LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
ggstThe role of tendon microcirculation in Achilles and patellar tendinopathy

Tendinopathy is of distinct interest as it describes a painful tendon disease with local tenderness, swelling and pain associated with sonographic features such as hypoechogenic texture and diameter enlargement. Recent research elucidated microcirculatory changes in tendinopathy using laser Doppler flowmetry and spectrophotometry such as at the Achilles tendon, the patellar tendon as well as at the elbow and the wrist level. Tendon capillary blood flow is increased at the point of pain. Tendon oxygen saturation as well as tendon postcapillary venous filling pressures, determined non-invasively using combined Laser Doppler flowmetry and spectrophotometry, can quantify, in real-time, how tendon microcirculation changes over with pathology or in response to a given therapy. Tendon oxygen saturation can be increased by repetitive, intermittent short-term ice applications in Achilles tendons; this corresponds to 'ischemic preconditioning', a method used to train tissue to sustain ischemic damage. On the other hand, decreasing tendon oxygenation may reflect local acidosis and deteriorating tendon metabolism. Painful eccentric training, a common therapy for Achilles, patellar, supraspinatus and wrist tendinopathy decreases abnormal capillary tendon flow without compromising local tendon oxygenation. Combining an Achilles pneumatic wrap with eccentric training changes tendon microcirculation in a different way than does eccentric training alone; both approaches reduce pain in Achilles tendinopathy. The microcirculatory effects of measures such as extracorporeal shock wave therapy as well as topical nitroglycerine application are to be studied in tendinopathy as well as the critical question of dosage and maintenance. Interestingly it seems that injection therapy using color Doppler for targeting the area of neovascularisation yields to good clinical results with polidocanol sclerosing therapy, but also with a combination of epinephrine and lidocaine.
Unsteady Boundary Layer Flow over a Stretching Sheet in a Micropolar Fluid

Unsteady boundary layer flow of an incompressible micropolar fluid over a stretching sheet when the sheet is stretched in its own plane is studied in this paper. The stretching velocity is assumed to vary linearly with the distance along the sheet. Two equal and opposite forces are impulsively applied along the x-axis so that the sheet is stretched, keeping the origin fixed in a micropolar fluid. The transformed unsteady boundary layer equations are solved numerically using the Keller-box method for the whole transient from the initial state to final steady-state flow. Numerical results are obtained for the velocity and microrotation distributions as well as the skin friction coefficient for various values of the material parameter K. It is found that there is a smooth transition from the small-time solution to the large-time solution. Keywords—Boundary layer, micropolar fluid, stretching surface, unsteady flow.
Gas fire from mud volcanoes as a trigger for the appearance of high-temperature pyrometamorphic rocks of the Hatrurim Formation (Dead Sea area)

Rock complexes of the Hatrurim Formation are largely confined to axial parts of gentle anticlinal uplifts. The rocks are partly localized in the complicating synclines on near-horizontal Campanian strata (Mishash Formation). The platform cover of this area is crosscut by a young rift valley and is divided by faults into blocks. The Hatrurim basin hosted in one of the blocks associates with the synclinal structure (8 × 5 km), the eastern limb of which is bordered by listric walls of the Dead Sea Rift valley (Fig. 3). The block is surrounded by anticlines with small gas (Zoar, Kidod, and Haqanaim) and oil (Zuk-Tamrur and Gurim) traps. The rift valley is characterized by salt diapirism (Sdom Dome). Asphaltene, bitumen, and oil occurrences are observed in coastal areas of the Dead Sea [8]. Numerous natural cataclysms related to bitumen burning and gas explosions are mentioned in biblical history. The landscapes of the Hatrurim, Ma’ale Adummim, Jabel Harmun, and Hyrcania complexes are distinguished in the surrounding cuesta topography characteristic of sedimentary sequences of the Judea Mountains and the Negev Desert. The relief of the Hatrurim basin is marked by several hundred newly formed cones largely composed of mud breccia. In some places, the breccias are characterized by vague bedding discordant with that of host sedimentary rocks. In the southern part of the basin, small individual cones and their chains are located on the eroded surface of the phosphorite and cherty Mishash Formation. In the north, large cones crown the mud breccia. The Ma’ale Adummim and Hyrcania complexes are characterized by a specific relief (truncated cones a few kilometers across at the base and an order of magnitude lower in height). The MZ complexes (particularly, Maqarin) in Jordan are feebly marked. Breccias are distributed through the entire section of the Hatrurim basin (Fig. 4). Rock fragments are composed of chalk, marl, and dolomite with subordinate cherts and phosphorites of the Mishash Formation.
Learning Abstract Options

Building systems that autonomously create temporal abstractions from data is a key challenge in scaling learning and planning in reinforcement learning. One popular approach for addressing this challenge is the options framework [41]. However, only recently in [1] was a policy gradient theorem derived for online learning of general purpose options in an end to end fashion. In this work, we extend previous work on this topic that only focuses on learning a two-level hierarchy including options and primitive actions to enable learning simultaneously at multiple resolutions in time. We achieve this by considering an arbitrarily deep hierarchy of options where high level temporally extended options are composed of lower level options with finer resolutions in time. We extend results from [1] and derive policy gradient theorems for a deep hierarchy of options. Our proposed hierarchical option-critic architecture is capable of learning internal policies, termination conditions, and hierarchical compositions over options without the need for any intrinsic rewards or subgoals. Our empirical results in both discrete and continuous environments demonstrate the efficiency of our framework.
Factors associated with career satisfaction and burnout among US neurosurgeons: results of a nationwide survey.

UNLABELLED
OBJECT :The object of this study was to identify and quantify predictors of burnout and career satisfaction among US neurosurgeons.


METHODS
All US members (3247) of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) were invited to participate in a survey between September and December 2012. Responses were evaluated through univariate analysis. Factors independently associated with burnout and career satisfaction were determined using multivariable logistic regression. Subgroup analysis of academic and nonacademic neurosurgeons was performed as well.


RESULTS
The survey response rate was 24% (783 members). The majority of respondents were male, 40-60 years old, in a stable relationship, with children, working in a group or university practice, and trained in a subspecialty. More than 80% of respondents reported being at least somewhat satisfied with their career, and 70% would choose a career in neurosurgery again; however, only 26% of neurosurgeons believed their professional lives would improve in the future, and 52% believed it would worsen. The overall burnout rate was 56.7%. Factors independently associated with both burnout and career satisfaction included achieving a balance between work and life outside the hospital (burnout OR 0.45, satisfaction OR 10.0) and anxiety over future earnings and/or health care reform (burnout OR 1.96, satisfaction OR 0.32). While the burnout rate for nonacademic neurosurgeons (62.9%) was higher than that for academic neurosurgeons (47.7%), academicians who had practiced for over 20 years were less likely to be satisfied with their careers.


CONCLUSIONS
The rates of burnout and career satisfaction were both high in this survey study of US neurosurgeons. The negative effects of burnout on the lives of surgeons, patients, and their families require further study and probably necessitate the development of interventional programs at local, regional, and even national levels.
Pregabalin beneficial effects on sleep quality or health-related quality of life are poorly correlated with reduction on pain intensity after an 8-week treatment course.

BACKGROUND
Pregabalin (PGB) has been shown to improve sleep quality and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as well as pain intensity in patients with neuropathic pain.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to explore the magnitude of the correlations between changes in pain intensity, sleep quality, and HRQoL after PGB treatment.


METHODS
One hundred thirty-eight patients with neuropathic pain of any origin and without an adequate response to analgesics received an 8-week treatment course of PGB in an open-label fashion. Pain intensity, sleep quality, and HRQoL outcomes were evaluated at baseline and at week 8 by means of an 11-point (0-10) numerical rating scale (NRS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the EuroQol health-state visuoanalogic scale (EQ-5D VAS) score, respectively.


RESULTS
At week 8, mean PGB dose was 166.7 ± 7.8 mg/d. Pain intensity NRS score, PSQI total score, and EQ-5D VAS score were improved by 66.5% ± 1.9%, 40.0% ± 3.6%, and 26.4% ± 4.7% (all P < 0.01), respectively. Correlations between percent change from baseline in pain NRS score and PSQI total score or EQ-5D VAS scores were r = 0.36 (P < 0.01, R = 0.11) and r = -0.20 (P < 0.02, R = 0.05), respectively. A multivariate logistic regression analysis disclosed that PSQI score change below the median (ie, a better outcome) was related to higher EQ-5D VAS score change (odds ratio, 2.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-4.25), whereas pain intensity NRS score change below the median was not (odds ratio, 1.58; 95% confidence interval,0.78-3.23).


CONCLUSIONS
In our study, PGB-related improvements in sleep quality and HRQoL were marginally related to reductions in pain intensity in patients with neuropathic pain. Improvement in sleep quality was a significant predictor of better HRQoL, whereas pain intensity reduction was not.
Ambitious Educational Projects as a Driving Force for Software Development

In the pre-www era, dating back to 1987, schools required a communication system for collaboration. A requirements specification was established that focused on user friendliness, flexibility, distributed databases, and the transmission of formatted documents and pictures. During this era Transmission control protocol/Internet protocol TCP/IP communication was used, which is now known as the Internet.
Dancing-to-Music Character Animation

1. T. Shiratori, A. Nakazawa, K. Ikeuchi, “Dancing-to-Music Character Animation”, In Computer Graphics Forum, Vol. 25, No. 3 (also in Eurographics 2006), Sep. 2006 (to appear) 2. T. Shiratori, A. Nakazawa, K. Ikeuchi, “Synthesizing Dance Performance Using Musical and Motion Features”, In Proc. of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2006), May 2006 A Dancing-to-Music ability for CG characters & humanoids
Through-focus performance with multifocal contact lenses: effect of binocularity, pupil diameter and inherent ocular aberrations.

PURPOSE
To evaluate the effects of the wearer's pupil size and spherical aberration on visual performance with centre-near, aspheric multifocal contact lenses (MFCLs). The advantage of binocular over monocular vision was also investigated.


METHODS
Twelve young volunteers, with an average age of 27 ± 5 years, participated in the study. LogMAR Visual Acuity (VA) was measured under cycloplegia for a range of defocus levels (from +3.0 to -3.0 D, in 0.5 D steps) with no correction and with three aspheric MFCLs (Air Optix Aqua Multifocal) with a centre-near design, providing correction for 'Low', 'Med' and 'High' near demands. Measurements were performed for all combinations of the following conditions: (1) artificial pupils of 6 and 3 mm diameter, (2) binocular and monocular (dominant eye) vision. Depth-of-focus (DOF) was calculated from the VA vs defocus curves. Ocular aberrations under cycloplegia were measured using iTrace.


RESULTS
VA at -3.0 D defocus (simulating near performance) was statistically higher for the 3 mm than for the 6 mm pupil (p = 0.006), and for binocular rather than for monocular vision (p < 0.001). Similarly, DOF was better for the 3 mm pupil (p = 0.002) and for binocular viewing conditions (p < 0.001). Both VA at -3.0 D defocus and DOF increased as the 'addition' of the MFCL correction increased. Finally, with the centre-near MFCLs a linear correlation was found between VA at -3.0 D defocus and the wearer's ocular spherical aberration (R(2) = 0.20 p < 0.001 for 6 mm data), with the eyes exhibiting the higher positive spherical aberration experiencing worse VAs. By contrast, no correlation was found between VA and spherical aberration at 0.00 D defocus (distance vision).


CONCLUSIONS
Both near VA and depth-of-focus improve with these MFCLs, with the effects being more pronounced for small pupils and for binocular rather than monocular vision. Coupling of the wearer's ocular spherical aberration with the aberration profiles provided by MFCLs affects their functionality.
Environmental performance of the cement industry in Vietnam: the influence of ISO 14001 certification

This empirical study is the first to analyze the response of Vietnamese cement plants to ISO 14001. The influence of ISO-compliant environmental management systems in Vietnam’s cement industry was studied by examining the differences between preand post-certification and by comparing the results between certified and non-certified cement plants using a questionnaire and environmental indicators. The results of the management performance analysis demonstrated that the environmental awareness and attention in certified plants was better than in the non-certified plants. On operational performance, the results showed significant differences between the certified and non-certified plants on selected environmental indicators like dust, SO2 and NO2 as well as a significant improvement after the adoption of ISO 14001. As a whole, the certified plants performed better than the non-certified ones on management and operational aspects. This study has a twofold wider impact. It shows the methodological difficulties of assessing the impact of environmental management systems in situations of early implementation and low company awareness. Moreover, our findings indicate that ISO 14001 has the potential to improve organizations’ environmental performance in a fast-developing country characterized by impressive industrial growth in recent decades. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Therapy-dependent influence of time-to-treatment interval on myocardial salvage in patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with coronary artery stenting or thrombolysis.

BACKGROUND
The relationship between myocardial salvage and time-to-treatment interval in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treated with coronary artery stenting or thrombolysis has not been studied.


METHODS AND RESULTS
This study analyzed 264 patients with AMI randomized to coronary stenting (133 patients) or thrombolysis (131 patients) in the setting of 2 randomized trials. Patients were divided into the following 3 groups defined by tertiles of the time-to-treatment interval: lower tertile (<165 minutes), middle tertile (165 to 280 minutes), and upper tertile (>280 minutes). Paired scintigraphic examinations were performed to obtain salvage index, which was the primary end point of the study. In the group with thrombolysis, the salvage index (median [25th; 75th] percentile) was 0.45 (0.16; 0.83) in the lower, 0.29 (0.17; 0.48) in the middle, and 0.20 (0.04; 0.46) in the upper tertile (P=0.03). In the group with stenting, the salvage index was 0.56 (0.49; 0.75) in the lower, 0.57 (0.36; 0.73) in the middle, and 0.57 (0.32; 0.75) in the upper tertile (P=0.59). In patients treated with stenting, the salvage index was greater than in patients treated with thrombolysis in the lower (0.56 versus 0.45, P=0.09), middle (0.57 versus 0.29, P=0.0003), and upper (0.57 versus 0.20, P=0.0005) tertiles of the time-to-treatment interval.


CONCLUSIONS
The influence of the time-to-treatment interval on the myocardial salvage in patients with AMI depends on the type of reperfusion therapy. Coronary artery stenting was superior to thrombolysis independent of the time-to-treatment intervals, and the difference in benefit increased with more prolonged time from symptom onset.
Maternal outcomes after 12hours and 24hours of magnesium sulfate therapy for eclampsia.

OBJECTIVE
To assess the effectiveness of a reduced duration (12hours) of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) administration for eclampsia.


METHODS
In a prospective randomized study, women with eclampsia (prepartum, intrapartum, or postpartum) attending Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh, India, between January 2012 and September 2013 were enrolled. The inclusion criteria were blood pressure of at least 140/90mm Hg after 20weeks, proteinuria (dipstick value≥+1), and seizures not attributed to other causes. Participants were assigned to control and study groups according to the time of enrollment (6-month blocks). All patients received a MgSO4 loading dose (4g, intravenously), followed by maintenance doses (1g/hour) for 12hours (study group) and 24hours (control group). The primary outcome was recurrent convulsions after completion of MgSO4 therapy. Patients with treatment failure were excluded from analyses.


RESULTS
Analyses included 132 patients in the study group and 72 patients in the control group. No convulsions recurred in either group after the completion of treatment.


CONCLUSION
For women with eclampsia, 12hours of magnesium sulfate could effectively prevent recurrent convulsions.
Adaptive UKF and Its Application in Fault Tolerant Control of Rotorcraft UAV

Fault tolerant control (FTC) is essential for rotorcraft UAV (RUAV). Due to the inherently unstable dynamics, either flight test or real application of a RUAV is in high risk while a minutial failure may lead to the whole system collapse. In this paper, a novel adaptive unscented Kalman filter (AUKF) is proposed for onboard failure coefficient estimation and a new FTC method is designed against the actuator failure of RUAV. In the AUKF, the error between the covariance matrices of innovation and their corresponding estimations/predictions in normal UKF is utilized as a cost function. Based on the MIT rule, an adaptive algorithm is developed to update the covariance of process noise by minimizing the cost function. The updated covariance is then fed back into the normal UKF. Such an adaptive mechanism intends to release the dependence of UKF on a prior knowledge of the noise environment and improve the convergence speed and estimation accuracy of normal UKF. By introducing the actuator health coefficients (AHCs) into the dynamics equation of a RUAV, the proposed AUKF is utilized to online estimate both the flight states and the AHCs. A fault adaptive control is further designed based on the estimated states and AHCs. Simulations are conducted on the dynamics of a model helicopter developed in Shenyang Institute of Automation. The comparisons between the adaptiveUKF-based FAC and the normal-UKF-based one show the effectiveness and improvements of the proposed method.
Web Image Re-Ranking UsingQuery-Specific Semantic Signatures

Image re-ranking, as an effective way to improve the results of web-based image search, has been adopted by current commercial search engines such as Bing and Google. Given a query keyword, a pool of images are first retrieved based on textual information. By asking the user to select a query image from the pool, the remaining images are re-ranked based on their visual similarities with the query image. A major challenge is that the similarities of visual features do not well correlate with images' semantic meanings which interpret users' search intention. Recently people proposed to match images in a semantic space which used attributes or reference classes closely related to the semantic meanings of images as basis. However, learning a universal visual semantic space to characterize highly diverse images from the web is difficult and inefficient. In this paper, we propose a novel image re-ranking framework, which automatically offline learns different semantic spaces for different query keywords. The visual features of images are projected into their related semantic spaces to get semantic signatures. At the online stage, images are re-ranked by comparing their semantic signatures obtained from the semantic space specified by the query keyword. The proposed query-specific semantic signatures significantly improve both the accuracy and efficiency of image re-ranking. The original visual features of thousands of dimensions can be projected to the semantic signatures as short as 25 dimensions. Experimental results show that 25-40 percent relative improvement has been achieved on re-ranking precisions compared with the state-of-the-art methods.
Automatic Alignment of Fingerprint Features for Fuzzy Fingerprint Vault

Biometrics-based user authentication has several advantages over traditional password-based systems for standalone authentication applications. This is also true for new authentication architectures known as crypto-biometric systems, where cryptography and biometrics are merged to achieve high security and user convenience at the same time. Recently, a cryptographic construct, called fuzzy vault, has been proposed for crypto-biometric systems. This construct aims to secure critical data(e.g., secret encryption key) with the fingerprint data in a way that only the authorized user can access the secret by providing the valid fingerprint, and some implementations results for fingerprint have been reported. However, all the previous results assumed that fingerprint features were pre-aligned, and automatic alignment in the fuzzy vault domain is a challenging issue. In this paper, we perform the automatic alignment of fingerprint features by using the geometric hashing technique which has been used for model-based object recognition applications. Based on the preliminary experimental results, we confirm that the proposed approach can align fingerprint features automatically in the domain of the fuzzy vault and can be integrated with any fuzzy fingerprint vault systems.