Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A phase II study of capecitabine (CAP) and pre-operative radiation therapy (RT) in resectable, locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).

3540 Background: Preoperative RT with c.i. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) improves local tumor control, sphincter preservation, and yields pathologic complete remissions (pCR) in 10-30% of patients (pts) with LARC. Capecitabine (CAP) is an oral fluoropyrimidine which is converted into 5-FU preferentially in tumor cells by the high intra-tumor activity of thymidine phosphorylase (TP). TP can be further up-regulated by RT. Moreover, CAP may mimic c.i. 5-FU via daily oral administration thus simplifying chemoradiation. METHODS Based on phase I data (Dunst et al., JCO 20:3983, 2002) a multicentric phase II study of CAP (825 mg/m2, twice daily, 7 days/week) with RT (45 Gy/ 25 fr. to the posterior pelvis followed by 5.4 Gy / 3 fr. boost to the tumor) was planned in resectable, LARC. Patients (pts) with T3 or T4, N0 or N1-2 disease were eligible. Surgery was scheduled 6 weeks after the end of CAP-RT and 4-month adjuvant CAP was also provided based on physician indications. The primary endpoint was to determine the pCR rate and secondary endpoints were to assess clinical response rate and safety profile of CAP-RT combination. RESULTS From September 2001 to July 2003, 53 pts (median age: 63yrs; ECOG-PS 0-1; M/F: 39/14) with T3 N0-2 (87%) and T4 N0-2 (13%) disease entered the study. All pts but 2 completed the RT as planned whereas 7 pts did not receive the entire planned dose of CAP because of toxicity (G 2-3 leukopenia, G 2-3 cystitis, G 2-3 skin toxicity). Overall, all the 53 pts are evaluable for clinical response and safety, whereas 51 pts are evaluable for pathologic response and downstaging (1 pt refused surgery, 1 pt was unresectable at operation). Complete or partial clinical response was 58% (31/53 pts) and tumor downstaging 57% (29/51 pts) with 12 pCR (24%). The most common adverse events were G 1-2 leukopenia, diarrhea, proctitis, occurring in 72%, 42% and 34% of pts, respectively; only 6 pts (11%) had G3 toxicity. No G4 toxicity was reported. CONCLUSIONS chemoradiation with CAP and pre-op RT appeared to be effective and well tolerated and it could replace c.i. 5-FU in LARC. Its favourable safety profile support a possible combination with other effective drugs. No significant financial relationships to disclose.
Correlations between cystic fibrosis genotype and sinus disease severity in chronic rhinosinusitis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients commonly develop chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The impact of the most common cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutation, F508del, on the severity of sinonasal disease remains inconclusive. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of CFTR genotype functional classification on sinonasal disease severity in patients with CRS.
Un-apriori: A novel association rule mining algorithm for unstructured EMRs

With the rapid development of hospital information technologies, more and more hospitals build electronic medical record (EMR) systems, which provides a comprehensive source for medical data mining and analysis. Most current EMR systems adopt a mixed structure. On the other hand, most data mining algorithms are designed for highly structured data. In this paper, we study the problem of interesting association rule mining on unstructured EMR data. We first analyze characteristics of unstructured EMR data by analyzing real in-patient department EMR of chronic occupational disease from a major hospital in Qingdao, and then put forward a novel association rule mining algorithm, called Un-Apriori, based on Apriori. Un-Apriori adopts a two-step preprocessing procedure for the original EMR data to resolve problems induced by the unstructured EMR data and satisfy specific requirement of Apriori algorithm. Taking asbestosis, a typical chronic occupational disease, as example we evaluate performance of the proposed Un-Apriori algorithm. Two types of experiments are implemented on the Hadoop platform, results and corresponding analysis are also provided. Experiments show that it is feasible and effective to apply data mining algorithms to discover latent association relationships or patterns hidden in unstructured EMRs so long as the reprocessing method is appropriate. Achievements obtained in this paper also provide valuable assistance decision supports for personalized therapeutic regimens and daily health managements of asbestosis patients.
Participant experiences of change in mindfulness-based stress reduction for anxiety disorders

ABSTRACT Aim To explore experiences of change among participants in a randomized clinical trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for anxiety disorders. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the subjective experiences of change for individuals with anxiety disorders after a course in MBSR. Interviews were analysed employing hermeneutic-phenomenological thematic analysis. Results Five main themes were identified: 1) Something useful to do when anxiety appears, 2) Feeling more at ease, 3) Doing things my anxiety wouldn’t let me, 4) Meeting what is there, and 5) Better—but not there yet. Most participants used what they had learned for instrumental purposes, and described relief from anxiety and an increased sense of personal agency. A few reported more radical acceptance of anxiety, as well as increased self-compassion. Conclusion Participants of MBSR both describe mindfulness as a tool to “fix” anxiety and as bringing about more fundamental change towards acceptance of their anxiety. The complexity of reported change corresponds with better handling of areas representing known transdiagnostic features of anxiety disorder, such as dysfunctional cognitive processes (including attentional biases), emotional dysregulation, avoidance behaviours, and maladaptive self-relatedness. This supports MBSR as a transdiagnostic approach to the treatment of anxiety disorders.
Randomised trial of early tapping in neonatal posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation: results at 30 months

EDITOR, Recruitment to the randomised trial of early tapping in neonatal posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation closed in January 1987.1 2 At that time, participating clinicians requested that the channels for randomisation remain open. They recognised that it would be some time before any information from paediatric follow up would be available to guide practice and argued that, in the meantime, the most ethical way to decide man-
Distributed channel assignment for interference-aware wireless mesh networks

The rapid success of wireless radio communication has shaped several aspects of our social and work lives. This success is still far from reaching its full potential: with the advent of the Internet of Things, future trends indicate an exponential increase of wireless devices for machine-to-machine communication. Due to the broadcast nature of the shared medium, wireless transmissions are potentially received by all network stations in the communication range of the sender. With an unsynchronized medium access, multiple transmissions may be active at the same time and thus interfere with each other. In consequence, multiple transmissions may collide at the receiver side and can not be properly decoded [1]. For this reason, protocols have been developed on the MAC layer to synchronize the medium access and thus reduce interference e ects [2]. One of these approaches in wireless mesh networks (WMNs) is channel assignment. The idea of channel assignment is to minimize the network-wide interference by utilizing non-overlapping channels for otherwise interfering wireless transmissions. This is feasible, since wireless mesh routers are usually equipped with multiple radios and commonly used wireless network technologies, such as IEEE 802.11, provide multiple non-overlapping channels [3]. Since IEEE 802.11 operates in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the dense distribution of private and commercial network deployments of WLANs in urban areas poses a new challenge. Co-located networks compete for the wireless medium, thus decreasing the achievable network performance in terms of throughput and latency. Therefore, an important issue for e cient channel assignment is to also address external interference. This task is not trivial, since the external networks and devices are not under the control of the network operator and their radio activity is therefore hard to capture. The contributions of this dissertation comprise the design, implementation, and validation of models and algorithms to enable wireless multi-hop networks to become interferenceaware. This includes a measurement-based interference model that determines e ciently and accurately the interference relationships among network nodes in large-scale network deployments. A distributed channel assignment algorithm has been developed that considers external sources of interference. The overall solution has been experimentally validated in a large-scale wireless multi-hop multi-radio testbed and has signi cantly increased the network performance with regard to the network capacity.
Electrographic alterations induced in limbic and sensory systems during induction of anaesthesia with halothane, methoxyflurane, diethyl ether, and enflurane (Ethrane).

In the present study of the effects of four volatile agents, diethyl ether, methoxy-flurane, halothane and enflurane on the brain, a definite spontaneous activity pattern of various subcortical structures indicating onset of analgesia could be established only for enflurane. It consisted of high voltage spiking activity separated by periods of burst suppression of various durations. Brief periods of high voltage spiking occurred with the other three agents, during induction, regardless of chemical structure. An increased susceptibility of the structures of the limbic system to the effect of halogenated compounds was demonstrated.
Effect of Astaxanthin on Activation of Autophagy and Inhibition of Apoptosis in Helicobacter pylori-Infected Gastric Epithelial Cell Line AGS

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection leads to the massive apoptosis of the gastric epithelial cells, causing gastric ulcers, gastritis, and gastric adenocarcinoma. Autophagy is a cellular recycling process that plays important roles in cell death decisions and can protect cells by preventing apoptosis. Upon the induction of autophagy, the level of the autophagy substrate p62 is reduced and the autophagy-related ratio of microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B (LC3B)-II/LC3B-I is heightened. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) are involved in the regulation of autophagy. Astaxanthin (AST) is a potent anti-oxidant that plays anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer roles in various cells. In the present study, we examined whether AST inhibits H. pylori-induced apoptosis through AMPK-mediated autophagy in the human gastric epithelial cell line AGS (adenocarcinoma gastric) in vitro. In this study, H. pylori induced apoptosis. Compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, enhanced the H. pylori-induced apoptosis of AGS cells. In contrast, metformin, an AMPK activator, suppressed H. pylori-induced apoptosis, showing that AMPK activation inhibits H. pylori-induced apoptosis. AST inhibited H. pylori-induced apoptosis by increasing the phosphorylation of AMPK and decreasing the phosphorylation of RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (Akt) and mTOR in H. pylori-stimulated cells. The number of LC3B puncta in H. pylori-stimulated cells increased with AST. These results suggest that AST suppresses the H. pylori-induced apoptosis of AGS cells by inducing autophagy through the activation of AMPK and the downregulation of its downstream target, mTOR. In conclusion, AST may inhibit gastric diseases associated with H. pylori infection by increasing autophagy through the activation of the AMPK pathway.
Emerging therapies for glioblastoma.

IMPORTANCE Glioblastoma is the most common primary malignant brain tumor, but despite multimodal treatment with surgery, radiotherapy, and temozolomide chemotherapy, the prognosis is poor, with a median survival of 16 to 19 months and poor quality of life throughout the disease course. New treatments are needed. EVIDENCE REVIEW Articles were identified through a search of PubMed references from March 2005 through January 2014, using the terms glioblastoma, glioma, malignant glioma, and brain neoplasm, as well as by search of the authors' files. Clinical trials were identified in the Clinicaltrials.gov registry. FINDINGS Advances in the understanding of the molecular biology of glioblastoma are being rapidly translated into innovative clinical trials, capitalizing on improved genomic, epigenetic, transcriptional, and proteomic characterization of glioblastomas as well as host factors, including the brain microenvironment and immune system interactions. Therapies targeting tumor growth factor receptors and downstream pathways, angiogenesis, modulation of cancer stemlike cells, cell cycle regulation, oncolytic viruses, new radiotherapy techniques, and immunotherapy, including vaccines and modulation of immune checkpoints (eg, programmed cell death 1 and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4), are under investigation. In addition to novel agents, techniques to circumvent the blood-brain barrier to facilitate central nervous system drug exposure are being developed. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Glioblastoma is an aggressive tumor with heterogeneous molecular features and complex host interactions, many of which are amenable to therapeutic intervention. Meaningful treatment advances will depend on identifying agents that target mechanistic vulnerabilities that are relevant to specific subgroups of patients; increasing patient enrollment into clinical trials is essential to accelerate the development of patient-tailored treatments.
What can we learn from N2 O isotope data? - Analytics, processes and modelling.

The isotopic composition of nitrous oxide (N2 O) provides useful information for evaluating N2 O sources and budgets. Due to the co-occurrence of multiple N2 O transformation pathways, it is, however, challenging to use isotopic information to quantify the contribution of distinct processes across variable spatiotemporal scales. Here, we present an overview of recent progress in N2 O isotopic studies and provide suggestions for future research, mainly focusing on: analytical techniques; production and consumption processes; and interpretation and modelling approaches. Comparing isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) with laser absorption spectroscopy (LAS), we conclude that IRMS is a precise technique for laboratory analysis of N2 O isotopes, while LAS is more suitable for in situ/inline studies and offers advantages for site-specific analyses. When reviewing the link between the N2 O isotopic composition and underlying mechanisms/processes, we find that at the molecular scale, the specific enzymes and mechanisms involved determine isotopic fractionation effects. In contrast, at plot-to-global scales, mixing of N2 O derived from different processes and their isotopic variability must be considered. We also find that dual isotope plots are effective for semi-quantitative attribution of co-occurring N2 O production and reduction processes. More recently, process-based N2 O isotopic models have been developed for natural-abundance and 15 N-tracing studies, and have been shown to be effective, particularly for data with adequate temporal resolution. Despite the significant progress made over the last decade, there is still great need and potential for future work, including development of analytical techniques, reference materials and inter-laboratory comparisons, further exploration of N2 O formation and destruction mechanisms, more observations across scales, and design and validation of interpretation and modelling approaches. Synthesizing all these efforts, we are confident that the N2 O isotope community will continue to advance our understanding of N2 O transformation processes in all spheres of the Earth, and in turn to gain improved constraints on regional and global budgets.
State space synthesis of two-dimensional FIR lossless filters

In the paper, the authors propose a novel algorithm for minimal orthogonal Roesserpsilas model synthesis for a given 2-D FIR lossless transfer function. The algorithm is based on a modification of two stage synthesis approach. It does not require to determine intermediate non-minimal realizations and hard to implement matrix factorization techniques.
Sitio Web de la Facultad de Estomatología de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Santiago de Cuba

Introduccion : la Facultad de Estomatologia de la Universidad de Ciencias Medicas de Santiago de Cuba fue fundada el 18 de agosto de 1963; es la segunda acreditada en el pais y la primera creada por la Revolucion. Objetivo : disenar un Sitio Web practico y funcional, eficiente, con buena navegabilidad, de facil acceso e interaccion con el usuario y visualmente agradable que contribuya a tener un nivel maximo de conocimiento e informacion actualizado a trabajadores, estudiantes, profesores y directivos de la Facultad de Estomatologia de la Universidad de Ciencias Medicas de Santiago de Cuba. Metodo : se realizo bajo el enfoque metodologico general dialectico materialista, con el proposito de favorecer el conocimiento de la estructura de la facultad, las actividades que se desarrollan en el proceso docente–educativo, bibliografia actualizada para estudiantes y profesores relacionada con la Estomatologia. Resultados : el Sitio Web se puede localizar a traves de la URL siguiente: http://instituciones.sld. cu/estomatologiascu/ . Ademas nuestro Sitio Web tiene alcance nacional e Internacional. Posee una frecuencia de actualizacion semanal. La informacion que se publica en el Sitio Web es facilitada por los jefes de departamentos. Se generalizan ademas los resultados de las diferentes actividades cientificas que se realizan. Conclusiones : se creo el Sitio Web de la Facultad de Estomatologia de la Universidad de Ciencias Medicas de Santiago de Cuba, valorado por los estudiantes, profesores, trabajadores, directivos y especialistas como util, valido y que le da salida al problema de la investigacion. Palabras clave: Sitio Web, Facultad de Estomatologia, Informatica
A pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model for the effect of L-1 arginine on endothelial function in patients with moderately severe 2 falciparum malaria 3 4

4 Janneke M. Brussee, Tsin W. Yeo, Daniel A. Lampah, Nicholas M. Anstey, Stephen B. 5 Duffull* 6 7 1. Otago Pharmacometrics Group, School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New 8 Zealand 9 2. Division of Pharmacology, LACDR, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands 10 3. Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research and Charles 11 Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia 12 4. Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 13 5. Insitute of Infectious Disease and Epidemiology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore 14 6. National Institute of Health Research and Development-Menzies School of Health 15 Research Malaria Research Program, Timika, Indonesia 16 7. Division of Medicine, Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin, NT, Australia 17 18 * Corresponding author. Mailing address: Stephen B. Duffull, School of Pharmacy, University 19 of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand, stephen.duffull@otago.ac. nz 20 21 Running title: A PK-PD model of arginine in malaria 22
The effect of diagnostic terminology on cognitive, emotional, and post-concussive sequelae following mild brain injury

Abstract Objective We sought to determine whether the diagnostic terms ‘mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)’ and ‘concussion’ result in differences in perceived cognitive, emotional, and post-concussive sequelae. Method A total of 81 healthy university students (79% female; 69% of Asian descent) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: mTBI (n = 41), or concussion (n = 40), and were instructed to simulate on a battery of cognitive (Neuropsychological Assessment Battery – Screening Module), emotional (Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory-II), and post-concussive (Rivermead Postconcussive Symptoms Questionnaire) measures. Results There were no significant group differences between expected cognitive, emotional, or post-concussive consequences. However, both groups received poorer scores than the normative data. Conclusions These results suggest that diagnostic terminology does not appear to influence anticipated recovery following mild brain injury. However, the presentation of information about the injury itself may impact recovery outcomes. This study provides preliminary support for the potential negative effects that may arise as a result of providing participants with non-evidence based information about mild brain injuries.
qDRIP: a method to quantitatively assess RNA–DNA hybrid formation genome-wide

Abstract R-loops are dynamic, co-transcriptional nucleic acid structures that facilitate physiological processes but can also cause DNA damage in certain contexts. Perturbations of transcription or R-loop resolution are expected to change their genomic distribution. Next-generation sequencing approaches to map RNA–DNA hybrids, a component of R-loops, have so far not allowed quantitative comparisons between such conditions. Here, we describe quantitative differential DNA–RNA immunoprecipitation (qDRIP), a method combining synthetic RNA–DNA-hybrid internal standards with high-resolution, strand-specific sequencing. We show that qDRIP avoids biases inherent to read-count normalization by accurately profiling signal in regions unaffected by transcription inhibition in human cells, and by facilitating accurate differential peak calling between conditions. We also use these quantitative comparisons to make the first estimates of the absolute count of RNA–DNA hybrids per cell and their half-lives genome-wide. Finally, we identify a subset of RNA–DNA hybrids with high GC skew which are partially resistant to RNase H. Overall, qDRIP allows for accurate normalization in conditions where R-loops are perturbed and for quantitative measurements that provide previously unattainable biological insights.
Spatial variation in disease resistance: from molecules to metapopulations

1. Variation in disease resistance is a widespread phenomenon in wild plant–pathogen associations. Here, we review current literature on natural plant–pathogen associations to determine how diversity in disease resistance is distributed at different hierarchical levels – within host individuals, within host populations, amongst host populations at the metapopulation scale and at larger regional scales.