Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiotoxicity after childhood cancer: beginning with the end in mind.

Worldwide, more than 28 million people live with cancer. This number could triple by 2030. With the increasing number of patients with cancer and improvements in cancer management that continue to reduce cancer death rates, the number of cancer survivors is projected to increase rapidly, in particular, those afflicted during childhood. In children and adolescents, the survival rate has jumped from fewer than 50% in the mid-1970s to 80% today. The growing population of childhood survivors is notable for its vulnerability to adverse health outcomes, many of which may not become clinically apparent until years after the completion of therapy. Despite surviving their initial cancer, childhood cancer survivors continue to face considerable premature mortality as adults. The excess risk of dying from other causes that contributes most to loss of life expectancy is the increased incidence of chronic conditions among survivors of childhood cancer. We need to monitor the health of these survivors and to minimize the use of therapies with late toxicities in newly diagnosed patients. Survivors also experience a higher prevalence of chronic conditions, with as many as two thirds of childhood cancer survivors reporting at least one chronic condition and one fourth reporting a severe, disabling, or life-threatening condition. Survivors of childhood cancer are 5 to 10 times more likely than their healthy siblings to experience heart disease. The incidence of these conditions increases with time, so the full extent of disease- and treatment-related late effects has yet to be realized. Survivors of childhood cancer are a new, large, emerging population at risk for acquired premature symptomatic cardiovascular disease. The report by Tukenova et al 1 provides important information on late excess cardiovascular mortality in childhood cancer survivors and on the factors associated with this mortality. Their report adds new information about late cardiac effects in childhood cancer survivors by specifically using carefully calculated radiation doses to the heart as a factor to assess overall mortality and cardiovascular mortality. Importantly, this study also evaluated the potential classes of medications for their association with cardiovascular mortality. This article not only validates previous studies of overall cardiac mortality, 2-7 it also provides new data on cumulative anthracycline dose, cumulative radiation dose, and the contribution of other agents. Although the dose-dependent risk of congestive heart failure and related deaths associated with anthracyclines among childhood cancer survivors is established, and although radiation exposure to the heart has also been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, this article’s evaluation of the association between the dose of radiation and the dose of anthracyclines on cardiovascular mortality in the same cohort is important. Studies have generally looked only at radiation as a dichotomous variable, although others have looked at treat
The spectrum of translational stroke research

Abstract Translational stroke research occurs at the interface between basic science and clinical research, and encompasses contributors with varied backgrounds and areas of expertise. The traditional approach to translational stroke research is to take novel discoveries of basic researchers about the mechanisms and consequences of ischemic brain injury and evaluate the potential of these discoveries to enhance clinical stroke diagnostics and therapeutics. Animal stroke modeling and imaging are key steps in this traditional bench-to-bedside paradigm for translational stroke research. Newer approaches to translational research include reverse and lateral translation. With these paradigms, basic researchers are stimulated to improve our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie a clinically observed phenomenon or treatment effect or improve upon an observed treatment effect by determining if drug modification can enhance a clinically beneficial effect. No matter how translational stroke research is conducted, this type of research is critical for the future and involves multidisciplinary teams that need to have productive and insightful ideas and communications.
Epilepsy in Border Collies: clinical manifestation, outcome, and mode of inheritance.

BACKGROUND There is a lack of data on idiopathic epilepsy (IE) in Border Collies (BCs) in the veterinary literature. HYPOTHESIS Genetic epilepsy occurs in BCs and is frequently characterized by a severe clinical course and poor response to medical treatment. ANIMALS Forty-nine BCs diagnosed with IE. METHODS Medical records, seizure data, treatment data, and pedigree information of affected dogs were collected. Cases were classified phenotypically as affected or not affected; mild, moderate, or severe clinical course; active epilepsy (AE) or remission; and drug resistant or not drug resistant. RESULTS Clinical manifestations were classified as having a moderate (33%) or severe clinical course (49%), characterized by a high prevalence of cluster seizures and status epilepticus. Survival time was significantly decreased in dogs < 2 years of age at seizure onset, and in dogs with a severe clinical course. Drug resistance was apparent in 71% of 24 dogs treated with > 2 antiepileptic drugs. The epilepsy remission rate was 18%. Median age at onset was significantly higher and initial seizure frequency was significantly lower in dogs with remission compared with dogs with AE. Pedigree analyses indicated a strong genetic founder effect in the appearance of epilepsy, resembling autosomal recessive inheritance. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE The present study confirms the occurrence of genetically mediated epilepsy with a frequent severe clinical course and drug resistance in BCs. The results provide information about the long-term prognosis of IE in BCs for veterinarians and concerned owners, and may benefit breeders as well.
What is a ‘good’ job? Modelling job quality for blue collar workers*

Abstract This paper proposes a model of job quality, developed from interviews with blue collar workers: bus drivers, manufacturing operatives and cleaners (n = 80). The model distinguishes between core features, important for almost all workers, and ‘job fit’ features, important to some but not others, or where individuals might have different preferences. Core job features found important for almost all interviewees included job security, personal safety and having enough pay to meet their needs. ‘Job fit’ features included autonomy and the opportunity to form close relationships. These showed more variation between participants; priorities were influenced by family commitments, stage of life and personal preference. The resulting theoretical perspective indicates the features necessary for a job to be considered ‘good’ by the person doing it, whilst not adversely affecting their health. The model should have utility as a basis for measuring and improving job quality and the laudable goal of creating ‘good jobs’. Practitioner Summary: Good work can contribute positively to health and well-being, but there is a lack of agreement regarding the concept of a ‘good’ job. A model of job quality has been constructed based on semi-structured worker interviews (n = 80). The model emphasises the need to take into account variation between individuals in their preferred work characteristics.
The Role of Recipient Sites in Fat-Graft Survival: Experimental Study

The survival of fat grafts depends on many factors, 1 of the major being early revascularization. Early studies showed that adipose tissue has a low tolerance to ischemia. Some methods have been described to increase the tolerance of adipose tissue to ischemia. This study was designed to compare volume maintenance of the transplanted fat graft in different recipient sites of the rabbit face. Three groups of 5 New Zealand white rabbits were studied. Fat grafts harvested from the right inguinal fat pad were transplanted to the buccomandibular area of the rabbit's face. Three different recipient sites (subcutaneous, supramuscular, and submuscular) were dissected on each side of the face, and groups were formulated based on this difference of recipient sites. Morphometric, as well as histopathologic, analyses were done, and the results revealed a statistically significant increase of fat graft survival in supramuscular layer (81.95% ± 4.40%) than in subcutaneous (41.62% ± 3.29%) and submuscular layer (37.31% ± 5.77%) (P < 0.05). This study demonstrates that selection of an “appropriate recipient site” should enhance ultimate fat-graft survival.
The role of 13 cis‐retinoic acid in the remission induction of a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia

The addition of retinoic acid to human promyelocytic leukemia cells in culture results in their differentiation to mature myeloid forms with acquisition of the differentiated phenotype, i.e., the ability to reduce nitroblue tetrazolium. A heavily pretreated patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia and residual malignant cells in his marrow after multiple courses of chemotherapy was given 13‐cis‐retinoic acid upon demonstration of both morphologic and functional differentiation of his leukemic cells by transretinoic acid in vitro. The patient achieved a complete remission and was maintained on 13‐cis‐retinoic acid for 1 year, when the patient relapsed with a population of cells that were resistant to retinoic acid‐induced differentiation.
Timed Manual Performance In a Community Elderly Population

The extent of functional disability measured by performance of a series of simple manual tasks was determined in 1,286 elderly people, aged 66 to 98, who resided in central North Carolina. Missing data left 1,106 subjects for analysis. Poor manual performance was defined by either of two criteria: (1) inability to complete all the test items, or (2) taking longer than 350 seconds to complete the test. Using the first criterion, 113 persons (10.2%) were poor performers. When the two writing items were omitted from the analysis, 28 persons (2.4%) were in the poor performance group. Of the 993 persons who completed all items, 59 persons (5.9%) performed poorly. Using both criteria, the extent of functional disability was 16.1%; excluding the writing items, the extent of poor performance was 8.3%. Compared to those who performed well, those who performed poorly were older, poorer, less educated, more likely to be black, and less healthy. Because manual ability correlates highly with functional dependency and identifies those at risk for increased care needs, the magnitude of manual dysfunction noted in this survey has important implications for care providers and policy‐makers.
Some effects of aliphatic hydrocarbons on the electrical capacity and ionic currents of the squid giant axon membrane.

1. The electrical properties of squid giant axons were examined by means of admittance bridges at frequencies from 0.5 to 300 kHz. A simple equivalent circuit was used to estimate the membrane capacity. 2. The calculated membrane capacities decreased monotonically over the whole frequency range. 3. At 100 kHz and higher frequencies the membrane capacity was independent of potential. 4. At frequencies greater than 20 kHz, exposure of the axons to saturated or 0.9 saturated solutions of n‐pentane (275‐306 micrometer) reduced the capacity per unit area by 0.1‐0.15 micro F cm‐2. 5. At 1 kHz the effect of the saturated pentane solutions depended on the membrane potential. In axons having potentials between ‐60 and zero mV the pentane solutions lowered the capacity, whereas for potentials between ‐160 and ‐60 mV they produced little or no change. 6. Saturated solutions of n‐hexane, n‐heptane and n‐octane exhibited qualitatively similar, but quantitatively smaller influences on the membrane capacity, the changes declining as the chain length increased. 7. Under voltage clamp, the peak inward and steady‐state outward currents were partially suppressed by the hydrocarbons. Saturated solutions of n‐pentane usually reduced the former (reversibly) by 60‐80% and the latter by 20‐40%. Solutions of n‐hexane, n‐heptane and n‐octane appeared to have successively less effect. Except in deteriorating axons, none of the hydrocarbons produced any consistent changes in the passive membrane resistance, the resting potential or in the reversal potential of the transient inward current. 8. Both the changes in the clamp currents and in the membrane capacity were largely, though not usually completely, reversible. In the hydrocarbon solution the axons deteriorated more rapidly than normal. 9. The responses of axons of Doryteuthis plei to the hydrocarbons were very similar to those of Loligo forbesi with the exception that for the former all observed changes were some five times faster. 10. The time courses of the peak inward and steady‐state outward currents on exposure of the axons to n‐pentane resembled the time course of the change in membrane capacity at 100 kHz. 11. The simplest interpretation of the high frequency capacity results is suggested to be that, as for lipid bilayers, the membranes become thicker through adsorption of the hydrocarbon.
Fully dynamic maintaining 2-edge connectivity in parallel

This paper studies the problem of maintaining the 2-edge-connected components of a graph undergoing repeatedly dynamic updates such as edge insertions and deletions. It is shown that all operations such as inserting an edge to or deleting an edge from the graph, and answering the query about whether two vertices belong to the same 2-edge connected component can be completed in O(log m) time with O(m/sup 3/4/) processors or in O(log n log(m/n)) time with O(n/sup 3/4/) processors on a priority CRCW PRAM, where m is the current number of edges and n is the number of vertices. To our knowledge, the proposed algorithm is the first NC algorithm for this problem using sublinear number processors o(m).
Cultural factors considered in selected diagnostic criteria and interview schedules.

Researchers have argued that diagnostic criteria and interview schedules inadequately reflect cultural influences in the definition and expression of psychopathology. In this study 11 widely used diagnostic criteria and interview schedules for schizophrenia, affective disorders, and personality disorders were examined to assess the extent to which they refer to cultural factors. The results indicated that 8 of 11 instruments referred to cultural influences in psychopathology at least once. The consideration of cultural factors, however, was primarily limited to the identification of delusions and hallucinations in schizophrenia. Very few cultural references were made in the diagnostic instruments of affective and personality disorders. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed with respect to the evaluation of cultural minority group members residing in the United States. Specific recommendations are offered to increase the attention given to culture in diagnostic instruments and to increase our understanding of how culture influences psychopathology. This study assesses the extent to which frequently used diagnostic criteria and interview schedules consider cultural factors in the identification of schizophrenic, affective, and personality disorders. Although some authors have discussed how selected diagnostic instruments fail to address cultural influences (Alarcon, 1983; Egeland, Hostetter, & Eshleman, 1983; Klerman, Vaillant, Spitzer, & Michaels, 1984; Swartz, Ben-Arie, & Teggin, 1985), none have systematically looked at the extent to which a wide range of diagnostic instruments address the role of culture in psychopathology. Such an examination should reflect the relative importance given to culture in the classification of mental disorders.
OmpC and LamB proteins can serve as substitute receptors for host range mutants of coliphage TuIa

Coliphage TuIa, which uses the OmpF protein as a receptor, can adapt by mutation to using instead the OmpC or LamB protein, or both. Most of the phage mutants retained the ability to use the OmpF protein, when present, but one class of mutants lost this ability and could only use the OmpC protein.
Heat Exchange from the Toucan Bill Reveals a Controllable Vascular Thermal Radiator

Toucan Heat Exchanger Toucans are instantly recognizable by their large bills, which in the toco toucan (Ramphastos toco) accounts for about one-third of the total body length. The toucan's bill has been interpreted as a sexual ornament and as an adaptation for handling fruit. Tattersall et al. (p. 468) explore an alternative explanation in which the bill serves primarily as a thermoregulator. Infrared thermography techniques, which allow detailed observations with minimal disturbance to the birds, show that the birds alter blood flow to the bill according to ambient conditions, effectively using it as a radiator to “dump heat. ” Toucans alter blood flow to their massive bills according to ambient conditions. The toco toucan (Ramphastos toco), the largest member of the toucan family, possesses the largest beak relative to body size of all birds. This exaggerated feature has received various interpretations, from serving as a sexual ornament to being a refined adaptation for feeding. However, it is also a significant surface area for heat exchange. Here we show the remarkable capacity of the toco toucan to regulate heat distribution by modifying blood flow, using the bill as a transient thermal radiator. Our results indicate that the toucan's bill is, relative to its size, one of the largest thermal windows in the animal kingdom, rivaling elephants’ ears in its ability to radiate body heat.
Tight Binding of Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin to Its Receptor Interferes with Fusion Pore Dilation

ABSTRACT Deletion of oligosaccharide side chains near the receptor binding site of influenza virus A/USSR/90/77 (H1N1) hemagglutinin (HA) enhanced the binding of HA to erythrocyte receptors, as was also observed with A/FPV/Rostock/34 (H7N1). Correlated with the enhancement of binding activity, the cell fusion activity of HA was reduced. A mutant HA in which three oligosaccharide side chains were deleted showed the highest level of binding and the lowest level of fusion among the HAs tested. The cell fusion activity of the oligosaccharide deletion mutant of HA, however, was drastically elevated when the binding activity was reduced by deletion of four amino acids adjacent to the receptor binding site. Thus, a reciprocal relationship was observed between the receptor binding and the cell fusion activities of H1/USSR HA. No difference was observed, however, in lipid mixing activity, so-called hemifusion, between wild-type (WT) and oligosaccharide deletion mutant HAs. Soluble dye transfer testing showed that even the HA with the lowest cell fusion activity was able to form fusion pores through which a small molecule such as calcein could pass. However, electron microscopic studies revealed that a large molecule such as hemoglobin hardly passed through the fusion pores formed by the mutant HA, whereas hemoglobin did efficiently pass through those formed by the WT HA. These results suggested that interference in the process of dilation of fusion pores occurs when the binding of HA to the receptor is too tight. Since the viral nucleocapsid is far larger than hemoglobin, appropriate receptor binding affinity is important for virus entry.
Consensus of general linear and Lipschitz nonlinear multi-agent systems with reduced-order protocols

This paper addresses the consensus problems for both general linear and Lipschitz nonlinear multi-agent systems under an undirected communication topology. Distributed reduced-order observer-based consensus protocols are constructed relying only on the relative output information of neighboring agents. By using tools from the Sylvester equation, algebraic graph theory and Lyapunov stability theory, some sufficient conditions are derived for achieving consensus. Finally, a simulation example is given to verify the theoretical results.
Remote Control System of an Electric Car Based on the Alpha Wave in EEG

A brain-computer interface (BCI) combined with a remote-control system of an electric car is presented. By recognizing the alpha (CC) wave-block phenomenon in electroencephalography (EEG), subjects could control four moving directions displayed on a guidance panel through eyes action. 5 subjects were tested to investigate simplicity, accuracy and response time of system. Results show that, this system was very convenience for subjects to learn how operate, and furthermore it also met requirements of robustly perform online with acceptable error rate. This study provides a good technical foundation for the development of BCI control system and expresses applying potentials for engineering
A novel hybrid differential evolution strategy applied to classifier design for mortality prediction in adult critical care admissions

The optimisation of classifier performance in pattern recognition and medical prognosis tasks is a complex and poorly miderstood problem. Classifier performance is greatly affected by the choice of artificial neural network architecture and starting weights and biases — yet there exists very little guidance in the literature as to how to choose these parameters. Recently evolutionary artificial neural networks have been proposed to mitigate some of these problems; however, whilst evolutionary methods are extremely effective in finding global optima, they are notoriously computationally expensive (often requiring tens of thousands of function evaluations to arrive at a solution). This paper proposes a novel hybrid adaptive approach to the optimisation of artificial neural network parameters where the global search capabilities of differential evolution and the efficiency of local search heuristics (such as resilient back-propagation for artificial neural network training) are combined. A state-of-the-art adaptive differential evolution algorithm, JADE, has been chosen as the basis for this hybrid algorithm due to its proven effectiveness in optimising high dimensional problems. The performance of this hybrid adaptive differential evolution algorithm is then demonstrated in the design of a classifier for mortaUty risk prediction in a critical care environment, where the optimised classifier is shown to outperform the current state-of-the-art in risk prediction.
Modulation by pentobarbital of neutrophil responses to inhaled E. coli endotoxin in sheep: role of lung epithelium.

Neutrophils (PMNs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The role of the epithelium in the modulation of PMN migration within the lungs was examined. Epithelial integrity and PMN concentrations in the lung air spaces and lymph were measured in sheep anaesthetized with either halothane (1-2.5%) or intravenous pentobarbital (12+/-4 mg x kg(-1) x h(-1)). Ventilation with an aerosol containing 25 mg Escherichia Coli endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide; LPS) effected neutrophil recruitment to the air spaces. Lymphatic clearance of aerosolized 99mTc-DTPA provided an index of epithelial integrity. Three hours after the deposition of LPS, the lung lining fluid of sheep anaesthetized with halothane (n=7) had 4.9+/-3.2x10(6) PMN.mL(-1), but the lung lymph had almost no PMNs (3+/-8%). Sheep anaesthetized with pentobarbital (n=6) had fewer PMNs in the air spaces (2.4+/-1.2X10(6) mL(-1)) and more PMNs in the lung lymph (30+/-20%). Control sheep (n=5) that received no LPS had almost no PMNs in the airspaces or lung lymph, regardless of the anaesthesia. Three additional sheep that remained awake after receiving LPS also had no PMNs in the lung lymph. The PMN fraction in the lung lymph correlated well with the extra-alveolar epithelial permeability measured by lymphatic clearance of aerosolized diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (r=0.81, p<0.001). Aerosolized lipopolysaccharide recruits neutrophils into the lungs of sheep, but they appear to remain in the airspaces unless extra-alveolar permeability is increased by agents such as pentobarbital.