Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Liver Transplant-Related Survival Benefit in Patients With Versus Without Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the United States.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Patients with T2 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can obtain an exception that allows them to undergo liver transplantation with much lower actual Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores than patients without HCC. We compared patients who received liver transplants, with and without HCC, with regard to transplantation-related survival benefit. METHODS We modeled the post-transplantation survival of adult, first-time liver transplant recipients with HCC (n = 9135) or without (n = 25,890) from 2002 through 2013 using Cox proportional hazards regression. We modeled waitlist survival of patients listed for transplantation with HCC (n = 15,605) or without (n = 85,229) using competing risks analysis and combined outcomes of death or liver failure (defined as MELD score ≥30). We used these survival models to calculate monthly transition probabilities and 5-year life expectancies. Survival benefit was calculated as the difference between post-transplantation and waitlist life expectancy. RESULTS The 5-year survival benefit increased with actual MELD score for patients with and without HCC, ranging from just a few months in patients with low MELD scores (ie, 6-8) to 4 years in patients with the highest MELD scores (ie, 36-40). The survival benefit of patients with HCC was similar to that of patients without HCC who had the same actual MELD score, irrespective of tumor burden or serum level of α-fetoprotein. However, because patients with HCC received liver transplants when they had a lower mean MELD score (13.3 ± 6.2) than patients without HCC (21.8 ± 8.0), a much lower mean 5-year survival benefit was achieved by providing liver transplants to patients with HCC (0.12 years/patient) than patients without HCC (1.47 years/patient). CONCLUSIONS The HCC MELD exception policy has unintentionally resulted in a large reduction in transplantation-related survival benefit.
Risk factor analysis and molecular epidemiology of respiratory adenovirus infections among children in northern Taiwan , 2009 e 2013

a Department of Pediatrics, MacKay Children’s Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan b Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan c MacKay Junior College of Medicine, Nursing, and Management, New Taipei City, Taiwan d Section of Microbiology, Department of Medical Research, MacKay Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan e Department of Clinical Virology of Laboratory Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan f Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Integration of structural brain networks is related to openness to experience: A diffusion MRI study with CSD-based tractography

Openness to experience is one of the big five traits of personality which recently has been the subject of several studies in neuroscience due to its importance in understanding various cognitive functions. However, the neural basis of openness to experience is still unclear. Previous studies have found largely heterogeneous results, suggesting that various brain regions may be involved in openness to experience. Here we suggested that performing structural connectome analysis may shed light on the neural underpinnings of openness to experience as it provides a more comprehensive look at the brain regions that are involved in this trait. Hence, we investigated the involvement of brain network structural features in openness to experience which has not yet been explored to date. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data along with the openness to experience trait score from the self-reported NEO Five-Factor Inventory of 100 healthy subjects were evaluated from Human Connectome Project (HCP). CSD-based whole-brain probabilistic tractography was performed using diffusion-weighted images as well as segmented T1-weighted images to create an adjacency matrix for each subject. Using graph theoretical analysis, we computed global efficiency (GE) and clustering coefficient (CC) which are measures of two important aspects of network organization in the brain: functional integration and functional segregation respectively. Results revealed a significant negative correlation between GE and openness to experience which means that the higher capacity of the brain in combining information from different regions may be related to lower openness to experience.
A brief overview of preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide. It occurs in women with first or multiple pregnancies and is characterized by new onset hypertension and proteinuria. Improper placentation is mainly responsible for the disease. If PE remains untreated, it moves towards more serious condition known as eclampsia. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, proteinuria, obesity, family history, nulliparity, multiple pregnancies and thrombotic vascular disease contribute as the risk factors for PE. PE triggered metabolic stress causes vascular injury, thus contributing to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and/or chronic kidney disease (CKD) in future. This risk appears to be increased especially in women with a history of recurrent PE and eclampsia. Clinically increased serum levels of sFlt-1 and decreased placental growth factor (PIGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) represent the severe condition of PE. The clinical findings of sever PE are assorted by the presence of systemic endothelial dysfunction, microangiopathy, the liver (hemolysis, elevated liver function tests and low platelet count, namely HELLP syndrome) and the kidney (proteinuria). The early detection of PE is one of the most important goals in obstetrics. J Clin Med Res. 2014;6(1):1-7 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.4021/jocmr1682w
The CMV-encoded G protein-coupled receptors M33 and US28 play pleiotropic roles in immune evasion and alter host T cell responses

Introduction Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a global health threat due to its ubiquity and lifelong persistence in infected people. During latency, host CD8+ T cell responses to HCMV continue to increase in a phenomenon known as memory inflation. We used murine CMV (MCMV) as a model for HCMV to characterize the memory inflation response to wild-type MCMV (KP) and a latency-defective mutant (ΔM33stop), which lacks M33, an MCMV chemokine receptor homolog. M33 is essential for normal reactivation from latency and this was leveraged to determine whether reactivation in vivo contributes to T cell memory inflation. Methods Mice were infected with wild-type or mutant MCMV and T cell responses were analyzed by flow cytometry at acute and latent time points. Ex vivo reactivation and cytotoxicity assays were carried out to further investigate immunity and virus replication. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (q-RTPCR) was used to examine gene expression during reactivation. MHC expression on infected cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. Finally, T cells were depleted from latently-infected B cell-deficient mice to examine the in vivo difference in reactivation between wild-type and ΔM33stop. Results We found that ΔM33stop triggers memory inflation specific for peptides derived from the immediate-early protein IE1 but not the early protein m164, in contrast to wild-type MCMV. During ex vivo reactivation, gene expression in DM33stop-infected lung tissues was delayed compared to wild-type virus. Normal gene expression was partially rescued by substitution of the HCMV US28 open reading frame in place of the M33 gene. In vivo depletion of T cells in immunoglobulin heavy chain-knockout mice resulted in reactivation of wild-type MCMV, but not ΔM33stop, confirming the role of M33 during reactivation from latency. Further, we found that M33 induces isotype-specific downregulation of MHC class I on the cell surface suggesting previously unappreciated roles in immune evasion. Discussion Our results indicate that M33 is more polyfunctional than previously appreciated. In addition to its role in reactivation, which had been previously described, we found that M33 alters viral gene expression, host T cell memory inflation, and MHC class I expression. US28 was able to partially complement most functions of M33, suggesting that its role in HCMV infection may be similarly pleotropic.
Multi-level agency and transformative capacity for environmental risk reduction in the Norwegian salmon farming industry

This article analyzes the role of agency in reducing environmental risk in the Norwegian salmon farming industry. The theoretical starting point is recent literature on change agency which focuses on the different ways in which actors purposely act to renew existing and create new regional industry growth paths, and reproductive agency which focuses on how actors, explicitly and implicitly, maintain existing structures to uphold status quo. Departing from a current risk society ambiguity in the industry and an explorative multi-scalar study of industrial innovation processes, we analysis how change agency combined with reproductive agency play out. The analysis shows that change agency affecting transformative agency capacity reducing environmental risk is connected to institutional entrepreneurship in terms of a Development Licenses Program on the national level and to Schumpeterian innovative entrepreneurship in terms of Development Licenses Projects on firm level. Moreover, the study shows how reproductive agency also affects the capacity to cope with environmental risks in terms of risk reducing place-based leadership illustrated by cooperation and bottom-up, self-organized area cooperation on the regional level, and in terms of risk creation illustrated by a global growth logic across geographical levels. On this ground, it is argued that the theoretical contribution of the study is that the transformative capacity to reduce environmental risks of an industry rests on multi-scalar change- and reproductive agency and how these are combined.
COCCYGODYNIA AND PAIN IN THE SUPERIOR GLUTEAL REGION: AND DOWN THE BACK OF THE THIGH: CAUSATION BY TONIC SPASM OF THE LEVATOR ANI, COCCYGEUS AND PIRIFORMIS MUSCLES AND RELIEF BY MASSAGE OF THESE MUSCLES

The inefficacy of the treatment of coccygodynia is attested by the numerous forms of therapy which have been recommended. Results from rest, physical therapy and sedatives have not been satisfactory. Injections of various solutions into the soft tissues about the coccyx as recommended by Yeomans1and Kleckner2have been more encouraging. Too often coccygectomy has resulted only in chagrin for the surgeon and disappointment for the patient. Careful search of the literature appearing since 1859 fails to reveal a concept of coccygodynia which can harmonize the many forms of therapy which have been advised. In a classic thesis published in 1859, Sir J. Y. Simpson3called attention to the fact that, when the coccyx or the coccygeal joints had been injured or when the surrounding tissues were the seat of inflammation, any contraction of the muscles attached to the coccyx would excite the characteristic pain of coccygodynia.
Preservation of Bacteria with Notes on other Micro-organisms

Damage to the parenchyma of the lung may occur as a result of inhalation or ingestion of toxic or immunologically active substances, from passive congestion or as part of a systemic disorder. This volume reviews the resulting pathological changes in man and describes recent investigations into the mechanisms and the consequences for lung gas exchange. The 20 papers are mostly of high quality by distinguished contributors and beautifully illustrated, and the book should earn its place in specialist libraries on the lung. The discerning reader will detect the heat generated by opposing views on a number of topics including terminology, the meaning of desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP), the identification of cell types, and the relation of the transfer factor for carbon monoxide to lung compliance. But the account would have been more useful if an edited version of the discussion had been included. Thus private individuals should shop around; there may be better bargains elsewhere.
Comprehensive physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses reveal the synergistic mechanism of Bacillus pumilus G5 combined with silicon alleviate oxidative stress in drought-stressed Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.

Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. is often cultivated in arid, semi-arid, and salt-affected regions that suffer from drought stress, which leads to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), thus causing oxidative stress. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) and silicon (Si) have been widely reported to be beneficial in improving the tolerance of plants to drought stress by maintaining plant ROS homeostasis. Herein, combining physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses, we investigated the response of the antioxidant system of G. uralensis seedlings under drought stress to Bacillus pumilus (G5) and/or Si treatment. The results showed that drought stress caused the overproduction of ROS, accompanied by the low efficiency of antioxidants [i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), the ascorbate (AsA)–glutathione (GSH) pool, total carotenoids, and total flavonoids]. Inversely, supplementation with G5 and/or Si enhanced the antioxidant defense system in drought-stressed G. uralensis seedlings, and the complex regulation of the combination of G5 and Si differed from that of G5 or Si alone. The combination of G5 and Si enhanced the antioxidant enzyme system, accelerated the AsA–GSH cycle, and triggered the carotenoid and flavonoid metabolism, which acted in combination via different pathways to eliminate the excess ROS induced by drought stress, thereby alleviating oxidative stress. These findings provide new insights into the comparative and synergistic roles of PGPB and Si in the antioxidant system of plants exposed to drought and a guide for the application of PGPB combined with Si to modulate the tolerance of plants to stress.
Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Nursing Students

ABS TRACT Ob jec ti ve: To in ves ti ga te the Tur kish va li dity and re li a bi lity of the Jef fer son Sca le of Em pathy for Nur sing Stu dents (JSENS). Ma te ri al and Met hods: The study samp le con sis ted of 414 nur sing stu dents. The cons truct va li dity of the sca le was tes ted with con fir ma tory fac tor analy sis (CFA) whe re as the con cur rent sca le va li dity was tes ted with Em pat hic Ten dency Sca le (ETS). The re li a bi lity of the sca le was eva lu a ted with in ter nal con sis tency and the in ter nal con sis tency was as ses sed with Cron bach’s alp ha and item-to tal cor re la ti on. Re sults: The re sults of the CFA sho wed that JSENS fit ted the thre e-fac tor mo del. Ho we ver, the fac tor lo a dings of two items we re very low, the re fo re the se items we re ex trac ted from the sca le and CFA was run aga in. The go od ness of fit in di ces of the thre e-fac tor mo del con ta i ning 18 items we re ac cep tab le. The subs ca le sco res of the JSENS and to tal sco re sho wed po si ti vely cor re la ti ons with the ETS sco re. The Cron bach’s alp ha co ef fi ci ent was 0.73 for all items. The item-to tal cor re la ti ons ran ged from 0.11 to 0.46 in the item analy sis con duc ted for 18 items. Conc lu si on: The Tur kish adap ta ti on of the JSENS con ta i ned thre e fac tors and 18 items. The JSENS can be used as a va lid and re li ab le ins tru ment for eva lu a ting em pathy in nur sing stu dents.
FGF20 and Parkinson's disease: No evidence of association or pathogenicity via α‐synuclein expression

Genetic variation in fibroblast growth factor 20 (FGF20) has been associated with risk of Parkinson's disease (PD). Functional evidence suggested the T allele of one SNP, rs12720208 C/T, altered PD risk by increasing FGF20 and α‐synuclein protein levels. Herein we report our association study of FGF20 and PD risk in four patient‐control series (total: 1,262 patients and 1,881 controls), and measurements of FGF20 and α‐synuclein protein levels in brain samples (nine patients). We found no evidence of association between FGF20 variability and PD risk, and no relationship between the rs12720208 genotype, FGF20 and α‐synuclein protein levels. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society
Cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease: Tools for diagnosis and assessment

Cognitive impairment (CI) and dementia are frequent and debilitating features associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Formal neuropsychological examination is required to ascertain the degree and pattern of CI over the course of the disease. The use of different tools may explain heterogeneous data obtained from studies to date. Normative data for extensively used scales [Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS), Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE)] is incomplete in PD populations. According to sample characteristics, statistical analyses, and methodological quality, 33 studies using scales not specific to PD (MDRS, MMSE, Cambridge Cognitive Assessment, FAB) or PD‐specific scales (Mini‐Mental Parkinson, Scales for Outcomes of Parkinson's disease—Cognition, Parkinson's Disease—Cognitive Rating Scale, and Parkinson Neuropsychometric Dementia Assessment) were eligible for the critical analysis of their appropriateness to assess cognition in PD. Of the four scales specifically designed for PD, the SCOPA‐COG and the PD‐CRS have undergone extensive and rigorous validation processes. While the SCOPA‐COG mainly assesses “frontal‐subcortical” cognitive defects, the PD‐CRS also assesses “instrumental‐cortical” functions, allowing better characterization of the different patterns of CI that may be present in PD from the earliest stages. The MMP and PANDA scales were designed as brief screening tests for CI and have not yet been subjected to extensive clinimetric evaluations. Further research on PD‐specific tools seems mandatory to help establish accurate cut‐off scores for the diagnosis of mild PDD, detect cognitive profiles more prone to the future development of dementia, and allow comparisons between different descriptive or interventional studies. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society
Native agarose gel electrophoresis of multiprotein complexes.

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The prospect of tumor microenvironment-modulating therapeutical strategies

Multiple mechanisms promote tumor prosperity, which does not only depend on cell-autonomous, inherent abnormal characteristics of the malignant cells that facilitate rapid cell division and tumor expansion. The neoplastic tissue is embedded in a supportive and dynamic tumor microenvironment (TME) that nurtures and protects the malignant cells, maintaining and perpetuating malignant cell expansion. The TME consists of different elements, such as atypical vasculature, various innate and adaptive immune cells with immunosuppressive or pro-inflammatory properties, altered extracellular matrix (ECM), activated stromal cells, and a wide range of secreted/stroma-tethered bioactive molecules that contribute to malignancy, directly or indirectly. In this review, we describe the various TME components and provide examples of anti-cancer therapies and novel drugs under development that aim to target these components rather than the intrinsic processes within the malignant cells. Combinatory TME-modulating therapeutic strategies may be required to overcome the resistance to current treatment options and prevent tumor recurrence.
Role of ultrasonography in the evaluation of children with acute abdomen in the emergency set-up

Background: Acute abdomen in children has been aptly described as Pandora's box. Unlike computerized tomography (CT scan), ultrasonography (USG) has no radiation hazard and the present study analyses the diagnostic yield of the USG in acute abdomen in children. Materials and Methods: Between September 2001 to October 2003, 75 patients with acute abdomen underwent clinical examination, routine biochemical tests, erect X-ray abdomen, USG and CT scan. Laparotomy and histological examination established final diagnosis. Results: The accuracy of correct diagnosis was 60%, 66.6%, 64%, 98.7% with clinical examination alone, USG alone, clinical examination combined with conventional radiography, and clinical evaluation combined with conventional radiography and USG respectively. USG helped to prevent unnecessary laparotomy in 16.3% of patients. Conclusions: USG is good investigative modality in the management of acute abdomen in children.
Determining the Effectiveness of a Falls Prevention Programme to Enhance Quality of Life: An Occupational Therapy Perspective

Falls are common in older people and become more frequent with advancing age. Falling in older people is associated with mortality, decreased mobility, premature nursing home admissions and a reduced ability to perform activities of daily living. In an attempt to reduce the incidence of falls, the National Service Framework for Older People has emphasised the need to develop falls services that provide support for older people who have fallen and use health promotion initiatives. While there is evidence to suggest that home modifications can reduce falls in older people, there has been little research to evaluate the effectiveness of occupational therapy falls prevention programmes. This paper reports the findings of an evaluation of a multifaceted falls prevention programme, which aimed to determine whether occupational therapy could enhance quality of life by educating people aged 65 years and over about the risk of falls. A pre-intervention and post-intervention non-standardised self-administered questionnaire was completed at week 1 and at week 14. Of the 172 older people attending the falls prevention programme, 78 (45%) completed both questionnaires. The findings from this study suggest that an occupational therapy falls prevention programme can reduce the impact of falls on older people by enhancing confidence to perform activities, which in turn can increase quality of life. However, further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of anxiety management techniques.