Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Abdominal Wall Metastases on Prognosis in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Objective Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients with the presence of abdominal wall metastasis (AWM) are categorized as stage International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) IVB, irrespective of other biologic factors or preceding invasive intervention before final surgery. We evaluated the impact of AWM on patients’ overall survival (OS). Patients and Methods In this exploratory study, 634 consecutive patients with advanced EOC treated in our center from 2000 to 2014 were included. Patients were categorized into FIGO IIIC (n = 308), FIGO IVB AWM only (n = 86), and FIGO IV others (metastases other than AWM, n = 240). Clinicopathological parameters and survival data were extracted from our prospectively maintained tumor registry. Survival analyses were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression models. Results In 75 (87.2%) of 86 cases, AWM was seen after a preceding intervention, and only in 12.7%, the deposits were spontaneously established. The median OS in patients with stage FIGO IIIC, FIGO IVB AWM only, and FIGO IV others was 37, 58, and 25 months (P < 0.001), respectively. Patients with FIGO IVB AWM only had a significantly better OS than patients with FIGO IV others (P < 0.001). The numeric longer OS of patients with FIGO IVB AWM only compared with patients with FIGO IIIC was not statistically significant (P = 0.151). In multivariate analysis considering all confounding factors including residual disease, OS of patients with FIGO IIIC did not differ from patients with FIGO AWM only (hazard ratio, 0.84; 95% confidence interval, 0.56–12.26; P = 0.398). Conclusions Most AWM are acquired after preceding intervention (puncture or laparoscopy). Prognosis of patients with AWM as the only site of distant metastasis is superior compared with other stage FIGO IV patients. Therefore, up-staging of patients only because of AWM to FIGO IVB may be questioned. A revision/clarification of the FIGO classification system should be considered to avoid unnecessary stigmatization of patients and to classify these patients more appropriately according to prognosis.
The impact of ICT on labor productivity in the EU

ABSTRACT The paper is concerned with investigating relationships between labor productivity and information and communication technology (ICT) components such as the use of enterprise resource planning (ERP), e-commerce and customer relationship management (CRM) software, and the number of ICT specialists at the country level. The proposed approach uses a neoclassical framework of growth accounting and a translog production function to examine the impact of ICT components on labor productivity in the transition and developed economies of the European Union (EU). Our findings show the positive and significant influence of selected ICT components on labor productivity in EU countries. Moreover, the results indicate that the impact of ERP, e-commerce and CRM software on labor productivity is greater in transition economies than in developed economies of the EU.
TOMM40′523 variant and cognitive decline in older persons with APOE ε3/3 genotype

Objective: To interrogate a poly-T variant (rs10524523, ′523) in TOMM40, a gene adjacent to the APOE gene on chromosome 19, in older persons with APOE ε3/3 homozygosity for association with cognitive decline, the clinical hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods: Data came from participants in 2 cohort studies of aging and dementia who underwent annual clinical evaluations for up to 21 years. APOE and TOMM40′523 genotypes were determined from DNA from blood or brain samples. Linear mixed models compared the rates of decline in cognition among APOE ε3/3 carriers with different ′523 genotypes. Results: The 1,170 APOE ε3/3 homozygotes were of European ancestry, were free of dementia at baseline, and had an average age of 78.5 years at baseline. Three major genotypes at the ′523 variant were linked to APOE ε3/3; 26.5% had 2 short poly-Ts (S/S), 48.5% had 1 short and 1 very long poly-T (S/VL), and 24.0% had 2 very long poly-Ts (VL/VL). Participants with '523-S/S had faster decline in global cognition than participants with '523-S/VL or VL/VL (p = 0.002). The same association was observed for episodic memory (p < 0.001) and semantic memory (p = 0.003) but not for working memory, perceptual speed, or visuospatial ability. Conclusions: Our data reveal an association of APOE ε3/3-TOMM40′523 haplotypes with cognitive decline in community-based older persons such that the S/S poly-T genotype is related to faster cognitive decline, primarily in the domains of episodic and semantic memory.
Esclerosis mesial temporal

La videoelectroencefalografia ha hecho grandes aportes al estudio de la epilepsia, no solo en el conocimiento semiologico de las crisis convulsivas, sino en la clasificacion de las mismas y diagnostico correcto de los sindromes epilepticos en la infancia, asi como determinacion del foco epileptico en pacientes con epilepsia refractaria en estudio para cirugia de epilepsia. Se realiza una revision de las ventajas y desventajas de los estudios de electroencefalografia de superficie y del monitoreo intracraneal. Se revisan las caracteristicas ictales de los diferentes tipos de crisis convulsivas observadas en la infancia. (AU)
The prevalence, onset, and clinical significance of antiphospholipid antibodies prior to diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) occur before the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and before initial clotting events, and whether their presence early in the disease course influences clinical outcome. METHODS Serum samples obtained from 130 lupus patients before and after SLE diagnosis were screened for IgG and IgM aPL using an anticardiolipin (aCL) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Medical records of all patients were carefully reviewed for data on the time of onset of SLE features meeting clinical criteria and on disease manifestations. RESULTS Twenty-four patients (18.5%) were positive for IgG and/or IgM aCL prior to SLE diagnosis. Anticardiolipin antibodies appeared from 7.6 years prior to SLE diagnosis to within the same month as SLE diagnosis, with a mean onset occurring 3.0 years before SLE diagnosis. Additionally, aCL presence early in the disease process seemed to predict a more severe clinical outcome; these patients eventually met an average of 6.1 of the 11 classification criteria for SLE, compared with 4.9 criteria for other patients (P < 0.001). The early aCL-positive population also had more frequent renal disease, central nervous system disease, thrombocytopenia, and clotting events. In this population, aCL preceded initial thrombotic events by a mean of 3.1 years. CONCLUSION Anticardiolipin antibodies in SLE patients tend to precede initial clotting events by several years. Furthermore, the presence of early, prediagnosis aPL seems to herald a more varied, severe clinical course with earlier onset in patients with SLE.
Complications of invasive mycoses in organ transplant recipients

ABSTRACT Introduction: Opportunistic mycoses remain a significant complication in organ recipients. Areas covered: This review is an evidence-based presentation of current state-of-knowledge and our perspective on recent developments in the field Expert commentary: Invasive fungal infections are associated with reduced allograft and patient survival, increase in healthcare resource utilization, and newly appreciated but largely unrecognized immunologic sequelae, such as immune reconstitution syndrome. Given adverse outcomes associated with established infections, prophylaxis is a widely used strategy for the prevention of these infections. Currently available biomarkers that detect circulating fungal cell wall constituents i.e., galactomannan and 1, 3-β-D-glucan have not proven to be beneficial as screening tools for employing targeted prophylaxis or as diagnostic assays in this patient population. However, subsets of patients at risk for opportunistic fungal infections can be identified based on clinically identifiable characteristics or events. Preventive strategies targeted towards these patients are a rational approach for optimizing outcomes.
Blind Image Deconvolution Using Deep Generative Priors

This article proposes a novel approach to regularize the ill-posed and non-linear blind image deconvolution (blind deblurring) using deep generative networks as priors. We employ two separate pretrained generative networks — given lower-dimensional Gaussian vectors as input, one of the generative models samples from the distribution of sharp images, while the other from that of the blur kernels. To deblur, we find a sharp image and a blur kernel in the range of the respective generators that best explain the blurred image. Our experiments show promising deblurring results on images even under large blurs, and heavy measurement noise. Generative models often manifest a representation error to fit arbitrary samples from the learned distribution. This may be due to multiple factors such as mode collapse, architectural choices, or training caveats. To improve the generalizability of the proposed approach, we present a modification of the proposed scheme that governs the deblurring process under both generative, and classical priors. Training generative models is computationally expensive on larger and more diverse image datasets. Our experiments also show that even an untrained structured (convolutional) network acts as an image prior. We leverage this fact to deblur diverse/complex images for which a trained generative network might not be available.
Investigators, Subjects and Social Research1

It has long been recognised that a unique relationship frequently exists between the social scientist and his data. Unlike the physical scientist who commonly conducts his research in relatively controlled environments the social scientist by observing social events or recording what he has been told is often likely to modify what was there before his arrival. Recognition of this dynamic relationship however, has
3D Printed Structures Filled with Carbon Fibers and Functionalized with Mesenchymal Stem Cell Conditioned Media as In Vitro Cell Niches for Promoting Chondrogenesis

In this study, we present a novel approach towards the straightforward, rapid, and low-cost development of biomimetic composite scaffolds for tissue engineering strategies. The system is based on the additive manufacture of a computer-designed lattice structure or framework, into which carbon fibers are subsequently knitted or incorporated. The 3D-printed lattice structure acts as support and the knitted carbon fibers perform as driving elements for promoting cell colonization of the three-dimensional construct. A human mesenchymal stem cell (h-MSC) conditioned medium (CM) is also used for improving the scaffold’s response and promoting cell adhesion, proliferation, and viability. Cell culture results—in which scaffolds become buried in collagen type II—provide relevant information regarding the viability of the composite scaffolds used and the prospective applications of the proposed approach. In fact, the advanced composite scaffold developed, together with the conditioned medium functionalization, constitutes a biomimetic stem cell niche with clear potential, not just for tendon and ligament repair, but also for cartilage and endochondral bone formation and regeneration strategies.
Energy expenditure and body composition changes after an isocaloric ketogenic diet in overweight and obese men.

BACKGROUND The carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity posits that habitual consumption of a high-carbohydrate diet sequesters fat within adipose tissue because of hyperinsulinemia and results in adaptive suppression of energy expenditure (EE). Therefore, isocaloric exchange of dietary carbohydrate for fat is predicted to result in increased EE, increased fat oxidation, and loss of body fat. In contrast, a more conventional view that "a calorie is a calorie" predicts that isocaloric variations in dietary carbohydrate and fat will have no physiologically important effects on EE or body fat. OBJECTIVE We investigated whether an isocaloric low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (KD) is associated with changes in EE, respiratory quotient (RQ), and body composition. DESIGN Seventeen overweight or obese men were admitted to metabolic wards, where they consumed a high-carbohydrate baseline diet (BD) for 4 wk followed by 4 wk of an isocaloric KD with clamped protein. Subjects spent 2 consecutive days each week residing in metabolic chambers to measure changes in EE (EEchamber), sleeping EE (SEE), and RQ. Body composition changes were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Average EE during the final 2 wk of the BD and KD periods was measured by doubly labeled water (EEDLW). RESULTS Subjects lost weight and body fat throughout the study corresponding to an overall negative energy balance of ∼300 kcal/d. Compared with BD, the KD coincided with increased EEchamber (57 ± 13 kcal/d, P = 0.0004) and SEE (89 ± 14 kcal/d, P < 0.0001) and decreased RQ (-0.111 ± 0.003, P < 0.0001). EEDLW increased by 151 ± 63 kcal/d (P = 0.03). Body fat loss slowed during the KD and coincided with increased protein utilization and loss of fat-free mass. CONCLUSION The isocaloric KD was not accompanied by increased body fat loss but was associated with relatively small increases in EE that were near the limits of detection with the use of state-of-the-art technology. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01967563.
Low power CMOS NAND gate using DVS and mutithreshold CMOS technique

In digital and analog circuits, power consumption plays an important role in CMOS device. Due to scale down technology in VLSI circuits the threshold voltage of transistors reduced but increases in subthreshold leakage current. To reduce the subthreshold leakage current the effective circuit level technique is proposed. In this paper, the MTCMOS technique is proposed which gives high speed and low power dissipation by maintaining the performance of the circuits. The NAND gate is designed using DVS and MTCMOS technique gives least power consumption. All the simulations have been performed on Tanner EDA Tool version 14.1. The proposed technique reduces the power dissipation by 30% to 70%.
Inhibition of Cytosolic Phospholipase A2α Impairs an Early Step of Coronavirus Replication in Cell Culture

ABSTRACT Coronavirus replication is associated with intracellular membrane rearrangements in infected cells, resulting in the formation of double-membrane vesicles (DMVs) and other membranous structures that are referred to as replicative organelles (ROs). The latter provide a structural scaffold for viral replication/transcription complexes (RTCs) and help to sequester RTC components from recognition by cellular factors involved in antiviral host responses. There is increasing evidence that plus-strand RNA (+RNA) virus replication, including RO formation and virion morphogenesis, affects cellular lipid metabolism and critically depends on enzymes involved in lipid synthesis and processing. Here, we investigated the role of cytosolic phospholipase A2α (cPLA2α) in coronavirus replication using a low-molecular-weight nonpeptidic inhibitor, pyrrolidine-2 (Py-2). The inhibition of cPLA2α activity, which produces lysophospholipids (LPLs) by cleaving at the sn-2 position of phospholipids, had profound effects on viral RNA and protein accumulation in human coronavirus 229E-infected Huh-7 cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that DMV formation in infected cells was significantly reduced in the presence of the inhibitor. Furthermore, we found that (i) viral RTCs colocalized with LPL-containing membranes, (ii) cellular LPL concentrations were increased in coronavirus-infected cells, and (iii) this increase was diminished in the presence of the cPLA2α inhibitor Py-2. Py-2 also displayed antiviral activities against other viruses representing the Coronaviridae and Togaviridae families, while members of the Picornaviridae were not affected. Taken together, the study provides evidence that cPLA2α activity is critically involved in the replication of various +RNA virus families and may thus represent a candidate target for broad-spectrum antiviral drug development. IMPORTANCE Examples of highly conserved RNA virus proteins that qualify as drug targets for broad-spectrum antivirals remain scarce, resulting in increased efforts to identify and specifically inhibit cellular functions that are essential for the replication of RNA viruses belonging to different genera and families. The present study supports and extends previous conclusions that enzymes involved in cellular lipid metabolism may be tractable targets for broad-spectrum antivirals. We obtained evidence to show that a cellular phospholipase, cPLA2α, which releases fatty acid from the sn-2 position of membrane-associated glycerophospholipids, is critically involved in coronavirus replication, most likely by producing lysophospholipids that are required to form the specialized membrane compartments in which viral RNA synthesis takes place. The importance of this enzyme in coronavirus replication and DMV formation is supported by several lines of evidence, including confocal and electron microscopy, viral replication, and lipidomics studies of coronavirus-infected cells treated with a highly specific cPLA2α inhibitor.
Evaluation of Bovine High-Density SNP Genotyping Array in Indigenous Dairy Cattle Breeds

ABSTRACT In total 52 samples of Sahiwal (19), Tharparkar (17), and Gir (16) were genotyped by using BovineHD SNP chip to analyze minor allele frequency (MAF), genetic diversity, and linkage disequilibrium among these cattle. The common SNPs of BovineHD and 54K SNP Chips were also extracted and evaluated for their performance. Only 40%−50% SNPs of these arrays was found informative for genetic analysis in these cattle breeds. The overall mean of MAF for SNPs of BovineHD SNPChip was 0.248 ± 0.006, 0.241 ± 0.007, and 0.242 ± 0.009 in Sahiwal, Tharparkar and Gir, respectively, while that for 54K SNPs was on lower side. The average Reynold’s genetic distance between breeds ranged from 0.042 to 0.055 based on BovineHD Beadchip, and from 0.052 to 0.084 based on 54K SNP Chip. The estimates of genetic diversity based on HD and 54K chips were almost same and, hence, low density chip seems to be good enough to decipher genetic diversity of these cattle breeds. The linkage disequilibrium started decaying (r2 < 0.2) at 140 kb inter-marker distance and, hence, a 20K low density customized SNP array from HD chip could be designed for genomic selection in these cattle else the 54K Bead Chip as such will be useful.
The I in autism: Severity and social functioning in autism are related to self‐processing

It is well established that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show impaired understanding of others and deficits within social functioning. However, it is still unknown whether self-processing is related to these impairments and to what extent self impacts social functioning and communication. Using an ownership paradigm, we show that children with ASD and chronological- and verbal-age-matched typically developing (TD) children do show the self-referential effect in memory. In addition, the self-bias was dependent on symptom severity and socio-communicative ability. Children with milder ASD symptoms were more likely to have a high self-bias, consistent with a low attention to others relative to self. In contrast, severe ASD symptoms were associated with reduced self-bias, consistent with an 'absent-self' hypothesis. These findings indicate that deficits in self-processing may be related to impairments in social cognition for those on the lower end of the autism spectrum. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Impaired self-processing in autism is linked to social and cognitive deficits. There are discrepancies across the literature, with reports of both intact and impaired self-processing in autism. Ownership tasks are developmentally appropriate and have shown to induce self-memory bias in young children. What does this study add? Using an ownership task, children with autism showed a significant self-memory bias, greater than typical peers. Severity was negatively correlated with level of self-bias, potentially explaining the previous discrepancies. Severe autism symptoms are associated with an 'absent self', and mild autism symptoms reduce attention to others.
Toxoplasmatinae Parasites in Bats from Bahia State, Brazil

Abstract Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum are widespread cyst-forming coccidian parasites of the subfamily Toxoplasmatinae that infect a wide range of wild and domestic animals. Whereas T. gondii is a zoonotic disease, N. caninum is restricted to nonhuman animals. Some chiropteran species can be infected by T. gondii and present fatal toxoplasmosis. In most cases, T. gondii–infected bats are believed to remain asymptomatic and to act as an infection source to other animals. It is not known whether N. caninum can infect bats. We determined infection rates of T. gondii and N. caninum in free-living bats in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Brain samples from 97 bats of seven species, captured in 2008–15, were analyzed by PCRs for T. gondii and N. caninum. Two of the 97 samples were positive for T. gondii DNA. None of the samples were positive for N. caninum DNA, suggesting that the bats were not susceptible to N. caninum infection or that its prevalence was very low.
Usefulness of FTIR spectroscopy to distinguish rough and smooth variants of Lactobacillus farciminis CNCM-I-3699

In this study, the potential of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for assessing putative biochemical and structural differences between the two variants, rough (R) and smooth (S), of Lactobacillus farciminis CNCM-I-3699, a pleomorphic strain, was investigated. The main differences observed were localized in the polysaccharide (1200-900 cm-1) and protein (1700-1500 cm-1) regions. Based on spectral information in these two spectral ranges, clustering resulted in a dendrogram that showed a clear discrimination between both morphotypes. Significant increases in favor of morphotype S compared to R at specific wavenumbers for polysaccharides (22.18% vs. 5.24% at 1068 cm-1) and capsular polysaccharides (16% vs. 13.17% at 1048 cm-1) were recorded. Compared to S, the morphotype R exhibits a 1.27-fold higher signal at the wavenumber of 1637 cm-1 assigned to the amide I β-sheet and a 2.71-fold higher signal at the wavenumber of 1513 cm-1 assigned to the tyrosine involved in the β-sheet arrangement of proteins. The FTIR analysis is efficient to separate and give data on mainly surface component differences observed previously between S colony morphotype (ropy and exopolysaccharide positive) and the R colony morphotype (non-ropy but highly autoaggregative).