Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cartilage Status in Relation to Return to Sports After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Background: Osteoarthritis after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction receives much attention in orthopaedic science. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is related to increased joint fluid volumes, bone marrow edema, and cartilage biochemical and morphological changes believed to cause fragile joint conditions. These joint conditions may not be able to adequately counter the imposed loads during sports. Hypothesis: At 6 months after surgery, knee cartilage displays inferior quality in ACL-reconstructed knees when compared with controls. This inferior quality is influenced by the time to return to sports and/or by the time to surgery. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Fifteen patients treated with isolated ACL reconstruction were compared with 15 matched controls. In all participants, a 3-T magnetic resonance imaging cartilage evaluation was performed entailing quantitative morphological characteristics (3-dimensional volume/thickness), biochemical composition (T2/T2* mapping), and function (after a 30-minute run: in vivo deformation including recovery). Nonparametric statistics were executed reporting median (95% CI). Results: No volume and thickness between-group differences existed. In patients, medial femur (FM) T2 was higher (45.44 ms [95% CI, 40.64-51.49] vs 37.19 ms [95% CI, 34.67-40.39]; P = .028), whereas T2* was lower in the FM (21.81 ms [95% CI, 19.89-22.74] vs 24.29 ms [95% CI, 22.70-26.26]; P = .004), medial tibia (TM) (13.81 ms [95% CI, 10.26-16.78] vs 17.98 ms [95% CI, 15.95-18.90]; P = .016), and lateral tibia (TL) (14.69 ms [95% CI, 11.71-16.72] vs 18.62 ms [95% CI, 17.85-22.04]; P < .001). Patients showed diminished recovery at 30 minutes after a 30-minute run in the FM (−1.60% [95% CI, −4.82 to −0.13] vs 0.01% [95% CI, −0.34 to 1.23]; P = .040) and at 30 (−3.76% [95% CI, −9.29 to −1.78] vs 0.04% [95% CI, −1.52 to −0.72]; P = .004) and 45 minutes after exercise (−1.86% [95% CI, −4.66 to −0.40] vs 0.43% [95% CI, −0.91 to 0.77]; P = .024) in the TL. Eight patients returned to sports at 6 months or earlier. Return before 5 months (3/8 patients) was associated with increased cartilage thickness (in TM, TL, and lateral femur [FL]), deformation (in FL), and delayed recovery after running (in FL and FM). Median surgical delay was 10 weeks (range, 5-17 weeks). Surgery within 10 weeks (9/15 patients) was also associated with delayed cartilage recovery (in FL and FM). For the other parameters, no significant relationships could be established for either return to sports or surgical delay. Conclusion: At 6 months after surgery, cartilage in patients with ACL reconstruction shows diminished quality and in vivo resiliency compared with controls. Caution is advised in an early return to sports especially when dealing with patients who received prompt surgery. Possibly, high impacts on this qualitatively diminished cartilage might play a role in the development of osteoarthritis in ACL reconstruction. Replication in larger samples and follow-up are warranted.
Clonality and virulence traits of Escherichia coli associated with haemorrhagic septicaemia in turkeys

Fifty-five clinical isolates of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) from seven outbreaks of acute haemorrhagic septicaemia in turkeys were characterized by serotyping, plasmid profiling including restriction analysis with HindIII, ribotyping with EcoRI and HindIII, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and virulence profiling. A clonal relationship was demonstrated for each outbreak according to serotype, plasmid profiling, ribotyping, and MLST. In addition, isolates demonstrated highly similar virulence profiles, as all isolates were positive for F11 pili and possessed genes encoding aerobactin (iucD), increased serum survival (iss), temperature-sensitive haemagglutinin (tsh) and colicin V plasmid operon genes (cva/cvi). However, only 20% of the isolates produced colicin V and 42% exhibited serum resistance. All strains with O group O111 and a single O18ac strain (demonstrating non-clonal DNA profiles) were positive for enteroaggregative heat-stabile toxin (EAST1), while isolates of a single outbreak all possessed the enteroaggregative toxin gene (astA). All isolates were negative for genes encoding verocytotoxins (vtx/stx), iron-repressible protein (irp2), P-fimbria (papC), invasion plasmid antigen (ipaH), attaching and effacing gene (eae), enterohaemolysin (ehxA), and enterotoxins LT, STIa (STp) and STIb (STh). In conclusion, highly similar virulence profiles were demonstrated for isolates of E. coli associated with a single well-defined lesion type of colibacillosis in turkeys; acute haemorrhagic septicaemia. The isolates obtained, however, demonstrated a different phylogenetic background, underlining the importance of using well-defined strain collections for characterization of APEC pathotypes.
3D model retrieval using distance filter

3D model retrieval is a very important research topic both in computer vision and computer graphics field. Most previous work is focusing on defining robust shape descriptor in order to get better retrieving accuracy. Unlike these work, we propose distance filter to improve the retrieving accuracy when using the existing shape descriptors. The main idea of distance filter is to eliminate distance noise in the process of evaluating similarity between models. As a result, the computed similarity between 3D shapes will be more robust under different variation. The implementation of distance filter can be efficiently done by using filter theory, which is widely used in signal processing. Moreover, the definition of distance filter is independent of any shape descriptors. Therefore, it can be used in conjunction with any 3D shape descriptors. To verify the effect of distance filter, we carry an experimental analysis by using two public 3D testing databases and two different kinds of shape descriptors. All results show distance filter can greatly improve retrieving accuracy whether single or hybrid shape descriptors.
The Post-Disaster Debris Clearance Problem Under Incomplete Information

Debris management is one of the most time consuming and complicated activities among post-disaster operations. Debris clearance is aimed at pushing the debris to the sides of the roads so that relief distribution and search-and-rescue operations can be maintained in a timely manner. Given the limited resources, uncertainty, and urgency during disaster response, efficient and effective planning of debris clearance to achieve connectivity between relief demand and supply is important. In this paper, we define the stochastic debris clearance problem SDCP, which captures post-disaster situations where the limited information on the debris amounts along the roads is updated as clearance activities proceed. The main decision in SDCP is to determine a sequence of roads to clear in each period such that benefit accrued by satisfying relief demand is maximized. To solve SDCP to optimality, we develop a partially observable Markov decision process model. We then propose a heuristic based on a continuous-time approximation, and we further reduce the computational burden by applying a limited look ahead on the search tree and heuristic pruning. The performance of these approaches is tested on randomly generated instances that reflect various geographical and information settings, and instances based on a real-world earthquake scenario. The results of these experiments underline the importance of applying a stochastic approach and indicate significant improvements over heuristics that mimic the current practice for debris clearance.
Ambulatory blood pressure in schoolchildren

OBJECTIVE To define the range and variability of ambulatory blood pressure in normal schoolchildren. DESIGN Prospective study. METHODS Resting blood pressure of 1121 schoolchildren from Newcastle upon Tyne was recorded. An ambulatory blood pressure device, which uses both auscultatory (Korotkoff) and oscillometric methods of blood pressure measurement, was then put in place for 24 hours. RESULTS The day was divided into three time periods: school, home, and night time. Normal centiles for blood pressure for each of these time periods were obtained and many daytime readings were outside reported normal resting levels. The normal variation of blood pressure was quantified by comparing each of these time periods with the resting readings. Resting systolic blood pressure did not predict 24 hour mean systolic blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS The availability of normal ambulatory blood pressure data on the level and variation of blood pressure in children may facilitate the early identification of hypertension in this age group.
Convergence of the delayed normalized LMS algorithm with decreasing step size

In several practical applications of the LMS algorithm, including certain VLSI implementations, the coefficient adaptation can be performed only after some fixed delay. The resulting algorithm is known as the delayed LMS (DLMS) algorithm in the literature. Previous published analyses of this algorithm are based on mean and moment convergence under the independence assumption between successive input vectors. These analyses are interesting and give valuable insights into the convergence properties but, from a practical viewpoint, they do not guarantee the correct performance of the particular realization with which the user must live. We consider a normalized version of this algorithm with a decreasing step size /spl mu/(n) and prove the almost sure convergence of the nonhomogeneous algorithm, assuming a mixing input condition and the satisfaction of a certain law of large numbers.
Lesser-Toe Abnormalities

Lesser toe abnormalities, which can result in significant pain and discomfort, are caused by several intrinsic or extrinsic factors including inflammatory arthritis, trauma, congenital abnormalities, neuromuscular disorders, or poorly fitting shoe wear. Identification of the etiology of the deformity is necessary to determine whether conservative or surgical treatment is warranted and to possibly halt progression of the deformity.
A tale of two springs: using recent climate anomalies to characterize the sensitivity of temperate forest phenology to climate change

By the end of this century, mean annual temperatures in the Northeastern United States are expected to warm by 3–5 °C, which will have significant impacts on the structure and function of temperate forests in this region. To improve understanding of these impacts, we exploited two recent climate anomalies to explore how the springtime phenology of Northeastern temperate deciduous forests will respond to future climate warming. Specifically, springtime temperatures in 2010 and 2012 were the warmest on record in the Northeastern United States, with temperatures that were roughly equivalent to the lower end of warming scenarios that are projected for this region decades from now. Climate conditions in these two years therefore provide a unique empirical basis, that complements model-based studies, for improving understanding of how northeastern temperate forest phenology will change in the future. To perform our investigation, we analyzed near surface air temperatures from the United States Historical Climatology Network, time series of satellite-derived vegetation indices from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, and in situ phenological observations. Our study region encompassed the northern third of the eastern temperate forest ecoregion, extending from Pennsylvania to Canada. Springtime temperatures in 2010 and 2012 were nearly 3 °C warmer than long-term average temperatures from 1971–2000 over the region, leading to median anomalies of more than 100 growing degree days. In response, satellite and ground observations show that leaf emergence occurred up to two weeks earlier than normal, but with significant sensitivity to the specific timing of thermal forcing. These results are important for two reasons. First, they provide an empirical demonstration of the sensitivity of springtime phenology in northeastern temperate forests to future climate change that supports and complements model-based predictions. Second, our results show that subtle differences in the character of thermal forcing can substantially alter the timing of leaf emergence and canopy development. By explicitly comparing and contrasting the timing of thermal forcing and leaf phenology in 2010 and 2012, we show that even though temperatures were warmer in 2012 than in 2010, the nature and timing of thermal forcing in 2010 lead to leaf emergence that was almost a week earlier than 2012.
Antenna array design in MIMO radar using cyclic difference sets and genetic algorithm

This paper addresses the issue of how to properly arrange the transmitting and receiving (Tx/Rx) antenna elements of MIMO radar in order to achieve the best spatial resolution. By combining the positive features of cyclic difference sets (CDSs) and genetic algorithm (GA), a hybrid optimization method is proposed for the optimal design of MIMO radar arrays. Numerical results are also presented, showing the variety in array configurations and notable improvement in the spatial resolution.
A Comparison of Visual Analog and Graphic Rating Scales for Assessing Pain Following Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

This study evaluated a visual analog scale (VAS) and a graphic rating scale (GRS) for the measurement of pain following delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and following treatment for the symptoms of DOMS. Data from two studies were used to evaluate the scales. Pain intensity was assessed prior to and following induction of DOMS and immediately before and after each treatment session. In Study 1, subjects were randomly assigned to receive a 20- min ice pack followed by a 7-min sham ultrasound treatment or a 20-min ice pack followed by a 7-min nonthermal ultrasound treatment. In Study 2, subjects received a 20-min microcurrent neuromuscular stimulation (MENS) treatment or a 20-min sham MENS treatment. In both studies, significant differences were found between the VAS and GRS scales for pretest conditions on Days 1 and 2 for all subjects. There were no significant differences between any other days or tests. The differences on Day 1 and Day 2 were attributed to the novelty of filling out the scales. Therefore, a visual analog or graphic rating scale can be used to evaluate pain intensity following DOMS when repeated measurement is involved, although consideration should be given to potential differences the first one or two times the scales are completed.
Interimplant papilla reconstruction: assessment of soft tissue changes and results of 12 consecutive cases.

BACKGROUND Loss of soft tissue between adjacent implants is a frequent occurrence. Reconstruction of the papilla between adjacent implants is often necessary where there are esthetic demands. The purpose of this article is to describe a fixed and reproducible reference line which can be used to measure changes in the height of the interimplant papillae. A surgical technique carried out at the time of the abutment connection surgery is also described to show the changes that may occur over a 12-month period. Assessment of changes in the soft tissue dimension is shown following a modified flap technique at the time of abutment connection. METHODS With the aid of clinical photographs taken preoperatively, a reference line can be drawn between the highest point of the gingival margins on teeth distal to the intended site of soft tissue surgery. This reference line can be reproduced on clinical photographs postoperatively. Using this reference line, the changes in soft tissue height using a modified flap technique in 12 consecutive patients are presented. Assessment of the vertical height of the interimplant papillae before and after treatment is described. RESULTS Four patients showed an increase in the height of the papillae when reviewed 12 months following abutment connection. One patient showed no change in the height of the papillae, and 7 patients showed a loss in papillary height. There was an average loss of 0.5 mm in height of the interimplant soft tissue. CONCLUSIONS Use of a fixed reference line to assess the outcome of treatment is necessary when evaluating vertical changes in soft tissue. This reference line is used to assess a soft tissue flap technique carried out at the time of implant exposure.
RULE BASED ACCESS CONTROL FOR SECURITY AND PRIVACY IN ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS

In the era of Internet technologies, social networking websites has witnessed thriving popularity. Computer mediated communication has changed the rules of social interaction and communication. Most social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook, Google+, Twitter etc. facilitates user’s with the features like online interaction, sharing of information and developing new relationships etc. Online interaction and sharing of personal information in social networking sites has raised new privacy concerns. So, it requires an exploratory insight into user’s behavioural intention to share information. This research aims to develop a research model, with security and privacy concerns conceptualized as an antecedent of trust in social networking site and moderator of information sharing. The study aims to understand the impact of security, trust and privacy concerns on the willingness of sharing information in social networking sites. Using an online questionnaire, empirical data were collected from 250 Facebook user’s of different age group over the time period of 4 months. Reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structure equation modelling is used to validate the proposed research framework. This empirical study, based on an established theoretical foundation, will help the research community to gain a deeper understanding of the impacts of privacy concern in the context of Facebook. Practical implications: The paper increases the understanding of user’s willingness to reveal information on social networking site on their level of privacy, security and trust. The proposed ideas and discussion is equally applicable to social networking site operators with useful strategies for enhancing user’s acceptance. Findings:The privacy concerns of research respondents were found statistically significant and suggest that privacy concerns like security, trust has a positive effect on information sharing.
The Necessary Resolution to Zoom and Crop Hardcopy Images

The objective of this study was to determine the neces scan resolution for users to zoom and crop images by var amounts. The study image parameters followed a facto design that consisted of a series of simulated scan res tions, zoom/crop amounts, inter-polation methods, and p sizes. Observers rated perceived image quality and cat rized all of the images as “Acceptable” or “Unacceptabl An objective metric based on system MTFs and the par eters outlined above was calculated. The results for acc ability categories showed similar patterns to the results relative image quality ratings. The pattern of the object MTF-based values compared quite favorably to the pat of image quality ratings. As a result, the necessary resolu at a series of acceptability levels can be derived.
Infantile torticollis: a review of 624 cases.

We reviewed 624 cases of infantile torticollis in one centre over a period of 7 years. The incidence of torticollis was found to be 1.3% in Chinese children. Boy-to-girl ratio was 3:2. Obstetric histories of the mothers showed a total of 62.2% with difficult labour, breech deliveries, or caesarean section, and 6.04% had associated congenital anomalies. Of all the cases, 27.88% were found to be postural, 35.4% had torticollis that presented with sternomastoid tumor, and 36.7% presented with muscular torticollis alone. When limitation of neck range was considered, 36.7% had a passive rotation deficit > 15 degrees. In patients presenting in the early stages, 97% of all infantile torticollis cases resolved with conservative treatment, active stimulation, and a passive stretching program. For those responding to treatment, the mean treatment period was < 6 months for varying degrees of neck rotational deficit. Patients with cord-like muscular torticollis and a rotational > 30 degrees were more likely to need surgery. Presence of sternomastoid tumor alone was not found to increase the likelihood of surgery. Musculoskeletal sequelae after torticollis had resolved included intermittent head tilt and persistence of mild craniofacial asymmetry. We recommend continuous follow-up in cases of infantile torticollis, particularly in patients with progression of sternomastoid tumor to muscular torticollis.
Assessing the Interpersonal Circumplex Model in Late Childhood

The authors developed the Interpersonal Behavior Questionnaire for Children with the aim of assessing the constructs of the interpersonal circumplex model, that is, Dominance and Love and their possible combinations, via third- to fifth-grade children’s self- and peer reports. In the three studies presented herein, the authors examined several psychometric properties of the questionnaire. Results demonstrated that children’s ratings along the questionnaire yielded the hypothesized circumplex structure of the interpersonal variables; that they reached significant association levels with external criteria; and that they were reliable. Specifically, interrater correlations were shown to reach substantive levels when inspected in older children, when scores were aggregated over raters, and when dominant behaviors were evaluated. Overall, the findings demonstrated the tenability of the circumplex model in young ages via children’s ratings. The authors suggest that both personality assessment and personality development research may take advantage from using children’s evaluations, in addition to adults’ ratings of their children’s personality.
ART, Stoffenmanager, and TRA: A Systematic Comparison of Exposure Estimates Using the TREXMO Translation System

Several occupational exposure models are recommended under the EU's REACH legislation. Due to limited availability of high-quality exposure data, their validation is an ongoing process. It was shown, however, that different models may calculate significantly different estimates and thus lead to potentially dangerous conclusions about chemical risk. In this paper, the between-model translation rules defined in TREXMO were used to generate 319000 different in silico exposure situations in ART, Stoffenmanager, and ECETOC TRA v3. The three models' estimates were computed and the correlation and consistency between them were investigated. The best correlated pair was Stoffenmanager-ART (R, 0.52-0.90), whereas the ART-TRA and Stoffenmanager-TRA correlations were either lower (R, 0.36-0.69) or no correlation was found. Consistency varied significantly according to different exposure types (e.g. vapour versus dust) or settings (near-field versus far-field and indoors versus outdoors). The percentages of generated situations for which estimates differed by more than a factor of 100 ranged from 14 to 97%, 37 to 99%, and 1 to 68% for Stoffenmanager-ART, TRA-ART, and TRA-Stoffenmanager, respectively. Overall, the models were more consistent for vapours than for dusts and solids, near-fields than for far-fields, and indoor than for outdoor exposure. Multiple linear regression analyses evidenced the relationship between the models' parameters and the relative differences between the models' predictions. The relative difference can be used to estimate the consistency between the models. Furthermore, the study showed that the tiered approach is not generally applicable to all exposure situations. These findings emphasize the need for a multiple-model approach to assessing critical exposure scenarios under REACH. Moreover, in combination with occupational exposure measurements, they might also be used for future studies to improve prediction accuracy.