Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Small liver colorectal metastases treated with percutaneous radiofrequency ablation: local response rate and long-term survival with up to 10-year follow-up.

PURPOSE To determine the long-term (10-year) survival of patients with colorectal liver metastases treated with radiofrequency (RF) ablation and systemic chemotherapy with intention to treat. MATERIALS AND METHODS Institutional review board approval was obtained for this study. From 1997 to 2006, 99 consecutive patients with 202 small (0.8-4.0 cm; mean: 2.2 cm ± 1.1) metachronous colorectal liver metastases underwent ultrasonography-guided percutaneous RF ablation with internally-cooled electrodes in association with systemic chemotherapy. Patients ineligible for surgery (n = 80) or whose lesions were potentially resectable and who refused surgery (n = 19) were included. Patients were followed up with contrast agent-enhanced computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging for a minimum of 3 years to more than 10 years after RF ablation (n = 99, 67, 49, and 25 for 3, 5, 7, and 10 or more years, respectively). Overall local response rates and long-term survival rates were assessed. For each of these primary endpoints, Kaplan-Meier curves were generated and log-rank tests were used to assess for statistically significant differences. RESULTS Primary and secondary technical success rates were 93.1% (188 of 202) and 100% (14 of 14), respectively. Local tumor progression occurred in 11.9% (24 of 202) metastases, and 54.2% (13 of 24) of these were re-treated. Patient survival rates increased with re-treatment versus no re-treatment (P < .001). At follow-up, 125 new liver metastases were found, and of these 32.8% (41 of 125) were treated with RF ablation. Overall survival rates were 98.0%, 69.3%, 47.8%, 25.0%, and 18.0% (median: 53.2 months) at 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 years, respectively. The major complication rate was 1.3% (two of 156), and there were no procedure-related deaths. At the time this article was written, 32.3% (32 of 99) of the patients were alive, and 67.7% (67 of 99) were deceased, with a median follow-up of 72 months. CONCLUSION Adding RF ablation to systemic chemotherapy achieved local control in a large majority of metachronous colorectal liver metastases. The 3- to 10-year survival rates of this relatively large series of patients were essentially equivalent to those of most surgical series reported in the literature.
Context, Challenges, and Tensions in Global Efforts to Engage Men in the Prevention of Violence against Women

As gender-based violence prevention programs around the world increasingly include efforts to engage men and boys as antiviolence allies, both the profound benefits and the inherent complexities of these efforts are emerging. Acknowledging and exploring tensions associated with engaging men is an important element of thoughtfully fostering men’s antiviolence ally movements so as to both respectfully invite men into antiviolence work and create effective, gender-equitable prevention programming. To this end, this study presents descriptive findings regarding challenges associated with men’s engagement programming from in-depth interviews with twenty-nine representatives of organizations that engage men and boys in preventing violence against women and girls in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and North and South America. Programs reported negotiating complex issues related to gender, the intersectional nature of men’s identities, and establishing legitimacy and sustainability within communities while maintaining ideological focus and consistency. Additionally, programs reported that these tensions manifest across ecological layers of analysis, and impact both the participation of individual men and the programs’ experiences in community and national contexts.
Staphylococcus aureus and its Bearing on Ophthalmic Disease

ABSTRACT Purpose: To review antibiotic resistance associated with S. aureus endophthalmitis and the virulence of S. aureus. Methods: Review of the current and prospective approaches for treating S. aureus endophthalmitis. Results: Bacterial endophthalmitis remains to be a major threat for vision. S. aureus endophthalmitis specifically, carries a poor visual prognosis making early diagnosis and treatment crucial. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) endophthalmitis represents a significant number of S. aureus endophthalmitis cases. MRSA with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptide antibiotics such as vancomycin (vancomycin intermediate S. aureus, VISA) have also emerged in the ocular infections, and there has been a rise in S. aureus resistance to new and old generation fluoroquinolones that are commonly used for prophylaxis after intravitreal injections and intraocular surgeries. Conclusions: With the rise in the number of penetrating procedures in the ophthalmology practice and the parallel rise in antibiotic resistance, prophylaxis and awareness of the antimicrobial resistance profiles remain crucial and the identification of novel antimicrobials is essential.
An amnesty for unpublished trials

This month over 100 medical journals around the world are inviting readers to send information on unpublished trials. This amnesty should have important benefits for patients. Why? Reports of properly conducted randomised controlled trials are the foundation of effective health care, but many are not submitted for publication.1 2 This reduces the power of systematic reviews to detect moderate but clinically important treatment effects. Patients may thus be denied effective forms of health care. A second problem is that since trials that show more promising effects are more likely to be submitted, research syntheses can give misleading conclusions about effectiveness. Patients may thus be exposed to useless or …
CD4+ cytolytic effectors are inefficient in the clearance of Listeria monocytogenes

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) recognize and lyse target cells through the interaction of the T‐cell receptor complex with the class I or class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The production of class I‐restricted CTL has been shown to be critical to the elimination of specific pathogens including Listeria monocytogenes. However, the function of class II‐restricted CTL in the clearance of intracellular pathogens is poorly understood. H‐2bβ2‐microglobulin‐deficient mice (β2M−/−) are not able to produce CD8+ CTL in response to infection with L. monocytogenes. We used this model to evaluate the efficacy of class II‐restricted CTL, in the absence of a class I‐restricted response, during a primary infection with L. monocytogenes. We demonstrate that, despite their effectiveness in adoptive transfer of protection, Listeria‐specific CD4+ class II‐restricted cytotoxic lymphocytes are ineffective in decreasing titres of L. monocytogenes in the spleen after an established infection. In β2M−/− mice, persistence of L. monocytogenes in the spleen was found preferentially in class II‐negative cells. Surprisingly, class I‐restricted CTL from C57BL/6 mice were capable of decreasing bacterial titres during an established infection even in the absence of detectable class I on the surface of cells from β2M−/− mice. These data strongly suggest that, in the absence of a class I‐restricted response, pathogens that elicit a class II‐restricted cytotoxic response may escape prompt eradication by the immune system.
Asma y natación: ventajas e inconvenientes

espanolCon este trabajo se pretende plasmar la relacion existente entre el asma y la actividad fisica, concretamente en la natacion, diferenciando los beneficios y los inconvenientes que tiene la practica de este deporte. Entre las conclusiones obtenidas, se llega a la de que puede ser uno de los mas beneficiosos para las personas asmaticas, siempre y cuando se realice de forma adecuada, teniendo en cuenta el tratamiento de la propia persona, las medidas preventivas pertinentes, y conociendo el procedimiento de actuacion en caso de que se produzca una crisis, aspectos que se deben de considerar en cualquier actividad fisica. Ademas de esto, tambien se destaca que en las edades tempranas se debe de controlar bastante el tiempo de permanencia en la piscina, debido a que los productos clorados utilizados para la desinfeccion del agua son daninos para las vias respiratorias y, en estas edades, en que los ninos se encuentran en desarrollo, un tiempo excesivo de permanencia puede provocar que en un futuro padezcan asma. EnglishThis work aims to explain the relationship between asthma and physical activity, particularly in swimming, differentiating the benefits and drawbacks of the practice of this sport. Among the conclusions drawn, it can be stated that this sport may be one of the most beneficial for asthmatics, as long as it is done properly, taking into account the treatment of each person, preventive actions, and knowing the procedure for action in case of a crisis, issues to be considered in any physical activity. Besides this, it is also remarkable that in the early ages is very important to control the residence time in the swimming pool because chlorine products used to disinfect water are harmful to the respiratory tract and, in this age, in which children are developing their body, a residence time too long may cause in the future to suffer asthma.
Wideband dual-polarized bi-static simultaneous transmit and receive antenna system

A wideband dual-polarized bi-static simultaneous transmit and receive (STAR) antenna system utilizing quad-ridge horns is introduced. To enable dual-polarized capability, orthomode transducer (OMT) is designed and integrated with both antennas. Over the 6.5-18.5GHz range, the fabricated STAR antenna system achieves return loss >10dB, isolation >45dB in free space and >52dB when antennas are flush mounted on a finite size ground plane.
Transverse Dental Arch Relationship and Occlusion in Surgically Repaired Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Egyptian Children

Objective: To assess and compare the transverse dental arch relationship and occlusion in surgically repaired unilateral cleft lip and palate Egyptian children with those of healthy comparable non-cleft children. Study design: Comparative cross-sectional. Thirty-one non-syndromic children with repaired unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and mean age 7.35 ± 1.52 years together with thirty-one healthy, comparable, non-cleft children were recruited from Faculty of dentistry, Alexandria University. For each subject, sagittal molar and cuspid occlusion were measured using dental study casts. The buccolingual dental arch relationships were determined using modified Huddart/ Bodenham scoring system. Results: Mesial step terminal plane and class III cuspid relation were significantly higher in UCLP children in the age group 4-5 years. Class III permanent molar and cuspid relations were significantly higher in UCLP children in both age groups 6-7 and 8-9 years. Modified Huddart/Bodenham showed a significantly more negative total arch constriction score in 6-9 year old UCLP children. Conclusions: There was a predilection for most of UCLP children to have mesial step terminal plane in primary dentition, class III permanent molar relation in mixed dentition and Class III cuspid relations. Modified Huddart/ Bodenham scores revealed that UCLP children suffered from constricted maxillary arch especially in the canine region. Research Article Citation: Baraka M, Hanno A, Bakry NS, et al. Transverse Dental Arch Relationship and Occlusion in Surgically Repaired Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Egyptian Children. J Med Clin Res & Rev. 2017; 1(2): 1-7.
ThinStore: Out-of-Band Virtualization with Thin Provisioning

Traditional storage virtualization systems are faced with the problem of poor storage utilizations, leading to expensive capital expenditures and high energy consumptions. To address this issue, we design and implement Thin Store, an out-of-band virtualization system that supports thin provisioning of storage resources. Thin Store automatically allocates storage capacity only when new data is written and employs the probing reclamation policy to reclaim unused storage space. To improve the system performance, we introduce the mapping metadata caching and lazy update mechanisms to reduce the interaction overhead between the metadata server and clients. The experimental results demonstrated that Thin Store significantly improved the storage utilization with acceptable performance overhead. For example, it delivered approximately 88.7% storage space savings when file system utilization was 10%. We also examined the effectiveness of our reclamation policy. It reclaimed 83.6% of unused storage resources for a large file workload. In addition, various file systems showed different friendliness with our system. Compared with ext 3, ext 4 reduced the storage space overhead by 10.6% in a small file workload.
An integrated framework for the optimisation of sport and athlete development: A practitioner approach

Abstract This paper introduces a new sport and athlete development framework that has been generated by multidisciplinary sport practitioners. By combining current theoretical research perspectives with extensive empirical observations from one of the world's leading sport agencies, the proposed FTEM (Foundations, Talent, Elite, Mastery) framework offers broad utility to researchers and sporting stakeholders alike. FTEM is unique in comparison with alternative models and frameworks, because it: integrates general and specialised phases of development for participants within the active lifestyle, sport participation and sport excellence pathways; typically doubles the number of developmental phases (n = 10) in order to better understand athlete transition; avoids chronological and training prescriptions; more optimally establishes a continuum between participation and elite; and allows full inclusion of many developmental support drivers at the sport and system levels. The FTEM framework offers a viable and more flexible alternative for those sporting stakeholders interested in managing, optimising, and researching sport and athlete development pathways.
Localization of prohormone convertases 1/3 and 2 in the human pituitary gland and pituitary adenomas: analysis by immunohistochemistry, immunoelectron microscopy, and laser scanning microscopy.

Prohormone convertase (PC) 1/3 and PC2 are involved in post-translational processing of endocrine tissues, including the pancreatic islets and pituitary glands. Our immunohistochemical studies disclosed the presence of PC1/3 and PC2 in non-neoplastic pituitary glands, especially in corticotrophs, gonadotrophs, and thyrotrophs. Among 58 pituitary adenomas obtained by trans-sphenoidal surgery, adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-secreting adenomas showed a high incidence of the presence of PC1/3 and PC2, i.e., nine of nine cases were positive for ACTH. Five of nine cases showed consistency between PC2 localization and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone immunoreactivity, which suggests the functional correlation between PC2 and the processing of ACTH. In four cases, we observed inconsistency in immunolocalization, which suggested the possibility of inactive PC2 and abnormal processing of alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone. The high incidence of PC1/3 and PC2 in nonfunctioning adenomas might be related to the processing of chromogranin A.
Threats of lightning current through an electric vehicle

An electric vehicle includes more electronic parts than a gasoline-powered vehicle. Not only control but also driving circuits of the electric vehicle are electrical at variance with those of the gasoline-powered vehicle. Thus, there is higher possibility of malfunctions on the electric vehicle due to electromagnetic disturbances caused by a lightning stroke. It is important to establish lightning protection methodologies for the electric vehicle. For this, it is essential to make clear the mechanism of the lightning current flowing through the vehicle body and other parts and to clarify transient magnetic fields and current distributions in the electric vehicle. In this paper, the transient magnetic fields and the current distributions in the electric vehicle are simulated using the FDTD method, and the probability of lightning damages is discussed.
PENICILLIN RESISTANCE IN ESCHERICHIA COLI K12: SYNERGISM BETWEEN PENICILLINASES AND A BARRIER IN THE OUTER PART OF THE ENVELOPE *

Bacterial resistance to penicillin has been thoroughly studied since 1940 when Abraham and Chain discovered that resistant strains of Escherichia coli possessed an enzyme, penicillinase, that destroyed the antibiotic activity of penicillin. ’ The enzyme was, however, first purified from some gram-positive bacteria, which often produce large amounts of extracellular penicillinases with high turnover numbers (see review by Citri 2 ) . Penicillinases are also widely distributed among gram-negative bacteria, but the relatively low efficiency of these enzymes could hardly account for the rather high resistance of most of the organisms. :{. This unexplained contribution to resistance was often referred to as “intrinsic. ” It has gradually become clear that intrinsic resistance is a barrier that restricts the rate by which penicillin can reach its target. The main theme of the present communication is that this barrier also excludes penicillin from reaching the penicillinases, which in gram-negative bacteria, are entirely cell bound. Gram-negative bacteria always possess an envelope that in the electron microscope appears to be composed of three main parts5 The innermost structure is the cytoplasmic membrane, and the middle section is composed of a murein skeleton and a volume designated the periplasm. The outermost part is visualized as a bilayer membrane, and although its properties are clearly different from the cytoplasmic membrane, it is increasingly referred to as “the outer membrane. ” No similar structure is found in gram-positive bacteria. So far, there is no evidence that the outer membrane has specific transport systems, such as those found in the cytoplasmic membrane. Because “permeability” is commonly used as the term for active transport through the cytoplasmic membrane, we will use the “penetration” specifically for passive transport through the outer membrane. Drug resistance in bacteria was the subject of a conference at the New York Academy of Sciences less than three years ago.6 We shall therefore limit ourselves to some recent progress made during the study of some ampicillinsensitive and -resistant mutants isolated in Umei. These strains are of two general types: those with an altered barrier and those with mutations that affect either the amount of penicillinase or the properties of the enzymes. Other types of mutants exist, but they will not be discussed here.
Test of e-Learning Related Attitudes (TeLRA) scale: development, reliability and validity study

The Tanzanian education system is in transition from face -to-face classroom learning to e-learning. E-learning is a new learning approach in Tanzanian Higher Learning Institutions [HLIs] and with teachers being the key stakeholders of all formal education, investigating their attitude towards e-learning is essential. So far, how ever, there has been little consideration given to research that examines teachers’ attitudes towards e-learning in Tanzanian HLIs and consequently, there is no standard attitude scale that has been developed to measure this. This paper presents the development and validation of a scale of teachers’ attitude to e-learning. Whilst being initially developed to assess the attitude of teachers in HLIs the authors belief, having piloted with pre-service trainee teachers in England that the scale transfers across national boundaries. The final instrument contains 36 items with a Cronbach alpha score of 0.857. Although the developed attitude scale was intended for use in HLIs, it can also be of interest to researchers investigating attitudes on other sectors.
MODELING OF HOPPER DISCHARGE

Hoppers are widely used in many engineering processes. The discharging of granular mate- rials from a hopper is a critical topic of industrial importance, and the discharge flow rate from hoppers is the focus of the current work. Many parameters influence the discharge rate including: the hopper outlet width, the angle of the hopper wall, the particle size, and particle friction, and so on. Due to the expensive of examining a large variety of particle types and hopper conditions, computational simulation has been widely studied in an effort to establish an alternative method of determining critical factors impacting hopper flow. In this thesis, the process of hopper discharge has been simulated by the Discrete Element Method (DEM), which is one of the most popular methods for granular flow simulation. To validate against existing experiments, all conditions were matched as closely as possible to those in the experiment. The particles used in our simulation are spheroids with diameters of 0.77 cm. The angles of the hoppers examined range from 0◦ to 90◦, while the opening sizes vary from 2.9 cm to 4.3 cm. Computationally, the friction coefficient has been adjusted several times and finally is set to 0.5 in the simulation in order to fit the experimental resultsas closely as possible. As a quantitative test of the simulation fidelity we compare the hopper empty time t – which is related to the hopper discharge rate – for these different hopper angles and hopper opening size. As a secondary test of the fit, the survival time τ, the normal force profile, the velocity profile, and the probability of jamming Ps are also computed and compared to existing experimental data from collaborators at Duke University. Ultimately, the goal of the work is to establish the degree of model fidelity necessary in order to closely mimic the experimental results obtained.
Stoichiometric model for evaluating the metabolic capabilities of the facultative methylotroph Methylobacterium extorquens AM1, with application to reconstruction of C(3) and C(4) metabolism.

A stoichiometric model of central metabolism was developed based on new information regarding metabolism in this bacterium to evaluate the steady-state growth capabilities of the serine cycle facultative methylotroph Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 during growth on methanol, succinate, and pyruvate. The model incorporates 20 reversible and 47 irreversible reactions, 65 intracellular metabolites, and experimentally-determined biomass composition. The flux space for this underdetermined system of equations was defined by finding the elementary modes, and constraints based on experimental observations were applied to determine which of these elementary modes give a reasonable description of the flux distribution for each growth substrate. The predicted biomass yield, on a carbon atom basis, is 49.8%, which agrees well with the range of published experimental yield measurements (37-50%). The model predicts the cell to be limited by reduced pyridine nucleotide availability during methylotrophic growth, but energy-limited when growing on multicarbon substrates. Mutation and phenotypic analysis was used to explore a previously unknown region of the metabolic map and to confirm the stoichiometry of the pathways in this region used in the metabolic model. Based on genome sequence data and simulation results, three enzymes involved in C(3)-C(4) interconversion pathways were predicted to be mutually redundant: malic enzyme, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, and phosphoenolpyruvate synthase. Insertion mutations in the genes predicted to encode these enzymes were made and these mutants were capable of growing on all substrates tested, confirming the redundancy of these pathways. Likewise, pathway analysis suggests that the TCA cycle enzymes citrate synthase and succinate dehydrogenase are essential for all growth substrates. In keeping with these predictions, null mutants could not be obtained in these genes. Finally, a similar model was developed for the ribulose monophosphate pathway obligate methylotroph Methylobacillus flagellatum KT to compare the efficiency of carbon utilization in the two types of methylotrophic carbon utilization pathways. The predicted yield for this organism on methanol is 65.9%.