Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuropathic Pain and Psychological Morbidity in Patients with Treated Leprosy: A Cross-Sectional Prevalence Study in Mumbai

Background Neuropathic pain has been little studied in leprosy. We assessed the prevalence and clinical characteristics of neuropathic pain and the validity of the Douleur Neuropathique 4 questionnaire as a screening tool for neuropathic pain in patients with treated leprosy. The association of neuropathic pain with psychological morbidity was also evaluated. Methodology/Principal Findings Adult patients who had completed multi-drug therapy for leprosy were recruited from several Bombay Leprosy Project clinics. Clinical neurological examination, assessment of leprosy affected skin and nerves and pain evaluation were performed for all patients. Patients completed the Douleur Neuropathique 4 and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire to identify neuropathic pain and psychological morbidity. Conclusions/Significance One hundred and one patients were recruited, and 22 (21.8%) had neuropathic pain. The main sensory symptoms were numbness (86.4%), tingling (68.2%), hypoesthesia to touch (81.2%) and pinprick (72.7%). Neuropathic pain was associated with nerve enlargement and tenderness, painful skin lesions and with psychological morbidity. The Douleur Neuropathique 4 had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 92% in diagnosing neuropathic pain. The Douleur Neuropathique 4 is a simple tool for the screening of neuropathic pain in leprosy patients. Psychological morbidity was detected in 15% of the patients and 41% of the patients with neuropathic pain had psychological morbidity.
Sunyaev-Zeldovich clusters in Millenium gas simualtions

Large surveys using the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) effect to find clusters of galaxies are now starting to yield large numbers of systems out to high redshift, many of which are new dis- coveries. In order to provide theoretical interpretation for the release of the full SZ cluster samples over the next few years, we have exploited the large-volume Millennium gas cosmo- logical N-body hydrodynamics simulations to study the SZ cluster population at low and high redshift, for three models with varying gas physics. We confirm previous results using smaller samplesthattheintrinsic(spherical)Y500–M500relationhasverylittlescatter(σlog10Y ≃0.04), is insensitive to cluster gas physics and evolves to redshift 1 in accordance with self-similar expectations. Our preheating and feedback models predict scaling relations that are in excel- lent agreement with the recent analysis from combined Planck and XMM–Newton data by the Planck Collaboration. This agreement is largely preserved when r500 and M500 are derived using thehydrostaticmassproxy,YX,500,albeitwithsignificantlyreducedscatter(σlog10Y ≃0.02),a result that is due to the tight correlation between Y500 and YX,500. Interestingly, this assumption also hides any bias in the relation due to dynamical activity. We also assess the importance of projection effects from large-scale structure along the line of sight, by extracting cluster Y500 values from 50 simulated 5 × 5-deg2 sky maps. Once the (model-dependent) mean signal is subtracted from the maps we find that the integrated SZ signal is unbiased with respect to the underlying clusters, although the scatter in the (cylindrical) Y500–M500 relation increases in the preheating case, where a significant amount of energy was injected into the intergalactic medium at high redshift. Finally, we study the hot gas pressure profiles to investigate the origin of the SZ signal and find that the largest contribution comes from radii close to r500 in all cases. The profiles themselves are well described by generalized Navarro, Frenk & White profiles but there is significant cluster-to-cluster scatter. In conclusion, our results support the notion that Y500 is a robust mass proxy for use in cosmological analyses with clusters.
Small-bubble deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty technique.

Stromal disease (ectasia, opacities, scars, or melting) that occurs after penetrating keratoplasty (PK) can variously affect visual outcome.1,2 To date, even in the presence of healthy endothelium, this type of complication has been treated with subsequent PK.3 Instead, the selective replacement of the diseased stroma by means of deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) using pneumatic dissection (big bubble) has not been attempted, mainly because of the extreme likelihood of breaking the descemetic scar at the junction between the donor and host cornea. We describe a new surgical technique (small-bubble DALK) that uses pneumatic dissection to bare Descemet membrane (DM) only in a central optical zone and predescemetic manual dissection to remove the surrounding peripheral stroma.
Maturational Changes in the Pharmacological Characteristics and Actomyosin Content of Canine Arterial and Venous Tissue

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to compare the pharmacological characteristics and actomyosin content of arterial and venous tissue at different times during development. Rings of arteries (femoral, renal, carotid, pulmonary) and veins (saphenous, pulmonary, jugular) were obtained from 1 wk, 1 month, and adult dogs, mounted at their optimal length for force development and the contractile response to potassium chloride and phenylephrine determined. The strain at optimal length was less at all ages in pulmonary artery and pulmonary and jugular veins than in other vessels. All vessels exhibited an increase in maximum contractile response with development but the increase was greater for phenylephrine. In general, the magnitude of the maximum response of the jugular and pulmonary veins and pulmonary artery was less than other vessels at all ages. The sensitivity (half maximum response) either increased or was unchanged in arteries with development, while in the veins it either decreased or was unchanged. The relaxant effects of verapamil and isoproterenol were determined on potassium chloride contracted vessels. Arterial tissue was minimally responsive to isoproterenol at all ages while venous tissue either increased its responsiveness (saphenous, pulmonary) with development or remained highly responsive (jugular). Verapamil, unlike isoproterenol, was an effective relaxant of all vessels. The actomyosin content (mg/mm) of femoral and renal arteries and saphenous and jugular veins increased with development but this increase was accompanied by a parallel increase in total protein so that the ratio (actomyosin/total protein) was unchanged. In jugular veins from adult dogs this ratio was smaller than in arterial tissue. In general, it can be concluded that arterial and venous tissues increase their maximum contractile response during maturation. Because the maximum response to agents with different mechanisms of action (potassium chloride, phenylephrine) increased at different rates, the increase must be due to more than a quantitative increase in contractile material, possibly to differences in the rate of maturation of their respective excitation-contraction coupling processes. However, when maturational changes in other characteristics are compared, differences are observed between arteries and veins as well as between vessels within a given class indicating intervessel heterogeneity in maturation.
An Investigation of the Effects of Variations in Mentor-Based Induction on the Performance of Students in California

Background/Context Policy makers are concerned about teacher shortages and the high rate of attrition among new teachers. Mentor-based induction has been shown to reduce the numbers of new teachers leaving schools or the profession. However, staying in the profession does not mean that new teachers are effective in helping students learn. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The purpose of the project was to study how variations in new teacher support programs are related to changes in student achievement. Research Design Three districts that had participated in the New Teacher Center training program were asked to be a part of a study about program effectiveness. Using data collected from interviews with district officials, the programs of the districts were categorized based on the mentor/novice ratio. This ratio was selected because it has implications for mentor selection, mentor training, and contact time between mentors and new teachers. Districts also provided achievement data for students taught by new teachers in Grades 2–6. Population/Participants/Subjects Three school districts in California agreed to participate in the study. The number of participants in the three districts included, respectively, 17 new teachers and 424 students; 31 new teachers and 709 students; and 51 new teachers and 1,288 students. Data Collection and Analysis Two types of data were used for the study. First, a numerical score was created for each program based on the mentor/novice ratio. Second, achievement scores from two consecutive spring testing periods were obtained from districts for students taught by new teachers in the elementary grades. Districts were treated as separate case studies, with student achievement being in terms of student and class variables. For one district, we also compared class level achievement for teachers with different years of experience. Conclusions/Recommendations Mentor-based induction may have a positive effect on student achievement if the program allows for weekly contact and mentor selectivity is high.
Success-history based parameter adaptation for Differential Evolution

Differential Evolution is a simple, but effective approach for numerical optimization. Since the search efficiency of DE depends significantly on its control parameter settings, there has been much recent work on developing self-adaptive mechanisms for DE. We propose a new, parameter adaptation technique for DE which uses a historical memory of successful control parameter settings to guide the selection of future control parameter values. The proposed method is evaluated by comparison on 28 problems from the CEC2013 benchmark set, as well as CEC2005 benchmarks and the set of 13 classical benchmark problems. The experimental results show that a DE using our success-history based parameter adaptation method is competitive with the state-of-the-art DE algorithms.
Cost and time control of construction projects: inhibiting factors and mitigating measures in practice

Despite the availability of various control techniques and project control software many construction projects still do not achieve their cost and time objectives. Research in this area so far has mainly been devoted to identifying causes of cost and time overruns. There is limited research geared towards studying factors inhibiting the ability of practitioners to effectively control their projects. To fill this gap, a survey was conducted on 250 construction project organizations in the UK, which was followed by face‐to‐face interviews with experienced practitioners from 15 of these organizations. The common factors that inhibit both time and cost control during construction projects were first identified. Subsequently 90 mitigating measures have been developed for the top five leading inhibiting factors—design changes, risks/uncertainties, inaccurate evaluation of project time/duration, complexities and non‐performance of subcontractors were recommended. These mitigating measures were classified as: preventive, predictive, corrective and organizational measures. They can be used as a checklist of good practice and help project managers to improve the effectiveness of control of their projects.
Hot Gas and Dust in a Protostellar Cluster near W3(OH)

We used the IRAM interferometer to obtain subarcsecond resolution observations of the high-mass star-forming region W3(OH) and its surroundings at a frequency of 220 GHz. With the improved angular resolution, we distinguish three peaks in the thermal dust continuum emission originating from the hot core region ≈6'' (0.06 pc) east of W3(OH). The dust emission peaks are coincident with known radio continuum sources, one of which is of nonthermal nature. The latter source is also at the center of expansion of a powerful bipolar outflow observed in H2O maser emission. We determine the hot core mass to be 15 M☉ based on the integrated dust continuum emission. Simultaneously, many molecular lines are detected, allowing the analysis of the temperature structure and the distribution of complex organic molecules in the hot core. From HNCO lines spanning a wide range of excitation, two 200 K temperature peaks are found coincident with dust continuum emission peaks, suggesting embedded heating sources within them.
Improving the physician role in evaluating work ability and managing disability: a survey of primary care practitioners

Purpose : In the US health care system, most work-related issues are addressed by primary care practitioners (PCP's). Prior investigations of PCP's have focused on disability claims, whereas evaluations of work status and work capacity are more common. This study was conducted to identify challenges and opportunities for improvement in this area from a physician perspective. Methods : A validated survey was mailed to a random sample of 423 Massachusetts PCP's, with a 43% response rate. Results : On average, PCP's were requested to provide opinions regarding work ability in 9% (range, 1-100%) of all visits, about half of which involved non-work-related conditions. Their assessments were largely based on patient input and observations; direct communication with employers was rare. Only 6% agreed that PCP's should not have a role in facilitating safe return to work (RTW). However, 25% believed they had little influence over disability outcomes. While patient-specific factors were viewed as significant barriers to providers' efforts to successfully encourage RTW, lack of alternative work at the workplace was seen as the most significant problem. Conclusions : Evaluations of work status and work ability are common PCP activities, but little formal training has been provided in this area. Rehabilitation professionals can have a significant role through provider education, developing improved systems for communication with employers, and encouraging employers to provide more alternative duty assignments.
Fast algorithms for volume ray tracing

We examine various simple algorithms that exploit homogeneity and accumulate2 opacity for tracing rays through shaded volumes. Most of these meth-ods have error criteria which allow them to trade quality for speed. The time vs. quality tradeoff for these adaptive methods is compared to fixed step multiresolution methods. These methods are also useful for general light transport in volumes.
Estimation of semantic confidences on lattice hierarchies

Abstract Inspired by the well-known method for conﬁdence measure cal-culation via estimation of word posterior probabilities on theword graph, we devised a technique to estimate conﬁdences onall levels of the hierarchically structured output of our one-stagedecoder for interpretation of natural speech (ODINS). By con-structing a nested lattice hierarchy, the generalized counterpartof the word graph, we estimate posterior probabilities for allnodes in the decoded semantic tree, namely for all containedsemantic units and words. The obtained experimental resultsshow that the tree node conﬁdence measure performs signiﬁ-cantly better than the conﬁdence error base line, no matter ifthe evaluation is carried out on tree nodes representing seman-tic concepts, word classes, or words. Furthermore, the paperproposes possible applications of the tree node conﬁdences toimprove the grounding strategy of spoken dialog systems. 1. Introduction Regarding a robust recognition of application-speciﬁc informa-tion, a spoken dialogue system can beneﬁt a great deal fromconﬁdence measures delivered by the underlying speech recog-nition engine. On word level, there are efﬁcient methods forcomputing conﬁdence measures [1]. However, the speech in-terpreting component of the dialogue system usually derives ahierarchically structured semantic representation of the user’sutterance, that comprises more complex units than words, e.g.semantic concepts or word classes. Thus, in addition to wordconﬁdences, higher-level conﬁdences related to these semanticunits are needed by the dialogue system to safeguard the rec-ognized structured content and to generate feedback in an ade-quate way.Recent publications [2, 3] suggested to incorporate wordconﬁdences together with various other features extracted dur-ing the speech recognition and interpretation process into a clas-siﬁer to assign conﬁdences to each recognized semantic unit.The used classiﬁers (multi-layer perceptrons in [2] and decisiontrees in [3]) need explicit training before their application. Adifferent approach is proposed by [4] which exclusively usesthe primary knowledge sources of speech recognition and inter-pretation for conﬁdence estimation. Here, the common methodfor word posterior probability calculation on the word graph [1]was extended to estimate concept posterior probabilities on aso-called concept graph, which is generated from an intermedi-ateword graph by semanticparsing using stochastic context freegrammars. However, the determined concept posteriors havebeen applied to enhance word conﬁdences and haven’t beenevaluated as semantic conﬁdences.
Morphological, biochemical and secretory studies on rat pancreatic ducts maintained in tissue culture.

Interlobular ducts were isolated from the pancrease of copper-deficient rats and maintained in culture on polycarbonate filter rafts. Within 8 h the ends of the ducts had sealed. This was followed by a marked dilatation of the lumen, a flattening of the epithelium against the surrounding connective tissue layer and an over-all swelling of the duct. Apart from a reduction in their height, a fall in the number of intracellular fat droplets and a widening of intercellular spaces, epithelial cells within the cultured ducts retained all the ultrastructural characteristics of those in freshly isolated preparations. The basal concentration of adenosine 3',5'-phosphate (cyclic AMP) in the cultured ducts was 43.3 +/- 6.8 mumol.1-1 duct epithelium (n = 5) and was increased to 188.9 +/- 55.2 mumol.l-1 duct epithelium (n = 5) in the presence of 10(-8) M secretin. The basal rate of fluid secretion, measured using micropuncture techniques, was 0.16 +/- 0.03 nl.h-1.nl-1 duct epithelium (n = 12). This was increased 14-fold by 10(-8) M secretin while the dose of the hormone required for half-maximal secretion was about 2 X 10(-11) mol.l-1. The concentration of chloride ions in secreted fluid and perifusion buffer were similar. Variation in culture time up to 52 h had no effect on fluid secretion, and the response to secretin was dependent on the presence of bicarbonate ions in the perifusion fluid. N6,O2-dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-phosphate (dibutyryl cyclic AMP) also increased fluid secretion but caerulein had no effect. We suggest that isolated ducts secrete fluid at comparable rates to ducts in situ within the pancrease of copper-replete rats.
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

Database design has long been recognized as a difficult problem, requiring a great deal of skill on the part of the designer. Research has been carried out that provides methodologies and rules for creating good designs. There have even been attempts to automate the design process. However, before these can be truly successful, methodologies and tools are needed that can incorporate and use domain knowledge. In this research, a methodology for supporting database design is proposed that makes use of domain-specific knowledge about an application, which is stored in the form of ontologies. The ontologies provide information that is useful in both the creation of new designs and the verification of existing ones. They also capture the constraints of an application domain. A methodology for assisting database design that takes advantage of the ontologies has been implemented in a prototype system. Initial testing of the prototype illustrates that the incorporation and use of ontologies are effective in creating database design.
Silicon enhanced salt tolerance by improving the root water uptake and decreasing the ion toxicity in cucumber

Although the effects of silicon application on enhancing plant salt tolerance have been widely investigated, the underlying mechanism has remained unclear. In this study, seedlings of cucumber, a medium silicon accumulator plant, grown in 0.83 mM silicon solution for 2 weeks were exposed to 65 mM NaCl solution for another 1 week. The dry weight and shoot/root ratio were reduced by salt stress, but silicon application significantly alleviated these decreases. The chlorophyll concentration, net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and leaf water content were higher in plants treated with silicon than in untreated plants under salt stress conditions. Further investigation showed that salt stress decreased root hydraulic conductance (Lp), but that silicon application moderated this salt-induced decrease in Lp. The higher Lp in silicon-treated plants may account for the superior plant water balance. Moreover, silicon application significantly decreased Na+ concentration in the leaves while increasing K+ concentration. Simultaneously, both free and conjugated types of polyamines were maintained at high levels in silicon-treated plants, suggesting that polyamines may be involved in the ion toxicity. Our results indicate that silicon enhances the salt tolerance of cucumber through improving plant water balance by increasing the Lp and reducing Na+ content by increasing polyamine accumulation.
Barrett's esophagus: prevalence and size of hiatal hernia

OBJECTIVE:Barrett's esophagus is caused by gastroesophageal reflux and predisposes to adenocarcinoma. Hiatal hernia may cause reflux. The prevalence and size of hernias in patients with Barrett's esophagus was investigated.METHODS:Axial hernia length and the width of the diaphragmatic hiatus were measured prospectively at endoscopy.RESULTS:A 2-cm or longer hernia was found in 96% of 46 patients with Barrett's esophagus, in 42% of 103 controls (p < 0.001), and in 72% of 18 patients with short segment Barrett's esophagus (p < 0.05vs controls). A hernia was found in 71% of 31 controls with esophagitis and in 29% of 72 controls without esophagitis (p < 0.001). Of 54 controls with neither esophagitis or reflux symptoms, 20% had a hernia. Mean hernia length was 3.95 cm in Barrett's esophagus, and 2.81 cm in controls (p < 0.005). Mean hiatus width was 3.52 cm in patients with Barrett's esophagus and hernia, and 2.24 cm in controls with hernia. Hernia length was similar in patients with and without esophagitis, and in short segment Barrett's esophagus.CONCLUSIONS:Most patients with Barrett's esophagus have hiatal hernia; their hernias are longer and the hiatal openings wider than in controls with or without esophagitis. Hiatal hernia likely contributes to the development of Barrett's esophagus.
Flame synthesis of Y_2O_3:Eu nanophosphors using ethanol as precursor solvents

Y_2O_3:Eu nanophosphors were prepared by flame synthesis using ethanol or water as precursor solutions. The effects of precursor solvents and flame temperature on particle size, morphology, and photoluminescence intensity were investigated. The results showed that flame synthesis using ethanol solution could produce nanoparticles with better homogeneity, smoother surface structure, and stronger photoluminescence intensity than using water. It was found that the concentration quenching limit of the as-prepared nanophosphors from both ethanol and water solution was 18 mol% Eu, which is higher than the reported limit at similar particle size. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra showed that the ethanol precursor solvent produced monoclinic phase Y_2O_3:Eu nanoparticles at a lower flame temperature than previously reported. It was also shown that the particle size could be controlled by varying the precursor concentration and flame temperature.