Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detection of Residual Lymph Node Metastases in High-Risk Papillary Thyroid Cancer Patients Receiving Adjuvant I-131 Therapy: The Usefulness of F-18 FDG PET/CT

Objective: The aims of this retrospective study were to evaluate the incidence of residual lymph node (LN) metastases in high-risk papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients receiving adjuvant I-131 therapy, especially in those without I-131 accumulation, and to evaluate the clinical usefulness of F-18 FDG PET/CT to detect those lesions. Methods: The 37 PTC patients receiving adjuvant I-131 therapy were retrospectively evaluated. We examined the incidence of residual LN metastasis and compared the accumulation of F-18 FDG and I-131 in those lesions, and compared the serum thyroglobulin (Tg) levels between patients with and without residual LN metastases. Result: A total of 33 lesions were diagnosed as residual LN metastases in 9 patients. FDG accumulated in all of the lesions, but 19 lesions (57.6%) of them had no I-131 accumulation. The SUVmax was significantly higher in lesions without I-131 accumulation than in lesions with I-131 accumulation (6.6 ± 2.8 vs. 4.2 ± 1.8; P = 0.007). The serum Tg levels were significantly higher in patients with residual LN metastases than in patients without it (709.9 ± 1470.8 vs. 25.6 ± 37.1 ng/mL; P = 0.005). The incidence of residual LN metastasis was significantly higher in patients with a detectable serum Tg level than in patients without it (35.0% vs. 0%, P = 0.03). Conclusion: These results indicate that the residual LN metastasis was relatively common in high-risk PTC patients receiving adjuvant I-131 therapy whose serum Tg levels remained detectable, and those lesions often had no I-131 accumulation. FDG-PET/CT would be recommended for PTC patients with detectable serum Tg levels to detect residual LN metastases.
Model Selection in Linear Mixed Models

Linear mixed effects models are highly flexible in handling a broad range of data types and are therefore widely used in applications. A key part in the analysis of data is model selection, which often aims to choose a parsimonious model with other desirable properties from a possibly very large set of candidate statistical models. Over the last 5-10 years the literature on model selection in linear mixed models has grown extremely rapidly. The problem is much more complicated than in linear regression because selection on the covariance structure is not straightforward due to computational issues and boundary problems arising from positive semidefinite constraints on covariance matrices. To obtain a better understanding of the available methods, their properties and the relationships between them, we review a large body of literature on linear mixed model selection. We arrange, implement, discuss and compare model selection methods based on four major approaches: information criteria such as AIC or BIC, shrinkage methods based on penalized loss functions such as LASSO, the Fence procedure and Bayesian techniques.
Virtual Meeting Analyzer: A Web application to visualize and analyze social networks emerging in group meetings

The possibility to analyze the social network emerging from the relations between people participating in a meeting could improve the effectiveness and satisfaction of the communication that occurs during the meeting. However, it requires accurate recording of direction, source and addressee(s) of all verbal exchanges in a format that allows the application of algorithms to extract and visualize social network indices. Virtual Meeting Analyzer is a Web application developed to overcome any complexity in this process. By using a simple interface and an intuitive input modality, VMA allows users without any specific skill in Social Network Analysis or informatics to track social network relations in small meetings and extract indices either during or after the meeting. The application is divided into four modules: meeting creation, configuration, recording and temporal analysis. This paper describes VMA and the results of a test carried out to evaluate its ease of use.
EXPERT PILOTS ' PERCEPTIONS OF PROBLEM SITUATIONS 1

How do expert pilots interpret flight-related problem situations and what aspects do they find important for making decisions? These questions are not as easy to answer as they at first might appear. Aviation decision situations are often complex and a number of factors may influence decision making. Candidate variables are to name just a few phase of flight, aircraft type, problem type, available time and resources, or risk involved. Orasanu (1994) presents a model of aviation decision making that emphasizes the role of situation assessment: Deciding on a course of action is contingent upon an adequate understanding of the nature of the problem and of the response options afforded by the problem situation. Risk and time pressure are situational variables that further constrain the decision process. One goal of our present work was to validate this process model from the pilot's perspective.
Relationship between dose , distance and time in Sonic Hedgehogmediated Hedgehogmediated Hedgehogmediated regulation of anteroposterior polarity in the chick limb

1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, The Biolabs, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA 2Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York 10021, USA 3Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, Medawar Building, London WC1E 6BT, UK 4Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, The Anatomy Building, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Wavelet Sub-Band Based Temporal Features for Robust Hindi Phoneme Recognition

This paper proposes the use of wavelet transform-based feature extraction technique for Hindi speech recognition application. The new proposed features take into account temporal as well as frequency band energy variations for the task of Hindi phoneme recognition. The recognition performance achieved by the proposed features is compared with the standard MFCC and 24-band admissible wavelet packet-based features using a linear discriminant function based classifier. To evaluate robustness of these features, the NOISEX database is used to add different types of noise into phonemes to achieve signal-to-noise ratios in the range of 20 dB to -5 dB. The recognition results show that under noisy background the proposed technique always achieves a better performance over MFCC-based features.
Effect of adenovirus-mediated expression of Sonic hedgehog gene on hair regrowth in mice with chemotherapy-induced alopecia.

BACKGROUND The Sonic hedgehog (Shh) gene is involved in the initiation of hair growth. We have shown that localized, transient, enhanced expression of the Shh gene in mouse skin mediated by an adenovirus (AdShh) vector accelerates initiation of the anagen (i.e., growth) phase of hair follicle development. Because hair regrowth in chemotherapy-induced alopecia is associated with follicle cell proliferation and active melanogenesis similar to that observed in the anagen phase of normal hair growth, we examined whether AdShh-mediated Shh expression would accelerate hair regrowth in the skin of mice with chemotherapy-induced alopecia. METHODS After establishment of cyclophosphamide-induced alopecia, in either 3- or 7-week-old mice, AdShh or a control vector (AdNull) was delivered to dorsal skin by intradermal injection. Hair regrowth and melanogenesis were assessed by histology and gross morphology. Fisher's exact test was used to compare differences in outcomes between AdShh-treated and control (AdNull-treated or not injected with any vector [naive]) mice. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Northern blot analysis confirmed enhanced Shh expression after AdShh administration in 7-week-old mice. Two weeks after AdShh administration, the injection site (all of five mice) showed large, anagen-phase hair follicles with a normal distribution of melanin. In contrast, both skin treated with AdNull (all of five mice) and skin from naive mice (all of five mice) showed dystrophic hair follicles with irregular distribution of melanin (P<.001 in both comparisons). Gross morphologic observations confirmed that AdShh-treated mice, but not naive mice or AdNull-treated mice, showed skin darkening at the injection site indicative of entry into anagen phase (P<.001 in both comparisons). AdShh treatment of 3-week-old mice with cyclophosphamide-induced alopecia was followed by accelerated hair follicle recovery (19 of 22 mice); such recovery was not observed at this rate in AdNull-treated or naive skin (P<.001 for both comparisons). CONCLUSION Localized, transient, enhanced expression of Shh gene in skin, mediated by an adenovirus vector, might be a future strategy to accelerate hair follicle regrowth after chemotherapy-induced alopecia.
Infrared spectroscopy indicates altered bone turnover and remodeling activity in renal osteodystrophy

Renal osteodystrophy alters metabolic activity and remodeling rate of bone and also may lead to different bone composition. The objective of this study was to characterize the composition of bone in high‐turnover renal osteodystrophy patients by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic imaging (FTIRI). Iliac crest biopsies from healthy bone (n = 11) and patients with renal osteodystrophy (ROD, n = 11) were used in this study. The ROD samples were from patients with hyperparathyroid disease. By using FTIRI, phosphate‐to‐amide I ratio (mineral‐to‐matrix ratio), carbonate‐to‐phosphate ratio, and carbonate‐to‐amide I ratio (turnover rate/remodeling activity), as well as the collagen cross‐link ratio (collagen maturity), were quantified. Histomorphometric analyses were conducted for comparison. The ROD samples showed significantly lower carbonate‐to‐phosphate (p < .01) and carbonate‐to‐amide I (p < .001) ratios. The spatial variation across the trabeculae highlighted a significantly lower degree of mineralization (p < .05) at the edges of the trabeculae in the ROD samples than in normal bone. Statistically significant linear correlations were found between histomorphometric parameters related to bone‐remodeling activity and number of bone cells and FTIRI‐calculated parameters based on carbonate‐to‐phosphate and carbonate‐to‐amide I ratios. Hence the results suggested that FTIRI parameters related to carbonate may be indicative of turnover and remodeling rate of bone. © 2010 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
Reconfiguration of MV Distribution Networks With Multicost and Multipoint Alternative Supply, Part II: Reconfiguration Plan

This is the second part of a two-paper set that presents a methodology to determine an optimal radial reconfiguration plan for a medium voltage (MV) distribution network. It is applicable to primary distribution systems with multicost and multipoint alternative supply for short and medium terms. The optimization criterion is based on minimizing the operation costs, including the purchased energy cost and switching cost. In addition to the proposed methodology, a main contribution of the work is to evaluate the impact of the energy price on the operative topology working within a competitive market structure, where the demand is supplied from several purchase nodes featuring significantly different energy prices. The methodology is based on dynamic programming, heuristics, and a method to calculate the economic dispatch (ED) through radialization specifically designed for multicost and multipoint alternative supply, as is the case of distribution networks. The capacity of the network components, the service quality, and the dynamics of the demand are considered. Finally, the advantages of applying the methodology to a realistic distribution network are discussed.
Medium access control protocol and resource allocation for passive optical interconnects

Passive optical interconnects (POIs) have recently been considered as a promising solution to offer high bandwidth and low power consumption for data center networks. This paper proposes a medium access control protocol for a POI based on arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) to facilitate efficient collision-free communications. In order to efficiently accommodate bursty traffic generated by the servers in the data center, we develop a tailored dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) algorithm, which is able to schedule resources in both time and spectrum. In the simulation, not only the impact of DBA algorithm parameters but also the system configurations, such as wavelength tuning time, line rate, and the size of the interconnect, have been investigated. For a typical link utilization on an optical interconnect at the top of the rack, the proposed resource allocation scheme ensures both low latency (<0.1 ms) and a low frame drop ratio (almost zero).
Development of motion rendering using Laban movement analysis to humanoid robots inspired by real-time emotional locus of music signals

This paper proposes a sequential framework to explore the possibility of human form robots motion rendering models to express emotions inspired by the mechanisms of real-time emotional locus of music signals. The music emotion system progressively extracts the features of music and characterizes music-induced emotions in an emotion plane to trace the real-time emotion locus of music. Five feature sets are extracted from the WAV file of music. Feature-weighted scoring algorithms continuously mark the trajectory on the emotion plane. The boundaries of four emotions are demarcated by Gaussian mixture model. A graphic interface represents the tracking of dynamic emotional locus. The music emotion locus and robot movement are integrated and analyzed by the modified Laban movement analysis. The robot controller organized with multi-modal whole-body awareness of music emotions gave rise to robot's autonomous locomotion.
Metabolic Effects of Dietary Sucrose and Fructose in Type II Diabetic Subjects

OBJECTIVE To investigate the metabolic effects of dietary fructose and sucrose in type II diabetic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Sixteen well-controlled type II diabetic subjects were fed three isocaloric diets for 28 days each. The three diets provided 50–55, 15, and 30–35% of total energy from carbohydrate, protein, and fat, respectively. In one diet, 20% of total calories were derived from fructose; in another, 19% of total calories were derived from sucrose; and in the control diet, only 5% of daily calories were derived from sugars, all other carbohydrates being supplied as polysaccharides. RESULTS No significant differences were observed between either the fructose or the sucrose diet and the control polysaccharide diet in any of the measures of glycemic control, serum lipid levels, or insulin and C-peptide secretion. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that in the short and middle terms, high fructose and sucrose diets do not adversely affect glycemia, lipemia, or insulin and C-peptide secretion in well-controlled type II diabetic subjects.
Cyclosporin: measurement of fraction unbound in plasma

A reproducible ultracentrifugation method has been developed for the measurement of the fraction of cyclosporin (CyA) unbound in plasma. The sample is centrifuged to remove any particulate matter, ultracentrifuged in polyallomer tubes and then frozen in liquid nitrogen. Appropriate sections are then cut from the tube for determination of the concentration of radioactivity and calculation of fraction drug unbound. Using this method, the fraction unbound has been measured in plasma from renal transplant patients receiving CyA and found to range between 0ṁ04 to 0ṁ122. The binding is temperature‐dependent and principally hydrophobic.
Effect of eating on motility of the pelvic colon in constipation or diarrhoea 1

Pelvic colonic pressures were recorded before, during, as well as after a meal in patients with non-specific diarrhoea (12) or constipation (14), who were selected according to strict clinical criteria of bowel habit. In the basal state diarrhoeal patients as a group had significantly less colonic activity than constipated patients, but the overlap was considerable. During the meal colonic activity was strikingly increased in diarrhoea, but returned to basal levels immediately after the meal; no such response was observed in constipation. It is suggested that this brief segmental response of the pelvic diarrhoeal colon may be inadequate to prevent entry of faeces into the rectum and the desire to defaecate, following a meal.
Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysms

The management of intracranial aneurysms (IAs) remarkably improved due to the development of diagnostic and surgical procedures. Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from IA rupture constitutes a devastating event, whose prognosis remains unsatisfactory. At present, several researchs are targeted to individuate subjects harboring unruptured IAs and those presenting a higher risk for rupture. Numerous risk factors for the rupture of IAs have been individuated. The prevalence of intracranial saccular aneurysms in the general population is estimated from 0.2% to 6.8%, with an incidence of SAH at 10/100,000/year. The most relevant morbidity and mortality rates after SAH are related to rebleeding and vasospasm. The primary therapeutic target consists in prevention of rebleeding. At present, therapeutic opportunities for intracranial aneurysms are microsurgery and endovascular treatment.
Biochemical and molecular characterization of rice (Oryza sativa L.) roots forming a barrier to radial oxygen loss.

The formation of a barrier to radial oxygen (O2 ) loss (ROL) in the root is an important adaptation of plants to root flooding, but the biochemical changes in plant roots where the barrier is formed are unclear. In this study, we analysed metabolic profiles and gene expression profiles in roots of rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants grown under stagnant deoxygenated conditions, which induce suberization in the outer cell layers of the roots and formation of barrier to ROL. Under these conditions, two distinctive biochemical features of the roots were the accumulations of malic acid and very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs). We also showed that the expressions of some genes encoding plastid-localized enzymes, which convert malic acid to acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA), were simultaneously up-regulated under stagnant conditions. The expression levels of these genes in specific root tissues isolated by laser microdissection suggested that malic acid is converted to AcCoA predominantly in the plastids in the outer cell layers of rice roots. We propose that the physiological role of malic acid accumulation in rice roots grown under stagnant conditions is to provide a substrate for the biosynthesis of fatty acids, which, in turn, are used in the biosynthesis of suberin.
Analysis of prognostic factors in 1180 patients with oral cavity primary cancer treated with definitive or adjuvant radiotherapy.

INTRODUCTION The present study identifies the prognostic factors influencing oral cancers in a large cohort of patients treated at a single institute. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is an audit of 1180 patients treated from 1990 to 2004 in the service setting with prospective data collection. Patients were treated with radical radiotherapy or were planned for surgery and post operative radiotherapy (PORT). None of the patients received postoperative concurrent chemoradiation. For analysis, patients were divided into Group 1 and Group 2 based on the oral cavity subsite. RESULTS Of the entire cohort, 810 patients had tumors of the Gingivo-alveolo-buccal complex, lip and hard palate (Group 1) and 370 patients had primaries in tongue and floor of mouth (Group 2). Three year locoregional control for the entire cohort was 58%. The three year local control (LC), locoregional control (LRC) and disease free survival (DFS) for PORT group were 74%, 65% and 60%, respectively, with pathological nodal status, perinodal extension and cut margin status showing statistical significance (P <0.001). In the definitive radiotherapy group, the three year LC, LRC and DFS were 34%, 31% and 30%, respectively, with age, T stage, nodal status and stage being significant. Group 1 patients showed significantly better LC, LRC and DFS than Group 2 patients for the entire cohort. CONCLUSION The results indicate superior outcomes with PORT particularly in advanced stages of oral cancer and inferior outcomes in tongue and floor of mouth subsites. There is scope for improving outcomes by adopting treatment intensification strategies.
Towards a Better Understanding of Dynamic Interaction Metrics for Wildlife: a Null Model Approach

The ability to measure dynamic interactions, such as attraction or avoidance, is crucial to understanding socio‐spatial behaviors related to territoriality and mating as well as for exploring resource use and the potential spread of infectious epizootic diseases. In spite of the importance of measuring dynamic interactions, it has not been a main research focus in movement pattern analysis. With very few exceptions (see Benhamou et al. 2014), no new metrics have been developed in the past 20 years to accommodate the fundamental shift in the type of animal movement data now being collected and there have been few comparison or otherwise critical studies of existing dynamic interaction metrics (but see Long et al. 2014; Miller 2012). This research borrows from the null model approach commonly used in community ecology to compare six currently used dynamic interaction metrics using data on five brown hyena dyads in Northern Botswana. There was disconcerting variation among the dynamic interaction results depending on which metric and which null model was used, and these results highlight the need for more extensive research on measuring and interpreting dynamic interactions in order to avoid making potentially misleading inferences about socio‐spatial behaviors.
Effect of Probiotics Containing Lactobacillus paracasei SD1 on Salivary Mutans Streptococci and Lactobacilli in Orthodontic Cleft Patients: A Double-Blinded, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study

Objective (1) To investigate the effect of probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus paracasei SDA on the level of salivary mutans streptococci and lactobacilli, and (2) the oral persistence of L. paracasei SD1 in orthodontically treated nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate patients. Design Double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Participants A total of 30 orthodontically treated nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate patients (aged 19.22 ± 3.66 years): 15 in the intervention group (A) and 15 in the control group (B). Interventions Milk with or without L. paracasei SD1. Average daily consumption of milk in both groups was 50 mL for 4 weeks. Main Outcome Measures Salivary mutans streptococci and lactobacilli were enumerated using a quantitative differential culture at baseline and once a week after the end of the administration period for 4 weeks. The persistence of L. paracasei SD1 was traced using arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction of the DNA fingerprinting. Results A statistically significant reduction in mutans streptococci counts occurred in group A, in contrast to group B (P < .001). A significant increase of lactobacilli numbers was found in group A (P < .001), and L. paracasei SD1 could be detected up to 4 weeks following cessation of dosing. Conclusions The probiotic milk powder containing L. paracasei SD1 could reduce mutans streptococci counts and was apparently able to colonize the oral cavity of the orthodontically treated cleft lip and palate patients. However, the potentially beneficial influence of the probiotic milk on the complex oral microflora justifies further studies with a larger group of volunteers.