Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transradioulnar Single Kirschner-Wire Fixation Versus Conventional Kirschner-Wire Fixation for Unstable Fractures of Both of the Distal Forearm Bones in Children

The purpose of this study was to introduce transradioulnar single Kirschner-wire (K-wire) fixation technique for unstable fractures of both of the distal forearm bones in children and to evaluate the differences in clinical and radiographic results of osteosynthesis between this method and conventional K-wire fixation. Forty-one patients (20 conventional K-wire fixation, 21 transradioulnar single K-wire fixation) were reviewed who underwent a closed or mini-open reduction with K-wire fixation for fractures of both of the distal forearm bones. Their mean age at operation was 10.7 years (range, 8-16 years). Surgical intervention was indicated (1) when in addition to a complete ulnar fracture, the radius showed a 50% of displacement or greater, or 20-degree angulation or greater, (2) when in addition to an incomplete ulnar fracture, the radius was completely displaced, and (3) when reangulation was 15 degrees or greater in any direction at follow-up. The minimum follow-up period was 2 years. Bony union was achieved in both groups at approximately 7 weeks after surgery, and there were no significant differences in the operative time, duration of hospitalization, and duration of external support between the 2 groups. There were no major complications such as nonunion, radioulnar synostosis, premature physeal closure, or redisplacement or reangulation. Transradioulnar single K-wire fixation technique was a relatively simple procedure with comparable outcomes compared with conventional K-wire fixation technique. In addition, physeal injuries could be avoided, and there was no need for passing across the fracture line. Thus, it is suggested that transradioulnar single K-wire fixation technique can be a good alternative method for high-risk fractures of both of the distal forearm bones in children.
Concept of wear-type muscular support apparatus (muscle suit)

In order to enable people who can not move to move, we have been developing "muscle suit" by wearing which muscular force can be supported. Muscle suit consists of wear and Mckibben type actuator driven by compressed air. Because actuators are sewed in wear, it is no need to use metal frame and thus muscle suit comes to very light and cheap. Most of medical and welfare apparatus have been developing for dare giver and then there is few apparatus for people in need of nursing care. As the result, they lost their own identity and positive attitude. It is possible for them, by wearing the muscle suit, to enable their body such as arms and legs to control by their own will. The muscle suit thus are very useful and helpful not only for muscular force support but also mental support.
Piecing together the NFV provisioning puzzle: Efficient placement and chaining of virtual network functions

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is a promising network architecture concept, in which virtualization technologies are employed to manage networking functions via software as opposed to having to rely on hardware to handle these functions. By shifting dedicated, hardware-based network function processing to software running on commoditized hardware, NFV has the potential to make the provisioning of network functions more flexible and cost-effective, to mention just a few anticipated benefits. Despite consistent initial efforts to make NFV a reality, little has been done towards efficiently placing virtual network functions and deploying service function chains (SFC). With respect to this particular research problem, it is important to make sure resource allocation is carefully performed and orchestrated, preventing over- or under-provisioning of resources and keeping end-to-end delays comparable to those observed in traditional middlebox-based networks. In this paper, we formalize the network function placement and chaining problem and propose an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) model to solve it. Additionally, in order to cope with large infrastructures, we propose a heuristic procedure for efficiently guiding the ILP solver towards feasible, near-optimal solutions. Results show that the proposed model leads to a reduction of up to 25% in end-to-end delays (in comparison to chainings observed in traditional infrastructures) and an acceptable resource over-provisioning limited to 4%. Further, we demonstrate that our heuristic approach is able to find solutions that are very close to optimality while delivering results in a timely manner.
Dynamic Spectrum Leasing and Service Selection in Spectrum Secondary Market of Cognitive Radio Networks

We consider a problem of dynamic spectrum leasing in a spectrum secondary market of cognitive radio networks where secondary service providers lease spectrum from spectrum brokers to provide service to secondary users. The problem is challenging when the optimal decisions of both secondary providers and secondary users are made dynamically under competition. To address this problem, a two-level dynamic game framework is developed in this paper. Since the secondary users can adapt the service selection strategies according to the received service quality and price, the dynamic service selection is modeled as an evolutionary game at the lower level. The replicator dynamics is applied to model the service selection adaptation and the evolutionary equilibrium is considered to be the solution. With dynamic service selection, competitive secondary providers can dynamically lease spectrum to provide service to secondary users. A spectrum leasing differential game is formulated to model this competition at the upper level. Both simultaneous play model and asynchronous play model are considered. The service selection distribution of the underlying evolutionary game describes the state of the upper differential game. Both open-loop and closed-loop Nash equilibria are obtained as the solution of dynamic control of the differential game. Numerical comparison shows the advantages over static control in terms of profit and convergence speed.
On the purpose of object-oriented analysis

The paper discusses the general purpose of analysis and evaluates OOA with respect to this, arguing that OOA does not deliver what it claims to do. The two major problems are that OOA often does not meet the full needs of the analysis phase, and that the transition to design is not always as easy as promised. The last point is illustrated by a solution to the OOPSLA conference registration problem. Due to the mentioned shortcomings, OOA/OOD was not found sufficient for forming the basis of a common development methodology for three Norwegian software producers in a technology transfer project with our university. The suggestion made is that OOA should become problem-oriented rather than target-oriented.
Beyond the Call: Mothers of Children with Developmental Disabilities Responding to Sexual Abuse

A qualitative, interdisciplinary study was undertaken to examine the experiences of mothers of children with developmental disabilities who were sexually abused. In-depth interviews were conducted with four mothers, their children, and the professionals involved with each case. The dual impact of caring for a child with a disability together with dealing with the aftermath of child sexual abuse, both personally and systemically, was considered. Individual professionals went out of their way to try to help, but, nonetheless, the abuse increased what was already a significant burden of care and further reinforced stigmatization, marginalization, and powerlessness. At the same time, the study painted a picture of committed and determined mothers who were devoted to their children.
Characterisation of cut and chip behaviour for NR, SBR and BR compounds with an instrumented laboratory device

Understanding the cut and chip (CC) effect in rubber is important for successful product development for tires used in off-road or poor road conditions and for other demanding applications of rubber. This research describes a laboratory testing method for characterising the CC fracture behaviour of rubber using a device that controls and records multiple applied loads and displacements during cyclic impact to the surface of a solid rubber specimen to mimic and quantify the CC damage experienced by tire tread compounds. To study the capabilities of the instrument, three model compounds were studied that are based on carbon black reinforced compounds of common elastomers used in tire treads: natural rubber (NR), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and butadiene rubber (BR). These polymers have well-established CC tendencies in field performance of tire treads, with NR exhibiting the best CC resistance followed by SBR and finally BR. The same trend was found with the rubber impact testing approach that allowed the CC behaviour to be quantified using a new physical parameter which is the CC propensity (P). The relative ranking for CC resistance for the three compounds followed the fatigue crack growth resistances of the materials but was exactly opposite to the ranking of DIN abrasion resistance. This provides evidence that CC damage from impact by mm-scale asperities and abrasion of rubber against μm-scale asperities exhibit distinct characteristics in rubber.
Vessel Extraction Under Non-Uniform Illumination: A Level Set Approach

Vessel extraction is one of the critical tasks in clinical practice. This communication presents a new approach for vessel extraction using a level-set-based active contour by defining a novel local term that takes local image contrast into account. The proposed model not only preserves the performance of the existing models on blurry images, but also overcomes their inability to handle nonuniform illumination. The efficacy of the approach is demonstrated with experiments involving both synthetic images and clinical angiograms.
Current trends in adoption of the CMMI/spl reg/ Product Suite

This paper examines the current stage of adoption of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Product Suite. It is based on appraisal reports submitted to and processed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI/sup SM/) as of July 10, 2003. Relevant appraisal data-including organization type, geographic distribution, and appraisal history-are used to describe CMMI adoption and use patterns. This paper also explains some characteristics of the appraisal process and obtained results.
Inhibitory Effects of Sigma-2 Receptor Agonists on T Lymphocyte Activation

Sigma (σ) receptor ligands are essentially known for their effects on the nervous system although recent studies have shown their potential effects modulating some other pathophysiological processes as cell proliferation, cancer, and the immune response. Here, we have analyzed the actions of σ-1 and σ-2 receptors ligands on T cell activation. Our results show that treatment of Jurkat T cells with σ-2 agonists decreased the induction of the expression of Interleukin (IL)-2, Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 by activated T cells in a dose-dependent manner. These effects take place at the transcriptional level since σ-2 agonists BD-737 and CB-184 diminished the activity of the promoters of those genes. Those immunosuppressive effects could be attributable to interference with transcription factor activation. Induced transcription mediated by Nuclear factor (NF)-κB or Nuclear Factor of Activated T cells (NFAT) was inhibited by σ-2 agonists. These effects seem to be specific for σ-2 agonists as no significant effects on T cell activation by σ-1 ligands PRE-084 and BD-1063 were found. Our results provide new insights into the immunomodulatory actions of σ ligands and describe a new property of σ-2 agonists, through inhibition of activation of transcription factors as NFAT by which these compounds are regulating gene expression. This may have important consequences on the possible therapeutic use of those compounds.
Automatic three-dimensional-scanned garment fitting based on virtual tailoring and geometric sewing

In this article, we presented a new automatic three-dimensional-scanned garment fitting method for A-Pose-scanned human models. Both the garment and the human body were decomposed based on feature lines defined by various landmarks. The patches of the three-dimensional garment were automatically positioned around the human model by setting up the correspondence via feature matching. Virtual sewing was engaged to obtain the final results of virtual dressing. The penetration between cloth model and human model was solved by a geometrical method constrained by Laplacian-based deformation. The experimental results indicated that the proposed method was an efficient way for redressing various garments onto various human models while maintaining the original geometrical features of garments.
The ‘kinetochore maintenance loop’—The mark of regulation?

Kinetochores can form and be maintained on DNA sequences that are normally non‐centromeric. The existence of these so‐called neo‐centromeres has posed the problem as to the nature of the epigenetic mechanisms that maintain the centromere. Here we highlight results that indicate that the amount of CENP‐A at human centromeres is tightly regulated. It is also known that kinetochore assembly requires sister chromatid cohesion at mitosis. We therefore suggest that separation or stretching between the sister chromatids at metaphase reciprocally determines the amount of centromere assembly in the subsequent interphase. This reciprocal relationship forms the basis of a negative feedback loop that could precisely control the amount of CENP‐A and faithfully maintain the presence of a kinetochore over many cell divisions. We describe how the feedback loop would work, propose how it could be tested experimentally and suggest possible components of its mechanism.
Socio-economic differences in exposure to television food advertisements in the UK: a cross-sectional study of advertisements broadcast in one television region

Abstract Objective To document socio-economic differences in exposure to food advertising, including advertisements for foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) as defined by the UK Food Standards Agency's Nutrient Profiling Model. Design A cross-sectional survey. Information (including product advertised and viewing figures) on all advertisements broadcast in one UK region over one week (6–12 July 2009) was obtained. Food advertisements were identified and linked to nutritional information on the content of advertised foods. Setting UK Tyne-Tees television region. Subjects Data were sourced from a UK-wide television viewing panel. Results Eleven per cent of advertising seen was for food and 63 % of food advertising seen was for HFSS foods. The proportion of all advertising seen that was for food was smaller among viewers in the least v. most affluent social grade (OR = 0·98, 99 % CI 0·95, 1·00). There was no difference in the proportion of food advertising seen that was for HFSS food between viewers in the most and least affluent social grades. Total exposure to both all food advertising and HFSS food advertising was 2·1 times greater among the least v. the most affluent viewers. Conclusions While the least affluent viewers saw relatively fewer food advertisements, their absolute exposure to all food and HFSS food advertisements was higher than that of the most affluent viewers. Current UK restrictions prohibit advertisements for HFSS foods during programmes with a high proportion of child viewers. Extending these to all programming may reduce socio-economic inequalities in exposure to these advertisements and in diet and obesity.
Attachment to laminin-111 facilitates transforming growth factor β-induced expression of matrix metalloproteinase-3 in synovial fibroblasts

Background: In the synovial membrane of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a strong expression of laminins and matrix degrading proteases was reported. Aim: To investigate the regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in synovial fibroblasts (SFs) of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and RA by attachment to laminin-1 (LM-111) and in the presence or absence of costimulatory signals provided by transforming growth factor β (TGFβ). Methods: SFs were seeded in laminin-coated flasks and activated by addition of TGFβ. The expression of genes was investigated by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), immunocytochemistry and ELISA, and intracellular signalling pathways by immunoblotting, and by poisoning p38MAPK by SB203580, MEK-ERK by PD98059 and SMAD2 by A-83-01. Results: Attachment of SF to LM-111 did not activate the expression of MMPs, but addition of TGFβ induced a fivefold higher expression of MMP-3. Incubation of SF on LM-111 in the presence of TGFβ induced a significant 12-fold higher expression of MMP-3 mRNA, and secretion of MMP-3 was elevated 20-fold above controls. Functional blocking of LM-111–integrin interaction reduced the laminin-activated MMP-3 expression significantly. Stimulation of SF by LM-111 and TGFβ activated the p38MAPK, ERK and SMAD2 pathways, and inhibition of these pathways by using SB203580, PD98059 or A-83-01 confirmed the involvement of these pathways in the regulation of MMP-3. Conclusion: Attachment of SF to LM-111 by itself has only minor effects on the expression of MMP-1 or MMP-3, but it facilitates the TGFβ-induced expression of MMP-3 significantly. This mode of MMP-3 induction may therefore contribute to inflammatory joint destruction in RA independent of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)1β or tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α.
Octadecabacter jejudonensis sp. nov., isolated from the junction between the ocean and a freshwater spring and emended description of the genus Octadecabacter.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-spore-forming, non-flagellated, rod-shaped bacterial strain, SSK2-1(T), was isolated from the zone where the ocean and a freshwater spring meet at Jeju island, South Korea, and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. Strain SSK2-1(T) grew optimally at 30 °C, at pH 7.0-8.0 and in the presence of 2.0% (w/v) NaCl. Neighbour-joining, maximum-likelihood and maximum-parsimony phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain SSK2-1(T) clustered with the type strains of two Octadecabacter species, showing 96.5-96.8% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Strain SSK2-1(T) and Octadecabacter arcticus DSM 13978(T) contained Q-10 as the predominant ubiquinone and C18 : 1ω7c as the common major fatty acid. The polar lipid profile of strain SSK2-1(T) was similar to that of O. arcticus DSM 13978(T) by having phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol and one unidentified aminolipid as the major components. The DNA G+C content of strain SSK2-1(T) was 60.1 mol%. Differential phenotypic properties, particularly temperature range for growth, oxidase activity and nitrate reduction, together with phylogenetic distinctiveness, revealed that strain SSK2-1(T) is separate from recognized species of the genus Octadecabacter. On the basis of the data presented, strain SSK2-1(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Octadecabacter, for which the name Octadecabacter jejudonensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SSK2-1(T) ( = KCTC 32535(T) = CECT 8397(T)).
To normalize, or not to normalize: The impact of normalization on Part-of-Speech tagging

Does normalization help Part-of-Speech (POS) tagging accuracy on noisy, non-canonical data? To the best of our knowledge, little is known on the actual impact of normalization in a real-world scenario, where gold error detection is not available. We investigate the effect of automatic normalization on POS tagging of tweets. We also compare normalization to strategies that leverage large amounts of unlabeled data kept in its raw form. Our results show that normalization helps, but does not add consistently beyond just word embedding layer initialization. The latter approach yields a tagging model that is competitive with a Twitter state-of-the-art tagger.
Joint Scheduling of Jobs and Variable Maintenance Activities in the Flowshop Sequencing Problems: Review, Classification and Opportunities

Much of the scheduling theory assumes that machines are always available to process jobs at any time during the scheduling horizon. However, machines may be unavailable for various reasons in realistic practices, such as unexpected failures or variable maintenance activities. This article discusses in depth the works published in the literature of joint scheduling of jobs and variable maintenance activities in the flowshop sequencing problems. Our literature review focuses first on the basic concepts of scheduling problems, and more specifically, the scheduling strategies of production and maintenance that have been identified in the literature. Subsequently, we focus our attention on the principal methods for solving scheduling problems, while presenting in the following the main published works for the aforementioned systems. Lastly, a comparative analysis is carried out to highlight the fundamental ideas leading to the adoption of an effective approach capable of producing an optimal solution in a reasonable calculation time.
High level specification and control of communication gestures: the GESSYCA system

This paper describes a complete system for the specification and the generation of communication gestures. A high level language for the specification of hand-arm communication gestures has been developed. This language is based both on a discrete description of space, and on a movement decomposition inspired from sign language gestures. Communication gestures are represented through symbolic commands which can be described by qualitative data, and traduced in terms of spatiotemporal targets driving a generation system. Such an approach is possible for the class of generation models controlled through key-points information. The generation model used in our approach is composed of a set of sensory-motor servo-loops. Each of these models resolves in real time the inversion of the servo-loop, from the direct specification of location targets, while satisfying psycho-motor laws of biological movement. The whole control system is applied to the synthesis, and a validation of the synthesized movements is presented.
The &bgr;-2 agonist debate: is there still a problem?

Purpose of reviewTo present an evidence-based review of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendations for long-acting &bgr; agonist (LABA) use in asthma. Recent findingsThe FDA recommendation contraindicating the use of LABAs without a concomitant asthma-controller medication such as an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) is supported, with the caveat that concomitant use of an asthma-controller medication applies only to ICS therapy and not other asthma controller medications (such as leukotriene receptor antagonist therapy or theophylline). The recommendation that LABA therapy be stopped once asthma control is achieved is restrictive. Although downtitration of therapy should be considered in patients with asthma, who are well controlled, other options such as reducing the dose of ICS may be preferable to stopping LABA therapy. In patients who are at risk of unstable asthma or severe exacerbations, maintaining the ICS/LABA therapy without downtitration may be required. The recommendation against LABA use in patients whose asthma is adequately controlled with a low or medium dose ICS is supported. The recommendation that fixed-dose combination ICS/LABA products should be the only form in which LABAs are prescribed in adolescents and paediatric patients should be extended to all asthma patients. SummaryThe current &bgr; agonist debate focuses on the optimal management approaches for the use of LABA therapy to both minimize risk and maximize clinical efficacy.