Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Three-Dimensional Morphometric Analysis of the Iris by Swept-Source Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography in a Caucasian Population.

PURPOSE We analyzed by swept-source anterior segment optical coherence tomography (SS-ASOCT) the three-dimensional iris morphology in a Caucasian population, and correlated the findings with iris color, iris sectors, subject age, and sex. METHODS One eye each from consecutive healthy emmetropic (refractive spherical equivalent ± 3 diopters) volunteers were selected for the study. The enrolled eye underwent standardized anterior segment photography to assess iris color. Iris images were assessed by SS-ASOCT for volume, thickness, width, and pupil size. Sectoral variations of morphometric data among the superior, nasal, inferior, and temporal sectors were recorded. RESULTS A total of 135 eyes from 57 males and 78 females, age 49 ± 17 years, fulfilled the inclusion criteria. All iris morphometric parameters varied significantly among the different sectors (all P < 0.0001). Iris total volume and thickness were significantly correlated with increasingly darker pigmentation (P < 0.0001, P = 0.0384, respectively). Neither width nor pupil diameter was influenced by iris color. Age did not affect iris volume or thickness; iris width increased and pupil diameter decreased with age (rs = 0.52, rs = -0.58, respectively). There was no effect of sex on iris volume, thickness, or pupil diameter; iris width was significantly greater in males (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS Morphology of the iris varied by iris sector, and iris color was associated with differences in iris volume and thickness. Morphological parameter variations associated with iris color, sector, age, and sex can be used to identify pathological changes in suspect eyes. To be effective in clinical settings, construction of iris morphological databases for different ethnic and racial populations is essential.
A new UGV teleoperation interface for improved awareness of network connectivity and physical surroundings

A reliable wireless connection between the operator and the teleoperated unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is critical in many urban search and rescue (USAR) missions. Unfortunately, as was seen in, for example, the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the networks available in areas where USAR missions take place are often severely limited in range and coverage. Therefore, during mission execution, the operator needs to keep track of not only the physical parts of the mission, such as navigating through an area or searching for victims, but also the variations in network connectivity across the environment. In this paper, we propose and evaluate a new teleoperation user interface (UI) that includes a way of estimating the direction of arrival (DoA) of the radio signal strength (RSS) and integrating the DoA information in the interface. The evaluation shows that using the interface results in more objects found, and less aborted missions due to connectivity problems, as compared to a standard interface. The proposed interface is an extension to an existing interface centered on the video stream captured by the UGV. But instead of just showing the network signal strength in terms of percent and a set of bars, the additional information of DoA is added in terms of a color bar surrounding the video feed. With this information, the operator knows what movement directions are safe, even when moving in regions close to the connectivity threshold.
Defibrotide for Prevention and Treatment of Veno-Occlusive Disease in Adults: Single-Center Experience

Background: Hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) has been reported at a rate up to 50% following intensive conditioning regimens used in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT). Studies on the prophylactic effect of defibrotide to prevent hepatic VOD in adults are rare. Purpose: The research presented here aimed to evaluate whether propylactic defibrotide use can reduce incidence and severity of VOD in adults undergoing AHSCT. Also, we aimed to assess the benefit of defibrotide for treatment of VOD. Methods: Study population comprised 86 consecutive AHSCT patients transplanted between January 2005 and December 2009. 17 of the patients at high risk of developing VOD could have access to defibrotide and received defibrotide prophylaxis. Results: Modified Seattle criteria were used for VOD diagnosis. 14 of 86 patients (10 severe, 3 moderate, 1 mild) were diagnosed with VOD (16.2%). VOD incidence was similar between patients transplanted before December 2004 and after January 2005 (9.3% and 16.2%, respectively; p =0.14, HR =1.88, 95% CI 0.82- 4.29). 13 of 14 patients diagnosed with VOD in the study population were treated with defibrotide whereas only 2 of 12 in the control group received defibrotide for treatment (92.8% and 16.6%, respectively; p =0.0002, HR =65 , 95% CI 5.13-823.1). Mortality rate of VOD in the controls was significantly higher than the study population (66.6% and 21.4%, respectively; p =0.044, HR =0.13, 95% CI 0.02-0.78). Conclusions: Mortality rate related to VOD was lower in the defibrotide group. Therefore, we conclude defibrotide might be beneficial for treatment of VOD in adults.
RESPONSE OF THE PITUITARY AND ADRENAL GLANDS OF SHEEP SUBJECTED TO RESTRAINT STRESS AFTER REPEATED ISOLATION STRESS

The results obtained in the study showed that sheep subjected to a new stress factor (restraint) following twice-applied action of another stress factor (isolation from the flock), maximum ACTH concentration was considerably higher than in the group of sheep subjected to single restraint stress, whereas the values of maximum cortisol concentration were similar. It distinctly indicated a divergence in pituitary and adrenal gland activity during severe stress after another twice repeated stressor. The fact that cortisol concentration in blood plasma remained at a constant level during different combinations of stress factors and repetition of frequencies testifies to the autonomy of adrenal glands and their own ability to regulate cortisol release. In this case the plasma level of ACTH appears to be better than the cortisol marker of stress intensity in sheep within a wide range of stressor intensities and cortisol level is not an objective factor because its level in blood plasma does not change simultaneously. The reason for cortisol suppression release in this case is the necessity for the organism to keep a suitable rate of metabolism and control its excess during stress.
The abdominojugular test: technique and hemodynamic correlates.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine the hemodynamic correlates of a modified abdominojugular reflux test. DESIGN Case series. SETTING Referral-based cardiology practice in a university hospital. PATIENTS Two consecutive samples of 65 (group 1) and 21 (group 2) patients having both right and left heart catheterization. INTERVENTIONS Ten seconds of firm midabdominal pressure was applied by hand in all patients. In group 1 patients, right atrial pressures were recorded during this maneuver. In group 2 patients, simultaneous right atrial and pulmonary arterial wedge pressures were recorded during this maneuver. In group 2 patients, this abdominojugular test was also done at the bedside before cardiac catheterization by observing the changes in the jugular venous pressure. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Positive results on an abdominojugular test, defined as an increase in the right atrial pressure during 10 seconds of firm midabdominal compression followed by an abrupt drop in pressure of at least 3 mm Hg (4 cm of blood) on pressure release, were found in patients who as a group had hemodynamic evidence of left ventricular failure. The patients with a positive response had lower left ventricular ejection fractions and stroke volumes, and higher left ventricular filling, higher mean pulmonary arterial, and higher right atrial pressures. The pulmonary arterial occluded or wedge pressures provided the clearest separation between patients with and without a positive response. The mean pulmonary arterial wedge pressure was 10.5 +/- 1 mm Hg in patients with a negative response and 19 +/- 3 mm Hg in patients with a positive response (P less than 0.001). In all but one of the group 2 patients, miabdominal pressure produced similar directional changes in both the right atrial and pulmonary arterial wedge pressures. CONCLUSIONS The abdominojugular test, when done in a standardized fashion, correlates best with the pulmonary arterial wedge pressure, and therefore, is probably a reflection of an increased central blood volume. In the absence of isolated right ventricular failure, seen in some patients with right ventricular infarction, a positive abdominojugular test suggests a pulmonary artery wedge pressure of 15 mm Hg or greater.
Bereavement services for family caregivers: how often used, why, and why not.

BACKGROUND Bereavement services are central to high-quality end-of-life care, however, little is known about how frequently and why such bereavement services are used and not used. We examined family caregiver reports about how often they used bereavement services, predictors of their use, and reported reasons for not using bereavement services. METHODS Prospective cohort study of family caregivers (n = 161) of patients with cancer enrolled with hospice between October 1999 and September 2001. We conducted bivariate and multivariable analyses to determine predictors of bereavement service use, adjusted for a broad range of factors including caregiving experiences, major depressive disorder (MDD), relationship with the deceased, and demographic factors. We used content analysis to summarize responses to open-ended questions concerning why individuals did not use bereavement services. RESULTS We found that approximately 30% of family caregivers used bereavement services in the year postloss, and the majority of these caregivers used services in the first 6 months postloss. Even among bereaved caregivers with MDD, less than half (47.6%) used bereavement services. Factors associated with using bereavement services included being a spouse caregiver, younger age, having MDD at study enrollment, witnessing highly distressing events pertaining to the patient's death, having assisted the patient with more Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) prior to the patient's death, having greater availability of instrumental support for oneself, and physician communication with the caregiver about the patient's prognosis before the patient's death. The most common given reason for nonuse was the perception that bereavement services were not needed or would not help. CONCLUSION Addressing caregiver receptivity to bereavement services will be an important aspect of increasing appropriate use of such services. Future studies might examine specific interventions for reducing barriers and increasing receptivity to bereavement service use.
An Evaluation of Abidjan Container Terminal Competitive Position in West Africa Using a Fuzzy Quantified SWOT Framework

This article proposes a quantified SWOT framework which integrates fuzzy linguistic preference relation to evaluate the competitive position of Abidjan container terminal in West Africa. The integration of fuzzy linguistic preference relation in the quantified SWOT framework circumvents the difficulties in terms of data collection and consistency of judgment matrices prevailing in the conventional AHP and Fuzzy AHP. Moreover, the study provides relevant evidences about the key internal and external attributes shipping lines considered as important and hence the attributes that ports/ terminals most need to enhance in order to improve their attractiveness and be well positioned in the market. On the other hand, the change in terminals competitive position between 2010 and 2013 highlights that the difficulties of West African ports in attracting customers in the sub-region are not only related to internal problems such as inadequate infrastructures, facilities or inefficiency, but significant political and economic constraint outside the ports constraints their competitiveness.
Bayesian Bootstrap Filter for integrated GPS and Dead Reckoning Positioning

Localization of vehicles in road environments is an important task in the field of developing driver assistance systems. The localization performance of a navigation system can be improved by coupling different types of sensors. In this paper a practical combined positioning model of Global Positioning System (GPS) and dead reckoning (DR) technology is put forward. The measurement results from DR and GPS sensors are fused by using Bayesian bootstrap filtering (BBF). Bootstrap filter is a filtering method based on Bayesian state estimation and Monte Carlo method, which has the great advantage of being able to handle any functional non-linearity and system and/or measurement noise of any distribution. Experimental result demonstrates that the bootstrap filter gives better positions estimate than the standard extended Kalman filter (EKF).
Motion Class Dependency in Observers' Motor Areas Revealed by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Human and animal data suggest that the mere observation of biological motion activates those premotor areas that also underlie the initiation of the same motion. However, data also indicate that the human premotor cortex (PM), in contrast to the monkey PM, responds not only to the observation of goal-directed (transitive) motion but also to intransitive motion. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to test this hypothesis directly. Participants were presented cycles of intransitive motion specified as belonging to the distal (fingers and mouth), proximal (knee, ankle, elbow, and wrist), or axial (trunk and shoulder) motion class. Attention to motion was behaviorally tested by a forced-choice task on motion acceleration and deceleration. Results revealed extended PM activation for each motion condition. However, direct contrasts showed that the most significant activations were elicited in ventrolateral PM by distal motion, in dorsolateral PM by proximal motion, and medial PM (supplementary motor area) by axial motion. Findings confirm observed intransitive motions to engage premotor areas along a gross-scaled somatotopy.
A synthetic NCAM‐derived peptide, FGL, protects hippocampal neurons from ischemic insult both in vitro and in vivo

There is a major unmet need for development of innovative strategies for neuroprotection against ischemic brain injury. Here we show that FGL, a neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM)‐derived peptide binding to and inducing phosphorylation of the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), acts neuroprotectively after an ischemic insult both in vitro and in vivo. The neuroprotective activity of FGL was tested in vitro on dissociated rat hippocampal neurons and hippocampal slice cultures, using a protocol of oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD). FGL protected hippocampal neurons from damage and maintained or restored their metabolic and presynaptic activity, both if employed as a pretreatment alone to OGD, and if only applied after the insult. In vivo 24 h pretreatment with a single suboccipital injection of FGL significantly protected hippocampal CA1 neurons from death in a transient global ischemia model in the gerbil. We conclude that FGL promotes neuronal survival after ischemic brain injury.
Distraction osteogenesis of the mandible

Purpose of reviewAirway obstruction and craniofacial deformities resulting from mandibular deficiency are challenging and complex clinical problems. Mandibular distraction osteogenesis is playing a rapidly expanding role in the treatment of these children and has supplanted traditional management techniques in many centers. Several recent studies have reviewed clinical experience, described technical refinements, and addressed issues in patient selection and preoperative workup. Recent findingsThe extension of mandibular distraction osteogenesis to newborns with Pierre Robin sequence or craniofacial syndromes associated with micrognathia and airway obstruction has radically altered treatment protocols at several institutions. Early bilateral mandibular distraction has obviated tracheostomy in most newborns, with low operative morbidity. In addition, early decannulation and resolution of obstruction has occurred when mandibular distraction osteogenesis was applied to selected micrognathic children. Some of these patients were tracheotomized and others presented with severe obstructive symptoms. Studies have described success with external and internal distraction techniques. Recent publications have also demonstrated the surgeon’s ability to mold the regenerate safely, the dynamic characteristics of the consolidation phase, and success with secondary and tertiary distraction. SummaryAfter 15 years of clinical use in children for craniofacial deformities, recent advances in distraction osteogenesis have obviated tracheostomy in most newborns with micrognathia and severe airway obstruction. Applications of this technique to children with airway issues related to micrognathia or retrognathia have been rapidly expanding. In addition, refinements in distraction technique have advanced treatment of nonairway-related mandibular deformities.
Scanning near-field optical microscope for the characterization of optical integrated waveguides

A scanning near-field optical microscope for the characterization of optical integrated devices has been developed. Compatible with a normal optical characterization setup the experimental setup allows a tapered uncoated optical fiber to scan the optical device with constant height by means of a shear force control using a tuning fork, and to obtain the evanescent field emerging from it. In this way, images showing simultaneously the topography with lateral resolution better than 10 nm and vertical resolution of 1 nm, and the optical field distribution have been obtained. Images obtained over rib waveguides show the guided mode intensity distribution, allowing characterization of the propagation of the light in the device for up to 1 mm. Identification of the guided mode propagation has been achieved by comparing the images with computer simulations. Measurement of the experimental decay lengths of the evanescent field obtained by the microscope allows a determination of the effective refractive index of the structure to be made.
Classifying Student‟s Engagement in Computer Games using Linear Discriminant Analysis

: Linear Discriminant Analysis can be used to determine which variable discriminates between two or more classes, and to derive a classification model for predicting the group membership of new observations. For each of the groups, LDA assumes the explanatory variables to be normally distributed with equal covariance matrices. The simplest LDA has two groups. To discriminate between them, a linear discriminant function that passes through the centroids of the two groups can be used. The study used Linear Discriminant Analysis in classifying student as addicted or non-addicted in computer games. The study conducted a survey in the form of questionnaire to the students who are playing computer games and a student in Mindanao
Cost‐effective monitoring of biological invasions under global change: a model‐based framework

1. Ecological monitoring programmes are designed to detect and measure changes in biodiversity and ecosystems. In the case of biological invasions, they can contribute to anticipating risks and adaptively managing invaders. However, monitoring is often expensive because large amounts of data might be needed to draw inferences. Thus, careful planning is required to ensure that monitoring goals are realistically achieved. 2. Species distribution models (SDMs) can provide estimates of suitable areas to invasion. Predictions from these models can be applied as inputs in optimization strategies seeking to identify the optimal extent of the networks of areas required for monitoring risk of invasion under current and future environmental conditions. A hierarchical framework is proposed herein that combines SDMs, scenario analysis and cost analyses to improve invasion assessments at regional and local scales. We illustrate the framework with Acacia dealbata Link. (Silver-wattle) in northern Portugal. The framework is general and applicable to any species. 3. We defined two types of monitoring networks focusing either on the regional-scale management of an invasion, or management focus within and around protected areas. For each one of these two schemes, we designed a hierarchical framework of spatial prioritization using different information layers (e.g. SDMs, habitat connectivity, protected areas). We compared the performance of each monitoring scheme against 100 randomly generated models. 4. In our case study, we found that protected areas will be increasingly exposed to invasion by A. dealbata due to climate change. Moreover, connectivity between suitable areas for A. dealbata is predicted to increase. Monitoring networks that we identify were more effective in detecting new invasions and less costly to management than randomly generated models. The most cost-efficient monitoring schemes require 18% less effort than the average networks across all of the 100 tested options. 5. Synthesis and applications. The proposed framework achieves cost-effective monitoring networks, enabling the interactive exploration of different solutions and the combination of quantitative information on network performance with orientations that are rarely incorporated in a decision support system. The framework brings invasion monitoring closer to European legislation and management needs while ensuring adaptability under rapid climate and environmental change.
State of art on condition monitoring of induction motors

Condition monitoring in industry is desirable for increasing machinery availability, reducing consequential damage, and improving operational efficiency. This is significant in industries employing heavy duty machines. Here, an attempt is made to demonstrate the various faults that occur in induction motors, and also to give an insight about the techniques that are used for corrective/preventive action for them. Main emphasis is given for the recent trends in fault diagnosis techniques to provide up-to-date information about the developments in this area.
Stiffness and energy conservation in molecular dynamics: An improved integrator

Molecular dynamics is the integration of a set of coupled differential equations describing the motion of atoms over time. These equations exhibit the unfortunate property of stiffness, that is, terms of the equations (the forces on the atoms) are defined on several scales—ranging from tens of kcal/mol/Å to thousands of kcal/mol/Å. Additional nonconservative and stiff effects occur when a distance cutoff is used for the electrostatics and nonbonded potentials. Because the first derivative at the cutoff is essentially infinite, small variations in positions will cause large variations in energy and violate conservation of energy. The effects are demonstrated in a small system of 125 isolated water molecules. It is possible to greatly reduce and nearly eliminate the stiff integration effects with an improved integrator. The nonconservative effects of the distance cutoff cannot be removed by changing the integrator. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Incidence of cytomegalovirus infections in early childhood.

AbstractThe age distribution of children with complement-fixing (CF) antibodies to cytomegalovirus (CMV) was studied in 3 014 hospital-admitted patients and outpatients. At the age of 7–9 months the proportion of seropositive patients had increased to 34% indicating a recent period of CMV infection. From urinary samples of 577 other children CMV could be isolated in 35% of children in the age of 5–6 months and a maximum frequency of 40% was observed in the age of 19–24 months. 3% of neonates excreted virus; of these 4 out of 5 had high titres of CF antibody. The titres declined during the first months of life.