Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Prospective Study of Pterygium Excision and Conjunctival Autograft With Human Fibrin Tissue Adhesive: Effects on Vision, Refraction, and Corneal Topography

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate changes in visual acuity, corneal parameters, and topographic parameters after pterygium surgery. DesignA prospective observational study was conducted. MethodsTwenty eyes of 20 participants undergoing pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft secured using human fibrin tissue adhesive were included in the study. All the participants were assessed preoperatively and 1 and 3 months postoperatively. The parameters included subjective refraction, visual acuity, and pterygium size (pterygium horizontal corneal length [PHCL]) and corneal tomography by Pentacam rotating Scheimpflug tomographer (OCULUS Optikgeräte GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany). The astigmatic changes were calculated using vector analysis. ResultsThe mean age of participants was 49.3 ± 12.1 years. Mean PHCL was 2.68 ± 0.30 mm. The mean best corrected visual acuity preoperatively was 6/7.5, improving significantly to 6/6 at 1 month (P = 0.001) with this improvement remaining stable at 3 months postoperatively (P = 0.34). There was no significant change in subjective astigmatism, however, mean topographic astigmatism decreased significantly at 1 month (4.36 diopter, P < 0.01) and remained unchanged at 3 months (P < 0.01). Greater PHCL was associated with greater changes in corneal astigmatism. ConclusionsSignificant improvements and early stabilization of visual acuity and topographic astigmatism confirm the optical benefits of pterygium excision. These data also suggest a significant advantage of performing pterygium before rather than simultaneously with or after cataract surgery by enabling the most accurate biometry.
Nasobiliary drainage in an episode of intrahepatic cholestasis in a child with mild ABCB11 disease.

P rogressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) is an autosomal recessive disorder, defined by conjugated hyperbilirubinemia with normal serum g-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) values and severe pruritus that progresses to fibrosis in the first months of life (1). Mutations in ATP8B1 are associated with PFIC type 1 (PFIC1) and with instability of the bile-canaliculus membrane (2,3). Mutations in ABCB11 are associated with PFIC type 2 (PFIC2) and with defective expression of bile salt export pump (BSEP) at the bile-canaliculus membrane (4,5). Mutations in ATP8B1 or ABCB11 also may result in ‘‘benign’’ recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis (BRIC; BRIC1 and BRIC2, respectively) marked by recurrent episodes of cholestasis and severe pruritus, with normal GGT values, that last from weeks to months without progression to chronic liver disease (2,6). Both ATP8B1 and ABCB11 disease of intermediate phenotypic expression between PFIC and BRIC are described (7,8). Endoscopic nasobiliary drainage (NBD) can rapidly resolve episodes of BRIC1 in adults (9); its use in adults with BRIC2 or children with BRIC has not been reported. We present a previously healthy 5-year-old child, a compound heterozygote for ABCB11 mutations associated with PFIC2/BRIC2, whose first episode of severe jaundice and pruritus ended shortly after initiation of NBD. A previously healthy 5-year-old boy, an only child, was admitted to Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital with jaundice, acholic stools, and dark urine for 1 week. A month before admission, the patient developed severe pruritus, attributed to atopic dermatitis. There was no history of fever, diarrhea, or drug ingestion in the last month. There was no family history of consanguinity, autoimmune disease, chronic liver disease, or cystic fibrosis. Vaccinations against hepatitis A and B were complete. The patient was deeply icteric with severely excoriated extremities. His weight was 14.8 kg (less than 3rd percentile)
Packet separation in wireless ad-hoc networks by known modulus algorithms

We consider an asynchronous ad-hoc network with multiple users transmitting packets at the same time. The signal of interest is modulated by a known amplitude variation. This allows the corresponding multichannel receiver to estimate the beam former weights that will suppress the interfering sources. We introduce “known modulus algorithms” (KMAs) to achieve this, and illustrate the, throughput improvements that can be expected.
An altered hydrotropic response (ahr1) mutant of Arabidopsis recovers root hydrotropism with cytokinin

Roots are highly plastic and can acclimate to heterogeneous and stressful conditions. However, there is little knowledge of the effect of moisture gradients on the mechanisms controlling root growth orientation and branching, and how this mechanism may help plants to avoid drought responses. The aim of this study was to isolate mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana with altered hydrotropic responses. Here, altered hydrotropic response 1 (ahr1), a semi-dominant allele segregating as a single gene mutation, was characterized. ahr1 directed the growth of its primary root towards the source of higher water availability and developed an extensive root system over time. This phenotype was intensified in the presence of abscisic acid and was not observed if ahr1 seedlings were grown in a water stress medium without a water potential gradient. In normal growth conditions, primary root growth and root branching of ahr1 were indistinguishable from those of the wild type (wt). The altered hydrotropic growth of ahr1 roots was confirmed when the water-rich source was placed at an angle of 45° from the gravity vector. In this system, roots of ahr1 seedlings grew downward and did not display hydrotropism; however, in the presence of cytokinins, they exhibited hydrotropism like those of the wt, indicating that cytokinins play a critical role in root hydrotropism. The ahr1 mutant represents a valuable genetic resource for the study of the effects of cytokinins in the differential growth of hydrotropism and control of lateral root formation during the hydrotropic response.
Circulating Endothelial Cells in Kawasaki Disease

Recently, endothelial cells (EC) have been reported to be present in the circulating blood of several diseases with vascular injury, and the circulating EC (CEC) contain both the EC which become detached from the vascular wall and endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) which derive from the bone marrow. Kawasaki disease (KD) is widely known to be one type of systemic vasculitis in children. In the present study, we measured the number of CEC (mean±SE cells/ml) in 20 KD patients, who were treated with intravenous immune globulin (IVIG), using anti-EC mAb (clone P1H12)-coated magnetic beads. In 19 KD patients without coronary artery lesions (CAL), the number of CEC in the acute (pre-IVIG:15.7±1.8, post-IVIG:19.1±1.9) and subacute (14.5±1.6) phases was found to be significantly higher (P<0.05) than that in the convalescent phase (8.3+0.9) and healthy controls (HC:3.8±0.7). In one KD patient with CAL, the number of CEC was persistently high (36∼44/ml) from the acute through the convalescent phase. The identity of the isolated CEC was confirmed by immunostaining methods using different anti-EC mAbs (VE-cadherin and E-selectin). Furthermore, when the CEC were stained with anti-EPC mAb (clone AC133), EPC were detected in 11 of 20 KD patients. The ratio (%) of EPC/CEC was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the post-IVIG (4.3±1.3) and subacute (5.1±1.7) phases than in both the acute (1.1±0.7) and convalescent (1.3±0.9) phases, and also the HC (0.0±0.0). These findings indicate that the increased number of CEC may be a marker which reflects the process of EC injury in KD vasculitis. Although the major origin of CEC is thought to be the shedding of EC due to vascular injury in KD, the CEC also have a small proportion of EPC which may contribute to the vasculogenesis of KD.
Challenges and solutions for the modeling of linear and nonlinear dispersion effects with FDTD

Hardware acceleration equipment has pushed the limits for EM FDTD simulations. The capability to resolve structures in high detail has created a need for more accurate material models. The presented approach can treat any combination of the linear Drude, Debye and Lorentz models and the nonlinear Kerr- and Raman-effects. It is also possible to predict stability limits for any combination thereof. For validation, the algorithm has been implemented in both Matlab code and the full-featured EM FDTD simulation platform SEMCAD X [1]. It has been applied to generic benchmark problems and used to verify existing results.
A Lightweight Heuristic-based Mechanism for Collecting Committed Consistent Global States in Optimistic Simulation

In this paper we study how to reuse checkpoints taken in an uncorrelated manner during the forward execution phase in an optimistic simulation system in order to construct global consistent snapshots which are also committed (i.e. the logical time they refer to is lower than the current GVT value). This is done by introducing a heuristic-based mechanism relying on update operations applied to local committed checkpoints of the involved logical processes so to eliminate mutual dependencies among the final achieved state values. The mechanism is lightweight since it does not require any form of (distributed) coordination to determine which are the checkpoint update operations to be performed. At the same time it is likely to reduce the amount of checkpoint update operations required to realign the consistent global state exactly to the current GVT value, taken as the reference time for the snapshot. Our proposal can support, in a performance effective manner, termination detection schemes based on global predicates evaluated on a committed and consistent global snapshot, which represent an alternative as relevant as classical termination check only relying on the current GVT value. Another application concerns interactive simulation environments, where (aggregate) output information about committed and consistent snapshots needs to be frequently provided, hence requiring lightweight mechanisms for the construction of the snapshots.
MACROPHAGE-LYMPHOCYTE CLUSTERS IN THE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO SOLUBLE PROTEIN ANTIGEN IN VITRO

We have studied the physical interaction between macrophages and lymphocytes during the immune response to purified protein derivative of tuberculin (PPD) in vitro. Mixtures of peritoneal macrophages and lymph node lymphocytes from guinea pigs immunized with tubercle bacilli formed cell clusters during 20 h of culture with PPD. The number of clusters produced was correlated to the number of immune lymphocytes in the cultures. Peritoneal macrophages which had been pulsed with PPD and untreated lymph node lymphocytes produced cell clusters in the absence of free PPD in numbers equivalent to those produced by the same cells in the presence of free PPD. In cultures containing a mixture of PPD-pulsed macrophages, not-pulsed macrophages, and immune lymphocytes with no free PPD, cell clusters developed mainly between the antigen-pulsed macrophages and lymphocytes. Cluster formation was antigen-specific with the specificity residing in the lymphocytes, mainly or exclusively in the T lymphocytes. These data indicate that in the process of cell cluster formation macrophages serve as antigen-binding (or -processing) cells, while a subpopulation of lymphocytes interact physically and specifically with the macrophages.
Biomaterials in infection treatment

Bone infections are an orthopaedic challenge, especially now antibiotic resistance is on the rise. This dissertation aims to improve treatment options and outcomes. We examined bioactive glass, a new biomaterial with the potential of combating infections in a very specific way. This approach is different from standard antibiotic regimens. Bioactive glass does not only have antibacterial properties, but is also highly suitable to serve as a bone void filler. This material was introduced in Maastricht in 2011. Today, it is used frequently to deal with this problem. This dissertation describes the clinical use, biomechanical features, cost-effectiveness and implementation in low-wage countries, which is accompanied by a number of specific problems.
Bacteriological and Chemical Evaluation of Meat Meals in Some Egyptian Hotels

Total of 90 random samples of meat meals represented by beef steaks, beef kofta and beef filets (30 of each, 90 gm for each sample) were collected from two different Egyptian hotels at Cairo governorate named A and B (45 of each). The collected samples were examined bacteriologically and chemically to determine their hygienic and keeping quality by counting APC, total Enterobacteriacae count, total coliform count and total Staphylococcal count, Salmonella count, as well as measuring pH, TVN and TBA. The mean values of APC(cfu/g), total Enterobacteriaceae counts(cfu/g), total coliform counts (cfu/g) and total Staph. aureus count (cfu/g)of the examined samples of meat meals from hotel (A) were 2.17×105±0.27×105, 1.06×104± 0.43×104, 1.06×104± 0.43×104and 8.26×103±1.49×103,respectively for beef steak, 8.84×104±2.13×104, 8.84×104±2.13×104, 6.52×103± 1.18×103, 1.76×103± 0.37×103and 3.64×103±0.71×103,respectively for beef kofta and 5.02×104±0.71×104, 5.02×104±0.71×104 2.31×103± 0.69×103, 8.14×102± 2.46×102 and 1.51×103±0.23×103, respectively for beef fillet, while for hotel (B), they were 7.15×104±1.44×104, 4.46×103± 0.88×103, 1.27×103± 0.19×103 and 3.82×103 ± 0.90×103, respectively for beef steak, 2.67×104±0.63×104, 1.09×103± 0.31×103, 6.82×102± 1.04×102 and 1.75×103±0.31×103, respectively for beef kofta and 6.96×103±1.20×103, 5.94×102± 1.25×102, 2.35×102± 0.60×102 and 7.33×102±1.24×102, respectively for beef fillet. From the present study, we concluded that meat meals can be contaminated by several ways such as incorrect thawing, inadequate cleaning and sanitation for utensils or post cooking contamination resulting in higher contamination with microorganisms and lower keeping quality measures, which leading to severe public health hazards.
A 3-Axis Gyroscope for Electronic Stability Control With Continuous Self-Test

A three-axis automotive gyroscope ASIC for electronic stability control (ESC) with noise density that is less than 0.004°/s/√Hz in a 80 Hz bandwidth and an offset drift lower than ±0.1°/s over the automotive temperature range -40 to 140 °C, without any temperature compensation, is reported. A closed-loop, force-feedback architecture along with electromechanical quadrature cancellation enables the low noise and low offset-drift performance. The application of this work needs to meet the ASIL-D automotive safety standard which requires the highest level of automotive safety. Therefore, this work also presents a low-overhead approach for implementing accurate continuous safety monitoring to monitor defects, which can develop in the field, and can give rise to a false output. To achieve this, two test signals are injected into the quadrature cancellation loop to traverse the entire signal path. The system is clocked by a low-phase noise PLL, which allows the coexistence of the test signals and the measured signal in close proximity, without a noise penalty. The architecture of the drive loop is chosen to not only achieve low-phase noise but also robustness to parasitic mechanical modes of the sensor.
CROSS-REACTIVE NEUTRALIZING ANTIBODY AGAINST PANDEMIC 2009 H1N1 INFLUENZA A VIRUS IN INTRAVENOUS IMMUNOGLOBULIN PREPARATIONS

Prepandemic intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and sera from Kawasaki disease patients treated with this IVIG were analyzed for 2009 H1N1-specific microneutralization and hemagglutination inhibition antibodies. All 6 different IVIG preparations tested had significant levels of cross-reactive-specific antibody at a concentration of 2.0 g/dL of immunoglobulin. Sera from 18 of 19 Kawasaki disease patients had significant increases of cross-reactive-specific antibody after 2.0 g/kg of prepandemic IVIG. These results suggest a role for adjunctive IVIG therapy for severe and/or drug-resistant 2009 H1N1 virus and other highly antigenically drifted influenza strains, particularly in the immunocompromised.
A binary feedback scheme for congestion avoidance in computer networks with a connectionless network layer

We propose a scheme for congestion avoidance in networks using a connectionless protocol at the network layer. The scheme uses feedback from the network to the users of the network. The interesting challenge for the scheme is to use a minimal amount of feedback (one bit in each packet) from the network to adjust the amount of traffic allowed into the network. The servers in the network detect congestion and set a congestion indication bit on packets flowing in the forward direction. The congestion indication is communicated back to the users through the transport level acknowledgement. The scheme is distributed, adapts to the dynamic state of the networks, converges to the optimal operating point, is quite simple to implement, and has low overhead while operational. The scheme also addresses a very important aspect of fairness in the service provided to the various sources utilizing the network. The scheme attempts to maintain fairness in service provided to multiple sources. This paper presents the scheme and the analysis that went into the choice of the various decision mechanisms. We also address the performance of the scheme under transient changes in the network and for pathological conditions.
Therapist self-disclosure and the therapeutic alliance in the treatment of eating problems

ABSTRACT Evidence is mixed regarding the potential utility of therapist self-disclosure. The current study modelled relationships between perceived helpfulness of therapist self-disclosures, therapeutic alliance, patient non-disclosure, and shame in participants (n = 120; 95% women) with a history of eating problems. Serial multiple mediator analyses provided support for a putative model connecting the perceived helpfulness of therapist self-disclosures with current eating disorder symptom severity through therapeutic alliance, patient self-disclosure, and shame. The analyses presented provide support for the contention that therapist self-disclosure, if perceived as helpful, might strengthen the therapeutic alliance. A strong therapeutic alliance, in turn, has the potential to promote patient disclosure and reduce shame and eating problems.
Dose-dependent smooth muscle cell proliferation induced by thermal injury with pulsed infrared lasers

Pulsed infrared laser irradiation induced localized thermal lesions in arteries by transiently heating to ∼30°C above ambient and subsequent SMC proliferation in rabbits by 3–4 weeks. Neointimal proliferation exhibited a clear dose dependence both as laser fluence was increased (R=0.83) and for a fixed surface irradiation as the depth of the nearest arterial media was decreased (R=0.9S). Thermal injury to the arterial wall is shown to be potent stimulus for SMC proliferation, favoring reduction in energies used in laser or thermal angioplasty.
An approach to flexible QoS routing with active networks

Active networks (AN) have been investigated over several years, attempting to satisfy the increasing needs for highly customizable protocol mechanisms in an era where the Internet is threatened to become immutable due to its huge installed base. AN seem to be particularly useful in the context of QoS support. This paper investigates AN for on-demand QoS routing and proposes an approach called AQR. Simulation experiments are reported which show the (varying) benefits of AQR under various network conditions and traffic characteristics.
Psychology Research and Behavior Management Dovepress the Influence of Cognition on Self-management of Type 2 Diabetes in Older People

Diabetes is a growing public health issue, increasing in prevalence, eroding quality of life, and burdening health care systems. The complications of diabetes can be avoided or delayed by maintaining good glycemic control, which is achievable through self-management and, where necessary, medication. Older people with diabetes are at increased risk for cogni-tive impairment. This review aims to bring together current research that has investigated both cognition and diabetes self-management together. The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (Cinahl), Excerpta Medica Database (Embase), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (Medline), and Psychological Information (PsychInfo) databases were searched. Studies were included if they featured older people with type 2 diabetes and had looked for associations between at least one distinct measure of cognition and at least one distinct measure of diabetes self-management. English language publications from the year 2000 were included. Cognitive measures of executive function, memory, and low scores on tests of global cognitive functioning showed significant correlations with multiple areas of diabetes self-management, including diabetes-specific numeracy ability, diabetes knowledge, insulin adjustment skills, ability to learn to perform insulin injections, worse adherence to medications, decreased frequency of self-care activities, missed appointments, decreased frequency of diabetes monitoring, and increased inaccuracies in reporting blood glucose monitoring. The nature of the subjects studied was quite variable in terms of their disease duration, previous medical histories, associated medical comorbidities, and educational level attained prior to being diagnosed with diabetes. The majority of studies were of an associational nature and not findings confirmed by repeat testing or by the effects of an intervention, neither were the majority of studies designed to give a view or conclusion on the clinical value or implications of the research. This only allows speculation of their importance. Most studies do not separate out the influence of aging itself in altering diabetes self-care behavior. We conclude that older people with type 2 diabetes are at increased risk for cognitive dysfunction. Changes in cognition may negatively affect diabetes self-management behaviors, influencing self-care outcomes. Age and depression may exacerbate any cognitive impairment.
A Reevaluation of the Inverse Dynamic Model for Eye Movements

To construct an appropriate motor command from signals that provide a representation of desired action, the nervous system must take into account the dynamic characteristics of the motor plant to be controlled. In the oculomotor system, signals specifying desired eye velocity are thought to be transformed into motor commands by an inverse dynamic model of the eye plant that is shared for all types of eye movements and implemented by a weighted combination of eye velocity and position signals. Neurons in the prepositus hypoglossi and adjacent medial vestibular nuclei (PH-BT neurons) were traditionally thought to encode the “eye position” component of this inverse model. However, not only are PH-BT responses inconsistent with this theoretical role, but compensatory eye movement responses to translation do not show evidence for processing by a common inverse dynamic model. Prompted by these discrepancies between theoretical notions and experimental observations, we reevaluated these concepts using multiple-frequency rotational and translational head movements. Compatible with the notion of a common inverse model, we show that PH-BT responses are unique among all premotor cell types in bearing a consistent relationship to the motor output during eye movements driven by different sensory stimuli. However, because their responses are dynamically identical to those of motoneurons, PH-BT neurons do not simply represent an internal component of the inverse model, but rather its output. They encode and distribute an estimate of the motor command, a signal critical for accurate motor execution and learning.