Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Primary Neuroectodermal Tumors of the Ovary: A Report of 25 Cases

Twenty-five primary ovarian neuroectodermal tumors occurred in females from 6 to 69 (average, 23) years of age; they had the usual presenting symptoms of abdominal swelling or pain. The tumors, which varied from cystic to solid, ranged from 4 to 20 cm (average, 14 cm) in diameter. Microscopic examination revealed three histologic categories—differentiated, primitive, and anaplastic— with the tumors in the first group having a better prognosis than those in the other two groups. Five of the six differentiated gliomas were pure ependymomas, and one was an ependymoma with an astrocytoma component; none contained teratomatous elements. Two patients with stage I tumors were alive 4 and 5 years postoperatively. The one patient with stage IIA tumor was free of disease at 3 years; one of the two patients with a stage III tumor died of tumor after 5 years, and one had two recurrences but was alive and well at 5 years. Twelve tumors were primitive, resembling medulloepithelioma, ependymoblastoma, neuroblastoma or medulloblastoma. Seven tumors had teratomatous foci of other types, including three dermoid cysts. Three patients with stage I tumors were alive at 7 months, 3 years, and 9 years postoperatively; six of seven patients with stage III tumors died of tumor 2 to 20 months postoperatively, and one was alive with disease at 1 year. Seven tumors were anaplastic, resembling glioblastoma. All contained foci of squamous epithelium. One patient with stage IA tumor died of tumor at 2 years, but two were free of tumor after 3 and 4 years. One patient with a stage IIA tumor died of disease after 5 years; another was alive with tumor at 1 year. One patient with a stage III tumor died after 4 months. The differential diagnosis of neuroectodermal tumors of the ovary includes many primary and metastatic ovarian neoplasms of diverse types, and distinction among them is important. Neuroectodermal tumors should be considered when examining unusual ovarian tumors, particularly if the patient is young.
Les dates de bans de vendange à Dijon : établissement critique et révision archivistique d'une série ancienne

La date d’ouverture des bans de vendange est depuis longtemps consideree comme un indicateur de premiere importance pour l’histoire du climat. Les archives de la ville de Dijon possedent la plus longue serie de ce type connue a ce jour dans le monde, permettant de couvrir une periode allant de 1385 a 1906 sans grandes lacunes. Tres celebre, l’etablissement de cette serie, effectue en grande partie par Jules Lavalle en 1855, repris par Alfred Angot qui l’augmenta de la fenetre 1842-1879 n’avait pourtant jamais ete revise depuis, alors que les normes de critique du xixe siecle ne correspondent pas toujours aux exigences actuelles. Le nouveau travail de compilation propose ici, selon des criteres plus stricts, s’est acheve sur la mise en evidence de 132 divergences plus ou moins notables entre cette nouvelle et l’ancienne serie. Nous nous sommes attaches egalement a caracteriser les grandes respirations de l’histoire sociale, propres aux pratiques de la viticulture dijonnaise sur ce temps long. Sont apparues des vendanges sans doute ouvertes de maniere artificiellement precoce jusqu’au milieu du xvie siecle, des vendanges ouvertes a maturite generale entre xviie et xviiie siecles, et un retour a des cueillettes a plus grande precocite apres la Revolution. Les conclusions climatiques s’en trouvent affinees. En outre, le coefficient de correlation moyen (R = 0,630) entre les dates d’ouverture des vendanges a Dijon et les donnees thermometriques (avril a septembre) disponibles de 1676 a 1905 confirme la bonne fiabilite en ce sens de l’indicateur constitue par les bans.
What is behind a student's choice for becoming a doctor?

PURPOSE To determine the reasons for choosing the medical profession by interviewing freshmen medical students from the Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo and investigating their socio-economic and psychological profiles, as well as to determine whether there are gender differences. METHOD One hundred and sixty three freshmen medical students answered a questionnaire regarding their socio-economical profile. Of those, 30 female and 30 male students underwent a face-to-face interview regarding the career choice, the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF). The results were analyzed qualitatively and by Mann-Whitney, chi2, Fisher's Exact, and r(p) coefficient tests. RESULTS Most students were middle class, catholic, and had physicians in their families. Students of both genders had made an: early choice of the medical career and a persistence in taking exams many times, even after being discouraged. They also showed an awareness of the difficulties and limitations in developing their careers. The study revealed a strong valuation of the humanistic aspects of medicine; openness to new experiences; a deep personal identification with the choice of profession; a critical need for fulfillment in their careers; and conscious and unconscious desires to help people and be recognized for their usefulness, without being narcissistic. Female students were more sensitive (P <.001) and less imaginative (P = .005) than male students, who were more utilitarian and less grounded; female students tended to present greater emotional maturity while male students presented a greater tendency towards competition, and were more ambitious. CONCLUSIONS Students of both genders have similar socio-economical profiles and features regarding their motivations for choosing the medical profession. Slight differences were found regarding some psychological aspects.
Targeting TARP, a novel breast and prostate tumor‐associated antigen, with T cell receptor‐like human recombinant antibodies

MHC class I molecules are important components of immune surveillance. There are no available methods to directly visualize and determine the quantity and distribution of MHC/peptide complexes on individual cells or to detect such complexes on antigen‐presenting cells in tissues. MHC‐restricted recombinant antibodies with the same specificity of T cell receptors (TCR) may become a valuable tool to address these questions. They may also serve as valuable targeting molecules that mimic the specificity of cytotoxic T cells. We isolated by phage display a panel of human recombinant Fab antibodies with peptide‐specific, MHC‐restricted TCR‐like reactivity directed toward HLA‐A2‐restricted T cell epitopes derived from a novel antigen termed TCRγ alternative reading frame protein (TARP) which is expressed on prostate and breast cancer cells. We have characterized one of these recombinant antibodies and demonstrated its capacity to directly detect specific HLA‐A2/TARP T cell epitopes on antigen‐presenting cells that have complexes formed by naturally occurring active intracellular processing of the antigen, as well as on the surface of tumor cells. Moreover, by genetic fusion we armed the TCR‐like antibody with a potent toxin and demonstrated that it can serve as a targeting moiety killing tumor cells in a peptide‐specific, MHC‐restricted manner similar to cytotoxic T lymphocytes.
Farmers and Frontiers. Exploiting and Defending the Countryside of Roman Tripolitania

The past two decades have seen dramatic changes of perspective and an explosion of new information in the broad fields covered by this overview. Within the constraints of space allowed it is not possible to cover all aspects or to mention all relevant publications. References to pre-1969 work have been kept to a minimum, except where dramatic revision of older views is now necessary. The traditional picture of the Roman frontier in Tripolitania owes an incalculable debt to the pioneering work of Richard Goodchild. Much of his observation remains of the highest value (accessible particularly through the volume of collected articles (edited by Joyce Reynolds), Goodchild 1976), but in the 40 years since his initial work on the limes Tripolitanus (1949a/b; 1950a/b; Ward-Perkins and Goodchild 1949) the available body of data has increased greatly and the conceptual framework for interpreting it has changed considerably (the scale of the reappraisal may be judged by comparing Brogan and Smith 1957 and 1985). The most controversial aspects of Goodchild's work concern the date of the development of a frontier in Tripolitania and the interpretation of the fortified farms which are so characteristic of the zone: ‘…no traces of a pre-Severan limes have yet been found. In this respect it may be significant that the linear fossata which Baradez has proved to constitute the central feature of the Numidian limes, and which he tentatively dated to the Hadrianic period, have not yet been found in the area of modern Tripolitania … Apart from … the outer fortresses of Gheriat el-Garbia and Bu Ngem … the military works of the limes Tripolitanus seem to have consisted almost exclusively of fortified farmhouses occupied by Libyan limitanei. ’ (Goodchild 1950 = 1976, 44).
Total ionizing dose and displacement damage effects on TaOx memristive memories

The effects of ionizing radiation and displacement damage on TaOx memristors are evaluated. Devices show little response to 10 keV x-rays up to 10 Mrad(Si). Co60 gamma rays and 4.5 MeV protons did not change the resistances significantly at levels up to 2.5 Mrad(Si) and 5 Mrad(Si) respectively. 105 MeV and 480 MeV protons cause switching of the memristors from high to low resistance states in some cases, but do not exhibit a consistent degradation. 800 keV silicon ions are observed to cause resistance degradation, with an inverse dependence of resistance on oxygen vacancy density. Variation between different devices appears to be a key factor in determining the electrical response resulting from irradiation. The proposed degradation mechanism likely involves the creation of oxygen vacancies, but a better fundamental understanding of switching is needed before a definitive understanding of radiation degradation can be achieved.
Association between periodontal disease and acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Well-known risk factors independently or combined participate in both myocardial infarction and atherosclerosis. Recent data have shown that viral and bacterial infections may also contribute to the acute thromboembolic events. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible association between periodontal health and coronary heart disease in patients with acute myocardial infarction and chronic coronary heart disease. METHODS A total of 120 patients, 60 with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 60 with chronic coronary heart disease (CCHD) were included in this study. The patients in the AMI group (50 men and 10 women; mean age 53.8 +/- 9.5 years) were admitted to the Department of Cardiology, University Hospital of Ege because of AMI. The CCHD patients group (42 men and 18 women; mean age 58.5 +/- 11.6 years) had no documented history of recent acute coronary events. All patients were clinically examined and completed a medical questionnaire. Missing teeth, restorations, probing depth (PD) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were recorded. Blood samples were taken on admission for measurements of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol), and fasting blood glucose level. Sample proportions were compared by chi square test, quantitative variables with Student t test. The relation of clinical parameters and conventional risk factors to AMI was assessed with logistic regression analysis. RESULTS The number of sites with PD > or = 4 mm, the percentage of sites exhibiting BOP, smoking status, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides were statistically different between AMI and CCHD groups (P <0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the percentage of sites exhibiting BOP, the number of sites with PD > or = 4, the number of restorations, smoking status, and triglycerides levels were significantly associated with AMI (P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS The results of this study indicate that periodontal disease may be associated with acute myocardial infarction. To our knowledge, this is the first study that reports the importance of periodontal health in the occurrence of acute myocardial infarction in a Turkish population. We propose that prospective randomized studies are needed to determine whether periodontal disease is a risk factor in the occurrence of acute myocardial infarction.
Zygomycosis (mucormycosis): emerging clinical importance and new treatments

Purpose of review New importance has been given to zygomycosis, as what was uncommon is no longer. Zygomycosis (mucormycosis) typically occurs in patients with leukemia, with solid-organ transplants or bone marrow transplants, with diabetic ketoacidosis, in those who have received steroids or are neutropenic, and after desferioxamine therapy. Often, both diagnostic and therapeutic measures are performed too late and are inadequate. Mortality rates may be as high as 80% in infected transplant recipients. Zygomycosis also appears to have made a subtle increase in incidence: up to 8% in autopsied patients with leukemia, and 2% in allogenic bone marrow transplant patients. Most infections are acquired by inhalation, ingestion, or trauma. They rapidly infarct blood vessels, resulting in necrosis of surrounding tissue. Over the past few years, new diagnostic procedures, susceptibility tests, and drugs have entered the clinic, and these advances are discussed in the review. Recent findings With the rise in number of cases of ‘zygomycosis’, new scrutiny has been directed at the terms ‘zygomycosis’ and ‘mucormycosis’. This review explains their differences and the attending relevance for the clinician. Diagnostic methods include new molecular detection assays and new susceptibility testing options. New treatment options will soon exist with triazole antifungal agents. The first one expected to enter clinical practice is posaconazole in 2005. Its metabolism, pharmacokinetics, in-vitro and in-vivo activity, and clinical study results are described. Finally, we present our approach to zygomycosis. Summary This review discusses key elements to laboratory diagnostic and susceptibility procedures and new treatment options.
The University Group Diabetes Program. A statistician looks at the mortality results.

When a statistician or a researcher in any field designs a study, there are many concepts which he must clarify in his own mind before the study is started. He must define his problem, his target population, and his statistical unit, decide on how he is going to take a sample and what he is going to do with it when he gets it, realize what problems can arise because of the manner in which the sample is selected, and he must decide how to collect, tabulate, and analyze the data, and what kinds of conclusions he could draw. When a statistician evaluates a study done by someone else, he obviously must look at the same concepts to see whether the conclusions drawn follow logically from what was done in terms of the manner in which these concepts were defined. I would like to take the University Group Diabetes Program
Wide range center wavelength trimming of vertically coupled microring resonator filter by direct UV irradiation to SiN ring core

We developed a precise and wide range ultraviolet (UV) trimming of the center wavelength of vertically coupled microring resonator, by using the direct UV irradiation to the SiN ring core. We discovered that the UV-induced refractive index change of SiN was -1.3/spl times/10/sup -2/ and there was no aging of refractive index after the UV irradiation. Utilizing this phenomenon, -12.1 nm of center wavelength shift was demonstrated without the aging effect for 1200 h.
Changes in microcirculation after ischemic process in rat skeletal muscle

Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is a good method to investigate tissue microcirculation, but it has many standardization and measuring problems. To exclude these effects, we performed a test using LDF on rat skeletal muscle. In 12 CD outbred anesthetized rats, bilateral femoral vessels and the quadriceps femoris muscle were exposed. The left femoral artery and vein were clamped for 1 h by microvascular clips (ischemic side). On the right side, no other intervention was made (control side). An LDF probe was applied on the medial vastus muscle. Short‐term occlusions (2–3 s) were performed before and after the 1‐h clamping and on the control side while LDF curves were registered. The halftimes of ascending curves on the ischemic side were significantly elongated vs. the condition before clamping (P = 0.0007) or the control side (P = 0.0017). Microcirculatory changes caused by 1‐h ischemia were shown by this simple, quick, and well‐reproducible test on rat skeletal muscle.
Effect of implantoplasty on fracture resistance and surface roughness of standard diameter dental implants

OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of implantoplasty on the fracture resistance, surface roughness, and macroscopic morphology of standard diameter (4.1 mm) external connection dental implants. MATERIALS AND METHODS An in vitro study was conducted in 20 screw-shaped titanium dental implants with an external connection. In 10 implants, the threads and surface were removed and polished with high-speed burs (implantoplasty), while the remaining 10 implants were used as controls. The final implant dimensions were recorded. The newly polished surface quality was assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and by 3D surface roughness analysis using a confocal laser microscope. Finally, all the implants were subjected to a mechanical pressure resistance test. A descriptive analysis of the data was made. Also, Student's t tests were employed to detect differences regarding the compression tests. RESULTS Implantoplasty was carried out for a mean time of 10 min and 48 s (standard deviation (SD) of 1 min 22 s). Macroscopically, the resulting surface had a smooth appearance, although small titanium shavings and silicon debris were present. The final surface roughness (Sa values 0.1 ± 0.02 μm) was significantly lower than that of the original (0.75 ± 0.08 μm Sa ) (p = .005). There was minimal reduction in the implant's inner body diameter (0.19 ± 0.03 mm), and no statistically significant differences were found between the test and control implants regarding the maximum resistance force (896 vs 880 N, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Implantoplasty, although technically demanding and time-consuming, does not seem to significantly alter fracture resistance of standard diameter external connection implants. A smooth surface with Sa values below 0.1 μm can be obtained through the use of silicon polishers. A larger sample is required to confirm that implantoplasty does not significantly affect the maximum resistance force of standard diameter external connection implants.
Traditional Healers in the Treatment of Common Mental Disorders in South Africa

Abstract: There are few population-level insights into the use of traditional healers and other forms of alternative care for the treatment of common mental disorders in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the extent to which alternative practitioners are consulted, and predictors of traditional healer visits. A national survey was conducted with 3651 adult South Africans between 2002 and 2004, using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to generate DSM-IV diagnoses for common mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. A minority of participants with a lifetime DSM-IV diagnosis obtained treatment from Western (29%) or alternative (20%) practitioners. Traditional healers were consulted by 9% of the respondents and 11% consulted a religious or spiritual advisor. Use of traditional healers in the full sample was predicted by older age, black race, unemployment, lower education, and having an anxiety or a substance use disorder. Alternative practitioners, including traditional healers and religious advisors, appear to play a notable role in the delivery of mental health care in South Africa.
Adiponectin antagonizes the oncogenic actions of leptin in hepatocellular carcinogenesis

Obesity is rapidly becoming a pandemic and is associated with increased carcinogenesis. Obese populations have higher circulating levels of leptin in contrast to low concentrations of adiponectin. Hence, it is important to evaluate the dynamic role between adiponectin and leptin in obesity‐related carcinogenesis. Recently, we reported the oncogenic role of leptin including its potential to increase tumor invasiveness and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. In the present study we investigated whether adiponectin could antagonize the oncogenic actions of leptin in HCC. We employed HCC cell lines HepG2 and Huh7, the nude mice‐xenograft model of HCC, and immunohistochemistry data from tissue‐microarray to demonstrate the antagonistic role of adiponectin on the oncogenic actions of leptin. Adiponectin treatment inhibited leptin‐induced cell proliferation of HCC cells. Using scratch‐migration and electric cell‐substrate impedance‐sensing‐based migration assays, we found that adiponectin inhibited leptin‐induced migration of HCC cells. Adiponectin treatment effectively blocked leptin‐induced invasion of HCC cells in Matrigel invasion assays. Although leptin inhibited apoptosis in HCC cells, we found that adiponectin treatment induced apoptosis even in the presence of leptin. Analysis of the underlying molecular mechanisms revealed that adiponectin treatment reduced leptin‐induced Stat3 and Akt phosphorylation. Adiponectin also increased suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS3), a physiologic negative regulator of leptin signal transduction. Importantly, adiponectin significantly reduced leptin‐induced tumor burden in nude mice. In HCC samples, leptin expression significantly correlated with HCC proliferation as evaluated by Ki‐67, whereas adiponectin expression correlated significantly with increased disease‐free survival and inversely with tumor size and local recurrence. Conclusion: Collectively, these data demonstrate that adiponectin has the molecular potential to inhibit the oncogenic actions of leptin by blocking downstream effector molecules. (HEPATOLOGY 2010
Maximum weights of lift acceptable to male and female industrial workers for extended work shifts.

Abstract This paper reports the development of maximum acceptable weight of lift databases for male and female industrial workers for 12-hour work periods. Using a psychophysical methodology, 37 males and 37 females, experienced in manual lifting, performed various lifting tasks involving four frequencies, three box sizes, and three height levels. The maximum acceptable weight of lift was significantly influenced by the frequency of lift, height of lift, and box size. Box size effects were, however, less profound than frequency, and height effects. The maximum weight, acceptable for 12 hours of lifting, elicited an average heart rate of 90 and 101 beats min −1 for males and females, respectively. Males selected weights that, on average, resulted in metabolic energy expenditure rates of 23% of their aerobic capacity for 12 hours of lifting. Females required metabolic energy expenditure rates equivalent to 24% of their aerobic capacity for lifting acceptable levels of weight for 12 hours.