Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low-level laser therapy for acute neck pain with radiculopathy: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized study.

OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to investigate clinical effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in patients with acute neck pain with radiculopathy. DESIGN Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. SETTING The study was carried out between January 2005 and September 2007 at the Clinic for Rehabilitation at the Medical School, University of Belgrade, Serbia. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTION Sixty subjects received a course of 15 treatments over 3 weeks with active or an inactivated laser as a placebo procedure. LLLT was applied to the skin projection at the anatomical site of the spinal segment involved with the following parameters: wavelength 905 nm, frequency 5,000 Hz, power density of 12 mW/cm(2), and dose of 2 J/cm(2), treatment time 120 seconds, at whole doses 12 J/cm(2). OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome measure was pain intensity as measured by a visual analog scale. Secondary outcome measures were neck movement, neck disability index, and quality of life. Measurements were taken before treatment and at the end of the 3-week treatment period. RESULTS Statistically significant differences between groups were found for intensity of arm pain (P = 0.003, with high effect size d = 0.92) and for neck extension (P = 0.003 with high effect size d = 0.94). CONCLUSION LLLT gave more effective short-term relief of arm pain and increased range of neck extension in patients with acute neck pain with radiculopathy in comparison to the placebo procedure.
A Hajj And Umrah Location Classification System For Video Crowded Scenes

In this paper, a new automatic system for classifying ritual locations in diverse Hajj and Umrah video scenes is investigated. This challenging subject has mostly been ignored in the past due to several problems one of which is the lack of realistic annotated video datasets. HUER Dataset is defined to model six different Hajj and Umrah ritual locations[26]. The proposed Hajj and Umrah ritual location classifying system consists of four main phases: Preprocessing, segmentation, feature extraction, and location classification phases. The shot boundary detection and background/foregroud segmentation algorithms are applied to prepare the input video scenes into the KNN, ANN, and SVM classifiers. The system improves the state of art results on Hajj and Umrah location classifications, and successfully recognizes the six Hajj rituals with more than 90% accuracy. The various demonstrated experiments show the promising results.
Similarity of Mammalian Body Size across the Taxonomic Hierarchy and across Space and Time

Although it is commonly assumed that closely related animals are similar in body size, the degree of similarity has not been examined across the taxonomic hierarchy. Moreover, little is known about the variation or consistency of body size patterns across geographic space or evolutionary time. Here, we draw from a data set of terrestrial, nonvolant mammals to quantify and compare patterns across the body size spectrum, the taxonomic hierarchy, continental space, and evolutionary time. We employ a variety of statistical techniques including “sib‐sib” regression, phylogenetic autocorrelation, and nested ANOVA. We find an extremely high resemblance (heritability) of size among congeneric species for mammals over ∼18 g; the result is consistent across the size spectrum. However, there is no significant relationship among the body sizes of congeneric species for mammals under ∼18 g. We suspect that life‐history and ecological parameters are so tightly constrained by allometry at diminutive size that animals can only adapt to novel ecological conditions by modifying body size. The overall distributions of size for each continental fauna and for the most diverse orders are quantitatively similar for North America, South America, and Africa, despite virtually no overlap in species composition. Differences in ordinal composition appear to account for quantitative differences between continents. For most mammalian orders, body size is highly conserved, although there is extensive overlap at all levels of the taxonomic hierarchy. The body size distribution for terrestrial mammals apparently was established early in the Tertiary, and it has remained remarkably constant over the past 50 Ma and across the major continents. Lineages have diversified in size to exploit environmental opportunities but only within limits set by allometric, ecological, and evolutionary constraints.
Neumann conditions on fractal boundaries

We consider some elliptic boundary value problems in a self-similar ramified domain of R 2 with a fractal boundary with Laplace's equation and nonhomogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. The Hausdorff dimension of the fractal boundary is greater than one. The goal is twofold: first rigorously define the boundary value problems, second approximate the restriction of the solutions to subdomains obtained by stopping the geometric construction after a finite number of steps. For the first task, a key step is the definition of a trace operator. For the second task, a multiscale strategy based on transparent boundary conditions and on a wavelet expansion of the Neumann datum is proposed, following an idea contained in a previous work by the same authors. Error estimates are given and numerical results are presented.
Imaging modalities and monitoring measures of gout

Purpose of reviewImaging modalities for gout have been mostly restrained to radiographs. Ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are emerging techniques that could be used for diagnosis, evaluation, and monitoring acute and chronic gout. Recent findingsDiagnosis of gout is based on urate crystal observation with microscopy. Recently, crystal deposition in the hyaline cartilage has been described to be different in gout from that of calcium pyrophosphate, but validation of the findings is pending. Severity of gout with simple radiographs may not disclose periarticular or intra-articular urate deposition. Ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging may improve the evaluation of tophi not apparent in clinical examination or simple radiographs. Monitoring urate deposition may be accomplished with imaging techniques. This would be of outstanding interest for clinical trials, but also for evaluating clinical response to urate-lowering therapy. Although preliminary results evaluating for validity and reliability have been very recently reported for magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and ultrasonography, sensitivity to change studies are still pending. Also, monitoring of chronic inflammation with imaging techniques, such as power-Doppler, deserve further studies. SummaryEvidence exists regarding the usefulness of imaging techniques for diagnosis, evaluation of severity, and monitoring of gout, but further investigation is needed.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports Can Increasing Private School Participation and Monetary Loss in a Voucher Program Affect Public School Performance ? Evidence from Milwaukee

The Milwaukee voucher program, as implemented in 1990, allowed only nonsectarian private schools to participate in the program. However, following a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling, the program was expanded to include religious private schools in 1998. This second phase of the voucher program led to more than a three-fold increase in the number of private schools and almost a four-fold increase in the number of choice students. Moreover, because of some changes in funding provisions, the revenue loss per student from vouchers increased in the second phase of the program. This paper analyzes, both theoretically and empirically, the effects of these changes on public school performance (as measured by test scores) in Milwaukee. It argues that voucher design matters and that the choice of parameters in a voucher program is crucial in determining the effects of public school incentives and performance. In the context of a theoretical model of public school and household behavior, the paper establishes that the policy changes will lead to an improvement of the public schools in the second phase of the program as compared with the first phase. Following Hoxby (2003a, 2003b) in the classification of treatment and control groups and using 1987-2002 data and a difference-in-differences estimation strategy in trends, the paper then shows that the theoretical prediction is validated empirically. This result is robust to alternative samples and specifications and survives robustness checks, including correcting for mean reversion.
Adipocyte Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cell and Platelet Lysate: Ideal Cell and Supplement for the Treatment of Immune-Inflammatory Diseases?

Background: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are being tested for the treatment of immune diseases. MSC are present in several adult tissues which milieu may influence MSC behavior particularly under inflammatory conditions. Additionally, culture conditions also can modify cell function or state of activation. Methods: To address the influence of the MSC source on its characteristics, we studied a xenofree, platelet lysate supplemented MSC from dental pulp, adipose tissue and bone marrow, co-cultured with isolated T cells and PBMC subset, and studied the effect of culture animal or human supplements immunomodulatory effect. Results: All three sources were efficient in inhibiting T cells. Among all MSC sources, as also described by others, adipose MSC was capable to significantly induce Treg phenotype and decrease T CD8+. Furthermore, comparing fetal bovine serum and platelet lysate, results demonstrate that platelet lysate alone is capable to induce immunomodulatory phenotype. Additional studies have to be made to elucidate the PL immunomodulatory effect.
Phosphorus movement down a toposequence from a landscape with texture contrast soils

Pedological processes culminating in physical and chemical differences to the soil profile down a toposequence also changed the migrating potential of phosphorus (P) within the landscape. Considerable erosion had occurred resulting in a large movement of soil from the upper to the lower slopes. This, in turn, had led to a decrease in profile depths on the upper slopes and an increase on the lower slopes. We found that in the upper parts of the toposequence there was enhanced macropore or bypassing flow resulting in a greater and deeper leaching of P compared with the lower slopes. The P that moved was almost entirely in the dissolved form and clearly originated from commercial phosphate fertiliser that had been added to the soil surface immediately prior to the start of irrigation. We could find no evidence to support the commonly held view that P often moves through soil in association with very fine clay-sized particles. When considering land management options for reducing phosphate movement in catchment areas, our results suggest that the upper parts of the landscape need to be given special consideration.
Structural and Genetic Bases of Arterial Stiffness

Arterial stiffness has independent predictive value for cardiovascular events. We review data concerning the heritability of arterial stiffness, and propose an integrated view of the structural and genetic determinants of arterial stiffness, based on a candidate gene approach and recent studies on gene expression profile. Arterial stiffness seems to have a genetic component, which is largely independent of the influence of blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors. In animal models of essential hypertension (SHR and SHR-SP), structural modifications of the arterial wall include an increase in the number of elastin/smooth muscle cell (SMC) connections, and smaller fenestrations of the internal elastic lamina, possibly leading to redistribution of the mechanical load toward elastic materials. These modifications may give rise to mechanisms that explain why changes in arterial wall material accompanying wall hypertrophy in these animals are not associated with an increase in arterial stiffness. In monogenic connective tissue diseases (Marfan, Williams, and Ehlers-Danlos syndromes) and the corresponding animal models, precise characterization of the arterial phenotype makes it possible to determine the influence of abnormal genetically determined wall components on arterial stiffness. Such studies have highlighted the role of extracellular matrix signaling in the vascular wall and have shown that elastin and collagen not only display elasticity or rigidity but also are involved in the control of SMC function. These data provide strong evidence that arterial stiffness is affected by the amount and density of stiff wall material and the spatial organization of that material.
ECAP measures predict cochlear implant behavioural thresholds

7 Abbreviations . 8 Background . 9 Introduction . 9 Cochlear implants . 10 The normal cochlea . 10 Hearing loss . 11 Sound processing. 12 CI stimulation . 13 Neural responses to electrical stimulation . 16 ECAPs . 17 ECAP stimulation and response . 17 Artefact isolation . 19 The use of ECAPs in fitting cochlear implants . 20 The effect of rate on behavioural levels . 22 Unexplored potential for correlation between ECAPs and behavioural levels . 25 The Δlatency effect . 25 The IPG and PD effects . 26 Our experiment . 27 Methods . 28 Subjects . 28 Procedures . 29 Electrophysiological measurements . 30 Behavioural measures . 32 Analysis . 32 Behavioural data . 32 3 Average linear shift to equalise amplitude . 33 N1 peak latency . 35 Average shift in latency . 37 ECAP threshold . 38 Correlations . 38 Stepwise regression . 38 Results . 39 ECAP presence. 39 Behavioural threshold changes . 41 ECAP threshold and behavioural threshold correlations . 42 PD and IPG amplitude effects . 43 All subject correlations . 43 Normalised correlations . 45 Subject mean correlations . 46 Latency effects. 47 All subject correlations . 47 Normalised correlations . 49 Subject mean correlations . 50 Stepwise regression to estimate 1000 pps thresholds . 51 Discussion . 53 High rate threshold change variability . 53 PD and IPG amplitude effects . 54 ΔLatency effects . 56 Stepwise regression model. 59 Limitations and improvements .
Embedding Partial Steiner Triple Systems with Few Triples

In 2009 it was established that any partial Steiner triple system of order $u$ has an embedding of order $v$ for each $v\geq 2u+1$ such that $v \equiv 1,3$ (mod 6), in accordance with a conjecture of Lindner. It is known that for each $u\geq 9$, there exists a partial Steiner triple system of order $u$ that does not have an embedding of order $v$ for any $v<2u+1$, so this result is best possible in one sense. Many partial Steiner triple systems do have embeddings of orders smaller than $2u+1$, however, although little is known about when such embeddings exist. In this paper we construct embeddings of orders less than $2u+1$ for partial Steiner triple systems with few triples. In particular, we show that a partial Steiner triple system of order $u \geq 62$ with at most $\frac{u^2}{50}-\frac{11u}{100}-\frac{116}{75}$ triples has an embedding of order $v$ for each admissible integer $v \geq \frac{8u+17}{5}$.
Subseasonal Predictions of Regional Summer Monsoon Rainfall over Tropical Asian Oceans and Land

AbstractSubseasonal predictions of the regional summer rainfall over several tropical Asian ocean and land domains are examined using hindcasts by the NCEP CFSv2. Higher actual and potential forecast skill are found over oceans than over land. The forecast for Arabian Sea (AS) rainfall is most skillful, while that for Indo-China (ICP) rainfall is most unskillful. The rainfall–surface temperature (ST) relationship over AS is characterized by strong and fast ST forcing but a weak and slow ST response, while the relationships over the Bay of Bengal, the South China Sea (SCS), and the India subcontinent (IP) show weak and slow ST forcing, but apparently strong and rapid ST response. Land–air interactions are often less noticeable over ICP and southern China (SC) than over IP. The CFSv2 forecasts reasonably reproduce these observed features, but the local rainfall–ST relationships often suffer from different degrees of unrealistic estimation. Also, the observed local rainfall is often related to the circulatio.
Subtree power analysis finds optimal species for comparative genomics

Sequence comparison across multiple organisms aids in the detection of regions under selection. However, resource limitations require a prioritization of genomes to be sequenced. This prioritization should be grounded in two considerations: the lineal scope encompassing the biological phenomena of interest, and the optimal species within that scope for detecting functional elements. We introduce a statistical framework for optimal species subset selection, based on maximizing power to detect conserved sites. Analysis of a phylogenetic star topology shows theoretically that the optimal species subset is not in general the most evolutionarily diverged subset. We then demonstrate this finding empirically in a study of vertebrate species. Our results suggest that marsupials are prime sequencing candidates.
The study of a possible correlation between serum levels of interleukin 17 and clinical severity in patients with allergic rhinitis

Introduction Allergic rhinitis (AR) is one of the most common allergic diseases, which affects ~20% of the world's population. T-helper (Th) type 2 cells produce interleukin (IL) 4 and IL-13, and mediate allergic responses, and these cytokines have been extensively studied as key players in the atopic airway diseases. However, the involvement of Th17 cells and IL-17 in AR has not been clearly examined. Aim To reevaluate AR clinical severity with serum IL-17, whether IL-17 affects the disease alone or in contribution with the atopic predisposition. Patients and Methods During an 18-month period, 39 individuals were divided into three groups: A, (13 control), B (13 with mild-to-moderate AR), and C (13 with severe AR). Both group B and group C patients (26) were subjected to clinical examination and allergy skin testing, and to measurement of both total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) and IL-17 levels. Eleven patients with AR then were exposed to 6 months of cluster immunotherapy, whereas the rest of the patients were not exposed. Results Revealed a significant elevation of serum IL-17 levels with an associated increase in serum IgE in the patients with AR compared with controls and revealed that the serum levels of both total serum IgE and IL-17 decreased significantly after cluster immunotherapy. Conclusion These preliminary results added new data about the use of injective immunotherapy as well as reported on the use of sublingual immunotherapy.
Spin foam models

While the use of spin networks has greatly improved our understanding of the kinematical aspects of quantum gravity, the dynamical aspects remain obscure. To address this problem, we define the concept of a `spin foam' going from one spin network to another. Just as a spin network is a graph with edges labelled by representations and vertices labelled by intertwining operators, a spin foam is a two-dimensional complex with faces labelled by representations and edges labelled by intertwining operators. Spin foams arise naturally as higher-dimensional analogues of Feynman diagrams in quantum gravity and other gauge theories in the continuum, as well as in lattice gauge theory. When formulated as a `spin foam model', such a theory consists of a rule for computing amplitudes from spin foam vertices, faces and edges. The product of these amplitudes gives the amplitude for the spin foam, and the transition amplitude between spin networks is given as a sum over spin foams. After reviewing how spin networks describe `quantum 3-geometries', we describe how spin foams describe `quantum 4-geometries'. We conclude by presenting a spin foam model of four-dimensional Euclidean quantum gravity, closely related to the state sum model of Barrett and Crane, but not assuming the presence of an underlying spacetime manifold.
Pioneering digital disruption: Australia's first integrated digital tertiary hospital

igital technology now underpins most industries; however, the health care sector (particularly in Dhospitals) has been slow to transform from traditional paper-based systems of care. In the United States, for example, federal legislation and financial incentives have facilitated the implementation of electronic medical records (EMRs); but there are only a handful of advanced EMRs in hospitals outside the US. The roll-out of a digital hospital includes an EMR system and other technical components, such as integrated digital vital sign monitoring and digital electrocardiogram (ECG) records. This transformation prompts revolutionary change in the way health care is delivered and monitored.
Clinical pharmacology of filgrastim following high-dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation.

We evaluated the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of filgrastim during a Phase I study of this cytokine following high-dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation. Serum granulocyte colony-stimulating factor concentrations were determined by ELISA in 21 patients receiving 14-day continuous i.v. filgrastim infusions and 10 patients receiving daily 4-h infusions. Models were developed for filgrastim systemic clearance (Cls) by incorporation of receptor-binding theory. Mean plasma half-life (t1/2) in the 4-h infusion group was 197 min, and the volume of distribution approximated plasma volume. WBC counts transiently fell, then rebounded immediately postinfusion, which correlated with a delay in the disappearance of serum granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. The effect of WBC concentrations on filgrastim Cls was determined in patients receiving continuous infusions by segregation of study periods based on the presence of severe neutropenia. Clearance increased in all 14 patients receiving doses of 4-32 microgram/kg/day during WBC recovery. The effect of WBCs on Cls was described by a differential equation that included a static component and one component that varied with WBC concentration. These data suggest that currently used filgrastim dosing strategies following autologous bone marrow transplantation may be suboptimal.
Space Toxicology

Space toxicology is a unique and targeted discipline for spaceflight, space habitation, and occupation of celestial bodies including planets, moons, and asteroids. Astronaut explorers face distinctive health challenges and limited resources for rescue and medical care during space operation. A central goal of space toxicology is to protect the health of the astronaut by assessing potential chemical exposures during spaceflight and setting safe limits that will protect the astronaut against chemical exposures while in a physiologically altered state. In order to maintain sustained occupation in space on the International Space Station (ISS), toxicological risks must be assessed and managed within the context of isolation, continuous exposures, reuse of air and water, limited rescue options, and the need to use highly toxic compounds for propulsion and other purposes. As we begin to explore other celestial bodies, in situ toxicological risks, such as inhalation of reactive mineral dusts, must also be managed.