Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epidemiological study of risk factors for oral, laryngeal and esophageal cancers at a tertiary care hospital in India.

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND AND AIS: An epidemiological shift in the form of increase in the incidence of cancer and decrease in the incidence of smoking is universally realized today. This study was conducted to observe an association of smoking, use of alcohol and tobacco and cancers of the oral cavity, larynx and esophagus MATERIAL AND METHODS it was a case control study conducted at Deptt. of Radiotherapy at GMCH, Chandigarh. The registers from radiology department were utilized and studied for the presence of history of alcohol consumption, smoking and tobacco intake. Statistical analysis was done by calculating Odds ratio along with 95% confidence interval. RESULTS Out of 363 cases with the diagnosis of Laryngeal, Esophageal and Oral Cancer along with 568 controls studied, 42 (11.6%) were in the age group of 30-44 years, 153 (42.1%) in the age group of 45-59 years and rest 171 (47.1%) in the age group of 60+ years. Among cases, the percentage of tobacco use, smoking and alcohol consumption was 10.5, 60.6 and 33.6 respectively as against the similar percentages among controls 1.4, 9.0 and 6.3. The odds ratio for tobacco use in relation to patients aged 60+ years was 2.39, in the age group of 45-59 years was 11.19 and increased to 55.35 in the age group 30-44 years. Similarly the overall odds ratio for alcohol consumption was 7.48 and it was 4.98 in the age group 60+ years, 6.30 in the age group 45-59 years and increasing to 17.00 in the age group of 30-44 years. CONCLUSION Finding suggests that risk of cancer of the upper respiratory and alimentary tracts is higher with tobacco and alcohol use. Further studies are required.
Rapid Damage Assessment of Rice Crop After Large-Scale Flood in the Cambodian Floodplain Using Temporal Spatial Data

The objective of this study was to estimate rice crop damage over the entire Cambodia during a large flood event from July to November 2011. An integrated approach was applied to detect and monitor flood areas with flood depth and duration for near real-time rice crop damage estimation in 2011 by using MODIS time-series imagery. The combined data consists of developed MLSWI, EVI from MODIS, new FID from DEM, land use, and simplified empirical damage curves. These data are expected to play an important role in emergency response efforts and rapid risk assessment for high-risk flood areas in the Cambodian floodplain. A rice crop damage map will be generated, showing areas with different damage levels based on flood duration and floodwater depth, including 25% (8 days, below 1.5 m), 50% (8 days, over 1.5 m; 16 days, below 1.5 m), and 100% (16 days, over 1.5 m). The resulting map was validated and shows about 80% consistency with the government census based on field-scale investigation and survey.
TrkB-mediated activation of geranylgeranyltransferase I promotes dendritic morphogenesis

Dendrite morphogenesis is regulated by neuronal activity or neurotrophins, which may function by activating intrinsic signaling proteins, including Rho family GTPases. Here we report that activity- and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)–dependent dendritic morphogenesis requires activation of geranylgeranyltransferase I (GGT), a prenyltransferase that mediates lipid modification of Rho GTPases. Dendritic arborization in cultured hippocampal neurons was promoted by over-expression of GGT, and reduced by inhibition or down-regulation of GGT. Furthermore, GGT was activated by neuronal depolarization or BDNF, both of which promote dendritic arborization, in cultured hippocampal neurons. Moreover, exploration of a novel environment caused activation of GGT in the mice hippocampus, suggesting that neural activity activates GGT in vivo. Interestingly, GGT was physically associated with tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB), the receptor for BDNF, and this association was enhanced by depolarization. Disrupting the GGT-TrkB interaction or down-regulating GGT activity attenuated depolarization- or BDNF-induced dendrite development. Finally, the GGT effect on dendrite arborization was prevented by over-expressing Rac1 with the prenylation site deleted or mutated. Thus depolarization- or BDNF-dependent dendrite development may be mediated by GGT-induced prenylation of Rho GTPases.
Global hydrological droughts in the 21st century under a changing hydrological regime

Abstract. Climate change very likely impacts future hydrological drought characteristics across the world. Here, we quantify the impact of climate change on future low flows and associated hydrological drought characteristics on a global scale using an alternative drought identification approach that considers adaptation to future changes in hydrological regime. The global hydrological model PCR-GLOBWB was used to simulate daily discharge at 0.5° globally for 1971–2099. The model was forced with CMIP5 climate projections taken from five global circulation models (GCMs) and four emission scenarios (representative concentration pathways, RCPs), from the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project. Drought events occur when discharge is below a threshold. The conventional variable threshold (VTM) was calculated by deriving the threshold from the period 1971–2000. The transient variable threshold (VTMt) is a non-stationary approach, where the threshold is based on the discharge values of the previous 30 years implying the threshold to vary every year during the 21st century. The VTMt adjusts to gradual changes in the hydrological regime as response to climate change. Results show a significant negative trend in the low flow regime over the 21st century for large parts of South America, southern Africa, Australia and the Mediterranean. In 40–52% of the world reduced low flows are projected, while increased low flows are found in the snow-dominated climates. In 27% of the global area both the drought duration and the deficit volume are expected to increase when applying the VTMt. However, this area will significantly increase to 62% when the VTM is applied. The mean global area in drought, with the VTMt, remains rather constant (11.7 to 13.4%), compared to the substantial increase when the VTM is applied (11.7 to 20%). The study illustrates that an alternative drought identification that considers adaptation to an altered hydrological regime has a substantial influence on future hydrological drought characteristics.
A National Estimate of the Health and Cost Burden of Escherichia coli Bacteraemia in the Hospital Setting: The Importance of Antibiotic Resistance

Background Antibiotic resistance poses a threat to public health and a burden to healthcare systems. Escherichia coli causes more bacteraemia cases in England than any other bacterial species, these infections, in part due to their high incidence, also pose a significant antibiotic resistance burden. The main aim of this study was to estimate the impact of E. coli bacteraemia on patient in-hospital mortality and length of stay. Secondarily, this study also aimed to estimate the effect of antibiotic resistance on these outcomes. Methods and Findings Case patients were adult E. coli bacteraemia patients infected between July 2011 and June 2012, as reported in an English national mandatory surveillance database, with susceptibility data taken from a national laboratory surveillance database. Control patients were all non-case, adult patients with an English hospital admission record. Case and control patient characteristics and admission information were taken from NHS Digital Datasets. ‘Resistance’ was defined as non-susceptible and intermediate isolates, whilst ‘susceptible’ was defined as susceptible and non-tested isolates. Time to in-hospital mortality and discharge was investigated through Cox proportional hazards models. To acquire estimates of excess length of stay, multistate models were constructed, with a unit bed day cost applied to estimate cost burden. The total number of case and control hospital spells was 14,051 and 8,919,275 respectively. Acquisition of E. coli bacteraemia was associated with a statistically significant increased daily risk of in-hospital mortality, especially for the first eight days of someone’s hospital admission [Hazard Ratio = 2.77 (95% confidence interval; 2.61-2.94)]. Antibiotic resistance did not seem to significantly increase this risk further, though did significantly reduce risk of experiencing a discharge event (dead or alive). E.coli bacteraemia was estimated to cost ₤14,340,900 over the study period (rounded to the nearest ₤100), with resistance associated with excess costs per infection of ₤220 - ₤420 dependent on resistance type, for those where a significant impact was found (rounded to the nearest ₤10). Conclusions E. coli bacteraemia places a significant burden on patient health and on the hospital sector in England. Resistance is an important factor on length of stay with regards to such infections.
Guidelines for external fixation frame rigidity and stresses

Using results from FEM analyses and experiments as references, analytical methods are applied to develop simple approximate formulas to relate frame rigidity, maximal pin stresses, and peak pin–bone stresses in external fracture fixation (EFF) configurations in axial loading to the most important frame, pin, and bone parameters. It is found that, in a realistic range, the parameters can be adapted to vary the frame rigidity from about 13 N/mm to 17,000 N/mm, thereby reducing the maximal stresses in the pins and at the pin–bone interface by a factor of 140. In particular, when compromises have to be established in the frame characteristics in order to ensure a flexible configuration and limit the stress values at the same time, the formulas presented can provide useful guidelines. The side‐bar separation and the pin modulus, in particular, can be adapted to decrease the rigidity, while only moderately increasing the stresses, thereby reducing chances for pin failure, pin–bone loosening, and pin‐tract infection. A nomogram is presented for a quick reference to estimated relations between frame characteristics, rigidity, and stresses. It is believed that this material may be of use in EFF design and applications in clinical and animal experimental trials.
Data Mining Framework for Direct Marketing: A Case Study of Bank Marketing

Direct marketing has generated an increasing interest among academics and practitioners over the past few years. This is due to competitive market environment, advancement in technology and changing behavior of customers which are difficult to predict. Despite of numerous studies that have provided important insights into the direct marketing, the understanding of this topic of growing interest and importance still remains deficient. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive framework to guide research efforts focusing on direct marketing strategy and aid practitioners in their quest to achieve direct marketing success using data mining methods. The framework builds on the literature from direct marketing concepts and data mining methods that provides a systematic approach to users who have little knowledge in data mining in order to carry out effective marketing campaigns. A case study on bank marketing campaigns was used for evaluating the feasibility of the framework.
Hospitalizations for Kawasaki disease among children in the United States, 1988-1997.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the epidemiologic pattern of Kawasaki disease (KD) in the United States over 10 years. METHODS The National Inpatient Sample, a stratified national sample of >900 hospitals in 22 states of the United States, was used. Data on hospital discharges from 1988-1997 were analyzed. Patients <18 years of age with a discharge diagnosis of KD were identified. RESULTS There were 6442 patients with KD admitted to 651 hospitals. Median age at hospital admission was 2 years. Peak incidence by year of age was 1 year old. Children <2 years old accounted for 36.6% of all cases; <5 years old, 75.6%; and <10 years old, 95.6%. The age distribution seems to be wider than reported from Japan. The incidence for children <5 years old was 8.1 per 100 000 people in 1988, and increased to 18.5 in 1997. There were 3905 males (60.6%) and 2537 females (39.4%), for a male-to-female ratio of 1.54. The incidences were higher in winter and spring (December to May) and dropped to a nadir between July and September. No apparent change in seasonal pattern was noted over 10 years. The South census region showed a seasonal change 2 to 3 months ahead of other regions. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 0.17%. The mortality rate in children > or =10 years (1.4%) was significantly higher in than children <10 years (0.11%). CONCLUSIONS KD affects mainly children under 5 years of age, with a peak incidence in children 1 to 2 years of age. The incidence of KD was rising over the study period. There is a male predominance. Although KD occurs year-round, the lowest incidence is seen from July through September. Such seasonal variation did not change over the 10 years. Seasonal pattern may vary in different geographic regions. Mortality from KD is rare, although children > or =10 years are at higher risk.
Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen as affected by land use types in karst and non-karst areas of northwest Guangxi, China.

BACKGROUND Human migration from the karst area to the non-karst area is an important approach for the restoration of degraded karst ecosystems. However, the effects of human-induced land-use change on soil properties are still unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of land use and parent material on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) at a depth of 0-15 cm in karst and non-karst areas in southwest China. RESULTS In the karst area, SOC and TN under different land uses decreased significantly in the order of secondary forestland > scrubland and abandoned farmland > farmland, commercial forestland and forage grassland. In the non-karst area, SOC and TN were the highest in scrubland and grassland, and were significantly higher than those in farmland and commercial forestland. Because of differences in parent material, SOC and TN were significantly higher in the karst area than those in the non-karst area. CONCLUSION Abandoned farmland had the potential to increase SOC and TN significantly but land reclamation and cultivation had the opposite effect. SOC and TN were higher but cultivation-induced losses occurred more rapidly in calcareous soils than in red soils, indicating that more attention is needed for soil productivity and land use management in the karst area.
Pre-harvest and postharvest factors affecting skin colour and other quality attributes of "Kensington Pride" mango (Mangifera indica linn.)

The retention of green colour on the skin of ripe fruit has a significant negative impact on the saleability and value of ‘Kensington Pride’ mangoes (Mangifera indica Linn.) in Australia. Previous, preliminary work on mango, and more detailed work on other commodities, indicated that pre-harvest factors such as nitrogen, and postharvest practices such as ripening conditions, can be a major factor in the skin colour of ripe fruit. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how production practices, in particular nitrogen, and postharvest practices (ripening temperature, ethylene and carbon dioxide concentration) influence the skin colour of ripe ‘Kensington Pride’ fruit. In addition, the effects of deviations from the ideal ripening and holding conditions were investigated to understand how commercial holding and transport conditions can affect skin colour and quality. The key skin pigments concentrations were quantified to understand how these external factors affect skin colour. Other quality parameters such as diseases and skin blemishes were also measured to obtain a more complete understanding of the effects of these factors on fruit quality. To understand the extent of the green, ripe fruit problem, and conditions that may affect fruit colour, a survey of 10 commercial orchards was conducted in the Burdekin district (north Queensland, Australia). The survey indicated that green, ripe fruit were produced by most of the orchards evaluated. Circumstantial evidence suggested that nitrogen may be involved. Therefore, the effect of pre-harvest nitrogen application on skin colour and other quality attributes was investigated in the following two seasons. Pre-harvest nitrogen applications of
Guest Editors’ Introduction

The term ‘‘subliminal perception’’ has been around for many years and is generally understood as perception that can occur without conscious awareness. The idea that subliminal perception provokes a significant impact on thoughts or behaviors strikes many people as counterintuitive. Recent findings support the notion of perception without conscious awareness, and oppose the intuitive notion that consciousness is necessary for perception (Ramsoy & Overgaard, 2004). The discussion whether subliminal perception actually changes thoughts/behavior traces back to the question whether a stimulus is perceived even when there is no awareness of it. Rapid advance of new technologies, such as EEG and fMRI, provides a way to measure directly effects of subliminal stimuli, which leads to a revival of studies on the link between subliminal stimuli and behavior, thought, and emotional changes. The central objective of this special issue is to provoke an active debate on the impact, role and adequacy of using information below threshold in virtual environments, teleoperation, or augmented reality. The papers in this issue deal with the concept of subliminal perception, its basic characteristics, and appropriate research methodologies using neural, physiological, cognitive, or behavioral responses to subliminal cues in virtual/augmented reality, teleoperation, and automotive contexts. It features a collection of current, state-of-the-art research results discussing the effects of subliminal stimuli and behavior.
PSockets: The Case for Application-level Network Striping for Data Intensive Applications using High Speed Wide Area Networks

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is used by various applications to achieve reliable data transfer. TCP was originally designed for unreliable networks. With the emergence of high-speed wide area networks various improvements have been applied to TCP to reduce latency and achieve improved bandwidth. The improvement is achieved by having system administrators tune the network and can take a considerable amount of time. This paper introduces PSockets (Parallel Sockets), a library that achieves an equivalent performance without manual tuning. The basic idea behind PSockets is to exploit network striping. By network striping we mean striping partitioned data across several open sockets. We describe experimental studies using PSockets over the Abilene network. We show in particular that network striping using PSockets is effective for high performance data intensive computing applications using geographically distributed data.
Displaced Clavicle Fractures in Adolescents: Facts, Controversies, and Current Trends

&NA; There is an increasing trend toward stabilization and fixation of markedly displaced midshaft clavicle fractures in adolescents. Recent studies in the adult literature have shown a greater prevalence of symptomatic malunion, nonunion, and poor functional outcomes after nonsurgical management of displaced fractures. Fixation of displaced midshaft clavicle fractures can restore length and alignment, resulting in shorter time to union. Symptomatic malunion after significantly displaced fractures in adolescents may be more common than previously thought. Adolescents often have high functional demands, and their remodeling potential is limited. Knowledge of bone biology and the effects of shortening, angulation, and rotation on shoulder girdle mechanics is critical in decision making in order to increase the likelihood of optimal results at skeletal maturity. Selection of fixation is dependent on many factors, including fracture type, patient age, skeletal maturity, and surgeon comfort.
Ocular dominance in layer IV of the cat's visual cortex and the effects of monocular deprivation.

1. The relation between the physiological pattern of ocular dominance and the anatomical distribution of geniculocortical afferents serving each eye was studied in layer IV of the primary visual cortex of normal and monocularly deprived cats. 2. One eye was injected with radioactive label. After allowing sufficient time for transeuronal transport, micro‐electrode recordings were made, and the geniculocoritcal afferents serving the injected eye were located autoradiographically. 3. In layer IV of normal cats, cell were clustered according to eye preference, and fewer cells were binocularly driven than in other layers. Points of transition between groups of cells dominated by one eye and those dominated by the other were marked with electrolytic lesions. A good correspondence was found between the location of cells dominated by the injected eye and the patches of radioactively labelled geniculocortical afferents. 4. Following prolonged early monocular deprivation, the patches of geniculocortical afferents in layer IV serving the deprived eye were smaller, and those serving the non‐deprived eye larger, than normal. Again there was a coincidence between the patches of radioactively labelled afferents and the location of cells dominated by the injected eye. 5. The deprived eye was found to dominate a substantial fraction (22%) of cortical cells in the fourth layer. In other cortical layers, only 7% of the cells were dominated by the deprived eye. 6. These findings suggest that the thalamocortical projection is physically rearranged as a consequence of monocular deprivation, as has been demonstrated for layer IVc of the monkey's visual cortex (Hubel, Wiesel & Le Vay, 1977).
Anomaly-Tolerant Traffic Matrix Estimation via Prior Information Guided Matrix Completion

Network management, planning, and optimization rely on accurate and complete traffic measurement. However, anomalies and missing data are inevitable in direct traffic measurement because of high measurement costs and unreliable network transport protocols. Existing traffic matrix estimation approaches concern only the outlier and ignore the structural anomaly, which often degrades the estimation accuracy drastically. To address this challenge, an anomaly-tolerant traffic matrix estimation approach called Simultaneously Estimate Traffic Matrix and Detect Anomaly (SETMADA) is presented. By utilizing the prior low-rank property and temporal characteristic of the traffic matrix, the traffic matrix estimation in the coexistence of the outlier and structural anomaly is formulated as a Prior Information Guided Matrix Completion (PigMaC) problem, where outlier and structural anomalies are modeled by the L1-norm and L2,1-norm, respectively. Furthermore, by employing the multi-blocks ADMM and stochastic proximal gradient descent, a scalable parallel optimization algorithm PigMaC-ADMM-S is proposed to solve the PigMaC problem. To our knowledge, SETMADA is the first approach that can simultaneously estimate the missing traffic matrix and explicitly sift outlier and structural anomalies. Simulation results demonstrate that SETMADA achieves better estimation performance compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms. In addition, SETMADA provides an accurate localization of outlier and structural anomaly, which is the prerequisite for malfunction diagnosis in the large-scale networks.