Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self-reported assessment of symptoms and self-care within a cohort of U.S. veterans during outpatient care for cancer.

BACKGROUND This study was undertaken as part of a feasibility study of the use of a symptom checklist and self-care assessment of veterans receiving oncology outpatient treatment within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs system. OBJECTIVES The study aimed to examine (a) symptom occurrence and severity as self-reported on the Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist (TRSC) by veterans at a cancer clinic, (b) symptom alleviation strategies and use of self-care, and (c) the relationship between symptom occurrence and severity and functional status and quality of life. METHODS Veterans (N = 100) undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy participated in a cross-sectional study. Tools used, including TRSC, Symptom Alleviation. FINDINGS Thirteen symptoms were reported by more than 35% of patients. Top-ranked symptoms by percentage occurrence and severity were feeling sluggish, taste changes, nausea, pain, constipation, loss of appetite, numbness of fingers and toes, difficulty sleeping, weight loss, hair loss, difficulty concentrating, shortness of breath, and decreased interest in sexual activity. Occurrence and severity of symptoms had significant negative correlations with functional status and with overall quality of life. Self-care (symptom alleviation) strategies that helped were medicines, diet and nutrition, and lifestyle change. Checklist use (TRSC) facilitated patient-report of symptoms during cancer treatments; self-care strategies helped relieve symptoms.
Incentive-Driven Bidding Strategy for Brokers to Compete for Service Provisioning Tasks in Multi-Domain SD-EONs

It is known that the multi-broker-based management plane can potentially provide a realistic solution to facilitate incentive-driven cross-domain network orchestration in multi-domain software-defined elastic optical networks (SD-EONs). Such network orchestration assures the autonomy of each domain and supports economical service provisioning across multiple domains as well. In this study, we consider the economic principle in multi-broker-based multi-domain SD-EONs and study how to realize incentive-driven service provisioning with broker competitions. We first present the theoretical model of the network operations to describe the noncooperative game in which the brokers compete for interdomain provisioning tasks with only incomplete information on their competitors. Then, we analyze the Nash equilibrium in a simplified version of the game, and show that to maximize the brokers' profits in long-term repeated games, an effective bidding strategy is needed for the brokers to predict their competitors' behaviors and price their services in the optimal way. The bidding strategy is designed by leveraging the kernel density estimation scheme. Finally, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed bidding strategy, we implement it in an OpenFlow-based multi-domain SD-EON control plane testbed. The experimental results verify that our system performs well and the brokers can obtain higher profits with the proposed bidding strategy in repeated games.
An Ecological Risk Assessment Framework for Effects of Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems and Other Localized Sources of Nutrients on Aquatic Ecosystems

ABSTRACT An ecological risk assessment framework for onsite wastewater treatment systems and other localized sources of nutrients is presented, including problem formulation, characterization of exposure, characterization of effects, and risk characterization. The framework is most pertinent to the spatial scale of residential treatment systems located adjacent to small ponds, streams, or lagoons and some parts of shallow estuaries. Freshwater and estuarine ecosystems are distinguished based on differences in nutrient dynamics. Phosphorus exposure is the major determinant of phytoplankton production in most North American lakes. Nitrate can be directly toxic to aquatic biota such as amphibians. In shallow estuaries or lagoons, nitrogen is the primary stressor, which can be directly toxic to vegetation or can interact with biota to produce secondary stressors (limited light penetration, oxygen limitation, reduction in habitat, or reduction in forage vegetation or prey). Algal production, macrophyte production, fish community abundance and production, benthic community abundance and production, and amphibian community abundance and production are examples of risk assessment endpoint properties. Models and measurement methods for the characterization of exposure and effects are discussed, as well as sources and quantification of uncertainty. Example weight-of-evidence tables are presented for failure scenarios involving traditional and emerging onsite wastewater system technologies.
Isolation and characterization of Vibrio alginolyticus isolated from diseased kuruma prawn, Penaeus japonicus

K. ‐K. LEE, S. ‐R. YU, T. ‐I. YANG, P.‐C. LIU AND F. ‐R. CHEN. 1996. Outbreaks of serious mortality among cultured kuruma prawns (Penaeus japonicus) with white spotted syndrome in the carapace occurred in the summer of 1993 in I‐Lan, Taiwan. A swarming bacterium, strain Swy, was isolated from the hepatopancreas of the moribund prawns using tryptic soy agar supplemented with 1% NaCl and/or thiosulphate citrate bile salt sucrose agar. This strain was characterized and identified as Vibrio alginolyticus on the basis of a number of biochemical tests. The Swy strain was virulent to both kuruma prawns (P. japonicus) and tiger prawns (P. monodon) with LD50 values of 4.43 times 104 and 1.57 times 105 cfu g body weight‐1, respectively.
Cardiac Imaging Using Clinical 1.5 T MRI Scanners in a Murine Ischemia/Reperfusion Model

To perform cardiac imaging in mice without having to invest in expensive dedicated equipment, we adapted a clinical 1.5 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner for use in a murine ischemia/reperfusion model. Phase-sensitive inversion recovery (PSIR) sequence facilitated the determination of infarct sizes in vivo by late gadolinium enhancement. Results were compared to histological infarct areas in mice after ischemia/reperfusion procedure with a good correlation (r = 0.807, P < .001). In addition, fractional area change (FAC) was assessed with single slice cine MRI and was matched to infarct size (r = −0.837) and fractional shortening (FS) measured with echocardiography (r = 0.860); both P < . 001. Here, we demonstrate the use of clinical 1.5 MRI scanners as a feasible method for basic phenotyping in mice. These widely available scanners are capable of investigating in vivo infarct dimensions as well as assessment of cardiac functional parameters in mice with reasonable throughput.
Effect of low-level laser therapy on mast cells in second-degree burns in rats.

OBJECTIVE This study sought to investigate whether low-level laser therapy (LLLT) with a helium-neon (He-Ne) laser would affect mast cell number and degranulation in second-degree burns in rats. BACKGROUND DATA LLLT has been recently applied to stimulate the wound healing process. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixty-five rats were randomly allocated to one of five groups. A deep second-degree burn was inflicted on all rats except those in the control group. In the sham-exposed group burns remained untreated. In the two laser-treated groups, the burns were irradiated every day by LLLT, with energy densities of 1.2 and 2.4 J/cm(2). In the fifth group the burns were treated topically with 0.2% nitrofurazone cream every day. The unburned skin of the rats in the control group were used for baseline study. The effects on mast cell number and degranulation were assessed by counting the number of intact and degranulated mast cells in sections fixed in formalin and stained with toluidine blue. RESULTS On the seventh and 16th days post-burn, the type 1 mast cell count in the 2.4-J/cm(2) laser-treated group was significantly higher than that of the control group. On the 30th day, the total numbers of mast cells in the laser-treated groups were lower than those in the control and sham-exposed groups. CONCLUSION LLLT of deep second-degree cutaneous burns in rats significantly increased the number of intact mast cells during the inflammatory and proliferative phases of healing, and decreased the total number of mast cells during the remodeling phase.
Melatonin treatment induces interplay of apoptosis, autophagy, and senescence in human colorectal cancer cells

In Asia, the incidence of colorectal cancer has been increasing gradually due to a more Westernized lifestyle. The aim of study is to determine the interaction between melatonin‐induced cell death and cellular senescence. We treated HCT116 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells with 10 μm melatonin and determined the levels of cell death‐related proteins and evaluated cell cycle kinetics. The plasma membrane melatonin receptor, MT1, was significantly decreased by melatonin in a time‐dependent manner, whereas the nuclear receptor, RORα, was increased only after 12 hr treatment. HCT116 cells, which upregulated both pro‐apoptotic Bax and anti‐apoptotic Bcl‐xL in the early response to melatonin treatment, activated autophagic as well as apoptotic machinery within 18 hr. Melatonin decreased the S‐phase population of the cells to 57% of the control at 48 hr, which was concomitant with a reduction in BrdU‐positive cells in the melatonin‐treated cell population. We found not only marked attenuation of E‐ and A‐type cyclins, but also increased expression of p16 and p‐p21. Compared to the cardiotoxicity of Trichostatin A in vitro, single or cumulative melatonin treatment induced insignificant detrimental effects on neonatal cardiomyocytes. We found that 10 μm melatonin activated cell death programs early and induced G1‐phase arrest at the advanced phase. Therefore, we suggest that melatonin is a potential chemotherapeutic agent for treatment of colon cancer, the effects of which are mediated by regulation of both cell death and senescence in cancerous cells with minimized cardiotoxicity.
Series-Connection Designs for Dye Solar Cell Modules

We present a vis-à-vis experimental and PSPICE circuital comparison and optimization of W- and Z-type dye solar cell (DSC) modules. Important design and technological aspects which can, at the same time, promote and hamper each scheme were identified, including differing photocurrents (by a factor 1.6) between front- and back-illuminated cells, sheet-resistance-induced halving of fill factor (FF) when increasing cell width (2-20 mm), and vertical connections with resistances that can affect FF. The modules fabricated showed efficiencies of 4.7% and 4.2% over active area for Z and W modules and 3.4% over total area for both (due to different aperture ratios). Our simulations showed that geometrically optimized front-illuminated DSC Z modules would yield higher efficiencies than W modules built with the same materials if ideal vertical connections can be achieved. Pointers for further differing optimization of each scheme are laid out.
Plasma Metabolites From Choline Pathway and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in the PREDIMED (Prevention With Mediterranean Diet) Study

Background The relationship between plasma concentrations of betaine and choline metabolism and major cardiovascular disease (CVD) end points remains unclear. We have evaluated the association between metabolites from the choline pathway and risk of incident CVD and the potential modifying effect of Mediterranean diet interventions. Methods and Results We designed a case‐cohort study nested within the PREDIMED (Prevention With Mediterranean Diet) trial, including 229 incident CVD cases and 751 randomly selected participants at baseline, followed up for 4.8 years. We used liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry to measure, at baseline and at 1 year of follow‐up, plasma concentrations of 5 metabolites in the choline pathway: trimethylamine N‐oxide, betaine, choline, phosphocholine, and α‐glycerophosphocholine. We have calculated a choline metabolite score using a weighted sum of these 5 metabolites. We used weighted Cox regression models to estimate CVD risk. The multivariable hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) per 1‐SD increase in choline and α‐glycerophosphocholine metabolites were 1.24 (1.05–1.46) and 1.24 (1.03–1.50), respectively. The baseline betaine/choline ratio was inversely associated with CVD. The baseline choline metabolite score was associated with a 2.21‐fold higher risk of CVD across extreme quartiles (95% confidence interval, 1.36–3.59; P<0.001 for trend) and a 2.27‐fold higher risk of stroke (95% confidence interval, 1.24–4.16; P<0.001 for trend). Participants in the higher quartiles of the score who were randomly assigned to the control group had a higher risk of CVD compared with participants in the lower quartile and assigned to the Mediterranean diet groups (P=0.05 for interaction). No significant associations were observed for 1‐year changes in individual plasma metabolites and CVD. Conclusions A metabolite score combining plasma metabolites from the choline pathway was associated with an increased risk of CVD in a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk. Clinical Trial Registration URL: http://www.controlled-trials.com. Unique identifier: ISRCTN35739639.
Climatic influences on fire regimes in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains, Lake Tahoe Basin, Nevada, USA

Aim The goal of this study was to understand better the role of interannual and interdecadal climatic variation on local pre‐EuroAmerican settlement fire regimes in fire‐prone Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) dominated forests in the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Tannic acid elicits neurogenic plasma exudation from the in situ hamster cheek pouch

Gao, Xiao-pei. Tannic acid elicits neurogenic plasma exudation from the in situ hamster cheek pouch. Am. J. Physiol. 274 (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 43): R237–R242, 1998. —The purpose of this study was to determine whether tannic acid elicits neurogenic plasma exudation from the oral mucosa in vivo and, if so, whether this response is transduced in part by the L-arginine-nitric oxide (NO) biosynthetic pathway. Using intravital microscopy, we found that suffusion of tannic acid elicits significant concentration-dependent leaky site formation and increase in clearance of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (molecular mass 70 kDa) from the in situ hamster cheek pouch (P , 0.05). These effects are significantly attenuated by two selective, but structurally distinct, nonpeptide neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor antagonists, CP-96,345 and RP-67580, but not by CP-96,344, the 2R,3R enantiomer of CP-96,345. NG-nitroL-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), an NO synthase inhibitor, but not D-NAME, significantly attenuates tannic acid-induced responses. L-Arginine, but not D-arginine, reverses the attenuating effects of L-NAME. We conclude that tannic acid elicits L-arginine-NO biosynthetic pathway-dependent neurogenic plasma exudation from the in situ hamster cheek pouch.
Rapid Intraoperative Molecular Characterization of Glioma.

IMPORTANCE Conclusive intraoperative pathologic confirmation of diffuse infiltrative glioma guides the decision to pursue definitive neurosurgical resection. Establishing the intraoperative diagnosis by histologic analysis can be difficult in low-cellularity infiltrative gliomas. Therefore, we developed a rapid and sensitive genotyping assay to detect somatic single-nucleotide variants in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter and isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1). OBSERVATIONS This assay was applied to tissue samples from 190 patients with diffuse gliomas, including archived fixed and frozen specimens and tissue obtained intraoperatively. Results demonstrated 96% sensitivity (95% CI, 90%-99%) and 100% specificity (95% CI, 95%-100%) for World Health Organization grades II and III gliomas. In a series of live cases, glioma-defining mutations could be identified within 60 minutes, which could facilitate the diagnosis in an intraoperative timeframe. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The genotyping method described herein can establish the diagnosis of low-cellularity tumors like glioma and could be adapted to the point-of-care diagnosis of other lesions that are similarly defined by highly recurrent somatic mutations.
Identification and prevention of genotyping errors caused by G-quadruplex- and i-motif-like sequences.

BACKGROUND Reliable PCR amplification of DNA fragments is the prerequisite for most genetic assays. We investigated the impact of G-quadruplex- or i-motif-like sequences on the reliability of PCR-based genetic analyses. METHODS We found the sequence context of a common intronic polymorphism in the MEN1 gene (multiple endocrine neoplasia I) to be the cause of systematic genotyping errors by inducing preferential amplification of one allelic variant [allele dropout (ADO)]. Bioinformatic analyses and pyrosequencing-based allele quantification enabled the identification of the underlying DNA structures. RESULTS We showed that G-quadruplex- or i-motif-like sequences can reproducibly cause ADO. In these cases, amplification efficiency strongly depends on the PCR enzyme and buffer conditions, the magnesium concentration in particular. In a randomly chosen subset of candidate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) defined by properties deduced from 2 originally identified ADO cases, we confirmed preferential PCR amplification in up to 50% of the SNPs. We subsequently identified G-quadruplex and i-motifs harboring a SNP that alters the typical motif as the cause of this phenomenon, and a genomewide search based on the respective motifs predicted 0.5% of all SNPs listed by dbSNP and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man to be potentially affected. CONCLUSIONS Undetected, the described phenomenon produces systematic errors in genetic analyses that may lead to misdiagnoses in clinical settings. PCR products should be checked for G-quadruplex and i-motifs to avoid the formation of ADO-causing secondary structures. Truly affected assays can then be identified by a simple experimental procedure, which simultaneously provides the solution to the problem.
Cortisol levels are positively associated with pup-feeding rates in male meerkats

In societies of cooperative vertebrates, individual differences in contributions to offspring care are commonly substantial. Recent attempts to explain the causes of this variation have focused on correlations between contributions to care and the protein hormone prolactin, or the steroid hormone testosterone. However, such studies have seldom considered the importance of other hormones or controlled for non-hormonal factors that are correlative with both individual hormone levels and contributions to care. Using multivariate statistics, we show that hormone levels explain significant variation in contributions to pup-feeding by male meerkats, even after controlling for non-hormonal effects. However, long-term contributions to pup provisioning were significantly and positively correlated with plasma levels of cortisol rather than prolactin, while plasma levels of testosterone were not related to individual patterns of pup-feeding. Furthermore, a playback experiment that used pup begging calls to increase the feeding rates of male helpers gave rise to parallel increases in plasma cortisol levels, whilst prolactin and testosterone levels remained unchanged. Our findings confirm that hormones can explain significant amounts of variation in contributions to offspring feeding, and that cortisol, not prolactin, is the hormone most strongly associated with pup-feeding in cooperative male meerkats.
Synthesis and Characterization of 5-Substituted- (2-methylbenzimidazol-1-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thione and Its Metal Complexes of Fe(III), Hg(II), Zn(II) and Sn(II)

A ligand 5-Substituted-(2-methylbenzimidazol-1-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thione (L) and its Fe(III),Hg(II),Sn(II) and Zn(II) complexes were synthesized. The authenticity of the ligand and its transition metal complexes were established by elemental analyses, conductance and magnetic susceptibility measurements, as well as spectroscopic (IR, 1 H NMR, UV-Vis and Mass) and thermal studies. All complexes exhibit the composition ML2X2 where M =Fe(III),Hg(II), Zn(II) and Sn(II), L=Ligand, X=OAc and chloride ions. The IR spectral studies revealed the existence thiol-thione tautamerism in the ligand molecule. The ligand acts as a bidentate coordinating through the N-3 nitrogen and the exocyclic sulfur atoms of ox diazole rings. Antimicrobial screening of the ligand and its metal complexes were determined against the bacteria Escherichia coli and Salmonella paratyphi A.
Turbulence and mixing in unsteady breaking surface waves

Laboratory measurements of the post-breaking velocity field due to unsteady deep-water breaking are presented. Digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) is used to measure the entire post-breaking turbulent cloud with high-resolution imagery permitting the measurement of scales from O(1m) down to O(1mm). Ensemble-averaged quantities including mean velocity, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) density and Reynolds stress are presented and compare favourably with the results of Melville, Veron & White (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 454, 2002, pp. 203–233; MVW). However, due to limited resolution, MVW's measurements were not spatially coherent across the turbulent cloud, and this restricted their ability to compute turbulent wavenumber spectra. Statistical spatial quantities including the integral length scale L11, Taylor microscale λf and the Taylor microscale Reynolds number Reλ are presented. Estimation of an eddy viscosity for the breaking event is also given based on analysis of the image data. Turbulent wavenumber spectra are computed and within 12 wave periods after breaking exhibit what have been termed ‘spectral bumps’ in the turbulence literature. These local maxima in the spectra are thought to be caused by an imbalance between the transport of energy from large scales and the dissipation at small scales. Estimates of the dissipation rate per unit mass are computed using both direct and indirect methods. Horizontally averaged terms in the TKE budget are also presented up to 27 wave periods after breaking and are discussed with regard to the dynamics of the post-breaking flow. Comparisons of the TKE density in the streamwise and cross-stream planes with the three-dimensional full TKE density are given in an appendix.
Factors influencing young drivers' risk perceptions and speeding behaviour

[Abstract]: Research focusing on young novice drivers’ risk perceptions has shown that inexperienced drivers underestimate the risks associated with a range of driving situations. Personality factors are an important influence on both risk perceptions and driving behaviour. The study investigated the strength of relationship between specific personality factors, risk perceptions, and speeding behaviour among young, mainly inexperienced drivers. One-hundred and fifty-nine students aged between 17 and 20 completed an online questionnaire assessing five facets of personality, four components of risk perception, and a self-report measure of speeding behaviour. Using structural equation modeling, 39% of the variance in young drivers’ speeding was accounted for by excitement-seeking, altruism, their aversion to risk taking, and their own likelihood of having a crash. The influences of excitement-seeking and altruism are partly mediated by their aversion to risk taking, while the influence of altruism on speeding is also partly mediated by their own likelihood of having a crash. Further consideration should be given to road safety interventions that strengthen young drivers’ appreciation of the impact of their actions on others through positive reinforcement of altruistic norms.