Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Combination of Endoscopic CO 2 Laser Microsurgery and Radiotherapy for Treatment of T2N0M0 Glottic Carcinoma

The aims of this study were to evaluate the results of CO2 laser surgery alone and CO2 laser surgery combined with radiotherapy in patients with T2N0M0 glottic carcinoma. A retrospective analysis was conducted of 35 cases of T2N0M0 glottic carcinoma. Fourteen patients with normal vocal cord mobility were treated with endoscopic CO2 laser surgery alone. The remaining 21 patients were treated with CO2 laser surgery followed by radiotherapy (44 - 70 Gy, including low-dose carboplatin chemoradiotherapy). Main outcome measures were local control, organ preservation, recurrence, 5-year survival, and successful salvage in cases of recurrence. We evaluated the patient’s voice with the psychoacoustics GRBAS scale, maximum phonation time (MPT), and airflow rate (AFR) obtained by aerodynamic tests. Mean follow-up period was 5 years. Among the 35 T2N0M0 patients, 5-year survival and 5-year voice preservation rates were 97% and 89%, respectively. Local recurrence occurred in 7 of these patients (20%); 4 of 7 local recurrences were successfully re-treated by laser surgery. Total laryngectomy was necessary for salvage treatment in the remaining 3 patients. The post-treatment voice qualities were judged to be the same or improved over pretreatment qualities. There was little change in MPT and AFR after treatment in non-recurrence patients. CO2 laser microsurgery is an excellent tool for treating selected cases of T2N0M0 glottic
Emergence of multiple drug resistance Vibrio cholerae O1 in East Delhi.

INTRODUCTION Considering the changing geographical and temporal occurrence of Vibrio cholerae, there is a continuing need to monitor the strain characteristics and antibiotic resistance patterns of this pathogen. The present study was conducted to document the changing biology of V. cholerae isolates in and around Delhi, India, and the development of antibiotic resistance. METHODOLOGY A total of 1,424 stool samples or rectal swabs from patients with acute secretory diarrhoea admitted to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi, between January 2007 and December 2009 were processed using standard bacteriological methods. Strains identified as V. cholerae were further subjected to serogrouping, phage typing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of gentamicin and tetracycline was determined. RESULTS V. cholerae was isolated in 242/1,424 (17.0%) specimens. Of these, the majority were V. cholerae O1 serotype (98.3%) and serovar Ogawa. The drugs to which V. cholerae O1 isolates showed high levels of resistance were nalidixic acid, furazolidone, and cotrimoxazole throughout the study period, whereas strains were usually susceptible to chloramphenicol and cefotaxime. In 2007, there was a sudden increase of resistance to gentamicin and tetracycline, followed by a slow reversal to previous levels in subsequent years. The phage typing pattern (Basu and Mukherjee scheme) showed a dominance of phage type 2 throughout the study period. CONCLUSION The importance of reporting all cases of V. cholerae, should be greatly emphasized, with the ultimate goal of understanding the constantly changing resistance patterns of this pathogen.
Women and Leadership in Higher Education in China: Discourse and the Discursive Construction of Identity

Prior research indicates that just 4.5 percent of mainland China’s higher educational institution leaders are female. This article extends theory and research by drawing attention to identity and Discourse as an important, yet under-researched, aspect of the problem of women’s underrepresentation in higher education leadership. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with nine female academics in Chinese universities and informed by discursive approaches to identity and constructionist views, we analyze how women construct multiple identities, the interplay of identities, and the influence of broader societal Discourses of gender and leadership. The findings highlight the interplay between competing multiple identities, and illustrate how the women’s identities are shaped and constrained by dominant historical and cultural Discourses in Chinese society, which results in identity regulation (Alvesson and Billing 2009), notably identity positioning that is congruent with social norms and conventions. A key finding is that the female academics reject the leader identity. This is true for those in middle management positions, as well as women in early career stages, who might otherwise aspire to leadership. Implications for the leadership pipeline in China’s universities is discussed and recommendations are made for future research directions.
Fetal intrahepatic hyperechogenic foci: prenatal ultrasound diagnosis and outcome

Fetal intrahepatic hyperechogenic foci were found in 7 out of 7260 patients (1:1037) referred to our prenatal centre for a fetal anomaly scan because of an increased risk or suspected presence of fetal structural anomalies. The gestational age varied between 20 and 32 weeks (mean 24 weeks). Fetal karyotyping in 3 out of 7 fetuses resulted in one case of trisomy 18. Additional anomalies were diagnosed in both this case and a case of combined hyperechogenic liver foci, encephalocoele, and unilateral renal agenesis. TORCH and Parvo virus screening was only done in one patient and the results were negative. Outcome was normal in five fetuses with isolated intrahepatic lesions. In the presence of fetal intrahepatic hyperechogenic foci, a detailed scan of the entire fetus should be performed. Screening for infections should continue in order to clarify their role in the development of these intrahepatic lesions. Fetal karyotyping is recommended when additional structural anomalies are present. The outcome of fetuses with isolated hyperechogenic liver foci is generally good. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fraction magnitude understanding and its unique role in predicting general mathematics achievement at two early stages of fraction instruction

BACKGROUND Prior studies on fraction magnitude understanding focused mainly on students with relatively sufficient formal instruction on fractions whose fraction magnitude understanding is relatively mature. AIM This study fills a research gap by investigating fraction magnitude understanding in the early stages of fraction instruction. It extends previous findings to children with limited and primary formal fraction instruction. SAMPLE(S) Thirty-five fourth graders with limited fraction instruction and forty fourth graders with primary fraction instruction were recruited from a Chinese primary school. METHODS Children's fraction magnitude understanding was assessed with a fraction number line estimation task. Approximate number system (ANS) acuity was assessed with a dot discrimination task. Whole number knowledge was assessed with a whole number line estimation task. General reading and mathematics achievements were collected concurrently and 1 year later. RESULTS In children with limited fraction instruction, fraction representation was linear and fraction magnitude understanding was concurrently related to both ANS and whole number knowledge. In children with primary fraction instruction, fraction magnitude understanding appeared to (marginally) significantly predict general mathematics achievement 1 year later. CONCLUSIONS Fraction magnitude understanding emerged early during formal instruction of fractions. ANS and whole number knowledge were related to fraction magnitude understanding when children first began to learn about fractions in school. The predictive value of fraction magnitude understanding is likely constrained by its sophistication level.
Prediction of the Thermal Parameters of a High-Temperature Metallurgical Reactor Using Inverse Heat Transfer

Abstract—This study presents an inverse analysis for predicting the thermal conductivities and the heat flux of a high-temperature metallurgical reactor simultaneously. Once these thermal parameters are predicted, the time-varying thickness of the protective phasechange bank that covers the inside surface of the brick walls of a metallurgical reactor can be calculated. The enthalpy method is used to solve the melting/solidification process of the protective bank. The inverse model rests on the Levenberg-Marquardt Method (LMM) combined with the Broyden method (BM). A statistical analysis for the thermal parameter estimation is carried out. The effect of the position of the temperature sensors, total number of measurements and measurement noise on the accuracy of inverse predictions is investigated. Recommendations are made concerning the location of temperature sensors.
Monte Carlo Modeling of the Effects of Injected Short-, Medium- and Longer-Range Alpha-Particle Emitters on Human Marrow at Various Ages

Abstract Utteridge, T. D. , Charlton, D. E. and Allen, B. J. Monte Carlo Modeling of the Effects of Injected Short-, Medium- and Longer-Range Alpha-Particle Emitters on Human Marrow at Various Ages. Radiat. Res. 156, 413–418 (2001). The effects of injected short-, medium- and longer-range α-particle emitters (149Tb, 211At/211Po and 213Bi/213Po, respectively) on the total hemopoietic stem cell population of active normal bone marrow in humans of various ages has been estimated using Monte Carlo modeling. The fraction of the normal hemopoietic stem cells that are hit and survive has been calculated as a first step toward estimating the risk of development of therapy-induced leukemia. The fraction was lowest for the shorter-range α-particle emitter (149Tb) and highest for the longer-range α-particle emitter (213Bi/213Po), with the value for the medium-range α-particle emitter 211At/211Po being intermediate between these. There was little variation in the data with the age of the subject within each α-particle emitter. This lack of age dependence provides reassurance that the fraction of cells hit in any subject of any age with normal marrow can be estimated by modeling newborn marrow (which requires little computing time) despite age-related differences in microarchitecture.
Use of echo planar imaging to demonstrate the effect of posture on the intragastric distribution and emptying of an oil/water meal

Intragastric distribution of solids and liquids is far from uniform but until recently technical limitations have prevented detailed study. Echo planar imaging (EPI), which can provide high‐quality images of intragastric contents, has been used in this study to assess the intragastric distribution of oil and water and gastric emptying in subjects lying on either their left or right side. Eight healthy volunteers underwent four gastric emptying studies after consuming either an aqueous meal (400 mL beef consomme soup + 100 mL water) or a fat/aqueous meal (400 mL soup + 100 mL olive oil) lying on either their left or right side.
Synthetic Medical Images from Dual Generative Adversarial Networks

Currently there is strong interest in data-driven approaches to medical image classification. However, medical imaging data is scarce, expensive, and fraught with legal concerns regarding patient privacy. Typical consent forms only allow for patient data to be used in medical journals or education, meaning the majority of medical data is inaccessible for general public research. We propose a novel, two-stage pipeline for generating synthetic medical images from a pair of generative adversarial networks, tested in practice on retinal fundi images. We develop a hierarchical generation process to divide the complex image generation task into two parts: geometry and photorealism. We hope researchers will use our pipeline to bring private medical data into the public domain, sparking growth in imaging tasks that have previously relied on the hand-tuning of models. We have begun this initiative through the development of SynthMed, an online repository for synthetic medical images.
Effect of acclimatization to high altitude (5,050 m) on motor unit activation pattern and muscle performance.

This study evaluated the influence of acute and chronic hypoxia (up to 40 days at 5,050 m) on the muscle strength, fast-to-slow fiber motor unit (MU) ratio, and MU activation strategy. These factors were studied by measuring the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the elbow flexors and analyzing surface electromyogram (EMG) and soundmyogram (SMG) of the isometrically contracting biceps brachii. From the time and frequency domain analysis of EMG and SMG, the root mean square and mean frequency of the spectra were calculated. SMG and EMG were recorded during 4-s exercises in the 20-100% MVC range before departure; after 2, 15, and 40 days at high altitude; and after the return to sea level. MVC or root mean square and mean frequency at all levels of effort were not significantly different among all experimental conditions. In the present study where optimal living conditions (i.e., food, physical activity, and environmental temperature) were ensured, acute and chronic hypoxia (at least up to 40 days) did not affect the maximal force output or fast-to-slow fiber MU ratio and MU activation pattern during isometric exercise.
Acute myocarditis: diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced cine steady-state free precession MRI sequences.

OBJECTIVE MRI has become the primary tool for assessment of myocardial inflammation in patients with suspected acute myocarditis. Optimal diagnostic performance is achieved with late gadolinium-enhanced sequences, but cine balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) MRI sequences are routinely used to evaluate cardiac function. Our aim was to prospectively assess the diagnostic value of unenhanced and contrast-enhanced cine SSFP MRI sequences in comparison with late gadolinium-enhanced sequences for imaging of patients with strong evidence of acute myocarditis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Eighteen patients with strong evidence of acute myocarditis underwent 1.5-T cardiac MRI. Unenhanced and contrast-enhanced cine SSFP images and late gadolinium-enhanced images were obtained. The images were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Data were analyzed with analysis of variance and the Bonferroni test or paired Student t test. RESULTS Areas of high signal intensity were detected in 28% (5/18), 94% (17/18), and 89% (16/18) of patients on unenhanced cine, contrast-enhanced cine, and late gadolinium-enhanced images. In one patient, contrast-enhanced cine images revealed subepicardial areas of high signal intensity that were not visible on late gadolinium-enhanced images. The location and transmural nature of involved segments matched on contrast-enhanced cine and late gadolinium-enhanced images (both, r = 0.91, p < 0.0001). The contrast-to-noise ratio was significantly higher on contrast-enhanced cine images than on late gadolinium-enhanced images (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Contrast-enhanced cine MRI is a valuable tool for detection of lesions of acute myocarditis and should be recommended for routine clinical MRI.
Global Operations Sourcing Strategy: A Chinese Perspective

We report on a survey of global manufacturing sourcing decisions that were made by multi-national companies operating in China. Based on responses from Chinese managers, the survey explored explicit sourcing and technology company decisions. The analysis provided insights into what these firms are doing with respect to global sourcing and why they are doing so. Analysis of the responses also shed light on how these decisions were made. Our results tested the validity of various arguments that have been put forward to predict or explain the pattern of global sourcing shifts that is taking place. The key takeaways from this paper are 1) the observed pattern of decision making, which can be grouped into dominant flows, indicates that re-shoring to the developed economies is not happening on a large scale and that shifting in and out of and within China is occurring with direction and reasons dependent on the particular industry, and 2) insight into the fact that that firms are evaluating complex tradeoffs when making both technology and sourcing decisions and thus a single dominant driver, such as labor cost, does not adequately explain the observed patterns.
Estimated GFR and fracture risk: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Although patients with ESRD have a higher fracture risk than the general population, there is conflicting evidence regarding fracture incidence in those with CKD. This study sought to determine the association between estimated GFR (eGFR) and fracture rates. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS This study identified 1,815,943 community-dwelling adults who had at least one outpatient serum creatinine measurement between 2002 and 2008. Patients with eGFR <15 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) and those who required dialysis were excluded. Incident fractures of the hip, wrist, and vertebrae were identified using diagnostic and procedure codes. Poisson regression was used to determine adjusted rates of each fracture type by eGFR, age, and sex. RESULTS The median age of the cohort was 47 years (interquartile range, 24), and 7.1% had eGFR <60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2). Over a median follow-up of 4.4 years, fracture rates increased with age at all sites. Within each age stratum, unadjusted rates increased with declining eGFR; however, adjusted rates were similar across eGFR categories. For example, among women aged 65-74 years, adjusted hip fracture rates were 3.41 per 1000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 2.30 to 4.53) and 4.58 per 1000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 0.02 to 9.14) in those with eGFR ≥90 and 15-29 ml/min per 1.73 m(2), respectively. Similar results were observed for wrist and vertebral fractures. CONCLUSIONS In contrast to earlier studies, patients with eGFR<60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) do not appear to have increased rates of hip, wrist, and vertebral fractures independent of age and sex.
Child‐rearing in the context of childhood cancer: Perspectives of parents and professionals

Elevated distress has been well documented among parents of children with cancer. Family systems theories suggest that cancer‐related stressors and parental distress have the potential to affect child‐rearing practices, but this topic has received limited empirical attention. The present work examined self‐reported child‐rearing practices among mothers and fathers of children with cancer and matched comparisons.
Strategy for allergenicity assessment of ‘natural novel foods’: clinical and molecular investigation of exotic vegetables (water spinach, hyacinth bean and Ethiopian eggplant)

Background: Foods not commonly consumed in the European Union must be proven safe before being brought to market, including an assessment of allergenicity. We present a three‐stepwise strategy for allergenicity assessment of natural novel foods using three novel vegetables, namely, water spinach, hyacinth bean, Ethiopian eggplant.
First isolations of leptospires serogroup Ballum serovar arborea in Argentina

DRAYCOTT, R. A. H. , HOODLESS, A. N. , LUDIMAN, M. N. & ROBERTSON, P. A. (1998) Effects ofspring feeding on body condition of captive-reared ringnecked pheasants in Great Britain.Journal ofWildlife Management62, 557-563 HILL, D. & ROBERTSON, P. (1988) Breeding success of wild and hand reared ring-necked pheasants. Journal of Wildlife Management 52, 446-450 HILLGARTH, N. (1990) Parasites and sexual selection in pheasants. DPhil thesis, University of Oxford LUND, E. E. (1960) Factors influencing the survival of Heterakis and Histomonas on soil. Journal ofParasitology 46, 38 ROBERTSON, P. A. & HILLGARTH, N. (1993) Impact of a parasite Heterakis gallinarum on the body condition and breeding success of pheasants Phasianus colchicus. Proceedings of International Union of Game Biologists 21st Congress. Vol 2. Ed I. D. Thompson. Canadian Forest Service, Halifax, Nova Scotia RUFF, M. D. , McDOUGALD, L. R. & HANSEN, M. F. (1970) Isolation of Histomonas meleagridis from embryonated eggs ofH gallinarum. Journal of Protozoology 17, 1011 TAPPER, S. C. (1999) A Question of Balance. Game Animals and their Role in the British Countryside. Fordingbridge, Game Conservancy Trust TOMPKINS, D. M. , DRAYCOTT, R. A. H. & HUDSON, P. J. (2000) Field evidence for apparent competition mediated via the shared parasites of two gamebird species. Ecology Letters 3, 10-14 WOODBURN, M. I. A. (1994) Gut parasites and pheasant breeding success. Game Conservancy Trust Review of 1993 25, 81-82
The medullary dorsal reticular nucleus facilitates pain behaviour induced by formalin in the rat

The influence of the dorsal reticular nucleus (DRt) on pain behaviour during the formalin test was studied in the rat by lesioning the nucleus through local application of electrical current or quinolinic acid. Animals in which the DRt was lesioned ipsilaterally to the paw injected with formalin spent less time in focused (licking, biting or scratching the injected paw) and total (focused pain behaviour plus protection of the injected paw during movements) pain behaviour, and showed paw‐jerks less frequently than non‐lesioned animals in both phases 1 and 2 of the test. Animals in which the DRt was lesioned contralaterally to the injected paw presented a decrease in total pain behaviour and number of paw‐jerks only during phase 2. The number of superficial (laminae I–II) and deep (laminae III–VI) spinal dorsal horn cells expressing the c‐fos proto‐oncogene 2 h after subcutaneous injection of formalin was reduced by 34% and 50%, respectively, in animals with an ipsilateral DRt lesion as compared to non‐lesioned rats. No differences in c‐fos expression were observed after lesioning the DRt contralateral to the formalin injection.
Dose indices in dental cone beam CT and correlation with dose-area product.

OBJECTIVES In the 2011 project "Safety and efficacy of a new and emerging dental X-ray modality (SEDENTEXCT)", it was suggested that dose index (DI) and dose-area product (DAP) could be easily measured and used as diagnostic reference levels (DRLs), which would help in the management of radiation doses to patients in optimum exposure settings. Such indices could be directly related to effective dose. The purposes of this study, therefore, were to measure and calculate the DI and DAP in cone beam CT (CBCT) machines and to evaluate the correlation between the two. METHODS Dose measurements were performed on three-dimensional cone beam CT (3D-CBCT) machines [3D Accuitomo (J. Morita Mfg. Corp., Kyoto, Japan), Veraviewepocs (J. Morita Mfg. Corp.) and CS9300 (Carestream, New York, NY)] by exposing a cylindrical poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) phantom using a CT ionization chamber. These dose measurements were used for the calculation of Dose Indices 1 and 2, according to the methodology suggested by SEDENTEXCT. The DAP was measured using a DAP meter that was attached to the detector to cover the entire irradiated area. RESULTS The DI1 ranged from 53.6 mR to 216.6 mR, the DI2 ranged from 77.1 mR to 325.0 mR and the DAP ranged from 101.1 mGy cm(2) to 457.9 mGy cm(2), depending on the machines and exposure settings. Index 2 had a better correlation with the DAP than Index 1. CONCLUSIONS The DIs and DAP proposed by SEDENTEXCT may be useful for establishing DRLs for dental CBCT machines; however, further studies are necessary to determine which of these indices provide accurate dose estimates proportionally relating to the effective dose.