Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of medical risk factors and outcomes in patients undergoing open versus endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

OBJECTIVE The emergence of endovascular repair (ER) for infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has provided surgeons with a new technique that should ideally improve patient outcomes. To more accurately characterize the advantages of ER versus traditional/open AAA repair (TOR), we compared the preoperative medical risk factors (PMRFs) and perioperative outcomes (PO) of those patients undergoing elective treatment of infrarenal AAA with ER and TOR over a recent 18-month period at our center. METHODS Through our institutional vascular surgery patient registry, all patients undergoing aortic aneurysm repair of any type between December 1999 and June 2001 were identified. Only those patients undergoing elective infrarenal AAA repair were analyzed. Hospital records were examined for all patients, and PMRF and PO were assessed via Society for Vascular Surgery/International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery reporting guidelines. Student t, chi(2), Fisher exact, or Wilcoxon rank sum tests were applied where appropriate to determine differences among PMRF and PO according to method of aneurysm repair. RESULTS During the 18-month study period, a total of 199 aortic aneurysms were repaired at our institution. Ninety-nine elective infrarenal AAA repairs made up the study cohort (ER, n = 33; TOR, n = 66). When examined by method of aneurysm repair, no differences existed in demographics or AAA size. Patients undergoing ER had a significantly greater degree of preoperative pulmonary comorbidity than patients undergoing TOR (P <.001). However, no differences existed in terms of American Society of Anesthesiologists classification or cardiac (P =.52), cerebrovascular (P =.44), diabetic (P =.51), hypertensive (P =.90), hyperlipidemia (P =.91) or renal (P =.23) comorbidities between the two groups. Perioperative morbidity and mortality rates were also not significantly different by method of repair. ER was associated with shorter operative time, intensive care unit stay, and overall hospital length of stay (P <.0001). However, subsequent operative procedures related to the AAA repair were performed more frequently after ER (TOR = 1.5% versus ER = 15.2%; P = 0.015). CONCLUSION These results suggest that ER offers improvements in hospital convalescent and operating room times but no beneficial impact on overall morbidity and mortality rates when similar PMRFs exist, especially when used at medical centers where low morbidity and mortality rates are already established for TOR. Other centers performing ER should undertake such an analysis to assess its impact on their patients.
Biogenic Methane, Hydrogen Escape, and the Irreversible Oxidation of Early Earth

The low O2 content of the Archean atmosphere implies that methane should have been present at levels ∼102 to 103 parts per million volume (ppmv) (compared with 1.7 ppmv today) given a plausible biogenic source. CH4 is favored as the greenhouse gas that countered the lower luminosity of the early Sun. But abundant CH4 implies that hydrogen escapes to space (↑space) orders of magnitude faster than today. Such reductant loss oxidizes the Earth. Photosynthesis splits water into O2 and H, and methanogenesis transfers the H into CH4. Hydrogen escape after CH4 photolysis, therefore, causes a net gain of oxygen [CO2 + 2H2O → CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + O2 + 4H(↑space)]. Expected irreversible oxidation (∼1012 to 1013 moles oxygen per year) may help explain how Earth's surface environment became irreversibly oxidized.
A Study of the Relationship Between Self-Care, Compassion Satisfaction, Compassion Fatigue, and Burnout Among Hospice Professionals

ABSTRACT Hospice care professionals (HCPs) experience a large number of stressors in their work settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-care, compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction among HCPs. Thirty-seven HCPs were surveyed regarding their levels of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Respondents also reported the types of self-care activities in which they took part. Results indicated a relationship between self-care strategies and lower levels of burnout and compassion fatigue, and higher levels of compassion satisfaction. Several suggestions are offered for continued research and practice in the hospice care field.
Saturated and aromatic mineral oil hydrocarbons from paperboard food packaging: estimation of long-term migration from contents in the paperboard and data on boxes from the market

In the absence of a functional barrier, mineral oil hydrocarbons from printing inks and recycled fibres tend to migrate from paper-based food-packaging materials through the gas phase into dry food. Concentrations easily far exceed the limit derived from the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). Since the estimation of long-term migration into the food by testing at 40°C for 10 days is difficult, it seems preferable (and easier) to use the mineral oil content in the paperboard. Evaporation experiments showed that hydrocarbons eluted up to about n-C24 are sufficiently volatile for relevant migration into dry food: in worst-case situations, about 80% migrate into the packed food. The extraction of the paperboard was optimised to give good recovery of the relevant hydrocarbons, but to discriminate against those of high molecular mass which tend to disturb gas chromatographic analysis in on-line coupled normal phase HPLC-GC-FID. Even though some of the relevant hydrocarbons had already evaporated, the average concentration of < C24 mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) in the paperboard boxes of 102 products from the Swiss and Italian market was 626 mg kg−1. Nearly 15% of investigated boxes still contained more than 1000 mg kg−1 < C24 MOSH up to over 3000 mg kg−1 (maximum = 3500 mg kg−1). This amount of MOSH in the board have the potential of contaminating the packed food at a level exceeding the limit, derived from the JECFA ADI, hundreds of times.
In vivo imaging of baboon and human dopamine transporters by positron emission tomography using [11C]WIN 35,428

[11C]WIN 35,428 was evaluated as a specific in vivo radioligand for the dopamine transporter site by PET scanning in nonhuman primates and humans. In studies with a baboon (Papio anubis), [11C]WIN 35,428 accumulated in brain regions containing dopamine transporters, i.e., the striata. This accumulation was Partially blocked by prior administration of (−)cocaine (4 mg/kg, i.v. ). Placement of a unilateral lesion of dopamine‐containing nerve terminals with MPTP resulted in a unilateral reduction in [11C]WIN 35,428 accumulation in the striatum on the side of the lesion. Imaging of D2 dopamine receptors with [11C]NMSP in the same MPTP‐treated animals showed much less reduction in the postsynaptic D2 dopamine receptors as compared to the much larger reduction in the dopamine transporters labeled with [11C]WIN 35,428.
Effect of Collaborative vs Noncollaborative Quizzes on Examination Scores in a Pharmaceutical Calculations Course

Objective. To determine if midterm and final examination scores in a pharmaceutical calculations course differ among students who take weekly quizzes collaboratively, noncollaboratively, or half-collaboratively/half-noncollaboratively (“mixed”). Methods. One hundred twenty-three students enrolled in one of 4 laboratory sections: collaborative, noncollaborative, or mixed sections. Students working noncollaboratively completed a 15-minute quiz at the end of weekly laboratories. Students working collaboratively were randomly allocated into groups of 4 and worked independently for 5 minutes before working collaboratively for 10 minutes. Students in mixed sections worked collaboratively during one half of the semester and noncollaboratively during the other half of the semester in a crossover design to control for order effect. All students took midterm and final examinations independently. Results. Mean scores for a pretest did not significantly differ between the 4 laboratory sections at the study’s onset. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a significant multivariate effect for the 9 laboratory quizzes in relation to group assignment. Mean scores on the midterm examination did not significantly differ between collaborative and noncollaborative groups. On the final examination, the two mixed groups significantly outperformed the collaborative group, but did not significantly differ from one another or from the noncollaborative group. Conclusion. Peer collaboration improves quiz scores, is favorably perceived by students and enhances their course satisfaction, but does not improve subsequent performance on midterm and final examinations taken noncollaboratively.
Accelerating the modified Levenberg-Marquardt method for nonlinear equations

In this paper we propose an accelerated version of the modiﬁed Levenberg-Marquardt method for nonlinear equations (see Jinyan Fan, Mathe-matics of Computation 81 (2012), no. 277, 447–466). The original version uses the addition of the LM step and the approximate LM step as the trial step at every iteration, and achieves the cubic convergence under the local error bound condition which is weaker than nonsingularity. The notable diﬀerences of the accelerated modiﬁed LM method from the modiﬁed LM method are that we introduce the line search for the approximate LM step and extend the LM parameter to more general cases. The convergence order of the new method is shown to be a continuous function with respect to the LM parameter. We compare it with both the LM method and the modiﬁed LM method; on the benchmark problems we observe competitive performance.
Dissolved Nitrogen Uptake by a Cyanobacterial Bloom (Anabaena flos-aquae) in a Subarctic Lake

Uptake of dissolved nitrogen (NH4+ + NO3- + urea + N2) by a cyanobacterial [Anabaena flos-aquae (Lyngb.)] De Brèb population in Smith Lake, Alaska, was measured every 2 to 4 days during the spring of 1990. Total dissolved nitrogen uptake ranged from 0.34 to 24.75 μmol liter-1 h-1, with a mean of 5.75 μmol liter-1 h-1; the euphotic zone accounted for 91% of the uptake. The mean turnover time for dissolved combined nitrogen (NH4+ + NO3- + urea) in the euphotic zone was less than 14 h, and that for NH4+ was only 3.6 h. The mean relative preference indices for NH4+ (2.4), NO3- (0.4), and urea (0.5) established NH4+ as the preferred nitrogenous nutrient. The uptake rates were apparently dependent on biomass, temperature, and light. Regeneration, probably due to zooplankton excretion and bacterial remineralization of dissolved organic nitrogen, was the main source of NH4+ for the cyanobacterial growth. The high half-saturation constant for NH4+ with low ambient NH4+ concentration nevertheless resulted in the simultaneous utilization of several forms of nitrogen.
Estimation of 1/f signals on the basis of curve fitting

An algorithm is proposed for the identification of fractal signals with wavelet-based models from corrupted data. This algorithm is based on curve fitting and wavelet transformation. It is proved that whenever /spl gamma/ is greater than 0, the algorithm provides an almost consistent estimation. Moreover,the estimated parameters are asymptotically Gaussian distributed. A mean square asymptotic convergence rate of the estimated parameters has also been established. Simulation results verify the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
Multiresolution Image Reconstruction in X-ray Micro- and Nano- Computed Tomography : Application in Materials Non-Destructive Testing

Dans le cadre d'une large cooperation internationale, le projet Saphir a comme but principal la production sure, integree et controlee de produits nano-structures multifonctionnels. Dans ce contexte, notre contribution consiste a developper une methode d'imagerie tridimensionnelle pour inspecter et caracteriser les echantillons et les pieces fournis par les partenaires du projet. La tomographie par rayonnement X a ete choisie car elle constitue une technique adaptee au controle non-destructif. Mais pour des echantillons tres complexes presentant des details sur plusieurs ordres de grandeur, les scanners commerciaux ne repondent pas a tous les besoins et une methode adaptee a du etre developpee. Cette these etablit une base theorique et experimentale pour une methode originale capable de produire des images multi-resolution et que nous avons nomme ASDIR (Approximate Single Detail Image Reconstruction). Dans une configuration de type « zoom-in », deux jeux de donnees sont acquis et fusionnes. La reconstruction de ces donnees combinees est basee sur l'algorithme standard de retroprojection filtree (FBP), mais notre methode est une extension qui implemente une acceleration par l'utilisation de la theorie des ondelettes. Deux versions preliminaires sont egalement presentees : elles produisent des resultats moins satisfaisants et ont servi de base pour la version finale. Une periode importante a ete consacree aux experiences ainsi qu'a l'etude et la comprehension des phenomenes physiques intervenant en CT. Des corrections pour les plus importantes sources d'artefacts ont ete mises en oeuvre et leur efficacite a ete demontre e grâce a la qualite des images obtenues. Nous avons valide notre approche sur des donnees simulees et experimentales. Nous avons genere des donnees simulees avec des fantomes que nous avons specialement concus pour evaluer differentes caracteristiques de la methode et des echantillons. Les donnees experimentales ont ete acquises avec deux dispositifs differents, un microtomographe et un nanotomographe, et sur des echantillons de tailles differentes. Une etude de metrologie a ete menee sur les images produites et des informations sur la porosite des echantillons ont pu etre extraites.
The paradoxical protagonist in speculative fiction

This thesis contends that many of the antiheroic protagonists presented in speculative fiction represent a paradoxical mix of both human and transhuman. These protagonists, along with the social realities in which they exist, provide an alternative medium for the exploration of the dynamic and complex relationship between individuals, society, technoscientific development and normative moral and social convention. As transhumans, protagonists examined throughout this thesis challenge the distinctions between previously juxtaposed concepts such as human and machine, biology and technology. Similarly, the antiheroic nature of such protagonists, through their rejection of normative moral and social convention, challenges and destabilises the boundaries separating right from wrong, morality from immorality. The thesis traces the origins of the antiheroic transhuman back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and discusses key points in its development through consideration of Olaf Stapledon’s Odd John (1935), Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination (1956), Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s V for Vendetta (1982-1989), Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen (19861987), and Richard Morgan’s Takeshi Kovacs trilogy Altered Carbon (2001), Broken Angels (2003) and Woken Furies (2005). The thesis extends the ground of previous examinations of the literary antihero such as Victor Brombert’s In Praise of Antiheroes (2002) and provides insight into the generalised fear and anxiety surrounding the emergence of transhumanism and the possibility of transhuman beings.
Mortality in Patients with Epilepsy

Summary: Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were determined for a cohort of patients with first diagnosis of epilepsy as residents of Rochester, Minnesota, between 1935 and 1974. SMR for the total group was 2.3 through 29 years of follow‐up. SMR was lower for those with idiopathic epilepsy, although still significantly increased from expected. Several groups with idiopathic epilepsy did not have significantly elevated mortality rates. This included patients with absence seizures, partial and complex seizures, first diagnosis of epilepsy between ages 1 and 19, or patients who were female. Patients with febrile convulsions did not demonstrate alterations in expected mortality. Patients with single idiopathic generalized seizures did have an increase in mortality. For the group as a whole, as well as all idiopathic cases, the most significant increase in SMR occurred in the first 10 years following diagnosis. Interval SMRs were also significantly increased between 25 and 29 years following diagnosis. This suggests either a late effect associated with predisposition for seizures, an effect related to the chronic medication used for therapy, or a combination of the two. Patients experiencing remission of seizures demonstrated an increase in SMR, suggesting that factors other than seizure occurrence affect mortality. While an excess number of deaths relating to pulmonary events, accidents, extracranial neoplasms, and noncerebral or noncardiac vascular disease were observed, given the person‐years of experience in this study, these generally were of borderline significance and there seemed no cause of death unique to those in the study group.
POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AMONG PRESCHOOLERS EXPOSED TO ONGOING MISSILE ATTACKS IN THE GAZA WAR

The prevalence and manifestation of posttraumatic stress symptoms in young children may differ from that observed in adults. This study examined sociodemographic, familial, and psychosomatic correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among preschool children and their mothers who had been exposed to ongoing missile attacks in the Gaza war.
On the Relation between Verb Inflection and Verb Position in Dutch Agrammatic Aphasics

This study focuses on the relation between verb position and verb inflection in the speech production of Dutch agrammatic patients. In Dutch, the finite verb is moved to second position in the matrix clause (de jongen leest een boek: the boy reads a book), but remains in its base generated, that is final, position in the embedded clause (ik zie dat de jongen een boek leest: lit. I see that the boy a book reads). Nonfinite verbs (infinitives and participles) are always in clause final position. Spontaneous speech analysis shows that agrammatics are sensitive to this relation between finiteness and structural position, although they are reluctant to produce finite verbs. Experimental data shows that verb inflection as such is not the problem: these patients are perfectly able to produce a finite verb in final position in an embedded clause; this is not more difficult than producing a nonfinite verb in the same position. If the finite verb has to be produced in Verb Second position in the matrix clause, however, the patients' performance drops dramatically.
Correction for pulse height variability reduces physiological noise in functional MRI when studying spontaneous brain activity

EEG correlated functional MRI (EEG‐fMRI) allows the delineation of the areas corresponding to spontaneous brain activity, such as epileptiform spikes or alpha rhythm. A major problem of fMRI analysis in general is that spurious correlations may occur because fMRI signals are not only correlated with the phenomena of interest, but also with physiological processes, like cardiac and respiratory functions. The aim of this study was to reduce the number of falsely detected activated areas by taking the variation in physiological functioning into account in the general linear model (GLM). We used the photoplethysmogram (PPG), since this signal is based on a linear combination of oxy‐ and deoxyhemoglobin in the arterial blood, which is also the basis of fMRI. We derived a regressor from the variation in pulse height (VIPH) of PPG and added this regressor to the GLM. When this regressor was used as predictor it appeared that VIPH explained a large part of the variance of fMRI signals acquired from five epilepsy patients and thirteen healthy volunteers. As a confounder VIPH reduced the number of activated voxels by 30% for the healthy volunteers, when studying the generators of the alpha rhythm. Although for the patients the number of activated voxels either decreased or increased, the identification of the epileptogenic zone was substantially enhanced in one out of five patients, whereas for the other patients the effects were smaller. In conclusion, applying VIPH as a confounder diminishes physiological noise and allows a more reliable interpretation of fMRI results. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Research Note - Using Expectation Disconfirmation Theory and Polynomial Modeling to Understand Trust in Technology

Trust in technology is an emerging research domain that examines trust in the technology artifact instead of trust in people. Although previous research finds that trust in technology can predict important outcomes, little research has examined the effect of unmet trust in technology expectations on trusting intentions. Furthermore, both trust and expectation disconfirmation theories suggest that trust disconfirmation effects may be more complex than the linear expectation disconfirmation model depicts. However, this complexity may only exist under certain contextual conditions. The current study contributes to this literature by introducing a nonlinear expectation disconfirmation theory model that extends understanding of trust-in-technology expectations and disconfirmation. Not only does the model include both technology trust expectations and technology trusting intention, it also introduces the concept of expectation maturity as a contextual factor. We collected data from three technology usage contexts that differ in expectation maturity, which we operationalize as length of the introductory period. We find that the situation, in terms of expectation maturity, consistently matters. Using polynomial regression and response surface analyses, we find that in contexts with a longer introductory period (i.e., higher expectation maturity), disconfirmation has a nonlinear relationship with trusting intention. When the introductory period is shorter (i.e., expectation maturity is lower), disconfirmation has a linear relationship with trusting intention. This unique set of empirical findings shows when it is valuable to use nonlinear modeling for understanding technology trust disconfirmation. We conclude with implications for future research.
Gallium Nitride Ballistic Electron Acceleration Negative-Differential-Conductivity Diodes for Terahertz Applications

Electronic generation of terahertz (THz) signals using gallium nitride (GaN) is predicted to exhibit high efficiency. Theory by Ridley et al. [1] shows that electrons in an ultra thin (20-120 nm) epilayer of intrinsic GaN can be ballistically accelerated to negative mass states (under the influence of an applied bias voltage of 2.7 volts) with hot enough injection. If a majority of the electrons can be made to populate these states, negativedifferential-conductivity (NDC) will be observed at the device terminals.
Is severe obesity a cardiovascular health concern in the inuit population?

Objectives: Obesity is rising globally and severe obesity (SO) [body mass index (BMI) = 40 kg/m2 or = 35 kg/m2 with co‐morbidity] is growing at a much faster rate. Amongst the Inuit, evolution of SO remains unknown. We investigated whether the level of SO changed and whether the cardio‐metabolic profile improved or deteriorated in Nunavik Inuit between 1992 and 2004.