Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plate fixation versus intramedullary nailing of completely displaced midshaft fractures of the clavicle: A PROSPECTIVE RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Aims This is a prospective randomised controlled trial comparing the functional outcomes of plate fixation and elastic stable intramedullary nailing (ESIN) of completely displaced midshaft fractures of the clavicle in the active adult population. Patients and Methods We prospectively recruited 123 patients and randomised them to either plate fixation or ESIN. Patients completed the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score at one to six weeks post‐operatively. They were followed up at six weeks, three and six months and one year with radiographs, and their clinical outcome was assessed using both the DASH and the Constant Score. Results Plate fixation provided a faster functional recovery during the first six months compared with ESIN, but there was no difference after one year. The duration of surgery was shorter for ESIN (mean 53.4 minutes, 22 to 120) than for plate fixation (mean 69.7 minutes, 35 to 106, p < 0.001). The recovery after ESIN was slower with increasing fracture comminution and with open reduction (p < 0.05). Conclusion Both methods return the patients to their pre‐injury functional levels, but plate fixation has a faster recovery period in comminuted fractures than ESIN. ESIN has a shorter operative time and lower infection and implant rates of failure when using 2.5 mm nails or wider, suggesting that this is the preferred method in mid‐shaft fractures with no comminution, whereas plate fixation is the superior method in comminuted fractures.
Lower Extremity Muscle Strength in 6- to 8-Year-Old Children Using Hand-Held Dynamometry

Purposes: The purposes of the study were to establish isometric torque reference values for healthy 6- to 8-year-old children for 6 lower extremity muscles and determine the effects of gender, age, height, weight, and physical activity upon strength. Methods: A hand-held dynamometer was used to obtain force/torque values for 154 children. Results: Age-referenced force/torque and cutoff values are provided for each muscle group. Torque increased with age and height for all muscles and with weight for all muscles except knee extensors. No gender differences were found. Children who participated in 3 or more hours per week in organized sports were stronger in 4 of 6 muscles; the number of hours spent in active play did not affect torque. Conclusions: This study provides hand-held dynamometer strength reference values to enable clinicians to determine if clients of the same age, height, and weight have muscle weakness.
HyStem®: A Unique Clinical Grade Hydrogel for Present and Future Medical Applications

Medicine needs targeted, minimally-invasive delivery of protein-based and cell-based therapeutics to increase efficacy and reduce occurrence and severity of side effects. Local delivery requires a matrix to sequester and protect the medicine until its effect can be realized. The problem is, unlike stable small molecule drugs, proteins and cells cannot be co-packaged with a matrix in a prefilled syringe—they must be mixed with their matrix at the point of care. HyStem hydrogels fix this problem: They are arguably the first commercially available, GMP-qualified biodegradable hydrogels both with the ability to formulate with either proteins or cells in the hospital/surgical suite and with a history of safe use in humans. HyStem is designed to be protein, cell-friendly and in situ crosslinkable, permitting homogeneous mixing of therapeutics. One HyStem formulation is 510(k) cleared and another the subject of two European clinical trials. Key applications include localized delivery of therapeutic growth factors, antibodies, and cells. In the future, we envision HyStem’s flexibility and clinical use history forming the basis for a new generation of therapeutics. Two examples described here include HyStem’s use for patient-derived organoid culture to develop new drugs as well as for bioprinting to manufacture new organs.
Coordination of Technology Intelligence Processes: A Study in Technology Intensive Multinationals

The importance of technology intelligence is widely accepted in theory and practice. However, existing research is contradictory on how this process should be coordinated. Therefore it was the objective of this contribution to derive insight into the coordination of the technology intelligence process. The results of an exploratory case study research in 26 leading European and North American companies in the pharmaceutical, telecommunications equipment and automobile/machinery industry are presented. The results show first, that the coordination of technology intelligence processes cannot be limited to structural coordination. Hybrid and informal forms of coordination are used simultaneously. Second, it is shown that the three forms of coordination of technology intelligence processes are being integrated differently based on the style of decision making and the culture of the company. Third, it is shown that the distribution and size of technology intelligence activities between corporate and divisional level as well as between different regions depend on the location of decision making on innovative activities and on the preconditions for performing technology intelligence
Correlation of liver dysfunction biological markers to the mood status of alcohol-dependent individuals

Objective: Alcohol intake is a major cause of liver cirrhosis as well as chronic liver disease, and commonly coexists with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible correlation between liver dysfunction related to alcohol intake with anxiety and depressive-like symptomatology prior to and after the detoxification period. Methods: One hundred alcohol abusing/dependent subjects (81 males and 19 females) were treated on an inpatient basis according to a standard detoxification protocol and measurements of serum levels of hepatic enzymes (ASAT, ALAT, γGT), and measures of anxiety (HARS), depression (HDRS) and global functioning (GAS) were also obtained at baseline and at weekly intervals over a period of 4 weeks. Results: Increased levels of hepatic enzymes were observed upon admission that were significantly reduced (P<0.001) following completion of the detoxification treatment. In addition, the psychopathological profile was improved at the end of the detoxification period and a significant correlation was obtained between the levels of hepatic enzymes and the global functioning of alcohol-dependent individuals. Conclusion: This observation further supports a relationship between the depressogenic action of alcohol and the disordered liver function observed in alcohol-dependent individuals, with possible implications in the diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders associated to alcohol abuse.
Immunotoxin‐induced ablation of melanopsin retinal ganglion cells in a non‐murine mammalian model

In mammals, non‐image‐forming visual functions, including circadian photoentrainment and the pupillary light reflex, are thought to be mediated by the combination of rods, cones, and the melanopsin‐expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). Although several genetic models have been developed to clarify the individual roles of the rod, cone, and ipRGC systems in mediating non‐image visual function, assessing the in vivo role(s) of the ipRGCs has been complicated by the possibility of ontogenetic issues in these genetically modified animal models. In the present study, we describe the development and validation of an immunotoxin that specifically targets the ipRGC population in the mature mammalian retina. This ipRGC immunotoxin, consisting of saporin conjugated to a melanopsin polyclonal antibody, was evaluated with respect to its effectiveness and specificity in depleting the ipRGC population in the fully developed rat retina. The results showed that the ipRGC toxin rapidly and permanently depleted ∼70% of the ipRGC population, without inducing appreciable changes in the cell number or morphology of any of the non‐melanopsin‐containing retinal cell populations investigated. These findings suggest that the newly developed ipRGC immunotoxin provides a potent method for achieving relatively rapid, permanent, and selective depletion of the ipRGC population in a non‐murine model system. The development of this ipRGC‐ablation method is the next step in elucidating the role of ipRGCs in mediating non‐visual and circadian light‐resetting responses in a wide range of non‐murine mammalian models. J. Comp. Neurol. 516:125–140, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
What is ocular rosacea?

Etiology The etiology of Ocular Rosacea is not fully understood; however, it is believed to be an inflammatory response. Some associations found in the literature include: • Genetic predisposition • Possible relation to helicobacter pylori • Demodex (higher in rosacea patients) • Over-action of immune system in response to bacillus oleronius 3,4,5 • Protein Cathelcidin • Inflammatory response from staphylococcus exotoxins
Modified properties of a glycated and cross-linked soy protein isolate by transglutaminase and an oligochitosan of 5 kDa.

BACKGROUND Soy protein is an important protein ingredient for the food industry; however, its properties can be improved by enzymatic and chemical modifications. This study applied a new enzymatic glycation and cross-linking to modify soy protein isolate (SPI), using an oligochitosan of 5 kDa and transglutaminase. Properties of the obtained glycated and cross-linked SPI (GC-SPI) were unknown and thus assessed. RESULTS GC-SPI contained glucosamine of 13.6 g kg-1 protein, but less reactable &bond;NH2 than SPI (0.42 vs. 0.50 mol kg-1 protein). Infrared spectra and circular dichroism results showed that GC-SPI other than SPI and cross-linked SPI had more &bond;OH in molecules, and was more disordered in secondary structure. In comparison with SPI, GC-SPI showed enhanced water-binding capacity, could form aggregates with enlarged hydrodynamic radius (180.2 vs. 82.9 nm) and negative zeta-potential (-31.2 vs. -27.7 mV) in dispersion, but exhibited lower thermal stability (e.g. greater mass loss) upon heating at a temperature above 288 °C. GC-SPI also had lower in vitro proteolytic digestibility than SPI due to the protein cross-linking. CONCLUSION Oligochitosan of 5 kDa and transglutaminase can be used to glycate and cross-link SPI. This approach is applicable to generate potential protein ingredient with good hydration and dispersive stabilisation. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
A region dissimilarity relation that combines feature-space and spatial information for color image segmentation

This paper proposes a methodology that incorporates principles from cluster analysis and graph representation to achieve efficient image segmentation results. More specifically, a feature-based, inter-region dissimilarity relation is considered here in order to determine the dissimilarity matrix in a graph-based segmentation scheme. The calculation of the dissimilarity function between adjacent elementary image regions is based on the proximity of each region's feature vector to the main clusters that are formed by the image samples in the feature space. In contrast to typical segmentation approaches of the literature, the global feature space information is included in the spatial graph representation that was derived from the initial Watershed partitioning. A region grouping process is applied next to form the final segmentation results. The proposed approach was also compared to approaches that use feature-based, or spatial information exclusively, to indicate its effectiveness.
Noise Analysis of Regenerative Comparators for Reconfigurable ADC Architectures

The need for highly integrable and programmable analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) is pushing towards the use of dynamic regenerative comparators to maximize speed, power efficiency and reconfigurability. Comparator thermal noise is, however, a limiting factor for the achievable resolution of several ADC architectures with scaled supply voltages. While mismatch in these comparators can be compensated for by calibration, noise can irreparably hinder performance and is less straightforward to be accounted for at design time. This paper presents a method to estimate the input referred noise in fully dynamic regenerative comparators leveraging a reference architecture. A time-domain analysis is proposed that accounts for the time varying nature of the circuit exploiting some basic results from the solution of stochastic differential equations. The resulting symbolic expressions allow focusing designers' attention on the most influential noise contributors. Analysis results are validated by comparison with electrical simulations and measurement results from two ADC prototypes based on the reference comparator architecture, implemented in 0.18-mum and 90-nm CMOS technologies.
Relationships among PL, #L, and the determinant

Results by Toda (1991), Vinay (1991), Damm (1991), and Valiant (1992) have shown that the complexity of the determinant is characterized by the complexity of counting the number of accepting computations of a nondeterministic logspace-bounded machine. (This class of functions is known as L.) By using that characterization and by establishing a few elementary closure properties, we give a very simple proof of a theorem of Jung (1985), showing that probabilistic logspace-bounded (PL) machines lose none of their computational power if they are restricted to run in polynomial time. We also present new results comparing and contrasting the classes of functions reducible to PL, #L, and the determinant, using various notions of reducibility. <<ETX>>
Target Detection in SAR Images Based on a Level Set Approach

This paper introduces a new framework for point target detection in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. We focus on the task of locating reflective small regions using a level-set-based algorithm. Unlike most of the approaches in image segmentation, we address an algorithm that incorporates speckle statistics instead of empirical parameters and also discards speckle filtering. The curve evolves according to speckle statistics, initially propagating with a maximum upward velocity in homogeneous areas. Our approach is validated by a series of tests on synthetic and real SAR images and compared with three other segmentation algorithms, demonstrating that it configures a novel and efficient method for target-detection purpose.
The promoter of human telomerase reverse transcriptase is activated during liver regeneration and hepatocyte proliferation.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Telomerase activity has not been detected in healthy human liver biopsy samples, but it is up-regulated in most human liver tumors. It is not clear whether telomerase is activated in response to acute or chronic liver injury. Telomerase activity is closely associated with expression of its catalytic subunit, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). We analyzed the activity of the human TERT (hTERT) promoter during liver regeneration in vivo and hepatocyte proliferation in vitro. METHODS We used hTERTp-lacZ transgenic mice, which contain an 8.0-kilobase pair fragment of the hTERT gene promoter, to study the role of TERT in liver regeneration following partial hepatectomy. As an in vitro model, we used the HepaRG cell line as a new model system for human hepatocyte proliferation and differentiation. RESULTS Activity of the hTERT promoter increased significantly after partial hepatectomy; it was also induced in hepatocytes, based on immunohistologic analysis. Similar to the in vivo results, telomerase activity and hTERT expression were up-regulated in proliferating HepaRG cells and repressed in response to growth arrest and differentiation. Promoter mapping revealed that a proximal 0.3-kilobase pair fragment contains all elements necessary for regulation of hTERT in HepaRG cells. We identified E2F2 and E2F7 as transcription factors that control the differential expression of hTERT in proliferating hepatocytes, in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS hTERT is induced in hepatocytes during liver regeneration, indicating a functional role for telomerase in human liver.
BraMBLe: a Bayesian multiple-blob tracker

Blob trackers have become increasingly powerful in recent years largely due to the adoption of statistical appearance models which allow effective background subtraction and robust tracking of deforming foreground objects. It has been standard, however, to treat background and foreground modelling as separate processes-background subtraction is followed by blob detection and tracking-which prevents a principled computation of image likelihoods. This paper presents two theoretical advances which address this limitation and lead to a robust multiple-person tracking system suitable for single-camera real-time surveillance applications. The first innovation is a multi-blob likelihood function which assigns directly comparable likelihoods to hypotheses containing different numbers of objects. This likelihood function has a rigorous mathematical basis: it is adapted from the theory of Bayesian correlation, but uses the assumption of a static camera to create a more specific background model while retaining a unified approach to background and foreground modelling. Second we introduce a Bayesian filter for tracking multiple objects when the number of objects present is unknown and varies over time. We show how a particle filter can be used to perform joint inference on both the number of objects present and their configurations. Finally we demonstrate that our system runs comfortably in real time on a modest workstation when the number of blobs in the scene is small.
On the Number of Matchings in Regular Graphs

For the set of graphs with a given degree sequence, consisting of any number of $2's$ and $1's$, and its subset of bipartite graphs, we characterize the optimal graphs who maximize and minimize the number of $m$-matchings. We find the expected value of the number of $m$-matchings of $r$-regular bipartite graphs on $2n$ vertices with respect to the two standard measures. We state and discuss the conjectured upper and lower bounds for $m$-matchings in $r$-regular bipartite graphs on $2n$ vertices, and their asymptotic versions for infinite $r$-regular bipartite graphs. We prove these conjectures for $2$-regular bipartite graphs and for $m$-matchings with $m\le 4$.
An Evaluation of Radarsat-1 and ASTER Data for Mapping Veredas (Palm Swamps)

Veredas (palm swamps) are wetland complexes associated with the Brazilian savanna (cerrado) that often represent the only available source of water for the ecosystem during the dry months. Their extent and condition are mainly unknown and their cartography is an essential issue for their protection. This research article evaluates some of the fine resolution satellite data both in the radar (Radarsat-1) and optical domain (ASTER) for the delineation and characterization of veredas. Two separate approaches are evaluated. First, given the known potential of Radarsat-1 images for wetland inventories, the automatic delineation of veredas is tested using only Radarsat-1 data and a Markov random fields region-based segmentation. In this case, to increase performance, processing is limited to a buffer zone around the river network. Then, characterization of their type is attempted using traditional classification methods of ASTER optical data combined with Radarsat-1 data. The automatic classification of Radarsat data yielded results with an overall accuracy between 62 and 69%, that proved reliable enough for delineating wide and very humid veredas. Scenes from the wet season and with a smaller angle of incidence systematically yielded better results. For the classification of the main vegetation types, better results (overall success of 78.8%) were obtained by using only the visible and near infrared (VNIR) bands of the ASTER image. Radarsat data did not bring any improvement to these classification results. In fact, when using solely the Radarsat data from two different angle of incidence and two different dates, the classification results were low (50.8%) but remained powerful for delineating the permanently moist riparian forest portion of the veredas with an accuracy better than 75% in most cases. These results are considered good given the width of some types often less than 50 m wide compared with the resolution of the images (12.5 - 15 m). Comparing the classification results with the Radarsat-generated delineation allows an understanding of the relation between synthetic aperture radar (SAR) backscattering and vegetation types of the veredas.
Hip fractures in people with idiopathic Parkinson's disease: Incidence and outcomes

The incidence of hip fracture and outcomes from hip surgery for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) are thought to be poorer than for people without PD. The aim of this audit of a prospective hip‐fracture database was to establish the incidence of, and outcomes from, hip fracture in people with and without PD living in North East England. The number of people with PD living in the study area was estimated using data from two previous prevalence studies in the same geographical area. Using data collected prospectively for the National Hip Fracture Database for Northumbria Healthcare National Health Service Foundation Trust in the UK, the annual incidence of hip fracture in people with and without PD was calculated. Type of fracture, time to surgery, time to discharge, and 30‐day outcomes from surgery were compared. Annual incidence of hip fracture was significantly higher in people with PD across all age bands. In those 60 years of age and over, it was 2,171 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2,082–2,264) per 100,000 in people with PD and 551 (95% CI: 506–598) in people without PD. The experience of PD and non‐PD patients within hospital was remarkably similar. However, PD patients had poorer mobility before hip fracture, took longer to be discharged to the community, and were less mobile postsurgery. Specific guidelines for managing people with PD who sustain a hip fracture may help to improve awareness of the potential complications of the condition and improve outcomes. © 2012 Movement Disorder Society
One-carbon metabolism-related nutrients and prostate cancer survival.

BACKGROUND Folate and other one-carbon metabolism nutrients may influence prostate cancer pathogenesis. Prior studies of these nutrients in relation to prostate cancer incidence have been inconclusive, and none have explored prostate cancer survival. OBJECTIVE The objective was to assess whether dietary intakes of folate, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, and methionine measured around the time of prostate cancer diagnosis are associated with prostate cancer survival. DESIGN This population-based prospective study comprised 525 men from Orebro, Sweden, who received a diagnosis of incident prostate cancer between 1989 and 1994 and completed a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire. Record linkages to the Swedish Death Registry enabled all cases to be followed for up to 20 y after diagnosis, and the cause of death was assigned via medical record review. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs. During a median of 6.4 y of follow-up, 218 men (42%) died of prostate cancer and 257 (49%) of other causes. RESULTS A comparison of the highest with the lowest quartile showed that vitamin B-6 intake was inversely associated with prostate cancer-specific death (HR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.46, 1.10; P for trend = 0.08), especially in men with a diagnosis of localized-stage disease (HR; 0.05; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.26; P for trend = 0.0003). However, vitamin B-6 intake was not associated with improved prostate cancer survival among advanced-stage cases (HR: 1.04; 95% CI: 0.64, 1.72; P for trend = 0.87). Folate, riboflavin, vitamin B-12, and methionine intakes were not associated with prostate cancer survival. CONCLUSION A high vitamin B-6 intake may improve prostate cancer survival among men with a diagnosis of localized-stage disease.