Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognostic Factors of Survival after Recurrence in Patients with Resected Lung Adenocarcinoma

Objective: Recurrence after surgical resection is the most common cause of treatment failure in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer. The aim of the study is to investigate the prognostic factors of postrecurrence survival (PRS) in patients of resected lung adenocarcinoma. Methods: The clinicopathological characteristics of 179 patients with recurrence after complete resection of lung adenocarcinoma at Taipei Veterans General Hospital between 2004 and 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. The prognostic and predictive effects of these clinicopathological variables in PRS were analyzed. Results: The pattern of recurrence included local only in 25 (15.4%), distant only in 56 (34.6%), and both local and distant in 81 (50.0%) of patients. The 2-year and 5-year PRS were 65.2% and 29.8%, respectively. The most common organ sites of metastasis were the contralateral lung (39.1%), followed by the brain (33.5%) and the bone (31.3%). Multivariate analysis revealed that micropapillary/solid predominant pattern group (versus acinar/papillary; hazard ratio = 2.615; 95% confidence interval: 1.395–4.901; p = 0.003) and no treatment for recurrence (p < 0.001) were significant prognostic factors of worse PRS. For patients receiving treatment for recurrence, micropapillary/solid predominant pattern group (versus acinar/papillary; hazard ratio = 2.570; 95% confidence interval: 1.357–4.865; p = 0.004) was a significant predictive factor of worse PRS. Treatment for recurrence with surgery (p = 0.067) tended to be a significant predictive factor of better PRS. Conclusions: In lung adenocarcinoma, micropapillary/solid predominant pattern group (versus acinar/papillary) was a significant poor prognostic factor for PRS.
Effects of medium and inoculum variations on screening for high-level aminoglycoside resistance in Enterococcus faecalis

Enterococcus faecalis isolates that are refractory to aminoglycoside-penicillin synergy can be detected by their ability to grow in the presence of high concentrations of aminoglycoside (2,000 micrograms/ml). In past studies investigators have used a variety of media and inoculum sizes to perform high-level aminoglycoside resistance screens, but little is known about how these variations affect test accuracy. We screened 63 E. faecalis strains on different media by using various inoculum sizes and correlated the results with synergy test results obtained by time-kill studies. Screens were done with dextrose-phosphate agar, brain heart infusion agar, Trypticase soy agar with 5% sheep blood, Mueller-Hinton agar with 5% sheep blood, dextrose-phosphate broth, and Mueller-Hinton broth. Agar screens were inoculated with 10(2), 10(4), and 10(6) CFU; and broth screens contained a final inoculum of 10(5) CFU/ml. The E. faecalis isolates were tested for high-level resistance to streptomycin, kanamycin, amikacin, gentamicin, and tobramycin. Of the 63 isolates tested, 21 did not show high-level resistance to any of the aminoglycosides tested, and 42 demonstrated high-level resistance to one or more drugs. The sensitivity of most screens was greater than or equal to 90%. Regardless of the inoculum size or medium used, false-resistance results were seldom encountered. Screen specificity, which was used as the indicator of false susceptibility, was markedly influenced by both the inoculum size and the drug being tested. Specificity was low whenever a 10(2)-CFU inoculum was used, when amikacin was tested with any inoculum, and when tobramycin was tested in broth media. Data for kanamycin could be used to predict amikacin-penicillin synergy, and the highly accurate gentamicin screen obviated the need for the testing of tobramycin. We recommend a 10(6) -CFU inoculum for agar screens and a 10(5) -CFU/ml inoculum for broth screens. The type of medium used did not substantially influence screen accuracy. Among the aminoglycosides, only streptomycin, gentamicin, and occasionally, kanamycin need to be used to screen E. faecalis isolates for aminoglycoside-penicillin synergy.
Antidepressants versus placebo for depression in primary care.

BACKGROUND Concern has been expressed about the relevance of secondary care studies to primary care patients specifically about the effectiveness of antidepressant medication. There is a need to review the evidence of only those studies that have been conducted comparing antidepressant efficacy with placebo in primary care-based samples. OBJECTIVES To determine the efficacy and tolerability of antidepressants in patients (under the age of 65 years) with depression in primary care. SEARCH STRATEGY All searches were conducted in September 2007.The Cochrane Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Group (CCDAN) Controlled Trials Register was searched, together with a supplementary search of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, LILACS, CINAHL and PSYNDEX. Abstracts of all possible studies for inclusion were assessed independently by two reviewers. Further trials were sought through searching the reference lists of studies initially identified and by scrutinising other relevant review papers. Selected authors and experts were also contacted. SELECTION CRITERIA Studies were selected if they were randomised controlled trials of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) versus placebo in adults. Older patients (over 65 years) were excluded. Patients had to be recruited from a primary care setting. For continuous outcomes the Hamilton Depression scale of the Montgomery Asberg Scale was requred. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Data were extracted using data extraction forms by two reviewers independently, with disagreements resolved by discussion. A similar process was used for the validity assessment. Pooling of results was done using Review Manager 5. The primary outcome was depression reduction, based on a dichotomous measure of clinical response, using relative risk (RR), and on a continuous measure of depression symptoms, using the mean difference (MD), with 95% confidence intervals (CI). MAIN RESULTS There were fourteen studies (16 comparisons) with extractable data included in the review, of which ten studies examined TCAs, two examined SSRIs and two included both classes, all compared with placebo. The number of participants in the intervention groups was 1364 and in the placebo groups 919. Nearly all studies were of short duration, typically 6-8 weeks. Pooled estimates of efficacy data showed an RR of 1.24, 95% CI 1.11-1.38 in favour of TCAs against placebo. For SSRIs this was 1.28, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.43. The numbers needed to treat (NNT) for TCAs ranged from 7 to 16 {median NNT 9} patient expected event rate ranged from 63% to 26% respectively) and for SSRIs from 7 to 8 {median NNT 7} (patient expected event rate ranged from 48% to 42% respectively) . The numbers needed to harm (NNH for withdrawal due to side effects) ranged from 4 to 30 for TCAs (excluding three studies with no harmful events leading to withdrawal) and 20 to 90 for SSRIs. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Both TCAs and SSRIs are effective for depression treated in primary care.
Effects of Four Modes of Group Communication on the Outcomes of Software Requirements Determination

Research on computer-mediated communication and group support systems has focused on the study of a single mode of communication technology in comparison to unsupported face-to-face (FtF) groups. However, as organizations combine traditional FtF meetings with a variety of anytime/anyplace communication technologies to support collaborative work, the need to study these new forms of interaction grows greater. This experiment builds on prior work by comparing the effectiveness of four modes of communication for groups working on the upstream phases of software development: (1) face-to-face, (2) synchronous computer conferencing, (3) asynchronous computer conferencing, and (4) combined FtF and asynchronous computer conferencing. Teams of graduate students determined the requirements for an automated post office as a course assignment over a period of two weeks. The creativity and quality of solutions produced by groups in the combined condition were higher than those in the remaining three communication modes. Combined groups were generally more satisfied with their solutions, although no differences among conditions were found regarding satisfaction with the process used to accomplish work.
Physicochemical characterization of recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone.

Here we describe the physicochemical characteriztics of recombinant human (rh) follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and give an overview of the analytical methods which were used to describe the character of rhFSH. rhFSH is a glycoprotein comprised of two subunits which are held together by only non covalent bindings. The characterization of a glycoprotein means the complete elucidation of the primary structure of the molecule. This involves studies to confirm the protein backbone and elucidate the structure of the carbohydrate side-chains. A series of methodologies has been applied to the molecule to achieve this aim, e.g. sodium dodecyl-sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), Western blotting, two-dimensional electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, size exclusion high purification liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC), reverse phase HPLC (RP-HPLC), peptide mapping, N-terminal sequencing, mass spectrometry, carbohydrate composition analysis, sialic acid analysis and biological assay (Table I).
Intestinal perforation associated with osmotic slow release indomethacin capsules

risk of giving double the usual starting dose of a new agent in conjunction with the underlying benorylate should have been considered potentially dangerous. That these patients were both in their 70s should have invited particular care. Regardless of the attributes, or otherwise, of Osmosin or any new anti-inflammatory agent, it is unfortunate that a new drug should fall into disrepute as a result of inadequate attention to dosage, unwarranted polypharmacy, or lack of concern for the patient's age.
Proteome analysis of apoptosis signaling by S‐trityl‐L‐cysteine, a potent reversible inhibitor of human mitotic kinesin Eg5

Mitotic kinesins represent potential drug targets for anticancer chemotherapy. Inhibitors of different chemical classes have been identified that target human Eg5, a kinesin responsible for the establishment of the bipolar spindle. One potent Eg5 inhibitor is S‐trityl‐L‐cysteine (STLC), which arrests cells in mitosis and exhibits tumor growth inhibition activity. However, the underlying mechanism of STLC action on the molecular level is unknown. Here, cells treated with STLC were blocked in mitosis through activation of the spindle assembly checkpoint as shown by the phosphorylated state of BubR1 and the accumulation of mitosis specific phosphorylation on histone H3 and aurora A kinase. Using live cell imaging, we observed prolonged mitotic arrest and subsequent cell death after incubation of GFP‐α‐tubulin HeLa cells with STLC. Activated caspase‐9 occurred before cleavage of caspase‐8 leading to the accumulation of the activated executioner caspase‐3 suggesting that STLC induces apoptosis through the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Proteome analysis following STLC treatment revealed 33 differentially regulated proteins of various cellular processes, 31 of which can be linked to apoptotic cell death. Interestingly, four identified proteins, chromobox protein homolog, RNA‐binding Src associated in mitosis 68 kDa protein, stathmin, and translationally controlled tumor protein can be linked to mitotic and apoptotic processes.
DETECTION AND EVALUATION OF SKIN DISORDERS BY ONE OF PHOTOGRAMMETRIC IMAGE ANALYSIS METHODS

Abnormalities on skin may vary from simple acne to painful wounds which affect a person's life quality. Detection of these kinds of disorders in early stages, followed by the evaluation of abnormalities is of high importance. At this stage, photogrammetry offers a non-contact solution to this concern by providing geometric highly accurate data. Photogrammetry, which has been used for firstly topographic purposes, in virtue of terrestrial photogrammetry became useful technique in non-topographic applications also (Wolf et al., 2000). Moreover the extension of usage of photogrammetry, in parallel with the development in technology, analogue photographs are replaced with digital images and besides digital image processing techniques, it provides modification of digital images by using filters, registration processes etc. Besides, photogrammetry (using same coordinate system by registration of images) can serve as a tool for the comparison of temporal imaging data. The aim of this study is to examine several digital image processing techniques, in particular the digital filters, which might be useful to determine skin disorders. In our study we examine affordable to purchase, user friendly software which needs neither expertise nor pre-training. Since it is a pre-work for subsequent and deeper studies, Adobe Photoshop 7.0 is used as a present software. In addition to that Adobe Photoshop released a DesAcc plug-ins with CS3 version and provides full compatibility with DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) and PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) that enables doctors to store all medical data together with relevant images and share if necessary.
Massive Immune Hemolysis After Non-myeloablative Allogeneic Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation with Minor ABO-incompatibility

A 35-year-old male, blood group B, Rh(D)+ type, received an allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplant after a non-myeloablative regimen of fludarabine and cyclophosphamide for resistant γ δ cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). The donor was his HLA-identical brother, blood group O, Rh(D)+ type. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis was performed with cyclosporine alone. On day +8, massive immune hemolysis occurred, followed by acute renal failure. Hemodialysis was performed eight times until recovery of renal function on day +24. The risk of delayed immune hemolysis after non-myeloablative allogeneic PBSC transplantation with minor ABO-incompatibility must be considered.
Simple feature extraction for handwritten character recognition

This paper deals with a simple and effective set of features for (handprinted) character representation in automatic reading systems. These features, computed within regularly placed windows spanning the character bitmap, consist of a combination of average pixel density and measures of local alignment along some directions. Patterns from different databases call be accommodated by choosing a variable window size. These features used in conjunction with a neural classifier (MLP) yielded a very high accuracy on several handprinted character databases, including NIST's ones. Moreover they are easily implementable in VLSI, with throughputs as high as 250,000 characters/sec.
Activation of the protein C pathway and endothelial glycocalyx shedding is associated with coagulopathy in an ovine model of trauma and hemorrhage

INTRODUCTION Acute traumatic coagulopathy (ATC) is an endogenous coagulopathy that develops following tissue injury and shock. The pathogenesis of ATC remains poorly understood, with platelet dysfunction, activation of the protein C pathway, and endothelial glycocalyx shedding all hypothesized to contribute to onset. The primary aim of this study was to develop an ovine model of traumatic coagulopathy, with a secondary aim of assessing proposed pathophysiological mechanisms within this model. METHODS Twelve adult Samm-Border Leicester cross ewes were anesthetized, instrumented, and divided into three groups. The moderate trauma group (n = 4) underwent 20% blood volume hemorrhage, bilateral tibial fractures, and pulmonary contusions. The severe trauma group (n = 4) underwent the same injuries, an additional hamstring crush injury, and 30% blood volume hemorrhage. The remaining animals (n = 4) were uninjured controls. Blood samples were collected at baseline and regularly after injury for evaluation of routine hematology, arterial blood gases, coagulation and platelet function, and factor V, factor VIII, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, syndecan 1, and hyaluranon levels. RESULTS At 4 hours after injury, a mean increase in international normalized ratio of 20.50% ± 12.16% was evident in the severe trauma group and 22.50% ± 1.00% in the moderate trauma group. An increase in activated partial thromboplastin time was evident in both groups, with a mean of 34.25 ± 1.71 seconds evident at 2 hours in the severe trauma animals and 34.75 ± 2.50 seconds evident at 4 hours in the moderate trauma animals. This was accompanied by a reduction in ROTEM EXTEM A10 in the severe trauma group to 40.75 ± 8.42 mm at 3 hours after injury. Arterial lactate and indices of coagulation function were significantly correlated (R = −0.86, p < 0.0001). Coagulopathy was also correlated with activation of the protein C pathway and endothelial glycocalyx shedding. While a significant reduction in platelet count was evident in the severe trauma group at 30 minutes after injury (p = 0.018), there was no evidence of altered platelet function on induced aggregation testing. Significant fibrinolysis was not evident. CONCLUSIONS Animals in the severe trauma group developed coagulation changes consistent with current definitions of ATC. The degree of coagulopathy was correlated with the degree of shock, quantified by arterial lactate. Activation of the protein C pathway and endothelial glycocalyx shedding were correlated with the development of coagulopathy; however, altered platelet function was not evident in this model.
Manganese ions as intracellular contrast agents: proton relaxation and calcium interactions in rat myocardium

Paramagnetic manganese (Mn) ions (Mn2+) are taken up into cardiomyocytes where they are retained for hours. Mn content and relaxation parameters, T1 and T2, were measured in right plus left ventricular myocardium excised from isolated perfused rat hearts. In the experiments 5 min wash‐in of MnCl2 were followed by 15 min wash‐out to remove extracellular (ec) Mn2+ MnCl2, 25 and 100 µM, elevated tissue Mn content to six and 12 times the level of control (0 µM MnCl2). Variations in perfusate calcium (Ca2+) during wash‐in of MnCl2 and experiments including nifedipine showed that myocardial slow Ca2+ channels are the main pathway for Mn2+ uptake and that Mn2+ acts as a pure Ca2+ competitor and a preferred substrate for slow Ca2+ channel entry. Inversion recovery analysis at 20 MHz revealed two components for longitudinal relaxation: a short T1 − 1 and a longer T1 − 2. Approximate values for control and Mn‐treated hearts were in the range 600–125 ms for T1 − 1 and 2200–750 ms for T1 − 2. The population fractions were about 59 and 41% for the short and the long component, respectively. The intracellular (ic) R1 − 1 and R2 − 1 correlated best with tissue Mn content. Applying two‐site exchange analyses on the obtained T1 data yielded results in parallel to, but also differing from, results reported with an ec contrast agent. The calculated lifetime of ic water (τic) of about 10 s is compatible with a slow water exchange in the present excised cardiac tissue. The longitudinal relaxivity of Mn ions in ic water [60 (s mM)−1] was about one order of magnitude higher than that of MnCl2 in water in vitro [6.9 (s mM)−1], indicating that ic Mn‐protein binding is an important potentiating factor in relaxation enhancement. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Neural nets based predictive prefetching to tolerate WWW latency

With the explosive growth of WWW applications on the Internet, users are experiencing access delays more often than ever. Recent studies showed that prefetching could alleviate the WWW latency to a larger extent than caching. Existing prefetching methods are mostly based on URL graphs. They use the graphical nature of hypertext links to determine the possible paths through a hypertext system. While they have been demonstrated effective in prefetching of documents that are often accessed, they are incapable of pre-retrieving documents whose URLs had never been accessed. We propose a context-specific prefetching technique to overcome the limitation. It relies on keywords in anchor texts of URLs to characterize user access patterns and on neural networks over the keyword set to predict future requests. It features a self-learning capability and good adaptivity to the change of user surfing interest. The technique was implemented in a SmartNewsReader system and cross-examined in a daily browsing of MSNBC and CNN news sites. The experimental results showed an achievement of approximately 60% hit ratio due to prefetching. Of the prefetched documents, less than 30% was undesired.
Weiterentwicklung eines agentenbasierten Simulationsmodells(AMIRIS) zur Untersuchung des Akteursverhaltens beider Marktintegration von Strom aus Erneuerbaren Energienunter verschiedenen Fördermechanismen - Kurzfassung

Mit dem agentenbasierten Simulationsmodell AMIRIS lassen sich Auswirkungen verschiedener energiewirtschaftlicher Rahmenbedingungen auf die beteiligten Akteure bei der Marktintegration der erneuerbaren Energien (EE) untersuchen. Diese Analysen sollen helfen, effektive Fordersysteme zu gestalten, die der Entwicklung des Marktes dienen, aber gleichzeitig Mitnahmeeffekte auf Seiten einiger Akteure zu vermeiden helfen. Der Aufbau und die Struktur des Modells machen AMIRIS als Tool zur Politikberatung sehr flexibel, und Simulationsexperimente konnen uber verschiedene Parametereinstellung vielfaltig konfiguriert werden. Auf diese Weise ermoglicht es das Modell, Auswirkungen der verschiedenen Varianten von Forderinstrumenten oder Anderungen der energiewirtschaftlichen Rahmenbedingungen auf die Mikroebene der Akteure sowie die Makroebene des Energiesystems modelltechnisch zu analysieren.
Toxicity screenings of nanomaterials: challenges due to interference with assay processes and components of classic in vitro tests

Abstract Given the multiplicity of nanoparticles (NPs), there is a requirement to develop screening strategies to evaluate their toxicity. Within the EU-funded FP7 NanoTEST project, a panel of medically relevant NPs has been used to develop alternative testing strategies of NPs used in medical diagnostics. As conventional toxicity tests cannot necessarily be directly applied to NPs in the same manner as for soluble chemicals and drugs, we determined the extent of interference of NPs with each assay process and components. In this study, we fully characterized the panel of NP suspensions used in this project (poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)–polyethylene oxide [PLGA–PEO], TiO2, SiO2, and uncoated and oleic-acid coated Fe3O4) and showed that many NP characteristics (composition, size, coatings, and agglomeration) interfere with a range of in vitro cytotoxicity assays (WST-1, MTT, lactate dehydrogenase, neutral red, propidium iodide, 3H-thymidine incorporation, and cell counting), pro-inflammatory response evaluation (ELISA for GM-CSF, IL-6, and IL-8), and oxidative stress detection (monoBromoBimane, dichlorofluorescein, and NO assays). Interferences were assay specific as well as NP specific. We propose how to integrate and avoid interference with testing systems as a first step of a screening strategy for biomedical NPs.