Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Short-term Outcomes for Open and Laparoscopic Midline Incisional Hernia Repair: A Randomized Multicenter Controlled Trial: The ProLOVE (Prospective Randomized Trial on Open Versus Laparoscopic Operation of Ventral Eventrations) Trial

Objective:The aim of the trial was to compare laparoscopic technique with open technique regarding short-term pain, quality of life (QoL), recovery, and complications. Background:Laparoscopic and open techniques for incisional hernia repair are recognized treatment options with pros and cons. Methods:Patients from 7 centers with a midline incisional hernia of a maximum width of 10 cm were randomized to either laparoscopic (LR) or open sublay (OR) mesh repair. Primary end point was pain at 3 weeks, measured as the bodily pain subscale of Short Form-36 (SF-36). Secondary end points were complications registered by type and severity (the Clavien-Dindo classification), movement restrictions, fatigue, time to full recovery, and QoL up to 8 weeks. Results:Patients were recruited between October 2005 and November 2009. Of 157 randomized patients, 133 received intervention: 64 LR and 69 OR. Measurements of pain did not differ, nor did movement restriction and postoperative fatigue. SF-36 subscales favored the LR group: physical function (P < 0.001), role physical (P < 0.012), mental health (P < 0.022), and physical composite score (P < 0.009). Surgical site infections were 17 in the OR group compared with 1 in the LR group (P < 0.001). The severity of complications did not differ between the groups (P < 0.213). Conclusions:Postoperative pain or recovery at 3 weeks after repair of midline incisional hernias does not differ between LR and OR, but the LR results in better physical function and less surgical site infections than the OR does. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00472537)
Bright OB stars in the Galaxy II. Wind variability in O supergiants as traced by Hα

We investigate the line-profile variability (lpv) of Hα for a large sample of O-type supergiants (15 objects between O4 and O9.7), in an objective, statistically rigorous manner. We employed the Temporal Variance Spectrum (TVS) analysis, developed for the case of photospheric absorption lines and modified by us to take into account the effects of wind emission. By means of a comparative analysis we place constraints on the properties of this variability - quantified in terms of a mean and a newly defined fractional amplitude of deviations - as a function of stellar and wind parameters. The results of our analysis show that all the stars in the sample show evidence of significant lpv in Hα, mostly dominated by processes in the wind. The variations occur between zero and 0.3 v∞ (i.e., below ∼1.5 R� ), in good agreement with results from similar studies. A comparison between the observations and corresponding line-profile simulations indicates that for stars with intermediate wind densities the properties of the Hα variability can be explained by simple models consisting of coherent or broken shells (blobs) uniformly distributed over the wind volume, with an intrinsic scatter in the maximum density contrast of about a factor of two. For stars at lower and higher wind densities, on the other hand, we found certain inconsistencies between the observations and our predictions, most importantly concerning the mean amplitude and the symmetry properties of the TVS. This disagreement might be explained by the presence of coherent large-scale structures, partly confined in a volume close to the star. Interpreted in terms of a variable mass-loss rate, the observed variations of Hα indicate changes of ±4% with respect to the mean value of u M for stars with stronger winds and of ± 16% for stars with weaker winds. The effect of these variations on the corresponding wind momenta is rather insignificant (less than 0.16 dex), increasing only the local scatter without affecting the Wind Momentum Luminosity Relationship.
Generation and Propagation of Nonlinear Internal Waves in Sheared Currents Over the Washington Continental Shelf

The generation, propagation, and dissipation of nonlinear internal waves (NLIW) in sheared background currents is examined using 7 days of shipboard microstructure surveys and two moorings on the continental shelf offshore of Washington state. Surveys near the hypothesized generation region show semi-diurnal (D2) energy ﬂux is onshore and that the ratio of energy ﬂux to group speed times energy ( F = c g E ) increases sharply at the shelf break, suggesting that the incident D2 internal tide is partially reﬂected and partially transmitted. NLIW appear at an inshore mooring at the leading edge of the onshore phase of the baroclinic tide, consistent with nonlinear transformation of the shoaling internal tide as their generation mechanism. Of the D2 energy ﬂux observed at the eastern extent of the generation region (133 6 18 Wm 2 1 ), approximately 30% goes into the NLIW observed inshore (36 6 11 Wm 2 1 ). Inshore of the moorings, 7 waves are tracked into shallow (30-40 m) water, where a vertically sheared, southward current becomes strong. As train-like waves propagate onshore, wave amplitudes of 25-30 m and energies of 5 MJ decrease to 12 m and 10 kJ, respectively. The observed direction of propagation rotates from 30 (cid:2) N of E to (cid:3) 30 (cid:2) S of E in the strongly sheared region. Linear ray tracing using the Taylor-Goldstein equation to incorporate parallel shear effects accounts for only a small portion of the observed rotation, suggesting that three-dimensionality of the wave crests and the background currents is important here.
Prevalence and experience of harassment of people with mental health problems living in the community.

BACKGROUND The levels and experiences of harassment of people with mental health problems in the community compared with those of the general population have not been explored. AIMS To measure the levels and experience of harassment experienced by people with mental health problems in the community in Scotland and compare them with the general population. METHOD Experiences of harassment were collected by interviewing 165 individuals with mental health problems and a control group of 165 people from the general population. RESULTS Harassment in the community was found to be twice as common for individuals with mental health problems (41%) than for those in the general population (15%). The harassment commonly involved verbal abuse referring to the individual's mental health problems and was committed primarily by teenagers and neighbours. CONCLUSIONS Harassment has a significantly higher prevalence among individuals with mental health problems living in the community and is believed to have a detrimental effect on mental health.
A new name prefix trie with path compression

As one of promising future Internet architectures, named data networking (NDN) technology has been widely researched in these days. As a basic name lookup structure used in NDN routers, a name prefix trie (NPT) is an extended version of a binary trie used for IP address lookup. However, since name prefixes can have an unbounded number of components, an NPT can have many empty nodes which cause memory wastes as well as low lookup performance. In this paper, we propose a path-compressed NPT (PC-NPT) to reduce the memory requirement and improve the search performance. Simulations using real URL data sets show that the proposed structure removes up to 97% of empty nodes and improves approximately 21% in the search performance.
Autogenous cortical bone and bioactive glass grafting for treatment of intraosseous periodontal defects

Objective: The aim of this 6-month prospective randomized clinical study was to compare the effectiveness of autogenous cortical bone (ACB) and bioactive glass (BG) grafting for the regenerative treatment of intraosseous periodontal defects. Methods: Via a split-mouth design, 15 chronic periodontitis patients (7 men, 8 women; mean age, 43.47 ± 1.45 years) who had probing pocket depths (PPDs) of ⩾6 mm following initial periodontal therapy were randomly assigned to receive 2 treatments in contralateral areas of the dentition: ACB grafting and BG grafting. The parameters compared in the patients were preoperative and 6-month postoperative PPDs, clinical attachment levels (CALs), and radiographic alveolar bone heights. Results: Both treatment modalities resulted in significant changes in postoperative measurements when compared to preoperative values (p < 0.01). PPDs were decreased, CALs were increased, and radiographic alveolar bone heights were increased by 5.00 ± 0.28, 4.60 ± 0.21, and 5.80 ± 0.43 mm in patients treated with ACB grafting and 5.13 ± 0.32, 4.67 ± 0.27, and 5.33 ± 0.36 mm in patients treated with BG grafting, respectively. Differences between the treatments were not statistically significant (P>.05). Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, both ACB and BG grafting led to significant improvements in clinical and radiographic parameters 6 months postoperatively. These results suggest that either an ACB graft, which is completely safe with no associated concerns about disease transmission and immunogenic reactions, or a BG graft, which has an unlimited supply, can be selected for regenerative periodontal treatment.
BEHAVIOR OF NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID IN A LID-DRIVEN CHAMBER WITH HEATED BODIES SUBJECTED TO A UNIFORM MAGNETIC FIELD

Recent studies have attempted to find methods and techniques that enable the development of heat transfer within thermal transformers. For this purpose, this paper includes a numerical simulation of a non-Newtonian fluid inside a chamber with four hot bodies. The chamber is exposed to a magnetic field of constant and uniform intensity. Also, the upper wall of the chamber has a horizontal movement. The study is based on the quality of heat transfer between the heated parts of the chamber and the complex fluid under the influence of a set of criteria, namely Reynolds number (= 1 to 40); Hartmann number (= 0 to 100); power-law index (= 0.6 to 1.4) and Richardson number (0 to 100). The interpretation of the results is done by displaying the path-lines and isotherms distribution. Also, the amount of thermal transfer of the hot bodies is given in terms of the Nusselt number. The results showed that the positioning of the hot bodies plays an important role in heat transfer. Moreover, increasing the value of the power-law index makes the fluid stickier, which reflects its negative effect on heat transfer.
Superior time perception for lower musical pitch explains why bass-ranged instruments lay down musical rhythms

Significance To what extent are musical conventions determined by evolutionarily-shaped human physiology? Across cultures, polyphonic music most often conveys melody in higher-pitched sounds and rhythm in lower-pitched sounds. Here, we show that, when two streams of tones are presented simultaneously, the brain better detects timing deviations in the lower-pitched than in the higher-pitched stream and that tapping synchronization to the tones is more influenced by the lower-pitched stream. Furthermore, our modeling reveals that, with simultaneous sounds, superior encoding of timing for lower sounds and of pitch for higher sounds arises early in the auditory pathway in the cochlea of the inner ear. Thus, these musical conventions likely arise from very basic auditory physiology. The auditory environment typically contains several sound sources that overlap in time, and the auditory system parses the complex sound wave into streams or voices that represent the various sound sources. Music is also often polyphonic. Interestingly, the main melody (spectral/pitch information) is most often carried by the highest-pitched voice, and the rhythm (temporal foundation) is most often laid down by the lowest-pitched voice. Previous work using electroencephalography (EEG) demonstrated that the auditory cortex encodes pitch more robustly in the higher of two simultaneous tones or melodies, and modeling work indicated that this high-voice superiority for pitch originates in the sensory periphery. Here, we investigated the neural basis of carrying rhythmic timing information in lower-pitched voices. We presented simultaneous high-pitched and low-pitched tones in an isochronous stream and occasionally presented either the higher or the lower tone 50 ms earlier than expected, while leaving the other tone at the expected time. EEG recordings revealed that mismatch negativity responses were larger for timing deviants of the lower tones, indicating better timing encoding for lower-pitched compared with higher-pitch tones at the level of auditory cortex. A behavioral motor task revealed that tapping synchronization was more influenced by the lower-pitched stream. Results from a biologically plausible model of the auditory periphery suggest that nonlinear cochlear dynamics contribute to the observed effect. The low-voice superiority effect for encoding timing explains the widespread musical practice of carrying rhythm in bass-ranged instruments and complements previously established high-voice superiority effects for pitch and melody.
Arabidopsis Cell Division Cycle 20.1 Is Required for Normal Meiotic Spindle Assembly and Chromosome Segregation[OPEN]

Arabidopsis cell division cycle 20.1 is required for meiotic chromosome segregation by ensuring proper chromosome alignment at metaphase I in a manner that depends on the spindle assembly checkpoint. Cell division requires proper spindle assembly; a surveillance pathway, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), monitors whether the spindle is normal and correctly attached to kinetochores. The SAC proteins regulate mitotic chromosome segregation by affecting CDC20 (Cell Division Cycle 20) function. However, it is unclear whether CDC20 regulates meiotic spindle assembly and proper homolog segregation. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis thaliana CDC20.1 gene is indispensable for meiosis and male fertility. We demonstrate that cdc20.1 meiotic chromosomes align asynchronously and segregate unequally and the metaphase I spindle has aberrant morphology. Comparison of the distribution of meiotic stages at different time points between the wild type and cdc20.1 reveals a delay of meiotic progression from diakinesis to anaphase I. Furthermore, cdc20.1 meiocytes exhibit an abnormal distribution of a histone H3 phosphorylation mark mediated by the Aurora kinase, providing evidence that CDC20.1 regulates Aurora localization for meiotic chromosome segregation. Further evidence that CDC20.1 and Aurora are functionally related was provided by meiosis-specific knockdown of At-Aurora1 expression, resulting in meiotic chromosome segregation defects similar to those of cdc20.1. Taken together, these results suggest a critical role for CDC20.1 in SAC-dependent meiotic chromosome segregation.
A temperature sensor from a self-assembled carbon nanotube microbridge

Recent studies show that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be used as temperature sensors, and offer great opportunities towards extreme miniaturization, high sensitivity, low power consumption, and rapid response. Previous CNT based temperature sensors are fabricated by either dielectrophoresis or piece-wise alignment of read-out electronics around randomly dispersed CNTs. We introduce a new deterministic and parallel microsensor fabrication method based on the self-assembly of CNTs into three-dimensional microbridges. We fabricated prototype microbridge sensors on patterned electrodes, and found their sensitivity to be better than −0.1 %/K at temperatures between 300K and 420K. This performance is comparable to previously published CNT based temperature sensors. Importantly, however, our research shows how unique sensor architectures can be made by self-assembly, which can be achieved using batch processing rather than piece-wise assembly.
Evaluation Periods and Asset Prices in a Market Experiment

We test whether the frequency of feedback information about the performance of an investment portfolio and the flexibility with which the investor can change the portfolio influence her risk attitude in markets. In line with the prediction of myopic loss aversion (Benartzi and Thaler (1995)), we find that more information and more flexibility result in less risk taking. Market prices of risky assets are significantly higher if feedback frequency and decision flexibility are reduced. This result supports the findings from individual decision making, and shows that market interactions do not eliminate such behavior or its consequences for prices.
Assessment of Status and Distribution of Trees Inside Forest and Trees Outside Forest between 1990-2021 in Adamawa Central, Adamawa State, Nigeria

Forests significantly aid the stabilization of the global ecology by solving environmental concerns such as climate change and carbon sequestering. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the status and distribution of Trees Inside Forest (TIF) and Trees Outside Forests (TOF) between 1990 and 2021in Adamawa Central, Adamawa State Nigeria, using standard methods of the Normalized Different Vegetation Index (NDVI), through the use of satellite imagery from 1990, 2000, 2013, and 2021 respectively. The findings showed that, the TOF decreased from 12.9 km2 in 1990 to just 3.6 km2 in 2021, the number of TIF decreased from 549.2 km2 in 1990 to 174.8 km2 in 2021. A shift in policy is necessary to mitigate the negative effects of changing land cover, boosting agricultural production, and restoring urban and forest trees by various means like afforestation and replanting.
Do offenders' life goals reflect locus of control and personality traits?

According to the Good Lives Model (Ward, 2002) it is imperative that offenders in rehabilitation recognize which life goals are important to them and how they can achieve a ‘good life. ’ Including the evaluation of life goals in treatment can be beneficial not only for the individuals being treated but for the community into which they are transitioning. Seventy-six male, residential offenders were assessed on type and perception of life goals during semi-structured interviews. They also completed a personality inventory, locus of control scale, and self-esteem scale. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses for types of goals and perception of goals were conducted to examine the hypothesized predictions. Results indicate that higher levels of openness and an internal locus of control predicted the presence of personal growth goals, and emotional stability is the strongest predictor of positive goal perception for this offender sample. Findings from this study have implications for the use of goals and the importance of emotional stability in treatment of offenders.
Fixed points of generalized approximate message passing with arbitrary matrices

The estimation of a random vector with independent components passed through a linear transform followed by a componentwise (possibly nonlinear) output map arises in a range of applications. Approximate message passing (AMP) methods, based on Gaussian approximations of loopy belief propagation, have recently attracted considerable attention for such problems. For large random transforms, these methods exhibit fast convergence and admit precise analytic characterizations with testable conditions for optimality, even for certain non-convex problem instances. However, the behavior of AMP under general transforms is not fully understood. In this paper, we consider the generalized AMP (GAMP) algorithm and relate the method to more common optimization techniques. This analysis enables a precise characterization of the GAMP algorithm fixed-points that applies to arbitrary transforms. In particular, we show that the fixed points of the so-called max-sum GAMP algorithm for MAP estimation are critical points of a constrained maximization of the posterior density. The fixed-points of the sum-product GAMP algorithm for estimation of the posterior marginals can be interpreted as critical points of a certain mean-field variational optimization.
Paramedic Application of a Triage Sieve: A Paper-Based Exercise

Abstract Introduction Triage is the systematic prioritization of casualties when there is an imbalance between the needs of these casualties and resource availability. The triage sieve is a recognized process for prioritizing casualties for treatment during mass-casualty incidents (MCIs). While the application of a triage sieve generally is well-accepted, the measurement of its accuracy has been somewhat limited. Obtaining reliable measures for triage sieve accuracy rates is viewed as a necessity for future development in this area. Objective The goal of this study was to investigate how theoretical knowledge acquisition and the practical application of an aide-memoir impacted triage sieve accuracy rates. Method Two hundred and ninety-two paramedics were allocated randomly to one of four separate sub-groups, a non-intervention control group, and three intervention groups, which involved them receiving either an educational review session and/or an aide-memoir. Participants were asked to triage sieve 20 casualties using a previously trialed questionnaire. Results The study showed the non-intervention control group had a correct accuracy rate of 47%, a similar proportion of casualties found to be under-triaged (37%), but a significantly lower number of casualties were over-triaged (16%). The provision of either an educational review or aide-memoir significantly increased the correct triage sieve accuracy rate to 77% and 90%, respectively. Participants who received both the educational review and aide-memoir had an overall accuracy rate of 89%. Over-triaged rates were found not to differ significantly across any of the study groups. Conclusion This study supports the use of an aide-memoir for maximizing MCI triage accuracy rates. A “just-in-time” educational refresher provided comparable benefits, however its practical application to the MCI setting has significant operational limitations. In addition, this study provides some guidance on triage sieve accuracy rate measures that can be applied to define acceptable performance of a triage sieve during a MCI. CuttanceG, DansieK, RaynerT. Paramedic application of a triage sieve: a paper-based exercise. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(1):3–13.
One level up: abnormal proteolytic regulation of IGF activity plays a role in human pathophysiology

The discovery of a mutation in a specific gene can be very important for determining the pathophysiology underlying the disease of a patient and may also help to decide the best treatment protocol on an individual basis. However, sometimes the discovery of mutations in new proteins advances our comprehension in a more widespread manner. The growth hormone (GH)/insulin‐like growth factor (IGF)‐1 axis is fundamental for systemic growth, but is also involved in many other important processes. Our understanding of this system in physiology and pathophysiology has advanced throughout the years with each discovery of mutations in members of this axis. This review focuses on the most recent discovery: mutations in the metalloproteinase pregnancy‐associated plasma protein‐A2 (PAPP‐A2), one of the proteases involved in liberating IGF‐1 from the complexes in which it circulates, in patients with delayed growth failure. We also discuss the advances in the stanniocalcins (STC1 and STC2), proteins that modulate PAPP‐A2, as well as PAPP‐A. These new advances not only bring us one step closer to understanding the strict spatial and temporal control of this axis in systemic growth and maturation, but also highlight possible therapeutic targets when this system goes awry.