bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Gutka Ban in Maharashtra: Findings from a Focus Group Discussion
Authors: Dhumal Gauri G , Gupta Prakash C 
Published: November 2013

ABSTRACT
According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) India 2009-2010, around 8.3% (13.4% among male and 2.5% among female) of people in Maharashtra are gutka users. Gutka consumption not only causes oral cancer, but has also been link ed with develop men t of oral su bmuco us fibrosis, a precancerous lesion. Considering its harmful effects, gutka and pan masala were banned by Maharashtra Government from July 19, 2012 disallowing their sale, manufacture, distribution and storage. Though the ban has come into enforcement, the evidence stating the extent of its implementation is sparse. The objectives of the study were to learn about perception of gutka ban, impact of the ban on gutka consumption, changes in the trend of tobacco related products consumption, availability of gutka to the public on demand and economic effects of the ban on users.
A Focus Group Discussion was conducted among current and ex-gutka users on January 24, 2013 at Healis Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health, Navi Mumbai, India. A total of 11 male, ex-gutka users from different professions, participated in the discussion. The FGD lasted for 40 to 45 minutes. The verbal consent for participation in the FGD was taken from the respondents.
The findings showed that with enforcement of the ban, 3 out of 11 respondents completely stopped consumption of gutka or any other tobacco product, whereas the rests switched to other tobacco products. All the respondents were aware about gutka ban and agreed that its a good step to reduce its consumption; however, most of them felt that the ban has not been implemented properly. According to them, the vendors still manage to sell gutka to their known regular customers. Since the ban has helped in compelling most of the users to quit gutka, it clearly implies that enforcement of ban with proper implementation is required to diminish gutka consumption among people.

How to cite this article
Dhumal GG, Gupta PC. Assessment of Gutka Ban in Maharashtra: Findings from a Focus Group Discussion. Int J Head Neck Surg 2013;4(3):115-118.
Study of Cytodiagnosis of Head and Neck Neoplastic Lesions and Comparison with Histopathology
Authors: Amit Maniyar U , Patel Harshid Laxmanbhai , Parmar BH 
Published: November 2013

ABSTRACT

Introduction
The development of aspiration cytology is one of the biggest advances in anatomic pathology. Cancer has become one of the 10 leading causes of death in India. Head and neck neoplasia is a major form of cancer in India, accounting for 23% of all cancers in males and 6% in females. The advantages of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) are: it is safe, sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of malignancy, gives a rapid report, requires little equipment, causes minimal discomfort to the patient, is an out patient procedure, repeatable and cost effective avoids the use of frozen section, reduces the rate of exploratory procedures and allows a definitive diagnosis of inoperable cases. FNAC is of particular relevance in head and neck lesions because of easy assessibility, excellent patient compliance, minimally invasive nature of procedure and helping to avoid surgery in non-neoplastic lesions, inflammatory conditions and also some tumors.

Aims and objectives
To test the utility of FNAC, to establish the diagnostic accuracy of cytology by comparison with histopathology diagnosis and to establish the sensitivity and specificity of this technique in head and neck neoplastic lesion.

Materials and methods
The present study was undertaken in the Department of Pathology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Nashik, between January 2008 and June 2009.

Results
In the present study, maximum number of aspirates from head and neck neoplastic lesions were found to be of lymph nodes (56.37%). Of the total 378 cases, 71.69% were malignant. 6th decade was the most common age group affected (26.46%). Mean age group was found to be 45.84 years. Males were more commonly affected (65.34%). The male to female ratio was 1.8:1. Out of 92 cases available for follow-up, 85.87% of the cases were same as histopathological diagnosis.

Summary and conclusion
Excisional biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosis of head and neck neoplastic lesion, cytological study can establish the diagnosis of the majority of head and neck neoplastic lesions and can be recommended as an adjunct to histopathology.

How to cite this article
Amit MU, Patel HL, Parmar BH. Study of Cytodiagnosis of Head and Neck Neoplastic Lesions and Comparison with Histopathology. Int J Head Neck Surg 2013; 4(3):119-122.
Neurilemmoma of the Hard Palate: Report of a Case and Review of Literature
Authors: Mishra Aradhana , Jayalakshmi V , Chikhale Nitin P , Patel Richa D , Cherian Susan , Chaturvedi Uma Pankaj 
Published: November 2013

ABSTRACTNeurilemmoma, also known as schwannoma, is a benign tumor arising from the neural sheath Schwann cells. This tumor has a predilection for the head and neck region but it is rarely found in the oral cavity (1%) where tongue is reported to be the favored site. We report a rare case of neurilemmoma of the hard palate along with a review of literature of this entity.How to cite this articleChikhale NP, Mishra A, Patel RD, Chaturvedi UP, Jayalakshmi V, Cherian S. Neurilemmoma of the Hard Palate: Report of a Case and Review of Literature. Int J Head Neck Surg 2013;4(3):123-125.
Complete Second Branchial Fistula: A Study of Four Cases
Authors: Shinde KJ 
Published: November 2013

ABSTRACTObjectiveComplete branchial cleft fistulae are rare anomalies of branchial cleft apparatus. Incomplete fistulae are more common to occur which may not be symptomatic at all and neglected as it do not give rise to recurrent infection. W hile complete brancial fistula gives persistent symptom of discharge from the fistula. This is a report of four cases of complete branchial fistulae which were diagnosed and treated surgically in a span of 2 years in the Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Rural Medical College and Pravara Rural Hospital, Loni. The main objective of this report is the use of fistulogram for the diagnosis and complete excision of fistula including the both inner and outer ends of fistulae.Case reportFour cases were reported in the age group between 11 and 22 years who presented with an intermittent mucoid discharge from an external opening in the neck since birth with right to left ratio being 4:1 and male:female ratio being 1:1 and were diagnosed to have a second branchial cleft fistula. A preoperative fistulogram revealed the tracts up to the tonsillar fossa with connection over the skin surface in the neck. Complete excision of the tracts were done by a two-step or step ladder neck incision.ConclusionThough second branchial fistulae are common, complete fistulae are rare with its complete excision. The report also stresses on the importance of a preoperative fistulogram for the preoperative diagnosis and correct complete surgical treatment.How to cite this articleShinde KJ. Complete Second Branchial Fistula: A Study of Four Cases. Int J Head Neck Surg 2013;4(3):129-132.
Schwannoma Base of Tongue: Report of a Rare Case and Review of Literature
Authors: Singh Hitendra Prakash , Agarwal SP , Verma Nidhi , Vashistha Madhukar , Chaddha Amit , Babu Suresh 
Published: November 2013

ABSTRACTSchwannomas or neurilemmomas are benign, slow growing, usually solitary and encapsulated tumor, originating from Schwann cells of the nerve sheath. Extracranially, 25% of all schwannomas are located in the head and neck region. The intraoral lesions show a predilection for the tongue, followed by the palate, buccal mucosa, lips and gingiva respectively. Among these, base of tongue schwannoma are extremely rare. Schwannomas involving the tongue base remain asymptomatic unless they attain appreciable size. Diagnostic investigations include ultrasound scanning, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and fine-needle aspiration cytology. MRI is superior to other imaging modalities for the examination of the base of the tongue. The definitive diagnosis is based on histopathology. Surgical excision or enucleation with preserve nerve function is the treatment of choice for this rare tumor. The most common approach for complete excision is transoral route for base of tongue schwannoma. Authors report a case of base of tongue schwannoma which was treated with surgery by transoral route.How to cite this articleSingh HP, Kumar S, Verma N, Vashistha M, Chaddha A, Agarwal SP, Babu S. Schwannoma Base of Tongue: Report of a Rare Case and Review of Literature. Int J Head Neck Surg 2013;4(3):133-135.
Foreign Body Pyriform Sinus: A Rare Presentation
Authors: Meher Ravi , Rana Kanika , Bhargava Eishaan Kamta 
Published: November 2013

ABSTRACTForeign body ingestion is a common clinical problem. Here we present an unusual case of a foreign body (needle) that got embedded in the lateral wall of pyriform sinus (PFS) and could not be retrieved via rigid esophagoscopy. The foreign body could not be visualized on neck exploration and was located by palpation of the mucosa of the lateral wall of PFS and use of a sterile magnet.How to cite this articleRana K, Meher R, W adhwa V, Bhargava EK. Foreign Body Pyriform Sinus: A Rare Presentation. Int J Head Neck Surg 2013;4(3):142-144.
Competition of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti M.) weed with cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Economic damage threshold
Authors: Cortés J. A. , Mendiola M. A. , Castejón M. 
Published: November 2013

The effect of the weed Abutilon theophrasti M. (common name: velvetleaf) on the growth of cotton grown in the Guadalquivir Valley, was studied by examining the influence of weed density on growth of the weed and that of cotton. Velvetleaf impeded normal cotton growth caused production losses as a result of the stress the cotton was subjected to. Additionally there was competition among velvet leaf plants at high velvet leaf densities. The influence of velvetleaf density in coexistence with cotton has been also studied evaluating weed effect on the biomass of cotton and its production. Additional determinations included the velvetleaf seed production capacity per unit area and seed production per plant. These determinations were adjusted to hyperbolic, inverse linear and logistic models. Last, the economic damage threshold (EDT) was calculated using the efficiency level in control of velvetleaf in cotton. In this calculation the treatment cost and losses caused by the weed, in the crop, were taken into account. The EDT varied between 0.1 and 0.5 velvetleaf plant m-2, depending on the control methods used.
Spontaneous formation of nonspherical water ice grains in a plasma environment
Authors: Chai Kil‐Byoung , Bellan Paul M. 
Published: November 2013

AbstractSaturn's rings, terrestrial polar mesospheric clouds, and astrophysical molecular clouds are all dusty plasma environments where tiny grains of water ice are an important constituent. Existing models typically assume that the ice grains are spherical and then invoke various arguments about the normal distribution or the power law dependence of grain number density on grain radius. Using a laboratory plasma in which water ice grains spontaneously form, we investigated the validity of the traditional assumption that these grains are spherical. We found that in certain cases at low ambient pressures, water ice grains in the laboratory dusty plasma are not spherical but instead are highly elongated, i.e., ellipsoidal. Preliminary analysis suggests that electrical forces associated with the dusty plasma environment are responsible for the nonspherical shape.
An observational and theoretical study of the longitudinal variation in neutral temperature induced by aurora heating in the lower thermosphere
Authors: Xu Jiyao , Smith A. K. , Wang Wenbin , Jiang Guoying , Yuan Wei , Gao Hong , Yue Jia , Funke B. , López‐Puertas M. , Russell James M. 
Published: November 2013

AbstractIn this paper, observations by thermosphere, ionosphere, mesosphere energetics and dynamics/Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry from 2002 to 2012 and by Envisat/Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) from 2008 to 2009 are used to study the longitudinal structure of temperature in the lower thermosphere. In order to remove the longitudinal structure induced by tides, diurnally averaged SABER temperatures are used. For MIPAS data, we use averaged temperatures between day and night. The satellite observations show that there are strong longitudinal variations in temperature in the high‐latitude lower thermosphere that persist over all seasons. The peak of the diurnally averaged temperature in the lower thermosphere always occurs around the auroral zone. A clear asymmetry between the two hemispheres in the longitudinal temperature structure is observed, being more pronounced in the Southern than in the Northern Hemisphere. In both hemispheres, the longitudinal variation is dominated by the first harmonic in longitude. The total radiative cooling observed by SABER has a structure in longitude that is similar to that of temperature. Modeling simulations using the Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Electrodynamics General Circulation Model reproduce similar features of the longitudinal variations of temperature in the lower thermosphere. Comparison of two model runs with and without auroral heating confirms that auroral heating causes the observed longitudinal variations. The multiyear averaged vertical structures of temperature observed by the two satellite instruments indicate that the impact of auroral heating on the thermodynamics of the neutral atmosphere can penetrate down to about 105 km.
A noise‐aware combination of dual‐frequency measurements from GPS radio occultation
Authors: Wee Tae‐Kwon , Kuo Ying‐Hwa 
Published: November 2013

AbstractOne of the fundamental difficulties that arise when using GPS Radio Occultation (RO) data in exploiting the stratosphere is that the air becomes rarefied with increasing height and accentuates the ionospheric effect and noise contained in the measurement. Customarily, the conventional linear combination (CLC) is used to extract neutral atmospheric components from dual‐frequency (L1 and L2) RO data. The CLC combines and magnifies measurement noises, and thus works well only for those measurements of low noise. Although the L1 data are of considerably higher quality than the L2 data, the CLC does not take this into account and treats both equally; this makes the CLC‐produced data less attractive. The authors propose a new approach, named Noise‐Aware Combination (NAC), which is a generalized combination that factors in the presence of measurement noise. In this NAC method, the L1 and L2 data are each regarded independently, with each contributing to the combination according to its dynamically assessed accuracy. The performance of both the CLC and NAC are tested with two sets of data: one of synthetic data and the other of real data. The tests confirm that the NAC yields significant error reductions when compared to the CLC. While the noise in the CLC‐produced data stands out in high altitudes and compels the data to be blended with the a priori, the NAC relies far less on this blending. The clear advantage of the NAC over the CLC would greatly enhance the value of RO for climate research.
Direct estimation of land surface albedo from VIIRS data: Algorithm improvement and preliminary validation
Authors: Wang Dongdong , Liang Shunlin , He Tao , Yu Yunyue 
Published: November 2013

AbstractLand surface albedo (LSA), part of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) surface albedo environmental data record (EDR), is an essential variable regulating shortwave energy exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere. Two sub‐algorithms, the dark pixel sub‐algorithm (DPSA) and the bright pixel sub‐algorithm (BPSA), were proposed for retrieving LSA from VIIRS data. The BPSA estimates LSA directly from VIIRS top‐of‐atmosphere (TOA) reflectance through simulation of atmospheric radiative transfer. Several changes have been made to improve the BPSA since the deployment of VIIRS. A database of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) is collected and converted to bidirectional reflectance at VIIRS bands. The converted reflectance is then used as input to the atmospheric radiative transfer model to generate a look‐up table (LUT) of regression coefficients with consideration of surface BRDF. Before its implementation in the operational system, the new BPSA is tested on the local infrastructure. The incorporation of the surface BRDF improves the accuracy of LSA estimation and reduces the temporal variation of LSA over stable surfaces. VIIRS LSA retrievals agree well with the MODIS albedo products. Comparison with field measurements at seven Surface Radiation (SURFRAD) Network sites shows that VIIRS LSA retrieved from the LUT with surface BRDF has an R2 value of 0.80 and root mean square error of 0.049, better than MODIS albedo products. The VIIRS results have a slight negative bias of 0.004, whereas the MODIS albedo is underestimated with a larger negative bias of 0.026.
Hydrodynamic and suspended sediment transport controls on river mouth morphology
Authors: Falcini F. , Piliouras A. , Garra R. , Guerin A. , Jerolmack D. J. , Rowland J. , Paola C. 
Published: November 2013

AbstractRiver mouths building into standing bodies of water have strikingly varied growth habits. This presents a compelling pattern formation problem that is also of great practical relevance for subsurface prediction and managing coastal wetlands. Here we present a generalized 2.5‐dimensional potential vorticity (PV) theory that explains sedimentation patterns of a sediment‐laden stationary jet by coupling an understanding of vorticity with suspended sediment concentration fields. We explore the physical meaning of this new sediment‐PV definition, and its impact on outflow depositional patterns, by analyzing data from a shallow wall‐bounded plane jet experiment and by discussing new theoretical insights. A key result is that lateral advection and diffusion of suspended sediment are directly proportional to jet vorticity, a feature that reveals the mechanistic process that forms elongated channels by focused levee deposition. The new PV theory constitutes a more generalized mathematical framework that expands the Rouse theory for the equilibrium of suspended sediment.
Dynamics of hydrogen peroxide in a coral reef: Sources and sinks
Authors: Shaked Yeala , Armoza‐Zvuloni Rachel 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe dynamics of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was studied in the fringing coral reef off the coast of Eilat, Red Sea. Diurnal changes in H2O2 concentrations in the reef lagoon were typical of photochemically produced species. During the daytime H2O2 accumulated in the lagoon at low tide and exceeded open water concentrations by 100–250 nM. Elevated H2O2 decay kinetics (termed hereafter antioxidant activity) were also recorded in the lagoon at low tide. The observed antioxidant activities were high enough to moderate H2O2 accumulation in the lagoon. In pursuit of the antioxidant source, the ability of corals to release antioxidant activity to their surrounding water was examined in both natural and laboratory settings. Water collected in situ from surfaces of individual corals and next to a coral knoll contained high antioxidant activity. Incubation experiments revealed that many Red Sea corals release antioxidant activity to their external milieu. Besides serving a potential antioxidant source to the reef system, the antioxidant activity detected on coral surfaces enabled corals to lower H2O2 concentrations in their vicinity. The ability of corals to offset exogenous H2O2 was validated in incubations with Stylophora pistillata in the absence of mixing. Conversely, corals subjected to mixing in a beaker were found to release H2O2, implying that corals may act as both a sink and a source for H2O2 in the reef. This newly described ability of corals to change H2O2 dynamics by releasing both H2O2 and antioxidants may bare important implications for coral physiology and interactions with the environment.
Algal biomass conversion to bioethanol – a step‐by‐step assessment
Authors: Harun Razif , Yip Jason W. S. , Thiruvenkadam Selvakumar , Ghani Wan A. W. A. K. , Cherrington Tamara , Danquah Michael K. 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe continuous growth in global population and the ongoing development of countries such as China and India have contributed to a rapid increase in worldwide energy demand. Fossil fuels such as oil and gas are finite resources, and their current rate of consumption cannot be sustained. This, coupled with fossil fuels' role as pollutants and their contribution to global warming, has led to increased interest in alternative sources of energy production. Bioethanol, presently produced from energy crops, is one such promising alternative future energy source and much research is underway in optimizing its production. The economic and temporal constraints that crop feedstocks pose are the main downfalls in terms of the commercial viability of bioethanol production. As an alternative to crop feedstocks, significant research efforts have been put into utilizing algal biomass as a feedstock for bioethanol production. Whilst the overall process can vary, the conversion of biomass to bioethanol usually contains the following steps: (i) pretreatment of feedstock; (ii) hydrolysis; and (iii) fermentation of bioethanol. This paper reviews different technologies utilized in the pretreatment and fermentation steps, and critically assesses their applicability to bioethanol production from algal biomass. Two different established fermentation routes, single‐stage fermentation and two‐stage gasification/fermentation processes, are discussed. The viability of algal biomass as an alternative feedstock has been assessed adequately, and further research optimisation must be guided toward the development of cost‐effective scalable methods to produce high bioethanol yield under optimum economy.