Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dense vision in image-guided surgery

Image-guided surgery needs an efficient and effective camera tracking system in order to perform augmented reality for overlaying preoperative models or label cancerous tissues on the 2D video images of the surgical scene. Tracking in endoscopic/laparoscopic scenes however is an extremely difficult task primarily due to tissue deformation, instrument invasion into the surgical scene and the presence of specular highlights. State of the art feature-based SLAM systems such as PTAM fail in tracking such scenes since the number of good features to track is very limited. When the scene is smoky and when there are instrument motions, it will cause feature-based tracking to fail immediately. The work of this thesis provides a systematic approach to this problem using dense vision. We initially attempted to register a 3D preoperative model with multiple 2D endoscopic/laparoscopic images using a dense method but this approach did not perform well. We subsequently proposed stereo reconstruction to directly obtain the 3D structure of the scene. By using the dense reconstructed model together with robust estimation, we demonstrate that dense stereo tracking can be incredibly robust even within extremely challenging endoscopic/laparoscopic scenes. Several validation experiments have been conducted in this thesis. The proposed stereo reconstruction algorithm has turned out to be the state of the art method for several publicly available ground truth datasets. Furthermore, the proposed robust dense stereo tracking algorithm has been proved highly accurate in synthetic environment (< 0.1 mm RMSE) and qualitatively extremely robust when being applied to real scenes in RALP prostatectomy surgery. This is an important step toward achieving accurate image-guided laparoscopic surgery.
A Study of Anthropometric And Lipid Profile Parameters in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Patients Attending A Tertiary Care Hospitalat Puducherry.

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD )is a common chronic liver disorder sharing the same factors with metabolic syndrome in pathogenesis and insulin resistance. Stress, altered food habits and sedentary life style has led to the development of fatty liver, a marker of metabolic syndrome, leading to cardiovascular disease and Type2 DM at a younger age. Aim & objectives : To estimate anthropometric and lipid parameters in NAFLD cases, and controls with normal ultrasonogram (USG). To correlate these parameters with metabolic syndrome. Methodology : A total of 480 patients who were referred for USG from medicine and gynaecology outpatient department were screened. 46 patients with NAFLD and 46 cases with normal USG, of age 18-58 were selected as study and control group respectively. Anthropometric and lipid profile parameters were estimated in both groups. National cholesterol education programme Adult treatment panel III (NCEP-ATPIII) and International Diabetes federation Criteria was used to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Results: The WC was significantly high in the NAFLD group with a X 2 value of 25.77 and ‘p’ value of 0.0001. The diastolic blood pressure and serum triglycerides had X 2 value of 17.06 and 6.5 and ’p’ value of 0.00003 and 0.04 respectively. Conclusion: Central obesity and dyslipidemia was significantly higher in the NAFLD group compared to the control group.
Impact of Early Dietary Intake and Blood Lipid Composition of Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Later Visual Development

Background In contrast to human milk, current infant formulas in the United States do not contain ω3 and ω6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. This may lead to suboptimal blood lipid fatty acid profiles and to a measurable diminution of visual function in developing term infants. The need for docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid supplementation in the infant diet was evaluated in a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. Methods Healthy term infants were randomized to diets of (1) commercial formula, (2) docosahexaenoic acid–enriched formula (0.35% of total fatty acids), or (3) docosahexaenoic acid– (0.36%) and arachidonic acid– (0.72%) enriched formula. Eighty-seven infants completed the 17-week nutritional trial, and 58 were observed until 52 weeks of life. A reference group was exclusively breast fed for at least 17 weeks (n = 29). Outcome measures included electroretinographic responses, visual evoked potentials, and blood fatty acid analysis in infants at birth and at 6, 17, and 52 weeks of age. Results Commercial formula-fed infants had 30% to 50% lower content of docosahexaenoic acid in total red blood cell lipids during the 17-week feeding trial compared with breast-fed infants. Significant differences persisted at the 1-year follow-up. Arachidonic acid content was consistently reduced in the commercial formula group by 15% to 20%. Infants fed long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid–enriched formulas had docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid blood lipid profiles resembling those of human milk-fed infants. Infants receiving this enriched formula had more mature electroretinographic responses than commercial formula-fed infants at 6 weeks of age. Human milk-fed and docosahexaenoic acid-enriched formula-fed infants had better visual acuity than commercial formula-fed infants at both 17 and 52 weeks of age. Early (17-week) fatty acid profiles in blood lipids were correlated with later (52-week) visual function development in study infants. Conclusions Results from this clinical trial demonstrate that long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation of formula in term infants produces blood lipid fatty acid profiles that are similar to those observed in breast-fed infants. This supplementation leads to better visual function later in life (i.e., 1 year of age) than that shown by infants fed commercial formula.
Regulation of Synaptic Efficacy by Coincidence of Postsynaptic APs and EPSPs

Activity-driven modifications in synaptic connections between neurons in the neocortex may occur during development and learning. In dual whole-cell voltage recordings from pyramidal neurons, the coincidence of postsynaptic action potentials (APs) and unitary excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) was found to induce changes in EPSPs. Their average amplitudes were differentially up- or down-regulated, depending on the precise timing of postsynaptic APs relative to EPSPs. These observations suggest that APs propagating back into dendrites serve to modify single active synaptic connections, depending on the pattern of electrical activity in the pre- and postsynaptic neurons.
A Haplotype-Based Analysis of the PTPN22 Locus in Type 1 Diabetes

A recent addition to the list of widely confirmed type 1 diabetes risk loci is the PTPN22 gene encoding a lymphoid-specific phosphatase (Lyp). However, evidence supporting a role for PTPN22 in type 1 diabetes derives entirely from the study of just one coding single nucleotide polymorphism, 1858C/T. In the current study, the haplotype structure of the PTPN22 region was determined, and individual haplotypes were tested for association with type 1 diabetes in family-based tests. The 1858T risk allele occurred on only a single haplotype that was strongly associated with type 1 diabetes (P = 7.9 × 10−5). After controlling for the effects of this allele, two other haplotypes were observed to be weakly associated with type 1 diabetes (P < 0.05). Sequencing of the coding region of PTPN22 on these haplotypes revealed a novel variant (2250G/C) predicted to result in a nonsynonymous amino acid substitution. Analysis of PTPN22 transcripts from a subject heterozygous for this variant indicated that it interfered with normal mRNA splicing, resulting in a premature termination codon after exon 17. These results support the conclusion that the 1858C/T allele is the major risk variant for type 1 diabetes in the PTPN22 locus, but they suggest that additional infrequent coding variants at PTPN22 may also contribute to type 1 diabetes risk.
MODELS FOR THE ESTIMATION OF THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF LAYERED DOUBLE HYDROXIDES: APPLICATION TO THE STUDY OF THEIR ANION EXCHANGE CHARACTERISTICS

Several models for the estimation of thermodynamic properties of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are presented. The predicted thermodynamic quantities calculated by the proposed models agree with experimental thermodynamic data. A thermodynamic study of the anion exchange process on LDHs is also made using the described models. Tables for the prediction of monovalent anion exchange selectivities on LDHs are provided. Reasonable agreement is found between the predicted and the experimental monovalent anion exchange selectivities.
Effects of Three Colors in an Office Interior on Mood and Performance

This study examined the effects of three hues on subjects' performance and mood while in an office work environment for 1 hour. Pretest/posttest measurements were completed. Work performance was measured using words typed, typing errors, and a ratio of errors to words typed. Anxiety, depression, and arousal were measured by the Eight State Questionnaire of Curran and Cattell. A total of 45 women, ages 18 to 24 years, were tested individually in a single office space: 15 when the office walls were painted red/warm, 15 when walls were blue-green/cool, and 15 when walls were white/neutral. Analysis of covariance of posttest measurements with the pretest as a covariate showed no significant differences among the three groups on performance or scores on anxiety, depression, and arousal. If color of the environment has an effect on work performance or mood, either the effect was too small to be detected with samples of 15 subjects or longer participation than one hour was required.
Computing spectral densities in finite temperature field theory.

Convenient Cutkosky-like diagrammatic rules for computing the spectral densities of arbitrary two-point correlation functions in finite temperature field theory are derived. The approach is based on an explicit analytic continuation of imaginary-time Feynman diagrams. The application of this method to the perturbative evaluation of transport coefficients is briefly discussed.
Studies on mutagenic effectiveness and efficiency of finger millet [Eleucina coracana (L.) Gaertn] in M1 generation and effect of gamma rays on its quantitative traits during M2 generation.

Among the major food grains, finger millet [Eleucina coracana (L.) Gaertn] is one of the most nutritious crops. It is an important food crop in South Asia and Africa. The grain of finger millet has fine aroma when cooked or roasted and it is known to have many healthy promising qualities. It is a rich source of calcium and has good amount of magnesium, phosphorus and iron. Finger millet has a favorable amino acid spectrum that includes cysteine, tyrosine, tryptophan and methionine (Rachie, 1975). Genetic improvement of crop depends on the amount of genetic variability present in the population. Mutation breeding is the tool in the hand of breeder to create variability in crop population and to make selection in the population with the view to bring about further improvement in crop. Mutations are theoretical changes which occur in DNA sequences and results in change in genetic code. A gene mutation or point mutation is the group of all heritable changes which occur within the limit of a single gene. Abstract : Dry seeds (12 % moisture) of two finger millet cultivar viz., Dapoli-1 and Dapoli Safed were irradiated with four doses of gammarays viz., 400 Gy, 500 Gy, 600 Gy and 700 Gy at BARC, Mumbai. In laboratory test, root and shoot lengths of seedlings were decreased with increase in dose of gamma rays. Similarly, germination percentage and survival rate of seedlings were decreased with increase in dose of gamma irradiation during field study. In M 1 generation, three types of chlorophyll mutations viz., albino, xantha and viridis were observed. Albino and xantha were observed in all treatments, whereas, viridis observed only in lower doses viz., 400 Gy and 500 Gy. Based on the chlorophyll mutation frequency on M 1 plants, mutagenic effectiveness and efficiency were computed. In Dapoli-1 variety, two early maturing mutants and three high yielding mutants were isolated from 500 Gy dose and 600 Gy dose, respectively. In M 2 generation , the mutagenic treatments were effective in inducing various types of chlorophyll and morphological macro mutants, few of those showed significant change in flowering, maturity and plant height characters and few of them have good breeding value.
Pityriasis versicolor; atypical clinical and mycologic variations.

IT IS only when unusual clinical or mycologic manifestations are present that the diagnosis of pityriasis versicolor (tinea versicolor) is troublesome. The areas most likely to cause difficulty are the neck, scalp, groin and extremities. Mycologic variations occur in patients recently under treatment. In clinical diagnosis, the use of Wood's light is a valuable adjunct, particularly in determining the extent of involvement. In the laboratory, the etiologic agent is easily determined by direct examination of scales mounted in potassium hydroxide or lactophenol (a mixture ofphenol, U.S.P., 20 Gm.; lactic acid, 20 cc.; glycerin U.S.P., 40 cc., and distilled water, 20 cc.). Mounts in lactophenol may be examined immediately, without waiting for clearing. The slide may be sealed with some suitable substance and kept for some time. CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS The sites of lesions observed in the 47 cases forming the basis for this study are noted in the accompanying table.
Probabilistic analysis of safety-critical adaptive systems with temporal dependences

Dynamic adaptation means that components are reconfigured at run time. Consequently, the degree to which a system fulfils its functional and safety requirements depends on the current system configuration at run time. The probability of a violation of functional requirements in combination with an importance factor for each requirement gives us a measure for reliability. In the same way, the degree of violation of safety requirements can be a measure for safety. These measures can easily be derived based on the probabilities of possible system configurations. For this purpose, we are introducing a new probabilistic analysis technique that determines configuration probabilities based on Fault trees, Binary Decision Diagrams (BDDs) and Markov chains. Through our recent work we have been able to determine configuration probabilities of systems but we neglected timing aspects . Timing delays have impact on the adaptation behavior and are necessary to handle cyclic dependences. The contribution of the present article is to extend analysis towards models with timing delays. This technique builds upon the Methodologies and Architectures for Runtime Adaptive Systems (MARS) , a modeling concept we use for specifying the adaptation behavior of a system at design time. The results of this paper determine configuration probabilities, that are necessary to quantify the fulfillment of functional and safety requirements by adaptive systems.
Delivery of halogenated very short-lived substances from the west Indian Ocean to the stratosphere during the Asian summer monsoon

Abstract. Halogenated very short-lived substances (VSLSs) are naturally produced in the ocean and emitted to the atmosphere. When transported to the stratosphere, these compounds can have a significant influence on the ozone layer and climate. During a research cruise on RV Sonne in the subtropical and tropical west Indian Ocean in July and August 2014, we measured the VSLSs, methyl iodide (CH3I) and for the first time bromoform (CHBr3) and dibromomethane (CH2Br2), in surface seawater and the marine atmosphere to derive their emission strengths. Using the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART with ERA-Interim meteorological fields, we calculated the direct contribution of observed VSLS emissions to the stratospheric halogen burden during the Asian summer monsoon. Furthermore, we compare the in situ calculations with the interannual variability of transport from a larger area of the west Indian Ocean surface to the stratosphere for July 2000–2015. We found that the west Indian Ocean is a strong source for CHBr3 (910 pmol m−2 h−1), very strong source for CH2Br2 (930 pmol m−2 h−1), and an average source for CH3I (460 pmol m−2 h−1). The atmospheric transport from the tropical west Indian Ocean surface to the stratosphere experiences two main pathways. On very short timescales, especially relevant for the shortest-lived compound CH3I (3.5 days lifetime), convection above the Indian Ocean lifts oceanic air masses and VSLSs towards the tropopause. On a longer timescale, the Asian summer monsoon circulation transports oceanic VSLSs towards India and the Bay of Bengal, where they are lifted with the monsoon convection and reach stratospheric levels in the southeastern part of the Asian monsoon anticyclone. This transport pathway is more important for the longer-lived brominated compounds (17 and 150 days lifetime for CHBr3 and CH2Br2). The entrainment of CHBr3 and CH3I from the west Indian Ocean to the stratosphere during the Asian summer monsoon is lower than from previous cruises in the tropical west Pacific Ocean during boreal autumn and early winter but higher than from the tropical Atlantic during boreal summer. In contrast, the projected CH2Br2 entrainment was very high because of the high emissions during the west Indian Ocean cruise. The 16-year July time series shows highest interannual variability for the shortest-lived CH3I and lowest for the longest-lived CH2Br2. During this time period, a small increase in VSLS entrainment from the west Indian Ocean through the Asian monsoon to the stratosphere is found. Overall, this study confirms that the subtropical and tropical west Indian Ocean is an important source region of halogenated VSLSs, especially CH2Br2, to the troposphere and stratosphere during the Asian summer monsoon.
Theory of Spin Excitations and the Microwave Response of Cylindrical Ferromagnetic Nanowires

We develop the theory of exchange/dipole spin wave excitations of ferromagnetic nanowires of cylindrical cross section, where the magnetization is parallel to the axis of the wire. In addition, we provide the theory of the microwave response of such structures, for the case where the nanowire is also a conductor. We present explicit calculations of both the mode structure of nanowires, and also their ferromagnetic resonance spectrum, with attention to recent experimental studies. We compare differences between the physical picture appropriate for the cylinder, with the well studied case of the ferromagnetic film.
Infliximab leads to a rapid but transient improvement in endothelial function in patients with primary systemic vasculitis

Objective: To assess the immediate effects of tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) blockade on endothelial function in systemic vasculitis. Methods: Endothelial function was assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry in patients with active vasculitis after 10 infusions of infliximab. For comparison endothelial responses were assessed after five infusions of cyclophosphamide plus methylprednisolone. Results: Endothelial dependent vasodilatation (EDV) improved significantly within 24 hours of infliximab infusion. The median change in red blood cell flux (interquartile range) was 5.7 (4.3–8.2) before infusion v 8.4 (7.5–10.9) at 24 hours; p = 0.027. This was not maintained at day 14. No improvement was seen in EDV after cyclophosphamide plus methylprednisolone infusion. Conclusion: The rapid but transient improvement in EDV after TNFα inhibition suggests that TNFα may have a direct role in the impairment of endothelial function.
Evaluation of chronic rhinosinusitis management using the SNOT-22 in adult cystic fibrosis patients.

OBJECTIVES Sinonasal disease (SND) is a common finding in subjects with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Even though it does not play a key role in the life expectancy of these patients, it increases the morbidity rate of CF, with deterioration of the quality of life and of general health status. The aim of this study is the evaluation of the impact of sinonasal disease and Extensive Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (eESS) on the quality of life (QOL) of CF patients by means of the 22 item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) and define if there is a correlation between SNOT-22 and the Lund-Mackay score. PATIENTS AND METHODS We performed a prospective study in 33 CF patients with medically refractory SND. The extent of polyposis was graded both endoscopically and on computed tomography images in accordance with the Lund-Mackay score. All patients underwent eESS. The SNOT was administered in order to assess the quality of life related to SND both before surgery and during follow-up at 6 months, 1 year and 2 years postoperatively. RESULTS The SNOT-22 and Lund-Mackay score showed a remarkable mean improvement during follow-up. The differences between the initial examination and last score were significant (p < 0.001), but there was no statistic correlation between SNOT-22 and Lund-Mackay. CONCLUSIONS More attention should be paid to sinonasal symptoms in CF patients and SNOT-22 is a simple and effective tool for this purpose. This score is also important for indicating the outcome of the eESS procedure. In all patients SNOT showed a significant improvement in QoL.
An Investigation into Non Carious Tooth Wear and Associated Clinical findings

Introduction: Non carious lesions are multicausal clinical status with wide diversity of prevalence among individuals and populations. Several etiologic backgrounds may simultaneously play role in the incidence of this condition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of non carious tooth wear and to point out the strength of correlation between occlusal, incisal and cervical tooth wears and the most eminent associated clinical findings. Materials and methods: 338 patients 174 male and 164 female their age ranged from 20 to an opened range over 50 years were examined by one examiner. A comprehensive dental and periodontal examination was performed to identify presence and extension of non carious lesions by applying simplified scoring criteria for tooth wear index. Examination of hypersensitivity was performed by applying Wong-Backer faces pain rating scale. A questionnaire form included information regarding oral hygiene performance, type of tooth brush, method and frequency of tooth brushing. Dietary habits such as snakes and acidic food or drink consumption. Parafunction and smoking habit was also included. (Chi Square test) was applied to present the strength of association between tooth wear and the other variables investigated in this study. Results: A significant association was detected between the 3 types of tooth wear. These lesions are age dependent with no significant differences in their incidence between male and female. Frequency and type of tooth brush found to have a significant effect on non carious tooth wear. Furthermore, the study recorded significant relations of tooth wear to parafunction, extracted posterior teeth and gingival recession. However, no significant relation was detected between tooth wear and some other variables examined in this study such as dietary habits acid food and drink, smoking, dental caries, gingival bleeding and periodontal pockets. Conclusion: Several causes found to participate in the occurrence of tooth wear. Frequently develops under functional and parafunctional occlusal and incisal contact between the teeth in maxillary and mandibular arch that wear enamel and dentine away with age. It also weakens dental structure at the cervical portion of the teeth to wear off under the effect of tooth brushing and acid food and drink.