Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in the elderly : a prospective and comparative study

Objective: in this study we aimed to compare the utility and safety of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in elderly and younger groups of people. Methods: the study involved 299 patients who underwent ERCP for the first time between March 2002 and January 2003. Group A consisted of 202 patients who were 69 years of age or younger and group B involved 97 patients who were 70 years of age or older. The patients were prospectively identified and data were gathered on them prospectively. Clinical and biochemical features, ERCP procedures, ERCP diagnosis, complications and length of hospital stay were compared between the two groups. Results: group B patients presented with more specific symptoms compared with group A. Laboratory findings were similar in both groups other than mean bilirubin levels, which were higher in the elderly group. Selective biliary cannulation was technically successful in 99% of both groups. Precut papillotomy was performed in 49.5% of group A patients and 56.7% of group B patients. Choledocholithiasis was the most frequent diagnosis in both groups. Benign biliary stenosis was more frequent in group A and malignant biliary stenosis in group B. Among the malignant aetiologies, pancreatic carcinoma was the most common cancer in both groups. Post-procedural complications developed in 27 (9%) patients. There were 16 (7.9%) complications (six bleeding, five pancreatitis, three perforation and two cholangitis) in the 202 patients aged under 70 years. In comparison, 11 (11.3%) of the 97 patients aged over 70 years developed a complication (bleeding in six, pancreatitis in one, perforation in one, cholangitis in two and ileus in one). Twelve (nine group A and three group B) patients died within 5–30 days of the procedure. Length of hospital stay was comparable for both groups (15.53 ± 12.43 days in group A and 14.84 ± 11.56 days in group B). Conclusions: diagnostic and therapeutic ERCP has similar outcomes in both elderly and younger patients. ERCP is effective and safe in elderly patients with naive papilla. The more invasive procedures like precut papillotomy may be performed safely in the elderly.
Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548 - I. A global model for the broadband spectral energy distribution

An extensive multi-satellite campaign on NGC 5548 has revealed this archetypal Seyfert-1 galaxy to be in an exceptional state of persistent heavy absorption. Our observations taken in 2013-2014 with XMM-Newton, Swift, NuSTAR, INTEGRAL, Chandra, HST and two ground-based observatories have together enabled us to establish that this unexpected phenomenon is caused by an outflowing stream of weakly ionised gas (called the obscurer), extending from the vicinity of the accretion disk to the broad-line region. In this work we present the details of our campaign and the data obtained by all the observatories. We determine the spectral energy distribution of NGC 5548 from near-infrared to hard X-rays by establishing the contribution of various emission and absorption processes taking place along our line of sight towards the central engine. We thus uncover the intrinsic emission and produce a broadband continuum model for both obscured (average summer 2013 data) and unobscured (<2011) epochs of NGC 5548. Our results suggest that the intrinsic NIR/optical/UV continuum is a single Comptonised component with its higher energy tail creating the "soft X-ray excess". This component is compatible with emission from a warm, optically-thick corona as part of the inner accretion disk. We then investigate the effects of the continuum on the ionisation balance and thermal stability of photoionised gas for unobscured and obscured epochs.
Controlled analysis of factors associated with insufficient sample on outpatient endometrial biopsy

We examined the relative significance of hysteroscopic and ultrasonographic evidence of endometrial atrophy in relation to insufficient sample on outpatient endometrial biopsy in women with abnormal uterine bleeding. Multivariate logistic regression modelling was used to evaluate the independent effects of age, menopausal status, hysteroscopic findings and sonographic endometrial thickness on outpatient endometrial sampling (sufficient or insufficient) used as the binary dependent variable. Insufficient sample on endometrial biopsy was associated with hysteroscopic finding of endometrial atrophy (OR 4.79, 95% CI 1.05–21.91, P= 0.04) and sonographic endometrial thickness below 5 mm (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.07–0.53, P= 0.001). There was no association with patient's age and menopausal status. In conclusion, when reassuring women with insufficient sample on outpatient endometrial biopsy, one can be confident about absence of pathology provided the hysteroscopic and sonographic endometrial assessment is consistent with endometrial atrophy.
Current Sensor Based Home Appliance and State of Appliance Recognition

This paper presents a current sensor-based home appliance and its state recognition method for intelligent outlets. Our system has three main functions: remote control, monitoring, and power supply schedule management. This research focuses particular on the monitoring function. To recognize the appliance and the state of the appliance, we extract ten features based on a measured current signal. In the experiment, we gather a number of signals with various appliances, and find that three features Irms, Iavg, and Ipeak yield valid recognition results of 84.3%, 86.4%, and 90.3% for classifying the state of the appliance into three categories. Moreover, sufficient recognition rates of 97.4%, 97.7%, and 99.0% are obtained by consideration of three candidates.
Surgical outcomes following nerve transfers in upper brachial plexus injuries

Background: Brachial plexus injuries represent devastating injuries with a poor prognosis. Neurolysis, nerve repair, nerve grafts, nerve transfer, functioning free-muscle transfer and pedicle muscle transfer are the main surgical procedures for treating these injuries. Among these, nerve transfer or neurotization is mainly indicated in root avulsion injury. Materials and Methods: We analysed the results of various neurotization techniques in 20 patients (age group 20-41 years, mean 25.7 years) in terms of denervation time, recovery time and functional results. The inclusion criteria for the study included irreparable injuries to the upper roots of brachial plexus (C5, C6 and C7 roots in various combinations), surgery within 10 months of injury and a minimum follow-up period of 18 months. The average denervation period was 4.2 months. Shoulder functions were restored by transfer of spinal accessory nerve to suprascapular nerve (19 patients), and phrenic nerve to suprascapular nerve (1 patient). In 11 patients, axillary nerve was also neurotized using different donors - radial nerve branch to the long head triceps (7 patients), intercostal nerves (2 patients), and phrenic nerve with nerve graft (2 patients). Elbow flexion was restored by transfer of ulnar nerve motor fascicle to the motor branch of biceps (4 patients), both ulnar and median nerve motor fascicles to the biceps and brachialis motor nerves (10 patients), spinal accessory nerve to musculocutaneous nerve with an intervening sural nerve graft (1 patient), intercostal nerves (3rd, 4th and 5th) to musculocutaneous nerve (4 patients) and phrenic nerve to musculocutaneous nerve with an intervening graft (1 patient). Results: Motor and sensory recovery was assessed according to Medical Research Council (MRC) Scoring system. In shoulder abduction, five patients scored M4 and three patients M3+. Fair results were obtained in remaining 12 patients. The achieved abduction averaged 95 degrees (range, 50 - 170 degrees). Eight patients scored M4 power in elbow flexion and assessed as excellent results. Good results (M3+) were obtained in seven patients. Five patients had fair results (M2+ to M3).
Biometric Solvency Risk for Portfolios of General Life Contracts (II) The Markov Chain Approach

© 2012 Hurlimann, licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Biometric Solvency Risk for Portfolios of General Life Contracts (II) The Markov Chain Approach
The impact of post-stroke spasticity and botulinum toxin on standing balance: a systematic review

Although falls, balance impairment, and spasticity are common post-stroke, their interrelationship remains unclear. We review the literature for a) a relationship between spasticity and balance and b) the effect of botulinum toxin injections on balance. Electronic databases were searched based on two criteria: a) studies assessing balance in subjects with spasticity and b) studies examining the effect of botulinum toxin on balance. The primary findings were a) balance is impaired in subjects with spasticity, but only one study assessed relationship between spasticity and balance; and b) four studies reported that balance improves following botulinum treatment for limb spasticity. Persons with spasticity demonstrate impaired balance, but the correlation between spasticity and balance has not been adequately assessed in the literature. Evidence for balance changes following botulinum toxin is weak because of lack of randomization, control group comparison, objective balance assessment measures, and standard clinical scales.
Innovative activities for teaching anatomy of speech production

Courses in anatomy have traditionally relied on lectures and cadaver dissection laboratories. In speech and hearing sciences, there tends to be less access to cadavers than in medical schools and other allied health professions. It is more typical to use anatomical models, diagrams and lecture slides. Regardless of the resources available, anatomy is a subject that lends itself to hands‐on learning. This article briefly reviews teaching methods and describes a variety of innovative activities to enhance learning of anatomical concepts and clinical relevance of anatomy for speech production. Teaching strategies and activities were developed to capitalize on students' multimodal learning preferences as revealed by responses to a survey administered to 49 undergraduates in the beginning of an anatomy of speech production course. At the end of the semester, students completed a second survey. A five‐point Likert scale was used to assess the usefulness of each activity as a learning tool or level of clinical relevance and the level of enjoyability. The responses were overwhelmingly positive with level of usefulness and level of clinical relevance rated higher on average than the level of enjoyment. Anat Sci Educ 3:234–243, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.
Mechanistic explanations and animal model simulations in neuroscience

The ‘new mechanists’ assume that discovering neural mechanisms is a major aim of neuroscience where this constitutes a process of explaining. They strive to articulate the norms for good explanations. I argue that: the normative project of the ontic mechanistic explanation is unrealistic; the epistemological version of mechanistic explanation accounts for the practical epistemological constraints of neuroscience but fails normatively; hence a dilemma: either methodologically strong but unrealistic or epistemologically realistic but methodologically weak view of mechanistic explanation. I propose that the solution is in abandoning the idea that the study of mechanisms in neuroscience aims mainly at explaining. Model-building and simulating neural phenomena and mechanisms do not necessarily aim at providing explanations. Additionally, some of the cognitive goals attributed to explanation are actually served by simulation. Thus, the new mechanist approach needs to be revised so as to do better justice to the role of simulation in neuroscience.
The Potential Role of Senescence As a Modulator of Platelets and Tumorigenesis

In addition to thrombus formation, alterations in platelet function are frequently observed in cancer patients. Importantly, both thrombus and tumor formation are influenced by age, although the mechanisms through which physiological aging modulates these processes remain poorly understood. In this context, the potential effects of senescent cells on platelet function represent pathophysiological mechanisms that deserve further exploration. Cellular senescence has traditionally been viewed as a barrier to tumorigenesis. However, far from being passive bystanders, senescent cells are metabolically active and able to secrete a variety of soluble and insoluble factors. This feature, known as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), may provide senescent cells with the capacity to modify the tissue environment and, paradoxically, promote proliferation and neoplastic transformation of neighboring cells. In fact, the SASP-dependent ability of senescent cells to enhance tumorigenesis has been confirmed in cellular systems involving epithelial cells and fibroblasts, leaving open the question as to whether similar interactions can be extended to other cellular contexts. In this review, we discuss the diverse functions of platelets in tumorigenesis and suggest the possibility that senescent cells might also influence tumorigenesis through their ability to modulate the functional status of platelets through the SASP.
Correlation between Central Corneal Thickness and Refractive Indices in a Laser Refractive Surgery Population

Purpose: To evaluate the correlation of central corneal thickness (CCT) with refractive error and keratometry in a group of patients eligible for laser keratorefractive surgery, which may serve as a bias in studies on intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement Methods: In a cross sectional observational study, the right eyes of 340 patients who underwent laser keratorefractive surgery during the year 2006 were included. The CCT was measured with ultrasound pachymetry. The refractive error, including sphere, cylinder, and spherical equivalent (SE), based on cycloplegic refraction. Keratometry (K) readings were derived from topography printouts. The correlation between refractive indices and CCT was investigated in all cases and also in refractive subgroups. Results: The mean±SD age of the patients was 28.7±7.7 years, ranging from 18 to 55 years. Seventy percent of the patients were female. The mean cycloplegic SE and CCT were -3.2±2.3 diopters (D) and 549.5±33.6 μm, respectively. A borderline negative correlation between age and CCT was observed (r=-0.1, P=0.05). None of the other parameters including gender, amount of refractive error (Sphere, cylinder and axis), and K-readings showed any significant correlation with CCT (P>0.05) in the whole group or different subgroups. Conclusion: In this refractive surgery population, refractive indices did not show any significant correlation with CCT. This suggests that the correlation between CCT and IOP which has been found by other investigations in similar populations is in accordance to our findings.
Adrenarche and Bone Modeling and Remodeling at the Proximal Radius: Weak Androgens Make Stronger Cortical Bone in Healthy Children

Adrenarche, the physiological increase in adrenal androgen secretion, may contribute to better bone status. Proximal radial bone and 24‐h urinary steroid hormones were analyzed cross‐sectionally in 205 healthy children and adolescents. Positive adrenarchal effects on radial diaphyseal bone were observed. Obviously, adrenarche is one determinant of bone mineral status in children.
Deep Progressive Hashing for Image Retrieval

This paper proposes a novel recursive hashing scheme, in contrast to conventional "one-off" based hashing algorithms. Inspired by human's "nonsalient-to-salient" perception path, the proposed hashing scheme generates a series of binary codes based on progressively expanded salient regions. Built on a recurrent deep network, i.e., LSTM structure, the binary codes generated from later output nodes naturally inherit information aggregated from previously codes while explore novel information from the extended salient region, and therefore it possesses good scalability property. The proposed deep hashing network is trained via minimizing a triplet ranking loss, which is end-to-end trainable. Extensive experimental results on several image retrieval benchmarks demonstrate good performance gain over state-of-the-art image retrieval methods and its scalability property.
The when, where, and who of pop lyrics: the listener's prerogative

That we identify with those around us, whether in novels, movies, poetry, songs, the news or on the street, is natural. To a certain extent we mirror what we perceive, but we also perceive it in our own ways and make it fit, to a certain extent, our concept of the world. However, we, and the things we communicate, are also moulders. How much we mould and how much we mirror is difficult to discern, and of course problematic in something like objective news reporting.
Changes in AIDS-defining illnesses in a London Clinic, 1987-1998.

OBJECTIVES To describe the incidence of AIDS-defining illnesses within a single large clinic setting, to describe temporal changes over a 10-year period in the overall incidence and of individual AIDS-defining illnesses and to investigate the impact of HIV treatment regimen on the incidence of AIDS-defining illnesses. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A person-years analysis was used to determine the incidence of AIDS-defining illnesses according to calendar year and stratification by CD4 lymphocyte count and treatment regimen in 1806 patients from the Royal Free Centre for HIV Medicine with at least one CD4 lymphocyte count and follow-up visit. RESULTS Prior to 1992, the incidence of all AIDS-defining illnesses was 27.4/100 person-years of follow-up (PYFU; 95% confidence interval [CI], 22.8-32.0) and during 1997 this incidence had dropped to 6.9/100 PYFU (95% CI, 4.7-9.1; p < .0001, test for trend). The decline in incidence over time occurred in esophageal candidiasis, cytomegalovirus disease (including retinitis), Kaposi's sarcoma, lymphoma, wasting syndrome, and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (p < .05, test for trend), but there was no evidence of a decline in AIDS dementia or in Mycobacterium avium complex. In 1997, among patients with CD4 lymphocyte counts of < or =200 cells/mm3, the incidence rates for any AIDS-defining illness was 51.1/100 PYFU for patients taking no therapy (95% CI, 27.9-85.7), 34.5 among patients on monotherapy (95% CI, 4.2-124.6), 13.2 among patients taking dual combination therapy (95% CI, 3.6-33.8) and 6.1 among patients taking triple therapy or more complex regimens (95% CI, 0.7-22.0; p < .0001, test for trend). CONCLUSIONS There was a considerable decline in AIDS-defining illnesses during 1996 and 1997, coinciding with the rapid development of new antiretroviral treatments and combinations of treatment. Further follow-up of large observational cohorts is essential to monitor the incidence of diagnoses less common than we were able to consider, such as tuberculosis, cryptosporidiosis, and cryptococcosis, and also to investigate whether the incidence of disease continues to fall, or whether it starts to rise again, as toxicities, compliance, drug resistance, and long-term side effects begin to appear.
Clinical and immunological effects of vitamin D supplementation during the pollen season in children with allergic rhinitis

Introduction Vitamin D deficiency has been proposed as a potential contributing factor in patients with allergic diseases. We compared the clinical and immunological effects of vitamin D supplementation to placebo during the pollen season in children with allergic rhinitis. Material and methods Thirty-eight children aged 5–12, sensitive to grass pollen, participated in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Children received either vitamin D 1000 IU daily supplementation or placebo. We studied symptoms/medication score, lung function, exhaled nitric oxide concentration (FENO), methacholine bronchial provocation test and serum level of 25(OH)D, as well as; CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells, TLR4, IL-1, IL-6, TNF and the IL-10 and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) levels in cell culture supernatants. Results Vitamin D therapy was effective in reduction of the symptoms/medication score (p = 0.0371). In vitamin D group an increase in the CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells (7.06 vs. 10.5%; p = 0.0013) and serum 25(OH)D concentration (49.6 vs. 96.6 ng/ml; p = 0.0001) and in control group an increase in FENO (15.6 vs. 21 ppb; p = 0.0331) and serum 25(OH)D level were observed (82.9 vs. 100.3 ng/ml; p = 0.0003). We revealed a higher increase from baseline in the percentage of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells in the vitamin D group compared to the control group (p = 0.0058). A significant correlation between CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cell induction and FENO reduction in the vitamin D group was observed (p = 0.0217). Conclusions Vitamin D 1000 IU as a supplementary treatment of grass pollen allergy in children with allergic rhinitis during the pollen season significantly reduced the symptoms/medication score. The study revealed an immunological effect of vitamin D.
Delta Iddq for testing reliability

Point defects, which cause small current increases and potentially early failures, can be masked by increased chip background currents at elevated temperatures. The difficulty of screening point defects will likely also occur in denser geometries. Delta Iddq is shown to help distinguish between early fail and reliable chips at these elevated temperatures. Memory application demonstrates that a variety of delta Iddq tests can screen early fail defects.
The Arabidopsis COP 9 Signalosome Subunit 7 Is a Model PCI Domain Protein with Subdomains Involved in COP 9 Signalosome Assembly

The COP9 Signalosome (CSN) is a multiprotein complex that was originally identified in Arabidopsis thaliana as a negative regulator of photomorphogenesis and subsequently shown to be a general eukaryotic regulator of developmental signaling. The CSN plays various roles, but it has been most often implicated in regulating protein degradation pathways. Six of eight CSN subunits bear a sequence motif called PCI. Here, we report studies of subunit 7 (CSN7) from Arabidopsis, which contains such a motif. Our in vitro and structural results, based on 1.5 Å crystallographic data, enable a definition of a PCI domain, built from helical bundle and winged helix subdomains. Using functional binding assays, we demonstrate that the PCI domain (residues 1 to 169) interacts with two other PCI proteins, CSN8 and CSN1. CSN7 interactions with CSN8 use both PCI subdomains. Furthermore, we show that a C-terminal tail outside of this PCI domain is responsible for association with the non-PCI subunit, CSN6. In vivo studies of transgenic plants revealed that the overexpressed CSN7 PCI domain does not assemble into the CSN, nor can it complement a null mutation of CSN7. However, a CSN7 clone that contains the PCI domain plus part of the CSN6 binding domain can complement the null mutation in terms of seedling viability and photomorphogenesis. These transgenic plants, though, are defective in adult growth, suggesting that the CSN7 C-terminal tail plays additional functional roles. Together, the findings have implications for CSN assembly and function, highlighting necessary interactions between subunits.