Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Prospective, Randomized Trial of Gonadotropin‐Releasing Hormone Agonist Plus Estrogen‐Progestin or Progestin “Add‐Back” Regimens for Women With Leiomyomata Uteri

Treatment of women with myomas with GnRH agonists (GnRH-a) for 3-6 months will result in profound hypoestrogenism, a significant but temporary reduction in uterine volume, and menstrual suppression. Long-term (i.e. > 6 months) treatment with a GnRH-a is not recommended because of accelerated bone resorption and the presence of hypoestrogenic symptoms. In this 2-yr study, women with myomas were treated with GnRH-a plus one of two steroid "add-back" regimens to minimize adverse sequelae of chronic hypoestrogenism. Fifty-one premenopausal women with large, symptomatic uterine myomas all received the GnRH-a, leuprolide acetate depot (LAD), every 4 weeks for 12 weeks at which time the women were randomized to receive LAD plus either an estrogen-progestin or progestin-only add-back regimen for an additional 92 weeks. Efficacy parameters assessed included serial uterine volumes, hemoglobin concentrations, and hematocrits; safety parameters evaluated included serial bone mineral density measurements, lipid profiles, and medication-related symptoms. This report analyzes the first 52 weeks of study data. Mean uterine volume decreased to 64% of pretreatment size at 12 weeks of LAD treatment in both groups. The estrogen-progestin add-back group had no significant regrowth of uterine volume, which was 75% of pretreatment size at treatment week 52; in contrast, the progestin add-back group had a mean uterine volume of 92% of pretreatment size by treatment week 52. Both groups demonstrated significant improvements in mean hemoglobin concentrations and hematocrits. The progestin add-back group had a significant decline in mean high density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentration, which was not seen in the estrogen-progestin add-back group. Finally, after a significant 3% bone loss during the first 12 weeks of treatment, bone mineral density stabilized in both add-back regimen groups. GnRH-a/steroid add-back regimens provide a useful long-term treatment strategy in women with large, symptomatic uterine myomas and may obviate the need for surgical intervention in selected cases. The estrogen-progestin add-back regimen was superior or equal to the progestin add-back regimen in all efficacy and safety parameters assessed.
Road Congestion and Public Transit

We propose a novel approach to estimate the marginal external congestion cost of motor vehicle travel and associated welfare losses, while allowing for hypercongestion, i.e. when the road supply curve is backward bending. We apply this approach to the city of Rome, using quasi-experimental variation in public transit supply to address endogeneity issues. We find that the marginal external cost of travel is substantial. Although hypercongestion is rare in our data, it accounts for about 30 percent of congestion-related welfare losses. We demonstrate that the marginal congestion-relief benefit of public transit supply is sizeable and approximately constant over the full range of public transit supply levels. These results suggest that substantial welfare gains can be obtained not only by introducing road pricing, but also by adopting quantity-based measures (e.g. adaptive traffic lights) to avoid hypercongestion. Our study also supports the introduction of separate lanes for buses, as we show that road congestion has a strong effect on travel time delays of bus travelers. JEL codes: H76, J52, L92, R41
Characterization of Eyeball Loss in Four Cities of Colombia

Purpose: Describe the socio-demographic characteristics of anophthalmic patients examined at specialized centers of four cities in Colombia to know the different causes of eyeball loss. Method: A transversal retrospective study was done of 511 medical records from the specialized practices of four cities in Colombia. Socio-demographic data of patients who were seen between January 2011 and December 2013 were compiled. SOFA Statistics software v1.4.6 was used for this analysis. An analysis throughout the measures of central tendency for numerical variables was developed, and the descriptive statistics were used for the categorical variables. Results: Almost 63% of the data belonged to male patients. Eyeball loss was more frequent in patients over 40 years of age. Fifty-one percent of the patients suffered eyeball loss due to traumatic causes, 40.2% due to pathological causes, and 4.6% due to congenital anomalies. The most frequent specific causes were glaucoma (19%), ocular cancer (15.4%), and home accidents (11,2%). Around 60% of the anophthalmic patients belonged to low socioeconomic level. Conclusions: It is important to highlight that more than half of the analyzed anophthalmia cases originated in some type of trauma; this means that they could be considered potentially avoidable losses. Complications deriving from glaucoma became the most frequent cause of anophthalmia in the pathological origin group, which suggests a reflection regarding the strategies of early detection of the disease and access to proper treatment. It is also showed the need to develop an efficient system to manage information.
Determinants of Postdisplacement Reemployment Outcomes and Occupation Changes

We investigate the roles played by agglomeration (proxied by population density) and occupational distribution on postdisplacement employment outcomes for US workers, focusing on the probability of being employed, the likelihood of changing occupations, and the occupational distance between the old and new occupations (where occupational distance is defined as the difference in job tasks between two occupations). Overall, we find that the local occupational distribution has a greater impact on our outcome variables compared with our agglomeration measure. Our findings suggest policy makers should look closely at occupational distribution when designing job training programs and proposals for relocation vouchers.
Prostheses supported by four immediately loaded zygomatic implants: a 3-year prospective study.

PURPOSE To assess the clinical 3-year outcome of prostheses supported by four immediately loaded zygomatic implants. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 17 consecutively treated patients (7 men, 10 women, mean age 57.7 years) with severe maxillary atrophy were immediately rehabilitated with prostheses supported by four immediately loaded zygomatic implants. The patients were followed up for 3 years and the outcome measures included success rates of the prostheses, success rates of the zygomatic implants, complications and oral-health related quality of life (OHRQoL). RESULTS No patients dropped out. No prosthesis or zygomatic implants failed, though one implant was not used to support the final prosthesis because it emerged in an unfavourable position. Seven complications occurred: penetration of the orbital cavity during the drilling procedure with no relevant consequences; an infection followed by a fistula at one zygomatic implant, which was resolved with antibiotic treatment and surgical drainage; two patients developed sinusitis, and were successfully treated with antibiotics and meatotomy; fracture of the abutment screw occurred in one patient; and fracture of the prosthesis occurred in two patients and the definitive prostheses were repaired. The average score for the OHIP-14 questionnaire was 2.7, which was similar to that of the general population. CONCLUSIONS The present 3-year study suggests that prostheses supported by four immediately loaded zygomatic implants can be used for successful rehabilitation of patients with severely atrophic maxillae.
Performance comparison between IEEE 802.11p and LTE-V2V in-coverage and out-of-coverage for cooperative awareness

Cooperative awareness, consisting in the periodic broadcasting of messages, called beacons, to inform neighboring vehicles about maneuvers, changes of direction and other relevant mobility information, represents the core requirement to enable applications that may increase road safety and transportation efficiency. Up to few months ago, when latest 3GPP Release added to long term evolution (LTE) the support of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, the only suitable standard was IEEE 802.11p in the U.S. and the corresponding ITS-G5 in Europe. The choice regarding the worldwide adoption of one of the two technologies is still under discussion, since both show advantages and drawbacks. In this work, we analyze IEEE 802.11p and LTE-V2V and evaluate their performance for the cooperative awareness service through simulations in a realistic highway scenario. Both in-coverage and out-of-coverage conditions are considered for LTE-V2V. Results reveal that LTE-V2V incoverage is the best solution in terms of packet reception ratio for all the considered values of beacon size and communication range. As far as the beacon update delay is concerned, we observe that LTE-V2V in-coverage still provides the best performance when small packets are transmitted, while IEEE 802.11p gives the best results for values of the communication range higher than 100 m when the packet size is increased.
Phylogeography of the widespread African puff adder (Bitis arietans) reveals multiple Pleistocene refugia in southern Africa

Evidence from numerous Pan‐African savannah mammals indicates that open‐habitat refugia existed in Africa during the Pleistocene, isolated by expanding tropical forests during warm and humid interglacial periods. However, comparative data from other taxonomic groups are currently lacking. We present a phylogeographic investigation of the African puff adder (Bitis arietans), a snake that occurs in open‐habitat formations throughout sub‐Saharan Africa. Multiple parapatric mitochondrial clades occur across the current distribution of B. arietans, including a widespread southern African clade that is subdivided into four separate clades. We investigated the historical processes responsible for generating these phylogeographic patterns in southern Africa using species distribution modelling and genetic approaches. Our results show that interior regions of South Africa became largely inhospitable for B. arietans during glacial maxima, whereas coastal and more northerly areas remained habitable. This corresponds well with the locations of refugia inferred from mitochondrial data using a continuous phylogeographic diffusion model. Analysis of data from five anonymous nuclear loci revealed broadly similar patterns to mtDNA. Secondary admixture was detected between previously isolated refugial populations. In some cases, this is limited to individuals occurring near mitochondrial clade contact zones, but in other cases, more extensive admixture is evident. Overall, our study reveals a complex history of refugial isolation and secondary expansion for puff adders and a mosaic of isolated refugia in southern Africa. We also identify key differences between the processes that drove isolation in B. arietans and those hypothesized for sympatric savannah mammals.
Energy Retention, Energy Expenditure, and Growth in Healthy Immature Infants

Summary: Energy balance studies were done during 10–29 days on 15 immature infants of mean birth weight 1581 g. Mean gross energy intake was 757 kJ/kg (181 kcal) and 79 % of this was retained, so that metabolizable energy was 602 kJ/kg (143 kcal). Mean resting metabolic rate was 244 kJ/kg (58.1 kcal), and it increased with advancing maturity. Minimum resting metabolism averaged 199 kJ/kg (47.5 kcal). Energy expended in activity increased with maturity, but amounted to less than 17 % of the total energy turnover. Postprandial metabolism caused the mean VO2 to rise by 17 % in the hour after a feed, and during 24 hr resulted in consumption of energy equivalent to about 10 % of the resting metabolism. Stored energy amounted to 230 kJ/kg (55 kcal) and was linearly related to weight gain (r = 0.92). Energy cost of weight gain was 24 kJ/g (5.7 kcal) and energy stored in new tissue was 16.8 kJ/g (4.0 kcal). Maintenance energy requirement at zero growth rate was about 270 kJ/kg (64 kcal). Speculation: Data on energy balance in immature infants are scanty. There is need for information on energy retention, maintenance energy requirements, postprandial energy expenditure, and energy cost of growth. We have attempted to provide such information, but our data show wide variation between infants. However, in spite of this variation, a clear relationship is present between energy retention and weight gain, the main limiting factor in weight gain probably being energy absorption from the gut. We need more data to show whether efficiency of energy utilization alters with different levels of intake and at different ages.
Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors in adult patients with medulloblastoma. Retrospective study of 156 patients

Background. Medulloblastoma is a rare disease in adult patients, with an annual incidence rate of 0.05 per 100,000 per year. Results are, therefore, sparse and comprise small series over long periods. The real survival rate, the prognostic factors, the optimal postoperative radiation dose, and the role of adjuvant chemotherapy are still unknown for this disease in adults.
Field Distribution Due to a Circular Current Loop Placed in an Arbitrary Position above a Conducting Plate

The calculation of eddy currents within a conducting slab when the excitation is a circular current loop in an arbitrary position above the slab is examined. The magnetic flux density in regions outside the slab is also determined. The diffusion equation of the magnetic vector potential is written in a coordinate system attached to the geometry of the configuration by using two Dirac functions. The field vectors are expressed as double Fourier integrals.
Reliability of age estimation using Demirjian's 8 teeth method and India specific formula

Introduction: The estimation of the age of a person has been an archaic exercise, and since decades even dentists have contributed to this science with several methods through radiography. The tooth with its developmental stages provides us with a non-invasive modality to determine the age of the person. Aim: To evaluate the reliability of age estimation using Demirjian's 8 teeth method following the French maturity scores and India specific formula. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 121 archived digital orthopantamographs which were predominantly pre-treatment orthodontic radiographs from patients without any obvious developmental anomalies. The radiographs were divided into two gender specific groups and further sub-divided into two smaller groups of 7–16 years and 16.1–23 years. The radiographs were evaluated as per Demirjian's criteria and age was calculated using the formula developed for the Indian population. Results: The results showed that the mean absolute error for the study sample was 1.18 years; in 57.9% of cases the error rate was within ±1 year. The mean absolute error in males (7-16 years) was 1.2 years; in males (16.1-23 years) was 1.3 years; in females (7-16 years) was 0.95 years and in females (16.1-23 years) was 1.16 years. Conclusion: The age estimation using this method narrows down the error rate to just over one year making this method reliable. However the inclusion of third molar increases the error rates in the older individuals within the sample.
Associating a prototypical forbidden food item with guilt or celebration: Relationships with indicators of (un)healthy eating and the moderating role of stress and depressive symptoms

The increase in obesity and the many educational messages prompting us to eat a healthy diet have heightened people’s concerns about the effects of food choice on health and weight. An unintended side effect may be that such awareness fuels feelings of guilt and worry about food. Although guilt has the potential to motivate behaviour change, it may also lead to feelings of helplessness and loss of control. The current study examined the relationship between a default association of either ‘guilt’ or ‘celebration’ with a prototypical forbidden food item (chocolate cake), indicators of healthy eating and choosing food for mood regulation reasons. Following a ‘diathesis-stress’ perspective, the moderating roles of depressive symptoms and stress were examined. Although a default association of guilt was found to be harmless under some circumstances (i.e. under low stress), those who associated chocolate cake with guilt (vs. celebration) reported unhealthier eating habits and lower levels of perceived behavioural control over healthy eating when under stress, rated mood regulation reasons for food choice as important irrespective of their current affective state, and did not have more positive attitudes towards healthy eating. Implications for public health messages and interventions will be discussed.
Effects of prepubertal gonadectomy on physical and behavioral development in cats.

OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of prepubertal gonadectomy on physical and behavioral development in cats. DESIGN Prospective controlled study of kittens randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups: group 1, neutered at 7 weeks of age; group 2, neutered at 7 months of age; and group 3, sexually intact controls. ANIMALS 31 clinically normal male and female kittens. PROCEDURE Age at distal radial physeal closure and mature radius length were determined radiographically. Six behavioral characteristics were recorded monthly. At 1 year of age, body weight was recorded and thickness of the falciform ligament was measured from a lateral abdominal radiographic view. Secondary sex characteristics were also examined at 1 year of age. RESULTS There were no differences between group-1 and group-2 cats for any of the study variables. Sexually intact cats (group 3) weighted significantly less than group-2 cats and had less falciform fat and earlier distal radial physeal closure than cats of both neutered groups. Group-3 cats manifested greater intraspecies aggression, less affection, and greater development of secondary sex characteristics than neutered cats. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Neutering cats at 7 weeks of age had similar effects on physical and behavioral development, compared with neutering at the more traditional age of 7 months. These data lend support to the concept of prepubertal gonadectomy, already performed by many animal shelters/humane organizations, as a method of enhancing the effectiveness of pet population control programs.
Three-dimensional ultrastructure of the perivascular space in the rat thymus.

The overall architecture and structure of the perivascular space in the rat thymus were studied by light microscopy using silver-impregnated sections and sections stained immunohistochemically with anti-cytokeratin antibody, and by transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM and SEM). In silver-impregnated sections, the perivascular space was delimited by a thin sheath of delicate argyrophilic fibers from the thymic parenchyma in the cortico-medullary region and medulla. This space was continuous with the septal connective tissue, indicating that this was the connective tissue compartment rather than with the epithelial compartment of the parenchyma. In the medulla, the perivascular space widened at places, where the argyrophilic sheath was often discontinuous and the boundary between the perivascular space and parenchyma was indistinct. Lymphatics were located in the perivascular space of the corticomedullary region and sometimes in the wide perivascular space of the medulla. The presence of a thymic epithelial sheath surrounding the perivascular space was confirmed by light microscopy of anti-cytokeratin antibody immunostained sections and by TEM. SEM observations revealed three-dimensionally that the epithelial sheath lined by collagen fibrillar (i.e., argyrophilic) layer form a rather continuous tubular structure in the cortico-medullary region, while it often interrupted in the medulla. These findings indicated that the perivascular space (i.e., the connective tissue compartment) is extensively open to the parenchyma (i.e., the epithelial compartment) in some portions of the medulla, where medullary lymphocytes are probably freely exposed to blood borne substances similar to the peripheral lymphoid tissues.
Impact of salmeterol/fluticasone propionate versus salmeterol on exacerbations in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RATIONALE Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) greatly contribute to declining health status and the progression of the disease, thereby incurring significant direct and indirect health care costs. The prevention of exacerbations, therefore, is an important treatment goal. OBJECTIVES To assess the impact of combination therapy with salmeterol/fluticasone propionate compared with salmeterol alone on moderate and severe exacerbations in patients with severe COPD and a history of repeated exacerbations. METHODS Randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study. After a 4-wk run-in period, 994 clinically stable patients were randomized to one of two treatment groups: 507 patients received the salmeterol/fluticasone combination 50/500 micro g twice daily and 487 received salmeterol 50 micro g twice daily for 44 wk. MAIN RESULTS The total number of exacerbations was 334 in the combination therapy and 464 in the salmeterol group (p < 0.0001). The annualized rate of moderate and severe exacerbations per patient was 0.92 in the combination therapy and 1.4 in the salmeterol group, corresponding to a 35% decrease. In addition, the mean time to first exacerbation in the combination therapy group was significantly longer compared with that of the salmeterol group (128 vs. 93 d, p < 0.0001). Other endpoints, including health-related quality of life, peak expiratory flow, and use of rescue medication, were significantly improved in the combination therapy group. Both treatments were well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that combination therapy with salmeterol/fluticasone compared with salmeterol monotherapy significantly reduces the frequency of moderate/severe exacerbations in patients with severe COPD.
Triiodothyronine administration in coronary artery bypass surgery: effect on hemodynamics.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate any potential hemodynamic effect of intravenously administered triiodothyronine in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Thirty patients were randomized in this single-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Hemodynamic parameters including heart rate, stroke volume index, cardiac index, pulmonary wedge pressure, pulmonary vascular resistances, systemic vascular resistances, and mean blood pressure, were compared between the two groups preoperatively, before the initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), 5 minutes after the end of CPB, and 2, 4, 10, 16, and 22 hours thereafter. INTERVENTION Triiodothyronine was administered as a bolus infusion over a 1 min period after removal of the aortic cross-clamp, (0.15 microgram/kg), before the end of CPB (0.1 microgram/kg), 4 hours after the end of CPB (0.1 microgram/kg), 9 hours after CPB (0.1 microgram/kg), and 14 hours after CPB (0.1 microgram/kg). Patients received inotropes, vasodilators, and diuretics only if specifically indicated. RESULTS Plasma FT3 levels were higher in the T3 group, but within the normal range. No significant differences were noted in the pre and post CPB hemodynamics between the two groups for the most part of the study except that heart rate was increased in T3 group. A greater number of patients in the control group received vasodilators. No adverse reactions were noted with triiodothyronine administration. CONCLUSION Triiodothyronine administration in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery is safe, may lessen the need for pharmacological (vasodilator) therapy, but may increase heart rate.