Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Noninvasive in vivo imaging reveals differences between tectorial membrane and basilar membrane traveling waves in the mouse cochlea

Significance The membranes within the cochlea vibrate in response to sound. However, measuring these vibrations to study the sense of hearing has been a technological challenge because invasive techniques have been required. Herein, we describe a new technique capable of depth-resolved displacement measurements in 3D space with picometer sensitivity within the unopened mouse cochlea. We used this technique to make, to our knowledge, the first measurements of the tectorial membrane, the structure that overlies the sensory hair cell stereociliary bundles, within a healthy cochlea. We found that the tectorial membrane sustains traveling wave propagation differently than the more commonly measured basilar membrane. This finding provides a clearer understanding of the mechanical stimulus at the level of the inner hair cell responsible for non-linear sound encoding. Sound is encoded within the auditory portion of the inner ear, the cochlea, after propagating down its length as a traveling wave. For over half a century, vibratory measurements to study cochlear traveling waves have been made using invasive approaches such as laser Doppler vibrometry. Although these studies have provided critical information regarding the nonlinear processes within the living cochlea that increase the amplitude of vibration and sharpen frequency tuning, the data have typically been limited to point measurements of basilar membrane vibration. In addition, opening the cochlea may alter its function and affect the findings. Here we describe volumetric optical coherence tomography vibrometry, a technique that overcomes these limitations by providing depth-resolved displacement measurements at 200 kHz inside a 3D volume of tissue with picometer sensitivity. We studied the mouse cochlea by imaging noninvasively through the surrounding bone to measure sound-induced vibrations of the sensory structures in vivo, and report, to our knowledge, the first measures of tectorial membrane vibration within the unopened cochlea. We found that the tectorial membrane sustains traveling wave propagation. Compared with basilar membrane traveling waves, tectorial membrane traveling waves have larger dynamic ranges, sharper frequency tuning, and apically shifted positions of peak vibration. These findings explain discrepancies between previously published basilar membrane vibration and auditory nerve single unit data. Because the tectorial membrane directly overlies the inner hair cell stereociliary bundles, these data provide the most accurate characterization of the stimulus shaping the afferent auditory response available to date.
Adjuvant treatment with pegylated interferon α-2a versus low-dose interferon α-2a in patients with high-risk melanoma: a randomized phase III DeCOG trial.

BACKGROUND Adjuvant treatment with interferon (IFN)-α-2a improved disease-free survival (DFS) and showed a trend for improving overall survival (OS) in melanoma. This trial was designed to examine whether PEG-IFN is superior to IFN with regard to distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), DFS and OS. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this multicenter, open-label, prospective randomized phase III trial, patients with resected cutaneous melanoma stage IIA(T3a)-IIIB (AJCC 2002) were randomized to receive PEG-IFN (180 μg subcutaneously 1×/week; 24 months) or IFN α-2a (3MIU subcutaneously 3×/week; 24 months). Randomization was stratified for stage, number of metastatic nodes, age and previous IFN treatment. The primary end point was DMFS; secondary end points were OS, DFS, quality of life (QoL) and tolerability. RESULTS A total of 909 patients were enrolled (451 PEG-IFN versus 458 IFN). Neither 5-year DMFS [PEG-IFN 61.0% versus IFN 67.3%; hazard ratio (HR) 1.16, P = 0.21] nor 5-year OS (PEG-IFN 73.2% versus IFN 75.2%; HR 1.05, P = 0.70) nor 5-year DFS (PEG-IFN 57.3% versus IFN 60.9%; HR 1.09, P = 0.40) showed significant differences. Subgroup analyses in patients ± ulcerated primaries and of different tumor stages did not find differences in DMFS, OS or DFS between the treatment groups. One hundred and eighteen patients (26.2%) in the PEG-IFN and 61 patients (13.3%) in the IFN population did not receive the full dosage and length of treatment due to adverse events (P < 0.001). Leukopenia and elevation of liver enzymes were more common in the PEG-IFN arm (56% versus 23.5% LCP; 19.1% versus 9.4% AST; 33.0% versus 16.5% ALT). QoL was identical for nearly all domains. CONCLUSION PEG-IFN did not improve the outcome over IFN. A higher percentage of patients under PEG-IFN discontinued treatment due to toxicity. CLINICAL TRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER NCT00204529.
A coral-algal phase shift in Mesoamerica not driven by changes in herbivorous fish abundance

Coral-algal phase shifts in which coral cover declines to low levels and is replaced by algae have often been documented on coral reefs worldwide. This has motivated coral reef management responses that include restriction and regulation of fishing, e.g. herbivorous fish species. However, there is evidence that eutrophication and sedimentation can be at least as important as a reduction in herbivory in causing phase shifts. These threats arise from coastal development leading to increased nutrient and sediment loads, which stimulate algal growth and negatively impact corals respectively. Here, we first present results of a dynamic process-based model demonstrating that in addition to overharvesting of herbivorous fish, bottom-up processes have the potential to precipitate coral-algal phase shifts on Mesoamerican reefs. We then provide an empirical example that exemplifies this on coral reefs off Mahahual in Mexico, where a shift from coral to algal dominance occurred over 14 years, during which there was little change in herbivore biomass but considerable development of tourist infrastructure. Our results indicate that coastal development can compromise the resilience of coral reefs and that watershed and coastal zone management together with the maintenance of functional levels of fish herbivory are critical for the persistence of coral reefs in Mesoamerica.
Development of a 4DoFs exoskeleton robot for passive arm movement assistance

Proper functioning of the upper limbs is important to manage essential activities of daily living. To provide assistance and rehabilitation to individuals with upper limb dysfunction due to conditions such as stroke or spinal cord injuries, we have developed a 4DoFs exoskeleton robot (ExoRob). The ExoRob was designed to be worn on the lateral side of the upper arm, to conform to a naturalistic range of movement for the shoulder and elbow joints. This paper focuses on the modelling, design, development, and control of the ExoRob. Experiments were carried out with healthy human subjects where trajectories tracking in the form of passive rehabilitation exercises were performed. Further experiments were carried out with the master exoskeleton arm (mExoArm, an upper-limb prototype exoskeleton arm) where subjects operate the mExoArm (like a joystick) to maneuver the ExoRob to provide passive rehabilitation. Experimental results show that the ExoRob can effectively perform passive rehabilitation exercises.
Real-time Monitoring of Propofol in Expired Air in Humans Undergoing Total Intravenous Anesthesia

Background:The physicochemical properties of propofol could allow diffusion across the alveolocapillary membrane and a measurable degree of pulmonary propofol elimination. The authors tested this hypothesis and showed that propofol can be quantified in expiratory air and that propofol breath concentrations reflect blood concentrations. This could allow real-time monitoring of relative changes in the propofol concentration in arterial blood during total intravenous anesthesia. Methods:The authors measured gas-phase propofol using a mass spectrometry system based on ion–molecule reactions coupled with quadrupole mass spectrometry which provides a highly sensitive method for on-line and off-line measurements of organic and inorganic compounds in gases. In a first sequence of experiments, the authors sampled blood from neurosurgery patients undergoing total intravenous anesthesia and performed propofol headspace determination above the blood sample using an auto-sampler connected to the mass spectrometry system. In a second set of experiments, the mass spectrometry system was connected directly to neurosurgery patients undergoing target-controlled infusion via a T piece inserted between the endotracheal tube and the Y connector of the anesthesia machine, and end-expiratory propofol concentrations were measured on-line. Results:A close correlation between propofol whole blood concentration and propofol headspace was found (range of Pearson r, 0.846–0.957; P < 0.01; n = 6). End-expiratory propofol signals mirrored whole blood values with close intraindividual correlations between both parameters (range of Pearson r, 0.784–0.985; n = 11). Conclusion:Ion–molecule reaction mass spectrometry may allow the continuous and noninvasive monitoring of expiratory propofol levels in patients undergoing general anesthesia.
Perspectives of patients on the utility of electronic patient-reported outcomes on cancer care.

TO THE EDITOR: We read with great interest the pair of original articles by Cleeland et al and Berry et al that focused on innovative strategies to engage clinicians in the integration of electronic patientreported outcomes into a clinical workflow. These articles demonstrated that flagging symptom and quality-of-life issues by using automated reporting systems can help to engage physicians to control symptoms and increase discussion of these issues at patient visits. However, there is a dearth of evidence from the perspective of the patient that electronic symptom assessment improves patient care. In Ontario, Canada, cancer centers have used an electronic version of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) to measure symptom burden since 2007. In the winter of 2010, Cancer Care Ontario conducted a week-long, paper-based, patient survey in all 14 regional cancer centers that was given to all patients who had completed the ESAS at least once. A total of 2,921 patients completed the survey, and 87% of respondents strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that the “ESAS was important to complete because it helped the health care team to know what symptoms [they] were having and how severe they were. ” In addition, 79% of respondents strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that “my health care team takes my ESAS symptom scores into account when they are deciding how to treat me,” whereas 6% of respondents somewhat disagreed or strongly disagreed with that statement. Last, 79% of respondents rated that their “pain and other symptoms have been controlled to a comfortable level” always or most of the time compared with 8% of respondents who rated this as rarely or never occurring. These results indicated that patients, themselves, feel that standardized symptom assessments, which were completed mostly electronically, positively influenced the care they received. Finally, Cleeland et al and Berry et al highlighted the potential value of automated symptom alerts to care improvement, but many clinicians struggle with what care plans to implement after symptom issues have been identified. To address that issue, Cancer Care Ontario has developed evidenced-based guides and algorithms on how to manage, in accordance with the best evidence, when certain ESAS symptoms reach a particular threshold. The guides are also available as a mobile application (iPhone [Apple, Cupertino, CA] and Windows Phone 7 [Microsoft, Redmond, WA]). They can be downloaded for free at: http://www.cancercare. on.ca/toolbox/symptools/.
CHANGING PATTERN OF DRUG ABUSE AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING DE-ADDICTION CENTRE AT FARIDKOT

Prevalence and patten of drug abuse among patients attending deaddiction centre of GGS Medical College and Hospital Faridkot in the year 1994 were analysed and compared with pattern of drug abuse among the patients attending the same centre in 1998 It was observed that there was an increase in the patients using the drugs available over the counter with chemists. It was also found that there was a decrease in the number of patients using raw opium in the year 1998 as compared to the year 1994.
An empirical evaluation of the US Beer Institute's self-regulation code governing the content of beer advertising.

OBJECTIVES We evaluated advertising code violations using the US Beer Institute guidelines for responsible advertising. METHODS We applied the Delphi rating technique to all beer ads (n = 289) broadcast in national markets between 1999 and 2008 during the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament games. Fifteen public health professionals completed ratings using quantitative scales measuring the content of alcohol advertisements (e.g., perceived actor age, portrayal of excessive drinking) according to 1997 and 2006 versions of the Beer Institute Code. RESULTS Depending on the code version, exclusion criteria, and scoring method, expert raters found that between 35% and 74% of the ads had code violations. There were significant differences among producers in the frequency with which ads with violations were broadcast, but not in the proportions of unique ads with violations. Guidelines most likely to be violated included the association of beer drinking with social success and the use of content appealing to persons younger than 21 years. CONCLUSIONS The alcohol industry's current self-regulatory framework is ineffective at preventing content violations but could be improved by the use of new rating procedures designed to better detect content code violations.
Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution (2nd edn)

to address a speci®c question using a particular strategy, 2 the reader should be cautioned not to expect such information to be of practical value. However, this text is very current Ð discussing the most topical issues such as the cloning of Dolly through nuclear transfer. This being the case, a brief discussion of spermatogonial transplantation as developed by Brinster and coworkers (e.g. Brinster & Avarbock, 1994; Brinster & Zimmerman, 1994; Brinster & Nagano, 1998; Ogawa et al. 2000), which oers tremendous potential for transgenesis especially where large mammals are involved, would have made this outstanding text complete. Overall, John Bishop's Transgenic Mammals is an excellent textbook that provides a thorough account of what is known about transgenesis, and the included material represents work at the cutting edge of a ®eld which has become fundamental to our understanding of mammalian biology.
State-of-the-Art Review : Effectiveness of Anagrelide in the Treatment of Symptomatic Patients with Essential Thrombocythemia

We prospectively evaluated the effect of anagrel ide on platelet counts and the clinical manifestations of micro vascular circulation disturbances in 17 newly diagnosed pa tients with essential thrombocythemia. Ten patients had symp toms related to thrombocythemia, eight at the time of starting anagrelide treatment. The platelet counts before anagrelide treatment and during maintained remission of essential throm bocythemia by anagrelide were 980 (range, 610-2030) and 378 (range, 212-546) x 109/L, respectively. Spontaneous platelet aggregation was found in 6 patients (35%), which disappeared on remission of essential thrombocythemia in five cases (P = 0.02). Essential thrombocythemia-related microvascular thrombotic and hemorrhagic symptoms disappeared with the normalization of platelet count in all cases during maintained remission of essential thrombocythemia by long term continu ous anagrelide treatment with a follow-up period of between 2 and 6 years. However, ET-related symptoms reappeared in three patients, coinciding with increased platelet count up to 600 x 109/L caused by anagrelide dose reduction. We conclude that reduction of increased platelet to normal (< 400 x 109/L) in symptomatic patients with essential thrombocythemia through use of maintained anagrelide treatment is associated with the disappearance of spontaneous platelet aggregation and the complete relief of thrombotic and hemorrhagic manifestations.
Developmental effects of stimulus gender and the social context in which it appears on threat detection

This study used a hands-free eye-tracking visual search (VS) task to examine possible developmental differences in target detection. Thirty-two young adults and 27 youth were asked to detect a fearful face (male or female) among a crowd of either neutral or happy faces. Fearful male faces were detected faster than fearful female faces, but only by young adults and only when displayed among neutral faces. Additionally, young adults had shorter scanpath lengths prior to the target detection. Finally, a strong negative correlation emerged between age and detection speed for a male target in a neutral crowd. Using this age-matched VS task, the study found age differences in the way individuals detect a threat in a social-related contextual environment, pointing to subtle differences in the emotion-attention interplay during the course of development. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Visual search of threat detection is critical for survival, specifically regarding expressive faces. Visual search efficiency is affected by both stimulus-driven and higher goal-directed processes. Stimuli and contextual features affect threat speed detection. What does this study add? A novel task was designed to examine age-related differences in visual search. Specific stimuli gender and contextual features yielded age-related differences in threat detection. The study further demonstrates the subtle developmental differences in attention-emotion interaction.
Couples relapse prevention sessions after behavioral marital therapy for male alcoholics: outcomes during the three years after starting treatment.

OBJECTIVE This article provides a complete report of outcome data from a study of behavioral marital therapy (BMT) with and without additional couples relapse prevention (RP) sessions. (See J. Stud. Alcohol 54: 652-666, 1993, for an earlier partial report.) METHOD Fifty-nine couples with an alcoholic husband, after receiving weekly BMT couples sessions for 5-6 months, were assigned randomly to get or not get 15 additional couples relapse prevention (RP) sessions over the next 12 months. Outcome measures were collected before and after BMT and at quarterly intervals for the 30 months after BMT. RESULTS BMT-plus-RP produced more days abstinent and greater use of the Antabuse Contract than BMT-only; and these superior drinking outcomes for BMT-plus-RP lasted through 18-month follow-up (i.e., 6 months after the end of RP). BMT-plus-RP had better wives' marital adjustment than BMT-only throughout the 30 months of follow-up, with the superiority of BMT-plus-RP over BMT-only being greatest for wives with poorer pretreatment marital adjustment during the later months of follow-up. BMT-plus-RP also maintained their improved marriages longer (through 24-month follow-up) than BMT-only (through 12-month follow-up). Irrespective of treatment condition, more use of BMT-targeted marital behaviors (e.g., shared recreational activities, constructive communication) was associated with better marital and drinking outcomes throughout the 30-month follow-up period whereas more use of the Antabuse contract was associated with better marital and drinking outcomes through 12-month follow-up. Alcoholics with more severe marital problems had more abstinent days and maintained relatively stable levels of abstinence if they received BMT-plus-RP, while their counterparts who received BMT-only had fewer abstinent days and showed a steep decline in abstinent days during the 30 months of follow-up. Furthermore, alcoholics with more severe alcohol problems used the Antabuse contract more and showed a less steep decline in use of the Antabuse contract in the 30 months of follow-up if they received BMT-plus-RP than if they received BMT-only. CONCLUSIONS For the entire sample, BMT-plus-RP produced better marital outcomes throughout the 30 months of follow-up and better drinking outcomes during and for the 6 months following RP sessions, relative to BMT-only outcomes. For alcoholics with more severe marital and drinking problems, BMT-plus-RP produced better drinking outcomes than BMT-only throughout the 30-month follow-up period.
A preliminary report on an assessment of a community-based intervention for diabetes control in adults with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of lay diabetes facilitators (LDFs) to increase knowledge and improve control among persons with diabetes. Methodology. A prospective cohort study was conducted among persons with diabetes in 16 health care centres in Jamaica to evaluate the effect of LDFs on glycaemia [haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)] and body mass index (BMI). One hundred and fifty-nine persons with diabetes were recruited for the intervention from eight clinical settings in which LDFs had been recruited and trained. A matched group of 159 were recruited as a comparison sample from eight clinical settings without LDFs. HbA1c and BMI were measured at baseline and 6 months. RESULTS Mean HbA1c at baseline for the intervention and comparison groups were 7.9% and 8%, respectively. After 6 months, the intervention group showed a mean decrease of 0.6% while the comparison group showed an increase of 0.6%, significant after control for potential confounders (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant change in BMI between groups. CONCLUSION Patients educated by LDFs showed improved metabolic control over the first 6 months of observation.
A simplified predistorter for compensation of nonlinear distortion in OFDM systems

This paper presents a new simplified predistortion scheme to compensate nonlinear distortion introduced by the high power amplifier (HPA) in OFDM systems. OFDM systems are susceptible to HPA nonlinearities in particular because of their large peak-to-average power ratios. Previously, a Volterra-based predistorter was suggested for compensation of HPA's nonlinear distortion in OFDM systems. In contrast to this earlier work, our adaptive predistorter utilizes a more simplified structure. It is shown that the new simplified structure exhibits faster convergence than the previous Volterra-based predistorter. In addition, the performance of the new predistortion scheme for OFDM systems is evaluated in terms of total degradation, optimal output backoff, and BER. Simulation results also show that our predistortion scheme is more efficient in compensating the nonlinear distortion of HPAs in OFDM systems than the previous scheme.
Expression of COX-2, PCNA, Ki-67 and p53 in gastrointestinal stromal tumors and its relationship with histopathological parameters.

AIM To investigate the expression of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Ki-67 and p53 in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and its relationship with histopathological parameters. METHODS Twenty-five GISTs were examined by light microscopy and immunohistochemistry. c-kit, CD34, SMA, S-100 protein, COX-2, PCNA, Ki-67 and p53 were detected immunohistochemically and the relationship was evaluated among histopathologic parameters such as mitotic index (MI), tumor grade, tumor size, COX-2, PCNA, Ki-67 and p53. RESULTS COX-2 protein expression was found in 19 of 25 (76%) of the tumors, and expression was noted in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells. p53 was significantly related to MI and tumor grade but no relationship was found between COX-2, proliferation markers and MI, tumor grade and tumor size. CONCLUSION COX-2 is expressed in most GISTs and it may play an important role in the proliferation and progression of these tumors or a useful marker to identify GIST. Although immunohistochemical assessment of p53 can be used for distinguishing the risk groups of GISTs, tumor size and mitotic rate should be considered at the same time.