Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The safety and efficacy of trabectedin for the treatment of liposarcoma or leiomyosarcoma

ABSTRACT The improvement of molecular knowledge has highlighted the prognostic and predictive significance of histological subtypes in soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Here we focus on trabectedin, a drug characterized by a unique action combining cytotoxic and target effects. We retraced its main steps of development and peculiarities regarding mechanism of action, efficacy and safety especially towards liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma and we compared it against the leading therapeutic alternatives with the aim to answer some practical questions such as: who and when to treat with trabectedin? For how long? What is the safety profile? When should trabectedin be preferred to other treatment options? Finally, we provided our viewpoint on how the scenario might evolve in the coming years particularly about the ‘place’ of trabectedin in the therapeutic algorithm and its future possible use in combination with other agents in order to achieve even more satisfactory results in STS management.
Opportunities and challenges of long term anti-estrogenic adjuvant therapy: treatment forever or intermittently?

ABSTRACT Introduction: Extended adjuvant (5–10 years) therapy targeted to the estrogen receptor (ER) has significantly decreased mortality from breast cancer (BC). Areas covered: Translational research advanced clinical testing of extended adjuvant therapy with tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors (AIs). Short term therapy or non-compliance increase recurrence, but surprisingly recurrence and death does not increase dramatically after 5 years of adjuvant therapy stops. Expert commentary: Compliance ensures optimal benefit from extended antihormone adjuvant therapy.Retarding acquired resistance using CDK4/6 or mTOR inhibitors is discussed. Preventing acquired resistance from mutations of ER could be achieved with Selective ER Downregulators (SERDs), eg fulvestrant. Fulvestrant is a depot injectable so oral SERDs are sought for extended use. In reality, a ‘super SERD’ which destroys ER but improves women’s health like a Selective ER Modulator (SERM), would aid compliance to prevent recurrence and death. Estrogen-induced apoptosis occurs in 30% of BC with antihormone resistance. The ‘one in three’ rule that dictates that one in three unselected patients respond to either hormonal or antihormonal therapy in BC occurs with estrogen or antiestrogen therapy and must be improved. The goal is to maintain patients for their natural lives by blocking cancer cell survival through precision medicine using short cycles of estrogen apoptotic salvage therapy, and further extended antihormone maintenance.
ACL Reconstruction Failure and Posterolateral Corner

It is estimated that more than 100,000 ACL reconstructions are performed each year.1 Recurrent instability has been cited as a frequent complication. Recently, there has been increased attention directed toward the anatomy and treatment of the posterolateral aspect of the knee. Because much research has been dedicated to ACL reconstruction, little has been written regarding the relationship between ACL reconstruction failure and the posterolateral aspect of the knee. This study serves to review the anatomy, biomechanics, diagnostic features, and surgical management of failed ACL reconstruction with concomitant posterolateral rotatory instability (PLRI).
Predictors of initial 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography indication among patients with colorectal cancer

ObjectivesTo evaluate the determinants of initial 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG)-PET indication following primary colorectal cancer diagnosis among patients who underwent surgery between January 2000 and December 2007 and who were observed at a single institution for at least 2 years after diagnosis. MethodsOf the 530 patients who underwent colorectal cancer resection, 113 patients received at least one 18F-FDG-PET following diagnosis. Outcome variables included indication and time of the first 18F-FDG-PET following diagnosis. Potential predictors included disease-level and patient-level characteristics. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed. ResultsPatients diagnosed later in the study period and patients with higher-stage disease were more likely to receive their first 18F-FDG-PET for initial staging (P<0.001 and P=0.016, respectively). Patients with lower-stage disease were more likely to receive their initial 18F-FDG-PET for suspected recurrence on conventional imaging. When performed more than 2 years after diagnosis, 18F-FDG-PET was more likely to be ordered for suspected recurrence either on the basis of conventional imaging or on the basis of patient symptoms/tumor markers (P=0.003 and 0.031, respectively). 18F-FDG-PET demonstrated disease progression in at least 50% of patients referred for each indication (P=0.037). ConclusionHigher utilization of 18F-FDG-PET may be appropriate among patients referred for a number of indications including: initial staging, particularly among those with higher-stage disease; suspected recurrence on conventional imaging among patients with lower-stage disease; and suspected recurrence more than 2 years after diagnosis. Further research is needed to verify these findings.
Paper-based analytical devices for clinical diagnosis: recent advances in the fabrication techniques and sensing mechanisms

ABSTRACT Introduction: There is a significant interest in developing inexpensive portable biosensing platforms for various applications including disease diagnostics, environmental monitoring, food safety, and water testing at the point-of-care (POC) settings. Current diagnostic assays available in the developed world require sophisticated laboratory infrastructure and expensive reagents. Hence, they are not suitable for resource-constrained settings with limited financial resources, basic health infrastructure, and few trained technicians. Cellulose and flexible transparency paper-based analytical devices have demonstrated enormous potential for developing robust, inexpensive and portable devices for disease diagnostics. These devices offer promising solutions to disease management in resource-constrained settings where the vast majority of the population cannot afford expensive and highly sophisticated treatment options. Areas covered: In this review, the authors describe currently developed cellulose and flexible transparency paper-based microfluidic devices, device fabrication techniques, and sensing technologies that are integrated with these devices. The authors also discuss the limitations and challenges associated with these devices and their potential in clinical settings. Expert commentary: In recent years, cellulose and flexible transparency paper-based microfluidic devices have demonstrated the potential to become future healthcare options despite a few limitations such as low sensitivity and reproducibility.
Employing Volterra filters in the ADPCM technique for speech coding: a comprehensive investigation

Although linear filters are useful in a various applications in the context of speech processing, there are several evidences for existence of nonlinearity in speech signals. Our main aim is to launch a comprehensive investigation into the exploitation of nonlinear Volterra filters in the context of the ADPCM-based speech coding technique, using two methods of forward prediction, based on the LS criterion, and backward prediction, based on both LMS and RLS adaptation algorithms. In any case, after solving some innate problems, for example, ill-conditioning and instability, schemes for optimum exploitation of nonlinear prediction are developed and simulation results are provided, tested with several performance criteria. With forward prediction a scheme is developed to detect and flag those frames for which, after stabilizing, including the quadratic predictor is beneficial. Scalar and vector quantisation methods are used for quantising the residual signal and the filter parameters, respectively. The results show that using this scheme a negligible improvement (up to 0.62 dB in the SNR) can be achieved, in spite of the increase in bit rate and complexity. With backward prediction two frame-based schemes are developed in which for each frame, after examining a set of quadratic filters, the best filter in the sense of the best quality of the reconstructed speech is selected. The ultimate schemes result in an improvement of up to 1.5 dB in the overall SNR of the reconstructed speech at the cost of a slight increase in the bit-rate, a short delay and a demanding increase in the complexity. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Procedure guidelines for radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging with single-photon emission computed tomography

Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy uses an intravenously administered radiopharmaceutical to image myocardial viability and perfusion during stimulation of the perfusion system and at rest. The images are acquired using a gamma camera, and tomographic imaging is preferred over planar imaging because of the three-dimensional nature of the images and their superior contrast resolution. Comparison of myocardial distribution of the radiopharmaceutical after stress and at rest provides information on myocardial viability, inducible perfusion abnormalities and, when ECG-gated imaging is used, global and regional myocardial function.
The Effect of Nutrition Education and Excercise Program on Body Composition and Dietary Intakes, Blood Lipid and Physical Fitness in Obese Women (2) - Relationship between Participation Rates and Effectiveness of Obesity Management Program -

This study examined how the participation rates contribute to subjects’ outcomes after a nutrition education (once/ week) and exercise (3 times/week) intervention program for 12 weeks in 44 obese female subjects. The subjects were divided into two groups: high-participator (HP) or low-participator (LP) groups according to their participation levels based on the median visit value (30 visits out of a total of 48 visits). Daily nutrient intakes assessed by a 24-hour recall, body composition, blood lipid profiles and physical fitness were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks. After the intervention, weight, BMI, percent body fat, and the waist-hip ratio were significantly decreased in the HP group. In addition, the HP group had a greater rates of changes in weight (HP group: -6.6% and LP group: -3.1%, p < 0.01), BMI (-7.0% and -3.2%, p < 0.01), percent body fat (-7.8% and -4.2%, p < 0.05), and waist-hip ratio (-3.1% and -0.4%, p < 0.01) compared to the LP group. Energy-adjusted protein, fiber, potassium, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, and vitamin C were significantly increased in the HP group. The HP group showed a significant increase in HDLcholesterol and a decrease in blood pressure, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and atherogenic index (AI). While the muscle endurance, muscle strength, power, agility and flexibility were significantly increased in the HP group, agility and balance were improved in the LP group. In addition, dietary behavior score was significantly increased and stress score decreased in the HP group compared to the LP group. High participation rates were correlated with the improvement of the nutrient density (protein, fiber, potassium, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6 and folate), anthropometric parameters (body weight, BMI and percent body fat), serum lipid profiles (HDL-cholesterol, Triglyceride, and AI) and physical fitness (muscle endurance) adjusted for age, menopausal status, alcohol drinking, nutritional supplement use and baseline BMI. Our results suggest that high participation in nutrition education and exercise program was effective not only for weight reduction but also for the improvement of physical fitness in obese women. (Korean J Nutr 2010; 43(3): 260 ~272)
Exploiting intercontact time for routing in delay tolerant networks

Because of the dynamic nature of delay tolerant networks (DTNs), many replication‐based routing schemes were proposed to increase the probability of delivery by making multiple copies of each message. In such schemes, one concern is how many replicas of a message should be distributed in the network. In this paper, we propose a routing scheme for DTNs, called adaptive spraying based on the intercontact time (ASBIT). The scheme is based on the idea of that each node dynamically chooses the right number of message copies disseminated to respond to the current conditions of the network. When forwarding, ASBIT selects the node with a higher centrality as the next hop, and utilises the multi‐attribute decision making theory for the division of the replication number between two nodes. Simulation results show that ASBIT achieves comparable delivery ratio and delivery delay while maintaining lower overhead compared with some well‐known routing schemes in sparse scenarios. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reduced feedback load using user selection algorithms for the multiuser multi‐input single‐output systems

For wireless multiuser multi‐input single‐output communication systems with adaptive scheduling and precoding, the users have to feed back their channel state information. However, the amount of feedback data increases with the number of users and the number of transmit antennas. In this paper, we propose a criterion based on the orthogonality between the users’ channels to reduce this uplink load. Without cooperation between the users, we only allow users that are semi‐orthogonal to feed back their quantized channel information to the base station. We propose a lower bound on the sum rate for the proposed criterion. We show that the performance is almost independent of the number of quantized channel quality information and only channel direction information is important at the transmitter. Then, we consider a noisy feedback channel and propose an algorithm to reduce the noise effect on the analogue feedback.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An online profit optimisation framework for diverse requests in distributed datacentres

The rapid development of cloud computing attracts increasing amounts of enterprises and institutes to submit their diverse computing requests to the cloud service providers that are usually supported by large‐scale distributed datacentres. The explosion of service requests has drastically increased the operational expenditure of cloud service providers, which makes it imperative to find out a highly efficient method to reduce the cost and maximise the profit. However, the time and spatial differences of costs and the diverse characteristics of requests bring in multiple challenges to tackle this problem. In this work, we jointly take the electricity cost, communication cost and diverse characteristics of requests into consideration and propose a profit optimisation framework that includes three important decisions: service requests acceptance control, requests dispatching and resource provision. An efficient online algorithm is then designed to provide cloud service providers with the advice concerning these decisions to achieve the maximal time‐averaged profit over the long run. The rigorous theoretical analysis demonstrates that the proposed framework is able to approach a time averaged profit that is arbitrarily close to optimum. Extensive trace‐driven experiments further confirm the effectiveness and superiority of our framework. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Novel D2D resource partitioning and allocation schemes for SC‐FDMA‐based public safety systems

Device‐to‐device (D2D) communication is essential for the provision of the broadcasting service for public safety (PS) terminals in out‐of‐network coverage. A sensing‐based resource‐allocation scheme is desirable, rather than a random approach, for next‐generation, PS systems, so that higher data rates and a massive connectivity can be supported. The half‐duplex and resource collisions are the main design constraints, especially for the single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC‐FDMA)‐based D2D broadcast system. A novel resource‐allocation scheme is proposed in this paper, whereby the resource partitions are managed adaptively based on sensing results. The system‐level evaluation and analysis results show that the proposed scheme significantly improves upon the overall network performance of the conventional scheme, especially with respect to the resource‐collision rate and the throughput. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The staging and assessment of moderate to severe Alzheimer disease

Alzheimer disease (AD) and its stages are clinically defined by the patterns of gradual and progressive decline in cognition and in functional ability with accompanying neuropsychiatric symptoms. The moderate to severe AD (MSAD) stages are particularly important both for their prevalence and for the transitions that occur at these stages. In MSAD, cognitive losses accelerate, neuropsychiatric symptoms increase, and functional autonomy is lost. There is increasing burden on caregivers, who report poorer self-rated health, increased depressive symptoms, and more use of psychoactive medications. The neurologic care of MSAD demands both skilled assessment and management. Beyond the cognitive and neurobehavioral symptom complex in MSAD, a range of other issues also emerge, including gait and movement disorders, nutritional problems, and incontinence. This review addresses the symptoms and staging of AD and emphasizes the key management issues.
Diagnóstico de sobrepeso em adolescentes: estudo do desempenho de diferentes critérios para o Índice de Massa Corporal

OBJECTIVE: In an attempt to simplify the screening process for detecting obesity in adolescence, the performance of different cutoff values for body mass index (BMI) was assessed in a population-based cohort in Southern Brazil. METHODS: A total of 493 adolescents aged 15-16 years who lived in the city of Pelotas, Brazil, were studied. Obesity was defined according to the WHO criteria taking into account age and sex (a BMI equal to or greater than the 85th percentile of the NHANES I reference, plus subscapular and triceps skinfold equal to or greater than the 90th percentile of the same reference). Different BMI cutoff values were used to assess their specificity and sensitivity. RESULTS: For boys, BMI³25 kg/m² showed the best performance for detecting obesity, with a sensitivity of 90% and only 5% of false positives. The Brazilian proposed criteria that was used had 100% sensitivity but up to 23% of false positives. Higher cutoff values were also tested, but there was a slight increase in specificity, accompanied by a marked reduction in sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: The BMI cutoff of 25 kg/m² presented the best performance for screening obesity in the studied sample, and it is recommended for adolescents aged 15 and more in populations with similar characteristics. It provides a single cutoff value to be used in primary health services, eliminating the need for age and sex-specific values and skinfold measurements, and it is also consistent with the cutoff value proposed to identifying overweight adults.
Identification of different pigeon allergens and its trigger toward increase in inner city Asthma

Background: Upon exposure, allergic reactions to breathing pigeon feces are common. The dust of dried droppings irritates the nasal passages, causing sneezing, coughs, excess mucus and shortness of breath, dizziness and a sense of vertigo. Hence exposure to pigeon allergens in the surroundings has led to increase in hypersensitivity reactions due to pigeon proteins present in their feathers and droppings. Aims and Objectives: The aim and objective of the following study is to investigate the role of pigeon droppings in the increase of inner city asthma. To study the different allergens present in the pigeon droppings. Materials and Methods: A total of 500 asthmatics were screened for hypersensitivity reactions toward protein extracts from pigeon droppings. 100 asthmatic patients were selected showing 3+ reactions by skin scratch test and an induration of more than 5 mm with inflammation. Total immunoglobulin E (IgE) as well as specific IgE quantitated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and circulating immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody toward pigeon allergens was studied by western blot. Results: Totally 87 asthmatic patients and 23 healthy normal showed reactivity toward allergens of pigeon feathers and droppings by skin test with induration of 1.48 ± 0.12FNx08 in patients (P < 0.000) and 0.17 ± 0.81 in healthy controls. Reactivity shown toward pigeon dropping allergen was 13 ± 0.121 in patients and that shown by healthy controls being 0.26 ± 0.094FNx01(P < 0.001), which was also statistically significant. The total IgE was 1906.84 ± 3696.27 IU/ml in patients FNx08(P < 0.0001) when compared to healthy controls 86.21 ± 50.18 IU/ml. Specific IgE detected in patients toward allergens was 0.31 ± 0.10 OD. FNx01(P < 0.001) to that of normal being 0.19 ± 0.06 OD. Patients serum reacted to 129 kD and 43 kD protein extract of pigeon dropping by western blotting and total IgG by ELISA was 1802.0 ± 66.5 mg/dl in patients (P < 0.016). The normal range being 581-1630 mg/dl. The pulmonary function test by spirometry was 60%, 40% lesser when compared with healthy normals. Conclusions: Observed results showed an increase in the hypersensitivity reactions toward the pigeon allergens and increase in the antibody levels of IgG in circulation. This probably may have added to the increase in asthma cases in our city.
Adapters in the organization of mast cell signaling

Summary: Mast cells are pivotal in innate immunity and play an important role in amplifying adaptive immunity. Nonetheless, they have long been known to be central to the initiation of allergic disorders. This results from the dysregulation of the immune response whereby normally innocuous substances are recognized as non‐self, resulting in the production of IgE antibodies to these ‘allergens’. Preformed and newly synthesized inflammatory (allergic) mediators are released from the mast cell following allergen‐mediated aggregation of allergen‐specific IgE bound to the high‐affinity receptors for IgE (FcεRI). Thus, the process by which the mast cell is able to interpret the engagement of FcεRI into the molecular events necessary for release of their allergic mediators is of considerable therapeutic interest. Unraveling these molecular events has led to the discovery of a functional class of proteins that are essential in organizing activated signaling molecules and in coordinating and compartmentalizing their activity. These so‐called ‘adapters’ bind multiple signaling proteins and localize them to specific cellular compartments, such as the plasma membrane. This organization is essential for normal mast cell responses. Here, we summarize the role of adapter proteins in mast cells focusing on the most recent advances toward understanding how these molecules work upon FcεRI engagement.