Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CNS involvement in the non‐hodgkin's lymphomas

Instances of central nervous system (CNS) lymphomatous involvement occurring amongst 592 cases of non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) seen between 1967 and 1977 were reviewed. Lymphomatous complications of the CNS were found in 52 patients (9%): 24 with meningeal lymphoma, 20 with epidural compression and 8 with intracerebral lymphoma. Intracerebral lymphoma presented clinically as large parenchymal deposits of tumor unrelated to leptomeningeal disease. Ninety‐eight percent (50/52) of all patients had a diffuse histologic subtype and 82% (42/52) had either histiocytic or diffuse, poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma. Bone marrow involvement was an additional determinant of risk and aided in the selection of patients for possible CNS prophylaxis. Either meningeal or intracerebral lymphoma developed in 35% (6/17) of patients with diffuse histiocytic lymphoma and positive bone marrow biopsies. This subgroup was particularly felt to warrant CNS prophylaxis. Further diagnostic and therapeutic management regarding CNS involvement in NHL is discussed.
N-cholinergic facilitation of glutamate release from an individual retinotectal fiber in frog

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are localized on retinotectal axons' terminals in lower vertebrates. The effects of activation of these receptors by endogenous acetylcholine were observed under stimulation of mass optic fibers. This study was designed to determine whether endogenous acetylcholine facilitates frog retinotectal transmission, provided only the synapses of an individual optic axon are activated, and to evaluate the feasible extent of nicotinic facilitation in these synapses by applied agonist. To this end, the effects of cholinergic drugs on the extracellular action and synaptic potentials recorded from the terminal arborization of a separate retinotectal fiber (in layer F of the tectum) were investigated in vivo. Glutamatergic nature of retinotectal synapses was reexamined by treatment with kynurenic acid. Both kynurenic acid (0.25–1 mM) and d-tubocurarine chloride (10–15 μM) significantly depressed the synaptic potentials. Carbamylcholine chloride (50–150 μM) evoked a large augmentation of the synaptic potentials and a slight but statistically significant decrease of the action potentials. D-tubocurarine reduced the effect of carbamylcholine. Pilocarpine hydrochloride (50 μM) had only a weak effect. The paired-pulse facilitation of the synaptic potentials changed significantly under the action of carbamylcholine and d-tubocurarine. The obtained results suggest that the glutamate release from activated synapses of individual retinotectal axons is facilitated by endogenous acetylcholine via presynaptic nicotinic receptors. Under used stimulation conditions, this modulation mechanism was employed only partially since its activation by applied carbamylcholine could enhance synaptic transmission up to 2.8 times.
Association of coronary artery calcification with MDA-LDL-C/LDL-C and urinary 8-isoprostane in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE Oxidative stress has been implicated in the development of coronary artery calcification (CAC). However, there are few reports on this issue in Japanese patients with diabetes. In this study, we examined the association of the CAC score (CACS) with oxidative stress markers. METHODS The study subjects were 163 Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes (75 men and 88 women). The CACS (Agatston unit: AU) was measured by multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT), and the oxidative stress markers, such as the urinary 8-isoprostane and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and serum malondialdehyde (MDA)-LDL cholesterol were measured. The relationships between CACS and oxidative stress markers were statistically analyzed. RESULTS Compared with the CACS 0-400 AU group (n=132), the age, duration of diabetes, urinary 8-isoprostane levels, serum MDA-LDL-C/LDL-C and maximum intima media thickness (IMT) were higher, and body mass index and HbA1c level were lower, in the CACS >400 AU group (n=31). The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that a CAC >400 AU was independently associated with the urinary 8-isoprostane (>median) (OR=2.54, 95% CI=1.03-6.32, p=0.044), MDA-LDL-C/LDL-C (>median) (OR=2.62, 95% CI=1.07-6.40, p=0.035) and HbA1c (>median) (OR=0.32, CI=0.12-0.87, p<0.025). Focusing on oxidative stress, a higher MDA-LDL-C/LDL-C (p=0.026) and a higher urinary 8-isoprostane level (p=0.074) were associated with the CACS. CONCLUSION The CACS was found to be independently associated with the MDA-LDL-C/LDL-C and urinary 8-isoprostane levels in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.
Behavioral analysis of a fault-tolerant software system with rejuvenation

In recent years, considerable attention has been devoted to continuously running software systems whose performance characteristics are smoothly degrading in time. Software aging often affects the performance of a software system and eventually causes it to fail. A novel approach to handle transient software failures due to software aging is called software rejuvenation, which can be regarded as a preventive and proactive solution that is particularly useful for counteracting the aging phenomenon. In this paper, we focus on a high assurance software system with fault-tolerance and preventive rejuvenation, and analyze the stochastic behavior of such a highly critical software system. More precisely, we consider a fault-tolerant software system with two-version redundant structure and random rejuvenation schedule, and evaluate quantitatively a dependability measure like the steady-state system availability based on the familiar Markovian analysis. In numerical examples, we examine the dependence of two system diversity techniques; design and environment diversity techniques, on the system dependability measure.
Firewall Based Scheme to Prevent GPRS Overbilling

The lack of inherent security in the GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP) leaves security vulnerabilities in GPRS networks. A novel scheme to defend the network against overbilling is proposed. The scheme only requires a dynamic memory in a GTP firewall to store some information flow such as tunnel ID. It needs not work jointly with an extra firewall at the Gi port as in some existing solutions.
Multiple origins of deep-sea Asellota (Crustacea: Isopoda) from shallow waters revealed by molecular data

The Asellota are a highly variable group of Isopoda with many species in freshwater and marine shallow-water environments. However, in the deep sea, they show their most impressive radiation with a broad range of astonishing morphological adaptations and bizarre body forms. Nevertheless, the evolution and phylogeny of the deep-sea Asellota are poorly known because of difficulties in scoring morphological characters. In this study, the molecular phylogeny of the Asellota is evaluated for 15 marine shallow-water species and 101 deep-sea species, using complete 18S and partial 28S rDNA gene sequences. Our molecular data support the monophyly of most deep-sea families and give evidence for a multiple colonization of the deep sea by at least four major lineages of asellote isopods. According to our molecular data, one of these lineages indicates an impressive radiation in the deep sea. Furthermore, the present study rejects the monophyly of the family Janiridae, a group of plesiomorphic shallow-water Asellota, and several shallow-water and deep-sea genera (Acanthaspidia, Ianthopsis, Haploniscus, Echinozone, Eurycope, Munnopsurus and Syneurycope).
Other Paradigms: Growth Rate Constants and Tumor Burden Determined Using Computed Tomography Data Correlate Strongly With the Overall Survival of Patients With Renal Cell Carcinoma

In solid tumors, where curative therapies still elude oncologists, novel paradigms are needed to assess the efficacy of new therapies and those already approved. We used radiologic measurements obtained in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma enrolled in a phase II study of the epothilone B analog, ixabepilone (Ixempra), to address this issue. Using a novel 2-phase mathematical equation, we used the radiologic measurements to estimate the concomitant rates of tumor regression and growth (regression and growth rate constants). Eighty-one patients were enrolled on the ixabepilone trial at the time of this analysis. Growth rate constants were determined using computed tomography measurements obtained exclusively while a patient was enrolled on study. The growth rate constants of renal cell carcinomas treated with ixabepilone were significantly reduced compared with those of tumors in patients who received placebo in a previous trial. Furthermore, a correlation with overall survival was found for both the growth rate constant and the initial tumor burden; and this correlation was even stronger when both the growth rate constant and the initial tumor burden were combined. The readily amenable mathematical model described herein has potential applications to many tumor types that can be assessed with imaging modalities. Because the growth rate constant seems to be a surrogate for survival, assessment could aid in the evaluation of relative efficacies of different therapies and perhaps in assessing the potential individual benefit of an experimental therapy.
Utility of CD26 in flow cytometric immunophenotyping of T‐cell lymphomas in tissue and body fluid specimens

CD26 is expressed by most CD4+ T cells in normal peripheral blood specimens. Neoplastic T cells are frequently CD26− in mycosis fungoides/Sezary syndrome involving the peripheral blood. However, CD26 expression by reactive and neoplastic T cells in solid tissues and body fluids has not been fully characterized by flow cytometry (FC).
Test anxiety versus academic skills: a comparison of two alternative models for predicting performance in a statistics exam.

BACKGROUND Two competing theoretical models to explain academic performance were proposed. The interference model stresses the detrimental effect of task-irrelevant thoughts during the test-taking situation whereas the deficit model suggests Study Habits and domain-specific skills as main predictors of test performance. AIMS The study compares the two models by determining the relative contribution of Test Anxiety, Study Habits, and Maths Skill to performance in a statistics exam. SAMPLE Sixty-six undergraduate students who were enrolled in the first semester of two parallel introductory statistic courses participated in the study. METHOD Hierarchical regression analyses were performed on the performance in the final statistics exam. The unique variance attributable to Test Anxiety, Study Habits, and Maths Skill was calculated. RESULTS Both Maths Skill and Test Anxiety added unique variance in explaining performance, whereas Study Habits did not. Although Maths Skill emerged as relatively more important than Test Anxiety, a purely deficit-based account nevertheless appears untenable because interfering effects of Test Anxiety during the examination also contributed an important portion of variance. CONCLUSIONS It is recommended that cognitive-attentional accounts stressing test anxiety be supplemented by a deficit formulation, and that multimodal counselling address both Test Anxiety and skill deficits. COMMENT Methodological problems in investigating the causal relationship between skill deficits, anxiety, and performance are discussed.
Construction and Characterization of Soft-Supported Lipid Bilayer Membranes for Biosensors Application

A model cell membrane can be ingeniously used to mimic biological processes with wide applications in the biomedical field. For instance, a model cell membrane can be used as a functionalized element integrated to a sensor for identification of specific proteins or other molecules in a biofluid. A special characteristic of the model membrane described in this work is the fluidic or surface mobility feature given by a thin film of grafted polymer that serves as a cushion layer to support lipid bilayers. Lipid bilayers were deposited on a polyethylene glycol (PEG) thin film over a polished glass substrate using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Topographical characterization of the bilayers was accomplished using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results revealed that the grafted polymeric PEG cushion layer confers mobility to the model membrane
Randomized Trial of Reduced-Nicotine Standards for Cigarettes.

BACKGROUND The Food and Drug Administration can set standards that reduce the nicotine content of cigarettes. METHODS We conducted a double-blind, parallel, randomized clinical trial between June 2013 and July 2014 at 10 sites. Eligibility criteria included an age of 18 years or older, smoking of five or more cigarettes per day, and no current interest in quitting smoking. Participants were randomly assigned to smoke for 6 weeks either their usual brand of cigarettes or one of six types of investigational cigarettes, provided free. The investigational cigarettes had nicotine content ranging from 15.8 mg per gram of tobacco (typical of commercial brands) to 0.4 mg per gram. The primary outcome was the number of cigarettes smoked per day during week 6. RESULTS A total of 840 participants underwent randomization, and 780 completed the 6-week study. During week 6, the average number of cigarettes smoked per day was lower for participants randomly assigned to cigarettes containing 2.4, 1.3, or 0.4 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco (16.5, 16.3, and 14.9 cigarettes, respectively) than for participants randomly assigned to their usual brand or to cigarettes containing 15.8 mg per gram (22.2 and 21.3 cigarettes, respectively; P<0.001). Participants assigned to cigarettes with 5.2 mg per gram smoked an average of 20.8 cigarettes per day, which did not differ significantly from the average number among those who smoked control cigarettes. Cigarettes with lower nicotine content, as compared with control cigarettes, reduced exposure to and dependence on nicotine, as well as craving during abstinence from smoking, without significantly increasing the expired carbon monoxide level or total puff volume, suggesting minimal compensation. Adverse events were generally mild and similar among groups. CONCLUSIONS In this 6-week study, reduced-nicotine cigarettes versus standard-nicotine cigarettes reduced nicotine exposure and dependence and the number of cigarettes smoked. (Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01681875.).
Experimental infection of Aphanomyces invadans and susceptibility in seven species of tropical fish

Aim: Epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) causes by aquatic oomycete fungus, Aphanomyces invadans is a dangerous fish disease of a wide range of fresh and brackish water, wild and farmed fish throughout the world. The objective of the present study was to determine the susceptibility of a number of tropical fish species to the EUS and compare the severity of infection between experimental groups. Materials and Methods: Snakehead, Channa striata (Bloch, 1793); snakeskin gourami, Trichopodus pectoralis (Regan, 1910); koi carp, Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758); broadhead catfish, Clarias macrocephalus (Günther, 1864); goldfish, Carassius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758); climbing perch, Anabas testudineus (Bloch, 1792); and Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) were challenged by intramuscular injection using zoospores of Aphanomyces invadans (NJM9701). The infected fish skins and muscles were examined for EUS histopathological characteristics, and the results on the severity of lesions and mortality were analyzed using SPSS program. Results: All zoospore-injected fish were shown to be susceptible to the EUS infection except Nile tilapia. Although, the general histopathological pattern was similar in the zoospore-injected group, but there were some variation in granulomatous reaction, that is the presence or absence of giant cells, and time of mortality were detected. The result of statistical analysis showed that there was a significant difference between species, (c2=145.11 and p<0.01). Conclusion: Gourami, koi carp, and catfish were demonstrated to be highly susceptible while goldfish and climbing perch were found to be moderately susceptible to the EUS infection. These findings suggested that the cellular response of fish to mycotic infection and granulomatous reaction varied in different fish species, which could not be an indicator of susceptibility or resistant to the EUS itself, although it was shown that the granulation rate and the level of maturity or solidification (consolidation of granulomas) were higher in resistant fish.
Shifting the balance of the Housing First debate

Early Housing First literature, which draws almost entirely upon evaluations in the model’s country of origin, the United States (US), provides a very positive account of its effectiveness for chronically homeless people with severe mental illness. It is widely agreed that the housing retention outcomes documented are highly impressive. Such outcomes, combined with the apparent cost-effectiveness of Housing First in the US, have inspired its rapid replication across Europe. In some contexts the championing of Housing First as a service response has arguably been quite ‘evangelical’ in tone (Johnsen and Texieria, 2012).
Pretransplant donor‐specific anti‐HLA antibodies as predictors of early allograft rejection in ABO‐compatible liver transplantation

The significance of preexisting donor‐specific HLA antibodies (HLA‐DSAs) for liver allograft function is unclear. Our previous studies have shown that humoral alloreactivity frequently accompanies acute cellular rejection (ACR). In the present study, we set out to determine whether pretransplant HLA‐DSAs correlate with clinically significant ACR in the first 90 days after transplantation and, if so, to determine their predictive values. Class I HLA‐DSAs and class II HLA‐DSAs were determined by single‐antigen bead flow cytometry for 113 consecutive adult transplants. A statistical analysis was performed for data from 109 consecutive patients with graft survival greater than or equal to 90 days. All patients who developed biochemical graft dysfunction underwent liver biopsy for hematoxylin‐eosin and complement component 4d staining. Cox proportional hazards models and associated hazard ratios revealed a significant association of pretransplant HLA‐DSAs with clinically significant ACR: this association started with a mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) as low as 300 for both class I (hazard ratio = 2.7, P < 0.01) and class II (hazard ratio = 6.0, P < 0.01). Pretransplant HLA‐DSAs were associated with an increased risk of ACR: P < 0.01 for class I (42% versus 18%), P < 0.001 for class II (37% versus 7%), and P < 0.001 for either class I or II (36% versus 3%). Class I or II HLA‐DSAs with an MFI ≥ 1000 had the best positive predictive value for clinically significant ACR at 46%, whereas class I or II HLA‐DSAs with an MFI ≥ 300 had the best negative predictive value at 97.1%. Although our study was based on consecutive patients, it was limited by the relatively low number of single‐center subjects. In conclusion, the present study indicates that pretransplant HLA‐DSAs, even at low levels of allosensitization, correlate with the risk of clinically significant ACR. Our findings suggest that anti–human leukocyte antigen antibodies could serve as donor‐specific markers of immunoreactivity to the liver graft. Liver Transpl 19:1132‐1141, 2013. © 2013 AASLD.
Objective structured clinical examination compared with other forms of student assessment.

Two hundred and twenty nine final year medical students were assessed in paediatrics using an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and a traditional viva voce examination, and the results were compared with other assessments of the students made during and at the end of the undergraduate course. Results of the OSCE correlated positively with other forms of assessment and more strongly than the viva voce examination. There was little correlation between the OSCE and viva results. Eighty per cent of students felt the OSCE to be a fairer system than other examinations and all external examiners commented favourably on it. An OSCE is an acceptable alternative to traditional means of examination in paediatrics and may be superior in certain aspects.
BELIA: bandwidth estimate-based link increase algorithm for MPTCP

As a set of extensions to the regular Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), Multipath TCP (MPTCP) enables the multi-homed devices to access one data stream through multiple paths. MPTCP congestion window control is the crucial part of maintaining the fair network resource allocation, especially in the coexist scene of MPTCP applications and regular TCP applications. However, the current MPTCP congestion window control is facing two major problems: (i) the lack of the lost-packet detections, and (ii) the lack of the analysis mechanisms on the through-load relationships. These two problems combined may affect the accuracy of the congestion window allocations and the performance of MPTCP. In this study, the authors propose a bandwidth estimate-based link increase algorithm (BELIA). With the analysis of the link congestion occurrence mechanisms, they utilise a batch filter to estimate the real bandwidth of the links and define the link condition set C r to demonstrate the possibility of the congestion occurrence. For every loss, BELIA decides whether to cut window size off referring to the bandwidth estimates and C r . Hence, they proved that BELIA satisfies three design goals of MPTCP. Moreover, the authors' simulations show that BELIA performs better than some typical MPTCP congestion control algorithms under the same circumstances.
Embedding fuzzy mechanisms and knowledge in box-type reinforcement learning controllers

In this paper, we report our study on embedding fuzzy mechanisms and knowledge into box-type reinforcement learning controllers. One previous approach for incorporating fuzzy mechanisms can only achieve one successful run out of nine tests compared to eight successful runs in a nonfuzzy learning control scheme. After analysis, the credit assignment problem and the weighting domination problem are identified. Furthermore, the use of fuzzy mechanisms in temporal difference seems to play a negative factor. Modifications to overcome those problems are proposed. Furthermore, several remedies are employed in that approach. The effects of those remedies applied to our learning scheme are presented and possible variations are also studied. Finally, the issue of incorporating knowledge into reinforcement learning systems is studied. From our simulations, it is concluded that the use of knowledge for the control network can provide good learning results, but the use of knowledge for the evaluation network alone seems unable to provide any significant advantages. Furthermore, we also employ Makarovic's (1988) rules as the knowledge for the initial setting of the control network. In our study, the rules are separated into four groups to avoid the ordering problem.