Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thumb Metacarpal Subsidence After Partial Trapeziectomy With Capsular Interposition Arthroplasty

Background: In a cadaveric model, we evaluated thumb metacarpal subsidence, indicated by a decreased metacarpal-to-scaphoid distance, after 2 surgical procedures used to treat thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) osteoarthritis (OA): partial trapeziectomy with capsular interposition (PTCI), which involves removal of 2 mm of both the distal trapezium and base of the metacarpal; and total trapeziectomy with capsular interposition (TTCI). Methods: Nine matched pairs of cadaveric hands were randomly assigned to undergo either PTCI or TTCI. Preoperatively, physiologic forces were applied across the thumb CMC joint by loading 6 tendons, simulating lateral pinch. Anteroposterior radiographs were obtained, and the metacarpal-to-scaphoid distance on each image was estimated independently by 3 separate readers using customized software. A hand surgeon then performed the PTCI and TTCI procedures, and the measurements under loading were repeated. The results were assessed for interrater reliability. Mean values for metacarpal-to-scaphoid distance before and after the surgical procedures were compared. Results: Preoperatively, the metacarpal-to-scaphoid distance in the PTCI and TTCI groups was not significantly different. Postoperatively, metacarpal subsidence was significantly less in the PTCI group (17% compared with 34% for TTCI; P = .05). Conclusions: Metacarpal subsidence occurred after both PTCI and TTCI, but significantly less subsidence was observed after PTCI; thus, thumb length was better preserved. Previous research has shown an inverse correlation between maintenance of thumb length and overall Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score. A procedure for treating thumb CMC OA that preserves thumb length and minimizes disruption of stabilizing joint tissue may provide enhanced maintenance of thumb stability and improved patient outcomes.
Brighthouse: an analytic data warehouse for ad-hoc queries

Brighthouse is a column-oriented data warehouse with an automatically tuned, ultra small overhead metadata layer called Knowledge Grid, that is used as an alternative to classical indexes. The advantages of column-oriented data storage, as well as data compression have already been well-documented, especially in the context of analytic, decision support querying. This paper demonstrates additional benefits resulting from Knowledge Grid for compressed, column-oriented databases. In particular, we explain how it assists in query optimization and execution, by minimizing the need of data reads and data decompression.
Effects of music and white noise on working memory performance in monkeys

IT has been suggested that Mozart's music may have beneficial effects on the performance of cognitive tasks in humans. In the present study the effects of Mozart's piano music, white noise, simple rhythm and silence were studied on the performance of a delayed response (DR) task in monkeys. The acoustic treatments were given for 15 min, either before or during DR testing. The acoustic treatments did not affect DR performance when given before testing. However, Mozart's piano music played during DR testing caused a significant deterioration in the performance of the monkeys, whereas white noise improved it. It is suggested that Mozart's music serves as distractive stimulation during DR performance thus affecting working-memory-related neuronal processing and performance. White background noise, on the other hand, may improve DR performance by protecting against environmental distraction during testing.
Beneficial Effects of Enteral Docosahexaenoic Acid on the Markers of Inflammation and Clinical Outcomes of Neonates Undergoing Cardiovascular Surgery: An Intervention Study

Background: Neonates undergoing surgery are at risk for uncontrolled inflammatory response and adverse clinical outcomes. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ameliorates inflammation, improving clinical outcomes. However, its effect has not been evaluated in neonates undergoing surgery. We evaluated the effect of DHA on markers of inflammation and clinical outcomes in neonates undergoing surgery. Methods: A double-blind clinical trial evaluated the effect of enteral DHA (DHA group) versus sunflower oil (SO group) perioperatively administered in neonates scheduled for cardiovascular surgery. Inflammation was evaluated by percentage of cells+ for cytokines and CD69 in mononuclear cells at baseline, 24 h and 7 days post surgery. Clinical outcomes measured were sepsis, organ dysfunctions (ODs), length of stay in intensive care and bleeding. Repeated measures analysis of variance and logistic regression were applied. Results: Sixteen neonates received DHA and 18 received SO. Cells+ from neonates in the DHA group showed an early increase in receptor antagonist of interleukin (IL)-1+ (IL-1ra+) and IL-10+ and a late decrease in IL-6+. IL-1β+ and IL-10+ changes were different between groups. After adjusting for confounders, less cells from DHA group were IL-1β+, IL-6+, IL-1ra+ and IL-10+. DHA group presented less sepsis, ODs and shorter stay, but no difference in CD69+CD4+ cells or bleeding between groups. Conclusions: Administration of enteral DHA ameliorates markers of inflammation and improves clinical outcomes in surgical neonates.
Satellite monitoring of reef vulnerability in a changing climate

III EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . IV SECTION I: WORKSHOP HISTORY. 1 SECTION II: WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS. 3 PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS . 3 ! Oceanography, waves, and mechanical damage by Scott Heron . 3 Vulnerability of coral reefs in a changing climate by Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. 4 The zooxanthellae story by Ray Berkelmans. 8 Monitoring the biological state of coral reefs by Hugh Sweatman . 9 Coral vulnerability and resilience by Roberto Prieto-Iglesias . 11 Modeling bleaching, climate change, and coral vulnerability by Sophie Dove . 12 Water quality and coral bleaching thresholds by Scott Wooldridge . 14 In situ monitoring of environmental coral stress by Al Strong . 15 TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS . 17 ! Satellites and remote sensing by William Skirving . 17 Remote sensing coral reef environmental stress by Mark Eakin . 17 Thermal stress links with coral bleaching and infectious diseases by Scott Heron . 20 Combining heat stress and light to produce a new bleaching product by William Skirving . 21 Monitoring coral surface UV & visible solar radiation from space by Kelvin Michael . 22 Water quality by Arnold Dekker . 23 Ocean colour over coral reefs by Scarla Weeks. 29 Utility of seagrasses for satellite monitoring of coral reef condition by Susana Enríquez. 31 The future of ocean colour products on coral reefs by Peter Fearns . 33 Use of climate models to predict coral reef vulnerability by Claire Spillman. 35 Integrating remote sensing data into ecosystem models by Mark Eakin . 37 Machine learning and data mining by Vic Ciesielski. 41 Web-based delivery of NOAA Coral Reef Watch products by Gang Liu . 44 Delivering tools and products to managers through trainings and workshops by Britt Parker . 47 Information sharing, integration and quality control for coral reef datasets by Jane Hunter. 49 MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS. 52 ! Managing Coral Reefs 101 by Randy Kosaki. 52 Managing coral reefs in a changing climate by Billy Causey . 53 U.S. coral reef managers’ requests for remote sensing products by Jessica Morgan . 56 Use of coral stress monitoring for management by Billy Causey . 59 Key environmental variables for management by Randy Kosaki . 61 Aspects other than those directly related to corals by Billy Causey. 63
Dance and reducing television viewing to prevent weight gain in African-American girls: the Stanford GEMS pilot study.

OBJECTIVE To test the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of after-school dance classes and a family-based intervention to reduce television viewing, thereby reducing weight gain, among African-American girls. DESIGN Twelve-week, 2-arm parallel group, randomized controlled trial. SETTING Low-income neighborhoods. PARTICIPANTS Sixty-one 8-10-year-old African-American girls and their parents/guardians. INTERVENTIONS The treatment intervention consisted of after-school dance classes at 3 community centers, and a 5-lesson intervention, delivered in participants' homes, and designed to reduce television, videotape, and video game use. The active control intervention consisted of disseminating newsletters and delivering health education lectures. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Implementation and process measures, body mass index, waist circumference, physical activity measured by accelerometry, self-reported media use, and meals eaten with TV. RESULTS Recruitment and retention goals were exceeded. High rates of participation were achieved for assessments and intervention activities, except where transportation was lacking. All interventions received high satisfaction ratings. At follow up, girls in the treatment group, as compared to the control group, exhibited trends toward lower body mass index (adjusted difference = -.32 kg/m2, 95% confidence interval [CI] -.77, .12; Cohen's d = .38 standard deviation units) and waist circumference (adjusted difference = -.63 cm, 95% CI -1.92, .67; d = .25); increased after-school physical activity (adjusted difference = 55.1 counts/minute, 95% CI -115.6, 225.8; d = .21); and reduced television, videotape, and video game use (adjusted difference = -4.96 hours/week, 95% CI -11.41, 1.49; d = .40). The treatment group reported significantly reduced household television viewing (d = .73, P = .007) and fewer dinners eaten while watching TV (adjusted difference = -1.60 meals/week, 95% CI -2.99, -.21; d = .59; P = .03). Treatment group girls also reported less concern about weight (d = .60; P = .03), and a trend toward improved school grades (d = .51; P = .07). CONCLUSIONS This study confirmed the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of using dance classes and a family-based intervention to reduce television viewing, thereby reducing weight gain, in African-American girls.
Asymptomatic Renal Colonization of Humans in the Peruvian Amazon by Leptospira

Background Renal carriage and shedding of leptospires is characteristic of carrier or maintenance animal hosts. Sporadic reports indicate that after infection, humans may excrete leptospires for extended periods. We hypothesized that, like mammalian reservoir hosts, humans develop asymptomatic leptospiruria in settings of high disease transmission such as the Peruvian Amazon. Methodology/Principal Findings Using a cross-sectional study design, we used a combination of epidemiological data, serology and molecular detection of the leptospiral 16S rRNA gene to identify asymptomatic urinary shedders of Leptospira. Approximately one-third of the 314 asymptomatic participants had circulating anti-leptospiral antibodies. Among enrolled participants, 189/314 (59%) had evidence of recent infection (microscopic agglutination test (MAT0 ≥1∶800 or ELISA IgM-positive or both). The proportion of MAT-positive and high MAT-titer (≥1∶800) persons was higher in men than women (p = 0.006). Among these people, 13/314 (4.1%) had Leptospira DNA-positive urine samples. Of these, the 16S rRNA gene from 10 samples was able to be sequenced. The urine-derived species clustered within both pathogenic (n = 6) and intermediate clades of Leptospira (n = 4). All of the thirteen participants with leptospiral DNA in urine were women. The median age of the DNA-positive group was older compared to the negative group (p≤0.05). A group of asymptomatic participants (“long-term asymptomatic individuals,” 102/341 (32.5%) of enrolled individuals) without serological evidence of recent infection was identified; within this group, 6/102 (5.9%) excreted pathogenic and intermediate-pathogenic Leptospira (75–229 bacteria/mL of urine). Conclusions/Significance Asymptomatic renal colonization of leptospires in a region of high disease transmission is common, including among people without serological or clinical evidence of recent infection. Both pathogenic and intermediate Leptospira can persist as renal colonization in humans. The pathogenic significance of this finding remains to be explored but is of fundamental biological significance.
PORE : Procurement Oriented Requirements Engineering Method for the Component-Based Systems Engineering Development Paradigm

Most current research in Component-Based Systems Engineering (CBSE) focuses on design and integration processes. There is little interest in the requirements engineering and product evaluation/selection processes that must precede design and integration. Also most current methods and tools support systems design and integration but neglect the requirements engineering and product evaluation/selection processes. However, in spite of this lack of focus on requirements engineering, a consensus seems to be emerging that the CBSE development process should be an iterative one of requirements engineering, systems design, product evaluation/selection and systems integration. This paper proposes a new method, PORE, to address the lack of requirements engineering methods and product evaluation/selection process guidance for the CBSE process. The paper ends with a ‘vision’ for future research directions for component-based systems engineering development process.
Isolated Cortical Vein Thrombosis: Systematic Review of Case Reports and Case Series

Background and Purpose— Isolated cortical vein thrombosis is a distinct subtype of cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis. Because of the rarity of isolated cortical vein thrombosis, limited knowledge on its clinical and radiological manifestations is available. Methods— We performed a systematic review of published data. Isolated cortical vein thrombosis had to have been diagnosed by MRI, conventional angiography, computed tomography venography, autopsy, or surgery. Cases with concurrent thrombosis of a cerebral sinus were excluded. Results— Of 175 potentially relevant studies, 47 were included in the analysis, with a total of 116 patients. All studies were case reports and case series. Mean age was 41 years and 68% were women. The most common symptoms were headache (71%), seizures (58%), and focal neurological deficits (62%). Papilledema was not reported in any patient, and increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure was reported only in 2. Infection (19%), pregnancy or puerperium (35% of women), and oral contraceptive use (21% of women) were the most common risk factors. Most cases (73%) were diagnosed with MRI, but conventional angiography was also performed in 47%. A total of 81% had a parenchymal brain lesion and 80% were treated with anticoagulation. In-hospital mortality was 6%. Conclusions— Signs of increased intracranial pressure seem to be less common in isolated cortical vein thrombosis compared with cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis. MRI and in some cases conventional angiography are the most frequently used diagnostic modalities and anticoagulation is the most widely used therapy.
Geochronological enigma of the HP–UHP rocks in the Himalayan orogen

Abstract The subduction of Indian plate lithosphere during its collision with Asian plate in the Eocene resulted in a regional metamorphic belt along the strike of the Himalayan orogen. High-/ultrahigh-pressure (HP/UHP) metamorphic rocks (eclogites and host gneisses) confirm the metamorphic event in western Himalaya (Kaghan c. 46 Ma and Tso Morari at c. 47 Ma) at mantle depths (>90 km: coesite-stable). In contrast, HP/UHP rocks have not been reported from central and eastern Himalaya and only highly retrogressed eclogites and granulites (c. 25 to 13 Ma) occur. The presence of UHP rocks in western Himalaya and highly retrogressed eclogites and granulites in central and eastern Himalaya was regarded as evidence for a diachronous India–Asia collision. Despite the along-strike regional homogeneity in major lithotectonic units of the Himalayan orogen, metamorphic diachroneity is enigmatic. It is unlikely to have a subduction-related prolonged progressive metamorphic event. In contrast, the age difference and preservation of UHP phases in the west and their transformation into granulites in central and eastern Himalaya could be associated with their prolonged residence times at crustal levels in the central and eastern Himalaya whereas the rocks exhumed rapidly in the west. The higher thermal events relating to melting of the subducting Indian lithosphere in central and eastern Himalaya evidenced from ultra-potasic volcanics in southern Tibet probably decompressed the early metabasites into granulitized eclogites, even resetting their geological clock, which is why eclogites and granulites in the east show younger ages compared with their UHP counterparts in the west.
A new approach to analysing texture-defined motion

It has been widely accepted that standard low-level computational approaches to motion processing cannot extract texture-defined motion without applying some pre-processing nonlinearity. This has motivated accounts of motion perception in which luminance- and texture-defined motion are processed by separate mechanisms. Here, we introduce a novel method of image description where motion sequences may be described in terms of their local spatial and temporal gradients. This allows us to assess the local velocity information available to standard low-level motion mechanisms. Our analysis of several texture - motion stimuli shows that the information indicating correct texture - motion velocity and/or direction is present in the raw luminance measures. This raises the possibility that luminance - motion and texture - motion may be processed by the same cortical mechanisms. Our analysis offers a way of looking at texture - motion processing that is, to our knowledge, new and original.
A large‐scale forest landscape model incorporating multi‐scale processes and utilizing forest inventory data

Two challenges confronting forest landscape models (FLMs) are how to simulate fine, stand-scale processes while making large-scale (i.e., >107 ha) simulation possible, and how to take advantage of extensive forest inventory data such as U.S. Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data to initialize and constrain model parameters. We present the LANDIS PRO model that addresses these needs. LANDIS PRO adds density and size mechanisms of resource competition. This is achieved through incorporating number of trees and DBH by species age cohort within each raster cell. Forest change is determined by the interactions of species-, stand-, and landscape-scale processes. Species-scale processes include tree growth, establishment, and mortality. Stand-scale processes include density and size-related resource competition that regulates self-thinning and seedling establishment. Landscape-scale processes include seed dispersal, as well as natural and anthropogenic disturbances. LANDIS PRO is designed to be straightforwardly comparable with forest inventory data, and thus the extensive FIA data can be directly utilized to initialize and constrain model parameters before predicting future forest change. We initialized a large landscape (∼107 ha) from historical FIA data (1978) and the predicted forest structure and composition following 30 years of simulation were statistically calibrated against a prior time-series of sequential FIA data (1978 to 2008). The results showed that the initialized conditions realistically represented the historical forest composition and structure at 1978, and the constrained model parameters predicted reasonable outcomes at both landscape and land type scales. The subsequent evaluation of model predictions showed that the predicted forest composition and structure were comparable with old-growth oak forests; predicted forest successional trajectories were consistent with the expected successional patterns in oak-dominated forests in the study region; and the predicted stand development patterns were in agreement with the established theories of forest stand development. This study demonstrated a framework for forest landscape modeling including model initialization, calibration, and evaluation of predictions.
The Perception of Students on the Use of Animals in Higher Education at the Federal University of Paraná, Southern Brazil

The use of animals in education and research is a controversial issue that involves ethical considerations. In Brazil, Act 11,794, which was approved in 2008, established the National Council on the Control of Animal Experimentation (CONCEA) and a database of institutions that use animals for research and education (CIUCA). This legislation also set out the regulations for the use of animals. In this study, we have evaluated the ethical issues involved in the use of animals for educational purposes at the Federal University of Paraná, through a qualitative–quantitative analysis that relied on written questionnaires. Our objective was to find out the opinions of students and staff from different academic fields, and at different stages in their professional development, on the use of animals for educational purposes. The study involved 101 students and 20 lecturers (i.e. tenure-track professors and all those who teach the students) in Biology, Pharmacology, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. Approximately half of the students (45.5%) did not know the legislation that regulates the use of animals in education, and most of the lecturers believed that learning goals could not be achieved with alternative methods. Only 38.9% of the lecturers and 31.9% of the students trusted the usefulness of alternative methods. Furthermore, recent graduates were as unaware of the legislation, as were students in the first two years of their university courses. These results suggest that it is necessary to considerably expand the discussion on alternatives to animal use in the academic environment.
Rumen characteristics and total tract digestibility in low and high methane yield selection line sheep offered fresh good or poor quality pasture

to determine methane (CH 4 ) emissions, rumen fermentation characteristics, rumen digestion kinetics and total tract digestibility in sheep from low and high CH 4 yield (g/kg dry matter intake; DMI) selection lines fed good or poor quality pasture (vegetative improved vs. very mature unimproved pasture). Methane emissions were determined over 48 h in open circuit respiration chambers, rumen samples were collected 16 h after feeding, and digestion kinetics and total tract digestibility were determined over six days in metabolism crates. Methane emissions and total tract digestibility were similar between low and high CH 4 yield selection line sheep fed pasture of two qualities. Phenotypic differences as previously found in selected extremes were observed including shorter rumen retention time of solubles and particles (P<0.05) and lower concentrations of total and individual volatile fatty acids (P<0.05). The lack of interactions between CH 4 yield selection line and pasture quality suggest that these phenotypic characteristics of the low CH 4 yield selection line sheep are expressed independent of diet quality.