Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In vivo evaluation of coralline hydroxyapatite and direct current electrical stimulation in lumbar spinal fusion.

STUDY DESIGN An animal model of posterolateral intertransverse process lumbar spinal fusion using autologous bone, coralline hydroxyapatite, and/or direct current electrical stimulation. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effect of an osteoconductive bone graft substitute and direct-current electrical stimulation on the rate of pseudarthrosis in a rabbit spinal fusion model. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Conventional techniques for the surgical treatment of degenerative conditions in the lumbar spine have a substantial failure rate and associated morbidity. Bone graft substitutes and electrical stimulation are alternative techniques to enhance fusion rates and limit the morbidity associated with posterolateral intertransverse process fusion using autologous iliac crest bone graft. METHODS Fifty-three adult female New Zealand White rabbits underwent single-level lumbar posterolateral intertransverse process fusion. Animals were assigned to one of four groups using either autologous bone (Group I), coralline hydroxyapatite with autologous bone marrow aspirate (Group II), coralline hydroxyapatite with a 40-microA implantable direct current electrical stimulator and bone marrow aspirate (Group III), or coralline hydroxyapatite with a 100-microA implantable direct current electrical stimulator and bone marrow aspirate (Group IV). Animals were killed at 8 weeks, and fused motion segments were subjected to manual palpation, mechanical testing, and radiographic and histologic analysis to assess the fusion mass. RESULTS Successful fusion was achieved in 57% (8/14) of animals in Group I, 25% (3/12) in Group II, 50% (6/12) in Group III, and 87% (13/15) in Group IV. Mean stiffness and ultimate load to failure were significantly higher in Group IV than in all other groups (P < 0.05). Histologic analysis demonstrated a qualitative increase in fusion mass in Group IV versus all other groups. CONCLUSIONS Direct-current electrical stimulation increased fusion rates in a dose-dependent manner in a rabbit spinal fusion model. Coralline hydroxyapatite is an osteoconductive bone graft substitute, and thus requires an osteoinductive stimulus to ensure reliable fusion rates. Furthermore, coralline hydroxyapatite and direct current electrical stimulation can be used together to increase fusion rates in a rabbit spinal fusion model while avoiding the morbidity associated with harvesting iliac crest bone.
Population history of Manihot esculenta (Euphorbiaceae) inferred from nuclear DNA sequences

The nature of gene flow in plants — including the propensity for interspecific introgression — makes them interesting candidates for phylogeographical analysis. Plant phylogeography studies have been limited, however, by the availability of suitable intraspecific variation. In this study, DNA sequence variation from a nuclear gene [Glyceraldehyde 3‐phosphate dehydrogenase; (G3pdh)] was used to examine the population history of Manihot esculenta ssp. flabellifolia and a potentially hybridizing species, M. pruinosa. These species occur in the rainforest–savanna ecotone adjoining the Amazon basin, a region believed to have undergone major habitat shifts since the Pleistocene. Geographical distributions of the G3pdh haplotypes indicate genetic isolation‐by‐distance across the range of M. esculenta ssp. flabellifolia. However, there is greater genetic similarity between northeastern and western populations than would be expected given the present species distribution. A nested clade analysis suggests that northeastern and western populations were connected by gene flow until relatively recently, when they became fragmented. This inferred fragmentation event is consistent with post‐Pleistocene habitat shifts proposed for the Amazon basin. At the interspecific level, haplotype sharing with M. pruinosa may reflect either recent interspecific introgression or incomplete lineage sorting between these closely related species.
The B chromosome polymorphism of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans in North Africa. IV. Transmission of rare B chromosome variants

In addition to the principal B chromosome (B<sub>1</sub>) in Moroccan populations of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans, nine B chromosome variants appeared at low frequency. The transmission of five of these rare B chromosome variants through females was analysed in three natural populations. Sixteen controlled crosses provided useful information on the transmission of B<sub>M2</sub>, B<sub>M6</sub> and B<sub>M7</sub> in Smir, B<sub>M3</sub> and B<sub>M6</sub> in SO.DE. A. (Société de Développement Agricole lands near Ksar-el-Kebir city), and B<sub>M2</sub> and B<sub>M10</sub> in Mechra, all located in Morocco. Since six female parents carried two different B variants, a total of 22 progeny analyses could be studied. Intraindividual variation in B transmission rate (k<sub>B</sub>) was observed among the successive egg pods in 26.7 % of the females, but this variation did not show a consistent temporal pattern. Only the B<sub>M2</sub> and B<sub>M6</sub> variants in Smir showed net drive, although variation was high among crosses, especially for B<sub>M2</sub>. These two variants are thus good candidates for future regenerations (the replacement of a neutralized B, B<sub>1</sub> in this case, by a new driving variant, B<sub>M2</sub> or B<sub>M6</sub>) in Smir, the northern population where the B polymorphism is presumably older. The analysis of all crosses performed in the three populations, including those reported previously for the analysis of B<sub>1</sub> transmission, showed that the largest variance in k<sub>B</sub> among crosses stands at the individual level, and not at population or type of B levels. The implications of these findings for the occurrence of possible regeneration processes in Moroccan populations are discussed.
MRI detection of early endothelial activation in brain inflammation

MRI is an increasingly important clinical tool, but it is clear that conventional imaging fails to identify the full extent of lesion load in certain conditions, such as multiple sclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether a novel contrast agent (Gd‐DTPA‐B(sLeX)A, which contains an sLeX mimetic moiety that enables it to bind to the adhesion molecule E‐selectin) can be used to identify endothelial activation in the brain. Microinjection of the proinflammatory cytokines IL‐1β or TNF‐α into the striatum of Wistar rats rapidly induces focal adhesion molecule expression on the endothelium in the absence of MRI‐visible changes. This phenomenon was used to investigate the potential of Gd‐DTPA‐B(sLeX)A to reveal MRI‐invisible brain pathology. T1‐weighted serial images were acquired in anesthetized animals before and after administration of Gd‐DTPA‐B(sLeX)A, 3–4 hr after cytokine was injected intracerebrally. Both TNF‐α and IL‐1β up‐regulated E‐selectin on the brain endothelium, which correlated with increased signal intensity observed after administration of the novel contrast agent. No enhancement was visible with the nonselective contrast agent Gd‐DTPA‐BMA, indicating that there was no leakage of the agent across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) or nonselective binding to the endothelium. These data demonstrate the potential of such contrast agents for the early detection of brain injury and inflammation. Magn Reson Med 51:248–252, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Microbiology of corneal wounds after cataract surgery: biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance patterns.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the bacterial flora of corneal wounds at the end of cataract surgery before intracameral antibiotic use and to determine agents to treat postoperative endophthalmitis, the potential for biofilm formation, and antibiotic resistance. METHOD This cross-sectional clinical study included patients who underwent cataract surgery using the phacoemulsification technique without any complications. The hemifacial skin, periocular area, eyelids and eyelashes were washed with 10% povidone-iodine and the conjunctiva was washed with 5% povidoneiodine before cataract surgery. After uncomplicated surgery, a wipe sample was taken from the bulbar conjunctival surface, corneal surface, and wound rim before administering intracameral antibiotics. All samples were plated on blood agar, MRS agar, M17 agar, calcium-lactate agar, plate-count agar, and Sabouraud-dextrose agar. Biofilm formation was evaluated by microtitre plates and the Congo red-agar method. Antimicrobial resistance patterns of isolates were determined by the agar-disk diffusion method. RESULTS We recruited 50 patients and studied 55 eyes, obtaining 34 isolates from the cultures of 16 eyes. Isolated organisms were coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) (35.3%), Bacillus cereus (29.4%) and Pseudomonas spp. (5.9%). We obtained isolates from 64% of diabetic cases and 20% of non-diabetic cases, (p=0.002). It was observed that 21 out of 34 isolates produced a weakly positive biofilm, 8 were moderately positive, three were strongly positive, and two isolates were biofilm negative. Of the CoNS strains four of the 11 were resistance to four or more antibiotics. CONCLUSION Microorganisms that remained at the end of cataract surgery had the capacity to produce biofilm and had high antibiotic resistance. Appropriate preoperative disinfection is very important and adequate disinfection and suitable antibiotics should be kept in mind for avoiding endophthalmitis, especially for diabetic patients. Biofilm is one of the major factors affecting the virulence of bacteria, and further studies into prevention of biofilm formation are required in this area.
Donor-derived equine mesenchymal stem cells suppress proliferation of mismatched lymphocytes.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Recently, it has been shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) do not express the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II antigen and are able to inhibit proliferation of MHC-mismatched stimulated lymphocytes, enabling their use as in vivo allogeneic transplants. However, prior to clinical application of allo-MSCs, in vitro tests are required to confirm the safety of treatment protocols. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the immunosuppressive capabilities of equine bone-marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) on MHC-mismatched lymphocytes. STUDY DESIGN In vitro experiment. METHODS Phytohaemagglutinin-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 3 Thoroughbreds (recipients) were co-cultured with mismatched BM-MSCs from 3 Connemara ponies (donors). Proliferation of lymphocytes was monitored by carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester labelling and analysed by flow cytometry. In total, 6 horses were haplotyped using microsatellites to confirm mismatching. Optimisation of the conditions to stimulate Thoroughbred lymphocytes and titration of equine anti-CD4 and anti-CD8 antibodies were performed. Connemara pony and Thoroughbred BM-MSCs were isolated, expanded and characterised by tri-lineage differentiation. Finally, BM-MSCs from both breeds were set up in co-culture at different ratios with stimulated Thoroughbred lymphocytes. Proliferation of CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells was determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS A high proportion of CD4/CD8 double-positive lymphocytes were found in freshly isolated PBMCs, although this percentage decreased after 4 days of culture. Mismatched BM-MSCs inhibited proliferation of stimulated lymphocytes in a dose-dependent manner, with the greatest suppression occurring at a 1:10 ratio of BM-MSCs to PBMCs. Proliferation of CD4(+) and CD8(+) subpopulations decreased in 1:10 co-culture, with statistical significance in the case of CD8(+) cells, while that of the CD4/CD8 double-positive population was similar to the phytohaemagglutinin control. CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate dose-dependent immunosuppression of stimulated lymphocytes by mismatched equine BM-MSCs, supporting their future application in allo-MSC clinical treatments.
A Study on the Performance Evaluation of Machine Learning Models for Phoneme Classification

This paper provides a comparative performance analysis of both shallow and deep machine learning classifiers for speech recognition task using frame-level phoneme classification. Phoneme recognition is still a fundamental and equally crucial initial step toward automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems. Often conventional classifiers perform exceptionally well on domain-specific ASR systems having a limited set of vocabulary and training data in contrast to deep learning approaches. It is thus imperative to evaluate performance of a system using deep artificial networks in terms of correctly recognizing atomic speech units, i.e., phonemes in this case with conventional state-of-the-art machine learning classifiers. Two deep learning models - DNN and LSTM with multiple configuration architectures by varying the number of layers and the number of neurons in each layer on the OLLO speech corpora along with six shallow machine learning classifiers for Filterbank acoustic features are thoroughly studied. Additionally, features with three and ten frames temporal context are computed and compared with no-context features for different models. The classifier's performance is evaluated in terms of precision, recall, and F1 score for 14 consonants and 10 vowels classes for 10 speakers with 4 different dialects. High classification accuracy of 93% and 95% F1 score is obtained with DNN and LSTM networks respectively on context-dependent features for 3-hidden layers containing 1024 nodes each. SVM surprisingly obtained even a higher classification score of 96.13% and a misclassification error of less than 5% for consonants and 4% for vowels.
Synthesizing N-ary Relations from Web Tables

The Web contains a large number of relational HTML tables, which cover a multitude of different, often very specific topics. This rich pool of data has motivated a growing body of research on methods that use web table data to extend local tables with additional attributes or add missing facts to knowledge bases. Nearly all existing approaches for these tasks are limited to the extraction of binary relations from web tables, e.g. an unemployment number may only depend on the state. Inspecting randomly chosen tables on the Web quickly reveals that many relations in the tables are non-binary, e.g. unemployment numbers also depend on the point in time and the profession. Treating such n-ary relations as binary leads to data that cannot be interpreted correctly. The extraction of n-ary relations from web tables is complicated by two factors: 1. important attributes might be stated outside of the table; 2. relational web tables are usually too small for functional dependency discovery. This paper presents a method to synthesize n-ary relations from web tables for the use case of knowledge base extension. The method exploits information from the page around the table and stitches (combines) multiple tables from the same website. We apply the method to a corpus of 5 million web tables originating from 80 thousand different web sites and find that 38% of the synthesized relations are non-binary. We find different relations for the same dependent attribute, e.g. relations providing unemployment numbers based on time, location, or profession. By identifying groups of websites which provide these relations, we lay the foundation for applications in knowledge base augmentation and data search, which allow for a specific selection of relations that determine an attribute according to the applications' data requirements.
Treatment Outcomes for Mandibular Mini-Implant-Retained Overdentures: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE This systematic review evaluated treatment outcomes for mandibular mini-implant-retained overdentures (MMIOs) in terms of (1) implant survival rate, (2) peri-implant marginal bone loss, (3) prosthodontic maintenance and complication occurrence, and (4) patient satisfaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS Pertinent literature published in English before October 12, 2015 was identified using a MEDLINE and EMBASE search strategy and hand searching of relevant journals. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to the titles and abstracts and subsequently to the full text of included studies. A total of 16 articles were included, from which qualitative and quantitative data were extracted for analysis. RESULTS Of the 16 evaluated articles, 5 were randomized controlled trials, 8 were prospective studies, and 3 were retrospective studies. The follow-up time range from implant placement was 1 to 6 years, and only four studies included more than 3 years of follow-up. The mini-implant survival rate ranged from 86.9% to 100%. Mean marginal bone resorption was 0.28 to 1.2 mm after 1 year of loading. Of the 16 studies, 5 reported prosthodontic maintenance and complications, and all included studies showed significant improvement in patient satisfaction. CONCLUSION Despite the limitations of this systematic review, particularly the short follow-up periods, the results suggest that MMIOs showed predictable results regarding implant survival rates, marginal bone resorption, and patient satisfaction.
Medication prescribing practices in a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the medication prescribing practices for children who had attended a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic in Turkey. METHODS A retrospective chart review of consecutive new patients admitted to a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic of university hospital within 6 months was performed. RESULTS Male/female ratio of 822 charts examined was 1.75. Over activity and/or distractibility were the most common presenting complaints and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder was the most common disorder. Approximately one-fourth (24.0%) of children were prescribed psychotropic medications. Initiation time of psychotropic medication was one of the first two visits in 65% of the children who were prescribed medication. The most commonly prescribed medications were in descending order of prescribing frequency: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, atypical antipsychotics and psychostimulants. About 54.2% of depressed children were prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and 24.3% of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder were prescribed psychostimulant treatment. Among children who used at least one psychotropic medication, the rate of co-prescription was 10.7%. CONCLUSION It was found that the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and methylphenidate in children has become widespread. The results of our study may be helpful in improving treatment services in child and adolescent psychiatry.
Data Management Systems Research at TU Berlin

Data management systems research at TU Berlin is spearheaded by the Database Systems and Information Management (DIMA) Group, the Big Data Management (Big- DaMa) Group, as well as the affiliated Intelligent Analytics for Massive Data (IAM) Research Group at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). Jointly, our research activities encompass a wide variety of database topics, including benchmarking, data integration, modern hardware, and scalable data processing. As of Fall 2018, the current team is comprised of three university professors, thirteen senior and postdoc researchers, twenty PhD students, and several research assistants. Among our notable accomplishments is the DFG-funded Stratosphere Research Unit, which laid the groundwork for what would later become Apache Flink. DIMA has also been leading the Berlin Big Data Center, one of only two BMBF-funded Big Data Competence Centers in Germany since 2014. In addition, DIMA is co-directing the Berlin Center for Machine Learning, one of four BMBF-funded Machine Learning Competence Centers in Germany.
The Evolving e-Governance Curriculum: A Worldwide mapping of Education Programs

From the demand side, the need to build e-Governance capacities and expertise is increasing and requires more and more sophisticated knowledge and competencies to fulfil the stakeholders' needs. The e-Governance profession and skills needs are also becoming more diverse and more specialized. From the supply side, we can also witness a growing interest in the e-Governance learning and programs worldwide at different level. However the programs offered are often not well aligned adapting neither to the government's, nor to the public service needs. The e-Governance curriculum is a key success factor to reduce the gap. It serves as a base of knowledge for a large number of graduates that participate in government digital transformation activities. Within academic and practitioners' communities, there have been constant discussions about the content of the e-Governance curriculum. The objective of this research is to identify and analyse the current situation in e-Governance training worldwide and provide a path forward for future e-Governance program relative curriculum development. For this purpose, the authors applied a systematic secondary data review method to examine the existing e-Governance programs and draw an e-Governance education mapping worldwide. The research establishes the current baseline of e-Governance curricula and describes their fundamental aspects and challenges. Information provided in this article should be valuable to the e-Governance educators and curriculum designers, as well as to the e-Governance practitioners, to better understand the foundational knowledge transmitted to e-Governance graduates.
The effects of acellular dermal matrix in expander-implant breast reconstruction after total skin-sparing mastectomy: Results of a prospective practice improvement study.

1068 Background: Outcomes after total skin-sparing mastectomy and expander-implant breast reconstruction using acellular dermal matrix (Alloderm) have not been well-documented, nor has a strategy for optimal case selection for Alloderm use been described. METHODS Single-institution review of three patient cohorts from 2006-2010 undergoing total skin-sparing mastectomy and immediate expander-implant breast reconstruction was performed. Cohort 1 ("No Alloderm") was composed of 59 consecutive patients who did not have Alloderm placed. Cohort 2 ("Consecutive Alloderm") consisted of the next 65 consecutive patients, who all received Alloderm. Cohort 3 ("Selective Alloderm") consisted of the next 159 patients, who had selective use of Alloderm based on intra-operative assessment of mastectomy skin flap thickness. Cohorts were compared by chi-square analysis using STATA 10. RESULTS A total of 283 patients (444 breasts) underwent expander-implant reconstruction. Mean follow-up was 23.7 months. Patient and treatment characteristics including age, BMI, co-morbidities, post-mastectomy radiation therapy, and systemic therapy were not significantly different between cohorts. Overall, 23% of patients had post-mastectomy radiation therapy, 34% had neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and 20% had adjuvant chemotherapy. The incidence of post-operative infection requiring intravenous antibiotics was 15.3% for the No Alloderm cohort, 9.9% for the Consecutive Alloderm cohort, and 11.2% for the Selective Alloderm cohort (p = 0.048). Unplanned return to the operating room was required in 22.3%, 11.9%, and 9.7% of patients, respectively (p = 0.009). Expander/implant loss occurred in 8.2%, 4%, and 5.8% of patients, respectively (p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS The use of Alloderm in expander-implant reconstruction after total skin-sparing mastectomy reduced major post-operative complications in this study. Selective use of Alloderm conferred the same benefit as use in all patients with resultant optimization of patient outcomes and cost-effective care.