Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adjuvant therapy with a doxorubicin regimen and long-term tamoxifen in premenopausal breast cancer patients: an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group trial.

PURPOSE A randomized trial was performed in premenopausal postoperative women with ipsilateral axillary node-positive (N+) breast carcinoma and known estrogen receptor (ER) status to assess the efficacy of an Adriamycin (doxorubicin; Adria Laboratories, Columbus, OH)-based induction regimen and 5 or more years of tamoxifen (Tam). PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients received 12 28-day cycles of cyclophosphamide 100 mg/m2 orally days 1 to 14, methotrexate 40 mg/m2 intravenously (IV) days 1 and 8, fluorouracil 600 mg/m2 IV days 1 and 8, prednisone 40 mg/m2 orally days 1 to 14, and Tam 10 mg orally twice daily (CMFPT), or the same regimen plus halotestin 10 mg orally twice daily (CMFPTH) alternating monthly with 22-day cycles of vinblastine 4.5 mg/m2 IV day 1, Adriamycin 45 mg/m2 IV day 1, thiotepa 12 mg/m2 IV day 1, halotestin, and Tam (ALTER). Prednisone in the ALTER regimen was stopped after the second CMFPTH cycle. After 12 cycles, patients were again randomized to stop or continue Tam. After 5 years, patients on Tam were again randomized to continue or stop Tam; the results from this randomization are still coded. Among 533 analyzed induction cases, 263 received CMFPT and 270 ALTER. Among 396 analyzed maintenance cases, 201 continued Tam and 195 were observed. Pretreatment characteristics were balanced among treatments. The median follow-up times are 5.1 years for induction and 4.1 years for maintenance. RESULTS The time to relapse (TTR) was superior for the ALTER regimen (P = .04) and for the maintenance Tam (P = .05). Overall survival comparisons between the regimens are not statistically different. A longer TTR was associated with decreasing nodal involvement, ER+ status, and increasing age. The favorable effects of decreasing nodal involvement and ER+ status carried over to survival; a progesterone receptor-positive (PgR+) status and decreasing tumor size were also associated with longer survival. Development of amenorrhea was associated with improved TTR and survival. Toxicity was similar for the two induction regimens and for the two maintenance regimens. Overall relapse patterns were similar among the induction regimens, but continuing Tam led to fewer locoregional relapses. CONCLUSION The results suggest significant overall TTR therapeutic benefits of an Adriamycin-containing alternating induction regimen and of continuing maintenance Tam therapy for at least 5 years.
Coherent assembly of phytoplankton communities in diverse temperate ocean ecosystems

The annual cycle of phytoplankton cell abundance is coherent across diverse ecosystems in the temperate North Atlantic Ocean. In Bedford Basin, on the Scotian Shelf and in the Labrador Sea, the numerical abundance of phytoplankton is low in spring and high in autumn, thus in phase with the temperature cycle. Temperature aligns abundance on a common basis, effectively adjusting apparent cell discrepancies in waters that are colder or warmer than the regional norm. As an example of holistic simplicity arising from underlying complexity, the variance in a community variable (total abundance) is explained by a single predictor (temperature) to the extent of 75% in the marginal seas. In the estuarine basin, weekly averages of phytoplankton and temperature computed from a 13 year time-series yield a predictive relationship with 91% explained variance. Temperature-directed assembly of individual phytoplankton cells to form communities is statistically robust, consistent with observed biomass changes, amenable to theoretical analysis, and a sentinel for long-term change. Since cell abundance is a community property in the same units for all marine microbes at any trophic level and at any phylogenetic position, it promises to integrate biological oceanography into general ecology and evolution.
Shuttle walking test: a new approach for evaluating patients with pacemakers.

OBJECTIVE: To validate an incremental field walking test, the shuttle walking test, as a means of assessing pacing modes and to aid programming of rate responsive pacemakers. DESIGN: Three separate groups of patients were recruited. Reproducibility (n = 10) of the shuttle walking test was assessed by performing three consecutive tests. Comparison of the shuttle walking test with a 10 min walk was assessed in 20 patients. In the third group (n = 10) patients with rate responsive pacemakers were programmed to either VVI fixed rate 70 beats/min or VVIR with the optimal rate response to show the discriminative value of the test. SETTING: Pacing clinic in a regional cardiothoracic centre. PATIENTS: 30 patients with chronotropic competence and dual chamber pacemakers with varying functional capacity and 10 patients with rate responsive pacemakers. INTERVENTIONS: Continuous haemodynamic monitoring was obtained using an ambulatory nuclear monitor, the Capintec VEST. Two exercise tests either shuttle walking test or 10 min corridor walk. The shuttle walk is an incremental walking test conducted on a 10 m course where the walking speed is dictated by bleeps on an audio cassette. RESULTS: Reproducibility was demonstrated over three consecutive tests with mean (1 SD) exercise times of 7.6 (1.7) min, 7.7 (1.6), and 7.7 (1.7) min. During the shuttle walk the test patients walked for a mean of 8.3 (1.2) min producing peak relative cardiac outputs of 78 (21) end diastolic volume/min compared with 64.9 (17) end diastolic volume/min for the 10 min walk (P < 0.001); peak heart rates were 118 and 104 beats/min (P < 0.03) respectively. In the third group relative peak cardiac output was significantly greater in VVIR (70 (24) v VVI 52 (15) end diastolic volume/min) (P < 0.009) as were exercise times (VVIR 8.8 (1.3) min v VVI 8.1 (1.3) min) (P < 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The shuttle walk is an easy test to administer, requiring little equipment. It produces a symptom limited maximal performance and will be a useful aid to pacemaker programming as it is reproducible and able to show differences in exercise capacity between pacing modes.
E3 ubiquitin ligase COP1 regulates the stability and functions of MTA1

Metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1), a component of the nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylation (NuRD) complex, is widely upregulated in human cancers. However, the mechanism for regulating its protein stability remains unknown. Here we report that MTA1 is an ubiquitinated protein and targeted by the RING-finger E3 ubiquitin–protein ligase constitutive photomorphogenesis protein 1 (COP1) for degradation via the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway. Induced expression of wild-type COP1 but not its RING motif mutants promotes the ubiquitination and degradation of MTA1, indicating that the ligase activity is required for the COP1-mediated proteolysis of MTA1. Conversely, depletion of endogenous COP1 resulted in a marked decrease in MTA1 ubiquitination, accompanied by a pronounced accumulation of MTA1 protein. MTA1, in turn, destabilizes COP1 by promoting its autoubiquitination, thus creating a tight feedback loop that regulates both MTA1 and COP1 protein stability. Accordingly, disruption of the COP1-mediated proteolysis by ionizing radiation leads to MTA1 stabilization, accompanied by an increased coregulatory function of MTA1 on its target. Furthermore, we discovered that MTA1 is required for optimum DNA double-strand break repair after ionizing radiation. These findings provide novel insights into the regulation of MTA1 protein and reveal a novel function of MTA1 in DNA damage response.
Cognitive appraisals of stressors encountered in sport organizations

This study investigated athletes' appraisals of organizational stressors. Four elite sport performers (two males and two females) completed Stress Appraisal Logs over a six-week competition period regarding the stressors they encountered within their sport organization. The participants predominantly appraised sources of organizational strain (i.e. organizational-related stressors) as threatening or harmful, with little perceived control, and few coping resources available. Appraisals were categorized under three dimensions: primary appraisals, secondary appraisals, and reappraisals. The findings provide a valuable insight into performers' cognitive appraisal of organizational-related stressors by highlighting that they reflect on the personal meaning and importance of demands, evaluate their resources to deal with the stressors, and employ reappraisals to subsequently revisit and re-evaluate situations in a more positive manner.
An Efficient Data Collection Protocol Based on Multihop Routing and Single-Node Cooperation in Wireless Sensor Networks

Considering the constrained resource and energy in wireless sensor networks, an efficient data collection protocol named ESCDD which adopts the multihop routing technology and the single-node selection cooperative communication is proposed to make the communication protocol more simple and easy to realize for the large-scale multihop wireless sensor networks. ESCDD uses the greedy strategy and the control information based on RTS/CTS to select forwarding nodes. Then, the hops in the multihop data transmission are reduced. Based on the power control in physical layer and the control frame called CoTS in MAC layer, ESCDD chooses a single cooperative node to perform cooperative transmission. The receiving node adopts maximal ratio combining (MRC) to recover original data. The energy consumption per hop is reduced. Furthermore, the total energy consumption in data collection process is shared by more nodes and the network lifetime is extended. Compared with GeRaF, EERNFS, and REEFG protocol, the simulation results show that ESCDD can effectively reduce the average delay of multihop data transmission, improve the successful delivery rate of data packets, significantly save the energy consumption of network nodes, and make the energy consumption more balanced.
Social Media as CRM? How Two Scandinavian Airline Companies Used Facebook during the "Ash Crisis" in 2010

Some researchers predict a paradigm shift within Customer Relationship Man - agement (CRM), moving from the traditional large in-house CRM systems to social soft - ware such as Facebook. In this article we investigate two issues. First: are there inherent problems in traditional CRM systems that Facebook may resolve? Second: if so, can social media replace CRM systems? We conducted a case study of two Scandinavian airliners' use of Facebook for customer communication during the ash crisis in April 2010. Our analytical approach was a Business Intelligence analysis using web- and text mining based on 28.000 postings on Facebook. We offer two findings. First, Facebook resolves some shortcomings of traditional CRM. The openness of Facebook allows for more dynamic interaction be - tween company and customers. Facebook has a self-reinforcing mechanism for diffusion, meaning that short-term usefulness triggers more use, which again will increase the use- fulness. Second, we do not believe that social media can replace traditional CRM systems, but it constitutes an interesting challenge. If not a full CRM, Facebook can serve as a "so - cial CRM". In contrast to traditional CRM, companies may not be the strongest part, since personal information is controlled by the customer. This is indeed an interesting arena for researchers.
Impact of fruit and vegetables on oxidative status and lipid profiles in healthy individuals.

This study aims to investigate the effect of different amount of low, medium and high (3, 5 and 8 servings/day) fruit and vegetables (F+V) consumption on blood lipid profile and plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) in healthy individuals. In a parallel trial, 63 subjects were randomly assigned into one of the three different dietary interventions. Anthropometric, blood lipid profile and MDA were evaluated at baseline and after 4 weeks intervention. The results showed that consumption of F+V 5 and 8 servings/d could significantly reduce low density lipoprotein (LDL-C) concentrations with a mean difference (95% CI) of -13.28 , (-4.00, - 22.55) and -9.31(-2.25, -16.38) mg/dL respectively. In addition, 8 servings/d of F+V consumption had shown to significantly reduced plasma MDA concentrations with a mean difference (95%CI) of -0.15 (-0.09, -0.2) mg/dL, and p-value <0.05. Therefore, consumption of 8 servings F + V daily pose health benefits on both reducing LDL-C concentrations and improving oxidative status.
Amphotericin B Up-regulates Lipid A-induced IL-6 Production via Caspase-8

Amphotericin B, an antifungal drug used to treat candidiasis, has been reported to induce pro-inflammatory cytokine production in cultured cells. This study investigated the effects of amphotericin B on pro-inflammatory cytokine production in response to lipid A, the bioactive component of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the cell walls of Gram-negative bacteria. Amphotericin B alone elicited a slight increase in interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 production by human gingival fibroblasts. However, amphotericin B synergistically up-regulated lipid A-induced production of IL-6 and IL-8. While amphotericin B minimally activated nuclear factor (NF)-κB, it synergistically increased lipid A–induced NF-κB activation. Pre-treatment with methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD), a cholesterol-binding agent, reduced IL-6 and IL-8 production in human gingival fibroblasts. Cholesterol-saturated MβCD also reversed cytokine production, suggesting that the synergistic production of cytokines by amphotericin B and lipid A is dependent on cholesterol-rich microdomains. Amphotericin B activated caspase-8. In addition, a caspase-8 inhibitor inhibited IL-6 production by amphotericin B and lipid A. This suggests that caspase-8 is required for the synergistic production of IL-6 by amphotericin B and lipid A. Collectively, our results suggest that periodontal treatment carried out before amphotericin B treatment may protect against lipid A-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine production.
Doing Gender in a Toxic World. Women and Freebase Cocaine in the City of Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Consumption of freebase cocaine in Argentina has been investigated among males but not females. This qualitative study focuses on the complexity of relationships between gender identity and the use of drugs, investigating freebase cocaine as an example in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In-depth interviews were conducted with female consumers in 2010. The results reveal the different ways in which female identity is constructed in the context of social vulnerability. We identify ways of doing gender and feeling like a woman in a man's world that are associated with a higher risk of violence and exclusion for being female.
STORE: Sparse Tensor Response Regression and Neuroimaging Analysis

Motivated by applications in neuroimaging analysis, we propose a new regression model, Sparse TensOr REsponse regression (STORE), with a tensor response and a vector predictor. STORE embeds two key sparse structures: element-wise sparsity and low-rankness. It can handle both a non-symmetric and a symmetric tensor response, and thus is applicable to both structural and functional neuroimaging data. We formulate the parameter estimation as a non-convex optimization problem, and develop an efficient alternating updating algorithm. We establish a non-asymptotic estimation error bound for the actual estimator obtained from the proposed algorithm. This error bound reveals an interesting interaction between the computational efficiency and the statistical rate of convergence. When the distribution of the error tensor is Gaussian, we further obtain a fast estimation error rate which allows the tensor dimension to grow exponentially with the sample size. We illustrate the efficacy of our model through intensive simulations and an analysis of the Autism spectrum disorder neuroimaging data.
Aberrant splicing of the hRasGRP 4 transcript and decreased levels of this signaling protein in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells in a subset of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction: An unidentified population of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) express Ras guanine nucleotide releasing protein 4 (RasGRP4). The aim of our study was to identify the cells in human blood that express hRasGRP4, and then to determine if hRasGRP4 was altered in any patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Monocytes and T cells were purified from PBMCs of normal individuals, and were evaluated for their expression of RasGRP4 mRNA/protein. The levels of RasGRP4 transcripts were evaluated in the PBMCs from healthy volunteers and RA patients by real-time quantitative PCR. The nucleotide sequences of RasGRP4 cDNAs were also determined. RasGRP4 protein expression in PBMCs/monocytes was evaluated. Recombinant hRasGRP4 was expressed in mammalian cells. Results: Circulating CD14 cells in normal individuals were found to express hRasGRP4. The levels of the hRasGRP4 transcript were significantly higher in the PBMCs of our RA patients relative to healthy individuals. Sequence analysis of hRasGRP4 cDNAs from these PBMCs revealed 10 novel splice variants. Aberrantly spliced hRasGRP4 transcripts were more frequent in the RA patients than in normal individuals. The presence of one of these abnormal splice variants was linked to RA. The levels of hRasGRP4 protein in PBMCs tended to be lower. As expected, the defective transcripts led to altered and/or nonfunctional protein in terms of P44/42 mitogenactivated protein (MAP) kinase activation. Conclusions: The identification of defective isoforms of hRasGRP4 transcripts in the PBMCs of RA patients raises the possibility that dysregulated expression of hRasGRP4 in developing monocytes plays a pathogenic role in a subset of RA patients.
Different sets of wheat genes are used in Dn7-mediated resistance to feeding by two biotypes of Russian wheat aphid

Diuraphis noxia (Kurdjumov) (Russian wheat aphid) is an economically significant pest in wheat-growing areas, particularly in the U.S. and South Africa. The interaction between wheat and the Russian wheat aphid is poorly understood. When new biotypes appeared in the U.S. between 2003 and 2006, it became evident that specific interactions exist between resistance loci and aphid biotypes. Dn7 provides a high level of resistance to eight currently existing biotypes. This study was conducted to gain a greater understanding of Dn7-mediated resistance to two different biotypes (RWA1 and RWA2). Using wheat Genechip® arrays, we compared the transcript profiles of resistant and susceptible lines (94M370 and Gamtoos) infested with either RWA1 or RWA2. The number of differentially expressed genes was higher in both resistant and susceptible plants fed upon by RWA1 compared to those fed upon by RWA2. Common sets of genes in response to both biotypes were involved in basic functions such as carbohydrate metabolism and energy generation. Common genes also included cell wall synthesis enzyme genes, and defense-response or stress-related genes. Many genes that were unique to RWA1 or RWA2 response were transcription factors. The results suggest that while common pathways are involved in Dn7-mediated resistance to RWA1 or RWA2 attack, divergent pathways appear to be involved as well. Silencing of candidate genes identified from microarray experiments using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) enabled us to identify genes that play important roles in wheat’s defense response to the Russian wheat aphid.
Preinoculation With the Probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus Early in Life Effectively Inhibits Murine Citrobacter rodentium Colitis

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is a common pathogen in infantile diarrhea, causing a characteristic histopathologic attaching and effacing (A/E) lesion in the intestinal mucosa. The mouse pathogen Citrobacter rodentium causes a similar A/E lesion in the murine intestine. Like EPEC, C. rodentium infection results in colonic crypt hyperplasia, goblet cell depletion, epithelial proliferation, and mucosal disruption. Using this murine model, we tested the hypothesis that preinoculation of murine gut with Lactobacillus acidophilus early in life can enhance host defense against enteric bacterial infection and attenuate bacteria-mediated colitis. Two-week old BALB/c mice were inoculated with L. acidophilus twice per week for 4 weeks before C. rodentium infection or concomitantly with the exposure to C. rodentium at 6–8 weeks of age. The probiotics were administered twice weekly thereafter. We observed that L. acidophilus inoculation in mice inhibits C. rodentium–induced colitis, which is associated with a decrease in C. rodentium colonization and translocation, an increase in its clearance, and a suppression of colonic myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. Probiotic treatment also stimulates regulatory cytokine expression in the colon [transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), interleukin (IL)-10]. Preinoculation with L. acidophilus is more effective than concomitant use of probiotics in the induction of intestinal IgA secretion and in the downregulation of proinflammatory cytokine expression [tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), IL-6, and IL-12]. These observations suggest that inoculation with probiotics can effectively prevent bacteria-induced colitis by limiting enteric bacteria infection and promoting mucosal protective regulatory immune responses. This study may have ramifications for prevention of infectious diarrhea in human infants and children, particularly in developing countries.
Ball Tracking and Action Recognition of Soccer Players in TV Broadcast Videos

In this thesis, we investigate techniques for detection and tracking of the ball and the detection of the players in digital video frames of soccer games. Novel resampling approaches are proposed in tracking with smart filtering techniques for small and single target tracking in team sports. Extraction of ball actions are studied with new measures defined. The developed algorithms are integrated to ASPOGAMO Web Based Soccer Analysis System.
Application of Ultra-Low Field HTS-SQUID NMR/MRI to Contaminant Detection in Food

We constructed an ultra-low field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system utilizing a high-temperature superconductor (HTS) SQUID and permanent magnet for application of contaminant detection in food and drink. In order to compensate shortage of signal-to-noise ratio of the HTS-SQUID-based system, a pair permanent magnet of 1.1 T was employed for prepolarization field. It was combined with a sample transfer apparatus, which transferred a water sample with contaminant in a 10-ml glass bottle from the magnet to under the SQUID magnetometer within 0.5 s. Feasibility of contaminant detection in drink was demonstrated using the system by measuring NMR and 1-D MRI of water samples including contaminants of stainless steel, aluminum, and polymer. 2-D MRI measurement of a sample with partitioned water by silicone bulk was demonstrated employing the filtered back projection reconstruction method.