Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Dental Health of Patients with Head and Neck Cancer Receiving IMRT vs Conventional Radiation

Objective To analyze the dental health of patients with head and neck cancer who received comprehensive dental care after intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) compared with radiation therapy (RT). Study Design Historical cohort study. Setting Veteran Affairs (VA) hospital. Subjects and Methods In total, 158 patients at a single VA hospital who were treated with RT or IMRT between 2003 and 2011 were identified. A complete dental evaluation was performed prior to radiation treatment, including periodontal probing, tooth profile, cavity check, and mobility. The dental treatment plan was formulated to eliminate current and potential dental disease. The rates of dental extractions, infections, caries, mucositis, xerostomia, and osteoradionecrosis (ORN) were analyzed, and a comparison was made between patients treated with IMRT and those treated with RT. Results Of the 158 patients, 99 were treated with RT and 59 were treated with IMRT. Compared with those treated with IMRT, significantly more patients treated with RT exhibited xerostomia (46.5% vs 16.9%; P < .001; odds ratio [OR], 0.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.11-0.52), mucositis (46.5% vs 16.9%; P < .001; OR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.11-0.52), and ORN (10.1% vs 0%; P = .014; OR, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.00-1.21). However, significantly more patients treated with IMRT were edentulous by the conclusion of radiation treatment (32.2% vs 11.1%; P = .002; OR, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.65-8.73). Conclusion Patients who were treated with IMRT had fewer instances of dental disease, more salivary flow, and fewer requisite posttreatment extractions compared with those treated with RT. The number of posttreatment extractions has been reduced with the advent of IMRT and more so with a complete dental evaluation prior to treatment.
Validating self-reporting of hearing-related symptoms against pure-tone audiometry, otoacoustic emission, and speech audiometry

Abstract Objective: To validate self-reported hearing-related symptoms among personnel exposed to moderately high occupational noise levels at an obstetrics clinic. Design: Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated for questionnaire items assessing hearing loss, tinnitus, sound sensitivity, poor hearing, difficulty perceiving speech, and sound-induced auditory fatigue. Hearing disorder was diagnosed by pure-tone audiometry, distortion product otoacoustic emissions, and HINT (Hearing In Noise Test). Study sample: Fifty-five female obstetrics personnel aged 22–63 participated; including 26 subjects reporting hearing loss, poor hearing, tinnitus, or sound sensitivity, and 29 randomly selected subjects who did not report these symptoms. Results: The questionnaire item assessing sound-induced auditory fatigue had the best combination of sensitivity ≥85% (95% CIs 56 to 100%) and specificity ≥70% (95% CIs 55 to 84%) for hearing disorder diagnosed by audiometry or otoacoustic emission. Of those reporting sound-induced auditory fatigue 71% were predicted to have disorder diagnosed by otoacoustic emission. Participants reporting any hearing-related symptom had slightly worse measured hearing. Conclusions: We suggest including sound-induced auditory fatigue in questionnaires for identification of hearing disorder among healthcare personnel, though larger studies are warranted for precise estimates of diagnostic performance. Also, more specific and accurate hearing tests are needed to diagnose mild hearing disorder.
Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Epidemiology and Etiology

Acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs) are infrequent, yet highly malignant neoplasms responsible for a large number of cancer‐related deaths. The incidence has been near stable over the last years. It continuously shows 2 peaks in occurrence in early childhood and later adulthood. With an incidence of 3.7 per 100,000 persons and an age‐dependent mortality of 2.7 to nearly 18 per 100,000 persons, there is a rising awareness in the Western world of AML's special attributes resulting from an ever‐aging population. To objectively describe epidemiologic data on this patient population, recent publications were evaluated to make transparent the current trends and facts. A review of the literature is presented, reflecting highlights of current research with respect to AML etiology. To estimate outcome and discuss informed treatment decisions with AML patients of different age groups and different biologic risk categories, it is mandatory to consider that the outcome results reported in clinical trials were until now heavily biased toward younger patients, whereas the overall dismal prognosis documented in population‐based studies most likely reflects the exclusion of older patients from aggressive treatment. The etiology for most cases of AML is unclear, but a growing knowledge concerning leukemogenenic agents within chemotherapy regimens for other malignancies is already available. This includes specific associations of the most frequent balanced translocations in AML, including the “good‐risk” abnormalities comprised by the core binding factor leukemias (i.e., AML with the translocation (8;21) and inversion of chromosome 16, and acute promyelocytic leukemia with the translocation (15;17)). In contrast to these genetic alterations, epigenetic lesions, e.g., promoter silencing by hypermethylation of the p15/INK4b and other genes, are increasingly recognized as important in the pathogenesis of AML. Cancer 2006. © 2006 American Cancer Society.
Development of an Antibody Hapten‐Chip System for Detecting the Residues of Multiple Antibiotic Drugs *

Abstract: The abuse of antibiotic drugs during animal production remains a worldwide problem and the subsequent detection of the residues of various drugs present at low concentrations in complex biological matrices poses significant analytical challenges. The present study outlines a practical biochip assay system to identify antibiotic residues in different animal tissue extracts. The system uses a simple but efficient multiresidue sample extraction procedure to isolate the antibiotic residues which were then identified directly using high‐affinity monoclonal antibodies presented in a competitive immunoassay with conjugated antibiotic hapten‐chips. The hapten‐chip can analyze six samples each for eight antibiotics on a single chip within 3 h. The analytical results with both artificial positive standard samples and the incurred samples show that the antibody hapten‐chip system has a comparable accuracy and a similar sensitivity to a standard ultra performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (MS)/MS assay. In conclusion, an effective analytical screening system based on antibody hapten‐chip was developed for detecting multiple antibiotic residues from multiple samples.
Interaction between the Human Cytomegalovirus Tegument Proteins UL94 and UL99 Is Essential for Virus Replication

ABSTRACT Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) virions are structurally complex, and the mechanisms by which they are assembled are poorly understood, especially with respect to the cytoplasmic phase of assembly, during which the majority of the tegument is acquired and final envelopment occurs. These processes occur at a unique cytoplasmic structure called the assembly complex, which is formed through a reorganization of the cellular secretory apparatus. The HCMV tegument protein UL99 (pp28) is essential for viral replication at the stage of secondary envelopment. We previously demonstrated that UL99 interacts with the essential tegument protein UL94 in infected cells as well as in the absence of other viral proteins. Here we show that UL94 and UL99 alter each other's localization and that UL99 stabilizes UL94 in a binding-dependent manner. We have mapped the interaction between UL94 and UL99 to identify the amino acids of each protein that are required for their interaction. Mutation of these amino acids in the context of the viral genome demonstrates that HCMV is completely defective for replication in the absence of the interaction between UL94 and UL99. Further, we demonstrate that in the absence of their interaction, both UL94 and UL99 exhibit aberrant localization and do not accumulate at the assembly complex during infection. Taken together, our data suggest that the interaction between UL94 and UL99 is essential for the proper localization of each protein to the assembly complex and thus for the production of infectious virus.
Molecular Characterization of the Glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate Dehydrogenase Gene of Phaffia rhodozyma

The glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD; EC1.2.1.12)‐encoding gene (gpd) was isolated from a genomic library of Phaffia rhodozyma CBS 6938. Unlike some other eukaryotic organisms the gpd gene is represented by a single copy in P. rhodozyma. The complete nucleotide sequence of the coding, as well as the flanking non‐coding regions was determined. The nucleotide sequence of gpd predicted six introns and a polypeptide chain of 339 amino acids. The codon usage in the gpd gene of P. rhodozyma was highly biased and was significantly different from the codon usage in other yeasts. Phylogenetic analysis of different yeasts and filamentous asco‐ and basidiomycetes gpd sequences indicated that the gpd gene of P. rhodozyma forms a cluster with the corresponding genes of filamentous basidiomycetes. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Employee Quality and Financial Reporting Outcomes

We examine the association between employee quality and financial reporting outcomes. Using the average workforce education level in MSA(s) where the firm operates as a proxy for employee quality, we find that firms with a high-quality workforce exhibit higher accruals quality, fewer internal control violations, and fewer restatements. These firms also issue superior management forecasts, in terms of frequency, timeliness, accuracy, precision, and bias. Employees located at the firm's headquarters primarily drive our findings. Our evidence suggests employee quality, particularly at a firm's headquarters, is associated with both mandatory and voluntary disclosure quality.
EFFECT OF CUSTOMER PERCEPTION ON PERFORMANCE OF PRIVATE HOSPITALS IN NAIROBI : A CASE STUDY OF KAREN HOSPITAL

The link between perception of customers and the firm performance is of key concern to managers. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of customer perception on performance of Karen Hospital in Kenya. The research instrument was a semistructured questionnaire which was targeted to clients of Karen Hospital. Study results indicated that client perception towards hospital costs was not a significant predictor of hospital performance. Customer perception towards hospital staff and their perception towards quality of service had significant influence on hospital performance. From the study findings, the following recommendations are made. First, it is recommended that pricing for any service should be based on value and what competition offers. Secondly, the hospital should put measures in place to ensure that the employees they already have are well trained or the hospital hires more staff and employees to ensure that their valued clients are served efficiently.
Anaerobic dominant flora was reconstructed by synbiotics in an infant with MRSA enteritis

Many cases of fulminant enteritis caused by Staphylococcus aureus have been reported since the 1950s. 1 Such cases usually had a severe clinical course with intestinal necrosis, perforation and systemic sepsis. 2 Characteristic of most cases is a history of treatment with prophylactic antibiotics after abdominal surgery. 3 Recently, methicillin-sensitive S. aureus was reported to be replaced by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) as a cause of severe enteritis worldwide. 4 Vancomycin is currently an effective antibiotic for MRSA infections but recently, the appearance of vancomycin-intermediate MRSA was reported in Japan. 5 It is now imperative to seek a completely different strategy to control antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria in the body. The idea of controlling intestinal bacterial flora using living organisms such as Bifidobacterium , Lactobacillus and Enterococcus was recently proposed, and is a very promising alternative strategy for controlling antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the intestine. 6 Such beneficial living bacteria for host animals are called probiotics and food supplements as an energy source for probiotics are called prebiotics. 7 Furthermore, the combined use of probiotics and prebiotics was proposed to be a more effective treatment than either probiotics or prebiotics used alone; such combinations are called synbiotics. 7
Imaging of Intracranial Space Occupying Lesions : A Prospective Study in A Tertiary Care Centre in Northern India

Introduction: The high morbidity & mortality associated with ICSOLs necessitates their early diagnosis so as to plan the required intervention. Intracranial Space occupying lesions (ICSOL) can be neoplastic, inflammatory or infective in aetiology. Widely available imaging techniques, computed tomography (CT) & magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are used to detect these lesions. This study was done to evaluate the ICSOL on neuroimaging & correlate the clinical findings with the radiological assessment. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 80 patients with ICSOL were studied by CT & MRI. Imaging findings were evaluated & tabulated & correlated with the clinical findings & histopathological findings (wherever available). The findings were statistically analyzed. Results: Most patients were in age range of 31 – 50 years (mean 42.2 y). Male : females ratio was 3:2. Most common presenting symptom was headache. Solitary lesions were present in 58 patients (72.5%) and multiple lesions in 22 patients (27.5%). 76.2% lesions were supratentorial & 23.7% infratentorial in location. 76.2% patients were having neoplastic lesions and 23.7% had non-neoplastic lesions. Metastases were the most common neoplastic lesion while among non neoplastic lesions, arachnoid cysts were the most common. Mass effect was the most common associated imaging finding. For neoplastic lesions the imaging sensitivity was 90%, specificity was 57%, accuracy was 84.2%, PPV was 90% and NPV was 57%. While for the non neoplastic lesions imaging sensitivity was 57%, specificity was 90%. accuracy was 84.2%, PPV was 57% and NPV was 90% (95% CI). There was weak positive correlation (phi coefficient 0.41) between clinical and imaging findings. Conclusion: Neuroimaging in combination with clinical findings can be helpful in early diagnosis and localization of ICSOL. Imaging can be predictive of the aetiology of the ICSOL. Due to the small size and inherent bias in this study a larger epidemiological study is indicated.
Genetic analysis of differentiation among breeding ponds reveals a candidate gene for local adaptation in Rana arvalis

One of the main questions in evolutionary and conservation biology is how geographical and environmental features of the landscape shape neutral and adaptive genetic variation in natural populations. The identification of genomic polymorphisms that account for adaptive variation can aid in finding candidate loci for local adaptation. Consequently, a comparison of spatial patterns in neutral markers and loci under selection may help disentangle the effects of gene flow, genetic drift and selection at the landscape scale. Many amphibians breed in wetlands, which differ in environmental conditions and in the degree of isolation, enhancing the potential for local adaptation. We used microsatellite markers to measure genetic differentiation among 17 local populations of Rana arvalis breeding in a network of wetlands. We found that locus RC08604 deviated from neutral expectations, suggesting that it is a good candidate for directional selection. We used a genetic network analysis to show that the allele distribution in this locus is correlated with habitat characteristics, whereas this was not the case at neutral markers that displayed a different allele distribution and population network in the study area. The graph approach illustrated the genomic heterogeneity (neutral loci vs. the candidate locus for directional selection) of gene exchange and genetic divergence among populations under directional selection. Limited gene flow between wetlands was only observed at the candidate genomic region under directional selection. RC08604 is partially located inside an up‐regulated thyroid‐hormone receptor (TRβ) gene coordinating the expression of other genes during metamorphosis and appears to be linked with variation in larval life‐history traits found among R. arvalis populations. We suggest that directional selection on genes coding larval life‐history traits is strong enough to maintain the divergence in these genomic regions, reducing the effective recombination of locally adapted alleles but not in other regions of the genome. Integrating this knowledge into conservation plans at the landscape scale will improve the design of management strategies to preserve adaptive genetic diversity in wetland networks.
Influential Aspects of the Smart City

Using millions of sensors in everyday objects, smart cities will generate petabytes of data, and it will be delivered to multiple users via networks. Multi-disciplinary inter-operability is essential. We propose system engineering management, with multidisciplinary teams as an effective way to deliver real change. Their goal is to develop intelligent and integrated services through the use of digital technologies and open collaboration. We also caution that the process cannot be entirely planned ahead of time, it must be allowed to evolve. New technology will change the game (where does a 3-D printer fit into a smart city? ). Municipal planning means central planning -- not known for its sensitivity to reality. A successful smart city will include lots of feedback mechanisms for the citizenry.
Growth Hormone and Prolactin Receptors in Adipogenesis: STAT-5 Activation, Suppressors of Cytokine Signaling, and Regulation of Insulin-Like Growth Factor I

Growth hormone (GH) stimulates lipolysis in mature adipocytes and primary preadipocytes but promotes adipogenesis in preadipocyte cell lines. The lactogenic hormones (prolactin [PRL] and placental lactogen) also stimulate adipogenesis in preadipocyte cell lines but have variable lipolytic and lipogenic effects in mature adipose tissue. We hypothesized that differences in expression of GH receptors (GHR) and PRL receptors (PRLR) during adipocyte development might explain some of the differential effects of the somatogens and lactogens on fat metabolism. To that end, we compared: (a) the expression of GHR and PRLR mRNAs in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes during the course of adipocyte differentiation; (b) the induction of STAT-5 activity by GH and PRL during adipogenesis; and (c) the acute effects of GH and PRL on the suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS-1–3 and cytokine-inducible SH2-domain-containing protein [CIS]) and IGF-I. In confluent, undifferentiated 3T3-L1 cells, the levels of GHR mRNA were ∼250-fold higher than the levels of PRLR mRNA. Following induction of adipocyte differentiation the levels of PRLR mRNA rose 90-fold but GHR mRNA increased only 0.8-fold. Expression of both full-length (long) and truncated (short) isoforms of the PRLR increased during differentiation but the long isoform predominated at all time points. Mouse GH (mGH) stimulated increases in STAT-5a and 5b activity in undifferentiated as well as differentiating 3T3-L1 cells; mouse PRL (mPRL) had little or no effect on STAT-5 activity in undifferentiated cells but stimulated increases in STAT-5a and 5b activity in differentiating cells. mGH stimulated increases in SOCS-2 and SOCS-3 mRNAs in undifferentiated cells and SOCS-1–3 and CIS mRNAs in differentiating cells; mPRL induced CIS in differentiating cells but had no effect on SOCS-1–3. mPRL and mGH stimulated increases in IGF-I mRNA in differentiating cells but not in undifferentiated cells; the potency of mGH (3–6-fold increase, p < 0.01) exceeded that of mPRL (40–90% increase, p < 0.05). Our findings reveal disparities in the expression of PRLR and GHR during adipocyte development and differential effects of the hormones on STAT-5, the SOCS proteins, CIS, and IGF-I. These observations suggest that somatogens and lactogens regulate adipocyte development and fat metabolism through distinct but overlapping cellular mechanisms.
Resonance based discrimination of targets with minor structural variations

An efficient and precise method to discriminate two radar targets with small structural variations is presented in this paper. Traditionally, target discrimination is carried out by processing the Radar Cross Section (RCS), to identify the Natural Resonant Frequencies (NRFs). The NRFs have the distinction of being aspect independent by nature. A library of distinction polynomials, based on the dominant NRFs of each known target, is built. The distinction polynomial of the known target and the RCS of the unknown target are used to complete the discrimination. In order to efficiently and accurately compute the NRFs, use of the Vector Fitting (VF) algorithm is proposed in this paper. Additionally, a refinement in the identification of the true NRFs has been carried out, by considering for the first time, the power contribution of each pole. The above modified method has been successfully validated by determining the discrimination of the three wire structures reported in literature. Subsequently, it has been applied to discriminate aircraft of size λ/2, with two locations of the tail plane. Modifications have been proposed in this paper in calculating the risk value, which helps in improving the discrimination at various aspect angles.
Clinical signs in dematiaceous and hyaline fungal keratitis

Filamentous fungi are important aetiological agents of keratitis globally.1 Hyaline hyphomycetes including Fusarium and Aspergillus spp. are most common, but dematiaceous fungi such as Curvularia and Bipolaris spp. constitute approximately 20% of cases.2 3 Commonly reported signs of fungal keratitis include feathery edges, raised lesions, hypopyon, stromal infiltrates and, less frequently, satellite lesions and ring infiltrates.1 In dematiaceous cases, reported characteristics include raised lesions and macroscopic pigmentation.4 5 In this report, we analyse clinical signs of fungal keratitis, comparing hyaline and dematiaceous fungi, and the hyaline fungi Fusarium and Aspergillus spp. Clinical examination and microbiological reports were collected prospectively in a clinical trial setting. Methods for the trial have been described previously.6 In brief, eligible cases had evidence of filamentous fungus on Gram stain and/or potassium hydroxide. Scrapings were inoculated onto sheep's blood agar, chocolate agar and potato dextrose agar. Fungal cultures were deemed positive with growth on two media or moderate to heavy growth on one media. After a …