Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Lumbar Spine Fusion Using Mixed and Cloned Marrow Cells

Study Design. Prospective study on lumbar spine fusion using cloned and mixed marrow cells. Objective. To analyze the effectiveness of cloned osteoprogenitor cells in spine fusion and their differentiation in vivo using a traceable gene. Summary of Background Data. Although autografts are currently the standard for stable spine fusion, supply is limited. Alternative graft materials need to be developed and evaluated. Methods. An osteoprogenitor cell, D1-BAG, cloned from mouse bone marrow and transduced with LacZ and neomycin resistance genes, and mixed marrow stromal cells from marrow blowouts were used in athymic rats to establish posterior spinal fusion; 2 × 106 cells in 100 &mgr;L Matrigel were implanted into the lumbar fusion bed in 36 animals, whereas Matrigel without cells was used in 16 animals as control. Rats were killed at 2, 3, 6, and 9 weeks, and the spines were evaluated by manual palpation, radiographs, and histology. Results. Two weeks after surgery radiopaque tissue was seen at transplantation sites with D1-BAG cells but not at sites with mixed marrow stromal cells. Successful spine fusion at 6 and 9 weeks was observed in 8 of 8 (100%) animals receiving DI-BAG cells, 4 of 8 (50%) in mixed marrow stromal cells, and 0 of 8 (0%) in control animals. Conclusions. Compared with mixed marrow stromal cells, cloned osteoprogenitor cells can produce a larger amount of mature osseous tissue at an earlier time point during spine fusion.
Fast and Effective Generation of Candidate-Sequences for Sequential Pattern Mining

The existing sequential pattern mining algorithms fall into two categories. One is the candidate-generation-and-test approach such as GSP, and the other is the pattern-growth approach such as PrefixSpan. Both GSP and PrefixSpan require setting the minimum support before their execution. We propose a new approach, called Fast and Effective Generation of Candidate-sequences (FEGC), to mine sequential patterns without predetermining the minimum support threshold. The main contribution is to scan all transactions in the database once and generate all the subsequences with their support counters. The experiments show that our algorithm performs well in various datasets.
The application of quantitative trade-off analysis to guide efficient medicine use within the UK NHS

Background: The UK National Health Service (NHS) currently spends in excess of £17 billion per annum on medicines. To ensure sustainability, medicines with limited clinical value should not be routinely prescribed. The randomised controlled trial (RCT) aims to meet regulatory standards, therefore it has limited value to guide practice when multiple agents from the same therapeutic class are available. The quantitative trade-off analysis, with consideration to efficacy, safety, tolerability and / or cost, may enable the translation of regulatory data to clinically-relevant data for new and existing medicines. / Methods: This concept aims to provide clarity to clinicians and guideline developers on the efficient use of new medicines where multiple options exist for the same licensed indication. Research projects of clinical relevance were identified from an academically led London Area Prescribing Committee (APC). Therapeutic areas included refractory epilepsy, hypertension and heart failure, overactive bladder syndrome, and atrial fibrillation. Frequentist and / or Bayesian meta-analysis were performed and supplemented with a trade-off analysis with parameters determined in consultation with field experts. / Results: The trade-off analysis was able to establish a rank order of treatments considered thereby providing clarification to decision-makers on the DTC / APC panel where regulatory data could not. The results, presented as a hierarchy of treatments, enabled modifications to prescribing trends within North Central London as the pilot site, resulting in significant cost avoidance and cost savings for the NHS. / Conclusions: The quantitative trade-off analysis was able to resolve concerns raised by the DTC / APC panel via translation of regulatory data to clinically-relevant data with consideration to defined benefits and harms. Results were implemented successfully within a local pilot health economy. This approach is recommended as an extension of existing methods required by regulatory agencies in the assessment and licensing of new medicines.
Raiding the inarticulate: The internal analytic setting and listening beyond countertransference

The analytic setting exists not only externally but also internally as a structure in the mind of the analyst. The internal analytic setting constitutes an area of the analyst's mind where reality is defined by unconscious symbolic meaning. Clinical examples illustrate how a secure internal setting allows flexibility in the external setting without sacrifice of its analytic quality. The internal setting can help analysts listen inwardly to themselves in a way that is free‐floating with regard to their internal processes. This points beyond usual ideas of countertransference. An analytic encounter may stir up elements that belong to the analyst's psyche which, rather than impeding the analysis, can actively enrich it. Seamus Heaney's writings evoke comparisons between listening to poems and listening to patients, and a week in a patient's analysis is described in relation to these themes.
Clinical outcome of shoulder muscle transfer for shoulder deformities in obstetric brachial plexus palsy: A study of 150 cases

Background: Residual muscle weakness, cross-innervation (caused by misdirected regenerating axons), and muscular imbalance are the main causes of internal rotation contractures leading to limitation of shoulder joint movement, glenoid dysplasia, and deformity in obstetric brachial plexus palsy. Muscle transfers and release of antagonistic muscles improve range of motion as well as halt or reverse the deterioration in the bony architecture of the shoulder joint. The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of shoulder muscle transfer for shoulder abnormalities in obstetric brachial plexus palsy. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty patients of obstetric brachial plexus palsy with shoulder deformity underwent shoulder muscle transfer along with anterior shoulder release at our institutions from 1999 to 2007. Shoulder function was assessed both preoperatively and postoperatively using aggregate modified Mallet score and active and passive range of motion. The mean duration of follow-up was 4 years (2.5–8 years). Results: The mean preoperative abduction was 45° ± 7.12, mean passive external rotation was 10° ± 6.79, the mean active external rotation was 0°, and the mean aggregate modified Mallet score was 11.2 ± 1.41. At a mean follow-up of 4 years (2.5–8 years), the mean active abduction was 120° ± 18.01, the mean passive external rotation was 80° ± 10.26, while the mean active external rotation was 45° ± 3.84. The mean aggregate modified Mallet score was 19.2 ± 1.66. Conclusions: This procedure can thus be seen as a very effective tool to treat internal rotation and adduction contractures, achieve functional active abduction and external rotation, as well as possibly prevent glenohumeral dysplasia, though the long-term effects of this procedure may still have to be studied in detail clinico-radiologically to confirm this hypothesis. Level of evidence: Therapeutic level IV
Structure and expression of the herpes simplex virus type 2 glycoprotein gB gene

The gene for glycoprotein gB2 of herpes simplex virus type 2 strain 333 was cloned, sequenced, and expressed in mammalian cells. The gB2 protein had an overall nucleotide and amino acid sequence homology of 86% with the cognate gB1 protein. However, of the 125 amino acid substitutions or deletions, only 12.5% were conservative replacements. These differences were clustered within an NH2-terminal region, a central region, and a COOH-terminal region, resulting in domains of near identity broken by small regions of marked divergence. Regions of greatest homology included a 90-amino-acid stretch starting at residue 484 and 39 amino acids spanning residues 835 to 873, which cover a rate-of-entry locus mapped to Ala-552 and a syn locus mapped to Arg-857, respectively, in gB1 by Bzik et al. (D. J. Bzik, B. A. Fox, N. A. DeLuca, and S. Person, Virology 133:301-314, 1984). Pellett et al. (P. E. Pellett, K. G. Kousoulas, L. Pereira, and B. Roizman, J. Virol. 53:243-253, 1985) mapped the mutations in three monoclonal antibody-resistant gB1 mutants between amino acids 273 and 443. These epitopes are included in a region of 98 residues identical between gB1 and gB2. The identity of this protein was verified by placing a truncated gene lacking the 303 carboxyl-terminal amino acids of gB2 into mammalian COS and CHO cells. Expression was demonstrated by immunofluorescence and radioimmunoprecipitation. This protein will be purified from the stable CHO cell lines and compared with gB1 for immunogenicity and protective efficacy in animal challenge models.
Pirfenidone for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

ABSTRACT Introduction: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a diffuse parenchymal lung disease with no cure. Up until recently, no treatment had been proven to alter its natural history as judged by rate of lung function decline. In 2014 however, the emergence of two novel anti-fibrotic agents, Pirfenidone and Nintedanib revolutionized the management of this condition. Both have demonstrated the ability to deliver a major reduction in the rate of chronic IPF progression. Areas Covered: This review article focuses on Pirfenidone – a pyridone derivative initially designed as an analgesic and anti-pyretic agent. Here we describe the history of the drug from its inception through to exploratory pre-clinical in-vitro and in-vivo studies where its anti-fibrotic potential was identified, and eventually to large multicenter randomized controlled trials. Expert Commentary: This article also summarizes some of the difficulties surrounding clinical end-point selection in IPF trials and addresses some of the challenges facing the IPF community over the coming years.
Stratégies de commande référencées multi-capteurs et gestion de la perte du signal visuel pour la navigation d’un robot mobile

La synthese de lois de commande efficaces apparait comme un enjeu important dans la realisation autonome de tâches de navigation robotiques. Ce probleme peut etre aborde par differentes approches. L'une d'entre elles, la commande referencee capteur, permet de definir les boucles de commande directement a partir des mesures sensorielles au lieu de les exprimer en fonction de l'etat du robot. Dans ce contexte, du fait de la richesse du signal video, la vision apparait comme un capteur privilegie pour la realisation de tâches tres variees de maniere precise. Cependant, la commande referencee vision reposant sur la seule regulation des indices visuels dans l'image s'avere mal adaptee pour realiser des tâches de navigation complexes dans des environnements encombres d'obstacles. En effet, dans ce cas, il est necessaire de garantir d'une part la securite du robot, et d'autre part la disponibilite permanente des indices visuels dans l'image. Ce sont precisement ces problemes que nous avons voulu etudier dans le cadre de cette these. Notre contribution a consiste a definir des strategies de commande referencees multi-capteurs pour un robot mobile realisant une tâche referencee vision dans un environnement encombre d'obstacles susceptibles d'occulter le motif visuel. Nous avons tout d'abord propose des lois de commandes permettant d'eviter a la fois les occultations et les collisions. Toutefois, les resultats obtenus ont montre que chercher a eviter simultanement ces deux phenomenes surcontraignait le mouvement du robot, limitant la gamme des missions realisables. Nous avons alors developpe une seconde approche consistant a tolerer temporairement la perte du signal visuel. Celle-ci repose sur l'exploitation de la reversibilite du lien vision/mouvement exprime par le torseur d'interaction. Nous avons ainsi propose dans un cadre general plusieurs methodes (analytiques et numeriques) de reconstruction du signal visuel lorsqu'il devient indisponible. Nous avons ensuite valide ch acune de ces methodes dans le cas de la realisation d'une tâche de navigation referencee vision dans un milieu encombre d'obstacles. Nous avons egalement montre l'interet de nos approches lorsque la camera presente un defaut de fonctionnement pendant l'execution d'une mission.
The effect of eating on lower esophageal sphincter electrical activity.

Electrical activity of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) has been recorded mainly in vitro and in anesthetized animals. Swallowing produces relaxation of the LES, followed by its contraction. These changes should be associated with changes in LES electrical activity. To determine whether changes in LES electrical activity can be used to recognize the beginning of a meal, four dogs were implanted with two electrodes in the longitudinal axis of the LES. The electrodes were connected to an implantable device for recording of electrical activity. After recovery, dogs underwent two experiments: 1) combined recordings of LES electrical activity and esophageal manometry to test the effect of dry swallows, water, and solid food swallows on LES electrical activity and 2) telemetric recording of LES electrical activity during a standard meal. All amplitudes were in mV, means+/-SD, ANOVA, P<0.05. In experiment 1, an increase in the amplitude of LES electrical activity was associated with the substance being swallowed, i.e., at rest: 0.31+/-0.06; dry swallows: 0.6+/-. 0.1; water: 0.67+/-0.12; solid food: 1.06+/-0.17, P<0.001. In experiment 2, there was a pronounced and characteristic increase in amplitude of LES electrical activity during feeding, 0.26+/-0.1; during fasting, 0.99+/-0.23; while eating, 0.31+/-0.1 postprandial, P<0.001. In conclusion, the beginning and duration of a meal are identified by distinct, easily recognizable changes in the amplitude of LES electrical activity. These changes depend on the type of the substance being swallowed and are most prominent with solid food. Changes in LES electrical activity can potentially be used for automatic eating detection.
Caractérisation des structures audiovisuelles par analyse statistique des relations temporelles

Les travaux de cette these concernent la caracterisation de la structure de documents audiovisuels. A partir de la detection d'evenements caracteristiques du contenu du document et de sa structure, nous proposons une representation de la structure temporelle d'un document que nous utilisons ensuite pour comparer plusieurs documents. Les methodes existantes permettant d'identifier la structure d'un document utilisent intensivement les connaissances a priori sur le type du document et son contenu. L'optique que nous avons choisie est differente. La methode que nous proposons se veut generique c'est-a-dire applicable a tout type de document audiovisuel et ne tenant compte d'aucune information a priori. Elle est basee sur l'analyse des relations temporelles entre les evenements detectes, sur la representation parametrique de ces relations et sur leur nombre d'occurrence. Afin d'elargir l'analyse des relations temporelles, nous avons propose une algebre des relations basee sur cette representation parametrique. Les experimentations menees demontrent l'interet de notre methode pour aborder de nouveaux types d'analyse automatique des contenus audiovisuels. Afin de pouvoir comparer des documents entre eux tout en exploitant le cadre theorique propose sur l'analyse des relations temporelles, nous avons defini une distance et une mesure de similarite entre documents qui prend en compte la structure temporelle des documents et de leur contenu et qui est particulierement appreciable pour gerer des collections ainsi que nous le montrons a travers differents exemples.
Recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a drug-mediated, prothrombotic disorder caused by immunization against platelet factor 4 (PF4) after complex formation with heparin or other polyanions. After their binding to PF4/heparin complexes on the platelet surface, HIT antibodies are capable of intravascular platelet activation by cross-linking Fcγ receptor IIA leading to a platelet count decrease and/or thrombosis. Diagnosis of HIT is often difficult. This, and the low specificity of the commercially available immunoassays, leads currently to substantial overdiagnosis of HIT. Timing of onset, the moderate nature of thrombocytopenia, and the common concurrence of thrombosis are very important factors, which help to differentiate HIT from other potential causes of thrombocytopenia. A combination of a clinical pretest scoring system and laboratory investigation is usually necessary to diagnose HIT. Although HIT is considered to be a rare complication of heparin treatment, the very high number of hospital inpatients, and increasingly also hospital outpatients receiving heparin, still result in a considerable number of patients developing HIT. If HIT occurs, potentially devastating complications such as life-threatening thrombosis make it one of the most serious adverse drug reactions. If HIT is strongly suspected, all heparin must be stopped and an alternative nonheparin anticoagulant started at a therapeutic dose to prevent thromboembolic complications. However, the nonheparin alternative anticoagulants bear a considerable bleeding risk, especially if given to patients with thrombocytopenia due to other reasons than HIT. While established drugs for HIT are disappearing from the market (lepirudin, danaparoid), bivalirudin, fondaparinux and potentially the new anticoagulants such as dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban provide new treatment options.
Vectorisation automatique des forêts dans les minutes de la carte d'état-major du 19e siècle

Dans cet article, nous proposons une nouvelle methode pour extraire automatiquement les forets dans les cartes d’etat-major du 19e siecle numerisees. La demarche proposee est constituee de quatre etapes principales : filtrage de l’image, changement d’espace colorimetrique, identification des forets a l’aide d’un detecteur non parametrique (SVDD), post-traitement. La methode est suffisamment robuste pour prendre en compte la diversite des representations possibles des forets dans ces cartes anciennes. Les resultats montrent des performances elevees avec une precision globale de detection obtenue de 95 %. Cette approche ouvre de nouvelles perspectives pour les differentes etudes environnementales incluant une dimension historique.
Performance of the Ultra-Wide Word Model

The Ultra-wide word model of computation (UWRAM) is an extension of the WordRAM model which has an ALU that can operate on w bits at a time, where w is the size in bits of a cell in memory. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the applicability of the UWRAM model, particularly when compared to the PRAM model, from an algorithmic point of view, to determine its potential for common applications. The work is divided into three sections: First we describe the model, its instruction set, strengths and weaknesses, and provide a few small examples that showcase the functionality of the model and how simple techniques can be used to speed up sequential algorithms. In the second section, we discuss the problem of sorting and searching, and show that elaborate data structures such as the fusion tree can be easily adapted to the model, allowing the sorting of n integers in O(n logn log logn ) time with small constant factors. Lastly, we provide simulations of UWRAM and PRAM programs to solve two problems: subset sum and string matching. In the first case we show how a dynamic programming algorithm can be sped up using bit parallelism where traditional parallelism is difficult to achieve, and in the second, we show that even in a problem that is simple to parallelize traditionally, the UWRAM can perform well when compared to a PRAM.
Wall parameters estimation method for through-the-wall radar imaging

The location of the target will be displaced from the true position in presence of the wall in through-the-wall radar imaging, which should be compensated on the basis of wall parameters, such as thickness and dielectric constant. In this paper, a new wall parameter estimation algorithm is presented, according to the signal propagation characteristics in the homogeneous wall. The wall parameters can be obtained conveniently by placing the antennas at the same side of the wall, just only using one group of the data in theory. We validate the proposed algorithm using the real data collected in a laboratory environment, and the estimation errors have been analyzed in the paper. The new algorithm has several advantages in practical application, including safety, covertness and rapid acquisition time.
Differential gene expression of GDP‐L‐fucose‐synthesizing enzymes, GDP‐fucose transporter and fucosyltransferase VII

L‐fucose is a fundamental monosaccharide component of many mammalian glycoproteins and glycolipids. Fucosylation requires GDP‐L‐fucose as a donor of fucose and a specific fucosyltransferase (Fuc‐T) to catalyze the transfer of L‐fucose to various lactosamine acceptor molecules. The biosynthesis of GDP‐L‐fucose consists of two pathways. The constitutively active de novo pathway involves conversion of cellular GDP‐D‐mannose to GDP‐L‐fucose by GDP‐D‐mannose‐4,6‐dehydratase (GMD) and GDP‐4‐keto‐6‐deoxy‐D‐mannose‐3,5‐epimerase‐4‐reductase (FX). In the alternative biosynthetic pathway, in the salvage metabolism, L‐fucokinase (Fuk) synthesizes L‐fucose‐1‐phosphate from free fucose. L‐fucose‐1‐phosphate is further catalyzed to GDP‐L‐fucose by GDP‐L‐fucose pyrophosphorylase (Fpgt). GDP‐L‐fucose, synthesized in the cytosol, is translocated to the Golgi for fucosylation by a specific GDP‐fucose transporter (FUCT1). Glycans that contain α(1,3)‐fucosylated modifications, e.g. sialyl Lewis X‐type glycans, have an important role in inflammation and in tumorigenesis. We studied the mRNA expression levels of GDP‐L‐fucose‐synthesizing enzymes, GDP‐fucose transporter and fucosyltransferase VII by quantitative real‐time PCR in mouse endothelial cells, macrophages and lymphoid tumor cells. Moreover, the expression of the same transcripts was detected in acute inflammation using rat kidney allograft as model system. Our results indicate the simultaneous upregulation of the GDP‐L‐fucose synthesizing enzymes of the de novo pathway, GDP‐fucose transporter and fucosyltransferase VII in inflammation and in tumorigenesis.
Tour operators’ Green Practices in E-Business use: Analysis through ICT Sourcing, Operational Practices and End-of-Life Management among Tanzania’s Tour Operators

This study investigated tour operators’ green practices in e-Business use, tracing from the ICT sourcing, operational practices to end-of-life-management. A questionnaire to 148 respondents from tour operators in Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, Tanzania was supplemented by in-depth face-to-face interviews to selected cases. The study revealed green e-Business being haphazardly practiced, limited to switching off computers in idle times, re-using papers and printing in both sides, sharing printers and more use of laptops/iPADs than desktops, and few using i-Cloud and virtualization. End-of-life-management practices included offering old PCs as charity, transferring obsolete computers to other units and storage of obsolete ICT equipment in special rooms awaiting tendering procedures. Formulation of appropriate policies and regulations on sourcing, operations and end-of-life-management are called for to guide and reinforce the practices, including provision of incentives/subsidies. Vendors need to design affordable green e-Business applications, while operators need to cultivate “green” culture to exploit green e-Business opportunities.