Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transtemporal management of temporal bone encephaloceles and CSF leaks: Review of 56 consecutive patients

Abstract Conclusions: This report details our experience in the management of 56 consecutive patients with mastoid encephaloceles and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks. The majority were managed through the transmastoid route with temporalis fascia and calvarial bone graft. Among the patients operated on at least 18 months before analysis, there was a median follow-up of 54 months with no intracranial complications. The average body mass index (BMI) of patients with spontaneous CSF leaks was found to be statistically significantly greater than that of patients with CSF leaks with traumatic, infectious or iatrogenic etiologies. Objectives: To investigate the long-term follow-up of patients with spontaneous, iatrogenic, and traumatic temporal bone encephaloceles and CSF leaks to determine the effectiveness of the repair, late intracranial complications, and recurrent lesions. Methods: This is a retrospective review from a tertiary care center of 56 consecutive patients managed with CSF otorrhea, encephaloceles, and spontaneous pneumocephalus. All patients were repaired through transtemporal, middle cranial fossa or combined approaches for extradural repair and bone grafting. Results: Of the 56 consecutive cases, 12 had CSF otorrhea alone, 19 had encephaloceles, and 23 had both. Two patients presented with spontaneous pneumocephalus without CSF leak. Thirty-three patients had spontaneous onset of their lesion without any history of temporal bone surgery or trauma. The average BMI of patients with spontaneous CSF leaks was found to be greater than the average BMI of patients with CSF leaks due to traumatic, infectious or iatrogenic causes. This difference was found to be statistically significant. Six of these had either preceding or subsequent contralateral mastoid or anterior fossa (sphenoid, ethmoid) CSF leak. Intracranial pressure was evaluated in these cases and most underwent VP shunting to reduce their intracranial pressure. Sixteen cases followed previous mastoid surgery or chronic ear disease and seven were attributed to previous temporal bone trauma. Lesions were repaired with the transtemporal approach (42), middle fossa (4), and combined (5) approaches. Five cases required petrosectomy and fat obliteration. There was one recurrent CSF leak 4 years after initial repair; the leak was anterior to the previously placed bone graft.
Reducing Model Complexity for DNN Based Large-Scale Audio Classification

Audio classification is the task of identifying the sound categories that are associated with a given audio signal. This paper presents an investigation on large-scale audio classification based on the recently released AudioSet database. AudioSet comprises 2 millions of audio samples from YouTube, which are human-annotated with 527 sound category labels. Audio classification experiments with the balanced training set and the evaluation set of AudioSet are carried out by applying different types of neural network models. The classification performance and the model complexity of these models are compared and analyzed. While the CNN models show better performance than MLP and RNN, its model complexity is relatively high and undesirable for practical use. We propose two different strategies that aim at constructing low-dimensional embedding feature extractors and hence reducing the number of model parameters. It is shown that the simplified CNN model has only 1/22 model parameters of the original model, with only a slight degradation of performance.
Gene Therapy Antiproliferative Strategies against Cardiovascular Disease

__________________________________________________________________________________ *Correspondence: Vicente Andrés, Ph.D; Laboratory of Vascular Biology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Pathology and Therapy, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), C/ Jaime Roig, 11 46010 Valencia (SPAIN); Tel. : +34-963391752 (office), +34-963391751 (lab), Fax: +34-963690800; e-mail: vandres@ibv.csic. es
Ultrastructure of the embryonic stem cells of the 8‐day pig blastocyst before and after in vitro manipulation: Development of junctional apparatus and the lethal effects of PBS mediated cell–cell dissociation

Ultrastructural examination of 8‐day hatched pig blastocysts (large and small), their cultured inner cell mass (ICM), and cultured epiblast tissue (embryonic stem cells) was undertaken to assess the development of epiblast cell junctions and cytoskeletal elements. In small blastocysts, epiblast cells had no desmosomes or tight junction (TJ) connections and few organized microfilament bundles, whereas in large blastocysts the epiblast cells were connected by TJ and desmosomes with associated microfilaments. ICM isolation by immunodissection damaged the endoderm cells beneath the trophectoderm cells but did not appear to damage the epiblast cells or their associated endoderm cells. Epiblast cells in cultured ICMs were similar in character to those in the intact large blastocyst except that perinuclear microfilaments were observed. Isolated pig epiblasts, cultured for ∼36 hr on STO feeder layers, formed a monolayer whose cells were connected by TJ, adherens junctions and desmosomes with prominent microfilament bundles running parallel to the apical cytoplasmic membranes. Perinuclear microfilaments were a consistent feature in the ∼36 hr cultured epiblast cells. A feature characteristic of differentiation into notochordal cells, i.e., a solitary cilium, was also observed in the cultured epiblast. Exposure of the cultured epiblast cells to Ca++‐Mg++‐free phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for 5–10 min resulted in extensive cell blebbing and lysis. The results may indicate that pig epiblast cells could be more easily dissociated from early blastocysts (∼400 μm in diameter) if immunodissection damage to the ICM can be avoided. It may be difficult, however, to establish them as embryonic stem cell lines because the cultured pig epiblast cells were easily lysed by standard cell–cell dissociation methods. Anat Rec 264:101–113, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Genotoxicity study in lymphocytes of offset printing workers

The potential cytogenetic damage in offset printing workers was evaluated using sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs), chromosome aberrations (CAs) and micronuclei (MN) as biomarkers in peripheral lymphocytes of 26 volunteers (14 workers, 12 controls). The CA, SCE and MN frequency of offset printing workers was significantly higher than in their controls. The replication index (RI) was not affected while the mitotic index (MI) was affected most in the workers. It can be concluded from this study that chronic occupational exposure to printing dyes and thinner may lead to a slightly increased risk of genetic damage among offset printing workers. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of Locally Generated Angiotensin II on Noradrenergic Neuroeffector Function in the Rat Isolated Caudal Artery

The effects of angiotensin II and its precursors angiotensin I and tetradecapeptide renin substrate were investigated in isolated segments of the rat caudal artery. Each peptide constricted the rat caudal artery and also enhanced vasoconstrictor responses to sympathetic nerve stimulation (0.5 Hz, 10 s). The threshold concentrations for each peptide in enhancing sympathetic vasoconstrictor responses were lower than those required to produce vasoconstriction. Tetradecapeptide renin substrate was the least potent of the three peptides and had the slowest onset of action. Angiotensin II and angiotensin I each enhanced noradrenergic transmission to the same degree, whether perfused through the lumen or added to the adventitial surface of the artery. In contrast, tetradecapeptide renin substrate was more potent when applied to the adventitial surface. The'effects of angiotensin I were blocked by the converting enzyme inhibitor enalaprilat, whereas the effects of tetradecapeptide renin substrate were unaltered by enalaprilat, or by the renin inhibitors pepstatin or a decapeptide renin inhibitor. These findings suggest that tetradecapeptide renin substrate and angiotensin I may be converted to angiotensin II within the rat caudal artery, with subsequent enhancement of noradrenergic neuroeffector function. However, the enzyme responsible for the conversion of tetradecapeptide renin substrate cannot be determined from the present findings.
Who Marries Differently-Aged Spouses? Earnings, Ability and Appearance

In direct contrast to conventional wisdom and most economic models of gender differences in age of marriage, we present robust evidence that men and women who are married to differently-aged spouses are negatively selected. Earnings analysis of married couples in the 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000 Decennial Censuses finds that male earnings decrease with within-couple age difference, regardless of whether the man is older or younger than his wife. In contrast, female earnings increase with within-couple age difference. We argue and present evidence that women in differently-aged couples have higher earnings not because of positive selection, but because their hours of work increase in response to partnering with a lower earning man. We test for negative selection into differently-aged couples using three measures: average earnings per hour in occupation using Census data, cognitive skills assessments from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (NLSY79), and measures of physical appearance from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The point estimates indicate negative selection on all of these characteristics, although statistical significance varies by outcome and sample.
Biochemical characterisation of Francisella tularensis strains isolated in Spain

Correspondence to Dr Rodriguez Ferri BRAUN, U. , AMREIN, E. , ESTERMANN, U. , EGLI, J., SCHWEIZER, T. , LUTZ, H. , EHRENSPERGER, F. , VANDEVELDE, M. & KIHM, U. (1998) Untersuchungen an 182 Nachkommen von an boviner spongiformer Enzephalopathie (BSE) erkrankten Kuhen in der Schweiz. Teil 1: Klinische Befunde. Schweizer Archivfiir Tierheilkunde 140, 241-249 BRAUN, U. , FLOCKIGER, M. , GERSPACH, C. & GREST, P. (2003a) Clinical and radiographic findings in six cattle with cervical diskospondylitis. Veterinary Record 152, 630-632 BRAUN, U. , GERSPACH, C. , SALIS, F. & FEIGE, K. (2003b) Klinische Befunde bei 4 Rindern mit Abszess in der Halswirbelsaule. Schweizer Archiv fur Tierheilkunde 145, 124-128 BRAUN, U. , HERMANN, M. & PABST, B. (1989) Haematological and biochemical findings in cattle with dilatation and torsion of the caecum. Veterinary Record 125, 396-398 BRAUN, U. , SCHWEIZER, G. , GERSPACH, C. & FEIGE, K. (2003c) Clinical findings in 11 cattle with abscesses in the thoracic vertebrae. Veterinary Record 152, 782-784 COOPER, J. & WALKER, R. D. (1998) Listeriosis. Veterinary Clinics ofNorth America: Food Animal Practice 14, 113-125 DENNIS, S. M. (1993) Listeriosis (circling disease, silage sickness). In Current Veterinary Therapy, Food Animal Practice. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders. pp 580-583 EHRENSPERGER, F. , HILBE, M. , SYDLER, T. , CORBOZ, L. , BRAUN, U. & POSPISCHIL, A. (2001) Zerebrale Listeriose bei Schaf und Ziege: eine histopathologische und immunhistologische Studie. Wiener Tieriirztliche Monatsschrift 88, 219-225 GATES, G. A. , BLENDEN, D. C. & KINTNER, L. D. (1967) Listeric myelitis in sheep. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 150, 200-204 KLEE, W. (1987) Diagnose und Therapie der Listeriose beim Rind. Praktischer Tierarzt 68, 53-54 STOBER, M. & GRUNDER, H-D. (1990) Die klinische Untersuchung des Rindes. 3rd edn. Eds G. Dirksen, H-D. Grunder, M. Stober. Berlin, Munchen, Paul PareyVerlag. pp 203-230 SEAMAN, J. T. , CARTER, G. I. , CARRIGAN, M. J. & COCKRAM, F. A. (1990) An outbreak of listerial myelitis in sheep. Australian Veterinary Journal 67, 142143
CHANDRA REVEALS HEAVY OBSCURATION AND CIRCUMNUCLEAR STAR FORMATION IN SEYFERT 2 GALAXY NGC 4968

We present the Chandra imaging and spectral analysis of NGC 4968, a nearby (z = 0.00986) Seyfert 2 galaxy. We discover extended (∼1 kpc) X-ray emission in the soft band (0.5–2 keV) that is neither coincident with the narrow line region nor the extended radio emission. Based on spectral modeling, it is linked to on-going star formation (∼2.6–4 M⊙ yr−1). The soft emission at circumnuclear scales (inner ∼400 pc) originates from hot gas, with kT ∼ 0.7 keV, while the most extended thermal emission is cooler (kT ∼ 0.3 keV). We refine previous measurements of the extreme Fe Kα equivalent width in this source ( ), which suggests the central engine is completely embedded within Compton-thick levels of obscuration. Using physically motivated models fit to the Chandra spectrum, we derive a Compton-thick column density (NH > 1.25 × 1024 cm−2) and an intrinsic hard (2–10 keV) X-ray luminosity of ∼3–8 × 1042 erg s−1 (depending on the presumed geometry of the obscurer), which is over two orders of magnitude larger than that observed. The large Fe Kα EW suggests a spherical covering geometry, which could be confirmed with X-ray measurements above 10 keV. NGC 4968 is similar to other active galaxies that exhibit extreme Fe Kα EWs (i.e., >2 keV) in that they also contain on-going star formation. This work supports the idea that gas associated with nuclear star formation may increase the covering factor of the enshrouding gas and play a role in obscuring active galactic nuclei.
Application of Sepsis Definitions to Pediatric Patients Admitted With Suspected Infections in Uganda*

Objectives: Acute infectious diseases are the most common cause of under-5 mortality. However, the hospital burden of nonneonatal pediatric sepsis has not previously been described in the resource poor setting. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of sepsis among children 6 months to 5 years old admitted with proven or suspected infection and to evaluate the presence of sepsis as a predictive tool for mortality during admission. Design: In this prospective cohort study, we used the pediatric International Consensus Conference definition of sepsis to determine the prevalence of sepsis among children admitted to the pediatric ward with a proven or suspected infection. The diagnosis of sepsis, as well as each individual component of the sepsis definition, was evaluated for capturing in-hospital mortality. Setting: The pediatric ward of two hospitals in Mbarara, Uganda. Patients: Admitted children between 6 months and 5 years with a confirmed or suspected infection. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: One thousand three hundred seven (1,307) subjects with a confirmed or suspected infection were enrolled, and 65 children died (5.0%) during their admission. One thousand one hundred twenty-one (85.9%) met the systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria, and therefore, they were defined as having sepsis. The sepsis criteria captured 61 deaths, demonstrating a sensitivity and a specificity of 95% (95% CI, 90–100%) and 15% (95% CI, 13–17%), respectively. The most discriminatory individual component of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria was the leukocyte count, which alone had a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 56% for the identification of mortality in hospital. Conclusions: This study is among the first to quantify the burden of nonneonatal pediatric sepsis in children with suspected infection, using the international consensus sepsis definition, in a typical resource-constrained setting in Africa. This definition was found to be highly sensitive in identifying those who died but had very low specificity as most children who were admitted with infections had sepsis. The systemic inflammatory response syndrome–based sepsis definition offers little value in identification of children at high risk of in-hospital mortality in this setting.
Peripheral nerve block with phenol in the management of spasticity. Indications and complications.

After accurate isolation, 126 peripheral nerves were blocked with 2% or 3% phenol solutions in distilled water in 68 patients with severe spasticity of various causes. Seven nerve blocks were repeated. The period of effectiveness ranged from 2 to 743 days, with an average of 308 days. Paresthesia occurred following ten nerve blocks. Gain and loss of voluntary movement following the blocks were observed. Ease, simplicity, safety, therapeutic benefits, and economic advantages of peripheral nerve block with phenol warrant its more widespread use.
Study on protecting effects of baicalin and octreotide on hepatic injury in rats with severe acute pancreatitis.

AIM To investigate the protective effects and mechanisms of baicalin and octreotide on hepatic injury in rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). METHODS The SAP rat models were prepared and randomly assigned to the model control group, baicalin treated group, and octreotide treated group while other healthy rats were assigned to the sham-operated group. Rat mortality, levels of ALT, AST, liver and pancreas pathological changes in all groups were observed at 3, 6 and 12 h after operation. Tissue microarray (TMA) sections of hepatic tissue were prepared to observe expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2 protein and caspase-3, and changes of apoptotic indexes. RESULTS Rat survival at 12 h, expression levels of Bax, caspase-3 protein and apoptotic indexes of liver were all significantly higher in treated groups than in model control group. While the liver and pancreas pathological scores, contents of ALT, AST, and expression levels of Bcl-2 protein were all lower in treated groups than in the model control group. CONCLUSION Both baicalin and octreotide can protect rats with SAP by decreasing the contents of ALT, AST and expression levels of Bcl-2 protein, and improving the expression levels of Bax protein, caspase-3 protein, and inducing apoptosis.
Performance Assessment of VRT-based Granular Fertilizer Broadcasting Systems

Due to environmental concerns in addition to economical considerations, Variable Rate Treatment concept is widely applied in the agricultural arena. Granular fertilizers’ broadcasting is one of the most growing applications employing VRT and GPS guidance technologies. Although such systems are commercially produced, standards for performance assessment yet to be developed. ASAE S431.2 provides a standard procedure for testing broadcasters performance. However , this standard does not cover the testing of broadcast spreaders with VRT. Three different testing methodologies are presented in this paper to lay the basics of any testing procedures to be developed. The suggested procedure is widely applicable assessment process and not specifically designed to evaluate a specific system. A semi-automatic rotary variable rate broadcaster equipped with GPS real time guidance was designed and built locally. Evaluation procedures focused on differences between the prescribed and the actually applied amounts; between nutrient (P2O5) levels before and after treatment and between targeted and actual nutrient levels after treatment in GPS identified points in the field. Objectives
TRENDS IN RADAR-BASED COUNTS OF MARBLED MURRELETS ON THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA, WASHINGTON, 1996–2004

Abstract ABSTRACT The Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphusmarmoratus) is a highprofile, federally threatened seabird, but noreliable estimates of population trends at inlandbreeding areas exist for this species. We conductedland-based radar studies of Marbled Murrelets at3–7 sites on the Olympic Peninsula,Washington, in 1996–2002 and 2004 to estimatepopulation changes and to examine relationshipsbetween our counts and oceanographic conditions,murrelet productivity, and regional at-sea countsof murrelets. Morning radar counts of murreletsvaried significantly among and within sites but didnot decline from 1996–2004, suggesting thatthe inland breeding population of murrelets isstable in this area. A retrospective power analysisindicated that we had a 25% and 56%chance of detecting 2% and 4% annualdeclines, respectively. Thus, if relatively smallannual declines did occur during our study period,there is a high probability that they would havegone undetected, even though they could add up to abiologically important decline over time. It isunlikely that murrelets on the Olympic Peninsuladeclined by ≥6% annually, however,because retrospective analyses indicated that powerto detect such declines was >88%. Therewas no significant relationship between radarcounts and at-sea counts or productivity ofmurrelets in the nearby San Juan Islands during thestudy period. We also did not detect a relationshipbetween radar counts and mean sea-surfacetemperatures or the Northern Oscillation Index,suggesting that variation in oceanographicconditions (e.g., the strong 1998 ElNiño event) was not associated withvariation in morning radar counts of MarbledMurrelets. A prospective power analysis indicatedthat small (2%–4%)annual declines could be detected with reasonablyhigh power (≥80%) with thecurrent radar sampling design by extending thestudy to 11–15 years.
In vivo comparison of three di V erent porous materials intended for use in a keratoprosthesis

Aim —The goal was to compare the biological response of the corneal stroma with three porous materials: a melt blown microﬁbre web of polybutylene:polypropylene (80:20); a polyester spun laced fabric (polyethylene terephthalate), and an expanded polytetraﬂuoroethylene. Fifty per cent of each of the materials were modiﬁed using argon radio frequency. Methods —Discs (6 mm in diameter) were inserted into interlamellar stromal pock-ets and followed for a period of 12 weeks. Clinical evaluations were performed weekly. At 6 and 12 weeks, ﬁbroplasia and the distribution of matrix proteins and growth factors (bFGF and TGF-(cid:226) ) were evaluated immunohistochemically. The characterisation of glycosaminoglycans was determined after selective extraction and digestion. Results —The response to the disc resembled that of a wound with a decrease in keratan sulphate and an increase in dermatan sulphate. Pretreatment of the discs reduced corneal oedema and neo-vascularisation. Heparan sulphate, not normally detected in the corneal stroma, was detected in the region immediately surrounding the disc and in the discs of some materials. The presence of glycosaminoglycans and collagens in the disc indicated that cells had migrated into the disc and deposited a complex matrix in all three materials. The collagen response was not surface speciﬁc. bFGF and TGF-(cid:226) were detected in the region between the disc and the stroma in the polybutylene material and became di V use with time. Conclusion
The Value of Positron Emission Tomography/Computerized Tomography Imaging in the Restaging of Differentiated Thyroid Cancers and Evaluation of its Association with Thyroglobulin Levels

Purpose: Recently, there have been an increasing number of studies indicating that Florine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is a sensitive method in the evaluation of thyroid cancer. This retrospective study aims to assess the value of FDG PET/CT in the evaluation of thyroid cancer and determine the association between serum thyroglobulin (Tg) levels and FDG PET/CT.