Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Flow cytometric study of in vitro neutrophil activation by biomaterials.

Neutrophil activation for adherent and nonadherent cells, as measured by flow cytometry, was not strongly dependent on material surface chemistry. We had hypothesized that material-induced neutrophil activation was an important parameter associated with material failure. All materials tested [cellophane, an acrylonitrile copolymer (AN69), Pellethane, nylon, polyethylene terephthalate, low density polyethylene, and polydimethylsiloxane] activated isolated human neutrophils, which were resuspended in plasma or serum, to similar extents based on L-selectin shedding, CD11b upregulation, and stimulation of the oxidative burst after 30-min exposure. Inhibition of complement activation by sCR1 unexpectedly had little effect if any on nonadherent neutrophils. However, neutrophil adhesion, but not the level of activation of the adherent cells, was strongly dependent on complement activation. Pretreatment with albumin did not inhibit adhesion or reduce neutrophil activation, but plasma pretreatment resulted in increased activation for nonadherent and adherent cells. More adhesion and a higher level of activation of adherent cells was observed following pretreatment with fibrinogen, a ligand of CD11b. Taken together these results suggest that upon contact with a material, neutrophil activation may occur though mechanisms that are not mediated by complement. For example, the presence of plasma proteins such as fibrinogen at the interface may trigger activation and the release of other activating agents. Although the material differences are small, the extent of activation may be significant and warrant further study of the mechanism and consequences of that activation.
Mono-modal image registration via correntropy measure

The registration of images is a fundamental task in numerous applications in medical image processing. Similarity measure is an important key in intensity based image registration. Here, we propose correntropy measure as similarity measure in mono modal setting. Correntropy is a important measure between two random variables based on information theoretic learning and kernel methods. This measure is useful in non-Gaussian signal processing. In this paper, this measure is used in image registration. Here, we analytically illustrate that this measure is robust in presence of spiky noise (impulsive noise). The experimental results show that the proposed similarity has better performance than traditional intensity-based similarity measures such as Mutual information and SSD.
Modified Latarjet procedure for patients with glenoid bone defect accompanied with anterior shoulder instability.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the effects of coracoid bone block (modified Latarjet) procedure on clinical and functional results in cases with glenoid bone defect accompanied with anterior shoulder instability. METHODS The study included 35 patients (average age: 35 years; range: 20 to 58 years) with glenoid bone defect and recurrent dislocations treated with the modified Latarjet procedure. There were 12 sports injuries, 5 post-epileptic cases and 18 recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation following non-sports-related injuries. Recurrence was reported in 7 patients formerly treated with the Bankart procedure. Average number of preoperative dislocations was 10.8 ± 6.5 and average time range between the first dislocation and surgery was 14.9 ± 13.2 months. All patients underwent preoperative diagnostic arthroscopy. Postoperative isometric exercises in braces were assigned for the first 6 weeks, followed by active strengthening exercises. Pre- and postoperative functional results were evaluated using the ASES (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons) and Rowe scores and pain using the VAS (Visual Analog Scale). RESULTS Osseous union of coracoid graft was achieved in all patients. Average follow-up was 24 ± 12.2 (range: 12 to 74) months. No degenerative arthritis or continuing instability was detected in any of the patients. Average forward flexion was 165° ± 20° and external rotation 59° ± 13°. Mean preoperative ASES and Rowe scores of 49.6 ± 10.6 and 47.9 ± 21.5 increased postoperatively to 91.3 ± 11 and 89.1 ± 9.2, respectively. Mean VAS scores decreased significantly from 6.2 ± 2.4 to 1.8 ± 0.6 postoperatively (p<0.05). CONCLUSION Shoulder functionality and former activity levels can be successfully achieved in terms of increased patient satisfaction through use of the modified Latarjet surgery in the treatment of glenoid bone defect and anterior shoulder instability.
Neighbourhood-Aware Counter-Based Broadcast Scheme for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

Broadcasting is a vital operation in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) and it is crucial to enhance its efficiency to ensure successful deployment. Although flooding is ideal for broadcast operations due to its simplicity and high reachability it suffers from high packet collision which can degrade network performance severely. Counter-based broadcast schemes have been introduced to alleviate the limitations of flooding. This study introduces an enhancement to counter-based broadcast by adjusting the threshold value and the random assessment delay (RAD) using minimal neighbourhood information.
Unsupervised inference of significant locations from WiFi data for understanding human dynamics

Motion and location activities are essential to understanding human dynamics. This paper presents a method for discovering significant locations and individuals' daily routines from WiFi data, a data source considered more suitable for analyzing human dynamics than GPS data. Our method determines significant locations by clustering access points in close proximity using the Affinity Propagation algorithm. We demonstrate the method on the MDC dataset that includes more than 30 million WiFi scans. The experimental results show a high clustering performance for most of the users. The discovered location trajectories revealed interesting mobility patterns of mobile phone users. The human dynamics of participants is reflected through the entropy of the location distributions which shows interesting correlation with the age and occupations of users. Quantitative results are presented to support our proposed approach.
Characterization of the Minimal DNA Binding Domain of the Human Papillomavirus E1 Helicase: Fluorescence Anisotropy Studies and Characterization of a Dimerization-Defective Mutant Protein

ABSTRACT The E1 helicase of papillomaviruses is required for replication of the viral double-stranded DNA genome, in conjunction with cellular factors. DNA replication is initiated at the viral origin by the assembly of E1 monomers into oligomeric complexes that have unwinding activity. In vivo, this process is catalyzed by the viral E2 protein, which recruits E1 specifically at the origin. For bovine papillomavirus (BPV) E1 a minimal DNA-binding domain (DBD) has been identified N-terminal to the enzymatic domain. In this study, we characterized the DBD of human papillomavirus 11 (HPV11), HPV18, and BPV E1 using a quantitative DNA binding assay based on fluorescence anisotropy. We found that the HPV11 DBD binds DNA with an affinity and sequence requirement comparable to those of the analogous domain of BPV but that the HPV18 DBD has a higher affinity for nonspecific DNA. By comparing the DNA-binding properties of a dimerization-defective protein to those of the wild type, we provide evidence that dimerization of the HPV11 DBD occurs only on two appropriately positioned E1 binding-sites and contributes approximately a 10-fold increase in binding affinity. In contrast, the HPV11 E1 helicase purified as preformed hexamers binds DNA with little sequence specificity, similarly to a dimerization-defective DBD. Finally, we show that the amino acid substitution that prevents dimerization reduces the ability of a longer E1 protein to bind to the origin in vitro and to support transient HPV DNA replication in vivo, but has little effect on its ATPase activity or ability to oligomerize into hexamers. These results are discussed in light of a model of the assembly of replication-competent double hexameric E1 complexes at the origin.
Fatty acid composition of serum phospholipid of premenopausal women and postmenopausal women receiving and not receiving hormone replacement therapy

ObjectiveTo compare the fatty acid composition of serum phospholipid of premenopausal women with that of postmenopausal women receiving and not receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT). DesignWomen between the ages of 43 and 70 were recruited for two separate case-comparison studies. Participants were grouped as either premenopausal, postmenopausal receiving HRT, or postmenopausal not receiving HRT. All participants were required to complete a 3-day dietary record before providing a 12-h fasting blood sample. Fatty acid composition of phospholipids and lipid concentrations was determined from serum samples. ResultsThe postmenopausal women receiving HRT had significantly higher concentrations of palmitic acid (16:0), palmitoleic acid (16:1), and di-homo-&ggr;-linolenic (20:3n–6) and significantly lower levels of docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n–3) than the other groups in both studies. In addition, the postmenopausal women receiving HRT had lower levels of behenic (22:0), lignoceric (24:0), and nervonic acid (24:1) in comparison with the postmenopausal women not receiving HRT. ConclusionThe results of this study indicate that the fatty acid composition of serum phospholipids in women is influenced by menopausal status and hormone use. These results are of interest because high levels of 20:3n–6 and low levels of docosapentaenoic acid have been associated with increased myocardial infarction plus stroke mortality from cardiovascular disease.
3D Automatic Segmentation Method for Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography Volume Data Using Boundary Surface Enhancement

With the introduction of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT), much larger image datasets are routinely acquired compared to what was possible using the previous generation of time-domain OCT. Thus, there is a critical need for the development of 3D segmentation methods for processing these data. We present here a novel 3D automatic segmentation method for retinal OCT volume data. Briefly, to segment a boundary surface, two OCT volume datasets are obtained by using a 3D smoothing filter and a 3D differential filter. Their linear combination is then calculated to generate new volume data with an enhanced boundary surface, where pixel intensity, boundary position information, and intensity changes on both sides of the boundary surface are used simultaneously. Next, preliminary discrete boundary points are detected from the A-Scans of the volume data. Finally, surface smoothness constraints and a dynamic threshold are applied to obtain a smoothed boundary surface by correcting a small number of error points. Our method can extract retinal layer boundary surfaces sequentially with a decreasing search region of volume data. We performed automatic segmentation on eight human OCT volume datasets acquired from a commercial Spectralis OCT system, where each volume of data consisted of 97 OCT images with a resolution of 496 512; experimental results show that this method can accurately segment seven layer boundary surfaces in normal as well as some abnormal eyes.
Local constraint integration in a connectionist model of stereo vision

The authors' approach to stereo vision involves: (1) designing a general-purpose low-level matching algorithm: (2) testing it on a wide range of stereo pairs; and (3) adding mechanisms to the low-level algorithm that solve any remaining problems without interfering with its successful behavior. They begin by building the general support algorithm (GSA), a low-level matching algorithm that integrates the influence of a number of a locally defined constraints cooperatively and in parallel using only positive constraint influences (except for uniqueness). The constraints include uniqueness, coarse-to-fine and fine-to-coarse multiresolution, detailed match, figural continuity, and the disparity gradient. The GSA is implemented in a connectionist network. When tested on a wide-range of natural and synthetic images it produces a high percentage (97%) of correct matching decisions. The errors arise in situations that can not be identified using locally-defined constraints. These include partially occluded periodic regions, occlusions, and significant structural differences between the images. <<ETX>>
Color high dynamic range imaging: The luminance–chrominance approach

This article presents a novel and efficient approach to color in high dynamic range (HDR) imaging. In contrast to state‐of‐the‐art methods, we propose to move the complete HDR imaging process from RGB to a luminance–chrominance color space. Our aim is to get a computationally efficient technique and to avoid any possible color distortions originating from the three RGB color channels processed separately. To achieve this, we build a camera response function for the luminance channel only and weight and compose the HDR luminance accordingly, while for the chrominance channels we apply weighting in relation with the saturation level. We demonstrate that our technique yields natural and pleasant to perceive tone‐mapped images and is also more robust to noise. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 17, 152–162, 2007
Hepatitis in Marmosets: Induction of Disease with Coded Specimens from a Human Volunteer Study

Marmosets inoculated with plasma from three early acute hepatitis patients developed hepatitis 30 to 40 days later. Other groups of marmosets receiving preinfection plasmas from the same patients showed no evidence of hepatitis in this experiment. It is, therefore, most probable that hepatitis in marmosets represented transmission of human disease rather than activation of latent "marmoset hepatitis. "
Optimization of condition-based asset management using a predictive health model

In this paper, a model predictive framework is used to optimize the operation and maintenance actions of power system equipment based on the predicted health sate of this equipment. In particular, this framework is used to predict the health state of transformers based on their usage. The health state of a transformer is hereby given by the hot-spot temperature of the paper insulation of the transformer and is predicted using the planned loading of the transformer. The actual loading of the transformer is subsequently optimized using these predictions. If you want to cite this report, please use the following reference instead: G. Bajracharya, T. Koltunowicz, R.R. Negenborn, Z. Papp, D. Djairam, B. De Schutter, J. J. Smit. Optimization of condition-based asset management using a predictive health model. In Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering (ISH 2009), Cape Town, South Africa, August 2009.
Can paediatric early warning score be used as a triage tool in paediatric accident and emergency?

The UK paediatric early warning score (PEWS) was developed for inpatients, looking at admission to the HDU and PICU and trying to produce a system which would recognize those children at risk of admission. Since the introduction of the ‘4-h wait’, accident and emergency (A&E) departments have been under increasing strain to assess, treat and admit patients (if required) as quickly as possible. We designed this study with the view of identifying if the PEWS score could be used as a triage tool, to detect those patients who will need admission and therefore speed up the process of admitting children to the ward. All patients who visited A&E from 1st October–16th October 2006 were audited. The PEWS scores were collated after the study period. 774 children attended A&E during the study period. 316 patients were sent home from triage following nurse-led treatment or sent to another facility. Of the 458 patients remaining, 424 (93%) were included in the study – the only exclusion criterion was the failure of complete documentation of observations. The sensitivity [the probability of a child being admitted with a score of (n)] and the specificity (the probability of a patient not being admitted with a score of 0) were calculated. For all children aged 0–16 years, a PEWS score of ≥4 had a sensitivity of 24% and a specificity of 96%. A PEWS score of ≥2 had a sensitivity of 37% and a specificity of 88%. PEWS is of limited value in predicting admission (in a triage setting) in a population of undifferentiated disease. However, a low PEWS score has a high specificity, that is, a patient scoring <2 is unlikely to need admission.
Social Rankings: análisis visual de sentimientos en redes sociales

Social Rankings ha sido desarrollada por el Grupo de Procesamiento del Lenguaje Natural y Sistemas de Informacion (GPLSI) de la Universidad de Alicante. Esta aplicacion ha sido financiada parcialmente por el Gobierno Espanol a traves de los proyectos ATTOS (TIN2012-38536-C03-03) y LEGOLANG (TIN2012-31224), la Comision Europea a traves del proyecto SAM (FP7-611312), la Generalitat Valenciana a traves del proyecto DIIM2.0 (PROMETEOII/2014/001) y la Universidad de Alicante a traves del proyecto emergente “Explotacion y tratamiento de la informacion disponible en Internet para la anotacion y generacion de textos adaptados al usuario” (GRE13-15).
Changes in Patterns of Age-Related Visual Impairment in the Netherlands: A Comparison of Two Cohorts of Patients Referred to Rehabilitation Programs 10 Years Apart

In developed countries, age-related eye diseases represent the major workload in general ophthalmology. Despite all modern technology and knowledge, it is not possible to improve vision in all the persons with these diseases. As a result of the aging of the population, the number of persons with incurable eye diseases, particularly age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is expected to increase in the next decades (de Boer, Jansonius, Langelaan, & van Rens, 2004; Buch et al., 2004; Pizzarello, 1987; Wormald, Wright, Courtney, Beaumont, & Haines, 1992). This increase will have great consequences for elderly people, the society, and the practice of ophthalmology in low vision clinics. Most of the studies of the causes of visual impairment have been population-based studies (that is, they studied a representative sample of a population, country, or region) (Buch et al., 2004; Dimitrov, Mukesh, McCarty, & Taylor, 2003; Foran, Wang, & Mitchell, 2002; Klaver, Wolfs, Vingerling, Hofman, & de Jong, 1998; Nucci et al., 2005; Pizzarello, 1987; Saw, Foster, Gazzard, & Seah, 2004; van Splunder, Stilma, Bernsen, & Evenhuis, 2004; Weih, Van Newkirk, McCarty, & Taylor, 2000; Wormald et al., 1992). These population-based studies provide important information on the incidence and Page 1 of 10 Changes in Patterns of Age-Related Visual Impairment in the Netherlands: A Comparison of Two Cohor.
Priming of estrous responsiveness by implants of 17 beta-estradiol in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus of female rats.

In an attempt to obtain a more precise localization of the neural target site(s) of estrogen-priming action in the activation of estrous behavior, 30-gauge cannulae containing a preparation of 17 beta-estradiol diluted 1:250 with cholesterol were implanted bilaterally into the brains of ovariectomized rats. Subjects were tested for sexual behavior with intact males at 4-day intervals for 3 weeks beginning 2-3 days after stereotaxic surgery. Animals received a systemic injection of 0.5 mg progesterone 4-6 h before all but 1 test. After this treatment, estrous behavior was observed in 19 of the 20 animals judged to have both cannulae resting in or within 0.25 mm of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN). Virtually no estrous behavior was observed without the administration of progesterone. Behavioral scores decreased as a function of the distance of the cannulae tips from the VMN. Cholesterol implants in the same region (n = 8) were without effect. Implants in other regions of the brain (e.g. preoptic area, diagonal band of Broca, lateral habenula, amygdala, or cortex; n = 52) were ineffective. These results indicate that estrogenic stimulation of the region of the VMN alone is sufficient to prime the activation of estrous behavior in the ovariectomized rat.
Clinical and functional investigation of 10 missense mutations and a novel frameshift insertion mutation of the gene for copper-zinc superoxide dismutase in UK families with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Article abstract-Mutations of the gene SOD-1, which encodes the enzyme copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, occur in patients with a familial form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We investigated 71 families with more than one individual affected by ALS for clinical features and SOD-1 mutations. Mutations were identified in 14 families, indicating the presence of SOD-1 mutations in around 20% of this population. There were 10 different heterozygote missense point mutations in eight different codons, and a novel two-base frameshift insertion (132insTT), which leads to substitution of aspartic acid for glutamic acid at codon 132, and a premature stop codon at 133, with predicted truncation of the protein. SOD enzyme activity was reduced to around 50% of normal in individuals with SOD-1 mutations, and may be a useful predictor for the presence of these mutations. A predilection for disease onset in the lower limbs appears to be a distinguishing feature of familial ALS with SOD-1 mutations, and accords with findings in transgenic mouse models. In general, the finding of an SOD-1 mutation does not accurately predict a prognosis or disease severity. NEUROLOGY 1997;48: 746-751
The examination of problems experienced by nurses and doctors associated with exposure to surgical smoke and the necessary precautions

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This study aims to investigate the problems experienced by nurses and doctors as a result of exposure to surgical smoke and the precautions that need to be taken. BACKGROUND Electrosurgery is carried out in almost all operating rooms, and all of those who work in these rooms are exposed to surgical smoke, especially doctors and nurses. A review of the literature reveals that there are very few studies that have been carried out on surgical smoke, and there are no studies researched on the problems experienced by those working in operating rooms. DESIGN This descriptive study was conducted between April and June 2015. METHODS The study was carried out in the operating rooms of Training and Research Hospital with 81 nurses and doctors. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 23 (Windows), Hacettepe University, Ankara. RESULTS The problems experienced by the nurses and doctors as a result of exposure to surgical smoke included: headache (nurses: 48·9%, doctors: 58·3%), watering of the eyes (nurses: 40·0%, doctors: 41·7%), cough (nurses: 48·9%, doctors: 27·8%), sore throat, bad odours absorbed in the hair, nausea, drowsiness, dizziness, sneezing and rhinitis. Regarding the precautions taken to protect themselves from surgical smoke, 91·1% of the nurses and 86·1% of the doctors reported using surgical masks. CONCLUSIONS It was found that they did not report taking any effective protective measures, and only a few of the nurses reported using special filtration masks. It was observed that the participants widely used surgical masks, which are ineffective in protecting from the effects of surgical smoke. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Attention brought to the effects of surgical smoke. Presentation of the harmful effects of surgical smoke reported by doctors and nurses. Identification of the precautions that can be taken against surgical smoke.