Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implementation, accuracy evaluation, and preliminary clinical trial of a CT-free navigation system for high tibial opening wedge osteotomy

Objective: The objectives of this study are to design and evaluate a CT-free intra-operative planning and navigation system for high tibial opening wedge osteotomy. This is a widely accepted treatment for medial compartment osteoarthritis and other lower extremity deformities, particularly in young and active patients for whom total knee replacement is not advised. However, it is a technically demanding procedure. Conventional preoperative planning and surgical techniques have so far been inaccurate, and often resulting in postoperative malalignment representing either under- or over-correction, which is the main reason for poor long-term results. In addition, conventional techniques have the potential to damage the lateral hinge cortex and tibial neurovascular structures, which may cause fixation failure, loss of correction, or peroneal nerve paralysis. All these common problems can be addressed by the use of a surgical navigation system. Materials and Methods: Surgical instruments are tracked optically with the SurgiGATE® navigation system (PRAXIM MediVision, La Tronche, France). Following exposure, dynamical reference bases are attached to the femur, tibia, and proximal fragment of the tibia. A patient-specific coordinate system is then established, on the basis of registered anatomical landmarks. After intra-operative deformity measurement and correction planning, the osteotomy is performed under navigational guidance. The deformities are corrected by realigning the mechanical axis of the affected limb from the diseased medial compartment to the healthy lateral side. The wedge size, joint line orientation, and tibial plateau slope are monitored during correction. Besides correcting uni-planar varus deformities, the system provides the functionality to correct complex multi-planar deformities with a single cut. Furthermore, with on-the-fly visualization of surgical instruments on multiple fluoroscopic images, penetration of the hinge cortex and damage to the neurovascular structures due to an inappropriate osteotomy can be avoided. Results: The laboratory evaluation with a plastic bone model (Synbone AG, Davos, Switzerland) shows that the error of deformity correction is <1.7° (95% confidence interval) in the frontal plane and <2.3° (95% confidence interval) in the sagittal plane. The preliminary clinical trial confirms these results. Conclusion: A novel CT-free navigation system for high tibial osteotomy has been developed and evaluated, which holds the promise of improved accuracy, reliability, and safety of this procedure.
THE FAMILY AND SCHIZOPHRENIA

There has been controversy about the role of family in the etiology and course of schizophrenia for almost 70 years. Psychoanalysts and family therapists have proposed theories about the development of schizophrenia that overtly blamed parents, and recently, expressed emotion (EE) research has been criticized as implicating families once again. However, the study of schizophrenia as a brain disorder has resulted in new understandings of the influence of the family. This article reviews recent research revealing a unique vulnerability to stress in persons with schizophrenia and suggesting that communication difficulties may be due to a shared genetic heritage. Advanced practice mental health nurses who have a solid foundation in neurobiology are ideally suited to help the person with schizophrenia and his or her family. Knowledge about the neurobiological basis of schizophrenia has become very sophisticated and complex, but that knowledge is nevertheless essential to understand the otherwise puzzling patterns of behavior shown by persons with schizophrenia.
Comparison of World Health Organization and Asia-Pacific body mass index classifications in COPD patients

Introduction A low body mass index (BMI) is associated with increased mortality and low health-related quality of life in patients with COPD. The Asia-Pacific classification of BMI has a lower cutoff for overweight and obese categories compared to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification. The present study assessed patients with COPD among different BMI categories according to two BMI classification systems: WHO and Asia-Pacific. Patients and methods Patients with COPD aged 40 years or older from the Korean COPD Subtype Study cohort were selected for evaluation. We enrolled 1,462 patients. Medical history including age, sex, St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ-C), the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale, and post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) were evaluated. Patients were categorized into different BMI groups according to the two BMI classification systems. Result FEV1 and the diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) percentage revealed an inverse “U”-shaped pattern as the BMI groups changed from underweight to obese when WHO cutoffs were applied. When Asia-Pacific cutoffs were applied, FEV1 and DLCO (%) exhibited a linearly ascending relationship as the BMI increased, and the percentage of patients in the overweight and obese groups linearly decreased with increasing severity of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease criteria. From the underweight to the overweight groups, SGRQ-C and mMRC had a decreasing relationship in both the WHO and Asia-Pacific classifications. The prevalence of comorbidities in the different BMI groups showed similar trends in both BMI classifications systems. Conclusion The present study demonstrated that patients with COPD who have a high BMI have better pulmonary function and health-related quality of life and reduced dyspnea symptoms. Furthermore, the Asia-Pacific BMI classification more appropriately reflects the correlation of obesity and disease manifestation in Asian COPD patients than the WHO classification.
Etanercept associated optic neuropathy

We report the case of a 14‐year‐old boy who developed optic neuropathy subsequent to the use of etanercept. There have been 15 reported cases of anti‐TNF‐α‐associated optic neuropathy to date and their characteristics are reviewed in this report, as well as possible pathophysiologic mechanisms behind such phenomenon. Such cases demonstrate the importance of prompt ophthalmologic evaluation of visual changes in patients being treated with anti‐TNF‐α antagonists.
Spatially segregated control of Ca2+ release in developing skeletal muscle of mice

1 Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to monitor Ca2+ signals in primary‐cultured myotubes, prepared from forelimbs of wild‐type or ryanodine receptor type 3 (RyR3) knockout mice. Myotubes loaded with the acetoxymethyl ester (AM) form of fluo‐3 were imaged at rest or under whole‐cell patch clamp. 2 Discrete Ca2+ release events were detected in intact wild‐type and RyR3‐knockout myotubes. They showed almost no difference in amplitude and width, but were substantially different in duration. In wild‐type myotubes (660 events, 57 cells) the amplitude was 1.27 (0.85, 1.97) (median (25 %, 75 %)) units of resting fluorescence, the full width at half‐magnitude (FWHM) was 1.4 (0.9, 2.3) μm, and the full duration at half‐magnitude (FDHM) was 25.3 (9.6, 51.7) ms. In RyR3‐knockout myotubes (655 events, 83 cells) the amplitude was 1.30 (0.84, 2.08), FWHM was 1.63 (1.02, 2.66) μm, and FDHM was 43.6 (23.6, 76.9) ms. 3 Depolarization under voltage clamp of both wild‐type and RyR3‐knockout myotubes produced substantial Ca2+ release devoid of discrete Ca2+ events. Discrete events were still present but occurred without correlation with the applied pulse, largely at locations where the pulse did not elicit release. 4 The local correspondence between voltage control and absence of discrete events implies that the functional interaction with voltage sensors suppresses the mechanism that activates discrete events. Because it applies whether RyR3 is present or not, it is this exclusion by voltage of other control mechanisms, rather than isoform composition, that primarily determines the absence of discrete Ca2+ events in adult mammalian muscle.
Vitrification of Human Oocytes and its Contribution to In Vitro Fertilization Programs.

OBJETICVE To study the cumulative pregnancy outcome, particularly in terms of live births, with the consecutive transfer of embryos from fresh and vitrified/warmed oocytes to infertile patients in a routine infertility program. METHODS Patients were initially submitted to in vitro fertilization embryo transfer with fresh embryos, while surplus oocytes were vitrified with the Vitri-Ingá method. Patients who did not succeed to carry their gestation to term underwent a new cycle with embryos from their own warmed oocytes. Some of the patients participating in the first warming cycle, who still possessed surplus oocytes, underwent a second warming cycle. Clinical and pregnancy outcomes obtained with fresh and warming cycles were compared using the chi-square test at a level of significance of 5%. RESULTS Of the 211 participating patients, 97 (46%) got pregnant with fresh embryo transfer, and 69 (32.7%) carried their pregnancies to term. Of the patients participating in the first and second warming cycles, 32/100 (32%) and 6/20 (30.0%) resulted in live births, respectively. Thus, of the 211 participating patients, 107 carried their pregnancies to term, representing a cumulative live birth rate of 50.7%. No statistically significant differences between the use fresh and vitrified oocytes were found for any of the variables studied. CONCLUSIONS Oocyte vitrification offered the possibility of gestation in more than one attempt after just one controlled hyperstimulation. Apart from alleviating the financial burden on patients, vitrification of oocytes may result in a feasible solution for the problems generated by abandoned frozen embryos.
Preoperative Endoscopic Sphincterotomy Versus Laparoendoscopic Rendezvous in Patients With Gallbladder and Bile Duct Stones

Objective:To compare success rate, length of hospital stay, clinical results, and costs of sequential treatment (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography followed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy) versus the laparoendoscopic Rendezvous in patients with cholecysto-choledocholithiasis. Background:The ideal management of common bile duct (CBD) stones in the era of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) remains controversial. Methods:A total of 91 elective patients with cholelithiasis and CBD stones diagnosed at magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) were included in a prospective, randomized trial. The patients were randomized in 2 groups. Group I patients (45 cases) underwent a preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) followed by LC in the same hospital admission. Group II patients (46 cases) underwent LC associated with intraoperative ERCP and ES according to the rendezvous technique. Results:The rate of CBD clearance was 80% for Group I and 95.6% for Group II (P = 0.06). The morbidity rate was 8.8% in Group I and 6.5% in Group II (P = not significant). No deaths occurred in either group. Hospital stay was shorter in Group II than in Group I: 4.3 days versus 8.0 days (P < 0.0001). There was a significant reduction in mean total cost for group II patients versus group I patients: &OV0556;2829 versus &OV0556;3834 (P < 0.05). Conclusions:When compared with preoperative ERCP with ES followed by LC, the laparoendoscopic rendezvous technique allows a higher rate of CBD stones clearance, a shorter hospital stay, and a reduction in costs.
Dramatic reduction in triplet and higher order births in England and Wales

The proportion of multiple births has increased markedly since 1980 in England and Wales. A major contribution to this trend is thought to be the widespread introduction of assisted reproductive technologies. Despite a continuing (but slower) upward trend in twin maternities, analysis of recent data shows that the rate of triplet and higher order births in England and Wales has declined by one‐quarter since 1998. This probably reflects both voluntary and statutory regulation of treatment regimes. This downward trend will help alleviate the high burden of perinatal morbidity and mortality associated with multiple births.
Word-List-Learning Performance in Younger and Older Adults: Intra-Individual Performance Variability and False Memory

ABSTRACT We investigated the word-list-learning performance of younger and older adults over 4 consecutive days at different times of day to study age-related differences in consistency of performance over time and the influence of circadian variation on performance. Eighteen younger (M age, 23.4 years) and 18 older (M age, 73.3 years) men and women participated. The start time of testing alternated between morning and early evening across the 4 days of testing. On each test day, participants learned a different list of 15 unrelated words over four learning trials. As expected, younger adults performed better than older adults on immediate recall, delayed recall, and recognition. Contrary to our expectations, time of day did not significantly influence recall or recognition performance in either the older or younger adults. Older adults did show a greater incidence of false memory (i.e., previously learned list intrusions in free recall and false alarms in recognition) than younger adults. Older adults also exhibited greater intra-individual performance variability on the measures of false memory across test days. This variability was not related to circadian variation. False memory and variability of performance have both been linked to frontal systems dysfunction. The findings presented here are consistent with the notion that changes in cognition with aging in part reflect age-related decline in frontal lobe function.
Tornado Probabilities Derived from Rapid Update Cycle Forecast Soundings

Tornado forecasting can be improved if forecasters incorporate data of the nearstorm environment with radar data when considering tornado watches and warnings. To gain a better understanding of how tornado threat changes with changing environmental conditions, proximity soundings in the vicinity of supercells, derived from the Rapid Update Cycle model, were examined. These soundings were taken from the years 19992001 and 2003. A total of 644 supercell soundings were examined and split into three categories: nontornadic soundings (336), weakly tornadic soundings (217) and significantly tornadic soundings (91). Thermodynamic, moisture and wind shear parameters were compared against each other and contingency probability tables were produced for probabilities of any tornado and of a significant tornado. The results of this investigation reinforce the findings of several previous proximity sounding studies. Notably, the parameter space of 0–1-km Bulk Shear versus MLLCL height was found very valuable in assessing the favorability of a supercell to produce a tornado. Also, in situations where values of MLLCL and 0–1-km Bulk Shear are favorable for tornado formation, large values of instability appear to increase the threat of significant tornado occurrence. As found in other studies, deep-layer shear does not appear to be a good indicator as to whether the environment is conducive to forming tornadic supercells.
Effect of Unilateral Nephrectomy on the Pharmacokinetics of Atenolol in Humans

Unilateral nephrectomy is a common surgical procedure and involves functional adaptation of the remaining kidney. There is a paucity of data addressing whether drugs eliminated predominantly through the urinary tract, such as atenolol, can be effectively handled by unilaterally nephrectomized patients. This study was carried out in 28 subjects 1 month (10 subjects) and 1 year (10 subjects) after unilateral nephrectomy, as well as in 8 healthy volunteers who were administered atenolol as a single oral dose of 100 mg. Pharmacokinetic parameters of atenolol were calculated using a one‐compartment open model. It was revealed that atenolol blood serum concentrations were significantly elevated in nephrectomized patients as compared with the control subjects, especially 1 month after the surgery. Patients nephrectomized 1 month prior to the study were characterized by an increase in AUC by 43% (p < 0.05), reduction of Λz by 36% (p<0.001) and CLT by 27% (p < 0.001), and prolongation of t1/2 by 60% (p < 0.001) in comparison with healthy volunteers. The values of atenolol pharmacokinetic parameters in patients 1 year after unilateral nephrectomy did not differ significantly as compared to the controls. However, a trend indicating an impaired elimination was noted. A decrease in Λz by 16%, prolongation of t1/2 by 32%, and reduction of CLT by 32% were observed. The results suggest that unilateral nephrectomy impairs elimination of atenolol and possibly other drugs predominantly eliminated via the kidney.
Persistence of IgG, IgM, and IgE antibodies in human trichinosis.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect serum IgG, IgM, and IgE antibodies against Trichinella spirals s. str. following an outbreak of human trichinosis in 1989 in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand, for two years and seven months in order to observe diagnostic sensitivity of ELISA as well as the persistence of antibodies. It was found that the sensitivity of IgG-ELISA, as determined from biopsy-positive cases, reached 100% on the 50th day of infection. For IgM-ELISA, peak sensitivity was 93.33% at the 57th and IgE-ELISA 100% at the 85th day of infection. Two years and seven months after infection, the diagnostic sensitivity of IgG-ELISA was 88.24%, and that of IgE-ELISA was 47.06%, while the sensitivity of IgM-ELISA was only 11.76%. It was suggested from the data that IgM-ELISA is a helpful indicator of infection within three years. Other two groups of trichinosis cases, i.e., high-titer and seroconversion cases, were also studied. Antibody response curves were constructed from mean ELISA values from each group. It was revealed that all curves were similar in shape, independent of the group studied. The only exception was IgG-antibody response in the high-titer group, which showed the highest antibody level at the first collection of blood samples, i.e., 23 days after infection.
Stem cell intervention ameliorates epigallocatechin-3-gallate/lipopolysaccharide-induced hepatotoxicity in mice

Stem cells are identified as a novel cell therapy for regenerative medicine because of their ability to differentiate into many functional cell types. We have shown earlier a new model of hepatotoxicity in mice by administering (1500 mg/kg) epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) intragastric (IG) for 5 days after a single intraperitoneal dose (6 mg/kg) of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In this study, we aimed to study the effect of intrahepatic (IH) injection of mouse embryonic stem cells (MESCs) on the hepatotoxicity induced by EGCG/LPS in mice. Mice were administered EGCG/LPS and rested for 3 days. MESCs were obtained from American Type Culture Collection and cultured in vitro for 4 days. Stem cells were injected IH. Seven days later, a single dose of LPS (6 mg/kg) followed by daily doses of IG administration of EGCG were re-administered for 5 days. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected for analysis of biochemical parameters associated with liver. Results showed that the group of mice that were administered MESCs prior to EGCG/LPS showed lower levels of alanine amino transferase, alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin, higher albumin/globulin ratio, and less remarkable histopathological lesions. Also, that group of mice showed less expression of oxidative stress biomarkers (oxidized low-density lipoprotein Ox.LDL and chemokine CXCL16), less expression of nuclear protein receptors (retinoic acid receptor and retinoid X receptor), and less expression of inflammatory biomarkers (tumor necrosis factor α and transforming growth factor β1) compared with other groups of mice that were not given MESCs. In conclusion, MESCs can ameliorate EGCG/LPS-induced hepatotoxicity in mice.
Impaired Dendritic Cell Function in a Spontaneous Autoimmune Polyneuropathy

Spontaneous autoimmune polyneuropathy (SAP) in B7-2 knockout NOD mice mimics the progressive form of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, and is mediated by myelin protein zero (P0)–reactive Th1 cells. In this study, we focused on the effect of B7-2 deletion on the function of dendritic cells (DCs) within the context of SAP. We found that development of SAP was associated with a preponderance or increase of CD11b+ DCs in peripheral lymph nodes and sciatic nerves. B7-2 deletion led to altered immunophenotypic properties that differ between CD11b+ DCs and CD8α+ DCs. Both DC subsets from B7-2 knockout NOD mice exhibited impaired capacity to capture fluorophore-labeled myelin P0, but diminished Ag-presenting function was observed only in CD11b+ DCs. Clinical assessment, electrophysiologic studies, and splenocyte proliferation studies revealed that absence of B7-2 on DCs was sufficient to cause impaired ability to induce tolerance to P0, which could be overcome by preconditioning with IL-10. Tolerance induction by Ag-pulsed wild-type NOD DCs was dependent on IL-10 and was associated with increased CD4+ regulatory T cells, whereas tolerance induction by IL-10–conditioned B7-2–deficient DCs was associated with increased percentages of both regulatory T cells and B10 cells in the spleen. We conclude that B7-2 deletion has an impact on the distribution of DC subsets in lymphoid organs and alters the expression of costimulatory molecules, but functional consequences are not uniform across DC subsets. Defective tolerance induction in the absence of B7-2 can be restored by preconditioning of DCs with IL-10.
Improved optical outcoupling of OLED microdisplays by nanostructured substrates

We present optical simulations of the light outcoupling efficiency of an OLED-anode design which allows the integration of a grating with high refractive index contrast into a topemitting OLED with standard CMOS technology. We demonstrate the effective coupling of the grating with the confined organic modes and therefore changing the outcoupling efficiency with respect to the planar OLED-stack.
Effect of Postweaning Level of Nutritior on the Early Reproductive Performance and Productivity Indices of Menz Sheep

Abstract Mukasa-Mugerwa, E. , Negussie, A, and Said, A.N. 1994. Effect of postweaning level of nutrition on the early reproductive performance and productivity indices of Menzsheep. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 5: 53–61. Weaner ewe lambs (92 ± 4 days, SD) of the Ethiopian Menz breed (n=115) were used to assess the impact of level of nutrition before and after first lambing on subsequent productivity. Lambs were raised either on pasture grazing only (P) or grazing with low (L), medium (M) or high (H) levels of a concentrate supplement containing 125 g/kg DM digestible protein and 25 Mcal/kg DM. Postweaning mortality was 13.9%, being substantially higher for P animals (33%) than better fed counterparts (7%). Lamb weaning weight was affected by lambing season (P<0.01) and ewe postpartum level of nutrition (P<0.05). Both factors also affected the three productivity indices expressed as (1) the weight of a 90 days old lamb produced per ewe per year (Index I), (2) per kg of breeding female per year (Index II) or (3) per.