Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Long-term Consequence of Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Meniscus Injuries

The objectives of this study are to review the long-term consequences of injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament and menisci, the pathogenic mechanisms, and the causes of the considerable variability in outcome. Injuries of the anterior cruciate ligament and menisci are common in both athletes and the general population. At 10 to 20 years after the diagnosis, on average, 50% of those with a diagnosed anterior cruciate ligament or meniscus tear have osteoarthritis with associated pain and functional impairment: the young patient with an old knee. These individuals make up a substantial proportion of the overall osteoarthritis population. There is a lack of evidence to support a protective role of repair or reconstructive surgery of the anterior cruciate ligament or meniscus against osteoarthritis development. A consistent finding in a review of the literature is the often poor reporting of critical study variables, precluding data pooling or a meta-analysis. Osteoarthritis development in the injured joints is caused by intra-articular pathogenic processes initiated at the time of injury, combined with long-term changes in dynamic joint loading. Variation in outcome is reinforced by additional variables associated with the individual such as age, sex, genetics, obesity, muscle strength, activity, and reinjury. A better understanding of these variables may improve future prevention and treatment strategies. In evaluating medical treatment, we now expect large randomized clinical trials complemented by postmarketing monitoring. We should strive toward a comparable level of quality of evidence in surgical treatment of knee injuries. In instances in which a randomized clinical trial is not feasible, natural history and other observational cohort studies need to be as carefully designed and reported as the classic randomized clinical trial, to yield useful information.
Factors Associated with School Counselors' Use of a Family Systems Perspective.

s International, 64 (12), 4367A. (UMI No. AAT-3115701) Bryan, J., & Holcomb-McCoy, C. (2004). School counselors' perceptions of their involvement in school-family-community partnerships. Professional School Counseling, 7(3), 162-171. Bryan. J., & Holcomb-McCoy, C. (2007). An examination of school counselor involvement in school-family-community partnerships. Professional School Counseling, 10(5), 441-454.
Elementary processes in cells after light absorption do not depend on the degree of polarization: implications for the mechanisms of laser phototherapy.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this work was to evaluate the importance of the degree of light polarization in stimulation of cellular metabolism. BACKGROUND DATA Although the possible role of polarization's effects on the mechanisms of laser phototherapy is sometimes discussed in the literature, there are still no clear answers. MATERIAL AND METHODS A model system (HeLa cell suspension) was used in which the lengths of light scattering (l sc) and absorption (l a) were much larger than the thickness of the irradiated layer (L = 3 mm). The cell suspension (1 x 10(6) cells/cm3) was irradiated with a diode laser (lambda = 637 nm, D = 65.7 J/m2, tau = 10 sec, I = 6.57 W/m2). The polarization degree (99.4%, 60.9%, and 34.2%) of the beam was changed by means of optical fibers of different lengths. The irradiated suspension was incubated at 37 degrees C for 30 min, and the attached cells were counted afterwards. RESULTS The cell fraction stimulated to adhere by red light at 637 nm was nearly the same in all three experimental groups (58.1% +/- 2.5%, 57.6% +/- 3.5%, and 62.5% +/- 3.2% for degree of beam polarization of 99.4%, 66.9%, and 34.2%, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference in these results (p <0.8, <0.6, and <0.7, respectively). At the same time, all three groups had statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) in adherence from the sham-irradiated control group (39.1% +/- 2.2%). CONCLUSION The biological effect (stimulation of cell attachment) of light with lambda = 637 nm on cells in our model system was pronounced, but did not depend on the degree of light polarization. Elementary processes in cells (light absorption and photochemistry) do not appear to depend on the degree of light polarization.
Modeling photovoltaic modules using N-channel MOS transistor

This paper proposes accurate circuit model to simulate different types of commercial photovoltaic (PV) modules. The main component of the new model is the N-channel enhancement-mode MOSFET. The new approach simplifies the I-V output equation of PV module by avoiding the exponential term exists in the well-known diode model. Also it provides the ability to represent the whole PV module by only one MOSFET which decreases the simulation time needed to run a big system. Fast, simple and accurate algorithm is proposed based on the new circuit model. The proposed work is validated with experimental data of commercial mono-crystalline silicon, poly-crystalline silicon and copper indium diselenide (CIS) PV modules. The obtained I-V curves prove the accuracy of the new N-MOSFET Model.
Teaching by Doing

mage processing (IP) can be taught very effectively by complementing the basic lectures with computer laboratories where the participants can actively manipulate and process images. This offering can be made even more attractive by allowing the students to develop their own IP code within a reasonable time frame. After a brief review of existing software packages that can be used for teaching IP, we present a system that we have designed to be as " student friendly " as possible. The software is built around ImageJ, a freely available, full-featured, and user-friendly program for image analysis. The computer sessions are alternated with lectures, typically, a three-hour session at the end of every chapter. The sessions are in the form of assignments that guide the students toward the solution of simple imaging problems. The starting point is typically the understanding and testing of some standard IP algorithm in Java. Next, students are asked to extend the algorithms progressively. This constructive approach is made possible thanks to a programmer-friendly environment and an additional software interface layer that greatly facilitates the developments of plug-ins for ImageJ. Taking into account the fact that our students are not experienced programmers (they typically do not even know Java), we use a " learn by example " teaching strategy, with good success. Because of the widespread use of imaging, there is an ever-pressing need to train engineers who are proficient with this new technology. This trend is likely to continue as the cost of imaging devices (digital camera, scanners , etc.) keeps declining and as the power of PCs keeps increasing, making sophisticated IP algorithms
Plasticity in the Olfactory System: Lessons for the Neurobiology of Memory

We are rapidly advancing toward an understanding of the molecular events underlying odor transduction, mechanisms of spatiotemporal central odor processing, and neural correlates of olfactory perception and cognition. A thread running through each of these broad components that define olfaction appears to be their dynamic nature. How odors are processed, at both the behavioral and neural level, is heavily dependent on past experience, current environmental context, and internal state. The neural plasticity that allows this dynamic processing is expressed nearly ubiquitously in the olfactory pathway, from olfactory receptor neurons to the higher-order cortex, and includes mechanisms ranging from changes in membrane excitability to changes in synaptic efficacy to neurogenesis and apoptosis. This review will describe recent findings regarding plasticity in the mammalian olfactory system that are believed to have general relevance for understanding the neurobiology of memory.
Multistatic Scatter Radio Sensor Networks for Extended Coverage

Scatter radio, i.e., communication by means of reflection, has been recently proposed as a viable ultra-low power solution for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). This paper offers a detailed comparison between monostatic and multistatic scatter radio architectures. In monostatic architecture, the reader consists of both the illuminating transmitter and the receiver of signals scattered back from the sensors. The multistatic architecture includes several ultra-low cost illuminating carrier emitters and a single reader. Maximum-likelihood coherent and noncoherent bit error rate (BER), diversity order, average information, and energy outage probability comparison is performed, under dyadic Nakagami fading and filling a gap in the literature. It is found that: 1) diversity order, BER, and tag location-independent performance bounds of multistatic architecture outperform monostatic; 2) energy outage due to radio frequency (RF) harvesting for passive tags, is less frequent in multistatic than monostatic architecture; and 3) multistatic coverage is higher than monostatic. Furthermore, a proof-of-concept digital multistatic scatter radio WSN with a single receiver, four low-cost emitters, and multiple ambiently-powered low-bitrate tags, perhaps the first of its kind, is experimentally demonstrated (at 13 dBm transmission power), covering an area of 3500 m2. Research findings are applicable in the industries of WSNs, RF identification, and emerging Internet-of-Things.
Hypertension Correlates With Lenticulostriate Arteries Visualized by 7T Magnetic Resonance Angiography

Hypertension, a major risk factor for stroke, is associated with altered arterial anatomy and function; however, the limited resolution of current imaging techniques has restricted the in vivo study of microvascular changes in the brain. In this report, we quantitatively examined the lenticulostriate arteries in hypertensive patients using ultrahigh-field 7T MRI. We compared the number of stems and branches, curvature, and tortuosity of the lenticulostriate arteries by 3D time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography among 20 hypertensive patients (mean age: 46.6±9.1 years) and 20 age-matched healthy subjects (mean age: 47.7±8.1 years). The average numbers of stems and branches in hypertensive patients were significantly less than those of healthy subjects (P<0.002). However, this difference was abolished in older volunteers (>45 years old), whereas the difference between young hypertensive patients (≤45 years old) and age-matched healthy controls was augmented by 55% for stems and 91% for branches (P=0.001). In comparison, there were no differences in the average curvature and tortuosity of the lenticulostriate arteries and no significant difference when corrected for smoking (P=0.064). In conclusion, our results showed that there was a substantial difference in the lenticulostriate arteries of hypertensive patients compared with healthy individuals when observed in vivo by ultrahigh-resolution 7T magnetic resonance angiography, and the difference was considerable in young subjects.
Protein metabolism in slow‐ and fast‐twitch skeletal muscle during turpentine‐induced inflammation

The aim of our study was to evaluate the differences in protein and amino acid metabolism after subcutaneous turpentine administration in the soleus muscle (SOL), predominantly composed of red fibres, and the extensor digitorum longus muscle (EDL) composed of white fibres. Young rats (40–60 g) were injected subcutaneously with 0.2 ml of turpentine oil/100 g body weight (inflammation) or with the same volume of saline solution (control). Twenty‐four hours later SOL and EDL were dissected and incubated in modified Krebs–Heinseleit buffer to estimate total and myofibrillar proteolysis, chymotrypsin‐like activity of proteasome (CHTLA), leucine oxidation, protein synthesis and amino acid release into the medium. The data obtained demonstrate that in intact rats, all parameters measured except protein synthesis are significantly higher in SOL than in EDL. In turpentine treated animals, CHTLA increased and protein synthesis decreased significantly more in EDL. Release of leucine was inhibited significantly more in SOL. We conclude that turpentine‐induced inflammation affects more CHTLA, protein synthesis and leucine release in EDL compared to SOL.
Distinct Cellular Locations of Carbonic Anhydrases Mediate Carbon Dioxide Control of Stomatal Movements1[OPEN]

Intracellular targeting of guard cell carbonic anhydrases is characterized and modeled in relation to their roles in CO2 control of stomatal movements. Elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) in leaves closes stomatal apertures. Research has shown key functions of the β-carbonic anhydrases (βCA1 and βCA4) in rapid CO2-induced stomatal movements by catalytic transmission of the CO2 signal in guard cells. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, because initial studies indicate that these Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) βCAs are targeted to distinct intracellular compartments upon expression in tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) cells. Which cellular location of these enzymes plays a key role in native guard cells in CO2-regulated stomatal movements remains unknown. Here, we express fluorescently tagged CAs in guard cells of ca1ca4 double-mutant plants and show that the specific locations of βCA4 at the plasma membrane and βCA1 in native guard cell chloroplasts each can mediate rapid CO2 control of stomatal movements. Localization and complementation analyses using a mammalian αCAII-yellow fluorescent protein in guard cells further show that cytoplasmic localization is also sufficient to restore CO2 regulation of stomatal conductance. Mathematical modeling of cellular CO2 catalysis suggests that the dynamics of the intracellular HCO3− concentration change in guard cells can be driven by plasma membrane and cytoplasmic localizations of CAs but not as clearly by chloroplast targeting. Moreover, modeling supports the notion that the intracellular HCO3− concentration dynamics in guard cells are a key mechanism in mediating CO2-regulated stomatal movements but that an additional chloroplast role of CAs exists that has yet to be identified.
Quality of life in adults with a head injury living in the community: A qualitative study

Background & Aims: Research suggests that severe head injury can result in a poorer quality of life compared to the general population. This is attributed to a reduction in the quantity and quality of social relationships, reduced leisure activities, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and low self-efficacy. In recent years this literature has been growing and there has been a development of head injury specific, health-related quality of life outcome measures; however, qualitative research which explores the views of people with head injury and their relatives or carers is limited. This study explores the subjective experience of quality of life following head injury, and similarities and differences between self and proxy reports. Methods: Participants included four adults with a severe head injury living in the community and a relative or carer who knows them well. Participants and their carers took part in semi-structured interviews relating to their perceptions of quality of life, and analysis was conducted using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach. Results & Conclusions: Overall, the head injured participants and their relatives reported having a good quality of life. The emergent themes related to this were ‘daily functioning’, ‘relationships’, and ‘moving on’. Convergence was identified between self and proxy reports of quality of life. Factors found to be important in the experience of good quality of life after head injury were: a ‘sense of purpose’; supportive ‘relationships’; and a focus on ‘moving on’ from the injury. The identification of factors associated with good quality of life sets the current study apart from existing literature which has focused on factors associated with poor quality of life. The study also demonstrates that it is possible for those who have experienced a severe head injury to self-report and reflect on a range of factors relating to their quality of life.
Fuzzy approach for optimal placement and sizing of capacitor banks in the presence of harmonics

This paper presents a fuzzy-based approach for optimal placement and sizing of fixed capacitor banks in radial distribution networks in the presence of voltage and current harmonics. The objective function includes the cost of power losses, energy losses, and capacitor banks. Constraints include voltage limits, number/size and locations of installed capacitors, and the power quality limits of IEEE-519 standard. Candidate buses for capacitor placement are selected using the sensitivities of constraints and the objective function with respect to reactive power injection at each bus. Using fuzzy set theory, a suitable combination of objective function and constraints is generated as a criterion to select the most suitable bus for capacitor placement. The /spl alpha/-cut process is applied at each iteration to guarantee simultaneous improvements of objective function and satisfying given constraints. Simulation results for the 18 bus IEEE distorted network show the advantages of the proposed method as compared to the maximum sensitivities selection algorithm.
Network Diversity: A Security Metric for Evaluating the Resilience of Networks Against Zero-Day Attacks

Diversity has long been regarded as a security mechanism for improving the resilience of software and networks against various attacks. More recently, diversity has found new applications in cloud computing security, moving target defense, and improving the robustness of network routing. However, most existing efforts rely on intuitive and imprecise notions of diversity, and the few existing models of diversity are mostly designed for a single system running diverse software replicas or variants. At a higher abstraction level, as a global property of the entire network, diversity and its effect on security have received limited attention. In this paper, we take the first step toward formally modeling network diversity as a security metric by designing and evaluating a series of diversity metrics. In particular, we first devise a biodiversity-inspired metric based on the effective number of distinct resources. We then propose two complementary diversity metrics, based on the least and the average attacking efforts, respectively. We provide guidelines for instantiating the proposed metrics and present a case study on estimating software diversity. Finally, we evaluate the proposed metrics through simulation.
Effects of Imatinib, Nilotinib, Dasatinib on VEGF and VEGFR-1 Levels in Patients with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

Objective:Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a protein that binding to VEGF receptors 1 (VEGFR-1) and accelerates angiogenesis. The relationship between angiogenesis and progression of tumors were observed in both solid and hematologic cancers. Monoclonal antibodies capable of inhibiting angiogenesis, tyrosine kinase inhibitors use for haematological cancer treatment. In this study; we investigated the effects of Imatinib mesylate (STI-571; Gleevec), Nilotinib (AMN107; Tasigna) and Dasatinib (BMS-354825; Sprycell) on serum levels of VEGF and VEGFR-1, in patients with chronic phase of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Method:Serum levels of VEGF and VEGFR-1 were measured in 65 patients with chronic phase of CML. Serum VEGF and VEGFR-1 levels were determined using quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique according to the manufacturers’ instructions.Results:There were 33 (51%) male and 32 (49%) female patients in this study. 38 of 65 patients were using Imatinib, 15 Nilotinib, 12 Dasatinib. Mean serum VEGF and VEGFR-1 levels for the 65 patients with CML were 172.21±127.46 pg/mL and 199.62±122.22 pg/mL, respectively. In Dasatinib and Imatinib group, serum VEGF and VEGFR-1 levels were significantly higher than in control group ( p= 0.008, p< 0.0001, and p< 0.0001, p< 0.0001). In Nilotinib group, serum VEGF levels were higher than control group, but; it was not statistically significant (p= 0.06) while . VEGFR-1 levels were significantly higher than those of controls (p< 0.0001). Conclusion:Imatinib, Nilotinib and Dasatinib were not superior to each other regarding to serum VEGF and VEGFR-1, but it may be said that Nilotinib may has slightly more effect on inhibition of anjiogenesis.
Fault detection and isolation based on system feedback

This paper present a method to detect the transducers fault in the close loop control systems. The necessities imposed for the fault detection algorithm are: rapid answer in the case of fault, which comes out; the diminution of the risk to come out false alarms; lower effort calculation. In the paper are presented the equations of fault detection structure that suggest the software algorithms. In last part of the paper, the algorithm was verified on the steam overhead equations, developed in this paper.
Robust adaptive beamforming in impulsive noise environments with unknown statistics

In this paper, a new method is proposed for the problem of adaptive beamforming in non-Gaussian impulsive noise environments. The proposed method normalizes each spatial snapshot vector by its Euclidian norm, so that the conventional second-order statistics-based beamformers can become applicable to the non-Gaussian heavy-tailed noise environments. The performance of the proposed method is studied through simulations. The results show that the proposed method perform highly reliably in the case of non-Gaussian noise and near optimally if the noise is Gaussian.
Sonographic septation: a predictor of sequelae of tuberculous pleurisy after treatment

Background: Findings in the literature have been quite conflicting with respect to predicting residual pleural thickening (RPT) in tuberculous pleurisy (TP). The aim of this study was to determine which sonographic feature of TP might help in predicting the development of RPT. Methods: Eighty-seven patients with TP were enrolled prospectively. The initial sonographic features were classified as anechoic, homogenously echogenic, complex non-septated and complex septated. The RPT level was measured 12 months after the start of antituberculosis (TB) treatment. Spirometry was performed 6 and 12 months after the start of anti-TB treatment. Results: A higher odds of an RPT level >10 mm was found in patients with positive TB bacillus culture in pleural fluid (OR, 20.9; 95% CI, 2.2 to 198.0) and a complex septated sonographic pattern (OR, 145.0; 95% CI, 22.3 to 942.3). A complex septated sonographic pattern can predict RPT with a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 96%, positive predictive value of 84% and negative predictive value of 94%. Patients with an RPT level >10 mm had a lower forced vital capacity than those without (75.4% (9.2%) predicted vs 83.2% (9.5%) predicted, p<0.01) Conclusion: A complex septated sonographic pattern is a useful sign to predict an RPT level >10 mm 1 year after the start of anti-TB treatment. An RPT level >10 mm is associated with a high probability of decreased lung volumes. Therefore, the initial sonographic feature is beneficial in predicting the sequelae of TP after treatment.