Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clamp-assisted reduction of high subtrochanteric fractures of the femur.

BACKGROUND Subtrochanteric fractures can be a treatment challenge. The substantial forces that this region experiences and the fact that the proximal fragment is frequently displaced make accurate reduction and internal fixation difficult. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a series of patients who had undergone clamp-assisted reduction and intramedullary nail fixation to determine the impact of this technique on fracture union rates and reduction quality. METHODS Between December 2003 and January 2007, fifty-five consecutive patients with a displaced high subtrochanteric femoral fracture were treated with clamp-assisted reduction and intramedullary nail fixation at two level-I trauma centers. Two patients died, and nine were lost to follow-up. The remaining forty-four patients were followed until union or a minimum of six months. There were twenty-seven male and seventeen female patients with a mean age of fifty-five years. All were treated with an antegrade statically locked nail implanted with a reaming technique as well as the assistance of a reduction clamp placed through a small lateral incision. Nine patients were treated with a single supplemental cerclage cable. Radiographs were evaluated for the quality of the reduction and fracture union. RESULTS Forty-three of the forty-four fractures united. All reductions were within 5 degrees of the anatomic position in both the frontal and the sagittal plane. Thirty-eight (86%) of the forty-four reductions were anatomic. Six fractures had a minor varus deformity of the proximal fragment (between 2 degrees and 5 degrees ). There were no complications. DISCUSSION Surgical treatment of subtrochanteric femoral fractures with clamp-assisted reduction and intramedullary nail fixation techniques with judicious use of a cerclage cable can result in excellent reductions and a high union rate. Careful attention to detail is important to perform these maneuvers with minimal additional soft-tissue disruption.
Descriptional Complexity of Machines with Limited Resources

Over the last 30 years or so many results have appeared on the descriptional complexity of machines with limited resources. Since these results have appeared in a variety of different contexts, our goal here is to provide a survey of these results. Partic- ular emphasis is put on limiting resources (e.g., nondeterminism, ambiguity, lookahead, etc.) for various types of finite state machines, pushdown automata, parsers and cellu- lar automata and on the effect it has on their descriptional complexity. We also address the question of how descriptional complexity might help in the future to solve practical issues, such as software reliability.
Novel adjuvants & delivery vehicles for vaccines development: A road ahead

The pure recombinant and synthetic antigens used in modern day vaccines are generally less immunogenic than older style live/attenuated and killed whole organism vaccines. One can improve the quality of vaccine production by incorporating immunomodulators or adjuvants with modified delivery vehicles viz. liposomes, immune stimulating complexes (ISCOMs), micro/nanospheres apart from alum, being used as gold standard. Adjuvants are used to augment the effect of a vaccine by stimulating the immune system to respond to the vaccine, more vigorously, and thus providing increased immunity to a particular disease. Adjuvants accomplish this task by mimicking specific sets of evolutionary conserved molecules which include lipopolysaccharides (LPS), components of bacterial cell wall, endocytosed nucleic acids such as dsRNA, ssDNA and unmethylated CpG dinucleotide containing DNA. This review provides information on various vaccine adjuvants and delivery vehicles being developed to date. From literature, it seems that the humoral immune responses have been observed for most adjuvants and delivery platforms while viral-vector, ISCOMs and Montanides have shown cytotoxic T-cell response in the clinical trials. MF59 and MPL® have elicited Th1 responses, and virus-like particles (VLPs), non-degradable nanoparticle and liposomes have also generated cellular immunity. Such vaccine components have also been evaluated for alternative routes of administration with clinical success reported for intranasal delivery of viral-vectors and proteosomes and oral delivery of VLP vaccines.
An adaptive social network for information access: Theoretical and experimental results

We consider a social network of software agents who assist each other in helping their users find information. Unlike in most previous approaches, our architecture is fully distributed and includes agents who preserve the privacy and autonomy of their users. These agents learn models of each other in terms of expertise (ability to produce correct domain answers) and sociability (ability to produce accurate referrals). We study our framework experimentally to study how the social network evolves. Specifically, we find that under our multi-agent learning heuristic, the quality of the network improves with interactions: the quality is maximized when both expertise and sociability are considered; pivot agents further improve the quality of the network and have a catalytic effect on its quality even if they are ultimately removed. Moreover, the quality of the network improves when clustering decreases, reflecting the intuition that you need to talk to people outside your close circle to get the best information.
A Low Protein Diet Alters Bone Material Level Properties and the Response to In Vitro Repeated Mechanical Loading

Low protein intake is associated with an alteration of bone microstructure and material level properties. However, it remains unknown whether these alterations of bone tissue could influence the response to repeated mechanical loading. The authors investigated the in vitro effect of repeated loading on bone strength in humeri collected from 20 6-month-old female rats pair-fed with a control (15% casein) or an isocaloric low protein (2.5% casein) diet for 10 weeks. Bone specimens were cyclically loaded in three-point bending under load control for 2000 cycles. Humeri were then monotonically loaded to failure. The load-displacement curve of the in vitro cyclically loaded humerus was compared to the contralateral noncyclically loaded humerus and the influence of both protein diets. Material level properties were also evaluated through a nanoindentation test. Cyclic loading decreased postyield load and plastic deflection in rats fed a low protein diet, but not in those on a regular diet. Bone material level properties were altered in rats fed a low protein diet. This suggests that bone biomechanical alterations consequent to cyclic loading are more likely to occur in rats fed a low protein diet than in control animals subjected to the same in vitro cyclic loading regimen.
Agile Software Development: The Straight and Narrow Path to Secure Software?

In this article, the authors contrast the results of a series of interviews with agile software development organizations with a case study of a distributed agile development effort, focusing on how information security is taken care of in an agile context. The interviews indicate that small and medium-sized agile software development organizations do not use any particular methodology to achieve security goals, even when their software is web-facing and potential targets of attack. This case study confirms that even in cases where security is an articulated requirement, and where security design is fed as input to the implementation team, there is no guarantee that the end result meets the security objectives. The authors contend that security must be built as an intrinsic software property and emphasize the need for security awareness throughout the whole software development lifecycle. This paper suggests two extensions to agile methodologies that may contribute to ensuring focus on security during the complete lifecycle.
Cortical Neurogenesis in Adult Rats After Transient Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion

Background and Purpose This study explored the possible occurrence of newly generated nerve cells in the ischemic cortex of adult rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion. Methods Nine- to 10-week-old male Wistar rats were subjected to 2 hours of middle cerebral artery occlusion by the monofilament method. Rats received repeated intraperitoneal injections of the cell proliferation-specific marker 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) after stroke induction. Brain sections were processed for immunohistochemistry with an avidin-biotin complex-alkaline phosphatase and/or -peroxidase method. Brain sections processed with double-immunofluorescent staining were further scanned by confocal microscopy. Results Interspersed among the predominantly newly formed glial cells, some cells were double labeled by BrdU and 1 of the neuron-specific markers, Map-2, &bgr;-tubulin III, and Neu N, at 30 and 60 days after stroke onset. These cells were randomly distributed throughout cortical layers II through VI, occurring with highest density in the ischemic boundary zone. Three-dimensional confocal analyses of BrdU and the neuron-specific marker Neu N confirmed their colocalization within the same cortical cells. Conclusions This study suggests that new neurons can be generated in the cerebral cortex of adult rats after transient focal cerebral ischemia. Cortical neurogenesis may be a potential pathway for brain repair after stroke.
What influences outcome of patients with suicidal hanging.

AIM Suicidal hanging is an uncommon medical emergency with significant neurological morbidity. The aim of the study was to identify factors that have a bearing on the final outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS Retrospective analysis of 37 consecutive cases of suicidal hanging admitted to our ICU from July 1996 - December 2002 was performed. Outcome at discharge was defined as good (complete neurological recovery) or poor (death or incomplete neurological recovery). Three clinical variables (at presentation) namely Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) at presentation, time lapse (in hours) from the incident to arrival at our hospital and the presence of Hypotension (defined as a systolic blood pressure < or = 90 mm Hg) at admission were recorded and tested individually for an association with the outcome. Statistical analysis was done using the Odds ratio (OR +/- 95% Confidence Intervals) and Chi-square test of significance for categorical data. RESULTS Patients with suicidal hanging constituted < 1% of ICU admissions (mean age 27 years). 34/37 survived giving a survival rate of 92%. Of those who survived, 31 patients (91%) had complete neurological recovery at the time of discharge from hospital. Among those who presented <4 hours of the incident (25 patients), 2 had an adverse outcome as compared to 4/10 patients who presented 4 hours or more after the incident (OR 7.6,95% CI 1.12-52.3). A low GCS (GCS <7) at presentation was also statistically associated with a poor outcome (OR 10.4, 95% CI 1.08-102.1). Hypotension was present in approximately 33% of patients (12/37) at presentation. Of these 12 patients, 3 had an adverse outcome as opposed to 3 patients among the remaining 25 (OR 1.6, 95% CI 0.41 - 14.47, NS). CONCLUSIONS Suicidal hanging is an unusual medical emergency that is common among young individuals in developing countries. Our study indicates that a delayed presentation to a medical facility and a low GCS at presentation predict a poor outcome.
‘Everything’s neatly tucked away’: young women’s views on desirable vulval anatomy

Abstract In the context of rapidly increasing requests for female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS) and a lack of published research in this area, we explored young women’s knowledge of vulval anatomy and sources of anatomical information. We conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with young women aged 18–28 years at an Australian tertiary institution. Interviews explored participants’ knowledge of ‘normal’ and ‘ideal’ genital anatomy and how these perceptions were formed. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysis identified 6 major themes and 30 sub-themes. We found that many women were unsure what constitutes normal genital anatomy. Few women knew to which parts the word vulva refers. All participants identified a photograph of hairless female genitals with no visible labia minora as the societal ‘ideal’, and all strongly agreed on the need for appropriate educational resources. Young women would benefit from access to resources showing the normal range of genital anatomy. Results suggest that doctors receiving requests for FGCS should explore women’s understanding of their anatomy and what they believe the surgery will achieve. Some young women may simply need reassurance of their normality. Findings from this study may contribute to educational material for both health professionals and young people.
Map Symbols for Crisis Mapping: Challenges and Prospects

ABSTRACT Crisis maps and visualizations utilized routinely by international agencies, humanitarian organizations, and non-governmental organizations for aid and relief activities commonly require complex sets of map symbols. However, effective map symbology for humanitarian relief purposes entails several challenges, including consideration of the following: (1) taxonomy development, (2) symbol design issues, (3) promulgation and sharing of map symbols, and (4) standardization of symbols within and among organizations. This paper discusses these key challenges to the design and use of crisis map symbology through a review of the cartographic literature as well as results collected from a survey targeted at humanitarian organizations from around the world. The survey was designed to gather information on current symbology design and use practices in order to understand common challenges. Survey results confirm agreement in the persistence of these four primary symbology challenges, especially the importance of intuitive symbol design. Respondents disagreed most about the adequacy of current crisis map symbology standards as well as the ease in which standards may be implemented within and across organizations. Survey results suggest the need for expert systems designed specifically for symbology design to support humanitarian relief activities.
A Geometric Approach to Animating Thin Surface Features in SPH Water

We propose a geometric approach to animating thin surface features of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) based water. Explicit inter-particle connections are created among SPH particles to approximate the geometries of thin surfaces while addressing the issue of unresolved surface areas. The deformations measured on the connections actuate the animations of the surfaces by disconnecting the stretched and bent connections. The reconstruction of thin surfaces and the accuracy of the animation are improved by adding auxiliary particles over the connections via Poisson-disk sampling.
High frequency of submicroscopic genomic aberrations detected by tiling path array comparative genome hybridisation in patients with isolated congenital heart disease

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect and affects nearly 1% of newborns. The aetiology of CHD is largely unknown and only a small percentage can be assigned to environmental risk factors such as maternal diseases or exposure to mutagenic agents during pregnancy. Chromosomal imbalances have been identified in many forms of syndromic CHD, but very little is known about the impact of DNA copy number changes in non-syndromic CHD. Method: A sub-megabase resolution array comparative genome hybridisation (CGH) screen was carried out on 105 patients with CHD as the sole abnormality at the time of diagnosis. Results: There were 18 chromosomal changes detected, which do not coincide with common DNA copy number variants, including one de novo deletion, two de novo duplications and eight familial copy number variations (one deletion and seven duplications). Conclusions: Our data show that submicroscopic deletions and duplications play an important role in the aetiology of this condition, either as direct causes or as genetic risk factors for CHD. These findings have immediate consequences for genetic counselling and should pave the way for the elucidation of the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying CHD.
Risk factors for preterm delivery in women with placenta praevia and antepartum haemorrhage: retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE To identify risk factors for preterm delivery in women with placenta praevia and antepartum haemorrhage. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Regional obstetric unit, Hong Kong. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Women delivered at Princess Margaret Hospital between 1 January 1990 and 31 December 1997. Possible risk factors for preterm delivery among women with placenta praevia and antepartum haemorrhage including onset, pattern, and severity of vaginal bleeding; presence of uterine contractions on admission; and type of placenta were assessed. RESULTS Three risk factors for preterm delivery were identified from univariate analysis. These included second trimester vaginal bleeding (odds ratio=4.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.29-13.66), the presence of uterine contractions on admission (odds ratio=4.00; 95% confidence interval, 1.57-10.19), and a haemoglobin decrease of more than 20 g/L (odds ratio=3.00; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-9.04). Using the logistic regression model, second trimester vaginal bleeding and the presence of uterine contractions were found to be independent risk factors for delivery before 36 weeks. CONCLUSION Preterm delivery is increased in women with placenta praevia and antepartum haemorrhage who have second trimester vaginal bleeding or the presence of uterine contractions. This high-risk group may benefit from close in-patient monitoring and more aggressive management.
Induction of labour

Labour induction is a routine procedure in obstetrical care and performed for various maternal, fetal and non-medical reasons. Widely accepted indications for labour induction include post-term pregnancy, maternal hypertension, premature rupture of membranes, fetal growth restriction, non-reassuring fetal status, polyhydramnios, intrauterine/fetal infection and previous obstetric history [1]. It is difficult to compare induction rates from various locations due to differences in the classification of induced and augmented labour. Data from the USA showed a two-fold increased induction rate between 1990 and 2005 (Figure 1) [2]. This increase in induction was mirrored by an increase in the caesarean section rate from 23% in 1990 to 30% in 2005 [2]. However, induction rates in England appear to have remained relatively constant between 1995 and 2005 at around 20% with an increase in planned caesarean sections from 7% to 11% during the same period [3]. An unpublished study from Utah in the USA suggests inappropriate induction of labour is common; a large decrease in elective labour inductions at 539 weeks was observed when physicians were required to obtain permission for induction from an expert in maternal–fetal medicine.
Risk of Advanced Neoplasia in First-Degree Relatives with Colorectal Cancer: A Large Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

Background First-degree relatives (FDR) of patients with colorectal cancer have a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer than the general population. For this reason, screening guidelines recommend colonoscopy every 5 or 10 y, starting at the age of 40, depending on whether colorectal cancer in the index-case is diagnosed at <60 or ≥60 y, respectively. However, studies on the risk of neoplastic lesions are inconclusive. The aim of this study was to determine the risk of advanced neoplasia (three or more non-advanced adenomas, advanced adenoma, or invasive cancer) in FDR of patients with colorectal cancer compared to average-risk individuals (i.e., asymptomatic adults 50 to 69 y of age with no family history of colorectal cancer). Methods and Findings This cross-sectional analysis includes data from 8,498 individuals undergoing their first lifetime screening colonoscopy between 2006 and 2012 at six Spanish tertiary hospitals. Of these individuals, 3,015 were defined as asymptomatic FDR of patients with colorectal cancer (“familial-risk group”) and 3,038 as asymptomatic with average-risk for colorectal cancer (“average-risk group”). The familial-risk group was stratified as one FDR, with one family member diagnosed with colorectal cancer at ≥60 y (n = 1,884) or at <60 y (n = 831), and as two FDR, with two family members diagnosed with colorectal cancer at any age (n = 300). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used for between-group comparisons after adjusting for potential confounders (age, gender, and center). Compared with the average-risk group, advanced neoplasia was significantly more prevalent in individuals having two FDR with colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR] 1.90; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.36–2.66, p < 0.001), but not in those having one FDR with colorectal cancer diagnosed at ≥60 y (OR 1.03; 95% CI 0.83–1.27, p = 0.77) and <60 y (OR 1.19; 95% CI 0.90–1.58, p = 0.20). After the age of 50 y, men developed advanced neoplasia over two times more frequently than women and advanced neoplasia appeared at least ten y earlier. Fewer colonoscopies by 2-fold were required to detect one advanced neoplasia in men than in women. Major limitations of this study were first that although average-risk individuals were consecutively included in a randomized control trial, this was not the case for all individuals in the familial-risk cohort; and second, the difference in age between the average-risk and familial-risk cohorts. Conclusions Individuals having two FDR with colorectal cancer showed an increased risk of advanced neoplasia compared to those with average-risk for colorectal cancer. Men had over 2-fold higher risk of advanced neoplasia than women, independent of family history. These data suggest that screening colonoscopy guidelines should be revised in the familial-risk population.
Protection by exogenous pyruvate through a mechanism related to monocarboxylate transporters against cell death induced by hydrogen peroxide in cultured rat cortical neurons

In cortical neurons cultured for 3 or 9 days in vitro (DIV), exposure to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) led to a marked decrease in cell viability in a concentration‐dependent manner at a concentration range of 10 µm to 1 mm irrespective of the duration between 6 and 24 h. However, H2O2 was more potent in decreasing cellular viability in cortical neurons cultured for 9 DIV than in those for 3 DIV. Pyruvate was effective in preventing the neuronal cell death at 1 mm even when added 1–3 h after the addition of H2O2. Semi‐quantitative RT–PCR and western blotting analyses revealed significantly higher expression of both mRNA and protein for a particular monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) in neurons cultured for 9 DIV than in those for 3 DIV. A specific inhibitor of MCT significantly attenuated the neuroprotection by pyruvate in neurons cultured for 9 DIV, without markedly affecting that in neurons cultured for 3 DIV. These results suggest that vulnerability to H2O2 may at least in part involve expression of particular MCT isoforms responsible for the bi‐directional transport of pyruvate across cell surfaces in cultured rat cortical neurons.
The Contingent Claims Approach to Corporate Vulnerability Analysis: Estimating Default Risk and Economy-Wide Risk Transfer

In this paper, we examine the ability of the contingent claims approach (CCA) to identify corporate sector and economy-wide vulnerabilities. We apply the Moody`s M/Risk model, which uses aggregated CCA principles, to assess vulnerabilities retroactively in two historical country cases. The results indicate that the method may prove helpful in identifying corporate sector vulnerabilities and estimating the associated value of risk transfer across interrelated balance sheets of the corporate, financial, and public sectors.