Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pneumatic dilation versus laparoscopic Heller's myotomy for idiopathic achalasia.

BACKGROUND Many experts consider laparoscopic Heller's myotomy (LHM) to be superior to pneumatic dilation for the treatment of achalasia, and LHM is increasingly considered to be the treatment of choice for this disorder. METHODS We randomly assigned patients with newly diagnosed achalasia to pneumatic dilation or LHM with Dor's fundoplication. Symptoms, including weight loss, dysphagia, retrosternal pain, and regurgitation, were assessed with the use of the Eckardt score (which ranges from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating more pronounced symptoms). The primary outcome was therapeutic success (a drop in the Eckardt score to ≤3) at the yearly follow-up assessment. The secondary outcomes included the need for retreatment, pressure at the lower esophageal sphincter, esophageal emptying on a timed barium esophagogram, quality of life, and the rate of complications. RESULTS A total of 201 patients were randomly assigned to pneumatic dilation (95 patients) or LHM (106). The mean follow-up time was 43 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 40 to 47). In an intention-to-treat analysis, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the primary outcome; the rate of therapeutic success with pneumatic dilation was 90% after 1 year of follow-up and 86% after 2 years, as compared with a rate with LHM of 93% after 1 year and 90% after 2 years (P=0.46). After 2 years of follow-up, there was no significant between-group difference in the pressure at the lower esophageal sphincter (LHM, 10 mm Hg [95% CI, 8.7 to 12]; pneumatic dilation, 12 mm Hg [95% CI, 9.7 to 14]; P=0.27); esophageal emptying, as assessed by the height of barium-contrast column (LHM, 1.9 cm [95% CI, 0 to 6.8]; pneumatic dilation, 3.7 cm [95% CI, 0 to 8.8]; P=0.21); or quality of life. Similar results were obtained in the per-protocol analysis. Perforation of the esophagus occurred in 4% of the patients during pneumatic dilation, whereas mucosal tears occurred in 12% during LHM. Abnormal exposure to esophageal acid was observed in 15% and 23% of the patients in the pneumatic-dilation and LHM groups, respectively (P=0.28). CONCLUSIONS After 2 years of follow-up, LHM, as compared with pneumatic dilation, was not associated with superior rates of therapeutic success. (European Achalasia Trial Netherlands Trial Register number, NTR37, and Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN56304564.).
Cytoskeletal coherence requires myosin-IIA contractility

Maintaining a physical connection across cytoplasm is crucial for many biological processes such as matrix force generation, cell motility, cell shape and tissue development. However, in the absence of stress fibers, the coherent structure that transmits force across the cytoplasm is not understood. We find that nonmuscle myosin-II (NMII) contraction of cytoplasmic actin filaments establishes a coherent cytoskeletal network irrespective of the nature of adhesive contacts. When NMII activity is inhibited during cell spreading by Rho kinase inhibition, blebbistatin, caldesmon overexpression or NMIIA RNAi, the symmetric traction forces are lost and cell spreading persists, causing cytoplasm fragmentation by membrane tension that results in ‘C’ or dendritic shapes. Moreover, local inactivation of NMII by chromophore-assisted laser inactivation causes local loss of coherence. Actin filament polymerization is also required for cytoplasmic coherence, but microtubules and intermediate filaments are dispensable. Loss of cytoplasmic coherence is accompanied by loss of circumferential actin bundles. We suggest that NMIIA creates a coherent actin network through the formation of circumferential actin bundles that mechanically link elements of the peripheral actin cytoskeleton where much of the force is generated during spreading.
Changes in manual dexterity following short-term hand and forearm immersion in 10 degrees C water.

BACKGROUND Following accidental immersion in cold water, the chance of survival through the initial short-term period may depend on manual dexterity for survival tasks. We aimed to study the time course of impairment of manual dexterity during the initial stages of immersion. METHODS We investigated gross (manipulating harness buckles) and fine (Purdue Pegboard Assembly) manual dexterity of 11 male and 15 female subjects with either no immersion (Control) or after immersion of right and left hand and forearm in 10 degrees C water for 30, 120, and 300 s. Exposure lengths were presented in a counter-balanced order in a single session. RESULTS Mean local skin temperature decreased significantly with cold-water immersion, with the amount of cooling proportional to the length of exposure. Buckle test times increased significantly from 9.1 +/- 3.0 s during Control to similar values of 19.5 +/- 11.1 s and 18.14 +/- 12.1 s after 120 and 300 s of immersion. Pegboard scores were significantly lower at 40.2 +/- 7.6 pieces following 300 s of immersion compared with Control and 30 s values of 49.0 +/- 6.4 and 47.2 +/- 6.9 pieces, respectively. CONCLUSIONS It is concluded that fine and gross manual dexterity were rapidly and progressively impaired with short-term cold-water immersion. Therefore, efforts must be made to protect the hands/forearms from cold and to ensure survival equipment manipulation requires as little dexterity as possible.
Asymptomatic maternal myasthenia as a cause of the Pena-Shokeir phenotype.

We report six sibs with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita and a Pena-Shokeir phenotype, born to a healthy woman who was discovered to have asymptomatic myasthenia gravis (MG). This is the first report of anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies causing fetal akinesia/hypokinesia sequence in the offspring of an asymptomatic mother.
Optical pattern formation with a 2-level nonlinearity

We present an experimental and theoretical investigation of spontaneous pattern formation in the transverse section of a single retro-reflected laser beam passing through a cloud of cold Rubidium atoms. In contrast to previously investigated systems, the nonlinearity at work here is that of a 2-level atom, which realizes the paradigmatic situation considered in many theoretical studies of optical pattern formation. In particular, we are able to observe the disappearance of the patterns at high intensity due to the intrinsic saturable character of 2-level atomic transitions.
Tripartite entanglement in a noninertial frame

Tripartite entanglement is examined when one of the three parties moves with a uniform acceleration with respect to other parties. As the Unruh effect indicates, tripartite entanglement exhibits a decreasing behavior with increasing acceleration. Unlike bipartite entanglement, however, tripartite entanglement does not completely vanish in the infinite acceleration limit. If the three parties, for example, share the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger or $W$ state initially, the corresponding $\ensuremath{\pi}$-tangle, one of the measures of tripartite entanglement, is shown to be $\ensuremath{\pi}/6~0.524$ or $0.176$ in this limit, respectively. This fact indicates that tripartite quantum-information processing may be possible even if one of the parties approaches the Rindler horizon. The physical implications of this striking result are discussed in the context of black-hole physics.
Nutrient digestibility in finishing pigs fed phytase-supplemented barley-based diets containing soybean meal or canola meal as a protein source

The effect of phytase on nutrient digestibility in finishing pigs fed barley-based diet with soybean meal or canola meal as protein source was investigated. Six ileal-cannulated barrows (70 kg initial BW) were fed five diets in a 5 × 5 Latin square design with one added column. The five diets were based on barley-soybean meal (BSBM) or barley-canola meal (BCM) without or with phytase at 500 FTU/kg, and a casein-cornstarch-based diet, which was used to estimate standardised ileal AA digestibilities. No interactions were detected between phytase and diet on any of the response criteria measured except for apparent total tract N digestibility, which was reduced in BSBM diet but not BCM diet by phytase. Phytase increased (p < 0.01) apparent ileal and total tract P digestibility in both BSBM and BCM diets by at least 17 percentage units, and tended (p < 0.10) to increase the apparent ileal digestibilities of histidine, isoleucine, threonine, valine, cysteine, glycine and tyrosine. In conclusion, the effect of phytase in barley-based diets for finishing pigs on all response criteria measured in this study, except apparent total tract N digestibility, was not influenced by protein source.
Strong Corporate Governance Drives Tax Avoidance – Evidence from Germany using a Regression Discontinuity Design

This paper analyses the relationship between corporate governance and tax avoidance. We use a regression discontinuity design (RDD) in a two-stage instrumental variable and take advantage of the exogenous variation in the index membership around the DAX and MDAX threshold. We suppose the differences in corporate governance result from the valueweighted composition of the market capitalization-based indexes. We find a significant discontinuity in the level of the corporate governance characteristics at the cutoff. The largest MDAX firms show stronger corporate governance characteristics compared to the smallest DAX firms. Our analysis shows that strong corporate governance characteristics drive down the effective tax rate for the DAX firms. This paper contributes to existing research by establishing a causal relationship between governance and taxes. This research aims to highlight the wide-ranging effects of institutional investors, which channel in corporate policy, in our case tax management.
On ordinary and weighted Harary indices of Mycielski graphs

The Mycielski’s construction is a well-known construction on graphs which transforms a k-chromatic triangle-free graph G into a (k + 1)-chromatic triangle-free graph μ(G) which is called the Mycielski graph of G. In this paper, we compute the Harary index, additively weighted Harary index, and multiplicatively weighted Harary index of the Mycielski graph of any simple connected graph with girth greater than 6.
Structural Properties of Lateral Collateral Ligament Reconstruction at the Fibular Head

Background Anatomical reconstruction of a ruptured lateral collateral ligament using allograft tissue secured within the fibular head with an interference screw has been described. Hypothesis Interference fixation at the fibular head does not reproduce the strength of the intact ligament. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Ten intact lateral collateral ligaments were tested to failure. The distal fixation of 11 ligaments reconstructed with a graft including a bone plug and 11 ligaments reconstructed with a graft without a bone plug were also tested. Results The reconstructed ligaments consistently failed at the fibular head. The intact specimens predominately failed through ligament rupture. The mean strength and stiffness values were 460 ± 163 N and 82 ± 25 N/mm, respectively, for the intact ligaments, 113 ± 40 N and 36 ± 10 N/mm, respectively, for reconstruction with a bone plug, and 135 ± 81 N and 34 ± 14 N/mm, respectively, for reconstruction without a bone plug. The strength and stiffness were significantly (P <. 05) greater for the intact ligaments than for either reconstruction group. The variation in strength was significantly larger for reconstruction without a bone plug than for reconstruction with a bone plug. Conclusion Tension applied to lateral collateral ligaments reconstructed using fibular interference fixation should be limited immediately after surgery. Soft tissue fixation should be employed with care because of the inconsistency in the failure strength. Clinical Relevance Although fibular interference fixation is increasingly being described in the literature, the properties of reconstructed lateral collateral ligaments have not previously been quantified.
Porcupine Feeding Scars and Climatic Data Show Ecosystem Effects of the Solar Cycle

Using North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) feeding scars on trees as an index of past porcupine abundance, we have found that porcupine populations have fluctuated regularly over the past 130 years in the Bas St. Laurent region of eastern Quebec, with superimposed periodicities of 11 and 22 years. Coherency and phase analyses showed that this porcupine population cycle has closely followed the 11‐ and 22‐year solar activity cycles. Fluctuations in local precipitation and temperature were also cyclic and closely related to both the solar cycle and the porcupine cycle. Our results suggest that the solar cycle indirectly sets the rhythm of population fluctuations of the most abundant vertebrate herbivore in the ecosystem we studied. We hypothesize that the solar cycle has sufficiently important effects on the climate along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence estuary to locally influence terrestrial ecosystem functioning. This constitutes strong evidence for the possibility of a causal link between solar variability and terrestrial ecology at the decadal timescale and local spatial scale, which confirms results obtained at greater temporal and spatial scales.
Efeitos vocais imediatos da técnica Finger Kazoo em professoras disfônicas com e sem afecções laríngeas

Objetivo: Verificar e correlacionar as modificacoes vocais acusticas de filtro e de fonte glotica, perceptivoauditivas, nivel de pressao sonora (NPS) e autoavaliacao vocal imediatamente apos a tecnica Finger Kazoo (FK) em professoras disfonicas. Metodos: Estudo empirico, experimental, quantitativo e contemporâneo. Amostra de 49 professoras disfonicas com e sem afeccoes laringeas (AL), com idades entre 24:8 e 61:7 anos (media 39:15 anos), sendo 19 do grupo de estudo 1 (GE1) e dez do grupo de controle 1 (GC1), 13 do grupo de estudo 2 (GE2) e sete do grupo de controle 2 (GC2). Os GE1 e GC1 referem-se aos sujeitos sem AL, enquanto os GE2 e GC2 referem-se aos sujeitos com AL. Nos GE, realizou-se a coleta da vogal /a:/, medida do NPS, execucao da tecnica FK em seis series de 15 repeticoes e, imediatamente apos, a coleta da vogal /a:/, medida do NPS e autoavaliacao vocal. Nos GC, os mesmos procedimentos foram realizados, porem, ao inves da execucao da tecnica, as professoras permaneceram em silencio. Realizou-se a analise acustica vocal com os programas Multi Dimensional Voice Program Advanced e Real Time Spectrogram (Kay Pentax®). Juizas fonoaudiologas realizaram a analise das espectrografias, com protocolo especifico, e analise perceptivoauditiva com a escala RASATI. Estatistica com testes de Mann-Whitney, Igualdade de Duas Proporcoes e Correlacao de Spearman (significância 5%). Resultados: Apos FK, houve reducao das medidas acusticas frequencia fundamental (f0) maxima, quociente de perturbacao do pitch suavizado, shimmer percentual, quociente de perturbacao da amplitude e numero de quebras vocais; reducao do ruido nas altas frequencias, do numero de harmonicos nas baixas e medias frequencias, da substituicao de harmonicos por ruido nas baixas e medias frequencias e piora na definicao do quarto formante; reducao da soprosidade e instabilidade na RASATI; aumento do NPS; melhora na autoavaliacao de voz. Correlacao positiva entre soprosidade e rouquidao e medidas de shimmer; soprosidade e medidas de ruido, instabilidade e f0 maxima, entre autoavaliacao vocal, NPS e definicao do primeiro formante, dos harmonicos e intensidade do tracado nas baixas e medias frequencias. Correlacao negativa entre tensao e medidas de shimmer e ruido, instabilidade e sub-harmonicos, rouquidao e f0. Comparados os GE, a maioria das medidas vocais foi estatisticamente melhor no GE1. Conclusao: Apos o FK, as professoras disfonicas apresentaram reducao do ruido, aumento da energia harmonica, reducao da soprosidade e instabilidade e de medidas de jitter, shimmer, f0 maxima e numero de quebras vocais, que evidenciaram melhora da qualidade vocal com diminuicao de energia aperiodica e de instabilidade a fonacao, e aumento do NPS, bem como autoavaliacao de voz melhor. As professoras sem AL apresentaram maior impacto positivo sobre a voz apos o FK. Houve correlacoes entre medidas perceptivoauditivas e acusticas e entre medidas acusticas, NPS e autoavaliacao vocal, sendo a avaliacao multidimensional util para demonstrar os beneficios da tecnica FK.
Microinvasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix (International federation of gynecology and obstetrics stage IA)

In 1985 the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) subdivided Stage IA cervical cancer and specified metric criteria to demarcate Stage IA from Stage IB. Early stromal invasion (Stage IA1) denotes the first invasive protrusions of a carcinoma in situ into the stroma. Microcarcinomas (Stage IA2) are small cancers a number of orders of magnitude larger than Stage IA1 lesions and with a maximum depth of invasion of 5 mm and a maximum horizontal spread of 7 mm; larger lesions are classified as Stage IB. This study reviews 486 patients previously classified as having Stage IA disease. This yielded 344 Stage IA1 and 101 Stage IA2 lesions; 41 cancers were reclassified as Stage IB. Three hundred nine, 89, and 38 patients were followed for ± 5 years. One (0.3%) patient with Stage IA1 disease re‐presented with Stage IIB disease 12 years after conization. Five (5.6%) patients with Stage IA2 lesions developed invasive recurrences; three died. None of the 38 patients reclassified as having a Stage IB lesion, including 16 who were treated conservatively, developed a recurrence. The FIGO classification is not a guideline for treatment. Stage IA1 lesions can be treated conservatively, but treatment in Stage IA2 must be individualized. Risk factors such as vascular space involvement and confluency are of high sensitivity but low specificity.
Material capture and representation with applications in virtual reality

Currently, rendering systems are able to produce photorealistic simulations of the appearance of many real-world materials. In the real world, viewer perception of objects depends on the lighting and object/material/surface characteristics, the way a surface interacts with the light and on how the light is reflected, scattered, absorbed by the surface and the impact these characteristics have on material appearance. In order to re-produce this, it is necessary to understand how materials interact with light. Thus the representation and acquisition of material models has become such an active research area. However, no material model nor acquisition setup is without limitations in terms of the variety of existing materials and they range considerably in terms of portability and ease of use. In this Course the problem of material capture and representation for Virtual Reality is introduced, with the scope ranging from BRDF models for opaque surfaces to volumetric models for fabric. Characteristics of current BRDF representation and more complex functions limiting their use in VR are discussed. A case study high-lighting the importance of being able to render materials in high quality in a VR pipeline is presented, together with the software and hardware challenges. A selection of high quality material models are shown in real VREs for commercial interior design applications. The Course provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts and gradually moves to most advanced and up to date concepts on both the representation and acquisition side. Since fabric plays a very important role in VREs for commercial interior design applications, we decided to extend the scope to volumetric and collection of fibers representation.
Business Intelligence Impact Assessment

Organizations strive to enhance performance in an amplified ambiguous environment, by assessing internal working units’ efficiency and redesigning organizational structure to achieve this goal. Business Intelligence (BI) is an IT resource that impact both process and overall organization performance. Identifying how BI affects performance has major implications for both organizations that implemented BI and those taking initiatives toward acquiring one. Despite significant efforts and industry investments, this topic received little attention in IS academic research. The goal of this study is to contribute to general body of knowledge in the field, by building on previous literature and theories from both IS and reference disciplines. The paper develops a framework for assessing the impact of business intelligence capabilities on organization performance, uncertainty, and information processing. According to our review, this is the first study to draw upon Organizational Information Processing (OIPT) and resource-based view of the firm (RBV) theories to investigate a direct association between BI and firm performance. The contribution of the study is setting a roadmap for further research that builds on existing frameworks and developed instruments.
A novel anti-cancer substance, MK615, from ume, a variety of Japanese apricot, inhibits growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by suppressing Aurora A kinase activity.

BACKGROUND/AIMS MK615 is an anti-cancer substance extracted from the Japanese apricot. In the present study, the anti-neoplastic effect of MK615 against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was evaluated in vitro, and its mechanism was elucidated. METHODOLOGY Two HCC lines, HuH7 and Hep3B, were cultured with MK615 at concentrations of 600, 300, 150, and 0 microg/mL. Growth inhibition was evaluated by MTT assay, and killing activity was determined by LDH assay. Cell cycle stages were evaluated by flow cytometry. Expression of Aurora A kinase (Aurora A) was evaluated by real-time PCR and Western blotting, and inhibition of Aurora A activity was determined by HTscan. RESULTS MK615 inhibited the growth of, and lysed, HuH7 and Hep3B cells in a dose-dependent manner. Cell cycle analysis revealed that MK615 increased the population of cells in G2/M phase. Real-time PCR and Western blotting showed that MK615 suppressed the expression of Aurora A. HTscan assay demonstrated that Aurora A activity was specifically inhibited by 34.3%, 32.9%, and 54.3% at 150, 300, and 600 microg/mL MK615, respectively. CONCLUSIONS MK615 has an anti-cancer effect against HCC lines in vitro, and the effect is exerted through inhibition of Aurora A activity.
Toxicity evaluation of sappan wood extract in rats.

BACKGROUND The heartwood of Caesalpinia sappan L. or sappan wood has long been used in folk medicines to treat tuberculosis, diarrhea, dysentery, skin infections and anemia. OBJECTIVE To study the acute and subacute toxicities of sappan wood extract in rats. MATERIAL AND METHOD For studying acute toxicity, a single oral dose of 5000 mg/kg of sappan wood was administered to rats. Subacute toxicity was studied by the daily oral administration of the extract at the doses of 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight for consecutive 30 days. RESULTS The extract of sappan wood (5000 mg/kg) showed no toxicity in terms of general behavior change, mortality, or change in gross appearance of internal organs. Subacute toxicity study showed no abnormalities in treatment groups as compared to the controls. Body and organ weights, hematological, blood chemical, necropsy, and histopathological parameter of all groups were similar. CONCLUSION Sappan wood extract did not produce any acute or subacute toxicity in both female and male rats.