Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinicoradiologic Study of Cervical Laminoplasty With Posterolateral Fusion or Bone Graft

Study Design. A retrospective study of cervical expansive laminoplasty for cervical myelopathy from a clinicoradiologic perspective. Objective. To clarify the correlation among sagittal curvature of the cervical spine, cervical range of motion, sagittal plane translation, spinal cord atrophy, and myelopathic symptoms in patients who have undergone laminoplasty. Summary of Background Data. Laminoplasties were developed to diminish the undesirable effects of laminectomy, which include postoperative kyphotic changes and instability. However, the superiority of laminoplasty over laminectomy remains controversial. Methods. Fifty-one patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy or ossification of the cervical posterior longitudinal ligament who underwent laminoplasty were radiologically assessed before and after surgery. The index of the sagittal curvature, intervertebral range of motion, listhesis, and the transverse area of the spinal cord at the site of maximal compression were measured to evaluate interrelations among those parameters and myelopathic symptoms. Results. There were no patients with kyphotic curvature before surgery. The postoperative curvature tended to be less lordotic. This tendency did not adversely affect postoperative symptoms. The intervertebral range of motion was significantly decreased except at C1–C2. The final C4–C5 range of motion and the postoperative myelopathic symptoms were negatively correlated. A significant correlation was observed between the postoperative spinal cord atrophy and the final myelopathic symptoms. Conclusions. The decrease in the lordotic curvature index and the decrease in the intervertebral range of motion after laminoplasty did not cause neurologic deterioration. In the C4–C5 intervertebral segment with a high incidence of listhesis, the restriction of the C4–C5 range of motion improved the clinical myelopathic symptoms. The radiologic prognostic factors were the postoperative restriction of intervertebral range of motion in preoperatively unstable segments and the anatomic reversibility of spinal cord insult.
Sparse signal processing using iterative method with adaptive thresholding (IMAT)

Classical sampling theorem states that by using an anti-aliased low-pass filter at the Nyquist rate, one can transmit and retrieve the filtered signal. This approach, which has been used for decades in signal processing, is not good for high quality speech, image and video signals where the actual signals are not low-pass but rather sparse. The traditional sampling theorems do not work for sparse signals. Modern approach, developed by statisticians at Stanford (Donoho and Candes), give some lower bounds for the minimum sampling rate such that a sparse signal can be retrieved with high probability. However, their approach, using a sampling matrix called compressive matrix, has certain drawbacks: Compressive matrices require the knowledge of all the samples, which defeats the whole purpose of compressive sampling! Moreover, for real signals, one does not need a compressive matrix and we shall show in this invited paper that random sampling performs as good as or better than compressive sampling. In addition, we show that greedy methods such as Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP) are too complex with inferior performance compared to IMAT and other iterative methods. Furthermore, we shall compare IMAT to OMP and other reconstruction methods in term of complexity and show the advantages of IMAT. Various applications such as image and speech recovery from random or block losses, salt & pepper noise, OFDM channel estimation, MRI, and finally spectral estimation will be discussed and simulated.
Detecting Tuberculosis in Chest Radiographs Using SVM Classifier

Dept of CSE, Ultra College Of Engineering and Technology for Women, Madurai, India Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB)and HIV/AIDS are the main causes of mortality in adults aged 15-49 years in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). The interaction between tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS makes the diagnosis and management of the confection difficult. A cross sectional hospital based study was conducted at Haydom Lutheran Hospital (HLH) to assess the interaction between tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and coinfection in relation to the CD4 T cells. Furthermore, CD4 T cell counts in healthy subjects in different age groups were determined for the purpose of establishing reference values. Physical examination and investigation including sputum for fluorescence microscopy and culture, tuberculosis drugs susceptibility testing and Chest X-Ray (CXR) were done for all tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS patients. Sputum samples were stained using aura mine and examined by fluorescence microscopy. Sputum culture was done using Lowenstein Jensen media and sensitivity to the first line TB drugs was tested. The proposed computer-aided diagnostic system for TB screening, which is ready for field deployment, achieves a performance that approaches the performance of human experts achieve an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 87% (78.3%accuracy) for the first set, and an AUC of 90% (84% accuracy)for the second set. For the first set, compare the system performance with the performance of radiologists. When trying not to miss any positive cases, radiologists achieve an accuracy of about 82% on this set, and their false positive rate is about half of system’s rate.
Evidence‐Based Practice Improvement: Merging 2 Paradigms

This article presents a new model, Evidence-Based Practice Improvement, for improving patient care. The model merges 2 extant paradigms currently used for quality improvement initiatives—evidence-based practice and practice or performance improvement. The literature expounds on the virtues of each of these approaches, yet no authors have moved beyond parallel play between them. The merged model, Evidence-Based Practice Improvement, may provide a more effective and practical approach to reach our quality goals.
Association of Intensive Care Unit Patient-to-Intensivist Ratios With Hospital Mortality

Importance The patient-to-intensivist ratio (PIR) across intensive care units (ICUs) is not standardized and the association of PIR with patient outcome is not well established. Understanding the impact of PIR on outcomes is necessary to optimize senior medical staffing and deliver high-quality care. Objective To test the hypotheses that: (1) there is significant variation in the PIR across ICUs and (2) higher PIRs are associated with higher hospital mortality for ICU patients. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective cohort analysis of patients (≥16 years) admitted to ICUs staffed by a single intensivist during daytime hours in the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2013. Exposures Patient-to-intensivist ratios, which we defined for each patient as the number of patients cared for by the intensivist each day averaged over the patient’s stay. Main Outcomes and Measures Using standard summary statistics, we evaluated PIR variation across ICUs. We used multivariable, mixed-effect, logistic regression analysis to evaluate the association between PIR and hospital mortality at ultimate discharge from acute hospital (primary outcome) and at ICU discharge. Finding Among 49 686 adults in 94 ICUs, median age was 66 (interquartile range [IQR], 52-76) years, and 45.1% were women. The ultimate hospital mortality was 25.7%. The median PIR for patients was 8.5 (IQR, 6.9-10.8; full range, 1.0-23.5), and varied substantially among individual ICUs. The association between PIR and ultimate hospital mortality was U-shaped; there was a reduction in the odds of mortality associated with an increasing PIR up to 7.5 after which the odds of mortality increased again significantly (average patient mortality for lowest PIR, 22%; PIR of 7.5, 15%; highest PIR, 19%; P = .003). A similar U-shaped association was seen for PIR and mortality in the ICU (nadir of mortality at a PIR of 7.8, P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance PIR varied across UK ICUs. The optimal PIR in this cohort of UK ICU patients was 7.5, with significantly increased ICU and hospital mortality above and below this ratio. The number of patients cared for by 1 intensivist may impact patient outcomes.
Modalité d'interaction humaine dans la formation en ligne : son influence sur l'apprentissage

La presence de l’interaction humaine dans une formation en ligne s’est accrue avec l’evolution des technologies de la communication et fait partie aujourd’hui des composantes habituelles de ces formations. L’interaction sociale est vue comme un facteur d’apprentissage. Or, la question se pose de savoir quelle modalite d’interaction est la plus adaptee pour un type de tâche et pour un contexte donnes. A cote d’un tutorat qui parait indispensable pour l’orientation des etudiants a distance, le groupe restreint apporte-t-il des benefices ? Les modeles theoriques generalement utilises sont issus de l’enseignement presentiel et ne mettent pas en parallele une situation d’interaction en groupe tutore et une autre en individuel tutore. Notre recherche empirique a ainsi pour objectif de voir laquelle des deux modalites d’interaction est le mieux adaptee dans une formation en langues a distance qui se situe dans une perspective actionnelle. Elle compare les deux modalites, et cela successivement sur deux plates-formes. Le groupe a tendance a progresser davantage que les individuels tutores dans la qualite de ses redactions durant la phase de formation. En revanche, en termes d’apprentissage, aucune difference significative entre les deux populations ne peut etre observee. Les phenomenes observes restent stables d’une plate-forme a l’autre, faisant ainsi apparaitre le groupe restreint tutore, dans le contexte donne, comme un moyen performant pour produire, mais pas forcement pour apprendre.
Can the Glittre ADL test differentiate the functional capacity of COPD patients from that of healthy subjects?

BACKGROUND The Glittre ADL (TGlittre) test is a specifically designed to assess functional limitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. However, it is not known if it can differentiate the performance of these patients from healthy subjects. OBJECTIVES To investigate whether the Glittre ADL test is able to differentiate the functional capacity of COPD patients from that of healthy subjects and to compare the cardiorespiratory response between Glittre ADL and the six-minute walk test (6MWT). METHODS The study included 10 patients with COPD (GOLD 2 to 4) and 10 healthy subjects matched by age who performed the following: spirometry pre- and post-bronchodilator, a Glittre ADL test and two 6MWT on two consecutive days. RESULTS The performance of COPD (FEV1%pred= 38.1±11.8, age=64±10 years, BMI=23.7±5.2 kg/ m²) was worse than the control group on TGlittre (5.26±2.9 min, 3.3±0.3 min, p<0.05) and 6MWT (434.97±105.18 m vs. 593.25±87.36 m, p<0.05). TGlittre correlated with the physical activity domain of the London Chest Activity of Daily Living (LCADL) scale (r=0.67, p<0.05) and with 6MWT when the total sample was analyzed (r=-0.64, p<0.05). The COPD group had a statistically higher (p<0.05) increase in dyspnea (Borg scale) than the control group for both TGlittre and 6MWT, with a similar heart rate and peripheral oxygen saturation variation in both groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS The performance of COPD patients is worse than that of healthy subjects on the Glittre ADL test, with a greater increase in dyspnea and similar heart rates.
Reconstructing Sunyaev–Zel'dovich clusters in future cosmic microwave background experiments

We present a new method for component separation aimed to extract SunyaevZeldovich (SZ) galaxy clusters from multifrequency maps of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments. This method is designed to recover non-Gaussian, spatially localized and sparse signals. We first characterize the cluster non-Gaussianity by studying it on simulated SZ maps. We the apply our estimator on simulated observations of the Planck and Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) experiments. The method presented here outperforms multi-frequency Wiener filtering both in the reconstructed average intensity for given input and in the associated error. In the absence of point source contamination, this technique reconstructs the ACT (Planck) bright (big) clusters central y parameter with an intensity which is about 84 (43) per cent of the original input value. The associated error in the reconstruction is about 12 and 27 per cent for the 50 (12) ACT (Planck) clusters considered. For ACT, the error is dominated by beam smearing. In the Planck case the error in the reconstruction is largely determined by the noise level: a noise reduction by a factor 7 would imply almost perfect reconstruction and 10 per cent error for a large sample of clusters. We conclude that the selection function of Planck clusters will strongly depend on the noise properties in different sky regions, as well as from the specific cluster extraction method assumed.
Mineralogical studies of sulfide samples and volatile concentrations of basalt glasses from the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge.

Sulfide samples obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey's DSRV Alvin dives on the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge closely resemble those from the same area described by Koski et al. (1984). Major minerals include sphalerite, wurtzite, pyrite, marcasite, isocubanite, anhydrite, and chalcopyrite. Equilibrium, if attained at all, during deposition of most sulfides was a transient event over a few tens of micrometers at most and was perturbed by rapid temperature and compositional changes of the circulating fluid. Two new minerals were found: one, a hydrated Zn, Fe hydroxy-chlorosulfate, and the other, a (Mn, Mg, Fe) hydroxide or hydroxy-hydrate. Both were formed at relatively low temperatures. Lizardite, starkeyite, and anatase were found for the first time in such an environment. Sulfide geothermometry involving the system Cu-Fe-S indicates a vent temperature of <328 degrees C for one sample. Fluid inclusion studies on crystals from the same vicinity of the same sample give pressure-corrected homogenization temperatures of 268 degrees and 285 degrees C. Ice-melting temperatures on inclusions from the same sample are about -2.8 degrees C, indicating that the equivalent salinity of the trapped fluid is about 50% greater than that of seawater. Volatile concentrations from vesicle-free basalt glass from the vent field are about 0.013 wt% CO2 and 0.16 wt% H2O, CO2 contents in these samples yield an entrapment depth of 2200 m of seawater, which is the depth from which the samples were collected.
Effect of lipopolysaccharide on intestinal intramucosal hydrogen ion concentration in pigs: evidence of gut ischemia in a normodynamic model of septic shock.

We tested the hypothesis that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) leads to an imbalance between mesenteric oxygen delivery (DO2) and gut metabolic demand for oxygen, even when cardiac index (CI) is within the normal range. Two groups of pentobarbital-anesthetized pigs (13 to 17 kg) were studied. The first group (LPS; n = 9) was infused over 20 min with Escherichia coli LPS (100 micrograms/kg) and resuscitated with normal saline (1.2 ml/kg.min). The second group (NS; n = 5) was not infused with LPS, but was resuscitated in the same way as the LPS group. Superior mesenteric arterial (SMA) blood flow and ileal intramucosal hydrogen ion concentration, [H+], were determined using a Doppler-shift probe and a tonometric catheter, respectively. Infusing LPS did not affect CI, although mean arterial pressure and systemic vascular resistance were significantly reduced. SMA flow and mesenteric DO2 decreased significantly in the LPS group. Although mesenteric oxygen utilization was well preserved in both groups, ileal intramucosal [H+] was significantly higher in endotoxic animals. These data support the idea that mesenteric oxygen consumption is flow-limited in this clinically relevant porcine model of septic shock.
Auditory priming for upcoming events

Psychologically preparing for upcoming events can be a difficult task, particularly when switching social contexts, e.g., from office work to a family event. To help with such transitions, the audio priming system uses pre-recorded audio messages to psychologically prepare a person for an upcoming event. In this system, audio priming is being used to prepare a person's state of mind to improve one's sociability in the upcoming social context.
When Does Intimate Partner Violence Continue After Separation?

Over their lifetime, approximately 10% of all women become victims of postseparation stalking or assault. We use a nationally representative survey of separated Swedish women to examine whether men who strive to control their partners during their relationships are more likely to stalk or assault their ex-partners after separation. The empirical analysis shows that basic measures of control behaviors explain 18% of the variance in stalking victimization and 8% of the assault victimization. Moreover, the predictive values of our measures of control by far surpass those of other common risk markers included in the analysis.
Food, Meals, and Daily Activities: Food Habitus at Neolithic Çatalhöyük

We consider the daily practices of food preparation and consumption at the Neolithic Anatolian site of Çatalhöyük. We present the major food activities suggested from the archaeological evidence, including the timing and range of possible ingredients eaten by the residents of this thousand-year settlement. Plant, animal, and mineral resources, as well as the food production and preparation practices, are viewed in the context of the seasonal cycle. The food-related activities practiced at Çatalhöyük within each of the seasons are placed into five primary groups: production and procurement, processing, cooking, presentation, and eating. The daily household acts associated with these categories are discussed in detail. Using flora, fauna, micromorphological, lithic, ceramic, clay and architectural evidence, we present a picture of a community that was relatively healthy. The residents had a diet that relied heavily on plant foodstuffs, with wild plants remaining an important and valuable part of the daily and seasonal food practices throughout. The people of Çatalhöyük ate a range of animal products, including meat obtained from domesticated sheep/goats, wild cattle, small and large game, and to a more limited extent, eggs and waterfowl. Their social life can be seen through these foodways.
Inflammatory Monocytes Determine Endothelial Nitric-oxide Synthase Uncoupling and Nitro-oxidative Stress Induced by Angiotensin II*

Background: Inflammatory monocytes are drivers of vascular injury and disease. Results: Depletion of lysozyme M-positive monocytes prevents eNOS uncoupling and iNOS-derived nitro-oxidative stress. Conclusion: Monocytes determine eNOS and iNOS function by directly modulating tetrahydrobiopterin bioavailability. Significance: Understanding the impact of inflammation on endothelial function in detail is essential to identify tailored therapeutic strategies. Endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) uncoupling and increased inducible NOS (iNOS) activity amplify vascular oxidative stress. The role of inflammatory myelomonocytic cells as mediators of these processes and their impact on tetrahydrobiopterin availability and function have not yet been defined. Angiotensin II (ATII, 1 mg/kg/day for 7 days) increased Ly6Chigh and CD11b+/iNOShigh leukocytes and up-regulated levels of eNOS glutathionylation in aortas of C57BL/6 mice. Vascular iNOS-dependent NO formation was increased, whereas eNOS-dependent NO formation was decreased in aortas of ATII-infused mice as assessed by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Diphtheria toxin-mediated ablation of lysozyme M-positive (LysM+) monocytes in ATII-infused LysMiDTR transgenic mice prevented eNOS glutathionylation and eNOS-derived Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester-sensitive superoxide formation in the endothelial layer. ATII increased vascular guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase I expression and biopterin synthesis in parallel, which was reduced in monocyte-depleted LysMiDTR mice. Vascular tetrahydrobiopterin was increased by ATII infusion but was even higher in monocyte-depleted ATII-infused mice, which was paralleled by a strong up-regulation of dihydrofolate reductase expression. EPR spectroscopy revealed that both vascular iNOS- and eNOS-dependent NO formation were normalized in ATII-infused mice following monocyte depletion. Additionally, deletion as well as pharmacologic inhibition of iNOS prevented ATII-induced endothelial dysfunction. In summary, ATII induces an inflammatory cell-dependent increase of iNOS, guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase I, tetrahydrobiopterin, NO formation, and nitro-oxidative stress as well as eNOS uncoupling in the vessel wall, which can be prevented by ablation of LysM+ monocytes.
Indirect measurement of intestinal immune responses to an orally administered attenuated bacterial vaccine

Intestinal fluid, saliva, circulating peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), and serum samples obtained from 81 human adult subjects who had been orally vaccinated with either Salmonella typhi Ty21a or one of its recombinant derivatives were examined to determine the value of indirect measurements of an antigen-specific intestinal-immunoglobulin A (IgA) response. Salivary IgA failed to provide consistent or correlative responses, and no evidence of a significant relationship was apparent with the intestinal-IgA responses. No significant correlation between the specific increase in responses in serum IgA and intestinal IgA was evident. While the magnitude of the serum IgG response significantly correlated with the intestinal-IgA response (P = 0.00064), it failed to detect 14.8% of the intestinal-IgA responses. The observation that 16.6% of the subjects had delayed serum IgA responses, with a peak occurring after day 23 compared with days 12 to 14, may have contributed to the inadequacy of the serum IgA response as a correlative indicator. The serum IgG responses in these subjects were also of a diminished magnitude. Specific IgA production by circulating PBL was found to be the most sensitive (92.6% response rate) and correlative (P = 0.00071) indicator of a specific intestinal-IgA immune response. However, its value in predicting protective efficacy is untried. These studies confirm that for the assessment of an enteric bacterial vaccine, determination of in vitro specific IgA production by circulating PBL may offer a single measurement of specific immunity which is as useful as serum and intestinal measurements combined.
Medication-overuse headache: where are we now?

Purpose of reviewMany important studies on medication-overuse headache have been published in the last year. Some of them investigated the pathophysiology of headache chronicity, others focused on evaluation of risk factors. The International Headache Society revised the classification criteria. We provide a summary of the new findings and concepts. Recent findingsMedication-overuse headache was previously defined by the International Headache Society as a chronic headache which occurs following overuse of headache drugs and improves after withdrawal. Hence, the improvement of headache after withdrawal was mandatory for diagnosis. The new appendix criteria appeared last year and established a broader concept of medication-overuse headache no longer requiring improvement after discontinuation of medication overuse. Several large population-based longitudinal studies clearly demonstrated that overuse of any kind of acute headache medication is the main risk factor leading to development of chronic headache. Imaging studies provided new important insights into the pathophysiology of headache chronicity. New treatment strategies have been suggested. SummaryRecent data provide better insight into pathophysiology of medication-overuse headache. Epidemiological studies clearly demonstrate the necessity of establishing a predictive model for early recognition of patients at high risk to intervene early and avoid development of chronic headache.