Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neoadjuvant treatment of unresectable liver disease with irinotecan and 5-fluorouracil plus folinic acid in colorectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to observe the effects of neoadjuvant therapy with irinotecan and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/folinic acid (FA) on the resection rate and survival of colorectal cancer patients with initially unresectable hepatic metastases. PATIENTS AND METHODS Forty patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy comprising irinotecan 180 mg/m(2) administered intravenously (i.v.) on day 1, FA 200 mg/m(2) i.v. on days 1 and 2, 5-FU 400 mg/m(2) i.v. bolus on days 1 and 2, and 5-FU 1200 mg/m(2) as a continuous 48-h i.v. infusion on day 1. The treatment was repeated every 2 weeks and response was assessed every 12 weeks (six cycles). RESULTS The objective response rate to chemotherapy was 47.5% (n = 19), with two complete responses and disease stabilization in 11 (27.5.%) patients. Responses were unconfirmed for 11 patients undergoing surgery within 2 weeks. Treatment was well tolerated and adverse events were typical of the chemotherapy agents used. Twenty-seven (67.5%) patients reported hematological toxicity (35.0% grade 3/4) and 14 (35.0%) reported gastrointestinal toxicity (12.5% grade 3/4). Thirteen patients (32.5%) underwent potentially curative liver resection following chemotherapy. Chemotherapy was particularly effective in patients with large metastases on entry to the study. The median time to progression is 14.3 months and, at a median follow-up of 19 months, all patients are alive. CONCLUSIONS Neoadjuvant therapy with irinotecan combined with 5-FU/FA enabled a significant proportion of patients with initially unresectable liver metastases to undergo surgical resection. The effects of treatment on survival have yet to be determined.
Research as an act of learning: exploring student backgrounds through dialogue with research participants

This paper explores the possibility of introducing dialogue as a research method for data interpretation. The paper draws attention to some epistemological and methodological considerations related to this method and presents a reinterpretation of the Inquiry Cooperation Model developed by Alro and Skovsmose (2002). By use of this model it is proposed that research and in particular data interpretation is an act of learning and that dialogue may constitute a tool for enhancing this learning process. The paper further places the application of dialogue for data interpretation in a context of research in mathematics education in the multicultural classroom and is in particular drawing attention to research into student backgrounds and student diversity.
Fluctuations in rectal temperature of swine at parturition.

WEIsz (6) described a fall in body temperature prior to parturition in several species of domestic animals and stated that the appearance of a subnormal temperature was a reliable means of diagnosing impending parturition in the bitch. However, the decrease was too limited to be of use in other species. Ewbank (3, 4) reported a fall in rectal temperature commencing 54 hours pre-partum in cattle and sheep but found that individual variations precluded relying on this drop as an indicator. This study was conducted to investigate the body temperature of swine near the time of parturition to determine if temperature change might be of any value in predicting the approximate time of farrowing.
Release of Ku and MRN from DNA Ends by Mre11 Nuclease Activity and Ctp1 Is Required for Homologous Recombination Repair of Double-Strand Breaks

The multifunctional Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) protein complex recruits ATM/Tel1 checkpoint kinase and CtIP/Ctp1 homologous recombination (HR) repair factor to double-strand breaks (DSBs). HR repair commences with the 5′-to-3′ resection of DNA ends, generating 3′ single-strand DNA (ssDNA) overhangs that bind Replication Protein A (RPA) complex, followed by Rad51 recombinase. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 (MRX) complex is critical for DSB resection, although the enigmatic ssDNA endonuclease activity of Mre11 and the DNA-end processing factor Sae2 (CtIP/Ctp1 ortholog) are largely unnecessary unless the resection activities of Exo1 and Sgs1-Dna2 are also eliminated. Mre11 nuclease activity and Ctp1/CtIP are essential for DSB repair in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and mammals. To investigate DNA end resection in Schizo. pombe, we adapted an assay that directly measures ssDNA formation at a defined DSB. We found that Mre11 and Ctp1 are essential for the efficient initiation of resection, consistent with their equally crucial roles in DSB repair. Exo1 is largely responsible for extended resection up to 3.1 kb from a DSB, with an activity dependent on Rqh1 (Sgs1) DNA helicase having a minor role. Despite its critical function in DSB repair, Mre11 nuclease activity is not required for resection in fission yeast. However, Mre11 nuclease and Ctp1 are required to disassociate the MRN complex and the Ku70-Ku80 nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) complex from DSBs, which is required for efficient RPA localization. Eliminating Ku makes Mre11 nuclease activity dispensable for MRN disassociation and RPA localization, while improving repair of a one-ended DSB formed by replication fork collapse. From these data we propose that release of the MRN complex and Ku from DNA ends by Mre11 nuclease activity and Ctp1 is a critical step required to expose ssDNA for RPA localization and ensuing HR repair.
Vertical partitioning algorithms for database design

This paper addresses the vertical partitioning of a set of logical records or a relation into fragments. The rationale behind vertical partitioning is to produce fragments, groups of attribute columns, that “closely match” the requirements of transactions. Vertical partitioning is applied in three contexts: a database stored on devices of a single type, a database stored in different memory levels, and a distributed database. In a two-level memory hierarchy, most transactions should be processed using the fragments in primary memory. In distributed databases, fragment allocation should maximize the amount of local transaction processing. Fragments may be nonoverlapping or overlapping. A two-phase approach for the determination of fragments is proposed; in the first phase, the design is driven by empirical objective functions which do not require specific cost information. The second phase performs cost optimization by incorporating the knowledge of a specific application environment. The algorithms presented in this paper have been implemented, and examples of their actual use are shown.
Biological Bases of Clinical Anxiety

In Biological Bases of Clinical Anxiety, Dr. Barry Burijon provides a comprehensive introduction to the body's response to anxious or traumatic stress, and the most effective treatments for stress disorders. Clinical theory and treatment protocols are rapidly advancing, and medical professionals as well as students need a comprehensive text such as this, which summarizes both conceptual and empirical data, and links theory with specific clinical treatments.
Electronic health record interoperability and quality management

A lack of interoperability exists among health care providers’ electronic health record (EHR) systems. The problem is whether quality management is related to the problem with interoperability. The purpose of the non-experimental quantitative research study was to examine the relationship between quality management and EHR interoperability in the United States. Electronic health record systems play a key role in the development of the Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN). If a relationship exists between ISO 9000 quality management principles and EHR interoperability, then quality management would be deemed necessary for EHR interoperability and the operation of the NwHIN. The research included a non-experimental quantitative design to determine the degree of the relationship between perceived level of EHR interoperability and quality management. Three-hundred and ninety nine health care professionals participated in the study. The participants were members of health-care related professional organizations. Analyses performed were factor analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The results of the analyses determined only one factor to exist; the factor was named quality management. A correlation and simple regression were then performed between perceived interoperability level data and the quality management factor found in the analysis. A significant positive correlation existed between the perception of EHR interoperability and the quality management factor although the amount of variance is not large. Therefore, a relationship between quality management and EHR interoperability was established.
A Wireless BCI and BMI System for Wearable Robots

To increase the performance of a brain-computer interface and brain-machine interface system, we propose some methods and algorithms for electroencephalograph (EEG) signal analysis. The recorded EEG signal is transmitted to the computer and the upper limb robotic arm interface via a bluetooth. To obtain effective commands from brain, the recorded EEG signal is processed by a front filter, denoise filter, feature extraction, and classification, while the personal computer software and upper limb arm are driven by EEG-based commands. Through the encoders and gyroscopes on the upper limb arm, we can acquire some feedback signals in real time, such as joint angle, arm accelerated speed, and angular speed. The theory of wavelet denoising method, common spatial pattern algorithm and linear discriminant analysis algorithm are investigated in this paper. The simulations and experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of these algorithms on EEG signal denoising, feature extraction, and classification.
Lack of Cross-Resistance to Cry19A from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. jegathesan in Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) Resistant to Cry Toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp.israelensis

ABSTRACT Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes with high levels of resistance to single or multiple toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis were tested for cross-resistance to the Bacillus thuringiensis subsp.jegathesan polypeptide Cry19A. No cross-resistance was detected in mosquitoes that had been selected with the Cry11A, Cry4A and Cry4B, or Cry4A, Cry4B, Cry11A, and CytA toxins. A low but statistically significant level of cross-resistance, three to fourfold, was detected in the colony selected with Cry4A, Cry4B, and Cry11A. This cross-resistance was similar to that previously detected with B. thuringiensis subsp.jegathesan in the same colony. These data help explain the toxicity of B. thuringiensis subsp.jegathesan against the resistant colonies and indicate that the Cry19A polypeptide might be useful in managing resistance and/or as a component of synthetic combinations of mosquitocidal toxins.
Relation Between Antioxidant Enzyme Gene Expression and Antioxidative Defense Status of Insulin-Producing Cells

Antioxidant enzyme expression was determined in rat pancreatic islets and RINm5F insulin-producing cells on the level of mRNA, protein, and enzyme activity in comparison with 11 other rat tissues. Although superoxide dismutase expression was in the range of 30% of the liver values, the expression of the hydrogen peroxide-inactivating enzymes catalase and glutathione per-oxidase was extremely low, in the range of 5% of the liver. Pancreatic islets but not RINm5F cells expressed an additional phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase that exerted protective effects against lipid peroxidation of the plasma membrane. Regression analysis for mRNA and protein expression and enzyme activities from 12 rat tissues revealed that the mRNA levels determine the enzyme activities of the tissues. The induction of cellular stress by high glucose, high oxygen, and heat shock treatment did not affect antioxidant enzyme expression in rat pancreatic islets or in RINm5F cells. Thus insulin-producing cells cannot adapt the low antioxidant enzyme activity levels to typical situations of cellular stress by an upregulation of gene expression. Through stable transfection, however, we were able to increase catalase and glutathione peroxidase gene expression in RINm5F cells, resulting in enzyme activities more than 100-fold higher than in nontransfected controls. Catalase-transfected RINm5F cells showed a 10-fold greater resistance toward hydrogen peroxide toxicity, whereas glutathione peroxidase overexpression was much less effective. Thus inactiva-tion of hydrogen peroxide through catalase seems to be a step of critical importance for the removal of reactive oxygen species in insulin-producing cells. Overexpression of catalase may therefore be an effective means of preventing the toxic action of reactive oxygen species.
Evaluation of thyroid FDG uptake incidentally identified on FDG-PET/CT imaging

ObjectivesTo characterize the prevalence and malignancy of thyroid 18F-flurodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake incidentally identified on FDG-PET/computed tomography (CT) scan in a relatively large population. MethodsTwo thousand five hundred and ninety-four cases of FDG-PET/CT performed at our institute in the past 1 year and a half were retrospectively reviewed. Images with incidental focal or diffuse thyroid FDG uptake were identified. Data of the PET findings, thyroid functional assay, and pathological diagnosis were collected and analyzed. Incidental thyroid FDG uptake was defined as a new thyroid lesion initially identified on PET scan in a patient without a previous known history of thyroid disease. ResultsThe prevalence of incidental thyroid FDG uptake (including both focal and diffuse lesions) was 3.8% (99 of 2594) on FDG-PET/CT, of which 1.8% (46 of 2594) were diffuse and 2.0% (53/2594) were focal. Of the 46 cases with diffuse uptake, 21 had thyroid functional assay and/or ultrasound study, and a diagnosis of chronic thyroiditis was made in all of the 21 cases. Eleven of the 53 patients with focal uptake had fine-needle aspiration or postsurgical pathological diagnosis, four benign lesions (four of 11=36.4%: two thyroid adenomas and two hyperplastic lesions); seven malignancies (seven of 11=63.6%: three papillary carcinomas, two follicular carcinoma, and two metastases). There was overlapping of the lesion SUVmax between the benign and malignant cases, with no statistical difference of the mean SUVmax between the two groups. ConclusionThyroid FDG uptake incidentally identified on FDG-PET/CT occurred at a frequency of 3.8%, with about half of focal and half of diffuse lesions. The risk of thyroid malignancy was 63.6% in lesions with focal uptake, whereas the majority of diffuse uptake cases represents chronic thyroiditis. More data are needed to elucidate the role of SUV in the differentiation of benign and malignant lesions.
Queries without Clicks: Successful or Failed Searches?

critical aspect in the evaluation of retrieval effectiveness is the satisfac- tion of the user needs in the retrieved results. Current efforts for evaluating retrieval performance rely either on explicit user feedback or on the analysis of the search transaction logs in order to elicit the user needs and thus be able to infer their satisfaction in the retrieved results. In this paper, we propose a method for evaluating the user satisfaction from searches not followed by clickthrough activity on the retrieved results. To that end, we carried out a user study in order to identify the search intentions of queries without follow-up clicks. Our findings indicate that queries without clicks may pursue specific search goals that can be satisfied in the list of retrieved results the user views rather than in the contents of the documents the user visits for the query. effectiveness for queries not followed by result clicks. To that end, we carried out a survey in order to identify the intentions associated with que- ries not followed by clicks. We recruited 38 postgraduate computer science students and asked them to answer four questions per search performed on their preferred search engine(s) in a single day. The questions, presented to our subjects via an online questionnaire, asked if they did or did not click on results and the reasons for it. Specifically, we instructed our participants to open the questionnaire in a new browser window while conducting their searches and answer the questions for each of their queries right after the submission of the query and the review of the retrieved results. Before conducting our survey we familiarized our subjects with the questions by giving them verbal explanations for every question. The collected user feedback was anonymous in the sense that neither the user identities nor their issued queries or preferred search engines were recorded. Table 1 reports selected results of our survey. Table 1: Queries without clicks - Survey Results
A 16-Speaker 3D Audio-Visual Display Interface and Control System

This paper details the CHESS system developed at the University of Wollongong. CHESS aims to provide a hardware and software platform for the creation, manipulation and playback of complex three-dimensional sound scenes. Ambisonic techniques are used to render a virtual sound scene on sixteen speakers arranged hemispherically around a user. A 3D visual representation of the scene is provided, which may be viewed on one or more display devices, including a virtual reality headset. User input may be provided via a 3D glove. These elements are combined to produce highly configurable immersive audio-visual applications with true threedimensional audio. A control system has been developed for this system, which allows users to easily create complicated applications. We conclude by considering an example application of the system: cockpit and air traffic control systems.
D-Branes in Noncommutative Field Theory

A mathematical introduction to the classical solutions of noncommutative field theory is presented, with emphasis on how they may be understood as states of D-branes in Type II superstring theory. Both scalar field theory and gauge theory on Moyal spaces are extensively studied. Instantons in Yang-Mills theory on the two-dimensional noncommutative torus and the fuzzy sphere are also constructed. In some instances the connection to D-brane physics is provided by a mapping of noncommutative solitons into K-homology.
The use of human hypertrophic chondrocytes-derived extracellular matrix for the treatment of critical-size calvarial defects.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effect of immortalized hypertrophic chondrocytes extracellular matrix (HCM) with or without the use of guided bone regeneration (GBR) on the healing of critical-size calvarial defects. MATERIAL AND METHODS In 42 rats, 5 mm critical-size calvarial defects were surgically created. The animals were randomly allocated to six groups of seven rats each: Group A1: one defect was left untreated (control), while the contralateral defect was covered by a double non-resorbable membrane (GBR). Group B1: one defect was filled with calcium phosphate cement (CP), while the contralateral defect was treated with GBR and CP. Group C1: one defect was filled with a mixture of CP and HCM, while the contralateral defect was treated with GBR and CP+HCM. The healing period for all three groups was 30 days. The remaining three groups were treated in a similar manner but the healing period was 60 days. Five animals from each group were evaluated by maceration and two animals were analysed histologically. RESULTS At 30 days, all the control-treated defects did not present complete closure. When GBR was applied alone or combined with CP, 3/5 and 5/5 defects, respectively, presented complete closure. At 60 days, one defect from the control group presented complete closure. All the defects treated with GBR alone presented complete closure, whereas the combined use of GBR with CP or CP+HCM resulted in 4/5 and 3/5 defects with complete closure, respectively. The only treatment modality that did not present any specimen with defect closure at both 30 and 60 days was the combination of CP+HCM. The histological analysis indicated that when GBR was not used alone, the healing consisted of an amorphous acellular structure and loose granulation tissue, which, even though clinically resembled hard tissue, did not demonstrate the histological characteristics of bone. CONCLUSION The predictability of bone formation in critical-size defects depends mainly on the presence or absence of barrier membranes. The combined use of GBR with calcium phosphate alone or in combination with immortalized human HCM did not enhance the potential for osseous healing provided by the GBR procedure.
Role of Inter-Personal Synchrony in Extracting Social Signatures: Some Case Studies

Originally studied by developmental psychologists, synchrony has now captured the interest of researchers in such fields as social signal processing (SSP). Developing metrics that can capture dynamics of social interaction is of particular interest, called here Social Signatures (behavioral characteristics). We describe several case studies for extracting robust and distinctive social signatures : early parent-infant interaction, new framework by exploring hormone changes as ground-truth labeling of quality of interaction and a robot learning approach based on neural networks is able to capture distinctive social signatures between clinical groups. Finally, we discuss future perspectives of learning and characterizing social signatures.
A Framework for Annotating Human Genome in Disease Context

Identification of gene-disease association is crucial to understanding disease mechanism. A rapid increase in biomedical literatures, led by advances of genome-scale technologies, poses challenge for manually-curated-based annotation databases to characterize gene-disease associations effectively and timely. We propose an automatic method-The Disease Ontology Annotation Framework (DOAF) to provide a comprehensive annotation of the human genome using the computable Disease Ontology (DO), the NCBO Annotator service and NCBI Gene Reference Into Function (GeneRIF). DOAF can keep the resulting knowledgebase current by periodically executing automatic pipeline to re-annotate the human genome using the latest DO and GeneRIF releases at any frequency such as daily or monthly. Further, DOAF provides a computable and programmable environment which enables large-scale and integrative analysis by working with external analytic software or online service platforms. A user-friendly web interface (doa.nubic.northwestern.edu) is implemented to allow users to efficiently query, download, and view disease annotations and the underlying evidences.
Electro-Thermo-Mechanical Finite Element Modeling to Investigate the Reliability of Automotive MOSFET Transistor

Even under normal operating conditions, power devices are subject to temperature changes that generate high level of stress repeatedly causes mechanical breakdown. In this context thermomechanical simulations are necessary to predict life time and guarantee a longer lifespan. This paper aims to modeling electro-thermo-mechanical behavior of a vertical power transistor for predicting the influence of various geometric parameters such as the thickness of the metallization source on the electrical, thermal and mechanical behavior, and the reliability of the component.