Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anterior Operation for Unstable Thoracolumbar and Lumbar Burst Fractures: Tricortical Autogenous Iliac Bone Versus Titanium Mesh Cage

Study Design: We retrospectively compared 25 cases that used the autogenous iliac bone grafting with 18 cases that used a titanium mesh cage for reconstruction of the vertebral body. Objective: To analyze clinical and radiographic results of the autogenous iliac bone and a titanium mesh cage used to reconstruct the vertebral body. Summary of Background Data: Grafting of the autogenous iliac bone as a strut bone has been traditionally applied for reconstruction of the spine using anterior approach. Although grafting the autogenous iliac bone as a strut bone achieves a high bone fusion rate, it has reported complications in the donor site. For this reason, bone fusion with a mesh cage has been introduced. Methods: Between March 2000 and December 2010, 43 cases that underwent decompression and instrumented fusion for unstable burst fractures using the anterior approach were enrolled. Levels of injury were T12 in 8 cases, L1 in 19 cases, L2 in 11 cases, and L3 in 5 cases. The mean follow-up period was 64.5 months (range, 14–129 mo). Results: The local kyphotic angle in the group that used the tricortical autogenous iliac bone (group A) was measured 24.81±2.27 degrees preoperatively and 4.95±0.61 degrees at the last follow-up. The angle in the group that used a titanium mesh cage (group B) was 25.21±1.55 degrees preoperatively and 3.9±0.43 degrees at the last follow-up. Both groups obtained bone fusion of grade I and II by Bridwell fusion criteria. The operation site visual analog scale and Korean Oswestry disability index did not differ significantly between 2 groups. Donor site visual analog scale and the operation time was significantly in favor of group B (P<0.05). Conclusions: Titanium mesh cage filled with the autogenous cancellous bone shortened operation time and reduced the risk of complications in the donor site compared with the group that used the tricortical iliac bone.
Determinants Of Commercial Banks’ Profitability In Malaysia

This study aims to examine the relationship between non-performing loans (NPLs) and commercial banks' performance in Malaysia, alongside other factors. It considers the effect of NPLs, cost efficiency and bank size on commercial banks' profitability by using panel data regression (Pooled OLS model), covering the period of 2010-2015. The findings of the study show that NPLs and cost efficiency have a significant negative relationship with commercial banks' performances in Malaysia. On the other hand, bank size is found to have a significant positive relation with commercial banks' performances in Malaysia. Several policy and strategic implications are outlined: the continuing need to manage credit risk, reduction of non-core lending activities, improvement of systems transparency, cost control, and more lenient competition and anti-trust policies.
Synchronization analysis of epilepsy data using global field synchronization

Multivariate time series analysis is of primary importance for the estimation of starting time of epilepsy seizures. Nonlinear synchronization analysis tool called Global Field Synchronization (GFS) was used to estimate the change in synchronization between the two time series. In this study, GFS is applied to the detection of epileptic seizures. Two sets of EEG data were used; first set was obtained from an unhealthy part of the brain prior to the seizure to take place (free seizure interval) and the second set obtained from the opposite healthy hemisphere of the brain. Results show a significant difference on GFS value between selected data sets, where for the unhealthy part shows a lower value of GFS than the healthy part.
Chapter 3 OPERANT LEARNING THEORY

The earliest studies of operant learning can be traced back to the research of psychologist E. L. Thorndike with cats in puzzle boxes (Kimble, 1961). In Thorndike's experiments, hungry cats had to escape from boxes fastened shut in different ways to obtain food. Thorndike observed that after being placed in the boxes, the cats engaged in various behaviors such as pacing, visually exploring, and scratching at the walls. The animals perfomled these responses until they accidentally pressed the latch, pulled the string, or did something else that opened the box. On successive trials, the cats spent more time examining and scratching at the latch or the string, while the other responses gradually dropped out. Finally. the animal would perform the correct behavior as soon as it was placed in the box. Thorndike explained the learning of this new behavior with his "law of effect": In situations where responses are followed by events that give satisfaction, those responses become associated with and are more likely to recur in that situation. B. F. Skinner. another American psychologist, greatly refined the experimental apparatus that permitted the study and conceptualization of operant learning. The "Skinner Box," a chamber with a lever that could be programmed to deliver food following lever presses, provided several improvements over Thorndike's puzzle boxes. One advantage was that the relationship between lever presses and food delivery was arbitrary and could be readily manipulated by the experimenter. This allowed for the study of a wide range of variables, such as the ratio of responses to food deliveries, the time interval between responses that would produce food. and variations in stimuli that signaled the previous and other contingencies. A second advantage of Skinner's apparatus was that it permitted the use of response rate as a measure of response strength or response probability. Response rate is a continuous variable that can fluctuate over time, and it is more sensitive to subtle valiations in environmental conditions than latency until escape (i.e., from a puzzle box), or duration of maze-running, or other early measures of leaming. A third advantage of the operant chamber and its measure of response rate was that it allowed the study of histories of reinforcement and other variables that affect leamed behavior, such as those influencing extinction and maintenance (Skinner, 1966). Skinner drew an important distinction between operant behavior, which operated on the environment to change it and which was affected by stimuli that followed it, and respondent behavior, an earlier discovered form of learning. Respondent behavior, elucidated by the Russian physiologist Ivan P. Pavlov, involved reflexive responses (e.g., salivation, eye
Usefulness of parathyroid hormone as a predictor of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Objective: To investigate the relation between parathyroid hormone (PTH) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HF-PEF) in outpatients. Methods: One hundred consecutive patients who had preserved left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction and heart failure (HF) symptoms, were enrolled. Echocardiography, assessing the diastolic functions was performed. Blood samples were collected for intact PTH and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). Results: Significant correlations between PTH level and predictors of advanced HF-PEF were found (p < 0.05). PTH level and left atrium diameter were found to be independent predictors of DHF. Conclusion: Measurement of serum PTH provides complementary information for the diagnosis and prognosis of HF-PEF.
ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC AND KINETIC STUDIES DEALING WITH AN ARTIFICIAL ENZYME MEMBRANE APPLICATION TO A CYTOCHEMICAL MODEL WITH THE HORSERADISH PEROXIDASE-3,3'-DIAMINOBENZIDINE SYSTEM

A new colorimetric method for measuring horseradish peroxidase (HRP) activity, in solution, with 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) as the hydrogen donor is presented. The same method was also used to test HRP activity when immobilized in an artificial proteic membrane. The reaction was shown to be of first order in both cases. Direct spectrophotometric measurements dealing with HRP membrane show that the total amount of insoluble polymer produced does not increase linearly with the quantity of enzyme introduced in the membrane. Moreover, a study of the DAB permeability through membranes with or without peroxidase activity was performed to allow the study of diffusion limitations. Membranes have also been studied by electron microscopy. We have especially visualized the existence of product concentration profiles inside the membrane. The results show that in the membrane there is no geometrical similarity between the distribution profiles of the enzyme and of the insoluble product.
Low-Field Electron Mobility Model for Ultrathin-Body SOI and Double-Gate MOSFETs With Extremely Small Silicon Thicknesses

A number of experiments have recently appeared in the literature that extensively investigate the silicon-thickness dependence of the low-field carrier mobility in ultrathin-body silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFETs. The aim of this paper is to develop a compact model, suited for implementation in device- simulation tools, which accurately predicts the low-field mobility in SOI single- and double-gate MOSFETs with Si thicknesses down to 2.48 nm. Such a model is still missing in the literature, despite its importance to predict the performance of present and future devices based on ultrathin silicon layers.
Artificial Reconstruction of Two Cryptic Angucycline Antibiotic Biosynthetic Pathways

Genome‐sequencing projects have revealed that Streptomyces bacteria have the genetic potential to produce considerably larger numbers of natural products than can be observed under standard laboratory conditions. Cryptic angucycline‐type aromatic polyketide gene clusters are particularly abundant. Sequencing of two such clusters from Streptomyces sp. PGA64 and H021 revealed the presence of several open reading frames that could be involved in processing the basic angucyclic carbon skeleton. The pga gene cluster contains one putative FAD‐dependant monooxygenase (pgaE) and a putatively bifunctional monooxygenase/short chain alcohol reductase (pgaM), whereas the cab cluster contains two similar monooxygenases (cabE and cabM) and an independent reductase (cabV). In this study we have reconstructed the biosynthetic pathways for aglycone synthesis by cloning and sequentially expressing the angucycline tailoring genes with genes required for the synthesis of the unmodified angucycline metabolite—UWM6—in Streptomyces lividans TK24. The expression studies unequivocally showed that, after the production of UWM6, the pathways proceed through the action of the similar monooxygenases PgaE and CabE, followed by reactions catalysed by PgaM and CabMV. Analysis of the metabolites produced revealed that addition of pgaE and cabE genes directs both pathways to a known shunt product, rabelomycin, whereas expression of all genes from a given pathway results in the production of the novel angucycline metabolites gaudimycin A and B. However, one of the end products is most probably further modified by endogenous S. lividans TK24 enzymes. These experiments demonstrate that genes that are either inactive or cryptic in their native host can be used as biosynthetic tools to generate new compounds.
ΔF508 cystic fibrosis mutation appears very infrequently in the Greek‐Cypriot community of Cyprus

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder which is considered to be the most frequent genetic disorder in the Caucasian population. In a large number of populations tested it is found in an average frequency of 1 CF chromosome per 25 individuals, resulting in a patient frequency of 1:2,500 live births. The prevalence, however, ranges from 1:1,800 to approximately 1: 8,000. Much lower or much higher frequencies occur in a few populations. In Greece it is estimated to be 1:3,000 (Boat et al., 1989). The most frequent mutation among CF chromosomes is the AF508, a deletion of 3 nucleotides coding for phenylalanine, in the first nucleotidebinding fold of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein (Riordan et al., 1989; Rommens et al., 1989). The frequency of this mutation among CF chromosomes follows a northwest to southeast gradient in Europe. It approaches 90% in Denmark and decreases down to 20-30% as one moves toward the middle east (EWGCFG, 1990). In Cyprus, there seems to be very low incidence of CF. The general impression among physicians and especially among paediatricians and chest physicians, is that the prevalence of CF is about 1: 30,000. This figure was produced in 1985 when a case-finding exercise revealed 6 confirmed cases of CF aged 8 months to 17 years out of a population of 200,000. Unfortunately, the records for 5 of the 6 patients were lost. Recently, we initiated a program for studying molecularly CF patients in Cyprus. The 1 patient who was diagnosed previously was found to be homozygous for AF508 (CING-4859). He is the offspring of reportedly unrelated parents, both coming from a small village at the southeastern part of the island. One other more recently diagnosed patient (CING-855) was found to be a carrier of a AF508 CF chromosome that he inherited from his father. The mutation on the other CF chromosome is as yet unknown. We used this patient's DNA as a positive control for the AF508 deletion and we screened a number of unrelated DNA samples from our DNA bank. The overwhelming majority of these samples are from g-thalassaemia carriers and polycystic kidney disease patients and their relatives who were referred to us for prenatal or presymptomatic diagnosis. Our purpose was to estimate the frequency of the mutation that is most frequent among CF chromosomes in the GreekCypriot population. We tested over 660 chromosomes using allele-specific DNA amplification and polymerase chain reaction methodology coupled with 10% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Saiki et al., 1985; Newton et al., 1989). The 5'common primer was GTTGGCATGCTTTGATGACGCTTCT, and the 2 allele-specific primers were CTGGCACCATTAAAGAAAATATCATCTT and CTGGCACCATTAAAGAAAATATCATT'GG. We identified only 1 additional AF508 CF chromosome in an individual (CING3356) who comes from a city also at the southeastern part of the island. We considered this frequency of the AF508 deletion and also of CF in general, very low in view of the fact that the Greek-Cypriot population is of Caucasian origin, and more specifically of Greek
Isolation of a monoclonal antibody which blocks vaccinia virus infection

We have isolated a monoclonal antibody, B2, that neutralizes vaccinia virus infection. B2 reacts with a trypsin-sensitive cell surface epitope. B2 does not neutralize infection of herpes simplex virus, suggesting that the B2-reactive epitope is specifically involved in vaccinia virus entry. A survey of 12 different cell lines reveals a correlation between B2 reactivity and susceptibility to vaccinia virus infection. In addition, B2 interferes with vaccinia virus adsorption to target cells. Taken together, the B2-reactive epitope is part of a receptor that appears important for vaccinia virus entry.
Bidirectional isolated non-resonant DAB DC-DC converter for ultra-wide input voltage range applications

This paper details efficiency optimized operation and design of a bi-directional and isolated five-level Dual Active Bridge (5LDAB) converter for an application that requires ultra-wide voltage and power ranges. The rated power of the considered converter is 7.5kW, the specified input voltage range is 150V ≤ Vdc1 ≤ 800V and the output voltage is constant, Vdc2 = 700V. In order to achieve high efficiency levels in a wide operating range, a modulation scheme is proposed to minimize the transformer rms current. Results of transformer rms currents and of efficiencies are presented for the 5LDAB and compared with the results obtained for an efficiency optimized conventional Dual Active Bridge (DAB) converter. Compared with the DAB topology, the 5LDAB converter can achieve an overall reduction of transformer rms currents and of conduction losses in the higher voltage regime of the operating range.
Post‐thoracotomy pain after thoracic epidural analgesia: a prospective follow‐up study

Background: Pain becomes chronic in 22–67% of patients who undergo a thoracotomy. Thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) has replaced less invasive methods to manage postoperative pain. We wanted to find out if active use of TEA, combined with extended pain management at home, reduces the incidence of chronic post‐thoracotomy pain.
Expanding the repertoire of RNA interference screens for developing new anticancer drug targets

RNA interference (RNAi) screening for cancer drug target identification has been growing, in both the number of laboratories carrying out screens and in the scale of the screens themselves, from the first screens that were published a few years ago. This growth is directly related to the significant new insights into cancer cell biology that have been defined by relatively few studies. Recently, such screens have moved from general studies of cancer cell function (finding new mechanisms of malignancy and tumor suppression), to screens that explain the clinical problems, such as resistance to chemotherapeutics. In light of the progression observed in these published studies, it is now possible to consider how RNAi screening can be used to characterize other areas of cancer research that have been proposed to explain the development of clinical cancers. Examples include: oncogene addiction/oncogenic shock, cancer stem cells, lineage dependency and the epithelial–mesenchymal transition. RNAi screening can enable critical evaluations of both the roles of these concepts in tumor development and provide starting points for new therapeutic programs targeting emerging areas of cancer cell biology.
Non-Destructive In Situ Study of Plastic Deformations in Diamonds: X-ray Diffraction Topography and µFTIR Mapping of Two Super Deep Diamond Crystals from São Luiz (Juina, Brazil)

Diamonds from Juina, Brazil, are well-known examples of superdeep diamond crystals formed under sublithospheric conditions and evidence would indicate their origins lie as deep as the Earth’s mantle transition zone and the Lower Mantle. Detailed characterization of these minerals and of inclusions trapped within them may thus provide precious minero-petrogenetic information on their growth history in these inaccessible environments. With the aim of studying non-destructively the structural defects in the entire crystalline volume, two diamond samples from this locality, labelled JUc4 and BZ270, respectively, were studied in transmission mode by means of X-ray Diffraction Topography (XRDT) and micro Fourier Transform InfraRed Spectroscopy (µFTIR). The combined use of these methods shows a good fit between the mapping of spatial distribution of extended defects observed on the topographic images and the µFTIR maps corresponding to the concentration of N and H point defects. The results obtained show that both samples are affected by plastic deformation. In particular, BZ270 shows a lower content of nitrogen and higher deformation, and actually consists of different, slightly misoriented grains that contain sub-grains with a rounded-elongated shape. These features are commonly associated with deformation processes by solid-state diffusion creep under high pressure and high temperature.
Visitors’ motivation and willingness to pay for conservation in selected zoos in southwest Nigeria

The motivation and willingness to pay for ecotourism and wildlife conservation at the University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University Zoos in Southwest Nigeria were investigated. Structured Questionnaire was used to elicit information from two hundred and forty (240) visitor and data were analysed using descriptive and inferential (Chi-Square, Correlation) statistics. Findings from this study show that 50.4% of the visitors were female, 37.9% and 37.1% were within the age range of 15-24 years and 25-54 years respectively, 46.7% were married, and 43.3% attained to tertiary level of education. Furthermore, 66.2% of the visitors were employed with 39.6% earning ₦ 81, 000 (265.57 USD) and above as their monthly income. The main motivations of the zoo visitors are to see the condition of habitat and diversity of wildlife at the zoos, proximity to their residence and viewing wild animals. The starting bid for visitors to the zoos shows their willingness to pay for conservation services at the zoos. Income (r = 0.25, p = 0.00) had effect on the visitation pattern of the visitors. Relationship exists between the visitors’ motivation (r = 0.23, p = 0.00) and their level of satisfaction. The age (r = 0.15, p = 0.02), income (r = 0.13, p = 0.04), marital status (χ 2 = 68.79, p = 0.01), religion (χ 2 = 45.06, p = 0.04) of the visitors have impact on their willingness to pay for conservation at the zoos. Keywords: Zoo, Ecotourism, Wildlife conservation, and Wildlife management
Remote Sensing Image Segmentation Based on an Improved 2-D Gradient Histogram and MMAD Model

A novel remote sensing image segmentation algorithm based on an improved 2-D gradient histogram and minimum mean absolute deviation (MMAD) model is proposed in this letter. We extract the global features as a 1-D histogram from an improved 2-D gradient histogram by diagonal projection and subsequently use the MMAD model on the 1-D histogram to implement the optimal threshold. Experiments on remote sensing images indicate that the new algorithm provides accurate segmentation results, particularly for images characterized by Laplace distribution histograms. Furthermore, the new algorithm has low time consumption.
A Sparse Component Analysis Algorithm Based on Finite-Mixture-Model Learning

In this paper, a finite-mixture-model learning bused sparse component analysis (SCA) algorithm is proposed. In this algorithm, a finite-mixture-model learning method is applied for estimating the mixing matrix for SCA. The main advantage of this method is the ability of selecting the number of sources and measuring reliability of the columns of the estimated mixing matrix. That is, it can give us a probability measurement of the recovered sources, which help us to determine which recovered sources are more reliable and significant. The simulation results show the effectiveness of this algorithm.
A Framework of Privacy Preserving QOS Prediction used for Web Service Recommendation

: With increasing existence and reception of Web services on the World Wide Web, Quality-of-Service (QoS) is becoming essential for unfolding nonfunctional characteristics of Web services. Collaborative filtering (CF) techniques are becoming progressively popular with the progress of the Internet. To demeanor collaborative filtering, data from customers are needed. Though, gathering high quality data from customers is a difficult task because many customers are so concerned about their privacy that they might choose to give fabricated information. We propose a randomized disconcertion technique to safeguard user’s privacy while still constructing accurate recommendations. Then, based on the collected QoS data, a collaborative filtering approach is designed to calculate Web service QoS.