Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognostic factors in Waldenström's macroglobulinemia: a report of 167 cases.

PURPOSE A single-center retrospective analysis was conducted in 167 patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) to delineate prognostic factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred sixty-seven patients diagnosed between January 1969 and December 1988, fulfilling diagnostic criteria of WM, were entered onto this study. One hundred twenty-eight patients were treated with chlorambucil (0.1 mg/kg/d): 117 at diagnosis and 11 during the disease course. Seventeen variables were analyzed in all patients and in treated patients for their prognostic value on survival using the Kaplan-Meier method and a Cox multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS Median survival duration for all patients was 60 months. Pretreatment factors associated with shorter survival in the entire population were age > or = 60 years (P = .006), male sex (P = .0001), general symptoms (P = .01), hemoglobin less than 10 g/dL (P = .008), leukocytes less than 4 X 10(9)/L (P = .02), neutrophils less than 1.7 X 10(9)/L (P = .02), and platelets less than 150 X 10(9)/L (P = .0006). Organomegaly, signs of hyperviscosity, renal failure, monoclonal immunoglobulin M (M IgM) level, blood lymphocytosis, and percentage of marrow lymphoid cells were not significantly correlated with survival. In a Cox multivariate regression analysis, the combination of factors that gave the best prognostic value was the association of sex (P = .0002), neutrophils (P = .002), age (P = .008), and hemoglobin (P = .02). CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that some pretreatment parameters, including older age, male sex, general symptoms, and cytopenias, carry a poor prognosis in WM. By contrast, high initial tumor burden (indicated by organomegaly, high IgM level, and high percentage of marrow lymphoid cells) does not seem to be significantly associated with short survival. Our results help define a high-risk population that could perhaps benefit from newer therapeutic approaches.
Predictors and outcome of seizures after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. Clinical article.

OBJECT Seizures are an important neurological complication of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). A better understanding of the risk factors of seizures following ICH is needed to predict which patients will require treatment. METHODS Two hundred and forty-three adult patients were enrolled in this 1-year retrospective study. Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between baseline clinical factors and the presence or absence of seizure during the study period. RESULTS Seizures occurred in 20 patients with ICH, including acute symptomatic seizures in 9 and unprovoked seizures in 11. None progressed to status epilepticus during hospitalization. After a minimum 3-year follow-up period, the mean Glasgow Outcome Scale score was 3.8+/-1.1 for patients who had had seizures and 3.5+/-1.3 for those who had not. The multiple logistic regression model demonstrated that the mean ICH volume was independently associated with seizures, and any increase of 1 mm3 in ICH volume increased the seizure rate by 2.7%. CONCLUSIONS Higher mean ICH volumes at presentation were predictive of seizure, and the presence of late seizures was predictive of developing epilepsy. Most seizures occurred within 2 years of spontaneous ICH over a minimum of 3 years of follow-up.
Crystal structure and functional characterization of an isoaspartyl dipeptidase (CpsIadA) from Colwellia psychrerythraea strain 34H

Isoaspartyl dipeptidase (IadA) is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of an isoaspartyl dipeptide-like moiety, which can be inappropriately formed in proteins, between the β-carboxyl group side chain of Asp and the amino group of the following amino acid. Here, we have determined the structures of an isoaspartyl dipeptidase (CpsIadA) from Colwellia psychrerythraea, both ligand-free and that complexed with β-isoaspartyl lysine, at 1.85-Å and 2.33-Å resolution, respectively. In both structures, CpsIadA formed an octamer with two Zn ions in the active site. A structural comparison with Escherichia coli isoaspartyl dipeptidase (EcoIadA) revealed a major difference in the structure of the active site. For metal ion coordination, CpsIadA has a Glu166 residue in the active site, whereas EcoIadA has a post-translationally carbamylated-lysine 162 residue. Site-directed mutagenesis studies confirmed that the Glu166 residue is critical for CpsIadA enzymatic activity. This residue substitution from lysine to glutamate induces the protrusion of the β12-α8 loop into the active site to compensate for the loss of length of the side chain. In addition, the α3-β9 loop of CpsIadA adopts a different conformation compared to EcoIadA, which induces a change in the structure of the substrate-binding pocket. Despite CpsIadA having a different active-site residue composition and substrate-binding pocket, there is only a slight difference in CpsIadA substrate specificity compared with EcoIadA. Comparative sequence analysis classified IadA-containing bacteria and archaea into two groups based on the active-site residue composition, with Type I IadAs having a glutamate residue and Type II IadAs having a carbamylated-lysine residue. CpsIadA has maximal activity at pH 8–8.5 and 45°C, and was completely inactivated at 60°C. Despite being isolated from a psychrophilic bacteria, CpsIadA is thermostable probably owing to its octameric structure. This is the first conclusive description of the structure and properties of a Type I IadA.
Characteristics of Smoking Cessation in Former Smokers in a Rural Area of Japan

Objectives: Japan has a relatively high prevalence of smoking in men. Despite the importance of behavioral patterns on successful smoking cessation, only limited information is available in Japan. The present study collected data from former smokers in a rural community in Japan in order to identify health status at the time of cessation, predominant motivating factors, and the role of smoking cessation aids in individuals who successfully stopped smoking. Methods: This cross-sectional study collected data using a self-reported questionnaire from 149 randomly-selected former smokers (119 men and 30 women, aged 20-79 years) who were residents of Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. Results: Of the male participants, 14.3% quit due to serious personal health problems, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, or respiratory tract disease, while 20.8% of former smokers experienced mild personal health problems or were pregnant at the time of cessation. An approximately equal number stopped smoking due to fear of illness in the absence of immediate health concerns. Compared to personal health motivations, a smaller number of male smokers quit due to anti-smoking social pressure or expense. We also observed a marked increase in former smokers who quit for these reasons in recent years. Smoking lost its appeal in 19.3% of male and 10.0% of female smokers. Approximately, 95% of quitters did not utilize health professional counseling or pharmacological therapy. Conclusions: Personal health concerns in former smokers in Nanao, Japan were the predominant motivation for quitting smoking, with the vast majority of former smokers achieving successful smoking cessation by themselves.
Dynamic Growth Rate of U.S. Economy

This paper reports the estimates of the dynamic growth rate of U.S. economy using exponential growth model, Cob-Douglas production function with a regression framework. The estimates indicates that 100% output growth is broken down into 58% technology growth, 19.10% labor growth, and 22.90% capital growth. Growth rates of U.S. production, capital, and employment are decreasing by 0.4%, 0.6%, and 0.01% respectively for each additional year regardless of recession while growth rate of technological changes in U.S. economy has been changing in a systematic way. It also shows that forecasted growth rate of U.S. output with restricted elasticity is lower than that with unrestricted elasticity.
Histofunctional status of kidney in patients with rheumatoid arthritis Romatoid Artrit'li hastalarda böbreğin histopatolojik ve fonksiyonel durumu

Objectives: The aim of this study was to observe the effects of duration and severity of disease on renal functions and histopathology in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Material and methods: The study included 50 patients of RA, who were divided into two groups of 25 patients each. Disease severity was assessed by Disability Activity Score (DAS). The renal parameters i.e., urine complete examination, blood urea, serum creatinine and creatinine clearance were estimated at enrolment. Percutaneous renal biopsy was performed in patients having active urinary sediment, haematuria and/or proteinuria more than 300 mg/day and serum creatinine more than 1.5 mg/ml. Results: Group I patients had duration of disease between 2-5 years and in Group II the duration was more than 5 years. Urine abnormalities were documented in 28% RA patients and 12% patients had isolated hematuria, 10% patients presented with isolated proteinurea and combined haematuria and proteinurea was present in 6% patients.14% patients presented with raised creatinine( >1.5mg/ml). Renal biopsy was performed in 20% of patients which showed mesangial glomerulonephritis, membranous glomerulonephritis, secondary amyloidosis and interstitial nephritis. In group I severe DAS score was present in 17% of the patient having urinary abnormality, however 20% patients showed histopathological findings. In group II 63% of patients with severe DAS score had urinary abnormality, 83% showed raised serum creatinine and 60% had histopathological abnormalities indicating severe DAS score and increased duration of disease was associated with significant effects on histofunctional sta tus of kidney. Conclusion: There was a significant increase in renal dysfunction with duration and severity of disease in rheumatoid arthritis.
Microsatellite analysis at 1p36.3 in malignant melanoma of the skin: fine mapping in search of a possible tumour suppressor gene region

Deletions in 1p36 in malignant melanoma have been found in high percentages in nodular melanomas and melanoma metastases. Despite many efforts, no candidate tumour suppressor gene associated with malignant melanoma has so far been found in this region. To further determine a possible tumour suppressor gene locus, we carried out a deletion mapping of chromosome 1p36 at nine microsatellite loci in 74 malignant melanomas. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in this region was found in 77% of nodular melanomas (NMs), 86% of metastatic melanomas, but only 20% of superficial spreading melanomas (SSMs). Regarding the allelic losses, the nodular and metastatic melanoma samples could be divided into three groups: one showing LOH at the more telomeric loci D1S243 and D1S468 (1p36.33), one displaying allelic loss at the more centromeric loci D1S214 and D1S253 (1p36.32–31) and one with LOH over all informative loci between D1S243 and D1S160. We did not find any significant correlation between a deletion in any of the investigated loci and the survival data of the patients. However, our results confine the deleted region in malignant melanoma to a very small area around 1p36.32, thus facilitating the search for the tumour suppressor gene with importance in malignant melanoma.
Innate mucosal‐associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are activated in inflammatory bowel diseases

Inflammatory bowel diseases are characterized by a deregulated immune response targeting the gut bacterial flora. Mucosal‐associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class Ib‐restricted innate‐like lymphocytes with anti‐bacterial functions. They display an effector/memory phenotype and are found in large numbers in the blood, mucosae and liver. They have also been implicated in inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Therefore, we aimed to analyse the possible involvement of MAIT cells in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). To this end, a phenotypical and functional analysis of MAIT cells isolated from the blood of healthy subjects, CD and UC patients was undertaken. MAIT cells were also quantified in ileal biopsies of CD patients. The frequency of blood MAIT cells was specifically reduced in IBD patients compared with healthy donors, whereas it was dramatically greater in the inflamed versus healthy tissue. MAIT cells were activated as they expressed significantly more the Ki67 antigen, and this was accompanied by phenotypical changes such as increased expression of natural killer (NK)G2D and B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA). Finally, in‐vitro‐activated MAIT cells from CD and UC patients secreted significantly more interleukin (IL)‐17, together with a decreased interferon (IFN)‐γ in CD but an increased IL‐22 in UC. These data show that MAIT cells are activated in IBD, which results in an increased recruitment towards the inflamed tissues, an altered phenotype and a switch in the pattern of cytokine secretion. This is the first demonstration that MAIT cells are immune players in IBD, whose precise functions in this context need to be addressed.
Prolactinoma-associated headache and dopamine agonist treatment

Aim The aim of this article is to investigate the phenotype and etiology of prolactinoma-associated headache as well as present and discuss the plausible pain-relieving effect of dopamine agonist treatment. Methods In this case-based audit we included 11 patients with prolactinomas and one patient with idiopathic hyperprolactinemia presenting with headache that subsequently improved or resolved after dopamine agonist treatment. Results A significant ipsilateral location of tumor mass and reported headache symptoms was observed (p = 0.018). After dopamine agonist treatment seven out of 12 patients became pain free within 2.5 months; after one year of treatment 11 out of 12 reported headache improvement or resolution. Average tumor volume reduction after treatment was 47 ± 22% during 9.5 ± 8.4 months of follow-up. There was no significant association between headache relief and tumor shrinkage (p = 0.43) or normalization of serum prolactin (p = 1.00), respectively. Conclusions 1) The significant association between lateralization of tumor and headache suggests a mechanical origin of the headache, 2) headache responded to dopamine agonist treatment in most patients, and 3) our observations encourage future prospective controlled trials to investigate the role of hyperprolactinemia in the pathogenesis of headache as well as the therapeutic effects of dopamine agonists.
3The Structural Risk Minimization principle on set-valued probability space

Statistical Learning Theory (SLT) based on random samples on probability space is considered as the best theory about small samples statistics learning at present and has become a new hot field in machine learning after neural networks. However, the theory can not handle the small samples statistical learning problems on set-valued probability space which widely exists in real world. In this paper, Borel-Cantelli lemma based on random sets is proven on set-valued probability space. The Structural Risk Minimization (SRM) based on random sets samples on set-valued probability space is established.
Combinational RFID-based localization using different algorithms and measurements

This work presents the combinational object localization method for radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. The method allows to combine object position estimates formed by several base localization algorithms that use measurements of different types obtained on different interrogation signal power levels. Method efficiency has been evaluated for the case when three base algorithms - namely, the intersectional algorithm, trilateration, and the k nearest neighbors algorithm are used to process proximity, received signal strength (RSS), and read rate (RR) measurements. The experiment held in the indoor facility with the aid of the passive RFID system has shown that the proposed method achieves better localization accuracy than any single base algorithm based on measurements of any single type.
Vacationers’ norm-based behavior in developing environmentally sustainable cruise tourism

ABSTRACT The cruise industry has faced the greening issue. The present research was designed to explicate cruise travelers’ decision formation for choosing an environmentally responsible cruise product rather than a conventional cruise. To achieve the research purpose, we employed a norm activation theory (NAT) and extended it by including social norms and anticipated feelings. An online survey was used as survey methodology. The validated measures in the previous studies were used. Results of the measurement model assessment revealed that the utilized measures contained a satisfactory level of reliability and validity. Findings from the modeling comparison showed that the proposed extended model included a better ability to predict passengers’ pro-environmental intentions than the original NAT. Our findings further indicated that personal norm and ascribed responsibility played a crucial mediating role; and personal norm has the greatest criticality in the process of generating passengers’ intentions for selecting an environmentally responsible cruise. In sum, our objectives were sufficiently obtained. Our findings provided tourism researchers and cruise practitioners with a sufficient understanding of passengers’ eco-friendly decision-making process related to a cruise product.
What is the stock of the situation? A bibliometric analysis on social and environmental accounting research in public sector

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a picture of the state of the art in social and environmental accounting research applied to the public sector, highlighting different streams and the main gaps in current literature and providing input for future research.Design/methodology/approachA bibliometric method was used to analyse the characteristics, citation patterns and content of 38 papers published in international academic journals.FindingsThe findings show that the research on social and environmental reporting in the public sector is still at an early stage. Current investigations, although slowly on the increase, are still very few and localised. Most papers are about the reasons why public organisations report, what and how they report, but there are so many aspects that need to be investigated more in-depth or require extra validation in order to open new directions for future research, among which the relationship with and the differences between other non-financial type of reporting, namely ICR and IR.Research limitations/implicationsThe study shows some limitations, mainly related to the adoption of the bibliometric method. Indeed, it does not take into account books and chapters but only papers published in international and academic journals. This leads to exclude a significant part of the existing literature and other relevant contributions on the field.Originality/valueSocial and environmental reporting practices are quickly spreading in the public sector. The field is particularly interesting, given the specific connotations of this kind of organisations. However, the literature is clearly not exhaustive and there is not a comprehensive and systematic review of the state of the art on the subject.
Functional topography in cat area 18

Using closely spaced microelectrode penetrations, we have mapped the representation of the visual field and of several functional response properties on the surface of cat area 18. The representation of the visual field was anisotropic, with the magnification factor for vertical visual space being about 2–5 times greater than that for horizontal. The topographic anisotropy was paralleled by an anisotropy in the cortical point-spread function, a measure of the distribution in the cortex of cells with overlapping receptive-field centers. The spread of this distribution (measured as twice the standard deviation) was positively correlated with the magnification factor anisotropy, averaging about 0.6 mm along the mediolateral (M-L) axis and 1.2 mm along the anteroposterior (A-P) axis. Units with similar response properties were clustered across the cortical surface, but different response features were laid out in different ways. For units with orientations within a 90 degrees range, the clusters took the form of branching bands, with a center to center spacing of 1.25 +/- 0.13 mm. These bands ran from postero-medial to anterolateral across the cortical surface, roughly perpendicular to the 17/18 border. Units with similar preferred eye input were laid out in patches without a well- defined direction of elongation, and with a less well-defined periodicity that averaged 1.86 +/- 0.75 mm. Local correlations in direction preference extending over distances of 300 micron were found, together with frequent 180 degrees differences in the direction preferences of units close together. The organization of the map of orientation preference, and the way in which direction selectivity is overlaid on this map, is discussed in more detail in the accompanying paper (Swindale et al., 1987). No obvious structural relationships between the ocular dominance patches and the pattern of iso-orientation domains were observed. There were, however, obvious interrelationships between the topographic map and other functional response properties. The iso-orientation bands ran approximately perpendicular to the direction in which both the point-spread function and magnification factor were elongated. This will have the effect of maximizing the allocation of a full range of orientations by the cortex to each location in visual space.
Snoring and sleep apnea. A population study in Australian men.

Snoring and sleeping apnea are reportedly associated with morbidity. We used home monitoring (MESAM IV) to measure snoring and sleep apnea in 294 men aged 40 to 65 yr from the volunteer register of the Busselton (Australia) Health Survey. In this group, 81% snored for more than 10% of the night and 22% for more than half the night; 26% had a respiratory disturbance index (RDI) > or = 5, and 10% had an RDI > or = 10. There was a relatively low correlation between percentage of night spent snoring and RDI (rho = 0.47, p < 0.005). Subjective daytime sleepiness plus RDI > or = 5 occurred in a minimum of 3%. Obesity was related to snoring, RDI, and minimum SaO2 (all p < 0.0001). There was no relationship between age and either RDI or snoring, but increased age was related to minimum SaO2 < 85% (p < 0.05). Alcohol consumption was not related to sleep-disordered breathing. Smokers snored for a greater percentage of the night than nonsmokers (41 versus 31%, p = 0.01). We conclude that, in middle-aged men, both snoring and sleep apnea are extremely common, and in this age range both are associated with obesity but not with age. However, a high percentage of snoring is not essential for the occurrence of sleep apnea, nor does it necessarily indicate that apnea is present.