Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nucleus Replacement Device Failure: A Case Report and Biomechanical Study

Study Design. Case report and biomechanical study. Objective. The objectives of this study were to report on a single case of a failed nucleus replacement device and to test the biomechanical properties of the failed device. Summary of Background Data. The use of spine arthroplasty techniques in the treatment of degenerative disc disease is becoming a popular alternative to spinal fusion and discectomy. Nucleus replacement is an emerging surgical treatment that is in the early stages of development. Methods. A 36-year-old woman presented to our institution with excruciating low back pain 15 months after receiving a prosthetic disc nucleus (PDN; Raymedica, Inc.) at L5–S1 as part of an IDE clinical trial. A computed tomography scan showed subsidence of the PDN into the endplates and asymmetric collapse of the L5–S1 disc space. The patient underwent surgery for removal of the device and fusion of L5–S1. After removal, the nucleus replacement device underwent micro-computed tomography imaging and was tested in unconfined and confined compression. Results. The density of the inner core of the PDN was estimated to be 105 g/cm3. Compression testing revealed that the stiffness of the PDN was grossly elevated in comparison to previously published values for human lumbar nuclei and other candidate nucleus replacement hydrogels. The linear-region modulus values were 0.94 MPa for unconfined compression and 32.4 MPa for confined compression. Conclusion. The PDN device excised from this patient failed to reproduce the function of a healthy nucleus. Because preoperative mechanical values were not available for this device, it is difficult to know if the PDN was abnormally stiff at implantation or if it became increasingly stiff after implantation. Whether this was a result of manufacturing, the patient's biologic response to the PDN, or some yet unknown contraindication to PDN placement in this specific patient is unclear.
[Analgesic activity and toxicity of potent analgesics, ohmefentanyl and mefentanyl].

The analgesic potency and the duration of ohmefentanyl {N-[1-(2-hydroxy-2-phenylethyl)-3-methyl-4-piperidyl]-N-phenylpropanamide, OMF}, mefentanyl {N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)-3-methyl-4-poperidyl]-N-phenylpropanamide,MF}, fentanyl (F) and morphine (M) were determined by 4 methods(mice, ip, hot plate; mice, sc, writhing body; rats, sc, tail flick; and rabbits, iv, K+ permeation). The analgesic potency: OMF>MF>F>M. In mice hot plate test, ip analgesic ED50 of OMF was 1.51 μg/kg, its analgesic activity was 25.8 times as potent as that of F or 7880 times as potent as that of M, and its duration of analgesic action was 6.6 times longer than that of F or similar to that of M. After iv analgesic 2×ED50 in rabbits, the respiratory depression by OMF and MF was less than that by F. No significant changes in EEG, ECG and BP were found. The therapeutic indices (LD50/ED50) of OMF and MF were 5562 and 1159 in mice, and 61.0 and 29.3 in rabbits, respectively. The toxic responses of OMF and MF on rabbits were effectively antagonized by nalorphine.
Open-Circuit TSD Method and Anomalous Air Gap Current in Teflon® FEP

The paper shows an extension of the technique of open-circuit thermally stimulated discharge (TSD), consisting of simultaneously measuring the current and its charge on the external circuit as a function of temperature. The current is measured with a strongly damped meter which fails to give a time-resolved record of fast current pulses. The charge is recorded with a capacitive integrating system. Using this arrangement it was possible to show that the noise usually appearing in the current curve of negatively charged Teflon FEP is due to microbreakdown events in the sample. Moreover, positive charges were detected, which were ejected from the surface of virgin, uncharged FEP samples, whenever a positive bias voltage was applied in the measuring circuit. The effect of this current on the measurements with charged FEP is also discussed.
A Thorough Electrocardiogram Study of Edoxaban, a Novel Factor Xa Inhibitor

1241 2011 51 1241-1246 E (the free base of DU-176b), an orally active direct inhibitor of Factor Xa, is a novel antithrombotic agent that is under development for the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. Edoxaban has linear pharmacokinetics, with rapid absorption observed between 1 and 3 hours postdose followed by biphasic disposition with terminal elimination half-life of approximately 8 to 10 hours. The International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) E14 Guideline requires that all new drug applications submitted for drugs that have systemic bioavailability include a “thorough QT/QTc” study. This now termed is “thorough ECG trial” since all electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters are scrutinized in the study. This ICH requirement evolved from an appreciation that some noncardiac drugs had the ability to delay ventricular repolarization, which has been associated with cardiac arrhythmias, particularly torsades de pointes. The designs of thorough ECG studies to accurately measure the effect of a new drug on the ECG with a special focus on the QTc interval are well described in the E14 guideline and were recently reviewed by Morganroth. The current study was a thorough ECG study to further characterize the effect of edoxaban on the ECG with a special focus on the QTc interval. The highest dose administered in the phase III study is 60 mg daily (ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48). The single 90-mg dose would provide similar or greater exposure than the daily 60-mg dose at steady state. The 180-mg dose was considered the supratherapeutic dose, 3 and 5 times the proposed therapeutic doses of 60 mg and 30 mg, respectively. Since the highest previously administered doses of 120 mg and 150 mg in the single ascending dose study were associated with elevated bleeding times, it was felt that 180 mg was the highest single dose that we could safely administer, posing minimal bleeding risk, to healthy volunteers. In addition, the dose regimen of 60 mg twice a day was prematurely discontinued in the phase II study of subjects with atrial fibrillation because of increased bleeding relative to warfarin. The positive control was moxifloxacin (Avelox) 400 mg, and the negative control was a placebo treatment.
Effect of hearing aids on hearing disability and quality of life in the elderly

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of fitting a hearing aid by measuring the benefits derived from hearing aid use. Besides audiologic tests, a short version of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly, and the EuroQol questionnaire were used in a prospective study. Ninety-eight first-time hearing aid users were interviewed prior to, and six months after, the fitting of their first hearing aids. The total HHIE-S score changed from 28.7 before, to 12.7 six months after, hearing aid fitting. Altogether 40%–60% of the users reported fewer social or emotional problems. There was a statistically significant positive change in the EQ-VAS score. According to the HHIE-S, hearing aids clearly alleviated hearing disability. The EQ-5D questionnaire was not sensitive enough for measuring the health-related quality of life of subjects with hearing impairment. Sumario El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar los efectos de la adaptación de AA midiendo los beneficios derivados de su uso. Además de las pruebas audiológicas se usaron en un estudio prospectivo los Cuestionarios de Discapacidad Auditiva en los ancianos (HHIE-S), en versión corta y el EuroQol. Se entrevistaron 98 usuarios de AA de primera vez, antes y seis meses después de la adaptación de sus primeros AA. La puntuación total del HHIE-S cambió de 28.7 en el estudio basal a 12.7 seis meses después de la adaptación. Alrededor del 40-60% de los usuarios reportaron pocos problemas sociales o emocionales. Se apreció un cambio positivo, estadísticamente significativo, en la puntuación del EQ-VAS. De acuerdo con el HHIE-S, los AA claramente mitigaron la discapacidad auditiva. El cuestionario EQ-5D no fue lo suficientemente sensible para medir la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud, en las personas con impedimento auditivo.
In Vitro Activity of the New Triazole BMS-207147 againstAspergillus Species in Comparison with Itraconazole and Amphotericin B

ABSTRACT The in vitro activity of BMS-207147 against 80 clinical isolates ofAspergillus was compared with that of itraconazole and amphotericin B, using a validated microtiter method. Geometric mean MICs (in μg/ml) were as follows: 1.71 for BMS-207147, 0.67 for itraconazole, and 0.63 for amphotericin B. The range of concentrations of each drug was 0.125 to >16 μg/ml. Aspergillus fumigatus was significantly more susceptible to BMS-207147 (P < 0.05) than A. terreusand A. flavus. No BMS-207147-resistant A. fumigatus isolates were identified, though eight itraconazole-resistant (MIC, >8 μg/ml) isolates were. BMS-207147 is active against Aspergillus spp. at slightly high concentrations compared with itraconazole and amphotericin B.
The Motion of a Pushed, Sliding Object. Part 1. Sliding Friction.

Abstract : In many robotic applications, manipulation planning for an object free to slide on a surface is an important problem. Physical analysis of the object's motion is made difficult by the absence of information about the distribution of support of the object, and of the resulting frictional forces. This paper describes a new approach to the analysis of sliding motion. The instantaneous motion of the object can be described as a pure rotation about a center of rotation (COR) somewhere in the plane. In this paper we find the locus of CORs for all possible distributions of support forces. We assume zero friction at the pusher-object contact, and we assume that the support force distribution is confined to a disk. In one application to robotic manipulation, bounds on the distance an object must be pushed to come into alignment with robot finger or a fence are determined. (Author)
Effect of Oxygen Partial Pressure and Chemical Oxygen Demand Loading on the Biofilm Properties in Membrane‐Aerated Bioreactors

Membrane‐aerated biofilms with oxygen and nutrients diffusing from the opposite sides possess distinct properties, including the ability to couple aerobic and anaerobic processes. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of oxygen partial pressure and chemical oxygen demand (COD) loading on biofilm properties. Two laboratory‐scale membrane‐aerated bioreactors were operated for a total of 283 days, with one reactor operated at 42, 60, and 89 kPa (0.41, 0.59, and 0.88 atm) oxygen, and the other reactor at 25 kPa (0.25 atm) oxygen (air control). The biofilm detached at the oxygen partial pressures of 60 and 89 kPa (0.59 and 0.88 atm) at a COD loading of 11.3 kg COD/1000 m 2/d, but was sustained at the oxygen partial pressures of 25 and 42 kPa (0.25 and 0.41 atm), with a porous structure at the membrane interface at the COD loading of 11.3 kg COD/1000 m 2/d. Biofilm formation was improved at a higher COD loading. It is proposed that the loss of extracellular polymeric substances at the biofilm bottom is the cause for the biofilm detachment subjected to a higher oxygen partial pressure.
Immediate effect of percutaneous intramuscular stimulation during gait in children with cerebral palsy: a feasibility study

The feasibility of percutaneous intramuscular functional electrical stimulation (P‐FES) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) for immediate improvement of ankle kinematics during gait has not previously been reported. Eight children with CP (six with diplegia, two with hemiplegia; mean age 9 years 1 month [SD 1y 4mo; range 7y 11mo to 11y 10mo]) had percutaneous intramuscular electrodes implanted into the gastrocnemius (GA) and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of their involved limbs. Stimulation was provided during appropriate phases of the gait cycle in three conditions (GA only, TA only, and GA/TA). Immediately after a week of practice for each stimulation condition, a gait analysis was performed with and without stimulation. A significant improvement in peak dorsiflexion in swing for the more affected extremity and dorsiflexion at initial contact for the less affected extremity were found in the GA/TA condition. Clinically meaningful trends were evident for improvements in dorsiflexion kinematics for the more and less affected extremities in the TA only and GA/TA conditions. The results suggest that P‐FES might immediately improve ankle kinematics in children with CP.
Rotational Motion Changes in the Glenohumeral Joint of the Adolescent/Little League Baseball Player

Background Differences in range of motion and rotational motion between the dominant and nondominant shoulders in throwing athletes are well documented, although the age at which these changes begin to occur is not known. Hypothesis Changes in glenohumeral rotational motion in the shoulder of the Little League/adolescent baseball player occur during the most formative years of physical development. Study Design Cross-sectional study. Methods Elevation, internal rotation at 90° of abduction, and external rotation at 90° of abduction were measured in the dominant and nondominant shoulders of 294 baseball players, aged 8 to 16 years. Results Analysis of variance revealed 2-way interactions between arm dominance by age for elevation (P =. 005) and internal rotation (P =. 001). Significant differences were noted between dominant and nondominant arms for internal rotation at 90° (P =.001) and external rotation at 90° (P =. 001). Elevation, internal rotation at 90°, external rotation at 90°, and total range of motion varied significantly (P =. 001) among age groups. Elevation in the dominant arms of 16-year-olds was on average 5.3° less than in 8-year-olds (179.6° vs 174.3°). In the nondominant arms, mean elevation for 16-year-olds was 5.6° less than in 8-year-olds (179.7° vs 174.1°). Internal rotation at 90° for the dominant arms averaged 39.0° at age 8 and only 21.3° at age 16. In the non-dominant arms, internal rotation for 8-year-olds averaged 42.2° and only 33.1° for 16-year-olds. Conclusions Elevation and total range of motion decreased as age increased. These changes may be consequences of both bone and soft tissue adaptation. The most dramatic decline in total range of motion was seen between the 13-year-olds and 14-year-olds, in the year before peak incidence of Little Leaguer's shoulder. This decrease in rotational motion may cause increased stress at the physis during throwing.
Anthrax Edema Toxin Cooperates with Lethal Toxin to Impair Cytokine Secretion during Infection of Dendritic Cells1

Bacillus anthracis secretes two critical virulence factors, lethal toxin (LT) and edema toxin (ET). In this study, we show that murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DC) infected with B. anthracis strains secreting ET exhibit a very different cytokine secretion pattern than DC infected with B. anthracis strains secreting LT, both toxins, or a nontoxinogenic strain. ET produced during infection selectively inhibits the production of IL-12p70 and TNF-α, whereas LT targets IL-10 and TNF-α production. To confirm the direct role of the toxins, we show that purified ET and LT similarly disrupt cytokine secretion by DC infected with a nontoxinogenic strain. These effects can be reversed by specific inhibitors of each toxin. Furthermore, ET inhibits in vivo IL-12p70 and IFN-γ secretion induced by LPS. These results suggest that ET produced during infection impairs DC functions and cooperates with LT to suppress the innate immune response. This may represent a new strategy developed by B. anthracis to escape the host immune response.
Association of preoperative plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 with lymph node status and biochemical progression after radical prostatectomy.

PURPOSE Angiogenesis is a critical process for cancer progression. We tested whether elevated circulating levels of the angiogenesis-related markers vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and/or soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) are associated with prostate cancer diagnosis, stage, progression, and metastasis. PATIENTS AND METHODS Plasma levels of VEGF and sVCAM-1 were measured on frozen, archival plasma obtained preoperatively from 215 consecutive patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for clinically localized disease, nine men with untreated prostate cancer metastatic to bones, and 40 healthy men without cancer. RESULTS Plasma levels of both VEGF and sVCAM-1 were highest in patients with bone metastases (P <.001). VEGF levels were higher in patients with clinically localized disease than in healthy controls (P <.001). VEGF levels were elevated in patients with biopsy and final Gleason sum > or = 7 (P =.036 and P =.020, respectively) and extraprostatic extension (P =.047). Higher preoperative VEGF was independently associated with metastases to lymph nodes (P <.001). Both VEGF and sVCAM-1 were independently associated with biochemical progression after adjustment for the effects of standard preoperative features (P =.014 and P =.039, respectively). VEGF remained independently associated with biochemical progression after adjustment for standard postoperative features (P =.019). CONCLUSION Plasma levels of VEGF increased incrementally from healthy controls to patients with clinically localized disease to patients with lymph node and skeletal metastases. Higher preoperative VEGF was independently associated with metastases to lymph nodes and biochemical progression after surgery in both pre- and postoperative models. Plasma sVCAM-1 was elevated in men with bone metastases and was associated with biochemical progression in a preoperative model.
Road traffic injuries in Mozambique

Road traffic injuries affect the economy, health and quality of life of the people of Mozambique. Current road safety programmes are inadequate and inefficient given the magnitude of the problem. Data reported on road traffic crashes in the period 1990 to 2000 from the National Institute for Road Safety, the traffic police and the Central Hospital of Maputo were reviewed. The burden of road traffic injuries in Mozambique is rising, with at least three people killed daily. The age group most affected is 25-38 (39.35%), followed by 16-24 (20.79%). The main causes of crashes include reckless driving, drunken driving, roads with potholes, inadequate signs, lack of protection for pedestrians, and inadequate traffic law enforcement. However, the data are not adequate to reveal the true magnitude of the problem. Data collected by different sources are incomplete and not coordinated with other sources and databases. In urban areas, however, better response to crashes, treatment of the injured, reporting and data collection is attributable to a greater concentration of police and medical facilities. Road traffic safety programmes in Mozambique are inadequate and inefficient, starting with the data collection system. Improvement of injury surveillance systems is needed to help make road traffic safety a national development agenda priority and for developing and implementing road safety policies. For road safety programmes to be effective, government must facilitate stakeholders’ involvement, and the clear definition of government activities, civil society activities and public-private partnerships need to be established.
Learning to Model Task-Oriented Attention

For many applications in graphics, design, and human computer interaction, it is essential to understand where humans look in a scene with a particular task. Models of saliency can be used to predict fixation locations, but a large body of previous saliency models focused on free-viewing task. They are based on bottom-up computation that does not consider task-oriented image semantics and often does not match actual eye movements. To address this problem, we collected eye tracking data of 11 subjects when they performed some particular search task in 1307 images and annotation data of 2,511 segmented objects with fine contours and 8 semantic attributes. Using this database as training and testing examples, we learn a model of saliency based on bottom-up image features and target position feature. Experimental results demonstrate the importance of the target information in the prediction of task-oriented visual attention.
Incarceration , Marriage , and Family Life

This paper examines the effects of incarceration on marriage and family life. The paper reports on three empirical analyses. First, estimates show that incarcerated men are only about half as likely to be married as noninstituional men of the same age, however they are just as likely to have children. By 2000, more than 2 million children had incarcerated fathers; 1 in 10 black children under age 10 had a father in prison or jail by 2000. Analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and the Fragile families Study of Child Wellbeing, indicates that formerly incarcerated men experience lower marriage rates and increased risks of divorce. Finally, analysis of domestic violence data shows that formerly-incarcerated men are about twice as likely to have assaulted the mothers of their children than men of the same age, race, and recent hsitory of spouse abuse. Married women in longlasting and affectionate relationships are at lower risk of domestic violence. These results suggest that the crime-suppressing effects of incarceration, through incapacitation, may be offset by the negative effects of imprisonment on marriage. As imprisonment became common for low-education black men by the end of the 1990s, the penal system also became familiar to poor minority families. By 1999, 30 percent of noncollege black men in their mid-thirties had been to prison and through incarceration many were separated from their wives, girlfriends, and children. Women and children in low-income urban commmunities now routinely cope with absent husbands and fathers lost to incarceration, and adjust to their return after release. Poor single men detached from family life are also affected, bearing the stigma of a prison record in the marriage markets of disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. Discussions of the family life of criminal offenders typically focus on the crime-suppressing effects of marriage, not incarceration. Researchers find that marriage offers a pathway out of crime for men with histories of delinquency. Not a wedding itself, but marriage in the context of a warm, stable, and constructive relationship offers the antidote to crime (Sampson and Laub 1993; Laub, Nagin and Sampson 1998). Wives and family members in such relationships provide the web of obligations and responsibilities that restrain young men and reduce their contact with the male friends whose recreations veer into anti-social behavior (Warr 1998). The prison boom places the link between crime and marriage in a new light. If a good marriage is important for criminal desistance, what is the effect of incarceration on marriage? The connections between incarceration, marriage, and the family are also implicated in the larger story of rising urban inequality. In the last three decades, American family life was transformed by declining marriage rates and growth in the number of single-parent households. Marriage rates fell among women from all class backgrounds. Between 1970 and 2000, the share of white women aged 25 to 34 who were married, declined from over 80 percent to just over 60 percent. Marriage rates for African American women
TRC-40 can deliver short secretory proteins to the Sec 61 translocon

Nicholas Johnson, Fabio Vilardi, Sven Lang, Pawel Leznicki, Richard Zimmermann and Stephen High* Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Heidelberg (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Allianz, INF282, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany Medical Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Saarland University, D-66041 Homburg, Germany