Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of interleukin-10 polymorphisms (−1082 and −3575) on the survival of patients with lymphoid neoplasms

Background and Objectives Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in interleukin-10 (IL-10) genes can influence immune responses, which may affect the outcome of patients with lymphoid neoplasms. The aim of this study was to explore the association between polymorphisms of IL-10-1082A>G and IL-10-3575T>A with the overall survival in patients with lymphoid neoplasms. Design and Methods We analyzed two IL-10 SNP (−1082 and −3575) in 472 consecutive cases with lymphoid neoplasms. Genotypes were tested for association with overall survival and classical prognostic factors by multivariate analysis. Haplotype analysis was carried out using the haplostats package implemented in R software. The implications for survival of patients with lymphoma were evaluated using multivariate analysis. Results Lymphoma patients with the IL-10-3575T>A genotype had a better overall survival (p= 0.002), as did the subgroup with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) (p=0.05). Patients with the IL10-1082GG genotype had a better median overall survival (p=0.05). When both genotypes were included in a multivariate analysis, IL-10-3575AA genotype was the only independent prognostic factor for survival (HR=0.20, 95%CI 0.05–0.92). Patients with the IL-10-1082 and -3575 G-A/G-A diplotype had a longer overall survival (p=0.003) and this combination appeared to be an independent prognostic factor for survival (HR:0.26; 95%CI 0.08–0.83). Interpretation and Conclusions The IL-10-3575A/A genotype was identified as a marker of favorable survival. Because the IL-10-1082 and -3575 G-A/G-A diplotype was also identified as an indicator of longer survival, we cannot exclude the potential additive role of the IL-10-1082GG genotype. These results need to be replicated in larger series and examined in different NHL subtypes.
Cibenzoline transforms random re-entry into ordered re-entry in the atria.

The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that class I drugs modify the electrophysiological substrate of atrial fibrillation. The effects of a single intravenous dose (1.4 +/- 0.3 mg.kg-1) of the new class I drug, cibenzoline, were studied in 20 patients with spontaneous (n = 11) or induced (n = 9) atrial fibrillation, during an electrophysiological study. In one additional patient with chronic atrial fibrillation, the effects of a single intravenous dose of 2 mg.kg-1 of cibenzoline were studied intra-operatively before undergoing a 'corridor' operation. High resolution epicardial mapping (248 channels) was used to reconstruct the atrial activation patterns before and after administration of the drug. In 18 out of 20 patients administration of cibenzoline resulted in conversion of atrial fibrillation into regular monomorphic atrial tachycardia. In these 18 patients, the mean atrial cycle length was prolonged from 147 +/- 34 ms during atrial fibrillation to 302 +/- 34 ms after cibenzoline (P < 0.001). In eight out of the 18 patients, spontaneous (n = 3) or pacing induced (n = 5) conversion into sinus rhythm was observed after administration of the drug. In the patient undergoing the 'corridor' operation, epicardial mapping of both atria showed that the multiple wavelets present during atrial fibrillation fused into a single broad wavefront circulating counterclockwise around the caval veins after cibenzoline. In conclusion, cibenzoline transforms random re-entry into ordered re-entry in the atria. This effect seems related to the depression of conduction produced by the drug.
Study of aroma formation and transformation during the manufacturing process of Biluochun green tea in Yunnan Province by HS-SPME and GC-MS.

BACKGROUND Biluochun is a typical non-fermented tea and is also famous for its unique aroma in China. Few studies have been performed to evaluate the effect of the manufacturing process on the formation and content of its aroma. RESULTS The volatile components were extracted at different manufacturing process steps of Biluochun green tea using fully automated headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and further characterised by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Among 67 volatile components collected, the fractions of linalool oxides, β-ionone, phenylacetaldehyde, aldehydes, ketones, and nitrogen compounds were increased while alcohols and hydrocarbons declined during the manufacturing process. The aroma compounds decreased the most during the drying steps. CONCLUSION We identified a number of significantly changed components that can be used as markers and quality control during the producing process of Biluochun. The drying step played a major role in the aroma formation of green tea products and should be the most important step for quality control. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
Effects of and factors associated with umbilical hernias in a swine herd.

Of 2,958 pigs from a 320-sow, farrow-to-finish herd that were evaluated from birth to slaughter, 44 (1.5%) developed umbilical hernias. Hernias were detected mostly (34/44) when the pigs were between 9 and 14 weeks of age and were not fatal despite lack of treatment. Among littermates, weight gain prior to weaning was significantly (P = 0.04) lower in pigs that developed hernias (144.7 g/d) by 30 weeks of age than for nonaffected pigs (163.3 g/d), but growth rates from weaning to about 45 kg did not differ significantly. Records of pigs sired by 13 purebred boars were used to evaluate breed-of-sire associations. Pigs sired by American Spotted (n = 19; relative risk [RR] = 8.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.1 to 32.7) and Duroc boars (n = 378; RR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.0 to 4.5) were more likely to develop umbilical hernias than were pigs (n = 1,644) sired by Yorkshire boars. Umbilical lesions (omphalitis or umbilical abscess) were associated (RR = 7.6; 95% CI = 1.2 to 49.5) with umbilical herniation on an individual basis, but the association was not evident (RR = 1.2; 95% CI = 0.2 to 7.6) when the litter was the unit of analysis. Analysis of sire associations, stratified by umbilical lesion status, indicated increased risks in the nonlesioned stratum for the American Spotted (RR = 8.7) and Duroc sires (RR = 2.2). Adequate comparisons of sire breed in the lesioned stratum could not be made, because umbilical lesions were an infrequent finding (9/2, 958). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
PART OF A SPECIAL ISSUE ON FUNCTIONAL -STRUCTURAL PLANT MODELLING Dynamics of leaf gas exchange, xylem and phloem transport, water potential and carbohydrate concentration in a realistic 3-D model tree crown

†Background and Aims Tree models simulate productivity using general gas exchange responses and structural relationships, but they rarely check whether leaf gas exchange and resulting water and assimilate transport and driving pressure gradients remain within acceptable physical boundaries. This study presents an implementation of the cohesion-tension theory of xylem transport and the Munch hypothesis of phloem transport in a realistic 3-D tree structure and assesses the gas exchange and transport dynamics. †Methods A mechanistic model of xylem and phloem transport was used, together with a tested leaf assimilation and transpiration model in a realistic tree architecture to simulate leaf gas exchange and water and carbohydrate transport within an 8-year-old Scots pine tree. The model solved the dynamics of the amounts of water and sucrose solute in the xylem, cambium and phloem using a fine-grained mesh with a system of coupled ordinary differential equations. †KeyResults The simulations predicted the observed patterns of pressure gradients and sugar concentration. Diurnal variation of environmental conditions influenced tree-level gradients in turgor pressure and sugar concentration, which are important drivers of carbon allocation. The results and between-shoot variation were sensitive to structural and functional parameters such as tree-level scaling of conduit size and phloem unloading. †Conclusions Linking whole-tree-level water and assimilate transport, gas exchange and sink activity opens a new avenue for plant studies, as features that are difficult to measure can be studied dynamically with the model. Tree-level responses to local and external conditions can be tested, thus making the approach described here a good test-bench for studies of whole-tree physiology.
A Comparison of Return Bloom and Nonstructural Carbohydrates, Nitrogen, and Potassium Concentrations in Moderate and Severe Alternate-bearing Pecan Cultivars

The most significant horticultural problem facing pecan producers is alternate bearing. Four pecan (Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) C. Koch) cultivars were chosen, two with low to moderate and two with severe alternate- bearing tendencies, to compare selected characteristics related to irregular bearing. The cultivars were Colby and Peruque (low to medium alternate-bearing tendency) and Osage and Giles (high alternate-bearing tendency). Vegetative shoots and fruit-bearing shoots in the terminal and lateral position on 1-year-old branches were tagged in October, and flowering was determined the next spring. Shoot and root samples were collected while dormant and then analyzed for organically bound nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and nonstructural carbohydrate concentrations. As expected, 'Colby' and 'Peruque' had a lower alternate-bearing tendency than 'Giles' and 'Osage'. Cultivars with a lowalternate-bearingtendencyhadalargerreturnbloomonthebearingshootsintheterminalpositionthantheother shoot types. Cultivars with a high alternate-bearing tendency had a lower return bloom on bearing terminal shoots than vegetative shoots. Bearing shoots in the lateral position usually had a lower return bloom than the other shoot types regardless of cultivar. Neither root nor shoot N, K, or nonstructural carbohydrate concentrations appeared to be closely related to the alternate-bearing characteristics of the four cultivars. The unique characteristic identified for low alternate-bearing cultivars was their ability to produce as many or more flowers and flowering shoots the next year on previously bearing terminal shoots compared with previously vegetative shoots. In high alternate-bearing cultivars, return bloom of bearing terminal shoots was suppressed relative to their vegetative shoots.
Modern Methods for Interrogating the Human Connectome

Abstract Objectives: Connectionist theories of brain function took hold with the seminal contributions of Norman Geschwind a half century ago. Modern neuroimaging techniques have expanded the scientific interest in the study of brain connectivity to include the intact as well as disordered brain. Methods: In this review, we describe the most common techniques used to measure functional and structural connectivity, including resting state functional MRI, diffusion MRI, and electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography coherence. We also review the most common analytical approaches used for examining brain interconnectivity associated with these various imaging methods. Results: This review presents a critical analysis of the assumptions, as well as methodological limitations, of each imaging and analysis approach. Conclusions: The overall goal of this review is to provide the reader with an introduction to evaluating the scientific methods underlying investigations that probe the human connectome. (JINS, 2016, 22, 105–119)
Cloning and functional analysis of Asa373, a novel adhesin unrelated to the other sex pheromone plasmid‐encoded aggregation substances of Enterococcus faecalis

pAM373 of Enterococcus faecalis deviates from the various other representatives of sex pheromone plasmids in that it encodes a clumping‐mediating adhesin, Asa373, unrelated to the highly conserved aggregation substances typical of this plasmid class. The use of a new general cloning strategy and sequencing of the corresponding gene has confirmed that Asa373 represents a novel type of adhesin embedded in a DNA sequence very similar to sex pheromone plasmid pPD1. To prove the specific function of the relatively small protein (75.6 kDa vs 137 kDa for pAD1‐encoded Asa1) in cell aggregation, an expression vector, pERM‐ex1, was constructed, allowing reliable and stable expression of proteins in E. faecalis. The expression of Asa373 in E. faecalis indeed resulted in constitutive clumping, whereas non‐polar disruption of the gene in the original pAM373 abolished clumping capacity. Expression in a strain (INY3000) defective in binding substance — which for the other aggregation substances constitutes the attachment site on the mating partner — did not alter Asa373‐dependent clumping; this implies a separate mechanism in cell–cell interaction for this adhesin. Some amino acid motifs of Asa373 link the protein to adhesins of oral streptococci and other cell surface proteins. Comparison of the leader sequence of asa373 with those of several other aggregation substances revealed a highly conserved translational unit possibly involved in the regulation of asa373 expression.
Tax Expenditures for Owner-Occupied Housing: Deductions for Property Taxes and Mortgage Interest and the Exclusion of Imputed Rental Income

Federal income tax policy affects the cost of homeowner ship for many households. Popular discussions of the favorable tax treatment of owner-occupied housing usually focus on the tax-deductibility of mortgage interest and prop? erty tax payments, as well as the specialized tax rules that affect housing capital gains. Academic discussions, in contrast, emphasize the exclusion of the imputed rental income on owner-occupied housing as the key tax benefit for homeowners. This paper summarizes the current distribution of the tax benefits associated with the mortgage interest and property tax deductions. It contrasts this with the distribution of tax benefits asso? ciated with the current tax regime for imputed rental income relative to one that taxes home?
INVITED REVIEW SERIES: TOBACCO AND LUNG HEALTH Smokeless tobacco and health in India and South Asia

Smokeless tobacco and health in India and South Asia GUPTA PC, RAY CS. Respirology 2003; 8: 419–431 Abstract: South Asia is a major producer and net exporter of tobacco. Over one-third of tobacco consumed regionally is smokeless. Traditional forms like betel quid, tobacco with lime and tobacco tooth powder are commonly used and the use of new products is increasing, not only among men but also among children, teenagers, women of reproductive age, medical and dental students and in the South Asian diaspora. Smokeless tobacco users studied prospectively in India had ageadjusted relative risks for premature mortality of 1.2–1.96 (men) and 1.3 (women). Current male chewers of betel quid with tobacco in case-control studies in India had relative risks of oral cancer varying between 1.8–5.8 and relative risks for oesophageal cancer of 2.1–3.2. Oral submucous fibrosis is increasing due to the use of processed areca nut products, many containing tobacco. Pregnant women in India who used smokeless tobacco have a threefold increased risk of stillbirth and a twoto threefold increased risk of having a low birthweight infant. In recent years, several states in India have banned the sale, manufacture and storage of gutka, a smokeless tobacco product containing areca nut. In May 2003 in India, the Tobacco Products Bill 2001 was enacted to regulate the promotion and sale of all tobacco products. In two large-scale educational interventions in India, sizable proportions of tobacco users quit during 5–10 years of follow-up and incidence rates of oral leukoplakia measured in one study fell in the intervention cohort. Tobacco education must be imparted through schools, existing government health programmes and hospital outreach programmes.
Non-Dyadic Human-Robot Interaction: Concepts and Interaction Techniques

With the increase in robot complexity and the diversity of domains in which we encounter robots, there is an increased need for research focusing on more varied aspects of human-robot interaction. While most research has focused on the dyadic interaction (one-to-one) between one human and one robot, we are currently observing a paradigm shift towards increased attention to HRI in non-dyadic systems. However, we still have limited knowledge of which interaction techniques work well for non-dyadic HRI combining human participants with multiple digital artefacts, including robots. We investigate what characterises non-dyadic HRI in various contexts, including the home and industry, and how the addition of robots affects how we interact in groups. This paper presents our research questions, preliminary results, and plans for future studies, thereby contributing to a better understanding of the concepts and interaction techniques in non-dyadic interaction in human-robot groups in various contexts.
Evaluation of tiamulin and lincomycin for the treatment of broiler breeders experimentally infected with the intestinal spirochaete Brachyspira pilosicoli

Brachyspira pilosicoli strain CPSp1 isolated from a chicken in a broiler breeder flock in Queensland was used to experimentally infect 30 individually caged 22-week-old Cobb 500 broiler breeder hens. Another 10 birds were sham-inoculated with sterile broth. All birds failed to become colonized. At 29 weeks of age, all birds were transferred to a diet containing 50 parts/10 6 zinc bacitracin (ZnB) and were re-challenged with the same B. pilosicoli strain at 32 weeks of age, weekly for 5 weeks. The majority of the inoculated birds then became colonized, confirming previous findings that ZnB can increase susceptibility to colonization with B. pilosicoli. The control group remained uninfected. Infected groups tended to have an increased faecal water content and faecal staining of eggshells. Ten birds were then treated by crop tube with 25 mg/kg body weight tiamulin for 5 days, and 10 birds with 20 mg/kg body weight lincomycin for 5 days. Both treatments removed the infection, while untreated birds remained infected. The results support previous observations that ZnB at 50 parts/10 6 in the diet increases the susceptibility of birds to B. pilosicoli infection, and demonstrated the usefulness of both tiamulin and lincomycin for treatment of infection with B. pilosicoli in adult birds.
Human-Robot Conflict Resolution at an Elevator - The Effect of Robot Type, Request Politeness and Modality

Human-robot conflicts might occur in the future, for instance, if a robot requests a public resource (e.g., an elevator). It needs to be investigated how the robot's request can be designed acceptably and effectively regarding the robot type, modality, and politeness. In this interactive video-based online study (N = 390), a robot requested priority over an elevator either using a polite or an assertive conflict resolution strategy presented via speech or on the robot's display. The robot was either humanlike, zoomorphic, or mechanoid. The mechanoid robot achieved more compliance than the humanoid robot if it used a verbal command. When the humanoid robot displayed the command instead of using its voice, more participants granted the robot priority. This might indicate that politeness norms are triggered more by a humanoid design and that if a robot makes a command, the modality should match the robot type.
Generating Coherent Ray Directions in Path Tracing

The quality of the images produced by a global illumination rendering engine is highly connected to the number of paths that are randomly generated from the camera to the light sources. Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have been used to implement renderers by typically binding each thread to a ray. Nevertheless, this purely random generation does not ﬁt well on the architecture of current GPUs, due to their SIMD nature. We modify the way paths are extended in order to take the most of GPUs. The arrangement of rays is split into groups of contiguous rays. The hemisphere on each intersection point is divided into spherical patches, and the same patch is chosen for all the rays in the group. The next direction for each path will be randomly chosen on that patch. Thus, if the intersection points of a group are near, the new rays spawned will be similar. We have implemented different conﬁgurations of this idea on a path tracer in CUDA and they have been experimentally tested on usual scenes. In the same amount of time, most of our algorithms complete more paths and, therefore, they produce images of higher quality than those obtained by the purely random generation. Categories and Subject Descriptors (according to ACM CCS) : I.3. 7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and
Development of Targeted Message Concepts for Recent Asian Immigrants About Secondhand Smoke

Residents of Boston's Chinatown and the Vietnamese community in Boston's Dorchester section are recent immigrants from China and Vietnam, countries whose smoking prevalence rates for men are among the highest in the world and whose rates for women are very low. We conducted exploratory focus groups in these communities to examine issues related to secondhand smoke and to generate message concepts for health education materials that would convince recent Asian immigrants to respond to the public health threat that secondhand smoke poses. The message concepts, which were tailored specifically for Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants, used themes that were consistent with the cultural values of each group as expressed in the focus groups, yet also reflected the fact that, in many ways, these immigrants are seeking to adapt to American norms. We suggest that it is possible to construct culturally appropriate health education materials for recent immigrant populations rather than rely on simple translations of English-language materials. An intervention study using these message concepts is needed.
Research on Nonstationary Signal Denoising Based on EEMD Filter

To reduce the noise in the signal in nonstationary signals, a new technique based on EEMD(Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition) was studied for decomposing signal. With the EEMD the extremums of the signal was used as scalse to decompose data in the time domain and get the IMFs (Intrinsic Mode Function) with their frequencis from high to low. Then based the frequency spectrum from FT(Fourier Transform) of each IMF a new filter can be establish to denosing signals. Forthermore the nonstationary signals with different SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) were simulated to validate this filter and compared denosing method based on wavelet analysis. The compareing indexs showed that the denosing effect with EEMD filter excelled the wavelet method appreciably, but avoid the diffecuty to select a proper wavelet. With this method, the signal was decmpsed based on the scales in itself and have the most adaptivity.
Rituals and nursing: a critical commentary.

AIM OF THE PAPER This critical commentary explores the concept of ritual in the nursing and social science literature in terms of investigating different understandings of its meaning and purpose. RATIONALE The term 'ritual' is often used in a pejorative sense in nursing literature to refer to unthinking, routinized action by nurses, which lacks any empirical foundation. The purpose of this paper is to explore alternative understandings of the meaning of ritual, suggesting that the negative usage described above misses out on the wider symbolic meaning of the word. METHOD The literature search used a combination of electronic databases (CINAHL, ASSIA, MEDLINE and RCN) from 1960 to 2000 and serendipitous references in texts. FINDINGS The commentary is presented under the following two broad emerging themes: first, the complex issues surrounding the definition of ritual, including the relationship between rational and rational action and second, the purposes served by ritual. CONCLUSION The paper concludes with the recommendation that the rituals nurses use in the performance of their care are worthy of research as a rich source of insight into the meaning and purpose of nursing actions.