Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cost‐effectiveness of sorafenib treatment in field practice for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

The purpose was to assess the cost‐effectiveness of sorafenib in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients incorporating current prices and the results of the recent published field practice SOraFenib Italian Assessment (SOFIA) study. We created a Markov Decision Model to evaluate, in a hypothetical cohort of Caucasian male patients, aged 67 years with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) C HCC, or BCLC B HCC who were unfit or failed to respond to locoregional therapies, well compensated cirrhosis, and with performance status 0‐1 according to Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), the cost‐effectiveness of the following strategies: (1) full or dose‐adjusted sorafenib for BCLC B and C patients together; (2) full or dose‐adjusted sorafenib for BCLC B patients; (3) full or dose‐adjusted sorafenib for BCLC C patients. Outcomes include quality‐adjusted life years (QALYs), costs, and incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio (ICER). In the base‐case analysis dose‐adjusted sorafenib was the most effective of the evaluated strategies. For dose‐adjusted sorafenib, QALY was 0.44 for BCLC B and C patients together, 0.44 for BCLC C patients, and 0.38 for BCLC B patients. The ICER of dose‐adjusted sorafenib compared with BSC was €34,534 per QALY gained for BCLC B and C patients together, €27,916 per QALY gained for BCLC C patients, and €54,881 per QALY gained for BCLC B patients. Results were sensitive to BSC survival rate, and sorafenib treatment duration. Conclusion: In daily practice dose‐adjusted, but not full‐dose, sorafenib is a cost‐effective treatment compared to BSC in intermediate and advanced HCC. (HEPATOLOGY 2013)
Emotion estimation using physiological signals

Human thought is inherently emotional and emotions are an essential and productive aspect of human thought and action. Emotions though supposed to be erratic from the early days, are proved to be a mechanism that encompasses readiness to act, expectations, focus to goals, appraisal - of self and others and the resulting reactions. Cognition by itself means the perception, experience and expression of emotions. While experiencing the emotion, there are also physiological changes[1,7] taking place in the human body, like variations in the heart rate(ECG/HRV), skin conductance(GSR), breathing rate(BR), blood volume pulse(BVP),brain waves (EEG), temperature and muscle tension, and these are some of the metrics to sense emotive co-efficient. The subjects experiencing emotions in a higher magnitude differ from those who can regulate these emotional experiences and such a factor is named as Emotional Intelligence. This difference in experience is due a triad - value, expectation and reality; which forms an emotional self-structure. Though there is always an emotional experience in some magnitude, the expression may be evident or completely concealed or the subject is deceptive or tries to hide the emotion by not expressing. This paper looks at the ways in which the stimuli for triggering off the emotional state of the subject are identified, applied and hence perceived by the subject(s) and parameters like GSR and BVP or PR [23] and their variations discovered to conclude the emotional state of the subject. The subject also gives his feedback about the emotions he is undergoing and hence facilitates validation.
[Clinical characteristics and molecular epidemiology of the novel influenza A (H1N1) infection in children in Shanghai].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the epidemiological features, genetic drift in the epitopes of hemagglutinin (HA) of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus and oseltamivir-resistant variants characterized by H275Y and N295S mutations in children in Shanghai since the outbreak. METHOD Between June 2009 and May 2012, a prospective surveillance study was carried out in Shanghainese children who attended the outpatient clinic of Children's Hospital of Fudan University for influenza-like illness. One-step real-time fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR was performed to detect seasonal influenza A and influenza B virus and the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus in the respiratory samples. Genetic drift from the vaccine strain in HA epitopes of the novel influenza H1N1 virus and the molecular markers associated with oseltamivir resistance in neuraminidase (NA) were analyzed. RESULT Out of 3475 enrolled cases, the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus was confirmed virologically in 222 (6.4%) otherwise healthy children with 133 (59.9%) being boys and 89 (40.1%) girls. The median ages of children with the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection during the first wave from August 2009 to February 2010 and the second wave from December 2010 to February 2011 were 53.5 months and 32.0 months, respectively (Z = -4.601, P = 0.000); 119 (46.9%) had the close contact with persons suffering from fever or respiratory infection, of whom, 68 (57.1%) contacts were family members and 47 (39.5%) contacts were classmates. During the outbreak in 2009-2010 season, 66 (40.9%) were exposed to primary index cases, school students were the major exposure subjects, accounting for 50.0%. The nucleotide sequences of HA1 gene were highly homologous between the vaccine strain A/California/07/2009 and Shanghai circulating novel influenza A (H1N1) strains and only S83P mutation in epitope E of HA was detected inclusively in the circulating strains. The H275Y and N295S amino acid mutations associated with oseltamivir resistance were not found in the circulating novel influenza (H1N1) strains. CONCLUSION Two major waves of the novel influenza A (H1N1) outbreaks occurred in Shanghainese children during 2009-2011. Institutional children were the major affected individuals during the 2009 pandemic wave. Households and schools were the main sites of transmission among children during influenza pandemic. Influenza vaccination should be enhanced in children and their close family contacts. The novel influenza A (H1N1) virus in Shanghai has not undergone significant genetic changes. Oseltamivir is effective for the treatment of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus.
Regional Cerebral Glucose Utilization During Hyperglycemia

Abstract: Previous data indicate that regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) decreases during acute and chronic hyperglycemia. To test the hypothesis that the decrease in rCBF is secondary to a decrease in cerebral metabolic rate, the rate of regional cerebral glucose utilization (rCMRgl) was measured in awake‐restrained rats during acute and chronic hyperglycemia. Acute hyperglycemia was produced by intraperitoneal injection of glucose, and chronic hyperglycemia was produced by treatment with streptozotocin. The rCMRgl was measured over a 10‐min period using [6‐14CJglucose. Glucose utilization was normal during acute hyperglycemia but decreased by 13% following 3 weeks of chronic hyperglycemia. The absence of a decrease in rCMRgl measured during acute hyperglycemia indicates that decreased rCBF cannot be explained by a change in the metabolic rate of the brain. The decrease in rCMRgl measured during chronic hyperglycemia does not necessarily indicate the presence of a drop in the metabolic rate of the brain because ketone bodies are available as an alternate fuel for oxidative metabolism. Therefore, it is unlikely that the decrease in rCMRgl measured during chronic hyperglycemia accounts for decreased rCBF.
Redistribution of cardiac output during hemorrhagic shock in sheep

Objective:Our goal was to evaluate the robustness of one of the assumptions used by esophageal Doppler monitors to compute systemic stroke volume and cardiac output; i.e., a constant flow proportion between supra-aortic vessels and descending aorta. For this purpose, we measured ascending and descending aortic blood flows during acute hemorrhage in anesthetized ewes. Design:Prospective, experimental study. Setting:Animal research facility. Subjects:Adult ewes. Interventions:Anesthetized animals were implemented with an aortic pressure transducer and two ultrasound transit time flowmeters placed around ascending and descending aorta, respectively. After baseline measurements, three incremental blood withdrawals were followed by progressive blood restitution in three similar steps. Measurements and Main Results:Ascending and descending aortic blood flows were reduced in a proportional manner after hemorrhage (−48% and −46%, respectively; p < .05 vs. baseline). Following blood restitution, flows were not fully restored, but ascending aortic flow was reduced by 27% with respect to initial control values while descending aortic flow was only 15% below. The agreement between ascending aortic flow and cardiac output calculated as descending aortic flow divided by 0.7 was characterized by a bias of 0.07 L/min and limits of agreement of +1.24 L/min and −1.10 L/min. Conclusions:Minor blood flow redistribution between supra-aortic and descending aortic territories was seen only following blood restitution but not during hemorrhage in these anesthetized ewes. This observation supports the robustness of the assumption of constant flow proportion used by the esophageal Doppler monitor to calculate systemic stroke volume from descending aortic flow measurements.
In‐situ immunophenotyping study of hepatic‐infiltrating cytotoxic cells in chronic active hepatitis C

Objective: Beside the hypothesis of a direct viral cytopathy, several lines of evidence argue in favour of hepatic damage triggered by immune‐mediated mechanisms in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The intrahepatic localization of HCV antigen‐specific cytotoxic T‐lymphocytes (CTLs) to disease sites has been described; however, very few data are available about the degree and the role of hepatic‐infiltrating natural killer (NK) cells in chronically HCV‐infected subjects. Design: In a series of percutaneous needle liver biopsies obtained from 35 consecutive untreated patients with chronic active hepatitis C, we performed an in‐situ immunophenotyping study to evaluate the degree of cytotoxic NK cell infiltration as compared to CTLs, the hepatocyte expression of human major histocompatibility complex antigens class I and class II (HLA‐I and HLA‐II), and cell adhesion molecules (CAM) in the context of liver inflammatory infiltrates. The data were correlated with the histological activity index (HAI) of disease. Results: In‐situ immunophenotyping analysis of CAM provided evidence for the intrahepatic expression of leucocyte adhesion molecules (CD11a and CD2) and their corresponding ligands on hepatocytes (CD54 and CD58) in all cases. A significant parallel expression of CD11a and CD54 as well as CD2 and CD58 structures, restricted to hepatic lobules within the disease sites, was also observed, even if their induction exhibited different degrees of correlation with biological and/or histological activities. A membranous pattern of HLA‐I and HLA‐II antigen expression on hepatocyte clusters was found in all tissue samples, although HLA‐I expression was significantly higher than HLA‐II. Moreover, lymphocyte subset analysis displayed a CD8+ T‐cell lobular infiltration within inflammatory and/or spotty necrosis areas in all cases, while CD4+ T‐cells were confined to the portal and periportal levels. A few scattered CD56+ and CD16+ NK cells, mainly distributed at periportal areas within inflammatory and/or necrotic foci, were detected in 7/35 (20%) and in 5/35 (14.2%) cases, respectively. On the other hand, CD8+ T‐cell lobular expression exhibited a linear correlation with HAI (r: 0.698, P<0.01). Finally, cytotoxic cell infiltration degree did not correlate with HCV serotypes. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a limited role for NK cells in the immune mechanism of liver injury in chronic active hepatitis C, while providing further support for the involvement of CD8+ T‐cells at disease sites.
A study of submarine power grid planning for offshore wind farm

The electricity production from renewable energy has become more attractive due to the need of green energy. Wind power is a matured market resource in the power grids worldwide. Since the saturation of onshore wind farm installations, it is a trend to develop wind farms in the offshore area in the future. The challenge for offshore wind energy transmission and operation included the offshore wind grid technologies, low-voltage-ride-through and the dynamic voltage supporting. In this study, the authors focus on the planning of wind farm power grid in Taiwan, which includes issues such as planning procedure, ampacity calculation of medium voltage-and high-voltage submarine cables connecting to offshore wind farms, and the grid interconnections. Case studies on the submarine grid laying for offshore wind farm and short time overload ampacity study are then reported.
Positive regulation of motility and flhDC expression by the RNA‐binding protein CsrA of Escherichia coli

Many species of bacteria devote considerable metabolic resources and genetic information to the ability to sense the environment and move towards or away from specific stimuli using flagella. In Escherichia coli and related species, motility is regulated by several global regulatory circuits, which converge to modulate the overall expression of the master operon for flagellum biosynthesis, flhDC. We now show that the global regulator CsrA of E. coli K‐12 is necessary for motility under a variety of growth conditions, as a result of its role as an activator of flhDC expression. A chromosomally encoded flhDC′–′lacZ translational fusion was expressed at three‐ to fourfold higher levels in csrA wild‐type strains than in isogenic csrA mutants. Purified recombinant CsrA protein stimulated the coupled transcription‐translation of flhDC′–′ lacZ in S‐30 extracts and bound to the 5′ segment of flhDC mRNA in RNA mobility shift assays. The steady‐state level of flhDC mRNA was higher and its half‐life was ≈ threefold greater in a csrA wild‐type versus a csrA mutant strain. Thus, CsrA stimulates flhDC gene expression by a post‐transcriptional mechanism reminiscent of its function in the repression of glycogen biosynthesis.
Prototype of authentication system of motorcycle using RFID implants

Vehicle is a means of transport used to enable people to do daily activities. The security system of two motorcycle that circulating in Indonesia is still using a mechanical key-system. The place where the mechanical lock on the vehicle are very easily compromised by the criminals. In this study, the researchers designed a security system using RFID implant. The implementation is expected to be completed this year. The researchers will replace the mechanical lock system with lock system using RFID technology. RFID implant will be embedded into the human body, for example the human hand. Placement of implants in the human hand will enable people when operate an authentication system security using RFID implant. When the user is going to operate a vehicle, the user simply needs to get closer to the RFID implant that has been embedded into the vehicle. The system is in the vehicle will validate the user and then the system will turn on at the same electrical system powering the vehicle's engine. By utilizing RFID technology implant, researchers made an authentication system that is expected to facilitate the motorcycle owners to operate their vehicles and can improve the system of motorcycle security and safety
Association of CD8 T Cells with Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis

Objective: Depression and anxiety frequently co-occur in patients with cirrhosis, but their underlying biological substrates are unclear. There is now evidence to suggest that depression is accompanied by signs of an immune response. This study investigated the correlation between depression/anxiety and T-lymphocyte subsets in liver cirrhosis patients. Methods: A total of 59 patients (37 males and 22 females; aged between 26–81 years) with cirrhosis were enrolled in the study. Severity of depression and anxiety were assessed through the Hamilton depressive scale (HAMD, the 24-item version) and the Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA). T-lymphocyte subsets (CD3, CD4, and CD8) in peripheral blood were determined by flow cytometry. The relationship between lymphocyte subsets and depression/anxiety scores was studied by correlation analysis. Results: The mean total HAMD and HAMA scores for the 59 subjects were 12.8 ± 10.4 (range = 0−46) and 7.0 ± 5.7 (range = 0−26), respectively. Fourteen of 59 subjects (23.7%) had HAMD scores equal to or above 20, indicative of depression. The percentage of CD8, but not CD3 or CD4, in T-lymphocyte subsets was positively correlated with depression (HAMD) (r = 0.268, P = 0.043) and anxiety severity (HAMA) (r = 0.321, P = 0.013). After controlling for age and Child-Pugh scores, the correlations were still significant. Conclusion: Around one-fourth of cirrhosis patients may have depression, although depression is not related to cirrhosis severity. Our findings are the first to show that depression and anxiety may be associated with increased levels of CD8 in T-lymphocyte subsets in cirrhosis patients, suggesting that an imbalance of T-lymphocyte subsets may be a factor facilitating depression and anxiety in cirrhotic patients. Examination of CD8 T-lymphocytes may prove useful in assessing the potential relationship between depression, anxiety, immunity, and liver cirrhosis.
Combining Psychosocial Data to Improve Prediction of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Events: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute–Sponsored Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation Study

Background There is overlap among psychosocial predictors of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The usefulness of combining psychosocial variables as risk markers for CVD needs investigation. Methods Participants were 493 women in the NHLBI WISE study. Multivariate combination of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Social Network Index (SNI), and Cook-Medley hostility subscales was evaluated, and principal components analysis also conducted. Relationships of composite psychosocial risk markers to CVD events and risk factors were assessed. Results The multivariate block of SNI, Cook-Medley Hostile Affect subscale, STAI, and BDI predicted CVD events (&khgr;2 = 27.8, df = 6, p < .001). Scalewise factor analysis revealed 2 factors: negative affectivity (NA) and hostility (explained variance, 45.6% and 17.1%, respectively). NA was associated with BMI (&bgr; [SE] = 0.18 [0.09], p = .04), hostility with metabolic syndrome (exp(&bgr;) = 0.60 [0.28], p = . 04). Both factors were associated with blood pressure (BP): NA with SBP (&bgr; = 2.53 [1.04], p = .02) and DBP (&bgr; = 1.66 [0.60], p = .02); hostility with SBP (&bgr; = 2.72 [1.13], p = .02) and DBP (&bgr; = 1.83 [0.65], p = .005). Neither factor predicted CVD events. Original scales predicted CVD events: lower SNI (HR = 0.74, CI = 0.57–0.96), lower Hostile Affect (HR = 0.80, CI = 0.56–1.03), and higher BDI (HR = 1.33, CI = 1.08–1.74). Conclusions In women with suspected ischemia, multivariate combination of psychosocial risk markers predicts CVD events; derived psychosocial factors were associated with CVD risk factors but not events. Measuring common variance among psychosocial variables may be a useful research strategy. Abbreviations CVD = cardiovascular disease; BMI = body mass index; MI = myocardial infarction; CAD = coronary artery disease; CV = cardiovascular; WISE = The Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation; PCA = principal components analysis; STAI = State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; BDI = Beck Depression Inventory; NA = negative affectivity; CM = Cook-Medley; NHLBI = The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; IHD = ischemic heart disease; BP = blood pressure; SBP = systolic blood pressure; DBP = diastolic blood pressure; SE = standard error; CI = confidence interval
Transcription Domain-Associated Repair in Human Cells

ABSTRACT Nucleotide excision repair (NER), which is arguably the most versatile DNA repair system, is strongly attenuated in human cells of the monocytic lineage when they differentiate into macrophages. Within active genes, however, both DNA strands continue to be proficiently repaired. The proficient repair of the nontranscribed strand cannot be explained by the dedicated subpathway of transcription-coupled repair (TCR), which is targeted to the transcribed strand in expressed genes. We now report that the previously termed differentiation-associated repair (DAR) depends upon transcription, but not simply upon RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) encountering a lesion: proficient repair of both DNA strands can occur in a part of a gene that the polymerase never reaches, and even if the translocation of RNAPII is blocked with transcription inhibitors. This suggests that DAR may be a subset of global NER, restricted to the subnuclear compartments or chromatin domains within which transcription occurs. Downregulation of selected NER genes with small interfering RNA has confirmed that DAR relies upon the same genes as global genome repair, rather than upon TCR-specific genes. Our findings support the general view that the genomic domains within which transcription is active are more accessible than the bulk of the genome to the recognition and repair of lesions through the global pathway and that TCR is superimposed upon that pathway of NER.
A genetic analysis of HIV‐1 from Punjab, India reveals the presence of multiple variants

ObjectiveTo determine the extent of HIV-1 genetic variation in Indian patients. Design: To avoid any bias in selecting viral variants, HIV-1 DNA was amplified directly from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients and sequenced. Genetic similarity between Indian sequences and other geographic isolates was analysed by phylogenetic analysis algorithms. MethodsA fragment encompassing the C2/V3-V5 regions of HIV-1 gp120 was amplified from the lymphocyte DNA of 12 Indian patients. Multiple clones from each patient were sequenced. Nucleotide sequences encompassing about 650 base pairs were aligned for the Indian and other geographically distinct isolates. Inter-isolate relationships were analysed by means of distance, parsimony and neighbour-joining algorithms. ResultsNucleotide sequence comparisons showed low interpatient variation. Amino-acid comparisons revealed a high degree of homology between Indian sequences in this study and those studied earlier. On distance and parsimony trees, most of the Indian sequences clustered together as subtype C. However, sequences from three patients also showed significant homologies and phylogenetic clustering outside of subtype C. ConclusionsThe predominant strain of HIV-1 in India belongs to subtype C and little interpatient nucleotide sequence divergence in the majority of cases suggests recent spread of HIV-1 in this region. This study also presents the first evidence for non-C subtypes in the Indian population with two epidemiologically linked samples remaining unclassified for any existing env subtype. The presence of variant subtypes in Indian patients sheds light on the transmission routes of HIV-1 to India and emphasizes the need to include these sequences in vaccine development strategies.