Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regional Transcatheter Therapy of Hepatic Neoplasms

Background: Surgical resection of hepatocellular carcinomas and metastases to the liver cannot always be performed, and systemic therapies for these entities are of limited value. The techniques of chemoembolization and hepatic artery infusion have been used for patients who are not candidates for surgery. Methods: Chemoembolization uses percutaneous intra-arterial infusion of chemotherapeutic agents and embolic material. This provides longer contact of the agents with the tumor cells and induces ischemia. Hepatic arterial chemoinfusion uses the knowledge that hepatic cancers are supplied predominantly by the hepatic artery. Results: Chemoembolization using Lipiodol, doxorubicin, and Gelfoam has promoted necrosis of unresectable hepatocellular tumors and may have prolonged patient survival. Hepatic arterial infusion with fluorinated pyrimidines produces more objective responses than systemic chemotherapy but probably does not alter survival. Conclusions: The nonsurgical treatments of chemoembolization and hepatic arterial infusion of chemotherapy have expanded our armamentarium to manage many primary and metastatic tumors in the liver. Additional approaches are needed.
Integrating shape and pattern in mammalian models

The giraffe and its patches, the leopard and its spots, the tiger and its stripes are spectacular examples of the integration of a pattern and a body shape. We present an approach that integrates a biologically-plausible pattern generation model, which can effectively deliver a variety of patterns characteristic of mammalian coats, and a body growth and animation system that uses experimental growth data to produce individual bodies and their associated patterns automatically. We use the example of the giraffe to illustrate how our approach takes us from a canonical embryo to a full adult giraffe in a continuous way, with results that are not only realistic looking, but also objectively validated. The flexibility of the approach is demonstrated by examples of big cat patterns, including an interpolation between patterns. The approach also allows a considerable amount of user control to fine-tune the results and to animate the resulting body with the pattern.
Distributed medium access control for wireless mesh networks

Summary Wireless mesh networking is an emerging technology for future broadband wireless access. The ad hoc manner of wireless mesh networks (WMNs) determines that distributed medium access control (MAC) protocols are desired. Multimedia traffic with heterogeneous quality of service (QoS) requirements is expected to be supported in small-, medium-, and large-scale WMNs. Wireless mesh routers in WMNs are located in fixed sites with low (or no) mobility and no power constraints, thus comprising a robust and reliable wireless mesh backbone. Different networking characteristics between the mesh backbone and various mesh client networks give rise to the demand of heterogeneous MAC design. Due to new design purposes and new networking structures, existing MAC protocols designed for mobile ad hoc networks may not be effective or efficient for multi-purpose WMNs. This paper provides an overview of distributed MAC protocols based on their underlying design objectives and methodology, discusses their features and suitability for WMNs, and identifies potential challenges and open research issues. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Neuromodulation of central pattern generators and its role in the functional recovery of central pattern generator activity.

Neuromodulators play an important role in how the nervous system organizes activity that results in behavior. Disruption of the normal patterns of neuromodulatory release or production are known to be related to the onset of severe pathologies such as Parkinson's Disease, Rett syndrome, Alzheimer's Disease and affective disorders. Some of these pathologies involve neuronal structures that are called central pattern generators, which are involved in the production of rhythmic activities throughout the nervous system. Here I discuss the interplay between CPGs and neuromodulatory activity, with particular emphasis on the potential role of neuromodulators on the recovery of disrupted neuronal activity. I refer to invertebrate and vertebrate model systems and some of the lessons we have learned from research on these systems and propose a few avenues for future research. I make one suggestion that may guide future research in the field: neuromodulators restrict the parameter landscape in which CPG components operate, and the removal of neuromodulators may enable a perturbed CPG in finding a new set of parameter values that can allow it to regain normal function.
The influence of size‐dependent life‐history traits on the structure and dynamics of populations and communities

Individual organisms often show pronounced changes in body size throughout life with concomitant changes in ecological performance. We synthesize recent insight into the relationship between size dependence in individual life history and population dynamics. Most studies have focused on size-dependent life-history traits and population size-structure in the highest trophic level, which generally leads to population cycles with a period equal to the juvenile delay. These cycles are driven by differences in competitiveness of differently sized individuals. In multi-trophic systems, size dependence in life-history traits at lower trophic levels may have consequences for both the dynamics and structure of communities, as size-selective predation may lead to the occurrence of emergent Allee effects and the stabilization of predator-prey cycles. These consequences are linked to that individual development is density dependent. We conjecture that especially this population feedback on individual development may lead to new theoretical insight compared to theory based on unstructured or age-dependent models. Density-dependent individual development may also cause individuals to realize radically different life histories, dependent on the state and dynamics of the population during their life and may therefore have consequences for individual behaviour or the evolution of life-history traits as well.
Effect of vitamin E supplementation on microalbuminuria, lipid peroxidation and blood prostaglandins in diabetic patients.

BACKGROUND Oxidative stress is an important pathogenic factor in the development of diabetic vascular complications. AIMS To study the effect of vitamin E supplementation on microalbuminuria, plasma levels of malondialdehyde (MLD) and metabolites of prostaglandins TXA2 (TXB2) and PGI2 (6-keto-PGF1alpha) and to evaluate the relation between plasma MLD and thromboxane B2 (TXB2) in diabetic patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS Diabetic microalbuminuric patients were supplemented with vitamin E 1200 IU daily (EVIT, Rodisma, Germany) and measurements of microalbuminuria, MLD, TXB2 and 6-ketoPGF1alpha were repeated after 4 months of treatment. RESULTS Vitamin E supplementation lowered microalbuminuria (93.8 +/- 45.6 vs 67.95 +/- 28.4 microg/min, p < 0.05), MLD (0.55 +/- 0.26 vs 0.32 +/- 0.16 micromol/l, p < 0.001) and also TXB2 level (115.14 +/- 22.7 vs 15.32 +/- 14.7 ng/l, p < 0.001) in diabetic microalbuminuric patients. The changes of 6-keto-PGF1alpha after treatment were not significant. CONCLUSIONS Our results did not show any significant relationship between levels of MLD and TXB2. Vitamin E supplementation significantly lowered microalbuminuria, MLD and TXB2. (Tab. 2, Fig. 2, Ref. 35).
Clinical Results of Checkpoint Blockade — Efficacy and Toxicity

Historically, active immune therapies such as interleukin 2 (IL-2) produced durable responses in only a small minority of patients while being associated with significant, nearly universal toxicity. This has limited their applicability to selected patients, usually with either melanoma or renal cell cancer (RCC) treated at experienced centers. The immune checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab, while being better tolerated than high-dose (HD) IL-2, also exposes patients to a risk of significant toxicity. Therefore, there has been considerable effort over the past decade to identify patients most likely to benefit from these agents in order to enhance their therapeutic index. The discovery and availability of alternative treatment options for patients with advanced melanoma (BRAF inhibitor therapy) and RCC (vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]-targeted therapy) in the last decade have intensified the need to identify those patients who will not benefit from immunotherapy, so as not to delay the use of these more generally accessible alternative therapies, particularly in symptomatic patients. Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) pathway–blocking antibodies appear to exhibit an improved therapeutic index, relative to HD IL-2 and ipilimumab, and efficacy against an expanded array of tumor types (eg, non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), bladder cancer, head and neck cancer), each of which has a distinct array of standard treatments. This has further highlighted the need for clinically useful biomarkers that can help determine how best to incorporate these new agents into treatment algorithms for patients with specific diseases. Finally, identifying factors that predict the subpopulations of patients and tumor types that respond to immunotherapy is critical to both understanding the mechanism of action of immunotherapy and the efficient development of novel immunotherapy combinations.
Performance of BER Using IA Based Precoding in SISO-OFDM System

: In this paper we propose performance of BER in SISO-OFDM system using IA based precoding technique. By using precoding technique we have to remove inter-block interference and intercarrier interference from SISO-OFDM ststem. These paper also explains block diagram of SISO-OFDM system in detail and it consist one receive antenna and one transmit antenna. This paper shows BER analysis using IA based precoding for different block based transmission such as SC-FDE,CP-OFDM,ZP-only in SISO-OFDM Systems. This paper also highlights bit erro rate and bit error probability.
Stem Cells Inhibition by Bevacizumab in Combination with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer

Preclinical works have suggested cytotoxic chemotherapies may increase the number of cancer stem cells (CSC) whereas angiogenesis inhibition may decrease CSC proliferation. We developed a proof of concept clinical trial to explore bevacizumab activity on breast CSC. Breast cancer patients requiring preoperative chemotherapy were included in this open-label, randomized, prospective, multicenter phase II trial. All received FEC-docetaxel combination, and patients randomized in the experimental arm received concomitant bevacizumab. The primary endpoint was to describe ALDH1 (Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1) positive tumor cells rate before treatment and after the fourth cycle. Secondary objectives included safety, pathological complete response (pCR) rate, disease-free survival (DFS), relapse-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS). Seventy-five patients were included. ALDH1+ cells rate increase was below the predefined 5% threshold in both arms for the 32 patients with two time points available. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events rates were similar in both arms. A non-significant increase in pCR was observed in the bevacizumab arm (42.6% vs. 18.2%, p = 0.06), but survival was not improved (OS: p = 0.89; DFS: p = 0.45; and RFS: p = 0.68). The increase of ALDH1+ tumor cells rate after bevacizumab-based chemotherapy was less than 5%. However, as similar results were observed with chemotherapy alone, bevacizumab impact on breast CSC cells cannot be confirmed.
A SPACE-TIME DISCONTINUOUS GALERKIN FINITE-ELEMENT DISCRETIZATION OF THE EULER EQUATIONS USING ENTROPY VARIABLES

A method to numerically solve the Euler equations for fluids with general equations of state is presented. It is based on a formulation solving the conservation equations for either pressure primitive variables or entropy variables, instead of the commonly used conservation variables. We use a space-time discontinuous Galerkin finite-element discretization, which yields a highly local, potentially higher-order scheme. The algorithm is applied to test cases for compressible fluids to demonstrate its capabilities and the performance of the different variable sets.
[The Influence of Grit on Turnover Intention of University Hospital Nurses: The Mediating Effect of Job Involvement].

PURPOSE This study aimed to confirm the mediating effect of job involvement in the relationship between grit and turnover intention among nurses working at university hospitals. METHODS Participants included 437 nurses from university hospitals located in C city, Gyeongnam. Data were collected from January 8 to 19, 2018, using self-report questionnaires. Data were analyzed using the t-test, analysis of variance, Scheffe's test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression, with the SPSS/22.0 program. A mediation analysis was performed according to the Baron and Kenny, and bootstrapping methods. RESULTS There were significant relationships between grit and job involvement (r=.40, p<.001), grit and turnover intention (r=-.29, p<.001), and turnover intention and job involvement (r=-.52, p<.001). Job involvement showed partial mediating effects in the relationship between grit and turnover intention. CONCLUSION Grit increased job involvement and lowered turnover intention. Therefore, to reduce nurses' turnover intention, it is necessary to develop a program and strategies to increase their grit.
Current and emerging medications for the treatment of leishmaniasis

ABSTRACT Introduction: Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne neglected tropical disease which manifests as visceral leishmaniasis (VL), cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL). The current drugs are toxic, duration of treatment is long, there is regional variation in efficacy, and emergence of resistance is common. Areas covered: This manuscript is based on literature derived from PubMed and reviews the current and emerging medications for the treatment of leishmaniasis. A single dose of liposomal amphotericin B (L-AmB) and multidrug therapy are the best options for VL in the Indian subcontinent (ISC), while a combination of pentavalent antimonials and paromomycin remains the treatment of choice for VL in Africa where efficacious and safe regimens are needed for HIV-VL coinfection. L-AmB at a total dose of 18–21 mg/kg is the recommended regimen for VL in the Mediterranean region, South America and for HIV-VL coinfection. Treatment of CL varies from observation, local or systemic therapy depending on severity of lesions, etiological species and its potential to develop into mucosal leishmaniasis. Expert opinion: The monitoring of single-dose L-AmB and combination therapy in the ISC is essential. Effective short-course combination therapy is needed for the treatment of post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis and HIV-VL. Better evidence for treatment is still needed along with safer and shorter treatment options for CL and MCL.
Physical and functional interaction between viral and cellular proteins modulate JCV gene transcription

The lytic phase of JC virus (JCV) appears to be highly complex and remains elusive. A growing body of experimental evidence suggests that the regulation of JCV gene expression and replication requires, in addition to the presence of specific transcription factors, cooperativity between viral and cellular regulatory proteins. This cooperativity may be accomplished by physical interaction of the participant proteins on and/or off the viral DNA sequence. Here, we present evidence of specific physical and functional interaction between a cellular factor, YB-1, and the JCV early protein, T-antigen, and showed that both proteins play important roles in JCV gene transcription. Additionally, our data indicate that YB-1 also functionally interact with another viral protein, designated agnoprotein, which is expressed late during the course of infection, adding further complexity to the currently known picture on JCV gene regulation.
Translation termination efficiency can be regulated in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by environmental stress through a prion‐mediated mechanism

[PSI+] is a protein‐based heritable phenotype of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae which reflects the prion‐like behaviour of the endogenous Sup35p protein release factor. [PSI+] strains exhibit a marked decrease in translation termination efficiency, which permits decoding of translation termination signals and, presumably, the production of abnormally extended polypeptides. We have examined whether the [PSI+]‐induced expression of such an altered proteome might confer some selective growth advantage over [psi−] strains. Although otherwise isogenic [PSI+] and [psi−] strains show no difference in growth rates under normal laboratory conditions, we demonstrate that [PSI+] strains do exhibit enhanced tolerance to heat and chemical stress, compared with [psi−] strains. Moreover, we also show that the prion‐like determinant [PSI+] is able to regulate translation termination efficiency in response to environmental stress, since growth in the presence of ethanol results in a transient increase in the efficiency of translation termination and a loss of the [PSI+] phenotype. We present a model to describe the prion‐mediated regulation of translation termination efficiency and discuss its implications in relation to the potential physiological role of prions in S.cerevisiae and other fungi.
Hypoxia‐induced secretion stimulates breast cancer stem cell regulatory signalling pathways

It is well known that tumour cells are dependent on communication with the tumour microenvironment. Previously, it has been shown that hypoxia (HX) induces pronounced, diverse and direct effects on cancer stem cell (CSC) qualities in different breast cancer subtypes. Here, we describe the mechanism by which HX‐induced secretion influences the spreading of CSCs. Conditioned media (CM) from estrogen receptor (ER)‐α‐positive hypoxic breast cancer cell cultures increased the fraction of CSCs compared to normal growth conditions, as determined using sets of CSC assays and model systems. In contrast, media from ERα‐negative hypoxic cell cultures instead decreased this key subpopulation of cancer cells. Further, there was a striking overrepresentation of JAK‐STAT‐associated cytokines in both the ERα‐positive and ERα‐negative linked hypoxic responses as determined by a protein screen of the CM. JAK‐STAT inhibitors and knockdown experiments further supported the hypothesis that this pathway is critical for the CSC‐activating and CSC‐inactivating effects induced by hypoxic secretion. We also observed that the interleukin‐6‐JAK2‐STAT3 axis was specifically central for the ERα‐negative hypoxic behaviour. Our results underline the importance of considering breast cancer subtypes in treatments targeting JAK‐STAT or HX‐associated processes and indicate that HX is not only a confined tumour biological event, but also influences key tumour properties in widespread normoxic microenvironments.
Patient expectation trends on receiving antibiotic prescriptions for respiratory tract infections: A systematic review and meta‐regression analysis

Despite a variety of programs developed to control inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for viral infections, antibiotics are still prescribed excessively for Respiratory Tract Infections (RTI). The patient’s expectation to receive an antibiotic often influences the clinician’s decision and can lead to inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions. Our objective was to investigate the changes in patient expectations over time when presenting with symptoms of a respiratory infection.
Voltage boosters for on-chip solar cells on focal-plane processors

This paper addresses voltage boosters for on-chip solar cells on a standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology. Voltage boosters, also referred to as DC/DC converters or charge pumps, are needed to make the open voltage of micro solar cells compatible with the power supply of current standard CMOS technologies. This paper is oriented to on-chip solar cells for focal-plane processors, where the photodiode array can be configured along time for both image acquisition and energy harvesting. The large area occupied by the focal-plane processor itself constrains the design of the charge pumps, as there is small room for them, forcing the use of relatively small capacitors too. This paper assesses the main performance metrics through electrical simulations of three charge pumps, namely, the Dickson, the Fibonacci and the heap charge pump. The paper has a clear practical orientation, outlining how to configure the photodiode array of a focal-plane processor along time to increase the power efficiency.
Effect of staining solutions and repolishing on color stability of direct composites

Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess the color change of three types of composite resins exposed to coffee and cola drink, and the effect of repolishing on the color stability of these composites after staining. Materials and Methods Fifteen specimens (15 mm diameter and 2 mm thick) were fabricated from microhybrid (Esthet-X; Dentsply and Filtek Z-250; 3M ESPE) and high-density hybrid (Surefil; Dentsply) composites, and were finished and polished with aluminum oxide discs (Sof-Lex; 3M ESPE). Color of the specimens was measured according to the CIE L*a*b* system in a reflection spectrophotometer (PCB 6807; BYK Gardner). After baseline color measurements, 5 specimens of each resin were immersed in different staining solutions for 15 days: G1 - distilled water (control), G2 - coffee, G3 - cola soft drink. Afterwards, new color measurement was performed and the specimens were repolished and submitted to new color reading. Color stability was determined by the difference (∆) between the coordinates L*, a*, and b* obtained from the specimens before and after immersion into the solutions and after repolishing. Results There was no statistically significant difference (ANOVA, Tukey's test; p>0.05) among the ∆ values for the different types of composites after staining or repolishing. For all composite resins, coffee promoted more color change (∆>3.3) than distilled water and the cola soft drink. After repolishing, the ∆ values of the specimens immersed in coffee decreased to clinically acceptable values (∆<3.3), but remained significantly higher than those of the other groups. Conclusions No significant difference was found among composite resins or between color values before and after repolishing of specimens immersed in distilled water and cola. Immersing specimens in coffee caused greater color change in all types of composite resins tested in this study and repolishing contributed to decrease staining to clinically acceptable ∆ values.