Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Postoperative radiation therapy for high-risk colon carcinoma.

PURPOSE This study examines the experience of patients treated with postoperative radiation therapy after resection of high-risk colon carcinoma in an effort to assess the potential role of this modality in combination with current systemic therapies. PATIENTS AND METHODS From 1976 to 1989, 203 patients received postoperative radiation therapy with and without concurrent fluorouracil (5-FU) chemotherapy following resection of modified Astler-Coller B2, B3, C2, and C3 colon tumors. Of the 203 patients, 30 (15%) were identified as having residual local tumor after subtotal resection, whereas 173 (85%) had no known residual disease. The 173 patients treated with adjuvant radiation therapy were compared with a historical control group of 395 patients undergoing surgery only. RESULTS Three groups of patients who appeared to benefit from postoperative radiation were identified. Improved local control and recurrence-free survival rates were seen for patients with stage B3 and C3 colon carcinoma treated with postoperative radiation therapy compared with a similarly staged group of patients undergoing surgery only. Irradiated patients whose tumors had an associated abscess or fistula formation had improved local control and recurrence-free survival rates compared with a similar group of patients undergoing surgery only. There appears to be a subset of patients with residual local disease after subtotal resection that may be salvaged by high-dose postoperative radiation therapy. CONCLUSION Selected groups of patients with colon carcinoma may benefit from postoperative radiation in addition to current systemic therapies. Integration of 5-FU and levamisole with postoperative radiation therapy should be considered for patients with (1) stage B3 and C3 lesions, (2) tumors associated with abscess or fistula formation, and (3) residual local disease after subtotal resection.
The prevalence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus and depression in men with erectile dysfunction.

PURPOSE We quantified the prevalence of diagnosed hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus and depression in male health plan members with erectile dysfunction (ED). MATERIALS AND METHODS We used a nationally representative managed care claims database that covered 51 health plans with 28 million lives for 1995 through 2002. Based on 272325 identified patients with ED population and age specific prevalence rates were calculated for the same period. RESULTS The crude population prevalence rates were 41.6% for hypertension, 42.4% for hyperlipidemia, 20.2% for diabetes mellitus, 11.1% for depression, 23.9% for hypertension and hyperlipidemia, 12.8% for hypertension and diabetes mellitus, and 11.5% for hyperlipidemia and depression. The crude age specific prevalence rates varied across age groups significantly for hypertension (4.5% to 68.4%), hyperlipidemia (3.9% to 52.3%), and diabetes mellitus (2.8% to 28.7%), and significantly less for depression (5.8% to 15.0%). Region adjusted population prevalence rates were 41.2% for hypertension, 41.8% for hyperlipidemia, 19.7% for diabetes mellitus and 11.9% for depression. Only 87163 patients with ED (32%) had no comorbid diagnosis of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus or depression. CONCLUSION Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus and depression were prevalent in patients with ED. This evidence supported the proposition that ED shares common risk factors with these 4 concurrent conditions. Therefore, as a pathophysiological event, ED could be viewed as a potential observable marker for these concurrent diseases. This finding suggests that clinicians could include ED in the assessment profile of these concurrent conditions for earlier detection and treatment.
The Stability of Component Assets in Optimal Portfolios of Stock and Commodity Indexes

The turbulences in financial markets increased the interest in commodity investments as an alternative asset class for potential risk diversification. A plethora of past and present studies documents the diversification benefits achieved by adding commodities to the traditional security portfolios. Most of commodity diversification papers ignore the stability of component assets in the optimal portfolio. This paper examines both, the stability and performance of optimal Markowitz portfolios over time. The portfolios are composed of commodity and stock indexes. Their risk and returns are compared to the risk and return of the equally weighted benchmark portfolio.
THE BUNCHING OF CAPITAL GAINS REALIZATIONS

We use a unique data set of capital gains transactions to investigate the behavior of taxpayers with respect to the preferential tax rate for long-term capital gains. Our data allow us to examine the shifting of gains across time periods but eliminate the effect of the large pool of accrued gains that mechanically enlarge previous estimates. We adapt the bunching methodology developed by Kleven and Wasseem for rate changes over incomes to the drop in the capital gains tax when an asset has been held for more than one year. We find strong evidence that taxpayers respond to the preferential rate by reducing the realizations of gains in the weeks leading up to the point when the preferential rate applies. However, the magnitude of the transitory elasticity is small relative to prior estimates: we estimate a short-run gains elasticity of −0.47. We also estimate a quasi-permanent gains elasticity of −0.79.
[Cortisol in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with brain ischemia].

INTRODUCTION One of the reactions to ischemia is increased release of glucocorticoid hormones, included in regulation of effects of numerous mediators/modulators that could be released in the acute phase of brain ischemia. The aim of our investigation was to define temporal dynamics of cortisol concentrations in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with different types of ischemic brain disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included 263 patients of both sexes, aged 55-68 years. History, clinical examination and cerebral computerized tomography were performed to establish the diagnosis. 97 patients had brain infarction, 66 had a reversible ischemic attack, 66 had a transient ischemic attack, and 34 patients had chronic encephalopathy. The control group included 22 age- and sex-matched patients, subjected to diagnostic lumbar radiculography, without disturbances in the cerebrospinal fluid passage. Cortisol concentrations were measured by direct radioimmunoassay. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Results obtained in this research showed that in acute brain ischemic period there was a significant increase of cortisol concentration in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. The increase was highest in patients with brain infarction, somewhat lower in reversible ischemic attack, and the lowest in transient ischemic attack compared to controls (331.7 +/- 92.8 pmol/ml of plasma and 2.5 < or = 1.1 pmol/ml of cerebrospinal fluid). Maximum concentrations were found during the first two days after insult. The main potentially protective effects of increased cortisol concentrations in patients with acute stroke could be the decrease of effects of deleterious reactions induced by ischemia. This mechanism might be an attempt of organism to compensate for disturbed homeostasis. CONCLUSION Measurement of cortisol in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid in patients with acute stroke is significant for monitoring the intensity of response of an organisam to acute brain damage.
Early life adversity is associated with brain changes in subjects at family risk for depression

Objective. The interplay of genetic and early environmental factors is recognized as an important factor in the aetiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of the present study was to examine whether reduced volume of hippocampus and frontal brain regions involved in emotional regulation are already present in unaffected healthy individuals at genetic risk of suffering MDD and to investigate whether early life adversity is a relevant factor interacting with these reduced brain structures. Method. Twenty unaffected first-degree relatives of patients with MDD (FHP: family history positive) and 20 healthy controls (FHN: family history negative) underwent high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. Manual tracing of hippocampal sub-regions and voxel-based morphometry was used to compare groups and find association to early life adversity. Results. FHP subjects with history of emotional abuse had significantly smaller left and right hippocampal heads. VBM also showed smaller dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (DLPFC), medial prefrontal cortices (MPFC) and anterior cortex cinguli in FHP who had a previous history of emotional abuse. Conclusion. High risk individuals for depression have reduced volume of brain regions related to emotional processing in particular when they additionally suffered childhood abuse, indicating that genetic and environmental factors like early life adversity influence brain structure possibly via epigenetic mechanisms and thus structural anomalies may precede the onset of the illness.
The impact of environment and antimicrobial agents on the growth response of early-weaned pigs to spray-dried porcine plasma.

Four 28-d experiments involving 360 weanling pigs were conducted to investigate the effects of including spray-dried porcine plasma (SDPP) in diets from d 0 to 14 after weaning followed by feeding a common diet from d 14 to d 28. In Exp. 1, 80 weanling pigs (4.9 kg BW, 17 +/- 1 d of age) were used to determine the effects of substituting 0, 3, 6, 9, or 12% SDPP for dried skim milk (DSM) and L-lysine.HCl. Growth rate and feed intakes from d 0 to 14 and d 0 to 28 were not affected by increasing levels of SDPP, but feed/gain from d 0 to 14 increased linearly (P < .001) as the level of SDPP increased. In Exp. 2 and 3, 160 pigs (80 pigs in each trial; 5.4 kg BW, 18 +/- 2 d of age) were used to determine the effect of nursery environment on the performance of pigs fed a diet containing 20% DSM or 8.3% SDPP. Pigs were housed in either an off-site, environmental chamber in newly purchased pens (experimental nursery) or a more typical, on-farm, conventional nursery. Pigs in the experimental nursery performed superior to the pigs in the conventional nursery from d 0 to 14 and from d 0 to 28 (P < .001). Growth rate and feed intake were enhanced (P < .05) by feeding SDPP to pigs in the conventional nursery, but the responses to SDPP were of considerably less magnitude in pigs housed in the experimental nursery, resulting in environment x diet interactions (P < .05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Headache and Psychological Functioning in Children and Adolescents

Headache can affect all aspects of a child's functioning, leading to negative affective states (eg, anxiety, depression, anger) and increased psychosocial problems (for instance, school absences, problematic social interactions). For children and adolescents who experience frequent headache problems, comorbid psychological issues are a well‐recognized, but poorly understood, clinical phenomenon. The confusion surrounding the relationship between pediatric headache and psychopathology exists for several reasons. First, in some cases, headache has been inappropriately attributed to psychological or personality features based on anecdotal observations or interpretations that go beyond the available data. Additionally, measures of psychopathology have not always adhered to the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic criteria, thus reducing the reliability of diagnostic judgments. Furthermore, the diagnosis of headache has not always followed standard criteria, and has been complicated by the emergence of new terms and evolving measures. Finally, methodological shortcomings, such as incomplete descriptions of the procedures and criteria used for the study, inadequate descriptions of headache severity, lack of a control group for comparison with individuals without headaches, reliance primarily on cross‐sectional research designs that are often discussed with inferences to causal hypotheses, and the use of unstandardized assessment measures, have significantly limited the validity of research findings. The goal of the current review is to examine the extant literature to provide the most up‐to‐date picture on what the research has made available about the magnitude, specificity, and causes of psychopathology in children and adolescents with headache, in an effort to further elucidate their relationship and prompt a more methodologically rigorous study of these issues.
Role of phosphorylation and physiological state in the regulation of the muscular chloride channel ClC-1: a voltage-clamp study on isolated M. interosseus fibers.

Chloride currents (I(Cl)) were investigated with the two-electrode voltage-clamp technique in enzymatically isolated fibers from interosseus muscles of wild-type (WT), denervated WT, and myotonic (ADR, ClC-1-deficient) mice. Characteristics of I(Cl) were consistent with previous observations on rat muscle fibers and cultured nonmuscle cells transfected with hClC-1 cDNA. In the presence of 0.1 mM anthracene-9-carboxylic acid and in ADR fibers, I(Cl) was reduced by >90%. WT interosseus fibers denervated 6-7 days prior to isolation showed approximately 50% I(Cl) compared to control fibers. Addition of 3.3 microM staurosporine, a nonspecific inhibitor of protein kinases, increased I(Cl) in WT interosseus fibers by a factor of approximately two and altered its kinetic characteristics. We conclude that in dissociated fibers cultured for 1-2 days, in contrast to freshly isolated muscles, chloride conductance is downregulated by a mechanism involving protein phosphorylation. In situ, this short-term regulation may complement transcriptional long-term regulation of ClC-1.
Treatments and other prognostic factors in the management of the open abdomen: A systematic review

BACKGROUND The open abdomen (OA) is an important approach for managing intra-abdominal catastrophes and continues to be the standard of care. Despite this, challenges remain with it associated with a high incidence of complications and poor outcomes. The objective of this article is to perform a systematic review in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to identify prognostic factors in OA patients in regard to definitive fascial closure (DFC), mortality and intra-abdominal complications. METHODS An electronic database search was conducted involving Medline, Excerpta Medica, Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cumulative Index to Nursing, and Allied Health Literature and Clinicaltrials.gov. All studies that described prognostic factors in regard to the above outcomes in OA patients were eligible for inclusion. Data collected were synthesized by each outcome of interest and assessed for methodological quality. RESULTS Thirty-one studies were included in the final synthesis. Enteral nutrition, organ dysfunction, local and systemic infection, number of reexplorations, worsening Injury Severity Score, and the development of a fistula appeared to significantly delay DFC. Age and Adult Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation version II score were predictors for in-hospital mortality. Failed DFC, large bowel resection and >5 to 10 L of intravenous fluids in <48 hours were predictors of enteroatmospheric fistula. The source of infection (small bowel as opposed to colon) was a predictor for ventral hernia. Large bowel resection, >5 to 10 and >10 L of intravenous fluids in <48 hours were predictors of intra-abdominal abscess. Fascial closure on (or after) day 5 and having a bowel anastomosis were predictors for anastomotic leak. Overall methodological quality was of a moderate level. LIMITATIONS Overall methodological quality, high number of retrospective studies, low reporting of prognostic factors and the multitude of factors potentially affecting patient outcome that were not analyzed. CONCLUSION Careful selection and management of OA patients will avoid prolonged treatment and facilitate early DFC. Future research should focus on the development of a prognostic model. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Systematic review, level III.
Increased Gamma Connectivity in the Human Prefrontal Cortex during the Bereitschaftspotential

The Bereitschaftspotential (BP) is a slow negative cortical potential preceding voluntary movement. Since movement preparation is dependent upon the synchronous activity of a variety of neurons, BP may develop through the exchange of information among motor-related neurons. However, the relationship between BP and information flow is not yet well-known. In the present study, we aimed to investigate how the connectivity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) changes during the occurrence of BP. Electrocorticography (ECoG) was recorded in five patients with epilepsy. The subjects performed self-paced hand grasping. We compared the intraregional connectivity between PFC and non-PFC regions using partial directed coherence. In the PFC, the connectivity of beta and gamma bands in the BP period increased by an average of 24.4% compared with the baseline connectivity. Conversely, gamma connectivity in non-PFC regions decreased by 31.4%. Moreover, the intraregional connectivity in the PFC increased according to the stage of BP. The increased gamma band connectivity in the PFC implies that the increased communication among neurons in the PFC is associated with development of BP. Intraregional connectivity as one of the factors involved in voluntary movement may reflect the activation of brain networks related to movement preparation in PFC.
Novel relaxant effects of RPL554 on guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle contractility

We investigated the effectiveness of RPL554, a dual PDE3 and 4 enzyme inhibitor, on airway smooth muscle relaxation and compared it with that induced by salbutamol, ipratropium bromide, glycopyrrolate or their combination on bronchomotor tone induced by different spasmogenic agents.
Identification of novel spinal cholinergic genetic subtypes disclose Chodl and Pitx2 as markers for fast motor neurons and partition cells

Spinal cholinergic neurons are critical for motor function in both the autonomic and somatic nervous systems and are affected in spinal cord injury and in diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy. Using two screening approaches and in situ hybridization, we identified 159 genes expressed in typical cholinergic patterns in the spinal cord. These include two general cholinergic neuron markers, one gene exclusively expressed in motor neurons, and nine genes expressed in unknown subtypes of somatic motor neurons. Further, we present evidence that chondrolectin (Chodl) is expressed by fast motor neurons and that estrogen‐related receptor β (ERRβ) is a candidate marker for slow motor neurons. In addition, we suggest paired‐like homeodomain transcription factor 2 (Pitx2) as a marker for cholinergic partition cells. J. Comp. Neurol. 518:2284–2304, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Tiv Socio-Cultural Environment and Entrepreneurship Emergence

The paper assesses the Tiv socio-cultural environment and considers its effect on the emergence of entrepreneurship. A qualitative methodology was adopted based essentially on a theoretical survey, scattered observations and random access to some features of the Tiv socio-cultural environment, and a discussion of their implications for the emergence of entrepreneurship. Certain Tiv socio-cultural features and history,such as attitudes towards wealth, authority and leadership, work and leisure, savings and the formal education system,were “found” to be capable of either inhibiting their entrepreneurship development or holding back in check any desire to engage in entrepreneurial activity. However, because of the new and emerging realities in Nigeria, socio-cultural values of ethnic groups, including that of the Tiv are changing. Tiv individuals are urged to learn how to convert the weaknesses in their socio-cultural environment to advantage and to create opportunities to launch them into entrepreneurship.
Privacy and Social Media: Do Users Really Care?

Over the last decade, social media networks have experienced explosive growth. Social media has become a common form of communication for most people, and the average person spends more and more time in front of the computer. We are exposing ourselves online, and consequently leaving more personal information on the Internet than ever before. Resulting in personalization and individualism being the drivers of the networks, and this has been made possible by huge amounts of data. The thesis studies to what degree users care about privacy on social media platforms. To investigate at what extent users share information and are aware of information being shared with third-party companies, we constructed the following research questions; 1. Do social media networks protect the personal information of their users in the same fashion or are there any differences? 2. Other than the social media network itself, who else collects information about its users and how is the information spread between parties? 3. What do social media users know in the terms of how and how much information is being spread? Do they care? Through a documentation analysis, the thesis has examined the documentations provided by different social media networks. The thesis has analysed different third-party companies present on various websites. A mapping of these finding was done to illustrate the large web they conclude. Through conducting a user survey, the thesis gained insight into Norwegian social media users’ habits and their knowledge concerning the discussed topics. An evaluation of our findings ultimately leads to the conclusion of the privacy paradox holding true for the users involved in our study. We found that users claim to care about privacy online and that many have knowledge concerning the aspects analysed. However, they do not read the documentation and still utilise the services provided without having a clear understanding of how the technologies work on the Internet.
Can Video Self-Modeling Improve Affected Limb Reach and Grasp Ability in Stroke Patients?

ABSTRACT The authors examined whether feedforward video self-modeling (FF VSM) would improve control over the affected limb, movement self-confidence, movement self-consciousness, and well-being in 18 stroke survivors. Participants completed a cup transport task and 2 questionnaires related to psychological processes pre- and postintervention. Pretest video footage of the unaffected limb performing the task was edited to create a best-of or mirror-reversed training DVD, creating the illusion that patients were performing proficiently with the affected limb. The training yielded significant improvements for the forward movement of the affected limb compared to the unaffected limb. Significant improvements were also seen in movement self-confidence, movement self-consciousness, and well-being. FF VSM appears to be a viable way to improve motor ability in populations with movement disorders.
Mining concise Association Rules based on generators and closed itemsets

It is well-recognized that the main factor that hinders the applications of Association Rules (ARs) is the huge number of ARs returned by the mining process. To solve this problem, an algorithm for mining concise association rules based on generators and closed itemsets is proposed. Firstly, the concept of concise association rule is proposed, and the rationality of the definition is explained based on conviction. Then, the definitions of concise min-max precise rule basis and concise min-max approximate rule basis are proposed, and the corresponding pruning strategies are discussed. Finally, the characteristics and connection strategies of generator are presented, and based on subsume index, a breadth-first algorithm for mining concise association rule is proposed. Experimental results show that the concise rules with smaller sizes can be discovered. Thus, the understandability of mining result is improved.