Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testing the durability of timber above ground: A review on methodology

Abstract The majority of timber products in outdoor use are exposed above ground, e.g. façades, terrace decking, playground equipment, garden furniture, windows, balconies or carports. In contrast, the durability of wood and wood products is most often determined in laboratory against Basidiomycete monocultures or in-ground field tests, where wood samples are submitted to permanent wetting. Worldwide, only a few above ground field test methods evaluating durability against fungal decay have been standardized. Wood used in above ground situations can be exposed to a wide range of moisture loads reflecting different design details such as varying shelter, distance to ground, ventilation and water trapping, whereas temperature and rainfall variations are overall influences on service life performance. The aim of this review was to gather information about standardized and non-standardized above ground field test methods used to determine the durability of wood and wood-based products. In total, more than 60 methods have been evaluated according to different criteria, such as principle set-up and design, severity of exposure and distance to ground. Their suitability to reflect a certain exposure under real-life conditions is discussed as well as practical aspects regarding acceleration measures, decay assessment and practicability, costs and time efforts.
Risk Factors for Early-Onset and Very-Early-Onset Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Pancreatic Cancer Case-Control Consortium (PanC4) Analysis

Objectives While pancreatic cancer (PC) most often affects older adults, to date, there has been no comprehensive assessment of risk factors among PC patients younger than 60 years. Methods We defined early-onset PC (EOPC) and very-early-onset PC (VEOPC) as diagnosis of PC in patients younger than 60 and 45 years, respectively. We pooled data from 8 case-control studies, including 1954 patients with EOPC and 3278 age- and sex-matched control subjects. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify associations with EOPC and VEOPC. Results Family history of PC, diabetes mellitus, smoking, obesity, and pancreatitis were associated with EOPC. Alcohol use equal to or greater than 26 g daily also was associated with increased risk of EOPC (odds ratio, 1.49; 95% confidence interval, 1.21–1.84), and there appeared to be a dose- and age-dependent effect of alcohol on risk. The point estimate for risk of VEOPC was an odds ratio of 2.18 (95% confidence interval, 1.17–4.09). Conclusions The established risk factors for PC, including smoking, diabetes, family history of PC, and obesity, also apply to EOPC. Alcohol intake appeared to have an age-dependent effect; the strongest association was with VEOPC.
Monocular Detection and Estimation of Moving Obstacles for Robot Navigation

The detection of motion and moving objects or persons with stationary monocular cameras has been extensively studied. However, those techniques fail if the camera is moving itself. In this paper, we present a method for detecting and estimating the position of moving objects using a monocular camera that is mounted in front of a mobile robot platform. The position estimates are used for obstacle avoidance and robot navigation. We apply image warping to compensate the egomotion of the camera. This allows us to use standard techniques for motion detection. The final position and velocity estimates are obtained using Extended Kalman Filters. Combined with a monocular scene reconstruction our approach allows the robust detection and avoidance of both static and moving obstacles by using a single monocular camera as the only sensor.
Odorants differentially enhance phosphoinositide turnover and adenylyl cyclase in olfactory receptor neuronal cultures

Both the cAMP and the phosphoinositide (PI) second messenger systems have been implicated in olfactory signal transduction. We have developed a primary culture system of mammalian olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs; Ronnett et al., 1991a) to permit analysis of odorant- induced second messenger system activation in the intact ORN. The ability of a series of odorants to stimulate PI turnover and adenylyl cyclase was examined. All odorants stimulated both second messenger systems, although with differential potencies. Stimulation of PI turnover desensitized upon reexposure of cultures to odorant. The enhancement by single odorants of both adenylyl cyclase and PI turnover, but to varying degrees, affords a mechanism for increased specificity in olfactory signal transduction.
Venous Thromboembolism in Live Kidney Donors—A Prospective Study

Aim. The aim of this study was to evaluate risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) and deep vein thrombosis after living donor nephrectomy in a center using extensive preoperative screening and perioperative venous duplex scan. Material and Methods. Thrombophilia screening and pre- and postoperative ultrasonographies were performed in 130 consecutive living kidney donors (laparoscopic 105, open 25). Donors were followed prospectively for at least 3 months. All donors received prophylaxis with the low molecular weight heparin enoxaparin and compression stockings. Donors with increased risk received a double dose of enoxaparin and the prophylaxis was continued for 6 weeks. Donors with venous thrombosis at discharge duplex also received prolonged prophylaxis. Results. The frequency of thrombophilia was similar to what can be expected in the Swedish population (four with factor V Leiden and one each with protein S deficiency, prothrombin gene mutation, and anticardiolipin antibodies). Preoperative duplex was normal. Three donors had small postoperative deep vein thrombosis. Twelve donors (9.2%) received an intensified and prolonged prophylaxis. No further thromboembolic complications developed in 3 postoperative months. Conclusion. With the present protocol for preoperative evaluation, perioperative duplex screening, and prophylaxis, the risk of postoperative VTE is low after living donor nephrectomy. Given that 9.2% had risk factors or developed deep vein thrombosis, the extraordinary situation of an operation being performed on a healthy person who has no therapeutic benefit and the low incidence of VTE in the present study, we recommend the presented approach to be implemented more broadly and that further studies are performed in larger cohorts.
Civilian traumatic vascular injuries of the upper extremity:report of the Iranian national trauma project.

PURPOSE The determination of the pattern of traumatic vascular injuries of the upper extremity in Iran was the aim of this study. METHODS Data of the Iranian national trauma project were used to identify patients with upper extremity vascular injuries. This project was conducted in 8 major cities from 2000-2004. RESULTS A total of 113 cases with 130 vascular injuries were found, including 2 axillary, 18 brachial, and 69 radial and ulnar arteries. In 91 cases (81%), penetrating trauma was responsible. Associated nerve and/or upper extremity fractures were seen in 20% and 18% of cases, respectively. End-to-end anastomosis, interposition of saphenous graft, and ligation were used for the management of 44%, 28%, and 17%, respectively, of brachial artery injuries. Ulnar and radial artery injuries had been either ligated (n = 36; 52%) or sutured (n = 33; 48%). Median, ulnar, and radial nerve injuries, except for one, had all been sutured primarily. No patients needed fasciotomy. Amputation and mortality resulting from associated injuries occurred in 3 (2.6%) and 5 (4.4%) patients, respectively. CONCLUSION This study revealed that stabbings are the most frequent causes of these injuries in Iran, in spite of the management of patients in level 3 trauma centers; the rate of amputation is acceptable. However, this study does not provide limb functions of the patients.
Male crickets adjust ejaculate quality with both risk and intensity of sperm competition

Sperm competition theory predicts that males should increase their expenditure on the ejaculate with increasing risk of sperm competition, but decrease their expenditure with increasing intensity. There is accumulating evidence for sperm competition theory, based on examinations of testes size and/or the numbers of sperm ejaculated. However, recent studies suggest that ejaculate quality can also be subject to selection by sperm competition. We used experimental manipulations of the risk and intensity of sperm competition in the cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus. We found that males produced ejaculates with a greater percentage of live sperm when they had encountered a rival male prior to mating. However, when mating with a female that presented a high intensity of sperm competition, males did not respond to risk, but produced ejaculates with a reduced percentage of live sperm. Our data suggest that males exhibit a fine-tuned hierarchy of responses to these cues of sperm competition.
Analysis of genotype diversity and evolution of Dengue virus serotype 2 using complete genomes

Background Dengue is one of the most common arboviral diseases prevalent worldwide and is caused by Dengue viruses (genus Flavivirus, family Flaviviridae). There are four serotypes of Dengue Virus (DENV-1 to DENV-4), each of which is further subdivided into distinct genotypes. DENV-2 is frequently associated with severe dengue infections and epidemics. DENV-2 consists of six genotypes such as Asian/American, Asian I, Asian II, Cosmopolitan, American and sylvatic. Comparative genomic study was carried out to infer population structure of DENV-2 and to analyze the role of evolutionary and spatiotemporal factors in emergence of diversifying lineages. Methods Complete genome sequences of 990 strains of DENV-2 were analyzed using Bayesian-based population genetics and phylogenetic approaches to infer genetically distinct lineages. The role of spatiotemporal factors, genetic recombination and selection pressure in the evolution of DENV-2 is examined using the sequence-based bioinformatics approaches. Results DENV-2 genetic structure is complex and consists of fifteen subpopulations/lineages. The Asian/American genotype is observed to be diversified into seven lineages. The Asian I, Cosmopolitan and sylvatic genotypes were found to be subdivided into two lineages, each. The populations of American and Asian II genotypes were observed to be homogeneous. Significant evidence of episodic positive selection was observed in all the genes, except NS4A. Positive selection operational on a few codons in envelope gene confers antigenic and lineage diversity in the American strains of Asian/American genotype. Selection on codons of non-structural genes was observed to impact diversification of lineages in Asian I, cosmopolitan and sylvatic genotypes. Evidence of intra/inter-genotype recombination was obtained and the uncertainty in classification of recombinant strains was resolved using the population genetics approach. Discussion Complete genome-based analysis revealed that the worldwide population of DENV-2 strains is subdivided into fifteen lineages. The population structure of DENV-2 is spatiotemporal and is shaped by episodic positive selection and recombination. Intra-genotype diversity was observed in four genotypes (Asian/American, Asian I, cosmopolitan and sylvatic). Episodic positive selection on envelope and non-structural genes translates into antigenic diversity and appears to be responsible for emergence of strains/lineages in DENV-2 genotypes. Understanding of the genotype diversity and emerging lineages will be useful to design strategies for epidemiological surveillance and vaccine design.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Sclerokeratitis After Pterygium Excision

Purpose: To report a case of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) sclerokeratitis after pterygium excision. Methods: Case report. Results: A 72-year-old woman who had undergone pterygium excision 6 months ago was referred for severe pain and decreased visual acuity. Although infectious scleritis caused by Pseudomonas was diagnosed clinically, and intravenous amikacin and ceftazidime and topical ciprofloxacin were started, there was no improvement. MRSA was grown in a cultured test, and topical and systemic vancomycin was applied and resolved the corneoscleral inflammation. Scleral patch graft and sliding conjunctival flap were performed, and no complications or recurrences were found through 14 months after treatment. Conclusions: MRSA should be considered as a possible organism in infectious scleritis after pterygium excision, especially when β-lactam antibiotic therapy is ineffective.
Mechanical Performance of an Animal-Based Silk/Polymer Bio-Composite

There has been a concern over many years on the usage of existing metallic and ceramicbased biomaterials for implant design and development due to the necessity of conducting operations for patients to remove and maintain implants after they complete their desired functions. Recently, the development of biodegradable polymers like poly(glycolic acid), poly(lactic acid), and their co-polymers etc. have emerged and provided an entirely new concept to tackle this problem as these polymers can be fully or partly degraded or resorbed by the human body, i.e. an extra operation for removing the implants can be avoided, which can highly alleviate the hard feeling of the patients that come from psychological and physiological pressures. Natural fibres have been well recognized as potential micro-reinforcements for the enhancement of mechanical, thermal and structural properties of biodegradable polymer composites, without generating any harmful by-products and adverse effects during their degrading process to the patients. These natural fibers can be mainly classified depending on their origin into two categories; they are (i) plant-based and (ii) animal-based natural fibers, like spider and silkworm silks. Since the last decade, silkworm silks have been used as reinforcements for fabricating biocomposites. However, no comprehensive study, particularly on the correlation between the mechanical properties of the composites, and fiber orientations and configurations has been done to date. In this paper, an in depth study on the mechanical properties of silk/epoxy composites with different fiber contents and orientations, through experimental approach and fractographic examinations will be conducted. Tensile property tests for all silk/epoxy composite samples will be performed. Failure samples will be examined by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) to investigate the failure mechanism of the composites.
Efficient sparse-to-dense optical flow estimation using a learned basis and layers

We address the elusive goal of estimating optical flow both accurately and efficiently by adopting a sparse-to-dense approach. Given a set of sparse matches, we regress to dense optical flow using a learned set of full-frame basis flow fields. We learn the principal components of natural flow fields using flow computed from four Hollywood movies. Optical flow fields are then compactly approximated as a weighted sum of the basis flow fields. Our new PCA-Flow algorithm robustly estimates these weights from sparse feature matches. The method runs in under 200ms/frame on the MPI-Sintel dataset using a single CPU and is more accurate and significantly faster than popular methods such as LDOF and Classic+NL. For some applications, however, the results are too smooth. Consequently, we develop a novel sparse layered flow method in which each layer is represented by PCA-Flow. Unlike existing layered methods, estimation is fast because it uses only sparse matches. We combine information from different layers into a dense flow field using an image-aware MRF. The resulting PCA-Layers method runs in 3.2s/frame, is significantly more accurate than PCA-Flow, and achieves state-of-the-art performance in occluded regions on MPI-Sintel.
Utilité clinique de trois outils d'évaluation pour les personnes atteintes de démence

Description. Les ergothérapeutes sont de plus en plus sollicités dans la démarche diagnostique des atteintes cognitives chez la personne âgée. But. Trois outils pouvant aider au processus d'évaluation ont été étudiés pour documenter leurs qualités diagnostiques et la nature de l'association de leurs résultats: le Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), le Protocole d'examen cognitif de la personne âgée (PECPA-2r) et le Système de mesure de l'autonomie fonctionnelle (SMAF). Méthodologie. Une étude corrélationnelle transversale a permis de documenter l'association entre les résultats obtenus avec les trois outils alors qu'ils étaient utilisés auprès de personnes âgées référées au projet par leur médecin traitant. Résultats. Les résultats de l'étude, réalisée auprès de 52 personnes âgées chez qui une atteinte cognitive était soupçonnée, ont montré qu'une corrélation très forte existe entre les scores obtenus aux trois outils d'évaluation. Les scores au MMSE seraient d'excellents prédicteurs des scores au PECPA-2r et au SMAF. La sévérité de l'atteinte cognitive serait un bon prédicteur du niveau d'atteinte de l'autonomie. Conséquences pour la pratique. Certaines observations faites par les évaluateurs lors de l'administration des PECPA-2r et SMAF se sont révélées particulièrement utiles à la démarche diagnostique ultérieure faite par le médecin traitant. Le court temps d'administration du MMSE ne permettait pas de telles observations alors que les PECPA-2r et SMAF offraient ce temps propice à l'observation. Les ergothérapeutes sont invités à examiner avec attention leurs intentions cliniques alors qu'ils choisissent leurs outils d'évaluation.
Systemic and Urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalins Are Poor Predictors of Acute Kidney Injury in Unselected Critically Ill Patients

Background. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in serum and urine have been suggested as potential early predictive biological markers of acute kidney injury (AKI) in selected critically ill patients. Methods. We performed a secondary analysis of a multicenter prospective observational cohort study of unselected critically ill patients. Results. The analysis included 140 patients, including 57 patients who did not develop AKI, 31 patients who developed AKI, and 52 patients with AKI on admission to the ICU. Levels of sNGAL and uNGAL on non-AKI days were significantly lower compared to levels of sNGAL on RIFLERISK days, RIFLEINJURY days, and RIFLEFAILURE days. The AUC of sNGAL for predicting AKI was low: 0.45 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.27–0.63) and 0.53 (CI 0.38–0.67), 2 days and 1 day before development of AKI, respectively. The AUC of uNGAL for predicting AKI was also low: 0.48 (CI 0.33–0.62) and 0.48 (CI 0.33–0.62), 2 days and 1 day before development of AKI, respectively. AUC of sNGAL and uNGAL for the prediction of renal replacement therapy requirement was 0.47 (CI 0.37–0.58) and 0.26 (CI 0.03–0.50). Conclusions. In unselected critically ill patients, sNGAL and uNGAL are poor predictors of AKI or RRT.
Behavior problems in postinstitutionalized internationally adopted children

Using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the rate and type of behavior problems associated with being reared in an institution prior to adoption were examined in 1,948, 4- through 18-year-old internationally adopted children, 899 of whom had experienced prolonged institutional care prior to adoption. The children's adoptions were decreed between 1990 and 1998 in Minnesota. Binomial logistic regression analyses revealed that early institutional rearing was associated with increased rates of attention and social problems, but not problems in either the internalizing or externalizing domains. Independent of institutional history, children who were adopted ≥24 months had higher rates of behavior problems across many CBCL scales, including internalizing and externalizing problems. In general, time in the adoptive home, which also reflected age at testing, was positively associated with rates of problem behavior. Thus, there was little evidence that the likelihood of behavior problems wane with time postadoption. Finally, children adopted from Russia/Eastern Europe appeared at greater risk of developing behavior problems in several domains compared to children adopted from other areas of the world.Members of the International Adoption Project (IAP) Team, all of whom are from the University of Minnesota, are H. Grotevant (Family Social Science); R. Lee (Psychology); W. Hellerstedt (Epidemiology); N. Madsen and M. Bale (Institute of Child Development); and D. Johnson, K. Dole, and S. Iverson (Pediatrics). This research was supported by an NIMH grant (MH59848) and K05 award (MH66208) to M. R. Gunnar. The authors thank the IAP parent board, the Minnesota Adoption Unit and its director, Robert DeNardo, and the adoption agencies that encouraged this work: Children's Home Society, Lutheran Social Services, Crossroads, Hope International, Bethany International, Child Link International, European Children Adoption Services, International Adoption Services, Great Wall China Adoption, and New Horizons. Special thanks are due to the many parents who completed the IAP survey.
Adaptive Schemes for Improving Fractal Block Coding of Images

In this paper, we propose several adaptive methods to improve the fractal block coding (FBC) of still images. First of all, the range of the contrast scaling is adaptively selected according to its statistical property: then, we search for the best quantized value in the selected range. Then, the domain pool of the current range block is predicted using a finite-state method, which uses the information of previous best-match domain blocks and domain pools. The size of the domain pool is automatically adjusted; however, conventional studies can only determine a fixed-size domain pool. Therefore, the search process for finding the best-match domain block in our approach is more flexible. In addition, we propose a finite-state method to estimate the mean (average pixel value) of the current range block by using the means of the previous blocks. From the simulation, we achieve 0.35 dB improvement in peak signal-to-noise ratio and 10.5% reduction in bit rate on average compared with the basic FBC scheme. Finally, the encoding and decoding time of different FBC schemes is also evaluated for completeness.
Studying Bordetella pertussis Populations by Use of SNPeX, a Simple High-Throughput Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Typing Method

ABSTRACT Large outbreaks of pertussis occur despite vaccination. A first step in the analyses of outbreaks is strain typing. However, the typing of Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of pertussis, is problematic because the available assays are insufficiently discriminatory, not unequivocal, time-consuming, and/or costly. Here, we describe a single nucleotide primer extension assay for the study of B. pertussis populations, SNPeX (single nucleotide primer extension), which addresses these problems. The assay is based on the incorporation of fluorescently labeled dideoxynucleotides (ddNTPs) at the 3′ end of allele-specific poly(A)-tailed primers and subsequent analysis with a capillary DNA analyzer. Each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) primer has a specific length, and as a result, up to 20 SNPs can be determined in one SNPeX reaction. Importantly, PCR amplification of target DNA is not required. We selected 38 SNPeX targets from the whole-genome sequencing data of 74 B. pertussis strains collected from across the world. The SNPeX-based phylogenetic trees preserved the general tree topology of B. pertussis populations based on whole-genome sequencing, with a minor loss of details. We envisage a strategy whereby SNP types (SnpTs) are quickly identified with the SNPeX assay during an outbreak, followed by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of a limited number of isolates representing predominant SnpTs and the incorporation of novel SNPs in the SNPeX assay. The flexibility of the SNPeX assay allows the method to evolve along with the pathogen, making it a promising method for studying outbreaks of B. pertussis and other pathogens.