Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of conventional-dose vs high-dose conformal radiation therapy in clinically localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT Clinically localized prostate cancer is very prevalent among US men, but recurrence after treatment with conventional radiation therapy is common. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the hypothesis that increasing the radiation dose delivered to men with clinically localized prostate cancer improves disease outcome. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Randomized controlled trial of 393 patients with stage T1b through T2b prostate cancer and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels less than 15 ng/mL randomized between January 1996 and December 1999 and treated at 2 US academic institutions. Median age was 67 years and median PSA level was 6.3 ng/mL. Median follow-up was 5.5 (range, 1.2-8.2) years. INTERVENTION Patients were randomized to receive external beam radiation to a total dose of either 70.2 Gy (conventional dose) or 79.2 Gy (high dose). This was delivered using a combination of conformal photon and proton beams. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Increasing PSA level (ie, biochemical failure) 5 years after treatment. RESULTS The proportions of men free from biochemical failure at 5 years were 78.8% [corrected] (95% confidence interval, 73.1%-84.6%) [corrected] for conventional-dose and 91.3% [corrected] (95% confidence interval, 87.2%-95.4%) [corrected] for high-dose therapy (P<.001), a 59% [corrected] reduction in the risk of failure. The advantage to high-dose therapy was statistically significant [corrected] in both the low-risk subgroup [corrected] (risk reduction, 84% [P<.001]) [corrected] There has been no significant difference in overall survival rates between the treatment groups. Only 1% of patients receiving conventional-dose and 2% receiving high-dose radiation experienced acute urinary or rectal morbidity of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) grade 3 or greater. So far, only 2% and 1%, respectively, have experienced late morbidity of RTOG grade 3 or greater. CONCLUSIONS Men with clinically localized prostate cancer have a lower risk of biochemical failure if they receive high-dose rather than conventional-dose conformal radiation. This advantage was achieved without any associated increase in RTOG grade 3 acute or late urinary or rectal morbidity.
Involving Behavioral Scientists, Health Care Providers, and HIV-Infected Patients as Collaborators in Theory-Based HIV Prevention and Antiretroviral Adherence Interventions

Summary:Health care providers are often hesitant to attempt health behavior change interventions with patients, although such interventions are frequently needed. When provider-initiated health behavior change interventions are attempted, they are often based on intuition or consist solely of delivering information and are insufficient to change behavior, rather than being based on well-validated and effective behavior change models. We argue that provider-initiated health behavior change interventions are effective and efficient if they are based on appropriate empirically validated theoretical models and developed in collaboration with behavioral scientists and patients. We present a new model for developing such collaborative interventions and initial evidence for its success.
PCAR: An Efficient Approach for Mining Association Rules

A lot of existing algorithms used for mining association rules identify frequent itemsets by the method of bottom-up combination of smaller frequent itemsets or top-down decomposing of larger infrequent itemsets, these methods result the large volumes of candidate itemsets. Actually as the supersets of infrequent items are infrequent itemsets, this paper presents a new efficient method, namely pruning-classification association rule (PCAR). PCAR combines minimum frequency items with minimum frequency itemsets. It firstly deletes infrequent items from itemsets, then classifies itemsets based on frequency of itemsets, finally discovers frequent itemsets. The number of candidate itemsets is greatly reduced and itemsets need not to be combined or decomposed, therefore, operation time and memory requirement could be decreased accordingly. This method has significant advantage in mining association rule at large volumes of items and small frequency of itemsets. It is proved by experiments that PCAR outperforms the well-known Apriori and CBAR algorithms.
Early pericalcarine atrophy in acute optic neuritis is associated with conversion to multiple sclerosis

Background Previous work showed that pericalcarine cortical volume loss is evident early after presentation with acute clinically isolated optic neuritis (ON). The aims of this study were: (1) to determine whether pericalcarine atrophy in patients with ON is associated with conversion to multiple sclerosis (MS); (2) to investigate whether regional atrophy preferentially affects pericalcarine cortex; and (3) to investigate potential causes of early pericalcarine atrophy using MRI. Methods 28 patients with acute ON and 10 controls underwent structural MRI (brain and optic nerves) and were followed-up over 12 months. Associations between the development of MS, optic nerve, optic radiation and pericalcarine cortical damage measures were investigated using multiple linear regression models. Regional cortical volumetric differences between patients and controls were calculated using t tests. Results The development of MS at 12 months was associated with greater whole brain and optic radiation lesion loads, shorter acute optic nerve lesions and smaller pericalcarine cortical volume at baseline. Regional atrophy was not evident in other sampled cortical regions. Pericalcarine atrophy was not directly associated with whole brain lesion load, optic radiation measures or optic nerve lesion length. However, the association between pericalcarine atrophy and MS was not independent of these parameters. Conclusions Reduced pericalcarine cortical volumes in patients with early clinically isolated ON were associated with the development of MS but volumes of other cortical regions were not. Hence pericalcarine cortical regions appear particularly susceptible to early damage. These findings could be explained by a combination of pathological effects to visual grey and white matter in patients with ON.
Pharmacokinetics of the diastereomers of arteether, a potent antimalarial drug, in rats

The pharmacokinetics of α‐ and β‐ diastereomers of arteether, a potent erythrocytic schizontocidal agent, and their active metabolite dihydroartemisinin were studied in male Sprague‐Dawley rats after oral, intramuscular and intravenous administrations. Oral and intramuscular studies were carried out at three dose levels at 9, 17.5 and 30 mg kg−1. The ratio of α‐ and β‐isomers was maintained at 30:70% w/w in the formulations used for the study. The average oral bioavailabilities of α‐and β‐isomers, relative to intramuscular administration, were 9.6% and 3.8%, respectively, and the average in vivo α‐ to β‐ ratio was 2.5. Following intravenous and intramuscular administrations the in vivo α‐ to β‐ ratios were 0.7 and 0.9, respectively. The β‐isomer of arteether was characterized by a longer elimination half‐life and a relatively larger volume of distribution than the α‐isomer, suggesting that β‐arteether may be responsible for the prolonged in vivo schizontocidal activity. The α‐isomer was absorbed rapidly after oral and intramuscular administrations and showed higher peak plasma concentrations but possessed a relatively shorter half‐life. There was an apparent lack of linearity observed in terms of dose and AUCs for both α‐ and β‐arteether after oral and intramuscular administrations, suggesting nonlinear dose dependent pharmacokinetics at the dose levels studied. The rate and extent of conversion of arteether isomers to dihydroartemisinin was highest with oral and intravenous administration and least with intramuscular indicating that the intramuscular route of administration of the isomeric mixture may be more beneficial for malarial chemotherapy. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Emerging models of intercultural education in Irish primary schools: a critical case study analysis

Taking account of the complex and fluid relationship that exists between social structures and human agency, this dissertation critically explores how intercultural education is conceptualised and practised by teachers and principals in three Irish primary schools. Adopting a whole school approach, it critically explores the models of intercultural education emerging in the schools and examines the extent to which selected variables (leadership, ethos, culture, curriculum, pedagogy, relations) support and determine these models. It also draws on the voice of students to illuminate aspects of teachers’ practice. A review of the literature indicates that while a small number of Irish studies (Bryan, 2008, 2009a, 2009b) have provided critical theoretical insights into intercultural education as conceptualised and practised at second level, no previously published Irish research has provided critical analysis of a whole school approach to intercultural education at primary level. Adopting a qualitative case study methodology grounded in critical ethnography, this study explores the whole school environments of three Irish primary schools. It employs the methods of semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, observations and document analysis. The study’s empirical findings are integrated with concepts drawn from critical and poststructural social theories, including the theories of critical multiculturalism, transformative leadership theory, discourse theory and cultural reproduction theory. Findings indicate a predominance of weaker models of intercultural education ' underpinned by liberal ideology. However, elements of critical multicultural education underpinned by more radical ideologies are also evident. Analysis suggests that the three interrelated variables of power relations, patronage and ethos and school leadership are the most important factors in determining the models of intercultural education emerging in the three schools. Findings also indicate that a more traditional curricular approach may be preferable to the weak additive curricular approaches which appear to be endemic in many Irish primary schools. The data suggest that while well intentioned, teachers’ endeavours to include intercultural content in their lesson plans can sometimes do more to undermine than support migrant students’ sense of belonging and feelings of inclusion and nonmigrant students’ understandings of the “developing” world. Critical analysis of the three case study schools and the Intercultural Education Guidelines (IEGs) (NCCA, 2005) suggests that a re-conceptualisation of intercultural education is necessary in the Irish context if intercultural education is to realise its transformative potential. In this context, a justice and rights informed framework of critical intercultural education which foregrounds the principles of democracy, critical consciousness and equity is presented. It is argued that this framework has the capacity to transform inequitable school power relations, organisational structures, policies and practices.
Security Risk Estimation of Social Network Privacy Issue

Users in social network are confronted with the risk of privacy leakage while sharing information with friends whose privacy protection awareness is poor. This paper proposes a security risk estimation framework of social network privacy, aiming at quantifying privacy leakage probability when information is spread to the friends of target users' friends. The privacy leakage probability in information spreading paths comprises Individual Privacy Leakage Probability (IPLP) and Relationship Privacy Leakage Probability (RPLP). IPLP is calculated based on individuals' privacy protection awareness and the trust of protecting others' privacy, while RPLP is derived from relationship strength estimation. Experiments show that the security risk estimation framework can assist users to find vulnerable friends by calculating the average and the maximum privacy leakage probability in all information spreading paths of target user in social network. Besides, three unfriending strategies are applied to decrease risk of privacy leakage and unfriending the maximum degree friend is optimal.
Efficacy of oral irinotecan against neuroblastoma xenografts.

The efficacy of the topoisomerase I inhibitor, 7-ethyl-10-(4-[1-piperidino]-1-piperidino)-carbonyloxy-camptotheci n (irinotecan, CPT-11), administered by oral gavage has been examined against a panel of six independently derived neuroblastoma xenografts. Irinotecan was administered either daily for 5 days on 12 consecutive weeks ¿(d x 5)12¿ or for 5 days on two consecutive weeks repeated every 21 days for 4 cycles ¿[(d x 5)2]4¿. Given on the (d x 5)12 schedule the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was 50 mg/kg. For intermittent scheduling ¿[(d x 5)2]4¿, the MTD was 75 mg/kg, resulting in the same total dose being administered (3 g/kg) over the period of treatment. At the MTD for the 12 consecutive week schedule there were two of 42 toxicity related deaths, whereas intermittent scheduling at the MTD resulted in none of 42 deaths. The intermittent schedule ¿[(d x 5)2]4¿ was less toxic than therapy given (d x 5)12, as at the end of treatment mice weighed 92 +/- 4% (SD; n = 6 experiments) and 81 +/- 4% (SD; n = 6 experiments) of their body weight at the start of therapy, respectively. The latter schedule was associated with loose feces starting around week 8 of therapy, broken teeth and a high incidence of swelling of the orbital conjunctiva that developed late in the course of therapy. Given (d x 5)12, irinotecan caused complete regressions of all six neuroblastoma xenograft lines. Because mice tolerate significantly greater systemic exposure to SN-38 lactone than do patients (as determined by plasma AUC at the respective MTD), we evaluated the intermittent schedule of administration, reducing the dose/administration to determine the lowest dose levels that produced objective regressions of these neuroblastoma xenografts and determined the daily systemic exposure associated with these dose levels. In four lines examined objective responses were obtained at dose levels of 12.5 or 6.25 mg/kg. The daily plasma AUC exposures associated with minimum dose achieving response in NB1691 (12.5 mg/kg), NB1643 (6.25 mg/kg) and NBEB (12.5 mg/kg) for irinotecan lactone were 219, 152 and 653 ng-h/ml, respectively; and for SN-38 lactone were 704, 418 and 987 ng-h/ml, respectively. These results indicate that childhood neuroblastoma xenografts are highly sensitive to irinotecan given by oral administration and therapeutic activity is similar to i.v. irinotecan administered on similar schedules.
Hybrid Approach for Botnet Detection Using K-Means and K-Medoids with Hopfield Neural Network

In the last few years, a number of attacks and malicious activities have been attributed to common channels between users. A botnet is considered as an important carrier of malicious and undesirable briskness. In this paper, we propose a support vector machine to classify botnet activities according to k-means, k-medoids, and neural network clusters. The proposed approach is based on the features of transfer control protocol packets. System performance and accuracy are evaluated using a predefined data set. Results show the ability of the proposed approach to detect botnet activities with high accuracy and performance in a short execution time. The proposed system provides 95.7% accuracy rate with a false positive rate less than or equal to 3%.
An oncolytic herpes simplex virus type 1 selectively destroys diffuse liver metastases from colon carcinoma

Viruses used for gene therapy are usually genetically modified to deliver therapeutic transgenes and prevent viral replication. In contrast, replication‐competent viruses may be used for cancer therapy because replication of some viruses within cancer cells can result in their destruction (oncolysis). Viral ribonucleotide reductase expression is defective in the HSV1 mutant hrR3. Cellular ribonucleotide reductase, which is scarce in normal liver and abundant in liver metastases, can substitute for its viral counterpart to allow hrR3 replication in infected cells. Two or three log orders more of hrR3 virions are produced from infection of colon carcinoma cells than from infection of normal hepatocytes in viral replication assays. This viral replication is oncolytic. A single intravascular administration of hrR3 into immune‐competent mice bearing diffuse liver metastases dramatically reduces tumor burden. hrR3‐mediated tumor inhibition is equivalent in immune‐competent and immune‐incompetent mice, suggesting that viral oncolysis and not the host immune response is the primary mechanism of tumor destruction. HSV1‐mediated oncolysis of diffuse liver metastases is effective in mice preimmunized against HSV1. These results indicate that replication‐competent HSV1 mutants hold significant promise as cancer therapeutic agents. —Yoon, S. S. , Nakamura, H. , Carroll, N. M. , Bode, B. P., Chiocca, E. A. , Tanabe, K. K. An oncolytic herpes simplex virus type 1 selectively destroys diffuse liver metastases from colon carcinoma. FASEB J. 14, 301–311 (2000)
Prevalence of off-label use and spending in 2010 among patent-protected chemotherapies in a population-based cohort of medical oncologists.

PURPOSE The prevalence of off-label anticancer drug use is not well characterized. The extent of off-label use is a policy concern because the clinical benefits of such use to patients may not outweigh costs or adverse health outcomes. METHODS Prescribing data from IntrinsiQ Intellidose data systems, a pharmacy software provider maintaining a population-based cohort database of medical oncologists, was analyzed. Use of the most commonly prescribed anticancer drugs ("chemotherapies") that were patent protected and administered intravenously to patients in 2010 was examined. Use was classified as "on-label" if the cancer site, stage, and therapy line met the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indication. All other use was "off-label. " Off-label use was divided by whether it conformed to National Comprehensive Care Network (NCCN) Compendium recommendations, a basis of insurer coverage policies. IMS Health National Sales Perspectives was used to estimate national spending by use category. RESULTS Ten chemotherapies met inclusion criteria. On-label use amounted to 70%, and off-label use amounted to 30%. Fourteen percent of use conformed to an NCCN-supported off-label indication, and 10% of off-label use was associated with an FDA-approved cancer site, but an NCCN-unsupported cancer stage and/or line of therapy. Total national spending on these chemotherapies amounted to $12 billion (B; $7.3B on-label, $2B off-label and NCCN supported; $2.5B off-label and NCCN unsupported). CONCLUSION Commonly used, novel chemotherapies are more often used on-label than off-label in contemporary practice. Off-label use is composed of a roughly equal mix of chemotherapy applied in clinical settings supported by the NCCN and those that are not.
The effects of cooling the feet and closing the eyes on standing equilibrium, different patterns of standing equilibrium in young adult men and women.

Summary. A clear sex difference in behavior in standing equilibrium has been observed. Swaying in young women is significantly wider than that in young men, and the numbness of the soles due to standing in ice water and closing the eyes noticeably increases swaying in women, but not in men. This difference between the sexes and some other observations on the maintenance of standing equilibrium can be explained by the following hypothesis: If muscular strength is great, muscular myotatic stretch reflexes are used almost exclusively in the maintenance of standing equilibrium, and in this case the amplitude of swaying is small. If muscular strength is not great, other afferent parts, the soles and sight
Comparative Performance Analysis of High Density and Efficiency PFC Topologies

In this paper, the efficiency and power factor performance of improved power factor correction (PFC) topologies suitable for a high density and efficient design are compared. Several topologies, including a conventional average current mode control boost PFC, an interleaved boost PFC, a back-to-back bridgeless boost PFC, and a semi-bridgeless boost PFC, are assessed through loss analysis and simulation using whole height 1 U and 2 kW class prototypes. Based on this, an optimal topology is selected for which an additional comparative analysis involving input line measure improvement control is conducted. The results of these experiments can be adapted for use in the circuit selection of high-performance converters with power factor improvement circuits.
The structure of the guanine-rich polypurine:polypyrimidine sequence at the right end of the rat L1 (LINE) element.

We report here that the 64-base pair (bp) guanine-rich polypurine:polypyrimidine tract derived from the right end of the rat long interspersed DNA element is reactive in a supercoil-dependent manner with a variety of chemical probes of non-B DNA structure. At pH 5.0 in the presence of Mg2+, part of the sequence (position 10-40) forms the following two types of triplexes: a G.G. C triplex, and an unusual C.G. C triplex. The latter structure is much more prevalent than the former and is unusual in that the resultant free purine strand forms a hairpin loop. In the absence of Mg2+ the G.G. C triplex disappears and the amount of C.G. C triplex is diminished, and at pH 7.5 in the presence or absence of Mg2+, little or no triplex is observed. Deletion of the 24-bp region just 3' of the triplex-forming region greatly reduces the amount of triplex formed. In this region, which includes an 18-bp polypurine:polypyrimidine sequence, both strands exhibit a moderate symmetric reactivity with the chemical probes tested, independent of pH and Mg2+. The implications of this structurally complex region for the properties of the rat L1 element are discussed.
Increased lung cancer mortality among chrysotile asbestos textile workers is more strongly associated with exposure to long thin fibres

Background Animal data and physical models suggest that the carcinogenicity of asbestos fibres is related to their size and shape. Objectives To investigate the influence of fibre length and diameter on lung cancer risk in workers at asbestos textile mills in North Carolina and South Carolina, USA. Methods Men and women (n=6136) who worked ≥30 days in production and were employed between 1940 and 1973 were enumerated and followed for vital status through 2003. A matrix of fibre size-specific exposure estimates was constructed using determinations of fibre numbers and dimensions through analysis of 160 historical dust samples by transmission electron microscopy. Associations of lung cancer mortality with metrics of fibre exposure were estimated by Poisson regression with adjustment for age, sex, race and calendar year. Results Exposure to fibres throughout the range of length and diameter was significantly associated with increased risk of lung cancer. Models for fibres >5 μm long and <0.25 μm in diameter provided the best fit to the data, while fibres 5–10 μm long and <0.25 μm in diameter were associated most strongly with lung cancer mortality (log rate about 4% per IQR, p<0.001). When indicators of mean fibre length and diameter were modelled simultaneously, lung cancer risk increased as fibre length increased and diameter decreased. Conclusions The findings support the hypothesis that the occurrence of lung cancer is associated most strongly with exposure to long thin asbestos fibres. The relationship of cancer risk and fibre dimensions should be examined in cohorts exposed to other types of fibres.