Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognostic biomarkers in resected colorectal cancer: implications for adjuvant chemotherapy

Knowledge of the prognostic role of biomarkers in colorectal cancer is limited and the routine determination for clinical practice is not warrented. However, for some of these markers, data are promising enough for further evaluation. This review addresses a comprehensive analysis of prognostic biomarkers in colorectal cancer. Data from published studies were collected and analyzed. A sufficient level of evidence suggests that DNA indexes, angiogenesis indicators and some genetic/biochemical markers identify prognostic differences in patients with early-stage colorectal cancer. High-risk patients could be the target for future adjuvant chemotherapy trials and one or more of these markers may identify prognostic subgroups with the same TNM stage category.
Ultrafast Three-Dimensional Surface Imaging Based on Short-Time Fourier Transform

A novel approach to achieving ultrafast three-dimensional (3-D) imaging based on space-to-wavelength-to-time mapping and short-time Fourier transform (STFT) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The fundamental concept to achieve 3-D imaging is to encode the depth information of a sample by interfering two delayed pulses that are reflected from the surface of the sample and an additional reference plane on the top of the sample. The interference pattern that contains the depth information in the frequency domain is converted into the time domain based on dispersive Fourier transform and then analyzed based on STFT. Thus, ultrafast 3-D imaging is achieved. The proposed approach is experimentally evaluated. The imaging of a sample with a depth of 1.5 mm using an ultrafast pulse laser source with a beam width of ~2 mm at a repetition rate of 48.8 MHz is demonstrated.
DPYD genotype-guided dose individualization to improve patient safety of fluoropyrimidine therapy: call for a drug label update

The fluoropyrimidine anticancer drugs, especially 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and capecitabine, are frequently prescribed for several types of cancer, including breast, colorectal, head and neck and gastric cancer. In the current drug labels of 5-FU and capecitabine in the European Union and the United States, no adaptive dosing strategies are incorporated for polymorphic metabolism of 5-FU. Although treatment with fluoropyrimidines is generally well tolerated, a major clinical limitation is that a proportion of the treated population experiences severe, sometimes life-threatening, fluoropyrimidine-related toxicity. This toxicity is strongly affected by interindividual variability in activity of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), the main metabolic enzyme for inactivation of fluoropyrimidines, with an estimated 3%-8% of the population being partially DPD deficient. A reduced functional or abrogated DPD enzyme is often caused by genetic polymorphisms in DPYD, the gene encoding for DPD, and heterozygous carriers of such DPYD polymorphisms have a partial DPD deficiency. When these partially DPD deficient patients are treated with a full dose of fluoropyrimidines, they are generally exposed to toxic levels of 5-FU and its metabolites, and the risk of developing severe treatment-related toxicity is therefore significantly increased.Currently, functional and clinical validity is well established for four DPYD variants (DPYD*2A, c.2846A>T, c.1679T>G and c.1236G>A), as those variants have retrospectively and in a large population study prospectively been shown to be associated with increased risk of fluoropyrimidine-associated toxicity. Patient safety of fluoropyrimidine treatment can be significantly improved by pre-emptive screening for DPYD genotype variants and dose reductions in heterozygous DPYD variant allele carriers, thereby normalizing 5-FU exposure. Based on the critical appraisal of currently available data, adjusting the labels of capecitabine and 5-FU by including recommendations on pre-emptive screening for DPYD variants and DPYD genotype-guided dose adjustments should be the new standard of care.
Cochlear function in Prestin knockout mice

Gross‐potential recordings in mice lacking the Prestin gene indicate that compound action potential (CAP) thresholds are shifted by ∼45 dB at 5 kHz and by ∼60 dB at 33 kHz. However, in order to conclude that outer hair cell (OHC) electromotility is associated with the cochlear amplifier, frequency selectivity must be evaluated and the integrity of the OHC's forward transducer ascertained. The present report demonstrates no frequency selectivity in CAP tuning curves recorded in homozygotes. In addition, CAP input–output functions indicate that responses in knockout mice approach those in controls at high levels where the amplifier has little influence. Although the cochlear microphonic in knockout mice remains ∼12 dB below that in wild‐type mice even at the highest levels, this deficit is thought to reflect hair cell losses in mice lacking prestin. A change in OHC forward transduction is not implied because knockout mice display non‐linear responses similar to those in controls. For example, homozygotes exhibit a bipolar summating potential (SP) with positive responses at high frequencies; negative responses at low frequencies. Measurement of intermodulation distortion also shows that the cubic difference tone, 2f1–f2, is ∼20 dB down from the primaries in both homozygotes and their controls. Because OHCs are the sole generators of the negative SP and because 2f1–f2 is also thought to originate in OHC transduction, these data support the idea that forward transduction is not degraded in OHCs lacking prestin. Finally, application of AM1‐43, which initially enters hair cells through their transducer channels, produces fluorescence in wild‐type and knockout mice indicating transducer channel activity in both inner and outer hair cells.
Enhancement of Power Quality with ANFIS controlled DSTATCOM in four wire three phase distribution system

Nowadays one of major power system problems is inadequacy of Power Quality (PQ) due to increased use of nonlinear loads and power electronic devices in industries. In this paper, Distributed STATCOM is proposed with Four-leg inverter to compensate the neutral current, harmonics and load balancing under unbalanced load conditions and nonlinear load in Distributed system. For controlling of four leg DSTATCOM instantaneous reactive power (IRP) theory is proposed. For DC link voltage regulation of DSTATCOM optimized PI controller and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inferences System (ANFIS) controller are used. Comparison with ANFIS controlled DSTATCOM with Traditional conventional methods also investigates in this paper. The performance of proposed modeled is analyzed with MATLAB/SIMULINK Software.
Magnetoresistive Sensors

Magnetoresistive sensors based upon the anisotropic magnetoresistive effect of ferromagnetic thin films are in wide use. A higher resolution is required of these sensors because of the higher performance of equipment for factory automation and office automation. In this report, the effects of the size of the MR stripe, of stress in the MR stripe and of noise posing problems for practical applications are summarized. In addition, the characteristics of rotary encoders with sinusoidal output, which can achieve higher resolution without a narrower magnetic recording pitch, are introduced.
Knee stabilization in patients with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE Individuals with medial knee osteoarthritis (OA) experience knee laxity and instability. Strategies aimed at muscle stabilization may influence the long-term integrity of the joint. This study sought to determine how individuals with medial knee OA respond to a rapid valgus knee movement, to investigate the relationship between muscle-stabilization strategies and knee instability. METHODS Twenty-one subjects with medial knee OA and genu varum and 19 control subjects were tested. Subjects stood with the test limb on a movable platform, comprising a plate that translated laterally to rapidly stress the knee's medial periarticular structures and create a potentially destabilizing sensation at the knee joint. Knee motion and muscle responses were recorded. Subjects rated the condition of their knee with a self-report questionnaire about knee instability during daily activities. RESULTS Prior to plate movement, the OA subjects demonstrated more medial muscle co-contraction than did controls (P = 0.014). Following plate movement, the OA subjects shifted less weight off the test limb (P = 0.013) and had greater medial co-contraction (P = 0.037). OA subjects without knee instability had higher co-contraction of the vastus medialis medial hamstrings than did those who reported having instability that affected their daily activities (P = 0.038). More knee stability correlated positively with higher co-contraction of the vastus medialis medial hamstrings prior to plate movement (r = 0.459, P = 0.042). CONCLUSION Individuals with medial knee OA attempt to stabilize the knee with greater co-contraction of the medial muscle in response to laxity that appears on the medial side of the joint only. This strategy presumably contributes to higher joint compression and could exacerbate joint destruction, and therefore needs to be altered to slow or stop the progression of the OA disease process.
Solving the Kinematics of the Most General Six- and Five-Degree-of-Freedom Manipulators by Continuation Methods

This paper presents a unique approach to the kinematic analysis of the most general six-degree-of-freedom, six-revolute-joint manipulators (Previously, the problem of computing all possible configurations of a manipulator corresponding to a given hand position was approached by reducing the problem to that of solving a high degree polynomial equation in one variable. -In-this-paper Jt is shown that the problem can be reduced to that of solving a system of eight second-degree equations in eight unknowns, it-is-fttrther-demrmstrate^-thafmis second-degree system can be routinely solved using a continuation algorithm. To complete the general analysis, a second numerical method—a continuation heuristic —is shown to generate partial solution sets quickly. Finally, in some special cases, closed form solutions wereobtained for some commonly used industrial manipulators. The results can be applied to the~analysis~of--both-six-~and-~fme'degreeuf-freedmn manipulators composed of mixed revolute and prismatic joints. The numerical stability of continuation on small second-degree systems opens the way for routine use in offline robot programming applications. \
Paravertebral Venous Plexus Distention (Batson’s): An Inciting Etiologic Agent in Lumbar Radiculopathy as Observed by Venous Angiography

LaBan MM, Wilkins JC, Wesolowski DP, Bergeon B, Szappanyos BJ: Paravertebral venous plexus distention (Batson’s): an inciting etiologic agent in lumbar radiculopathy as observed by venous angiography. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2001; 80:129–133.Can the paravertebral plexus of veins adjacent to the spinal nerve root within the narrow confines of the lateral neural canal be a collateral generator of radicular pain when no other evidence of spinal pathology is evident? A patient with complaints of intractable lumbar radiculopathy and an otherwise unremarkable clinical neuromusculoskeletal examination, as well as normal imaging and electrodiagnostic studies, is reviewed with special reference to symptomatic and paravertebral venous responses to both a Valsalva maneuver and dipyridamole infusion as imaged by magnetic venous angiography.
Family history of psoriasis and age at disease onset in Italian patients with psoriasis

1 Eriksson MO, Hagtforsen E, Lundin IP, Michaelsson G. Palmoplantar pustulosis: a clinical and immunohistological study. Br J Dermatol 1998; 138:390–8. 2 Michaelsson G, Gerden B, Ottosson M et al. Patients with psoriasis often have increased serum levels of IgA antibodies to gliadin. Br J Dermatol 1993; 129:667–73. 3 Woo WK, McMillan SA, Watson RG et al. Coeliac disease-associated antibodies correlate with psoriasis activity. Br J Dermatol 2004; 151:891–4. 4 Henker J, Losel A, Conrad K et al. Prevalence of asymptomatic coeliac disease in children and adults in the Dresden region of Germany. Dtsch Med Wochenschr 2002; 127:1511–15. 5 Kalayciyan A, Kotogyan A. Psoriasis, enteropathy and antigliadin antibodies. Br J Dermatol 2006; 154:778–9.
Helicobacter pylori CagA induces ornithine decarboxylase upregulation via Src/MEK/ERK/c-Myc pathway: implication for progression of gastric diseases

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) dysregulates the expression of various genes resulting in gastric precursor lesions and cancer. Meanwhile, ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is a key enzyme that catalyzes the formation of polyamines which are critical for cell growth. So far, the possible regulation of ODC by H. pylori and its virulence factors, and the associated mechanism in gastric epithelial cells remains undefined. In the present study, we found that cellular ODC protein was upregulated by wild-type H. pylori infection and ectopic expression of a cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA). As a negative control, there was no such effect by cagA-mutant H. pylori infection. Results of signal protein inhibitor treatment demonstrated that the Src, MEK (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase) and ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) pathway was involved. Moreover, when c-Myc was inhibited, the stimulatory effect of CagA on ODC expression was abolished. Clinically, a positive correlation between c-Myc and ODC expression was observed in patient-derived abnormal gastric tissues. These results implied that the Src/MEK/ERK/c-Myc pathway was required for CagA-mediated ODC induction. Finally, inhibition of ODC expression led to decreased foci formation of gastric epithelial cells before and after H. pylori infection, and ODC protein was over-expressed in precancerous gastric lesions and primary gastric cancer. Collectively, our findings provide new insights into the mechanism behind H. pylori-infection-associated gastric diseases.
Modular product architecture for productivity enhancement

Purpose – The aims of this article are to introduce a modularization framework and a method for the formation of modules.Design/methodology/approach – A methodological framework is presented to guide designers and engineers in the formation and selection of suitable modules in developing customized products. Detailed explanations of the framework are presented theoretically. This framework interacts with different product development participants such as resources, customers' preferences, design architecture for planning, and scheduling a custom‐built product. A new method is proposed with a case example to facilitate the formation of modules.Findings – This paper investigates the potential of the modularization framework, usable for prioritizing the components dependencies and creating required number of modules. It also explains the overall concept, usability and rules/methods for the module formation applied to product design, to allow a greater degree of freedom for the designer, and the opportunity t.
A Standardized Assessment of Functional Disability Predicts 1-year Mortality in Patients Undergoing Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt for Refractory Ascites

Goals: To determine the association between functional disability and mortality after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). Background: TIPS is a common therapeutic procedure for cirrhotic patients with refractory ascites. The conventional metric for periprocedure risk stratification is the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD), which uses biochemical parameters to predict post-TIPS mortality. It does not account for functional disability. Study: This is a retrospective cohort study of 83 patients admitted at an academic liver transplant center with cirrhosis and refractory ascites for the purpose of TIPS placement. We assessed the association of patients’ reported activities of daily living (ADL) on a scale of 1 to 21 before TIPS with a primary outcome of 1-year mortality. Multivariable regression to adjust for MELD and Child class was performed. Results: A higher ADL score or functional independence, was associated with decreased 1-year mortality when modeled as both a continuous variable [odds ratio (OR), 0.80; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.66-0.97; P=0.02) and a dichotomous variable (ADL 21 vs. <21; OR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.05-0.70; P=0.01). After adjusting for MELD and Child class, functional independence was associated with decreased 1-year transplant-free mortality (OR, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.05-0.77; P=0.02). An ADL score consistent with dependence (<21) was significantly associated with a 3.40-day (95% CI, 1.76-5.04) longer hospital stay, adjusting for MELD and Child class (P<0.0001). Conclusions: Functional disability is a predictor of post-TIPS mortality and length of stay after controlling for MELD.
High Performance NMOS Transistors for 45nm SOI Technologies

We demonstrate NMOS performance enhancements of up to ~18% for applications in a 45 nm SOI technology. The performance boost was achieved using high tensile-stressed UV film in conjunction with stress memorization techniques (SMT). For the first time we demonstrate that using a UV-cured tensile film allows a 6% performance boost on the SOI NMOS, achieving a drive current of ~1170 muA/mum (1250, non-self-heated) at Ioff = 100 nA/mum, Vdd = 1 V.
Social and psychological factors associated with willingness to test for HIV infection among young people in Botswana

Abstract In spite of extensive campaigns to promote voluntary counselling and testing through the radio, television, newspapers and mass rallies, testing for HIV remains a challenge in Botswana. Using a representative sample of 1,294 students from secondary schools and tertiary institutions, the study investigates the effects of socio-demographic background variables, family coherence, interpersonal relations, sexual experience and knowledge about sexual health, on willingness to test for HIV infection. The results show that willingness to test for HIV infection was negatively associated with being sexually active and having a number of partners. Indicators of family, coherence, psychological bonding and personal adjustment such as common residence among parents, emotional support from the family attachment to parents, happiness with life in general and satisfaction with life as a student were associated with willingness to test. The importance of sexual activity, number of partners, happiness with life in general, level of attachment to father and physical fights with other children were identified as the social and psychological predictors of willingness to test for HIV using multiple logistic regression. The study highlights the importance of continued education about voluntary counselling and testing among sexually active young people, especially those from poorer backgrounds in rural areas.
Development of Ultra-Miniaturized Piezoresistive Pressure Sensors for Biomedical Applications

Ultra miniaturized 0.69-French piezoresistive pressure transducers are designed and fabricated for biomedical applications. Silicon on insulator (SOI) and deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) technologies are used for the fabrication of the pressure sensors. A combination of SOI and DRIE technologies eliminates the dicing step and results in uniform diaphragm thickness. The dimensions of the final fabricated sensor die are 650 mum times 230 mum times 150 mum (length, width, thickness) with 2.5 mum thick diaphragms. Sensitivity of the sensors with half Wheatstone bridge configuration is determined to be 27-31 muV/V/mmHg.
Analysis of interference sensing for DAA UWB-IR systems

Underlay ultra wideband (UWB) systems have to be able to detect the presence of primary users operating in the same band for detect-and-avoid (DAA) operation. In this paper, the interference sensing capabilities of UWB impulse radios (UWB-IRs) are analyzed in the presence of multiple WiMAX systems. For that, the probabilities of false alarm and detection, and the percentages of time the UWB-IRs operate usefully and harmfully (causing interference to primary systems) are studied for different scenarios. The results presented in this paper are important for implementation of UWB-IR DAA.
Defining early lineage specification of human embryonic stem cells by the orchestrated balance of canonical Wnt/β-catenin, Activin/Nodal and BMP signaling

The canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling has remarkably diverse roles in embryonic development, stem cell self-renewal and cancer progression. Here, we show that stabilized expression of β-catenin perturbed human embryonic stem (hES)-cell self-renewal, such that up to 80% of the hES cells developed into the primitive streak (PS)/mesoderm progenitors, reminiscent of early mammalian embryogenesis. The formation of the PS/mesoderm progenitors essentially depended on the cooperative action of β-catenin together with Activin/Nodal and BMP signaling pathways. Intriguingly, blockade of BMP signaling completely abolished mesoderm generation, and induced a cell fate change towards the anterior PS progenitors. The PI3-kinase/Akt, but not MAPK, signaling pathway had a crucial role in the anterior PS specification, at least in part, by enhancing β-catenin stability. In addition, Activin/Nodal and Wnt/β-catenin signaling synergistically induced the generation and specification of the anterior PS/endoderm. Taken together, our findings clearly demonstrate that the orchestrated balance of Activin/Nodal and BMP signaling defines the cell fate of the nascent PS induced by canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling in hES cells.
Facilitating the Handling of Documents through Tree-Map Visualization

Applying visualization to manipulate a large volume of data constitutes a current demand of professionals and researchers. Visualization stimulates human perception and increases the understanding capacity. In literature, there are many studies on the use of visualization in different areas, as well as tools that make its use feasible. Aiming to facilitate user’s comprehension, the objective of this paper is to explore, in the treemap visualization, the combined use of the following functions: search, edit, data regrouping and hyperlink. This proposal was derived from two real problems: 1) to standardize a great volume of educational assessment questionnaires that could not be processed automatically; and 2) to analyze the dependencies among the TMMi (Test Maturity Model Integration) process areas, having simultaneous access to the text of all the ones related to a specific issue. The functions were implemented in the SeEd-Visual tool (Search and Edition based on Visualization), and organized in a process that aims to enhance user’s comprehension through a visual metaphor. The process and the tool were applied to the real problems and allowed their solution. The use of visualization enabled the solution of the real problems since it would be hard if done
Characterization of the Signal Peptide Processing and Membrane Association of Human Cytomegalovirus Glycoprotein O*

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has a structurally complex envelope that contains multiple glycoproteins. These glycoproteins are involved in virus entry, virus maturation, and cell-cell spread of infection. Glycoprotein H (gH), glycoprotein L (gL), and glycoprotein O (gO) associate covalently to form a unique disulfide-bonded tripartite complex. Glycoprotein O was recently discovered, and its basic structure, as well as that of the tripartite complex, remains uncharacterized. Based on hydropathy analysis, we hypothesized that gO could adopt a type II transmembrane orientation. The data presented here, however, reveal that the single hydrophobic domain of gO functions as a cleavable signal peptide that is absent from the mature molecule. Although it lacks a membrane anchor, glycoprotein O is associated with the membranes of HCMV-infected cells. The sophisticated organization of the gH·gL·gO complex reflects the intricate nature of the multicomponent entry and fusion machinery encoded by HCMV.