Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparing Role of Two Chemotherapy Regimens, CMF and Anthracycline-Based, on Breast Cancer Survival in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and Asia by Multivariate Mixed Effects Models: a Meta-Analysis.

PURPOSE To assess the role of two adjuvant chemotherapy regimens, anthracycline-based and CMF on disease free survival and overall survival breast cancer patients by meta-analysis approach in Eastern Mediterranean and Asian countries to determine which is more effective and evaluate the appropriateness and efficiency of two different proposed statistical models. MATERIALS AND METHODS Survival curves were digitized and the survival proportions and times were extracted and modeled to appropriate covariates by two multivariate mixed effects models. Studies which reported disease free survival and overall survival curves for anthracycline-based or CMF as adjuvant chemotherapy that were published in English in the Eastern Mediterranean region and Asia were included in this systematic review. The two transformations of survival probabilities (Ln (-Ln(S)) and Ln(S/ (1-S))) as dependent variables were modeled by a multivariate mixed model to same covariates in order to have precise estimations with high power and appropriate interpretation of covariate effects. The analysis was carried out with SAS Proc MIXED and STATA software. RESULTS A total of 32 studies from the published literature were analysed, covering 4,092 patients who received anthracycline-based and 2,501 treated with CMF for the disease free survival and in order to analyze the overall survival, 13 studies reported the overall survival curves in which 2,050 cases were treated with anthracycline-based and 1,282 with CMF regimens. CONCLUSIONS The findings illustrated that the model with dependent variable Ln (-Ln(S)) had more precise estimations of the covariate effects and showed significant difference between the effects of two adjuvant chemotherapy regimens. Anthracycline-based treatment gave better disease free survival and overall survival. As an IPD meta-analysis in the Italy the results of Angelo et al in 2011 also confirmed that anthracycline-based regimens were more effective for survival of breast cancer patients. The findings of Zare et al 2012 on disease free survival curves in Asia also provided similar evidence.
Qualitative assessment of the progesterone receptor and HER2 improves the Nottingham Prognostic Index up to 5 years after breast cancer diagnosis.

PURPOSE To investigate whether the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) can improve the Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) in the classification of patients with primary operable breast cancer for disease-free survival (DFS). PATIENTS AND METHODS The analysis is based on 1,927 patients with breast cancer treated between 2000 and 2005 at the University Hospitals, Leuven. We compared performances of NPI with and without ER, PR and/or HER2. Validation was done on two external data sets containing 862 and 2,805 patients from Oslo (Norway) and Auckland (New Zealand), respectively. RESULTS In the Leuven cohort, median follow-up was 66 months, and 13.7% of patients experienced a breast cancer-related event. Positive staining for ER, PR, and HER2 was detected, respectively, in 86.9%, 75.5%, and 11.9% of patients. Based on multivariate Cox regression modeling, the improved NPI (iNPI) was derived as NPI - PR positivity + HER2 positivity. Validation results showed a risk group reclassification of 20% to 30% of patients when using iNPI with its optimal risk boundaries versus NPI, in a majority of patients to more appropriate risk groups. An additional 10% of patients were classified into the extreme risk groups, where clinical actions are less ambiguous. Survival curves of reclassified patients resembled more closely those for patients in the same iNPI group than those for patients in the same NPI group. CONCLUSION The addition of PR and HER2 to NPI increases its 5-year prognostic accuracy. The iNPI can be considered as a clinically useful tool for stratification of patients with breast cancer receiving standard of care.
Seasonal variation in fluoride intake: the Iowa fluoride study.

OBJECTIVES Although patterns of fluid intake change seasonally, little is known about how fluoride intake varies by season. Since even short-term increases in fluoride intake could potentially lead to more dental fluorosis, it is valuable to assess the degree of seasonal variation to determine if it increases fluoride intake to levels that could be considered a concern in young children. METHODS Questionnaires were mailed periodically to participants in the Iowa Fluoride Study beginning at 6 weeks of age and continuing for a number of years. Parents recorded the date; child's weight; estimates of the amounts of water and other beverages that their child consumed per week; the type and amount of any fluoride supplements used; and the type, amount, and frequency of dentifrice used, with an estimate of the proportion of dentifrice that was swallowed. Documented water fluoride levels from municipal sources and assay of individual sources were linked to water intake amounts. Total fluoride intake per kg body weight was estimated from water, other beverages, fluoride supplements, and ingested dentifrice. Generalized linear models compared temperature-related and seasonal effects after adjusting for the child's age. RESULTS Separate analyses for ages 0-12 months and 12-72 months showed different results. Children younger than 12 months of age did not exhibit significant seasonal or temperature-related variation in any of the components of fluoride intake. Children aged 12-72 months had higher fluoride intake (mg F/kg bw) from beverages in summer (P<.05), and fluoride intake from beverages increased with monthly temperature (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS Fluoride intake from beverages for children aged 12-72 months is slightly higher in the summer and increases with mean monthly temperature. Fluoride intake from supplements and dentifrice did not change significantly with either season or temperature.
Perilipin ablation results in a lean mouse with aberrant adipocyte lipolysis, enhanced leptin production, and resistance to diet-induced obesity

Perilipin coats the lipid droplets of adipocytes and is thought to have a role in regulating triacylglycerol hydrolysis. To study the role of perilipin in vivo, we have created a perilipin knockout mouse. Perilipin null (peri−/−) and wild-type (peri+/+) mice consume equal amounts of food, but the adipose tissue mass in the null animals is reduced to ≈30% of that in wild-type animals. Isolated adipocytes of perilipin null mice exhibit elevated basal lipolysis because of the loss of the protective function of perilipin. They also exhibit dramatically attenuated stimulated lipolytic activity, indicating that perilipin is required for maximal lipolytic activity. Plasma leptin concentrations in null animals were greater than expected for the reduced adipose mass. The peri−/− animals have a greater lean body mass and increased metabolic rate but they also show an increased tendency to develop glucose intolerance and peripheral insulin resistance. When fed a high-fat diet, the perilipin null animals are resistant to diet-induced obesity but not to glucose intolerance. The data reveal a major role for perilipin in adipose lipid metabolism and suggest perilipin as a potential target for attacking problems associated with obesity.
Crypt Cell Production Rate in the Small Intestine of the Zinc-Supplemented Mouse

Zinc is a trace element which is necessary in the body and the daily requirement is usually provided mainly through food intake. The effects of zinc deficiency are multisystemic and in the gastrointestinal tract include ulceration and inflammation. Many of these effects in the mammalian small intestine are reversible by zinc replenishment in a manner that is thought to be linked to the effect of this element on intestinal mucosal cell kinetics. However, the effects of continued replenishment (supplementation) have not been closely examined. This study examined the effects of zinc supplementation on gut crypt cell production in zinc-replete animals. Fifteen CD-1 mice were given zinc sulphate (0.3 mmol/l) in tap water while a second (control) group of 15 mice received only tap water. After 14 days, the small intestine was removed, measured and divided into four equal lengths and then sampled at the midpoint of each of the resulting four segments. Whole crypt numbers and crypt cell production rate were determined for each intestinal site for both groups of mice. While crypt dimensions and crypt numbers in zinc-fed mice showed no significant change from control levels, the crypt cell production in zinc-fed mice was significantly increased and duration of mitosis reduced in the third (distal) intestinal segment when compared to values from control mice. These findings show that the addition of subtoxic quantities of zinc to diet in zinc-replete animals enhances cell production and indicate that the reversal of zinc deficiency-induced gut damage following dietary zinc replenishment may be due to a direct effect on cell kinetics.
The Reliability of Upper Airway Landmark Identification

Abstract Research involving the upper airway has assessed linear measurements of certain structures on the assumption that the landmarks involved can be reliably identified. This study was conducted to determine the reliability of landmark identification for those structures most commonly reported in the obstructive sleep apnoea literature. Three judges were asked to identify specific landmarks on 20 randomly selected radiographs and 10 superior quality radiographs. This was repeated one week later. The results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that the majority of the landmarks could be reliably identified, irrespective of the quality of the radiograph. However, the quality of the radiograph did affect identification of the horizontal position of the hyoid bone and the linear measure of posterior airway space although these were not clinically significant. The vertical position of the tip of the soft palate was highly unreliable, irrespective of the quality of the radiograph. This resulted in errors in the measurement of soft palate length. Future airway-related research should consider the potential inaccuracies when attempting to identify these dynamle three-dimensional structures on stalic Iwo-climensional hnages.
Serum IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-3, and IGF-I/IGFBP-3 Molar Ratio and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial

Background: Experimental evidence suggests that an overexpression of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I is implicated in human pancreatic tumors. Increased IGF-II and decreased IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-3 serum concentrations have been linked to a number of other cancers. Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial cohort of men and women 55 to 74 years of age at baseline to test whether prediagnostic circulating IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-3, and IGF-I/IGFBP-3 molar ratio concentrations were associated with exocrine pancreatic cancer risk. Between 1994 and 2006, 187 incident cases of pancreatic adenocarcinoma occurred (follow-up of up to 11.7 years). Two controls (n = 374), who were alive at the time the case was diagnosed, were selected for each case and matched by age, race, sex, and date of blood draw. We calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) with the use of conditional logistic regression, adjusting for smoking. Results: IGF-I, IGF-II, and IGFBP-3 concentrations were not significantly associated with pancreatic cancer (highest compared with lowest quartile: OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 0.91-2.76; and P-trend = 0.25; OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.49-1.50; and P-trend = 0.31; and OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.51-1.51; and P-trend = 0.47, respectively). However, a significant positive trend was observed with high IGF-I/IGFBP-3 molar ratio levels (highest compared with lowest quartile: OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 0.89-2.66; P-trend = 0.04). Conclusion: A higher IGF-I/IGFBP-3 molar ratio represents increased free IGF-I, which may be a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Impact: Our results highlight the importance of this biomarker for further investigation in large prospective cohort studies and pooled analysis with other prospective cohorts. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(9); 2298–306. ©2010 AACR.
A novel three-terminal transistor-based Mach-Zehnder interferometric modulator on silicon-on-silicon (SOS) substrate

We present a new three-terminal transistor, or the double-diode transistor (DDT) based Mach-Zehnder interferometric (MZI) modulator fabricated on silicon-on-silicon (SOS) substrate. The DDT structure is first analyzed in terms of a simplest ideal equivalent circuit, before DDT based MZI modulator, and measure the electronic and optical characteristics of DDT based Mach-Zehnder interference. In the end, we prove that the current pass thought our device will lead to thermal-optic effect not free carrier injection effect. This result can give a good explanation of that why the optical signal response times of SOS MZI modulators are 4~ 5 orders slower than the response time of the Isd current.
Immunogenicity and Safety of the AS04-adjuvanted Human Papillomavirus-16/18 Cervical Cancer Vaccine in Malaysian Women Aged 18-35 years: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

INTRODUCTION Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide. The HPV-16/18 AS04- adjuvanted vaccine (Cervarix©) has previously been shown to be highly immunogenic with a clinically acceptable safety profile. This phase IIIb, double-blind, randomized (1:1) and placebo controlled trial (NCT00345878) was designed to evaluate the vaccine immunogenicity against HPV-16 and HPV-18 as well as its safety and reactogenicity in Malaysian women. METHODS Healthy women aged 18-35 years received intramuscularly three doses of either the vaccine (HPV group) or aluminium hydroxide (ALU group) at 0, 1, and 6 months. Antibody titers were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS A total of 271 eligible subjects were enrolled and 266 subjects completed the study. Initially seronegative subjects in the HPV group showed 100% seroconversion one month post-dose-3 for anti HPV-16 and anti-HPV-18 antibodies with geometric mean titers of 11107.5 (95% CI: 9727.3-12683.4) EL.U/mL and 4273.5 (95% CI: 3771.8-4841.9) EL.U/mL, respectively. Over 96% of subjects in both groups received all three vaccine doses. Solicited local (pain) and general symptoms (myalgia, fatigue, arthralgia and headache) were commonly reported in both HPV and ALU groups. Eight serious adverse events were reported throughout the study (five in the HPV group; three in the ALU group), all considered by investigators to be unrelated to vaccination. CONCLUSION The HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine was immunogenic and generally well tolerated in Malaysian women aged 18-35 years.
Software Product Lines with Design Choices: Reasoning about Variability and Design Uncertainty

When designing changes to a software product line (SPL), developers are faced with uncertainty about deciding among multiple possible SPL designs. Since each SPL design encodes a set of related products, dealing with multiple designs means that developers must reason about sets of sets of products. The additional degree of multiplicity is not well described by existing product line abstractions. In this paper, we propose an approach for dealing with design uncertainty within SPLs using a novel composition of variability modelling with an abstraction for capturing and managing design uncertainty. This allows developers to accurately describe the decisions involved in making changes to an SPL during the design stage and provides them with a framework for SPL design space exploration by analyzing and enforcing SPL properties.
Adaptive Online Disturbance Location Considering Anisotropy of Frequency Propagation Speeds

Online disturbance location is of significant importance to wide-area response-based situational awareness, stability analysis and control of the power systems. This paper presents an adaptive online disturbance location method that considers the anisotropy of the frequency propagation speed (FPS). The method geographically partitions the studied power system into several different regions offline. It then extracts the FPS vector for events occurring in each region. The method uses one event simulation for each region. The online simulations take into account changes in the generation, load and power grid topology. The location of the disturbance in each region is estimated specifically based on the speed vector of the region. Parallel computing is used to accelerate the estimation procedure. A part of the North and Central China interconnected power grid, which covers 7 provinces, is selected as an example to verify the effectiveness of the proposed disturbance location method and to analyze the speedup properties of the parallel computing.
An examination of the causes of poverty on economic growth in Nigeria

Background: This article examined the effect of poverty on economic growth in Nigeria because it was discovered that the existing literature has not holistically battle against the worsening scourge of poverty in Nigeria. Aim: The article specifically examined the relationship between poverty and economic growth, the determinants of economic growth and poverty from 1980 to 2013. Setting: The article is structured into five sections which include introduction, literature review, methodology, discussion of results and conclusion. Methods: The article employed an error correction model as estimation technique to analyse the time series data collected. The Solow–Swan growth methodology and the cumulative and cyclical theory were adopted as methodological approach to achieve the objectives of this article. Results: The article revealed a positive and significant relationship between inflation, life expectancy and economic growth, while investment proved insignificant. Conversely, poverty, corruption, debt, mortality, human capital development and unemployment presented negative relationships with economic growth. Corruption, life expectancy and mortality rate were significant, while poverty, debt, human capital development and unemployment proved insignificant. Corruption, inflation, life expectancy and mortality rate were the determinants of economic growth. Finally, the article further revealed that all the variables were determinants of poverty in Nigeria except corruption and human capital development. Conclusion: The article concluded that poverty, corruption, debt, mortality rate, human capital development and unemployment retarded economic growth, whereas other variables enhanced economic growth. The article therefore recommends that government should establish quality institutions and sincere poverty alleviation programmes to improve the level of economic growth in Nigeria.
Autonomia da vontade, responsabilidade civil e monopólio no seguro obrigatório automotor no Brasil e na União Europeia

Este artigo apresenta uma perspectiva juridico-economica sobre aspectos do Seguro Obrigatorio de Danos Pessoais causados por Veiculos Automotores de Via Terrestre (Seguro DPVAT) que o diferenciam dos demais seguros de responsabilidade civil. O artigo tambem traz uma abordagem sobre o seguro obrigatorio automotor na Uniao Europeia (UE), identificando as normas de funcionamento de tal seguro e comparando suas principais caracteristicas com as do Seguro DPVAT. A partir da analise juridico-economica concluiu-se que a estrutura de mercado no formato de monopolio torna o Seguro DPVAT um seguro de responsabilidade civil sui generis , no qual a autonomia da vontade e mitigada, nao havendo escolha na contratacao da seguradora por parte do consumidor-segurado, trazendo implicacoes economicas. Alem disso, as regras de responsabilidade civil aplicaveis ao caso do Seguro DPVAT diferem daquelas geralmente aplicaveis a situacoes de acidentes no trânsito. Resulta, assim, que o Seguro DPVAT se afasta dos objetivos socioeconomicos dos seguros de responsabilidade civil de minimizar a perda de riqueza da vitima/segurado por meio do recebimento da indenizacao, com uma consequente reducao do bem-estar social. Palavras-chave : Seguro DPVAT. Autonomia da vontade. Responsabilidade civil. Monopolio. Uniao Europeia. Abstract : This article aims at analyzing from a legal-economic point of view some aspects of the Brazilian Motor Third Party Liability Insurance (Seguro DPVAT) that distinguish it from other liability insurance, namely: private autonomy in contract performance and liability principles. Moreover, the article provides a general overview of the rules on Motor Third Party Liability Insurance in the European Union (EU) comparing them with the Brazilian ones. The article concludes that the DPVAT’s monopolist market structure makes it a sui generis liability insurance with no private autonomy in the performance of the contract. Furthermore, the liability principles applicable to Seguro DPVAT are different from ones usually applicable to traffic accidents in Brazil. Therefore, although being a type of liability insurance, Seguro DPVAT socio-economic objectives are different from other of liability insurance and consequently create less social welfare. Keywords : DPVAT Insurance. Private autonomy. Civil liability. Monopoly. European Union.
The water diary method – proof-of-concept and policy implications for monitoring water use behaviour in rural Kenya

Africa is lagging behind global progress to meet the Sustainable Development Goal for ‘universal access to safe and affordable drinking water’ services. New knowledge needs to understand and respond to water service inequalities which are not revealed by high quality but snapshot and infrequent household surveys. We design and pilot a ‘water diary’ in Kenya to document the daily sources, uses, cost and sufficiency of water, along with weekly household expenditures. Water use behaviours vary across water supply alternatives, rainfall extremes and economic conditions to affect ‘sufficiency’ for competing drinking, bathing, laundry, hygiene, and productive uses. Findings reveal water for hygiene uses is reduced during drought, and while water expenditure is the lowest of seven categories, it spikes for a minority. We evaluate the diary method by measurement, internal and external validity criteria and conclude that the longitudinal approach offers complementary insights to address the gaps in current monitoring methods.
Does the NDC scheme mimic the French point system?

ABSTRACT After the implementation of the notional defined contribution (NDC) pension scheme in Italy and Sweden in the ‘90s, some authors argued that its design merely replicates the functioning of the points-based pension schemes already in place in France and Germany. The aim of this article is to assess the soundness of this proposition by comparing the properties of the French points-based pension system (FPS) with those of the NDC scheme, which refrains from intra-cohort redistributions by ensuring substantial uniformity of individual rates of return. In order to assess to what extent the FPS also avoids intra-cohort redistributions, we run several simulations for different career patterns. The results of the simulations show that the discretionary adjustments embedded in the FPS are responsible for random, regressive redistributions. Finally, the article identifies the theoretical ‘equivalence condition’ showing that full correspondence between the two schemes would require replacing the discretionary mechanisms of the FPS with an automatic adjustment of point values.