Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Life After Gynecologic Cancer—A Review of Patients Quality of Life, Needs, and Preferences in Regard to Follow-up

Objective This article reviews the literature on quality of life (QoL) of gynecologic cancer survivors, their needs and preferences regarding follow-up, and possible predictors of long-term QoL. Methods A systematic literature search was made in the following databases: MEDLINE (PubMed), Bibliotek.dk, CINAHL, Cochrane, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and SveMed+. We searched the period 1995–2012 for English-language literature. The search was made during July 2011 to February 2012. When possible, the search was made using MeSH terms. Additional reports were collected by systematically viewing the reference lists of the retrieved articles. Results Overall studies indicate that survivors after gynecologic cancer do not have impaired QoL in the long term. In general, the patients are highly satisfied with the follow-up program. The patients’ greatest concern is fear of recurrence. The most frequent reported unmet need is help in dealing and living with the fear of recurrence. It seems that psychosocial status at time of diagnosis is determining for QoL and well-being in the long term. Association has been found between coping style and QoL, risk of depression, and anxiety in the long term after cancer. Conclusions Even though long-term QoL does not seem to be impaired, the patients are struggling with fear of recurrence, and the way of coping with this fear is a possible predictor for long-term QoL after cancer. However, there is a lack of evidence on QoL, needs, and preferences regarding follow-up of the survivors after gynecologic cancer. The quality of the follow-up regimen is questionable, and it is not evidence based. Thus, it is extremely important to optimize the follow-up program and move focus to life quality. There is a need for an evidence-based strategy regarding follow-up for low-risk gynecologic cancer patients.
Development and Analysis of Tubular Transverse Flux Machine With Permanent-Magnet Excitation

The magnetic field computation and performance characteristics analysis for a tubular transverse flux machine (TFM) with permanent-magnet excitation have been discussed. The following issues have been emphasized: construction of the tubular TFM, magnetic flux distribution, winding back electromotive force, winding inductance, and thrust force. The topology of such a machine requires a 3-D finite-element method to accurately predict the machine performance. The simplified computation model is proposed in order to save the computing time. The experimental setup has been developed. The calculated results and the measured results are in good agreement. Thus, the validity of the simplified computation model is indirectly proved. The thrust-force capabilities of the tubular TFM are compared with other topologies of linear machines. The technology of the tubular machine could be enriched.
Punctate midline myelotomy for the relief of visceral cancer pain.

OBJECT This study offers clinical support for the concept that neurosurgical interruption of a midline posterior column pathway by performing a punctate midline myelotomy (PMM) provides significant pain relief without causing adverse neurological sequelae in cancer patients with visceral pain refractory to other therapies. METHODS A PMM of the posterior columns was performed in six cancer patients in whom visceral pain had been refractory to other therapies. The cause of the visceral pain was related to residual, progressive, or recurrent local cancer or postirradiation effects. Clinical efficacy of the procedure was examined by comparing patient pain ratings and narcotic usage pre- and post-PMM. Follow-up periods ranged from 3 to 31 months. Examination of the results indicates a significant reduction in pain ratings as well as a significant reduction in daily narcotic use. No adverse neurological effects were observed. One spinal cord has been recovered for postmortem examination. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide corroborating clinical evidence for the existence of a newly recognized midline posterior column pathway that mediates the perception of visceral pelvic and abdominal pain. Preliminary data indicate that significant pain relief can be obtained following PMM with minimal neurological morbidity and suggest that the procedure may provide an alternative treatment modality for cancer-related pain in patients in whom adequate pain control with narcotics cannot be achieved or narcotic side effects cannot be tolerated.
Cell design methodology for balanced carry-carrybar circuits in hybrid-CMOS logic style

In this paper, a novel systematic design methodology in the category of hybrid-CMOS Logic style is proposed and used for designing full swing balanced Carry-Carrybar circuits. The critical path of the presented designs consists of only one pass-transistor, which causes low propagation delay. High driving capability, full-balanced full-swing outputs and low number of transistors of basic structure of the designs are the obvious features of them. As known, Hybrid-CMOS full adders can be divided into three modules. Four new full adder circuits with high performance and high drivability have proposed in this paper by embedding the circuits in carry module. Simulations have been performed with TSMC 0.13-μm technology using HSpice and show that the proposed circuits exhibit better performance in compare with previously suggested circuits. These circuits outperform their counterparts showing 52%–81% improvement in the power-delay product.
After the Storms: Tradition and Change in Bayou La Batre

About once a century in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, a catastrophic storm comes roaring from the Gulf of Mexico. Ninety-nine years before Hurricane Katrina there was the hur ricane of 1906, a mighty wind that lasted for more than twenty-four hours, long before these events had names. The memories of it are present even now in the oral history of the Bayou? in the family stories handed down for generations in this coastal fishing village. Alma Bryant, a girl of thirteen in 1906, and later her community's leading educator, re membered being separated from her family in the storm, as the tidal surge tore her house from its moorings. "Rain, the coldest and heaviest I have ever felt, pounded me relent lessly," she said. "Then the vicious wind picked me up and immersed me in one of those craters made by an uprooted tree. I clutched the limb . and held on for dear life, barely conscious of the weird noises all around me? the shrieks of frightened birds, the woeful cry of a drowning calf, the dying moans of Mr. Deakle's old white mare pinned beneath the demolished barn. "1 Bryant, in the end, was one of the lucky ones. She managed to swim and clamor through the floating debris? "the limp, dead chickens, bloated hogs, writhing snakes"? toward the flickering light of a house in the distance. At least 135 others did not make it, and the Mobile Register, the morning newspaper in the nearest city, carefully recorded the details. Two Bayou women lining up the bodies, covering them with shrouds; a fright ened family emerging from the woods, where they had drifted all night in an open skiff; a writer's description of those who survived: "Most . resembled great chunks of liver colored beef, so badly were they battered and bruised. "2 This now is a part of the lore of Bayou La Batre, a place where residents freely acknowl edge that life on the edge of the continent is hard. The hurricanes come and the hurri canes go, requiring resilience of those who survive. So it was in 1906, and so it is after Hurricane Katrina. But there is another understanding more subtle and elusive, more difficult for many people to explain. When the truly massive storms hit the Bayou, those once-a-century calamities, they have often changed the course of local history, much as they might alter the course of a river.
Mobilisation of enterocyte fat stores by oral glucose in humans

Background and aims: When a high fat oral load is followed several hours later by further ingestion of nutrients, there is an early postprandial peak in plasma triacylglycerol (TG). The aim of this study was to investigate the location and release of lipid from within the gastrointestinal tract. Methods: Ten healthy patients undergoing oesopho-gastro-duodenoscopy (OGD) were recruited. At t=0, all patients consumed a 50 g fat emulsion and at t=5 hours they consumed either water or a 38 g glucose solution. OGD was performed at t=6 hours and jejunal biopsy samples were evaluated for fat storage. A subgroup of five subjects then underwent a parallel metabolic study in which postprandial lipid and hormone measurements were taken during an identical two meal protocol. Results: Following oral fat at t=0, samples from patients that had subsequently ingested glucose exhibited significantly less staining for lipid within the mucosa and submucosa of the jejunum than was evident in patients that had consumed only water (p=0.028). There was also less lipid storage within the cytoplasm of enterocytes (p=0.005) following oral glucose. During the metabolic study, oral glucose consumed five hours after oral fat resulted in a postprandial peak in plasma TG, chylomicron-TG, and apolipoprotein B48 concentration compared with oral water. Conclusion: After a fat load, fat is retained within the jejunal tissue and released into plasma following glucose ingestion, resulting in a peak in chylomicron-TG which has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
Postmenopausal Serum Sex Steroids and Risk of Hormone Receptor–Positive and -Negative Breast Cancer: a Nested Case–Control Study

Prediagnostic endogenous sex steroid hormone levels have well established associations with overall risk of breast cancer. While evidence toward the existence of distinct subtypes of breast cancer accumulates, few studies have investigated the associations of sex steroid hormone levels with risk of hormone receptor [estrogen receptor (ER) and/or progesterone receptor (PR)] defined breast cancer. In a case–control study nested within the EPIC cohort (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition), estradiol, testosterone, and sex hormone–binding globulin levels were measured in prediagnostic serum samples from postmenopausal women not using hormone replacement therapy at blood donation. A total of 554 women who developed invasive breast cancer with information on receptor status were matched with 821 control subjects. Conditional logistic regression models estimated breast cancer risk with hormone concentrations according to hormone receptor status of the tumor. Sex steroid hormones were associated with risks of not only ER+PR+ breast cancer [estradiol OR for highest vs. lowest tertile = 2.91 (95% CI: 1.62–5.23), Ptrend = 0.002; testosterone OR = 2.27 (95% CI: 1.35–3.81), Ptrend = 0.002] but also of ER-PR- breast cancer [estradiol OR = 2.11 (95% CI: 1.00–4.46), Ptrend = 0.05; testosterone OR = 2.06 (95% CI: 0.95–4.46), Ptrend = 0.03], with associations appearing somewhat stronger in the receptor-positive disease. Serum androgens and estrogens are associated with risks of both hormone receptor–negative as well as receptor–positive breast tumors. Further research is needed to establish through which molecular pathways, and during which evolutionary stages of development, androgens and estrogens can promote the occurrence of both receptor-positive and -negative clinical breast tumors. Cancer Prev Res; 4(10); 1626–35. ©2011 AACR.
Lactoferrin inhibits G1 cyclin‐dependent kinases during growth arrest of human breast carcinoma cells

Lactoferrin inhibits cell proliferation and suppresses tumor growth in vivo. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects remain unknown. In this in vitro study, we demonstrate that treatment of breast carcinoma cells MDA‐MB‐231 with human lactoferrin induces growth arrest at the G1 to S transition of the cell cycle. This G1 arrest is associated with a dramatic decrease in the protein levels of Cdk2 and cyclin E correlated with an inhibition of the Cdk2 kinase activity. Cdk4 activity is also significantly decreased in the treated cells and is accompanied by an increased expression of the Cdk inhibitor p21CIP1. Furthermore, we show that lactoferrin maintains the cell cycle progression regulator retinoblastoma protein pRb in a hypophosphorylated form. Additional experiments with synchronized cells by serum depletion confirm the anti‐proliferative activity of human lactoferrin. These effects of lactoferrin occur through a p53‐independent mechanism both in MDA‐MB‐231 cells and other epithelial cell lines such as HBL‐100, MCF‐7, and HT‐29. These findings demonstrate that lactoferrin induces growth arrest by modulating the expression and the activity of key G1 regulatory proteins. J. Cell. Biochem. 74:486–498, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Low Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor-Interacting Protein Expression Is a Better Marker of Invasiveness in Somatotropinomas than Ki-67 and p53

Background: Some pituitary adenomas exhibit fast growth and invade surrounding structures. To date, there is no robust marker to predict invasiveness. Aim: To evaluate Ki-67, p53 and aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein (AIP) expression and compare these between invasive and noninvasive somatotropinomas and nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs). Methods: Protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. Tumors were classified according to percentage of immunolabeled nuclei for Ki-67 and p53. AIP immunopositivity was graded according to a score encompassing pattern and intensity. Invasiveness was defined according to radiological and surgical criteria. Results: Thirty-eight sporadic somatotropinomas were studied. Median Ki-67 labeling index in invasive and noninvasive tumors was 1.6 (range 0–20.6) and 0.26 (0–2.2), respectively (p = 0.01). With a 2.3% cut-off point obtained by ROC curve analysis, invasive adenomas were distinguished with 100% specificity, 39% sensitivity, and 63% accuracy. Low AIP expression was also correlated with tumor invasiveness (p = 0.001), with sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 78, 80, and 79%, respectively. Expression of p53 was not different among tumors. Twenty-nine NFPAs were studied, with no significant difference between Ki-67, p53 and AIP expression in invasive and noninvasive tumors. High AIP expression was more frequent in NFPAs, with Ki-67 >3% (p = 0.051), especially when only gonadotrope cell adenomas (n = 25) were considered (p = 0.012). Conclusions: These data suggest, for the first time, that AIP is a better marker of invasiveness in somatotropinomas than Ki-67 and p53. In addition, low AIP expression is observed in invasive somatotropinomas, in contrast with high AIP expression in NFPAs (mainly gonadotrope cell tumors) with high proliferative indices.
Curcumin eluting nanofibers augment osteogenesis toward phytochemical based bone tissue engineering

Curcumin is a phenolic compound isolated from Curcuma longa that is known to exhibit wide ranging biological activity including potential benefits for bone growth. The aim of this work was to engineer curcumin eluting tissue scaffolds and investigate their potential use in bone tissue regeneration. We prepared curcumin loaded poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers by electrospinning. Morphological characterization of the nanofibers revealed that the average diameter of neat fibers and that of fibers with 1 wt% and 5 wt% curcumin is 840 ± 130 nm, 827 ± 129 nm and 680 ± 110 nm, respectively. Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance confirmed the successful loading of the drug in fibers. In aqueous medium, the fibers released ≈18% of the encapsulated drug in 3 d and ≈60% in 9 d. The cell response to the curcumin loaded nanofibers was assessed using MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts. Cell proliferation was moderated with increased loading of curcumin and was 50% lower on the fibers containing 5% curcumin at day 10 than the control fibers. Osteogenesis was confirmed by assaying the expression of alkaline phosphatase and staining of mineral deposits by Alizarin red stain, which were both markedly higher for 1% curcumin compared to neat polymer but lower for 5% curcumin. Mineral deposition was also confirmed chemically by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. These results were corroborated by increased gene and protein expression of known osteogenic markers in 1% curcumin. Thus, controlled release of curcumin from polymer scaffolds is a promising strategy for bone tissue regeneration.
Bioluminescent Listeria monocytogenes provide a rapid assay for measuring biocide efficacy.

A recombinant derivative of Listeria monocytogenes 23074, engineered to express the luxAB genes of Vibrio fischeri MJ1, has a bioluminescent phenotype that provides a rapid monitor of microbial viability. The antibacterial activity of phenol and chlorhexidine diacetate (Hibitane) was measured using both bioluminescence and viable counts. Concentration exponents were assessed as 7.3 for phenol and 2.63 for chlorhexidine diacetate using plate counts. The rapidity of bioluminescence measurement constitutes a major advantage in biocide assessment.
An active transmitter antenna with beam scanning and beam shaping capability for 60GHz application

An active transmitter antenna has been demonstrated based on a plate Luneburg lens and fed by several sources to achieve beam scanning and beam shaping antenna. The EIRP is stable whatever the number of active sources because the MMIC amplifier used as a switch is always correctly matched whatever his state (ON or OFF). The future works will concern receiver antenna and the development of new integrated sources to simplify the design.
Efficient genetic modification and germ-line transmission of primordial germ cells using piggyBac and Tol2 transposons

The derivation of germ-line competent avian primordial germ cells establishes a cell-based model system for the investigation of germ cell differentiation and the production of genetically modified animals. Current methods to modify primordial germ cells using DNA or retroviral vectors are inefficient and prone to epigenetic silencing. Here, we validate the use of transposable elements for the genetic manipulation of primordial germ cells. We demonstrate that chicken primordial germ cells can be modified in vitro using transposable elements. Both piggyBac and Tol2 transposons efficiently transpose primordial germ cells. Tol2 transposon integration sites were spread throughout both the macro- and microchromosomes of the chicken genome and were more prevalent in gene transcriptional units and intronic regions, consistent with transposon integrations observed in other species. We determined that the presence of insulator elements was not required for reporter gene expression from the integrated transposon. We further demonstrate that a gene-trap cassette carried in the Tol2 transposon can trap and mutate endogenous transcripts in primordial germ cells. Finally, we observed that modified primordial germ cells form functional gametes as demonstrated by the generation of transgenic offspring that correctly expressed a reporter gene carried in the transposon. Transposable elements are therefore efficient vectors for the genetic manipulation of primordial germ cells and the chicken genome.
Long-Term CD4 Th1 and Th2 Memory following Acute Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Infection

ABSTRACT CD4 T cells play a central role in viral immunity. They provide help for B cells and CD8 T cells and can act as effectors themselves. Despite their importance, relatively little is known about the magnitude and duration of virus-specific CD4 T-cell responses. In particular, it is not known whether both CD4 Th1 memory and CD4 Th2 memory can be induced by viral infections. To address these issues, we quantitated virus-specific CD4 Th1 (interleukin 2 [IL-2] and gamma-interferon) and Th2 (IL-4) responses in mice acutely infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). Using two sensitive assays (enzyme-linked immunospot assay and intracellular stain) to measure cytokine production at the single-cell level, we found that both CD4 Th1 and Th2 responses were induced during primary LCMV infection. At the peak (day 8) of the response, the frequency of LCMV-specific CD4 Th1 cells was 1/35 to 1/160 CD4 T cells, and the frequency of Th2 cells was 1/400. After viral clearance, the numbers of virus-specific CD4 T cells dropped to 1/260 to 1/3,700 and then were maintained at this level indefinitely. Upon rechallenge with LCMV, both CD4 Th1 and Th2 memory cells made an anamnestic response in vivo. These results show that unlike some microbial infections in which only Th1 or Th2 responses are seen, an acute viral infection can induce a mixed CD4 T-cell response with long-term memory.
Locating the site of absorption of xanthophylls in the chicken by a surgical technique.

Abstract Increases in the level of blood xanthophylls and visual pigmentation of xanthophyll depleted cockerels were used to indirectly measure the absorption of xanthophylls. Surgical removal of either the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, or large intestine resulted in a slight but significant decrease in absorption of xanthophylls when compared to the sham operated chicks. With a similar comparison, ligation of the ceca resulted in a slight increase in pigmentation. Only the removal of that section of the jejunum-ileum affected by E. maxima resulted in chicks with no absorption when compared to chicks fed a diet free of xanthophylls. It was, therefore, concluded that most of the absorption of xanthophylls takes place in the area of the jejunum-ileum (the same section in which E. maxima infections occur), that a small amount of absorption, if any, takes place in the duodenum and large intestine, and that none takes place in the ceca.
Chimeric Sindbis-Ross River viruses to study interactions between alphavirus nonstructural and structural regions

Sindbis virus and Ross River virus are alphaviruses whose nonstructural proteins share 64% identity and whose structural proteins share 48% identity. Starting from full-length cDNA clones of both viruses, we have generated two reciprocal Sindbis-Ross River chimeric viruses in which the structural and nonstructural regions have been exchanged. These chimeric viruses replicate readily in several cell lines. Both chimeras grow more poorly than do the parental viruses, with the chimera containing Sindbis virus nonstructural proteins and Ross River virus structural proteins growing considerably better in both mosquito and Vero cell lines than the reciprocal chimera does. The reduction in replicative capacity in comparison with the parental viruses appears to result at least in part from a reduction in RNA synthesis, which suggests that the structural proteins or sequence elements within the structural region interact with the nonstructural proteins or sequence elements within the nonstructural region, that these interactions are required for efficient RNA replication, and that these interactions are suboptimal in the chimeras. The chimeras are able to infect mice, but their growth is attenuated. Western equine encephalitis virus, a virus widely distributed throughout the Americas, has been previously shown to have arisen by natural recombination between two distinct alphaviruses, but other naturally occurring recombinant alphaviruses have not been found. The present results suggest that most nonstructural/structural chimeras that might arise by natural recombination will be viable but that interactions between different regions of the genome, some of which were previously known but some of which remain unknown, limit the ability of such recombinants to become established.
Ascorbate and Glutathione: The Heart of the Redox Hub1

The discovery that there is a close relationship between ascorbate and glutathione dates from soon after the characterization of the chemical formulae of the two molecules ([Szent-Gyorgyi, 1931][1]; [Hopkins and Morgan, 1936][2]). Similarly, it has long been known that thylakoids can generate