Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality Assessment of Neoadjuvant Therapy Use in Breast Conservation: Barriers to Implementation

Abstract: Neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) for operable breast cancer can increase the options for conservative surgery in patients with breast cancer. We performed an analysis of a breast cancer outcomes database as a quality assessment of neoadjuvant therapy use in relation to breast conservative rate (BCR). Data were reviewed from a breast cancer database established to monitor outcomes of breast cancer surgery at a tertiary care breast cancer clinic. The frequency of NST‐use was correlated to tumor size and BCR. Cause‐specific factors for omitting NST in patients undergoing mastectomy for tumors 3 cm or greater were determined. NST was employed in 29 of 241 (12%) cases of invasive breast carcinoma treated surgically from 2003 to 2005. Although a significant decrease in BCR occurred in tumors >3 cm, NST was not frequently employed until tumors reached >5 cm. Defined contraindications to breast conservation (65%) and patient choice for mastectomy (30%) were the two most common reasons for omitting NST in tumors ≥3 cm. Despite the initial appearance of NST under‐utilization in tumors measuring between 3–5 cm, appropriate exclusion of patients not suitable for breast conservation and patient choice for mastectomy both emerged as leading factors for the omission of NST in this group. Use of NST is an important quality metric in optimizing breast conservation. Patient education and greater understanding of patient‐related barriers to NST may help improve BCR.
Thyroid neuroendocrinology: neural regulation of thyroid hormone secretion.

THE THYROID gland consists of two different endocrine systems, that of the follicular cells and that of the parafollicular cells (1). The follicular cells, which are closely packed cells surrounding a colloidal space, synthesize and secrete the thyroid hormones (T4 and T3) (2). The parafollicular cells (C cells) are found between these follicular cells, sometimes occurring as single cells, sometimes as a few cells together (3). These C cells, which may also be seen inside the follicular basal membrane (4), synthesize and secrete polypeptides. Thus, calcitonin (5, 6), somatostatin (7–10), calcitonin generelated peptide (CGRP) (11), and katacalcin (12), are all produced by the thyroidal C cells. Morphological studies of the thyroid have demonstrated structures other than the follicular and parafollicular cells. Thus, a vast number of blood vessels and fibrocytes form fibrous sheets dividing the gland into smaller units are seen within the gland (1). Furthermore, mast cells have been demonstrated to occur bo.
Collagen IV regulates Caco-2 cell spreading and p130Cas phosphorylation by FAK-dependent and FAK-independent pathways

Abstract We previously observed that collagen IV regulates Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cell spreading and migration via Src-dependent p130Cas phosphorylation and stimulates focal adhesion kinase (FAK). However, the role of FAK and the related kinase, Pyk2, in Caco-2 spreading and migration is unclear. FAK- or Pyk2-specific siRNAs reduced protein levels by 90%. However, when detached cells were replated on collagen IV neither individual nor combined FAK and Pyk2 siRNAs affected the cell spreading rate. As combined FAK and Pyk2 siRNAs increased p130Cas protein levels, we cotransfected cells with 1 nm p130Cas siRNA to partially reduce p130Cas protein to control levels. Although p130Cas Tyr(P)249 phosphorylation was reduced by 60%, cell spreading was unaffected. Combined siRNA reduction of FAK, Pyk2 and p130Cas increased cell spreading by 20% compared to p130Cas siRNA alone, suggesting that FAK and Pyk2 negatively regulate spreading in addition to stimulating spreading via p130Cas. FAK-binding mutant SH3 domain-deleted rat p130Cas was not phosphorylated after adhesion and, unlike full-length p130Cas, did not restore spreading after human-specific p130Cas siRNA knockdown of endogenous p130Cas. Together, these data suggest that FAK positively regulates Caco-2 spreading on collagen IV via p130Cas phosphorylation, but also suggests that FAK may negatively regulate spreading through other mechanisms and the presence of additional FAK-independent pathways regulating p130Cas.
Responding under time pressure: Testing two animal learning models and a model of visual categorization

Two experiments are reported, which employed a Pavlovian eyelid conditioning procedure with human participants. The experiments tested the predictions of three models of the time-course of processing under time pressure. These were the extended generalized context model (Lamberts, 1998), and two variants of the Rescorla-Wagner model (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972), which were activated in cascade mode. Reinforcement schedules in the experiments were equivalent either to an AND rule or to an XOR rule. The time available for processing the conditioned stimulus and initiating a conditioned response was manipulated by varying the interval from the onset of the conditioned stimulus to the onset of the unconditioned stimulus. The results were in accord with the predictions of one of the two variants of the Rescorla-Wagner model.
The M539V Polymerase Variant of Human Hepatitis B Virus Demonstrates Resistance to 2′-Deoxy-3′-Thiacytidine and a Reduced Ability to Synthesize Viral DNA

ABSTRACT The cytosine analog 2′-deoxy-3′-thiacytidine (3TC) has been shown to be an effective treatment for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, several liver transplant patients who were undergoing treatment with 3TC for HBV infection experienced a breakthrough of virus while on 3TC. The predominant virus found in these patients’ sera contained either a valine or isoleucine for the methionine in the highly conserved YMDD nucleotide binding site in the HBV polymerase. To determine the biological relevance of the Met-to-Val substitution, we mutated a plasmid that contained a cDNA copy of the HBV pregenomic RNA such that when virus replication occurred during transient transfection of HepG2 cells, an M539V polymerase variant was produced. We found that in transiently transfected cells, this variant was approximately 330-fold less sensitive to the antiviral effects of 3TC and produced 7-fold less viral DNA than the wild type.
Contribution of cloned virulence factors from uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains to nephropathogenicity in an experimental rat pyelonephritis model

Escherichia coli 536 (O6:K15:H31), which was isolated from a case of urinary tract infection, determines high nephropathogenicity in a rat pyelonephritis system as measured by renal bacterial counts 7 days after infection. The loss of S fimbrial adhesin formation (Sfa-) (mannose-resistant hemagglutination [Mrh-] and fimbria production [Fim-]), serum resistance (Sre-), and hemolysin production (Hly-) in the mutant 536-21 led to a dramatic reduction of bacterial counts from almost 10(5) to only 40 cells per g of kidney. The reintroduction of the cloned S fimbrial adhesin determinant (sfa) increases the virulence of the avirulent mutant strain by a factor of 20; almost the same effect was observed after restoration of serum resistance by integration of an sfa+ recombinant cosmid into the chromosome. Additional reintroduction of the Hly+ phenotype by transformation of two hly determinants increased the virulence of the strains. Hemolysin production determined increased renal elimination of leukocytes and erythrocytes. Thus all three determinants investigated, S fimbriae, serum resistance, and hemolysin, contribute to the multifactorial phenomenon of E. coli nephropathogenicity.
Boron diffused emitter etch back and passivation

In this study, a well-controlled etch-back technique was developed using HF and HNO3 mixture solution to remove the boron depletion layer caused by post-oxidation step. The etching rate can be manipulated by changing HF proportion; meanwhile the sheet resistance variation can be maintained smaller than 10% after etching back. Nitric acid oxidation of Si technique was used to passivate the boron emitter before and after etch back. The presence of the surface boron depletion layer makes the surface boron concentration lower, which is better for low Dit at the surface after passivation, while it can also introduce extra recombination by making the electron and hole concentration closer at the surface. PC1D was used to simulate the results for further understanding the recombination in the whole emitter region.
The mouse homolog of the orphan nuclear receptor tailless is expressed in the developing forebrain.

The Drosophila tailless gene is a member of the orphan nuclear receptor subfamily. In Drosophila, the tailless gene is required for pattern formation in embryonic poles. During development, tailless is activated in the termini of the embryo in response to the torso receptor tyrosine kinase signal transduction cascade. Recessive mutations of tailless result in abnormalities in anterior portions of the head and in all structures posterior to the eighth abdominal segment. Localised expression of tailless is required in combination with a second terminal gene, huckebein, to control the expression of downstream genes. We have isolated a mouse homolog of the Drosophila tailless gene, which shows considerable homology in the DNA-binding domain suggesting that the respective proteins bind similar recognition sequences. Although the ligand-binding domain shows features in common with the tailless ligand domain, it also shares conserved amino acid stretches with other orphan nuclear receptors, the human ovalbumin upstream binding protein transcription factors (hCOUP-TF I and II). We have analysed the expression of taillees in mice, and show that it is specifically localised to the developing forebrain from day 8 p.c. and in dorsal midbrain from day 8.75 p.c. To define the anterior and posterior boundaries of expression, we compared the expression pattern of tailless to those of other forebrain markers, including distal-less (Dlx1), brain factor 1 (BF1), and the orthodenticle genes (Otx1 and Otx2). In addition to the developing forebrain, these genes show dynamic patterns of expression in two structures whose development requires inductive signals from the forebrain: the eye and the nose. These results suggest that the mouse taillees gene may be required to pattern anterior brain differentiation.
SUPPRESSION AND FUSION IN VIEWING COMPLEX STEREOGRAMS.

Julesz has demonstrated an interesting stereoscopic effect with computergenerated dot-patterns. ' One member of the stereo-pair contains a random array of dots in a rectangular matrix. The second member is identical to the first except that an inner rectangular portion of the array is shifted toward one side. An inner rectangular form is not recognizable or visible within either monocular array. One does become visible when the patterns are viewed in a stereoscope. Form-perception in these patterns is based not only upon the fact that the binocularly perceived form is at a different level of depth than the background, but also occurs when the displays are rotated 90? in the stereoscope so that the dots exhibit vertical disparities. It is well known that vertical disparity does not produce a depth-effect, yet the rectangular form is seen. Also, when the inner portions of both patterns are comprised of independently selected dots, thereby eliminating any consistent transverse or vertical disparities, a form is still seen. We must, therefore, distinguish between form in depth and form without depth. Perception of binocular form without depth may be the result of either vertical or transvere disparities, or some combination of these. A possible explanation of binocular form-perception without depth is that it is due to a differential effect of binocular rivalry in the superposed patterns. There is some evidence to support this proposal. First, Wallach and Adams have shown that rivalry will occur when commensurable areas of different surface-color are superposed.2 Since dots of different surfacecolor are superposed in disparate regions of these displays, the occurrence of rivalry may be predicted. Secondly, Julesz has shown that when one member of a stereo-pair is apparently blurred, the binocularly perceived * Received for prior publication February 25, 1964, from the Sperry Rand Research Center. The author is indebted to John Duda for his assistance in the conduct of the experiments, and to Julian Hochberg and B. W. White for many helpful ideas. 1 Bela Julesz, Binocular depth perception and pattern recognition. In Colin Cherry (ed.), Information Theory, Fourth London Symposium, 1961, 212. Also see B. W. White, Stimulus-conditions affecting a recently discovered stereoscopic effect, this JOURNAL, 75, 1962, 411.
Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on the Surfaces of Public Toilets

The infection control in surfaces of public toilets environment is a matter of great concern and a major challenge, especially during mass gatherings. The present study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of titanium dioxide nanoparticles coating on environmental surfaces of public toilets during Hajj time. A pilot study has been designed to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the surfaces of public toilets. The results showed a significant reduction in colony-count of the test samples. Maximum average reduction count of test microbes of the seats and walls reached (99.7%) while that of the doors reached (99.1%) which was statistically significant (P value = 0.001). It was concluded that there was a marked effect of a mixed TiO2 coating on reducing the microbial count at the surfaces of public toilets environments. Further research on efficacy against specific organisms, intestinal parasites, fungi, viruses and bacteriophage is recommended.
Challenging the Norms Loss of Confidence in Diabetes Management

Using current treatment approaches, many patients with type 2 diabetes do not achieve glycemic goals — and do experience macrovascular complications that contribute to morbidity and mortality. It’s time to consider other options. Implications: Aggressive therapeutic interventions aimed at insulin resistance and cell dysfunction may alter outcomes. Managed care organizations may need to modify the way they look at diabetes and should consider changing their focus from drug costs to wellness. Value-based insurance design may provide opportunities to optimize diabetes management, resulting in improved outcomes for patients and economic benefits for managed care organizations. INTRODUCTION Although the prevalence of diabetes has steadily increased in this country for years, recent acceleration of this trend has prompted widespread concern. Poor eating habits and inactive lifestyles contribute to the problem. Because individuals are developing diabetes earlier in life, they will have the disease longer and will require prolonged medical management for an increasingly complex constellation of symptoms. Along with the changing epidemiology of diabetes, there has been a shift in focus from microvascular to macrovascular complications. The impact of these changes, from the perspectives of health, functionality, and economics, makes diabetes a public health concern of staggering import. Standard approaches to the problem do not seem to be working.
Assessment of the Trophic Status by Monitoring of Reservoir’s Water Quality

Continuous long-term monitoring of aquatic systems is important for understanding their complete evolution in order to monitor changes in the trophic status and water quality. The continuous monitoring during a period of 20 years, by sampling once a month at two locations, the water quality of reservoir “Grliste”, which is used for the water supplying town Zajecar (Eastern Serbia), is observed and developmental stages in the life of the reservoir were determinated. It should be noted that the obtained results were used also in the purpose of finding a cause of cyanobacteria bloom, as a consequence of algal production. Limiting factors of algal production usually were nitrogen and phosphorus, however, in this study, obtained results of subtraction between trophic state index, calculated through total chlorophyll a (TSIChl-a) and trophic state index, calculated through total phosphorus (TSITP), indicated that limiting factor of algal production was light. On the basis of the concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO), total phosphorus (TP) and chlorophyll a (Chl-a) in the surface and in the bottom, it was concluded that the reservoir passed through four development phases during the examined period. Results of long-term monitoring showed that in the first years after the formation of the reservoir, the highest trophicity was detected (hypereutrophic status), but later the reservoir mostly maintained eutrophic status.
Growth suppression of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella typhimurium DT 104 by a non-DT 104 strain in vitro

Authors Ngwai YB Department of Microbiology, Human Virology and Biotechnology, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, P.M. B. 21 Garki, Abuja, Nigeria Adachi Y Animal Health Laboratory, School of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, 3-21-1 Ami-chou, Ami-machi, Ibaraki-ken, 300-0393, Japan Ogawa Y Animal Health Laboratory, School of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, 3-21-1 Ami-chou, Ami-machi, Ibaraki-ken, 300-0393, Japan
Analyzing somaclonal variation in micropropagated bananas (Musa spp.)

SummaryIn a micropropagation program, where it is of paramount importance to produce true-to-type planting material, somaclonal variation of any kind is undesirable. Variation among plants regenerated from tissue culture is termed ‘somaclonal variation’. In banana, somaclonal variants of different type have been reported with regard to plant morphology. This article discusses various factors due to which somaclonal variations may arise. Somaclonal variation may be detected by visual screening or by using molecular markers such as randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), and by cytological studies. Although somaclonal variation is undesirable in the context of micropropagation, it can be used to advantage for genetic improvement of banana, as has been described.
Automatic Valve Plane Localization in Myocardial Perfusion SPECT/CT by Machine Learning: Anatomic and Clinical Validation

Precise definition of the mitral valve plane (VP) during segmentation of the left ventricle for SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) quantification often requires manual adjustment, which affects the quantification of perfusion. We developed a machine learning approach using support vector machines (SVM) for automatic VP placement. Methods: A total of 392 consecutive patients undergoing 99mTc-tetrofosmin stress (5 min; mean ± SD, 350 ± 54 MBq) and rest (5 min; 1,024 ± 153 MBq) fast SPECT MPI attenuation corrected (AC) by CT and same-day coronary CT angiography were studied; included in the 392 patients were 48 patients who underwent invasive coronary angiography and had no known coronary artery disease. The left ventricle was segmented with standard clinical software (quantitative perfusion SPECT) by 2 experts, adjusting the VP if needed. Two-class SVM models were computed from the expert placements with 10-fold cross validation to separate the patients used for training and those used for validation. SVM probability estimates were used to compute the best VP position. Automatic VP localizations on AC and non-AC images were compared with expert placement on coronary CT angiography. Stress and rest total perfusion deficits and detection of per-vessel obstructive stenosis by invasive coronary angiography were also compared. Results: Bland–Altman 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for VP localization by SVM and experts for AC stress images (bias, 1; 95% CI, −5 to 7 mm) and AC rest images (bias, 1; 95% CI, −7 to 10 mm) were narrower than interexpert 95% CIs for AC stress images (bias, 0; 95% CI, −8 to 8 mm) and AC rest images (bias, 0; 95% CI, −10 to 10 mm) (P < 0.01). Bland–Altman 95% CIs for VP localization by SVM and experts for non-AC stress images (bias, 1; 95% CI, −4 to 6 mm) and non-AC rest images (bias, 2; 95% CI, −7 to 10 mm) were similar to interexpert 95% CIs for non-AC stress images (bias, 0; 95% CI, −6 to 5 mm) and non-AC rest images (bias, −1; 95% CI, −9 to 7 mm) (P was not significant [NS]). For regional detection of obstructive stenosis, ischemic total perfusion deficit areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the 2 experts (AUC, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.7–0.87]; AUC, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.73–0.89]) and the SVM (0.82 [0.74–0.9]) for AC data were the same (P = NS) and were higher than those for the unadjusted VP (0.63 [0.53–0.73]) (P < 0.01). Similarly, for non-AC data, areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the experts (AUC, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.69–0.89]; AUC, 0.8 [95% CI, 0.72–0.88]) and the SVM (0.79 [0.71–0.87]) were the same (P = NS) and were higher than those for the unadjusted VP (0.65 [0.56–0.75]) (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Machine learning with SVM allows automatic and accurate VP localization, decreasing user dependence in SPECT MPI quantification.
Uma análise crítica e comparativa de experiências de ensino do empreendedorismo baseadas na abordagem de aprendizagem por projeto

Neste projeto de investigacao estudaram-se diversas experiencias educacionais que permitem tirar ilacoes sobre a abordagem da aprendizagem baseada em projeto utilizada em 6 unidades curriculares de diferentes cursos de engenharia da Universidade do Minho. O periodo de analise compreende os ultimos 10 anos, remontando a 2006 quando estas experiencias foram iniciadas. A estrategia de pesquisa foi essencialmente qualitativa, de natureza descritiva e exploratoria, tendo-se seguido uma metodologia iminentemente etnografica.
Opioid‐free analgesia by continuous psoas compartment block after total hip arthroplasty. A randomized study

Background and objective Adequate analgesia is needed after total hip arthroplasty to control pain at rest and during rehabilitation. Our aim was to compare, in a randomized study, the efficacy of two analgesia regimens in control of postoperative pain after total hip arthroplasty: opioid‐free continuous psoas compartment block vs. an opioid/non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs continuous intravenous infusion. Methods In all, 73 patients (ASA I–III), aged 61–82 yr, undergoing total hip arthroplasty were prospectively enrolled in a single‐blind randomized trial. Patients were allocated either to the study group (Group A, n = 37) or to the control group (Group B, n = 36). Patients in Group A underwent preoperative placement of a catheter in the psoas compartment and, 30 min before the end of surgery, the catheter was primed with a loading dose of 0.75% ropivacaine (0.4 mL kg−1) followed by a continuous infusion of 10 mL h−1 ropivacaine 0.2% for 48 h. Patients in Group B received, from 1 h before the end of surgery, a continuous intravenous infusion of 0.1% morphine and 0.12% ketorolac at 2 mL h−1 for 48 h. Both groups received spinal anaesthesia for surgery. Pain scores at rest and after mobilization, amount of rescue analgesia, nausea/vomiting and haemodynamic parameters were recorded. Results In Group A, median pain scores were very low during the whole study duration both at rest and during physiotherapy in comparison to Group B. Less rescue analgesia was needed and less nausea and vomiting was observed in Group A. Conclusions Opioid‐free continuous psoas compartment block seems to be an appropriate and reliable technique in providing effective postoperative analgesia at rest and during physiotherapy after total hip arthroplasty when compared to intravenous morphine/ketorolac infusion.