Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applied anatomy and clinical application design of digital artery perforator flaps of the middle phalange

Objective: To provide a more detailed anatomical and clinical application basis for digital artery perforator flaps of the middle phalange. Methods: 5 ten adult cadaveric (10 hand specimens) hand specimens from adult cadavers hand specimens were used chosen from December 2012 to March 2013. The dorsal branches of middle phalange digital artery and arterialy area of the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger were observed with microanatomically by under microscopically. Images were obtained taking pictures with a high-resolution camera, measurement and analysis of the with PhotoshopCS4 software, the branch point position, angle, length, number of small branches, and anastomoses were observed, and observed data was gotten. Results: The starting point mean outer diameter of dorsal branches of the middle phalange digital artery of index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger was ≥ 0.30 mm, and the end mean outer diameter was ≥ 0.20 mm. The starting point mean outer diameter of the little finger was ≥ 0.25 mm, and the end mean outer diameter was ≥ 0.10 mm. There were 2-5 small branches, with a 53.5 ± 10.5o mean arterial angle. Conclusion: Flap retrograde or antegrade anatomical structures of middle phalange digital artery’s dorsal branches were fixed, easy, and fast to operate. This method appears ideal to repair the digital dorsal defect of proximal interphalangeal joints, finger pulp defect of the middle phalange, and fingertip and pulp defect of the distal phalange.
Hydrodynamic interactions enhance the performance of Brownian ratchets

We investigate how hydrodynamic interactions between Brownian particles influence the performance of a fluctuating ratchet. For this purpose, we perform Brownian dynamics simulations of particles that move in a toroidal trap under the influence of a sawtooth potential which fluctuates between two states (on and off). Hydrodynamic interactions are included in the Rotne-Prager approximation. We first consider spatially constant transition rates between the two ratchet states and observe that hydrodynamic interactions significantly increase the mean velocity of the particles but only when they are allowed to change their ratchet states individually. If in addition the transition rate to the off state is localized at the minimum of the ratchet potential, particles form characteristic transient clusters that travel with remarkably high velocities. The clusters form since drifting particles have the ability to push but also pull neighboring particles due to hydrodynamic interactions.
ScienceDirect International Conference on Teaching and Learning English as an Additional Language , GlobELT 2016 , 14-17 April 2016 , Antalya , Turkey A Turkish Version of Foreign Language Anxiety Scale : Reliability and Validity

It is evident that some factors such as learners’ language proficiency levels, cultural elements, differences regarding teaching and learning contexts may affect the results obtained from the English version of Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (FLAS) (Horwitz, 1986). In addition, the number of factors in the scale administered in different languages does not show a consistency. What is more, the number of those studies on the translated and adopted versions of FLAS is too limited to draw conclusions in terms of English as a foreign language (EFL) context in Turkey. Thus, this study aims to develop a Turkish version of FLAS. Five independent Turkish translations were made and used to develop a single Turkish version. After identifying the discrepancies between English and Turkish versions, the Turkish version was altered accordingly and reached a satisfactory agreement. The FLAS scale in both English and Turkish was administered to 85 EFL learners at advanced level. Results showed that both versions obtained reliability regarding their internal consistency, while the Turkish version seemed to have a higher level of reliability coefficient than the English version. It was also concluded that both versions obtained construct validity. It was recommended that the Turkish version of FLAS is an appropriate instrument to measure the levels of foreign language anxiety among Turkish EFL learners. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of GlobELT 2016.
Spinal cord volume loss

Objective Cross-sectional studies have shown that spinal cord volume (SCV) loss is related to disease severity in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, long-term data are lacking. Our aim was to evaluate SCV loss as a biomarker of disease progression in comparison to other MRI measurements in a large cohort of patients with relapse-onset MS with 6-year follow-up. Methods The upper cervical SCV, the total brain volume, and the brain T2 lesion volume were measured annually in 231 patients with MS (180 relapsing-remitting [RRMS] and 51 secondary progressive [SPMS]) over 6 years on 3-dimensional, T1-weighted, magnetization-prepared rapid-acquisition gradient echo images. Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score and relapses were recorded at every follow-up. Results Patients with SPMS had lower baseline SCV (p < 0.01) but no accelerated SCV loss compared to those with RRMS. Clinical relapses were found to predict SCV loss over time (p < 0.05) in RRMS. Furthermore, SCV loss, but not total brain volume and T2 lesion volume, was a strong predictor of EDSS score worsening over time (p < 0.05). The mean annual rate of SCV loss was the strongest MRI predictor for the mean annual EDSS score change of both RRMS and SPMS separately, while correlating stronger in SPMS. Every 1% increase of the annual SCV loss rate was associated with an extra 28% risk increase of disease progression in the following year in both groups. Conclusion SCV loss over time relates to the number of clinical relapses in RRMS, but overall does not differ between RRMS and SPMS. SCV proved to be a strong predictor of physical disability and disease progression, indicating that SCV may be a suitable marker for monitoring disease activity and severity.
An applicator for high viscosity semiochemical products and intentional treatment gaps for mating disruption of Phyllocnistis citrella

The leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), is a global pest of citrus, and contributes to the incidence and severity of citrus bacterial canker, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri. SPLAT‐CLM™ (ISCA Technologies) is an emulsified wax product that provides sustained release of (Z,Z,E)‐7,11,13‐hexadecatrienal, the major component of the P. citrella sex pheromone. Here, we report success in development of a mechanized and automated applicator of SPLAT and other high viscosity products on a large scale in tree crops, and progress in optimization of coverage patterns to minimize the cost of disruption of P. citrella. The applicator (IFM‐5051; International Fly Masters) delivered 1 g dollops of SPLAT‐CLM into a citrus grove canopy within 2% of the targeted application rate. A field trial conducted in Florida (USA) demonstrated effective disruption (>90%) of male moth catch in traps baited with pheromone lures characterized by high potency following each of four applications of 250 or 500 g ha−1 of SPLAT‐CLM containing 0.15% (Z,Z,E)‐7,11,13‐hexadecatrienal. Catch of male moths in pheromone traps deployed as a transect across the border between treated and untreated plots was analyzed to describe the rate of loss of disruption as a function of distance from a treated area. The model was used to estimate a maximum gap of 65 m consisting of untreated rows bounded on both sides by treated rows that could be incorporated into coverage patterns without a significant loss of disruption. A second field trial was conducted to test the feasibility of leaving intentional coverage gaps. No difference in trap catch disruption was observed between plots uniformly treated with SPLAT‐CLM and plots where every fifth row (80% coverage) or every fifth and sixth rows (67% coverage) were left untreated. Incorporation of coverage gaps should be effective in reducing product use and overall cost of mating disruption for P. citrella in citrus and other species for which mating disruption occurs by a non‐competitive mechanism.
Physics-based scene-level reasoning for object pose estimation in clutter

This paper focuses on vision-based pose estimation for multiple rigid objects placed in clutter, especially in cases involving occlusions and objects resting on each other. Progress has been achieved recently in object recognition given advancements in deep learning. Nevertheless, such tools typically require a large amount of training data and significant manual effort to label objects. This limits their applicability in robotics, where solutions must scale to a large number of objects and variety of conditions. Moreover, the combinatorial nature of the scenes that could arise from the placement of multiple objects is difficult to capture in the training dataset. Thus, the learned models might not produce the desired level of precision required for tasks, such as robotic manipulation. This work proposes an autonomous process for pose estimation that spans from data generation to scene-level reasoning and self-learning. In particular, the proposed framework first generates a labeled dataset for training a convolutional neural network (CNN) for object detection in clutter. These detections are used to guide a scene-level optimization process, which considers the interactions between the different objects present in the clutter to output pose estimates of high precision. Furthermore, confident estimates are used to label online real images from multiple views and re-train the process in a self-learning pipeline. Experimental results indicate that this process is quickly able to identify in cluttered scenes physically consistent object poses that are more precise than those found by reasoning over individual instances of objects. Furthermore, the quality of pose estimates increases over time given the self-learning process.
Causality and preventability assessment of adverse drug reactions and adverse drug events of antibiotics among hospitalized patients: A multicenter, cross-sectional study in Lahore, Pakistan

Background and objectives Adverse drug events (ADEs) are the fifth leading cause of death and thus responsible for a large number of hospital admissions in all over the globe. This study was aimed to assess the antibiotics associated preventability of ADEs and causality of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) among hospitalized patients. Methods A prospective, cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in four tertiary care public sector hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. Study population consisted of hospitalized patients who were prescribed with one or more antibiotics. Data were collected between 1st January, 2017 and 31st June, 2017 from 1,249 patients (384 patients aged ≤ 18 years and 865 patients aged >18 years). Schumock and Thornton scale was used to assess the preventability of the ADEs. Medication errors (MEs) that caused preventable ADEs were assessed by MEs tracking form while Naranjo score was used to evaluate the causal relation of ADRs with the antibiotics. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) and Microsoft Excel (MS Office, 2010) were used for data analysis. Results 2,686 antibiotics were prescribed to 1,249 patients. Among them, fluoroquinolones (11.8%), macrolides (11.6%) and cephalosporins (10.9%) were the most frequently prescribed antibiotics. The most affected organ system by antibiotics associated ADEs was gastrointestinal tract. A total of 486 ADEs were found. The preventability assessment revealed that most of the ADEs (58.4%) were preventable (43.6% of the ADEs were definitely preventable while 14.8% were probably preventable) and caused by MEs including wrong drug (40.1%) and monitoring errors (25.0%), during the stage of physician ordering (22.2%) and patient monitoring (21.1%). The errors were caused due to non-adherence of policies (38.4%) and lack of information about antibiotics (32%). Most of the non-preventable ADEs or ADRs among adults and children were “probable” (35.5%) and “possible” (35.8%), respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed that ADEs were significantly less among females (OR = 0.047, 95%CI = 0.018–0.121, p-value = <0.001), patients aged 18–52 years (OR = 0.041, 95%CI = 0.013–0.130, p-value = <0.001), tuberculosis patients (OR = 0.304, 95%CI = 0.186–0.497, p-value = <0.001), patients with acute respiratory tract infections (OR = 0.004, 95%CI = 0.01−0.019, p-value = <0.001) and among the patients prescribed with 2 antibiotics per prescription (OR = 0.455, 95%CI = 0.319–0.650, p-value = <0.001). Conclusion According to preventability assessment most of the ADEs were definitely preventable and caused by MEs due to non-adherence of policies and lack of information about antibiotics. The causality assessment of non-preventable ADEs showed that most of the ADRs were probable and possible.
Potential of Wheat Straw, Spruce Sawdust, and Lignin as High Organic Carbon Soil Amendments to Improve Agricultural Nitrogen Retention Capacity: An Incubation Study

Plants like winter wheat are known for their insufficient N uptake between sowing and the following growing season. Especially after N-rich crops like oilseed rape or field bean, nitrogen retention of the available soil N can be poor, and the risk of contamination of the hydrosphere with nitrate (NO3-) and the atmosphere with nitrous oxide (N2O) is high. Therefore, novel strategies are needed to preserve these unused N resources for subsequent agricultural production. High organic carbon soil amendments (HCA) like wheat straw promote microbial N immobilization by stimulating microbes to take up N from soil. In order to test the suitability of different HCA for immobilization of excess N, we conducted a laboratory incubation experiment with soil columns, each containing 8 kg of sandy loam of an agricultural Ap horizon. We created a scenario with high soil mineral N content by adding 150 kg NH4+-N ha-1 to soil that received either wheat straw, spruce sawdust or lignin at a rate of 4.5 t C ha-1, or no HCA as control. Wheat straw turned out to be suitable for fast immobilization of excess N in the form of microbial biomass N (up to 42 kg N ha-1), followed by sawdust. However, under the experimental conditions this effect weakened over a few weeks, finally ranging between 8 and 15 kg N ha-1 immobilized in microbial biomass in the spruce sawdust and wheat straw treatment, respectively. Pure lignin did not stimulate microbial N immobilization. We also revealed that N immobilization by the remaining straw and sawdust HCA material in the soil had a greater importance for storage of excess N (on average 24 kg N ha-1) than microbial N immobilization over the 4 months. N fertilization and HCA influenced the abundance of ammonia oxidizing bacteria and archaea as the key players for nitrification, as well as the abundance of denitrifiers. Soil with spruce sawdust emitted more N2O compared to soil with wheat straw, which in relation released more CO2, resulting in a comparable overall global warming potential. However, this was counterbalanced by advantages like N immobilization and mitigation of potential NO3- losses.
Effectiveness of In-office Hydrogen Peroxide With Two Different Protocols: A Two-center Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare the bleaching efficacy and tooth sensitivity (TS) of a 38% hydrogen peroxide bleaching agent used for in-office bleaching, applied under different time protocols: a 40-minute application or two 20-minute applications. METHODS AND MATERIALS Forty-four patients from Brazil and Colombia, with right superior canines darker than C2, were selected for this multicenter, single-blind, randomized trial. The teeth were bleached in two sessions, with a one-week interval between them, in a split-mouth design. The bleaching agent was applied in two 20-minute (2×20) applications or one 40-minute (1×40) application in each session according to the manufacturer's instructions. The color changes were evaluated by using subjective (Vita Classical and Vita Bleachedguide) and objective (Easyshade Spectrophotometer) methods at baseline and 30 days after the second session. Tooth sensitivity was recorded up to 48 hours with a 0-10 visual analog scale. Also, the pH values during the application of bleaching were recorded. Color change in shade guide units and ΔE were analyzed by using the Student t-test (α=0.05). The absolute risk and intensity of TS were evaluated with the McNemar test, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and the Friedman test, respectively (α= 0.05). RESULTS Significant whitening was observed in both groups after 30 days of clinical evaluation. The use of a 40-minute application did not significantly influence the absolute risk of TS (68%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 53-80) as well as the intensity of TS compared with the acid bleaching gel (absolute risk of 82%, 95% CI = 68-91). The pH values did not differ significantly between groups and at the different assessment periods ( p=0.42). CONCLUSION The use of a 40-minute in-office bleaching agent gel application produced the same whitening degree and TS that the two 20-minute bleaching agent applications did. The former preferably should be applied because one 40-minute application does not require gel refreshing.
Perioptic Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics in Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

Purpose: To examine the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics along the entire optic nerve in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and papilledema by computed tomographic (CT) cisternography. Methods: Retrospective analysis of CT cisternographies in 16 patients with a history of IIH and papilledema (14 females and 2 males, mean age: 49 ± 16 years). Contrast loaded CSF (CLCSF) was measured in Hounsfield Units (HU) at three defined regions of interest (ROI) along the optic nerve (orbital optic nerve portion: bulbar and mid-orbital segment, intracranial optic nerve portion) and additionally in the basal cistern. The density measurements in ROI 1, ROI 2, and ROI 3 consist of measurements of the optic nerve complex: optic nerve sheath, CLCSF filled SAS and optic nerve tissue. As controls served a group of patients (mean age: 60 ± 19 years) without elevated intracranial pressure and without papilledema. Results: In IIH patients the mean CLCSF density in the bulbar segment measured 65 ± 53 HU on the right and 63 ± 35 HU on the left side, in the mid-orbital segment 68 ± 37 HU right and 60 ± 21 HU left. In the intracranial optic nerve portion 303 ± 137 HU right and 323 ± 169 HU left and in the basal cistern 623 ± 188 HU. Within the optic nerve the difference of CLCSF density showed a highly statistical difference (p < 0.001) between the intracranial optic nerve portion and the mid-orbital segment. CLCSF density was statistically significantly (p < 0.001) reduced in both intraorbital optic nerve segments in patients with IIH compared to controls. Conclusions: The current study demonstrates reduced CLCSF density within the orbital optic nerve segments in patients with IIH and papilledema compared to 12 controls without elevated intracranial pressure and without papilledema. Impaired CSF dynamics could be involved in the pathophysiology of optic nerve damage in PE in IIH.
[Diagnostic Value of IGF-I, β2-MG and SF for Patients with Multiple Myeloma and Their Relationship with Clinical Staging].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the diagnostic value of insulin like growth factor I(IGF-I), β2-microglobulin (β2MG) and serum ferritin (SF) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and their ralationship with clinical staging. METHODS Seventy-seven patients with MM treated in Depertment of Hematology of Shanghai 10th hospital and Oncology of Shanghai Armed Police Hospital from August 2016 to June 2017 were enrolled in MM group, at same period 77 healthy volunteers were enrolled in normal control group. The diagnostic value of IGF-I, β2-MG and SF for MM, and their levels in different stages of MM were compared. RESULTS The ROC analysis showed that β2-MG and SF alone as well as their combination had the diagnostic significance for MM, moreover the diagnostic value of IGF-I, β2-MG and SF combination was highest, but the single IGF-I did not possess diagnostic significance for MM. The comparison of IGF-I, β2-MG and SF levels in different stages of MM showed that the β2-MG and SF levels in I stage were higher than those in normal control group (P<0.05), but lower than those in II and III stages (P<0.05). The IGF-I level in I stage was not statistically and significantly different from IGF-I level in normal control group (P>0.05), but lower than those in II and III stage (P<0.05). The relationship analysis between IGF-I and β2-MG, SF in different stages showed that the IGF-I related with SF in I stage (r=0.417), but did not relate with β2-MG; the IGF-I in II stage related with β2-MG and SF in II stage (r=0.543, r=0.426); IGF-I related with β2-MG and SF in III stage (r=0.425 and r=0.672). CONCLUSION The diagnostic value of IGF-I, β2-MG and SF alone does not high for MM, but their combination can significantly enhance the occurate rate of MM diagnosis. The levels of IGF-I, β2-MG and SF in II and III stages of MM all increase, moreover the level of IGF-I correlates with the levels of β2-MG and SF.
The RNA Helicase DDX6 Associates with RIG-I to Augment Induction of Antiviral Signaling

Virus infections induce sensitive antiviral responses within the host cell. The RNA helicase retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) is a key sensor of influenza virus RNA that induces the expression of antiviral type I interferons. Recent evidence suggests a complex pattern of RIG-I regulation involving multiple interactions and cellular sites. In an approach employing affinity purification and quantitative mass spectrometry, we identified proteins with increased binding to RIG-I in response to influenza B virus infection. Among them was the RIG-I related RNA helicase DEAD box helicase 6 (DDX6), a known component of cytoplasmic mRNA-ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) granules like P-bodies and stress granules (SGs). RIG-I and DDX6 both localized to the cytosol and were detected in virus-induced SGs. Coimmunoprecipitation assays detected a basal level of complexes harboring RIG-I and DDX6 that increased after infection. Functionally, DDX6 augmented RIG-I mediated induction of interferon (IFN)-β expression. Notably, DDX6 was found to bind viral RNA capable to stimulate RIG-I. These findings imply a novel function for DDX6 as an RNA co-sensor and signaling enhancer for RIG-I.
Multimodal cell tracking from systemic administration to tumour growth by combining gold nanorods and reporter genes

Understanding the fate of exogenous cells after implantation is important for clinical applications. Preclinical studies allow imaging of cell location and survival. Labelling with nanoparticles enables high sensitivity detection, but cell division and cell death cause signal dilution and false positives. By contrast, genetic reporter signals are amplified by cell division. Here we characterise lentivirus-based bi-cistronic reporter gene vectors and silica-coated gold nanorods (GNRs) as synergistic tools for cell labelling and tracking. Co-expression of the bioluminescence reporter luciferase and the optoacoustic reporter near-infrared fluorescent protein iRFP720 enabled cell tracking over time in mice. Multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) showed immediate biodistribution of GNR-labelled cells after intracardiac injection and successive clearance of GNRs (day 1-15) with high resolution, while optoacoustic iRFP720 detection indicated tumour growth (day 10-40). This multimodal cell tracking approach could be applied widely for cancer and regenerative medicine research to monitor short- and long-term biodistribution, tumour formation and metastasis.