Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Significance of Traumatic Macroamputation in Severely Injured Patients: An Analysis of the Traumaregister DGU®

ABSTRACT Treatment of patients with traumatic macroamputations is challenging. The aim of this study is to analyze the significance of this type of injury in TraumaRegister DGU® (TR-DGU) and to depict the rate of formal surgical ablation of the traumatically induced amputation, epidemiologic data, as well as outcome in severely injured patients with amputations. We acquired data from the TR-DGU of the German Trauma Society (DGU). The inclusion criteria for our study were Injury Severity Score (ISS) greater than 9, macroamputation, and available data about the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) code. A total of 48,908 of 67,425 patients had an ISS greater than 9 and available data about the AIS code. In total, 926 (1.9%) of 48,908 patients had an immediate traumatic macroamputation on-scene. Thereof, 298 patients (32.2%) had a macroamputation of the arms, 605 patients (65.3%) had an amputation of the legs, and 23 patients (2.5%) had both. Among them, 457 patients (49.4%) with a macroamputation had monotrauma. In total, 126 patients (13.6%) underwent replantation and 800 patients (86.4%) underwent formal surgical ablation of the traumatically induced amputation. Seventy-six (23.7%) of 321 patients with upper-extremity amputations and 53 (8.4%) of 628 patients with lower-extremity amputations underwent replantation. Mortality in patients with replantation was lower (5.6% vs. 19.6%, P < 0.001). Standardized mortality rate was lower for patients with replantation (0.71, 95% confidence interval, 0.20–1.21 vs. 0.94, 95% confidence interval, 0.80–1.10; P = 0.26). Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) was significantly better for patients with replantation (34.0%; GOS score 5) as compared with patients without replantation (20.7%; GOS score 5; P < 0.001). In borderline patients (defined according to the orthopedic damage control principles), 91.5% received formal surgical ablation of the traumatically induced amputation and 8.5% underwent replantation. The rate of formal surgical ablation of the traumatically induced amputation is higher when principles of damage control surgery are applied. The replantation rate in the upper extremity is higher than in the lower extremity. The less ISS and base excess and the higher blood pressure, hemoglobin value, and thromboplastin time are, the safer the decision for replantation seems to be.
Critical considerations in evaluating scientific evidence of health effects of ambient ozone: a conference report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the authority of the Clean Air Act (CAA), is required to promulgate National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQSs) for criteria air pollutants, including ozone. Each NAAQS includes a primary health-based standard and a secondary or welfare-based standard. This paper considers only the science used for revision of the primary standard for ozone in 2008. This paper summarizes deliberations of a small group of scientists who met in June 2007 to review the scientific information informing the EPA Administrator’s proposed revision of the 1997 standard. The Panel recognized that there is no scientific methodology that, in the absence of judgment, can define the precise numerical level, related averaging time, and statistical form of the NAAQS. The selection of these elements of the NAAQS involves policy judgments that should be informed by scientific information and analyses. Thus, the Panel members did not feel it appropriate to offer either their individual or collective judgment on the specific numerical level of the NAAQS for ozone. The Panel deliberations focused on the scientific data available on the health effects of exposure to ambient concentrations of ozone, controlled ozone exposure studies with human volunteers, long-term epidemiological studies, time- series epidemiological studies, human panel studies, and toxicological investigations. The deliberations also dealt with the issue of background levels of ozone of nonanthropogenic origin and issues involved with conducting formal risk assessments of the health impacts of current and prospective levels of ambient ozone. The scientific issues that were central to the EPA Administrator’s 2008 revision of the NAAQS for ozone will undoubtedly also be critical to the next review of the ozone standard. That review should begin very soon if it is to be completed within the 5-year cycle specified in the CAA. It is hoped that this Report will stimulate discussion of these scientific issues, conduct of additional research, and conduct of new analyses that will provide an improved scientific basis for the policy judgment that will have to be made by a future EPA Administrator in considering potential revision of the ozone standard.
Codebook-based quantized MIMO feedback for closed-loop transmit precoding

Advanced quantization schemes are proposed for closed-loop transmit precoding over correlated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels in this work. Unlike the conventional schemes that directly quantize the MIMO channel covariance matrix and feed back each quantized matrix element, the proposed schemes quantize the channel covariance matrix by exploiting the common rank-one codebook shared by mobile stations and base stations. Compared to the conventional quantization schemes, the proposed quantization schemes can achieve comparable throughput performance with more than 50% overhead reduction at the cost of affordable increase in computational complexity.
Chronic Toxoplasma Infection Modifies the Structure and the Risk of Host Behavior

The intracellular parasite Toxoplasma has an indirect life cycle, in which felids are the definitive host. It has been suggested that this parasite developed mechanisms for enhancing its transmission rate to felids by inducing behavioral modifications in the intermediate rodent host. For example, Toxoplasma-infected rodents display a reduction in the innate fear of predator odor. However, animals with Toxoplasma infection acquired in the wild are more often caught in traps, suggesting that there are manipulations of intermediate host behavior beyond those that increase predation by felids. We investigated the behavioral modifications of Toxoplasma-infected mice in environments with exposed versus non-exposed areas, and found that chronically infected mice with brain cysts display a plethora of behavioral alterations. Using principal component analysis, we discovered that most of the behavioral differences observed in cyst-containing animals reflected changes in the microstructure of exploratory behavior and risk/unconditioned fear. We next examined whether these behavioral changes were related to the presence and distribution of parasitic cysts in the brain of chronically infected mice. We found no strong cyst tropism for any particular brain area but found that the distribution of Toxoplasma cysts in the brain of infected animals was not random, and that particular combinations of cyst localizations changed risk/unconditioned fear in the host. These results suggest that brain cysts in animals chronically infected with Toxoplasma alter the fine structure of exploratory behavior and risk/unconditioned fear, which may result in greater capture probability of infected rodents. These data also raise the possibility that selective pressures acted on Toxoplasma to broaden its transmission between intermediate predator hosts, in addition to felid definitive hosts.
Malignant melanoma of the conjunctiva.

BACKGROUND Conjunctival melanoma is a relatively rare ocular malignancy with substantial associated morbidity and mortality. METHODS More than 100 articles on conjunctival melanoma were reviewed, including most of the relevant recent publications cited in a current MEDLINE search. The author's experience with conjunctival melanomas is also incorporated in this review. RESULTS Recognition of their precursor lesions at an early stage is important. Staging of the disease by sentinel lymph node biopsy is now advocated in some centers. Surgical excision with adjuvant cryotherapy and alcohol corneal epithelialectomy is usually effective in eradicating most of these lesions. Extensive cases of flat primary acquired melanosis with atypia may be managed with mitomycin C. Multifocal and advanced melanoma, especially in cases showing intraocular or orbital invasion, may require exenteration and/or radiotherapy to adequately extirpate the neoplasm locally. However, systemic metastases already may have occurred in these patients with advanced disease. CONCLUSIONS Conjunctival melanoma is a condition of concern because of its rarity and lethal potential. Advances in the understanding and management of this neoplasm have markedly reduced the mortality and possibly the morbidity associated with this malignancy.
Customized Finite Element Modelling of the Human Cornea

Aim To construct patient-specific solid models of human cornea from ocular topographer data, to increase the accuracy of the biomechanical and optical estimate of the changes in refractive power and stress caused by photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). Method Corneal elevation maps of five human eyes were taken with a rotating Scheimpflug camera combined with a Placido disk before and after refractive surgery. Patient-specific solid models were created and discretized in finite elements to estimate the corneal strain and stress fields in preoperative and postoperative configurations and derive the refractive parameters of the cornea. Results Patient-specific geometrical models of the cornea allow for the creation of personalized refractive maps at different levels of IOP. Thinned postoperative corneas show a higher stress gradient across the thickness and higher sensitivity of all geometrical and refractive parameters to the fluctuation of the IOP. Conclusion Patient-specific numerical models of the cornea can provide accurate quantitative information on the refractive properties of the cornea under different levels of IOP and describe the change of the stress state of the cornea due to refractive surgery (PRK). Patient-specific models can be used as indicators of feasibility before performing the surgery.
Fallopian tube malignancies: experience of Social Security Agency Aegean Maternity Hospital

The aim of the study was to determine the clinical characteristics and management of fallopian tube malignancies together with the results there unto that had been diagnosed and treated in our oncology department retrospectively. Twelve cases of fallopian tube malignancies, of a total of 2155 gynecologic malignancies (0.55%), that had been diagnosed in or referred to our hospital between January 1986 and December 2001 were evaluated retrospectively. Eight of 12 cases were diagnosed after surgical intervention in our department. Staging laparotomies were applied to all of the eight cases. Complementary surgeries of other four cases who were referred to our department were done according to the same principles of cytoreductive surgery. Staging of the cases was done according to Federation of International Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO). Adjuvant chemotherapy was applied to all of the cases except two (10 cases, 83.3%). Second-look laparotomy (SLL) was applied to two of the cases. Mean age of the cases was 54.2 (range 35–72) years. Histopathology of the cases was as follows: serous adenocarcinoma in 10 cases (83.3%), endometrioid adenocarcinoma in one case (8.3%), and undifferentiated carcinoma in one case (8.3%). Adjuvant chemotherapy (PAC regimen to eight of the cases and PP regimen to two cases) was applied to 10 of the cases (83.3%). SLL was applied to two cases. Another case had died because of local recurrence at the 27th month of the follow-up. Mean follow-up period of the cases was 37.8 months (range 1–144 months). Fallopian tube malignancies are very rare malignancies. Diagnosis can be made generally peri- or postoperatively. More extensive clinical research must be performed in order to have definite etiologic, diagnostic, management modalities, and prognostic markers.
- Forensic DNA Evidence Collection at a Crime Scene: An Investigator’s Commentary

The purpose of this article is twofold. The first is to present a law enforcement perspective of the importance of a crime scene, the value of probative evidence, and how to properly recognize, document, and collect evidence. The second purpose is to provide forensic scientists who primarily work in laboratories with the ability to gain insight on how law enforcement personnel process a crime scene. With all the technological advances in the various disciplines associated with forensic science, none have been more spectacular than those in the field of DNA. The development of sophisticated and sensitive instrumentation has led forensic scientists to be able to detect DNA profiles from minute samples of evidence in a much timelier manner. In forensic laboratories, safeguards and protocols associated with ASCLD/LAB International, Forensic Quality Services, and or ISO/IEC 17020:1998 accreditation have been established and implemented to ensure proper case analysis. But no scientist, no instrumentation, and no laboratory could come to a successful conclusion about evidence if that evidence had been compromised or simply missed at a crime scene. Evidence collectors must be trained thoroughly to process a scene and to be able to distinguish between probative evidence and non probative evidence. I am a firm believer of the phrase “garbage in is garbage out. ” One of the evidence collector’s main goals is not only to recover enough DNA so that an eligible CODIS profile can be generated to identify an offender but also, more importantly, to recover sufficient DNA to exonerate the innocent.
Finite-blocklength analysis of rate-compatible codes

This paper considers finite-blocklength achievability for rate-compatible codes. For a fixed number of messages, random coding analysis determines a sequence of achievable error probabilities for a sequence of blocklengths. However, traditional random coding achievability draws each code independently so that it does not show that a family of rate-compatible codes can achieve that sequence of error probabilities. Using random code extension, this paper shows achievable frame error rates for ratecompatible channel codes with finite blocklengths. This paper also shows that when a threshold decoder is used, the rate-compatible constraint does not affect the achievable error rates for a class of input-invariant channels. The results are applied to the binaryinput symbol-wise independent fading channel with channel state information at the receiver, and binary-input AWGN channels using Chernoff bounds.
Rhodotorula Mucilaginosa, a Quorum Quenching Yeast Exhibiting Lactonase Activity Isolated from a Tropical Shoreline

Two microbial isolates from a Malaysian shoreline were found to be capable of degrading N-acylhomoserine lactones. Both Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry and 18S rDNA phylogenetic analyses confirmed that these isolates are Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. Quorum quenching activities were detected by a series of bioassays and rapid resolution liquid chromatography analysis. The isolates were able to degrade various quorum sensing molecules namely N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C6-HSL), N-(3-oxo-hexanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C6-HSL) and N-(3-hydroxyhexanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone (3-hydroxy-C6-HSL). Using a relactonisation assay to verify the quorum quenching mechanism, it is confirmed that Rh. mucilaginosa degrades the quorum sensing molecules via lactonase activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documentation of the fact that Rh. mucilaginosa has activity against a broad range of AHLs namely C6-HSL, 3-oxo-C6-HSL and 3-hydroxy-C6-HSL.
Attentional bias variability and cued attentional bias for alcohol stimuli

Abstract Alcohol use is associated with attentional biases for alcohol-related stimuli, as it has been measured via effects on mean performance measures in dot-probe tasks. However, the variability of attentional biases may contain essential information related to behavior and symptoms. Bias variability refers to short-time scale fluctuation in bias to and from salient stimuli, measurable within the duration of a task. The first aim of the current study was to relate attentional bias variability for alcohol cues to risky drinking behavior. The second aim was to explore a conditioned-cue version of the dot probe in which arbitrary cues signaled the location of subsequent alcoholic or nonalcoholic pictorial cues, which was designed to avoid sources of interference that could play a role in the normal dot probe. Results showed strong associations between measures of attentional bias variability and drinking behavior. Effects in the conditioned cues version of the task were weaker and appeared to require a longer training period. Nevertheless, heavier drinkers tended to respond too late to probes appearing at locations of cues predicting the appearance of nonalcohol stimuli. This suggests that predictive cues can capture an aspect of attentional processes related to alcohol use. The results indicate that attentional bias variability is worth studying further. It may be fruitful for theory and future research to focus on fluctuations in attention rather than consistent tendencies toward or away from alcohol. The potential use of predictive cues remains uncertain. Such designs may require relatively long training periods but could prove methodologically and theoretically useful.
A Novel Network Traffic Model Based on Superstatistics Theory

Mutual interactions of different network equipment, topology configurations, transmission protocols and cooperation and competition among the network users inevitably cause the network traffic flow which is controlled by several driving factors to appear non-stationary and complicated behavior. Because of its non-stationary property it can not easily use traditional way to analyze the complicated network traffic. A new method of non-stationary network traffic based on superstatistics theory is discussed in the paper. According to the superstatistics theory, the complex dynamic system may have a large fluctuation of intensive quantities on large time scales which cause the system to behave as non-stationary which is also the characteristic of network traffic.
Detecting Positively Selected Amino Acid Sites Using Posterior Predictive P-Values

Identifying positively selected amino acid sites is an important approach for making inference about the function of proteins; an amino acid site that is undergoing positive selection is likely to play a key role in the function of the protein. We present a new Bayesian method for identifying positively selected amino acid sites and apply the method to a data set of hemagglutinin sequences from the Influenza virus. We show that the results of the new methods are in accordance with results obtained using previous methods. More importantly, we also demonstrate how the method can be used for making further inferences about the evolutionary history of the sequences. For example, we demonstrate that sites that are positively selected tend to have a preponderance of conservative amino acid substitutions.
Large-amplitude intraday variability in QSO 1156+295 observed during a VLBI experiment

We present here the discovery of rapid, large amplitude intraday variability in the compact flat-spectrum radio quasar 1156+295. The detection of 40% flux density variations at 15 GHz on a timescale of only 2.7 hours was serendipitously made when the source was observed with the Very Long Baseline Array as a part of the MOJAVE survey programme on February 5, 2007. Intraday variability on timescales of a few hours or less is rare, and there exist very few sources that show large-amplitude variations on a timescale as short as what is now observed for 1156+295. The shape of the visibility function of the source changes very little during the observation, although the correlated flux density changes by 40%. This suggests that the variability occurs in a single dominant compact component. The observed variability characteristics are consistent with interstellar scintillation in nearby, highly turbulent medium. The rms amplitude of modulation at 15 GHz is unusually large and it implies a rather high scattering measure along the line-of-sight towards 1156+295.
VizStudio: A Visualization Tool for Study in the Psychology of Trading

This thesis describes the design and implementation of VizStudio, a visualization tool developed to aid research into the psychology of trading. Developing VizStudio involved overcoming many challenges. A rigorous study into the psychology and emotion of trading involves capturing many sources of data, including records on trader physiology and performance, market movements, and video input to name a few. Moreover, new sources of data may be recorded, and additional data maybe derived from existing data. VizStudio is designed not only to integrate multiple sources of data into a single display, but to be easily extensible so as to accomodate the addition of new sources and types of data. In addition, VizStudio is required to process many sources and often large volumes of data. Thus, it is efficient in both computation and memory usage. Lastly, VizStudio applies principles of sound graphical user interface design to allow researchers to easily navigate through its features and menus, increasing its usability and overall value. Thesis Supervisor: Andrew W. Lo Title: Harris and Harris Group Professor Thesis Supervisor: Dmitry Repin Title: Postdoctoral Associate
Functional and Biochemical Characterization of Escherichia coli Sugar Efflux Transporters*

A family of bacterial transporters, the SET (sugar efflux transporter) family, has been recently reported (Liu, J. Y., Miller, P. F., Gosink, M., and Olson, E. R. (1999) Mol. Microbiol. 31, 1845–1851). In this study, the biochemical and cell biological properties of the three Escherichia coli members (SetA, SetB, and SetC) of the family are characterized. We show that both SetA and SetB can transport lactose and glucose. In addition, SetA has broad substrate specificity, with preferences for glucosides or galactosides with alkyl or aryl substituents. Consistent with the observed in vitro substrate specificities, strains that hyperexpress SetA or SetB are desensitized to lactose analogues as measured by induction of the lac operon. In addition, strains that hyperexpress SetA are resistant to the growth inhibitory sugar analogueo-nitrophenyl-β-d-thiogalactoside. Strains disrupted for any one or all of the set genes are viable and show no defects in lactose utilization nor increased sensitivity to inducers of the lac operon and nonmetabolizable sugar analogues. The data suggest that the set genes are either poorly expressed under normal laboratory growth conditions or are redundant with other cellular gene products.