Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantification of plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA in patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND We investigated the clinical significance of plasma concentrations of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. METHODS Ninety-nine patients with biopsy-proven stage III or IV nasopharyngeal carcinoma and no evidence of metastasis (M0) received 10 weekly chemotherapy treatments followed by radiotherapy. Plasma samples from the patients were subjected to a real-time quantitative polymerase-chain-reaction assay. EBV genotypes of paired samples from plasma and primary tumor were compared. RESULTS Plasma EBV DNA was detectable before treatment in 94 of the 99 patients, but not in 40 healthy controls or 20 cured patients. The median concentrations of plasma EBV DNA were 681 copies per milliliter among 25 patients with stage III disease, 1703 copies per milliliter among 74 patients with stage IV disease, and 291,940 copies per milliliter among 19 control patients with distant metastasis (P<0.001). Patients with relapse had a significantly higher plasma EBV DNA concentration before treatment than those who did not have a relapse (median, 3035 vs. 1202 copies per milliliter; P=0.02). The consistent genotyping of EBV DNA between paired samples of plasma and primary tumor suggested that the circulating cell-free EBV DNA may originate from the primary tumor. Unlike the rebound of plasma EBV DNA concentrations in the patients who had a relapse, the plasma EBV DNA concentration was persistently low or undetectable in patients with a complete clinical remission. Overall survival (P<0.001) and relapse-free survival (P=0.02) were significantly lower among patients with pretreatment plasma EBV DNA concentrations of at least 1500 copies per milliliter than among those with concentrations of less than 1500 copies per milliliter. Patients with persistently detectable plasma EBV DNA had significantly worse overall survival (P<0.001) and relapse-free survival (P<0.001) than patients with undetectable EBV DNA one week after the completion of radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS Quantification of plasma EBV DNA is useful for monitoring patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and predicting the outcome of treatment.
Fixation of Brain Tumor Biopsy Specimens with RCL2 Results in Well‐Preserved Histomorphology, Immunohistochemistry and Nucleic Acids

RCL2 is an alcohol‐based fixative reported to preserve histomorphology and nucleic acids in non‐CNS neoplasms. We compared histomorphology, immunohistochemistry, DNA and RNA in brain tumor specimens preserved frozen at −80°C, and after formalin or RCL2 fixation. RCL2‐fixed and paraffin‐embedded (RCLPE) samples showed well‐preserved histomorphology and specific immunoreactivity comparable to formalin‐fixed and paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) specimens testing a broad panel of antibodies. In all the analyzed cases, high‐molecular weight DNA (up to a fragment length of 600 bp) was amplifyable from RCLPE samples, even after prolonged fixation times. Beta‐actin (ACTB) and O6‐methylguanine‐methyltransferase (MGMT) gene concentrations were significantly higher in DNA isolated from RCLPE specimens as compared with FFPE specimens. Testing of MGMT promoter methylation status using methylation‐specific polymerase‐chain reaction (MSP) yielded conclusive results in 8/8 analyses in RCLPE and 6/8 analyses in FFPE material, respectively. Amplification of three reference genes (ABL, RAR‐alpha, BCR‐1) from cDNA showed good RNA preservation in frozen and RCLPE tissue specimens and significant RNA degradation in all FFPE samples. In conclusion, RCL2 fixation of brain tumor biopsies does not seem to significantly compromise histological tumor typing or immunohistochemistry and preserves nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) at a better quality than formalin fixation.
Critical evaluation of the radiological and clinical features of adenomatoid odontogenic tumour.

In reference to the article “Critical evaluation of the radiological and clinical features of adenomatoid odontogenic tumour”,1 we would like to congratulate the authors for an excellent critical evaluation. The authors took great effort in evaluating multiple factors for clinical and radiological features of adenomatoid odontogenic tumour (AOT). We wish to address certain aspects of the radiographic features of AOT not presented in the article. It is important to note that there are many radiographic variants of AOT which should have been included in the radiological analysis, as well as in the discussion, by the authors. The benign (hamartomatous) non-invasive AOT occurs in three clinicotopographic variants: (1) follicular, (2) extrafollicular and (3) peripheral. The follicular and extrafollicular variants are intrabony or central tumours and account for 97% of all AOTs, of which 73% are of the follicular type.2 The extrafollicular variety has four different manifestations on radiographs, which can be regarded as E1–E4 [E1, without relation to tooth structures either erupted or unerupted; E2, inter-radicular, adjacent roots diverge apically as a result of tumour expansion (mimicking a globulomaxillary cyst); E3, superimposed on the root at the apex level (mimicking a radicular cyst) and E4, superimposed at the mid-root level]. 2 The differential diagnoses of radiolucencies that occur in the maxilla and mandible include a broad spectrum of cysts and tumours of odontogenic and non-odontogenic origin. Many can be diagnosed accurately based on the distinctive clinical, radiographic and histopathological aspects.3 The radiographic findings of AOT frequently resemble other odontogenic lesions, such as dentigerous cysts, calcifying odontogenic cysts, calcifying odontogenic tumours, globulomaxillary cysts, ameloblastomas, odontogenic keratocysts and periapical disease.4 AOT can mimic globulomaxillary cysts and periapical cysts (radicular cysts);2,4–7 both of these cysts should have been included in the differential diagnosis mentioned in the article. In addition, the authors have used radiological data of density, expansion, borders, locularity, size and impact on adjacent teeth to evaluate their cases, but the radiological views used by them for evaluation need to be mentioned. This is important to avoid confusion, as the authors have stated that panoramic radiography is often unable to demonstrate radio-opacities when calcification is minimal and intraoral radiography may be essential for correct radiographic interpretation of an AOT in the presence of minimal quantities of calcified deposits. Furthermore, one article stated that MRI can be useful to distinguish AOT from other lesions, even if it is difficult using periapical ordinal radiography.4
In vitro selection in resistance breeding of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa duch.).

Genetic resistance to pathogenetic soil-borne fungus Verticillium dahliae Kleb. was examined in two strawberry somaclones. Strawberry somaclones were obtained in sterile culture from runner tips of cultivars 'Merton Dawn' and 'Selva'. In vitro selection was performed with the use of homogenate of liquid cultures of Verticillium dahliae. Microplants of both somaclones were inoculated at stage of 4. Leaves. Disease symptoms were observed at 15. , 30. , 45. , 60. and 75. days post inoculation. Extent of leaf chlorosis was rated on a scale of 0-4. Under the controlled in vitro culture conditions a different response to infection by this pathogenic fungus was observed. After 75. days post inoculation the contribution of necrotic plants in somaclone of 'Merton Dawn' reached the value of 76%, whereas in somaclone of 'Selva' this value reached 86%. In control somaclones of 'Merton Dawn' and 'Selva' the contribution of necrotic plants after 75. days post mock-inoculation with sterile distilled water reached the considerably lower value of 13%. These results revealed that somaclone of 'Merton Dawn' was more genetically resistant to infection by V. dahliae than somaclone of 'Selva'. The observed response to in vitro infection caused by Verticillium dahliae in examined somaclones was similar in comparison with original cultivars. Furthermore, somaclonal variation induced in tissue cultured strawberry was sufficient to select variants that showed enhanced genetic resistance to Verticillium wilt caused by V. dahliae. In vitro selection can be efficiently used as an alternative program to conventional resistance breeding in strawberry.
Management of the Spectrum of Essential Hypertension: A 2013 Perspective

Management of hypertension: The association of hypertension with cardiovascular and renal disease is continuous and independent of other risk factors. Despite the increase in awareness and treatment of hypertension in the past decade, less than 50% of adults in the U.S have adequate blood pressure control. Every 10% increase in the treatment of patients with hypertension could prevent an additional 14,000 deaths. This article reviews the latest evidence guiding current hypertension management. The main classes of drugs used to treat hypertension are diuretics (thiazides, loop and aldosterone antagonists), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, beta-blockers. Alpha-adrenergic blockers and direct renin inhibitors are used infrequently and are mostly used as the 4th or 5th added agent. No consensus has been established on initial drug choice. In patients with compelling indications, such as ischemic heart disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and stroke, some classes have shown greater benefits. Widely accepted is that blood pressure reduction is the most important determinant in lowering cardiovascular risk when there is no indication for a particular class of drugs. Hypertensive patients with central and peripheral vascular disease, chronic kidney disease and diabetes should have a lower target blood pressure. In patients with mild primary hypertension undergoing monotherapy, with inadequate blood pressure control, sequential monotherapy may be attempted prior to adding another drug. Combination therapy should be considered from the onset in individuals with blood pressures that exceed 20/10 mmHg above the set target range. The combination of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor plus a calcium channel blocker has been proven to be superior to other combinations. Considering the impact that adequate treatment can make in preventing deaths, the challenge is to improve access to care of patients with hypertension.
Agonist Binding Properties for Recombinant Kappa Opioid Receptors Expressed in CHO‐K1 Cells

Pharmacological studies have suggested that there are at least three major classes of opioid receptors, designated p, S and K. These receptors differ in their affinity for various opioids, although there is a consensus quantitative rank order of ligand affinities across the p, Sand K binding sites. ' Until recently, only tissues or cultured cells expressing endogenous receptors were available for evaluating opioid activities. Confounding factors included the necessity of using several tissues andlor cells as model systems for different receptor types. Recently, several groups have reported the molecular cloning of the p, S and K re~eptors.2,~ The availability of the cloned receptors now allows for studies of single receptors with regard to pharmacological profile, structure-function analysis and regulation of expression. The aim of this study was to characterize the pharmacological properties of the cloned K opioid receptor and to investigate the receptor affinity of a novel benzomorphan derivative. To pharmacologically characterize the cloned rat K receptor, we expressed the cDNA encoding this protein stably in CHO-K1 cells. A 2 kilobase XbaI fragment of the cDNA coding for the rat kappa receptor (a kind gift of Dr. L. Yu) was cloned into the CMV promoter-based expression vector pRclCMV (Invitrogen) and transfected into CHO-K1 cells using a calcium phosphate procedure. Cells were selected for 2 weeks in medium containing 500 pglml of the neomycin analogue G418 (GIBCO). Positive clones of transfected cells were used for binding assay as de~cribed. ~. ~ The receptors were labeled with the selective K agonist [3H] U69,593 or with the non-selective opioid antagonist ['HI naloxone. The binding of these radioligands was saturable, of high affinity, and superimposable to that observed for the native receptors expressed in guinea-pig cerebellum membranes obtained as previously reported! Analysis of the saturation experiments demonstrated that ["HI U69,593 bound to the cloned K receptors with a K D of 2.36 nM and a B,, of 19.5 fmollmg protein (values are the mean of at least three experiments). Similarly, [3H] U69,593 bound to the native K receptor (KD = 1.98 nM; n = 3) while the B,,,, taken as an index of the receptor number, was higher (90.9 fmol/mg protein;
Murine monoclonal anti-DNA antibodies bind directly to glomerular antigens and form immune deposits.

The capacity of monoclonal anti-DNA antibodies, derived spontaneously from MRL-lpr/lpr mice, to bind directly to intrinsic glomerular antigens and form immune deposits was evaluated. Two antibodies, H130 (IgM-kappa) and H241 (IgG2a-kappa), bound to normal glomeruli in vitro. This binding was not inhibited by DNAase, but it was, in the case of H130, inhibited by the anti-idiotype anti-H130. Both antibodies also bound to glomerular digests on nitrocellulose. After i.v. injection, however, H241 bound to glomeruli and formed glomerular immune deposits, whereas H130 did not. Similarly, after i.p. injection of H241 hybridomas to normal mice, all mice developed glomerular immune deposits. In contrast, administration of H130 hybridomas, other anti-DNA-producing hybridomas, and other unrelated hybridomas did not lead to glomerular immune deposit formation. We conclude that certain lupus auto-antibodies can form glomerular immune deposits by binding directly to non-DNA antigenic structures that are normally present in extracellular locations within normal glomeruli.
Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II plays an important role in prostate cancer cell survival

It has recently been shown that the androgen receptor (AR) is the main factor that required for prostate cancer cells survival. We show that knocking down AR expression by siRNA induces PI3K-independent activation of Akt, which was mediated by calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII). We further show, for the first time, that prostate cancer cells express β, γ, and δ CaMKII genes, and the expression of these genes is under the control of AR activity: active AR in the presence of androgens inhibits CaMKII gene expression whereas inhibition of AR activity results in elevated level of kinase activity and in enhanced expression of CaMKII-β and –γ genes. Overexpression of CaMKII genes results in resistance to apoptosis induced by KN-93, a CaMKII inhibitor, or wortmanninn, a PI3K/Akt inhibitor, in combination with doxorubicin, thapsigargin and TRAIL. Moreover, overexpression of CaMKII increases secretion of prostate specific antigen and promotes cell growth of LNCaP in steroid-free condition. Our data show that there is cross-talk between AR- and CaMKII-mediated pathways. The results of this study suggest that CaMKII is an important player in prostate cancer cells ability to escape apoptosis under androgen ablation and facilitate the progression of prostate cancer cells to an androgen-independent state.
Performance and Reliability of Wind Turbines: A Review

Performance (availability and yield) and reliability of wind turbines can make the difference between success and failure of wind farm projects and these factors are vital to decrease the cost of energy. During the last years, several initiatives started to gather data on the performance and reliability of wind turbines on- and offshore and published findings in different journals and conferences. Even though the scopes of the different initiatives are similar, every initiative follows a different approach and results are therefore difficult to compare. The present paper faces this issue, collects results of different initiatives and harmonizes the results. A short description and assessment of every considered data source is provided. To enable this comparison, the existing reliability characteristics are mapped to a system structure according to the Reference Designation System for Power Plants (RDS-PP ® ). The review shows a wide variation in the performance and reliability metrics of the individual initiatives. Especially the comparison on onshore wind turbines reveals significant differences between the results. Only a few publications are available on offshore wind turbines and the results show an increasing performance and reliability of offshore wind turbines since the first offshore wind farms were erected and monitored.
Folate levels in psychiatric outpatients

This study examines folate in psychiatric outpatients. Fifty‐three outpatients with schizophrenia and 24 outpatients with depressive disorder assessed with the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry interview are included. Patients with schizophrenia had lower serum folate levels than age‐ and sex‐matched controls, while red cell folate levels did not differ. Serum folate levels showed a negative correlation with the Clinical Global Impression, disorganized dimension, and total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale score. Patients with depressive disorder had lower serum folate levels than healthy controls, but showed no differences in red cell folate levels. Only two patients with schizophrenia had red cell folate levels below the normal range.
An efficient rank-1 update for Cholesky CMA-ES using auxiliary evolution path

Covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategies (CMA-ES) is a powerful optimizer. In this paper, we propose an efficient rank-1 update for the Cholesky covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (Cholesky CMA-ES) using an auxiliary evolution path. It accumulates the average mutation vector corresponding to the current search direction, which is used to update the evolution path. It is used to update the Cholesky factor. It avoids to maintain the additional inverse Cholesky factor, and reduces the computational complexity in the update procedure to a half. Further, we experimentally show that the auxiliary evolution path approximates to the inverse vector of the evolution path in terms of inverse Cholesky factor in the procedure. We experimentally show that the proposed method achieves comparative or even better performances on the test problems.
On one-dimensional analysis of thermoelectric modules (TEMs)

A novel framework for the one-dimensional analysis of a thermoelectric module (TEM) in which controlled and uncontrolled sides rather than cold and hot sides of it are defined is introduced. Next, heat conduction in a TEM is considered within this framework. Then, the operating modes of a TEM (cooling, generation, etc.) are defined and a means to compute the operating mode from a minimal set of operating parameters is provided. Refrigeration mode is considered in depth to illustrate the application of the analysis framework. Finally, the analysis is extended to TEMs subjected to boundary conditions of the third kind. Novel aspects of the analysis are indicated in the Conclusions.
Challenges of Using Molecular Serotyping for Surveillance of Pneumococcal Disease

ABSTRACT Recent advances in the molecular identification and serotyping of Streptococcus pneumoniae are useful for culture-negative samples; however, there are limitations associated with these methods. We aimed to assess the value of molecular assays for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) surveillance in South Africa from 2010 through 2012. Nonviable isolates and culture-negative clinical specimens were tested for the lytA gene and, if positive, were serotyped, using real-time PCRs. Multinomial regression analysis was used to determine the maximum lytA cycle threshold (CT ) value useful for predicting the ability to detect a serotype for the sample. The χ2 test was used to compare the prevalence of serotypes between viable/nonviable isolates and culture-negative clinical specimens. Of 11,224 IPD cases reported, 1,091 (10%) were culture-negative samples and 981 (90%) of these were lytA positive. Samples with a lytA CT value of ≥35 were significantly less likely to be serotyped. A serotype/group was determined for 87% (737/844) of samples with a lytA CT value of <35, of which 60% (443/737) were identified as individual serotypes. The serotype prevalence did not differ significantly between isolates and culture-negative specimens. Although molecular serotyping added 7% (737/11,224) serotyping data, the inability to resolve 40% of samples to single serotypes remains a challenge for serotype-specific data analysis.
Special Checklist for Security Requirements in Software Development Site

Requirements in security area are not same with other research areas. Security-related requirements are listed into protection profile (PP). A protection profile defines an implementation-independent set of security requirements for a category of target of evaluations. Generally, PP contains functional requirements and security assurance requirements about the security of development environment for IT product or system and PP can applied to development site. This paper proposes some security-related check points for development site can be included into PP by analyzing ISO/IEC 15408 and ISO/IEC 21827.
Geotecnologías láser y fotogramétricas aplicadas a la modelización 3D de escenarios complejos en infografía forense

[ES]El estudio de la reconstruccion tridimensional de escenas y objetos para su posterior analisis es un tema objeto de investigacion por diferentes disciplinas. Una de las disciplinas en las que se hace necesaria la obtencion de modelos 3D es en la ingenieria forense, y mas concretamente en el campo de la infografia. La infografia forense es una tecnica que permite la reconstruccion virtual de diferentes hechos a traves de la informatica y el manejo de imagenes digitales. La gran ventaja que ofrecen las geotecnologias laser y fotogrametricas para la modelizacion de escenarios complejos en infografia forense es que son tecnicas no invasivas y no destructivas. Es decir, a traves de ellas quedara constancia documental de los indicios y evidencias presentes en el escenario, sin alterar en ningun momento sus posiciones espaciales ni sus propiedades fisicas, ademas de dotar de rigor, exhaustividad y realismo a la reconstruccion del suceso. En esta Tesis Doctoral se ha demostrado que la aplicacion de diversas geotecnologias tales como, las camaras digitales convencionales (incluyendo los propios ? Smartphones? ), los escaneres ? Gaming Sensor? y los sistemas de cartografiado de interiores moviles (? Indoor Mapping? ), son idoneas en la inspeccion ocular del delito para su posterior representacion grafica tridimensional. Mas concretamente, en esta Tesis Doctoral se presentan las siguientes contribuciones: - Se propone una solucion, basada en la integracion de la fotogrametria de rango cercano y la vision computacional, como una alternativa eficiente a la reconstruccion 3D de objetos y escenarios complejos para infografia forense, garantizando flexibilidad (trabajar con cualquier tipo de camara), automatismo (paso del 2d-imagenes al 3d-nubes de puntos) y calidad (resoluciones superiores a los sistemas laser) en los resultados. - Se desarrolla y valida una solucion tecnologica sencilla y de bajo coste basada en los dispositivos activos de escaneado ? Gaming Sensors? que permite el analisis dimensional y el modelado tridimensional de la escena forense a pequenas distancias. - Se testea y valida un sistema novedoso de cartografiado de espacios interiores mediante laser movil (indoor mapping), ideal en aquellos escenarios forenses complejos y de grandes dimensiones. - Se avanza en una estrategia que permite progresar en el paso de las nubes de puntos, ya sean laser y/o fotogrametricas, a los modelos CAD (Computer Aided Design), a traves de la segmentacion de dichas nubes de puntos en base al analisis de componentes principales (PCA-Principal Component Analysis), lo que supone una contribucion directa al campo de la infografia forense.