Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Appraisal Tools for Clinical Practice Guidelines: A Systematic Review

Introduction Clinical practice guidelines can improve healthcare processes and patient outcomes, but are often of low quality. Guideline appraisal tools aim to help potential guideline users in assessing guideline quality. We conducted a systematic review of publications describing guideline appraisal tools in order to identify and compare existing tools. Methods Among others we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from 1995 to May 2011 for relevant primary and secondary publications. We also handsearched the reference lists of relevant publications. On the basis of the available literature we firstly generated 34 items to be used in the comparison of appraisal tools and grouped them into thirteen quality dimensions. We then extracted formal characteristics as well as questions and statements of the appraisal tools and assigned them to the items. Results We identified 40 different appraisal tools. They covered between three and thirteen of the thirteen possible quality dimensions and between three and 29 of the possible 34 items. The main focus of the appraisal tools were the quality dimensions “evaluation of evidence” (mentioned in 35 tools; 88%), “presentation of guideline content” (34 tools; 85%), “transferability” (33 tools; 83%), “independence” (32 tools; 80%), “scope” (30 tools; 75%), and “information retrieval” (29 tools; 73%). The quality dimensions “consideration of different perspectives” and “dissemination, implementation and evaluation of the guideline” were covered by only twenty (50%) and eighteen tools (45%) respectively. Conclusions Most guideline appraisal tools assess whether the literature search and the evaluation, synthesis and presentation of the evidence in guidelines follow the principles of evidence-based medicine. Although conflicts of interest and norms and values of guideline developers, as well as patient involvement, affect the trustworthiness of guidelines, they are currently insufficiently considered. Greater focus should be placed on these issues in the further development of guideline appraisal tools.
A sensory-guided surgical micro-drill

Abstract This article describes a surgical robotic device that is able to discriminate tissue interfaces and other controlling parameters ahead of the drill tip. The advantage in such a surgery is that the tissues at the interfaces can be preserved. A smart tool detects ahead of the tool point and is able to control the interaction with respect to the flexing tissue, to avoid penetration or to control the extent of protrusion with respect to the position of the tissue. For surgical procedures, where precision is required, the tool offers significant benefit. To interpret the drilling conditions and the conditions leading up to breakthrough at a tissue interface, a sensing scheme is used that discriminates between the variety of conditions posed in the drilling environment. The result is a fully autonomous system, which is able to respond to the tissue type, behaviour, and deflection in real-time. The system is also robust in terms of disturbances encountered in the operating theatre. The device is pragmatic. It is intuitive to use, efficient to set up, and uses standard drill bits. The micro-drill, which has been used to prepare cochleostomies in the theatre, was used to remove the bone tissue leaving the endosteal membrane intact. This has enabled the preservation of sterility and the drilling debris to be removed prior to the insertion of the electrode. It is expected that this technique will promote the preservation of hearing and reduce the possibility of complications. The article describes the device (including simulated drill progress and hardware set-up) and the stages leading up to its use in the theatre.
Quantitative volumetric analysis of cross-linked gutta-percha obturators.

AIM The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of technique on the filling quality of 2 recently introduced obturation systems comparatively with warm vertical compaction using micro-computed tomography. METHODS 36 single-rooted teeth were selected, root canals prepared, and assigned to 3 groups (n=12), according to the filling technique: warm vertical compaction technique WVC, GuttaCore (Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK) and Gutta Fusion (VDW, Germany). Each specimen was scanned using a micro-CT. Percentage of voids was calculated and data statistically analyzed using Kruskal Wallis test with a significance level of 5%. RESULTS All obturations showed satisfactory similar results at the apical level. Differences between the three obturation methods were not significant at 1 mm (-p-value >0.05), 3 mm (-p-value >0.05) and 5 mm (-p-value >0.05). No root fillings were void-free. No significant difference was found between the WVC technique, the GuttaCore technique and the Gutta Fusion technique concerning percentage of apical voids regardless of canal level. CONCLUSION This study shows the efficiency of cross-linked obturators in filling root canals hermetically by comparing them to the warm vertical compaction technique. Results show that these obturation techniques were equally sufficient concerning apical adaptation making them appropriate to use in endodontic obturations.
Comparison of Simple Lumbar Interbody Fusion with CircumferentialFusion for Treatment of Isthmic Spondylolisthesis

Purpose: Spondylolisthesis is a common cause of surgery in patients with lower back pain. Although interbody fusion and circumferential fusion are a relatively common surgical method for the treatment of spondylolisthesis, we retrospectively compared surgical reduction or fusion in situ with simple lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF/TLIF) and circumferential fusion (PLF+TLIF/PLIF) for adult isthmic spondylolisthesis in terms of surgical invasiveness, clinical and radiographical outcomes, and complications. Methods: From January 2013 to June 2015, 84 adult patients with isthmic spondylolisthesis who underwent surgical treatment in our department were randomized to simple lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF/TLIF) group (group 1, n=45) and circumferential fusion (PLF+TLIF/PLIF) group (group 2, n=39), and followed up for average 28.6 months (range 24–54 months). All patients of both groups had low back pain as their predominant symptom, with varying degree of radicular pain and neurological symptoms. The data collected retrospectively for analysis were: duration of symptoms, levels of fusion, revision surgery, clinical and radiographic results after surgery, and complications. Results: All the 84 patients compared in two surgical approaches for IS were included in this retrospective studies. In our analysis, for the surgical management of isthmic spondylolisthesis, we indicated that both approaches lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF/TLIF) and circumferential fusion (PLF+TLIF/PLIF) have equal significant, greater fusion rates with successful clinical outcomes. Conclusion: Our clinical experience along with statistic findings indicates that in conclusion, there was no significant difference was found between simple interbody fusion (PLIF/TLIF) compared to circumferential fusion (PLF+TLIF/PLIF). Moreover, both techniques led to similar surgical outcomes and complication during follow-up. Thus, these results suggest that both procedures are equally effective for the treatment of isthmic spondylolisthesis.
Filopodyan: An open-source pipeline for the analysis of filopodia

Filopodia have important sensory and mechanical roles in motile cells. The recruitment of actin regulators, such as ENA/VASP proteins, to sites of protrusion underlies diverse molecular mechanisms of filopodia formation and extension. We developed Filopodyan (filopodia dynamics analysis) in Fiji and R to measure fluorescence in filopodia and at their tips and bases concurrently with their morphological and dynamic properties. Filopodyan supports high-throughput phenotype characterization as well as detailed interactive editing of filopodia reconstructions through an intuitive graphical user interface. Our highly customizable pipeline is widely applicable, capable of detecting filopodia in four different cell types in vitro and in vivo. We use Filopodyan to quantify the recruitment of ENA and VASP preceding filopodia formation in neuronal growth cones, and uncover a molecular heterogeneity whereby different filopodia display markedly different responses to changes in the accumulation of ENA and VASP fluorescence in their tips over time. eTOC summary: Urbančič et al. developed an open-source platform called Filopodyan (filopodia dynamics analysis) in Fiji and R to measure fluorescence in filopodia, at their tips, and bases, concurrently with their morphological and dynamic properties. This customizable tool therefore enables researchers to determine the relationship between protein localization and filopodium behavior.
Dispositional Mindfulness Co-Varies with Smaller Amygdala and Caudate Volumes in Community Adults

Mindfulness, a psychological process reflecting attention and awareness to what is happening in the present moment, has been associated with increased well-being and decreased depression and anxiety in both healthy and patient populations. However, little research has explored underlying neural pathways. Recent work suggests that mindfulness (and mindfulness training interventions) may foster neuroplastic changes in cortico-limbic circuits responsible for stress and emotion regulation. Building on this work, we hypothesized that higher levels of dispositional mindfulness would be associated with decreased grey matter volume in the amgydala. In the present study, a self-report measure of dispositional mindfulness and structural MRI images were obtained from 155 healthy community adults. Volumetric analyses showed that higher dispositional mindfulness is associated with decreased grey matter volume in the right amygdala, and exploratory analyses revealed that higher dispositional mindfulness is also associated with decreased grey matter volume in the left caudate. Moreover, secondary analyses indicate that these amygdala and caudate volume associations persist after controlling for relevant demographic and individual difference factors (i.e., age, total grey matter volume, neuroticism, depression). Such volumetric differences may help explain why mindful individuals have reduced stress reactivity, and suggest new candidate structural neurobiological pathways linking mindfulness with mental and physical health outcomes.
Ballistic performance of alumina ceramic armors

High quality alumina ceramic tiles, backed with semi-infinite aluminum blocks were ballistically tested with armor piercing 7.62 mm projectiles. The failure mechanism, ballistic efficiences and fragmentation behavior of ceramics were investigated under impact loading conditions. The thickness and projectile velocity were essential. Ballistic efficiency was affected by the thickness and projectile velocity. Upon impact, radial, cone and lateral cracks form and disintegrate the ceramic tile. A ceramic conoid zone within the innermost cone crack interacts with the projectile. In the present study, ballistic efficiencies that quantify the normalized performance of ceramic against the impacting projectile, have been found to be a function of the projectile velocity and ceramic tile thickness. High values of ballistic efficiencies were achieved for thinner ceramic tiles and for higher impact velocities. These effects of projectile velocity and ceramic tile thickness on the ballistic efficiency are thought to be extremely important when making merit ratings between armor ceramics tested at various velocities or thickness.
Effects of greening and community reuse of vacant lots on crime

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation initiated a ‘Lots of Green’ programme to reuse vacant land in 2010. We performed a difference-in-differences analysis of the effects of this programme on crime in and around newly treated lots, in comparison to crimes in and around randomly selected and matched, untreated vacant lot controls. The effects of two types of vacant lot treatments on crime were tested: a cleaning and greening ‘stabilisation’ treatment and a ‘community reuse’ treatment mostly involving community gardens. The combined effects of both types of vacant lot treatments were also tested. After adjustment for various sociodemographic factors, linear and Poisson regression models demonstrated statistically significant reductions in all crime classes for at least one lot treatment type. Regression models adjusted for spatial autocorrelation found the most consistent significant reductions in burglaries around stabilisation lots, and in assaults around community reuse lots. Spill-over crime reduction effects were found in contiguous areas around newly treated lots. Significant increases in motor vehicle thefts around both types of lots were also found after they had been greened. Community-initiated vacant lot greening may have a greater impact on reducing more serious, violent crimes.
Large pregnancy-associated pyogenic granuloma: a case report

Pyogenic granuloma (PG) is typically a localised and vascular granulation tissue growth that occurs on both the oral cavity and the skin. PG is the most common gingival tumour, although it can also be found on the lips, tongue and buccal mucosa (Neville and Day 2002). PG commonly exists as a soft tissue vascular lesion with interdental attachment that rarely exceeds over 2.5 cm in size (Laine 2002). The surface of PG may be ulcerated causing spontaneous bleeding, but the lesion is painless unless it is damaged by the opposing teeth during mastication. In addition to inflammation induced by biofilm and physical trauma, the development of PG may also be influenced by the hormonal factors, because of the high incidence of oral PG in pregnant women (Neville and Day 2002). A rare case of oral PG with an unusual large size which developed in the anterior palatal region of a pregnant woman is reported here.
Working Paper 8. Infant and Child Mortality in Andhra Pradesh: Analysing Changes Over Time and Between States

Most countries of the world are reducing infant and child mortality too slowly to meet the Millennium Development Goal of a two-thirds reduction by 2015. Yet, some countries and regions have achieved impressive reductions, Kerala in India being one example. This paper examines the determinants of infant and child mortality in Andhra Pradesh, where the Young Lives project is taking place, and Kerala and the factors explaining their differential performance. The determinants of mortality are estimated using a Cox proportional hazards model. Infant mortality is found to depend on biological factors, including mother’s age and birth order, and also factors related to health service provision such as tetanus injection and use of antenatal services. Economic well being is not significant once these other factors are taken into account. By contrast, economic well-being is a significant determinant of child mortality, but substantially outweighed in importance by other factors such as maternal education and knowledge of health practices (ORS) and access to safe water. The data also show gender discrimination in Andhra Pradesh, notably toward girls with only female siblings, which is absent from Kerala. We conclude that raising service levels across India toward the levels found in Kerala is a necessary step toward meeting the MDGs, and that the success of these efforts is reinforced by female empowerment.
The effects of enhanced access to antiretroviral therapy: a qualitative study of community perceptions in Kampala city, Uganda.

INTRODUCTION Since 2001, Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) has been integrated as part of the Uganda National Program for Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care and Support. If patients take Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) as prescribed, quality of life is expected to improve and patients become healthier. It is, however, postulated that scale up of ARVs could erode the previous achievement in behaviour change interventions. This study examined community perceptions and beliefs on whether enhanced access to ARVs increases risk behaviour. It also examined people's fears regarding HIV/AIDS infection and the use of ARVs. METHODS This was a qualitative study that utilized Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant (KI) interviews. Participants were purposefully sampled. Twenty FGDs comprising of 190 participants and 12 KI interviews were conducted. FGDs were conducted with adult men and women (above 25 years), and youth (male and female) while KI interviews were held with Kampala City Council officials, Kawempe Division Local Council officials, health workers and religious leaders. All data was tape recorded with consent from participants and transcribed thereafter. Typed data was analyzed manually using qualitative latent content analysis technique. RESULTS Most participants felt that enhanced access to ART would increase risky sexual behaviour; namely promiscuity, lack of faithfulness among couples, multiple partners, prostitution, unprotected sexual practices, rape and lack of abstinence as the risky sexual behaviours. A few FGDs, however, indicated that increased ART access and counselling that HIV-positive people receive promoted positive health behaviour. Some of the participants expressed fears that the increased use of ARVs would promote HIV transmission because it would be difficult to differentiate between HIV-positive and HIV-negative persons since they all looked healthy. Furthermore, respondents expressed uncertainty about ARVs with regard to adherence, sustainable supply, and capacity to ensure quality of ARVs on the market. CONCLUSIONS There are fears and misconceptions that enhanced access to ART will increase risky sexual behaviour and HIV transmission. Information Education and Communication (IEC) on ART use and availability should be enhanced among all people. Prevention programs which are modified and specific to the needs of the people living with HIV should be developed and implemented, and should include information on the ability of individuals to transmit HIV even when they are on ART.
Bi-directional optical backplane bus for general purpose multi-processor board-to-board optoelectronic interconnects

We report for the first time a bidirectional optical backplane bus for a high performance system containing nine multi-chip module (MCM) boards, operating at 632.8 and 1300 nm. The backplane bus reported here employs arrays of multiplexed polymer-based waveguide holograms in conjunction with a waveguiding plate, within which 16 substrate guided waves for 72 (8/spl times/9) cascaded fanouts, are generated. Data transfer of 1.2 Gbt/s at 1.3-/spl mu/m wavelength is demonstrated for a single bus line with 72 cascaded fanouts. Packaging-related issues such as transceiver size and misalignment are embarked upon to provide a reliable system with a wide bandwidth coverage. Theoretical treatment to minimize intensity fluctuations among the nine modules in both directions is further presented and an optimum design rule is provided. The backplane bus demonstrated, is for general-purpose and therefore compatible with such IEEE standardized buses as VMEbus, Futurebus and FASTBUS, and can function as a backplane bus in existing computing environments. >
A heuristic computational model of basic cellular processes and oxygenation during spheroid-dependent biofabrication

An emerging approach in biofabrication is the creation of 3D tissue constructs through scaffold-free, cell spheroid-only methods. The basic mechanism in this technology is spheroid fusion, which is driven by the minimization of energy, the same biophysical mechanism that governs spheroid formation. However, other factors such as oxygen and metabolite accessibility within spheroids impact on spheroid properties and their ability to form larger-scale structures. The goal of our work is to develop a simulation platform eventually capable of predicting the conditions that minimize metabolism-related cell loss within spheroids. To describe the behavior and dynamic properties of the cells in response to their neighbors and to transient nutrient concentration fields, we developed a hybrid discrete-continuous heuristic model, combining a cellular Potts-type approach with field equations applied to a randomly populated spheroid cross-section of prescribed cell-type constituency. This model allows for the description of: (i) cellular adhesiveness and motility; (ii) interactions with concentration fields, including diffusivity and oxygen consumption; and (iii) concentration-dependent, stochastic cell dynamics, driven by metabolite-dependent cell death. Our model readily captured the basic steps of spheroid-based biofabrication (as specifically dedicated to scaffold-free bioprinting), including intra-spheroid cell sorting (both in 2D and 3D implementations), spheroid defect closure, and inter-spheroid fusion. Moreover, we found that when hypoxia occurring at the core of the spheroid was set to trigger cell death, this was amplified upon spheroid fusion, but could be mitigated by external oxygen supplementation. In conclusion, optimization and further development of scaffold-free bioprinting techniques could benefit from our computational model which is able to simultaneously account for both cellular dynamics and metabolism in constructs obtained by scaffold-free biofabrication.
Synthesis of Silver Doped TiO2 Nanoparticles for the Improved Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange

preparation of silver doped TiO2 by photodeposition process. TiO2 and Ag-TiO2 were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, tunnelling electron microscopy, Brunner Emmer Teller analysis. The average particle size of prepared TiO2 and Ag-TiO2 was found to be 7 nm and 20 nm respectively as measured by TEM analysis. BET surface area of prepared TiO2 and Ag-TiO2 was found to be 150 m 2 /g and 140 m 2 /g, respectively. From the UV-visible measurement, the absorption in the visible light of the Ag-TiO2 and as prepared TiO2 was found to be improved and was shifted to longer wavelength (visible range). The obtained results show that the photocatalytic efficiency of Ag-TiO2 was better than prepared TiO2 for the photodegradation of methyl orange.