Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Symptom clusters in patients with cancer with metastatic bone pain.

PURPOSE The primary objective was to explore how patients' worst pain clustered together with functional interference items. Secondary objectives were to determine whether symptom clusters change with palliative radiotherapy (RT) and to compare the difference between responders and nonresponders to radiation. MATERIALS/METHODS Worst pain at the site of treatment and functional interference scores were assessed using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). Patients provided their scores at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks post-RT. A principal component analysis was performed on the 8 items (worst pain and 7 functional interference items) at all time points to determine interrelationships between symptoms. Principal components with an eigenvalue higher than 0.90 and explaining more than 10% of the variance were selected. The Cronbach alpha statistic was used to estimate the internal consistency and reliability of the derived clusters at baseline and at subsequent follow-ups. Robust relationship and correlation among symptoms were displayed with a biplot graphic. RESULTS From May 2003 to January 2007, 348 patients with bone metastases that were referred for palliative RT were accrued into the study. There were 206 males (59%) and 142 females (41%), with a median age of 68 years (range, 30-91). Lung (26%), breast (25%) and prostate (24%) were the most common primary cancer sites. Treatment ranged from single to multiple fractions, with the majority of patients receiving a single 8 Gy (58%) and 20 Gy/5 (35%). The most prevalent sites of RT were spine (31%), pelvis (16%), and hips (15%). Two symptom clusters were identified. Cluster 1 included walking ability, general activity, normal work, enjoyment of life and worst pain. Cluster 2 included relations with others, mood and sleep. The two clusters at baseline accounted for 67% of the total variance with a Cronbach alpha of 0.87 and 0.70, respectively. In responders to radiation treatment, the two symptom clusters disintegrated at 4, 8, and 12 weeks post-RT. All symptom severity items improved over time (p < 0.0001). In nonresponders, two clusters had disappeared at week 4, reemerged at week 8, and disintegrated at week 12. CONCLUSION Symptom clustering has proved to be therapeutically important because treatment of one symptom may affect others within the same cluster. The significant correlations between worst pain and the functional interference items reaffirm the importance of pain reduction as a treatment goal for palliative radiotherapy. By treating a patient's symptom of worst pain, it would subsequently ease their response burden on their daily functional activities by decreasing symptom severity, increasing function, and improving overall quality of life.
Children with speech, language and communication needs: their perceptions of their quality of life.

BACKGROUND This study is part of a programme of research aiming to develop a quantitative measure of quality of life for children with communication needs. It builds on the preliminary findings of Markham and Dean ( 2006 ), which described some of the perception's parents and carers of children with speech language and communication needs had regarding children's experience of quality of life. However, this earlier study did not observe and evaluate the perceptions of children themselves and consequently left a vital gap in the evidence. The study reported here seeks to address this by describing the quality of life experiences reported by children and young people themselves. AIMS The study aimed to provide a qualitative, child-centred, description of the quality of life experiences of children and young people with speech language and communication needs. METHODS & PROCEDURES The study used a qualitative methodology to provide a credible and thick description of the quality of life experiences of children and young people with speech language and communication needs. Children and young people participating in the study were selected to represent a range of speech and language pathologies, according to their capacity to comprehend and participate within the data-collection activities. A modified focus group technique was used as a method of data collection and data were analysed according to the principles of Grounded Theory and Framework analysis. OUTCOMES & RESULTS Seven focus group interviews were conducted with a range of children and young people in full-time education and in receipt of speech and language therapy. The data showed a number of key themes regarding children's quality of life experiences. These themes ranged from the participant's perceptions of what improves their daily lives to the difficulties they experience and consequently the negative impacts perceived on their quality of life. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS This study illuminates the quality of life experiences of children with speech language and communication needs. The findings are of direct benefit to clinicians, researchers, and policy-makers alike as they broaden the understanding of children's speech and language difficulties. Despite the potential bias inherent in qualitative research with children, the findings provide support for the development of a quality of life scale for children with speech language and communication needs. Such an outcome measure would enable clinicians and researchers to quantify children's quality of life, thereby broadening the range of clinical outcomes available.
Database resources of the National Center for Biotechnology

In addition to maintaining the GenBank(R) nucleic acid sequence database, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) provides data analysis and retrieval resources for the data in GenBank and other biological data made available through NCBI's Web site. NCBI resources include Entrez, PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), LocusLink, the NCBITaxonomy Browser, BLAST, BLAST Link (BLink), Electronic PCR (e-PCR), Open Reading Frame (ORF) Finder, References Sequence (RefSeq), UniGene, HomoloGene, ProtEST, Database of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (dbSNP), Human/Mouse Homology Map, Cancer Chromosome Aberration Project (CCAP), Entrez Genomes and related tools, the Map Viewer, Model Maker (MM), Evidence Viewer (EV), Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COGs) database, Retroviral Genotyping Tools, SAGEmap, Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), the Molecular Modeling Database (MMDB), the Conserved Domain Database (CDD), and the Conserved Domain Architecture Retrieval Tool (CDART). Augmenting many of the Web applications are custom implementations of the BLAST program optimized to search specialized data sets. All of the resources can be accessed through the NCBI home page at: http://www.ncbi. nlm.nih. gov.
A 25-Amino Acid Sequence of the Arabidopsis TGD2 Protein Is Sufficient for Specific Binding of Phosphatidic Acid*

Genetic analysis suggests that the TGD2 protein of Arabidopsis is required for the biosynthesis of endoplasmic reticulum derived thylakoid lipids. TGD2 is proposed to be the substrate-binding protein of a presumed lipid transporter consisting of the TGD1 (permease) and TGD3 (ATPase) proteins. The TGD1, -2, and -3 proteins are localized in the inner chloroplast envelope membrane. TGD2 appears to be anchored with an N-terminal membrane-spanning domain into the inner envelope membrane, whereas the C-terminal domain faces the intermembrane space. It was previously shown that the C-terminal domain of TGD2 binds phosphatidic acid (PtdOH). To investigate the PtdOH binding site of TGD2 in detail, the C-terminal domain of the TGD2 sequence lacking the transit peptide and transmembrane sequences was fused to the C terminus of the Discosoma sp. red fluorescent protein (DR). This greatly improved the solubility of the resulting DR-TGD2C fusion protein following production in Escherichia coli. The DR-TGD2C protein bound PtdOH with high specificity, as demonstrated by membrane lipid-protein overlay and liposome association assays. Internal deletion and truncation mutagenesis identified a previously undescribed minimal 25-amino acid fragment in the C-terminal domain of TGD2 that is sufficient for PtdOH binding. Binding characteristics of this 25-mer were distinctly different from those of TGD2C, suggesting that additional sequences of TGD2 providing the proper context for this 25-mer are needed for wild type-like PtdOH binding.
Mining Large-Scale Retail Data

Understanding customer buying patterns is of great interest in the retail industry. Applications include targeted advertising, optimized product placement, and cross-promotions. Association rules, expressed as A → B (if A then B) are a common and easily understandable ways to represent buying patterns. While the problem of mining such rules has received considerable attention over the past years, most of the approaches proposed have only be evaluated on relatively small datasets, and struggle at large scale. In the context of the Datalyse project 1, Intermarché, our industrial partner, has given us access to 2 years of sales data: 3.5B sales records, 300M tickets, 9M customers, 200k products. This constitutes an opportunity to re-visit the problem association rules mining in the context of “big data”. In the remainder of this paper, I will first give an overview of our work on designing mining algorithms adapted to long-tailed datasets. Then, I will describe our evaluation of quality measures for ranking association rules. Finally, I will present the systems architecture deployed to apply mining in production at Intermarché.
Re-optimizing the embedding of Virtual Infrastructures

Today, in the cloud computing context, the network is starting to arise as a true resource itself and not just as a required connectivity add-on. The ability to define network resources (e.g. routing/switching elements, bandwidth) in this context is still scarce, but there are clear evidences that this is a future reality. In this article, we consider that cloud infrastructure services will allow the definition of complete infrastructures, to which we refer as Virtual Infrastructures (VIs). These VIs comprise computing, storage and network resources. This article specifically tackles the VI embedding problem, which is known to be NP-hard. Having in mind this fact, different embedding strategies based on Integer Linear Programming (ILP) formulation are presented. The problem is addressed by proposing strategies that target load balancing and energy consumption of physical resources along with re-optimization strategies. A thorough evaluation of the different strategies is performed, studying the VI acceptance ratio, physical infrastructure energy consumption, and the impact of reconfigurations. Results show that there is a clear tradeoff between improving the VI acceptance ratio and reducing the physical infrastructure usage without allowing re-optimizations. We study in-depth different ways of combined strategies.
Differentiation of equine induced pluripotent stem cells into a keratinocyte lineage.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Skin trauma in horses often leads to the development of chronic nonhealing wounds that lack a keratinocyte cover, vital for healing. Reports in mouse and man confirm the possibility of generating functional keratinocytes from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), thus presenting myriad potential applications for wound management or treatment of skin disease. Similarly, differentiation of equine iPSC (eiPSC) into a keratinocyte lineage should provide opportunities for the advancement of veterinary regenerative medicine. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient method for the differentiation of eiPSC into a keratinocyte lineage. It was hypothesised that eiPSC can form differentiated keratinocytes (eiPSC-KC) comparable with primary equine keratinocytes (PEK) in their morphological and functional characteristics. STUDY DESIGN Experimental in vitro study. METHODS Equine iPSC established using a nonviral system were treated for 30 days with retinoic acid and bone morphogenetic protein-4 to induce directed differentiation into iPSC-KC. Temporospatial gene and protein expression by eiPSC-KC was measured at weekly intervals of differentiation and in response to calcium switch. Proliferative and migratory capacities of eiPSC-KC were compared with those of PEK. RESULTS Equine iPSC, upon directed differentiation, showed loss of pluripotency genes and progressive increase in pancytokeratin expression indicating ectodermal specification into keratinocytes. High differentiation efficiency was achieved, with 82.5% of eiPSC expressing keratin 14, a marker of epidermal-specific basal stem cells, after 30 days of directed differentiation. Moreover, the proliferative capacity of eiPSC-KC was superior, while the migratory capacity (measured as the ability to epithelise in vitro wounds) was comparable with that of PEK. CONCLUSIONS This proof of concept study suggests that eiPSC can successfully be differentiated into equine keratinocytes (eiPSC-KC) with features that are promising to the development of a stem cell-based skin construct, with the potential to regenerate lost or damaged skin.
EFNS Guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of brain metastases: report of an EFNS Task Force

The objectives have been to establish evidence‐based guidelines and identify controversies regarding the management of patients with brain metastases. The collection of scientific data was obtained by consulting the Cochrane Library, bibliographic databases, overview papers and previous guidelines from scientific societies and organizations. A tissue diagnosis is necessary when the primary tumor is unknown or the aspect on computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging is atypical. Dexamethasone is the corticosteroid of choice for cerebral edema. Anticonvulsants should not be prescribed prophylactically. Surgery should be considered in patients with up to three brain metastases, being effective in prolonging survival when the systemic disease is absent/controlled and the performance status is high. Stereotactic radiosurgery should be considered in patients with metastases of 3–3.5 cm of maximum diameter. Whole‐brain radiotherapy (WBRT) after surgery or radiosurgery is debated: in case of absent/controlled systemic cancer and Karnofsky Performance score of 70 or more, one can either withhold initial WBRT or deliver early WBRT with conventional fractionation to avoid late neurotoxicity. WBRT alone is the treatment of choice for patients with single or multiple brain metastases not amenable to surgery or radiosurgery. Chemotherapy may be the initial treatment for patients with brain metastases from chemosensitive tumors.
${\rm In}_{0.53}{\rm Ga}_{0.47}{\rm As}$  Multiple-Gate Field-Effect Transistors With Selectively Regrown Channels

We report on In<sub>0.53</sub>Ga<sub>0.47</sub>As n-channel multiple-gate field-effect transistors (MuGFETs or FinFETs) with a novel method of selectively regrown lateral (parallel to substrate) nanowires as channels. The device exhibits a minimum subthreshold slope of 85 mV/decade and drain-induced barrier lowering of 88 mV/V at V<sub>DS</sub>=0.05 V and L<sub>G</sub>=200 nm. At V<sub>DS</sub>=0.5 V, g<sub>m,max</sub>=1.67 mS/μm is achieved (L<sub>G</sub>=32 nm). The extrapolated cutoff frequency f<sub>T</sub> of 210 GHz and the maximum oscillation frequency f<sub>max</sub> of 250 GHz are the highest of any reported III-V multiple-gate MOSFET.
Different Molecular Constituents in Pheomelanin are Responsible for Emission, Transient Absorption and Oxygen Photoconsumption †

Steady‐state absorption and emission spectroscopies, oxygen activation and transient spectroscopy on a single sample of synthetic pheomelanin are compared. The absorption, emission and excitation spectra of pheomelanin depend on the molecular weight (MW) of the dissolved pigment constituents. While weakly‐depending on MW, the maximum of the emission excitation spectrum is ∼400 nm. The electron paramagnetic resonance oximetry measurements show a clear increase in oxygen uptake between 338 and 323 nm, and also reveal a local enhancement around ∼370 nm. Pump‐probe absorption spectroscopy reveals that photoexcitation of pheomelanin by UVA light generates a transient absorption peak in the visible and UV regions within the instrument response. The action spectrum for the formation of the 780 nm transient species peaks at ∼360 nm. While both transient absorption bands show the same ultrafast decay component, the 780 nm peak completely vanishes on the 10s of picosecond time scale, but the UV band shows a kinetic evolution to a subsequent intermediate. While in a similar wavelength range, the maximum of the action spectrum derived from the transient data, the emission excitation spectrum and the action spectrum for photoconsumption all differ from one another, suggesting that the chromophore responsible for each is not that same. This raises concern about comparing the results from different photochemical methodologies for melanin, which is a specific case of comparing data on systems where molecular constituents are not well defined.
Distributed bounded-error state estimation based on practical robust positive invariance

We propose a state estimator for linear discrete-time systems composed by coupled subsystems affected by bounded disturbances. The architecture is distributed in the sense that each subsystem is equipped with a local state estimator that exploits suitable pieces of information from parent subsystems. Furthermore, each local estimator reconstructs the state of the corresponding subsystem only. Different from methods based on moving horizon estimation, our approach does not require the online solution to optimisation problems. Our state estimation scheme, which is based on the notion of practical robust positive invariance, also guarantees satisfaction of constraints on local estimation errors and it can be updated with a limited computational effort when subsystems are added or removed.
A cytochemical and cytological study of differentiation in normal and reorganizational stages of Stentor coeruleus

In Stentor coeruleus t h e e iiidepeiitleiit reorganizational processes, i.e., regeneration, physiological rxorgunization, and vegetative division, liave an identical riiorphogenetic end result, namely the differentiation of a new system of peristoniial membranelles. This provides an opportunity to study differences and similarities in reorganizational events with a view to throwing light on the nature and the meclianism of memhranelle differentiation. This paper is a first attempt in this direction. V i t h the chemical morphology of the normal vegetative animal as a frame of reference, cytoclieniical and cptological clianges have been invebtigatccl during tlie three types of reorganization in question, supplemented for comparative piirposes by analogous studies on starvation. Since the chief aim has been an attempt towards elnciclatiori of cytoplasmic differentiation and its niacroiiuclear control. riiicronaclear plienorricria have been largely disregarded.
Small-Scale Variations of Cross-Polar Discrimination in Nakagami-m Fading Channels

In this letter, the small-scale variations of cross-polar discrimination (XPD) are shown to have a generalized Beta prime distribution in Nakagami-m fading channels. Closed-form expressions for the expectation and standard deviation of the XPD are given and the impact of Nakagami-m parameters on the statistical behavior of the XPD is analyzed. The accuracy of the XPD model has been investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. Indoor measurements have been conducted at 2.4 GHz to validate the derived XPD model. The theoretical distribution shows a better fit with the experiment results compared with the conventional XPD model derived in Ricean fading channels.
FOR FOLATE AND VITAMIN B 12 DEFICIENCY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

1Center for Medical Biochemistry, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia 2Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia 3School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia 4Clinic for Lung Diseases, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia 5Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia 6Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
Molecular Evolution of the Porcine Type I Interferon Family: Subtype-Specific Expression and Antiviral Activity

Type I interferons (IFNs), key antiviral cytokines, evolve to adapt with ever-changing viral threats during vertebrate speciation. Due to novel pathogenic pressure associated with Suidae speciation and domestication, porcine IFNs evolutionarily engender both molecular and functional diversification, which have not been well addressed in pigs, an important livestock species and animal model for biomedical sciences. Annotation of current swine genome assembly Sscrofa10.2 reveals 57 functional genes and 16 pseudogenes of type I IFNs. Subfamilies of multiple IFNA, IFNW and porcine-specific IFND genes are separated into four clusters with ∼60 kb intervals within the IFNB/IFNE bordered region in SSC1, and each cluster contains mingled subtypes of IFNA, IFNW and IFND. Further curation of the 57 functional IFN genes indicates that they include 18 potential artifactual duplicates. We performed phylogenetic construction as well as analyses of gene duplication/conversion and natural selection and showed that porcine type I IFN genes have been undergoing active diversification through both gene duplication and conversion. Extensive analyses of the non-coding sequences proximal to all IFN coding regions identified several genomic repetitive elements significantly associated with different IFN subtypes. Family-wide studies further revealed their molecular diversity with respect to differential expression and restrictive activity on the resurgence of a porcine endogenous retrovirus. Based on predicted 3-D structures of representative animal IFNs and inferred activity, we categorized the general functional propensity underlying the structure-activity relationship. Evidence indicates gene expansion of porcine type I IFNs. Genomic repetitive elements that associated with IFN subtypes may serve as molecular signatures of respective IFN subtypes and genomic mechanisms to mediate IFN gene evolution and expression. In summary, the porcine type I IFN profile has been phylogenetically defined family-wide and linked to diverse expression and antiviral activity, which is important information for further biological studies across the porcine type I IFN family.