Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of RENAL, PADUA, and C-index scoring systems in predicting perioperative outcomes after nephron sparing surgery

Introduction and Objective: The RENAL, PADUA and centrality index (C-index) nephrometry scoring systems (SS) have been individually evaluated for their role in predicting trifecta outcomes after nephron-sparing surgery (NSS). However, there is little data on their comparative superiority. The present study was designed to evaluate the predictive value of three SS and to assess interobserver reliability. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients undergoing NSS at our center between January 2014 and April 2016 were included in the study. The demographic details were noted. Images (computed tomography [CT] scans or magnetic resonance imaging) were reviewed by a urologist and a radiologist independently and RENAL, PADUA, and C-index were calculated. The correlation between these scoring system and trifecta outcomes were calculated. Results: The RENAL and PADUA score did not correlate with any of the perioperative parameters. However, C-index had a significant correlation with operative time (OT) (P = 0.02) and trifecta outcomes (P < 0.05). There was an excellent concordance between the two observers in scoring the RENAL score (α = 0.915; intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.814) and PADUA score (α = 0.816; ICC = 0.689 [P < 0.001]). There was lesser although acceptable concordance in the calculation of C-index (ICC −0.552; α −0.711). Conclusions: There is good correlation among all the 3 SS. C-index has lower reproducibility due to difficult mathematical calculation but correlated best with trifecta outcomes.
Prediction of Wrist Angle from Sonomyography Signals with Artificial Neural Networks Technique

Surface electromyography (SEMG) is widely used for the functional assessment of skeletal muscles, while sonography has been commonly used to detect its morphological information. We defined the signal about the continuous change of the morphological parameters of muscles detected by ultrasound as sonomyography (SMG). In this study, we continuously sampled the ultrasound image, SEMG signals on the extensor carpi radialis muscle together with the wrist angle simultaneously during the whole process of wrist extension and flexion from 7 normal subjects. A three-layer feed-forward artificial neural network with BP learning algorithm was used to predict the wrist angle with the muscle deformation SMG and root mean square of SEMG signals as inputs. The overall mean R value was 0.96plusmn0. 02, the mean standard root mean square error was 7.26plusmn1. 98, and the mean relative root mean square errors was 0.160plusmn0. 037. The results demonstrated that the wrist angle could be well predicted by combining the SMG and SEMG signals with ANN. Our result suggested that the combination of the information of SMG and SEMG could provide more comprehensive assessment of the skeletal muscle
Sharing Contracts' Marginalisation, Adverse Selection and Markup Calculation

This paper proposes a new approach to explain the dominanceâ€”in the Islamic banking marketâ€”of markup contracts at the expense of sharing ones. We show that the dual pricing practised in this market produces an additionalâ€”or artificialâ€”dimension of adverse selection, which is causing the sharing contracts' marginalization. We suggest specialized use of two Islamic contractual categories as a device for eliminating artificial adverse selection. We suggest also an endogenous calculation of the markup, that is independent of the interest rate, based on the financing cost unification. This approach allows the deduction of default and liquidity risk premiums.
Bacteriocins in Neisseria meningitidis

Systemic meningococcal isolates and meningococci from healthy pharyngeal carriers in Norway were screened for production of growth antagonistic substances. Seven (4.9%) of a total of 142 systemic strains and 3 (2.1%) of 140 carrier isolates spontaneously released diffusible growth antagonistic substances. Properties shown by these substances complied with the criteria used in the definition of a bacteriocin. A cluster of producers among systemic strains registered during the first half of 1975 in North Norway (13.5% of the isolates) was observed, coinciding with the peak in incidence of meningococcal disease of the Norwegian epidemic starting in that region. Among more recent isolates, producers occurred at approximately the same rate in systemic strains (2.5%) as in carrier isolates. The meningocin‐producing isolates detected were either of serogroup A and generally sulfonamide‐resistant, or serogroup B and sulfonamide‐sensitive. The group A strains isolated from disease cases in North Norway during the first half of 1975 were mostly sulfonamide‐resistant. Except for the producers, all these strains revealed distinctly higher sensitivity to meningocin than did serogroup B sulfonamide‐resistant strains, which became predominant among meningococci causing disease in Norway from that time on.
Distribution of GABAergic cells and fibers in the hippocampal formation of the Macaque monkey: An immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization study

The γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) system of the hippocampal formation of Macaca fascicularis monkeys was studied immunohistochemically with a monoclonal antibody to GABA and with nonisotopic in situ hybridization with cRNA probes for glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) and GAD67. The highest densities of labeled cells were observed in the presubiculum, parasubiculum, entorhinal cortex, and subiculum, whereas the CA3 field and the dentate gyrus had the lowest densities of positive neurons. Within the dentate gyrus, most of the GABAergic neurons were located in the polymorphic layer and in the deep portion of the granule cell layer. GABAergic terminals were densest in the outer two‐thirds of the molecular layer. GABAergic neurons were seen throughout all layers of the hippocampus. Terminal labeling was highest in the stratum lacunosum‐moleculare. A higher terminal labeling was observed in the subiculum than in CA1 and was particularly prominent in layer II of the presubiculum. A bundle of GABAergic fibers was visible deep to the cell layers of the presubiculum and subiculum. This bundle could be followed into the angular bundle ipsilaterally and was continuous with stained fibers in the dorsal hippocampal commissure. This pattern of labeling is reminiscent of the presubicular projections to the contralateral entorhinal cortex. GABAergic cells were observed in all layers of the entorhinal cortex although the density was higher in layers II and III than in layers V and VI. The in situ hybridization preparations largely confirmed the distribution of GABAergic neurons in all fields of the hippocampal formation. J. Comp. Neurol. 408:237–271, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Microelectrode-Guided Deep Brain Stimulation for Tourette Syndrome: Within-Subject Comparison of Different Stimulation Sites

Background: As medical therapy for Tourette syndrome (TS) is ineffective in a small subset of patients, surgical interventions, including deep brain stimulation at various sites, have been developed in recent years. Case Description: We present the case of a 40-year-old woman with TS whose severe tics had caused unilateral blindness. Despite trials of more than 40 medications, her symptoms improved significantly only after placement of bilateral deep brain stimulators in the anterior inferior internal capsule. However, symptomatic improvement was not complete, and her electrode connections eventually became permanently damaged by the remaining retrocollic jerks. She underwent removal of the internal capsule electrodes and placement of centromedian nucleus thalamic stimulators with significantly improved tic control. Conclusion: Whereas the anterior internal capsule site had also produced psychiatric side effects such as altered mood and impulse control, the thalamic site has not done so to date. Thus, distinct surgical targets for TS may be appropriate for patients with specific comorbidities.
First report of bovine Q-fever in north-eastern Italy: preliminary results.

In May 2007 in a dairy farm of 77 bovines (42 milking cows), six cows suffering from infertility ⁄ abortion problems were tested for the possible infective cause. Serological tests for Qfever revealed four out of six cows positive by ELISA and two positive by the complement fixation test (CFT), with titres of 1 : 64 and 1 : 128. Following these results, individual samples of serum, vaginal swabs, faeces and milk were collected from the whole herd and tested for the presence of Coxiella burnetii.
Regressive evolution of the arthropod tritocerebral segment linked to functional divergence of the Hox gene labial

The intercalary segment is a limbless version of the tritocerebral segment and is present in the head of all insects, whereas other extant arthropods have retained limbs on their tritocerebral segment (e.g. the pedipalp limbs in spiders). The evolutionary origin of limb loss on the intercalary segment has puzzled zoologists for over a century. Here we show that an intercalary segment-like phenotype can be created in spiders by interfering with the function of the Hox gene labial. This links the origin of the intercalary segment to a functional change in labial. We show that in the spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum the labial gene has two functions: one function in head tissue maintenance that is conserved between spiders and insects, and a second function in pedipalp limb promotion and specification, which is only present in spiders. These results imply that labial was originally crucial for limb formation on the tritocerebral segment, but that it has lost this particular subfunction in the insect ancestor, resulting in limb loss on the intercalary segment. Such loss of a subfunction is a way to avoid adverse pleiotropic effects normally associated with mutations in developmental genes, and may thus be a common mechanism to accelerate regressive evolution.
Broadband high gain compact resonator antennas using combined FSS

A double layer frequency selective surface (FSS) is proposed as a means to enhance the bandwidth of a Fabry-Perot resonator antenna. The surface is used as the cavity partially reflecting wall (PRW). The resonator is fed by a patch placed inside the cavity at the proximity of its perfect wall. The antenna bandwidth is significantly improved by virtue of employing the double layer array. A ray theory model is used to describe the resonant cavity modes and predict the cavity behavior in presence of its new PRW. Results of an antenna application at 12 GHz are shown.
Response Without Shrinkage in Bilateral Wilms Tumor: Significance of Rhabdomyomatous Histology

Purpose To test the hypothesis that poor response to chemotherapy in patients with bilateral Wilms tumor may be associated with the appearance of rhabdomyomatous histology, suggesting a differentiation response. Methods Twenty-six patients with bilateral Wilms tumor were treated at the authors' hospital between 1985 and 1995. Radiologic response to presurgical chemotherapy was assessed, and postsurgery histology was reviewed. Results There was a significant association between rhabdomyomatous differentiation in postchemotherapy surgical specimens and poor radiologic response. Poor response did not, however, necessarily mean poor outcome: of 11 patients with rhabdomyomatous differentiation, 7 are alive and disease-free, 2 died of complications, and only 2 died of uncontrolled Wilms tumor. Conclusions Rhabdomyomatous differentiation in postchemotherapy bilateral Wilms tumor is associated with poor radiologic response. This observation may indicate a differentiation response rather than an absolute failure of response to chemotherapy. Clinical measures other than tumor volume are needed to distinguish between tumors that respond to chemotherapy but do not shrink, and those that genuinely do not respond.
Load balancing techniques: Major challenge in Cloud Computing - a systematic review

Cloud Computing is an emerging area in the field of information technology (IT). Load balancing is one of the main challenges in cloud computing. It is a technique which is required to distribute the dynamic workload across multiple nodes to ensure that no single node is overloaded. Load balancing techniques help in optimal utilization of resources and hence in enhancing the performance of the system. The goal of load balancing is to minimize the resource consumption which will further reduce energy consumption and carbon emission rate that is the dire need of cloud computing. This determines the need of new metrics, energy consumption and carbon emission for energy-efficient load balancing in cloud computing. This paper mainly focused on the concept of load balancing technique in cloud computing, the existing load balancing techniques and also discusses the different qualitative metrics or parameters like performance, scalability, associated overhead etc.
Aberrant B Cell Development and Immune Response in Mice with a Compromised BCR Complex

The immunoglobulin α (Ig-α)-Ig-β heterodimer is the signaling component of the antigen receptor complex on B cells (BCR) and B cell progenitors (pre-BCR). A mouse mutant that lacks most of the Ig-α cytoplasmic tail exhibits only a small impairment in early B cell development but a severe block in the generation of the peripheral B cell pool, revealing a checkpoint in B cell maturation that ensures the expression of a functional BCR on mature B cells. B cells that do develop demonstrate a differential dependence on Ig-α signaling in antibody responses such that a signaling-competent Ig-α appears to be critical for the response to T independent, but not T dependent, antigens.
Neither insects nor wind: ambophily in dioecious Chamaedorea palms (Arecaceae)

Abstract Pollination of Neotropical dioecious trees is commonly related to generalist insects. Similar data for non‐tree species with separated genders are inconclusive. Recent studies on pollination of dioecious Chamaedorea palms (Arecaceae) suggest that species are either insect‐ or wind‐pollinated. However, the wide variety of inflorescence and floral attributes within the genus suggests mixed pollination mode involving entomophily and anemophily. To evaluate this hypothesis, we studied the pollination of Chamaedorea costaricana,C. macrospadix,C. pinnatifrons and C. tepejilote in two montane forests in Costa Rica. A complementary morphological analysis of floral traits was carried out to distinguish species groups within the genus according to their most probable pollination mechanism. We conducted pollinator exclusion experiments, field observations on visitors to pistillate and staminate inflorescences, and trapped airborne pollen. A cluster analysis using 18 floral traits selected for their association with wind and insect pollination syndromes was carried out using 52 Chamaedorea species. Exclusion experiments showed that both wind and insects, mostly thrips (Thysanoptera), pollinated the studied species. Thrips used staminate inflorescences as brood sites and pollinated pistillate flowers by deception. Insects caught on pistillate inflorescences transported pollen, while traps proved that pollen is wind‐borne. Our empirical findings clearly suggest that pollination of dioecious Chamaedorea palms is likely to involve both insects and wind. A cluster analysis showed that the majority of studied species have a combination of floral traits that allow for both pollination modes. Our pollination experiments and morphological analysis both suggest that while some species may be completely entomophilous or anemophilous, ambophily might be a common condition within Chamaedorea. Our results propose a higher diversity of pollination mechanisms of Neotropical dioecious species than previously suggested.
Osteocytic Sclerostin Expression in Alveolar Bone in Rats With Diabetes Mellitus and Ligature-Induced Periodontitis.

BACKGROUND Osteocytic sclerostin inhibits bone formation, and its expression is stimulated by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. This study investigates sclerostin and TNF-α expression in rats with diabetes mellitus (DM) and periodontitis. METHODS Rats were divided into control (C), periodontitis (P), and DM + periodontitis (DP) groups. After induction of DM by streptozotocin, periodontitis was induced by ligature. At day 0 (control) and at days 3 and 20 after induction of periodontitis, alveolar bone, osteoclasts, osteoid area, and TNF-α and sclerostin expression were evaluated. RESULTS The distance between the cemento-enamel junction and the alveolar bone crest of the DP group was longer than that of the P group at day 20 after induction of periodontitis, but the number of osteoclasts was not different. Osteoid area decreased in both the P and DP groups by day 3, but whereas sustained osteoid suppression was observed in the DP group at day 20, osteoid formation was increased in the P group. The number of sclerostin-positive osteocytes increased in both groups at day 3, but the increased number of sclerostin-positive osteocytes was maintained only in the DP group through day 20. The number of TNF-α-positive cells increased more in the DP group than in the P group. CONCLUSIONS Enhanced alveolar bone loss, suppressed bone formation, and prevalent TNF-α expression were characteristic of the DP group compared with the P group. Suppressed bone formation in the DP group was observed simultaneously with increased sclerostin and TNF-α expression. These results suggest that upregulated osteocytic sclerostin expression in periodontitis accompanied by DM may play a role in suppressed bone formation.
Childhood Care and Education , ECCE 2016 , 12-14 May 2016 , Moscow , Russia Criterion validation of the Scale of Psychomotor Development ( SPMD ) in developmental delay study of pre-school children

Criterion validity and test-retest reliability of the Scale of Psychomotor Development (SPMD) was studied on groups of children of 4–6 years old. A conclusion about developmental delay or delayed speech development was used as a criterion of external validity. To examine the accuracy of the differential diagnostics of the three groups (the norm and two groups with the above diagnoses) a discriminant analysis was used. The results showed high accuracy in predicting the subject’s belonging to the norm group or developmental delay group, and lower prediction accuracy for the group with delayed speech development in differentiation with the norm and developmental delay. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of ECCE 2016.
Adolescent social anxiety as an outcome of inhibited temperament in childhood.

OBJECTIVE Chess and Thomas suggested that temperament might make a contribution to social phobia and other forms of extreme social anxiety. This study provides the first investigation of the outcomes in adolescents who had been inhibited (subdued to and avoidant of novelty) or uninhibited (approaching novelty) in the second year of life, utilizing both direct interview and direct observation. METHOD Seventy-nine subjects, aged 13 years, who had been classified as inhibited or uninhibited in the second year were assessed with both standardized interview and direct observation. RESULTS There was a significant association between earlier classification of a child as inhibited and generalized social anxiety at adolescence, but no association with specific fears, separation anxiety, or performance anxiety. The adolescents who were classified as socially anxious made fewer spontaneous comments than those without social anxiety; no relation was seen between any other type of fear and the number of spontaneous comments. Adolescent girls who had been inhibited as toddlers were more likely to be impaired by generalized social anxiety than boys. CONCLUSIONS The interview and observational data indicate that important aspects of an inhibited temperament are preserved from the second year of life to early adolescence, which predispose an adolescent to social anxiety.
Social disparities in internet patient portal use in diabetes: evidence that the digital divide extends beyond access

The authors investigated use of the internet-based patient portal, kp.org, among a well-characterized population of adults with diabetes in Northern California. Among 14,102 diverse patients, 5671 (40%) requested a password for the patient portal. Of these, 4311 (76%) activated their accounts, and 3922 (69%), logged on to the patient portal one or more times; 2990 (53%) participants viewed laboratory results, 2132 (38%) requested medication refills, 2093 (37%) sent email messages, and 835 (15%) made medical appointments. After adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, immigration status, educational attainment, and employment status, compared to non-Hispanic Caucasians, African-Americans and Latinos had higher odds of never logging on (OR 2.6 (2.3 to 2.9); OR 2.3 (1.9 to 2.6)), as did those without an educational degree (OR compared to college graduates, 2.3 (1.9 to 2.7)). Those most at risk for poor diabetes outcomes may fall further behind as health systems increasingly rely on the internet and limit current modes of access and communication.
The rate-distortion function of a binary symmetric source when side information may be absent

A binary symmetric source with binary side information is given. An encoder codes the source for data compression with no knowledge of the side information. It is then decoded, perhaps with and perhaps without the presence of side information. The rate-distortion function of this scheme is a function of two variables: D_{1} is the distortion when side information is present at the decoder, and D2 is the distortion when side information is absent at the decoder. The rate-distortion function is shown to reduce to previously solved problems in much of the (D_{1}, D_{2}) -plane. Tight upper and lower bounds are found for the rate-distortion function in the rest of the (D_{1}, D_{2}) -plane.
Capital Investment Analysis Using Discounted Cash Flows

Thank you very much for downloading capital investment analysis using discounted cash flows. As you may know, people have look hundreds times for their favorite readings like this capital investment analysis using discounted cash flows, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some harmful bugs inside their computer.
Region brand legitimacy: towards a participatory approach involving residents of a place

ABSTRACT Places have started to adapt commercial branding tactics. But how do stakeholders perceive such practices? Drawing on survey data from French residents, we analyse the advertising legitimacy of a place brand and its influence on the effectiveness of marketing communications in the context of region branding. The results confirm that advertising legitimacy mediates the relationship between exposure to an advertisement and its efficiency. The place brand is more legitimate when advertisements target firms, residents or tourists than when they promote local products through co-branding. We highlight a new expression of democratic legitimacy: a process adapted to hybrid (public–private) organizations.