Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Defining the radiobiology of prostate cancer progression: An important question in translational prostate cancer research

Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignancies affecting men worldwide. High mortality rates from advanced and metastatic prostate cancer in the United States are contrasted by a relatively indolent course in the majority of cases. This gives hope for finding methods that could direct personalized diagnostic, preventative, and treatment approaches to patients with prostate cancer. Recent advances in multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MP-MRI) offer a noninvasive diagnostic intervention which allows correlation of prostate tumor image characteristics with underlying biologic evidence of tumor progression. The power of MP-MRI includes examination of both local invasion and nodal disease and might overcome the challenges of analyzing the multifocal nature of prostate cancer. Future directions include a careful analysis of the genomic signature of individual prostatic lesions utilizing image-guided biopsies. This review examines the diagnostic potential of MRI in prostate cancer.
In vitro translation in a hybrid cell free lysate with exogenous cellular ribosomes.

Cell free protein synthesis systems (CFPS) have been widely used to express proteins and to explore the pathways of gene expression. In the present manuscript, we describe the design of a novel adaptable hybrid in vitro translation system which is assembled with ribosomes isolated from many different origins. We first show that this hybrid system exhibits all important features such as efficiency, sensitivity, reproducibility and the ability to translate specialized mRNAs in less than 1 h. In addition, the unique design of this cell free assay makes it highly adaptable to utilize ribosomes isolated from many different organs, tissues or cell types.
TESTICULAR INFILTRATION IN ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA

Leukaemic infiltration of the testis in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a phenomenon which has posed some interesting and clinically important questions. In particular there appears to be a fairly wide variation in its incidence as published in different series of ALL trials for which only tentative explanations can be advanced: secondly it is uncertain whether the testis is or is not a sanctuary site which may require individual treatment. Secondary questions relate to the accuracy and value of biopsy and to the response of testicular infiltrates to treatment, especially radiation. Overt involvement may occur in any form of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, most commonly in ‘common’ C-ALL, but also in T-ALL and B-ALL. (There is also a high incidence in post-mortem studies of acute myeloid leukaemia in which disease, however, it seldom raises therapeutic problems during life.) Rarely it is present when ALL is first diagnosed, but most often it is a late complication and, as with meningeal leukaemia, the higher the initial blood blast count is, the earlier the discovery of testicular disease is likely to be (Eden et al, 1978; Nesbit et al, 1980: Pavlovsky et al, 1979). In a study where biopsies were done at the time of initial diagnosis of leukaemia, five out of eight boys with counts over 25 x 109/1 had occult but histologically demonstrable infiltration compared with none out of 19 with lower counts (Kim et al, 1981). Associated presenting features which may predict the likelihood of testicular disease are lymphadenopathy and, to a lesser extent, the degree of anaemia, thrombocytopenia and splenomegaly (the last association only holds where infiltration occurs after treatment is discontinued (Nesbit et al, 1980)). In the typical standard risk ALL patients, overt disease is not usually seen until the third year or thereafter and in one series the onset was most frequent 3-18 months after stopping treatment irrespective of its duration at about 2 or 3 years (Eden et al, 19 78). Insofar as the pattern of relapse in a single extramedullary tissue is relatively common either for the testis or the CNS but not for other tissues-liver, spleen, etc.-there is an inference that the testis may be acting as a sanctuary site similar to the CNS where cells are protected by some sort of tissue barrier.
Energy expenditure and physical activity in Prader–Willi syndrome: Comparison with obese subjects

Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hypotonia, suck and feeding difficulties, hypogonadism, small hands and feet, developmental delay, hyperphagia and early childhood obesity and a particular facial appearance. The obesity associated with PWS is the result of a chronic imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure (EE) due to hyperphagia, decreased physical activity, reduced metabolic rate and an inability to vomit. EE is affected by body composition as well as exercise. Individuals with PWS have a lower lean body mass (LBM) compared with controls which may contribute to reduced basal level EE. To determine the relationship among body composition, activity levels and metabolic rates, dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and a whole‐room respiration chamber were used to measure body composition, total EE (TEE), resting EE (REE), physical activity, and mechanical work (MW) during an 8 hr monitoring period. The chamber consisted of a live‐in whole‐room indirect calorimeter equipped with a force platform floor to allow simultaneous measurement of EE, physical activity, and work efficiency during spontaneous activities and standardized exercise. Participants with PWS (27 with 15q11–q13 deletion and 21 with maternal disomy 15 with an average age of 23 years) had significantly decreased TEE by 20% and reduced LBM compared to 24 obese subjects. Similarly, REE was significantly reduced by 16% in the individuals with PWS relative to the comparison subjects. Total MW performed during the 8 hr monitoring period was significantly reduced by 35% in the PWS group. The energy cost of physical activity is related to the duration, intensity and type of activity and the metabolic efficiency of the individual. After adjusting group differences in LBM by analysis of variance, TEE and REE were no longer different between the two groups. Our data indicate that there is a significant reduction of EE in individuals with PWS resulting from reduced activity but also from lower energy utilization due to reduced LBM which consists primarily of muscle. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Vestibular System Model for Robots and Its Application in Environment Perception

This paper builds a vestibular system model for AIBO ERS-7 robot based upon its 3-axis accelerometer. The model consists of three parts, posture calculation method, low-pass filter deriving smoothed acceleration signals, Oscillation Power (O.P.), a pattern for differentiation of surfaces, and its extraction mechanism. It fulfills three environment perception tasks correspondingly, slope detection, live pose estimation and surface recognition, by actual experiments on AIBO.
Establishing Business Controls for Electronic Mail Communications

Abstract The use of electronic mail (e-mail) in business is spreading rapidly; and in many organizations, the e-mail system is now the place for office gossip and other conversations unrelated to work. Although some of the information exchanged via e-mail is personal or frivolous, the system also frequently carries vital organization information. The “information mix” raises many moral and business issues that must be addressed. This article provides the tools to develop effective e-mail policies and controls for your enterprise, and examines the legal and privacy issues that must be considered.
Combinatorial splicing of exon pairs by two-site binding of U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle

A two-site model for the binding of U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (U1 snRNP) was tested in order to understand how exon partners are selected in complex pre-mRNAs containing alternative exons. In this model, it is proposed that two U1 snRNPs define a functional unit of splicing by base pairing to the 3' boundary of the downstream exon as well as the 5' boundary of the intron to be spliced. Three-exon substrates contained the alternatively spliced exon 4 (E4) region of the preprotachykinin gene. Combined 5' splice site mutations at neighboring exons demonstrate that weakened binding of U1 snRNP at the downstream site and improved U1 snRNP binding at the upstream site result in the failure to rescue splicing of the intron between the mutations. These results indicate the stringency of the requirement for binding a second U1 snRNP to the downstream 5' splice site for these substrates as opposed to an alternative model in which a certain threshold level of U1 snRNP can be provided at either site. Further support for the two-site model is provided by single-site mutations in the 5' splice site of the third exon, E5, that weaken base complementarity to U1 RNA. These mutations block E5 branchpoint formation and, surprisingly, generate novel branchpoints that are specified chiefly by their proximity to a cryptic 5' splice site located at the 3' terminus of the pre-mRNA. The experiments shown here demonstrate a true stimulation of 3' splice site activity by the downstream binding of U1 snRNP and suggest a possible mechanism by which combinatorial patterns of exon selection are achieved for alternatively spliced pre-mRNAs.
Use of Physical Forces in Bone Healing

Abstract During the past two decades, a number of physical modalities have been approved for the management of nonunions and delayed unions. Implantable direct current stimulation is effective in managing established nonunions of the extremities and as an adjuvant in achieving spinal fusion. Pulsed electromagnetic fields and capacitive coupling induce fields through the soft tissue, resulting in low‐magnitude voltage and currents at the fracture site. Pulsed electromagnetic fields may be as effective as surgery in managing extremity nonunions. Capacitive coupling appears to be effective both in extremity nonunions and lumbar fusions. Low‐intensity ultrasound has been used to speed normal fracture healing and manage delayed unions. It has recently been approved for the management of nonunions. Despite the different mechanisms for stimulating bone healing, all signals result in increased intracellular calcium, thereby leading to bone formation.
A Note on Approximating Curve with 1-Norm Regularization Method for the Split Feasibility Problem

Inspired by the very recent results of Wang and Xu (2010), we study properties of the approximating curve with 1-norm regularization method for the split feasibility problem (SFP). The concept of the minimum-norm solution set of SFP in the sense of 1-norm is proposed, and the relationship between the approximating curve and the minimum-norm solution set is obtained.
Analysis of the Role of Bleomycin Hydrolase in Antigen Presentation and the Generation of CD8 T Cell Responses1

Long oligopeptides (>10 residues) are generated during the catabolism of cellular proteins in the cytosol. To be presented to T cells, such peptides must be trimmed by aminopeptidases to the proper size (typically 8–10 residues) to stably bind to MHC class I molecules. Aminopeptidases also destroy epitopes by trimming them to even shorter lengths. Bleomycin hydrolase (BH) is a cytosolic aminopeptidase that has been suggested to play a key role in generating MHC class I-presented peptides. We show that BH-deficient cells from mice are unimpaired in their ability to present epitopes from N-extended precursors or whole Ags and express normal levels of MHC class I molecules. Similarly, BH-deficient mice develop normal CD8+ T cell responses to eight epitopes from three different viruses in vivo. Therefore, BH by itself is not essential for the generation or destruction of MHC class I peptides. In contrast, when BH−/− mice are crossed to mice lacking another cytosolic aminopeptidase, leucine aminopeptidase, the resulting BH−/−leucine aminopeptidase−/− progeny show a selective increase in CD8+ T cell responses to the gp276 epitope from lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, whereas the ability to present and respond to several other epitopes is unchanged. Therefore, BH does influence presentation of some Ags, although its role is largely redundant with other aminopeptidases.
Mapping neighborhood scale survey responses with uncertainty metrics

This paper presents a methodology of mapping population-centric social, infrastructural, and environmental metrics at neighborhood scale. This methodology extends traditional survey analysis methods to create cartographic products useful in agent-based modeling and geographic information analysis. It utilizes and synthesizes survey microdata, sub-upazila attributes, land use information, and ground truth locations of attributes to create neighborhood scale multi-attribute maps. Monte Carlo methods are employed to combine any number of survey responses to stochastically weight survey cases and to simulate survey cases’ locations in a study area. Through such Monte Carlo methods, known errors from each of the input sources can be retained. By keeping individual survey cases as the atomic unit of data representation, this methodology ensures that important covariates are retained and that ecological inference fallacy is eliminated. These techniques are demonstrated with a case study from the Chittagong Division in Bangladesh. The results provide a population-centric understanding of many social, infrastructural, and environmental metrics desired in humanitarian aid and disaster relief planning and operations wherever long term familiarity is lacking. Of critical importance is that the resulting products have easy to use explicit representation of the errors and uncertainties of each of the input sources via the automatically generated summary statistics created at the application’s geographic scale.
Chemical versus mechanical bioerosion of coral reefs by boring sponges - lessons from Pione cf. vastifica

SUMMARY Bioerosion by boring sponges is an important mechanism shaping the structure of coral reefs all around the world. To determine the excavation rate by boring sponges, we developed a system in which chemical and mechanical boring rates [calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dissolution and chip production, respectively] were measured simultaneously in experimental tanks containing reefal rock inhabited by a boring sponge. Pione cf. vastifica (Hancock 1849) was chosen as a model species to study the erosion rate of boring sponges. It is an abundant species in the coral reefs of the Nature Reserve Reef, Elat, Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea, reaching maximum abundance at 25-30 m. The rate of chemical bioerosion was determined from the increase in tank-seawater alkalinity over time, and the mechanical bioerosion rate was estimated from the total amount of CaCO3 chips produced over the same time interval. The measured bioerosion rate of P. cf. vastifica was 2.3 g m-2 sponge day-1, showing seasonal but not diurnal variations, suggesting that the zooxanthellae harboring the sponge have no effect on its boring rate. The experiments indicated clearly that per each mass of chips that P. cf. vastifica produces during its boring activity, it dissolves three masses of reef CaCO3 framework. Assuming that some additional boring sponges can use a similar strategy of bioerosion, these findings suggest that chips, the most obvious erosion products of boring sponges, represent only a small fraction of boring sponge bioerosion capacity.
An Empirical Investigation of Information Technology Sourcing Practices: Lessons From Experience

Following Kodak's landmark information technology (IT) outsourcing decisions in 1989, the IT outsourcing market grew to 76 billion dollars in 1995. As the outsourcing market continues to grow and as new contracting options emerge, the accumulated experiences of firms offer significant opportunities for learning. This paper builds on a previous collection of data on 61 IT sourcing decisions made in 40 U.S. and U.K. organizations during the period 1991 to 1995. This paper reanalyzed transcribed interviews from 145 participants. Using "expected cost savings achieved" as an indicator of success, five best practices were identified in the case companies. First, selective outsourcing decisions had higher success rates than total outsourcing or total insourcing decisions. Second, senior executives and IT managers who made decisions together had higher success rates than either stakeholder group acting alone. Third, organizations that invited both internal and external bids had higher success rates than organizations that merely compared external bids with current IT costs. Fourth, short-term contracts achieved higher success rates than long-term contracts. Fifth, detailed fee-for-service contracts had higher success rates than other types of fee-for-service contracts. The critical elements of three contracting models are described: fee-for-service contracts, strategic alliances/ partnerships, and buying-in of vendor resources. When the practices generated from the case studies are compared with current practices, we begin to understand which practices are proving robust and why new practices emerge. For example, in the participating companies, the rhetoric of a "partnership" was misused to describe contracts that are actually fee-for-service contracts. Today, practitioners who understand the inherent conflicts in fixed fee-for-service contracts are demanding what they perceive to be more favorable contracting options, such as flexibly priced contracts, performance-based contracts, and strategic alliances based on shared risks and rewards. This analysis reconciles some of the apparent discrepancies in past findings about the best ways to source IT.
Increased expression of specific recognition molecules by retinal ganglion cells and by optic pathway glia accompanies the successful regeneration of retinal axons in adult zebrafish

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in adult zebrafish can regenerate their axons. We show that successful axonal regeneration is accompanied by the re‐expression by RGCs of mRNAs encoding specific recognition molecules that are expressed at high levels in the larval retina but are down‐regulated in the adult. Message levels for l1.1 and l1.2 (two homologs of mammalian L1), n‐cam (homologous to mammalian N‐CAM), beta3 (related to the beta3 and beta2 subunits of mammalian Na, K‐ATPase), and tn‐c (homologous to mammalian tenascin‐C) were high in larval RGCs undergoing axonogenesis and low in adult RGCs. After an optic nerve crush, axotomized adult RGCs showed increased levels of l1.1, l1.2, and n‐cam mRNA expression, whereas the levels of beta3 and tn‐cmRNA remained unchanged. The optic nerve crush also induced the expression of some of these mRNAs in the optic nerve and tract where they are not normally detectable. This lesion induced up‐regulation by presumptive glia was observed for l1.1, l1.2, n‐cam and beta3 but not for tn‐c. The combination of a neuronal (intrinsic) response to axotomy with an environmental (extrinsic) response may be an important determinant allowing for the successful axonal regeneration. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Intraarterial cisplatin infusion in the management of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder

Thirty patients with bulky T3 or T4 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, clinically determined to be without nodal or distant metastases, were treated with a 48‐hour hypogastric artery infusion of cisplatin (CDDP) 75–150 mg/m2 1 month before tumor resection. Complications of the CDDP infusions were milder than those with intravenous (IV) infusion or rapid intraarterial (IA) infusion, although three lower extremity neuropathies were seen. The CDDP infusions reduced the primary bladder mass effectively, and seven of 16 cystectomy specimens were rendered PO. However, patient survival was clearly predicted by the nodal status. Of 15 T3‐4N+MO patients, 11 died at 15 ± 3 months. Methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (M‐VAC) chemotherapy was given if residual transitional cell carcinoma was found after IA CDDP. Of 12 P3NOMO patients undergoing cystectomy, eight are alive with no evidence of disease (NED) at 28 ± 8 months and no patient has died of transitional cell carcinoma. IA CDDP can effectively reduce bulky bladder cancer masses, but has no demonstrable effect on survival in N+ disease. It appears that adjuvant IA CDDP favorably affects survival in T3NOMO transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.
Bone turnover and hormonal perturbations in patients with fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVE Studies of bone turnover in fibromyalgia (FM) have, to date, shown conflicting results. Although most patients with FM are women, only a few investigations have paid attention to the changes of sex hormones in FM. Moreover, FM is often viewed as a stress related disorder, and abnormalities of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis have been found in FM. The aim of the study was to assess bone turnover using serum osteocalcin and CTx in patients with FM and study correlation between bone turnover parameters and parathormon and hormones of the HPA axis. METHODS A total of 81 subjects participated in this study: 41 healthy volunteers and 40 patients with FM. Serum osteocalcin, crosslaps (C-telopeptide: CTx), parathyroid hormone (PTH), testosterone, estrogen, prolactin, FSH, and LH were measured. The mean age of the study population was 49.5 (7.6) years (32-69) and the mean disease duration was 8.1 (12.0) years (4.5-30.7). RESULTS No difference between patients and controls were observed in serum calcium, phosphorus, creatinine, albumin, osteocalcin, testosterone, and urinary calcium. Patients had lower serum levels of CTx, estrogen, PTH and prolactin than controls and higher serum levels of LH and FSH with a significant statistical difference. No significant statistical correlation was observed between intensity of pain and fatigue and bone turnover parameters and PTH or hormones of the HPA axis. CONCLUSION Our study showed that patients with FM had low bone resorption and normal bone formation compared to a control group. This was not related to several hormonal perturbations observed in these patients and may reflect functional impairment as suggested in previous studies.
Pharmacokinetics of all-trans-retinoic acid administered on an intermittent schedule.

PURPOSE Administration of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) on a continuous daily schedule results in a rapid and sustained decrease in plasma drug concentrations. This pharmacokinetic study was performed to determine if administration of ATRA on an intermittent schedule could overcome the rapid decrease in plasma drug concentration and provide repetitive periods of higher plasma drug exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS ATRA was administered on repetitive cycles of 7 consecutive days of drug followed by 7 days without drug. On the days of pharmacokinetic monitoring, following an overnight fast, a fixed single oral dose of 40 mg/m2 was administered and frequent plasma samples were obtained over 8 hours. Patients had pharmacokinetic studies performed on the first and seventh days of the first week, and on the first day of the third and eleventh weeks. ATRA was measured in plasma with a reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay. RESULTS Plasma exposure to ATRA as measured by the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) decreased significantly during the first week of drug administration, from a mean of 145 +/- 26 mumol/L.min on day 1 to 18 +/- 4 mumol/L.min by day 7. Plasma ATRA concentrations at the start of weeks 3 and 11 of this every-other-week schedule were equivalent to those achieved on day 1 of treatment, with mean AUCs of 177 +/- 39 and 128 +/- 30 mumol/L.min, respectively. CONCLUSION An intermittent schedule of ATRA administration results in repetitive periods of exposure to concentrations of ATRA normally only observed on the first day of treatment. Phase II trials to evaluate the role of intermittent schedules of administration for ATRA are planned.