Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Posterior Approach With Louis Plates for Fractures of the Thoracolumbar and Lumbar Spine With and Without Neurologic Deficits

Study Design. This is a retrospective revue of the long‐term outcome of posterior Louis plate fixation for the treatment of irreducible or ligamentously unstable fractures of the thoracolumbar and lumbar spine with or without neurologic deficit. Objectives. To determine the clinical, radiologic, and functional status of patients who underwent posterior fracture fixation with Louis plates and to evaluate the effect of instrumentation length on the construct's ability to maintain reduction of the fracture. Summary of Background Data. Since the development of pedicle screw fixation described by Roy‐Camille, there has been a rapid evolution in the number and complexity of systems available for posterior spinal stabilization. Along with this escalation in implant and instrument sophistication, there has been a corresponding increase in implant cost. To date, no series has been reported of the clinical, radiologic, and functional results of posterior instrumentation with semirigid Louis plates for spinal fractures. Methods. A retrospective review of spinal fractures from T11 to L5 treated since 1985 by posterior plate fixation showed that 56 patients (37 men and 19 women) with an average age of 34 years and a minimum follow‐up of 2 years (average, 41 months) were available for review. There were 36 burst fractures, 4 Chance fractures and 16 fracture‐dislocations treated. Forty‐three patients had neurologic injury. Results. Before surgery, vertebral kyphosis averaged 15°, improved to 5° with reduction, and reached a steady 10° at final follow‐up. Similarly, corrected kyphosis initially averaged 12° but improved to 0.5° with reduction, and was 10° at final follow‐up. Vertebral canal compromise initially averaged 50% but was reduced to 13% with surgery and 6% at 1 year. There was no significant difference between the ability of short and long constructs to maintain reduction. Eighty‐eight percent of patients with neurologic injury improved at least one Frankel grade with treatment. Functional and pain evaluation by the Denis scale showed 25 patients rated P1, 25 rated P2, and 6 rated P3. Twenty‐eight were rated W1, 16 were W3, and 12 were W5 at last follow‐up. Conclusions. Fractures of the thoracolumbar spine can be treated effectively with the semirigid Louis plating system. Because of its low cost and ease of insertion, the Louis system is an excellent choice for short arthrodesis and instrumentation of these fractures. Although there is some loss of reduction when compared with more rigid systems, there is no functional compromise in these patients.
A supercapacitor-based energy storage substation for voltage compensation in weak transportation networks

A supercapacitive-storage-based substation for the compensation of resistive voltage drops in transportation networks is proposed. It allows to feed as a current source in any voltage conditions of the line. The system has been designed as a compensation substation to be placed at weak points like end-of-line stations, instead of additional feeding substations. A dedicated power-electronic converter with an associated control system for the stabilization of the voltage level at the point of coupling in case of strong perturbations is proposed. Practical results are also presented, which have been recorded from a reduced size prototype.
Comparison of alternative buffers for use with a new live oral cholera vaccine, Peru-15, in outpatient volunteers

During development of Peru-15, a new live oral vaccine for cholera, the role of buffer needed to be evaluated. Generally, oral bacterial vaccines are acid labile and need to be administered by using a formulation which protects them from gastric acid. We compared three different buffers for use with Peru-15, including a standard bicarbonate-ascorbic acid buffer, Alka-Seltzer, and a new electrolyte-rice buffer, CeraVacx. Saline served as the control. Thirty-nine healthy adult volunteers received Peru-15 (10(8) CFU) with one of the three buffers or saline in a double-masked study. The volunteers were monitored for symptoms for 7 days after the dose, serum was tested for antibody responses by vibriocidal antibody and immunoglobulin G antitoxin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and stool samples were tested for excretion of the vaccine strain. Side effects were minimal in all groups. All 30 volunteers who took Peru-15 with a buffer showed significant rises in vibriocidal antibody titer. The magnitude of the rises was higher in the CeraVacx group than in the other two buffer groups. Four of nine volunteers who took the vaccine with saline also showed increased titers, but they were lower than those in any of the three buffer groups. Excretion of the vaccine strain was similar in the buffer groups, but excretion was not associated with the magnitude of the vibriocidal responses. Excretion of Peru-15 was not detected in the saline group. We conclude that buffer does amplify the serological response to Peru-15 and that CeraVacx may provide benefits not provided by other buffers.
Friction and wear behaviour of induction hardened ISO 42CrMo4 low-alloy steel under reciprocating sliding conditions

Tribological behaviour of induction hardened ISO 42CrMo4 low alloy steel was evaluated under unlubricated sliding conditions. The effect of hardening depth and test conditions on the friction and wear properties was investigated. The tribological tests were carried out on a reciprocating tribometer. Cylinder-on-flat contact configuration was adopted. The results showed that varying the hardened depth, normal load or sliding speed influences the friction coefficient, the friction energy, the wear volume and the wear coefficient. It was found, also, that a change in the wear behaviour occurs when a critical value of normal load is exceeded.
Improved simple simulation models for semiconductor wafer factories

Semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities (wafer fabs) are among the most complex production facilities. A large product variety, hundreds of processing steps per product, hundreds of machines of different types, and automated transport lead to a system complexity which is hard to understand and hard to handle. For educating planners and developing adequate material flow control mechanisms, simple models for this complex environment are required. Several years ago, we published some first approaches which were useful to explain the fab behavior after a serious bottleneck breakdown. With that simple model, however, it was only possible to predict the cycle time distribution of the lots for a few scenarios. In this paper, we present some model improvements which lead to a rather good cycle time prediction for a variety of load situations.
How Chromatin Is Remodelled during DNA Repair of UV-Induced DNA Damage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Global genome nucleotide excision repair removes DNA damage from transcriptionally silent regions of the genome. Relatively little is known about the molecular events that initiate and regulate this process in the context of chromatin. We've shown that, in response to UV radiation–induced DNA damage, increased histone H3 acetylation at lysine 9 and 14 correlates with changes in chromatin structure, and these alterations are associated with efficient global genome nucleotide excision repair in yeast. These changes depend on the presence of the Rad16 protein. Remarkably, constitutive hyperacetylation of histone H3 can suppress the requirement for Rad7 and Rad16, two components of a global genome repair complex, during repair. This reveals the connection between histone H3 acetylation and DNA repair. Here, we investigate how chromatin structure is modified following UV irradiation to facilitate DNA repair in yeast. Using a combination of chromatin immunoprecipitation to measure histone acetylation levels, histone acetylase occupancy in chromatin, MNase digestion, or restriction enzyme endonuclease accessibility assays to analyse chromatin structure, and finally nucleotide excision repair assays to examine DNA repair, we demonstrate that global genome nucleotide excision repair drives UV-induced chromatin remodelling by controlling histone H3 acetylation levels in chromatin. The concerted action of the ATPase and C3HC4 RING domains of Rad16 combine to regulate the occupancy of the histone acetyl transferase Gcn5 on chromatin in response to UV damage. We conclude that the global genome repair complex in yeast regulates UV-induced histone H3 acetylation by controlling the accessibility of the histone acetyl transferase Gcn5 in chromatin. The resultant changes in histone H3 acetylation promote chromatin remodelling necessary for efficient repair of DNA damage. Recent evidence suggests that GCN5 plays a role in NER in human cells. Our work provides important insight into how GG-NER operates in chromatin.
Catalytic treatment in Diesel engine injectors

The aim of the study proposed and carried out by the authors was to assess the impact of using platinum as a catalyst carrier in the fuel injector diesel engine with the direct fuel injection for emissions of toxic substances in the exhaust gases into the atmosphere and specific fuel consumption. Experimental studies were carried out on a test bench equipped with a 359 engine and a hydraulic brake with complete measurement apparatus. During the tests the engine worked by external speed characteristics. The analysis of the study showed that it is possible to reduce emissions of toxic compounds into the environment and to reduce specific fuel consumption through the use of catalytic coatings in the diesel engine fuel injector.
Label Construction for Multi-label Feature Selection

Multi-label learning handles datasets where each instance is associated with multiple labels, which are often correlated. As other machine learning tasks, multi-label learning also suffers from the curse of dimensionality, which can be mitigated by dimensionality reduction tasks, such as feature selection. The standard approach for multi-label feature selection transforms the multi-label dataset into single-label datasets before using traditional feature selection algorithms. However, this approach often ignores label dependence. This work proposes an alternative method, LCFS, which constructs new labels based on relations between the original labels to augment the label set of the original dataset. Afterwards, the augmented dataset is submitted to the standard multi-label feature selection approach. Experiments using Information Gain as a measure to evaluate features were carried out in 10 multi-label benchmark datasets. For each dataset, the quality of the features selected was assessed by the quality of the classifiers built using the features selected by the standard approach in the original dataset, as well as in the dataset constructed by four LCFS settings. The results show that setting LCFS with simple strategies using pairs of labels gives rise to better classifiers than the ones built using the standard approach in the original dataset. Moreover, these good results are accomplished when a small number of features are selected.
Automatic Thumbnail Generation Based on Visual Representativeness and Foreground Recognizability

We present an automatic thumbnail generation technique based on two essential considerations: how well they visually represent the original photograph, and how well the foreground can be recognized after the cropping and downsizing steps of thumbnailing. These factors, while important for the image indexing purpose of thumbnails, have largely been ignored in previous methods, which instead are designed to highlight salient content while disregarding the effects of downsizing. We propose a set of image features for modeling these two considerations of thumbnails, and learn how to balance their relative effects on thumbnail generation through training on image pairs composed of photographs and their corresponding thumbnails created by an expert photographer. Experiments show the effectiveness of this approach on a variety of images, as well as its advantages over related techniques.
Functionalized tetrapod-like ZnO nanostructures for plasmid DNA purification, polymerase chain reaction and delivery

Functionalized tetrapodal ZnO nanostructures are tested in plasmid DNA experiments (1) as a solid-phase adsorbent for plasmid DNA purification, (2) as improving reagents in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and (3) as novel carriers for gene delivery. The amino-modification, the tetrapod-like shape of the nanostructure and its high biocompatibility all contribute to measurements showing promise for applications. A sol–gel method is used for silica coating and amino-modification. Plasmid DNA is purified through reversible conjugations of amino-modified ZnO tetrapods with DNA. Also, as additional reagents, functionalized tetrapods are shown to improve the amount of PCR product. For transfection, ZnO tetrapods provide some protection against deoxyribonuclease cleavage of plasmid DNA and deliver plasmid DNA into cells with little cytotoxicity.
Bifid inferior turbinate: a case report

Abstract Objectives: A bifid inferior turbinate is an extremely rare anatomical variation and has been reported in only two cases to date. Including the present report, the uncinate processes were missing in all three patients reported. It is suggested that, in the reported patient, bifid inferior turbinate coexisted with a developmental anomaly of the uncinate process, and that the bifid inferior turbinate represented two separate turbinates originating from the same site. Case report: We present the first reported case of bilateral bifid inferior turbinates, with a secondary middle turbinate, in a patient complaining of nasal obstruction. Conclusion: We suggest that the superior part of the bifid inferior turbinate may have been formed by severe medial displacement and inferior rotation of the uncinate process, and that the bifid inferior turbinate is an anatomical abnormality of the uncinate process.
Twisted Alexander polynomials of plane algebraic curves

In the present paper, Alexander polynomials of plane algebraic curves twisted by linear representations are considered. They are shown to divide the product of the polynomials of the singularity links, for unitary representations. Moreover, their quotient is given by the determinant of the Blanchfield intersection form. Specializing to the classical case, this gives a divisibility formula in the sense of Libgober's divisibility theorem. Examples of twisted polynomials for some algebraic curves are explicitly calculated showing that they can detect Zariski pairs of equivalent Alexander polynomials and that they are sensitive to nodal degenerations.
Association of Serum Total Iron-Binding Capacity and Its Changes Over Time with Nutritional and Clinical Outcomes in Hemodialysis Patients

Serum transferrin, estimated by total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), may be a marker of protein-energy wasting (PEW) in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. We hypothesized that low TIBC or its fall over time is associated with poor clinical outcomes. In 807 MHD patients in a prospective 5-year cohort, associations of TIBC and its changes over time with outcomes were examined after adjustment for case-mix and markers of iron stores and malnutrition-inflammation including serum interleukin-6, iron and ferritin. Patients with serum TIBC ≥250 mg/dl had higher body mass index, triceps and biceps skinfolds and mid-arm muscle circumference and higher serum levels of iron but lower ferritin and inflammatory markers. Some SF-36 quality of life (QoL) components were worse in the lowest and/or highest TIBC groups. Mortality was incrementally higher in lower TIBC levels (p-trend <0.001). Adjusted death hazard ratio was 1.75 (95% CI: 1.00–3.05, p = 0.05) for TIBC <150 compared to TIBC of 200–250 mg/dl. A fall in TIBC >20 mg/dl over 6 months was associated with a death hazard ratio of 1.57 (95% CI: 1.04–2.36, p = 0.03) compared to the stable TIBC group. Hence, low baseline serum TIBC is associated with iron deficiency, PEW, inflammation, poor QoL and mortality, and its decline over time is independently associated with increased death risk.
A Comparison of Patient Pain Responses and Medication Regimens After Hip/Knee Replacement

BACKGROUND Increased emphasis on adequate pain control as a patient expectation and a change in professional practice standards has prompted research on new mechanisms of pain medication delivery in an effort to improve outcomes and efficacy. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare pain scores of patients receiving extended release epidural morphine (EREM) with those receiving traditional pain control regimens. DESIGN/METHODS Retrospective chart reviews were performed on all patients who had had first-time, elective, nontraumatic, unilateral hip or knee replacement from January to June 2006. All patients received either intraoperative EREM or a traditional pain control regimen. Medication regimens were coded and noted at patients' arrival on the unit (baseline), at 16 hr, and at 48 hr postoperatively. SAMPLE The sample consisted of surgical patients (N = 65) having first-time, nontraumatic hip/knee surgery. Of the sample, 39% (n = 25) were men and 61% (n = 40) were women, with a mean age of 65.25 years (SD = 15.28). Knee replacement surgery was the most frequent surgery at 57% (n = 36), with women representing 75% (n = 28) of the total knee surgical procedures. Hip surgical procedures were equally divided between men (n =11) and women (n = 11). RESULTS Postoperative pain was assessed within 1 hr of admission to the unit for 98.5% (n = 64) of patients and reassessed at 15–17 hr for 90.8% (n = 59) of the sample, suggesting that the assessment and documentation of patient pain level were a high priority for the nurses. Pain scores were not correlated with age during the 3 time points in the study. Women reported a significantly higher level of pain upon admission to the unit than men, t(62) = 2.697, p ≤ . 009027. CONCLUSIONS Pain scores for both groups were relatively low with an average score of 3.1 at the time of postoperative admission decreasing to an average of 2.7 at 16 and 24 hours. There were no significant differences in patients reported pain levels between the EREM and traditional control regimens.
Current Evidence of Chinese Herbal Constituents with Effects on NMDA Receptor Blockade

NMDA receptor (NMDA-R) is an important molecular entity governing a wide range of functions in the central nervous system. For example, the NMDA-R is involved in memory and cognition, and impairment of both (as in Alzheimer’s Disease) is attributed to NMDA-mediated neurotoxicity. With greater understanding of the NMDA-R structure, antagonists with varying degrees of binding-site and subtype selectivity have been developed and put into clinical use. Discovery of target-specific Chinese herbs have also been made in parallel. This article provides an overview of the known active sites on the NMDA-R, followed by a discussion of the relevant herbs and their constituents. Experimental evidence supporting the inhibitory role of the herbal compounds on the NMDA-R is highlighted. For some of the compounds, potential research directions are also proposed to further elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the herbs. It is envisaged that future investigations based on the present data will allow more clinically relevant herbs to be identified.
Statistical mechanics of jammed matter

Jamming refers to a state which emerges when a many-body system is blocked in a static configuration far from equilibrium. It has been postulated that the behavior of systems experiencing such a structural arrest can be described by a statistical ensemble at a fixed total volume such that all microscopic jammed states are equally probable and become accessible to one another (the ergodic hypothesis) by the application of tapping or shear, just as thermal systems explore their energy landscape through Brownian motion. Here we combine computational simulations and experiments to explore this unifying thermodynamic framework. In particular we present recent results for jammed granular materials and colloidal systems which support the thermodynamic approach by showing the existence of an effective temperature to describe jammed matter.
Isolation of Nocardia beijingensis from a Pulmonary Abscess Reveals Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

ABSTRACT A strain of Nocardia was isolated from a pulmonary abscess of a human immunodeficiency virus-infected patient in France. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that the isolate represented a strain of Nocardia beijingensis. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was essential to guide the clinicians to successfully treat this infection.
Surface Resistance of Superconductors in the Presence of a DC Magnetic Field: Frequency and Field Intensity Limits

We revisit the classical rigid-fluxon model which describes the effect of an applied magnetic flux on the RF surface resistance of a superconductor and discuss explicit formulations for a few limit cases. As an application, we discuss the role of magnetic flux on the enhanced surface resistance of RF accelerating cavities based on niobium, depending on its material properties. We also assess the conditions for the use of high-temperature superconductors for carrying the beam image RF currents in future high-energy circular hadron colliders such as the future circular collider being studied at CERN.
Stability Criteria for Nonlinearly Perturbed Load Frequency Systems With Time-Delay

In this paper, new criteria are presented for ascertaining delay-dependent stability of networked multi-area load frequency control (LFC) systems with feedback loop delay in presence of unknown and time-varying exogenous load disturbance. The proposed stability criteria are based on Lyapunov-Krasovskii (LK) functional approach, and they are expressed in linear matrix inequality (LMI) framework. Since the unknown exogenous load disturbance in the power system (cause) ultimately affects the evolution of the state variables of the system (effect), in the reported stability criteria, the load disturbance is mathematically modelled as a norm-bounded nonlinear time-varying function of current and delayed state vectors, and subsequently incorporated into the delay-dependent stability analysis. Two cases of time-delays are considered in the stability analysis: time-varying single feedback-loop delay element and time-invariant multiple feedback-loop delay elements. In addition, to realize less conservative stability criteria with minimal number of decision variables, in the stability analysis, tighter integral inequalities, viz., reciprocal convex combination lemma (for time-varying delay case) and Jenson integral inequality (for time-invariant delay case) are employed. The proposed results are illustrated on standard benchmark LFC systems, and supported suitably by simulation results.
High-level programming and control for industrial robotics: using a hand-held accelerometer-based input device for gesture and posture recognition

Purpose – Most industrial robots are still programmed using the typical teaching process, through the use of the robot teach pendant. This is a tedious and time‐consuming task that requires some technical expertise, and hence new approaches to robot programming are required. The purpose of this paper is to present a robotic system that allows users to instruct and program a robot with a high‐level of abstraction from the robot language.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents in detail a robotic system that allows users, especially non‐expert programmers, to instruct and program a robot just showing it what it should do, in an intuitive way. This is done using the two most natural human interfaces (gestures and speech), a force control system and several code generation techniques. Special attention will be given to the recognition of gestures, where the data extracted from a motion sensor (three‐axis accelerometer) embedded in the Wii remote controller was used to capture human hand behaviours. G.