Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sequential TPF chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced head and neck cancer – a retrospective analysis of toxicity and outcomes

Background and aims Phase III trials have shown that the addition of a taxane to cisplatin/5FU-based induction chemotherapy (TPF) improves response rates and overall survival in unresectable stage III/IV head and neck cancer. We sought to assess the tolerability, compliance and clinical outcomes of this treatment regime. Methods A retrospective study of patients treated within a single centre between September 2007 and November 2010. Toxicities were graded according to CTCAE version 3.0. Survival, distant metastasis and local control rates are expressed as percentages at two years using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results A total of 100 patients were identified (11% stage III, 86% stage IV) and 32% of patients were admitted as an emergency after TPF. The rate of neutropenic fever was 31%, this number fell to 9% when prophylactic G-CSF was used. In addition, 89% of patients underwent radical chemoradiation. Of these, 96% completed the full radiotherapy course. However, only 64% of patients received a minimum of two cycles of concurrent platinum chemotherapy. The two-year overall survival, metastasis free survival and local control rates were 62.6%, 88.5% and 73.3%, respectively. Conclusions TPF chemotherapy can be delivered safely in a non-trial cohort of patients. There is, however, a significant reduction in concurrent chemotherapy dose intensity. The long-term impact of this remains unclear.
Simian Varicella Virus Infection in African and Asian Monkeys

During the past ten years a major effort has been seen in the development of new drugs to treat viral diseases. This is an area of research that will continue to grow fueled by the many forces working to find effective antivirals for the treatment of acquired immunodeficiency disease (AIDS). The empirical approach to finding active antivirals is being supplemented by molecular virology techniques to develop drugs targeted toward specific sites required for replication of the virus. This should enhance the specificity of the drugs and, it is hoped, reduce toxicity. Certainly some fallout from the efforts to develop new anti-AIDS drugs will benefit the treatment of viral infections other than those caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Although it is not obvious that antivirals will be developed specifically to treat viral diseases of animals, some of the antivirals developed to treat human virus infections may be applicable to related animal diseases. I want to use simian varicella virus (SVV) infection of Old World monkeys as an example of such a situation. Simian varicella virus infections in nonhuman primates were first reported in the 1960s and 1970s when five major outbreaks occurred (TABLE 1). The first outbreak was reported at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in England; it occurred in African green monkeys (Cercopthecus aethiops) that had been imported from Nairobi. I Within a year a second outbreak appeared in patas monkeys (Eryfhrocebus patas) housed in the laboratories of the Glaxo Pharmaceutical Company in England? The source of this outbreak was believed to be monkeys imported from Nigeria. A second episode occurred at these laboratories within the same year. In 1968 the infection was seen in patas monkeys housed at the Delta Regional Primate Research Center in Covington, Loui~iana. ~ Imported monkeys could not be implicated in this outbreak, but it was believed to be the consequence of the reactivation of a latent infection present in a monkey that had been previously infected. Each of these outbreaks resulted in severe disease with high mortality that ranged from 36 to 53%. In 1969 an outbreak caused by this same virus was seen to occur in macaques, in particular Macaca nemestrina (pigtailed macaque) and to a lesser extent in M. fascicularis (cynomolgus) monkey^. ^ This outbreak occurred at the Medical Lake Facility of the University of Washington Primate Center. Three outbreaks occurred over a twoyear period with mortalities between 7 and 45%. A possible source of the outbreak was monkeys imported from Malaysia and Sumatra. In 1974 a second outbreak was reported in patas monkeys at the Delta Primate Center, again with a mortality ex-
Insomnia as a risk factor for ill health: results from the large population‐based prospective HUNT Study in Norway

Insomnia co‐occurs with many health problems, but less is known about the prospective associations. The aim of the current study was to investigate if insomnia predicts cumulative incidence of mental and physical conditions. Prospective population‐based data from the two last Nord‐Trøndelag Health Studies (HUNT2 in 1995–97 and HUNT3 in 2006–08), comprising 24 715 people in the working population, were used to study insomnia as a risk factor for incidence of physical and mental conditions. Insomnia was defined according to the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM‐IV). Insomnia at HUNT2 was a significant risk factor for incidence of a range of both mental and physical conditions at HUNT3 11 years later. Most effects were only slightly attenuated when adjusting for confounding factors, and insomnia remained a significant risk factor for the following conditions in the adjusted analyses: depression [odds ratio (OR): 2.38, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.91–2.98], anxiety (OR: 2.08, 95% CI: 1.63–2.64), fibromyalgia (OR: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.51–2.79), rheumatoid arthritis (OR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.29–2.52), whiplash (OR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.21–2.41), arthrosis (OR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.43–1.98), osteoporosis (OR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.14–2.01, headache (OR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.16–1.95, asthma (OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.16–1.86 and myocardial infarction (OR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.06–2.00). Insomnia was also associated significantly with incidence of angina, hypertension, obesity and stroke in the crude analyses, but not after adjusting for confounders. We conclude that insomnia predicts cumulative incidence of several physical and mental conditions. These results may have important clinical implications, and whether or not treatment of insomnia would have a preventive value for both physical and mental conditions should be studied further.
Adenoviral gene transfer of Caenorhabditis elegans n−3 fatty acid desaturase optimizes fatty acid composition in mammalian cells

Omega−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential components required for normal cellular function and have been shown to exert many preventive and therapeutic actions. The amount of n−3 PUFAs is insufficient in most Western people, whereas the level of n−6 PUFAs is relatively too high, with an n−6/n−3 ratio of >18. These two classes of PUFAs are metabolically and functionally distinct and often have important opposing physiological functions; their balance is important for homeostasis and normal development. Elevating tissue concentrations of n−3 PUFAs in mammals relies on chronic dietary intake of fat rich in n−3 PUFAs, because mammalian cells lack enzymatic activities necessary either to synthesize the precursor of n−3 PUFAs or to convert n−6 to n−3 PUFAs. Here we report that adenovirus-mediated introduction of the Caenorhabditis elegans fat-1 gene encoding an n−3 fatty acid desaturase into mammalian cells can quickly and effectively elevate the cellular n−3 PUFA contents and dramatically balance the ratio of n−6/n−3 PUFAs. Heterologous expression of the fat-1 gene in rat cardiac myocytes rendered cells capable of converting various n−6 PUFAs to the corresponding n−3 PUFAs, and changed the n−6/n−3 ratio from about 15:1 to 1:1. In addition, an eicosanoid derived from n−6 PUFA (i.e., arachidonic acid) was reduced significantly in the transgenic cells. This study demonstrates an effective approach to modifying fatty acid composition of mammalian cells and also provides a basis for potential applications of this gene transfer in experimental and clinical settings.
Blind CFO estimation based on computationally efficient subspace-based estimators with real-valued implementation for interleaved OFDMA uplink

In this paper, computationally efficient subspace-based estimators with real-valued implementation are presented by introducing a preprocessing transformation to estimate carrier frequency offset (CFO) for interleaved orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) uplink systems. Conventional subspace-based estimators inevitably lead to intensive computational complexity due to calculating sample correlation matrix and its complex-valued eigenvalue decomposition. To lessen these problems, in conjugation with preprocessing unitary transformation and Nystrom method, the required signal subspace or orthogonal projection matrix only needs to calculate two submatrices of correlation matrix. Computer simulation is also provided for illustrating the effectiveness of the proposed blind CFO estimators under single OFDMA data block.
Earthquake Beliefs and Adoption of Seismic Hazard Adjustments

This study investigated the prevalence of both accurate and erroneous earthquake‐related beliefs among a sample of Southern California college students and the relationship between their endorsement of earthquake beliefs and adoption of seismic hazard adjustments. In addition, the study examined the effects of an experimental earthquake education program and the impact of need for cognition on this program. The data revealed a significant degree of agreement with earthquake myths, a generally low level of correlation between earthquake beliefs and the level of hazard adjustments, and a significant effect of hazard information on the endorsement of accurate earthquake beliefs and increases in hazard adjustment. Compared with the “Earthquake Facts (Only)” format, an “Earthquake Myths versus Facts” format was slightly more useful for dispelling erroneous beliefs. Further, there was a tendency for those who were high in need for cognition to have higher levels of hazard adjustment. Finally, there was weak support for the hypothesis that those who were low in need for cognition would develop more accurate earthquake beliefs and higher levels of hazard adjustment in the “Earthquake Myths versus Facts” information condition.
Endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial biopsy with guide-sheath for the diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules

The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial biopsy with guide-sheath (EBUS-GS-TBB) for the diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs). One hundred and eighty patients, who were diagnosed with SPNs and underwent an endobronchial ultrasound procedure. The diagnostic yield, safety and the associated factors were analyzed. Mean EBUS-GS procedure time was 14±8 min. The average number of biopsy specimens obtained in each SPNs was 5±1.2. One hundred and thirty-four SPNs were diagnosed by EBUS-GS-TBB and the diagnostic rate was 74.4 %. The diagnosis rate of malignancy was 83.3 %, while that of benign disease was 56.7 %. The most important factors that helped enhance EBUS-GS diagnostic accuracy included lesion diameter greater than 20mm, EBUS probe within the lesions and central lesions. No pneumothorax, hemoptysis or other serious complications occurred with the diagnostic procedures. EBUS-GS-TBB is a safe and effective method for diagnosing SPNs.
Multi-drug and methicillin resistance of staphylococci from canine patients at a veterinary teaching hospital (2006–2011)

Background: Over the past 10 years, an increase in methicillin and multi-drug resistant staphylococcal species has been identified worldwide and anecdotally reported within our veterinary teaching hospital. Objective: To determine the methicillin resistance (MR) and multi-drug resistance (MDR) patterns of staphylococcal species isolated from canine patients between 2006 and 2011. Animals and Methods: Staphylococcal isolates (n = 1069) were cultured from the canine patient population of the veterinary teaching hospital. The susceptibility reports of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, S. aureus, S. schleiferi v. coagulans, S. schleiferi v. schleiferi, and other coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) were assessed. Isolates were organized into five site categories. Isolates were scored on a 0–10 scale based on resistance to antimicrobial classes, with MDR classified as an isolate scoring a value ≥3. Statistical analysis included χ2, Fisher's exact test, and ANOVA with mean square and post hoc analysis; p < 0.05 was significant. Results: S. pseudintermedius (76.6%), S. aureus (15.5%), S. schleiferi v. coagulans (5.7%), S. schleiferi v. schleiferi (1.2%), and CoNS (0.9%) isolation was observed. MR occurred in 11.4% of all combined isolates, with no difference between sites and years. Of the S. pseudintermedius isolates, 4.5% were methicillin resistant. Of all the isolates, 27.5% were MDR. The mean resistance score of S. pseudintermedius isolates increased significantly comparing 2006 and 2008 (p = 0.0006) and 2006 and 2009 (p = 0.0009). The mean score of all combined isolates increased significantly comparing 2006 and 2008 (p = 0.001). Conclusion: MR staphylococci isolation is similar when compared to other studies. However, increased MDR isolation is of greater concern and high-scoring MDR staphylococci will limit our future antimicrobial choices.
Generation of magnetic holes in fully kinetic simulations of collisionless turbulence

The results of three-dimensional fully kinetic simulations of decaying turbulence with the amplitude of the fluctuating magnetic field comparable to that of the mean field are presented. Coherent structures in the form of localized depressions in the magnitude of the magnetic field are observed to form self-consistently in the simulations. These depressions bear considerable resemblance to the so-called magnetic holes frequently reported in spacecraft observations. The structures are pressure-balanced and tend to be aligned with the local magnetic field. In the smallest structures observed, the decrease in the magnetic field strength is compensated by an increase in the electron perpendicular pressure, such that the transverse size of these structures is comparable to the electron gyroradius inside the depression. It is suggested that the structures evolve self-consistently out of the depressions in the fluctuating magnetic field, rather than being the consequence of instability growth and saturation. This is confirmed by additional, small-scale simulations, including those with realistic mass ratio between protons and electrons.
Coronary artery stents: Evaluating new designs for contemporary percutaneous intervention

Intracoronary stents have markedly improved the short‐ and long‐term safety and efficacy of percutaneous coronary intervention by improving acute gains in luminal dimensions, decreasing abrupt vessel occlusion, and reducing restenosis. At present, nearly 90% of all coronary interventions involve stenting. A variety of advances in stent technology and design have expanded the clinical application of stenting to include complex coronary lesions, multivessel disease, and small‐diameter vessels. In addition, the development of stents as drug delivery systems for antithrombotic or antiproliferative agents has the potential to expand the role of coronary stenting, and early clinical experience appears promising. The purpose of this review is to describe recent developments in stent design, examine the results of clinical trials of contemporary stents, and present future directions for investigation of new stent technologies. Cathet Cardiovasc Intervent 2002;56:562–576. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Topological feedback entropy for nonlinear systems

It is well-known in the field of dynamical systems that entropy can be defined rigorously for completely deterministic open-loop systems. However, such definitions have found limited application in engineering, unlike Shannon's statistical entropy. In this paper, it is shown that the problem of communication-limited stabilization is related to the concept of topological entropy, introduced by Adler et al. as a measure of the information rate of a continuous map on a compact topological space. Using similar open cover techniques, the notion of topological feedback entropy (TFE) is defined in this paper and proposed as a measure of the inherent rate at which a map on a noncompact topological space with inputs generates stability information. It is then proven that a topological dynamical plant can be stabilized into a compact set if and only if the data rate in the feedback loop exceeds the TFE of the plant on the set. By taking appropriate limits in a metric space, the concept of local TFE (LTFE) is defined arid it is asserted that a plant is locally uniformly asymptotically stabilizable to a fixed point if and only if the data rate exceeds the plant LTFE at the fixed point. An expression for the LTFE of continuously differentiable plants in Euclidean space is then given.
A Limited Number of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) env Variants Are Transmitted to Rhesus Macaques Vaginally Inoculated with SIVmac251

ABSTRACT Single-genome amplification (SGA) and sequencing of HIV-1 RNA in plasma of acutely infected humans allows the identification and enumeration of transmitted/founder viruses responsible for productive systemic infection. Use of this strategy as a means for identifying transmitted viruses suggested that intrarectal simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) inoculation of macaques recapitulates key features of human rectal infection. However, no studies have used the SGA strategy to identify vaginally transmitted virus(es) in macaques or to determine how early SIV diversification in vaginally infected animals compares with HIV-1 in humans. We used SGA to amplify 227 partial env sequences from a SIVmac251 challenge stock and from seven rhesus macaques at the earliest plasma viral RNA-positive time point after low- and high-dose intravaginal inoculation. Sequences were analyzed phylogenetically to determine the relationship of transmitted/founder viruses within and between each animal and the challenge stock. In each animal, discrete low-diversity env sequence lineages were evident, and these coalesced phylogenetically to identical or near-identical env sequences in the challenge stock, thus confirming the validity of the SGA sequencing and modeling strategy for identifying vaginally transmitted SIV. Between 1 and 10 viruses were responsible for systemic infection, similar to humans infected by sexual contact, and the set of viruses transmitted to the seven animals studied represented the full genetic constellation of the challenge stock. These findings recapitulate many of the features of sexual HIV-1 transmission in women. Furthermore, the SIV rhesus macaque model can be used to understand the factors that influence the transmission of single versus multiple SIV variants.
Time Coordinated V2I Communications and Handover for WAVE Networks

A wide variety of information technology (IT) services will become available for vehicles through the IEEE 802.11p, IEEE 1609, and wireless access in vehicular environment (WAVE) standards, and naturally the need for service handover will become a necessity. For WAVE networks, a time coordinated medium access control (MAC) protocol named WAVE point coordination function (WPCF) is proposed in this paper. The mathematical derivations and simulation analysis demonstrate that the proposed WPCF protocol can significantly enhance the utilization efficiency and can support more users based on an equal-length access period when compared to point coordination function (PCF), enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA), or hybrid coordination function (HCF) controlled channel access (HCCA) for vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communications. The paper also demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed WAVE handover controller (WHC) and WPCF in minimizing service disconnection time when used for V2I handover. In addition, technical enhancements and messages are added to enable seamless communication services over soft-handover (SHO), and enable minimum handover delay in hard-handover (HHO) situations. The mathematical performance evaluation and the simulation results show that the proposed scheme can significantly improve the handover latency compared to the performance that can be delivered by the current protocols.
Manufacturing Strategy and Business Strategy in Medium-Sized Enterprises: Performance Effects of Strategic Alignment

It is generally recognized that a firm's manufacturing strategy is effective to the extent that it is ldquoalignedrdquo with the business strategy and provides the firm with a competitive advantage. Given a conceptualization of business strategy through Miles and Snow's typology (prospectors, analyzers, and defenders), the aim of this research is threefold. First, one seeks to identify the performance outcomes of strategic alignment in terms of the productivity and profitability of medium-sized enterprises (ME). Second, this research aims to verify if these outcomes are valid for all strategic types or only for some. Third, to find out what manufacturing strategy is the most appropriate for each business strategy type. A research model and hypothesis are tested with survey data obtained from 150 Canadian MEs. Significant performance outcomes of alignment are found, thus validating the research model and confirming the main research proposition. Differences between strategic types are also found in terms of performance outcomes. Results indicate that each type of business strategy deploys advanced manufacturing systems (AMS) differently by assimilating and integrating various types of manufacturing technologies. Results suggest that ME owner-managers must assess their firm's level of AMS assimilation in light of their strategic objectives.
Use of Potassium Canrenoate to Suppress Ouabain‐Induced Ventricular Arrhythmias in Dogs

Potassium canrenoate, a steroidal compound and a specific antagonist of aldosterone, had (1) a potent protective effect against ouabain-induced ventricular tachycardia in intact closed-chest dogs and (2) a potent antiarrhythmic effect in abolishing ventricular bigeminy and ventricular tachycardia due to ouabain intoxication in dogs. Conversion of ouabain-induced arrhythmias was usually associated with an improvement in atrioventricular conduction, but no significant alterations in blood pressure or myocardial contractility occurred. Equivalent doses of potassium chloride failed to delay the occurrence of or to abolish the ouabain-induced ventricular tachycardia. Therefore, the antiarrhythmic activity of potassium canrenoate does not seem to be related to the potassium ion in the molecule. Since the compound combines both antiarrhythmic and diuretic activity, potassium canrenoate may be a valuable clinical agent for patients on digitalis therapy.
Factors in Female Youngsters ( ARFY Study ) Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Atherosclerosis in Young Women : Atherosclerosis Risk

Andrea Rossmann, Mahavir Shingh, Ralf Spallek, Andrea Griesmacher, David Bernhard, Peter Michael Knoflach, Stefan Kiechl, Daniela Penz, Alexandra Zangerle, Christoph Schmidauer, Factors in Female Youngsters (ARFY Study) Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Atherosclerosis in Young Women: Atherosclerosis Risk Print ISSN: 0039-2499. Online ISSN: 1524-4628 Copyright © 2009 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. is published by the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231 Stroke doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.108. 525675 2009;40:1063-1069; originally published online February 10, 2009; Stroke. http://stroke.ahajournals. org/content/40/4/1063 World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is located on the