Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The lived experience of surviving breast cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To explore women's perspectives of the experience of surviving breast cancer. DESIGN Descriptive, phenomenologic. SETTING A community in the Southwestern United States. SAMPLE Eight women, ages 34-70 (mean = 54.6 years), who had completed breast cancer therapy. Average time since completion of therapy was 7.6 years (range = 2-15 years). METHOD Open-ended, audiotaped interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Colaizzi's method. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLE Woman's description of the experience of surviving breast cancer. FINDINGS Nine theme categories were identified from the data: a future of uncertainty, abandonment, sanctuaries along the way, self-transcendence, finding resolution to the financial cost of cancer, mediating expectations of others, survivors' lifelines, circle of influences, and the journey. The themes were developed into an essential structure. The essential structure of the experience of surviving breast cancer is one of facing the unknown and experiencing many losses. At the same time, this journey evolves into one of growth and enlightenment, providing the woman with many unexpected and new opportunities. In searching for the meaning of the journey (which changes over time), one grows and finds comfort and challenge in the midst of uncertainty. The journey affects not only the women themselves but also those around them. CONCLUSIONS Surviving breast cancer evokes many feelings and concerns for the women and those around them. By identifying, acknowledging, and addressing these feelings and concerns, women can find meaning in their journey, which provides comfort and self-growth while facing the unknown future. This journey continues and changes over time, as does the meaning of the journey. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE An awareness and description of current issues and feelings surrounding survivors of breast cancer can assist the multidisciplinary healthcare team in caring for and supporting women and their families and friends during this experience.
Basic Electrophysiology of the Pulmonary Veins and Their Role in Atrial Fibrillation:

The role of the pulmonary veins (PVs) in atrial fibrillation (AF) exploded into the widespread consciousness of the medical community with the groundbreaking demonstration of their importance by Haissaguerre’s group in 1997.1 Many subsequent clinical investigators confirmed these findings, and the PVs of AF patients now are regularly succumbing to the onslaughts of a host of torments in the (generally fruitful) attempt to suppress AF. As good practitioners, we have rapidly pursued the how of PV ablation, and we have a bit more slowly begun to address the why of the important role of PVs in AF. Before Haissaguerre’s work, we knew very little (and possibly cared even less) about the electrical activity of PVs. Over the past few years, there has been extensive investigation of PV electrical function in normal animals and in animal models of AF. In combination with clinical investigations, the results have provided us with some hints about why the PVs are important in AF, but they have posed a host of new questions. The aim of this article is to synthesize the available information about the potential basic mechanisms of PV involvement in AF and to derive from this synthesis some directions that need to be taken to resolve the major outstanding issues.
ects of a flexible galantamine dose in Alzheimer ’ s disease : a randomised , controlled trial

Objective—To assess the eYcacy and safety of galantamine in Alzheimer’s disease at 3 months using flexible dose escalation. Methods—A randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial in 43 centres in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease (n=386; 171 women) with a score of 11–24 on the mini mental state examination, and a score>12 on the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer’s disease assessment scale (ADAS-cog) were randomised to placebo, or galantamine escalated over 4 weeks to a maintenance dose of 24 or 32 mg/day. The primary outcome measures were the change in ADAS-cog score and the clinician’s interview based impression of change plus caregiver input (CIBIC-plus) score. Activities of daily living (ADL) and behavioural symptoms were secondary outcomes. To compare the eVects of highest levels of dosing, an observed cases (OC) analysis was undertaken, with classic intention to treat (ITT) and ITT with last observation carried forward (LOCF) as confirmatory analyses. Results—At 3 months, galantamine (24–32 mg/day) produced a significantly better outcome on cognitive function than placebo (treatment diVerence=1.9 points on ADAS-cog, p=0.002) and a significantly better global response than placebo, as measured by CIBIC-plus (deterioration in 21% of patients on galantamine v 37% on placebo; p<0.001). Galantamine produced significant benefits on basic and instrumental ADL. Behavioural symptoms did not change significantly from baseline levels in either group. Adverse events (primarily gastrointestinal) were of mild to moderate intensity. There were no important diVerences between the OC, ITT, and ITT/LOCF analyses. Most patients (82%) who were maintained on the higher dose of galantamine completed the study. Conclusions—Patients on galantamine, compared with those on placebo, experienced benefits in cognitive function and instrumental and basic activities of daily living. Flexible dose escalation of galantamine was well tolerated. (J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2001;71:589–595)
Hypoxia‐stimulated membrane trafficking requires T‐plastin

Traffic between the plasma membrane and the endomembrane compartments is an essential feature of eukaryotic cells. The secretory pathway sends cargoes from biosynthetic compartments to the plasma membrane. This is counterbalanced by a retrograde endocytic route and is essential for cell homoeostasis. Cells need to adapt rapidly to environmental challenges such as the reduction of pO2 which, however, has not been analysed in relation to membrane trafficking in detail. Therefore, we determined changes in the plasma membrane trafficking in normoxia, hypoxia, and after reoxygenation.
Impact of a moderate-intensity walking program on cardiometabolic risk markers in overweight to obese women: is there any influence of menopause?

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the effect of brisk walking on cardiometabolic risk profile and on the gene expression (ie, messenger RNA [mRNA] levels) of inflammatory and thrombotic markers in abdominal and femoral subcutaneous adipose tissues (SATs) among sedentary overweight to obese women with different menopause statuses. MethodsSixteen late premenopausal (mean [SD] age, 49 [3] y; mean [SD] body mass index, 31.9 [3.0] kg/m2) and 14 early postmenopausal (53 [2] y; 30.8 [1.9] kg/m2) women were involved in a 16-week walking program (three sessions of 45 min/wk at 60% of heart rate reserve). Glucose-insulin homeostasis, lipid-lipoprotein profile, and inflammatory (tumor necrosis factor-&agr;, interleukin-6 [IL-6], and adiponectin) and thrombotic (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1) SAT mRNA and plasma levels were measured before and after the intervention. ResultsGlucose area under the curve was reduced in all participants (P = 0.03) after the walking program. Increases in plasma tumor necrosis factor-&agr; were observed in both groups (P = 0.001), whereas increases in plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels were found in postmenopausal women only (P = 0.014). However, plasma IL-6 and adiponectin levels remained unchanged after the intervention (0.07 < P < 0.98). Although femoral SAT adiponectin mRNA levels decreased in postmenopausal women only (P = 0.008), abdominal SAT IL-6 mRNA levels were reduced in both groups (P = 0.01). ConclusionsTaken together, our results show that, despite a reduced abdominal SAT IL-6 expression, brisk walking does not seem to exert a favorable impact on the cardiometabolic risk profile of overweight to obese women, irrespective of their menopause status.
An Efficient Implementation of Montgomery Multiplication on Multicore Platform With Optimized Algorithm, Task Partitioning, and Network Architecture

The modular multiplication (MM) is a key operation in cryptographic algorithms, such as RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography. Multicore processor is a suitable platform to implement MM because of its flexibility, high performance, and energy-efficiency. In this paper, we propose a block-level parallel algorithm for MM with quotient pipelining and optimally map it on a network-on-chip-based multicore platform equipped with broadcasting mechanism. Aiming at highest performance, a theoretical speedup model for parallel MM is also developed for parameter exploration that optimizes task partitioning. Experimental results based on a multicore prototype show that compared with the sequential MM on single core, the parallel implementation proposed in this paper maximizes the speedup ratio with regard to given intercore communication latency.
Automatic sentiment analysis from opinion of Thais speech audio

Automatic classification of sentiment is widely used in academia and industry by several techniques. This paper aims to develop a method of sentiment analysis for Thais customers to identify the different notions into two opinions (positive or negative) to consume the products. These opinions are represented by text that is derived from the Thais speech audio content in social media especially video reviews about beauty product. Then, this work implements the model by the Naïve Bayes text classification. The results could be demonstrated that the method can provide more effectiveness and satisfactory accuracy for automatic sentiment analysis.
The European consensus on ulcerative colitis: new horizons?

A European consensus on anything is not easy to achieve, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is no exception. The European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO), has now published the Consensus on the management of ulcerative colitis1–3 to complement the highly successful Crohn’s disease Consensus, which became the most downloaded papers from Gut in 2007.4–6 A further European Consensus on opportunistic infections and IBD, to be published during 2008 and an update of the Crohn’s Consensus presented at the United European Gastroenterology Week (UEGW) in Vienna, are the product of a formal process, and hence the capital C in Consensus. The limits of evidence-based medicine are such that guidelines appear most necessary where evidence is limited. The Consensus process endeavours to quantify opinion through a detailed preparatory phase, with systematic literature searches on selected topics, questionnaires on areas of controversy and grading of evidence according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, from the optimal 1a (systematic review with homogeneity of randomised controlled trials) to the lowest level 5 (expert opinion, even including our own). 1 4 Based on the evidence levels, recommendations are graded from A (consistent level 1 studies) to D (level 5 evidence). Preliminary statements are then drafted by working parties, discussed and modified at a plenary meeting of experts (72 from the then 22 countries of ECCO in the ulcerative colitis Consensus). Consent has to prevail over dissent and evidence over eminence: habemus consensus, formally defined as >80% agreement, a majority vote for 50–80% agreement and no consensus for <50% accord. The statements, forged as if from molten metal at the plenary session, provide the framework for the guideline. The supporting text is then written by the working parties to place statements in the necessary context and collated into the …
Analysis of ruin measures for two classes of risk processes with stochastic income

In this paper, we consider the ruin measures for two classes of risk processes. We assume that the claim number processes are independent Poisson and generalized Erlang(n) processes, respectively. Historically, it has been assumed that the premium size is a constant. In this contribution, the premium income arrival process is a Poisson process. In this framework, both the integro-differential equation and the Laplace transform for the expected discounted penalty function are established. Explicit expressions for the expected discounted penalty function are derived when the claim amount distributions belong to the rational family. Finally, Numerical examples are
A brief overview of mechanisms of mitochondrial toxicity from NRTIs

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) in combinations with other antiretrovirals (highly active antiretroviral therapy, HAART) are the cornerstones of AIDS therapy, turning HIV infection into a manageable clinical entity. Despite the initial positive impact of NRTIs, therapeutic experience revealed serious side effects that appeared to originate in the mitochondria and which ultimately manifested as dysfunction of that organelle. It may be reasonable to consider that as the AIDS epidemic continues and as survival with HIV infection is prolonged by treatment with HAART, long‐term side effects of NRTIs may become increasingly common. This consideration may be underscored in children who are born to HIV‐infected mothers who received NRTI therapy in utero during gestation. The long‐term effect of that NRTI exposure in utero is not clear yet. This review examines some proposed mechanisms of NRTI mitochondrial toxicity, including genetic predisposition, defects in mitochondria DNA replication, the encompassing “DNA pol‐γ hypothesis,” the relationship between mitochondrial nucleotide and NRTI pools, mitochondrial DNA mutation and dysfunction, and oxidative stresses related to HIV infection and NRTIs. Mechanisms of mitochondrial toxicity are reviewed with respect to key cell biological, pathological, and pharmacological events. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. , 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Idiosyncratic drug hepatotoxicity: a 2008 update

Pharmaceutical preparations, and also herbal products and dietary supplements, are emerging contributors to severe forms of liver disease. Although acetaminophen intoxication is still the reason for many cases of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in Western countries, the bulk of hepatic reactions to drugs are idiosyncratic. Only a small fraction of individuals exposed to a drug associated with liver injury will develop hepatotoxicity. Indeed, the rarity of this serious adverse event prevents its detection in clinical trials. The pathogenesis of idiosyncratic DILI is not well known because of a lack of reliable animal models, although it probably involves the metabolism of the drug and/or activation of the immune system. Different databases have described antibiotics, NSAIDs and anticonvulsants as the main group of drugs incriminated in DILI. Clinical presentation of DILI includes predominantly a hepatocellular type of damage, yet cholestatic and mixed types are also common; the determinants of the type of damage induced by a given drug are poorly understood. Analysis of pooled data has recently underlined the influence of older age in the cholestatic/mixed expression of liver injury, as well as the independent association of female gender, older age, aspartate aminotransferase levels with hepatocellular type of damage and high bilirubin levels with the risk of fulminant liver failure/death. In the long term (providing the patient survives the initial episode), persistent damage may occur in at least 6% of patients, with the cholestatic mixed type of damage more prone to becoming chronic, while in the hepatocellular pattern the severity is greater, with further likelihood of evolution to cirrhosis. Cardiovascular and CNS drugs are the main groups leading to chronic liver damage. The diagnosis of hepatotoxicity remains a difficult task owing to the lack of reliable markers for use in general clinical practice. Diagnostic algorithms may add consistency to clinical judgment by translating a suspicion into a quantitative score. Currently, the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences/Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method instrument is considered the gold standard in causality assessment of hepatotoxicity, although there is probably room for improvement. Current efforts in collecting bona fide cases will make refinements of existing scales feasible. Efforts should also be directed towards the development of an abridged instrument for use in evaluating suspected drug-induced hepatotoxicity at the very beginning of the diagnosis and treatment process when clinical decisions need to be taken. The treatment of idiosyncratic DILI is largely supportive. Early suspicion and withdrawal of the offending agent is the most important therapeutic measure.
Increased expression of transient receptor potential canonical 6 (TRPC6) in differentiating human megakaryocytes

Members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) family of cation conducting channels are found in several tissues and cell types where they have different physiological functions. The canonical TRP channel 6 (TRPC6) is present on the platelet membrane and appears to participate in calcium influx during platelet activation. However, limited information is available on the importance of TRPC channels in megakaryocytes (MKs), the precursor cells of platelets. We determined the mRNA and protein expression of TRPC family members and investigated the role of TRPC6 for proliferation and differentiation of human MKs derived from CD34+ progenitor cells. TRPC6 transcripts were highly expressed during the differentiation of MKs and TRPC6 protein was detectable in MK cytoplasm by confocal staining. TRPC6 channel activity was modulated by pharmacological approaches using flufenamic acid (FFA) for activation and SKF96365 for inhibition. Upon FFA stimulation in MKs, an increase in intracellular calcium was observed, which was blocked by SKF96365 at 10 µM concentration. Incubation of MKs with SKF96365 resulted in a reduction in thrombopoietin‐stimulated cell proliferation. Our results suggest a role of TRPC6 in calcium homeostasis during MK development, particularly for cell proliferation.
Docosahexaenoic acid attenuates adipose tissue angiogenesis and insulin resistance in high fat diet-fed middle-aged mice via a sirt1-dependent mechanism.

SCOPE Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22: 6, n-3), one of PUFAs, exerts beneficial effects on inflammatory diseases, obesity and diabetes. Angiogenesis in adipose tissue has a major role in the development of obesity and its related metabolic complications. Inhibition of angiogenesis is an emerging strategy for the novel treatment for obesity. Thus, we examined the effect of DHA on angiogenesis in adipose tissues and investigated the underlying mechanisms. METHODS AND RESULTS In high-fat diet (HFD) fed middle-aged mice, DHA inhibited the macrophage-derived inflammation and angiogenesis in adipose tissues, reduced adipocyte size and body fat composition and improved insulin sensitivity. Moreover, DHA reversed the HFD-induced reduction of Sirt1 in adipose tissues. Interestingly, the effects of DHA were attenuated by lentivirus-mediated Sirt1 knockdown with increasing expression of markers of macrophage-derived inflammation and angiogenesis, associated with impaired insulin sensitivity. CONCLUSION Overall, our findings demonstrated that DHA reduced angiogenesis of adipose tissues and attenuated insulin resistance in HFD-induced obese mice via the activation of Sirt1.
Relationships among plasma homocysteine, cysteine, and albumin concentrations: potential utility of assessing the cysteine/homocysteine ratio.

McCully (1) initially observed that patients with extremely increased plasma concentrations of homocysteine (Hcy) attributable to homocystinuria have accelerated atherosclerosis. Subsequently, even moderate hyperhomocysteinemia became recognized as a risk factor for atherosclerosis and thrombosis (2)(3)(4), although the mechanism by which increased concentrations of Hcy produce these effects is uncertain. Hcy occurs in the circulation in multiple forms, including Hcy linked via disulfides to albumin (∼70%), as a mixed disulfide with Cys (25%), as a disulfide-linked dimer (<5%), as the free reduced amino acid (<5%), and as a thiolactone (trace) (5)(6). It is not clear which of these components are physiologically active, and efforts to measure individual components have been technically challenging because of the interconversion of different forms during specimen processing. As a result, measurement of total Hcy (tHcy), including all forms except the trace amount of thiolactone, has become the standard clinical test (5)(6)(7). The present study examined the relationships among concentrations of tHcy, plasma albumin, and total Cys (tCys; includes protein-bound, disulfide-linked forms, and reduced). Considering that albumin and Cys serve as covalent carriers of most of the Hcy in circulation, these components may affect circulating tHcy and the physiological action of Hcy. Cys has the potential for multiple interactions with Hcy because Cys is not only a covalent carrier but also a competitor for binding sites on proteins, a potential competitor …
Behavioral and Hormonal Changes in Female Naked Mole-Rats (Heterocephalus glaber) Following Removal of the Breeding Female from a Colony

Colonies of naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) contain a single dominant, breeding female, or "queen", which suppresses reproduction in subordinate females. In this study, the queen and breeding male were removed from a colony at Brookfield Zoo. We examined behavioral and endocrine changes in the remaining colony females. Behavioral observations were conducted weekly and urine samples were collected beginning 3 months prior to the planned removal of animals. Prior to the removal, only the queen displayed the high frequencies of aggressive shoving typical of breeding females. In the first 2 months following removal of the queen, three non-breeding females markedly increased their frequencies of shoving. Urinary progesterone showed that one of three females had probably ovulated both before and after queen removal. Histological examination following fatal agonistic interactions confirmed ovulatory function in two of these three females. Similar behavioral and endocrinological results were obtained for three more females, following the combat deaths of the first three females. These findings suggest that ovarian activation facilitates intrasexual aggression in female naked mole-rats and might contribute to attainment of breeding status.
Endothelial tyrosine kinase receptor B prevents VE-cadherin cleavage and protects against atherosclerotic lesion development in ApoE−/− mice

Tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB) is a high-affinity receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In addition to its nervous system functions, TrkB is also expressed in the aortic endothelium. However, the effects of endothelial TrkB signaling on atherosclerosis remained unknown. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that TrkB expression is downregulated in the endothelium of atherosclerotic lesions from ApoE−/− mice compared with the atheroma-free aorta of WT mice. Endothelial TrkB knockdown led to increased lesion size, lipid deposition and inflammatory responses in the atherosclerotic lesions of the ApoE−/− mice compared with the control mice. Mechanistic studies showed that TrkB activation prevented VE-cadherin shedding by enhancing the interaction between vascular endothelial protein tyrosine phosphatase and VE-cadherin, maintaining VE-cadherin in a dephosphorylated state. Our data demonstrate that TrkB is an endothelial injury-response molecule in atherogenesis. Endothelial BDNF/TrkB signaling reduces VE-cadherin shedding and protects against atherosclerotic lesion development in ApoE−/− mice.