Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wound measurement: the comparative reliability of direct versus photographic tracings analyzed by planimetry versus digitizing techniques.

OBJECTIVE To investigate two methods of wound measurement (planimetry and digitizing) performed on two routinely used techniques of clinical wound assessment, tracings taken directly from a patient's wound (raw tracing) and from photographs of the wound (photographic tracing). DESIGN We examined the level of repeatability and thus reliability of these methods, and determined if absolute measured wound size differed between the combinations of method and assessment procedures. PATIENTS Seven patients (4 women, 3 men; mean age +/- standard error of the mean = 63.1+/-5.0yrs) with a total of 11 wounds. SETTING Patients attended a podiatry outpatient department on two separate days for raw and photographic tracing of their wounds. For both of these trace types, a series of repeated recordings were conducted by a single investigator using planimetry and digitizing measurement methods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Independent statistical analyses (analysis of variance, p < .05) were conducted on logged coefficients of variation and logged means data to investigate for repeatability and for size differences, respectively. RESULTS Planimetry produced a significantly larger degree of variability (thus less repeatability) than digitizing (p = .02) and also produced smaller readings (p = .00001). Averaging over methods also indicated that photographic tracings produced smaller readings than raw tracings (p = .019). CONCLUSION For the wound sizes and shapes examined, tracings taken directly from the patients were found to be an inexpensive clinical and research assessment tool on which digitizing was conducted with a higher level of repeatability than planimetry. Further research is needed to determine if the current findings apply to a wider population within wound management clinics.
Fast Nonlinear Analysis of Traditional Chinese Timber-Frame Building with Dou-Gon

ABSTRACT This article presents a study of the applicability of fast nonlinear analytical (FNA) models in predicting the global response of Chinese traditional timber-frame building with Dou-Gon under seismic excitation. Efforts are made to overcome challenges in establishing simplified calculation models, and the corresponding dynamic equations are derived considering the mechanical behavior of sliding column root, mortise-tenon joint and Dou-Gon (bracket sets). Furthermore, nonlinear time-history analysis is conducted under different seismic excitations. Through a verification study, a good correspondence is obtained with previous shake-table test results. Seismic response analysis is also conducted to investigate the energy dissipation of column root sliding, mortise-tenon joint, and Dou-Gon. Subsequently, peak responses of column root and roof under increased values of peak ground acceleration (PGA) are also analyzed. And then, seismic isolation ability and damping characteristics of the model are discussed.
Does Anastomotic Leak Contribute to High Failure-to-rescue Rates?

Objective:Our aim was to evaluate failure-to-rescue (FTR) after anastomotic leak (AL) in colectomy patients. Background:In the era of pay for performance, it is imperative that we understand the quality measures under which we are scrutinized. FTR has been proposed as a marker of surgical quality. We investigated the role of complications in FTR rates in colectomy patients. Methods:Patients who underwent nonemergent colectomy from 2012 to 2013 were identified from the The American College of Surgeons National Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP database). Mortality after AL was assessed and stratified in relation to mortality after other postoperative complications. &khgr;2 and logistic regression analysis were used to assess the effect of AL on mortality. Results:We identified 30,101 patients who met inclusion criteria, 1127 suffered an AL (3.7%). FTR was increased in patients with AL compared with those without AL (6% vs 1%, P < 0.001). The mortality rate after leak was similar to mortality after other major complications. Independent risk factors for death after AL included older age (odds ratio [OR] 3.140; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.744–5.651), cancer diagnosis (OR 2.032; 95% CI, 1.177–3.507), and open approach (OR 2.124; 95% CI, 1.194–3.776) while preoperative bowel preparation was protective (OR 0.563; 95% CI, 0.328–0.969). Conclusions:AL is a common complication after colectomy with a relatively high FTR rate. As hospitals are penalized for not reaching specific rates of FTR, we must better understand these complex relationships to improve quality and safety of patient care.
Slow binocular rivalry in bipolar disorder

Background. The rate of binocular rivalry has been reported to be slower in subjects with bipolar disorder than in controls when tested with drifting, vertical and horizontal gratings of high spatial frequency. Method. Here we assess the rate of binocular rivalry with stationary, vertical and horizontal gratings of low spatial frequency in 30 subjects with bipolar disorder, 30 age- and sex-matched controls, 18 subjects with schizophrenia and 18 subjects with major depression. Along with rivalry rate, the predominance of each of the rivaling images was assessed, as was the distribution of normalized rivalry intervals. Results. The bipolar group demonstrated significantly slower rivalry than the control, schizophrenia and major depression groups. The schizophrenia and major depression groups did not differ significantly from the control group. Predominance values did not differ according to diagnosis and the distribution of normalized rivalry intervals was well described by a gamma function in all groups. Conclusions. The results provide further evidence that binocular rivalry is slow in bipolar disorder and demonstrate that rivalry predominance and the distribution of normalized rivalry intervals are not abnormal in bipolar disorder. It is also shown by comparison with previous work, that high strength stimuli more effectively distinguish bipolar from control subjects than low strength stimuli. The data on schizophrenia and major depression suggest the need for large-scale specificity trials. Further study is also required to assess genetic and pathophysiological factors as well as the potential effects of state, medication, and clinical and biological subtypes.
Melanocyte‐Marker‐HMB‐45 Is regularly expressed in angiomyolipoma of the kidney

Summary HMB‐45 (melanocytic cell‐specific monoclonal antibody) immunoreactivity was investigated in 10 cases of angiomyolipoma (AML) (1 with massive regional lymph node involvement) of the kidney and detected in all of them. No HMB‐45 immunoreactivity was found in other tumors of the region which can occasionally be confused with AML, such as renal cell carcinoma, Wilms' tumor, and retroperitoneal sarcoma (leiomyosarcoma and liposarcoma). These findings indicate that HMB‐45 is not a melanocyte‐restricted marker and suggest that its expression might be useful in distinguishing AML from other tumors of the kidney and retroperitoneum.
Illusion Attack on VANET Applications - A Message Plausibility Problem

In order to reduce car accidents, provide emergency information, novel applications on vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) have drawn a lot of attention in resent years. This paper presents a new security threat on VANET applications called illusion attack. In this attack, based on the current during condition on the road, the adversary broadcasts the scene-aligned traffic warning messages, which produce an illusion to cars at its neighborhood. In consequence, the illusion can largely manipulate other drivers' behaviors on their responses. The illusion attack can easily cause car accident, traffic jam and the decrease of VANET performance in terms of bandwidth utilization. We discuss the reasons why traditional authentication mechanisms cannot resolve this security threat effectively and propose a new model, called plausibility validation network (PVN), to remedy the illusion attack. Finally, we analyze the security properties and potential overhead of proposed model.
Temporal trends of acute nephrolithiasis in Auckland, New Zealand.

AIM An increasing amount of evidence suggests that the occurrence of kidney stone disease has increased over the last 50 years. No data analysis on temporal trends in Auckland, New Zealand has ever been performed. The aim of this study was to investigate the changing pattern by age, ethnicity, and gender on stone incidence over a 10-year period. METHODS Demographic data was collected on all patients who presented with renal colic. Population numbers were provided by the New Zealand ministry of statistics using regular census data. The analysis was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficients and a Poisson regression model. RESULTS From 1997 to 2007, 17,532 new stones were coded as nephrolithiasis with an age range of 1-97. Disease incidence amongst Auckland residents was greater in 2007 than 1997 (0.131% or 131 per 100,000 population vs 0.102% or 102 per 100,000 population. p=0.012). The male to female ratio changed over time with a greater proportion of females presenting in 2007 than 1997 (0.47 vs 0.41, p<0.05). Pacific, Asian, and Maori incidence increased faster compared to European whilst those from the Middle East were the only group to have a stable rate (0.26% or 260/100,000 per year) over the 10-year period. CONCLUSIONS Incidence of kidney stone disease in the Auckland region has increased significantly from 1997 to 2007. Different ethnic groups had different rates of change, but all groups showed an increasing incidence over time, with the exception of those from the Middle East. A greater proportion of patients are female than 10 years ago.
An Empirical Study on Competitive Crowdsource Software Development: Motivating and Inhibiting Factors

Crowdsourcing is gaining more and more popularity among the academic and industrial community. Organizations are adopting this technological advent and increasingly crowdsourcing their tasks to the unknown individuals. However, in the context of competitive crowdsourcing software development (CCSD), crowdsourcing is still unexplored. Too little is presently known about what intricate developers to participate in crowdsourcing software development competitions. Most importantly, what kind of developers are more likely to participate? Such open questions remain to be explored. To this end, in this paper, we present the results of an empirical study conducted to investigate what motivates software developers to participate in CCSD and what inhibits software developers to participate in such competitions. An online questionnaire is sent out to more than 300 crowdsource software participants, of which 113 return valid responses. It is also sent to more than 150 industry practitioners, of which 75 return valid responses. The results suggest that the monetary rewards are not significantly important to motivate software developers to participate in CCSD. Instead, learning, social contacts, and peer recognition are more important. Besides the survey, we also analyze the historical data collected from one of the most popular software crowdsourcing platforms. The analysis results reveal that the Pareto principle holds for CCSD as well, and 0.9% of the participants win 86% competitions. The results support the premise that CCSD market is still at an early stage. Most of the professional software engineers do not participate seriously in crowdsourcing software development. Therefore, many crowdsourced tasks, especially complex tasks, may fail to receive any satisfying submission. These findings are worthwhile for the crowdsourcing platforms and companies who want to outsource their software development tasks to the CCSD platforms.
Ray propagation in a random lattice: a maximum entropy, anomalous diffusion Process

The typical model for diffusion in disordered systems is that of a random walk that proceeds in discrete steps over a random lattice, where not all the nearest sites can be reached at each step. We study the related problem of ray propagation in percolating lattices, and observe that it follows an anomalous diffusion process, whose appropriate metric is the "Manhattan" distance defined by the lattice geometry. The proposed solution is the one that exhibits the maximum Shannon's entropy, among all propagation processes with appropriate moment constraints imposed by the geometry of the lattice. Ray propagation in percolating lattices has been recently proposed as a model for urban area propagation of radio waves. We discuss implications of our results in this scenario.
Characterization of the esterases from electric tissue of Electrophorus by starch-gel electrophoresis.

The water-soluble esterases of a microsome-free supernatant of the electric tissue of Electrophorus electricus were separated by vertical-zone electrophoresis in starch gel. Specific and nonspecific substrates and inhibitors were used in conjunction with histochemical techniques to identify the enzymes. Acetylcholinesterase was present in the form of four bands of activity, the electrophoretic mobility of which was suggestive of aggregated forms of the enzyme. Pseudocholinesterase was detected as two weak bands of activity. A third esterase was identified as a nonspecific carboxylesterase and shown to be a sialoprotein.
Arterial stiffness and cognition in elderly persons with impaired glucose tolerance and microalbuminuria.

BACKGROUND Cognitive decline that occurs frequently in impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) may be largely due to endothelial dysfunction. We assessed: (i) the relationships between impact of urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER), as marker of generalized endothelial dysfunction, and cognition; (ii) if cognitive decline could be explained by arterial stiffening using pulse wave velocity (PWV). METHODS One hundred forty older patients (age range 70-85 years) with IGT and no dementia were selected. Patients were classified according to 24-hour UAER: normoalbuminuric (NA) (UAER<20 microg/min) or microalbuminuric (MA) (UAER between 20 and 199 microg/min). Cognitive abilities were assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a composite score of executive and attention functioning (CCS) at baseline and after 12 months of follow-up. RESULTS In MA patients (n=80), increased UAERs correlated with intimal media thickness (IMT) (r=0.268; p=02) and PWV (r=0.310; p=004). In the same group, increased UAERs were correlated with MMSE and CCS even after adjusting for age and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP). After adding PWV, the associations among UAERs, MMSE, and CCS were no longer significant. In MA patients, PWV correlated with IMT, MMSE, and CCS. In NA patients, no significant correlations were found among UAERs, MMSE, and CCS. At follow-up, baseline UAERs predicted an approximately 20% risk of poor cognition (according to MMSE and CCS) after adjusting for confounders. After adding PWV, UAERs no longer predicted cognitive performance. CONCLUSIONS MA older persons with IGT showed a decline in cognition performance that may be partially explained by arterial stiffness.
Application of Velocity Profile Generation and Closed-Loop Control in Step Motor Control System

Step motors are widely used in motion control systems. The step motor controller must perform high-precision positioning and smooth movement operation. In motion systems applying velocity profile control, the velocity of the motor gradually increases or decreases, to avoid the negative effect caused by the sudden change in velocity. Previous research proposes several step motor controller designs, that contain several modules, including a velocity profile generator, step motor driver, and feedback counter. These controllers are able to perform precise positioning and provide smooth motion operation. However, because these controllers operate in an open-loop control so the synchronous condition can be lost when disturbances in load torque exist. This paper presents the application of closed-loop control in the step motor controller. The control algorithm is based on two mode operations: open-loop and closed-loop. The controller operates in open-loop mode when it remains synchronized, and switches to closed-loop mode when it loses synchronization. This paper presents an algorithm for generating various velocity profiles and closed-loop control algorithms. The experiment is performed on a 16-b DSP, to verify the performance of the design. The experimental results show a velocity profile of unsymmetrical shape and demonstrate effective closed-loop control in an actual step motor system
Leveraging Bug-Related Code for Program Repair

We present our automatic repair technique, ssFix, which uses syntactic code search to find candidate code that is bug-related and contains the correct fix from both the local project and an external code repository for bug repair. ssFix first identifies suspicious statements in the buggy program through fault localization. For each such statement, ssFix identifies a buggy code chunk which includes the context for the statement. Then ssFix performs code search to obtain candidate code chunks that are both structurally and conceptually similar to the buggy chunk from both the local project and the external code repository. For any of such candidate chunks, ssFix unifies the names used in the candidate chunk with those used in the buggy chunk, establishes the correlation between the two chunks via matching their chunk components as expressions and statements, and generates patches based on the syntactic differences between the chunk components. ssFix finally validates the generated patches with the test suite and reports the first patch that passes all the tests. We demonstrate the effectiveness of ssFix by running ssFix to repair 93 bugs in the Defects4J dataset: ssFix successfully produced correct patches for 22 bugs. Keywords-bug repair; code search; unification
Ex Vivo Characterization of Allo-MHC-Restricted T Cells Specific for a Single MHC-Peptide Complex1

Alloreactive T cells are thought to be a potentially rich source of high-avidity T cells with therapeutic potential since tolerance to self-Ags is restricted to self-MHC recognition. Given the particularly high frequency of alloreactive T cells in the peripheral immune system, we used numerous MHC class I multimers to directly visualize and isolate viral and tumor Ag-specific alloreactive CD8 T cells. In fact, all but one specificities screened were undetectable in ex vivo labeling. In this study, we report the occurrence of CD8 T cells specifically labeled with allo-HLA-A*0201/Melan-A/MART-126–35 multimers at frequencies that are in the range of 10−4 CD8 T cells and are thus detectable ex vivo by flow cytometry. We report the thymic generation and shaping of tumor Ag-specific, alloreactive T cells as well as their fate once seeded in the periphery. We show that these cells resemble their counterparts in HLA-A*0201-positive individuals, based on their structural and functional attributes.
Porcine cytomegalovirus in pigs being bred for xenograft organs: progress towards control

Clark DA, Fryer JFL, Tucker AW, McArdle PD, Hughes AE, Emery VC, Griffiths PD. Porcine cytomegalovirus in pigs being bred for xenograft organs: progress towards control. Xenotransplantation 2003; 10: 142–148. © Blackwell Munksgaard, 2003
ESAT-6 Peptide Recognition by Bovine CD8+ Lymphocytes of Naturally Infected Cows in Herds from Southern Italy

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to define epitopes of Mycobacterium bovis from ESAT-6 (early secretory antigen of 6 kDa) recognized by CD8+ T lymphocytes from cows naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis. We found that bovine CD8+ T cells recognized 10 out of 11 ESAT-6 peptides tested.
Sex role orientation and its relationship to the development of identity and moral thought.

This paper examined the links among sex role orientation, ego identity development and moral reasoning. 76 female and 58 male students were assessed on Bem's sex role inventory, ego identity, care-based and justice-based moral thought. For women, identity was negatively related to femininity and positively related to androgyny. Also, high levels of care-based moral reasoning, i.e., a balanced concern for the welfare of self and others, was related to androgyny for women. There were no significant findings for men. No significant relationships were found between sex role orientation and justice-based moral reasoning. Thus, the results suggested that for women in particular, relinquishing the stereotyped sex role definition and becoming more androgynous is important for their ego identity as well as care-based moral development.
Two new species of Campopleginae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) from Iran

We describe two new species of the subfamily Campopleginae, Cymodusopsis persicus sp. n. and Dusona rufigaster sp. n. from Iran. Differential diagnoses, detailed descriptions and illustrations of the main characters are given. The genus Cymodusopsis Viereck is newly reported from the Palaearctic region. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E0FE5956-2593-4BAE-ABD6-A1D59DCFBE05
Stimulation Characteristics, Complications, and Efficacy of Spinal Cord Stimulation Systems in Patients with Refractory Angina: A Prospective Feasibility Study

Objectives: In a prospective study with a 1‐year follow‐up we evaluated: (1) the feasibility of a method for the adjustment of spinal cord stimulator (SCS) parameters, (2) complications of SCS, and (3) efficacy of SCS. Methods: In patients receiving an SCS for severe angina unresponsive to standard therapies, SCS characteristics were evaluated within 1 week and at 4, 14, 26, and 52 weeks after SCS treatment. Step‐by‐step adjustment of pulse output parameters was performed at the electrode configuration at which paresthesias occurred (‘sensory threshold”), covered the anginal area (“adjusted setting”), or provoked pain (“motor threshold”). In addition, the number of anginal attacks and intake of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) tablets were recorded at regular intervals. Results: Twenty‐two patients with either a bipolar (14) or a unipolar (8) system were evaluated. In the 14 patients with bipolar systems, alteration in paresthesias required 26 reprogrammings of the configuration. In the eight patients with bipolar systems who completed the followup without lead dislocation, the mean “sensory threshold” was 3.3 V (1.7–5.6), the mean “adjusted stimulation” output was 4.5 V (2.8–7.6), and the mean “motor threshold” was 4.9 V (2.8–7.7) after 4 weeks SCS. The mean stimulation duration per 24 hours was 14.1% (5%–24%), and the mean standardized impedance was 821 Ω (748–893) after 4 weeks SCS. The unipolar group demonstrated comparable results. After 1‐year follow‐up the parameters had not changed significantly. During the 1‐year follow‐up, 6 of 22 patients experienced lead dislocation that required surgery. In all patients, anginal attacks (P < 0.003) and GTN intake (P < 0.005) were reduced significantly with SCS. The effect lasted during the 1 year. Conclusions: During a 1 ‐year follow‐up, the stimulation parameters did not change significantly in the 16 patients without lead dislocations. Our standardized method appears to be feasible for follow‐up of SCS. Moreover, SCS seems to be an effective adjuvant therapy for intractable angina, despite a relatively frequent dislocation of the electrode.