Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Revue systématique de la littérature sur les effets du dépistage du cancer du sein

Contexte : le cancer du sein etant un probleme de sante publique majeur dans les pays occidentaux, un depistage par mammographie y a ete instaure dans les annees 1990 et 2000. Depuis la polemique secondaire a la publication de la premiere revue Cochrane en 2001, de nombreux articles ont tente de faire la lumiere sur les incertitudes qui entourent ce depistage. Objectif : recensement exhaustif et critique des revues de litterature evaluant le depistage du cancer du sein. Materiel et methode : Revue de litterature systematique des meta-analyses et des revues de litterature abordant les effets du depistage du cancer du sein par mammographie. Resultats principaux : selon les meta-analyses, la reduction relative de mortalite par cancer du sein dans les essais randomises est d'environ 20 % dans le groupe depistage. Les resultats des revues d'etudes observationnelles sont plus incertains mais semblent concordants. L'ajustement sur la participation augmente cette reduction aux alentours de 40 %. La mortalite globale n'est pas diminuee. Les effets indesirables du depistage du cancer du sein sont moins connus. Le sur-diagnostic a partir des essais randomises est estime entre 10 et 30 % selon la methode de calcul utilisee et entre 0 et plus de 50 % a partir des etudes observationnelles. Les taux de faux positifs varient de 20 a 40 % entrainant des investigations complementaires et des consequences psychologiques notables. Conclusion : du fait des variations importantes des resultats, la balance benefice-risque du depistage du cancer du sein est incertaine. Il semble par ailleurs important d'informer de facon claire et le plus objectivement possible, les patientes invitees au depistage.
The CDS1 Gene Encoding CDP-diacylglycerol Synthase In Saccharomyces cerevisiae Is Essential for Cell Growth (*)

An open reading frame (CDS1) residing on chromosome II of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a hydrophobic protein with a predicted molecular mass of 51,789 Da, which exhibits 29 and 37% amino acid sequence identities with CDP-diacylglycerol synthases reported from Escherichia coli and Drosophila, respectively. Induction of expression of a GAL1 promoter-driven CDS1 gene on a multicopy plasmid in a cds1 null mutant background resulted in synthase activity 10 times that of wild-type cells and an elevation in the apparent initial rate of synthesis of phosphatidylinositol relative to phosphatidylserine. Without induction, activity was reduced to 10% of wild-type levels, which was sufficient to support growth but resulted in an inositol excretion phenotype, and had an opposite effect on the above phospholipid synthesis. Null cds1 mutants were incapable of spore germination or vegetative growth and could not be complemented under uninduced conditions with a GAL1 promoter-driven CDS1 gene on a low copy plasmid. Therefore, the essential CDS1 gene encodes the majority, if not all, of the synthase activity. The lack of consensus RNA splice sites derived from the genomic CDS1 sequence predicts that the multiple subcellular locations for synthase activities do not arise through RNA processing events.
Oral health-related quality of life in hospitalised stroke patients.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that impairment of orofacial function following stroke affects the patients' oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). MATERIAL AND METHODS From the University Hospitals of Geneva, 31 stroke patients (18 men, 13 women, mean age 69.0 ± 12.7 years) with unilateral facial and limb palsy were recruited (patient group, PG). In the study, the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)-EDENT was utilised to assess OHRQoL. Further examinations comprised a test of masticatory efficiency and lip force, stroke severity National Institute of Health Stroke Scale and dental state. The control group (CG) consisted of 24 subjects with similar age, gender and dental state. RESULTS The PG mean OHIP-EDENT sum score was 18.8 ± 15.5 and proved higher than one of the CG, indicating a lower OHRQoL in the PG (p < 0.01). The score of the sub-domains 'functional limitation' and 'physical pain' were significantly higher in PG (p < 0.03 and p < 0.02, respectively). The masticatory efficiency was significantly lower in the PG (p < 0.0001) and was associated with the OHIP-EDENT sum score and its sub-domains, except for 'physical disability'. This effect was not present in the CG. CONCLUSION The OHRQoL is significantly reduced in hospitalised stroke patients whereby functional impairment seems predominant when compared with psychological and psycho-social aspects.
Serological analysis of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 with monoclonal antibodies

A panel of monoclonal antibodies to herpes simplex virus glycoproteins was used for serological analysis of 130 strains. Based on specific immunological determinants, strains of each serotype clustered into subgroups. Monoclonal antibodies were suitable reagents for serotyping and have potential application to epidemiology of herpes simplex virus infections.
Effect of fasting on Trypanosoma cruzi infection in Triatoma dimidiata (Hemiptera: Reduviidae).

A group of 101 nymphs and adults of Triatoma dimidiata naturally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi was subjected to continuous fasting under laboratory conditions. Twenty of these insects (19.8%) were no longer infected at the time they died (mean life-span: 163.7 days). Of a control group of 93 infected nymphs and adults that fed periodically on pigeons, only 5 insects (5.4%) were negative at the time they died (mean life-span: 250.4 days). The difference between percentages in the 2 groups was statistically significant ( P < 0.01).
Curative-dose Chemoradiotherapy Versus Total Laryngectomy For Stage T3-T4 Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Larynx

Objective: Chemoradiotherapy (cRT) and total laryngectomy (TL) are acceptable treatments for locally advanced laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSSC). We aimed to compare the outcomes in patients receiving full-dose treatment. Methods: We identified 11,237 patients in the National Cancer Database treated 2004 to 2015 for T3-4N0-3 LSCC with either TL (with 60 to 80 Gy of adjuvant RT) or cRT (70 to 80 Gy). We evaluated differences in overall survival (OS) using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results: For patients with T3 disease, there was no difference in OS regardless of N stage (N0: hazard ratio [HR]=0.94, P=0.38; N+: HR=0.92, P=0.19). TL was associated with improved OS in patients with T4 disease (N0: HR=1.39, P<0.001; N+: HR=1.22, P=0.001). Conclusion: In patients who receive optimal therapy, both TL and cRT offer similar outcomes in T3 but not T4a disease.
Effects of Oregano (Origanum vulgare L) and Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L) Aqueous Extracts On in vitro Rabbit Immune Responses

In order to investigate the effects of some dietary phytoderivates (Origanum vulgare L. and Rosmarinus officinalis L.) on rabbit immune system, 100 New Zealand mixed-sex rabbits weaned at 30 days of age were split into homogeneous groups submitted to the following dietary treatments: 1) Standard diet (C); 2) C +150 ppm Vit E (E); 3) C +0.2% oregano (O); 4) C +0.2% rosemary (R) and 5) C +0.1% oregano + 0.1% rosemary (OR). Blood samples were drawn from rabbits at 30 and 90 days of age (ten rabbits/diet group at Time 0 and 1, respectively) to investigate the blood lymphocyte subset evolution, the in vitrolymphocyte proliferation (in presence or absence of mitogens) responses and the Immunoglobulin M(IgM) concentration in the supernatants of lymphocyte cultures. A diet effect was observed in the O and OR groups, where the lymphocytes proliferation responses to pokeweed mitogen (PWM; ***P<0.001, in the O group) or the interleukin-2 production (IL-2; ***P<0.001, for both groups) at Time 1 were significantly higher. The IgM levels were systematically higher in the O, OR and E cells culture supernatants (**P<0.01). Age did not affect the rabbit lymphocyte subset evolution nor the in vitrolymphocyte proliferation. Data obtained in the present study show that rabbit’s dietary supplementation with oregano elicits positive effects on the adaptive immune response.
Methods for modelling change in cluster randomization trials

Randomized trials are often designed to assess an intervention's ability to change patient knowledge, behaviour or health. The study outcome will then need to be measured at least twice for each subject—prior to random assignment and following implementation of the intervention. In this paper we consider methods for modelling change when data are obtained from cluster randomization trials where the unit of allocation is a family, school or community. Attention focuses on mixed effects linear regression extensions of (i) two‐sample t‐tests and (ii) analysis of covariance, in both cases accounting for dependencies among cluster members. Algebraic expressions for tests of the intervention effect are derived for the special case where there are a fixed number of subjects per cluster while simulation studies are used to compare the power of these procedures in the more realistic case where there is variability in cluster size. A key conclusion is that there can be considerable gains in power when allowing for different individual‐level and cluster‐level associations between the baseline and follow‐up assessments. The discussion is illustrated using data from a school‐based smoking prevention trial. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
[Thalamic relay nucleus stimulation for relief of intractable pain. Clinical results and beta-endorphin immunoreactivity in cerebrospinal fluid].

Chronic implantation of a stimulating electrode in the thalamic relay nucleus (11 cases), in the periaqueductal gray (1 case) and in the internal capsule (2 cases) was performed in fourteen cases which suffered from intractable pain. All these cases could get pain relief at least initial two months. Ventricular fluids were collected before and after stimulation with optimal combination of parameters, and measurements of beta-endorphin were performed by radio-immunoassay. Intrathecal morphine (1mg) injection was performed in eight cases. Cerebrospinal fluids were collected by lumbar tap before and 24 hours after morphine injection. beta-endorphin immunoreactivity was measured by the same method. Pain relief was judged to be excellent if the patient so claimed, and if he discontinued analgesics. Pain relief was thought to be good when it was not completely controllable by stimulation but was sufficiently improved that the patient could do without analgesics. It was thought to be fair when patient could not discontinue analgesics, and poor when patient could not get pain relief. We usually attempt to prevent the stimulation-tolerance by administration of the monoamine precursors , i.e., 1-dopa and 1-tryptophan, on the basis of the experimental observation reported previously. In somatogenic pain patients, the thalamic relay nucleus stimulation was performed in 7 cases (excellent; 3, good; 1, fair; 3) and the periaqueductal gray stimulation in one case (good). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A Kernel Clustering Algorithm With Fuzzy Factor: Application to SAR Image Segmentation

The presence of multiplicative noise in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images makes segmentation and classification difficult to handle. Although a fuzzy C-means (FCM) algorithm and its variants (e.g., the FCM_S, the fast generalized FCM, the fuzzy local information C-means, etc.) can achieve satisfactory segmentation results and are robust to Gaussian noise, uniform noise, and salt and pepper noise, they are not adaptable to SAR image speckle. This letter presents a kernel FCM algorithm with pixel intensity and location information for SAR image segmentation. We incorporate a weighted fuzzy factor into the objective function, which considers the spatial and intensity distances of all neighboring pixels simultaneously. In addition, the energy measures of SAR image wavelet decomposition are used to represent the texture information, and a kernel metric is adopted to measure the feature similarity. The weighted fuzzy factor and the kernel distance measure are both robust to speckle. Experimental results on synthetic and real SAR images demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is effective for SAR image segmentation.
SAT-046 Modulation of Histone 3 Acetylation and Methylation Enhances the Expression and Function of Npr1 in Haplotype Mice

Abstract Atrial and brain natriuretic peptides (ANP, BNP) activate guanylyl cyclase/natriuretic peptide receptor-A (GC-A/NPRA), which plays a critical role in the regulation of blood pressure and fluid volume homeostasis, and inhibits the cell proliferation and fibrosis. Mice lacking functional Npr1 (coding for GC-A/NPRA) gene exhibit hypertension and renal disorders; however, the mechanisms regulating Npr1 expression and function are not well understood. The objective of the present study was to gain insight into the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms involved in Npr1 gene expression modulated by class I specific histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, mocetinostat (MGCD0103). We utilized 16- to 20-weeks old male and female Npr1 gene-knockout haplotype (1-copy; Npr1+/-), wild-type (2-copy; Npr1+/+) and gene-duplicated heterozygous (3-copy; Npr1++/+) mice. Mice were injected intraperitoneally with MGCD0103 (2 mg/kg) at an alternate days for 2-weeks. The Western blot analysis revealed that MGCD0103 significantly increased the renal NPRA protein levels in all male and female mice groups compared with vehicle-treated controls. After MGCD0103 treatment, the renal Npr1 mRNA expression increased in Npr1 haplotype male and female mice. Renal HDAC activity was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in all genotypes of male mice than female mice; however, treatment with MGCD0103 markedly attenuated HDAC activity in both male (~40%, p < 0.05) and female (~50%, p < 0.05) animals. The histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity was lower in untreated 1-copy male mice compared with wild type mice and MGCD0103 treatment significantly increased the HAT activity whereas no significant differences were observed in drug- or vehicle-treated female mice. The drug treatment significantly enhanced the acetylation levels of H3-K9 and H3-K27 in 1-copy male mice and H3-K18 in 1-copy female mice. There was substantial increase in protein levels of active gene transcription mark H3-K4 tri-methylation and decrease in suppressive marks H3-K9 and H3-K27 methylation in MGCD0103-treated 1-copy male and female mice. The present results suggest that MGCD0103 epigenetically regulates Npr1 expression in vivo in 1-copy haplotype male and female mice, via inhibition of HDAC activity, upregulation of the H3 acetylation and attenuation of H3 methylation levels. These present findings will have important implications in prevention and treatment of hypertension-related renal pathophysiological conditions under reduced NPRA signaling. This work was supported by NIH grants (HL057531 and HL062147) and a partial support from Tulane Carol Lavin Bernick grant award.
Estradiol Shapes Auditory Processing in the Adult Brain by Regulating Inhibitory Transmission and Plasticity-Associated Gene Expression

Estradiol impacts a wide variety of brain processes, including sex differentiation, mood, and learning. Here we show that estradiol regulates auditory processing of acoustic signals in the vertebrate brain, more specifically in the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM), the songbird analog of the mammalian auditory association cortex. Multielectrode recordings coupled with local pharmacological manipulations in awake animals reveal that both exogenous and locally generated estradiol increase auditory-evoked activity in NCM. This enhancement in neuronal responses is mediated by suppression of local inhibitory transmission. Surprisingly, we also found that estradiol is both necessary and sufficient for the induction of multiple mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent genes thought to be required for synaptic plasticity and memorization of birdsong. Specifically, we show that local blockade of estrogen receptors or aromatase activity in awake birds decrease song-induced MAPK-dependent gene expression. Infusions of estradiol in acoustically isolated birds induce transcriptional activation of these genes to levels comparable with song-stimulated animals. Our results reveal acute and rapid nongenomic functions for estradiol in central auditory physiology and suggest that such roles may be ubiquitously expressed across sensory systems.
Dynamics of fine T-cell subsets during HIV disease and after thymic ablation by mediastinal irradiation.

The T-cell compartment is considerably more complex than just CD4 and CD8 T cells. Indeed, we can identify dozens of functionally and phenotypically distinct subsets within the peripheral blood of humans. These subsets are differentially affected in diseases which may underly some of the functional defects attributable to the disease. In HIV disease, all thymic-derived T-cell populations are gradually lost at identical rates during late-stage disease progression, while unusual, perhaps extrathymically-derived T cells expand. This expansion may reflect an attempt on the part of the immune system to compensate for the significant insult of HIV infection to the host: the abrogation of normal thymopoiesis and T-cell homeostasis.
Shoot apical meristem: In vitro regeneration and morphogenesis in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

SummaryWe report a less genotype-dependent in vitro regeneration system capable of producing multiple shoot clumps and whole plants in four different wheat genotypes. Shool apical meristems from 7-d-old-seedlings produced axillary and adventitious shoots and somatic embryos on media containing N6-benzyladenine (BA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). All four genotypes responded positively to shoot multiplication depending upon media composition. Scanning electron microscopies of cultures showed a proliferating budding state that gave rise to adventitious shoots and somatic embryos on further multiplication. The percentage of relative shoot apical meristem multiplication was 80–90%, and the average number of shoot meristems per multiplied shoot was 40–50 in all genotypes. Among different concentrations of phytohormones, 2 and 4 mgl−1 BA (8.8 and 17.7 μM) in combination with 0.5 mg l−1 2,4-D (2.26 μM) gave the best results. Actively multiplying shoot clumps were recovered with high frequency among 3-mo. -old cultures. These shoot clumps regenerated normally and produced fertile plants containing viable seeds. This in vitro system might prove useful for the production of transgenic plants of wheat in a relatively genotype-independent manner.
The effect of flufenamic acid on gastrointestinal myoelectrical activity and transit time in dogs

Background—Flufenamic acid, a fenamate, has been shown to alter markedly the membrane potential of small intestinal smooth muscle and increase intracellular calcium in single cells. Aims—To determine the effects of flufenamic acid on myoelectrical motor activity and gastrointestinal transit in the intact animal. Methods—Myoelectrical motor activity was recorded via seromuscular platinum electrodes sutured at regular intervals in the stomach and throughout the small intestine. Fasted and fed gastrointestinal transit was assessed using technetium-99m (99mTc) as the radioactive marker linked to 1 mm amberlite pellets or added to the meal. Results—Flufenamic acid (600 mg, intravenously) induced intense spike activity in the small intestine. The mean duration of irregular spike activity was 250 (7) minutes. Spike activity was more pronounced in the lower small intestine. Flufenamic acid also accelerated initial gastric emptying and markedly shortened transit time in the small intestine. In the fasted state the 50% transit time in the small intestine was 54 (8) minutes with infusion of flufenamic acid compared with 105 (10) minutes in the control group; in the fed state 99mTc first reached the colon at 220 (10) minutes compared with 270 (12) minutes in the control group. Conclusions—Flufenamic acid had marked effects on both myoelectrical motor complex activity and small intestinal transit in the dog. The observed effects suggest that flufenamic acid may be of potential use as a prokinetic agent.
KHA‐CARI guideline: Biochemical and haematological targets: Haemoglobin concentrations in patients using erythropoietin‐stimulating agents

GUIDELINE RECOMMENDATIONS • We recommend against haemoglobin targets above 130 g/L due to the strong association with increased morbidity and mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) (1A). * • For many anaemic patients with CKD, we suggest a haemoglobin target of between 100 and 115 g/L, balancing risks and benefits for each patient treated, in order to alleviate symptoms and reduce the risk of blood transfusion (2A). * • We suggest that in dialysis patients with anaemia due to CKD, an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) can be used to prevent the haemoglobin falling below 95 g/L in order to avoid the need for blood transfusion (2B)* and to improve quality of life (2D). * • We suggest that ESA are indicated for the partial correction of the anaemia of CKD in patients who are symptomatic or who may otherwise require blood transfusion (2A). *
A Graph Based Approach To Identify Objects Using Identifying Attribute

We have proposed a method to identify objects in database schema using association degree with other objects. We have also used identifying attribute of associations in graph to specify a unique path to resolve ambiguity of Fuzzy Object Functional Dependencies. Recently Fuzzy Concepts were used in Object Oriented Data Models. The Object Identifier allows distinguishing between similar objects. Functional Dependencies play a dominant role to uniquely identify objects. Moreover object identification has now become a modeling concept rather than database concept so starting a search for objects with a set of values is possible. We have also investigated the presence of identifying attributes in fuzzy object schema and its implications.