Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[PRAME mRNA expression in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia patients and its application to monitoring minimal residual disease].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the expression level of preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma (PRAME) mRNA in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and evaluate its usefulness for detecting minimal residual disease (MRD). METHODS PRAME mRNA levels were detected in bone marrow samples from 142 newly diagnosed AML patients (72 of them didn't express any specific fusion gene) by TaqMan based real-time quantitative PCR methods, and were serially monitored in 60 bone marrow samples from 9 follow-up patients (2 of them without specific fusion gene), including 3 in continuous complete remission, 6 in hematological relapse. Bone marrow samples from 22 bone marrow donors (NBM) were served as normal controls. Samples from 7 AML1-ETO (+) M2 patients were detected for AML1-ETO mRNA simultaneously. abl was selected as control gene, PRAME and AML1-ETO mRNA levels were expressed by their copies/abl copies in percentage. RESULTS All NBM samples expressed PRAME mRNA and the upper limit was 0.28%. For all newly diagnosed AML patients, median PRAME mRNA level was 3.97% (0.00%-714.97%), 76.8% of them was higher than 0.28%, 54.9% had over 1-log increasing and 26.1% had over 2-log increasing. For patients without specific fusion gene, median PRAME mRNA level was 0.60% (0.00%-408.72%), 56.3% of them was over 0.28%, 32.4% and 11.3% had over 1-log and 2-log increasing, respectively. There was a significant difference in PRAME mRNA levels between subtypes of AML patients (P<0.01). AML1-ETO (+) M2 patients expressed the highest levels (all P<0.01), followed by acute promyelocytic leukemia patients with S type PML-RAR alpha fusion gene. PRAME and AML1-ETO mRNA levels of follow up patients displayed similar kinetic patterns, and correlated well in 43 follow up samples (r=0.88, P<0.01). PRAME mRNA levels in 3 hematological relapsed patients increased above 0.28% 1-4 months ahead relapse, and in other 3 relapsed patients the levels never decreased to normal range even in remission. CONCLUSIONS PRAME mRNA could be used to monitor MRD for AML patients with higher than normal levels, and it increases over or persistently higher than normal range predicts hematological relapse.
Classification, Functions, and Clinical Relevance of Extracellular Vesicles

Both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells release small, phospholipid-enclosed vesicles into their environment. Why do cells release vesicles? Initial studies showed that eukaryotic vesicles are used to remove obsolete cellular molecules. Although this release of vesicles is beneficial to the cell, the vesicles can also be a danger to their environment, for instance in blood, where vesicles can provide a surface supporting coagulation. Evidence is accumulating that vesicles are cargo containers used by eukaryotic cells to exchange biomolecules as transmembrane receptors and genetic information. Because also bacteria communicate to each other via extracellular vesicles, the intercellular communication via extracellular cargo carriers seems to be conserved throughout evolution, and therefore vesicles are likely to be a highly efficient, robust, and economic manner of exchanging information between cells. Furthermore, vesicles protect cells from accumulation of waste or drugs, they contribute to physiology and pathology, and they have a myriad of potential clinical applications, ranging from biomarkers to anticancer therapy. Because vesicles may pass the blood-brain barrier, they can perhaps even be considered naturally occurring liposomes. Unfortunately, pathways of vesicle release and vesicles themselves are also being used by tumors and infectious diseases to facilitate spreading, and to escape from immune surveillance. In this review, the different types, nomenclature, functions, and clinical relevance of vesicles will be discussed.
Emotional attachment and multidimensional self-efficacy: extension of innovation diffusion theory in the context of eBook reader

Innovation diffusion theory (IDT) has consistently been used to investigate users’ technology adoption. However, it neglects the influence of emotions on technology adoption. The study objectives address the integration of emotional attachment and two-dimensional self-efficacy that provides a fresh insight into the investigation of key predictors of eBook reader adoption intention. Quantitative methodology was used and questionnaire data were collected from university students. Probability proportional stratified sampling technique was used to obtain the proportionate sample. The results indicated that the relative advantage, trialability, observability, human-assisted self-efficacy, and individual self-efficacy significantly influence the adoption of eBook readers. However, emotional attachment to paper books negatively influences the relationship between user attitude towards eBook readers and adoption of eBook readers. The results indicate a good measurement model fit and confirmed the validity and reliability of the framework. The integrated framework will be useful in understanding the behavioural and emotional factors associated with the adoption of eBook readers. Moreover, a better understanding of the contributions of assisted and individual self-efficacy for the adoption of any new product or technology will be obtained. The proposed integration will help the managers before introducing a new product in the target market by considering the users’ emotional attachment to prior products.
Power Combiners, Impedance Transformers and Directional Couplers

Microwave hybrids The branch-line couplers or hybrids were firstly described more than six decades ago; however, the problem of their exact synthesis remained a puzzle for a number of years [53]. Initially, the branch-line hybrid was analyzed as a four-arm symmetrical network based on a superposition of the results obtained in the even and odd modes [54]. By writing the even and odd mode matrices together, the characteristic impedances of the branch lines and coupling into different ports can be obtained. A general synthesis procedure which can be applied to any structure of a multibranch hybrid, based on an invariance of the Richard’s variable S = jtanθ to the transformation of S → 1/S apart from a 180° phase change, had become available a decade later [55]. As a result, with highly precise computer-design techniques available for branchline hybrids, it became possible to generate any coupling value in the useful 0 to 15 dB coupling range. Waveguide designs which have been used in large complex feeds for phase-array radars, are compact, highly predictable in amplitude and phase characteristics, and handle very high power. Coaxial, microstrip or stripline implementations of branch-line hybrids provide simple planar structures of moderate bandwidth capability, up to about 2/3 of an octave. For a fully matched case with standard 50Ω source and load impedances, when the characteristic impedances of its transverse branches are 50 Ω and the characteristic impedances of its longitudinal main lines are the microstrip branch-line hybrid shown in Fig. 30 represents a 3-dB directional coupler, for which power in arm 1 divides evenly between arms 2 and 3 with the phase shift of 90°. No power is delivered to arm 4, because the signal flowing through different paths (lengths of λ/4 and 3λ/4) have the same amplitude and opposite phases at this port. The branch-line hybrid does not depend on the load mismatch level for equal reflected coefficients from the outputs when all reflected power is dissipated in the 50-Ω ballast resistor. However, in practice, due to the quarterwavelength transmission-line requirement, the bandwidth of such a single-stage quadrature branch-line hybrid is limited to 10-20%. Figure 31 shows the calculated frequency bandwidth characteristics of a single-section branch-line hybrid matched at the center bandwidth frequency with the load impedance ZL = Z0 = 50 Ω, where C12 is the insertion loss calculated as the ratio of powers at the input 50 2 35 4 / . = Ω This multi-part article on coupler and combiner structures continues with an examination of microwave hybrids using various topologies
Cancer-Associated Thrombosis

Thrombosis is a common complication in patients with cancer and it is estimated that about 20% of patients with cancer experience venous thromboembolism (VTE). This complication is associated with high rate of morbidity and mortality and is sometimes the first manifestation of an occult cancer. The risk profiles and markers involved in cancerassociated thrombosis share similarities with inflammation-induced atherosclerosis and thrombosis. The type of cancer, chemotherapy, surgery, central venous catheters, pre-chemotherapy platelet and leukocyte count are associated with high risk of VTE in cancer patients. Landmark studies demonstrated that effective prophylaxis and treatment of VTE reduced morbidity and increased survival. Low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) is preferred as an effective and safe means for prophylaxis and treatment of VTE. It has largely replaced unfractionated heparin and vitamin K antagonists. The advantages of LMWH include increased survival and quality of life, decreased rate of VTE, low incidence of thrombocytopenia. New guidelines for prophylaxis and treatment are now available and prophylaxis is recommended in hospitalized cancer patients and patients undergoing major surgery. Treatment with LMWH should be considered as the first line of therapy for established VTE and to prevent recurrent thrombosis in patients with cancer.
Does paracetamol (acetaminophen) reduce the pain of osteoarthritis?: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Objective: To assess the best available evidence for efficacy of paracetamol (acetaminophen) in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Data sources: Medline, Embase, Scientific Citation Index, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and conference abstracts in the past 2 years from the British Society for Rheumatology, the European League Against Rheumatism, the American College of Rheumatology, and the Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Subjects: 10 RCTs including 1712 patients with either symptomatic OA of the knee (6 trials) or hip/knee (3 trials) or multiple joints (1 trial). Main outcome measures: (a) effect size (ES) for pain, stiffness, and functional scores from baseline to end point; (b) rate ratio (RR) and number needed to treat for clinical response rate and patient preference for treatment. Results: Paracetamol was effective in relieving pain due to OA (ES = 0.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.02 to 0.41). Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were better than paracetamol for pain relief (ES = 0.20, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.30). Clinical response rate was higher with NSAIDs than with paracetamol (RR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.41), and the number of patients who preferred NSAIDs was more than twice the number of those preferring paracetamol (RR = 2.46, 95% CI 1.51 to 4.12). NSAIDs were associated with more frequent gastrointestinal discomfort than paracetamol (RR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.75). Conclusion: Paracetamol is an effective agent for pain relief due to OA. Although safer, it is less effective than NSAIDs. For safety reasons paracetamol should be the first line treatment, with NSAIDs reserved for those who do not respond.
Annotations: dynamic semantics in stream processing

In the field of e-science stream data processing is common place facilitating sensor networks, in particular for prediction and supporting decision making. However, sensor data may be erroneous, like e.g. due to measurement errors (outliers) or changes of the environment. While it can be foreseen that there will be outliers, there are a lot of environmental changes which are not foreseen by scientists and therefore are not considered in the data processing. However, these unforeseen semantic changes - represented as annotations - have to be propagated through the processing. Since the annotations represent an unforeseen, hence un-understandable, annotation, the propagation has to be independent of the annotation semantics. It nevertheless has to preserve the significance of the annotation on the data despite structural and temporal transformations. And should remain meaningful for a user at the end of the data processing. In this paper, we identify the relevant research questions.In particular, the propagation of annotations is based on structural, temporal, and significance contribution. While the consumption of the annotation by the user is focusing on clustering information to ease accessibility.
SafeStack: Automatically Patching Stack-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerabilities

Buffer overflow attacks still pose a significant threat to the security and availability of today's computer systems. Although there are a number of solutions proposed to provide adequate protection against buffer overflow attacks, most of existing solutions terminate the vulnerable program when the buffer overflow occurs, effectively rendering the program unavailable. The impact on availability is a serious problem on service-oriented platforms. This paper presents SafeStack, a system that can automatically diagnose and patch stack-based buffer overflow vulnerabilities. The key technique of our solution is to virtualize memory accesses and move the vulnerable buffer into protected memory regions, which provides a fundamental and effective protection against recurrence of the same attack without stopping normal system execution. We developed a prototype on a Linux system, and conducted extensive experiments to evaluate the effectiveness and performance of the system using a range of applications. Our experimental results showed that SafeStack can quickly generate runtime patches to successfully handle the attack's recurrence. Furthermore, SafeStack only incurs acceptable overhead for the patched applications.
The Role of Radioactive Iodine Therapy in Young Patients With Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the outcome of postoperative radioactive iodine (I-131) therapy in young patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study reviewed the medical records of primary PTC patients, 18 years old or younger, who were treated at Chang Gung Medical Center in Taiwan from January 1977 to December 2006. Forty-eight patients who had undergone postoperative I-131 therapy with a minimum dose of 1.1 GBq (30 mCi) were enrolled in this retrospective study. At the end of follow-up, patients were classified as “local disease” or “distant metastases” according to I-131 scan results. Results: The I-131 whole-body scan results revealed “local disease” in 34 patients, and “distant metastases” in 14 patients. Patients with distant metastases received significantly larger doses of I-131 than those with local disease (P = 0.0086). One-month postoperative serum thyroglobulin differed markedly between patients with local disease and those with distant metastases (P = 0.001). After a mean follow-up period of 11.2 ± 5.7 years, overall survival in the 48 patients was 97.9%. Conclusions: I-131 therapy is effective for young PTC patients, and should be given to all young PTC patients postoperatively in addition to thyroid hormone administration, particularly those with distant metastases.
Direct Comparison of Progenitor Cells Derived from Adipose, Muscle, and Bone Marrow from Wild-Type or Craniosynostotic Rabbits

Background: Reports have identified cells capable of osteogenic differentiation in bone marrow, muscle, and adipose tissues, but there are few direct comparisons of these different cell types. Also, few have investigated the potential connection between a tissue-specific abnormality and cells derived from seemingly unrelated tissues. In this article, the authors compare cells isolated from wild-type rabbits or rabbits with nonsyndromic craniosynostosis, defined as the premature fusion of one or more of the cranial sutures. Methods: Cells were derived from bone marrow, adipose, and muscle of 10-day-old wild-type rabbits (n = 17) or from age-matched rabbits with familial nonsyndromic craniosynostosis (n = 18). Cells were stimulated with bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP4), and alkaline phosphatase expression and cell proliferation were assessed. Results: In wild-type rabbits, cells derived from muscle had more alkaline phosphatase activity than cells derived from either adipose or bone marrow. The cells derived from craniosynostotic rabbit bone marrow and muscle were significantly more osteogenic than those derived from wild-type rabbits. Adipose-derived cells demonstrated no significant differences. Although muscle-derived cells were most osteogenic in wild-type rabbits, bone marrow-derived cells were most osteogenic in craniosynostotic rabbits. Conclusions: These results suggest that cells from different tissues have different potentials for differentiation. Furthermore, cells derived from rabbits with craniosynostosis were different from cells from wild-type rabbits. Interestingly, cells derived from the craniosynostotic rabbits were not uniformly more responsive compared with wild-type cells, suggesting that specific tissue-derived cells may react differently in individuals with craniosynostosis.
Quantum mechanical computations on very large molecular systems: The local self‐consistent field method

Quantum chemical computations on a subset of a large molecule can be performed, at the neglect of diatomic differential overlap (NDDO) level, without further approximation provided that the atomic orbitals of the frontier atoms are replaced by parametrized orthogonal hybrid orbitals. The electrostatic interaction with the rest of the molecule, treated classically by the usual molecular mechanical approximations, is included into the self‐consistent field (SCF) equations. The first and second derivatives of energy are obtained analytically, allowing the search for energy minima and transition states as well as the resolution of Newton equations in molecular dynamics simulations. The local self‐consistent field (LSCF) method based on these approximations is tested by studying the intramolecular proton transfer in a Gly‐Arg‐Glu‐Gly model tetrapeptide, which reveals an excellent agreement between a computation performed on the whole molecule and the results obtained by the present method, especially if the quantum subsystem includes the side chains and the peptidic unit in between. The merits of the LSCF method are examplified by a study of proton transfer in the Asp69—Arg71 salt bridge in dihydrofolate reductase. Simulations of large systems, involving local changes of electronic structure, are therefore possible at a good degree of approximation by introducing a quantum chemical part in molecular dynamics studies. This methodology is expected to be very useful for reactivity studies in biomolecules or at the surface of covalent solids. © 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Defiance In Taxation And Governance: Resisting and Dismissing Authority in a Democracy

Contents: 1. Defiance to Resist or Dismiss Institutional Constraint 2. Defiance and Responsive Regulatory Relationships 3. The Expression and Management of Motivational Postures 4. Measuring Motivational Postures and Defiance 5. Approaching Defiance through Threat and Coping 6. Approaching Defiance through Integrity and Trust 7. Approaching Defiance through Social Modelling 8. Integrative Models of Defiance 9. Reasoning with Defiance References Index
The Formation of Left‐Right Identification: Pathways and Correlates of Parental Influence

Given the significance of the left-right dimension as one of the most frequently employed capping term of ideological thought in most western democracies, the question arises as to how people come to identify themselves along this continuum. Drawing on a set of parent-child pairs located in Catalonia, we seek to determine whether the processes found elsewhere with respect to the intergenerational transmission of partisanship and issue stances also apply to left-right ideology, in a novel context characterized by the presence of a distinctive, partially cross-cutting dimension based on center-periphery loyalties. Results provide strong support for the principles of the direct transmission model as derived from social learning theory, while also showing the significant role of parents' place identities in conditioning the passing on of left-right orientations.
Modified Early Warning System improves patient safety and clinical outcomes in an academic community hospital

Background and objective Severe adverse events such as cardiac arrest and death are often heralded by abnormal vital signs hours before the event. This necessitates an organized track and trigger approach of early recognition and response to subtle changes in a patient's condition. The Modified Early Warning System (MEWS) is one of such systems that use temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate, and level of consciousness with each progressive higher score triggering an action. Root cause analysis for mortalities in our institute has led to the implementation of MEWS in an effort to improve patient outcomes. Here we discuss our experience and the impact of MEWS implementation on patient care at our community academic hospital. Methods MEWS was implemented in a protocolized manner in June 2013. The following data were collected from non-ICU wards on a monthly basis from January 2010 to June 2014: 1) number of rapid response teams (RRTs) per 100 patient-days (100PD); 2) number of cardiopulmonary arrests ‘Code Blue’ per 100PD; and 3) result of each RRT and Code Blue (RRT progressed to Code Blue, higher level of care, ICU transfer, etc.). Overall inpatient mortality data were also analyzed. Results Since the implementation of MEWS, the number of RRT has increased from 0.24 per 100PD in 2011 to 0.38 per 100PD in 2013, and 0.48 per 100PD in 2014. The percentage of RRTs that progressed to Code Blue, an indicator of poor outcome of RRT, has been decreasing. In contrast, the numbers of Code Blue in non-ICU floors has been progressively decreasing from 0.05 per 100PD in 2011 to 0.02 per 100PD in 2013 and 2014. These improved clinical outcomes are associated with a decline of overall inpatient mortality rate from 2.3% in 2011 to 1.5% in 2013 and 1.2% in 2014. Conclusions Implementation of MEWS in our institute has led to higher rapid response system utilization but lower cardiopulmonary arrest events; this is associated with a lower mortality rate, and improved patient safety and clinical outcomes. We recommend the widespread use of MEWS to improve patient outcomes.
Prosthetic Visual Acuity in Irregular Phosphene Arrays Under Two Down-Sampling Schemes: A Simulation Study

To investigate the effects of phosphene array irregularity in visual prostheses, a model of phosphenes' positional uncertainty was devised and two different image down-sampling schemes, adapting and non-adapting, were proposed. Based on a simulation system, visual acuity tests were given to four normally sighted subjects under seven degrees of array irregularity and the two down-sampling schemes. With the irregularity index increasing from 0 to 0.6, visual acuity fell over a range of 0.22 logMAR (logarithm of minimum angular resolution) for the adapting scheme and 0.47 logMAR for the non-adapting scheme, both monotonously. Comparison between the two down-sampling schemes was made. For low array irregularity, non-adapting down-sampling afforded higher visual acuity, whereas for higher irregular the adapting approach did. Head movements were observed to play significant roles in the acuity tests