Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chondral Defect Repair with Particulated Juvenile Cartilage Allograft

Objectives: To evaluate the functional outcomes and morphologic appearance of repair tissue in patients with symptomatic knee articular cartilage defects treated with minced juvenile articular cartilage (DeNovo NT). Methods: Thirty-four patients underwent treatment of cartilage defects of the knee with minced juvenile articular cartilage allograft. Mean postoperative follow up was 33.6 months. MRIs were obtained at 24-months (16 patients) and 48-months or greater (13 patients). MRIs were evaluated for greyscale cartilage repair assessment score and quantitative T2 mapping. Baseline clinical outcome scores (IKDC, ADL, Marx Activity Rating Scale) were obtained prior to surgery, and at a minimum follow up interval of 24-months. Results: The mean IKDC and ADL scores significantly improved following surgery. The magnitude of improvement in IKDC scores was 30 (Std Dev 31). The Marx activity Rating Scale score demonstrated a resumption of pre-operative activity levels, Figure 1a. Donor age had no significant effect on functional outcomes scores of treated patients. MRI assessment revealed greater than 66% lesion fill (a score of 2) in 80% of patients. A trend toward significance in difference in % lesion fill was observed when patients were grouped according to donor age ≤ 5 vs. > 5 years (p = 0.09), Figure 1b. Lesion fill did not correlate with functional outcome score. Using one-way analysis of variance with post-hoc testing, a significant difference was found between T2 mapping of the deep zones of the graft and normal cartilage (p=0.003), Table 1. 1. a. Graphical presentation of pre-operative and post-operative Marx Activity Scores (MAS), International Knee Documentation Committee Score (IKDC) and Knee Outcomes Survey Activities of Daily Living Score (ADL). b. Donore age-based analysis of percentage lesion fill by volume. % fill was scored on a scale of 0 – 3, where 0 = less than 33% fill, 1 = 33 – 66% fill and 2 = > 66% fill. T2 Mapping at 18+ Months N Mean SD P-Value P-Value Graft - Deep 11 39.2 6.9 0.001 0.003* Graft - Superficial 11 43.9 9.9 Integration Zone - Deep 11 35.3 5.8 0.01 Integration Zone - Superficial 11 38.7 6.3 Normal - Deep 11 30.2 3.8 <0.0001 Normal - Superficial 11 38.1 6.1 Conclusion: Functional outcome scores significantly improved in patients treated with minced juvenile articular cartilage (De Novo NT) for the treatment of symptomatic articular cartilage lesions of the knee. Activity levels, as noted by the Marx Activity Scale were preserved. Morphologic analysis demonstrated greater than 66% lesion fill in 80% of the patients studied. T2 mapping demonstrated the sensitivity to assess differences between repair tissue and native cartilage.
Validity of a Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire for patients with symptoms of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (WPAI-GERD)--results from a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES To validate a Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire (WPAI-GERD) developed to measure lost productivity due to symptoms of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). METHODS AND DATA The WPAI-GERD was administered along with two quality-of-life questionnaires, Quality of Life in Reflux and Dyspepsia (QOLRAD) and Short Form 36 (SF-36), to a Swedish working population (N = 136) visiting a general practitioner for symptoms attributed to GERD. Correlation coefficients were calculated between each productivity variable derived from the WPAI-GERD and symptom severity, symptom frequency, quality of life dimensions, age, and gender. Statistical tests were carried out to determine the relationship between each productivity variable and the severity of heartburn. RESULTS High correlations (range: 0.30-0.75) were found between productivity and symptom severity as well as between productivity and quality-of-life dimensions related to work and daily activities. The results demonstrated the ability of the questionnaire to discriminate between different grades of heartburn severity. On average, patients with heartburn reported 2.5 hours absence from work, 23% reduced productivity while at work, and 30% reduced productivity while doing regular daily activities during the week preceding the consultation. The SF-36 scores implied that patients, especially those with moderate-to-severe heartburn, had a poor quality of life compared with a normal population. CONCLUSION The results indicate a high convergent and discriminant validity of the WPAI-GERD questionnaire and also show that patients consulting a physician because of symptoms attributed to GERD report substantial impairment in both productivity and health-related quality of life.
Assembly, sorting, and exit of oligomeric proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) uses various mechanisms to ensure that only properly folded proteins enter the secretory pathway. For proteins that oligomerize in the ER, the proper tertiary and quaternary structures must be achieved before their release. Although some proteins fold before oligomerization, others initiate oligomerization cotranslationally. Here, we discuss these different strategies and some of the unique problems they present for the ER quality control system. One mechanism used by the ER is thiol retention. Thiol retention operates by monitoring the redox state of specific cysteine residue(s) and was discovered in studies on the assembly of IgM, a complex oligomeric glycoprotein. This system is also involved in retaining other unassembled proteins in the ER. Mutations that result in uneven numbers of cysteine residues can subject yet other proteins to thiol retention, altering their oligomerization status and function. The implications of these results on the effects of thiol retention on protein function and cell fate are discussed. BioEssays 20:546–554, 1998. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Mapping and Isolation of the Pulmonary Veins Using the PVAC Catheter

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of the pulmonary vein ablation catheter (PVAC) catheter (a novel multielectrode catheter using duty‐cycled bipolar and unipolar radiofrequency energy, Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) to completely isolate the pulmonary veins (PVs).
Clinical and neurophysiological features of the hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy due to the 17p11.2 deletion

ABSTRACT The hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) is an autossomal dominant disorder manifesting recurrent mononeuropathies. Objective Evaluate its clinical and nerve conduction studies (NCS) characteristics, searching for diagnostic particularities. Method We reviewed the neurological manifestations of 39 and the NCS of 33 patients. Results Family history was absent in 16/39 (41%). The onset complaints were weakness in 24, pain in 6, sensory deficit in 5 and paresthesias in 4. Pain was seen in 3 other patients. The following neuropathy patterns were found: multiple mononeuropathy (26), mononeuropathy (7), chronic sensorimotor polyneuropathy (4), chronic sensory polyneuropathy (1) and unilateral brachial plexopathy (1). NCS showed a sensorimotor neuropathy with focal conduction slowing in 31, two had mononeuropathy and another brachial plexopathy. Conclusion HNPP presentation is variable and may include pain. The most frequent pattern is of an asymmetrical sensory and motor neuropathy with focal slowing at specific topographies on NCS.
Three-Dimensional Morphology of the Palate in Patients with Bilateral Complete Cleft Lip and Palate at the Stage of Permanent Dentition

Objective: Three-dimensional analysis of palate size and shape in 30 patients with complete bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLPc) at the stage of permanent dentition. Design: Cross-sectional study based on laser scanning. Subjects: Thirty dental casts of boys approximately 15 years old with BCLPc and 28 dental casts of healthy boys of the same age. Interventions: Arched-lip suture with periosteoplasty and push-back of the palate with pharyngeal-flap surgery. Main Outcome Measures: Data on palate height in the 210 defined locations and on palate widths and profile area in 10 transverse sections. Results: The palate in patients with BCLPc was conical and narrower than in control study subjects, much more anteriorly than posteriorly. From the canines posteriorly, the palate was of almost constant height of 10 mm in the midline, being higher than in control study subjects at this location and lower more posteriorly (by 24% to 29% between molars). The area of transverse sections was reduced as compared with control study subjects from the first premolars posteriorly and reached more than 40% between molars. The length of the palate up to the first molars was not changed. Conclusion: BCLPc subjects exhibited narrow, low, and flat palate. Palate size and shape differences indicate a substantial reduction of the space for the tongue.
Antiquity and Function: Humboldt Basal-notched Bifaces in the Southwestern Great Basin

A review of previous data sets and recent research indicates that Humboldt Basal-notched biface forms are characterized by distinctive temporal spans within the prehistoric record of the southwestern Great Basin. Contrary to previous conclusions, we believe that the biface forms had two distinct periods of use, an early (4000 to 500 B.C.) and a late (500 B.C. to A.D. 800) manifestation. Humboldt Basal-notched bifaces from these two periods can be differentiated typologically and perhaps functionally.
Is lateral localisation of placenta a risk factor for adverse perinatal outcomes?

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between placental localisation and perinatal outcomes. This study was performed in a tertiary centre hospital by retrospectively analysing the medical records of patients who were followed up and underwent delivery in the same hospital. The patients were divided into two groups according to the placental locations (central and lateral) in their routine sonographic findings between the 18 and 24 weeks’ gestation. Out of 1,057 patients, 87.4% (n = 919) had centrally located placentas and 12.6% (n = 133) had laterally located placentas. Preeclampsia was found to be significantly higher in the lateral placental location group (4.5% vs. 1.6%; p = 0.027). There was a significant correlation with foetal growth restriction (FGR), preterm birth rates, low Apgar scores and need for neonatal intensive care unit in the lateral placental location group (p < 0.05). The pregnant women with laterally located placentas should be followed up promptly with special care for the risk of preeclampsia and FGR, and poor neonatal outcomes.
Dietary restriction reduces luteinizing hormone (LH) pulse frequency during waking hours and increases LH pulse amplitude during sleep in young menstruating women.

To determine the effect of dietary energy restriction on gonadotropins, we assayed LH and FSH in samples drawn at 10- and 60-min intervals, respectively, over 24 h from seven young women (mean +/- SE gynecological age, 7.7 +/- 1.2 yr) on day 9, 10, or 11 of two menstrual cycles. Cortisol was measured in samples collected at 30-min intervals. During the 4 previous days and the day of sampling, dietary energy intake was set at either 45 or 10 Cal/kg lean body mass.day in random order. Beginning 2 days before treatment, blood was sampled daily at 0800 h and assayed for T3, insulin-like growth factor-I, and insulin. Estradiol was measured in samples collected daily and at 6-h intervals on the day of frequent sampling. By the day of frequent sampling, dietary restriction had reduced T3 20% (P < 0.01), insulin-like growth factor-I 58% (P < 0.001), and insulin 54% (P < 0.001). Twenty-four-hour transverse means for LH (P = 0.3), FSH (P = 0.2), estradiol (P = 0.3), and cortisol (P = 0.13) were unaffected, but LH pulse frequency was reduced 23% (P < 0.01), especially during waking hours, whereas LH pulse amplitude was increased 40% (P = 0.05), especially during sleep. These results support the hypothesis that LH pulsatility depends upon energy availability in women, as it does in other mammalian species.
Staging of Mental Disorders: Systematic Review

Background: The staging method, whereby a disorder is characterized according to its seriousness, extension, development and features, is attracting increasing attention in clinical psychology and psychiatry. The aim of this systematic review was to critically summarize the tools that are available for reproducing and standardizing the clinical intuitions that are involved in a staging formulation. Methods: A comprehensive research was conducted on the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE and Cochrane databases from inception to May 2012. The following search terms were used: ‘stage/staging’ AND ‘psychiatric disorder/mental disorder/schizophrenia/mood disorder/anxiety disorder/substance use disorder/eating disorder’. Results: A total of 78 studies were identified for inclusion in the review. We discussed studies addressing or related to the issue of staging in a number of mental disorders (schizophrenia, unipolar depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, substance use disorders, anorexia and bulimia nervosa). The literature indicates that disorders have a longitudinal development or a treatment history that can be categorized according to stages. We proposed staging formulations for the above-mentioned psychiatric disorders. Conclusion: Staging models offer innovative assessment tools for clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. Characterizing each stage of an illness demarcates major prognostic and therapeutic differences among patients who otherwise seem to be deceptively similar since they share the same psychiatric diagnosis. A stage 0 to denote an at-risk condition does not appear to be warranted at the current state of research.
Wallace: An efficient generic evolutionary framework

We present a novel evolutionary computing framework, Wallace, that achieves ease-of-use and genericity, via a domainspecific language, and simultaneously achieves efficiency via meta-programming, as well as supporting parallelism. Wallace also includes a novel multiple representation model of individual development, realised using meta-programming. We describe the Wallace framework, illustrating it with a number of example problems from the literature. We compare the performance of this framework to existing EC frameworks; early results show improvements in both conciseness and speed over popular alternatives. Finally, we discuss the future of EC frameworks, and the ongoing developments to the Wallace framework.
Two tales of time: uncovering the significance of sequential patterns among contribution types in knowledge-building discourse

ABSTRACT As collaborative learning is actualized through evolving dialogues, temporality inevitably matters for the analysis of collaborative learning. This study attempts to uncover sequential patterns that distinguish “productive” threads of knowledge-building discourse. A database of Grade 1–6 knowledge-building discourse was first coded for the posts’ contribution types and discussion threads’ productivity. Two distinctive temporal analysis techniques – Lag-sequential Analysis (LsA) and Frequent Sequence Mining (FSM) – were subsequently applied to detecting sequential patterns among contribution types that distinguish productive threads. The findings of LsA indicated that threads that were characterized by mere opinion-giving did not achieve much progress, while threads having more transitions among questioning, obtaining information, working with information, and theorizing were more productive. FSM further uncovered from productive threads distinguishing frequent sequences involving sustained theorizing, integrated use of evidence, and problematization of proposed theories. Based on the significance of studying temporality in collaborative learning revealed in the study, we advocate for more analytics tapping into temporality of learning.
Survivorship After Meniscal Allograft Transplantation According to Articular Cartilage Status

Background: Clinical outcomes after meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) in arthritic knees are unclear, and objective estimates of graft survival according to the articular cartilage status have not been performed. Hypothesis: MAT should provide clinical benefits in knees with high-grade cartilage damage, but their graft survivorship should be inferior to that in knees with low-grade chondral degeneration after MAT. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: The records of 222 consecutive patients who underwent primary MAT were reviewed to compare clinical outcomes and graft survivorship. The patients were grouped according to the degree and location of articular cartilage degeneration: low-grade chondral lesions (International Cartilage Repair Society [ICRS] grade ≤2) on both the femoral and tibial sides (ideal indication), high-grade lesions (ICRS grade 3 or 4) on either the femoral or tibial side (relative indication), and high-grade lesions on both sides (salvage indication). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis with the log-rank test was performed to compare the clinical survival rates and graft survival rates between the groups. A Lysholm score of <65 was considered a clinical failure, and graft failure was defined as a meniscal tear or meniscectomy of greater than one-third of the allograft, objectively evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and second-look arthroscopic surgery. Results: The mean (±SD) Lysholm score significantly improved from 63.1 ± 15.1 preoperatively to 85.1 ± 14.3 at the latest follow-up of a mean 44.6 ± 19.7 months (P < .001). However, the postoperative scores were not significantly different between the 3 groups (85.7 ± 14.2 for ideal indication, 84.7 ± 17.0 for relative indication, and 84.7 ± 14.2 for salvage indication; P = .877). On MRI at the latest follow-up of a mean 23.0 ± 19.9 months and second-look arthroscopic surgery of a mean 19.3 ± 20.7 months, there were 25 (11.3%) failed MAT procedures (4 medial, 21 lateral); of these, 5 lateral MAT procedures (2.3%) went on to allograft removal. Clinical survival rates were not significantly different between the groups (P = .256). However, on objective evaluation, the estimated cumulative graft survival rate at 5 years in the salvage indication group (62.2% [95% CI, 41.6-82.8]) was significantly lower than that in the other 2 groups (ideal indication: 93.8% [95% CI, 88.5-99.1]; relative indication: 90.9% [95% CI, 81.1-100.0]) (P = .006). Conclusion: Our findings showed that MAT was an effective symptomatic treatment in knees with advanced bipolar chondral lesions. However, better graft survival can be expected when articular cartilage is intact or if chondral damage is limited to a unipolar lesion. MAT should be considered before the progression of chondral damage to a bipolar lesion for better graft survivorship and should be performed cautiously in arthritic knees.
Risks of iron deficiency among vegetarian college women

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional deficiency disease worldwide and poses a major threat in women of child-bearing age and those who follow a vegetarian diet. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether differences exist in iron status markers between female university students following a vegetarian and non-vegetarian diet. This study took a cross sectional analysis of 39 female students at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly State University) in San Luis Obispo, CA between the ages of 18 and 22. Of the participants, 19 followed a vegetarian diet and 20 followed a nonvegetarian diet. Characteristic, demographic, and anthropometric data were collected and analyzed. The results showed no significant difference in iron intake between the two groups. However, nearly 66% of vegetarians and 65% of non-vegetarians failed to meet the Recommended Daily Allowance for iron. No significant difference was found for serum iron, serum ferritin, transfer-rin saturation, and total iron binding capacity between subjects. Serum ferritin tended to be lower for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians. Both vegetarians and non-vegetarians were in stage IV negative iron balance, with more vegetarians tending to be in stage IV negative iron balance than non-vegetarians. Thus, female college students, irrespective of their meat intake, may be at higher risk of developing negative iron balance and should be educated about iron deficiency anemia and the prevention of iron depletion.
Are There Sex Differences in the Genetic and Environmental Effects on Mental Rotation Ability?

Probably the most robust sex difference in cognitive abilities is that on average males outperform females in tests of mental rotation. Using twin data we tested whether there are sex differences in the magnitude of genetic and environmental effects on mental rotation test performance and whether the same or different genetic effects operate in females and males. The present study replicated the well-known male advantage in mental rotation ability. The relative proportion of variance explained by genetic effects did not differ between females and males, but interestingly, absolute additive genetic and unique environmental variances were greater in males reflecting significantly greater phenotypic variance in mental rotation test performance in males. Over half of the variance in mental rotation test performance was explained by genetic effects, which suggest that mental rotation ability is a good phenotype for studies finding genes underlying spatial abilities. Results indicate that females and males could be combined for such genetic studies, because the same genetic effects affected mental rotation test performance in females and males.
Authoritarian Parenting and Asian Adolescent School Performance: Insights from the US and Taiwan

Our study re-examines the relationship between parenting and school performance among Asian students. We use two sources of data: wave I of the Adolescent Health Longitudinal Survey (Add Health), and waves I and II of the Taiwan Educational Panel Survey (TEPS). Analysis using Add Health reveals that the Asian-American/European-American difference in the parenting—school performance relationship is due largely to differential sample sizes. When we select a random sample of European-American students comparable to the sample size of Asian-American students, authoritarian parenting also shows no effect for European-American students. Furthermore, analysis of TEPS shows that authoritarian parenting is negatively associated with children’s school achievement, while authoritative parenting is positively associated. This result for Taiwanese Chinese students is similar to previous results for European-American students in the US.
Evolution of Street Networks in Adriatic and Ionian Coastal Cities 1769-2007

Coastal cities in the Adriatic and Ionian region are studied according to three evolution stages spanning from the end of eighteenth century to the present. The urban growth during this period has occurred according to successive additions without significant modifications of inner city areas. Street networks are represented with linear maps and are analyzed according to measures of connectivity and integration. The study shows that cities tend to become consistently less connected and more biased; and they tend to become consistently less integrated as they evolve over the years. The evolution trends are attributed to various configurations of street patterns of urban additions and to generic aspects of growth. The study suggests projections for the evolution of street networks in the future.