Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A noninvasive laser-guided preincision localizer for spine surgery.

OBJECT The design and utilization of a novel device for noninvasive preincision localization of the target spine segment during lumbar spine surgery is presented. METHODS The device consists of 4 low-energy laser diodes, emitting planar beams, mounted around the perimeter of a ring at right angles to each other. The beams are used to align 2 radiopaque cables hanging off the sides of the patient with the target spine segment and the radiographic source and film. The performance of the device in guiding the placement of the skin incision was prospectively evaluated in 76 consecutive patients undergoing unilateral 1-level microsurgical lumbar laminotomy. Preincision lateral radiographs obtained with the device were compared with postincision localizing radiographs in all patients. RESULTS In all patients, the location of the incision guided by the final preincision radiograph was found to precisely overlie the target segment as confirmed by a postincision radiograph, the latter obtained after exposure of the underlying laminae. In no instance was it necessary to extend the incision, modify the surgical trajectory, or repeat the postincision radiograph due to improper incision placement. The device's radiopaque cables were clearly visualized on radiography as they traversed the spine image, regardless of body mass index. The initial preincision radiograph based on the surgeon's estimate of the location of the target site localized the target segment in 58 patients (76.3%) and an adjacent segment in the remaining 18 patients (23.7%). Accuracy of the surgeon's initial estimate of the target site (but not accuracy of the device) was found to be inversely associated with body mass index (p < 0.001), thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer overlying the spine (p < 0.001), and presence of transitional lumbosacral anatomy (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS The localization device presented herein provides accurate noninvasive localization of the target spine segment and guides precise placement of the incision over the target segment during lumbar spine surgery.
Intratracheal metastasis from malignant melanoma

Malignant melanoma is increasing in incidence in most countries. Distant metastases are common but intratracheal metastasis is extremely rare. We report a 54‐year‐old man who presented with increasing dyspnoea. Symptomatic treatment for asthma had been of no effect. Bronchoscopy showed that trachea was nearly occluded by a tumoral mass, and biopsy proved this to be a metastasis of malignant melanoma. The man’s breathing difficulties disappeared after local laser therapy, but 2 months later he presented with symptoms of multiple brain metastases.
Quality differences assessment in canned sardine (Sardina pilchardus) by fluorescence detection

Chilled (0, 2, 6, 10, 13, and 15 days) and frozen (0, 0.5, 2, 4, 8, and 12 months) sardines were used to determine the influence of such storage times of fish over the quality of the final canned product. Traditional determinations of lipid quality (free fatty acids content, thiobarbituric acid index, and polyene index) were studied and compared with the formation of fluorescent compounds expressed as the ratio between fluorescence readings taken at two excitation/emission maxima (393/463 and 327/415 nm). No clear correlations were found between the common measurements of lipid deterioration and the time of storage prior to canning. Satisfactory correlations were found between the fluorescence ratio obtained from the filling medium of cans and the time of storage of the starting material (r = 0.90 and 0.91 in brine- and oil-canned samples, respectively). According to the present results, fluorescence detection of interaction compounds can provide a rapid and sensible method to assess quality differences in the final product as it relates to the quality of the raw material used.
Grain yield of newly developed wheat cultivar (NARC 2011) as enhanced by foliar application of humic acid under rainfed conditions.

A newly developed wheat cultivar NARC 2011 was evaluated for physio- agronomic traits by varying Humic acid concentrations and Effective microbes at different phenological stages during rabi season of 2010-11 in the field area allocated to national coordinated wheat program of national agricultural research centre, Islamabad . The experiment was laid out using randomized complete block design (RCBD ) for an assortment of growth andyield characters at various Humic acid concentrations and Effective microbe under rainfed conditions. There were six treatments and were replicated three times.Results revealed that E.Menhanced sub stomatal CO 2 concentration in the flag leaf of mother shoot significantly, whereas for transpiration rate, spike length, number of spikelet s spike -1 , flag leaf area and thousand seed weight, its effect but statistically at par. The highest grain yield of 3566 kg ha -1 was achieved at N P (115:85 kg ha - 1 ) in combination with 3000 mL ha -1 concentration of humic acid at tillering +flag leaf initiation +grain filling stages hence resulting in 30 percent greater yield than control (2747 kg ha -1 ). Similarly the highest biological yield of 12667 kg ha -1 was achieved at same level of NP in combination with 3000 mL ha -1 concentration of humic acid at tillering +flag leaf initiation +grain filling stages hence resulting in 31 percent greater biological yield than control (9667 kg ha -1 ). Hence in order to achieve higher biological and grain
Chronic subdural hematoma—Craniotomy versus burr hole trepanation

The authors present a series of more than 200 surgical procedures for chronic subdural hematoma in a 5-year-period. Clinical presentation and neurosurgical treatment were regarded with a special focus on the surgical technique. Between March 2003 and July 2008, 193 patients (113 male and 80 female, mean age 72.5 yrs [range 26–97 yrs]) suffering from chronic subdural hematoma were retrospectively analyzed. One-hundred-fifty-one craniotomies and 42 burr holes were performed. Forty-two craniotomy patients (27.8%) in contrast to 6 burr hole patients (14.3%) required surgical revision. A craniectomy was performed as an ultima ratio after at least 2 prior evacuations in 3 cases. Chronic subdural hematoma is a disease of the elderly. A craniotomy seems to possess a higher rate of recurrence of the chronic subdural hematoma so that a burr hole evacuation should be preferred. Craniectomy might be a good therapeutic option in complicated recurrent chronic subdural hematomas.
Coordinate Expression of Transforming Growth Factor-β1 and Adrenomedullin in Rodent Embryogenesis.

Transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) and adrenomedullin (AM) are multifunctional regulatory peptides that are secreted by a variety of normal and malignant cells. The TGFβs are expressed in developing organs and adults, and their tissue distribution pattern has possible significance for signaling roles in many epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. AM is also expressed in a variety of embryonic and adult tissues. The present study reports a comparison of the patterns of expression of the proteins and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) for TGFβ1 and AM in the developing mouse embryo. Immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization analyses were performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections of developing embryonic mouse tissues using specific antibodies and complementary RNA probes for TGFβ1 and AM. The early placenta, including the giant trophoblastic cells, showed high levels of staining and hybridization for TGFβ1 and AM proteins and mRNAs. The heart was the first organ that showed expression of TGFβ1 and AM dur.
On Contention Resolution Parameters for the IEEE 802.16 Base Station

In the IEEE 802.16 networks, the base station allocates resources to subscriber stations based on their QoS requirements and bandwidth request sizes. A subscriber station can send a bandwidth request when it has an uplink grant allocated by the base station or by taking part in the contention resolution mechanism. This paper presents analytical calculations for parameters that control the contention resolution process in the IEEE 802.16 networks. In particular, the backoff start/end values and the number of the request transmission opportunities are considered. Simulation results confirm the correctness of theoretical calculations. They also reveal that the adaptive parameter tuning results in a better throughput when compared to a static configuration. At the same time, all the timing requirements are met.
Long time solutions for wave maps with large data

For 2 + 1 dimensional wave maps with $\mathbb{S}^2$ as the target, we show that for all positive numbers $T_0 > 0$ and $E_0 > 0$, there exist Cauchy initial data with energy at least $E_0$, so that the solution's life-span is at least $[0,T_0]$. We assume neither symmetry nor closeness to harmonic maps.
Government expenditure and economic growth in the European Union countries: New evidence

Abstract This paper provides new evidence of the impact of government spending on economic growth in the European Union countries. Governments can adjust their levels of spending in order to influence their economies, although the relationship between these variables can be positive or negative, depending on the countries included in the sample, the period of estimation and the variables which reflect the size of the public sector. The results obtained based on regression and panel techniques suggest that government expenditure is not clearly related with economic growth in the European Union countries over the period 1994-2012.
A 368-Base-Pair cis-Acting HWP1 Promoter Region, HCR, of Candida albicans Confers Hypha-Specific Gene Regulation and Binds Architectural Transcription Factors Nhp6 and Gcf1p

ABSTRACT To elucidate the molecular mechanisms controlling the expression of the hypha-specific adhesin gene HWP1 of Candida albicans, its promoter was dissected and analyzed using a green fluorescent protein reporter gene. A 368-bp region, the HWP1 control region (HCR), was critical for activation under hypha-inducing conditions and conferred developmental regulation to a heterologous ENO1 promoter. A more distal region of the promoter served to amplify the level of promoter activation. Using gel mobility shift assays, a 249-bp subregion of HCR, HCRa, was found to bind at least four proteins from crude extracts of yeasts and hyphae with differing binding patterns dependent on cell morphology. Four proteins with DNA binding activities were identified by using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis after separation by anion-exchange and heparin-Sepharose chromatography. One protein with high similarity to Nhp6, an HMG1 family member in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and another with weak similarity to an HMG-like condensation factor from Physarum polycephalum implicated changes in chromatin structure as a critical process in hypha-specific gene regulation. Proteins with strong homology to histones were also found. These studies are the first to identify proteins that bind to a DNA segment that confers developmental gene regulation in C. albicans and suggest a new model for hypha-specific gene regulation.
Virus Particles in Hamster Tumors as Revealed by Electron Microscopy.∗

Summary Examination of 11 transplan-table hamster tumors by electron microscopy revealed virus particles in 9. Seven of the tumors contained particles morphologically identical with murine leukemia viruses. Five of these tumors also contained another type of particle which appears to be identical with one reported by other Workers. Two of the tumors contained only the murine leukemia-like agent, and two contained only the second agent.
FOMC Sentiment Extraction and its Transmission to Financial Markets

I use Automated Content Analysis, adopted from computational linguistics and political science, to derive sentiments acquired from Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting documents. I assign an index to the minutes in order to determine if the sentiments obtained from the information therein can be classified as hawkish (analogous to improving economic conditions and stronger inflationary pressures) or dovish (related to deteriorating economic outlook and subdued price changes). I compare the sentiments of the discussions in the minutes to the sentiments of information in corresponding FOMC statements released immediately after the meetings and calculate the surprise component of the relative sentiments. I then evaluate how this news shock in the minutes impacts broad equity and real estate investment trust indices, as well as the exchange rate valuation of different world currencies against the U.S. Dollar. My findings indicate that financial assets respond to the minutes based on the type of news shock they contain and that financial markets react more significantly during the FOMC's date-based policy guidance period.
Protection, promotion and support of breast-feeding in Europe: progress from 2002 to 2007

Abstract Objective To assess progress in the protection, promotion and support of breast-feeding in Europe. Design Data for 2002 and 2007 were gathered with the same questionnaire. Of thirty countries, twenty-nine returned data for 2002, twenty-four for 2007. Results The number of countries with national policies complying with WHO recommendations increased. In 2007, six countries lacked a national policy, three a national plan, four a national breast-feeding coordinator and committee. Little improvement was reported in pre-service training; however, the number of countries with good coverage in the provision of WHO/UNICEF courses for in-service training increased substantially, as reflected in a parallel increase in the number of Baby Friendly Hospitals and the proportion of births taking place in them. Little improvement was reported as far as implementation of the International Code on Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes is concerned. Except for Ireland and the UK, where some improvement occurred, no changes were reported on maternity protection. Due to lack of standard methods, it was difficult to compare rates of breast-feeding among countries. With this in mind, slight improvements in the rates of initiation, exclusivity and duration were reported by countries where data at two points in time were available. Conclusions Breast-feeding rates continue to fall short of global recommendations. National policies are improving slowly but are hampered by the lack of action on maternity protection and the International Code. Pre-service training and standard monitoring of breast-feeding rates are the areas where more efforts are needed to accelerate progress.
Information rates by oversampling the sign of a bandlimited process

A sequence of binary (/spl plusmn/1) random variables is generated by sampling a hard-limited version of a bandlimited process at n times the Nyquist rate. The information rate /spl Iscr/ carried by these binary samples is investigated. It is shown by constructing a specific nonstationary, bounded, bandlimited process (the real zeros of which are independent and identically distributed, isolated, and lying in different Nyquist intervals) that /spl Iscr/=log/sub 2/(n+1) bits per Nyquist interval is achievable. A more complicated construction in which L distinct zeros are placed in L consecutive Nyquist intervals yields achievable rates that approach (for L/spl rarr//spl infin/) /spl Iscr/ arbitrarily closely, where /spl Iscr/=log/sub 2/n + (n-1)log/sub 2/[n/(n-1)], n/spl ges/2 (and /spl Iscr/=1 for n=1 and L=1). By exploiting the constraints imposed on the autocorrelation function of a stationary sign (bilevel) process with a given average transition rate, the latter expression is shown also to yield an upper bound on the achievable values of /spl Iscr/. The logarithmic behavior with n (n/spl Gt/1) is due to the high correlation between the oversampled binary samples, and it is established that this trend is also achievable with stationary sign processes. This model may be used to gain insight into the effect of finite resolution on the information (in Shannon's sense) conveyed by the sign of a bandlimited process, and also to assess the limiting performance of certain oversampling-based communication systems. >
Lymphedema after sentinel lymph node biopsy for cutaneous melanoma: a report of 5 cases.

BACKGROUND Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has rapidly become the procedure of choice for assessing the lymph node status of patients with 1992 American Joint Committee on Cancer stages I and II melanoma. The procedure was designed to be less invasive and, therefore, less likely to cause complications than a complete lymph node dissection. To our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature documenting extremity lymphedema following SLN biopsy. OBSERVATION We report 5 cases of lymphedema after SLN biopsy in patients being routinely followed up after melanoma surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital Melanoma Center, Boston. Three cases were mild, and 2 were moderate. Potential contributing causes of lymphedema were present in 4 patients and included the transient formation of hematomas and seromas, obesity, the possibility of occult metastatic melanoma, and the proximal extremity location of the primary melanoma excision. Four of the patients underwent an SLN biopsy at our institution. We used the total number of SLN procedures (N = 235) that we have performed to calculate a 1.7% baseline incidence of lymphedema after SLN biopsy. CONCLUSIONS Sentinel lymph node biopsy can be complicated by mild and moderate degrees of lymphedema, with an incidence of at least 1.7%. Some patients may have contributing causes for lymphedema other than the SLN biopsy, but many of these causes are difficult to modify or avoid.
Variations in the Rate of Rotation of the Earth

Variations observed in the length of the day can be divided into three types: seasonal, irregular, and long-term. The astronomical data examined here for the years 1956-1969 suggest that the seasonal terms hitherto assumed are slightly in error, that the irregular variations probably share the same source with the seasonal variations, and that the long-term variations may be linked to earthquake activity.
Factors Affecting Smoking Cessation in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

The role of tobacco in the etiology of upper aerodigestive tract carcinomas is well established. Smoking decreases the effectiveness of cancer therapy and increases the risk of all treatment modalities. Smoking adversely affects the general health of the cancer survivor and places the patient at risk of developing additional primary tumors. The smoking habits of head and neck cancer patients were evaluated using a questionnaire administered at two tertiary head and neck cancer centers. Demographic factors, level of exposure, tumor stage and location, treatment modalities, concomitant alcohol use, and cessation methods were examined. Results demonstrate a high rate of smoking cessation at the time of cancer diagnosis. Significant demographic factors were not identified. Physical barriers to continued smoking because of cancer treatment as well as counseling at the time of tumor diagnosis were the most effective deterrents to continued tobacco use. Heavy alcohol use was a negative predictor of smoking cessation. Pharmacologic aids alone were found to be of no value. This study demonstrates the difficulties with smoking cessation in head and neck cancer patients, and emphasizes the importance of intervention by the otolaryngologist‐head and neck surgeon.
rTMS in fibromyalgia

Objective: This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study investigated the impact of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on quality of life (QoL) of patients with fibromyalgia, and its possible brain metabolic substrate. Methods: Thirty-eight patients were randomly assigned to receive high-frequency rTMS (n = 19) or sham stimulation (n = 19), applied to left primary motor cortex in 14 sessions over 10 weeks. Primary clinical outcomes were QoL changes at the end of week 11, measured using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). Secondary clinical outcomes were mental and physical QoL component measured using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), but also pain, mood, and anxiety. Resting-state [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET metabolism was assessed at baseline, week 2, and week 11. Whole-brain voxel-based analysis was performed to study between-group metabolic changes over time. Results: At week 11, patients of the active rTMS group had greater QoL improvement in the FIQ (p = 0.032) and in the mental component of the SF-36 (p = 0.019) than the sham stimulation group. No significant impact was found for other clinical outcomes. Compared with the sham stimulation group, patients of the active rTMS group presented an increase in right medial temporal metabolism between baseline and week 11 (p < 0.001), which was correlated with FIQ and mental component SF-36 concomitant changes (r = −0.38, p = 0.043; r = 0.51, p = 0.009, respectively). QoL improvement involved mainly affective, emotional, and social dimensions. Conclusion: Our study shows that rTMS improves QoL of patients with fibromyalgia. This improvement is associated with a concomitant increase in right limbic metabolism, arguing for a neural substrate to the impact of rTMS on emotional dimensions involved in QoL. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class II evidence that rTMS compared with sham rTMS improves QoL in patients with fibromyalgia.
Antifungal activity of essential oil from the fruits of Ammodaucus leucotrichus Coss. and Dur., in liquid and vapour phase against postharvest phytopathogenic fungi in apples

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of essential oil (EO) from Ammodaucus leucotrichus fruits against three phytopathogenic fungi causing the deterioration for apples, including Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium expansum and Rhizopus stolonifer by using the poisoned food (PF) and the volatile activity (VA) methods. The antifungal test results indicated that the EO displayed significant potential of antifungal activity against the tested phytopathogenic fungi (p
Twenty-First-Century Climate Impacts from a Declining Arctic Sea Ice Cover

A steady decline in Arctic sea ice has been observed over recent decades. General circulation models predict further decreases under increasing greenhouse gas scenarios. Sea ice plays an important role in the climate system in that it influences ocean-to-atmosphere fluxes, surface albedo, and ocean buoyancy. The aim of this study is to isolate the climate impacts of a declining Arctic sea ice cover during the current century. The Hadley Centre Atmospheric Model (HadAM3) is forced with observed sea ice from 1980 to 2000 (obtained from satellite passive microwave radiometer data derived with the Bootstrap algorithm) and predicted sea ice reductions until 2100 under one moderate scenario and one severe scenario of ice decline, with a climatological SST field and increasing SSTs. Significant warming of the Arctic occurs during the twenty-first century (mean increase of between 1.6° and 3.9°C), with positive anomalies of up to 22°C locally. The majority of this is over ocean and limited to high latitudes, in contrast to recent observations of Northern Hemisphere warming. When a climatological SST field is used, statistically significant impacts on climate are only seen in winter, despite prescribing sea ice reductions in all months. When correspondingly increasing SSTs are incorporated, changes in climate are seen in both winter and summer, although the impacts in summer are much smaller. Alterations in atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns are more widespread than temperature, extending down to midlatitude storm tracks. Results suggest that areas of Arctic land ice may even undergo net accumulation due to increased precipitation that results from loss of sea ice. Intensification of storm tracks implies that parts of Europe may experience higher precipitation rates.