Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can a surgical treatment centre reduce waiting lists? Results of a natural experiment.

STUDY OBJECTIVE--To determine the effectiveness of the Welsh general surgery (hernia and varicose veins) treatment centre established as part of the NHS reforms, in terms of its impact upon throughput and waiting lists. DESIGN--This was a natural experiment with two control groups--other surgical specialties without treatment centre provision, and general surgery in districts that made only minor use of the facility. SETTING--General Surgery Treatment Centre, Bridgend General Hospital. SUBJECTS--All patients referred between 1 April 1990 and 31 March 1991. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS--Main outcome measures were throughput for hernia and varicose vein operations, non-urgent inpatient waiting list lengths before and after the opening of the centre and patient satisfaction. Altogether 1097 patients were referred during the year. Of these, 160 (15%) did not attend outpatient assessment and 79 (8%) of those who did were unsuitable for surgery. A total of 750 operations were performed--448 (60%) for varicose veins and 261 (35%) hernia repairs. Among the residents of the four main districts using the centre (with valid data available), there was a significant increase in the total number of varicose vein operations performed but no significant increase in hernia repairs. In the six districts that made major use of the centre, general surgery waiting lists for non-urgent cases fell significantly (p < 0.0001) while those for ear, nose, and throat showed no significant change and gynaecology lists lengthened significantly (p < 0.0001). In the three districts that made minor use of the centre general surgery waiting lists showed no change. CONCLUSIONS--Relations between inputs and waiting lists are often unpredictable, but after controlling for confounding trends there is sound evidence that such a centre provides an acceptable and effective approach to the waiting list problem.
Photosynthetic Response of Soybean Leaf to Wide Light-Fluctuation in Maize-Soybean Intercropping System

In maize-soybean intercropping system, soybean plants will be affected by the wide light-fluctuation, which resulted from the shading by maize plants, as the shading of maize the light is not enough for soybean in the early morning and late afternoon, but at noon, the light is strong as the maize shading disappeared. The objective of this study is to evaluate the photosynthetic response of soybean leaf to the wide light-fluctuation. The data of diurnal variation of photosynthetic characters showed that the photosynthetic rate of intercropped soybean was weaker than that of monocropped soybean. The chlorophyll content, ratio of chlorophyll a/b, and AQE (apparent quantum efficiency) were increased and Rd (dark respiration rate) was decreased for the more efficient interception and absorption of light and carbon gain in intercropping. δRo (The efficiency/probability with which an electron from the intersystem electron carriers was transferred to reduce end electron acceptors at the PSI acceptor side) and φRo (the quantum yield for the reduction of the end electron acceptors at the PSI acceptor side) in intercropped soybean leaf were lower compared to those in monocropped one, which showed that the acceptor side of PSI might be inhibited, and also it was the main reason that soybean plants showed a low photosynthetic capacity in intercropping. ψEo (the efficiency/probability with an electron moves further than QA-) in monocropping and intercropping decreased 5.8, and 35.7%, respectively, while φEo (quantum yield for electron transport) decreased 27.7 and 45.3% under the high radiation at noon, which suggested that the acceptor side of PSII was inhibited, while the NPQ became higher. These were beneficial to dissipate excess excitation energy in time, and protect the photosynthetic apparatus against photo-damage. The higher performance index on the absorption basis (PIABS) and lower δRo, φRo, ψEo, and φEo of intercropped soybeans compared to monocropping under high radiation indicated that the electron transfer of intercropped soybean was inhibited more seriously and intercropped soybean adjusted the electron transport between PSII to PSI to adapt the light-fluctuation. Higher NPQ capacity of intercropped soybeans played a key role in keeping the leaf with a better physiological flexibility under the high radiation.
Extraperitoneal lymph node dissection in locally advanced cervical cancer; the prognostic factors associated with survival

Objective: Surgical staging was recently recommended for the decision of treatment in locally advanced cervical cancer. We aimed to investigate clinical outcomes as well as factors associated with overall survival (OS) in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer who had undergone extraperitoneal lymph node dissection and were managed according to their lymph node status. Material and Methods: The medical records of 233 women with stage IIb-IVa cervical cancer who were clinically staged and underwent extraperitoneal lymph node dissection were retrospectively reviewed. Paraaortic lymph node status determined the appropriate radiotherapeutic treatment field. Surgery-related complications and clinical outcomes were evaluated. Results: The median age of the patients was 52 years (range, 26-88 years) and the median follow-up time was 28.4 months (range, 3-141 months). Thirty-one patients had laparoscopic extraperitoneal lymph node dissection and 202 patients underwent laparotomy. The number of paraaortic lymph nodes extracted was similar for both techniques. Sixty-two (27%) of the 233 patients had paraaortic lymph node metastases. The 3-year and 5-year OS rates were 55.1% and 46.5%, respectively. The stage of disease, number of metastatic paraaortic lymph nodes, tumor type, and paraaortic lymph node status were associated with OS. In multivariate Cox regression analyses, tumor type, stage, and presence of paraaortic lymph node metastases were the independent prognostic factors of OS. Conclusion: Paraaortic lymph node metastasis is the most important prognostic factor affecting survival. Surgery would give hints about the prognosis and treatment planning of the patient.
Isolation and characterization of three new classes of transformation-deficient mutants of Streptococcus pneumoniae that are defective in DNA transport and genetic recombination

Transformation-deficient mutants of Streptococcus pneumoniae were isolated after nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis. Seventeen mutants developed normal peaks of competence, as tested by their ability to degrade one strand of donor DNA, but they yielded transformants for chromosomal point markers at efficiencies from less than 0.001 to 0.04 that of the wild type. Some of the mutants were defective in DNA uptake and are described as entry defective (Ent-). Others took up DNA in normal quantities, but they failed to give stable transformants and are described as recombination defective (Rec-). In two of the Rec- mutants, normal levels of transformation by plasmid DNA occurred; in the others, it was reduced as much as chromosomal transformation. Conjugative transfers of a chromosomal omega (cat tet) element and of the plasmid pIP501 occurred at normal levels both to and from Rec- mutants. Transfer of chloramphenicol resistance by transformation with omega (cat tet) donor DNA, however, was blocked in Rec- mutants to about the same extent as was transformation for point markers.
Joint Rate, Power, and Decoding Order Optimization of MIMO-MAC with MMSE-SIC

We consider a multiple-access multiple-input- multiple-output (MIMO) system with minimum mean square error successive interference cancelation (MMSE-SIC) receiver. Spatial multiplexing is employed with some of the users having target-rate requirements while other users are working with best-effort data rates. We show that the best-effort users can achieve higher rates when the data streams of any user are not restricted to be decoded in a consecutive order and when time-sharing between different decoding orders is allowed. Two scenarios are considered. In the first scenario, we assume that the power transmitted from each antenna is fixed, and hence the optimization is done over rate and decoding order only. In the second scenario, the optimization is done jointly over rate, power, and decoding order. We show that in both scenarios the problem can be formulated as a convex optimization problem, and hence efficient algorithms can be used to obtain the globally optimal solution. We also show that in some cases it is possible to reduce the power required to obtain the optimal solution, and we show that the power minimization problem is convex. We also propose an efficient algorithm to obtain a sufficient set of decoding orders (corner points) and time-sharing factors, to obtain the optimal solution.
Short Employment Spells in Italy, Germany and Great Britain: Testing the 'Port-of-Entry' Hypothesis

This paper looks at short employment spells in three European countries: Great Britain, whose labour market is considered the most flexible in the EU; Italy, regarded as the least flexible; and Germany, tightly regulated, but characterised by a deservedly famous apprenticeship system. In particular, it aims to assess whether young people in short-lived jobs stand a better chance of finding a 'good job' compared to their older colleagues. The increasingly held belief that in modern economies a 'bad job' at the beginning of one's career is the 'port-of-entry' to stable employment and to upward mobility, makes this assessment particularly relevant; ie it matters greatly if short-duration jobs are entry ports into better employment or become long term-traps. The lack of accepted benchmarks makes it difficult to reach strong conclusions in regard to the 'efficiency' of labour markets, however, this study should help to highlight the effect of different labour market institutions on mobility and on the soundness of the 'port-ofentry' hypothesis. This paper was produced as part of the Centre for Economic Performance's Labour Markets Programme Short Employment Spells in Italy, Germany and Great Britain: Testing the 'Port-of-Entry' Hypothesis Bruno Contini, Lia Pacelli and Claudia Villosio
Chromogranin A-like immunoreactive neurites are major constituents of senile plaques.

The distribution of chromogranin A (CgA), a soluble protein in dense-core synaptic vesicles expressed by a variety of neuronal cell types, was studied immunocytochemically in Alzheimer's disease and normal aging. In addition to its presence in neuronal perikarya and process, CgA-like immunoreactivity (CgA-li) was demonstrated in multiple dystrophic neurites forming the crown of senile plaques. Two different monoclonal antibodies, LK2H10 and PHE5, gave identical results. In the two regions of the brain studied--the calcarine cortex and the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus--the areal density of plaques associated with CgA-like immunoreactive neurites was greater than the density of Congo red-stainable amyloid cores, but smaller than the density of beta amyloid peptide deposits identified by the Campbell silver stain. By comparison, other synaptically released peptides--somatostatin 28, somatostatin 14, substance P, cholecystokinin, neurotensin, vasoactive intestinal peptide, and leu-enkephalin--were immunocytochemically detected in less than 30% of plaques. Thus CgA appears unique among known synaptically released substances in being present in dystrophic neurites in virtually all classic (i.e., Congo red stainable) plaques and additionally in a subpopulation of preamyloid plaques.
MANAGEMENT OF POSTMENOPAUSAL BLEEDING

Aim: To describe the appropriate management of women with postmenopausal bleeding (PMB). Study Design: Descriptive study in one year (Jan – Dec, 2012). Method: All patients with postmenopausal bleeding in one year were investigated and managed. Basic investigation was trans-vaginal sonography. Those with endometrial thickness more than 4 mm were further investigated by dilatation and curettage, then management strategy was planned according to the cause. Result: A total of 23 patients were presented with postmenopausal bleeding (endometrial thickness > 4 mm) during one year. Among them 11 case were having first episode and the remaining had recurrent bleeding. Endometrial hyperplasia (simple) was the common pathology (52%), in whom surgical management (hysterectomy) was performed in 60% cases. Three cases (13%) were managed with MIRENA (levonorgestrel releasing intrauterine system). Two case were diagnosed as endometrial carcinoma. Both of them were having advanced stage and were referred to Shaukat Khanum Hospital Lahore. Conclusion: Trans-vaginal sonography can reliably asses thickness and morphology of endometrium, thus risk group can be identified. Endometrial hyperplasia is the major cause of PMB. Dilatation and curettage, can provide sufficient diagnostic accuracy. Hysterectomy remained the main management of PMB patients.
Neural systemic impairment from whole‐body vibration

Insidious brain microinjury from motor vehicle‐induced whole‐body vibration (WBV) has not yet been investigated. For a long time we have believed that WBV would cause cumulative brain microinjury and impair cerebral function, which suggests an important risk factor for motor vehicle accidents and secondary cerebral vascular diseases. Fifty‐six Sprague‐Dawley rats were divided into seven groups (n = 8): 1) 2‐week normal control group, 2) 2‐week sham control group (restrained in the tube without vibration), 3) 2‐week vibration group (exposed to whole‐body vibration at 30 Hz and 0.5g acceleration for 4 hr/day, 5 days/week, for 2 weeks), 4) 4‐week sham control group, 5) 4‐week vibration group, 6) 8‐week sham control group, and 7) 8‐week vibration group. At the end point, all rats were evaluated in behavior, physiological, and brain histopathological studies. The cerebral injury from WBV is a cumulative process starting with vasospasm squeezing of the endothelial cells, followed by constriction of the cerebral arteries. After the 4‐week vibration, brain neuron apoptosis started. After the 8‐week vibration, vacuoles increased further in the brain arteries. Brain capillary walls thickened, mean neuron size was obviously reduced, neuron necrosis became prominent, and wide‐ranging chronic cerebral edema was seen. These pathological findings are strongly correlated with neural functional impairments. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Randomized trial comparing fanning with standard technique for endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of solid pancreatic mass lesions

Background and study aims: The fanning technique for endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS – FNA) involves sampling multiple areas within a lesion with each pass. The aim of this study was to compare the fanning and standard techniques for EUS – FNA of solid pancreatic masses. Patients and methods: Consecutive patients with solid pancreatic mass lesions were randomized to undergo EUS – FNA using either the standard or the fanning technique. The main outcome measure was the median number of passes required to establish diagnosis. The secondary outcome measures were the diagnostic accuracy, technical failure, and complication rate of the two techniques. Results: Of 54 patients, 26 were randomized to the standard technique and 28 to the fanning technique. There was no difference in diagnostic accuracy (76.9 % vs. 96.4 %; P = 0.05), technical failure or complication rates (none in either cohort). There was a significant difference in both the number of passes required to establish diagnosis (median 1 [interquartile range 1 – 3] vs. 1 [1 – 1]; P = 0.02) and the percentage of patients in whom a diagnosis was achieved on pass one (57.7 % vs. 85.7 %; P = 0.02) between the standard and fanning groups, respectively. Conclusions: The fanning technique of FNA was superior to the standard approach because fewer passes were required to establish the diagnosis. If these promising data are confirmed by other investigators, consideration should be given to incorporating the fanning technique into routine practice of EUS – FNA. Registered at Clinical Trials.gov (NCT 01501903).
Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) in psoriatic arthritis: pathophysiology and treatment with TNF inhibitors

High levels of proinflammatory cytokines, including tumour necrosis factor (TNF), have been detected in psoriatic skin lesions and joints of patients with the inflammatory disease. Early results of treatment of psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis with TNF neutralising agents are encouraging, but whether these agents will be able to improve long term outcomes, such as disability, is not yet known.
Association between the A-1438G polymorphism of the serotonin 2A receptor gene and nonimpulsive suicide attempts

Objective To investigate the association between four serotonergic polymorphisms [A-1438G (rs6311) and T102C (rs6313) of the serotonin 2A receptor gene, and STin2 VNTR and 5-HTTLPR of the SLC6A4 gene] and suicidal behavior. Participants and methods One hundred and ninety-three suicide attempters (SA) and 420 unrelated healthy controls from Asturias (Northern Spain) were genotyped using standard methods. Results A-1438G and T102C polymorphisms were in complete linkage disequilibrium in our population. Genotype and allele distributions showed no differences between SA and control participants. In nonimpulsive suicide attempts, however, we found an excess of the -1438A allele as compared with impulsive suicide attempts and the control group [χ2(2)=11.92, corrected P=0.021]. No other differences were found with regard to the impulsivity of the attempt. An excess of short allele carriers were found in the group of SA with high clinical lethality as compared with the low-lethality group [χ2(1)=4.93, P=0.026, not significant after Bonferroni correction]. The haplotype analysis showed no association between suicide attempt and haplotype distribution [likelihood ratio test (5)=4.40, P=0.493]. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the -1438A allele may predispose for nonimpulsive suicidal behavior.
RESISTENCIA A LA COMPRESIÓN PARALELA A LA FIBRA DE LA GUADUA ANGUSTIFOLIA Y DETERMINACIÓN DEL MÓDULO DE ELASTICIDAD

el capitulo E-7 de las Normas Colombianas de Diseno y Construccion Sismo Resistente contempla el diseno de casas de uno y dos pisos en bahareque encementado. Sin embargo, actualmente se utiliza guadua rolliza como material de construccion en elementos de armaduras y porticos para estructuras de cubiertas, puentes y edificaciones sin que haya una norma de diseno que contemple la guadua como material estructural. Para contar con valores de diseno, el grupo de investigacion Analisis, Diseno y Materiales, GIES, de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, ha realizado estudios para la determinacion de la resistencia a corte paralela a la fibra y tension perpendicular a la fibra. Como continuacion de dichos estudios, en el ano 2006 se encontraron estas propiedades mecanicas a partir de ensayos con Guadua angustifolia proveniente de los departamentos de Quindio y Caldas. En este articulo se presentan los resultados obtenidos de resistencia a la compresion paralela a la fibra, el esfuerzo admisible para el diseno de elementos a compresion bajo diferentes combinaciones de carga y del modulo de elasticidad para la Guadua angustifolia
Reglas monetarias en Colombia y Chile

“Muchos paises latinoamericanos han experimentado altas tasas de inflacion durante largos periodos de tiempo. Esta situacion empezo a cambiar al final de la ultima decada, cuando se llego a un consenso sobre la importancia de las politicas anti-inflacionarias. Chile y Colombia constituyen buenos ejemplos de ambos casos respectivamente: aunque los dos paises iniciaron la decada de los ochenta con tasas de inflacion similares, durante los anos noventa sus tasas de inflacion siguieron caminos disimiles. Este articulo busca determinar empiricamente aquellos elementos que estan sistematicamente presentes en las politicas economicas aplicadas por Colombia y Chile. Con este proposito se siguen los pasos de Clarida, Gali y Gertler (1997 b,c) y hago una estimacion de una funcion de reaccion prospectiva para el banco central de cada uno de estos dos paises. Para que este ejercicio tenga validez, la politica monetaria debe tener cierto grado de autonomia. Aunque Colombia y Chile son economias pequenas y abiertas, en terminos de sus politicas monetarias pueden ser consideradas autonomas. Los resultados de este articulo deben ayudar a determinar por que la politica del Banco Central de Chile ha tenido mas exito en reducir la volatilidad y el nivel de la tasa de inflacion que el Banco de la Republica de Colombia. A continuacion se describen algunas caracteristicas de la politica monetaria en ambos paises durante las ultimas dos decadas. La tercera parte de este estudio contiene la funcion de reaccion que se ha de estimar y describe el metodo empleado para estimarla. La cuarta parte expone los resultados obtenidos y la ultima parte presenta las conclusiones. ”
Immunology of spontaneous mammary carcinomas in mice IV. Association of the mammary tumor virus with the immunogenicity of C3H nodules and tumors.

Summary Experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that at least part of the immunogenicity of spontaneous mammary carcinomas and preneoplastic hyperplastic alveolar nodules resides in antigens possessed or induced by the mammary tumor virus (MTV). Outgrowths of 2 recently isolated C3H nodules grew well in the MTV-infected C3H animals, but developed not at all, or only to a very limited extent, in adult MTV-free C3Hf hosts. Experience with either nodular tissue afforded protection to many of the C3Hf animals against subsequent challenge with implants of a mammary carcinoma originating from 1 of the outgrowths. In contrast, C3H mice accrued no such protection from nodule immunization. Infection of C3Hf mice with MTV at birth by foster-nursing on a C3H mother rendered these animals (designated C3Hf/f.C3H) receptive to the growth of the nodular tissues. In addition, C3Hf/f.C3H hosts could not be immunized effectively against tumor challenge by exposure to the nodular outgrowths. The immunogenicity of C3H preneoplastic and neoplastic mammary tissues for C3Hf mice cannot be explained, therefore, on the basis of any residual heterozygosis of normal isoantigenic composition. Instead, the present findings support the hypothesis that antigens associated with the presence of the MTV play a prominent role in the immunogenicity of C3H mammary tumors and nodules.
Emerging in vitro resistance to quinolones in penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains in Hawaii

The susceptibilities of 37 penicillinase-producing strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG), isolated in Hawaii from December 1991 through January 1994, were determined to ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin, fluoroquinolone agents currently recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as alternative regimens for the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea. Nine isolates (24.3%) exhibited decreased susceptibilities (MICs, > or = 0.06 microgram/ml) to ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin. Ciprofloxacin MICs for three isolates (8.1%) were 2.0 micrograms/ml; these isolates belonged to the auxotype/serovar class Pro/IB-7 and possessed the 3.2-MDa beta-lactamase and the 24.5-MDa conjugative plasmids. Six strains for which ciprofloxacin MICs were 0.06 to 0.125 microgram/ml belonged to a variety of gonococcal phenotypes. Strains for which ciprofloxacin MICs were 2.0 micrograms/ml were isolated from persons who had traveled to, or were sexual contacts of persons who had recently traveled to, Southeast Asia. Persons infected with these isolates had been treated with ceftriaxone (250 mg intramuscularly, single dose); therefore, none of these cases were associated with clinical failure following the use of fluoroquinolone therapy. Further studies are needed to confirm the clinical and public health significance of increased in vitro resistance to ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin in N. gonorrhoeae.