Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Survival of Patients With Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Colon and Rectum: A Population-Based Analysis

BACKGROUND: High-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma is a rare colorectal pathology described in a case series. The role of surgery in this disease has been questioned. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this work was to describe the incidence, management, and outcomes of neuroendocrine carcinoma in comparison with high-grade adenocarcinoma. DESIGN: This was a retrospective, population-based outcomes research study. SETTINGS: The Survey of Epidemiology and End Results database was used. PATIENTS: A total of 1367 patients with colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma (distinguishing small-cell and non–small-cell subtypes) and 72,533 with high-grade adenocarcinoma diagnosed between 2000 and 2011 were included in this study. INTERVENTIONS: Resection of the primary tumor was the main intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Median overall and 5-year relative survival were measured. Trends were expressed as the annual percent change in incidence and relative survival. RESULTS: The incidence rate increased for neuroendocrine carcinoma (annual percent change, +2.2%; p =0.035) and decreased for high-grade adenocarcinoma (annual percent change, –3.1%; p < 0.00001) during the study period. Relative survival at 5 years in neuroendocrine carcinoma was 16.3% overall and 57.4%, 56.4%, 26.3%, and 3.0% for stages I, II, III, and IV cancer. Small-cell tumors had worse survival (10% versus 19% for non-small cell). There was no improvement in the relative survival for neuroendocrine carcinoma (annual percent change, –1.1%; p =0.06) in contrast to adenocarcinoma (annual percent change, +0.7%; p < 0.00001). Patients with localized non–small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma had better overall survival with surgery (median, 21 months) than without (6 months; log-rank, p < 0.0001), whereas those with small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma did not (18 versus 14 months; p = 0.95). Prognosis in resected neuroendocrine carcinoma was worse with an increasing number of metastatic lymph nodes. LIMITATIONS: Histology and grade assignments were not centrally verified. Data on chemotherapy use, patient performance status, and comorbidities were unavailable. CONCLUSIONS: Neuroendocrine carcinoma did not benefit from advances in the prevention and treatment of colorectal adenocarcinoma over the past decade. Relatively poor survival in early stage neuroendocrine carcinoma warrants studies of adjuvant systemic therapy. The differences in outcomes between small-cell and non–small-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas indicate a need for histology-specific management.
Pyrobaculum ferrireducens sp. nov., a hyperthermophilic Fe(III)-, selenate- and arsenate-reducing crenarchaeon isolated from a hot spring.

A novel hyperthermophilic, anaerobic, archaeon was isolated from a terrestrial hot spring at Uzon Caldera, Kronotsky Nature Reserve, Kamchatka, Russia. The isolate, strain 1860(T), grew optimally at 90-95 °C and pH 6.0-7.0. The cells were non-motile straight rods, 1.5-5.0 µm in length, covered with surface-layer lattice. Strain 1860(T) utilized complex proteinaceous compounds as electron donors and ferrihydrite, Fe(III) citrate, nitrate, thiosulfate, selenite, selenate and arsenate as electron acceptors for growth. The sequence of the 16S rRNA gene of strain 1860(T) had 97.9-98.7 % similarity with those of members of the genus Pyrobaculum. On the basis of its physiological properties and phylogenetic analyses including in silico genome to genome hybridization, the isolate is considered to represent a novel species, for which the name Pyrobaculum ferrireducens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 1860(T) ( = DSM 28942(T) = VKM B-2856(T)).
Robust Extraction of Urban Land Cover Information From HSR Multi-Spectral and LiDAR Data

This paper focuses on the description and demonstration of a simple, but effective object-based image analysis (OBIA) approach to extract urban land cover information from high spatial resolution (HSR) multi-spectral and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. Particular emphasis is put on the evaluation of the proposed method with regard to its generalization capabilities across varying situations. For this purpose, the experimental setup of this work includes three urban study areas featuring different physical structures, four sets of HSR optical and LiDAR input data, as well as statistical measures to enable the assessment of classification accuracies and methodological transferability. The results of this study highlight the great potential of the developed approach for accurate, robust and large-area mapping of urban environments. User's and producer's accuracies observed for all maps are almost consistently above 80%, in many cases even above 90%. Only few larger class-specific errors occur mainly due to the simple assumptions on which the method is based. The presented feature extraction workflow can therefore be used as a template or starting point in the framework of future urban land cover mapping efforts.
Absence of sleep spindles in human medial and basal temporal lobes

Abstract All‐night recordings from subdural electrocorticographic (ECoG) electrodes on the human medial and basal temporal lobes were analysed to examine spindling activities during sleep. Subjects were three males and three females who were candidates for neurosurgical treatments of partial epilepsy. Subdural electrodes were attached to the medial and basal temporal lobe cortices, allowing ECoG and electroencephalogram from the scalp vertex (Cz EEG) to be recorded simultaneously during all night sleep. In one case, subdural electrodes were attached also on the parietal lobe. Fast Fourier transformation (FFT) analyses were performed on the ECoG and Cz EEG signals. No organized sleep spindles or sigma band (12–16 Hz) peaks in FFT power spectra were observed from the medial or basal temporal lobes of the non‐epileptogenic hemispheres during non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. In a case with parietal electrodes, organized spindle bursts were observed in parietal signals synchronized with Cz spindles. Although delta band (0.3–3 Hz) power from both the medial and basal temporal lobes fluctuated across each night as expected, sigma activity changed little. However, 14 Hz oscillatory bursts were observed in the medial basal temporal lobe of epileptogenic hemisphere in two cases and bilaterally in one case during not only NREM sleep but rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and wakefulness. From the present study we conclude that sleep spindle activities are absent in the medial and basal temporal lobes. Fourteen Hz oscillatory bursts observed from the medial or basal temporal lobe in some cases were not considered to be sleep spindles since they also appeared during REM sleep and wakefulness. These waveforms could have originated due to epileptic pathology, since they frequently appeared in epileptic regions.
Tangent bundle RRT: A randomized algorithm for constrained motion planning

SUMMARY The Tangent Bundle Rapidly Exploring Random Tree (TB-RRT) is an algorithm for planning robot motions on curved configuration space manifolds, in which the key idea is to construct random trees not on the manifold itself, but on tangent bundle approximations to the manifold. Curvature-based methods are developed for constructing tangent bundle approximations, and procedures for random node generation and bidirectional tree extension are developed that significantly reduce the number of projections to the manifold. Extensive numerical experiments for a wide range of planning problems demonstrate the computational advantages of the TB-RRT algorithm over existing constrained path planning algorithms.
Neocortical cell counts in normal human adult aging

Fifty‐one brains from clinically and neuropathologically normal individuals ranging in age from 24 to 100 years were studied to determine what changes occur in neocortical neuroectodermal cell populations as a function of normal aging. Twenty‐m̈‐thick sections from the midfrontal, superior temporal, and inferior parietal areas were examined with an image‐analysis apparatus with combined manual and automatic editing capacity. Neuroectodermal cells were counted, measured, and assigned to one of ten categories, which were later summarized in three: large neurons (<90 m̈2), small neurons (41 to 90 m̈2), and glia (5 to 40 m̈2). Determinations were also made of brain weight, cortical thickness, neuronal density, neuron‐‐glia ratio, and percentage of cell area. The results showed statistically significant age‐related decrements in the following values: brain weight, cortical thickness in the midfrontal and superior temporal areas, large neurons in all three areas, and the neuron‐‐glia ratio in the midfrontal and inferior parietal areas. The total number of neurons, neuronal density, and percentage of cell area were all unchanged. Increasing with age were the number of small neurons in the midfrontal cortex and glia in the midfrontal and superior temporal areas. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) Aging affects the frontal and temporal lobes more than the parietal; the salient change is shrinkage of large neurons with consequently increasing numbers of small neurons; (2) constant neuronal density coupled with diminished cortical volume (decreased brain weight and cortical thinning) indicate that there is some neuronal loss with age, but it is of much lesser magnitude than previously supposed; and (3) the number of glia increases with age.
Hyperorexia nervosa. 1976.

This brief report—the English translation of a German paper originally published in 1976 (Psychotherapie und Medizinische Psychologie, 26, 10–12)—describes a peculiar eating behavior as observed in neurotic patients. This remarkable syndrome, delineated as hyperorexia nervosa, shows a close relationship with the better-known opposite syndrome, anorexia nervosa. © 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Hybrid Neural Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control of Flexible-Joint Manipulators with Unknown Dynamics

In this paper, a hybrid neural fuzzy control scheme is proposed for the control of flexible-joint robot manipulators with unknown dynamics. The control strategy is based on a feedforward artificial neural network to partially approximate the manipulator's inverse dynamics. A fuzzy sliding mode feedback controller is also used for the online adaptation of the neural network-based controller. Simulation results of various scenarios highlight the performance and stability of the proposed controller in compensating for the highly nonlinear unknown dynamics of the manipulator under different dynamical conditions and external disturbances
“Catastrophic” pathways to smoking cessation: findings from national survey

Abstract Objective To assess the extent to which the prevailing model of smoking cessation (that smokers typically prepare their attempts to stop smoking in advance and that doing so increases their chances of success) is correct. Design Cross sectional household survey. Setting England. Participants 918 smokers who reported having made at least one quit attempt and 996 ex-smokers aged 16 and over. Main outcome measures Whether the most recent quit attempt was planned in advance and whether quit attempts made at least six months before resulted in at least six months' abstinence. Results 48.6% of smokers reported that their most recent quit attempt was put into effect immediately the decision to quit was made. Unplanned quit attempts were more likely to succeed for at least six months: among respondents who had made a quit attempt between six months and five years previously the odds of success were 2.6 times higher (95% confidence interval 1.9 to 3.6) in unplanned attempts than in planned attempts; in quit attempts made 6-12 months previously the corresponding figure was 2.5 (1.4 to 4.7). The differences remained after controlling for age, sex, and socioeconomic group. Conclusions A model of the process of change based on “catastrophe theory” is proposed, in which smokers have varying levels of motivational “tension” to stop and then “triggers” in the environment result in a switch in motivational state. If that switch involves immediate renunciation of cigarettes, this can signal a more complete transformation than if it involves a plan to quit at some future point.
Institutional Repository Characterizing uncertainty of the hydrologic impacts of climate change

13 The high climate sensitivity of hydrologic systems, the importance of those systems to society, and the 14 imprecise nature of future climate projections all motivate interest in characterizing uncertainty in 15 the hydrologic impacts of climate change. We discuss recent research that exposes important sources 16 of uncertainty that are commonly neglected by the water management community, especially, 17 uncertainties associated with internal climate-system variability and hydrologic modeling. We also 18 discuss research exposing several issues with widely used climate downscaling methods. We propose 19 that progress can be made following parallel paths: first, by explicitly characterizing the uncertainties 20 throughout the modeling process (rather than using an ad-hoc “ensemble of opportunity”); second, by 21 reducing uncertainties through developing criteria for excluding poor methods/models, as well as 22 with targeted research to improve modeling capabilities. We argue that such research to reveal, 23 reduce and represent uncertainties is essential to establish a defensible range of quantitative 24 hydrologic storylines of climate change impacts. 25
Nonlinear Optical Phenomena Induced by Intense Single-Cycle Terahertz Pulses

Recent developments in high-power table-top terahertz (THz) pulse sources enable us to coherently drive low-energy transitions into the nonlinear regime and to study fascinating nonlinear effects in various materials. This paper describes a tilted-pulse-front pumping scheme with a LiNbO3 crystal to generate intense single-cycle THz pulses. This scheme is capable of generating intense single-cycle THz pulses inducing strong spectral modulations in the excitonic and band-edge absorption of ZnSe/ZnMgSSe multiple quantum wells (MQW). Furthermore, it is shown that a 1 MV/cm electric field of a THz pulse allows us to excite electrons from the valence to conduction band of GaAs/AlGaAs MQW and observe a bright exciton luminescence.
Changes in melatonin levels in transgenic ‘Micro‐Tom’ tomato overexpressing ovine AANAT and ovine HIOMT genes

In animals, the melatonin biosynthesis pathway has been well defined after the isolation and identification of the four key genes that are involved in the conversion of tryptophan to melatonin. In plants, there are special alternative catalyzing steps, and plant genes share very low homology with the animal genes. It was of interest to examine the phenotype of transgenic Micro‐Tom tomato plants overexpressing the homologous sheep oAANAT and oHIOMT genes responsible for the last two steps of melatonin synthesis. The oAANAT transgenic plants have higher melatonin levels and lower indoleacetic acid (IAA) contents than control due to the competition for tryptophan, the same precursor for both melatonin and IAA. Therefore, the oAANAT lines lose the ‘apical dominance’ inferring that melatonin likely lacks auxin activity. The significantly higher melatonin content in oHIOMT lines than oAANAT lines provides new proof for the important role of ASMT in plant melatonin synthesis. In addition, the enhanced drought tolerance of oHIOMT lines will also be an important contribution for plant engineering.
Transgenerational effects of prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine

Sir, We note with interest the recent report in this journal by Painter et al. on the follow up of men and women born in the former Wilhelmina Gasthuis Hospital, Amsterdam, between November 1943 and February 1947. The authors claim that their findings ‘constitute the first direct evidence in humans that the detrimental effects of poor maternal nutrition during gestation on health in later life pass down to subsequent generations’. We were particularly interested in this claim as we have already published on the same topic. In our earlier work, we interviewed many of women studied by Painter et al. when they were on average 43 years. In a series of publications, we reported that women with prenatal famine exposure early in pregnancy showed a parity-specific effect on their offsprings’ birthweights, which could not be explained by differences in the women’s age at delivery, number of deliveries, or interpregnancy interval. At the time, we concluded that ‘there may be long-term biological effects, even into the next generation, of maternal intrauterine nutrition, which do not correspond to the effects on the mothers’ own birthweights’. Separately, we showed that the famine affected offspring birthweights through an effect of prenatal famine exposure on their mothers’ birthweights. It is puzzling that our previous studies and conclusions in the same study population were not discussed by Painter et al. We fail to see how the omission of this relevant work could be helpful to the reader. j
Effect of oxytocin on the survival of random skin flaps

Random flap transplantation is widely used to repair and rebuild skin soft tissue. However, such flaps exhibit poor survival. Plastic surgeons seek to improve flap survival. We explored whether oxytocin improved skin flap survival. Overlength random skin flaps (9 × 3 cm) were established on backs of 80 healthy male SD rats randomly divided into two groups. One group was injected daily with oxytocin (1 mg/kg; test group) and the other with normal saline (control group). On postoperative day 2, malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were measured. On postoperative day 7, the flap survival area was measured using transparent graph paper. Microvessel numbers were evaluated histologically by hematoxylin and eosin staining. VEGF expression was assessed immunohistochemically. Angiogenesis was evaluated via lead oxide–gelatin angiography and blood flow via laser Doppler flowmetry. In the test group compared with the control group, the flap survival rate and SOD activity were increased markedly, the MDA level was decreased, and according to hematoxylin and eosin staining, inflammation was significantly attenuated. In addition, the test group exhibited higher levels of VEGF and skin flap angiogenesis. Oxytocin improved flap survival rate by increasing microcirculation and angiogenesis and attenuating ischemia–reperfusion injury.
Chronic Performance of Steroid‐Eluting Epicardial Leads in a Growing Pediatric Population:

Patient size and congenital heart defects complicate pacemaker therapy in children favoring an initial epicardial approach. Steroid‐eluting (SE) epicardial (EPI) leads maintain stable, low pacing thresholds in the short‐term when compared to the nonsteroid (NSE) epicardial (EPI) leads. The purpose of this study was to evaluate chronic, 10‐year performance of SE leads in growing children compared with NSE EPI leads implanted during the same time interval. From 1990 to 2000, 35 patients (age 1 month to 18 year, median 3 years), 28 with and 7 without congenital heart disease (CHD) received 51 SE leads: 27 ventricular and 24 atrial. NSE leads were implanted in 27 patients (age 1–28 years, median 8 years), 24 with and 3 without CHD: 27 ventricular and 1 atrial. Pacing lead threshold, impedance, and energy were measured at implant and during a 10‐year follow‐up. Unpaired t‐test showed that impedance remained stable for all leads with lower mean values for the SE (376 ± 55 vs 443 ± 109 Ω) (P = NS) . The mean energy requirement for SE leads at 10 years (1.2 ± 0.9 μJ) was significantly lower than for NSE (4.4 ± 5.5 μJ) (P < 0.05) . At 2.5‐V output, chronic thresholds for SE leads did not significantly differ from implant values for atrial (0.08 vs 0.09 ms) or ventricular (0.08 vs 0.08 ms) sites. There were no differences in SE lead performances among patients with or without CHD. Fracture or dislodgement occurred in two SE (4%) and four NSE (14%) leads. SE outperform NSE EPI leads and show stable, chronic low thresholds over time in all growing children. (PACE 2003; 26[Pt. I]:1467–1471)
A general line tracking algorithm based on computer vision

This paper presents a general algorithm to track the line on the ground based on computer vision, which utilizes Raspberry Pi 2 to complete the image processing. The algorithm accomplishes image processing firstly, then recognizes the line by edge detection and scanning model. The proposed algorithm can be used in a variety of platforms including intelligent car system, robot platform, UAV platform and other mobile platforms. In this paper, the algorithm is verified by quadrotor platform and achieves great line-tracking effect by tuning parameters. Series of experiments show that the algorithm has great validity, robustness, and generality.
NK cells differentiated from bone marrow, cord blood and peripheral blood stem cells exhibit similar phenotype and functions

In the present study, we investigated the differentiation of human NK cells from bone marrow, cord blood and mobilized peripheral blood purified CD34+ stem cells using a potent culture system. Elutriated CD34+ stem cells were grown for several weeks in medium supplemented with stem cell factor (SCF) and IL‐15 in the presence or absence of a murine stromal cell line (MS‐5). Our data indicate that IL‐15 induced the proliferation and maturation of highly positive CD56+ NK cells in both types of culture, although murine stromal cells slightly increased the proliferation of NK cells. NK cells differentiated in the presence of MS‐5 were mostly CD56+ CD7− and a small subset expressed CD16. These in vitro differentiated CD56+ NK cells displayed cytolytic activity against the HLA class I − target K562. The CD56+ CD16+ subset also lysed NK‐resistant Daudi cells. Neither of these NK subsets were shown to express Fas ligand. Total CD56+ cells expressed high amounts of transforming growth factor‐β and granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor, but no IFN‐γ. Investigation of NK receptor expression showed that most CD56+ cells expressed membrane CD94 and NKG2‐A mRNA. PCR analysis revealed that p58 was also expressed in these cells. The role of CD94 in NK cell‐mediated cytotoxicity was assessed on human HLA‐B7‐transfected murine L cells. While a low cytotoxic activity towards HLA‐B7 cells was observed, the HLA‐DR4 control cells were killed with high efficiency. These studies demonstrate that cytolytic and cytokine‐producing NK cells may be derived from adult and fetal precursors by IL‐15 and that these cells express a CD94 receptor which may influence their lytic potential.
Mirk / Dyrk 1 B Maintains the Viability of Quiescent Pancreatic Cancer Cells by Reducing Levels of Reactive Oxygen Species

The kinase Mirk/dyrk1B mediated the clonogenic growth of pancreatic cancer cells in earlier studies. It is now shown that Mirk levels increased 7-fold in SU86.86 pancreatic cancer cells when over a third of the cells were accumulated in a quiescent G0 state, defined by Hoechst/Pyronin Y staining. Depletion of Mirk by a doxycycline-inducible short hairpin RNA increased the G0 fraction to f50%, suggesting that Mirk provided some function in G0. Mirk reduced the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in quiescent cultures of SU86.86 cells and of Panc1 cells by increasing transcription of the antioxidant genes ferroxidase, superoxide dismutase (SOD)2, and SOD3. These genes were functional antioxidant genes in pancreatic cancer cells because ectopic expression of SOD2 and ferroxidase in Mirk-depleted cells lowered ROS levels. Quiescent pancreatic cancer cells quickly lost viability when depleted of Mirk because of elevated ROS levels, exhibiting up to 4-fold less colony-forming activity and 4-fold less capability for dye exclusion. As a result, reduction of ROS by N-acetyl cysteine led to more viable cells. Mirk also destabilizated cyclin D1 and D3 in quiescent cells. Thus, quiescent pancreatic cancer cells depleted of Mirk became less viable because they were damaged by ROS, and had increased levels of G1 cyclins to prime cells to escape quiescence. [Cancer Res 2009;69(8):3317–24]