outcome measures: Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Physical Limitation Scale. Results: No ‘typical’ dying trajectory could be identified, and only a minority of patients conformed to the theoretical trajectory of dying in heart failure. Conclusions: This study provides the first prospective data regarding physical decline prior to death in heart failure. Findings challenge current efforts to plan and deliver palliative care services on the basis of the theoretical heart failure dying trajectory.
Hitter interface A The initial design of Tapper Metaphor : Xylophone B The new design of Tapper Metaphor : Piano Scaffolding

Composition, listening, and performance are essential activities in classroom music education, yet conventional music classes impose unnecessary limitations on students’ ability to develop these skills. Based on in-depth fieldwork and a user-centered design approach, we created MOGCLASS, a multimodal collaborative music environment that enhances students’ musical experience and improves teachers’ management of the classroom. We conducted a two-round system evaluation to improve the prototype and evaluate the system: Improvements were made based on the results from an iterative design evaluation, in which a trial system was implemented. The system then underwent a second round of evaluation through a three-week between-subject controlled experiment in a local primary school. Results showed that MOGCLASS is effective in motivating students to learn music, improving the way they collaborate with other students as well as helping teachers manage the classroom. ACM Classification
Principle of Pulsed-Interrogation Automatic Cavity Tuning for the ACES Hydrogen Maser

The output frequency of the Space Hydrogen Maser (SHM) developed by the Observatoire de Neuchatel (ON) as reference clock in the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) experiment on-board of the International Space Station (ISS) shall guarantee a relative long-term frequency stability of sigmay(10000s) = 1.5ldr10-15. For this purpose, its microwave cavity resonance frequency is to be actively stabilized at 0.1-Hz level, in order to compensate for the cavity pulling effect. The associated electronics developed by ON uses a novel Pulsed-Interrogation Automatic Cavity Tuning (PI-ACT) principle. Details of the design and performance results of the ACT shown on a laboratory demonstrator are given.
The empirical research of the relationship between organizational culture integration, trust and efficiency of Firm Networks

Efficiency of Firm Networks is receiving an increasing attention since the past decade. However, the alliance performance controlled by the non-contract mechanisms, such as organizational culture integration and trust within partners, is empirically largely unknown. This research investigates the relationship between organizational culture integration, trust and efficiency of firm networks in China. In the survey, 5 latent variables and 17 observed variables are conducted in structural equation model (SEM). It finds that trust within partners significantly contributes to efficiency of firm networks on reducing the transaction cost, knowledge sharing and complementary resources. Moreover, organizational culture integration influences on the efficiency of firm networks through trust within partners which is a mediating variable. Furthermore, the implications for alliance managers are also discussed.
Robust remote tracking control with partly quantized information and packed-dropout

This paper mainly discusses the remote tracking problem with partly quantized information and packet-dropout. Since the network exists between the remote plant and the local plant, any information transmitted between each other will experience the quantization errors and may be lost. In this situation, the controller of the local system needs to consider both the exact local information and the inaccurate remote information. A state feedback controller is adopted and the theorems to design such controller are given in terms of bilinear matrix inequalities (BMIs). Moreover, an algorithm is proposed and these BMIs are converted into a convex optimization problem. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated by a simulation example.
Üniversite Öğrencilerinde Uyku Kalitesi Ve Yorgunluk

Calisma Kirklareli universitesinde ogrenim goren ogrencilerde uyku kalitesi, yorgunluk ve bunlarla iliskili faktorleri belirlemek amaciyla tanimlayici olarak yapildi. Calisma 1-15 Nisan 2011 tarihleri arasinda Saglik Yuksekokulu, Teknik Bilimler Meslek Yuksekokulu, Sosyal Bilimler Meslek Yuksekokulu, Fen Edebiyat Fakultesi, Saglik Hizmetleri Meslek Yuksekokulu, Iktisadi Idari Bilimler Fakultesi’nde ogrenim goren 558 ogrenci uzerinde yapildi. Veriler arastirmacilar tarafindan hazirlanan sosyodemografik ozellikleri sorgulama formu, Pittsburgh Uyku Kalitesi Indeksi (PUKI), Piper Yorgunluk Olcegi (PYO) ile toplandi. Ogrencilerin PUKI puan ortalamasi 6.9+2.4; PYO puan ortalamasi ise 4.3+2.2’dir. Ogrencilerin %69.5’inin PUKI puan ortalamasi 5 ve altindadir. Teknik Bilimler MYO ve Sosyal Bilimler MYO ogrencilerinin uyku kalitesi en kotu duzeyde iken, Iktisadi Idari Bilimler Fakultesi ve Saglik Hizmetleri MYO’da ogrenim goren ogrencilerin uyku kalitesi en iyi duzeydedir. Kronik hastaligi olanlarda, sigara icenlerde, her gun ayni saatte yatmayanlarda uyku kalitesi kotudur. Teknik Bilimler MYO ve Sosyal Bilimler MYO ogrencilerinin yorgunlugu en fazla iken, Saglik Hizmetleri MYO ve Fen Edebiyat Fakultesinde ogrenim goren ogrencilerin yorgunlugu en az duzeydedir. Sigara icenler ve su anda bir isyerinde calisanlar daha fazla yorgunluk deneyimlemektedir. Bu sonuclar dogrultusunda Teknik Bilimler MYO ve Sosyal Bilimler MYO ogrencilerinin uyku kalitelerini arttirmak ve yorgunluklarini azaltmak icin girisimlerde bulunulmasi; ogrencilerin uyku kalitesini arttirmak icin, kronik hastaligi olanlarin etkin sekilde tedavi edilmesi, sigaranin azaltilmasi/birakilmasi, her gun ayni saatte yatmaya yonelik girisimlerin planlanmasi onerilmektedir. Yine ogrencilerin yorgunlugunu azaltmak icin sigara icilmemesine ve bir is yerinde calisanlarin duzenli dinlenmesine yonelik girisimlerde bulunulmasi onerilmektedir
Tracing student learning process in mixed-initiative learning environments

While traditional learning assessment pedagogical methods adequately evaluate student coursework deliverables, active tracking of students' learning process presents an abundance of insight as to each individual habits, styles, and highlight areas of difficulty throughout the learning experience. This paper outlines the basis for two active iCore projects, MILE and MI-Writer currently undertaken by researchers at Athabasca University in the area of mixed-initiative interactions.
Improved skeletal muscle performance after individualized exercise training in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND In addition to the respiratory limitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), skeletal muscle abnormalities may occur and contribute to the exercise intolerance. This study assessed the ability of the skeletal muscle of patients with COPD to adapt to individualized exercise training at the gas exchange threshold (GET) METHODS: Fourteen patients (8 in a training group and 6 controls) performed the following exercise tests before and after a 3-week training period: an incremental exercise test, maximal voluntary contraction of the quadriceps, and three endurance tests consisting of dynamic contractions of the quadriceps until exhaustion. These endurance tests, characterized by three different power outputs, were used to determine muscle limit times and critical power. RESULTS The results showed that training increased exercise tolerance (+11% for symptom limited peak oxygen consumption (VO2 sl], P < 0.05), maximum voluntary contraction (+8%, P < 0.05), limit times (from +45% to +161%, P < 0.05) and critical power (+39%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate greater muscle strength and endurance after training in COPD patients and suggest better muscular recruitment and improved oxidative capacity in the exercising muscles. The sharp differences in the magnitude of VO2 sl and limit times suggest that the kinetics of peripheral and central changes in response to training are different. In conclusion, peripheral muscle performance can be increased rapidly in response to an individualized training program at the GET in COPD patients.
Maternal western diet primes non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease in adult mouse offspring

Metabolic programming via components of the maternal diet during gestation may play a role in the development of different aspects of the metabolic syndrome. Using a mouse model, we aimed to characterize the role of maternal western‐type diet in the development of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the offspring.
Bioestimulación facial con plasma rico en plaquetas

RESUMEN Fundamento: la bioestimulacion facial con plasma rico en plaquetas es un metodo actual de rejuvenecimiento facial que entra dentro de las terapias regenerativas. Objetivo: mostrar el papel principal de la bioestimulacion como metodo positivo en las caracteristicas de la piel facial. Metodos: se realizo una revision bibliografica de un total de 140 articulos originales publicados en Pubmed, Medline, Scielo y Google academico en los idiomas ingles y espanol mediante el gestor de referencias bibliograficas Endnote x9, de ellos se utilizaron 48 citas seleccionadas para realizar la revision. Desarrollo: el envejecimiento es un proceso muy complejo, donde el envejecimiento cutaneo es una de sus manifestaciones mas evidentes, por lo que el cirujano plastico busca constantemente formas de lograr atenuar este proceso, una de estas alternativas es la infiltracion facial con plasma rico en plaquetas. Se describe la tecnica de procesamiento de la sangre para obtener el plasma rico en plaquetas y el metodo empleado para la bioestimulacion facial. Indicaciones y contraindicaciones del proceder. Conclusiones: la bioestimulacion facial con plasma rico en plaquetas es un metodo sencillo, libre de complicaciones dado que se trabaja con material autologo, mediante el cual se logran cambios positivos en la piel.