Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Undetectable sensitive serum thyroglobulin (<0.1 ng/ml) in 163 patients with follicular cell-derived thyroid cancer: results of rhTSH stimulation and neck ultrasonography and long-term biochemical and clinical follow-up.

CONTEXT Surveillance of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is achieved using serum thyroglobulin (Tg), neck ultrasonography (US), and recombinant human TSH (rhTSH)-stimulated Tg (Tg-stim). OBJECTIVE Our primary aim was to assess the utility of rhTSH Tg-stim in patients with suppressed Tg (Tg-supp) below 0.1 ng/ml using a sensitive assay. Our secondary aims were to assess the utility of US and to summarize the profile of subsequent Tg-supp measures. DESIGN This is a retrospective study conducted at two sites of an academic institution. PATIENTS A total of 163 patients status after thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine treatment who had Tg-supp below 0.1 ng/ml and rhTSH Tg-stim within 60 d of each other were included. RESULTS After rhTSH stimulation, Tg remained below 0.1 ng/ml in 94 (58%) and increased to 0.1-0.5 in 56 (34%), more than 0.5-2.0 in nine (6%), and above 2.0 ng/ml in four (2%) patients. Serial Tg-supp levels were obtained in 138 patients followed over a median of 3.6 yr. Neck US were performed on 153 patients; suspicious exams had fine-needle aspiration (FNA). All positive FNA were identified around the time of the initial rhTSH test. Six of seven recurrences were detected by US (Tg-stim >2.0 ng/ml in one, 0.8 in one and ≤ 0.5 in four). One stage IV patient had undetectable Tg-stim. CONCLUSION In patients with DTC whose T(4)-suppressed serum Tg is below 0.1 ng/ml, long-term monitoring with annual Tg-supp and periodic neck US are adequate to detect recurrences. In our experience, rhTSH testing does not change management and is not needed in this group of patients.
Narrative in Social Work A Critical Review

We examine how the concept of narrative has entered social work over the past 15 years, with special emphasis on research applications. Approaching our task from distinctive standpoints and locations, the article reviews definitions of narrative, criteria for ‘good’ enough narrative research, and patterns in social work journals. Our evaluation uncovered few studies, in contrast to the volume of narrative research in education, nursing and other practicing professions. Three exemplars of narrative inquiry - model research completed by social workers - show the knowledge for practice that can be produced with careful application of narrative methods, in all their diversity. Drawing on our respective locations and experiences, we cautiously suggest some reasons for the paucity of quality research in the USA, and greater representation in Europe.
Non-perturbative vacua and particle physics in M-theory

In this letter, we introduce a general theory for the construction of particle physics theories, with three families and realistic gauge groups, within the context of heterotic M-theory. This is achieved using semi-stable holomorphic gauge bundles over elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau three-folds. Construction of realistic theories is facilitated by the appearance of non-perturbative five-branes in the vacuum. The complete moduli space of these five-branes is computed and their worldvolume gauge theory discussed. In the context of holomorphic gauge bundles, it is shown how grand unified gauge groups can be spontaneously broken to the gauge group of the standard model. These ideas are illustrated in an explicit SU(5) three-family example.
Helping Teachers to Use Their School's Backyard as an Outdoor Classroom: A Report on the Watershed Learning Center Program

Abstract The Watershed Learning Center (WLC) was developed by the Brandywine Valley Association (BVA) to provide outdoor environmental lessons to schools on their own properties or on sites close by. Teachers are trained to take over the lessons by observing BVA instructors and attending workshops. The program was evaluated to discover how the WLC was introduced and expanded in the schools, the program's impact on students, and the effectiveness of the teacher training for program take-over and continuation. The accomplishments and challenges of the WLC program are described and insights provided that can serve as a model for replication.
The clustering power of low frequency words in academic Webs

The value of low frequency words for subject-based academic Web site clustering is assessed. A new technique is introduced to compare the relative clustering power of different vocabularies. The technique is designed for word frequency tests in large document clustering exercises. Results for the Australian and New Zealand academic Web spaces indicate that low frequency words are useful for clustering academic Web sites along subject lines; removing low frequency words results in sites becoming, on average, less dissimilar to sites from other subjects.
Extracellular glutathione suppresses human lung fibroblast proliferation.

Alveolar epithelial lining fluid glutathione (GSH) is markedly decreased in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Because patients with IPF have exaggerated numbers of fibroblasts in their lower respiratory tract, we hypothesized that GSH can suppress lung fibroblast proliferation. To verify this hypothesis, we examined the ability of GSH to suppress human lung fibroblast (ATCC; HFL-1) proliferation in vitro in the presence of either IPF bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) or calf serum (CS). Both CS at a concentration of 10% and IPF BAL markedly increased fibroblast proliferation when compared to cells grown without CS or IPF BAL (10% CS = 93 +/- 4%, P less than 0.001; IPF BAL = 47 +/- 4%, P less than 0.001). In the presence of physiologic concentrations of GSH (0 to 500 microM), both CS- and IPF BAL-mediated fibroblast proliferation were markedly reduced, with 500 microM GSH inducing complete inhibition. Interestingly, glutathione disulfide (GSSH) and S-methylglutathione did not suppress proliferation, whereas various sulfhydryl-containing molecules (cysteine, N-acetylcysteine, 2-mercaptoethanol, and low concentrations of dithiothreitol) induced an inhibition of fibroblast proliferation similar to that observed with GSH. Most of the suppressive effect of GSH was mediated at the cell level since incubation of fibroblasts with 500 microM GSH for 1 h completely blocked the ability of the cells to subsequently proliferate in the presence of untreated 10% CS. Treatment of CS with 500 microM GSH for 1 h followed by removal of GSH by molecular sieve chromatography had no detectable effect on fibroblast proliferation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
1/f phonon-number fluctuations in quartz observed by laser light scattering.

The energy of each phonon mode is fluctuating around its equilibrium value, and its power spectral density was derived with a quartz specimen which was illuminated by a laser light. Fluctuations of the Brillouin scattered light intensity were measured by means of the photon-counting technique. The power spectral density has been derived to be 8×10 −5 /f per phonon mode provided that phonon-number fluctuations are independent from mode to mode
Design and implementation of Reed Solomon Decoder for 802.16 network using FPGA

This paper presents a design and FPGA implementation of a reconfigurable FEC Decoder based on Reed Solomon Code for WiMax Network. The implementation, written in Very High Speed hardware description Language (VHDL) is based on Berlekamp Massey, Forney and Chein Algorithm. The 802.16 network standard recommends the use of Reed-Solomon code RS (255,239), which is implemented and discussed in this paper. It is targeted to be applied in a forward error correction system based on 802.16 network standard to improve the overall performance of the system. The objective of this work is to implement a Reed-Solomon VHDL code to measure the performance of the RS Decoder on Xilinx Virtex II pro (xc2vp50-5-ff1148) and Xilinx Spartan 3e (xc3s500e-4-fg320) FPGA. The performance of the implemented RS codec on both FPGAs will be compared. The performance metrics to be used are the area occupied by the design and the speed at which the design can run.
Comparison of the Long-term Results of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy for Morbid Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized and Nonrandomized Trials

Purpose:Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) are 2 of the most widely used bariatric procedures today, in this meta-analysis, both techniques were compared for evaluating the efficacy and safety of the treatment of morbid obesity. Materials and Methods:Systematic literature search of Cochrane Controlled Trials Register Databases, Medline, Embase, ISI databases, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database was performed. Statistical analyses were carried out using RevMan software. Results:Thirty-two recent studies including 6526 patients in total were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with SG, RYGB had significantly better effect in resolving type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and arthritis. However, RYGB had higher incidence of complications and reoperation, and longer operation time than SG. Conclusions:RYGB was more effective than SG in the resolution of obesity-related comorbidities, SG was a safer procedure with a reduced rate of complications and reoperation.
Conference on ‘ Carbohydrates in health : friends or foes ’ Postgraduate symposium Vitamin D and risk of CVD : a review of the evidence

This review summarises evidence for an association between vitamin D status and CVD and the mechanisms involved. Vitamin D3 is predominantly provided by the action of UVB from sunlight on skin. Average UK diets supply 2–3 μg/d vitamin D but diets containing at least one portion of oily fish per week supply about 7 μg/d. Pharmacological doses of vitamin D2 (bolus injection of 7500 μg or intakes >50 μg/d) result in a smaller increase in plasma 25 (OH)D than those of D3 but physiological doses 5–25 μg/d seem equivalent. Plasma 25 (OH)D concentrations are also influenced by clothing, obesity and skin pigmentation. Up to 40 % of the population have plasma 25(OH)D concentrations <25 nmol/l in the winter compared with <10 % in the summer. The relative risk of CVD death is 1·41 (95 % CI 1·18, 1·68) greater in the lowest quintile of plasma 25(OH)D according to meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Acute deficiency may inhibit insulin secretion and promote inflammation thus increasing the risk of plaque rupture and arterial thrombosis. Chronic insufficiency may increase arterial stiffness. There is no evidence to support claims of reduced CVD from existing trials with bone-related health outcomes where vitamin D was usually co-administered with calcium. Although several trials with cardiovascular endpoints are in progress, these are using pharmacological doses. In view of the potential toxicity of pharmacological doses, there remains a need for long-term trials of physiological doses of D2 and D3 with CVD incidence as the primary outcome.
A study of high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy boost for curative treatment of uterine cervical cancer

Purpose This study assessed the trial of boost intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) for the patients of uterine cervical cancer with residual malignant cells detected at the final stage of ICBT. Material and methods This is a retrospective analysis of 75 patients with cervical cancer treated radically with external beam radiotherapy and high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy between August 2004 and December 2008. Eighteen patients (24%) out of 75 received one additional ICBT and five patients (7%) had two additional ICBT. All 75 patients were retrospectively analyzed. The median follow-up time was 30 months. The median age was 59 years (range 28-85 years). There were 12 patients (16%) in stage IB, 27 (36%) stage II, 22 (29%) stage III, and 14 (19%) stage IV. Results The 5-year overall survival rate was 65%. Non-hematological toxicities greater than grade 2 occurred in 12 patients (16%). Of these, only two patients received on additional ICBT. No significant difference was found in grade 3 toxicity between patients who did and did not receive additional ICBT (p = 0.8). Conclusions The method to perform dose escalation should be examined depending on the treatment response.
Characterizing replication intermediates in the amplified CHO dihydrofolate reductase domain by two novel gel electrophoretic techniques

Using neutral/neutral and neutral/alkaline two-dimensional (2-D) gel techniques, we previously obtained evidence that initiation can occur at any of a large number of sites distributed throughout a broad initiation zone in the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) domain of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. However, other techniques have suggested a much more circumscribed mode of initiation in this locus. This dichotomy has raised the issue whether the patterns of replicating DNA on 2-D gels have been misinterpreted and, in some cases, may represent such noncanonical replication intermediates as broken bubbles or microbubbles. In an accompanying study (R. F. Kalejta and J. L. Hamlin, Mol. Cell. Biol. 16:4915-4922, 1996), we have shown that broken bubbles migrate to unique positions in three different gel systems and therefore are not likely to be confused with classic replication intermediates. Here, we have applied a broken bubble assay developed from that study to an analysis of the amplified DHFR locus in CHO cells. This assay gives information about the number and positions of initiation sites within a fragment. In addition, we have analyzed the DHFR locus by a novel stop-and-go-alkaline gel technique that measures the size of nascent strands at all positions along each arc in a neutral/neutral 2-D gel. Results of these analyses support the view that the 2-D gel patterns previously assigned to classic, intact replication bubbles and single-forked structures indeed correspond to these entities. Furthermore, potential nascent-strand start sites appear to be distributed at very frequent intervals along the template in the intergenic region in the DHFR domain.
Effects of Three Years of Piano Instruction on Children’s Academic Achievement, School Performance and Self-Esteem

This study of the effects of three years of piano instruction is based on a sample of 117 fourth-grade children attending public schools in Montreal. The children had never participated in formal music instruction, did not have a piano at home, and their annual family income was below $40,000 Can. Children in the experimental group (n= 63) received individual piano lessons weekly for three years and were given an acoustic piano at no cost to their families. Children in the control group (n= 54) did not participate in formal music instruction. Participants were administered tests of self-esteem, academic achievement, cognitive abilities, musical abilities, and motor proficiency at the beginning of the project and throughout the three years of piano instruction. The results indicated that piano instruction had a positive effect on children’s self-esteem and school music marks but did not affect their academic achievement in math and language as measured by standardized tests and school report cards.
The cornea is not a piece of plastic.

he future of laser refractive surgery is exciting with the potential for ever-improved postoperative visual performance. In the past, the operative goal has been 20/20 uncorrected visual acuity with zero residual refractive error. Criteria for a successful procedure are no longer 20/40 or better with ±1.00 diopter (D) of residual refractive error, because neither surgeons nor patients are satisfied with such gross measurements of visual performance. Hence, considerable research effort is being devoted to develop customized procedures for each patient. The new goal is 20/10 uncorrected visual acuity with aberration-free postoperative vision. How can these lofty goals be accomplished? First, lasers have been improved with the development of scanning, small spot systems, as opposed to broad-beam systems. Scanning systems have brought customized procedures into the realm of feasibility. Second, more comprehensive and sophisticated input data can be used to guide the laser based on individual patient measurements, as opposed to the simple refractive sphere and cylinder. Two types of approaches are currently being pursued—wavefront-guided and topography-guided procedures. Early results are promising, yet neither approach has demonstrated consistently superior results to non-guided procedures in controlled, scientific studies. Is a piece of the perfect vision puzzle still missing? Is there an additional, complimentary approach to customization that has yet to emerge? Are we leaping into the future ahead of our understanding of how these procedures may be implemented to be optimally successful? Munnerlyn and colleagues 1 gave us an elegant analysis of how corneal surface shape may be altered to correct both myopia and hyperopia. His geometric approach can be thought of as a “shapesubtraction” model, where tissue of an appropriate profile is simply “subtracted” using an excimer laser to produce the desired surface curvature. Essentially, the cornea is treated like a piece of plastic to be sculpted into the ideal surface shape. The Munnerlyn approach, combined with empirical experience, has been relatively successful in correcting spherical and cylindrical errors for the majority of patients treated to date. However, only 50% to 85% achieve 20/20, despite greater than 90% of patients being “satisfied. ” In addition, significant postoperative optical aberrations are produced using conventional algorithms 2-4 , encouraging the development of aberration-reducing ablation profiles.
Vasovagal syncope after infusion of a vasodilator in a heart-transplant recipient.

HYPOTENSIVE states are well known to activate the sympathetic nervous system, leading to reflex vasoconstriction and tachycardia.1 Hypovolemic hypotension, however, can be accompanied by paradoxical withdrawal of sympathetic drive, leading to vasodilation and bradycardia — responses that, in turn, exacerbate the decrease in blood pressure.2 3 4 5 In humans, hypotension with an inappropriately normal or frankly decreased heart rate has been observed during hemorrhagic shock,6 after the infusion of vasodilators,7 and most recently, in response to the infusion of isoproterenol during the upright-tilt test, which is used to provoke syncope.8 , 9 The current belief is that this type of vasodepressor reaction is a .
Use of community radio to communicate agricultural information to Zimbabwe's peasant farmers

Purpose – This paper aims to report an investigation into the benefits and limitations of radio to communicate agricultural information to peasant farmers, and how it can be successfully incorporated into agricultural extension service programs in Zimbabwe.Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative and qualitative research techniques were applied to gather, analyze and interpret data. A total of 25 semi‐structured interviews were conducted with peasant farmers in Ward 16 of the Buhera South Constituency, and four in‐depth interviews were conducted with key informants in agricultural extension and radio services.Findings – Extension service programs do not satisfy the agricultural information needs of peasant farmers because: there are not enough extension workers; they do not have the means of transport to reach all households; they lack the communication skills to interact effectively with the peasant farmers; and they lack the motivation to carry out their work. A community radio service was the most pr.
Exemplar-SVMs for Visual Ob ject Detection, Label Transfer and Image Retrieval

Today's state-of-the-art visual object detection systems are based on three key components: 1) sophisticated features (to encode various visual invariances), 2) a powerful classifier (to build a discriminative object class model), and 3) lots of data (to use in large-scale hard-negative mining). While conventional wisdom tends to attribute the success of such methods to the ability of the classifier to generalize across the positive class instances, here we report on empirical findings suggesting that this might not necessarily be the case. We have experimented with a very simple idea: to learn a separate classifier for each positive object instance in the dataset (see Figure 1). In this setup, no generalization across the positive instances is possible by definition, and yet, surprisingly, we did not observe any drastic drop in performance compared to the standard, category-based approaches.
jStar: towards practical verification for java

In this paper we introduce a novel methodology for verifying a large set of Java programs which builds on recent theoretical developments in program verification: it combines the idea of abstract predicate families and the idea of symbolic execution and abstraction using separation logic. The proposed technology has been implemented in a new automatic verification system, called jStar, which combines theorem proving and abstract interpretation techniques. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our methodology by using jStar to verify example programs implementing four popular design patterns (subject/observer, visitor, factory, and pooling). Although these patterns are extensively used by object-oriented developers in real-world applications, so far they have been highly challenging for existing object-oriented verification techniques.
Three-Dimensional World of Similes in English Fictional Writing

The paper offers a three-dimensional linguosemiotic study of similes, which implies integral analysis of their semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic aspects. Such an approach to the study of similes is quite new as they have been hitherto considered either from a literary viewpoint as one of the stylistic expressive means of language or in the philosophy of language in correlation with metaphor. The three-dimensional linguosemiotic methodology of research has enabled us: (1) to reveal the cognitive, psychological, and metaphorical essence of similes and work out the invariant conceptual model which remains unchanged throughout their structural-semantic variation in the text; (2) to single out pragmatic features of similes, the set of which defines their linguistic status as a language-in-use construct, i.e., textual phenomenon; (3) to study the denotational-cognitive aspect of similes pointing out the parameters according to which similes have been differentiated into semantic types and subtypes; and (4) to generalize the syntactical aspect of similes and define the set of their structural modifications in the text conditioned both by the intralinguistic regularities and by pragmatic factors. Therefore, we have worked out an interdisciplinary theory of similes implying the synergy of the data of linguistic, literary, cognitive, and psychological studies.