Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surgical management of urogenital injuries at a war hospital in Bosnia-Hrzegovina, 1992 to 1995.

PURPOSE Our experience with urogenital surgery during the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict of 1992 to 1995 is compared with data from previous wars and peacetime practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 5,370 wounded patients, including 136 (2.5%) with 1 or more urogenital injuries, were treated at a war hospital in northern Bosnia-Herzegovina during 37 months. The hospital was based at a village school and was poorly equipped but it was only 10 to 16 km. from the front line and average transportation time was 30 minutes. RESULTS Of the 136 patients 72 (52.9%) were injured by explosive weapons, while the other 64 (47.1%) had bullet wounds. The 169 urogenital injuries were to the kidney in 65 cases (38.5%), scrotum in 44 (26%), bladder in 23 (13.6%), penis in 16 (9.5%), urethra in 9 (5.3%), ureter in 6 (3.6%) and other in 6. There was associated damage to organs other than the urogenital system in 116 patients (85.3%). Preference was given to organ sparing operations when possible, but 33.8% of renal injuries required nephrectomy and orchidectomy was performed for 58.3% of testicular injuries. CONCLUSION In war settings when injuries are often severe and multiple, and the hospital may lack staff, instruments and other medical supplies, the surgeon frequently must improvise. Even so, the results achieved need not fall far below those of peacetime surgery provided that, as in this hospital in Bosnia-Herzegovina, wounded patients present to the surgeon rapidly, they are young and the surgeons are experienced with the management of war injury.
Direct shoot regeneration from leaf segments of mature plants of Echinacea purpurea (L.) moench

SummaryThis is the first communication of direct shoot regeneration from fully developed leaves of potted mature Echinacea purpurea plants. Shoot buds were induced directly on the adaxial surface of mature leaf tissues of E. purpurea 30 d after culture initiation on Woody Plant Medium (WPM) supplemented with various levels of 6-benzyladenine (BA). Maximum shoot organogenesis, with 12–20 shoots per leaf segment, was obtained with 5% coconut milk and 2.5 mg l−1 (6μM) BA in 30 d. Callus was induced using 0.5 mgl−1 (1μM) α-naphthaleneacetic acid and 2.5 mgl−1 (6μM) BA. The regenerated shoots were rooted on WPM supplemented with 1.5 mgl−1 (3μM) of indole-3-butyric acid, 3% sucrose, and 0.85% agarose. Rooted plants were successfully transferred to soil in pots and appeared morphologically normal and flowered in a growth chamber.
A Flexible Metric Nearest-Neighbor Classification based on the Decision Boundaries of SVM for Hyperspectral Image

The k-nearest neighbor classifier is a simple and appealing approach to classification problems. It expects the class conditional probabilities to be locally constant, and suffers from bias in high dimensional situation. Using a locally adaptive metric becomes crucial in order to keep class conditional probabilities close to uniform, thereby minimizing the bias of estimates. A technique that computes a locally flexible metric by means of the decision boundaries of support vector machines (SVMs) is proposed. Then the modified neighborhoods can be shrunk in directions orthogonal to these decision boundaries and elongated parallel to the boundaries. Thereafter, any neighborhood-based classifier can use the modified neighborhoods.
Track Summary Report for the Data Exploration in the Web 3.0 Age (DEW) Track

The goal of the Data Exploration in the Web 3.0 Age (DEW 2017) conference track has been bringing together researchers and practitioners from both the Academia and Industry working in the areas related to data exploration, in a very broad sense. The track welcomes contributions from data mining, query languages, data visualization, graph databases and other fields related to the analysis and exploitation of data. This paper is a Summary Report for the Data Exploration in the Web 3.0 Age (DEW) Track that includes the list of accepted papers.
Bioinformatics for precision oncology

Abstract Molecular profiling of tumor biopsies plays an increasingly important role not only in cancer research, but also in the clinical management of cancer patients. Multi-omics approaches hold the promise of improving diagnostics, prognostics and personalized treatment. To deliver on this promise of precision oncology, appropriate bioinformatics methods for managing, integrating and analyzing large and complex data are necessary. Here, we discuss the specific requirements of bioinformatics methods and software that arise in the setting of clinical oncology, owing to a stricter regulatory environment and the need for rapid, highly reproducible and robust procedures. We describe the workflow of a molecular tumor board and the specific bioinformatics support that it requires, from the primary analysis of raw molecular profiling data to the automatic generation of a clinical report and its delivery to decision-making clinical oncologists. Such workflows have to various degrees been implemented in many clinical trials, as well as in molecular tumor boards at specialized cancer centers and university hospitals worldwide. We review these and more recent efforts to include other high-dimensional multi-omics patient profiles into the tumor board, as well as the state of clinical decision support software to translate molecular findings into treatment recommendations.
Compound valence is conserved in binary odor mixtures in Drosophila melanogaster

Most naturally occurring olfactory signals do not consist of monomolecular odorants but, rather, are mixtures whose composition and concentration ratios vary. While there is ample evidence for the relevance of complex odor blends in ecological interactions and for interactions of chemicals in both peripheral and central neuronal processing, a fine-scale analysis of rules governing the innate behavioral responses of Drosophila melanogaster towards odor mixtures is lacking. In this study we examine whether the innate valence of odors is conserved in binary odor mixtures. We show that binary mixtures of attractants are more attractive than individual mixture constituents. In contrast, mixing attractants with repellents elicits responses that are lower than the responses towards the corresponding attractants. This decrease in attraction is repellent-specific, independent of the identity of the attractant and more stereotyped across individuals than responses towards the repellent alone. Mixtures of repellents are either less attractive than the individual mixture constituents or these mixtures represent an intermediate. Within the limits of our data set, most mixture responses are quantitatively predictable on the basis of constituent responses. In summary, the valence of binary odor mixtures is predictable on the basis of valences of mixture constituents. Our findings will further our understanding of innate behavior towards ecologically relevant odor blends and will serve as a powerful tool for deciphering the olfactory valence code.
Combination of Singular Spectrum Analysis and Autoregressive Model for Short Term Load Forecasting

One of the most important requirements for the operation and planning activities of an electrical utility is the prediction of load for the next hour to several days out, known as short term load forecasting (STLF). This paper presents a new method based on spectral analysis and autoregressive (AR) modeling that is capable to predict the electricity demand accurately. An AR model is optimized for each of the principle components obtained from singular spectrum analysis (SSA), and the multi step predicted values are recombined to make the load time series. This method is used for the STLF of Iran National Power System (INPS) and the performance of the method shows promising results for one hour up to a day prediction. The proposed method is comparable with intelligent methods.
Energy efficient multi-robot coordination

When multiple systems work in the same physical environment, it is important to ensure that no collisions occur. This thesis is focused on the centralized offline coordination of such collaborating systems, with the condition that the spatial path each system travels along is known before hand. In addition to collisions, dynamic constraints as well as optimization of a performance criterion are considered. The problem is decomposed into two parts, a sequencing problem and coordination subproblem. For the sequencing problem, an algorithmic improvement is proposed, where constraint propagation methods from the computer science community are introduced to improve existing mixed integer nonlinear programming methods used in mathematical programming. The coordination subproblem on the other hand is approached from a modeling perspective. By applying state space discretization and variable changes, two models are derived, one which is entirely convex. Also, a two stage abstraction approach is introduced, where dynamic programming is used to parameterize part of the problem, resulting in a much simpler model at the next stage. The above methods can be used for minimum energy coordination of industrial robots. Experimental results from the two robot case study are presented. In addition, the one robot case is also studied, where the execution time, robot payload and minimization criteria are varied. Furthermore, the application of the presented methods to hybrid systems is also discussed. Finally, the slightly different problem of minimum time stacker crane scheduling is considered. In the stacker crane problem, a number of tasks should be allocated to a set of robots moving along the same one dimensional track. Although the exact spatial path is unknown in the stacker crane problem, it is shown that in a minimum time setting, it is still possible to use state space discretization.
The ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Refugees? Imagined Refugeehood(s) in the Media Coverage of the Migration Crisis

This text is an attempt to analyze a particular, normative aspect of the media narrative about refugees during the recent migration crisis in Europe. It looks at the substantive semantic distance between the ‘good’ or ‘real’ refugees presented in some media outlets and the definition of a refugee under international law. This difference is later explained by a particular kind of exposure to the events of the refugee crisis – a ‘mediated experience’, and by the existence of a normative ‘refugee archetype’. I look at images representing refugees through the lenses of John B. Thompson’s (1995) concept of opposition between lived and mediated experience – the figures of ‘bad’ and ‘good’ refugees are seen as belonging to the order of mediated experience, therefore, as argued by Thomson, impersonal and dispersed in time and space. Finally, I refer to the Malkki’s (1996) concept of a refugee as a ‘universal humanitarian subject’ – an apolitical and dehistoricized figure, reduced to the role of aid beneficiary which serves me to explain the ambiguity of representations of refugees and their dependence on political interests.
Flexible protein–flexible ligand docking with disrupted velocity simulated annealing

By docking flexible balanol to a rigid model of protein kinase A (PKA), we found that a new simulated annealing protocol termed disrupted velocity simulated annealing (DIVE‐SA) outperformed the replica‐exchange method and the traditional simulated annealing method in identifying the correct docking pose. In this protocol, the atomic velocities were reassigned periodically to encourage the system to sample a large conformational space. We also found that scaling potential energy surface to reduce structural transition barriers could further facilitate docking. The DIVE‐SA method was then evaluated on its ability to perform flexible ligand–flexible protein docking of three ligands (balanol, a balanol analog, and ATP) to PKA. To reduce computational time and to avoid possible unphysical structural changes resulting from the use of nonoptimal force fields, a soft restrain was applied to keep the root‐mean‐square‐deviation (RMSD) between instantaneous protein structures and a chosen reference structure small. Because the restrain was applied to the overall RMSD rather than to individual atoms, a protein could still experience relatively large conformational changes during docking. To examine the impact of applying such a restrain on docking, we constructed two semi‐flexible protein models by choosing two different crystal structures as reference. Both the balanol analog and ATP were able to dock to either one of these semi‐flexible protein models. On the other hand, balanol could only dock well to one of them. Further analysis indicated that the restrain on the glycine‐rich loop was too strong, preventing it to adjust its structure to accommodate balanol in the binding pocket of PKA. Removing the restrain on the glycine‐rich loop resulted in much better docking poses. This finding demonstrates the important role that the flexibility of the glycine‐rich loop play in accepting different ligands and should profitably not be restrained in molecular docking so that more diverse ligands can be studied. Proteins 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A prospective study of job strain and coronary heart disease in US women.

BACKGROUND Previous studies of job strain and coronary heart disease (CHD) in men have established job strain as a predictor of CHD risk. Despite the wealth of convincing evidence in men for an association between job strain and CHD, data in women remain sparse. METHODS We prospectively evaluated the relation between job strain and CHD risk in the Nurses' Health Study. In this analysis, we followed a sample of 35 038 US female nurses aged 46-71 years, who completed questions about job strain in 1992 and who were free of diagnosed CHD, stroke, and cancer at baseline. The main outcome measure was the incidence of CHD occurring between baseline (1 June 1992) and 31 May 1996. RESULTS During 4 years of follow-up, we documented 146 incident cases of CHD (108 non-fatal cases of myocardial infarction and 38 CHD deaths). No evidence was found for a relationship between job strain and risk of CHD. In multivariate analyses controlling for age, smoking, alcohol intake, body mass index, history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and other covariates, women in high strain jobs did not have an increased risk of CHD (relative risk [RR] = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.42-1.19) compared with women in low strain jobs. Neither women in passive jobs (RR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.69-1.68) nor those in active jobs (RR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.54-1.53) had an increased risk of CHD. CONCLUSIONS Job strain was not related to an increase in the incidence of CHD in the present cohort of nurses.
Interactive Effects of Body Position and Perceived Exertion During Spinning Exercises

Abstract Rendos, NK, Musto, AA, and Signorile, JF. Interactive effects of body position and perceived exertion during Spinning exercises. J Strength Cond Res 29(3): 692–699, 2015—Spinning is a popular group exercise taught in health and fitness facilities worldwide. Throughout a Spinning workout session, intensity is variable and is controlled by body position on the Spinning stationary cycle and perceived resistance. This study examined the effects of 3 body positions and 4 levels of perceived exertion (RPE) on cardiorespiratory response and vastus lateralis normalized electromyographical activity (NrmsEMGVL). Eleven participants (24.4 ± 6.3 years) with 3.2 ± 2.2 years of Spinning experience completed twelve 3-minute randomly assigned Spinning conditions across 4 separate testing days after an 8-hour fast. Conditions were determined by body position (seated, running, and standing climb [SC]) and RPE (low, low-medium, medium-high, and high). Cardiorespiratory data and NrmsEMGVL were recorded continuously during each Spinning condition. Respiratory rate and oxygen consumption were significantly higher for running and SC than seated, and minute ventilation was significantly higher for running than seated. All cardiorespiratory values were higher at medium-high and high RPE, than low or medium-low RPE, and high RPE generated higher respiratory rate and respiratory exchange ratio than medium-high RPE. Significant body position × RPE interactions were observed for heart rate (HR) and NrmsEMGVL with running and SC producing higher HRs than seated at low and high RPE, and running producing higher NrmsEMGVL than seated at low RPE. Results indicate that running and SC provide the greatest cardiorespiratory responses, and maximal efforts are not needed for these responses. Additionally, HR seems to be a poor marker of oxygen consumption, especially at high RPEs.
A Propensity Score Analysis of Brief Worksite Crisis Interventions after the World Trade Center Disaster: Implications for Intervention and Research

Background:Postdisaster crisis interventions have been viewed by some as appropriate to enhance the mental health status of persons affected by large-scale traumatic events. However, studies and systematic reviews have challenged the effectiveness of these efforts. Objectives:The focus of this study was to examine the impact of brief mental health interventions received by employees at the worksite after the World Trade Center disaster (WTCD) among workers in New York City (NYC). Research Design:The data for the present study come from a prospective cohort study of 1121 employed adults interviewed by telephone in a household survey 1 year and 2 years after the WTCD. All study participants were living in NYC at the time of the attacks. For the current study, we used propensity scores to match intervention cases (n = 150) to nonintervention controls (n = 971) using a 1:5 matching ratio based on a bias-corrected nearest-neighbor algorithm. Results:Approximately 7% of NYC adults (∼425,000 persons) reported receiving employer-sponsored, worksite crisis interventions related to the WTCD provided by mental health professionals. In addition, analyses indicated that attending 1 to 3 brief worksite sessions was associated with positive outcomes up to 2 years after the WTCD across a spectrum of results, including reduced alcohol dependence, binge drinking, depression, PTSD severity, and reduced anxiety symptoms. Conclusions:Although our study had limitations, it is one of the few to suggest that brief postdisaster crisis interventions may be effective for employees after mass exposure to psychologically traumatic events. The reasons for the effectiveness of these interventions are unclear at this time and warrant further investigation.
Acute and Subchronic Airway Inflammation after Intratracheal Instillation of Quartz and Titanium Dioxide Agglomerates in Mice

This study investigated the acute and subchronic inflammatory effects of micrometer-size (micro-size) and nanometer-size (nano-size) particles after intratracheal (i.t.) installation in mice. The role of the type of compound, polymorphism, and size of the particles was investigated. Studied compounds were the two micro-size reference quartzes, SRM1878a and DQ12, a micro- and nano-size rutile titanium dioxide (TiO2), a nano-size anatase, and an amorphous TiO2. Particles were administered by a single i.t. instillation in mice at a fixed dose of 5, 50, and 500 μg, respectively. Inflammation was evaluated from the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) content of inflammatory cells, the cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), as well as from lung histology. Evaluations were at 24 h (acute effects) and 3 months (subchronic effects) after instillations. Both types of quartz induced a dose-dependent acute increase of neutrophils, IL-6, and total protein in BALF. Limited subchronic inflammation was observed. All types of TiO2 induced a dose-dependent acute increase of neutrophils in BALF. In the acute phase, micro- and nano-size rutile and nano-size amorphous TiO2 induced elevated levels of IL-6 and total protein in BALF at the highest dose. At the nano-size rutile and amorphous TiO2, subchronic lung inflammation was apparent from a dose-dependent increase in BALF macrophages. Histology showed little inflammation overall. The two types of quartz showed virtually similar inflammatory effects. Nearly similar effects were observed for two sizes of rutile TiO2. Differences were seen between the different polymorphs of nano-size TiO2, with rutile being the most inflammogenic and amorphous being the most potent in regard to acute tissue damage.
Towards the Development of an Integrated Theory of Macro-Level Crime: A Multilevel and Geospatial Analysis of Anomic Disorganization Theory

of a dissertation at the University of Miami. Dissertation supervised by Associate Professor Amie L. Nielsen. No. of pages in text. (189) In recent years, the United States has experienced increasing structural trends of steeply increasing crime rates in some urban neighborhoods and a widening gap in wealth and income inequality between social classes. The primary criminological theory applied to explain neighborhood crime rates is social disorganization theory, while the primary theory linking economic inequality to crime outcomes is institutional anomie theory. However, while there is an increasing trend in the literature towards integrating current theoretical perspectives to better explain macro-level crime, no integrated theoretical frameworks have been developed to explain neighborhood crime patterns applying social disorganization theory at the neighborhood-level and institutional anomie theory at the county-level. Yet, there are many points at which integration of these perspectives is possible and plausible. This dissertation contributes to the literature by first testing social disorganization theory with a nationally-representative sample of 9,593 neighborhoods and then conducting the largest sub-national test of institutional anomie theory to date with data from all 3,142 counties in the United States. Additionally, it contributes by developing and empirically testing an integrated theory of macro-level crime with a multilevel model of 9,365 neighborhoods nested within 83 urban U.S. counties. Finally, geospatial analysis methods are used to examine how social disorganization theory operates at the neighborhood-level in three cities characterized by low, moderate and high levels of economic inequality. The findings provide a comprehensive assessment of the effects of economic inequality on crime rates and show that strong noneconomic social institutions moderate this criminogenic effect. They also suggest that social disorganization and institutional anomie theories are supported with large, representative samples of neighborhoods and counties, and demonstrate that the proposed integrated theory receives tentative support when subjected to empirical testing.