Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Radiotherapy with or without Decompressive Surgery for Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression: A Retrospective Matched-Pair Study Including Data from Prospectively Evaluated Patients

Simple Summary In a retrospective matched-pair study including data of prospectively evaluated patients who were treated for metastatic spinal cord compression, 79 patients assigned to surgery plus radiotherapy were compared to 79 patients receiving radiotherapy alone. Improvement of motor function occurred more significantly often after surgery plus radiotherapy, whereas no significant differences were found for post-treatment ambulatory rates, local progression-free survival, overall survival, and freedom from in-field recurrence. Ten patients died within 30 days after radiotherapy alone and 12 patients within 30 days after surgery. More than one third of surgically treated patients did not complete their radiotherapy due to early death or decreased performance score following surgery. Thus, when selecting a patient for upfront surgery, the individual patient’s prognosis must be considered and weighed against the risk of perioperative complications and 30-day mortality. Abstract In 2005, a randomized trial showed that addition of surgery to radiotherapy improved outcomes in patients with metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC). Since then, only a few studies compared radiotherapy plus surgery to radiotherapy alone. We performed a retrospective matched-pair study including data from prospective cohorts treated after 2005. Seventy-nine patients receiving radiotherapy alone were matched to 79 patients assigned to surgery plus radiotherapy (propensity score method) for age, gender, performance score, tumor type, affected vertebrae, other bone or visceral metastases, interval tumor diagnosis to MSCC, time developing motor deficits, and ambulatory status. Improvement of motor function by ≥1 Frankel grade occurred more often after surgery plus radiotherapy (39.2% vs. 21.5%, p = 0.015). No significant differences were found for post-treatment ambulatory rates (59.5% vs. 67.1%, p = 0.32), local progression-free survival (p = 0.47), overall survival (p = 0.51), and freedom from in-field recurrence of MSCC (90.1% vs. 76.2% at 12 months, p = 0.58). Ten patients (12.7%) died within 30 days following radiotherapy alone and 12 patients (15.2%) died within 30 days following surgery (p = 0.65); 36.7% of surgically treated patients did not complete radiotherapy as planned. Surgery led to significant early improvement of motor function and non-significantly better long-term control. Patients scheduled for surgery must be carefully selected considering potential benefits and risk of perioperative complications.
The Influence of Financial Crime on Tax Compliance: Moderating Effect of Government’s Future Orientation

Taxes have become the primary source of revenue for most countries all over the globe. However, financial crime occurs in many parts of the world and may threaten this critical role of tax. This research aims to examine the influence of financial crime on tax compliance with the future orientation of the government as a moderating variable. This research is a cross-country research with a population of countries in the world. By using purposive sampling, the sample of this research is 105 countries. This research obtained secondary data to measure the country-level financial crime, tax compliance, and the government’s future orientation. To test the hypothesis, the data is then analyzed using moderated regression analysis (MRA). The results indicate that financial crime has a negative influence on tax compliance. Financial crimes can undermine a culture of compliance which can reduce tax compliance. The higher the financial crime, the lower the tax compliance. Furthermore, the future orientation of government can weaken the negative influence of financial crime on tax compliance. When the government has a future orientation that shows the government’s ability to prepare for the future for its welfare, people will tend to trust the government. The higher the trust, the higher the tax compliance so that government can still strive for tax compliance. This research contributes to providing information for the government in determining orientation strategies in response to the conditions of financial crimes that occur so that the government can still strive for tax compliance to maintain government revenue. The study's shortcomings include that it used data from many sources and years. As a result, readers should use caution when interpreting the research's findings, and the subsequent researchers should get data from the same year
In-Situ Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Paper Filler Material: A Review

Since the invention of the paper by in 105 CE to Chai Lun many improvements have been made to the paper product we know today. Today a paper machines can be over 600 m long and 11.5 m wide, running at speeds of over 2000 m/min, and producing up to 4,500 metric tons per hour. Paper as we know it today, can be characterized as an orthotropic thin plate with a thickness of over 500 μm and a basis weight of over 500 g/m² requiring additives to achieve the needed paper properties. Calcium carbonate based filler additive materials have approximately 70% market share in North America, and can be added to a maximum of 20 to 25% based on fiber material. In the 1970s a shift from acid to neutral papermaking started which made it possible to use precipitated calcium carbonate in the paper manufacturing process. New printing technologies required paper with superior properties. This led to an increase in filler content and specially designed filler particles. The in-situ precipitation and filler manufacturing processes are known today, can be divided into (i) mechanical method which uses high shear and centrifugal forces to load the fiber pores with the filler particle, (ii) a chemical method which is the common method in producing precipitated calcium carbonate in a solution since the 1980’s for papermaking applications, and (iii) a combination of the mechanical and chemical method which precipitates the calcium carbonate particles on and into the fiber material present in the solution. All research on various in situ precipitation processes, including patented technologies, since the 1970’s showed that the achieved handsheet properties have higher brightness and opacity values as well as a coarser surface structure, lower smoothness and gloss. In-Situ processes showed improvements for the paper manufacturing process in regards to physical and mechanical handsheet paper properties. However, no commercial applications of this process have been found at present time. However, mixing the filler particles with the pulp suspension and storing this suspension in the headbox feed chest, for a specific time, applies indirectly in-situ principles in today’s paper making process operations.
Genetic Analysis of Influenza A/H1N1pdm Strains Isolated in Bangladesh in Early 2020

Influenza is one of the most common respiratory virus infections. We analyzed hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) gene segments of viruses isolated from influenza patients who visited Evercare Hospital Dhaka, Bangladesh, in early 2020 immediately before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. All of them were influenza virus type A (IAV) H1N1pdm. Sequence analysis of the HA segments of the virus strains isolated from the clinical specimens and the subsequent phylogenic analyses of the obtained sequences revealed that all of the H1N1pdm recent subclades 6B.1A5A + 187V/A, 6B.1A5A + 156K, and 6B.1A5A + 156K with K209M were already present in Bangladesh in January 2020. Molecular clock analysis results suggested that the subclade 6B.1A5A + 156K emerged in Denmark, Australia, or the United States in July 2019, while subclades 6B.1A5A + 187V/A and 6B.1A5A + 156K with K209M emerged in East Asia in April and September 2019, respectively. On the other hand, sequence analysis of NA segments showed that the viruses lacked the H275Y mutation that confers oseltamivir resistance. Since the number of influenza cases in Bangladesh is usually small between November and January, these results indicated that the IAV H1N1pdm had spread extremely rapidly without acquiring oseltamivir resistance during a time of active international flow of people before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rising income inequality and the relative decline in subjective social status of the working class

Abstract The declining ‘subjective social status’ of the low-educated working class has been advanced as a prominent explanation for right-wing populism. The working class has certainly been adversely affected by rising income inequality over the past decades, but we do not actually know if their perceived standing in the social hierarchy has declined correspondingly over time. This article examines trends in subjective social status in two ‘most likely cases’ – Germany and the US – between 1980 and 2018. We find that the subjective social status of the working class has not declined in absolute terms. However, there is evidence for relative status declines for the working class in Germany and substantial within-class heterogeneity in both countries. These findings imply that rising income inequality has a nuanced impact on status perceptions. When assessing the role of subjective social status for political outcomes, longitudinal perspectives that consider both absolute and relative changes seem promising. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2022. 2038892 .
Multimodal Treatment of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults-Extended Follow-Up of the NPC-2003-GPOH Study Cohort and Patients of the Interim Cohort

Simple Summary Multimodal treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in children and young adults with induction chemotherapy, followed by radiochemotherapy and interferon-β (IFN-β) maintenance, has been successfully applied in studies NPC-91 and NPC-2003 of the German Society of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology (GPOH). We, here, present updated survival rates of the NPC-2003 study cohort after longer follow-up and include 21 additional patients recruited after closure of the study and treated as per the NPC-2003 study protocol (interim cohort) in our survival analysis. Survival rates remain high after extended follow-up and in the larger cohort with EFS and OS of 94% and 97%, respectively, reinforcing the high antitumor efficacy of this multimodal treatment concept. Seven patients with CR after induction therapy received a reduced radiation dose of 54 Gy, and none of them relapsed. Thus, the reduction of radiation dose seems feasible and has the potential to reduce treatment-related late effects in this vulnerable population. Abstract Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in children and young adults has been treated within two consecutive prospective trials in Germany, the NPC-91 and the NPC-2003 study of the German Society of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology (GPOH). In these studies, multimodal treatment with induction chemotherapy, followed by radio (chemo)therapy and interferon-beta maintenance, yielded promising survival rates even after adapting total radiation doses to tumor response. The outcome of 45 patients in the NPC-2003 study was reassessed after a median follow-up of 85 months. In addition, we analyzed 21 further patients after closure of the NPC-2003 study, recruited between 2011 and 2017, and treated as per the NPC-2003 study protocol. The EFS and OS of 66 patients with locoregionally advanced NPC were 93.6% and 96.7%, respectively, after a median follow-up of 73 months. Seven patients with CR after induction therapy received a reduced radiation dose of 54 Gy; none relapsed. In young patients with advanced locoregional NPC, excellent long-term survival rates can be achieved by multimodal treatment, including interferon-beta. Radiation doses may be reduced in patients with complete remission after induction chemotherapy and may limit radiogenic late effects.
Objective Type Question Generation using Natural Language Processing

Automatic Question Generation (AQG) is a research trend that enables teachers to create assessments with greater efficiency in right set of questions from the study material. Today's educational institutions require a powerful tool to correctly assess learner’s mastery of concepts learned through study materials. Objective type questions are an excellent method of assessing a learner's topic understanding in learning process, based on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). Creating a set of questions for assessment can take a significant amount of time for teachers, and obtaining questions from external sources such as assessment books or question banks may not be relevant to the content covered by students during their studies. This proposed system involves to generate the familiar objective type questions like True or False, ‘Wh’, Fill up with double blank space, match the following type question have generated using Natural Language Processing(NLP) techniquesfrom the given study material. Different rules are created to generate T/F and ‘Wh’ type questions. Dependence parser method has involved in ‘Wh’ questions. Proposed system is tested with Grade V Computer Science text book as an input. Experimental result shows that the proposed system is quite promising to generate the amount of objective type assessment questions. Keywords—Intelligent tutoring system; true or false; dependency parser; natural language processing; question generation
Reproductive Technologies Used in Female Neo-Tropical Hystricomorphic Rodents

Simple Summary This literature review focused on the reproductive technologies used in female neo-tropical hystricomorphic rodents. Reproductive technologies aid in efficient reproduction, which is important in these species as they are hunted and valued for their meat. Knowledge of the anatomy and physiology would aid in assisted reproductive techniques, thus attention was given to these areas. Within this group of rodent species there were similar characteristics, some of which have been highlighted as well as any unique features. Some reproductive technologies used included colpocytology, ultrasonography, and hormonal analysis. Abstract This is the second of two literature reviews that focuses on the female reproductive anatomy and reproductive technologies used in selected neo-tropical hystricomorphic rodents. The rodents chosen included the agouti (Dasyprocta leporina), the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), and the paca (Cuniculus paca). Over seventy references were used, spanning the years 1919–2021. Knowledge of the reproductive tract is important in understanding any unique features, which may affect the use of reproductive technologies. Some unique characteristics common to these species included the presence of a vaginal closure membrane and a lobulated placenta with a vascular sub-placenta. The capybara had hyperpigmentation of the vagina that was unique to each individual, while the agouti and paca had accessory corpora lutea, in addition to the main one. Some reproductive technologies have been used, with attempts at estrous induction and synchronization taking place within the past five years. Even though most work has been done over the past twenty years, there is still a dearth of information.
Perceived authenticity and corporate legitimacy of Internet portal CSR activities: focused on Korean Naver user

ABSTRACT As the global market for Internet portal services expands, there is a growing interest in identifying corporate social responsibility considering the social influence and business characteristics of Internet portal operators. This study explores the diverse dimensions of CSR of IPOs, examines how CSR efforts affect CSR authenticity in each dimension, and investigates whether CSR authenticity mediates the effects of CSR efforts on corporate legitimacy. In addition, by setting the respondents’ political orientation as the moderator, conditional indirect effect of CSR authenticity was further confirmed. An online survey was conducted on of Korean Naver users who actively use Internet portal services. Among the various CSR efforts of IPOs, strengthening of democratic contributions, universal service delivery, and consumer protection were shown to increase both cognitive and socio-political legitimacy through CSR authenticity. In particular, the effect of CSR efforts on cognitive legitimacy through perception of CSR authenticity was significantly higher in users with progressive political orientation. This study is significant in that it theoretically systematizes the CSR dimensions considering the complex business nature and business characteristics of IPOs and provides empirical results and implications for CSR activities that future IPOs should focus on, which can increase corporate legitimacy.
Regulating Endogenous Neural Stem Cell Activation to Promote Spinal Cord Injury Repair

Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects millions of individuals worldwide. Currently, there is no cure, and treatment options to promote neural recovery are limited. An innovative approach to improve outcomes following SCI involves the recruitment of endogenous populations of neural stem cells (NSCs). NSCs can be isolated from the neuroaxis of the central nervous system (CNS), with brain and spinal cord populations sharing common characteristics (as well as regionally distinct phenotypes). Within the spinal cord, a number of NSC sub-populations have been identified which display unique protein expression profiles and proliferation kinetics. Collectively, the potential for NSCs to impact regenerative medicine strategies hinges on their cardinal properties, including self-renewal and multipotency (the ability to generate de novo neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes). Accordingly, endogenous NSCs could be harnessed to replace lost cells and promote structural repair following SCI. While studies exploring the efficacy of this approach continue to suggest its potential, many questions remain including those related to heterogeneity within the NSC pool, the interaction of NSCs with their environment, and the identification of factors that can enhance their response. We discuss the current state of knowledge regarding populations of endogenous spinal cord NSCs, their niche, and the factors that regulate their behavior. In an attempt to move towards the goal of enhancing neural repair, we highlight approaches that promote NSC activation following injury including the modulation of the microenvironment and parenchymal cells, pharmaceuticals, and applied electrical stimulation.
The Future of Corporate Reporting

This Special Issue originates from the Symposium titled: ‘ Challenges in Corporate Reporting: The Role for the Academic Community in “ Non-Financial ” Reporting ’ , which took place at the 42nd European Accounting Association (EAA) Annual Congress in May 2019 in Paphos, Cyprus, and was attended by one of the guest editors as a panelist. 1 The Call for Papers was open and public, hence inviting any researcher interested in the subject to submit a manuscript. It aimed to provide a high-quality outlet for presenting research insights and ﬁ ndings from various perspectives on corporate reporting. passing rigorous peer
Multi-Level Attention Map Network for Multimodal Sentiment Analysis

Multimodal sentiment analysis (MSA) is a very challenging task due to its complex and complementary interactions between multiple modalities, which can be widely applied into areas of product marketing, public opinion monitoring, and so on. However, previous works directly utilized the features extracted from multimodal data, in which the noise reduction within and among multiple modalities has been largely ignored before multimodal fusion. This paper proposes a multi-level attention map network (MAMN) to filter noise before multimodal fusion and capture the consistent and heterogeneous correlations among multi-granularity features for multimodal sentiment analysis. Architecturally, MAMN is comprised of three modules: multi-granularity feature extraction module, multi-level attention map generation module, and attention map fusion module. The first module is designed to sufficiently extract multi-granularity features from multimodal data. The second module is constructed to filter noise and enhance the representation ability for multi-granularity features before multimodal fusion. And the third module is built to extensibly mine the interactions among multi-level attention maps by the proposed extensible co-attention fusion method. Extensive experimental results on three public datasets show the proposed model is significantly superior to the state-of-the-art methods, and demonstrate its effectiveness on two tasks of document-based and aspect-based MSA tasks.
The Relationship between Plasma Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Polymers and Lung or Liver Function in ZZ Alpha-1-Antitrypsin-Deficient Patients

Alpha-1-Antitrypsin (AAT) is a protein of the SERPINA1 gene. A single amino acid mutation (Lys342Glu) results in an expression of misfolded Z-AAT protein, which has a high propensity to intra- and extra-cellular polymerization. Here, we asked whether levels of circulating Z-AAT polymers are associated with the severity of lung disease, liver disease, or both. We obtained cross sectional data from the Dutch part of the Alpha1 International Registry of 52 ZZ-AAT patients who performed a pulmonary function test and donated a blood sample on the same day. From the Alpha-1 Liver Aachen Registry, we obtained a cohort of 40 ZZ-AAT patients with available data on their liver function. The levels of plasma Z-AAT polymers were determined using a LG96 monoclonal antibody-based sandwich ELISA. In a Dutch cohort, the median plasma level of Z-AAT polymers of patients diagnosed for pulmonary disease was 947.5 µg/mL (733.6–1218 µg/mL (95% CI)), which did not correlate with airflow obstruction or gas transfer value. In the Alpha-1 liver patient cohort, the median polymer level was 1245.9 µg/mL (753–2034 µg/mL (95% CI)), which correlated with plasma gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT, rs = 0.57, p = 0.001), glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH, rs = 0.48, p = 0.002) and triglycerides (TG, rs = 0.48, p = 0.0046). A Wilcoxon rank test showed higher Z-AAT polymer values for the liver over the lung group (p < 0.0001). These correlations support a possible link between plasma Z-AAT polymers and the liver function.