LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Interfragmentary movement in diaphyseal tibia fractures fixed with locked intramedullary nails.

OBJECTIVES
Biomechanical study on cadaveric bones using physiological loading conditions to quantify interfragmentary movements in a tibial shaft fracture model fixed by intramedullary nailing.


METHODS
Six fresh frozen human cadaveric tibiae were sequentially tested in axial, torsional, 4-point bending, and shear loading configurations. Tests were performed in intact specimens and osteotomized specimens equipped with interlocked intramedullary nails. The amount of clearance of the nail within the intramedullary canal was measured on computed tomography scans. Linear and angular deformations of the fragments were continuously measured in all directions to obtain the exact interfragmentary movements.


RESULTS
The amount of movement at the site of the fracture was substantial. Especially shear and torsion resulted in gap movements of up to 10 mm. Movements in the transverse plane were significantly larger than axial movements for all loading conditions. For torsion and bending, a significant portion of the movement of the fracture gap resulted from the flexibility of the intramedullary nail; for compression and shear, the majority of the movement was related to the clearance of the nail within the bone.


CONCLUSIONS
Clearance of the implant within the medullary canal, the flexibility of the implant itself, and the compliance of the implant (nail and locking screws) within the bone determine the extent of movement. The implant flexibility and the clearance are strongly dependent on the thickness of the intramedullary nail.
Length of carotid stenosis predicts peri-procedural stroke or death and restenosis in patients randomized to endovascular treatment or endarterectomy

BACKGROUND
The anatomy of carotid stenosis may influence the outcome of endovascular treatment or carotid endarterectomy. Whether anatomy favors one treatment over the other in terms of safety or efficacy has not been investigated in randomized trials.


METHODS
In 414 patients with mostly symptomatic carotid stenosis randomized to endovascular treatment (angioplasty or stenting; n = 213) or carotid endarterectomy (n = 211) in the Carotid and Vertebral Artery Transluminal Angioplasty Study (CAVATAS), the degree and length of stenosis and plaque surface irregularity were assessed on baseline intraarterial angiography. Outcome measures were stroke or death occurring between randomization and 30 days after treatment, and ipsilateral stroke and restenosis ≥50% during follow-up.


RESULTS
Carotid stenosis longer than 0.65 times the common carotid artery diameter was associated with increased risk of peri-procedural stroke or death after both endovascular treatment [odds ratio 2.79 (1.17-6.65), P = 0.02] and carotid endarterectomy [2.43 (1.03-5.73), P = 0.04], and with increased long-term risk of restenosis in endovascular treatment [hazard ratio 1.68 (1.12-2.53), P = 0.01]. The excess in restenosis after endovascular treatment compared with carotid endarterectomy was significantly greater in patients with long stenosis than with short stenosis at baseline (interaction P = 0.003). Results remained significant after multivariate adjustment. No associations were found for degree of stenosis and plaque surface.


CONCLUSIONS
Increasing stenosis length is an independent risk factor for peri-procedural stroke or death in endovascular treatment and carotid endarterectomy, without favoring one treatment over the other. However, the excess restenosis rate after endovascular treatment compared with carotid endarterectomy increases with longer stenosis at baseline. Stenosis length merits further investigation in carotid revascularisation trials.
WHAT IS SAID AND PSYCHOLOGICAL REALITY; GRICE’S PROJECT AND RELEVANCE THEORISTS’ CRITICISMS One of the most important aspects of Grice’s theory of conversation

One of the most important aspects of Grice’s theory of conversation is the drawing of a borderline between what is said and what is implicated. Grice’s views concerning this borderline have been strongly and influentially criticised by relevance theorists. In particular, it has become increasingly widely accepted that Grice’s notion of what is said is too limited, and that pragmatics has a far larger role to play in determining what is said than Grice would have allowed. (See for example Bezuidenhuit 1996; Blakemore 1987; Carston 1991; Recanati 1991, 1993, 2001; Sperber and Wilson 1986; Wilson and Sperber 1981.) In this paper, I argue that the rejection of Grice has moved too swiftly, as a key line of objection which has led to this rejection is flawed. The flaw, we will see, is that relevance theorists rely on a misunderstanding of Grice’s project in his theory of conversation. I am not arguing that Grice’s versions of saying and implicating are right in all details, but simply that certain widespread reasons for rejecting his theory are based on misconceptions.1 Relevance theorists, I will suggest, systematically misunderstand Grice by taking him to be engaged in the same project that they are: making sense of the psychological processes by which we interpret utterances. Notions involved with this project will need to be ones that are relevant to the psychology of utterance interpretation. Thus, it is only reasonable that relevance theorists will require that what is said and what is implicated should be psychologically real to the audience. (We will see that this requirement plays a crucial role in their arguments against Grice.) Grice, I will argue, was not pursuing this project. Rather, I will suggest that he was trying to make sense of quite a different notion of what is said: one on which both speaker and audience may be wrong about what is said. On this sort of notion, psychological reality is not a requirement. So objections to Grice based on a requirement of psychological reality will fail.
Prescribed drugs and neurological complications.

A treatment history is a fundamental part of the healthcare consultation. Current drugs (prescribed, over the counter, herbal remedies, drugs of misuse) and how they are taken (frequency, timing, missed and extra doses), drugs tried previously and reason for discontinuation, treatment response, adverse effects, allergies, and intolerances should be taken into account. Recent immunisations may also be of importance. This article examines the particular relevance of medication in patients presenting with neurological symptoms. Drugs and their interactions may contribute in part or fully to the neurological syndrome, and treatment response may assist diagnostically or in future management plans. Knowledge of medicine taking behaviour may clarify clinical presentations such as analgesic overuse causing chronic daily headache, or severe dyskinesia resulting from obsessive use of dopamine replacement treatment. In most cases, iatrogenic symptoms are best managed by withdrawal of the offending drug. Indirect mechanisms whereby drugs could cause neurological problems are beyond the scope of the current article—for example, drugs which raise blood pressure or which worsen glycaemic control and consequently increase the risk of cerebrovascular disease, or immunosupressants which increase the risk of infection. Different categories of neurological syndromes will be considered.

Prothrombotic drugs are the main consideration, with both arterial and venous effects.

### Stroke

Current users of low oestrogen dose combined oral contraception (COC) have a small increased risk of ischaemic stroke, particularly in women with other risk factors; notably smoking, hypertension, and probably a history of migraine, and a modestly elevated risk of haemorrhagic stroke mainly in women older than 35 years of age. Former users of COC have no increase in risk of ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke.

Women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have a small increased risk of ischaemic stroke. In the women’s health initiative study 16 608 postmenopausal women on combined HRT (oestrogen plus progesterone) were followed …
Toward a Clinical Definition of Early Osteoarthritis: Onset of Patient-Reported Knee Pain Begins on Stairs. Data From the Osteoarthritis Initiative

OBJECTIVE
Early detection of osteoarthritis (OA) would increase the chances of effective intervention. We aimed to investigate which patient-reported activity is first associated with knee pain. We hypothesized that pain would occur first during activities requiring weight bearing and knee bending.


METHODS
Data were obtained from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), a multicenter, longitudinal prospective observational cohort of people who have or are at high risk of OA. Participants completed the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC; Likert scale) annually for up to 7 years. Rasch analysis was used to rank the WOMAC pain questions (activities) in order of affirmation as the pain score increased from 0. For each total WOMAC score category (0-20) we selected 25 individuals at random based on their maximum score across all visits. Fit to the Rasch model was assessed in this subset; stability of question ranking over successive visits was confirmed in the full OAI.


RESULTS
WOMAC data on 4,673 people were included, with 491 selected for subset analysis. The subset data showed good fit to the Rasch model (χ(2) = 43.31, P = 0.332). In the full OAI, the "using stairs" question was the first to score points as the total pain score increased from 0 (baseline logit score ± 95% confidence interval -4.74 ± 0.07), then "walking" (-2.94 ± 0.07), "standing" (-2.65 ± 0.07), "lying/sitting" (-2.00 ± 0.08), and finally "in bed" (-1.32 ± 0.09). This ordering was consistent over successive visits.


CONCLUSION
Knee pain is most likely to first appear during weight-bearing activities involving bending of the knee, such as using stairs. First appearance of this symptom may identify a group suitable for early intervention strategies.
The Changes in Mean Platelet Volume after Using of Antiplatelet Drugs in Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE
To measure the changes of mean platelet volume (MPV) after using four antiplatelet drugs in acute non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke patients and assess the association of antiplatelets and MPV and stroke outcome.


MATERIAL AND METHOD
Ischemic stroke survivors with National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) 8 were randomly allocated intofour groups, receiving aspirin, clopidogrel, combined aspirin and dipyridamole, and cilostazol. The change of MPV NIHSS, and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) were recorded at baseline and week 4 in all studied groups. MPV was measured using the standard automated blood test for complete blood count.


RESULTS
Twenty-one subjects were included in this study. They comprised of five cases in each antiplatelet group, except for aspirin, which had six subjects. Male was 57%, and hypertension was the most common risk factor (61.9%). Most of participants (76%) had small vessel disease. At 4-week, MPVwas reduced and NIHSS, mRS were improved in every studied group. Clopidogrel sign ficantly reduced NIHSS score (p = 0.003), and it produced the greatest reduction in MPV compared to others.


CONCLUSION
Every type of antiplatelets included in this study reduced MPV NIHSS, and mRS in acute non-cardioembolic stroke patients. Clopidogrel improved NIHSS the most.
Clinical outcomes in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators and Sprint Fidelis leads.

OBJECTIVE
The performances of implantable cardioverter defibrillators and leads are important issues for healthcare providers and patients. In 2007 Sprint Fidelis leads were found to be associated with an increased failure rate and so the purpose of the study was to evaluate long-term mortality and clinical outcomes in patients implanted with Sprint Fidelis leads compared with Sprint Quattro leads.


DESIGN, SETTING, PATIENTS
508 patients with Sprint Fidelis leads and 468 with Sprint Quattro leads were prospectively followed in 12 Italian cardiology centres.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Information on hospitalisations and other clinical events were collected during scheduled and unscheduled hospital visits. Deaths were identified from medical records or via phone contacts with patients' family members or through the National Office of Vital Statistics.


RESULTS
Over a mean follow-up of 27±18 months 141 deaths occurred in the overall population. No death was observed in patients with diagnosed failing lead. Kaplan-Meier patient survival differed between the two lead groups (80±2% in Fidelis leads vs 70±4% in the Sprint Quattro leads at 4 years, p=0.002). Multivariate analyses showed that mortality was neither associated with lead type nor with diagnosed failed lead. The annual rate of lead failure was 1.8% patient-year for Fidelis leads and 0.2% for the Sprint Quattro leads.


CONCLUSIONS
In our multicentre research, the clinical outcomes of patients with Fidelis leads differed from those of patients with Sprint Quattro leads. Nevertheless, neither mortality nor the combined endpoint of mortality and heart failure hospitalisations was associated with the lead type. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01007474.
Estimating, planning and managing Agile Web development projects under a value-based perspective

Context: The processes of estimating, planning and managing are crucial for software development projects, since the results must be related to several business strategies. The broad expansion of the Internet and the global and interconnected economy make Web development projects be often characterized by expressions like delivering as soon as possible, reducing time to market and adapting to undefined requirements. In this kind of environment, traditional methodologies based on predictive techniques sometimes do not offer very satisfactory results. The rise of Agile methodologies and practices has provided some useful tools that, combined with Web Engineering techniques, can help to establish a framework to estimate, manage and plan Web development projects. Objective: This paper presents a proposal for estimating, planning and managing Web projects, by combining some existing Agile techniques with Web Engineering principles, presenting them as an unified framework which uses the business value to guide the delivery of features. Method: The proposal is analyzed by means of a case study, including a real-life project, in order to obtain relevant conclusions. Results: The results achieved after using the framework in a development project are presented, including interesting results on project planning and estimation, as well as on team productivity throughout the project. Conclusion: It is concluded that the framework can be useful in order to better manage Web-based projects, through a continuous value-based estimation and management process.
NeuroEvolution: Evolving Heterogeneous Artificial Neural Networks

NeuroEvolution is the application of Evolutionary Algorithms to the training of Artificial Neural Networks. Currently the vast majority of NeuroEvolutionary methods create homogeneous networks of user defined transfer functions. This is despite NeuroEvolution being capable of creating heterogeneous networks where each neuron’s transfer function is not chosen by the user, but selected or optimised during evolution. This paper demonstrates how NeuroEvolution can be used to select or optimise each neuron’s transfer function and empirically shows that doing so significantly aids training. This result is important as the majority of NeuroEvolutionary methods are capable of creating heterogeneous networks using the methods described.
Spatially variant defocus blur map estimation and deblurring from a single image

In this paper, we propose a single image deblurring algorithm to remove spatially variant defocus blur based on the estimated blur map. Firstly, we estimate the blur map from a single image by utilizing the edge information and K nearest neighbors (KNN) matting interpolation. Secondly, the local kernels are derived by segmenting the blur map according to the blur amount of local regions and image contours. Thirdly, we adopt a BM3D-based non-blind deconvolution algorithm to restore the latent image. Finally, ringing artifacts and noise are detected and removed, resulting in a high quality in-focus image. Experimental results on real defocus blurred images demonstrate that our proposed algorithm outperforms other state-of-the-art approaches.
Blind Spectral-GMM Estimation for Underdetermined Instantaneous Audio Source Separation

The underdetermined blind audio source separation problem is often addressed in the time-frequency domain by assuming that each time-frequency point is an independently distributed random variable. Other approaches which are not blind assume a more structured model, like the Spectral Gaussian Mixture Models (Spectral-GMMs), thus exploiting statistical diversity of audio sources in the separation process. However, in this last approach, Spectral-GMMs are supposed to be learned from some training signals. In this paper, we propose a new approach for learning Spectral-GMMs of the sources without the need of using training signals. The proposed blind method significantly outperforms state-of-the-art approaches on stereophonic instantaneous music mixtures.
The Cloud Adoption Toolkit: Addressing the Challenges of Cloud Adoption in Enterprise

Cloud computing promises a radical shift in the provisioning of computing resource within enterprise. This paper: i) describes the challenges that decision-makers face when attempting to determine the feasibility of the adoption of cloud computing in their organisations; ii) illustrates a lack of existing work to address the feasibility challenges of cloud adoption in enterprise; iii) introduces the Cloud Adoption Toolkit that provides a framework to support decision-makers in identifying their concerns, and matching these concerns to appropriate tools/techniques that can be used to address them. The paper adopts a position paper methodology such that case study evidence is provided, where available, to support claims. We conclude that the Cloud Adoption Toolkit, whilst still under development, shows signs that it is a useful tool for decision-makers as it helps address the feasibility challenges of cloud adoption in enterprise.
Intramuscular and subcutaneous forearm parathyroid autograft hyperplasia in renal dialysis patients: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND
Intramuscular and subcutaneous forearm parathyroid autograft are proved to have compatible short-term outcome. However, long-term clinical courses have not been studied.


METHODS
A single-surgeon retrospective cohort study of parathyroid autograft hyperplasia from August 1998 to January 2013 was performed. According to the location of their parathyroid autograft, patients were divided into an Intramuscular group and a Subcutaneous group. Clinical parameters were analyzed to assess the risk factors and clinical course of autograft hyperplasia.


RESULTS
There were 888 consecutive patients who underwent total parathyroidectomy with forearm autotransplantation for renal hyperparathyroidism during the period. The median age at the time of total parathyroidectomy with forearm autotransplantation was 54.2 years (range, 12-86) and the median follow-up time was 4.0 years (range 0.1-16). Autograftectomy was performed on 29 of 888 patients. The incidence of autograftectomy was 15 of 65 in the Intramuscular group and 14 of 823 in the Subcutaneous group; the incidence of repeated autograftectomy was 4 of 65 in the Intramuscular group and 1 of 823 in the Subcutaneous group. The cumulative frequency of autograftectomy was greater in the Intramuscular group than that in the Subcutaneous group (11.6 vs 3.1% at 6 years, P < .001). The location of the autograft was the only significant factor affecting the autograftectomy frequency (P = .002). The Intramuscular group reoperation patients experienced a longer period between their first operation and the autograftectomy (6.6 vs 3.3 years, P = .003), longer operating times (79 vs 37 minutes, P = .002), and a greater level of pre-autograftectomy systemic intact parathyroid hormone (1,044 vs 559 ng/L, P = .014) than the Subcutaneous group.


CONCLUSION
Intramuscular parathyroid autotransplantation results in a high incidence of autograftectomy, repeated autograftectomy, and a high cumulative frequency of autograftectomy.
Armswing: using arm swings for accessible and immersive navigation in AR/VR spaces

Navigating in a natural way in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) spaces is a large challenge. To this end, we present ArmSwingVR, a locomotion solution for AR/VR spaces that preserves immersion, while being low profile compared to current solutions, particularly walking-in-place (WIP) methods. The user simply needs to swing their arms naturally to navigate in the direction where the arms are swung, without any feet or head movement. The benefits of ArmSwingVR are that arm swinging feels natural for bipedal organisms second only to leg movement, no additional peripherals or sensors are required, it is less obtrusive to swing our arms as opposed to WIP methods, and requires less energy allowing prolong uses for AR/VR. A conducted user study found that our method does not sacrifice immersion while also being more low profile and less energy consumption compared to WIP.
A comment on simulating LRD traffic with pareto ON/OFF sources

Long-Range-Dependency (LRD) and Self-Similarity (SS) effects are synthetically generated by multiplexing ON/OFF sources with Pareto distributed ON and OFF times. Dependent on a myriad of parameters, however, it can be questioned if resulting traffic actually exhibits SS and LRD effects. In this paper we evaluate the robustness of these effects in simulator generated traffic to parameter settings. Using a typical simulation for performance evaluation, we measure the degree of SS and LRD.
Retinal nerve fiber layer defects in highly myopic eyes with early glaucoma.

PURPOSE
To compare the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) defects in early glaucomatous eyes between highly and non-highly myopic eyes.


METHODS
Sixty-one highly myopic eyes (< -6.0 diopters [D]) of 61 patients and 55 non-highly myopic eyes of 55 patients with early visual field (VF) defects were studied. The angular locations and widths of the RNFL defects were measured from red-free fundus photographs. The RNFL defect closest to the fovea was designated the "nearest RNFL defect" of each hemisphere.


RESULTS
In total, 131 RNFL defects were found in highly myopic eyes and 82 in non-highly myopic eyes. Twenty-seven (44.3%) of the 61 highly myopic eyes, but only 8 (14.5%) of the 55 non-highly myopic eyes had their nearest RNFL defects between 0° and 10° (P < 0.001). Although the frequencies of paracentral scotomas were comparable between the two groups, the rate of inferotemporal paracentral scotomas was significantly higher in the high myopia group (P = 0.02). The numbers of nearest RNFL defects in the superior hemisphere or extending over both hemispheres were significantly higher in the high-myopia group. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that high myopia and the nearest RNFL defect involving the papillomacular bundle were significantly associated with paracentral scotomas (odds ratio [OR]: 4.78, P < 0.05, and OR: 5.31, P < 0.001, respectively). High myopia was significantly associated with the nearest RNFL defect involving the papillomacular bundle (OR: 2.95, P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that highly myopic eyes are more susceptible to papillomacular bundle damage in early glaucoma.