Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anterior tentorium-based epidermoid tumours: Results of radical surgical treatment in 96 cases

A retrospective analysis of 96 surgically treated tentorium and anterior tentorial hiatus-based epidermoid tumours from 1997 – 2004 is presented. The most prominent symptoms were headache (53.1%) and ataxia (44.8%). The average tumour size was 4.4 cm. Surgical approaches included posterior cranial fossa route (85 cases), basal subtemporal middle fossa route (9 cases) and combined posterior fossa and subtemporal routes in two cases. Total tumour resection was performed in 46 patients. Eight and four patients developed transient and sustained postoperative neurological deficits respectively. There was mortality in two patients. There was non-symptomatic recurrence of the tumour in two cases. Ninety-four patients are leading active functional lives. Radical and safe resection of anterior tentorium-based epidermoid tumours is associated with symptomatic relief and lasting cure. Extensive drilling of the petrous bone can be avoided. Gentle dissection of the tumour and capsule from the critical neurovascular structures can limit post-operative morbidity.
The region makes the difference: disparities in management of acute myocardial infarction within Switzerland

Background In Switzerland, health policies are decided at the local level, but little is known regarding their impact on the management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In this study, we assessed geographical differences within Switzerland regarding management of AMI. Design Cross-sectional study. Methods Swiss hospital discharge database for period 2007–2008 (26,204 discharges from AMI). Seven Swiss regions (Leman, Mittelland, Northwest, Zurich, Central, Eastern, and Ticino) were analysed. Results Almost 53.7% of discharges from AMI were managed in a single hospital, ranging from 62.1% (Leman) to 31.6% (Ticino). The highest intensive care unit admission rate was in Leman (69.4%), the lowest (16.9%) in Ticino (Swiss average: 36.0%). Intracoronary revascularization rates were highest in Leman (51.1%) and lowest (30.9%) in Central Switzerland (average: 41.0%). Bare (non-drug-eluting) stent use was highest in Leman (61.4%) and lowest (16.9%) in Ticino (average: 42.1%), while drug-eluting stent use was highest (83.2%) in Ticino and lowest (38.6%) in Leman (average: 57.9%). Coronary artery bypass graft rates were highest (4.8%) in Ticino and lowest (0.5%) in Eastern Switzerland (average: 2.8%). Mechanical circulatory assistance rates were highest (4.2%) in Zurich and lowest (0.5%) in Ticino (average: 1.8%). The differences remained after adjusting for age, single or multiple hospital management, and gender. Conclusions In Switzerland, significant geographical differences in management and revascularization procedures for AMI were found.
MALFORMATIONS OF THE FACE

Etiology The association between thalidomide and severe malformations of the limbs has been clearly established (Smithells, 1962). In most other cases, questions to the parents of deformed children about incidents in pregnancy do not give any useful information about the cause ofthe deformity. The incidents which have impressed themselves on the parents' minds have usually occurred after the seventh week of pregnancy, by which time the hand is fully formed though in miniature (Bardeen and Lewis, I901; Lewis, 1901). Approximately 5% of hand deformities are inherited (Barsky, 1958). Either the deformity is transmitted in pure formthrough many generations, or a tendency to deformity of the limb is transmitted and the exact form varies (see also BirchJensen, I949).
First wave of cultivators spread to Cyprus at least 10,600 y ago

Early Neolithic sedentary villagers started cultivating wild cereals in the Near East 11,500 y ago [Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA)]. Recent discoveries indicated that Cyprus was frequented by Late PPNA people, but the earliest evidence until now for both the use of cereals and Neolithic villages on the island dates to 10,400 y ago. Here we present the recent archaeological excavation at Klimonas, which demonstrates that established villagers were living on Cyprus between 11,100 and 10,600 y ago. Villagers had stone artifacts and buildings (including a remarkable 10-m diameter communal building) that were similar to those found on Late PPNA sites on the mainland. Cereals were introduced from the Levant, and meat was obtained by hunting the only ungulate living on the island, a small indigenous Cypriot wild boar. Cats and small domestic dogs were brought from the mainland. This colonization suggests well-developed maritime capabilities by the PPNA period, but also that migration from the mainland may have occurred shortly after the beginning of agriculture.
Successful Integration of Hepatitis C Evaluation and Treatment Services With Methadone Maintenance

Objectives:Despite high rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, relatively few current or former injection drug users receive evaluation and treatment for HCV. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of integrating HCV care and methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). We hypothesized that colocation of these services would result in improved access to and utilization of HCV care. Methods:In this retrospective observational study, all patient charts from a single MMT clinic were reviewed 2 years after HCV care and MMT were integrated. Information obtained included screening for and counseling about HCV infection status, on-site HCV treatment and outcomes, and demographic and substance abuse data. Results:Two hundred ninety-one patient charts were reviewed. Two hundred eighty-one (99%) patients were screened for HCV antibody (HCV-Ab), and 188 (65%) were positive. Forty-nine (17%) patients were HIV/HCV coinfected. Ninety-eight percent of the HCV-Ab-positive patients received HCV counseling. Hundred fifty-nine (85%) of the HCV-Ab-positive patients were eligible to receive further evaluation and treatment for HCV on site, and 125 (78%) accepted. Hundred eighteen (94%) patients were tested for chronic HCV, and 83 were determined to have chronic HCV. Twenty-five patients received liver biopsy; low-stage disease was found in 7 patients. Twenty-one patients initiated HCV treatment. Sustained viral response was achieved in 8 patients. Seventeen patients had contraindications to HCV treatment. Further workup was prevented or delayed in 45 patients for various reasons, most commonly due to personal choice (29 patients). Conclusions:This study demonstrates that current and former injection drug users can be engaged successfully in evaluation and treatment of HCV infection when these services are collocated with MMT.
Geometrically and diagrammatically maximal knots

The ratio of volume to crossing number of a hyperbolic knot is known to be bounded above by the volume of a regular ideal octahedron, and a similar bound is conjectured for the knot determinant per crossing. We investigate a natural question motivated by these bounds: For which knots are these ratios nearly maximal? We show that many families of alternating knots and links simultaneously maximize both ratios.
Quantification of myelinated endings and mechanoreceptors in human digital skin

We used immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy applied to fingertip punch biopsy to study glabrous skin innervation in 14 healthy subjects. In addition to epidermal nerve fibers, we quantified mechanoreceptors and their myelinated afferents. Using digital images and dedicated software, we calculated caliber, internodal and nodal length, and G‐ratio of the last four internodes of the myelinated endings. In our skin samples, we found a mean density of 59.0 ± 29.3 myelinated endings per square millimeter with a mean diameter of 3.3 ± 0. 5μm and an internodal length of 79.1 ± 13. 8μm. These findings indicate that Aβ fibers undergo drastic changes in their course from the nerve trunk to the target organ, with repeated branching and consequent tapering and shortening of internodal length. Our work demonstrates that skin biopsy can give information on the status of large myelinated endings as well as unmyelinated sensory and autonomic nerves. Since distal endings are primarily involved in distal axonopathy, skin biopsy can be more suitable than sural nerve biopsy to detect early abnormalities. In addition to diagnostic applications, this technique allows clarification of the mode of termination of Aβ fibers and their relationship with mechanoreceptors, leading to relevant electrophysiological speculations. Ann Neurol 2003
Risk of head and neck cancer in patients with diabetes mellitus: a retrospective cohort study in Taiwan.

IMPORTANCE An increasing body of evidence suggests that certain types of cancers are more common in people with diabetes mellitus (DM). However, the risk of head and neck cancer (HNC) in patients with DM has seldom been explored. OBJECTIVE To examine the risk of HNC in patients with DM. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this retrospective cohort study using Taiwan's Longitudinal Health Insurance Research Database, we compared 89,089 patients newly diagnosed as having DM and controls without DM-related medical claims matched for comorbidities (obesity, coronary artery disease, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension), sex, and age. Patients were assessed from the index date until the end of follow-up on December 31, 2011, or until the patient was censored because of death. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The incidence of HNC at the end of 2011. RESULTS The incidence of HNC was 1.47 times higher in patients newly diagnosed as having DM than was the risk of a first malignant tumor in the control group (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 1.48; 95% CI, 1.31-1.67). The risks of oral cancer (AHR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.47-2.06), oropharyngeal cancer (AHR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.01-2.31), and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (AHR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.03-1.89) were significantly higher in patients with DM than in controls. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of developing HNC. The risks of developing oral cavity cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma were significantly higher in patients with DM.
Influence of Antihypertensive Treatment with Perindopril, Pindolol or Felodipinon Plasma Leptin Concentration in Patients with Essential Hypertension

UNLABELLED Leptin - produced predominantly by adipocytes - is presumably also involved in pathogenesis of essential hypertension (EH). In the present study, we addressed the question whether and to what extent antihypertensive monotherapy does influence leptinemia in patients with mild or moderate EH. Forty-two EH patients were enrolled in this randomized, open-labeled study. In all subjects, plasma concentrations of leptin, insulin, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and creatinine were estimated twice - before and one month after initiation of monotherapy with perindopril, pindolol or felodipin, respectively. Plasma leptin concentration, in the afternoon and midnight, was significantly higher in patients with essential hypertension than in normotensive healthy subjects (p < 0.01). Therapy with perindopril or felodipin did not influence the daily profile of leptinemia or insulinemia, respectively. However, pindolol monotherapy showed a marked (p < 0.01) suppressive effect on the daily profile of leptinemia, but did not influence insulinemia. CONCLUSIONS First, patients with essential hypertension are characterized by higher plasma leptin levels as compared with normotensive healthy subjects; second, suppressive effect of pindolol on leptinemia may be of pathophysiological relevance in the course of weight gain during beta-blocker therapy.
Effects of Working Memory Capacity and Tasks in Processing L2 Complex Sentence: Evidence from Chinese-English Bilinguals

Two experiments aimed at investigating how working memory capacity (WMC) related to processing wh-extractions in both a grammatical judgment and a translation task by using the Operation Span task. A self-paced paradigm was used to collect response times and accuracy rates. In Experiment 1, results showed that high WMC was related to faster grammatical judgment of the critical region in subject- and object-extractions. In Experiment 2, high WMC was only related to high accuracy in translating wh-extractions. These results indicate that individual differences in WMC play a certain role during L2 sentence processing, and experimental tasks can modulate this effect.
Arsenic Trioxide: Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia and Beyond

Arsenic containing treatments have a history of over two millenniums. Recently, arsenic trioxide (As 2 O 3 ) has been introduced into the treatment of both de novo and relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), with remarkable clinical success. Several investigations using both freshly isolated APL blast cells as well as APL-derived tumor cell lines have shown that the main mechanism by which As 2 O 3 exerts its antileukemic activity in APL is induction of apoptosis in the leukemic cell population. Recently, it has become evident that the apoptotic effects of As 2 O 3 are not restricted to APL cells but may also be observed in malignant cells of non-APL origin. In the present review, history, current clinical use as well as future perspectives of As 2 O 3 therapy in both hematologic and solid malignancies are discussed, with special emphasis being put on the potential future role of As 2 O 3 in the treatment of non-APL tumors. Of particular importance, enhancing agents suited to increase As 2 O 3 -sensitivity in less sensitive tumors (e.g. ascorbic acid) are also addressed.
CADDeLaG: Framework for distributed anomaly detection in large dense graph sequences

Random walk based distance measures for graphs such as commute-time distance are useful in a variety of graph algorithms, such as clustering, anomaly detection, and creating low dimensional embeddings. Since such measures hinge on the spectral decomposition of the graph, the computation becomes a bottleneck for large graphs and do not scale easily to graphs that cannot be loaded in memory. Most existing graph mining libraries for large graphs either resort to sampling or exploit the sparsity structure of such graphs for spectral analysis. However, such methods do not work for dense graphs constructed for studying pairwise relationships among entities in a data set. Examples of such studies include analyzing pairwise locations in gridded climate data for discovering long distance climate phenomena. These graphs representations are fully connected by construction and cannot be sparsified without loss of meaningful information. In this paper we describe CADDeLaG, a framework for scalable computation of commute-time distance based anomaly detection in large dense graphs without the need to load the entire graph in memory. The framework relies on Apache Spark's memory-centric cluster-computing infrastructure and consists of two building blocks: a decomposable algorithm for commute time distance computation and a distributed linear system solver. We illustrate the scalability of CADDeLaG and its dependency on various factors using both synthetic and real world data sets. We demonstrate the usefulness of CADDeLaG in identifying anomalies in a climate graph sequence, that have been historically missed due to ad hoc graph sparsification and on an election donation data set.
Cooperation Strategies and Resource Allocations in Multiuser OFDMA Systems

Cooperative communication and orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) technology are both promising candidates for next-generation wireless communication systems. In this paper, we investigate cooperation strategies and resource-allocation algorithms for multiuser cooperative orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access (OFDMA) systems. There are two major contributions of this paper. First, we propose a novel cooperation strategy for the OFDMA system. When there are two users in the system, the strategy achieves the capacity region upper bound for decode-and-forward (DF) cooperation. When there are multiple users in the system, the strategy can achieve near upper-bound performance in certain network topologies. Moreover, the strategy always outperforms those that are previously proposed for cooperative OFDMA systems. The second contribution is that we develop novel centralized resource-allocation algorithms for cooperative OFDMA systems. The advantages of the algorithms are that they not only simultaneously solve relay, power, and subcarrier allocation but also have complexity that increases only linearly with the number of subcarriers in the systems.
Monotonicity and comparison results for nonnegative dynamic systems. Part II: Continuous-time case

This second Part II, which follows a first Part I for the discrete-time case (see [3]), deals with monotonicity and comparison results, as generalization of the pure stochastic case, for stochastic dynamic systems with arbitrary nonnegative generators in the continuous-time case. In contrast with the discrete-time case the generalization is no longer straightforward. A discrete-time transformation will therefore be developed first. Next, results from Part I can be adopted. The conditions, the technicalities and the results will be studied in detail for a reliability application that initiated the research. This concerns a reliability network with dependent components that can breakdown. A secure analytic performance bound is obtained.
Rosiglitazone inhibits α4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expression in human lung carcinoma cells through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ-independent signals

We and others have shown previously that nicotine, a major component of tobacco, stimulates non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) proliferation through nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR)-mediated signals. Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) has been shown to inhibit NSCLC cell growth, but the exact mechanisms responsible for this effect remain incompletely defined. Herein, we show that nicotine induces NSCLC cell proliferation in part through α4 nAChR, prompting us to explore the effects of rosiglitazone, a synthetic PPARγ ligand, on the expression of this receptor. Rosiglitazone inhibited the expression of α4 nAChR, but this effect was through a PPARγ-independent pathway, because GW9662, an antagonist of PPARγ, and the transfection of cells with PPARγ small interfering RNA failed to abolish the response. The inhibitory effect of rosiglitazone on α4 nAChR expression was accompanied by phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and down-regulation of Akt phosphorylation. These signals mediated the inhibitory effects of rosiglitazone on α4 nAChR expression because chemical inhibitors prevented the effect. Rosiglitazone was also found to stimulate p53, a tumor suppressor known to mediate some of the effects of nicotine. Interestingly, p53 up-regulation was needed for rosiglitazone-induced inhibition of α4 nAChR. Thus, rosiglitazone inhibits α4 nAChR expression in NSCLC cells through activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, which triggers induction of p53. Finally, like others, we found that nicotine stimulated the expression of α4 nAChR. This process was also inhibited by rosiglitazone through similar pathways. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(1):110–8]
Corticosteroid effects on isotonic contractile properties of rat diaphragm muscle.

The effects of corticosteroids (CS) on diaphragm muscle (Diam) fiber morphology and contractile properties were evaluated in three groups of rats: controls (Ctl), surgical sham and weight-matched controls (Sham), and CS-treated (6 mg . kg-1 . day-1 prednisolone at 2.5 ml/h for 3 wk). In the CS-treated Diam, there was a selective atrophy of type IIx and IIb fibers, compared with a generalized atrophy of all fibers in the Sham group. Maximum isometric force was reduced by 20% in the CS group compared with both Ctl and Sham. Maximum shortening velocity in the CS Diam was slowed by approximately 20% compared with Ctl and Sham. Peak power output of the CS Diam was only 60% of Ctl and 70% of Sham. Endurance to repeated isotonic contractions improved in the CS-treated Diam compared with Ctl. We conclude that the atrophy of type IIx and IIb fibers in the Diam can only partially account for the CS-induced changes in isotonic contractile properties. Other factors such as reduced myofibrillar density or altered cross-bridge cycling kinetics are also likely to contribute to the effects of CS treatment.
Kinematic and kinetic differences in the execution of vertical jumps between people with good and poor ankle joint dorsiflexion

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the kinematic and kinetic differences in the execution of vertical jumps between individuals with good and poor ankle dorsiflexion. Fifteen physical education students were assigned to the flexible group (FG), while another 15 were assigned to the inflexible group (IFG). The two groups executed countermovement jumps (CMJ) and drop jumps from a 60 cm height (DJ60). For the CMJ, the FG jumped higher (32.0 ± 4.0 cm vs. 30.2 ± 4.9 cm, P = 0.27) and used a greater range of motion in all leg joints. The IFG jumpers raised their heels off the ground and had a greater horizontal distance between the centre of mass of the trunk and the centre of the hip joint (LCMh 25.6 ± 3.4 cm vs. 30.9 ± 4.3 cm, P < 0.001). In the DJ60 the FG jumped higher (22.4 ± 5.9 cm vs. 19.5 ± 4.6 cm, P = 0.14) with a greater vertical shift of the body centre of mass (BCM) (S = 0.45 ± 0.11 cm vs. 0.36 ± 0.05 cm, P < 0.01) and better joint coordination. The IFG jumpers changed the position of their trunk and heels depending on the jump type. Trainers should reconsider the technical issues of vertical jumps according to the flexibility of the ankle joint.
Administrative data is as good as medical chart review for comorbidity ascertainment in patients with infections in Singapore

SUMMARY The Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) is widely used for control of confounding from comorbidities in epidemiological studies. International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-coded diagnoses from administrative hospital databases is potentially an efficient way of deriving CCI. However, no studies have evaluated its validity in infectious disease research. We aim to compare CCI derived from administrative data and medical record review in predicting mortality in patients with infections. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 199 inpatients. Correlation analyses were used to compare comorbidity scores from ICD-coded administrative databases and medical record review. Multivariable regression models were constructed and compared for discriminatory power for 30-day in-hospital mortality. Overall agreement was fair [weighted kappa 0·33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·23–0·43]. Kappa coefficient ranged from 0·17 (95% CI 0·01–0·36) for myocardial infarction to 0·85 (95% CI 0·59–1·00) for connective tissue disease. Administrative data-derived CCI was predictive of CCI ⩾5 from medical record review, controlling for age, gender, resident status, ward class, clinical speciality, illness severity, and infection source (C = 0·773). Using the multivariable model comprising age, gender, resident status, ward class, clinical speciality, illness severity, and infection source to predict 30-day in-hospital mortality, administrative data-derived CCI (C = 0·729) provided a similar C statistic as medical record review (C = 0·717, P = 0·8548). In conclusion, administrative data-derived CCI can be used for assessing comorbidities and confounding control in infectious disease research.