Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conservative Treatment of Distal Radius Fractures: A Prospective Descriptive Study

Background: Disability of the upper limb is one of the consequences of distal radius fracture (DRF). The outcome of DRF treatment is based on objective clinical variables, as strength or range of movement (ROM); sometimes these variables do not correlate with the functional level of the patient. The principal objective of our study was to assess the repercussion of conservative treatment of DRF on upper limb disability. Methods: This is a retrospective review of prospectively collected data. We collected data of 61 nonconsecutive DRFs treated conservatively from July 2007 to August 2008. Results: Average Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score before fracture was 20.8 points; average DASH score after the fracture was 42.6. There was a significant increase in the upper limb disability after 1 year of follow-up in the patients treated conservatively (P < .001; size effect, 1.06). Average radial inclination, radial tilt, and radial length were 18.18°, 3.35°, and 5.76 mm, respectively. Average ROM for flexion-extension was 100.6° and for pronation-supination 144.0°. ROM for flexion-extension of the unaffected wrist was 128.2° and for pronation-supination 172.4°. We did not find any significant statistical correlation between the increase in disability and the decrease in the ROM (P > .05). We did not find any significant statistical correlation between the increase in the disability and the worsening in the radiological parameters (P > .05). Our results confirm the hypothesis that the conservative treatment of DRF produced an increase in the upper limb disability after 1 year of follow-up. Conclusions: Our study does not show a correlation between the increase in upper limb disability and the decrease in wrist ROM. Our study did not find a correlation between radiological measures and DASH scores.
Design and analysis of double-stator permanent magnet brushless motor for hybrid electric vehicles

This paper presents the design and analysis of a new double-stator permanent brushless (DSPMBL) motor for hybrid electric vehicles. The corresponding output power equation is analytically derived. The initial calculation of motor dimensions and parameters, including the core diameter, stack length, permanent magnet size and winding connection modes, are also discussed. A DSPMBL motor is designed. By using finite element analysis, the field distributions of the DSPMBL motor are obtained. The static characteristics of the proposed motor are also deduced. Based on these characteristics, the system mathematical model can be established. Hence, the evaluation of system performance is conducted by computer simulation.
Detection and measurement of total bilirubin in serum, with use of surfactants as solubilizing agents.

We describe a new method for measuring total bilirubin in serum. Nonionic, cationic, or anionic surfactants can be used as solubilizing agents to promote the diazo coupling of indirect-reacting bilirubin. A representative surfactant—azobilirubin system is illustrated, in which absorbance is maximum at 560 nm and linear to a concentration of 200 mg of bilirubin per liter. At pH 2.5 and in the presence of Du ponol (an anionic surfactant), bilirubin is completely coupled within 6 mm at 37 °C. All ingredients required for an assay are combined in two dry reagents, which are stable for a year at room temperature. Sensitivity is comparable to that of procedures routinely used in clinical laboratories; precision, linearity, and stability of the reagents in solution are excellent. Results for fresh sera correlated well with those obtained by the Jendrassik—Grof method. Hemolysis is minimized and turbidity eliminated.
Do State Borders Matter for U.S. Intranational Trade? The Role of History and Internal Migration

Empirical evidence of the impact of borders on international trade flows using the gravity equation approach abounds. This paper examines the empirical relevance of state borders in U.S. interstate trade for various specifications of the gravity equation. We find a large and economically significant subnational border effect for some specifications. However, two model specifications drastically reduce (if not eliminate) the border effect: (i) dynamic panel specifications controlling for past levels of trade and (ii) models conditioning on internal migration.
A topology-agnostic test model for link shorts in on-chip networks

With the ever-shrinking global geometries on a die and the concomitant rise in the complexity of interconnections in an on-chip network (NoC), the links used therein often suffer from various manufacturing defects such as shorts. These defects not only cause logical or functional errors but also give rise to various other system level failures such as duplication, misrouting, or dropping of a packet, thereby impacting the performance of the network significantly. This paper proposes an on-line test method that detects the presence of pairwise-shorts, if any, and identifies the faulty links. Several performance metrics are evaluated to demonstrate the impact of these faults, and simulation results demonstrate 100% coverage. The proposed method scales well to large-size NoCs irrespective of the topology and link-width.
Multipurpose underwater manipulation for archaeological intervention

This paper presents a new research line recently started by our team in the context of semi-autonomous underwater robotic intervention applied to the archaeological domain. This new research line is supported by the Spanish Ministry and represents an extension of previous developed work through different national and international projects. The robotic system under development will assist the archaeologist in the detailed work of monitoring, characterization, study, reconstruction and preservation of archaeological sites, always in accordance with the continuous supervision of the human expert.
mGlu3 receptor blockade inhibits proliferation and promotes astrocytic phenotype in glioma stem cells

We have characterised, using both in vivo and in vitro methods, the effects of the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 3 (mGlu3) antagonist (LY341495) and agonist (LY379268) on the proliferation and differentiation of glioma stem cells (GSC). For in vitro studies, a CCK‐8 assay was used to determine the cell proliferation, flow cytometry was performed to determine cell cycle phases, and immunohistochemistry and laser confocal microscopy were employed to detect CD133 expression. For in vivo studies, GSCs were injected into nude mice treated with either LY379268 or LY341495 and the growth of the tumours was measured after 3 weeks. When compared with controls, the proliferation rates and proportion of cells in S phase within the LY341495 treated group decreased in a time‐dependent manner. In the presence of differentiation medium containing LY341495, GSC differentiation was diverted into an astrocyte rather than neuronal phenotype. The growth rate and volume of tumours injected into nude mice was reduced in LY341495 treated mice compared with controls. Thus pharmacological blockade of mGlu3 receptor signalling pathway significantly inhibits the growth and proliferation of GSCs both in vitro and in vivo while promoting differentiation to astrocytes. These results further implicate mGlu3 in the biology of glioma and as a target for continued research.
Perceptions of the Religion—Health Connection Among African Americans in the Southeastern United States: Sex, Age, and Urban/Rural Differences

Extensive literature reviews suggest that religiousness is positively associated with health. Much less understood is the particular nature of the religion—health connection. Religion and the church play a central role in the lives of many African Americans. This study used a mixed-methods approach to examine perceptions of the religion—health connection among African Americans in urban and rural areas. Four hundred participants were randomly selected and interviewed by telephone, answering open-ended questions about their perceptions of the role of religiousness in their health. Data were analyzed using an open-coding technique. Codes were arranged into families involving the role of a higher power, health behavior, physical factors, social support, mental health, and contextual factors in determining physical health, as well as the potential negative role of religiousness. Quantitative analysis revealed the stronger presence of themes among women, older participants, and those in rural counties. Applications for theory and health promotion are discussed.
Switched‐beam array of dielectric rod antenna with RF‐MEMS switch for millimeter‐wave applications

A conformal dielectric rod antenna array with operating frequency of 11.2 GHz is investigated, designed, and measured. This antenna array is combined with a single pole double throw radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF‐MEMS) switch to realize switched‐beam performance. Moreover, this antenna array exhibits uniform radiation performance for different scan angles with no grating lobes. The characterization and measurement of the antenna system have been performed. The measured radiation pattern of the antenna in the anechoic chamber is in good agreement with the simulated antenna pattern. The measured antenna with the RF‐MEMS switch has 13.5 dBi realized gain, −15 dB sidelobe level, 22° half‐power beamwidth, and 7.3% (fractional) bandwidth (or 800 MHz) at 11.2 GHz.
On-line soft-sensing model based maximum power point tracking for photovoltaic generation systems

Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is mandatory for improving the power-conversion efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Although classical MPPT techniques are widely used by virtue of their simplicity and ease of implementation, the tracking performance is degraded compared with artificial-intelligence based techniques under rapidly changing environmental conditions. This paper proposes an on-line soft-sensing model (OLSSM) based MPPT method, which applies on-line radial basis function neural network as soft model to predict the locus of maximum power points (MPPs). The Euclidean distance between the estimated and measured duty cycle at MPPs is used to check whether the new sample will be used for model updating. Simulation and experimental results show that the OLSSM based MPPT offer enhanced tracking performance especially during transient operations.
Watershed Management Technique to Control Sediment Yield in Agriculturally Dominated Areas

Abstract Non-point source pollution is recognized internationally as a critical environmental problem. In Illinois, soil erosion from agricultural lands is the major source of such pollution. The erosion process, which has been accelerated by human activity, tends to reduce crop productivity and leads to subsequent problems from deposition on farmlands and in water bodies. Comprehensive watershed management, however, can be used to protect these natural resources. In this study, a discrete time optimal control methodology and computational model are developed for determining land use and management alternatives that minimize sediment yield from agriculturally-dominated watersheds. The solution methodology is based on an interface between a genetic algorithm and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Soil and Water Assessment Tool. Model analyses are performed on a farm field basis to allow capture of different, local stakeholder perspectives, and crop management alternatives are based on a three-year rotation pattern. The decision support tool is applied to the Big Creek watershed located in the Cache River basin of Southern Illinois. The application demonstrates that the methodology is a valuable tool in advancing comprehensive watershed management. The study represents part of an ongoing research effort to develop an even more comprehensive decision support tool that uses multi-criteria evaluation to address social, economic, and hydrologic issues for integrative watershed management.
Glutathione-S-transferases and Chemotherapy Resistance of Hodgkin's Lymphoma Cell Lines.

BACKGROUND Glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) are associated with multidrug resistance of tumor cells and are involved in drug detoxification and control of apoptosis. We analyzed the impact of GSTs on apoptosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS Expression of GST isoforms in HL cell lines was assessed by analysis of DNA microarray data and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The impact of the GST inhibitor ethacrynic acid (EA) on HL cell survival was analyzed in vitro. RESULTS DNA microarray analysis and qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated higher expression of GST isoforms in chemoresistant HL cells. Therefore, GSTs may contribute to chemoresistance of HL cells. Incubation of GST-expressing chemoresistant L-1236 HL cells with EA significantly enhanced the activity of cisplatin against these cells. CONCLUSION Our data suggest that the combined treatment with chemotherapy and GST inhibitors such as EA might be an interesting option for patients with chemoresistant HL.
Transmission line capacitance measurement

The capacitance of coplanar lines is measured with two new techniques, one utilizing the resistance of the line and the other that of a resistor embedded in the line. The results of both measurements agree closely with calculations. A technique for directly comparing the capacitances of two similar transmission lines is also demonstrated. The relevance of these measurements to the determination of characteristic impedance is discussed. <<ETX>>
Internal Model Control for a Bearingless Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Based on Inverse System Method

To effectively enhance the control accuracy and dynamic performance of a bearingless permanent magnet synchronous motor (BPMSM), this paper presents a novel control scheme combining the inverse system method and the internal model control. By cascading the inverse model of the BPMSM with the original BPMSM system, a decoupling pseudo-linear system is constituted. Moreover, in order to improve the robustness of the whole system and reject the influence of the unmodeled dynamics and system noise to the decoupling control accuracy, the internal model control scheme is employed for the pseudo-linear system to design extra closed-loop controllers. Consequently, the proposed decoupling control scheme incorporates the advantages of both the inverse system method and the internal model control. The effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is verified by experimental results at various operations.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an eukaryotic cell model to assess cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of three anticancer anthraquinones.

The toxicity of most drugs is associated with their enzymatic conversion to toxic metabolites. Bioactivation reactions occur in a range of cellular organs and organelles, including mitochondria. We have investigated different effects (i.e. growth inhibition, mortality and genotoxicity) of doxorubicin, epirubicin and mitoxantrone on the D7 strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and on its petite (rho degrees ) respiratory-deficient mutant at various cellular concentrations of cytochrome P450 and glutathione (GSH). The data confirmed the importance of oxygen production for doxorubicin toxicity. The complete absence, or a very low level, of cytochrome oxidase subunit IV conferred some resistance to doxorubicin. Low GSH levels decreased resistance to doxorubicin in both strains, suggesting that thiol depletion could potentiate membrane lipid peroxidation. Doxorubicin induction of petite colonies suggests that the drug is able to select rather than induce respiratory-deficient mutants. Epirubicin induced levels of cytotoxicity similar to those of doxorubicin. The effects did not appear to be significantly dependent on mitochondrial function or GSH levels, whereas cells were strongly protected by cytochrome P450. GSH did not induce an evident alteration. Neither were genotoxic effects induced. Mitoxantrone had reduced levels of both growth inhibition and cytotoxicity in comparison to anthracyclines and induced convertants, revertants and aberrants. All the effects considered were amplified at high cytochrome P450 cellular concentrations, although the drug was also shown to act without previous metabolism via cytochrome P450. Anthracenedione effectiveness was increased by metabolism via cytochrome P450 and partially reduced by GSH. However, further mechanisms were suggested, which might implicate mitochondrial function and/or production of electrophilic cytotoxic and/or genotoxic intermediates by means of GSH conjugation. The biological effectiveness of doxorubicin, epirubicin and mitoxantrone on S.cerevisiae was shown to be strictly dependent on cell-specific physiological/biochemical conditions, such as a functional respiratory chain and levels of cytochrome P450 and GSH.
Efficient identity-based blind message recovery signature scheme from pairings

Blind signature (BS) schemes are a vital tool to design electronic cash (e-cash), online transaction, electronic voting (e-voting), digital right management (DRM) systems etc. The communication systems designed for such applications need small size and more confidential signature schemes. This article presents the first provably secure and efficient identity-based message recovery BS scheme from pairing. Since, in this scheme, the message is not transmitted with signature and recovered during verification phase, the total message–signature length is the lowest. Due to the blindness, the scheme provides authentication along with anonymity. The performance comparison shows that the authors' scheme consumes the lowest computation cost. Thus, it inspires the energy efficient (green) technology as well as is the most appealing BS scheme towards applications such as e-cash, e-voting, DRM systems etc. using low bandwidth and high security.
Reversible and Competitive Cinnamoyl Triazole Inhibitors of Tissue Transglutaminase

A series of 15 cinnamoyl triazole derivatives was prepared by Cu(I)‐catalyzed azide/alkyne [3+2]‐cycloaddition reactions and examined as inhibitors of guinea‐pig liver transglutaminase. Several compounds exhibited activity as reversible inhibitors that were competitive with acyl donor transglutaminase substrates. For example, triazole 4d has a Ki value of 174 nm and represents one of the most potent reversible transglutaminase inhibitors reported to date.
Detection of Mitosis and Evaluation of Nuclear Atypia Score in Breast Cancer Histological Images

Breast cancer is a major cause of death in the world. According to figures published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in their GLOBOCAN 2012 estimated cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence worldwide in 2012, the three most common cancers in the world were lung (1.825 million cases for both sexes, 583.000 cases for women only), breast (1.677 million cases) and colorectal (1.361 million cases for both sexes, 614.000 cases for women only). For women, breast cancer is by far the most frequent cancer worldwide. To diagnose breast cancer, samples of tissue are removed from breast. From these samples, histology slides are produced. These slides are stained generally with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). Pathologists analyse breast biopsy slides and give them a grade according to one of two international grading systems: • The Scarff, Bloom and Richardson grading system. • The Elston and Ellis grading system [1]. This grading system is a modification of the Scarff, Bloom and Richardson grading system. It is also known as the Nottingham grading system.
Euparal as a permanent mounting medium for helminth eggs and proglottids

The importance of euparal as a permanent mounting medium for eggs of parasites and the process of making permanent slides are analyzed and discussed in detail. Studies show that helminth eggs mounted in euparal exhibit excellent optical and drying properties. Euparal also can be used to identify proglottids of Taenia species and to examine for the presence of Trichinella spiralis in suspicious muscle biopsies.
ABUNDANCE AND PRODUCTIVITY OF WARBLING VIREOS ACROSS AN ELEVATIONAL GRADIENT IN THE SIERRA NEVADA

Abstract Recent studies have shown that Warbling Vireos (Vireo gilvus) are declining in California and that these trends are due to low reproductive success. Brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) has been implicated in the low productivity. I explored two hypotheses related to population dynamics of Warbling Vireos along an elevational gradient: (1) potential source populations exist at high elevations where cowbirds are rare, and (2) potential source populations occur in the center of the elevational distribution with less productive populations at upper and lower elevations. From 1985 through 2002 I studied the abundance and productivity of Warbling Vireos over an elevational gradient in the southern Sierra Nevada. Warbling Vireos were most abundant in mid elevation mixed conifer sites, less abundant in lower elevation ponderosa pine sites and upper elevation true fir sites, and rare in upper elevation lodgepole pine sites. Likewise, daily survival rates of nests were highest at mid elevations (1800 m) and gradually decreased at both higher and lower elevations. Compared to other populations studied in California, nest success in mixed conifer habitat was high (60%, n = 58). Although rates of brood parasitism were high enough to be of concern in low-elevation ponderosa pine forests, cowbird parasitism was not observed in mid- to upper-elevation forests. Warbling Vireos were most productive where they were most abundant. The hypothesis that potential source populations exist at upper elevations did not appear to hold at the upper bounds of the elevational distribution. The results of this study provide support for the hypothesis that potential source populations occur in the center of the elevational distribution, with less productive populations at both lower and higher elevations.
Factor Structure of the Greek Translation of the Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language and Communication

Objective: The Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language and Communication (TLC) is a widely used instrument for the assessment of formal thought disorder. TLC disorders were initially conceptualized as having only two underlying dimensions, a negative and a positive one. But studies of the factorial structure of the TLC have not provided confirmation for the positive-versus-negative distinction. The aim of the present study was to assess the factorial structure of the Greek translation of the TLC. Method: Subjects were 103 patients (69 male, 34 female) with psychotic disorders randomly recruited from both inpatient and outpatient facilities. The TLC was assessed by two raters based on a 20 min clinical interview. Results: Principal component analysis with varimax rotation yielded a three-factor structure; the three factors consisted off items reflecting (i) disorganization of speech; (ii) peculiarities of speech; and (iii) verbosity. The disorganization factor could be further divided into two dimensions reflecting disturbances in the flow of ideas and in the structure of speech. Conclusion: The investigation of the factorial structure of the Greek translation of the TLC scale found no support for the positive-versus-negative distinction of TLC disorders. Three factors (disorganization, speech peculiarities, and verbal productivity) were found to underlie the variance of the scale.