Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functioning and disability in patients with hip osteoarthritis with mild to moderate pain.

STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. OBJECTIVE To compare functioning and disability in patients with hip osteoarthritis (OA) not candidates for surgery, to a matched control group, and thereby to examine the relationship between the functioning and disability components used in this study in patients with hip OA. BACKGROUND It is well known that patients with severe hip OA have deficits in functioning and disability. However, in patients with hip OA not candidates for surgery, the knowledge regarding functioning and disability is sparse. METHODS Twenty-six patients (12 men, 14 women; mean age, 60 years) with radiographic and symptomatic hip OA were matched to 26 controls without hip pain. The following variables were measured: muscle strength using isokinetic peak force, hip passive range of motion, submaximal aerobic capacity using a cycling test, walking ability using the 6-minute walk test, self-reported pain, stiffness, and physical function using the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index, and health-related quality of life using the SF-36. RESULTS The patients with hip OA had mild to moderate pain, as indicated by the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index, and significantly lower knee extension strength (mean difference [95% confidence interval {CI}]: -19.5 [-34.3, -4.7] Nm). Hip range of motion was significantly less in the patients with hip OA, with mean (95% CI) differences of -10° (-14°, -6°) for extension, -18° (-26°, -11°) for flexion, -9° (-14°, -4°) for abduction, -2° (-5°, 0°) for adduction, -16° (-23°, -9°) for internal rotation, and -21° (-28°, -14°) for external rotation. The patients with hip OA walked a significantly shorter distance in 6 minutes (mean difference, -75 m; 95% CI: -131, -20 m). There were no significant differences in hip extension/flexion, knee flexion, ankle dorsiflexion/plantar flexion muscle strength, or aerobic capacity between the 2 groups. There were significant associations between body function and activity components. CONCLUSION Physical therapists should consider including quadriceps-strengthening and hip range-of-motion exercises when developing rehabilitation programs for patients with hip OA, with mild to moderate pain, aiming to improve functioning and reduce disability.
Observation of rapid drainage system development by thermal erosion of ice wedges on Bylot Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Rapid development of a new drainage system was observed on Bylot Island. A 750‐m long gully system was eroded in four years. The process was initiated by the formation of sinkholes eroded in ice wedges by runoff flowing into open frost cracks. The sinkholes evolved into underground tunnels cut in the ice‐wedge network and the ice‐rich permafrost. Widening of tunnels was followed by subsidence and collapse of their roofs and the development of open gullies. The drainage generally developed as the shortest line along the regional slope with some deviations caused by collapse of blocks of soil which temporarily obstructed the water flow. Retrogressive scarps exposed to flowing water retreated at maximum rates of up to 5 m/day for a total of 15 to 50 m during the summer. Scarps exposed to atmospheric heat and solar radiation retreated between 2.5 and 40 m over four summers with a mean of 15.5 m. Such slopes had nearly stabilised after four years with a retreat rate of only a few centimetres per year in the last year of observation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Eddy covariance mapping and quantification of surface CO2 leakage fluxes

We present eddy covariance measurements of net CO2 flux (Fc) made during a controlled release of CO2 (0.3 t d−1 from 9 July to 7 August 2008) from a horizontal well ∼100 m in length and ∼2.5 m in depth located in an agricultural field in Bozeman, MT. We isolated fluxes arising from the release (Fcr) by subtracting fluxes corresponding to a model for net ecosystem exchange from Fc. A least‐squares inversion of 611 Fcr and corresponding modeled footprint functions recovered the location, length, and magnitude of the surface CO2 flux leakage signal, although high wavenumber details of the signal were poorly resolved. The estimated total surface CO2 leakage rate (0.32 t d−1) was within 7% of the release rate.
Environmental restoration in the Atchafalaya Basin : boundaries and interventions

The Atchafalaya River is a 135-mile long river in Louisiana. This makes it the largest distributary of the Mississippi. In this thesis, I will review the ways in which the Atchafalaya Basin is described as a complex system by the two agencies that are responsible for its management, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. Different stakeholders understand the Basin in a variety of ways. My question is how the different views of the Basin impact its environmental restoration and management. I answer this question by describing how the agencies transform elements of the Basin into maps, plans and various management activities by relying on science, aerial photography, and long-time residents of the Basin. I will argue that a central aspect of successful environmental restoration is that communication among different stakeholders must create a shared discourse to frame the main issues in the Basin. In the Atchafalaya Basin, this means that environmental restoration cannot be successful without some level of consensus among the stakeholders about what the Atchafalaya Basin is, how it has developed and which environmental qualities are present in the Basin today and which ones need to be restored. Thesis Supervisor: Lawrence Susskind Title: Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning
Performance Metrics for Depth-based Signal Separation Using Deep Vertical Line Arrays

Vertical line arrays (VLAs) deployed below the critical depth in the deep ocean can exploit reliable acoustic path (RAP) propagation, which provides low transmission loss (TL) for targets at moderate ranges, and increased TL for distant interferers. However, sound from nearby surface interferers also undergoes RAP propagation, and without horizontal aperture, a VLA cannot separate these interferers from submerged targets. A recent publication by McCargar and Zurk (2013) addressed this issue, presenting a transform-based method for passive, depth-based separation of signals received on deep VLAs based on the depth-dependent modulation caused by the interference between the direct and surface-reflected acoustic arrivals. This thesis expands on that work by quantifying the transform-based depth estimation method performance in terms of the resolution and ambiguity in the depth estimate. Then, the depth discrimination performance is quantified in terms of the number of VLA elements.
Rice consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease: results from a pooled analysis of 3 U.S. cohorts

Background: Health concerns have been raised about rice consumption, which may significantly contribute to arsenic exposure. However, little is known regarding whether habitual rice consumption is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Objective: We examined prospectively the association of white rice and brown rice consumption with CVD risk. Design: We followed a total of 207,556 women and men [73,228 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (1984–2010), 92,158 women from the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991–2011), and 42,170 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986–2010)] who were free of CVD and cancer at baseline. Validated semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaires were used to assess consumption of white rice, brown rice, and other food items. Fatal and nonfatal CVD (coronary artery disease and stroke) was confirmed by medical records or self-reports. Results: During 4,393,130 person-years of follow-up, 12,391 cases of CVD were identified. After adjustment for major CVD risk factors, including demographics, lifestyle, and other dietary intakes, rice consumption was not associated with CVD risk. The multivariable-adjuted HR of developing CVD comparing ≥5 servings/wk with <1 serving/wk was 0.98 (95% CI: 0.84, 1.14) for white rice, 1.01 (0.79, 1.28) for brown rice, and 0.99 (0.90, 1.08) for total rice. To minimize the potential impact of racial difference in rice consumption, we restricted the analyses to whites only and obtained similar results: the HRs of CVD for ≥5 servings/wk compared with <1 serving/wk were 1.04 (95% CI: 0.88, 1.22) for white rice and 1.01 (0.78, 1.31) for brown rice. Conclusions: Greater habitual consumption of white rice or brown rice is not associated with CVD risk. These findings suggest that rice consumption may not pose a significant CVD risk among the U.S. population when consumed at current amounts. More prospective studies are needed to explore these associations in other populations.
Review article: controversy in the therapy of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease—long‐term proton pump inhibition or laparoscopic anti‐reflux surgery?

The treatment of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease is controversial. Whilst medical treatment is successful in patients with mild to moderate disease, the threshold of severity above which an operation should be contemplated remains a matter for debate. Laparoscopic anti‐reflux surgery may be lowering this threshold, as this form of therapy provides several advantages over its open counterpart, but it is not without risk, and few long‐term results are available. This article reviews treatment options for reflux disease and examines the relative position of current medical and surgical therapies.
Ligation of CD40 on dendritic cells triggers production of high levels of interleukin-12 and enhances T cell stimulatory capacity: T-T help via APC activation

We investigated the possibility that T helper cells might enhance the stimulatory function of dendritic cells (DCs). We found that ligation of CD40 by CD40L triggers the production of extremely high levels of bioactive IL-12. Other stimuli such as microbial agents, TNF-alpha or LPS are much less effective or not at all. In addition, CD40L is the most potent stimulus in upregulating the expression of ICAM-1, CD80, and CD86 molecules on DCs. These effects of CD40 ligation result in an increased capacity of DCs to trigger proliferative responses and IFN- gamma production by T cells. These findings reveal a new role for CD40- CD40L interaction in regulating DC function and are relevant to design therapeutic strategies using cultured DCs.
Reach‐scale interactions between aquatic plants and physical habitat: River Frome, Dorset

Substrate and flow velocity are two key physical factors influencing the distribution of aquatic plants. These two controls are closely related and reflect interactions between flow regime, quantity and calibre of sediment supplied to and bounding river channels, and channel dimensions. Seasonal growth of aquatic plants has important impacts upon flow resistance, flow velocities and sediment dynamics.
Sickle erythrocyte adherence to endothelium at low shear: Role of shear stress in propagation of vaso‐occlusion

Under venular flow conditions, sickle cell adherence to endothelium is mediated by cell adhesion molecules and adhesive proteins associated with inflammation, coagulation, and endothelial perturbation. Periodic and reduced blood flow are observed in sickle microcirculation during hematologic steady state, suggesting that blood flow is compromised in sickle microcirculation. We tested the hypothesis that low blood flow enhances adherence by quantifying sickle cell adhesion to endothelium under venular flow (1.0 dyne/cm2 shear stress) and low flow (0.1 dyne/cm2 shear stress), with and without addition of adhesion promoting agonists. Under low flow, sickle cell adherence to endothelium increases with contact time in the absence of endothelial activation or adhesive protein addition. In contrast, at venular shear stress, sickle cell adherence only occurs following endothelial activation with TNF‐α or addition of thrombospondin. Analysis of these data with a mathematical model reveals that at low flow adherence is “transport‐controlled,” meaning that contact time between sickle cells and endothelium is a more important determinant of adherence than high‐affinity receptor–ligand interactions. Low‐affinity interactions are sufficient for adhesion at low flow. In contrast, at venular flow (1 dyne/cm2 shear stress) adherence is “affinity‐controlled,” meaning that adherence requires induction of specific high‐affinity receptor–ligand interactions. These findings demonstrate that in addition to activating factors and adherence proteins, microvascular shear stress is an important determinant of sickle cell adhesion to endothelium. This suggests that in vivo, erythrostasis is an important determinant of adhesion that can act either independently or concurrently with ongoing acute events to induce adhesive interactions and vaso‐occlusion. Am. J. Hematol. 70:216–227, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Improved Sensitivity of Sputum Smear Microscopy after Processing Specimens with C18-Carboxypropylbetaine To Detect Acid-Fast Bacilli: a Study of United States-Bound Immigrants from Vietnam

ABSTRACT The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of the specimen-processing method that uses the detergent C18-carboxypropylbetaine (CB-18) on the sensitivity of acid-fast bacillus (AFB) staining. Vietnamese immigrants with abnormal chest radiographs provided up to three sputum specimens, which were examined for acid-fast bacilli by use of direct auramine and Ziehl-Neelsen staining. The remaining sputum was split; half was cultured, and the other half was incubated with CB-18 for 24 h, centrifuged, and examined for AFB by both staining methods. CB-18 processing improved the sensitivity of AFB staining by 20 to 30% (only differences in auramine sensitivity were statistically significant) but reduced specificity by ≈20% (P < 0.05). These findings have direct utility for overseas migrant tuberculosis screening programs, for which maximizing test sensitivity is a major objective.
Controversies in the prevention and control of antimicrobial drug resistance.

In Hospitals William Jarvis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), discussed antimicrobial resistance related to hospitalization. Two major factors contribute to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance in hospitals: a high rate of antimicrobial drug use and inadequate infection control practices. Much antimicrobial drug use in hospitals is inappropriate (e.g., the use of vancomycin to treat a staphylococcal infection susceptible to methicillin, or the continuation of perioperative prophylaxis beyond 24 to 48 hours). Educational efforts on antimicrobial drug use in hospitals have had mixed success. More aggressive and controversial approaches to improve the use of these drugs have been proposed; for example, excluding certain drugs (such as vancomycin) from the routine reporting of susceptibility results; monitoring antimicrobial use with feedback to physicians concerning inappropriate use; antibiotic use audits targeting problem areas (e.g., no diagnostic test done, more than four drugs used during one hospitalization, use for more than 3 weeks continuously); regulating drug promotion; requiring justifications for use; using computer-generated stop orders; and developing formular-ies, restrictions, and protocols by a multidisciplinary team. spoke on community-acquired infections, focusing on respiratory pathogens. One controversial area concerns the extent to which drug resistance identified in the microbiology laboratory correlates with clinical failure. Since clinical trial data are frequently unavailable , assessment of drug efficacy is often based on pharmacodynamics; i.e., a drug is believed efficacious if its concentration at the site of infection exceeds the organism's MIC. Otitis media and meningitis studies support this approach. In Pakistan, laboratory data indicate that 78% of pneumococci are resistant to co-trimoxazole, yet the clinical treatment failure rate is only 15%. The reasons for this discrepancy are unknown, but the issue is important because alternative drugs are more expensive. Standardization of laboratory methods and appropriate surveillance methods are essential. Another controversial area involves antibiotic use and how to improve it. For many infections, the optimal dose and duration of therapy are unknown. Antibiotics are often prescribed inappropriately because physicians are uncertain when antibiotics are indicated and patients demand them; educating both of these groups is a challenge. Better diagnostics to reduce empiric therapy would be helpful. Other areas of uncertainty include the use of vaccines to decrease colonization and infection with resistant organisms and the extent to which antibiotics given for a specific indication might lead to resistance in different organisms. (WHO), addressed controversies related to use of antibiotics (preventive, therapeutic, growth-promoting) in food animals. …
Broadband Noise System Allows Measurements According to Both Standard Methods

A system that completely characterizes the noise temperature of a linear two-port over the 100-MHz-2.9-GHz band is presented. The system is based on a “long” transmission line and frequency variation. It allows measurements through the classical y -factor method or the more recent “cold” method. When applying the y-factor method, the system uses a broadband mismatched noise source and an autocalibration feature. To check the accuracy, a passive device is measured with its noise parameters computed from the S-parameters. The results produced by both methods are compared together and with respect to the values derived from the S-parameters.
The Taste of Monosodium Glutamate: Membrane Receptors in Taste Buds

Receptor proteins for photoreception have been studied for several decades. More recently, putative receptors for olfaction have been isolated and characterized. In contrast, no receptors for taste have been identified yet by molecular cloning. This report describes experiments aimed at identifying a receptor responsible for the taste of monosodium glutamate (MSG). Using reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR, we found that several ionotropic glutamate receptors are present in rat lingual tissues. However, these receptors also could be detected in lingual tissue devoid of taste buds. On the other hand, RT-PCR and RNase protection assays indicated that a G-protein-coupled metabotropic glutamate receptor, mGluR4, also is expressed in lingual tissues and is limited only to taste buds. In situ hybridization demonstrated that mGluR4 is detectable in 40–70% of vallate and foliate taste buds but not in surrounding nonsensory epithelium, confirming the localization of this metabotropic receptor to gustatory cells. Expression of mGluR4 in taste buds is higher in preweaning rats compared with adult rats. This may correspond to the known higher sensitivity to the taste of MSG in juvenile rodents. Finally, behavioral studies have indicated that MSG andl-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (l-AP4), a ligand for mGluR4, elicit similar tastes in rats. We conclude that mGluR4 may be a chemosensory receptor responsible, in part, for the taste of MSG.
Observed effects of topography on ground motion

Field experiments were performed to obtain data needed for studying the effects of topography on seismic motion. L-7 instruments deployed at the crest and base of Kagel Mountain and Josephine Peak, California, recorded several aftershocks of the February 9, 1971, San Fernando earthquake. L-7 instruments deployed at the crest, middle, and base of Butler Mountain near Tonopah, Nevada, recorded the seismic signal generated by the cavity collapse following the Nevada Test Site detonation, ALGODONES. Frequency-dependent amplification of the motion at the crest relative to the motion at the base was observed at all three mountains. Factors as large as 30 in the frequency domain were seen at Kagel Mountain with lesser amounts at the other two locations. The three mountains are similar in shape, but different in size. The effect of shape is not clear. The smallest mountain amplified the motion in a narrow range of periods (peaking around 0.3 to 0.5 sec), the medium-size mountain showed amplification over a slightly broader range (peaking at periods of 0.4 to 0.5 sec), whereas the largest mountain showed less amplification, but it occurred over a broader range of periods. Effects in the time domain are generally comparable to, or less than, the effects in the frequency domain. The ratios of peak amplitudes (crest to base) are usually less than the spectral ratios. It is concluded that topography plays a significant role and is an important consideration in determining the seismic motion that a particular site receives.
Optimal A Priori Error Estimates of Parabolic Optimal Control Problems with Pointwise Control

In this paper we consider a parabolic optimal control problem with a pointwise (Dirac type) control in space, but variable in time, in two space dimensions. To approximate the problem we use the standard continuous piecewise linear approximation in space and the piecewise constant discontinuous Galerkin method in time. Despite low regularity of the state equation, we show almost optimal $h^2+k$ convergence rate for the control in $L^2$ norm. This result improves almost twice the previously known estimate in [W. Gong, M. Hinze, and Z. Zhou, A Priori Error Analysis for Finite Element Approximation of Parabolic Optimal Control Problems with Pointwise Control, Tech. report, 2011-07, Hamburger Beitrage zur Angewandten Mathematik, Hamburg, Germany, 2011].
Unique Flap Conformation in an HIV-1 Protease with High-Level Darunavir Resistance

Darunavir (DRV) is one of the most powerful protease inhibitors (PIs) for treating human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection and presents a high genetic barrier to the generation of resistant viruses. However, DRV-resistant HIV-1 infrequently emerges from viruses exhibiting resistance to other protease inhibitors. To address this resistance, researchers have gathered genetic information on DRV resistance. In contrast, few structural insights into the mechanism underlying DRV resistance are available. To elucidate this mechanism, we determined the crystal structure of the ligand-free state of a protease with high-level DRV resistance and six DRV resistance-associated mutations (including I47V and I50V), which we generated by in vitro selection. This crystal structure showed a unique curling conformation at the flap regions that was not found in the previously reported ligand-free protease structures. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the curled flap conformation altered the flap dynamics. These results suggest that the preference for a unique flap conformation influences DRV binding. These results provide new structural insights into elucidating the molecular mechanism of DRV resistance and aid to develop PIs effective against DRV-resistant viruses.
A neural network-based approximation method for discrete-time nonlinear servomechanism problem

A feedback controller that solves the discrete-time nonlinear servomechanism problem relies on the solution of a set of nonlinear functional equations known as the discrete regulator equations. The exact solution of the discrete regulator equations is usually unavailable due to the nonlinearity of the system. The paper proposes to approximately solve the discrete regulator equations using a feedforward neural network. This approach leads to an effective way to practically solve the discrete nonlinear servomechanism problem. The approach has been illustrated using the well-known inverted pendulum on a cart system. The simulation shows that the control law designed by the proposed approach performs much better than the conventional linear control law.