Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Insidious iron burden in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

A significant iron burden may occur after only 10 blood transfusions in patients with hematologic disorders. Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) routinely receive blood transfusions during therapy, although few studies to date have quantified transfusion‐related iron burden in these patients. This study quantifies the transfused blood volume and resultant iron load in a large cohort of pediatric patients with ALL, and evaluates risk factors that may impact transfusion volume.
Generationengerechtigkeit und Rentenreform am Beispiel der Rentenanpassungsformel

Die Debatte über die Rentenreform in Deutschland steht seit mehreren Jahren im Zeichen der Generationengerechtigkeit. Dabei spielt die Rentenanpassungsformel eine entscheidende Rolle für die langfristige finanzielle Lage der gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung sowie für die Lastenverteilung zwischen den Generationen. Aufgrund eines „kommutativen“ Ansatzes der Generationengerechtigkeit und angesichts der höheren Rendite, die der privaten kapitalgedeckten Altersvorsorge zugeschrieben wird, ist die betriebene Rentenanpassungspolitik so konzipiert worden, dass nur eine Senkung des Rentenniveaus innerhalb der Gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung (GRV) einen Beitrag zur Generationengerechtigkeit zu leisten vermag. Hauptanliegen dieses Artikels ist es, die Grundlage und die Auswirkungen dieser in Deutschland vorherrschenden These zu prüfen und ein alternatives Verständnis der Generationengerechtigkeit und ihrer Folgen für die Rentenanpassungspolitik vorzustellen.
Neurogenesis in the Subventricular Zone and Rostral Migratory Stream of the Neonatal and Adult Primate Forebrain

Throughout life, the anterior part of the postnatal rodent subventricular zone (SVZa), surrounding the lateral ventricles, contains a prolific source of neuronal progenitor cells that retain their capacity to concurrently generate neurons and migrate along the rostral migratory stream (RMS) to the olfactory bulb, where they differentiate into interneurons. This study was designed to determine whether the SVZ and RMS of the postnatal primate also harbor a specialized population of neuronal progenitors with the capacity to divide while they migrate. In order to reveal the spatial-temporal changes in the distribution and composition of the neuronal progenitor cells in the primate SVZ and RMS, seven rhesus monkeys, ranging in age from 2 days to 8 years, were given a single injection of the cell proliferation marker bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) 3 h before they were perfused. The phenotypic identity of the BrdU(+) cells was revealed by double labeling sagittal sections with cell type-specific markers. From birth onward the distribution of BrdU(+) cells with a neuronal phenotype is extensive and largely overlapping with that of the rodent. Similar to the rodent brain the neuronal progenitors are most numerous in neonates. The BrdU(+) neurons in the primate forebrain extend lateral and ventral to the lateral ventricle and all along the RMS. The cytoarchitectonic arrangement and appearance of the neuronal progenitor cells is quite varied in the primate compared to the rodent; in some locations the cells are aligned in parallel arrays resembling the neuronal chains of the adult rodent RMS, whereas in other positions the cells have a homogeneous "honeycomb" arrangement. The chains are progressively more pervasive in older primates. Akin to the RMS of adult rodents, in the primate SVZ and RMS the astrocytes often form long tubes enveloping the chains of neuronal progenitors. Our study demonstrates that the primate forebrain, similar to the rodent forebrain, harbors a specialized population of mitotically active neuronal progenitor cells that undergo extensive rearrangements while continuing to proliferate throughout life.
Associations of dialysis modality and infectious mortality in incident dialysis patients in Australia and New Zealand.

BACKGROUND The aim of the present investigation is to compare rates, types, causes, and timing of infectious death in incident peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD) patients in Australia and New Zealand. STUDY DESIGN Observational cohort study using the Australian and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry data. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS The study included all patients starting dialysis therapy between April 1, 1995, and December 31, 2005. PREDICTOR Dialysis modality. OUTCOMES & MEASUREMENTS Rates of and time to infectious death were compared by using Poisson regression, Kaplan-Meier, and competing risks multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analyses. RESULTS 21,935 patients started dialysis therapy (first treatment PD, n = 6,020; HD, n = 15,915) during the study period, and 1,163 patients (5.1%) died of infectious causes (PD, 529 patients; 7.6% versus HD, 634 patients; 4.2%). Incidence rates of infectious mortality in PD and HD patients were 2.8 and 1.7/100 patient-years, respectively (incidence rate ratio PD versus HD, 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.47 to 1.86). After performing competing risks multivariate Cox analyses allowing for an interaction between time on study and modality because of identified nonproportionality of hazards, PD consistently was associated with increased hazard of death from infection compared with HD after 6 months of treatment (<6 months hazard ratio [HR], 1.08; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.54; 6 months to 2 years HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.59; 2 to 6 years HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.26 to 1.80; >6 years HR, 2.76; 95% CI, 1.76 to 4.33). This increased risk of infectious death in PD patients was largely accounted for by an increased risk of death caused by bacterial or fungal peritonitis. LIMITATIONS Patients were not randomly assigned to their initial dialysis modality. Residual confounding and coding bias could not be excluded. CONCLUSIONS Dialysis modality selection significantly influences risks, types, causes, and timing of fatal infections experienced by patients with end-stage kidney disease in Australia and New Zealand.
An examination of instrumental activities of daily living assessment in older adults and mild cognitive impairment

Basic activities of daily living (ADL) are self-maintenance abilities such as dressing or bathing. Instrumental ADL (IADL) are more complex everyday tasks, such as preparing a meal or managing finances (Lawton & Brody, 1969). IADL questionnaires play an important role in assessing the functional abilities of older adults and evaluating the impact of cognitive impairment on routine activities. This paper examined the cognitive processes that underlie IADL performance and concluded that the accurate and reliable execution of IADL likely draws upon the integrity of a wide range of cognitive processes. This review examined IADL in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) because of the controversial nature of distinguishing a significant decline in functional abilities in those with MCI versus dementia or MCI versus cognitively normal aging. The challenges of investigating IADL empirically were explored, as well as some of the reasons for the inconsistent findings in the literature. A review of questionnaire-based assessments of IADL indicated that: MCI can be distinguished statistically from healthy older adults and dementia, individuals with multiple domain MCI are more impaired on IADL than those with single domain MCI, mild IADL changes can be predictive of future cognitive decline, and the ability to manage finances may be among the earliest IADL changes in MCI and a strong predictor of conversion to dementia. This paper concluded with recommendations for more sensitive and reliable IADL questionnaires.
Developing a linguistically annotated corpus of Chinese electronic medical record

Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is the material base of smart healthcare, its automatic analysis is dependent on nature language processing (NLP) technologies. Syntactic analysis, as the basic technology of NLP, can be used to convert the free text of EMR to structured text. However, research on syntactic analysis, even Chinese word segmentation and part-of-speech (POS) tagging on Chinese electronic Medical record (CEMR), is currently at a blank stage because of the lack of annotated corpus on CEMR. To resolve this problem, we propose the annotated scheme from Chinese word segmentation to syntactic analysis, and built the first syntactically annotated corpus of CEMR. Through analyzing the annotated CEMR, we find it has stronger grammatical regularity and particular statistical distribution. These finds are taken advantage to improve the Stanford parser and develop a state-of-the-art Chinese word segmentation and POS tagging system for CEMR. The evaluation results show a substantial benefit to statistical machine learning models from the annotated CEMR.
On The Nonlinear Key Generator Design Using Unit-Step and Trace Functions

The paper presents a proposed method with an algorithm which has been written in Matlab language for designing a nonlinear key generator, which is denoted by (US-TR), using unit-step function and trace function from Galois field of order 2 N (i.e. GF(2 N ), (N≥2)) to Galois field of order 2 (GF(2)). The proposed generator produces a binary sequence of period ) 1 2 ( N where N is a composite number, with high degree of complexity and good randomness properties. The advantage of the new nonlinear generator is the output sequence which has high degree of complexity to increase the security of this generator concerning the designed feature that limit the ability of anti-jammer when it uses as a key in cipher systems or in spread spectrum digital communication system. This paper has useful properties of the trace function. Moreover, Illustrative examples are given for determining the output sequence with its complexity of the proposed generator and good results are obtained.
Landscape and flux for quantifying global stability and dynamics of game theory

Game theory has been widely applied to many research areas including economics, biology and social sciences. However, it is still challenging to quantify the global stability and global dynamics of the game theory. We developed a landscape and flux framework to quantify the global stability and global dynamics of the game theory. As an example, we investigated a model of three-strategy game: a special replicator mutator game termed as the repeated Prison Dilemma model. In this model, one stable state, two stable states and limit cycle can emerge under different parameters. The repeated Prisoner’s Dilemma system has Hopf bifurcation from one stable state to limit cycle state, and then to another one stable state or two stable states, and vice versa. We quantified the global stability of the repeated Prisoner’s Dilemma system and identified optimal kinetic paths between the basins of attractor. The optimal paths are irreversible due to the non-zero flux. We also quantified the interplay between Peace and War.
Regional Disparities in Diabetes Care for Pediatric Patients with Type 1 Diabetes. A Cross-sectional DPV Multicenter Analysis of 24,928 German Children and Adolescents.

BACKGROUND Data on regional differences in the quality of medical care in Germany are scarce. This study aimed to compare outcome quality and medical treatment of pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes between the federal states of Germany. METHODS 24,928 patients (< 18 years of age) with type 1 diabetes and German residence were selected from the Diabetes-Patienten-Verlaufsdokumentation database. Indicators of outcome quality were HbA1C, overweight prevalence, and rate of severe hypoglycemia. To reflect medical treatment, use of insulin pumps and use of rapid-acting or long-acting insulin analogues were analyzed. Logistic regression models were created for binary variables with federal state as independent predictor. Linear regression was applied for HbA1C and Poisson regression for rate of severe hypoglycemia. Confounders: Sex, age, diabetes duration, migratory background. RESULTS Disparity was observed for indicators of outcome quality between the 16 federal states of Germany (all p<0.05). After adjustment, HbA1C varied between 55.8 mmol/mol and 67.3 mmol/mol, overweight prevalence between 10.0 and 15.3%, severe hypoglycemia ranged from 0.06 events/PY to 0.21 events/PY. Overall, the best outcome quality appeared to be present in Saxony. Medical treatment also differed. The percentage of pediatrics on insulin pumps varied between 26.3 and 51.8%. The use of rapid-acting analogues ranged from 56.6 to 96.2% and the use of long-acting analogues varied between 41.9 and 96.9% (all p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Medical treatment and outcome quality in pediatrics with type 1 diabetes differed within Germany. Disparities in individual socioeconomic status, regional deprivation, or differences in medical reimbursement decisions might have contributed to the patterns observed.
Batches of intravenous immunoglobulin associated with adverse reactions in recipients contain atypically high anti‐Rh D activity

Background and Objectives The presence of anti‐Rh D in intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) products has been claimed to be associated with adverse reactions in recipients. There is currently no regulatory specification to control the level of anti‐D in IVIG products and it is unclear what this should be. Two reports of haemolysis occurring in recipients of IVIG manufactured from US plasma provided a rare opportunity to investigate whether high anti‐D levels could have induced the haemolysis.
Treatment with an Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Affects Anxiety-Related Behavior and Alters the Sensitivity of Cortical GABAA Receptors in the Rat

The putative psychotropic effect of the anabolic-androgenic steroid, testosterone propionate (TP), was determined in intact adult male rats after 1 or 2 weeks of continued exposure via subcutaneously implanted capsules. Behavior was assessed in a novel open-field arena and in the elevated plus-maze. In addition, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-stimulated 36chloride (Cl-) influx was determined in cerebral cortical synaptoneurosomes as a function of TP exposure. The weight of the prostate gland was taken and blood serum level of total testosterone (T) was assayed. One week of TP exposure (approximately 3.5-5.0 mg/kg per day) resulted in anxiolytic behavior, as evidenced by an increase in the exploration of the open arms of the elevated plus-maze. The behavioral effect in the elevated plus-maze was not observed in animals exposed to TP for a 2-week period. Ambulation scores in the novel open field did not change as a function of TP exposure. Blood T levels were increased 7-fold by 1 week of exposure, and increased 10-fold in animals with implants for a 2-week period. After 1 week of TP exposure, the concentration of GABA that elicited 50% of the maximal Cl- influx in cortical synaptoneurosomes (i.e., EC50) was significantly decreased; this effect was not seen in animals exposed to TP for 2 weeks. The maximal efficacy of the GABAA receptor-gated Cl- influx was not affected after 1 or 2 weeks of TP treatment. Thus, 1 week of treatment with TP resulted in anxiolytic behavior that was accompanied by an increase in the sensitivity of cortical GABAA receptors. However, the behavioral and neurochemical changes were no longer present after 2 weeks of TP exposure. These results are discussed in terms of the agonist effects of reduced androgen metabolites at the GABAA receptor and the possible development of tolerance to these effects.
Role of Thyroid Hormone in Regulation of Renal Phosphate Transport in Young and Aged Rats.

In the present study, we have examined the cellular mechanisms mediating the regulation of renal proximal tubular sodium-coupled inorganic phosphate (Na/Pi) transport by thyroid hormone (T3) in young and aged rats. Young hypothyroid rats showed a marked decrease in Na/Pi cotransport activity, which was associated with parallel decreases in type II Na/Pi cotransporter (NaPi-2) protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) abundance. In contrast, administration of long-term physiological and supraphysiological doses of T3 resulted in significant increases in Na/Pi cotransport activity, protein, and mRNA levels. Nuclear run-on experiments indicated that thyroid hormone regulates NaPi-2 mRNA levels by a transcriptional mechanism. In aged rats, although there were no changes in T3 serum levels (when compared with young animals), there were significant decreases in serum Pi concentration, renal Na/Pi cotransport activity, and NaPi-2 protein and mRNA abundance. These effects were mediated, at least in part, by a reduction in.
miR-375 maintains normal pancreatic α- and β-cell mass

Altered growth and development of the endocrine pancreas is a frequent cause of the hyperglycemia associated with diabetes. Here we show that microRNA-375 (miR-375), which is highly expressed in pancreatic islets, is required for normal glucose homeostasis. Mice lacking miR-375 (375KO) are hyperglycemic, exhibit increased total pancreatic α-cell numbers, fasting and fed plasma glucagon levels, and increased gluconeogenesis and hepatic glucose output. Furthermore, pancreatic β-cell mass is decreased in 375KO mice as a result of impaired proliferation. In contrast, pancreatic islets of obese mice (ob/ob), a model of increased β-cell mass, exhibit increased expression of miR-375. Genetic deletion of miR-375 from these animals (375/ob) profoundly diminished the proliferative capacity of the endocrine pancreas and resulted in a severely diabetic state. Bioinformatic analysis of transcript data from 375KO islets revealed that miR-375 regulates a cluster of genes controlling cellular growth and proliferation. These data provide evidence that miR-375 is essential for normal glucose homeostasis, α- and β-cell turnover, and adaptive β-cell expansion in response to increasing insulin demand in insulin resistance.
Prenatal Sonographic Diagnosis of Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome Associated with Umbilical Cord Hemangioma

Abstract Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome (KTW), also known as angio-osteohypertrophy syndrome, is a complex developmental disorder characterized by asymmetric hemi-hypertrophy of limbs and trunk due to bony and soft tissue overgrowth that may extend across the midline, varicose veins, and cutaneous hemangiomata. This rare syndrome has been previously described in the prenatal period by ultrasonography, and in literature, there are quite different presentation of cases. We describe a case suggested as a KTW syndrome by prenatal ultrasonography. The sonographic appearance of an unilateral leg hypertrophy associated with irregular echolucent cystic areas was consistent with KTW syndrome. A spheric, weak-echogenic mass without any active blood flow located in the umbilical cord revealed by color Doppler ultrasonography was an unexpected finding. The postpartum examination confirmed the prenatal diagnosis.
Histological identification of Helicobacter pylori: comparison of staining methods

Aim—To determine whether two recently described staining methods (the modified McMullen's and the Helicobacter pylori silver stain HpSS methods) used for the histological identification of H pylori organisms are superior to two established techniques (the modified Giemsa and anti-H pylori antibody immunostain) in terms of availability, reproducibility, rapidity, sensitivity, and cost. Methods—Histological sections from 63 paired gastric biopsies from adult patients previously investigated for dyspepsia were stained with the four methods and these were assessed blindly and independently by two observers. Of the 63 patients, 30 were originally negative in all tests for H pylori infection, 30 were positive, and the remaining three cases had discordant results using a combination of five tests (rapid biopsy urease test, urea breath test, culture, serology, and histology). Results—Interobserver agreement was best with the antibody method (98%), followed by the McMullen's (90%), Giemsa (87%), and HpSS (85%). Of the 60 “gold standard” positive and negative cases, 30 were positive by the modified Giemsa stain, 29 by the McMullen's method, 29 by HpSS, and 30 by the antibody stain. However, there were two false positives with the HpSS method. The modified Giemsa is the cheapest and easiest to perform technically. Conclusions—When H pylori are present, careful examination will almost always reveal them, whichever of these stains is used. However, the modified Giemsa stain is the method of choice because it is sensitive, cheap, easy to perform, and reproducible.
Single‐frame image super‐resolution using learned wavelet coefficients

We propose a single‐frame, learning‐based super‐resolution restoration technique by using the wavelet domain to define a constraint on the solution. Wavelet coefficients at finer scales of the unknown high‐resolution image are learned from a set of high‐resolution training images and the learned image in the wavelet domain is used for further regularization while super‐resolving the picture. We use an appropriate smoothness prior with discontinuity preservation in addition to the wavelet‐based constraint to estimate the super‐resolved image. The smoothness term ensures the spatial correlation among the pixels, whereas the learning term chooses the best edges from the training set. Because this amounts to extrapolating the high‐frequency components, the proposed method does not suffer from oversmoothing effects. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol 14, 105–112, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ima.20013
Meat and heme iron intake and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aero-digestive tract in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

BACKGROUND Evidence from prospective studies on intake of meat and fish and risk of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the upper aero-digestive tract (UADT) is scarce. We prospectively investigated the association of meat and fish intake with risk of SCC of the UADT and the possible mechanism via heme iron in the large multicenter European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. METHODS Multivariable proportional hazards models were used to estimate relative risks (RR) of SCC of the UADT in relation to intake of total meat, as well as subtypes of meat, fish, and heme iron among 348,738 individuals from 7 European countries. RESULTS During an average follow-up of 11.8 years, a total of 682 incident cases of UADT SCC were accrued. Intake of processed meat was positively associated with risk of SCC of the UADT in the total cohort [highest vs. lowest quintile: RR = 1.41; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.03-1.94], however, in stratified analyses, this association was confined to the group of current smokers (highest vs. lowest quintile: RR = 1.89; 95% CI = 1.22-2.93). Red meat, poultry, fish, and heme iron were not consistently related to UADT SCC. CONCLUSION Higher intake of processed meat was positively associated with SCC of the UADT among smokers. Although this finding was stable in various sensitivity analyses, we cannot rule out residual confounding by smoking. Confirmation in future studies and identification of biologic mechanisms is warranted. IMPACT Smokers may further increase their risk for SCC of the UADT if they additionally consume large amounts of processed meat.