Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Have We Found an Ideal Soft‐Tissue Flap? An Experience with 672 Anterolateral Thigh Flaps

&NA; The free anterolateral thigh flap is becoming one of the most preferred options for soft‐tissue reconstruction. Between June of 1996 and August of 2000, 672 anterolateral thigh flaps were used in 660 patients at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Four hundred eighty‐four anterolateral thigh flaps were used for head and neck region recontruction in 475 patients, 58 flaps were used for upper extremity reconstruction in 58 patients, 121 flaps were used for lower extremity reconstruction in 119 patients, and nine flaps were used for trunk reconstruction in nine patients. Of the 672 flaps used in total, a majority (439) were musculocutaneous perforator flaps. Sixty‐five were septocutaneous vessel flaps. Of these 504 flaps, 350 were fasciocutaneous and 154 were cutaneous flaps. Of the remaining 168 flaps, 95 were musculocutaneous flaps, 63 were chimeric flaps, and the remaining ten were composite musculocutaneous perforator flaps with the tensor fasciae latae. Total flap failure occurred in 12 patients (1.79 percent of the flaps) and partial failure occurred in 17 patients (2.53 percent of the flaps). Of the 12 flaps that failed completely, five were reconstructed with second anterolateral thigh flaps, four with pedicled flaps, one with a free radial forearm flap, one with skin grafting, and one with primary closure. Of the 17 flaps that failed partially, three were reconstructed with anterolateral thigh flaps, one with a free radial forearm flap, five with pedicled flaps, and eight with primary suture, skin grafting, and conservative methods. In this large series, a consistent anatomy of the main pedicle of the anterolateral thigh flap was observed. In cutaneous and fasciocutaneous flaps, the skin vessels (musculocutaneous perforators or septocutaneous vessels) were found and followed until they reached the main pedicle, regardless of the anatomic position. There were only six cases in this series in which no skin vessels were identified during the harvesting of cutaneous or fasciocutaneous anterolateral thigh flaps. In 87.1 percent of the cutaneous or fasciocutaneous flaps, the skin vessels were found to be musculocutaneous perforators; in 12.9 percent, they were found as septocutaneous vessels. The anterolateral thigh flap is a reliable flap that supplies a large area of skin. This flap can be harvested irrespective of whether the skin vessels are septocutaneous or musculocutaneous. It is a versatile soft‐tissue flap in which thickness and volume can be adjusted for the extent of the defect, and it can replace most soft‐tissue free flaps in most clinical situations. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 109: 2219, 2002.)
Hardware Implementation of a Real-Time Neural Network Controller With a DSP and an FPGA for Nonlinear Systems

In this paper, we implement the intelligent neural network controller hardware with a field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based general purpose chip and a digital signal processing (DSP) board to solve nonlinear system control problems. The designed intelligent control hardware can perform real-time control of the backpropagation learning algorithm of a neural network. The basic proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control algorithms are implemented in an FPGA chip and a neural network controller is implemented in a DSP board. By using a high capacity of an FPGA chip, the additional hardware such as an encoder counter and a pulsewidth modulation (PWM) generator is implemented in a single FPGA chip. As a result, the controller becomes cost effective. It was tested for controlling nonlinear systems such as a robot finger and an inverted pendulum on a moving cart to show performance of the controller
Massively parallel implementation of sparse message retrieval algorithms in Clustered Clique Networks

Auto-associative memories are a family of algorithms designed for pattern completion. Many of them are based on neural networks, as is the case for Clustered Clique Networks which display competitive pattern retrieval abilities. A sparse variant of these networks was formerly introduced which enables further improved performances. Specific pattern retrieval algorithms have been proposed for this model, such as the Global-Winners-Take-All and the Global-Losers-Kicked-Out. We hereby present accelerated implementations of these strategies on graphical processing units (GPU). These schemes reach interesting factors of acceleration while preserving the retrieval performance.
Multidimensional Association Rules in Boolean Tensors

Popular data mining methods support knowledge discovery from patterns that hold in binary relations. We study the generalization of association rule mining within arbitrary n-ary relations and thus Boolean tensors instead of Boolean matrices. Indeed, many datasets of interest correspond to relations whose number of dimensions is greater or equal to 3. However, just a few proposals deal with rule discovery when both the head and the body can involve subsets of any dimensions. A challenging problem is to provide a semantics to such generalized rules by means of objective interestingness measures that have to be carefully designed. Therefore, we discuss the need for different generalizations of the classical confidence measure. We also present the first algorithm that computes, in such a general framework, every rule that satisfies both a minimal frequency constraint and minimal confidence constraints. The approach is tested on real datasets (ternary and 4-ary relations). We report on a case study that deals with analyzing a dynamic graph thanks to rules.
Effects of intravenous administration of tranexamic acid on hematological, hemostatic, and thromboelastographic analytes in healthy adult dogs.

OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of tranexamic acid (TA) on hematological, hemostatic, and thromboelastographic analytes in healthy adult dogs. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING University teaching hospital. ANIMALS Eleven healthy, staff-owned, adult dogs. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Dogs were administered TA as an IV bolus, followed by a 3-hour constant rate infusion (CRI). Complete blood count, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, D-dimer, antithrombin, fibrinogen, and thromboelastography (TEG) were measured prior to, and immediately after TA administration. Vomiting occurred transiently in the first 2 treated dogs, immediately after 20 and 15 mg/kg IV boluses, but not during the CRI. In all other dogs the TA IV bolus dose was reduced to 10 mg/kg, and administered slower, and vomiting did not occur. All measured hemostatic and hematological analytes remained within their reference intervals, however, following TA treatment, significant decreases were recorded in prothrombin time, TEG R and A30 values, Hct, and hemoglobin concentration, while the TEG LY30 significantly increased. CONCLUSIONS Administration of TA as a slow IV bolus at 10 mg/kg, followed by a 10 mg/kg/h CRI over 3 hours to healthy dogs is safe; however, its effect on TEG A30, A60, LY30, and LY60 values was inconsistent with its expected anti-fibrinolytic properties.
Perceptions towards aging among selected Filipino adults

The study aims to explore perceptions of selected Filipino adults towards aging. A total of twelve adults (6 married and 6 single) whose age ranges from 40 to 59 years old were recruited as participants. The study employed a qualitative-narrative research design. Participants were interviewed in accordance with their lived experiences and were analyzed through thematic analysis. The themes emerged from analyses of raw data are as follows: Aging as a responsibility; Aging as a maturation period; Aging as a promising experience; Aging as the process of increasing autonomy; Aging as a phase of increased productivity; Aging as a positive experience; Aging as a stage of physiological; and physical decline and aging as an apprehensive process. Implications of the study are discussed.
The Global Regulator Ler Is Necessary for Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Colonization of Caenorhabditis elegans

ABSTRACT Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an important cause of infant diarrhea in developing countries and is useful for general investigations of the bacterial infection process. However, the study of the molecular pathogenesis of EPEC has been hampered by the lack of genetically tractable, convenient animal models. We have therefore developed the use of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a small animal model of infection for this diarrheal pathogen. We found that nematodes died faster on nematode growth medium in the presence of EPEC pathogens than in the presence of the laboratory control strain MG1655. Increased numbers of pathogens in the gut, determined by standard plate count assays and fluorescence microscopy using green fluorescent protein-expressing bacteria, correlated with killing. Deletion of the gene encoding the global regulator Ler severely reduced the ability of EPEC to colonize the nematode gut and could be complemented by providing the ler gene on a multicopy plasmid in trans. Neither the type III secretion system nor the type IV bundle-forming pilus was required for colonization. Combined, the similarities and distinct differences between EPEC infection of nematodes and that of humans offer a unique opportunity to study several stages of the infection process, namely, attachment, colonization, and persistence, in a genetically tractable, inexpensive, and convenient in vivo system.
Desegregation Stalled

Gender segregation in baccalaureate degree fields declined rapidly in the first half of the period from 1971 to 2002; at the same time, women's representation among baccalaureate degree recipients increased most rapidly relative to men's. The desegregation of the early period resulted mainly from women's increased entry into business-related fields and declining proportions of women majoring in traditional fields such as education and English. Men did not contribute to integration by moving toward fields numerically dominated by women. Fixed-effects regression models suggest that feminization of fields discourages later cohorts of men from entering them, as predicted by the devaluation perspective. The stalling of desegregation came from a combination of men's disinclination to enter fields that are “too” filled with women, and the slowdown in women making less traditional choices.
The relative impact of individual sexual desire and couple desire discrepancy on satisfaction in heterosexual couples

Sexual desire has been shown to be positively related to sexual and relationship satisfaction. Sexual desire discrepancy has received relatively little empirical attention in the context of dyads, though research shows that larger discrepancies in desire may be associated with lower satisfaction outcomes. The relative importance of sexual desire and sexual desire discrepancy in predicting sexual and relationship satisfaction was examined in a sample of 133 heterosexual couples. Men and women were equally likely to be the member of the couple with lower sexual desire relative to their partner. Hierarchical multiple regression results indicated that individual sexual desire for one's partner significantly predicted sexual satisfaction for women and men, whereas sexual desire discrepancy significantly predicted sexual satisfaction for men only. However, in predicting relationship satisfaction, individual sexual desire for partner is significantly related to women's relationship satisfaction, whereas sexual desire discrepancy is significantly related to men's relationship satisfaction. These findings suggest that attention should be paid to how each partner interacts within the dyad and special attention should be paid to how women's sexual desire impacts relationship dynamics. Therapeutic implications and future research avenues are also discussed.
Biocompatible 3D-printed peg-diacrylate microfluidics

This work describes a new biocompatible open-source material for 3D-printing microfluidic devices using stereolithography. It is a resin consisting of only low-molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate and a photoinitiator. We demonstrate that with the resin it is possible to 3D-print a microfluidic device capable of holding liquid in its channels without absorbing it, and that the material is biocompatible. We expect to integrate this material as the base resin to 3D-printing microfluidic devices due to its properties and low cost.
Charter Schools in the United States: The Question of Autonomy

By the end of 1994, 11 states had passed legislation authorizing charter schools. Following the argument that charter schools need to be autonomous, self-governing organizations to enhance their potential for high performance, this study explores legislative conditions that promote charter school autonomy. The study applies a conceptual framework of autonomy to assess variations among state charter school policies. 7he results suggest that state policies offer different levels of autonomy and thus charter schools will vary in their ability to innovate and in their potential for high performance. Differences in autonomy across charter school laws appear to be related to state political cultures and to the state's history of decentralization reform.
Performance of content replication in MobiTribe: A distributed architecture for mobile UGC sharing

An increasing portion of traffic in mobile networks comes from users creating content and uploading it to the Internet to share it. The capacity of mobile networks is a limited resource and uploading high resolution content consumes a large part of it. We introduce MobiTribe, a distributed storage cloud consisting of mobile devices for storing the content created on the phones. It can serve requests for content and take advantage of networks with spare capacity to deliver the content at a lower cost. We propose a content distribution and replication algorithm which achieves this goal. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using empirical data traces of WLAN availability patterns of mobile devices, showing that it is possible to achieve 99.98% availability of a content via WLAN while minimising content distribution to an average of 2.69 replicas.
High-Quality Texture Reconstruction from Multiple Scans

The creation of three-dimensional digital content by scanning real objects has become common practice in graphics applications for which visual quality is paramount, such as animation, e-commerce, and virtual museums. While a lot of attention has been devoted recently to the problem of accurately capturing the geometry of scanned objects, the acquisition of high-quality textures is equally important, but not as widely studied. In this paper, we focus on methods to construct accurate digital models of scanned objects by integrating high-quality texture and normal maps with geometric data. These methods are designed for use with inexpensive, electronic camera-based systems in which low-resolution range images and high-resolution intensity images are acquired. The resulting models are well-suited for interactive rendering on the latest-generation graphics hardware with support for bump mapping. Our contributions include new techniques for processing range, reflectance, and surface normal data, for image-based registration of scans, and for reconstructing high-quality textures for the output digital object.
The influence of social stress on time perception and psychophysiological reactivity.

Time perception is a fundamental component of everyday life. Although time can be measured using standard units, the relationship between an individual's experience of perceived time and a standard unit is highly sensitive to context. Stressful and threatening stimuli have been previously shown to produce time distortion effects, such that individuals perceive the stimuli as lasting for different amounts of time as compared to a standard unit. As a highly social species, humans are acutely sensitive to social stressors; however, time distortion effects have not been studied in the context of social stress. We collected psychophysiological (electrocardiogram and impedance cardiography) and time perception data before, during, and after a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test for 42 participants. Based on prior theories and evidence from the time perception literature, we hypothesized that experiencing a stressful event would result in time distortion. This hypothesis was supported by the data, with individuals on average reproducing short and long duration negative and positive stimuli as lasting longer after experiencing social stress, t(41) = -3.55, p = . 001, and t(41) = -4.12, p < . 001 for negative stimuli, and t(41) = -2.43, p = . 02, and t(41) = -3.07, p = . 004 for positive stimuli. However, changes in time perception were largely unrelated to psychophysiological reactivity to social stress. These findings are in line with some other studies of time distortion, and provide evidence for the interoceptive salience model of time perception. Implications for mechanisms of time distortion are discussed.
Is covert attention really unnecessary?

We are largely in agreement with the Findlay & Walker model. However, they appear to dismiss the role of covert spatial attention in tasks in which people are free to move their eyes. We argue that an account of the facts about the perceptual span in reading requires a window of attention not centered around the fovea. Moreover, a computational model of reading that we (Reichle et al. 1998) developed gives a good account of eye movement control in reading and would be unable to do so without relying heavily on covert attention.
Strategy for detection of prostate cancer based on relation between prostate specific antigen at age 40-55 and long term risk of metastasis: case-control study

Objective To determine the association between concentration of prostate specific antigen (PSA) at age 40-55 and subsequent risk of prostate cancer metastasis and mortality in an unscreened population to evaluate when to start screening for prostate cancer and whether rescreening could be risk stratified. Design Case-control study with 1:3 matching nested within a highly representative population based cohort study. Setting Malmö Preventive Project, Sweden. Participants 21 277 Swedish men aged 27-52 (74% of the eligible population) who provided blood at baseline in 1974-84, and 4922 men invited to provide a second sample six years later. Rates of PSA testing remained extremely low during median follow-up of 27 years. Main outcome measures Metastasis or death from prostate cancer ascertained by review of case notes. Results Risk of death from prostate cancer was associated with baseline PSA: 44% (95% confidence interval 34% to 53%) of deaths occurred in men with a PSA concentration in the highest 10th of the distribution of concentrations at age 45-49 (≥1.6 µg/L), with a similar proportion for the highest 10th at age 51-55 (≥2.4 µg/L: 44%, 32% to 56%). Although a 25-30 year risk of prostate cancer metastasis could not be ruled out by concentrations below the median at age 45-49 (0.68 µg/L) or 51-55 (0.85 µg/L), the 15 year risk remained low at 0.09% (0.03% to 0.23%) at age 45-49 and 0.28% (0.11% to 0.66%) at age 51-55, suggesting that longer intervals between screening would be appropriate in this group. Conclusion Measurement of PSA concentration in early midlife can identify a small group of men at increased risk of prostate cancer metastasis several decades later. Careful surveillance is warranted in these men. Given existing data on the risk of death by PSA concentration at age 60, these results suggest that three lifetime PSA tests (mid to late 40s, early 50s, and 60) are probably sufficient for at least half of men.
Antidepressants and mania: To stop or not to stop?

The clinical problem of whether to stop antidepressants when patients develop mania is looked at in the light of existing practice and advice both in the UK and in the USA. It is concluded that practice is based more on an empirical than a scientific basis. The literature on the subject is reviewed with especial reference to the questions of whether antidepressants actually cause mania, whether they interfere with the treatment of mania, whether discontinuing them stops mania and whether withdrawal of antidepressants causes mania. Finally a case notes study conducted by one of the authors is summarized and recommendations for further research are made.
A novel junction-free BE-SONOS NAND flash

We have successfully demonstrated a novel junction-free BE-SONOS NAND Flash. Junction-free devices greatly improve the short channel effect and thus promise scaling of NAND Flash below 20 nm node. Instead of S/D junctions a very small space (Lt 30 nm) is left between adjacent devices. Junction is formed only at the outer region of NAND array, while there is no junction inside the array. Fringe field from the gate inverts the Si under the narrow space allowing conduction without a diffusion junction. Successful n-channel, p-channel and TFT BE-SONOS NAND devices are demonstrated using this technique. Simulation results suggest that this novel junction-free technique is scalable beyond 20 nm node. Moreover, the junction-free devices are unaffected by the thermal budget in the 3D TFT devices. This new device can be implemented in the current NAND Flash process without introducing new masks.
SIAG / OPT Views-and-News

(modersit@cas.mcmaster.ca). Abstract Image registration is the process of aligning two or more images of the same scene taken at different times, from different viewpoints and/or by different sensors. Image registration is a crucial step in imaging problems where the valuable information is contained in more than one image. Here, spatial alignment is required to properly integrate useful information from the separate images. It is the goal of this note to give an overview on modern techniques in this area. It turns out that the registration problem is an inverse problem which requires regularization and the use of modern optimization methods. We address these issues and supplement it by real-life examples.
A polymorphism in the enhancer region of the thymidylate synthase promoter influences the survival of colorectal cancer patients treated with 5-fluorouracil

High levels of thymidylate synthase (TS) expression have been associated with poor survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy. Recent evidence suggests that a polymorphism within the enhancer region of the TS gene promoter can influence TS expression, with the triple repeat homozygote (3R/3R) being associated with significantly higher tumour TS levels than either the double repeat homozygote (2R/2R) or heterozygotes (2R/3R). In the present study we investigated whether TS genotype was associated with the degree of survival benefit from chemotherapy in 221 Dukes’ C stage CRC patients. Patients with the 3R/3R polymorphism (n = 58, 26%) showed no significant long-term survival benefit from chemotherapy (RR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.30–1.25, P = 0.18), whereas those with the 2R/2R or 2R/3R genotype (n = 163, 74%) showed significant gains in survival from this treatment (RR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.52–0.82, P = 0.005). These results demonstrate that a polymorphism within the TS gene, probably through its effect on TS expression levels, can influence the survival benefit obtained by CRC patients from 5-FU-based chemotherapy. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer. com