Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, double-dummy, multicentre trial comparing electronic cigarettes with nicotine to varenicline and to electronic cigarettes without nicotine: the ECSMOKE trial protocol

Introduction Electronic cigarettes (EC) mainly with nicotine content are widely used worldwide. Although the number of publications about its use is increasing exponentially, evidence-based, unbiased, conclusive, head-to-head comparisons about its efficacy and safety as an aid for smoking cessation are lacking. Methods and analysis Design: randomised, placebo and reference treatment-controlled, multicentre, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group trial. Participants: smokers smoking at least 10 cigarettes/day in the past year and motivated to quit, aged 18–70 years. Interventions: (A) EC without nicotine (ECwoN) plus placebo tablets of varenicline administered by oral route: placebo condition, (B) EC with nicotine (ECwN) plus placebo tablets of varenicline: ECwN condition. Voltage regulated EC will be used with liquid containing 12 mg/mL of nicotine for ad libitum use. Flavour: blond tobacco. (C) Reference: ECwoN plus 0.5 mg varenicline tablets: varenicline condition. Varenicline administered according to the marketing authorisationauthorisation. Treatment duration: 1 week+3 months. Primary outcome: continuous smoking abstinence rate (CAR) (abstinence from conventional/combustible cigarettes) during the last 4 weeks (weeks 9–12) of the treatment period defined as self-report of no smoking during the previous 2 weeks and expired air carbon monoxide ≤8 at visit 4 at week 10 after target quit date (TQD), that is, 11 weeks after treatment initiation AND at visit 5, week 12 after TQD, that is, 13 weeks after treatment initiation. Secondary outcomes: safety profile; point prevalence abstinence rate; CAR confirmed by urinary anabasine concentration; changes in cigarettes/day consumption; craving for tobacco and withdrawal symptoms with respect of baseline. Ethics and dissemination The ethics committee approval was obtained on 17 April 2018. All data collected about the study participants will be anonymised. Investigators will communicate trial results to participants, health authorities, healthcare professionals, the public and other relevant groups without any publication restrictions. Trial registration number NCT03630614; Pre-results.
Development of a Patient Scheduling System for a Radio Diagnosis Department

Abstract Health care organizations worldwide are constantly under pressure to deliver quality services. Reducing the waiting time of patients is considered to be a significant issue in hospitals. In this study, a radio-diagnosis department in a healthcare organization is considered. The present study mainly focuses on the queuing system of a computed tomography scan section of a public hospital in South India. Simulation is used as an aid to study the behavior of the system. This article also contributes a Visual Basic with Applications based excel tool to tackle the need for a user-friendly tool for scheduling the patients.
Relationship Marketing for Building Long term Customer Satisfaction in Banking Industry

Relationship marketing has been an excellent way for banks to establish a unique long-term relationship with their customers. It offers a solution for service companies to avail benefit of a lasting relationship with the customer or client, while improving operations and customer satisfaction. This study aims to investigate the impact of adherence to the fundamentals of relationship marketing. 210 respondents consisting of bank customers of the ten public and private sector Banks from major cities of Rajasthan state in India were included in the study from a balanced mix of various demographic factors. Having used Factor Analysis revealed the significant number of factors related to relationship banking affects client’s satisfaction in the banking industry.
The Role of Internationalization as a Determinant of Innovation Performance: An Analysis of 42 Countries

This paper analyses the impact of internationalization on the innovation performance of 42 countries. Innovation performance – the dependent variable – is measured by the number of triad patents and PCT applications that originate from a country. The following internationalization variables – independent variables – are used: inward and outward stock of FDI, exports and imports as well as the number of parent companies in a country. Information on patents and the internationalization variables, together with further explanatory variables, including the number of scientific articles and of Internet users in a country, are collected for the years 1990 to 2008. The analysis is done for all countries together and then for two groups of countries clustered on the basis of their GDP per capita. The paper finds support for a positive impact of internationalization on countries’ innovation performance. Our analyses suggest that competing in international markets via outward FDI and exports increases the scope of learning and the need to innovate. We find evidence of a negative relationship between patenting and inward FDI as well as imports.
Post-Parathyroidectomy Elementary Calcium Requirement is Related with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Hemodialysis Patients

Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are at increased risk for tissue calcifications as a result of deranged mineral metabolism. The aims of the study were to define postoperative calcium (Ca) requirements and cardiovascular risk factors in hemodialysis (HD) population after successful parathyroidectomy (Ptx). In this study, 47 patients analyzed (mean age, 42±10 years) who underwent a successful total Ptx. We recorded the patients’ biochemical indices of mineral metabolism and calcified valves detected by echocardiography. Chest X-rays were screened for calcification in the aortic arch and categorized as having no, moderate or severe calcification. Before successful total Ptx, frequency of valvulare calcifications (VC) was 58% (n=27). At the same time, 16 (34%) patients had severe, 25 (53%) patients had moderate and 6 (13%) patients had no aortic calcification. After surgery, transient hypocalcaemia was observed in 33/47 patients (72%), and all of these patients were treated with elemantery calcium. After first year of postPtx period, aortic calcification progressed in 20 patients (42%). The prevalence of VC was higher in hypocalcemic group than non-hypocalcemic patients (78% vs. 45%, p<0.01). At the follow-up period, 21% (7/33) of patients treated with elementary Ca had died (allcause mortality) versus 14% (2/14) non-hypocalcaemia patients (log-rank p<0.05). In HD patients, tight control of metabolic disorders with pharmacological interventions before total Ptx decision can help to improve patient outcomes. Ca replacement therapy is not safe enough in these patients
Overview of Malware Analysis and Detection

Several methods have been devised to smooth the progress of malware analysis and one of them is through visualization techniques. Visualization technique is a basic method which is used to visualize the features of malware or variants. This field focuses on features of individual variants and also helpful to the researchers to identify malware easily. The behaviors of malware are identified by variants such as encrypted, polymorphic, metamorphic, and obfuscated which have the ability to change their code as they propagate. In this paper various types of malware is discusses briefly with their categorization of malware families. Techniques of detection and classification of malware motivated especially on behaviors of malware
Energy and velocity of a forming vortex ring

It is known that vortex rings formed by large stroke ratios (in a piston/cylinder arrangement) pinch off from their generating jets at a fairly constant universal time scale. In this paper we show that the hypothesis that at the pinch off the translational velocity of the ring equals the jet flow velocity near the ring is equivalent to the recently proposed idea based on a variational principle by Kelvin and Benjamin that the pinch off occurs when the apparatus is no longer able to deliver energy at a rate required for steady vortex ring existence. A formula for the propagation velocity of a thick vortex ring is also proposed and compared with available experimental data and empirical relations.
Acylation of Acylglycerols by Acyl Coenzyme A:Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1)

Acyl coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) is one of the four intestinal membrane bound acyltransferases implicated in dietary fat absorption. Recently, it was found that, in addition to acylating diacylglycerol (DAG), DGAT1 also possesses robust enzymatic activity for acylating monoacylglycerol (MAG) (Yen, C. L., Monetti, M., Burri, B. J., and Farese, R. V., Jr. (2005) J. Lipid Res. 46, 1502–1511). In the current paper, we have conducted a detailed characterization of this reaction in test tube, intact cell culture, and animal models. Enzymatically, we found that triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis from MAG by DGAT1 does not behave according to classic Michaelis-Menten kinetics. At low concentrations of 2-MAG (<50 μm), the major acylation product by DGAT1 was TAG; however, increased concentrations of 2-MAG (50–200 μm) resulted in decreased TAG formation. This unique product/substrate relationship is similar to MGAT3 but distinct from DGAT2 and MGAT2. We have also found that XP620 is an inhibitor that selectively inhibits the acylation of MAG by DGAT1 (IC50 of human DGAT1: 16.6 ± 4.0 nm (MAG as substrate) and 1499 ± 318 nm (DAG as substrate); IC50 values of human DGAT2, MGAT2, and MGAT3 are >30,000 nm). Using this pharmacological tool, we have shown that ∼76 and ∼89% of the in vitro TAG synthesis initiated from MAG is mediated by DGAT1 in Caco-2 cell and rat intestinal mucosal membranes, respectively. When applied to intact cultured cells, XP620 substantially decreased but did not abolish apoB secretion in differentiated Caco-2 cells. It also decreased TAG and DAG syntheses in primary enterocytes. Last, when delivered orally to rats, XP620 decreased absorption of orally administered lipids by ∼50%. Based on these data, we conclude that the acylation of acylglycerols by DGAT1 is important for dietary fat absorption in the intestine.
Psychological well‐being in patients with aneurysms‐osteoarthritis syndrome

Aneurysms‐osteoarthritis syndrome (AOS) is characterized by arterial aneurysms and dissection in combination with early‐onset osteoarthritis, which can impact quality of life. We describe the subjective quality of life and investigate anxiety and depression in 28 AOS patients aged 15–73 years. Three questionnaires were used: 36‐Item Short Form Survey (SF‐36), hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and Rotterdam disease specific questionnaire. Results of the SF‐36 and HADS were compared to a reference Dutch cohort and the SF‐36 questionnaire also to patients with Marfan syndrome. Compared to the general population, AOS patients scored significantly lower on the following SF‐36 domains: physical functioning, vitality, social functioning, bodily pain, and general health. Physical functioning was also lower than in Marfan patients. Patients with AOS scored higher on the HADS depression scale, while anxiety did not show a significant difference compared to the general population. No difference in SF‐36 and HADS domain scores were found between patient with and without orthopaedic symptoms and patients with or without previous aortic surgery. Additionally, we found that patients' worries for their future and heredity of their disease are important factors for anxiety, which should be addressed in clinical practice.
Characterization and serological classification of a collection of Proteus penneri clinical strains.

INTRODUCTION Bacteria of the genus Proteus, which are a common cause of urinary tract infections, are divided into four species: P. mirabilis, P. vulgaris, P. penneri, and P. hauseri, and three unnamed genomospecies, Proteus 4, 5, and 6 (single-strain species P. myxofaciens was isolated from the gypsy moth). Establishing the serological classification of these species would aid in completing the classification scheme of the whole genus Proteus and in applying serological methods in diagnostic procedures and epidemiological investigations for these opportunistic pathogens. The aim of this research was a serological characterization and classification of 57 Proteus penneri clinical strains, isolated from patients from different countries all over the world, into Proteus O serogroups. MATERIAL/METHODS Purified lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) extracted from 57 P. penneri strains were used as antigens in enzyme immunosorbent assay (EIA), SDS/PAGE, and Western blot techniques, and alkali treated LPSs in passive immunohemolysis test (PIH), inhibition of PIH, and absorption of rabbit polyclonal O-antisera. RESULTS That result confirms the serological distinction of this species within the genus Proteus, and may have diagnostic significance. CONCLUSIONS As a result of serological studies of LPSs extracted from the P. penneri strains, one new Proteus serogroup, represented by the P. penneri 97 strain, was established. Three further strains were classified into the Proteus serogroup O8, which had not contained any P. penneri strains before. All the remaining strains were classified into 11 already existing Proteus O serogroups. It is important to emphasize that 72% of studied strains were classified into serogroups that contain P. penneri strains only.
Functional Analysis of the PgCesA3 White Spruce Cellulose Synthase Gene Promoter in Secondary Xylem

Cellulose is an essential structural component of the plant cell wall. Its biosynthesis involves genes encoding cellulose synthase enzymes and a complex transcriptional regulatory network. Three cellulose synthases have been identified in conifers as being potentially involved in secondary cell wall biosynthesis because of their preferential expression in xylem tissues; however, no direct functional association has been made to date. In the present work, we characterized the white spruce [Picea glauca (Moench) Voss] cellulose synthase PgCesA3 gene and 5′ regulatory elements. Phylogenetic analysis showed that PgCesA1-3 genes grouped with secondary cell wall-associated Arabidopsis cellulose synthase genes, such as AtCesA8, AtCesA4, and AtCesA7. We produced transgenic spruce expressing the GUS reporter gene driven by the PgCesA3 promoter. We observed blue staining in differentiating xylem cells from stem and roots, and in foliar guard cells indicating that PgCesA3 is clearly involved in secondary cell wall biosynthesis. The promoter region sequence of PgCesA3 contained several putative MYB cis-regulatory elements including AC-I like motifs and secondary wall MYB-responsive element (SMRE); however, it lacked SMRE4, 7 and 8 that correspond to the sequences of AC-I, II, and III. Based on these findings and results of previous transient trans-activation assays that identified interactions between the PgCesA3 promoter and different MYB transcription factors, we performed electrophoretic mobility shift assays with MYB recombinant proteins and cis-regulatory elements present in the PgCesA3 promoter. We found that PgMYB12 bound to a canonical AC-I element identified in the Pinus taeda PAL promoter and two AC-I like elements. We hypothesized that the PgMYB12 could regulate PgCesA3 in roots based on previous expression results. This functional study of PgCesA3 sequences and promoter opens the door for future studies on the interaction between PgMYBs and the PgCesA3 regulatory elements.
Immunomodulatory Effects of the Neuropeptide Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide in Acute Toxoplasmosis

Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide (PACAP) is an endogenous neuropeptide with distinct functions including the regulation of inflammatory processes. PACAP is able to modify the immune response by directly regulating macrophages and monocytes inhibiting the production of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and free radicals. Here, we analyzed the effect of exogenous PACAP on peripheral immune cell subsets upon acute infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). PACAP administration was followed by diminished innate immune cell recruitment to the peritoneal cavity of T. gondii-infected mice. PACAP did not directly interfere with parasite replication, instead, indirectly reduced parasite burden in mononuclear cell populations by enhancing their phagocytic capacity. Although proinflammatory cytokine levels were attenuated in the periphery upon PACAP treatment, interleukin (IL)-10 and Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) remained stable. While PACAP modulated VPAC1 and VPAC2 receptors in immune cells upon binding, it also increased their expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In addition, the expression of p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) on Ly6Chi inflammatory monocytes was diminished upon PACAP administration. Our findings highlight the immunomodulatory effect of PACAP on peripheral immune cell subsets during acute Toxoplasmosis, providing new insights about host-pathogen interaction and the effects of neuropeptides during inflammation.
Pharmacological Profiling of Kinase Dependency in Cell Lines across Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Subtypes

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC), negative for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and ERBB2 amplification, are resistant to standard targeted therapies and exhibit a poor prognosis. Furthermore, they are highly heterogeneous with respect to genomic alterations, and common therapeutic targets are lacking though substantial evidence implicates dysregulated kinase signaling. Recently, six subtypes of TNBC were identified based on gene expression and were proposed to predict sensitivity to a variety of therapeutic agents including kinase inhibitors. To test this hypothesis, we screened a large collection of well-characterized, small molecule kinase inhibitors for growth inhibition in a panel of TNBC cell lines representing all six subtypes. Sensitivity to kinase inhibition correlated poorly with TNBC subtype. Instead, unsupervised clustering segregated TNBC cell lines according to clinically relevant features including dependence on epidermal growth factor signaling and mutation of the PTEN tumor suppressor. We further report the discovery of kinase inhibitors with selective toxicity to these groups. Overall, however, TNBC cell lines exhibited diverse sensitivity to kinase inhibition consistent with the lack of common driver mutations in this disease. Although our findings support specific kinase dependencies in subsets of TNBC, they are not associated with gene expression–based subtypes. Instead, we find that mutation status can be an effective predictor of sensitivity to inhibition of particular kinase pathways for subsets of TNBC. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(1); 298–306. ©2014 AACR.
User-friendly task level programming based on an online walk-through teaching approach

Purpose – This paper aims to propose a new technique for programming robotized machining tasks based on intuitive human–machine interaction. This will enable operators to create robot programs for small-batch production in a fast and easy way, reducing the required time to accomplish the programming tasks. Design/methodology/approach – This technique makes use of online walk-through path guidance using an external force/torque sensor, and simple and intuitive visual programming, by a demonstration method and symbolic task-level programming. Findings – Thanks to this technique, the operator can easily program robots without learning every robot-specific language and can design new tasks for industrial robots based on manual guidance. Originality/value – The main contribution of the paper is a new procedure to program machining tasks based on manual guidance (walk-through teaching method) and user-friendly visual programming. Up to now, the acquisition of paths and the task programming were done in separate.
LncRNA-Disease Association Prediction Using Two-Side Sparse Self-Representation

Evidences increasingly indicate the involvement of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in various biological processes. As the mutations and abnormalities of lncRNAs are closely related to the progression of complex diseases, the identification of lncRNA-disease associations has become an important step toward the understanding and treatment of diseases. Since only a limited number of lncRNA-disease associations have been validated, an increasing number of computational approaches have been developed for predicting potential lncRNA-disease associations. However, how to predict potential associations precisely through computational approaches remains challenging. In this study, we propose a novel two-side sparse self-representation (TSSR) algorithm for lncRNA-disease association prediction. By learning the self-representations of lncRNAs and diseases from known lncRNA-disease associations adaptively, and leveraging the information provided by known lncRNA-disease associations and the intra-associations among lncRNAs and diseases derived from other existing databases, our model could effectively utilize the estimated representations of lncRNAs and diseases to predict potential lncRNA-disease associations. The experiment results on three real data sets demonstrate that our TSSR outperforms other competing methods significantly. Moreover, to further evaluate the effectiveness of TSSR in predicting potential lncRNAs-disease associations, case studies of Melanoma, Glioblastoma, and Glioma are carried out in this paper. The results demonstrate that TSSR can effectively identify some candidate lncRNAs associated with these three diseases.
Surgery for primary intracerebral hemorrhage: is it safe and effective? A systematic review of case series and randomized trials.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The surgical treatment of primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PICH) varies throughout the world, mainly because of the lack of evidence of its safety and effectiveness. This study compares the outcome of patients with PICH who are treated surgically with those who are not. METHODS We conducted a systematic overview (meta-analysis) of all studies of the outcome of surgery for PICH by means of a Medline search of relevant randomized trials and case series published since 1966. Cited references and presentations were also reviewed. RESULTS The 15 case series of surgery for PICH involving a total of 1524 patients (654 treated surgically) are potentially confounded and the results inconclusive. The pooled results of the three randomized controlled trials of open craniotomy and one trial of endoscopic evacuation for supratentorial PICH in a total of 349 patients (173 treated surgically) indicate a nonsignificant increase in odds of death and dependency at 6 months for patients treated surgically (odds ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.77 to 1.98). The odds of death or dependency at 6 months were 2.1 (1.1 to 4.1) for patients undergoing craniotomy and 0.45 (0.2 to 1.0) for endoscopic evacuation. CONCLUSIONS There is insufficient evidence of the risks and benefits of surgery for PICH. Further randomized trials are needed to identify whether there is a favorable treatment effect of surgery, the types of PICH and patients who are likely to benefit and not benefit, and the safety and effectiveness of the different surgical interventions.