Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Weekly Paclitaxel in the Treatment of Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer Previously Treated or Not Treated with Docetaxel: A Phase II Study

Background: Paclitaxel has been approved for 3-weekly administration in Japan. Recent reports suggest that weekly paclitaxel can achieve a higher tumor response and lower toxicity. Methods: This study was designed to investigate the usefulness and tolerability of weekly paclitaxel by 1-hour infusion in patients with metastatic breast cancer who were previously treated with docetaxel or other anticancer agents. Results: Thirty-five patients were enrolled. The overall response rate was 41.2% (14/34, 95% confidence interval: 24.6–59.3%). The median time to progression and the median survival time were 218.5 and 624 days, respectively. One patient developed dyspnea, probably induced by a hypersensitivity reaction. The most common hematological toxicities were leukopenia and neutropenia, although no patients developed grade 4 leukopenia or neutropenia and G-CSF support was not required. Conclusions: Weekly paclitaxel could be safely administered and achieved a relatively high response rate. Weekly paclitaxel would be a good candidate second-line therapy for recurrent or advanced breast cancer.
Walking partner robot chatting about scenery

ABSTRACT We believe that many future scenarios will exist where a partner robot will talk with people on walks. To improve the user experience, we aim to endow robots with the capability to select an appropriate conversation topics by allowing them to start chatting about a topic that matches the current scenery and to extend it based on the user's interest and involvement in it. We implemented a function to compute the similarities between utterances and scenery by comparing their topic vectors. First, we convert the scenery into a list of words by leveraging Google Cloud Vision library [Google Cloud Vision Api [Online]. Available from: https://cloud.google. com/vision/] . We form a topic vector space with the Latent Dirichlet Allocation method and transform a list of words into a topic vector. Our system uses this function to choose (from an utterance database) the utterance that best matches the current scenery. Then it estimates the user's level of involvement in the chat with a simple rule based on the length of their responses. If the user is actively involved in the chat topic, the robot continues the current topic using pre-defined derivative utterances. If the user's involvement sags, the robot selects a new topic based on the current scenery. The topic selection that is based on the current scenery was proposed in our previous work [Totsuka R, Satake S, Kanda T, et al. Is a robot a better walking partner if it associates utterances with visual scenes? ACM/IEEE Int. Conf. on Human–Robot Interaction (HRI2017), Aula der Wissenschaft, Vienna, Austria; 2017. p. 313–322]. Our main contribution is the whole chat system, which includes the user's involvement estimation. We implemented our system with a shoulder-mounted robot and conducted a user study to evaluate its effectiveness. Our experimental results show that users evaluated the robot with the proposed system as a better walking partner than one that randomly chose utterances. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Common SNPs in CSF2RB are associated with major depression and schizophrenia in the Chinese Han population

Abstract Objectives. Colony stimulating factor 2 receptor β (CSF2RB) encodes the protein which is the common β chain of the high affinity receptor for IL-3, IL-5 and CSF. It locates in the linkage region 22q12.3 of both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and is expressed in most cells. Methods. We carried out a large scale case–control study to test the association between CSF2RB and three major mental disorders in the Chinese Han population. Seven single nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped in 1140 bipolar affective disorder patients (including 645 type I bipolar affective disorder patients), 1140 schizophrenia patients, 1139 major depressive disorder patients and 1140 healthy controls. Results. Three SNPs were found to be associated with both schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. Haplotype association analysis revealed one protective haplotype (P value = 0.014 for SCZ and 0.0004 for MDD) and one risk haplotype (P value = 0.006 for SCZ and 0.001 for MDD). Additional 52 SNPs were analyzed for population stratification, which demonstrated that our positive results were not caused by population stratification. Conclusions. Our results support CSF2RB as a risk factor common to both schizophrenia and major depression in the Chinese Han population.
Niacin extended-release/ lovastatin: combination therapy for lipid disorders

The new combination of niacin extended-release (ER) and lovastatin (Advicor™, Kos pharmaceuticals), is a powerful lipid modifying agent and takes advantage of the different mechanisms of action of its two components. Niacin decreases hepatic atherogenic apolipoprotein (apo) B production whereas lovastatin increases apoB removal. Whereas niacin potently increases high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels by decreasing hepatic removal of antiatherogenic apoA-I particles, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMGCoA) reductase inhibitors (‘statins’) appear to increase production of apoA-I. Although there is no outcome data with this combination product, each component has been independently associated with a reduction of cardiovascular event risk by ∼ 25 – 35%. The results of a long-term trial in 814 patients, where > 600 had been treated for 6 months and > 200 for 1 year, found reductions of 45 and 42% in low density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides, respectively, at the maximum dose (niacin ER 2000 mg/ lovastatin 40 mg). HDL cholesterol increased by 41%. In addition, the combination decreased lipoprotein (a) by 25% and C-reactive protein by 24%. The niacin ER/lovastatin combination was generally well-tolerated. Flushing was the most common side effect, with ∼ 10% of patients intolerant to niacin ER/lovastatin. Hepatotoxicity in this study was 0.5% and myopathy did not occur. Recent studies indicate that niacin can be used safely in diabetic patients who have good glucose control (HbA 1c < 9%). Once-daily niacin ER/lovastatin exhibits potent synergistic actions on multiple lipid risk factors and represents an effective new agent in the clinical management of dyslipidaemia. Outcome studies are needed to evaluate if combination therapy would result in additive effects on morbidity and mortality.
Alkaline pH facilitates the exchange of guanine nucleotides: A possible mechanism for modulation of the kinetics of responses mediated by guanine nucleotide‐binding proteins

GTPγS1 binding experiments in a particulate preparation from Xenopus oocytes revealed two binding sites at pH = 6.9: A high affinity site (Kd = 77 ± 4 nM) and a low affinity site (Kd = 8.74 ± 0.05 μM). Alkaline pH (8.5) caused a significant increase in the dissociation constants of both sites (160 ± 46 nM and 30.7 ± 1.6 μM, respectively). In purified plasma membrane preparation, alkaline pH increased the rate of dissociation of GTPγS. We have previously proposed that the activation of a G‐protein by the agonist‐occupied receptor is rate‐limiting in the kinetics of hormone‐induced responses (Lipinsky et al., 1993; Pflugers Arch., 425:140–149). We have, therefore, assayed the latencies of responses evoked by TRH at different pH, in oocytes expressing the TRH receptor. A change in the medium pH was reflected by an approximately tenfold smaller change in cellular pH (pHi). Alkalinization of the medium (from pH 7.4 to 8.5) caused a shortening of latency (by 45%), whereas acidification to pH = 6.0 prolonged it (by 87%). Moreover, alkalinization decreased the latency and increased the rate of responses to microinjected GTPγS, but did not change the latency of responses to microinjected InsP3. These results show that activation of plasma membrane receptors coupled to G‐proteins, concurrent with a change in pHi, can alter the kinetic pattern of physiological responses, thus affecting the ultimate physiological output of the cell. This finding suggests that a change of pHi is a novel potential mechanism for modulation of responses mediated by G‐proteins. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Rhinosinusitis

Isam Alobid, MD, PhD1, Nithin D. Adappa, MD2, Henry P. Barham, MD3, Thiago Bezerra, MD4, Nadieska Caballero, MD5, Eugene G. Chang, MD6, Gaurav Chawdhary, MD7, Philip Chen, MD8, John P. Dahl, MD, PhD9, Anthony Del Signore, MD10, Carrie Flanagan, MD11, Daniel N. Frank, PhD12, Kai Fruth, MD, PhD13, Anne Getz, MD14, Samuel Greig, MD15, Elisa A. Illing, MD16, David W. Jang, MD17, Yong Gi Jung, MD18, Sammy Khalili, MD, MSc19, Cristobal Langdon, MD20, Kent Lam, MD21, Stella Lee, MD22, Seth Lieberman, MD23, Patricia Loftus, MD24, Luis Macias‐Valle, MD25, R. Peter Manes, MD26, Jill Mazza, MD27, Leandra Mfuna, MD28, David Morrissey, MD29, Sue Jean Mun, MD30, Jonathan B. Overdevest, MD, PhD31, Jayant M. Pinto, MD32, Jain Ravi, MD33, Douglas Reh, MD34, Peta L. Sacks, MD35, Michael H. Saste, MD36, John Schneider, MD, MA37, Ahmad R. Sedaghat, MD, PhD38, Zachary M. Soler, MD39, Neville Teo, MD40, Kota Wada, MD41, Kevin Welch, MD42, Troy D. Woodard, MD43, Alan Workman44, Yi Chen Zhao, MD45, David Zopf, MD46
Immunoregulation in TB: Observations and Implications

Regulation of the immune response during active tuberculosis (TB) has been partly deciphered. In pulmonary TB there is transient systemic immunosuppression due to overexpression of transforming growth factor beta and interleukin‐10. This is superimposed on a primary T‐cell defect. Locally there is intense inflammation (lung, pleural fluid) with overexpression of immunosuppressive factors (bronchoalveolar lavage) and extensive apoptosis. These observations suggest that immune therapies should be aimed at neutralizing the negative regulatory factors rather than accentuating an already intense immune response. Also a partially effective vaccine carries the potential risk of exacerbating disease. Clin Trans Sci 2010; Volume 3: 23–28
In vitro design of a novel lytic bacteriophage cocktail with therapeutic potential against organisms causing diabetic foot infections.

In patients with diabetes mellitus, foot infections pose a significant risk. These are complex infections commonly caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, all of which are potentially susceptible to bacteriophages. Here, we characterized five bacteriophages that we had determined previously to have antimicrobial and wound-healing potential in chronic S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii infections. Morphological and genetic features indicated that the bacteriophages were lytic members of the family Myoviridae or Podoviridae and did not harbour any known bacterial virulence genes. Combinations of the bacteriophages had broad host ranges for the different target bacterial species. The activity of the bacteriophages against planktonic cells revealed effective, early killing at 4 h, followed by bacterial regrowth to pre-treatment levels by 24 h. Using metabolic activity as a measure of cell viability within established biofilms, we found significant cell impairment following bacteriophage exposure. Repeated treatment every 4 h caused a further decrease in cell activity. The greatest effects on both planktonic and biofilm cells occurred at a bacteriophage : bacterium input multiplicity of 10. These studies on both planktonic cells and established biofilms allowed us to better evaluate the effects of a high input multiplicity and a multiple-dose treatment protocol, and the findings support further clinical development of bacteriophage therapy.
STOCK MARKET PRICES AND VOLUMES OF SALES

or vice versa will inevitably yield incomplete if not erroneous results. SUMMARY THE PRESENT investigation is a part of a study of the stock market which is motivated by three basic considerations: (1) Existing demand theory is inadequate for analyzing the problem of speculative prices and thus incapable of providing a valid prediction theory for this type of price mechanism. (2) The volume of sales in a commodity market has an economic significance in its own right and thus deserves much more attention by economists than it has received so far. (3) Prices and volumes of sales in the stock market arejoint products of a single market mechanism, and any model that attempts to isolate prices from volumes or vice versa will inevitably yield incomplete if not erroneous results. While the theoretical model and its implications will be presented elsewhere, the empirical results reported here serve as a basis for the proposed theory. Among the significant results so far found are: (1) A small volume is usually accompanied by a fall in price. (2) A large volume is usually accompanied by a rise in price. (3) A large increase in volume is usually accompanied by either a large rise in price or a large fall in price. (4) A large volume is usually followed by a rise in price. (5) If the volume has been decreasing consecutively for a period of five trading days, then there will be a tendency for the price to fall over the next four trading days.
A Guide to the Effective Use of Otoacoustic Emissions

Otoacoustic emission test instruments are now entering routine audiological practice. Two general classes of technique are in use in laboratory work—those employing spectrum analysers to observe the continuous generation of OAEs, both stimulated or unstimulated, and those using transient stimulation and waveform averaging to extract a delayed OAE or “cochlear echo” waveform from ear canal sound. Both methods have particular advantages in clinical applications. The transient OAE type of method has proved very effective in screening applications, particularly in neonates. It is possible to perform noninvasive screening acoustic cochleography in about a minute. The technique is also useful for characterizing cochlear mechanical status prior to long term monitoring. Achieving routinely reliable OAE test performance in clinical and screening applications under nonideal conditions makes special demands on the instrumental design and the response evaluation procedures. The essential requirements are reviewed and discussed in a general and specific context. We have tried to meet these requirements in a transient evoked Otoacoustic emission system (the ILO88) which we designed to operate with a personal computer. We report on our design of probe, and our use of evaluation procedures for probe fit, and response qualty. Signal processing methods have been developed to reject noncochlear acoustic responses, and to optimise the rejection of patient noise. Examples of its clinical use, and the practical problems typically encountered are given here.
Improving Extension Effectiveness for Organic Clients: Current Status and Future Directions

Responses from a national survey of U.S. organic farmers indicated dissatisfaction with the extension service. An ordered probit model was used to identify the factors influencing effectiveness ratings of extension advisors by farmers. Study findings show that part-time, higher income organic farmers who used a variety of highly rated private-sector information sources rated extension providers as more effective. Farmers in the Northeast and West regions rated extension usefulness more highly than in other regions. Not accounting for these demographic components in effectiveness ratings may result in under- or overestimation of results of organic-targeted extension programs. Extension agents can improve their usefulness to organic farmers by complementing educational and technical services offered by the private sector, and by facilitating farmer information exchanges as well as presenting relevant research findings as they have traditionally done.
Application of real-time shear wave elastography in the assessment of torsional cervical dystonia.

Background This study aimed to investigate the value of real-time shear wave elastography (SWE) in the assessment of torsional cervical dystonia (TCD). Methods Ninety healthy volunteers and 30 TCD patients were recruited, and elastography was performed at musculi sternocleidomastoideus (MSD) and musculi splenius capitis (MSC). Mean shear elastic modulus of right MSD and MSC in healthy controls and bilateral MSD and MSC in TCD patients was determined. The thickness of MSD and MSC of affected muscles was measured in TCD patients. Results In TCD patients, the mean shear elastic modulus of affected MSD and MSC was significantly higher than that of corresponding normal muscles (P<0.01) and that of controls (P<0.01). The diagnostic threshold was 24.9 kPa for MSD and 25.07 kPa for MSC (for MSD and MSC, the area under ROC was 0.979 and 0.979, with a sensitivity of 90% and 91.3%, and a specificity of 95.6% and 96.7%, respectively). The elastic modulus of neither affected nor normal MSD and MSC was significantly related to age and body mass index (P>0.05). The shear elastic modulus of affected MSD and MSC was positively related to the peak electromyography (r=0.83-0.73, P<0.01). The thickness of affected MSD and MSC was significantly thicker than that of corresponding normal muscles in TCD patients (P<0.01). Conclusions Real-time SWE can identify the difference in shear elastic modulus of MSD and MSC between the affected and normal side in TCD patients, indicating important diagnostic value in the assessment of muscular status for these patients.
Named-Entity Chunking for Norwegian Text using Support Vector Machines

Named-Entity Chunking is part of the Named-Entity Recognition (NER) process and is the task of identifying which parts of a text are names. This task is usually done as an implicit part of the recognizer, but because previous attempts at NER for Norwegian text focus only on the recognition, this research represents an attempt to develop an explicit chunker. The research shows that if we only focus on demarcating names and not on discovering their type as well, we are able to accurately (>95% F1 -score) find the names in Norwegian text using Support Vector Machines.
Design and simulation of a new dual-axis control input piezoelectric gyroscope

This paper proposed a new design of the dual-axis control input, dual-axis position measurement piezoelectric gyroscope. Using piezoelectric actuation/ sensing to implement this gyroscope can be much more difficult than the conventional gyroscope, which equips only single-axis control input and dual-axis position measurement. This is because multiple mode shapes may exist in the flexure deformation, which complicates the relation between flexure deformation and the proof mass position. This paper solves this multiple-mode-shape problem by designing the location and dimensions of the electrodes such that the piezoelectric force would not excite multiple mode shapes and the voltage output of the sensing electrodes responds only to specific mode shapes. The proposed design achieves a sensitivity of 8 μv/deg/sec for the angular rate sensing and a quadrature error of 0.007%. The low quadrature error could be one of the advantages of sensing the position of the proof mass via sensing the specific deformed shape of the flexure.
[Systematic review of population-based studies of the prevalence of cataracts].

OBJECTIVE The prevalence of cataracts has increased due to the progressive ageing of the population and the fact that cataracts affect a wide and increasing proportion of the population. The goal of the present study was to describe the prevalence of cataracts through a systematic and exhaustive review of population-based studies. METHODS A systematic review of population-based studies of the prevalence and incidence of cataracts was performed. Inclusion criteria were: a healthy non- institutionalised population, older than 40 years of age, of white race, with a sample size of greater than 1,000 and published between 1980 and 2002. RESULTS Ten studies met the inclusion criteria (3 European, 5 from the United States and 2 from Australia), and were performed between 1984 and 2001. The cataract prevalence, according to lens opacity criteria, ranged between 15% and 19%. When the cataract was defined as a lens opacity combined with a decreased visual acuity, the prevalence ranged from 15% to 30%. The overall prevalence increased with age, reaching 40% and more than 60% in populations older than 70 and 75 years respectively. The prevalence among women was higher than that among men, with a more marked increase being evident at older ages than for men. CONCLUSIONS There were variations among the criteria used to measure the prevalence of cataract, which made it difficult to compare all the studies. Overall the prevalence was higher in the older population, especially among women. The increasing prevalence associated with age predicts an increasing burden of cataract to health services, this being particularly related to the ageing of the population.
Alcohol use and discounting of delayed and probabilistic gain and loss.

OBJECTIVE Little is known about the relationship between alcohol and discounting of loss, one of procrastinative behaviors. This study examined the relationship between the frequency of alcohol use and discounting delayed and probabilistic gain and loss, which is of interest in neuroeconomics of addiction. METHODS Thirty-three subjects conducted tasks of delay and probability discounting of gain and loss. Their alcohol use was also assessed. RESULTS The frequency of alcohol use was significantly correlated with the degree to which delayed monetary losses were discounted. CONCLUSIONS Frequent use of alcohol may associate with an increased degree of procrastination. Further, the degrees of delay discounting of loss could be a predictor of a frequent alcohol intake.
An autosomal recessive nonsyndromic-hearing-loss locus identified by DNA pooling using two inbred Bedouin kindreds.

Autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss (ARNSHL) is the most common form of severe inherited childhood deafness. We present the linkage analysis of two inbred Bedouin kindreds from Israel that are affected with ARNSHL. A rapid genomewide screen for markers linked to the disease was performed by using pooled DNA samples. This screen revealed evidence for linkage with markers D9S922 and D9S301 on chromosome 9q. Genotyping of individuals from both kindreds confirmed linkage to chromosome 9q and a maximum combined LOD score of 26.2 (recombination fraction [theta] .025) with marker D9S927. The disease locus was mapped to a 1.6-cM region of chromosome 9ql3-q2l, between markers D9S15 and D9S927. The disease segregates with a common haplotype in the two kindreds, at markers D9S927, D9S175, and D9S284 in the linked interval, supporting the hypothesis that both kindreds inherited the deafness gene from a common ancestor. Although this nonsyndromic-hearing-loss (NSHL) locus maps to the same cytogenetic interval as DFNB7, it does not overlap the currently defined DFNB7 interval and may represent (1) a novel form of NSHL in close proximity to DFNB7 or (2) a relocalization of the DFNB7 interval to a region telomeric to its reported location. This study further demonstrates that DNA pooling is an effective means of quickly identifying regions of linkage in inbred families with heterogeneous autosomal recessive disorders.
Antimicrobial evaluation of fungal extracts produced by endophytic strains of Phomopsis sp.

Crude extract of cultures of 13 fungal strains identified as Phomopsis sp. and isolated as endophytes from the leaves of Aspidosperma tomentosum and twigs of Spondias mombin were examined for their antibacterial and antifungal activities. The screening was conducted using the bioautographic TLC agar‐overlay technique against bacteria (E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus), yeast (C. albicans, S. cerevisiae), and readily adapted for use with filamentous fungi (A. niger, F. oxysporum). Three of the 13 extracts effectively inhibited the growth of all test‐organisms, indicating that they may represent a potential for pharmaceutical and/or agricultural applications and are worthy of further study. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)