Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term effects and colectomy rates in ulcerative colitis patients treated with infliximab: A Danish single center experience

Abstract Objective. Infliximab (IFX) is a well-established treatment for both acute, severe ulcerative colitis (UC) and chronic, refractory UC. However, data on the long-term clinical outcome and colectomy rates after IFX treatment in a routine clinical setting are sparse. The aim of this study was to provide further data on the long-term effect of IFX for acute, severe and chronic, refractory UC in unselected patients treated at a single center. Material and Methods. A retrospective analysis of all patients (n = 52) treated with IFX for UC before February 2009 was performed. The material comprised 19 patients (37%) with acute, severe UC and 33 patients (63%) with chronic, refractory UC. The primary outcome was colectomy rate; the secondary outcome clinical response. Results. The overall colectomy rate was 27% (14/52 patients) after a median follow-up of 22 months (range 4–57 months). The colectomy rate was 37% (7/19 patients) in the group with acute, severe UC and 21% (7/33 patients) among those with chronic, refractory UC. In all, 77% of the patients had clinical response to IFX treatment with no difference between the two subgroups. Among those with an initial clinical response, 50% (20/40 patients) had sustained clinical response. Conclusion. IFX is of long-term benefit as rescue treatment in selected patients with acute, severe UC with about two-thirds of the patients avoiding colectomy. The beneficial effect on colectomy rate in chronic, refractory UC seems less convincing although these patients may still achieve a sustained clinical response.
Lack of association of matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3) genotypes with ankylosing spondylitis susceptibility and severity.

OBJECTIVE To study the linkage and association of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) with genotypes for matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3), a gene located at chromosome 11q22.3 and lying within the 101-124 cM region observed in a recent genome-wide scan as a region associated with AS susceptibility. METHODS MMP3 genotypes were examined in 229 pedigrees with AS, 131 sporadic AS cases and 87 Caucasian controls. Eight single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected and genotyped using Taqman. Non-parametric linkage (NPL) analysis was conducted between the eight MMP3 SNPs and AS using the NPL-all statistic and two-point parametric linkage analysis using GeneHunter Plus. Unrelated AS cases and controls were compared using chi2 statistics, and family-based controls using the transmission disequilibrium test and pedigree disequilibrium test. RESULTS None of the eight MMP3 SNPs were significantly associated with AS, either using the 131 sporadic cases alone or in analyses which combined these cases with the 226 unrelated affected AS patients derived from the pedigrees. Analysis of linkage disequilibrium (LD) demonstrated that seven of the eight SNPs studied were in strong LD except for rs626750, which is about 6 kb upstream of the 5' end of the gene. No significant linkage was observed using NPL and LODs in the families. No association was seen of any of the MMP3 SNPs with disease severity (defined by patient functioning), as measured either by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index or the modified Health Assessment Questionnaire. CONCLUSION These data suggest that MMP3 genotypes are not involved in AS susceptibility or severity.
Cytokines and angiogenic factors in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with interferon-alpha: association of pretreatment serum levels with survival.

BACKGROUND To correlate serum cytokine and angiogenic factor (CAF) levels with overall survival (OS) in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) treated with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). PATIENTS AND METHODS Serum CAF levels were measured in 103 patients treated on a randomized trial with IFN-alpha 0.5 million units (MU) twice daily or 5 MU daily. Concentrations of 17 analytes were determined by multiplex bead immunoassays [vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF(A)) and several cytokines] or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (basic fibroblast growth factor). We used proportional hazards models to evaluate the effect of CAF levels and clinical factors on OS. RESULTS Pretreatment serum interleukin (IL) 5, IL-12 p40, VEGF(A), and IL-6 levels and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center risk grouping independently correlated with OS, with hazard ratios of 2.33, 2.00, 2.07, 1.82, and 0.39, respectively (concordance index = 0.69 for the combined model versus 0.60 for the CAF model versus 0.52 for the clinical model). Based on an index derived from these five risk factors (RFs), patients with 0-2 RF had a median OS time of 32 months versus 9 months for patients with 3-5 RF (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Serum CAF profiling contributes to prognostic evaluation in mRCC and helps to identify a subset of patients with 20% 5-year OS.
Effects of Age and Gender on Dichotic Sentence Identification

There is converging evidence that aging causes a progressive decline in the central processing of speech and that this decline is greater for left-ear than for right-ear input. In the present paper we investigated, by means of a dichotic sentence identification paradigm, some parameters of the “left ear effect. ” We analyzed the clinical records of 366 individuals, 203 males and 163 females, to whom the Dichotic Sentence Identification (DSI) Test had been administered as part of routine audiometric assessment. Subjects ranged in age from B to 91 yr. The DSI test was always carried out in two modes: free report (FR) and directed report (DR). In the FR mode the subject reported what was heard in both ears. In the DR mode the subject reported only what was heard in one precued ear. In half of the trials the right ear was precued, in the other half the left ear was precued. Findings confirm a progressively larger right-ear advantage, or left-ear deficit, with increasing age. We document this effect in both the FR and DR modes, then demonstrate that the effects cannot be attributed to interaural asymmetries in threshold sensitivity. Comparison of male and female data suggest a gender difference in the effect of age on the left-ear deficit. Males show a larger effect then females in both modes of test administration. Finally, we propose a model of dichotic listening performance that attempts to explain ear asymmetry as the linear combination of an auditory/ structural component and a task-related/cognitive component. We then show how these hypothetical components change with age in the present sample.
Identification and Mutational Analysis of the Glycosylation Sites of Human Keratin 18 (*)

Keratin polypeptides 8 and 18 (K8/18) are intermediate filament phosphoglycoproteins that are expressed preferentially in glandular epithelia. We previously showed that K8/18 phosphorylation occurs on serine residues and that K8/18 glycosylation consists of O-linked single N-acetylglucosamines (O-GlcNAc) that are linked to Ser/Thr. Since the function of these modifications is unknown, we sought as a first step to identify the precise modification sites and asked if they play a role in keratin filament assembly. For this, we generated a panel of K18 Ser and Thr Ala mutants at potential glycosylation sites followed by expression in a baculovirus-insect cell system. We identified the major glycosylation sites of K18 by comparing the tryptic 3H-glycopeptide pattern of the panel of mutant and wild type K18 expressed in the insect cells with the glycopeptides of K18 in human colonic cells. The identified sites occur on three serines in the head domain of K18. The precise modified residues in human cells were verified using Edman degradation and confirmed further by the lack of glycosylation of a K18 construct that was mutated at the molecularly identified sites then transfected into NIH-3T3 cells. Partial or total K18 glycosylation mutants transfected into mammalian cells manifested nondistinguishable filament assembly to cells transfected with wild type K8/18. Our results show that K18 glycosylation sites share some features with other already identified O-GlcNAc sites and may together help predict glycosylation sites of other intermediate filament proteins.
Predictive factors for technically difficult endoscopic submucosal dissection in the colorectum

Background and study aims: Because of technical difficulty, colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection (CR-ESD) is not widely performed. We aimed to determine risk factors for such technical difficulty as defined by long procedure duration (≥ 150 min), perforation, and piecemeal resection. Patients and methods: Patients with consecutive colorectal tumors treated with ESD between April 2006 and December 2010 were enrolled in a prospective cohort study. For prediction of technical difficulty, three types of factor were investigated: tumor location, tumor type, and colonoscopy-related. Cases were subsequently categorized into earlier and later periods (April 2006 – August 2008, 123 lesions; September 2008 – December 2010, 124 lesions). Variables were analyzed using multiple logistic regression, with subgroup analyses for each period. Results: 247 lesions were analyzed. Flexure location was an independent risk factor for technical difficulty as measured by longer procedure duration (odds ratio [OR] 4.1, 95 % confidence interval [95 %CI] 1.1 – 14.9), piecemeal resection (4.7, 1.1 – 17.2), or perforation (8.8, 1.1 – 56.8). Tumor with scarring or locally recurrent was a risk factor for longer procedure duration (4.7, 1.7 – 13.7), and for piecemeal resection (7.8, 2.4 – 25.0). Tumor of size ≥ 50 mm or spreading across ≥ 2 folds was the strongest independent risk factor for longer duration (6.3, 2.8 – 15.4), and was an independent risk factor for longer duration in both time periods (earlier, 3.3, 1.1 – 10.4; later, 27.4, 7.4 – 138.0). Flexure location was an independent risk factor for perforation (13.9, 1.5 – 129.1) and for piecemeal resection (5.1, 0.9 – 25.2) in the earlier but not the later period. Conclusions: Factors predicting technical difficulty of CR-ESDs were clarified. Their importance was influenced by the increasing experience of the endoscopist.
Fitness cost of resistance to cadmium in the least killifish (Heterandria formosa)

Fitness costs constrain the evolution of resistance to environmental stress in populations. We earlier reported on a rapid response to laboratory selection for cadmium resistance in the least killifish (Heterandria formosa). By the sixth generation, the three selection populations were threefold more resistant to cadmium than the control populations. Here, we report the fitness costs and trade‐offs associated with this evolution of resistance. In the F3 and F4 generations, the selection populations produced smaller‐sized offspring than the control populations. A comprehensive life‐history traits study in the F7 generation showed that the selection populations had, on average, an 18% decrease in fecundity. The selection populations also had a smaller brood size, longer time to first reproduction, and shorter female life expectancy than the control populations. Our results strongly suggest that fitness costs and trade‐offs were associated with the evolution of resistance to cadmium in the least killifish. The fitness costs and trade‐offs may result from maintenance of the underlying resistance mechanisms, leading to changes in resource allocation in the cadmium‐adapted fish.
Altered aminergic neurotransmission in the brain of organic cation transporter 3‐deficient mice

Organic cation transporters (OCTs) are carrier‐type polyspecific permeases known to participate in low‐affinity extraneuronal catecholamine uptake in peripheral tissues. OCT3 is the OCT subtype most represented in the brain, yet its implication in central aminergic neurotransmission in vivo had not been directly demonstrated. In a detailed immunohistochemistry study, we show that OCT3 is expressed in aminergic pathways in the mouse brain, particularly in dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra compacta, non‐aminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra reticulata (SNr), locus coeruleus, hippocampus and cortex. Although OCT3 was found mainly in neurons, it was also occasionally detected in astrocytes in the SNr, hippocampus and several hypothalamic nuclei. In agreement with this distribution, OCT3/Slc22a3‐deficient mice show evidence of altered monoamine neurotransmission in the brain, with decreased intracellular content and increased turnover of aminergic transmitters. The behavioral characterization of these mutants reveal subtle behavioral alterations such as increased sensitivity to psychostimulants and increased levels of anxiety and stress. Altogether our data support a role of OCT3 in the homeostastic regulation of aminergic neurotransmission in the brain.
Present status of amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O thin-film transistors

Abstract The present status and recent research results on amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOSs) and their thin-film transistors (TFTs) are reviewed. AOSs represented by amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O (a-IGZO) are expected to be the channel material of TFTs in next-generation flat-panel displays because a-IGZO TFTs satisfy almost all the requirements for organic light-emitting-diode displays, large and fast liquid crystal and three-dimensional (3D) displays, which cannot be satisfied using conventional silicon and organic TFTs. The major insights of this review are summarized as follows. (i) Most device issues, such as uniformity, long-term stability against bias stress and TFT performance, are solved for a-IGZO TFTs. (ii) A sixth-generation (6G) process is demonstrated for 32″ and 37″ displays. (iii) An 8G sputtering apparatus and a sputtering target have been developed. (iv) The important effect of deep subgap states on illumination instability is revealed. (v) Illumination instability under negative bias has been intensively studied, and some mechanisms are proposed. (vi) Degradation mechanisms are classified into back-channel effects, the creation of traps at an interface and in the gate insulator, and the creation of donor states in annealed a-IGZO TFTs by the Joule heating; the creation of bulk defects should also be considered in the case of unannealed a-IGZO TFTs. (vii) Dense passivation layers improve the stability and photoresponse and are necessary for practical applications. (viii) Sufficient knowledge of electronic structures and electron transport in a-IGZO has been accumulated to construct device simulation models.
Isolation of new temperature‐sensitive mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae deficient in mannose outer chain elongation

We have isolated two temperature‐sensitive Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants which exhibit a deficiency in mannose outer chain elongation of asparagine‐linked oligosaccharide. The size of yeast glycoprotein, secretery form of invertase, of one mutant (ochl) was slightly larger than that of the sec18 mutant at the non‐permissive temperature, while that of the other mutant (och2) was almost the same as that of the sec18 mutant. Unlike sec mutants, the och mutants were not deficient in secretion of invertase. The och1 mutant showed a 2+:2− cosegregation with regard to the temperature sensitivity and mannose outer chain deficiency, suggesting that a single gene designated as OCHI is responsible for these two phenotypes. The och1 mutant stopped its growth at the early stage of bud formation and rapidly lost its viability at the non‐permissive temperature. The och1 mutation was mapped near the ole1 on the left arm of chromosome VII. The och1 mutant cells accumulated the external invertase containing a large amount of core‐like oligosaccharides (Man9–10GlcNAc2) and a small amount of high mannose oligosaccharides (>Man50GlcNAc2) at the non‐permissive temperature. Production of the active form of human tissue‐type plasminogen activator was increased in the och1 mutant compared with the parental strain, suggesting the potential advantage of this mutant for the production of mammalian‐type glycoproteins which lack mannose outer chains in yeast.
Multinomial additive hazard model to assess the disability burden using cross‐sectional data

Population aging is accompanied by the burden of chronic diseases and disability. Chronic diseases are among the main causes of disability, which is associated with poor quality of life and high health care costs in the elderly. The identification of which chronic diseases contribute most to the disability prevalence is important to reduce the burden. Although longitudinal studies can be considered the gold standard to assess the causes of disability, they are costly and often with restricted sample size. Thus, the use of cross‐sectional data under certain assumptions has become a popular alternative. Among the existing methods based on cross‐sectional data, the attribution method, which was originally developed for binary disability outcomes, is an attractive option, as it enables the partition of disability into the additive contribution of chronic diseases, taking into account multimorbidity and that disability can be present even in the absence of disease. In this paper, we propose an extension of the attribution method to multinomial responses, since disability is often measured as a multicategory variable in most surveys, representing different severity levels. The R function constrOptim is used to maximize the multinomial log‐likelihood function subject to a linear inequality constraint. Our simulation study indicates overall good performance of the model, without convergence problems. However, the model must be used with care for populations with low marginal disability probabilities and with high sum of conditional probabilities, especially with small sample size. For illustration, we apply the model to the data of the Belgian Health Interview Surveys.
Analyzing Pre-processing Settings for Urdu Single-document Extractive Summarization

Preprocessing is a preliminary step in many fields including IR and NLP. The effect of basic preprocessing settings on English for text summarization is well-studied. However, there is no such effort found for the Urdu language (with the best of our knowledge). In this study, we analyze the effect of basic preprocessing settings for single-document text summarization for Urdu, on a benchmark corpus using various experiments. The analysis is performed using the state-of-the-art algorithms for extractive summarization and the effect of stopword removal, lemmatization, and stemming is analyzed. Results showed that these pre-processing settings improve the results.
The Influence of Attitudes towards Cycling and Walking on Travel Intentions and Actual Behavior

The design and implementation of effective transport policies to reduce car use in urban areas requires a deep comprehension of the factors that influence travel behavior. In this context, psychological factors play an important role in explaining travel-related decisions. The purpose of this paper is to present a study on the effects of cognitive, affective and behavioral attitudes towards the use of walking and cycling on both intentions and real use of cars, public transport, bicycles, and walking. The data used was obtained from an on-line survey carried out in 2017. Analyses included reliability and validity of the questionnaire, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and structural equation models. Results indicate that cycling and walking are evaluated differently in terms of feelings of freedom, pleasure, and relaxation. Positive evaluation of elements related to past walking behavior are negatively associated to both the intention to walk and actual walking. Transport policies to encourage cycling should be different from those with the aim of promoting walking. Positive attitudes towards walking are not enough to increase real walking.
IL‐8 from Local Subcutaneous Wounds Regulates CD11b Activation

The cellular and soluble mediators of a dermal inflammation can be studied by the skin chamber technique. The aim of this study was to address the physiological effect of soluble mediators, released into the skin chamber, with special focus on neutrophil CD11b activation. Mediators released at the inflammatory site were studied by Milliplex and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and correlated with transmigration and CD11b activation in vivo and in vitro. Transmigration was studied by the skin chamber technique and by the transwell method, and expression of the CBRM1/5 epitope on activated CD11b was analysed by flow cytometry following in vivo and in vitro incubation with chamber fluid or recombinant interleukin‐8 (IL‐8). Leucocyte in vivo and in vitro transmigration both correlated with the concentrations of IL‐1β, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and IL‐8 at P < 0.05 (R > 0.7). Furthermore, CD11b was activated, in terms of exposure of the activation epitope, on neutrophils after 30 min of in vitro incubation with chamber fluid and correlated solely with the concentration of IL‐8, P < 0.05 (R = 0.72). In vitro incubation with recombinant IL‐8 confirmed a concentration‐dependent expression of the activation epitope; however, induction of CBRM1/5 by recombinant IL‐8 required a concentration that was significantly higher compared with that in chamber fluid. In addition, the CBRM1/5 epitope was analysed on in vivo extravasated neutrophils that displayed a significantly higher expression compared with circulating neutrophils, P = 0.04. We conclude that IL‐8 is the major factor regulating the expression of CD11b activation epitope in neutrophils.
A Primary Full-Integrated Active Filter Auxiliary Power Module in Electrified Vehicles With Single-Phase Onboard Chargers

In single-phase ac high-voltage (HV) battery chargers, as the input current is enforced to be varying sinusoidally in phase with the input voltage, the pulsating power at two times of the line frequency will be seen on the dc-link. Bulky capacitor bank or extra active filter (AF) circuits are needed to assimilate this harmonic current, which become a major barrier in terms of power density and cost. Sinusoidal charging method can be applied, while this might affect the charging efficiency and a deep study is still needed to further investigate on the impact to the Lithium-ion battery. An active filter auxiliary power module (AFAPM) based dual-mode dual-voltage charging system for vehicle application has been proposed. The AFAPM converter has two modes: the HV active filtering mode, in which the vehicle is connected to the grid and the converter assimilates the significant second-order harmonic current; and the low-voltage (LV) battery charging mode, in which the vehicle is running and the converter charges the LV battery from HV battery. However, a relay and inductors are still required in that converter to achieve the dual-mode operation. This paper proposes a primary full-integrated AFAPM for electrified vehicle applications with single-phase onboard chargers. The proposed AFAPM converter is composed of a two-phase bidirectional buck converter to work as an AF and a dual-active-bridge to operate as a LV battery charger auxiliary power module (APM). With the proposed converter, only an extra active energy storage capacitor is needed to achieve the active filtering. All the switches and inductors on the primary stage are shared between the AF and APM. Therefore, the use of a bulky capacitor bank or an additional AF circuit is avoided and, thus, the cost, size, and weight of the dual-voltage charging system in the electrified vehicle applications can be reduced. A 720-W prototype has been built to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed converter.