Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Videoscopic Heller Myotomy with Intraoperative Endoscopy Promotes Optimal Outcomes

Background and Objectives: Minimally invasive surgical techniques are applicable to achalasia, but the optimum approach to intraoperative assessment of adequacy of myotomy remains unestablished. We set out to show that videoscopic Heller myotomy with concurrent endoscopy ensures adequacy of myotomy while limiting postoperative clinically apparent reflux. Methods: Seventy-eight consecutive patients with achalasia underwent videoscopic Heller myotomy with concomitant endoscopy between 1992 and 1998. Fundoplication was not routinely undertaken. Results: Preoperative symptoms consisted of dysphagia (100%), emesis/regurgitation (68%), heartburn (58%), and postprandial chest pain (49%). Following myotomy, significant improvement (P < 0.0001) was seen in dysphagia (43%), postprandial chest pain (13%), and emesis/regurgitation (9%) at a mean follow-up of 33 ± 2.2 months. Mean reflux score (scale 0 to 5) improved from 3.7 ± 0.3 to 1.5 ± 0.2 (P < 0.0001). Improvement in symptoms was reported in 96% of patients. Fundoplication was used in 8 patients as part of hiatus reconstruction (n = 6) or repair of esophageal perforation (n = 2). Conclusions: Intraoperative endoscopy during video-scopic Heller myotomy guides the extent and adequacy of myotomy. By utilizing a focused dissection with preservation of the natural antireflux mechanisms around the gastroesophageal junction and limiting the extent of myotomy along the cardia, postoperative reflux symptoms are minimized. We advocate concomitant endoscopy during Heller myotomy to guide myotomy and submit that routine fundoplication is clinically unnecessary.
Intestinal Cryptosporidiosis and the Profile of the CD4 Counts in a Cohort of HIV Infected Patients.

BACKGROUND Cryptosporidium is an infectious enteric pathogen which is capable of causing life-threatening illnesses in immunocompromised patients. AIMS This prospective study was planned to know the frequency of intestinal cryptosporidiosis in HIV infected patients and its correlation with their immune status. Also, the conventional diagnostic methods were compared with the copro-antigen detection test by using Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA). SETTINGS AND DESIGN This was a prospective cohort study. METHODS AND MATERIAL Three consecutive stool samples which were collected from 90 HIV seropositive patients and 50 seronegative controls were screened for cryptosporidiosis by wet mount, direct modified ZN (Ziehl Neelsen) staining, modified ZN staining with formol ether concentration and copro-antigen detection by ELISA. Their immune statuses were measured by CD4 + cell counting. Statistical Analytical Tests which were Used: Odds ratio, Chi square test, Fisher extract test. RESULTS Cryptosporidiosis was detected in 15 HIV seropositive cases. 13 cases had CD4 cell counts of < 100 cells/ μL. The formol ether concentration technique resulted in an increased number of oocysts/oil immersion field in 8 cases. ELISA was positive in 2 cases which were shown to be negative by modified ZN staining. All the controls were negative for cryptosporidium. CONCLUSIONS Cryptosporidiosis is an opportunistic infection in HIV infected people who present with diarrhoea. The wet mount technique, though it is simple and inexpensive, is insensitive for the detection of cryptosporidium. The conventional modified ZN staining and the modified ZN staining with concentration have a sensitivity and a specificity of 85.71% and 98.84% respectively. The copro antigen detection by ELISA which has a greater sensitivity and specificity, is a useful tool in epidemiological studies.
Traffic Sign Recognition Using Complementary Features

Traffic sign recognition is difficult due to the low resolution of image, illumination variation and shape distortion. On the public dataset GTSRB, the state-of-the-art performance have been obtained by convolutional neural networks (CNNs), which learn discriminative features automatically to achieve high accuracy but suffer from high computation costs in both training and classification. In this paper, we propose an effective traffic sign recognition method using multiple features which have demonstrated effective in computer vision and are computationally efficient. The extracted features are the histogram of oriented gradients (HOG) feature, Gabor filter feature and local binary pattern (LBP) feature. Using a linear support vector machine (SVM) for classification, each feature yields fairly high accuracy. The combination of three features has shown good complementariness and yielded competitively high accuracy. On the GTSRB dataset, our method reports an accuracy of 98.65%.
Electromagnetic Synchronized Switch Damping for Vibration Control of Flexible Beams

An electromagnetic synchronized switch damper integrated with the receding horizon optimal control law was developed to enhance the damping characteristics of flexible beam structures subject to dynamic loads. The damper system consists of a magnet attached to an aluminum beam and a coil placed at the bottom of the magnet. Both ends of the coil were connected to the external switching circuit, which includes an electromagnetic transducer, a capacitor, a resistor, and a switcher designed for efficient energy dissipation to reduce structural vibration. Further, a coil-based self-sensing scheme without additional measurement of the displacement and the velocity was successfully applied to the present switching scheme without performance loss. The present results show that the electromagnetic synchronized switching scheme can be successfully employed to improve the electromagnetic damping of the flexible structures, resulting in the robust vibration control regardless of changes to the circuit parameters.
Indirect fluorescence detection of native amino acids in capillary zone electrophoresis.

Amino acids are but one of several important classes of small chemical compounds in biological chemistry that have an inherent lack of analytically useful physical properties. Amino acids, peptides, fatty acids, sugars, many mono-, di-, and tricarboxylic acids, and phosphorylated intermediates in glycolysis and metabolism show little, if any, UV or visible absorption, fluorescence, or electrochemical activity. As the emphasis of biochemical research shifts to smaller samples where, for example, picomolar quantities of amino acids are analyzed in gas phase protein sequencing or in microliter samples of the extracellular fluid of the mammalian brain, the analytical problem becomes even more challenging due to the small volume of sample available for analysis. In this work, laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy is performed on-column to detect the bands separated with capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). CZE is an instrumental form of zone electrophoresis where chemical species are separated purely on the basis of their electrophoretic mobility, since no supporting gel is utilized. Both anions and cations can be separated in the same run because of the large electroosmotic flow generated in small diameter capillaries. This technique has already been used successfully in the rapid, efficient separation of dansyl-amino acids.
Applying the Paris System for Reporting Urine Cytology Increases the Rate of Atypical Urothelial Cells in Benign Cases: A Need for Patient Management Recommendations

The Paris System (TPS) for reporting urinary cytology attempts to unify the terminology in this field. Objectives: To analyze the impact of adopting TPS by measuring nomenclature agreement and cytohistological correlation. Materials and Methods: Voided urine liquid-based cytology samples corresponding to 149 biopsy-proven cases (76 high-grade carcinomas, 40 low-grade carcinomas, and 33 benign lesions), were reclassified by the same pathologist using TPS. Diagnostic agreement and sensitivity for both nomenclature systems was measured. Results: When using TPS, the rate of atypical samples increased 8 times (from 3 to 24.2%) in benign cases, 10 times (from 2.5 to 25%) in low-grade carcinomas, and 2.4 times (from 6.6 to 15.8%) in high-grade carcinomas. The false-positive rate (abnormal cytology in negative or low-grade carcinoma cases) increased from 11 to 34.2%. Sensitivity was higher (63 vs. 49%) with TPS at the expense of a lower specificity (73 vs. 91%). The agreement between both nomenclatures was moderate for negative and high-grade carcinoma cases (k = 0.42 and 0.56, respectively) and weak for low-grade tumors (k = 0.35). Conclusions: Adopting TPS for reporting urine cytology results in a considerable increase in atypical diagnoses, improving sensitivity but lowering specificity. Appropriate management recommendations for patients with an atypical cytological diagnosis are required.
Improved YBCO coated conductors using alternate buffer architectures

The Rolling-Assisted Biaxially Textured Substrates (RABiTS) process has been identified as one of the leading candidates for the fabrication of high performance YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// (YBCO) coated conductors. The RABiTS process uses standard thermomechanical processing to obtain long lengths of flexible, biaxially oriented substrates with smooth surfaces. The strong biaxial texture of the metal is then transferred to the superconductor by the deposition of intermediate oxide buffers that serve both as a chemical and structural buffer. The typical three-layer RABiTS architecture consists of an e-beam Y/sub 2/O/sub 3/ seed, sputtered YSZ barrier and a sputtered CeO/sub 2/ cap layer. Chemical solution deposition of buffer layers offers potential cost advantage relative to physical vapor deposition (PVD) processes. Our main goal of this study is to develop simplified buffer architectures and demonstrate high J/sub c/ Metal-Organic Deposition (MOD)-YBCO films on all-MOD buffers. La/sub 2/Zr/sub 2/O/sub 7/ (LZO)/CeO/sub 2/ buffers have been identified as potential candidates for this study. MOD-YBCO films with a critical current, I/sub c/ of 212 A/cm have been achieved on MOD-LZO seeds with sputtered YSZ and CeO/sub 2/ cap layers. In addition, MOD-YBCO films with a critical current, I/sub c/ of 140 A/cm have been achieved on all MOD buffers of LZO/CeO/sub 2/ for the first time. This offers a potential toward fabrication of lower cost YBCO coated conductors.
Proposition de classement des objets en os selon le degré de transformation imposé à la matière première

Le mode de classement que nous pr? sentons ici prend place dans le cadre d'une tentative de classe ment multiple des objets en os (1). Le principe, dict? par un souci de ne pas perdre de renseigne ments en classant les objets, en est le suivant : plu sieurs grilles, construites autour d'un th? me simple (d'ordre technique, morphologique, etc.) re? oivent successivement tous les objets ? tudi? s dans une industrie donn? e. Un objet susceptible de fournir n. renseignements d'ordre diff? rent ne sera donc plus class? dans une seule liste, selon un crit? re jug? plus pertinent que les autres, mais dans n. listes diff? rentes.
A hierarchical method for generating low‐energy conformers of a protein‐ligand complex

A novel dynamical protocol for finding the low‐energy conformations of a protein‐ligand complex is described. The energy functions examined consist of an empirical force field with four different dielectric screening models; the generalized Born/surface area model also is examined. Application of the method to three complexes of known crystal structure provides insights into the energy functions used for selecting low‐energy docked conformations and into the structure of the binding‐energy surface. Evidence is presented that the local energy minima of a ligand in a binding site are arranged in a hierarchical fashion. This observation motivates the construction of a hierarchical docking algorithm that substantially enriches the population of ligand conformations close to the crystal conformation. The algorithm is also adapted to permit docking into a flexible binding site and preliminary tests of this method are presented. Proteins 33:475–495, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Drivers of Effort: Evidence from Employee Absenteeism

Abstract We use detailed information on individual absent spells of all employees in 4140 firms in Denmark to show large differences in average absenteeism across firms. Using employees who switch firms, we decompose days absent into an individual component (e.g., motivation, work ethic) and a firm component (e.g., incentives, corporate culture). We find the firm component explains 50%–60% of the difference in absenteeism across firms, with the individual component explaining the rest. We present suggestive evidence of the mechanisms behind the firm effect with family firm status and concentrated ownership strongly correlated with decreases in absenteeism. We also analyze the firm characteristics that correlate with the individual effect and find that firms with stronger career incentives attract lower-absenteeism employees.
A low-jitter 5000ppm spread spectrum clock generator for multi-channel SATA transceiver in 0.18/spl mu/m CMOS

A low-jitter 5000ppm spread-spectrum clock generator is implemented in a 0.18/spl mu/m CMOS process. By using 10 multi-phase clocks and a /spl Delta//spl Sigma/ modulator with periodic input, the chip has a deterministic jitter of 25ps due to spread-spectrum clocking and an amount of spreading of 5000ppm.
A Behavioral Approach to Training Day Care Workers.

Day care workers are not only responsible for meeting the needs of the children they care for but creating an enriched and friendly environment as well. Few daycare centers require any specific inservice training for their staff members. When provided, training typically occurs as a didactic workshop. For this study a multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of didactic training, goal setting, and feedback on day care staff members’(n=7) use of “quality” interactions with the children in their care. The results showed that although didactic training marginally increased the level of interactions, the day care workers’ interactions were highly variable and susceptible to decay over time. For the majority of the partic ipants individualized goal setting and feedback produced higher, more stable levels of interactions.
Robust Control of Magnetic Levitation Systems Considering Disturbance Force by LSM Propulsion Systems

In this paper, the robust control method is proposed for air-gap positioning of magnetic levitation systems considering levitation disturbance forces caused by propulsion systems. Even though the disturbance effect occurs inevitably by propulsion systems, it is very difficult or impossible to be measured by sensors in real time. In order to maintain the constant air-gap position according to the reference command in the propulsion state of the vehicle, robust control for electromagnetic suspension against levitation disturbance force is highly required. The disturbance force caused by propulsion systems is predicted by the finite-element method analysis of the magnetic flux distribution. Based on the analyzed result, the robust and optimal levitation controller is designed by the convex optimization method for the proposed proportional integral derivative controller with the inner feedback compensator stabilizing the nonlinear plant. The proposed controller has the formulation of the conventional full-state feedback optimal controller based on state-output matching for the unmeasured state. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is verified by simulation and finite-element method analysis.
The MTHFR C 677 T Polymorphism and Colorectal Cancer : The Multiethnic Cohort Study

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a key regulatory enzyme in the metabolism of folate, a nutrient that has been inversely related to colorectal cancer risk. The common C677T variant in the MTHFR gene results in a reduced activity of this enzyme, thereby increasing the availability of folate for the production of thymidylate and purine for DNA synthesis and repair. We investigated the association of the 677TT genotype with colorectal cancer in a case-control study of 822 cases and 2,021 controls nested within the Multiethnic Cohort Study. The Multiethnic Cohort Study is a large prospective study of men and women of Japanese, White, African American, Latino, and Native Hawaiian origin, residing in Hawaii and Los Angeles. After adjusting for covariates, we found an inverse association between colorectal cancer risk and the TT genotype, with odds ratios (OR; and 95% confidence intervals) for the CC, CT, and TT genotypes of 1.00, 1.01 (0.84-1.21), and 0.77 (0.581.03), respectively. This association was similar in both sexes, stronger at high levels of folate intake, and limited to light and nondrinkers (P for interaction with ethanol = 0.02). An analysis by subsite (rectum versus colon) and stage (regional/ distant versus in situ/localized) showed that the inverse association with the TT genotype was limited to colon tumors, especially those diagnosed at an advanced stage. The OR for the TT versus CC genotype for earlyand late-stage colon cancer was 0.88 (0.58-1.33) and 0.52 (0.32-0.85), respectively (P for difference in OR = 0.04). The frequency of the T allele was relatively low in African Americans (0.13) and Native Hawaiians (0.22), consistent with their greater likelihood of presenting at a late stage when diagnosed with colorectal cancer. This study corroborates previous findings of an inverse association of the MTHFR 677TT genotype with colorectal cancer, especially at high levels of folate and low levels of ethanol intake. It also suggests that this effect may be specific to advanced colon cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2005;14(5):1198–203)
Limited effectiveness of over‐the‐counter plant preparations used for the treatment of urinary tract infections as inhibitors of the urease activity from Staphylococcus saprophyticus

Urease is a key virulence factor for the Gram‐positive urinary tract pathogen Staphylococcus saprophyticus and a potential target for antimicrobial therapy. The enzyme from S. saprophyticus is unusual in that it does not contain cysteine at the active site. The aims of this study were to test 14 over‐the‐counter plant preparations as inhibitors of this urease and to determine whether they can prevent the increase in pH that normally occurs in bacterial cultures containing urea.
Cell death in human lung transplantation: apoptosis induction in human lungs during ischemia and after transplantation.

OBJECTIVE To examine the presence and extent of apoptosis as well as the affected cell types in human lung tissue before, during, and after transplantation. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Apoptosis has been described in various human and animal models of ischemia-reperfusion injury, including heart, liver, and kidney, but not in lungs. Therefore, the presence of apoptosis and its role in human lungs after transplantation is not clear. METHODS Lung tissue biopsies were obtained from 20 consecutive human lungs for transplantation after cold ischemic preservation (1-5 hours), after warm ischemia time (during implantation), and 30, 60, and 120 minutes after graft reperfusion. To detect and quantify apoptosis, fluorescent in situ end labeling of DNA fragments (TUNEL assay) was used. Electron microscopy was performed to verify the morphologic changes consistent with apoptosis and to identify the cell types, which were lost by apoptosis. RESULTS Almost no evidence of apoptosis was found in specimens after immediate cold and warm ischemic periods. Significant increases in the numbers of cells undergoing apoptosis were observed after graft reperfusion in a time-dependent manner. The mean fraction of apoptotic cells at 30, 60, and 120 minutes after graft reperfusion were 16.6%, 22.1%, and 34.9% of total cells, respectively. Most of the apoptotic cells appeared to be alveolar type II pneumocytes, as confirmed by electron microscopy. CONCLUSIONS Programmed cell death (apoptosis) appears to be a significant type of cell loss in human lungs after transplantation, and this may contribute to ischemia-reperfusion injury during the early phase of graft reperfusion. This cell loss might be responsible for severe organ dysfunction, which is seen in 20% of patients after lung transplantation. Therefore, this work is of importance to surgeons for the future development of interventions to prevent cell death in transplantation.
A Square Root Approximation of Transition Rates for a Markov State Model

Trajectory- or mesh-based methods for analyzing the dynamical behavior of large molecules tend to be impractical due to the curse of dimensionality---their computational cost increases exponentially with the size of the molecule. We propose a method to break the curse by a novel square root approximation of transition rates, Monte Carlo quadrature and a discretization approach based on solving linear programs. With randomly sampled points on the molecular energy landscape and randomly generated discretizations of the molecular configuration space as our initial data, we construct a matrix describing the transition rates between adjacent discretization regions. This transition rate matrix yields a Markov state model of the molecular dynamics. We use Perron cluster analysis and coarse-graining techniques in order to identify metastable sets in configuration space and approximate the transition rates between the metastable sets. Application of our method to a simple energy landscape on a two-dimensional conf.
FIB Sample Preparation of Polymer Thin Films on Hard Substrates Using the Shadow-FIB Method

Focused ion beam (FIB) instrumentation has proven to be extremely useful for preparing cross-sectional samples for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations. The two most widely used methods involve milling a trench on either side of an electron-transparent window: the “H-bar” and the “lift-out” methods [1]. Although these two methods are very powerful in their versatility and ability to make site-specific TEM samples, they rely on using a sacrificial layer to protect the surface of the sample as well as the removal of a relatively large amount of material, depending on the size of the initial sample. In this article we describe a technique for making thin film cross-sections with the FIB, known as Shadow FIBing, that does not require the use of a sacrificial layer or long milling times [2].
Female pattern hair loss: A comprehensive review

Female pattern hair loss is a common form of hair loss in women that increases in incidence with age. The etiology is unknown with numerous factors identified that influence its onset. Female pattern hair loss may be viewed as a marker for an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease. New treatments include microneedling, low‐level laser therapy, and autologous fat transfer. This article focuses on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, systemic associations, and current treatments for female pattern hair loss, which is the most common cause of alopecia in women.
WSN Coverage & Connectivity Improvement Utilizing Sensors Mobility

Mobility in Wireless Sensor Networks may significantly affect the network performance. This paper proposes distributed algorithm that improves the network coverage and connectivity, performing controlled reorganization of mobile sensor nodes (C2 algorithm). The algorithm initially organizes the network in a clustered topology, assuming hexagonal grid structure. The Cluster Heads are positioned in the centres of hexagonal cells designed according the nodes transmission range. The C2 reorganizes the sensor nodes between the adjacent hexagonal cells and equally distributes them within the cells, thus improving the network coverage and providing more uniform energy utilization. The algorithm chooses the optimal nodes to perform the movements, maintaining the connectivity between the sensor nodes and minimizing the energy that the nodes consume for their movement. The simulation results show the benefits of the proposed algorithm implementation for coverage and connectivity improvement in a homogeneous WSN.