Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A phase II trial of 5-fluorouracil and cisplatinum in recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND A phase II clinical trial of the combination of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatinum (CDDP) was conducted in 24 patients (pts) with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. None of the patients had prior chemotherapy and all but 4 had prior radiotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS 5-FU was administered by intravenous (i.v.) infusion at a dose of 1000 mg/m2 daily on days 1 to 5 and i.v. infusion of CDDP at a dose of 100 mg/m2 in divided doses on days 1 to 3 of each 21-day cycle. Pts were examined for response after every two cycles. Of 24 pts accrued, 21 had measurable disease. Three had only bone metastases and were evaluable for toxicity and survival. RESULTS Thirteen pts had partial response and three achieved complete response, for an overall response rate of 66% (95% confidence interval 59% to 93%). Median time to progression for all patients was 8 months (range 4 to 28+ months) and median survival for all patients was 11 months. Grades 3 to 4 toxicities included granulocytopenia (10 pts). There was no treatment-related mortality. Average relative dose intensity was 0.8. CONCLUSION This combination is highly effective with acceptable toxicity. The duration of response tended to be brief. Its role in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant setting in patients with poor prognostic features should be further studied.
Scanning laser polarimetry, but not optical coherence tomography predicts permanent visual field loss in acute nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy.

PURPOSE Scanning laser polarimetry (SLP) reveals abnormal retardance of birefringence in locations of the edematous peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), which appear thickened by optical coherence tomography (OCT), in nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). We hypothesize initial sector SLP RNFL abnormalities will correlate with long-term regional visual field loss due to ischemic injury. METHODS We prospectively performed automated perimetry, SLP, and high definition OCT (HD-OCT) of the RNFL in 25 eyes with acute NAION. We grouped visual field threshold and RNFL values into Garway-Heath inferior/superior disc sectors and corresponding superior/inferior field regions. We compared sector SLP RNFL thickness with corresponding visual field values at presentation and at >3 months. RESULTS At presentation, 12 eyes had superior sector SLP reduction, 11 of which had inferior field loss. Six eyes, all with superior field loss, had inferior sector SLP reduction. No eyes had reduced OCT-derived RNFL acutely. Eyes with abnormal field regions had corresponding SLP sectors thinner (P = 0.003) than for sectors with normal field regions. During the acute phase, the SLP-derived sector correlated with presentation (r = 0.59, P = 0.02) and with >3-month after presentation (r = 0.44, P = 0.02) corresponding superior and inferior field thresholds. CONCLUSIONS Abnormal RNFL birefringence occurs in sectors corresponding to regional visual field loss during acute NAION when OCT-derived RNFL shows thickening. Since the visual field deficits show no significant recovery, SLP can be an early marker for axonal injury, which may be used to assess recovery potential at RNFL locations with respect to new treatments for acute NAION.
Traffic sign recognition by Bags of features

Road sign recognition method has been studied for realizing drivers assisting system, and various methods have been developed. Road sign alters its shape and color depending on its relative location against camera and surrounding condition such as weather and daytime. The object detection method utilized Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) is used in this study. Unless its advantage in the robustness property, calculation costs both for detecting SIFT and matching with database are usually expensive. In this paper, region extraction is performed for reducing SIFT detection cost, and the Bags of Features method is applied for traffic sign recognition. At the recognition phase, support vector machine (SVM) approach is used. Through several experimental results, lower calculation cost and higher accuracy rate (97.5 %) are observed.
Factors Affecting Conjugated Linoleic Acid Content in Milk and Meat

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has been recently studied mainly because of its potential in protecting against cancer, atherogenesis, and diabetes. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a collective term for a series of conjugated dienoic positional and geometrical isomers of linoleic acid, which are found in relative abundance in milk and tissue fat of ruminants compared with other foods. The cis-9, trans-11 isomer is the principle dietary form of CLA found in ruminant products and is produced by partial ruminal biohydrogenation of linoleic acid or by endogenous synthesis in the tissues themselves. The CLA content in milk and meat is affected by several factors, such as animal's breed, age, diet, and management factors related to feed supplements affecting the diet. Conjugated linoleic acid in milk or meat has been shown to be a stable compound under normal cooking and storage conditions. Total CLA content in milk or dairy products ranges from 0.34 to 1.07% of total fat. Total CLA content in raw or processed beef ranges from 0.12 to 0.68% of total fat. It is currently estimated that the average adult consumes only one third to one half of the amount of CLA that has been shown to reduce cancer in animal studies. For this reason, increasing the CLA contents of milk and meat has the potential to raise the nutritive and therapeutic values of dairy products and meat.
Another work-family interface: Work characteristics and family intentions in Japan

BACKGROUND Previous research highlights the importance of job and workplace characteristics in the work‒family interface. Nevertheless, we know little about how the specific context of work is related to singles’ marriage and parenthood intentions. OBJECTIVE In this study we examine the links between work conditions and family intentions using a representative sample of never-married, childless adults in Japan, a country that is well known for rapid declines in marriage and fertility rates. RESULTS We find that, surprisingly, work characteristics conducive to less work‒family conflict are rarely associated with stronger desires to marry and have children. For nevermarried men in Japan, the job qualities most relevant to family intentions are those that imply a bright economic future. Job conditions with the potential for work‒family conflict can be positively related to the desire to marry and have children if they also indicate promising career prospects. Conversely, workplace sociability is highly relevant to women’s marriage and fertility intentions. Never-married women working in more collaborative and interactive environments seek potential marriage partners more actively, want to marry and become parents more, and have higher preferred numbers of children. We suggest that in more sociable workplaces, childless singles tend to be more exposed to earlier cohorts’ family experiences and beliefs and so become more interested in marriage and parenthood. CONTRIBUTIONS This study demonstrates that, in Japan, the work characteristics relevant to single men’s family intentions differ from those that are relevant to the equivalent intentions of single women. In particular, the finding that women working in more sociable environments desire marriage and children more adds to the literature emphasizing the 1 Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park, USA. E-Mail: whyu1@umd.edu. 2 Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University. Yu & Kuo: Another work–family interface: Work characteristics and family intentions in Japan 392 http://www.demographic-research.org influence of social relations on family decisions in advanced economies, as well as suggesting a new channel through which social relations shape ideas and plans about marriage and parenthood.
Structure of intellectual capital – an international comparison

Purpose - Academics and practitioners around the world have shown interest in what constitutes the relevant intellectual capital (IC) in firms. However, studies have largely neglected to examine whether IC has identical or different structural elements in various parts of the world. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that country-specific institutional structures may impact the perception of IC, and empirically analyse whether differences exist between five countries drawing on the institutional theory. Design/methodology/approach - This study tests for the differences in the underlying categorizations of IC in a sample consisting of 708 firms across five countries. Confirmatory factor analysis and comparison of different possible IC models are conducted to empirically examine the IC structure. Findings - The results demonstrate that IC has predominantly the same underlying elements across the examined countries. However, trust capital in Finland and renewal capital in Serbia are structurally different compared to other countries. Research limitations/implications - Institutional theory and multinational corporate superculture can explain the similarity in the IC structures across countries. Specifically, globalized markets carry institutionalized rules, norms, and expectations for the participating firms; under the influence of this superculture, the firms begin to assimilate. Conversely, the differences suggest that some country- and culture-specific differences remain even during the transition to global markets. Originality/value - This study is among the first to question the assumption that IC has identical structural elements across the world, and merges theories of IC and institutions to explain the possible origins of these differences.
Climate and population density drive changes in cod body size throughout a century on the Norwegian coast

Understanding how populations respond to changes in climate requires long-term, high-quality datasets, which are rare for marine systems. We estimated the effects of climate warming on cod lengths and length variability using a unique 91-y time series of more than 100,000 individual juvenile cod lengths from surveys that began in 1919 along the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. Using linear mixed-effects models, we accounted for spatial population structure and the nested structure of the survey data to reveal opposite effects of spring and summer warming on juvenile cod lengths. Warm summer temperatures in the coastal Skagerrak have limited juvenile growth. In contrast, warmer springs have resulted in larger juvenile cod, with less variation in lengths within a cohort, possibly because of a temperature-driven contraction in the spring spawning period. A density-dependent reduction in length was evident only at the highest population densities in the time series, which have rarely been observed in the last decade. If temperatures rise because of global warming, nonlinearities in the opposing temperature effects suggest that negative effects of warmer summers will increasingly outweigh positive effects of warmer springs, and the coastal Skagerrak will become ill-suited for Atlantic cod.
Role of N-terminal Familial Mutations in Prion Protein Fibrillization and Prion Amyloid Propagation in Vitro*♦

A self-perpetuating conformational conversion of the prion protein (PrP) is believed to underlie pathology and transmission of prion diseases. Here we explore the effects of N-terminal pathogenic mutations (P102L, P105L, A117V) and the residue 129 polymorphism on amyloid fibril formation by the human PrP fragment 23-144, an in vitro conversion model that can reproduce certain characteristics of prion replication such as strains and species barriers. We find that these amino acid substitutions neither affect PrP23-144 amyloidogenicity nor introduce barriers to cross-seeding of soluble protein. However, the polymorphism strongly influences the conformation of the amyloid fibrils, as determined by infrared spectroscopy. Intriguingly, unlike conformational features governed by the critical amyloidogenic region of PrP23-144 (residues 138-139), the structural features distinguishing Met-129 and Val-129 PrP23-144 amyloid fibrils are not transmissible by cross-seeding. While based only on in vitro data, these findings provide fundamental insight into the mechanism of prion-based conformational transmission, indicating that only conformational features controlling seeding specificity (e.g. those in critical intermolecular contact sites of amyloid fibrils) are necessarily transmissible by cross-seeding; conformational traits in other parts of the PrP molecule may not be “heritable” from the amyloid template.
Single Port vs. Four Port Cholecystectomy--Randomized Trial on Quality of Life.

BACKGROUND Classical laparoscopic cholecystectomy involves four ports while most novel 'single port' technique only requires one incision on the abdominal wall. This technique is thought to decrease surgical trauma and improve cosmesis although there are reports pointing out that classical laparoscopic cholecystectomy is also feasible in terms of cosmesis. OBJECTIVES In this study we tried to determine if there are certain advantages in quality of life after single port surgery which would justify its utilization instead of classical laparoscopic cholecystectomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS This is a prospective randomized study which enrolled 30 patients randomized either into classical laparoscopic cholecystectomy or single port surgery. The primary endpoint was patient satisfaction after surgery. This was assessed with short form 36 and gastrointestinal quality of life index (first preoperatively and then 3 months postoperatively) and a visual analogue scale on the first and seventh days. RESULTS There was not a statistically significant difference between groups in the emotional role, social functions, mental health, vitality and general health subscales of short form 36. At the end of 12 weeks, both groups demonstrated increases in the gastrointestinal and social subscales of the gastrointestinal quality of life index. There was not a statistically significant difference between groups when the visual analogue scale scores on first and seventh days were compared. CONCLUSIONS The equal length of hospitalization, patient quality of life and pain perception and the longer operative times, high likelihood of incisional hernia and surgical site infection call into question the utilization of single port surgery, as it does not seem to confer an advantage over classical laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
The people formerly known as the audience

The quote „the people formerly known as the audience“ by Jay Rosen, professor of journalism at New York University illustrates the paradigm shift currently underway in the world of media due to the rise of the social and participatory Web 2.0. According to Bertolt Brechts utopian “Radiotheorie” from the early thirties of the last century, the “former audience” has taken on a new role: „The radio could inarguably be the best apparatus of communication in public life, an enormous system of channels – provided it saw itself as not only a sender but also a receiver. This means making the listener not only listen but also speak; not to isolate him but to place him in relation to others. “ 1
Steroid-refractory extensive enteritis complicated by ulcerative colitis successfully treated with adalimumab

Extracolonic involvement of the gastrointestinal tract is extremely uncommon in ulcerative colitis (UC) and rarely found in the upper gastrointestinal tract or in postoperative cases since it typically responds to steroids. Here we report a case of UC complicated by extensive ileal inflammation that was refractory to steroids. A 20-year-old man was diagnosed with UC of typical pancolitis without ileal involvement and started treatment with pH-dependent mesalazine and oral prednisolone. Although his symptoms transiently resolved, the condition flared when the steroid dose was tapered down. Computed tomography revealed marked thickening of the ileal wall, and capsule endoscopy and balloon-assisted enteroscopy found diffuse mucosal inflammation with ulcers in the ileum. On the contrary, the inflammation in the colon and rectum was improving. Since the response to the second steroid course was inadequate, treatment with adalimumab and 6-mercaptopurine was initiated and finally achieved clinical and endoscopic remission. The investigation of small intestinal lesions is necessary in patients with UC whose clinical deterioration cannot be explained by colonic lesions.
Community Integration Status 4 Years After Traumatic Brain Injury: Participant‐Proxy Agreement

ObjectivesTo measure the level of agreement on community integration outcomes 4 years after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in relation to injury severity, proxy-participant relationship, and type of question. ParticipantsThirty-one survivors of TBI (14 with mild TBI and 17 with moderate-severe TBI) and 31 significant other proxies. MeasuresGeneral and leisure activity scales of the Katz Adjustment Scale (KAS). ResultsAgreement was highest between proxies and participants with mild versus moderate-severe TBIs, between spouse proxies and TBI participants compared to nonspouse proxies and on the more objective subscales (frequency of participation) compared to the expectation and satisfaction scales regardless of injury severity or proxy-participant relationship. ConclusionsFor research purposes, proxy data are acceptable but clinicians should assess outcomes and set goals with input from both persons with TBIs and their proxies.
Somatotypes of 7‐ to 16‐year‐old boys in Saskatchewan, Canada

The purpose of this study was to examine the stability of somatotypes of 63 boys in Saskatoon, Canada who were followed from 7 to 16 years of age. Somatotype photos were taken annually and rated by a criterion rater (BH‐R). Comparisons were made longitudinally across all years using repeated‐measures ANOVAs of the whole somatotype (S), somatotype attitudinal means (SAM), analysis of categories, separate components (endomorphy, mesomorphy, ectomorphy), and partial correlations. In the first year, the means were age = 7.1 yr, height = 121.0 cm, mass = 22.8 kg, S = 2.9‐3.6‐1.6, and SAM = 1.1. In the last year, the means were age = 16.7 yr, height = 172.6 cm, mass = 59.9 kg, S = 2.5‐4.0‐3.7, and SAM = 1.4. Mean somatotypes across years were different [F(9,558) = 67.9, P < . 01], with the largest differences between 7–10 yr and 14–16 yr. These differences were largely due to significant increases in mesomorphy (F = 24.6, P < .01) and ectomorphy (F = 159.9, P < .01). Partial correlations between ages for each component, with the other two held constant, revealed poor predictions for three or more years apart (r2 < .35). Thus, both group and individual somatotypes changed between 7 and 16 years of age. The overall pattern was from endo‐mesomorph through central to mesomorph‐ectomorph somatotypes. The trends are similar to those observed in comparable samples from other countries. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 9:257–272, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The characteristics of moving target in the azimuth sub-look image of low frequency synthetic aperture radar

Airborne SAR operating in the VHF/UHF band has shown promising results for wide-area surveillance of ground moving targets. Both targets in the open as well as concealed by foliage may be detected in a robust manner by changing detection with single channel. This manner has lower cost but only limited indication. To improve its performance, we discuss the characteristics of moving target in the azimuth sub-look image. These characteristics include phase and amplitude of moving target, which corresponds to the azimuth shift motion and energy variation in respectively. The simulation and real results show that the change detection of GMTI can be improved by utilizing these characteristics.
Development and use of a selective medium for isolation of Leuconostoc spp. from vegetables and dairy products

A selective medium (LUSM medium) for the isolation of Leuconostoc spp. was developed. This medium contained 1.0% glucose, 1.0% Bacto Peptone (Difco), 0.5% yeast extract (BBL), 0.5% meat extract (Difco), 0.25% gelatin (Difco), 0.5% calcium lactate, 0.05% sorbic acid, 75 ppm of sodium azide (Sigma), 0.25% sodium acetate, 0.1% (vol/vol) Tween 80, 15% tomato juice, 30 micrograms of vancomycin (Sigma) per ml, 0.20 microgram of tetracycline (Serva) per ml, 0.5 mg of cysteine hydrochloride per ml, and 1.5% agar (Difco). LUSM medium was used successfully for isolation and enumeration of Leuconostoc spp. in dairy products and vegetables. Of 116 colony isolates obtained from fresh raw milk, curdled milk, or various vegetables, 115 were identified as members of the genus Leuconostoc. A total of 89 of these isolates were identified to species; 13.5% of the isolates were Leuconostoc cremoris, 7.9% were Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides, 11.2% were Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum, 16.9% were Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. paramesenteroides, 10.1% were leuconostoc lactis, and 40.4% were Leuconostoc oenos. When we compared the counts obtained for two Leuconostoc strains, Leuconostoc dextranicum 181 and L. cremoris JLL8, on MRS agar and LUSM medium, we found no significant difference between the values obtained on the two media.
HPV DNA testing with cytology triage in cervical cancer screening: Influence of revealing HPV infection status

Knowledge of cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) status might influence a cytotechnician's assessment of cellular abnormalities. The authors compared original cytotechnicians' Papanicolaou (Pap) readings for which HPV status was concealed with Pap rereads for which HPV status was revealed separately for 3 screening populations.
Is the 5‐HTTLPR polymorphism associated with bipolar disorder or with suicidal behavior of bipolar disorder patients?

The serotonin transporter gene has a 44 bp insertion/deletion polymorphism within the promoter region (5‐HTTLPR) with two allelic forms, the long (L) and the short (S) variants. Association between the low‐activity S variant and bipolar disorder (BPD) has been shown but its replication has not been consistent. It has also been described as an association between the S allele and suicidal behavior. Since suicidal behavior is a rather frequent event in BPD, an important question is whether suicidality, instead of bipolarity itself, could be related to S allele. We assessed 351 subjects (167 bipolar inpatients and 184 healthy controls). Diagnosis was conducted by a psychiatrist using a structured interview (MINI‐PLUS), according to DSM‐IV criteria. Suicidal behavior was assessed using a semi‐structured instrument and a review of medical records. Genotyping of the 5‐HTTLPR was performed using PCR. There were 77 patients with a history of previous suicide attempts. Bipolar patients and healthy controls showed comparable genotypic and allelic frequencies. Patients carrying the S allele made violent suicide attempts more frequently (χ2 = 20.2; P = 0.0001) and made more suicide attempts (t = 2.6; P = 0.01). We were able to show an association between the S allele and suicidal behavior but not with BPD. Our data suggest that a phenotypic stratification, taking into account the suicidal behavior history, is of pivotal importance when performing association studies between BPD and 5‐HTTLPR genotypes, which could explain previous contradictory results. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Econometric analysis of quantile regression models and networks : With empirical applications

This thesis consists of three essays that address open research issues in two econometric frameworks: nonparametric quantile regression framework and social networks, supported by empirical applications. Both econometric approaches are used to achieve a deeper understanding of the economic processes and interactions in comparison to the simple mean regression.