Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in trabecular pattern of the upper end of the femur as an index of osteoporosis.

Roentgenograms of the hip region, in a series of thirty-five patients above the age of fifty years, were studied with particular reference to the trabecular pattern of the upper end of the femur. The findings were correlated with the clinical data and the Beck and Nordin iliac-crest biopsy gradings of the same patients. It was observed that definite progressive changes occur in the trabeculae of the upper end of the femur as normal bone deteriorates to severe osteoporosis. With increasing degrees of bone loss, six different trabecular patterns can be recognized in the upper femur. It is suggested that these patterns can be utilized as a roentgenographic scale for the diagnosis and grading of osteoporosis.
DDT persistence and volatility as affected by management practices after 23 years.

In 1971, an experiment was conducted in a field containing high amounts of residual DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) to evaluate deep plowing, followed by flooding, with and without organic matter applications, as soil and water management tools to reduce total DDT residues and preferentially degrade the residual DDT to DDD [l,l-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethane]. The experimental site was revisited in 1994 to determine residual soil concentrations of DDT isomers and their metabolites in soil, soil dust, and the atmosphere. Also, volatilization flux measurements were made to evaluate rates of movement into the atmosphere. Soil concentrations of all DDT isomers and metabolites had decreased in all plots, with p, p'-DDE [1, 1-dichloro2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethylene] the major component of the total remaining residues (DDTR). The total DDTR residues in the surface 75 cm varied from 10 to 28% of their amounts in 1971. The highest concentrations were found in the deep plowed, unflooded plots with DDTR decreasing from 4 mg kg-’ at 0 to15 cm to 0.3 mg kg-’ at 60 to 75 cm. Deep plowing evidently increased DDT persistence by placing it deeper into the soil profile, which protected it from degradation and volatilization. Concentrations of all isomers were lower in the previously flooded plots. Degrading DDT under reducing conditions brought about by flooding lessened or prevented the formation of DDE in the soil thus ultimately reducing its redistribution into the environment. Significant concentrations of both o,p' and p,p'-DDE and DDT were detected in the atmosphere above the plots. Measurable volatilization fluxes were observed over 48-h periods in February and September. Irrigating the soil with 20 mm water dramatically increased the volatilization flux of all the DDT isomers and metabolites, particularly p,p'-DDE. The finding that DDT isomers continue to volatilize
Cardiovascular risk in patients with growth hormone deficiency: effects of growth hormone substitution.

OBJECTIVE To review the literature on the increased cardiovascular risk in patients with growth hormone (GH) deficiency and the positive effects of GH replacement. METHODS We analyze the factors that contribute to cardiovascular risk in GH deficiency, including body composition and lipid profile, and summarize GH treatment strategies and results described in the literature. RESULTS The prominent clinical finding in patients with GH deficiency is the increased abdominal fat, even in patients with normal weight. Cardiac ejection volume tends to be decreased, and arterial distensibility is diminished. The lipid status is also worsened, accompanied by increased inflammatory markers, such as highly sensitive C-reactive protein. Typically, GH treatment reduces visceral fat and increases muscle mass, changes that diminish cardiovascular risk. Because of direct effects as well as increased hemodynamic performance and increased blood volume, cardiac performance is improved. With GH therapy, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels decrease by 10% to 20%, and inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein decline. Carbohydrate metabolism during moderate to long-term treatment is minimally affected, although obese patients with GH deficiency on rare occasion may have hyperglycemia or even diabetes. CONCLUSION The relevance of the beneficial effects of GH on the cardiovascular system is strongly suggested but not fully proved. The results in a large cohort of GH-treated patients (the KIMS or Pharmacia and Upjohn International Metabolic Surveillance database) demonstrated no difference in cardiovascular risk in comparison with that in a control population after a mean of 3 years of treatment.
Modeling the spontaneous curvature effects in static cell membrane deformations by a phase field formulation

In this paper, we study the effects of the spontaneous curvature on the static deformation of a vesicle membrane under the elastic bending energy, with prescribed bulk volume and surface area. Generalizing the phase field models developed in our previous works, we deduce a new energy formula involving the spontaneous curvature effects. Several axis-symmetric configurations are obtained through numerical simulations. Some analysis on the effects of the spontaneous curvature on the vesicle membrane shapes are also provided.
COMT and ANKK 1-Taq-Ia Genetic Polymorphisms Influence Visual Working Memory

Complex cognitive tasks such as visual working memory (WM) involve networks of interacting brain regions. Several neurotransmitters, including an appropriate dopamine concentration, are important for WM performance. A number of gene polymorphisms are associated with individual differences in cognitive task performance. COMT, for example, encodes catechol-o-methyl transferase the enzyme primarily responsible for catabolizing dopamine in the prefrontal cortex. Striatal dopamine function, linked with cognitive tasks as well as habit learning, is influenced by the Taq-Ia polymorphism of the DRD2/ANKK1 gene complex; this gene influences the density of dopamine receptors in the striatum. Here, we investigated the effects of these polymorphisms on a WM task requiring the maintenance of 4 or 6 items over delay durations of 1 or 5 seconds. We explored main effects and interactions between the COMT and DRD2/ANKK1-Taq-Ia polymorphisms on WM performance. Participants were genotyped for COMT (ValMet) and DRD2/ANKK1-Taq-Ia (A1+, A12) polymorphisms. There was a significant main effect of both polymorphisms. Participants’ WM reaction times slowed with increased Val loading such that the Val/Val homozygotes made the slowest responses and the Met/Met homozygotes were the fastest. Similarly, WM reaction times were slower and more variable for the DRD2/ANKK1-Taq-Ia A1+ group than the A12 group. The main effect of COMT was only apparent in the DRD2/ANKK1-Taq-Ia A12 group. These findings link WM performance with slower dopaminergic metabolism in the prefrontal cortex as well as a greater density of dopamine receptors in the striatum. Citation: Berryhill ME, Wiener M, Stephens JA, Lohoff FW, Coslett HB (2013) COMT and ANKK1-Taq-Ia Genetic Polymorphisms Influence Visual Working Memory. PLoS ONE 8(1): e55862. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0055862 Editor: Huiping Zhang, Yale University, United States of America Received September 27, 2012; Accepted January 3, 2013; Published January 31, 2013 Copyright: 2013 Berryhill et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This work was supported by faculty start-up funds generously provided by the University of Nevada to MB and by COBRE 1P20GM103650-01 (PI M. Webster, project PI MB) and R15EY022775 to MB. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: mberryhill@unr.edu
Surgical treatment of simple syndactylism with secondary deep digital flexor tendon contracture in a Basset Hound

Summary A five-month-old, female Basset Hound was presented for lameness associated with a fused 3rd and 4th digital pad on the left hind limb (simple incomplete syndactyly), and secondary contracture of the deep digital flexure tendon of the 3rd and 4th digit. An onychectomy of the third phalanx of the third and fourth digits was performed. Following the operation, the dog gained good use of the affected limb for one month until intermittent non-weight bearing lameness developed. A second surgery was performed six months later, partially removing the second phalanx of digits three and four. Follow-up reports indicate that the dog is doing well and is without lameness. This is the first report of deep digital flexor tendon contracture and surgical treatment of this complication in canine simple syndactylism.
A key agreement scheme for avionics communications security

In order to share the resource and information in a military aircraft, all avionics systems are interconnected using avionics data bus. COMmunications SECurity (COMSEC) is an important issue in an aircraft network. Any intrusion or information leakage will lead to a risk to the military tasks. The key security problem is how to construct a secure link between two AAPs (Avionics Application Processes). Data encryption can protect the confidentiality of transmitted data. By requiring each AAP shares a common key with its partners, those AAPs can encrypt and decrypt the data transmitted among them. Key agreement is the basis of data encryption. An efficient key agreement scheme can save much time and computational resource for avionics networks. This is especially important to a resource constrained UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle). In this paper, we propose a key agreement scheme for avionics communications security. A secure avionics network consists of many processors, switches, NKMU (Network Key Management Units) and other hardware components connected by LAN. An NKMU is used to distribute key materials for AAPs in the network. In an aircraft, software may come from different suppliers. It is necessary to authenticate AAPs and distribute encryption keys to them. Each AAP registers at an Off-line Registration Authority (RA) to get a signature. Then, this AAP gets its partial private keys from the NKMUs by the signature. After the AAP receiving at least t partial private keys from the NKMUs, it computes its private key. Any two AAPs in the network can establish a shared secret key by using each other's identity and its own private key. With this shared secret key, they can communicate with each other securely at the subsequent data exchange. Finally, we give an analysis of the proposed key agreement scheme.
A clinical study on the efficacy of hydroxyapatite - Bioactive glass composite granules in the management of periodontal bony defects

Background: In periodontal regeneration, several alloplastic materials are being used with a goal to reconstruct new osseous tissue in the infrabony defect sites. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of hydroxyapatite–bioactive glass (HA:BG) composite granules in the management of periodontal bony defects. Materials and Methods: A randomized control study was conducted. Subjects with infrabony defects were divided into three groups. Test Group 1 (n = 10): Defect site was treated with HA:BG, with a biodegradable membrane. Test Group 2 (n = 10): Defect site was treated with HAP, with a biodegradable membrane. Control group (n = 10): Defect site was treated with open flap debridement with a biodegradable membrane Results: The healing of defects was uneventful and free of any biological complications. The gain in clinical attachment level, reduction of probing pocket depth, and defect fill were statistically significant in all three groups. TG1 sites showed significant defect fill than TG2 and CG sites. Conclusion: The performance of HA:BG was better compared to HAP and open flap debridement for the reconstruction of infrabony defects.
Lesions of rat infralimbic cortex enhance renewal of extinguished appetitive Pavlovian responding

It is well established that extinction is highly context dependent, and several behavioural phenomena associated with the expression of extinction (spontaneous recovery, reinstatement and renewal) have been described as resulting from this context dependency. It has previously been shown that lesions of the infralimbic (IL) region of the medial prefrontal cortex result in increased levels of spontaneous recovery and reinstatement of an extinguished appetitive Pavlovian conditioned response. The current study shows that lesions of the IL cortex also result in increased renewal of a conditioned response when tested in the acquisition context. Thirteen IL‐lesioned and 14 sham‐lesioned rats were trained on an appetitive Pavlovian task in one context (Context A) followed by extinction in a different context (Context B); animals were then tested for renewal of responding in both Context A and B. Both groups demonstrated similarly low levels of responding when tested in the extinction context (B), and greater responding (i.e. renewal) when tested in the acquisition context (A). Further, the level of response renewal was greater in IL‐lesioned animals. The results are discussed in relation to the possible role of the IL cortex in contextual control of extinction.
'Nephrostomy-free' percutaneous nephrolithotomy: experience in a UK district general hospital.

INTRODUCTION Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is the first-line treatment for large and complex renal calculi. Accepted UK practice is to insert a nephrostomy tube at the end of the procedure to drain the kidney and reduce potential complications. 'Tubeless' or 'nephrostomy-free' PCNL has been advocated in selected patients as it is thought to reduce length of hospital stay, analgesia requirements and pain experienced. We present our outcomes of a consecutive series (n = 101) of 'nephrostomy-free' PCNLs compared to standard PCNL over a 4-year period. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between January 2004 and October 2006, we performed 55 standard (with nephrostomy tube) PCNLs (Group 1). From October 2006 onwards, we changed our technique and have performed 46 consecutive 'nephrostomy-free' PCNLs (JJ stent inserted), independent of patient and stone factors (Group 2). We have compared the two groups in terms of length of hospital stay (LOS), analgesia requirements, transfusion rates, haemoglobin (Hb) decrease and immediate, early and late complications. RESULTS 'Nephrostomy-free' PCNL significantly reduced the length of hospital stay (2.8 vs 5.1 days; P < 0.001), morphine-based analgesia requirements (23% no morphine required vs 2.8%; P < 0.001), transfusion rate (2.5% vs 7%; P < 0.01) and mean Hb decrease (1.89 g/dl vs 2.25 g/dl; P > 0.05). Overall, no patient experienced a serious complication. All attempted 'nephrostomy-free' PCNLs were completed (stone clearance 95%) and no patient needed an unplanned nephrostomy. Only 5% in Group 2 needed their ureteric JJ stent removing earlier than planned secondary to pain. Both groups were comparable in terms of immediate, early and late complications, though three patients in Group 1 developed chronic loin pain and one patient in the 'nephrostomy-free' group developed a delayed perirenal haematoma. CONCLUSIONS 'Nephrostomy-free' percutaneous nephrolithotomy is a safe, effective and feasible procedure independent of patient and stone factors. It decreases the length of hospital stay, the pain experienced and the need for morphine-based analgesia; we feel it should be the standard of care for patients undergoing a PCNL.
Lifestyle Changes May Reverse Development of the Insulin Resistance Syndrome. The Oslo Diet and Exercise Study: a randomized trial

OBJECTIVE To compare and assess the single and joint effect of diet and exercise intervention for 1 year on insulin resistance and the development leading toward the insulin resistance syndrome. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS An unmasked, randomized 2 × 2 factorial intervention trial was applied with a duration of 1 year for each participant. The trial comprised 219 men and women with diastolic blood pressure of 86–99 mmHg, HDL cholesterol < 1.20 mmol/l, triglycerides > 1.4 mmol/l, total cholesterol of 5.20–7.74 mmol/l, and BMI > 24 kg/m2. Participants were randomly allocated to diet group (n = 35), diet and exercise group (n = 67), exercise group (n = 54), and control group (n = 43). The diet included increased intake of fish and reduced total fat intake. The exercise program entailed supervised endurance exercise three times a week. Baseline cross-sectional changes and 1-year changes in insulin resistance, fasting serum levels of insulin, C-peptide, proinsulin, glucose, and lipids as well as weight, mean blood pressure, and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) values were recorded. RESULTS The cross-sectional results at baseline showed significant correlations between the calculated insulin resistance and BMI (r = 0.54) and correlations between the mean blood pressure (mBP) (r = 0.26) and PAI-1 (r = 0.40). The 1-year diet intervention gave a significant decrease in the calculated insulin resistance from 4.6 to 4.2 and a positive correlation between the changes in insulin resistance and changes in BMI (r = 0.40). The diet and exercise intervention also led to significantly decreased insulin resistance (from 5.0 to 4.0). The exercise intervention did not significantly change insulin resistance. CONCLUSIONS The cross-sectional and 1-year intervention results supported each other and underscored the important connection between increased BMI and the development leading toward the insulin resistance syndrome.
Using chatbots against voice spam: Analyzing Lenny's effectiveness

A new countermeasure recently appeared to fight back against unwanted phone calls (such as, telemarketing, survey or scam calls), which consists in connecting back the telemarketer with a phone bot (“robocallee”) which mimics a real persona. Lenny is such a bot (a computer program) which plays a set of pre-recorded voice messages to interact with the spammers. Although not based on any sophisticated artificial intelligence, Lenny is surprisingly effective in keeping the conversation going for tens of minutes. Moreover, it is clearly recognized as a bot in only 5% of the calls recorded in our dataset. In this paper, we try to understand why Lenny is so successful in dealing with spam calls. To this end, we analyze the recorded conversations of Lenny with various types of spammers. Among 487 publicly available call recordings, we select 200 calls and transcribe them using a commercial service. With this dataset, we first explore the spam ecosystem captured by this chatbot, presenting several statistics on Lenny’s interaction with spammers. Then, we use conversation analysis to understand how Lenny is adjusted with the sequential context of such spam calls, keeping a natural flow of conversation. Finally, we discuss a range of research and design issues to gain a better understanding of chatbot conversations and to improve their efficiency.
The prevalence of depression and anxiety among medical students in comparison with non-medical students: a cross-sectional study in Taibah university, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia, 2016

Background: Depression and anxiety have been observed as a common issue among medical students. Medical students are often exposed to several stressors, thus making them more prone to depression than other students from different disciplines. This study aimed to measure and compare the prevalence of depression and anxiety among medical students and non-medical students, Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia. The participants, who were both males and females, were composed of 238 final-year medical and computer science students. A simple stratified sample was used for sampling, and ethical approval was issued by Taibah University IRB committee. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire written in Arabic. The questionnaire was categorized into three parts: demographic questions, Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), and Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). Results: For the sample distribution, 44% was Medical student, and 56% was Computer Science students. Findings showed that of these percentage, 33% of medical students suffered moderately from depression, and only 4% of them underwent severe depression. On the other hand, results indicated that among the computer science students, 53% and 7% of them had higher rate of moderate depression and severe depression respectively. Computer science students 23% are also more susceptible to high anxiety than are medical students 14%. The significance relation between depression and specialty (p= 0.001) was found, including the non-significance relation between anxiety and specialty (p= 0.077). Conclusion and Recommendation: Most medical students were not depressed, but they suffered moderately from anxiety. Moreover, both depression and anxiety were more prevalent among computer science students than among medical students. Key-words: Anxiety, Depression, Medical students, Non-medical students, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah. International Journal of Academic Scientific Research ISSN: 2272-6446 Volume 5, Issue 1 (February March 2017), PP 72-80 www.ijasrjournal. org 73 | Page
Radiation enhancing effects with the combination of sanazole and irinotecan in hypoxic HeLa human cervical cancer cell line.

PURPOSE This study was conducted to determine the synergistic radiation sensitizing effects of the combination of sanazole and irinotecan in hypoxic cervical cancer HeLa human tumor cell line. METHODS The 3-(4,5 dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to evaluate the number of surviving cells. Cell cycle was determined by flow cytometry. Surviving cell fractions were determined by the standard in vitro colony formation assay. RESULTS The MTT assay showed that the presence of irinotecan with or without sanazole reduced significantly the cells' viability. Flow cytometry demonstrated that the combination of sanazole and irinotecan led to more HeLa cells blocked in G(2) phase. Cell colony formation assay indicated that the radiosensitivity of hypoxic HeLa cells was enhanced by sanazole and/or irinotecan. CONCLUSION This study showed that the radiation enhancing effects produced by the combination sanazole and irinotecan was significant in hypoxic HeLa cells, which were arrested in the G(2) phase of the cell cycle. This study may provide a new combination modality of radiosensitizers in the radiotherapy of cervical cancer.
Primary retinal detachment: scleral buckle or pars plana vitrectomy?

Purpose of review There remains no consensus among vitreoretinal surgeons regarding the optimal management of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. In this article, fundamental principles are discussed and applied to recent clinical reports. Recent findings The consensus of the peer-reviewed literature appears to be that scleral buckling and primary pars plana vitrectomy may yield comparable single-operation success rates and visual acuity outcomes for a wide variety of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments. Summary No definitive prospective, randomized, multicenter trial compares scleral buckling with pars plana vitrectomy. The upcoming Scleral Buckling versus Primary Vitrectomy in Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment study may yield useful information in this regard. Even when this study is completed, the choice of surgical modality is complex and may be individualized for specific patients.