Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Total oxidative stress and antioxidant status in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome

Abstract Objectives Studies in the carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) are supported ischemia-induced changes rather than inflammation of the flexor tenosynovium. In this study, total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidative stress (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) in patients with CTS has been investigated. Methods Forty-three patients (38 female and 5 male, 81 hands in total) diagnosed as CTS after the physical examination and electrophysiological findings included in study. The mean age of patients was 43.30 ± 10.49 years. Results Bilateral CTS in 38 (88%) patients and unilateral CTS in five patients were detected. Dominant hand was involved in all patients. The mean symptoms duration was 30.9 months (range, 5–67 months). TAS in patients with CTS was significantly lower compared with control (1.01 ± 0.14 versus 1.11 ± 0.20 mmol Trolox equiv./l), (P = 0.008). TOS and OSI in patients with CTS were significant higher compared with control (15.60 ± 7.03 versus 11.86 ± 2.18 µmol H2O2 equiv./l and 1.57 ± 0.72 versus 1.09 ± 0.28), (respectively P = 0.002 and <0.001). Conclusion This study shows that there is a change in the oxidative stress and antioxidant defences in patients with CTS. Increased TOS and OSI and decreased TAS might be stimulate fibrosis through disturbed signaling pattern in the tenosynovium and median nerve. These processes might play a role in occurrence and progression of CTS.
The HIV care cascade: Japanese perspectives

Japan has been known as a low HIV-prevalence country with a concentrated epidemic among high-risk groups. However, it has not been determined whether Japan meets the 90-90-90 goals set by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)/World Health Organization (WHO). Moreover, to date, the HIV care cascade has not been examined. We estimated the total number of diagnosed people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) (n = 22,840) based on legal reports to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare by subtracting the number of foreigners who left Japan (n = 2,273) and deaths (n = 2,321) from the cumulative diagnosis report (n = 27,434). The number of total undiagnosed PLWHA was estimated by age and sex specific HIV-positive rates observed among first-time blood donors between 2011–2015 in Japan. Our estimates show that 14.4% (n = 3,830) of all PLWHA (n = 26,670) were undiagnosed in Japan at the end of 2015. The number of patients retained in care (n = 20,615: 77.3% of PLWHA), the percentage of those on antiretroviral therapy (n = 18,921: 70.9% of PLWHA) and those with suppressed viral loads (<200 copies/mL; n = 18,756: 70.3% of PLWHA) were obtained through a questionnaire survey conducted in the AIDS Core Hospitals throughout the country. According to these estimates, Japan failed to achieve the first two of the three UNAIDS/WHO targets (22,840/26,670 = 85.6% of HIV-positive cases were diagnosed; 18,921/22,840 = 82.8% of those diagnosed were treated; 18,756/18,921 = 99.1% of those treated experienced viral suppression). Although the antiretroviral treatment uptake and success after retention in medical care appears to be excellent in Japan, there are unmet needs, mainly at the surveillance level before patients are retained in care. The promotion of HIV testing and treatment programs among the key affected populations (especially men who have sex with men) may contribute to further decreasing the HIV epidemic and achieving the UNAIDS/WHO targets in Japan.
Myiarchus flycatchers are the primary seed dispersers of Bursera longipes in a Mexican dry forest

We evaluated the seed dispersal of Bursera longipes by birds along a successional gradient of tropical dry forest (TDF) in southwestern Mexico. B. longipes is an endemic tree to the TDF in the Balsas basin. The relative abundance of frugivorous birds, their frequency of visits to B. longipes and the number of removed fruits were recorded at three study sites with different stages of forest succession (early, intermediate and mature) characterized by distinct floristic and structural elements. Flycatchers of the Myiarchus and Tyrannus genera removed the majority of fruits at each site. Overall, visits to B. longipes were less frequent at the early successional site. Birds that function as legitimate dispersers by consuming whole seeds and regurgitating or defecating intact seeds in the process also remove the pseudoaril from seeds, thereby facilitating the germination process. The highest germination percentages were recorded for seeds that passed through the digestive system of two migratory flycatchers: M. cinerascens and M. nutingii. Perch plants, mainly composed of legumes (e.g., Eysenhardtia polystachya, Acacia cochliacantha, Calliandra eryophylla, Mimosa polyantha), serve also as nurse plants since the number of young individuals recruited from B. longipes was higher under these than expected by chance. This study shows that Myiarchus flycatchers are the most efficient seed dispersers of B. longipes across all successional stages. This suggests a close mutualistic relationship derived from adaptive processes and local specializations throughout the distribution of both taxa, as supported by the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution.
Hadronic light-by-light scattering in the muon g-2: A New short-distance constraint on pion-exchange

Recently it was pointed out that for the evaluation of the numerically dominant pion-exchange contribution to the hadronic light-by-light scattering correction in the muon $g\ensuremath{-}2$, a fully off-shell pion-photon-photon form factor should be used. Following this proposal, we first derive a new short-distance constraint on the off-shell form factor which enters at the external vertex for the muon $g\ensuremath{-}2$ and show that it is related to the quark condensate magnetic susceptibility in QCD. We then evaluate the pion-exchange contribution in the framework of large-${N}_{C}$ QCD using an off-shell form factor which fulfills all short-distance constraints. With a value for the magnetic susceptibility as estimated in the same large-${N}_{C}$ framework, we obtain the result ${a}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\mathrm{LbyL};{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}}=(72\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}12)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}11}$. Updating our earlier results for the contributions from the exchanges of the $\ensuremath{\eta}$ and ${\ensuremath{\eta}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ using simple vector-meson dominance form factors, we obtain ${a}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\mathrm{LbyL};\mathrm{PS}}=(99\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}16)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}11}$ for the sum of all light pseudoscalars. Combined with available evaluations for the other contributions to hadronic light-by-light scattering this leads to the new estimate ${a}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\mathrm{LbyL};\mathrm{had}}=(116\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}40)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}11}$.
Separating Event-related Potential Effects for Conceptual Fluency and Episodic Familiarity

ERP old/new effects have been associated with different subprocesses of episodic recognition memory. The notion that recollection is reflected in the left parietal old/new effect seems to be uncontested. However, an association between episodic familiarity and the mid-frontal old/new effect is not uncontroversial. It has been argued that the mid-frontal old/new effect is functionally equivalent to the N400 and hence merely reflects differences in conceptual fluency between old and new items. Therefore, it is related to episodic familiarity only in situations in which conceptual fluency covaries with familiarity. Alternatively, the old/new effect in this time window reflects an interaction of episodic familiarity and conceptual processing with each making a unique functional contribution. To test this latter account, we manipulated conceptual fluency and episodic familiarity orthogonally in an incidental recognition test: Visually presented old and new words were preceded by either conceptually related or unrelated auditory prime words. If the mid-frontal old/new effect is functionally distinguishable from conceptual priming effects, an ERP contrast reflecting pure priming (correct rejections in the related vs. unrelated condition) and a contrast reflecting priming plus familiarity (hits in the related vs. correct rejections in the unrelated condition) should differ in scalp distribution. As predicted, the pure priming contrast had a right-parietal distribution, as typically observed for the N400 effect, whereas the priming plus familiarity contrast was significantly more frontally accentuated. These findings implicate that old/new effects in this time window are driven by unique functional contributions of episodic familiarity and conceptual processing.
Soil improvement with quicklime – long-time behaviour and carbonation

In 1979, during the construction of the motorway A3 Regensburg – Passau, southeast Germany, an embankment had to be built. The soil for this embankment was treated with quicklime to accelerate the chemical reaction and shorten the time for earthworks. The treatment results in water reduction, pozzolanic hardening and carbonation of the lime. Previous studies never addressed the scale of these reactions. Here, the degree of carbonation and pozzolanic reaction were determined for the first time to provide evidence for the long-term stability of lime-improved earthworks on a structure with high and long-term stability. In 1990 and 2013, samples from this embankment were taken and examined. The samples were tested using methods for compressive strength and chemical analysis. After 34 years, the results show compressive strengths up to 6 MPa, with 37% of the quicklime being used in carbonation and 47% in pozzolanic reactions. Sixteen per cent free CaO is still available.
Predicting scoliosis progression from skeletal maturity: a simplified classification during adolescence.

BACKGROUND Both the Tanner-Whitehouse-III RUS score, which is based on the radiographic appearance of the epiphyses of the distal part of the radius, the distal part of the ulna, and small bones of the hand, and the digital skeletal age skeletal maturity scoring system, which is based on just the metacarpals and phalanges, correlate highly with the curve acceleration phase in girls with idiopathic scoliosis. However, these systems require an atlas and access to the scoring system, making their use impractical in a busy clinical setting. We sought to develop a simplified system that would correlate highly with scoliosis behavior but that would also be rapid and reliable for clinical practice. METHODS A simplified staging system involving the use of the Tanner-Whitehouse-III descriptors was developed. It was tested for intraobserver and interobserver reliability by six individuals on thirty skeletal age radiographs. The system was compared with the timing of the curve acceleration phase in a cohort of twenty-two girls with idiopathic scoliosis. RESULTS The average intraobserver unweighted kappa value was 0.88, and the average weighted kappa value was 0.96. The percentage of exact matches between readings for each rater was 89%, and 100% of the differences were within one unit. The average interobserver unweighted kappa value was 0.71, and the average weighted kappa value was 0.89. The percentage of exact matches between two reviewers was 71%, and 97% of the interobserver differences were within one stage or matched. The agreement was highest between the most experienced raters. Interobserver reliability was not improved by the use of a classification-specific atlas. The correlation of the staging system with the curve acceleration phase was 0.91. CONCLUSIONS The simplified skeletal maturity scoring system is reliable and correlates more strongly with the behavior of idiopathic scoliosis than the Risser sign or Greulich and Pyle skeletal ages do. The system has a modest learning curve but is easily used in a clinical setting and, in conjunction with curve type and magnitude, appears to be strongly prognostic of future scoliosis curve behavior.
The roasting process does not influence the extent of conjugation of coffee chlorogenic and phenolic acids.

Understanding the bioavailability and metabolism of coffee compounds will contribute to identify the unknown biological mechanism(s) linked to their beneficial effects. The influence of the roasting process on the metabolism of coffee chlorogenic acids in humans was evaluated. In a randomized, double-blind, crossover study, 12 healthy volunteers consumed four instant coffees namely, high roasted coffee (HRC), low roasted coffee (LRC), unroasted coffee (URC), and in vitro hydrolyzed unroasted coffee (HURC). The sum of areas under the curve (AUC) ranged from 8.65-17.6 to 30.9-126 µM/h (P < 0.05) for HRC, LRC, URC, and HURC, respectively. The AUC of HRC, LRC, and URC was correlated with the initial level of phenolic acids in the coffee drinks. Despite different absorption rates, the extent of conjugation was comparable between HRC, LRC, and URC coffees but different for HURC. The most abundant circulating metabolites during the first 5 H were dihydroferulic acid (DHFA), caffeic acid-3'-O-sulfate (CA3S) and isoferulic-3'-O-glucuronide (iFA3G). DHFA and 5-4-dihydro-m-coumaric acid (mDHCoA) were the main metabolites in the period of 5-24 H. The phenolic compounds after consumption of HURC were most rapidly absorbed (Tmax 1 H) compared with the other coffees (Tmax between 9 and 11 H). Using coffees with different degrees of roasting we highlighted that in spite of different absorption rates the extent of conjugation of phenolic acids was comparable. In addition, by using a hydrolyzed unroasted coffee we demonstrated an increased absorption of phenolic acids in the small intestine. © 2016 BioFactors, 42(3):259-267, 2016.
‘Heads Held High’: An Exploratory Study of Legal Highs in Pre-Legislation Ireland

The research aimed to present a unique ‘snapshot’ of legal psychoactive drug use prior to legislative control in Ireland, in relation to the types of products used; sourcings; consumptive practices and particular social settings for use; gauging of dosage; licit and illicit drug transitions, individualisation of drug decision-making and experiences; and future intentions regarding drug switching post legislation. Semi-structured in depth interviews (n = 32) were conducted with adults aged 18–33 years who had used legal highs in the 6 months prior to fieldwork. The findings indicate some support for ‘differentiated’ displacement consumptive patterns between illegal and legal drugs, with user pathways grounded in ‘legal high’ availability; perceived user effect, safety, legality, quality and price. Mephedrone emerged as most popular drug of choice. Internet sales, stockpiling and diversion of previously ‘legal highs’ onto the illegal street drug market remain of concern, against a background of emerging new designer drugs in Ireland.
Cognitive Effects of Treatment of Depression with Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Background and Objective:We previously reported a randomized, sham-controlled trial of 5 Hz dorsolateral prefrontal left- and right-side repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in 48 participants with a medically refractory major depressive disorder. Depression improved most with right-side cranial stimulation, both rTMS and sham, and to a lesser degree with left rTMS. Because depression is often associated with cognitive impairment, in this study we sought to determine whether our earlier participants had treatment-induced changes in cognition, which cognitive domains (language, executive, visuospatial, verbal episodic memory, attention) were affected, and whether treatment-induced cognitive changes were related either to improvement in depression or to other treatment variables, such as right versus left treatment and rTMS versus sham. Methods:We used hierarchical regression analyses to determine how variables measured at baseline or associated with treatment affected changes in neuropsychological functions. The variables were neuropsychological function in the 5 domains, severity of depression, change in depression with treatment, rTMS versus sham, laterality of stimulation, and rTMS-laterality interaction. Results:Compared to sham, right rTMS was associated with 1.24 standard deviations greater gain in language function, 1.09 standard deviations greater gain in visuospatial function, and 2.38 standard deviations greater gain in verbal episodic memory than left rTMS. These improvements did not appear to be directly related to the relief from depression. Conclusions:Our results suggest that disorders of cognition and mood in depression may have different mechanisms, but right rTMS may treat both. We propose potential mechanisms underlying the right-side rTMS effect. Clinical Trial Registration:Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00711568.
Soft-Error Performance Evaluation on Emerging Low Power Devices

Radiation-induced single-event upset (SEU) has become a key challenge for cloud computing. The proposed introduction of low bandgap materials (Ge, III-Vs) as channel replacement and steep switching devices for low-voltage applications may induce radiation reliability issues due to their low ionization energy and device architecture. In this paper, the soft-error generation and propagation in Si FinFET, III-V FinFET, and III-V Hetero-junction tunnel FET (HTFET) are investigated using device and circuit simulation. III-V FinFET shows enhanced charge collection compared with Si FinFET, whereas HTFET shows significant reduction of the bipolar gain effect and charge collection. Soft-error rate (SER) evaluation methodology has been proposed for these emerging devices based on the critical LET extraction. SRAM bit flip, electrical masking effect, and latching window masking effect have been analyzed with supply voltage scaling. The SER evaluation of SRAM and logic shows that HTFET-based circuits are promising for radiation resilient ultralow power applications. III-V FinFET shows increased SER for SRAM for VDD range of 0.3-0.8 Vand reduced logic SER below 0.5 V compared with Si FinFET.
A demonstrated positive effect of a hearing conservation program in the Swedish armed forces

Abstract Objective: A revised hearing conservation program (HCP) was implemented in the Swedish Armed Forces in 2002. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of significant threshold shifts (STS) in male conscripts heavily exposed to noise after the implementation of the new HCP, comparing the results to those of an earlier study from 1999/2000. Design: The study was prospective and longitudinal, covering the period from reporting to military service to discharge. The outcome measure was the incidence of STS. Statistics from the military insurance system was analysed. Study Sample: A total of 395 conscripts were included in the study (mean age 19 years). The control group (n: 839) consisted of men of the same age. Results: In 2004/2005 the incidence rate of STS was 2.3% compared to 7.9% in 1999/2000 and compared to 3.7% among the controls. The number of cases of auditory complications reported from conscripts to the insurance system has decreased, from 16 to 5/100 000 days of military training, during the last decade. Conclusions: The new HCP apparently reduced the incidence rate of STS to one third compared to before the program was introduced and leveled it to the incidence rate in the control-group not exposed to military noise.
Children's Oncology Group's 2013 blueprint for research: Neuroblastoma

Estimated 5‐year survival rates for patients with non‐high‐risk and high‐risk neuroblastoma are 90% and 50%, respectively. Recent clinical trials have shown excellent outcomes with reduced therapy for non‐high‐risk disease. For patients with high‐risk neuroblastoma treated with chemoradiotherapy, surgery, and stem cell transplantation, the addition of anti‐disialoganglioside (GD2) immunotherapy plus cytokines improves survival. Upcoming trials will study the incorporation of targeted radionuclide therapy prior to myeloablative chemotherapy into high‐risk treatment. Phase 2 trials will investigate druggable target(s) including mTOR inhibition and GD2‐directed therapy in combination with chemotherapy for patients with recurrent neuroblastoma, and ALK inhibition for those with ALK‐aberrant tumors. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2013; 60: 985–993. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Fibro-osseous lesions vs. central giant cell granuloma: A hybrid lesion

Fibro-osseous lesions of the jaws can have certain histologic features in common with central giant cell granuloma (CGCG) including the presence of multinucleated giant cells. The clinical, radiologic and histologic features of these lesions should be carefully evaluated to distinguish between these conditions. Fibro-osseous lesions of the jaws are a heterogenous group of lesions characterized by the replacement of normal bone by fibrovascular tissue containing newly formed mineralized material. Central giant cell lesions are defined as an intraosseus lesion consisting of cellular fibrous tissue containing multiple foci of hemorrhage and aggregation of multinucleated giant cells. These lesions may sometimes lead to a confusion in their diagnosis as many pathologists report them taking into consideration one of the prominent histopathologic feature. These confusions may be because of the small number of cases reported in the literature with uncertain clinical, radiographic and histopathologic features of these lesions. So even surgeons may end up treating these lesions inadequately or patients may need to undergo multiple surgeries. We report such a case of Juvenile ossifying fibroma associated with CGCG and discuss the clinical, imaging, histologic, and treatment aspects of this hybrid lesion.
Kirchhoff's rule for quantum wires

We formulate and discuss one-particle quantum scattering theory on an arbitrary finite graph with n open ends and where we define the Hamiltonian to be (minus) the Laplace operator with general boundary conditions at the vertices. This results in a scattering theory with n channels. The corresponding on-shell S-matrix formed by the reflection and transmission amplitudes for incoming plane waves of energy E>0 is given explicitly in terms of the boundary conditions and the lengths of the internal lines. It is shown to be unitary, which may be viewed as the quantum version of Kirchhoff's law. We exhibit covariance and symmetry properties. It is symmetric if the boundary conditions are real. Also there is a duality transformation on the set of boundary conditions and the lengths of the internal lines such that the low-energy behaviour of one theory gives the high-energy behaviour of the transformed theory. Finally, we provide a composition rule by which the on-shell S-matrix of a graph is factorizable in terms of the S-matrices of its subgraphs. All proofs use only known facts from the theory of self-adjoint extensions, standard linear algebra, complex function theory and elementary arguments from the theory of Hermitian symplectic forms.