Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A comparison study on the efficacy of SpinoMed® and soft lumbar orthosis for osteoporotic vertebral fracture

Background: Osteoporosis is one of the major health problems in aging population and may lead to osteoporotic vertebral fracture that causes severe back pain and reduced functional independency. Objectives: To compare the efficacy of SpinoMed® and soft lumbar orthosis at the subacute stage (the second and third weeks of disease onset) of the patients with osteoporotic vertebral fracture. Study design: Prospective randomized trial, pilot trial. Methods: A total of 51 female subjects aged 55 years or above with osteoporotic vertebral fracture were randomly distributed to the soft lumbar orthosis (control group, n = 24) and SpinoMed® (test group, n = 27) groups after the acute stage (the first week of disease onset). The pain level was assessed by obtaining verbally feedback in 10-point scale scoring, while functional mobility level was estimated with Functional Independence Measure-motor Scores, Elderly Mobility Scale, and Modified Functional Ambulation Category. The thoracic kyphosis angle was measured from standing X-ray on 10 out of 51 subjects. Results and Conclusion: Both groups showed significant reduction in the patients’ pain level and limitations of daily life (p < 0.05). The effect of the two types of spinal orthoses on the pain level reduction and functional mobility level gain did not show significant difference (p > 0.05) at the subacute stage. Clinical relevance In this study, SpinoMed® could not provide additional treatment benefits to patients with osteoporotic vertebral fracture regarding pain relief and functional independence improvement at the subacute stage. The effects of SpinoMed® in muscle-strengthening and thoracic kyphotic angle reduction for patients with osteoporotic vertebral fracture need to be further verified in a more intensive and longer-term training program.
On Detecting Transition Faults in the Presence of Clock Delay Faults

Shrinking timing margins for modern high speed digital circuits require a careful reconsideration of faults and fault models. In this paper, we discuss detection of transition faults in the presence of small clock delay faults. We first show that in the presence of a delay fault on a clock line some transition faults may fail to be detected. We propose a test generation method for detecting such faults (simultaneous presence of two faults) which consist of a gate transition fault and a clock delay fault assuming launch-on-capture test environment. The proposed test generation method employs a standard stuck-at ATPG tool. In our test generation methodology, the conditions for detecting a clock delay fault are converted into those for detecting a stuck-at fault, by adding some modeling logic during the ATPG process. Experimental results for benchmark circuits show the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Spectral efficiency of dynamic DAS with extreme down-tilt antenna configuration

The current outdoor deployments, dominated by macrocellular layer, inherently lacks the capabilities for supporting the anywhere and anytime services of Beyond 4G (B4G) networks. Hence, new deployment solutions are required that can cost-effectively address the capacity demand of the future and also offer consistently high bit rates and decent quality of service (QoS) throughout the network coverage area. This article looks into an advanced outdoor distributed antenna system (DAS) concept as a potential solution for fulfilling the requirements of 5G era. The investigated DAS solution can dynamically configure itself as a single super microcell or multiple independent small microcells, based on the outdoor traffic conditions. We evaluate the performance of dynamic DAS using two antenna configurations based on; (i) No-tilt (utilizing Omni-directional antenna) and (ii) Extreme tilt (utilizing wide beam directional antenna). Furthermore, the analysis covers the performance evaluation, mainly from an outdoor perspective while taking into account two key performance metrics: coverage and spectral efficiency. The obtained results indicate that the dynamic outdoor DAS concept can offer an efficient and capacity-adaptive solution to provide on-demand outdoor capacity in urban areas. Moreover, the extreme tilt configuration is shown to improve the cell and area spectral efficiency of dynamic DAS, in outdoor dense urban environment, by effectively controlling the inter-cell interference.
A New LFSR Reseeding Scheme via Internal Response Feedback

Reseeding techniques have been adopted in BIST to enhance fault detect ability and shorten test application time for integrated circuits. In order to achieve complete fault coverage, previous reseeding methods often need large storage space to store all required seeds. In this paper, we propose a new LFSR reseeding technique that employs the internal net responses of the circuit itself as the control signals to change the states of the LFSR. A novel test architecture containing a net selection logic module and an LFSR with some inversion logic is presented that can generate all required seeds on-chip in real time without any external or internal storage requirement. Experimental results on ISCAS benchmark circuits show that the presented technique can achieve 100% stuck-at fault coverage in a short test time by using only 0.23-2.36% of internal nets for reseeding control.
Late‐onset and Slow‐progressing Lafora Disease in Four Siblings with EPM2B Mutation

Summary: We report a family with four brothers affected by Lafora disease (LD). Mean age at onset was 19.5 years (range, 17–21). In all cases, the initial obvious symptoms were diffuse myoclonus and occasional generalized tonic–clonic seizures (GTCSs), followed by cognitive difficulties. Severity of myoclonus, seizure diaries, and neurologic and neuropsychological status were finally evaluated in March 2005. The duration of follow‐up was >10 years for three subjects. Daily living activities and social interaction were preserved in all cases and, overall, the progression of the disease was slow. Genetic study revealed the homozygous mutation D146N in the EPM2B gene. We suggest that this mutation may be associated with a less severe LD phenotype.
Functional Effects of Adult Human Olfactory Stem Cells on Early‐Onset Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Transplantation of exogenous stem cells has been proposed as a treatment to prevent or reverse sensorineural hearing loss. Here, we investigate the effects of transplantation of adult human olfactory mucosa‐derived stem cells on auditory function in A/J mice, a strain exhibiting early‐onset progressive sensorineural hearing loss. Recent evidence indicates that these stem cells exhibit multipotency in transplantation settings and may represent a subtype of mesenchymal stem cell. Olfactory stem cells were injected into the cochleae of A/J mice via a lateral wall cochleostomy during the time period in which hearing loss first becomes apparent. Changes in auditory function were assessed 1 month after transplantation and compared against animals that received sham injections. Hearing threshold levels in stem cell‐transplanted mice were found to be significantly lower than those of sham‐injected mice (p < .05) for both click and pure tone stimuli. Transplanted cells survived within the perilymphatic compartments but did not integrate into cochlear tissues. These results indicate that transplantation of adult human olfactory mucosa‐derived stem cells can help preserve auditory function during early‐onset progressive sensorineural hearing loss. STEM Cells 2011;29:670–677
Step-to-step transition work during level and inclined walking using passive and powered ankle–foot prostheses

Background: Individuals with leg amputations who use passive prostheses have greater metabolic demands than non-amputees likely due to limited net positive work compared to a biological ankle. New powered ankle–foot prostheses can perform net positive mechanical work to aid push-off capabilities, which may reduce metabolic demands. Objectives: Compare step-to-step transition work and metabolic demand during level and inclined walking using passive and powered ankle-foot prostheses. Study Design: Repeated measures. Methods: Six individuals with transtibial amputation and six able-bodied controls walked at a standardized speed across level ground and up a 5° incline. Calculated measures included mechanical work during step-to-step transitions from the trailing prosthetic to leading intact limb, steady state metabolic rate, and ankle joint kinetics and kinematics. Results: The powered prosthesis generated 63% greater trailing limb step-to-step transition work than the passive during level walking only (p = 0.004). Metabolic rate was lower with the powered prosthesis during level (p = 0.006) but not inclined walking (p = 0.281). The powered prosthesis increased ankle power compared to the passive, to the extent that power was normalized to controls during inclined walking and greater than controls during level walking. Conclusion: The powered prosthesis improved ankle power, metabolic rate, and step-to-step transition work on level ground, with few negative consequences on inclines. These results may be used to guide the development and use of actively powered prosthetic devices in high-functioning individuals. Clinical relevance Overall, powered devices offer biomechanical and metabolic benefits over passive energy storage and return designs on level ground and perform as well as a passive model on inclines. The lower metabolic demand when using the powered device may delay fatigue for individuals with transtibial amputation when walking over level ground.
Multi-segment kinematic model to assess three-dimensional movement of the spine and back during gait

Background: Relatively little is known about spine during gait compared to movement analysis of the lower extremities. The trunk is often regarded and analysed as a single rigid segment and there is a paucity of information on inter-segmental movement within the spine and its relationship to pelvis and lower limbs. Objectives: To develop and validate a new multi-segment kinematic model to assess regional three-dimensional movement of the lumbar, lower thoracic and upper thoracic spine during gait. Study design: Observational study. Methods: The study was conducted in two parts: (1) to provide validation measures on the kinematic model built in commercially available software and (2) to apply the marker configuration to the spine at T3, T8 and L3 during gait analysis on 10 healthy male volunteers. Results: Proposed model revealed excellent concurrent validation measures between an applied input angle to the recorded output angle from the kinematic model. A high reliability was observed during gait analysis, both during a single session and between sessions for all participants. Conclusion: The thoracic region of the spine should not be modelled as a single rigid segment and the proposed three-dimensional cluster is reliable and repeatable to assess the inter-segmental movement of the spine. Clinical relevance Reliable kinematic data can be collected using the three-dimensional cluster technique, thus, allowing researchers to accurately distinguish between movement patterns of healthy individuals to those with a clinical condition, and provide confidence in data acquisition during the monitoring process of an implemented rehabilitation intervention programme.
The natural history of stage 5 osteochondral talar lesions

Objective To describe the natural history of conservatively managed stage 5 osteochondral talar lesions. Background Osteochondral talar lesions (OUT) are a well recognized cause of chronic post traumatic ankle pain. In 1959 Berndt and Harty (1) described a 4 stage OLT classification scheme which has been universally adopted by the orthopedic and sports medicine communities. However, it has recently been recognized that the majority (77%) of chronic OLT exist as a radiolucent defect (subchondral cystic lesion) that does not fit into this classification scheme (2). This radiolucent defect has been classified as a stage 5 OLT(2) and is felt to represent avascular necrosis of lower stage lesions as a result of failed healing (2,3,4). The natural history of stage 5 OLT has not been described. Methodology Twenty-five subjects (26 ankles) with conservatively managed stage 5 OLT were reassessed at 2 or more years post diagnosis (mean 39 months). Five (6 ankles) of the 25 subjects opted for surgical management after a failed trial of conservative treatment. Their data was included only up to the point of the end of failed conservative management. Pain at rest, pain to walk, pain to run, and activity level were assessed at follow-up and retrospectively at the time of diagnosis using a 100 mm retrospective
Complex and compound odontomas are clinico‐pathological entities

Background and aims: The odontoma is the most common benign tumor of odontogenic origin, characterized by mixed histological features and diverse clinical presentation. The purpose of this study was to review clinicopathologic features of odontomas arising from oral and maxillofacial area in Korean patients. Methods: Sixty cases of odontoma were analyzed for their prevalence, clinical and pathological findings. Results: Clinical symptoms showed delayed eruption (n = 9) of either the deciduous or permanent tooth, intra- or extra-oral swelling (n = 27), pain (n = 6), but 18 cases had no subjective symptoms. Seventy percent of the odontomas were associated with unerupted teeth. The location of the tumor was maxilla in 55% and mandible in 45% of cases. There were 55% in the anterosuperier sector and 25% in the posteroinferior zone, while the rest in the upper molar region. Compound odontoma was more common (60%) than complex odontoma. Compound odontoma showed a mean age of 18.5 years, in the incisor/canine area of the maxilla, and smaller tumors (5–30 mm) with unilocular and multiple radio-opaque miniteeth surrounded by defined radiolucency. The complex odontoma showed a mean age of 30.1 years, in the first and second molar of the mandible, and larger tumors (10–60 mm) with unilocular undistinguished radio-opaque mass surrounded by radiolucent zone and a distinct radio-opaque border. Conclusions: The clinicopathologic pattern of odontomas can be divided into compound and complex odontomas, while the definitive diagnosis of odontomas was based on the pathological examination after surgical removal of the tumor.
Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Harbor Homoplasmic and Heteroplasmic Mitochondrial DNA Mutations While Maintaining Human Embryonic Stem Cell–like Metabolic Reprogramming

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been recently found to harbor genomic alterations. However, the integrity of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) within reprogrammed cells has yet to be investigated. mtDNA mutations occur at a high rate and contribute to the pathology of a number of human disorders. Furthermore, the lack of mtDNA integrity may alter cellular bioenergetics and limit efficient differentiation. We demonstrated previously that the derivation of iPSCs is associated with mitochondrial remodeling and a metabolic switch towards glycolysis. Here, we have discovered that alterations of mtDNA can occur upon the induction of pluripotency. Massively parallel pyrosequencing of mtDNA revealed that human iPSCs derived from young healthy donors harbored single base mtDNA mutations (substitutions, insertions, and deletions), both homoplasmic (in all mtDNA molecules) and heteroplasmic (in a fraction of mtDNAs), not present in the parental cells. mtDNA modifications were mostly common variants and not disease related. Moreover, iPSC lines bearing different mtDNA mutational loads maintained a consistent human embryonic stem cell–like reprogramming of energy metabolism. This involved the upregulation of glycolytic enzymes, increased glucose‐6‐phosphate levels, and the over‐expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 protein, which reroutes the bioenergetic flux toward glycolysis. Hence, mtDNA mutations within iPSCs may not necessarily impair the correct establishment of pluripotency and the associated metabolic reprogramming. Nonetheless, the occurrence of pathogenic mtDNA modifications might be an important aspect to monitor when characterizing iPSC lines. Finally, we speculate that this random rearrangement of mtDNA molecules might prove beneficial for the derivation of mutation‐free iPSCs from patients with mtDNA disorders. STEM CELLS 2011; 29:1338–1348
Shifting Westerlies

PERSPECTIVES What caused atmospheric westerly winds to shift after the last glacial period? T he westerlies are the prevailing winds in the middle latitudes of Earth's atmosphere, blowing from west to east between the high-pressure areas of the subtropics and the low-pressure areas over the poles. They have strengthened and shifted poleward over the past 50 years, possibly in response to warming from rising concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2) (1–4). Something similar appears to have happened 17,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age: Earth warmed, atmospheric CO 2 increased , and the Southern Hemisphere wester-lies seem to have shifted toward Antarctica (5, 6). Data reported by Anderson et al. on page 1443 of this issue (7) suggest that the shift 17,000 years ago occurred before the warming and that it caused the CO 2 increase. The CO 2 that appeared in the atmosphere 17,000 years ago came from the oceans rather than from anthropogenic emissions. It was vented from the deep ocean up to the atmosphere in the vicinity of Antarctica. The southern westerlies are important in this context because they can alter the oceanic circulation in a way that vents CO 2 from the ocean interior up to the atmosphere. The prevailing view has been that the westerlies shifted 17,000 years ago as part of a feedback: A small CO 2 increase or small warming initiated a shift of the westerlies toward Antarctica; the shifted westerlies then caused more CO 2 to be vented up to the atmosphere, which led to more warming, a greater poleward shift of the west-erlies, more CO 2 , and still more warming (5). But Anderson et al. show that the westerlies did not shift in response to an initial CO 2 increase; rather, they shifted early in the climate transition and were probably the main cause of the initial CO 2 increase. The strongest southern westerlies are found several hundred kilometers to the north of a broad oceanic channel that circles the globe around Antarctica. The stress from the wester-lies on the ocean drives the Antarctic Circum-polar Current (ACC) through the channel. This stress also draws mid-depth water from north of the ACC to the surface around Antarctica. Over the past 50 years, the westerlies have shifted southward so that they are better aligned with the ACC and draw more mid-depth water to the surface than they …
A smartphone photogrammetry method for digitizing prosthetic socket interiors

Background and Aim: Prosthetic CAD/CAM systems require accurate 3D limb models; however, difficulties arise when working from the person’s socket since current 3D scanners have difficulties scanning socket interiors. While dedicated scanners exist, they are expensive and the cost may be prohibitive for a limited number of scans per year. A low-cost and accessible photogrammetry method for socket interior digitization is proposed, using a smartphone camera and cloud-based photogrammetry services. Technique: 15 two-dimensional images of the socket’s interior are captured using a smartphone camera. A 3D model is generated using cloud-based software. Linear measurements were comparing between sockets and the related 3D models. Discussion: 3D reconstruction accuracy averaged 2.6 ± 2.0 mm and 0.086 ± 0.078 L, which was less accurate than models obtained by high quality 3D scanners. However, this method would provide a viable 3D digital socket reproduction that is accessible and low-cost, after processing in prosthetic CAD software. Clinical relevance The described method provides a low-cost and accessible means to digitize a socket interior for use in prosthetic CAD/CAM systems, employing a smartphone camera and cloud-based photogrammetry software.
Pains and Pleasures of Social Life

890 PERSPECTIVES The special nature of the single-electron wave functions required for topological insu-lators arises naturally in insulators that have small band gaps and strong spin-orbit coupling because they contain heavy atoms. Experimental evidence for the strange surface states was found shortly after their prediction (8) in transport measurements in a device containing a thin layer of HgTe forming a " quantum spin Hall insulator, " the two-dimensional version of the topological insulator (9). Shortly thereafter, it was realized that topolog-ical insulators could form in three dimensions (6), and the heavy semimetal bismuth, alloyed with antimony to turn it into a small-gap insu-lator, was identified as a candidate (5). Transport measurements on the surface of a crystal are very difficult, but angle-resolved photoemission can image the surface electron bands directly. Last year, Hsieh et al. (10) showed that there are an uneven number of surface bands crossing the Fermi energy. Spin-orbit coupling lies at the heart of the topological insulator, but how does this relate to the effects of relativity discussed in the context of a MnSi skyrmion lattice? Electrical fields are present at the Bi 1–x Sb x crystal surface , but these will not give rise to magnetism. However, under the influence of the topologi-cal bulk, the surface spins do not order in physical position space, but rather in the space formed by the wave vectors of the quantum waves describing the electrons moving on the surface. This two-dimensional wave vector space repeats periodically, and because the surface is metallic, it contains a periodic array of Fermi " surfaces " enclosing the regions with occupied states. When the bulk is a topological insulator, the remarkable coincidence is that the skyrmion lattice described by Mühlbauer et al. forms an acceptable cartoon of what this " magnetism in wave vector space " looks like. The skyrmions are now regions of occupied states, and their rims are the Fermi surfaces. The spins at the Fermi energy are precisely oriented as the whirls formed by the " golden " spins. However, the cartoon is not a literal description as electron energies move away from the Fermi energy. The whirl-like arrangement of the Fermi surface spins should actually persist both for the occupied and unoccupied states, with the spins slowly vanishing upon moving away from the Fermi surface. Using spin-resolved photoemission, Hsieh et al. observe precisely this " wave vector space magnetism, " …
Restoration of Runx1 Expression in the Tie2 Cell Compartment Rescues Definitive Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Extends Life of Runx1 Knockout Animals Until Birth

Mice deficient in the runt homology domain transcription factor Runx1/AML1 fail to generate functional clonogenic hematopoietic cells and die in utero by embryonic day 12.5. We previously generated Runx1 reversible knockout mice, in which the Runx1 locus can be restored by Cre‐mediated recombination. We show here that selective restoration of the Runx1 locus in the Tie2 cell compartment rescues clonogenic hematopoietic progenitors in early Runx1‐null embryos and rescues lymphoid and myeloid lineages during fetal development. Furthermore, fetal liver cells isolated from reactivated Runx1 embryos are capable of long‐term multilineage lymphomyeloid reconstitution of adult irradiated recipients, demonstrating the rescue of definitive hematopoietic stem cells. However, this rescue of the definitive hematopoietic hierarchy is not sufficient to rescue the viability of animals beyond birth, pointing to an essential role for Runx1 in other vital developmental processes. STEM CELLS 2009;27:1616–1624