Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Common sense for a common problem: the question of screening the average-risk population for colorectal neoplasia.

here is a discrepancy between the advice given in Canada regarding screening of the average-risk population for colorectal cancer and knowledge regarding the natural history of this cancer. The benign phase of colorectal cancer development is sufficiently long and predictable to allow for its prevention. Colorectal cancer differs from breast and prostate cancer in this respect. Screening for colorectal neoplasia allows not only for the early detection of cancer during the asymptomatic stage but also for its elimination during its benign phase. The loss to the patient of a failure to screen for colorectal neoplasia is, therefore, greater than with cancers for which individuals are commonly screened. The cost of the initial care of colon cancer is several times more than for cancers of the cervix, breast or prostate. This magnifies the cost to the health care system of failure to screen for colorectal neoplasia. To justify screening an averagerisk population, the prevalence of the disease and the benefit of intervention must be sufficient. Colorectal cancer is common in Canada, affecting about 50 people per 100 000 population per year. The annual incidence increases predictably with age so that 1%, 2% and 3% of people are affected in their 50s, 60s and 70s, respectively. Without a prevention policy, 6000 in every 100 000 Canadians will develop colorectal cancer over their lifetime. The screening tool should be reliable, sensitive and capable of intervention. In the case of colorectal neoplasia, only colonoscopy fulfills these criteria. The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care did not include colonoscopy in its 2001 update of guidelines regarding colon cancer, but suggested that fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) and flexible sigmoidoscopy be included in the periodic health examination of asymptomatic people over 50 years of age. 1 Even these recommendations are not as widely advocated as screening for other cancers, so their application has been limited. In effect, Canada has no policy for the prevention of colon cancer. Heightening public awareness of colon cancer requires the ready availability of a test to reassure the individual. FOBT misses most of the benign precursors of colon cancer and many of the malignant lesions. Attempts to improve the sensitivity and specificity of the test by examining feces for DNA (a panel of 21 mutations), instead of blood, have not been successful. Although the missed lesion rate dropped from 89.2% with FOBT to 81.8% with DNA, the test is, as yet, insufficiently sensitive to provide the patient or the patient’s physician with reassurance. 2 Flexible sigmoidoscopy misses between 65% and 35% of patients with advanced colonic neoplasia, and it has been suggested that the higher proportion of missed lesions occurs in women. 3
Directing Wayfinders With Maps: The Effects of Gender, Age, Route Complexity, and Familiarity With the Environment

Abstract The participants were 360 Canadian undergraduates. After receiving written scenarios involving a campus visitor seeking direction to a nearby destination (simple route) or a distant destination (complex route), they drew maps to that destination. The authors varied the visitor's gender, age, and familiarity with campus. They analyzed the content of the students' maps in terms of cardinal indicators (compass grid, correct north-south orientation), landmarks, labeled buildings, directional arrows, and supplemental written directions. The men tended to provide more cartographically complete maps than the women, though there were no gender differences in use of landmarks or labeled buildings. The men were significantly more inclined than the women to take visitor characteristics into account, providing more complete maps to visitors navigating complex routes, to newcomers, and to older visitors who were unfamiliar with the campus. The men had more confidence that their maps would successfully lead visitors to their destinations. Route complexity led to greater use of landmarks, labeled buildings, and cardinal indicators. The participants' self-reported familiarity with campus had little effect on their direction giving, except for a greater use of labeled buildings in maps.
Five new species of the genera Heerz Marsh, Lissopsius Marsh and Ondigus Braet, Barbalho and van Achterberg (Braconidae, Doryctinae) from the Chamela-Cuixmala biosphere reserve in Jalisco, Mexico

Abstract Five new species belonging to the poorly known Neotropical doryctine parasitoid wasps genera Heerz Marsh (Heerz ecmahla sp. n. and Heerz macrophthalma sp. n.), Lissopsius Marsh (Lissopsius pacificus sp. n. and Lissopsius jalisciensis sp. n.) and Ondigus Braet, Barbalho & van Achterberg (Ondigus cuixmalensis sp. n.) are described from the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere reserve in Jalisco, Mexico. Keys to the described species of the above three genera are provided. The phylogenetic placement of the examined taxa is investigated based on mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (28S, 2nd and 3rd domain regions) DNA sequence data.
Respiratory syncytial virus infection in tropical and developing countries

Little is known about the epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in tropical and developing countries; the data currently available have been reviewed. In most studies, RSV was found to be the predominant viral cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRI) in childhood, being responsible for 27– 96% of hospitalised cases (mean 65%) in which a virus was found. RSV infection is seasonal in most countries; outbreaks occur most frequently in the cold season in areas with temperate and Mediterranean climates and in the wet season in tropical countries with seasonal rainfall. The situation on islands and in areas of the inner tropics with perennial high rainfall is less clear‐cut. The age group mainly affected by RSV in developing countries is children under 6 months of age (mean 39% of hospital patients with RSV). RSV‐ALRI is slightly more common in boys than in girls. Very little information is available about the mortality of children infected with RSV, the frequency of bacterial co‐infection, or the incidence of further wheezing after RSV. Further studies on RSV should address these questions in more detail. RSV is an important pathogen in young children in tropical and developing countries and a frequent cause of hospital admission. Prevention of RSV infection by vaccination would have a significant impact on the incidence of ALRI in children in developing countries.
Social learning analytics to describe the learners' interaction in online discussion forum in Moodle

Online discussion forums allow learners to maintain discussions about their learning process at any time and any place; where they can express their concerns and ideas, and organize their thoughts. Indeed, online discussion forums are used as an indicator of learner's performance. In this context, this paper presents the Social Learning Analytics (SLA) process to describe the interactions between learners in an online discussion forum in Moodle using the Pajek visualization tool.
Title Developing a physiological equivalent of the Cantonese vowelquadrilateral using electromagnetic articulography ( EMA )

The spatial relations of vowels are traditionally depicted by using a vowel quadrilateral, in which the locations of vowels inside the vowel chart are based perceptually on the positions of the highest tongue position during vowel production. However, the accuracy of vowel chart has been controversial. In the present study, a physiological equivalent of the Cantonese vowel chart was developed based on objective measurement of tongue positions by using electromagnetic articulography (EMA). It was found that: (1) there were considerable differences between traditional and physiological vowel charts, and (2) there was great inter-speaker variability with regard to the location of vowel inside the vowel charts. These indicated that articulation of vowels might not be an accurate parameter for classification of vowels.
Thermal ultrasound decreases tissue stiffness of trigger points in upper trapezius muscles

ABSTRACT Many trigger point therapies, such as deep pressure massage and injection, are painful. Thermal ultrasound might be a comfortable procedure used to soften trigger points. Our objective was to compare thermal ultrasound with sham ultrasound in the ability to soften trigger points with pretest/posttest repeated-measures design for depth of tissue in a massage therapy clinic. Twenty-six patients with latent trigger points in their upper trapezius muscles were studied. Independent variables were treatments; dependent variables were tissue depth. Subjects were randomly assigned to either the treatment or sham group. The study was single-blinded; the investigator taking the measurements was blinded to which group the subjects were in, and the clinician treating with ultrasound was blinded to the measurements. Each trigger point in the treatment group received 3 MHz ultrasound at the following parameters: 1.4 W/cm2, 5 min, circular motion, 2× the size of the 7 cm2 soundhead. The ultrasound was not turned on for the sham group. This procedure was repeated one week later. Trigger point depth was measured with a pressure algometer before and immediately after each treatment. A 2×2×2 repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze depth (mm). The immediate effects were as follows: The mean depth value for the sham group was an increase of 0.64±0.33 mm; the treatment group's mean increase was 2.65±0.33 mm (F1,24=19.01; p=0.01). The residual effects were as follows: The two treatments over the course of the 2 weeks also showed that the trigger points of the ultrasound groups got softer with an increase in depth of 2.09±0.82 mm compared to −0.93±0.82 mm of the sham group (F1,24=6.81; p<0.01). Thermal ultrasound over latent trigger points is comfortable and can decrease stiffness of a trigger point.
Method for computing motion in a two-dimensional cochlear model.

We describe an effective technique for computing the steady-state motion in a two-dimensional cochlear model. With the cochlear fluid assumed incompressible and inviscid, the problem reduces to solving Laplace's equation for a region with a yielding boundary (corresponding to the basilar membrane). From an integral equation representation of this solution, a pair of second-order differential equations is derived. The solution of these differential equations gives the velocity of the basilar membrane and hence other related quantities, e.g., displacement, pressure, driving-point impedance at the stapes. Higher-order approximations, as well as extensions to nonlinear membranes are discussed.
mRNA expression of tumor‐associated antigens in melanoma tissues and cell lines

Abstract: Tumor‐associated antigens (TAA) are increasingly used as specific targets for immune therapy of malignant melanoma. The aim of the present study was to provide a basis for selecting the most suitable TAA by analyzing the mRNA expression of a large panel of TAA by RT‐PCR and Northern blotting. We have chosen primers differentiating four groups of TAA (MAGE‐A, MAGE‐B, and two groups of GAGE‐genes) and 13 individual TAA (MAGE‐A2 and ‐A3, RAGE‐1, ‐2, ‐3, and ‐4, LAGE‐1a and ‐1b, NY‐ESO‐1, GAGE‐1, SSX‐2, SCP‐1, and cTAGE‐1) based on most recent sequence data. In addition, the RAGE‐gene family has been separated into its four members by a novel designed nested PCR, which was confirmed by Northern analysis. Furthermore, the chromosomal organization and relationship between the RAGE‐family and MOK was analyzed. RAGE‐4 mRNA could be shown for the first time to be present in testis tissue. The most frequently expressed TAA were the MAGE‐A and the GAGE‐3,‐4,‐5,‐6,‐8 group, whereas among individual TAA MAGE‐A2, ‐A3, RAGE‐1, ‐3, and LAGE‐1a/b were found within most specimens and are thus promising candidates for immune therapy. In comparison, melanoma metastatic specimens and cell lines show similar profiles of TAA expression, but individual TAA differ notably between both types of samples indicating that results from cell lines are not always applicable to tumor specimen.
Corporate social responsibility and company performance : evidence from Sri Lanka

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) developed in the Western world since the 1950s, is novel to developing countries. Various CSR principles, standards, frameworks and indices have grown significantly as researchers to expand the concept in business and academic worlds. The practice of the concept and its behaviour is similar in both the developed and developing worlds. However, there are significant differences between the two worlds in implementing CSR activities. Researchers have identified these differences—of culture, management perspectives, and geographical and natural business systems—and concluded that existing CSR in the developed world cannot be employed in developing countries. Therefore, researchers are now turning their attention to investigating CSR from the point of view of developing countries.
The Strategic Dialogue on Tobacco Harm Reduction: a vision and blueprint for action in the US

The issues related to tobacco harm reduction continue to challenge the tobacco control research and policy communities. The potential for combusting tobacco products to reduce exposure and risk remains largely unknown, but this has not stopped manufacturers from offering such products making these claims. The role of oral tobacco products in a harm reduction regimen has also been a source of dialogue and debate. Within the last few years, major cigarette manufacturing companies have begun selling smokeless products for the first time, claiming to target current cigarette smokers. Other cigarette manufacturers are also offering smokeless products in markets around the world. The harm reduction debate has at times been divisive. There has been no unifying set of principles or goals articulated to guide tobacco control efforts. In particular, the research needs are extraordinarily high in order to drive evidence-based policy in this area and avoid the mistakes made with “light” cigarettes. This paper discusses recommendations from a strategic dialogue held with key, mostly US-based tobacco control researchers and policy makers to develop a strategic vision and blueprint for research, policy and communications to reduce the harm from tobacco for the US. Short-term and long-term objectives are described.
Adiponectin: action, regulation and association to insulin sensitivity

Adiponectin is a novel adipocyte‐specific protein, which, it has been suggested, plays a role in the development of insulin resistance and atherosclerosis. Although it circulates in high concentrations, adiponectin levels are lower in obese subjects than in lean subjects. Apart from negative correlations with measures of adiposity, adiponectin levels are also reduced in association with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Visceral adiposity has been shown to be an independent negative predictor of adiponectin. Thus, most features of the metabolic syndrome's negative associations with adiponectin have been shown. Adiponectin levels seem to be reduced prior to the development of type 2 diabetes, and administration of adiponectin has been accompanied by lower plasma glucose levels as well as increased insulin sensitivity. Furthermore, reduced expression of adiponectin has been associated with some degree of insulin resistance in animal studies indicating a role for hypoadiponectinaemia in relation to insulin resistance. The primary mechanisms by which adiponectin enhance insulin sensitivity appears to be through increased fatty acid oxidation and inhibition of hepatic glucose production. Adiponectin levels are increased by thiazoledinedione treatment, and this effect might be important for the enhanced insulin sensitivity induced by thiazolidinediones. In contrast, adiponectin levels are reduced by pro‐inflammatory cytokines especially tumour necrosis factor‐α. In summary, adiponectin in addition to possible anti‐inflammatory and anti‐atherogenic effects appears to be an insulin enhancer, with potential as a new pharmacologic treatment modality of the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
A new concept of voltage-collapse protection based on local phasors

A new algorithm for protection against voltage collapse is proposed. The algorithm makes use of the magnitudes and angles of the local phasors (i.e., bus voltages and load currents). The change in an apparent power-line flow during a time interval is exploited for computing the voltage-collapse criterion. The criterion is based on the fact that the line losses in the vicinity of the voltage collapse increase faster than the delivery of the apparent power and, at the voltage-collapse point, the losses consume all of the increased power. The selected criterion equals 0 when a voltage collapse occurs. The proposed algorithm could be easily implemented in a numerical relay. The information obtained by the relay can be used at two levels-for the coordinated system-wide control action or for automatic action on the local level. The algorithm is simple and computationally very fast. It was tested on the IEEE 118-bus test system.
Topoisomerase 2α plays a pivotal role in the tumor biology of stage IV thymic neoplasia

Microsatellite studies in histologic types B3 and C thymic neoplasia detected gains on chromosome 17q, which contains the Her‐2/neu and its juxtaposed topoisomerase 2α (T2α) genes. The study aimed to evaluate their impact on tumor biology and survival of advanced thymic neoplasia patients.
The not-so-harmless maxillary primary first molar extraction.

BACKGROUND Premature loss of primary molars has been associated with space loss and eruptive difficulties, especially when the loss occurs to the primary second molars and when it occurs early. This has not been thought to be the case for primary first molars. METHODS The author revisited 13 cases from an earlier study on the effects of premature loss of maxillary primary molars. These longitudinal cases were scrutinized, using serial panoramic radiographs, to explain the irregular response in terms of dental migration. The author presents two case reports. RESULTS In the earlier study, the author used digitized study casts and the concept of D + E space--the space occupied by the primary first and second molars--to describe the dental migration that occurred after premature tooth loss. Using analysis of variance on data generated using an instrument capable of measuring in tenths of millimeters, the author produced findings regarding the amount of space loss, rate of space loss, effect of age at loss, amount of space regained at the time of replacement by the permanent tooth and effect on Angle's classification. Finally, the author created a simulation describing directional change; this revealed that the maxillary primary first molar loss resulted in a mesial displacement of the permanent canine during eruption. CONCLUSIONS When the maxillary primary first molar is lost prematurely, the first premolar erupts in a more mesial direction than normal, as a result of the mesial incline of the primary second molar, and consumes the space of the permanent canine, which becomes blocked out. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Rather than use a space maintainer after the premature loss of the maxillary primary first molar, the author suggests, clinicians can choose from a number of other options for preventing the first premolar from erupting too far in a mesial direction.
Randomised controlled trial of aminophylline for severe acute asthma

OBJECTIVES To determine whether children with severe acute asthma treated with large doses of inhaled salbutamol, inhaled ipratropium, and intravenous steroids are conferred any further benefits by the addition of aminophylline given intravenously. STUDY DESIGN Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial of 163 children admitted to hospital with asthma who were unresponsive to nebulised salbutamol. RESULTS The placebo and treatment groups of children were similar at baseline. The 48 children in the aminophylline group had a greater improvement in spirometry at six hours and a higher oxygen saturation in the first 30 hours. Five subjects in the placebo group were intubated and ventilated after enrolment compared with none in the aminophylline group. CONCLUSIONS Aminophylline continues to have a place in the management of severe acute asthma in children unresponsive to initial treatment.
Toward a better understanding of functional ovarian reserve: AMH (AMHo) and FSH (FSHo) hormone ratios per retrieved oocyte.

CONTEXT Functional ovarian reserve (FOR) has recently been demonstrated to differ with ovarian genotypes of the FMR1 gene and is currently routinely determined with anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and FSH. Both, however, reflect distinctively different stages of folliculogenesis. OBJECTIVES To better understand how AMH and FSH reflect FOR, we evaluated both hormones in association with in vitro fertilization (IVF) by determining how they associate with oocyte yields, considered the most accurate available measure of FOR. DESIGN AND SETTING Using a series of logistic regressions, we assessed AMH and FSH per oocyte retrieved (AMHo and FSHo) in only first IVF cycles and determined whether at different ages and/or based on ovarian FMR1 genotypes and subgenotypes AMHo and/or FSHo are associated with clinical pregnancy chances in IVF. PATIENTS We investigated 392 consecutive IVF patients of all ages, with among them 60.7% suffering from diminished FOR. INTERVENTIONS Interventions included routine IVF cycles. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Clinical pregnancy rate in IVF cycle was assessed. RESULTS FSHo, but not AMHo, was, overall, statistically associated with pregnancy chances in IVF. This association was further limited to women above age 38 yr. FSHo was also significantly associated with pregnancy chances in women with normal FMR1 genotype, although only almost reaching significance with heterozygous-normal/low. Normal-genotype patients also demonstrate significant interaction between FSHo and age in pregnancy outcome, although insignificant for all other FMR1 genotypes and subgenotypes and universally for AMHo. CONCLUSIONS AMHo and FSHo are representative of distinctively different components of FOR, likely influenced by different ovarian FMR1 genotypes and subgenotypes.
Detecting viruses by using salivary diagnostics.

BACKGROUND Diagnostics that involve the use of oral fluids have become increasingly available commercially in recent years and are of particular interest because of their relative ease of use, low cost and noninvasive collection of oral fluid for testing. TYPES OF STUDIES REVIEWED The authors discuss the use of salivary diagnostics for virus detection with an emphasis on rapid detection of infection by using point-of-care devices. In particular, they review salivary diagnostics for human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C virus and human papillomavirus. Oral mucosal transudate contains secretory immunoglobulin (Ig) A, as well as IgM and IgG, which makes it a good source for immunodiagnostic-based devices. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Because patients often visit a dentist more regularly than they do a physician, there is increased discussion in the dental community regarding the need for practitioners to be aware of salivary diagnostics and to be willing and able to administer these tests to their patients.