LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The lateral transpsoas approach to the lumbar and thoracic spine: A review

BACKGROUND
In the last several years, the lateral transpsoas approach to the thoracic and lumbar spine, also known as extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF) or direct lateral interbody fusion (DLIF), has become an increasingly common method to achieve fusion. Several recent large series describe several advantages to this approach, including less tissue dissection, smaller incisions, decreased operative time, blood loss, shorter hospital stay, reduced postoperative pain, enhanced fusion rates, and the ability to place instrumentation through the same incision. Indications for this approach have expanded and now include degenerative disease, tumor, deformity, and infection.


METHODS
A lateral X-ray confirms that the patient is in a truly lateral position. Next, a series of tubes and dilators are used, along with fluoroscopy, to identify the mid-position of the disk to be incised. After continued dilation, the optimal site to enter the disk space is the midpoint of the disk, or a position slightly anterior to the midpoint of the disk. XLIF typically allows for a larger implant to be inserted compared to TLIF or PLIF, and, if necessary, instrumentation can be inserted percutaneously, which would allow for an overall minimally invasive procedure.


RESULTS
Fixation techniques appear to be equal between XLIF and more traditional approaches. Some caution should be exercised because common fusion levels of the lumbar spine, including L4-5 and L4-S1, are often inaccessible. In addition, XLIF has a unique set of complications, including neural injuries, psoas weakness, and thigh numbness.


CONCLUSION
Additional studies are required to further evaluate and monitor the short and long-term safety, efficacy, outcomes, and complications of XLIF procedures.
Transmission Expansion Planning of Systems With Increasing Wind Power Integration

This paper proposes an efficient approach for probabilistic transmission expansion planning (TEP) that considers load and wind power generation uncertainties. The Benders decomposition algorithm in conjunction with Monte Carlo simulation is used to tackle the proposed probabilistic TEP. An upper bound on total load shedding is introduced in order to obtain network solutions that have an acceptable probability of load curtailment. The proposed approach is applied on Garver six-bus test system and on IEEE 24-bus reliability test system. The effect of contingency analysis, load and mainly wind production uncertainties on network expansion configurations and costs is investigated. It is shown that the method presented can be used effectively to study the effect of increasing wind power integration on TEP of systems with high wind generation uncertainties.
Classification using partial least squares with penalized logistic regression

MOTIVATION
One important aspect of data-mining of microarray data is to discover the molecular variation among cancers. In microarray studies, the number n of samples is relatively small compared to the number p of genes per sample (usually in thousands). It is known that standard statistical methods in classification are efficient (i.e. in the present case, yield successful classifiers) particularly when n is (far) larger than p. This naturally calls for the use of a dimension reduction procedure together with the classification one.


RESULTS
In this paper, the question of classification in such a high-dimensional setting is addressed. We view the classification problem as a regression one with few observations and many predictor variables. We propose a new method combining partial least squares (PLS) and Ridge penalized logistic regression. We review the existing methods based on PLS and/or penalized likelihood techniques, outline their interest in some cases and theoretically explain their sometimes poor behavior. Our procedure is compared with these other classifiers. The predictive performance of the resulting classification rule is illustrated on three data sets: Leukemia, Colon and Prostate.
Minimum Cost Fault Tolerant Adder Circuits in Reversible Logic Synthesis

Conventional circuit dissipates energy to reload missing information because of overlapped mapping between input and output vectors. Reversibility recovers energy loss and prevents bit error by including Fault Tolerant mechanism. Reversible Computing is gaining the popularity of various fields such as Quantum Computing, DNA Informatics and CMOS Technology etc. In this paper, we have proposed the fault tolerant design of Reversible Full Adder (RFT-FA) with minimum quantum cost. Also we have proposed the cost effective design of Carry Skip Adder (CSA) and Carry Look-Ahead Adder (CLA) circuits by using proposed fault tolerant full adder circuit. The regular structures of n-bit Reversible Fault Tolerant Carry Skip Adder (RFT-CSA) and Carry Look-ahead Adder (RFT-CLA) by composing several theorems. Proposed designs have been populated by merging the minimization of total gates, garbage outputs, quantum cost and critical path delay criterion and comparing with exiting designs.
Enhancing SOM Based Data Visualization

The Self-Organizing Map (SOM) is an eeective data exploration tool. One of the reasons for this is that it is conceptually very simple and its visualization is easy. In this paper, we propose new ways to enhance the visualization capabilities of the SOM in three areas: clustering, correlation hunting, and novelty detection. These enhancements are illustrated by various examples using real-world data.
Nerve transfers in tetraplegia I: Background and technique

BACKGROUND
The recovery of hand function is consistently rated as the highest priority for persons with tetraplegia. Recovering even partial arm and hand function can have an enormous impact on independence and quality of life of an individual. Currently, tendon transfers are the accepted modality for improving hand function. In this procedure, the distal end of a functional muscle is cut and reattached at the insertion site of a nonfunctional muscle. The tendon transfer sacrifices the function at a lesser location to provide function at a more important location. Nerve transfers are conceptually similar to tendon transfers and involve cutting and connecting a healthy but less critical nerve to a more important but paralyzed nerve to restore its function.


METHODS
We present a case of a 28-year-old patient with a C5-level ASIA B (international classification level 1) injury who underwent nerve transfers to restore arm and hand function. Intact peripheral innervation was confirmed in the paralyzed muscle groups corresponding to finger flexors and extensors, wrist flexors and extensors, and triceps bilaterally. Volitional control and good strength were present in the biceps and brachialis muscles, the deltoid, and the trapezius. The patient underwent nerve transfers to restore finger flexion and extension, wrist flexion and extension, and elbow extension. Intraoperative motor-evoked potentials and direct nerve stimulation were used to identify donor and recipient nerve branches.


RESULTS
The patient tolerated the procedure well, with a preserved function in both elbow flexion and shoulder abduction.


CONCLUSIONS
Nerve transfers are a technically feasible means of restoring the upper extremity function in tetraplegia in cases that may not be amenable to tendon transfers.
Security and Privacy Challenges in Cloud Computing Environments

Cloud computing is an evolving paradigm with tremendous momentum, but its unique aspects exacerbate security and privacy challenges. This article explores the roadblocks and solutions to providing a trustworthy cloud computing environment.
A fuzzy inhomogenous multiattribute group decision making approach to solve outsourcing provider selection problems

Considering various situations and characteristics of supply chain management, we regard the outsourcing provider selection as a type of fuzzy inhomogenous multiattribute group decision making (MAGDM) problems with fuzzy alternatives’ comparisons and incomplete weight information. Hereby we focus on developing a new fuzzy linear programming method for solving such MAGDM problems. In this method, the decision makers’ preferences are given through pair-wise alternatives’ comparisons with fuzzy truth degrees represented as trapezoidal fuzzy numbers (TrFNs). Intuitionistic fuzzy sets, TrFNs, intervals and real numbers are used to express the inhomogenous decision information. Under the condition that the fuzzy positive ideal solution (PIS) and fuzzy negative ideal solution (NIS) are known, the fuzzy consistency and inconsistency indices are defined on the basis of the relative closeness degrees and expressed with TrFNs. The attribute weights are estimated through constructing a new fuzzy linear programming model, which is solved by the developed method of fuzzy linear programming with TrFNs. Through solving the constructed linear goal programming model, we obtain the collective comprehensive relative closeness degrees of alternatives to the fuzzy PIS, which are used to rank the alternatives. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified with an example of IT outsourcing provider selection. 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
An empirical assessment of households sorting into private schooling under public education provision

We estimate structural quantile treatment effects to analyze the relationship between household income and sorting into private or public education, using Italian data. Public education provision is redistributive when rich families, who contribute to its financing, find it optimal to sort out of the public system to buy the educational services in the private market. This may occur when the education quality is lower in the public compared to the private sector, meaning that households with higher income capacity face lower opportunity costs from sorting out of the public system. We exploit heterogeneity in expected tax deductions to exogenously manipulate the distribution of net of taxes income, equalized by family needs, and explore the consequences of this manipulation on various quantiles of the distribution of the amount of the educational transfers in-kind accruing to the households, valuing public education. We find that an increase in income reduces the amount of educational transfers in-kind (i) more for higher quantiles of the educational transfers in-kind, indicating that households with higher preferences for quality sort out of the public education system; (ii) more for lower quantiles of the households’ income capacity, indicating that richer households receive lower transfers for a given preference quality.
Did a quality improvement collaborative make stroke care better? A cluster randomized trial

BACKGROUND
Stroke can result in death and long-term disability. Fast and high-quality care can reduce the impact of stroke, but UK national audit data has demonstrated variability in compliance with recommended processes of care. Though quality improvement collaboratives (QICs) are widely used, whether a QIC could improve reliability of stroke care was unknown.


METHODS
Twenty-four NHS hospitals in the Northwest of England were randomly allocated to participate either in Stroke 90:10, a QIC based on the Breakthrough Series (BTS) model, or to a control group giving normal care. The QIC focused on nine processes of quality care for stroke already used in the national stroke audit. The nine processes were grouped into two distinct care bundles: one relating to early hours care and one relating to rehabilitation following stroke. Using an interrupted time series design and difference-in-difference analysis, we aimed to determine whether hospitals participating in the QIC improved more than the control group on bundle compliance.


RESULTS
Data were available from nine interventions (3,533 patients) and nine control hospitals (3,059 patients). Hospitals in the QIC showed a modest improvement from baseline in the odds of average compliance equivalent to a relative improvement of 10.9% (95% CI 1.3%, 20.6%) in the Early Hours Bundle and 11.2% (95% CI 1.4%, 21.5%) in the Rehabilitation Bundle. Secondary analysis suggested that some specific processes were more sensitive to an intervention effect.


CONCLUSIONS
Some aspects of stroke care improved during the QIC, but the effects of the QIC were modest and further improvement is needed. The extent to which a BTS QIC can improve quality of stroke care remains uncertain. Some aspects of care may respond better to collaboratives than others.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ISRCTN13893902.
P450s and UGTs: Key Players in the Structural Diversity of Triterpenoid Saponins.

The recent spread of next-generation sequencing techniques has facilitated transcriptome analyses of non-model plants. As a result, many of the genes encoding enzymes related to the production of specialized metabolites have been identified. Compounds derived from 2,3-oxidosqualene (the common precursor of sterols, steroids and triterpenoids), a linear compound of 30 carbon atoms produced through the mevalonate pathway, are called triterpenes. These include essential sterols, which are structural components of biomembranes; steroids such as the plant hormones, brassinolides and the toxin in potatoes, solanine; as well as the structurally diverse triterpenoids. Triterpenoids containing one or more sugar moieties attached to triterpenoid aglycones are called triterpenoid saponins. Triterpenoid saponins have been shown to have various medicinal properties, such as anti-inflammatory, anticancerogenic and antiviral effects. This review summarizes the recent progress in gene discovery and elucidates the biochemical functions of biosynthetic enzymes in triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis. Special focus is placed on key players in generating the structural diversity of triterpenoid saponins, cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) and the UDP-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs). Perspectives on further gene discovery and the use of biosynthetic genes for the microbial production of plant-derived triterpenoid saponins are also discussed.
Ascendance, resistance, resilience : concepts and analyses for designing energy and water systems in a changing climate

VIII
Sync kit: a persistent client-side database caching toolkit for data intensive websites

We introduce a client-server toolkit called Sync Kit that demonstrates how client-side database storage can improve the performance of data intensive websites. Sync Kit is designed to make use of the embedded relational database defined in the upcoming HTML5 standard to offload some data storage and processing from a web server onto the web browsers to which it serves content. Our toolkit provides various strategies for synchronizing relational database tables between the browser and the web server, along with a client-side template library so that portions web applications may be executed client-side. Unlike prior work in this area, Sync Kit persists both templates and data in the browser across web sessions, increasing the number of concurrent connections a server can handle by up to a factor of four versus that of a traditional server-only web stack and a factor of three versus a recent template caching approach.
Prognosis of negative adenosine stress magnetic resonance in patients presenting to an emergency department with chest pain.

OBJECTIVES
This study was designed to determine the diagnostic value of adenosine cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in troponin-negative patients with chest pain.


BACKGROUND
We hypothesized that adenosine CMR could determine which troponin-negative patients with chest pain in an emergency department have coronary artery disease (CAD) or future adverse cardiac events.


METHODS
Adenosine stress CMR was performed on 135 patients who presented to the emergency department with chest pain and had acute myocardial infarction (MI) excluded by troponin-I. The main study outcome was detecting any evidence of significant CAD. Patients were contacted at one year to determine the incidence of significant CAD defined as coronary artery stenosis >50% on angiography, abnormal correlative stress test, new MI, or death.


RESULTS
Adenosine perfusion abnormalities had 100% sensitivity and 93% specificity as the single most accurate component of the CMR examination. Both cardiac risk factors and CMR were significant in Kaplan-Meier analysis (log-rank test, p = 0.0006 and p < 0.0001, respectively). However, an abnormal CMR added significant prognostic value in predicting future diagnosis of CAD, MI, or death over clinical risk factors. In receiver operator curve analysis, adenosine CMR was a more accurate predictor than cardiac risk factors (p < 0.002).


CONCLUSIONS
In patients with chest pain who had MI excluded by troponin-I and non-diagnostic electrocardiograms, an adenosine CMR examination predicted with high sensitivity and specificity which patients had significant CAD during one-year follow-up. Furthermore, no patients with a normal adenosine CMR study had a subsequent diagnosis of CAD or an adverse outcome.
Colonoscopy Withdrawal Time and Risk of Neoplasia at 5 Years: Results From VA Cooperative Studies Program 380

OBJECTIVES:Withdrawal time (WT) has been proposed as a quality indicator for colonoscopy based on evidence that it is directly related to the rate of adenoma detection. Our objective was to test the hypothesis that baseline WT is inversely associated with the risk of finding neoplasia at interval colonoscopy.METHODS:In all, 3,121 subjects, aged 50–75 years, had screening colonoscopy between 1994 and 1997 at 13 Veteran Affairs Medical Centers. In all, 1,193 subjects returned by protocol for surveillance within 5.5 years. In the 304 patients without polyps at baseline, we evaluated the contribution of baseline WT to their risk of interval neoplasia using bivariate and logistic regression analysis. We also examined the correlation between mean WT, baseline adenoma detection rate, and interval neoplasia rate at the medical-center level.RESULTS:The average WT at the baseline exam in subjects with neoplasia on follow-up was 15.3 min as compared with 13.2 min in subjects without neoplasia (P=0.18). In a logistic regression model, WT was not associated with the risk of interval neoplasia (P=0.07). At the medical-center level, mean WT was not correlated with the probability of finding interval neoplasia (P=0.61) but was positively correlated with adenoma detection rate at baseline (P=0.03).CONCLUSIONS:In this study with a mean baseline WT &12 min, there was no detectable association between WT and risk of future neoplasia. The medical center–level WT was positively correlated with adenoma detection. Therefore, above a certain threshold, WT may no longer be an adequate quality measure for screening colonoscopy.
Haploinsufficiency of the gene Quaking (QKI) is associated with the 6q terminal deletion syndrome.

Subtelomeric rearrangements involving chromosome 6q have been reported in a limited number of studies. Although the sizes are very variable, ranging from cytogenetically visible deletions to small submicroscopic deletions, a common recognizable phenotype associated with a 6q deletion could be distilled. The main characteristics are intellectual disabilities, hypotonia, seizures, brain anomalies, and specific dysmorphic features including short neck, broad nose with bulbous tip, large and low-set ears and downturned corners of the mouth. In this article we report on a female patient, carrying a reciprocal balanced translocation t(5;6)(q23.1;q26), presenting with a clinical phenotype highly similar to the common 6q- phenotype. Breakpoint analysis using array painting revealed that the Quaking (QKI) gene that maps in 6q26 is disrupted, suggesting that haploinsufficiency of this gene plays a role in the 6q- clinical phenotype.
Simplifying ART cohort monitoring: Can pharmacy stocks provide accurate estimates of patients retained on antiretroviral therapy in Malawi?

BACKGROUND
Routine monitoring of patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is crucial for measuring program success and accurate drug forecasting. However, compiling data from patient registers to measure retention in ART is labour-intensive. To address this challenge, we conducted a pilot study in Malawi to assess whether patient ART retention could be determined using pharmacy records as compared to estimates of retention based on standardized paper- or electronic based cohort reports.


METHODS
Twelve ART facilities were included in the study: six used paper-based registers and six used electronic data systems. One ART facility implemented an electronic data system in quarter three and was included as a paper-based system facility in quarter two only. Routine patient retention cohort reports, paper or electronic, were collected from facilities for both quarter two [April-June] and quarter three [July-September], 2010. Pharmacy stock data were also collected from the 12 ART facilities over the same period. Numbers of ART continuation bottles recorded on pharmacy stock cards at the beginning and end of each quarter were documented. These pharmacy data were used to calculate the total bottles dispensed to patients in each quarter with intent to estimate the number of patients retained on ART. Information for time required to determine ART retention was gathered through interviews with clinicians tasked with compiling the data.


RESULTS
Among ART clinics with paper-based systems, three of six facilities in quarter two and four of five facilities in quarter three had similar numbers of patients retained on ART comparing cohort reports to pharmacy stock records. In ART clinics with electronic systems, five of six facilities in quarter two and five of seven facilities in quarter three had similar numbers of patients retained on ART when comparing retention numbers from electronically generated cohort reports to pharmacy stock records. Among paper-based facilities, an average of 13 4 hours was needed to calculate patient retention for cohort reporting using patient registers as compared to 2.25 hours using pharmacy stock cards.


CONCLUSION
The numbers of patients retained on ART as estimated using pharmacy stock records were largely similar to estimates based on either paper registers or electronic data system. Furthermore, less time and staff effort was needed to estimate ART patient retention using pharmacy stock records versus paper-based registers. Reinforcing ARV stock management may improve the precision of estimates.
Illumination robust interest point detection

Article history: Received 12 February 2008 Accepted 26 November 2008 Available online xxxx
Direct volume visualization of three-dimensional vector fields

Current techniques for direct volume visualization offer only the ability to examine scalar fields. However most scientific explorations require the examination of vector and possibly tensor fields as well as numerous scalar fields. This paper describes an algorithm to directly render three-dimensional scalar and vector fields. The algorithm uses a combination of sampling and splatting techniques, that are extended to integrate the display of vector field data within the image. Additional