Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Helical tomotherapy in head and neck cancer: a European single-center experience.

BACKGROUND We report on a retrospective analysis of 147 patients with early and locoregionally advanced squamous cell head and neck cancer (SCCHN) treated with helical tomotherapy (HT). PATIENTS AND METHODS Included were patients with SCCHN of the oral cavity (OC), oropharynx (OP), hypopharynx (HP), or larynx (L) consecutively treated in one radiotherapy center in 2008 and 2009. The prescribed HT dose was 60-66 Gy in the postoperative setting (group A) and 66-70 Gy when given as primary treatment (group B). HT was given alone, concurrent with systemic therapy (ST), that is, chemotherapy, biotherapy, or both, and with or without induction therapy (IT). Acute and late toxicities are reported using standard criteria; locoregional failure/progression (LRF), distant metastases (DM), and second primary tumors (SPT) were documented, and event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated from the start of HT. RESULTS Group A patients received HT alone in 22 cases and HT + ST in 20 cases; group B patients received HT alone in 17 cases and HT + ST in 88 cases. Severe (grade ≥ 3) acute mucosal toxicity and swallowing problems increased with more additional ST. After a median follow-up of 44 months, grade ≥2 late toxicity after HT + ST was approximately twice that of HT alone for skin, subcutis, pharynx, and larynx. Forty percent had grade ≥2 late xerostomia, and 29% had mucosal toxicity. At 3 years, LRF/DM/SPT occurred in 7%/7%/17% and 25%/13%/5% in groups A and B, respectively, leading to a 3-year EFS/OS of 64%/74% and 56%/63% in groups A and B, respectively. CONCLUSION The use of HT alone or in combination with ST is feasible and promising and has a low late fatality rate. However, late toxicity is nearly twice as high when ST is added to HT.
Beyond efficacy and safety—the need for convenient and cost-effective iron therapy in health care

The National Service Framework advocates correction of anaemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Oral iron is insufficient, while intravenous (IV) supplementation replenishes and maintains iron stores. Previously, effective delivery of iron therapy using available parenteral preparations has been hampered by dosing schedules and the need in some cases of a test dose. The introduction in Europe of newer iron preparations, including iron isomaltoside 1000 (Monofer) and iron carboxymaltose (Ferinject), now offers a potentially safe, effective and time-efficient method of outpatient iron repletion. This may potentially lead to better cost-effectiveness in a resource-limited service.
Crystal Structure of the Low-pH Form of the Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Glycoprotein G

The vesicular stomatitis virus has an atypical membrane fusion glycoprotein (G) exhibiting a pH-dependent equilibrium between two forms at the virus surface. Membrane fusion is triggered during the transition from the high- to low-pH form. The structure of G in its low-pH form shows the classic hairpin conformation observed in all other fusion proteins in their postfusion conformation, in spite of a novel fold combining features of fusion proteins from classes I and II. The structure provides a framework for understanding the reversibility of the G conformational change. Unexpectedly, G is homologous to gB of herpesviruses, which raises important questions on viral evolution.
Novas práticas, antigos rituais: A organização do cotidiano e as configurações de poder na mídia

O presente artigo tem como objetivo refletir sobre transformacoes recentes nas praticas de consumo midiatico ligadas a emergencia de midias alternativas, e como as mesmas afetam os processos de criacao e legitimacao de uma forma dispersa de poder, tradicionalmente associado aos meios de comunicacao de massa. O mito de que meios de comunicacao como a TV, o radio e o jornal funcionam como ligacao para uma especie de “centro do social” tem sido convenientemente endossado pela industria midiatica ao longo da historia, uma vez que legitima formacoes identitarias e modos de narrativa que maximizam interesses comerciais (COULDRY, 2012; TURNER, 2010). O ordenamento de acoes cotidianas a partir de categorias baseadas na divisao entre o que esta relacionado a midia, e o que nao esta, desempenha papel estruturador de uma dinâmica tipicamente contemporânea de poder. Esta dinâmica, contudo, tem se modificado com a popularizacao das redes sociais na internet. Se, por um lado, o surgimento de novas praticas da audiencia tem diversificado as possibilidades de organizacao do social, por outro, elas parecem reforcar antigas formas de ritualizacao midiatica responsaveis pelo papel preponderante que os meios massivos de comunicacao ainda desempenham na sociedade atual.
Risk of falls after withdrawal of fall-risk-increasing drugs: a prospective cohort study.

AIMS Falling in older persons is a frequent and serious clinical problem. Several drugs have been associated with increased fall risk. The objective of this study was to identify differences in the incidence of falls after withdrawal (discontinuation or dose reduction) of fall-risk-increasing drugs as a single intervention in older fallers. METHODS In a prospective cohort study of geriatric outpatients, we included 139 patients presenting with one or more falls during the previous year. Fall-risk-increasing drugs were withdrawn, if possible. The incidence of falls was assessed within 2 months of follow-up after a set 1 month period of drug withdrawal. Multivariate adjustment for potential confounders was performed with a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS In 67 patients, we were able to discontinue a fall-risk-increasing drug, and in eight patients to reduce its dose. The total number of fall incidents during follow-up was significantly lower in these 75 patients, than in those who continued treatment (mean number of falls: 0.3 vs. 3.6; P value 0.025). The hazard ratio of a fall during follow-up was 0.48 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.23, 0.99) for overall drug withdrawal, 0.35 (95% CI 0.15, 0.82) for cardiovascular drug withdrawal and 0.56 (95% CI 0.23, 1.38) for psychotropic drug withdrawal, after adjustment for age, gender, use of fall-risk-increasing drugs, baseline falls frequency, comorbidity, Mini-Mental State Examination score, and reason for referral. CONCLUSIONS Withdrawal of fall-risk-increasing drugs appears to be effective as a single intervention for falls prevention in a geriatric outpatient setting. The effect was greatest for withdrawal of cardiovascular drugs.
Erectile dysfunction and coronary risk factors: prospective results from the Massachusetts male aging study.

BACKGROUND Erectile dysfunction (ED), a wide spread and troublesome condition among middle-aged men, is partly vascular in origin. In the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, a random-sample cohort study, we investigated the relationship between baseline risk factors for coronary heart disease and subsequent ED, on the premise that subclinical arterial insufficiency might be manifested as ED. METHODS Men ages 40-70, selected from state census lists, were interviewed in 1987-1989 and reinterviewed in 1995-1997. Data were collected and blood was drawn in participants' homes. ED was assessed from responses to a privately self-administered questionnaire. Analysis was restricted to 513 men with no ED at baseline and no diabetes, heart disease, or related medications at either time. RESULTS Cigarette smoking at baseline almost doubled the likelihood of moderate or complete ED at followup (24% vs. 14%, adjusted for age and covariates, P = 0.01). Cigar smoking and passive exposure to cigarette smoke also significantly predicted incident ED, as did overweight (body-mass index > or =28 kg/m(2)) and a composite coronary risk score. Weaker prospective associations were seen for hypertension and dietary intake of cholesterol and unsaturated fat. CONCLUSIONS Erectile dysfunction and coronary heart disease share some behaviorally modifiable determinants in men who, like our sample, are free of manifest ED or predisposing illness. Open questions include whether modification of coronary risk factors can prevent ED and whether ED may serve as a sentinel event for coronary disease.
COMPARAÇÃO DA ACURÁCIA DE ANALISTAS COM O MODELO DE OHLSON-JUETTNER (OJ) NO MERCADO BRASILEIRO

A presente pesquisa foi desenvolvida com o objetivo de avaliar o grau de acuracia dos modelos de avaliacao baseado em informacoes contabeis e do preco-alvo indicado pelos analistas de mercado, quando comparados ao valor real da acao. Para chegar as conclusoes do trabalho, foi utilizada uma abordagem quantitativa que, por meio de testes estatisticos, buscou verificar qual dos resultados, dentre o indicado pelo modelo de avaliacao baseado em informacoes contabeis Ohlson-Juettner (OJ) e o fornecido pelos analistas de mercado, ficou mais proximo ao valor real da acao. A amostra utilizada para a realizacao do estudo continha as empresas listadas no Indice Brasil (IBrX), com informacoes financeiras no periodo de 2004 a 2011, que geraram precos alvo de 2005 a 2012. O teste dos sinais, que foi o teste estatistico utilizado, mostrou uma maior similaridade entre o valor da acao e o modelo de precificacao baseado em informacoes contabeis OJ quando comparado ao preco-alvo indicado pelos analistas de mercado, o que foi corroborado pelo teste dos sinais com postos de Wilcoxon, utilizado como contraprova. Uma das possiveis explicacoes para o resultado se deve ao fato das previsoes dos analistas de mercado serem demasiadamente otimistas frente ao valor da acao nas datas de analise.
Isoflurane—A Powerful Coronary Vasodilator in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

The coronary hemodynamic effects of 1% end-tidal isoflurane administered in oxygen-nitrogen by intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (IPPV) were investigated in 21 patients with stable coronary artery disease. Besides standard central hemodynamic measurements, coronary sinus blood flow was measured by continuous thermodilution, and arterial and coronary sinus blood were analyzed for oxygen and lactate. Isoflurane decreased coronary perfusion pressure (-35%) by a combination of systemic vasodilation and decrease in cardiac performance. Coronary sinus blood flow did not change; consequently, coronary vascular resistance was reduced (-26%). Both myocardial oxygen consumption (-36%) and extraction (-29%) were reduced. Ten patients developed ST-T-segment depressions or T-wave inversions in combination with markedly decreased myocardial lactate extraction (-52%) during isoflurane, suggesting regional ischemia. Patients without ECG changes had unchanged myocardial lactate extraction. Intravenous phenylephrine and nitroglycerin were used to restore coronary perfusion pressure to awake control level, and heart rate was kept at control by atrial pacing in the last 10 patients of the series. Five of these patients had ECG and metabolic evidence of regional myocardial ischemia during steady-state isoflurane anesthesia. Coronary blood flow increased to awake control level, and coronary vascular resistance was unaffected. Myocardial oxygen extraction remained at the same low level as during administration of isoflurane alone, suggesting persistent myocardial overperfusion (coronary vasodilation). When perfusion pressure was raised, the ECG changes reverted towards awake pattern in two of the five patients in parallel, with increase in myocardial lactate extraction. In the three remaining patients, ECG remained abnormal, as did myocardial lactate extraction. It is suggested that 1% end-tidal isoflurane induces coronary vasodilation that is not related to normal autoregulation and that both decreased coronary perfusion pressure and redistribution of myocardial blood flow may contribute to development of regional myocardial ischemia.
Relationship between drug treatment services, retention, and outcomes.

OBJECTIVE This longitudinal study conducted path analyses to examine the relationships between treatment processes and outcomes among patients in community-based drug treatment programs. METHODS A total of 1,939 patients from 36 outpatient drug-free and residential treatment programs in 13 California counties were assessed at intake, discharge, three months after admission, and nine months after admission. Path analyses were conducted to relate the quantity and quality of services that were received in the first three months of treatment to treatment retention and outcomes at the nine-month follow-up. Patients were determined to have a favorable outcome if for at least 30 days before the follow-up assessment they did not use drugs, were not involved in criminal activity, and lived in the community. The path analyses controlled for patients' baseline characteristics. RESULTS Greater service intensity and satisfaction were positively related to either treatment completion or longer treatment retention, which in turn was related to favorable treatment outcomes. Patients with greater problem severity received more services and were more likely to be satisfied with treatment. These patterns were similar for patients regardless of whether they were treated in outpatient drug-free programs or residential programs. CONCLUSIONS The positive association between process measures-that is, greater levels of service intensity, satisfaction, and either treatment completion or retention-and treatment outcome strongly suggests that improvements in these key elements of the treatment process will improve treatment outcomes.
Pattern locator: a new tool for finding local sequence patterns in genomic DNA sequences

UNLABELLED We present a new tool for finding local sequence patterns in long DNA sequences. The program, Pattern Locator, uses an intuitive syntax for pattern description, and provides more flexibility than existing programs by allowing combinations of specific nucleotide sequences, direct and inverted repeats, variable length tandem repeats of subpatterns, and a specified number of errors in any part of the pattern. AVAILABILITY The program is available for download and as a web service accessible through a CGI interface at http://www.cmbl. uga.edu/software.html. The source code is written in C and distributed under the GNU General Public License.
Severidad clínica de la infección respiratoria aguda baja primaria por virus respiratorio sincicial grupos A y B

La evolucion severa de la infeccion respiratoria aguda baja (IRAB) por VRS se observa en lactantes con y sin factores clasicos de riesgo. La gravedad puede depender del huesped, virus y/o ambiente. Nuestro objetivo fue evaluar la asociacion del grupo A y B a una mayor severidad. Estudiamos lactantes previamente sanos, hospitalizados por IRAB por VRS. Comparamos severidad clinica de grupo A y B. VRS B predomino en 1994, A lo hizo entre 1995 y 1997 y entre 1999 y 2002; en 1998 la proporcion de VRS A y B fue similar, apareciendo primero A y luego B. Los grupos no mostraron diferencias significativas en dias de hospitalizacion o ingreso a UTI; el requerimiento de oxigeno fue significativamente mayor en el grupo B, con predominio de neumonias. Concluimos que la severidad de las IRAB por VRS se asocia marginalmente a VRS B, ya que este grupo presento mas neumonias puras y necesidad de oxigenoterapia
Principales efectos de la intensificación y expansión de la agricultura sobre la salud de los suelos

A partir de 1970 los suelos de la Region Pampeana argentina sufrieron una extraordinaria transformacion de la actividad agricola, caracterizada por el gran aumento de la produccion, adopcion de moderna tecnologia, desarrollo de nuevas formas organizativas de la produccion y un acelerado proceso de agriculturizacion que solamente en dicha region desplazo alrededor de 5 millones de hectareas de uso ganadero a la agricultura. Desde comienzos de la decada se inicia este proceso de agriculturizacion en coincidencia con la expansion del cultivo de soja que impacta negativamente sobre las propiedades fisicas, quimicas y biologicas de los suelos y tambien sobre su integridad. Este proceso crecio en el area maicera a una tasa anual del 4 por ciento (Senigagliesi, 1991). El aspecto mas grave de la expansion e intensificacion de la agricultura fue el incremento de la erosion hidrica de los suelos, dado su caracter irreversible .
Technology adoption among SMEs in Malaysia: Development of an assessment process

Basing on the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to Malaysia's economy, the importance of adopting technology to increase SMEs sustainability, this research proposes an integrated process to measure technology adoption among SMEs in Malaysia. This process acknowledges the unique characteristics of SMEs as compared with large companies. Although Malaysian goverment has implemented various policies, financial incentives and technological infrastrutures, there is a need to shift focus on internal factors such as SMEs owners. It is proposed that low technology adoption among SMEs is influenced by factors closely associated with the SMEs owners' values and attitude towards technology.
PP2B and ERK1/2 regulate hyaluronan synthesis of HT168 and WM35 human melanoma cell lines

Hyaluronan (HA) is the major glycosaminoglycan component of the extracellular matrix in either normal or malignant tissues and it may affect proliferation, motility and differentiation of various cell types. Three isoforms of plasma membrane-bound hyaluronan synthases (HAS 1, 2 and 3) secrete and simultaneously bind pericellular HA. HAS enzymes are subjects of post-translational protein phosphorylation which is believed to regulate their enzymatic activity. In this study, we investigated the HA homeostasis of normal human epidermal melanocytes, HT168 and WM35 human melanoma cell lines and melanoma metastases. HAS2 and HAS3 were detected in all the samples, while the expression of HAS1 was not detectable in any case. Malignant tissue samples and melanoma cell lines contained extra- and intracellular HA abundantly but not normal melanocytes. Applying HA as a chemoattractant facilitated the migration of melanoma cells in Boyden chamber. The amount of HA was reduced upon the inhibition of calcineurin with cyclosporine A (CsA), while the inhibition of ERK1/2 with PD098059 elevated it in both cell lines. The signals of Ser/Thr phosphoproteins at 57 kD were stronger after CsA treatment, while a markedly weaker signal was detected upon inhibition of the MAPK pathway. Our results suggest opposing effects of the two investigated enzymes on the HA homeostasis of melanoma cells. We propose that the dephosphorylation of HAS enzymes targeted by PP2B augments HA production, while their phosphorylation by the activity of MAPK pathway reduces HA synthesis. As the expression of the HA receptor RHAMM was also significantly enhanced by PD098059, the MAPK pathway exerted a complex attenuating effect on HA signalling in the investigated melanoma cells. This observation suggests that the application of MAPK-ERK pathway inhibitors requires a careful therapeutic design in melanoma treatment.
Identification of a gene, rgg, which regulates expression of glucosyltransferase and influences the Spp phenotype of Streptococcus gordonii Challis

Streptococcus gordonii Challis was previously shown to give rise to phase variants expressing high (Spp+) or low (Spp-) levels of extracellular glucosyltransferase (GTF) activity. Here, shotgun cloning of an S. gordonii Spp+ chromosomal digest resulted in a chimeric plasmid (pAM5010) able to complement the Spp- phenotype. In addition, introduction of pAM5010 into an Spp+ strain resulted in a 10-fold increase in GTF expression. Deletion analysis of pAM5010 identified a 1.2-kb DNA segment which exhibited the same functional properties as pAM5010. Nucleotide sequence analysis of this region revealed a gene approximately 1 kb in size. The gene was designated rgg. Disruption of the chromosomal rgg gene open reading frame in an Spp+ strain resulted in strain DS512, which displayed an Spp(-)-like phenotype and had 3% of wild-type GTF activity. A plasmid containing the rgg gene was able to complement the DS512 phenotype and significantly increase GTF expression above wild-type levels. Sequence analysis and other data showed that the S. gordonii GTF determinant, designated gtfG, is located 66 bp downstream of the rgg gene. The sequence also revealed interesting inverted repeats which may play a role in the regulation of gtfG. We conclude that rgg positively regulates the expression of GTF and influences expression of the Spp phenotype.
Perinatal imprinting by estrogen and adult prostate disease.

One of the major conceptual novelties in human medicine emerging during the last two decades is the fetal-origin hypothesis, challenging our traditional view on the pathogenesis of common chronic disorders. This hypothesis, originally put forward by Barker et al. (1), states that prenatal events, mainly of nutritional and metabolic nature, are memorized (“imprinted”) by the developing organism and, if inappropriate for the postnatal situation, may result in the development of diseases during the adult age. Although intriguing and supported by an increasing number of experimental and epidemiological studies, the “Barker hypothesis” must still be validated with respect to its underlying biology. In this issue of PNAS, Omoto et al. (2) reveal that a well tuned temporal and spatial expression of estrogen receptor α (ERα) and ERβ in the epithelial and stromal cells of the ventral prostate, concomitant with an estrogen signal, is required for normal morphological development of the prostate in mice. By employing ERα and ERβ gene-deleted mice, it was shown that ERα, but not ERβ, is necessary for the neonatal imprinting by estrogen during the first two postnatal weeks and branching morphogenesis of the developing ventral prostate later on. Furthermore, the study supports the yin-yang concept that endogenous estrogenic ligands mediate proliferative signals through ERα and differentiation and antiproliferative signals through ERβ during prostate ontogeny (2). The proliferative signals are thought to be mediated by stromal ERα, resulting in production of paracrine growth factors serving as epithelial mitogens (3). In addition, Omoto et al (2) show that 2- and 3-week-old mice express ERα in the prostatic epithelium, indicating that, during this particular time of development, ERα-mediated cellular proliferation may occur directly in the epithelium.
The atoms of neural computation

Does the brain depend on a set of elementary, reusable computations? The human cerebral cortex is central to a wide array of cognitive functions, from vision to language, reasoning, decision-making, and motor control. Yet, nearly a century after the neuroanatomical organization of the cortex was first defined, its basic logic remains unknown. One hypothesis is that cortical neurons form a single, massively repeated “canonical” circuit, characterized as a kind of a “nonlinear spatiotemporal filter with adaptive properties” (1). In this classic view, it was “assumed that these…properties are identical for all neocortical areas. ” Nearly four decades later, there is still no consensus about whether such a canonical circuit exists, either in terms of its anatomical basis or its function. Likewise, there is little evidence that such uniform architectures can capture the diversity of cortical function in simple mammals, let alone characteristically human processes such as language and abstract thinking (2). Analogous software implementations in artificial intelligence (e.g., deep learning networks) have proven effective in certain pattern classification tasks, such as speech and image recognition, but likewise have made little inroads in areas such as reasoning and natural language understanding. Is the search for a single canonical cortical circuit misguided?