Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Active range of motion in the cervical spine increases after spinal manipulation (toggle recoil).

BACKGROUND It has generally been assumed that spinal manipulation has the biomechanical effect of increasing spinal range of motion. Past research has shown that there are likely no lasting changes to passive range of motion, and it is unclear whether there is an increase in active range of motion after manipulation. OBJECTIVE To study changes in active cervical range of motion after spinal manipulation of the cervical spine. DESIGN A double-blind randomized controlled trial at the outpatient clinic Phillip Chiropractic Research Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. METHODS One hundred five patients with cervicogenic headache were randomized into 2 groups. After a baseline observation period, Group 2 received manipulation (toggle recoil) to the cervical spine, whereas Group 1 received sham manipulation. In the next trial phase, Group 1 received manipulation, whereas Group 2 received no treatment. This was followed by the final trial phase, in which Group 2 received sham manipulation and Group 1 received no treatment. After each trial phase, active range of cervical motion was measured with a strap-on head goniometer by 2 blinded examiners. RESULTS After receiving spinal manipulation, active range of motion in the cervical spine increased significantly (P < .0006) in Group 2 compared with Group 1, and this difference between the treatment groups disappeared after the third trial phase in which Group 1 also received manipulation, as expected. CONCLUSION Spinal manipulation of the cervical spine increases active range of motion.
Orthogonal reference frame based methods in three-wire active power line conditioners: Practical evaluation under unbalanced load and nonideal voltage conditions

This paper is concerned with the practical implementation of some orthogonal reference frame based methods in the control of a shunt three-phase three wire active power line conditioner in order to compensate unbalanced nonlinear loads under nonideal voltage conditions. The first two developments are based on the components of voltage and current space vectors in the orthogonal stationary reference frame associated with the p-q theory of the instantaneous reactive power. They allow obtaining either unity power factor or perfect harmonic cancellation after compensation. Other two developments are based on the current components in the orthogonal rotating reference frame d-q with axis d in the direction of the voltage vector, which is specific of the id-iq method. This time, the compensation target is the total compensation through the perfect harmonic cancellation. The control algorithms were first modelized and tested by simulation under Matlab/Simulink. Then, experimental tests were conducted on a dSPACE platform based on DS1103 controller board for modern rapid prototyping. The compensating performance, in terms of harmonic distortion factor, unbalance factor, global power factor and displacement power factor, are analyzed for each situation. All the results prove that the desired compensation goals can be achieved through the conceived algorithms and the proposed practical implementation.
Improved Rear Surface Passivation of Cu(In,Ga)Se$_{\bf 2}$  Solar Cells: A Combination of an Al$_{\bf 2}$O $_{\bf 3}$ Rear Surface Passivation Layer and Nanosized Local Rear Point Contacts

An innovative rear contacting structure for copper indium gallium (di) selenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells is developed in an industrially viable way and demonstrated in tangible devices. The idea stems from the silicon (Si) industry, where rear surface passivation layers are combined with micron-sized local point contacts to boost the open-circuit voltage (VOC) and, hence, cell efficiency. However, compared with Si solar cells, CIGS solar cell minority carrier diffusion lengths are several orders lower in magnitude. Therefore, the proposed CIGS cell design reduces rear surface recombination by combining a rear surface passivation layer and nanosized local point contacts. Atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 is used to passivate the CIGS surface and the formation of nanosphere-shaped precipitates in chemical bath deposition of CdS to generate nanosized point contact openings. The manufactured Al2O3 rear surface passivated CIGS solar cells with nanosized local rear point contacts show a significant improvement in VOC compared with unpassivated reference cells.
An S-band communication system for space applications

In this paper, an earth observation Microsatellite communication system is proposed. The spacecraft will revolve in a sun-synchronous retrograde circular orbit. Therefore, it is equipped with two banks of cameras giving a total of 600 km field of view at 30 meters spatial resolution in three spectral bands, the Red, Green and Near Infra-Red. The communication sub-system is designed to support the mission and the telemetry/telecommand data. The imaging system allows windowing and it is supported by a total storage capacity of 0.5 Gbytes of data, which could be downloaded to a ground station at 8 Mbps within 10 min. The downlink and the uplink, both operate in S band at 8 Mbps in normal operation and 38.4 kbps during commissioning for the downlink and at 9.6 kbps for the uplink. This paper describes the different modules constituting the communication system.
Optimal transmitters for control over a noisy link with imperfect feedback

We consider a control loop which is closed over an additive noise communication channel. The quantity of interest is the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the channel such that control objectives like stabilization or minimal tracking error are met. We investigate a transmitter that uses observations of the plant output and the channel output which are fed back to the transmitter. Recently, a transmitter has been proposed which uses linearly filtered channel output feedback and the analytical expression for the minimal value of the SNR has been determined. In the present work, we derive the transmitter in a general framework using noisy channel output feedback. This allows for the investigation of the connection between the quality of imperfect feedback information and performance improvement due to this information. Additionally, other performance criteria than SNR can be used for transmitter design.
Distribution and patterns of connectivity of interneurons containing calbindin, calretinin, and parvalbumin in visual areas of the occipital and temporal lobes of the macaque monkey

Immunocytochemical techniques were used to examine the distribution of double‐bouquet cells and chandelier cells that were immunoreactive (‐ir) for the calcium‐binding proteins calbindin (CB), calretinin (CR), and parvalbumin (PV) in the primary visual area (V1), the second visual area (V2), and cytoarchitectonic area TE in the macaque monkey. Furthermore, the connections between CB‐, CR‐, and PV‐ir neurons in these visual areas were investigated at the light microscope level by using a dual‐immunocytochemical staining procedure. The most significant findings were three‐fold. First, the number and distribution of CB‐ir and CR‐ir double‐bouquet cells and PV‐ir chandelier cells differed considerably between different visual areas. In particular, the different distribution of double‐bouquet cells was illustrated dramatically at the V1/V2 border, where CB‐ir double‐bouquet axons were very few or lacking in V1 but were very numerous in V2. Furthermore, PV‐ir chandelier cell terminals were relatively sparse in V1, more frequent in V2, and most frequent in area TE. Second, the percentage of CB‐, CR‐, and PV‐ir neurons receiving multiple contacts on their somata and proximal dendrites from other calcium‐binding protein neurons varied between 22% and 85%. The highest percentage of contacts found between immunolabelled cells and multiterminals were for the combinations CR/CB (76–85%; percent of cells immunoreactive for CB that were innervated by multiterminals immunoreactive for CR), followed by the combination PV/CR (42–48%), and then by the other combinations that had similar percentages (22–32% for CR/PV; 26–37% for CB/CR; 29–42% for CR/PV). Third, differences in the relative proportions of CB, CR, and PV terminals in contact with CB‐, CR‐, and PV‐ir neurons were consistent between the different cortical areas studied. Thus, certain characteristics of intraareal circuits differ, whereas others remain similar, in different areas of the occipitotemporal visual pathway. The differences may represent regional specializations related to the different processing of visual stimuli, whereas the similarities may be attributed to general functional requisites for interneuronal circuitry. J. Comp. Neurol. 412:515–526, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ABC of patient safety

1 The Scope of the Problem. John Sandars. 2 The Nature of Error. Jenny Firth-Cozens, John Sandars. 3 Diagnosis. John Sandars. 4 Use of Medication. Darren M Ashcroft, Judith A Cantrill. 5 Communication and Patient Safety. Martin Beyer, Julia Rohe, Keith Haynes, Peter J Nicklin. 6 Patient Safety Culture. Tanya Claridge, John Sandars. 7 Principles of Clinical Risk Management. Julie Price, Keith Haynes, Peter J Nicklin. 8 Learning from Threats to Patient Safety. Maureen Baker, Richard Thomson, John Sandars. 9 Patient Safety and the Law. Michael Jones, Gary Cook. 10 The Healthcare Policy Context. Robert L Phillips. 11 The Impact on Patients and Healthcare Professionals. Amanda Howe, Peter Walsh. 12 Future Directions. Aziz Sheikh, Maureen Baker, Richard Thomson
Evaluation of Wall Motion and Dynamic Geometry of the Inferior Vena Cava Using Intravascular Ultrasound: Implications for Future Device Design

Purpose: To use intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to define the wall motion of the inferior vena cava (IVC) during normal respiratory cycles and evaluate its dynamic geometry during Valsalva maneuvers. Methods: Between September 2005 and October 2006, 10 patients who were having IVC filters placed underwent IVUS prior to filter implantation. With the anesthetized patient in a supine position, a 10-second IVUS recording of IVC motion below the renal veins was made during both normal respiratory cycles and Valsalva maneuvers. Diameters (n=100 measurements) were measured from the epicenter of the lumen in both a long and short axis. Changes in diameters were evaluated using a Student t test for paired data; variations in IVC wall motion circumference of the vessel were compared using an analysis of variance for repeated measurements. Intra-/interobserver variability was analyzed with Bland-Altman plots. Results: The mean IVC diameter was 14.3±4.1 mm in the short axis and 23.2±3.5 mm in the long axis. There was significant variation in infrarenal IVC wall movement about the circumference, with 1.4±0.2 mm (range 0.6–1.8) displacement in the short axis and 1.0±0.2 mm (range 0.2–1.4) displacement in the long axis during the normal respiratory cycle (p=0.04). In the short axis, the IVC diameter significantly increased with Valsalva from 14.3±4.1 to 19.6±1.2 mm (p=0.0001); in the long axis, the diameter increased from 23.2±3.5 to 24±1.2 mm (p=0.02). With Valsalva, there was a significantly greater change in the short axis (30.9%±4.8%) compared to the long axis (3.4%±2.2%; p=0.0001). There were no significant differences in the interobserver and intraobserver measurements. Conclusion: In the supine position, the IVC is elliptical and deforms anisotropically during the normal respiratory cycle. The greatest displacement (36%) is in the short axis during a Valsalva maneuver. These profound changes within the venous system will require intracaval devices to have active fixation to prevent migration. Devices should be designed to accommodate these changes to prevent fatigue failure.
The cost effectiveness of treatment for alcoholism: a first approximation.

This study undertakes an analysis of cost effectiveness of alcoholism treatment modalities based upon (1) findings from clinical trials, (2) costs for treatment in settings and/or by providers and (3) recommendations from treatment experts about appropriate settings, providers and treatment events. This analysis, which assumes a prototypic patient, suggests that modalities with the most evidence of effectiveness (based on three or more clinical trials) are not the most expensive. Within this study, total cost of care was negatively related to effectiveness. Modalities categorized as having insufficient evidence of effectiveness (i.e., lacking three or more clinical trials) are in the higher cost categories. The results of this first effort to establish initial cost/effectiveness considerations are intended to stimulate researchers to conduct the types of clinical studies where both cost and effectiveness are carefully measured to increase the scientific basis for future cost/effect policy considerations. The authors expect future clinical studies will revise the results of this initial effort.
Prosodic Facilitation and Interference While Judging on the Veracity of Synthesized Statements

Two primary sources of information are provided in human speech. On the one hand, the verbal channel encodes linguistic content, while on the other hand, the vocal channel transmits paralinguistic information, mainly through prosody. In line with several studies that induce a conflict between these two channels to better understand the role of prosody, we conducted an experiment in which subjects had to listen to a series of statements synthesized with varying prosody and indicate if they believed them to be true or false. We find evidence suggesting that acoustic/prosodic (a/p) features of the synthesized statements affect response times (a well-known proxy for cognitive load). Our results suggest that prosody in synthesized speech may play a role of either facilitation or interference when subjects judge the truthfulness of a statement. Furthermore, we find that this pattern is amplified when the a/p features of the synthesized statements are analyzed relative to the subjects’ own a/p features. This suggests that the entrainment of TTS voices has serious implications in the perceived trustworthiness of the system’s skills.
Strong converse for the classical capacity of all phase-insensitive bosonic Gaussian channels

We prove that a strong converse theorem holds for the classical capacity of all phaseinsensitive bosonic Gaussian channels, when imposing a maximum photon number constraint on the inputs of the channel. The pure-loss, thermal, additive noise, and amplifier channels are all in this class of channels. The statement of the strong converse theorem is that the probability of correctly decoding a classical message rapidly converges to zero in the limit of many channel uses if the communication rate exceeds the classical capacity. We prove this theorem by relating the success probability of any code with its rate of data transmission, the effective dimension of the channel output space, and the purity of the channel as quantified by the minimum output entropy. Our result bolsters the understanding of the classical capacity of these channels by establishing it as a sharp dividing line between possible and impossible communication rates over them.
Alpha interferon for hepatitis C virus infection in haemophilic patients

We have conducted a controlled trial in 20 haemophilic patients in which intravenous recombinant interferon alpha‐2a, 3 mega units thrice weekly, was used to treat chronic hepatitis C infection. The study endpoints included complete and paritial normalization of serum ALT, and loss of serum HCV RNA as determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Interferon treatment was effective, and resulted in improvement in ALT in nine (45%) and a loss of HCV RNA in five patients (26%), but a sustained normalization of ALT has been seen in only one case. Responses were poor in those with HIV coinfection or with HCV genotype 1 (Simmonds classification). Troublesome side‐effects were reported in 80%. The occurrence of a factor VIIIc inhibitor during the study was possibly an autoimmune complication of interferon. In conclusion, we have shown lower response rates than those seen in post‐transfusion hepatitis C infection and suspect that current interferon regimes are unlikely to influence the natural history of HCV infection in haemophilia. Consideration should be given to trials of higher dosage interferon, and of long‐term maintenance therapy for those who relapse.
Selective Activation of p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Cascade in Human Neutrophils Stimulated by IL-1β1

We investigated activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) subtype cascades in human neutrophils stimulated by IL-1β. IL-1β induced phosphorylation and activation of p38 MAPK and phosphorylation of MAPK kinase-3/6 (MKK3/6). Maximal activation of p38 MAPK was obtained by stimulation of cells with 300 U/ml IL-1β for 10 min. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) was faintly phosphorylated and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) was not phosphorylated by IL-1β. IL-1β primed neutrophils for enhanced release of superoxide (O2−) stimulated by FMLP in parallel with increased phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. IL-1β also induced O2− release and up-regulation of CD11b and CD15, and both responses were inhibited by SB203580 (p38 MAPK inhibitor), suggesting that p38 MAPK activation mediates IL-1β-induced O2− release and up-regulation of CD11b and CD15. Combined stimulation of neutrophils with IL-1β and G-CSF, a selective activator of the ERK cascade, resulted in the additive effects when the priming effect and phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and ERK were assessed. IL-1β induced phosphorylation of ERK and JNK as well as p38 MAPK in human endothelial cells. These findings suggest that 1) in human neutrophils the MKK3/6-p38 MAPK cascade is selectively activated by IL-1β and activation of this cascade mediates IL-1β-induced O2− release and up-regulation of CD11b and CD15, and 2) the IL-1R-p38 MAPK pathway and the G-CSF receptor-ERK pathway work independently for activation of neutrophils.
Prostaglandin E2 activates clusters of apical Cl- channels in principal cells via a cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent pathway.

UNLABELLED We examined cell-attached patches on principal cells of primary cultured, rabbit cortical collecting tubules. Under basal conditions, apical 9-pS Cl(-)-selective channels were observed in 9% of patches (11/126), and number of channels times open probability (NP0) was 0.56 +/- 0.21. The channel had a linear current-voltage relationship, reversal potential (Erev) near resting membrane potential, a P0 (0.30-0.70) that was independent of voltage, and complicated kinetics (i.e., bursting) at hyperpolarized potentials. NP0 and channel frequency were increased after 30 min of basolateral exposure to 0.5 microM PGE2 (18/56), 10 microM forskolin (23/36), or 0.5 mM dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) (25/41). Increases in NP0 appeared to be mediated primarily through an increase in the number of observed channels per patch (N), not changes in P0. After these cAMP-increasing maneuvers, N was inconsistent with a uniform distribution of channels in the apical membrane (P < 0.001), but rather the channels appeared to be clustered in pairs. Apical 0.5 microM PGE2 (12/91), apical or basolateral 0.5 microM PGF2 alpha (8/110), or 0.25 microM thapsigargin (releaser of intracellular Ca2+ stores) (7/73) did not increase NP0 or channel frequency. CONCLUSIONS (a) 9-pS Cl- channels provide a conductive pathway for apical membrane Cl- transport across principal cells. (b) Channel activation by basolateral PGE2 is mediated via a cAMP-, but not a Ca(2+)-dependent mechanism. (c) Apical channels are clustered in pairs. (d) With its low baseline frequency and Erev near resting membrane potential, this channel would not contribute significantly to transcellular Cl- flux under basal conditions. (e) However, cAMP-producing agonists (i.e., PGE2, arginine vasopressin) would increase apical Cl- transport with the direction determined by the apical membrane potential.
The Patient-Physician Relationship in the Internet Age: Future Prospects and the Research Agenda

In the "Internet Age," physicians and patients have unique technological resources available to improve the patient-physician relationship. How they both utilize online medical information will influence the course of their relationship and possibly influence health outcomes. The decision-making process may improve if efforts are made to share the burden of responsibility for knowledge. Further benefits may arise from physicians who assist patients in the information-gathering process. However, further research is necessary to understand these differences in the patient-physician relationship along with their corresponding effects on patient and physician satisfaction as well as clinical outcomes.
Side-scan sonar simulation for a kernelized seafloor shape reconstruction approach

In this paper we show how an existing pixel-based surface elevation estimation method for side-scan sonar data can be enhanced by using a kernelized surface representation. We discuss a Bayesian formulation for the side-scan imaging process and describe how methods of space carving and inverse ray tracing built on Markov Random Fields (MRF) can be introduced to the task of surface estimation from side-scan sonar data.
Material selection using analytical hierarchy process

Material selection is a rapidly growing multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem owing to the large number of factors affecting decision making. The right choice of available material is critical to the success and competitiveness of the manufacturing organisation. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is a tool designed to solve MCDM problems. The AHP was applied to select a material for a simple product (a key) utilising Expert Choice software. Confidence in the output is found to be high owing to the low inconsistency of the decision maker's judgement. Sensitivity analysis was performed to increase the confidence in the choice of material.
Evaluation of single event multilevel surgery and rehabilitation in children and youth with cerebral palsy – A 2-year follow-up study

Purpose. This study evaluated multilevel surgery and rehabilitation with functional measures and health related quality of life (HRQOL) of children and youth with cerebral palsy (CP). In addition this study evaluated parent's satisfaction with care. Method. A prospective single-subject study with AB design and 2-year follow-up, included 11 children between 8 and 18 years old with CP, Gross Motor Function Classification System I–III. Visual analyses were used to present physical function with Physical Cost Index (PCI). Descriptive statistics were used to present number of children with a clinically important change in Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), self-reported walking ability, and HRQOL with child health questionnaire (CHQ). Results. PCI showed a trend of lower energy cost during gait in six children and GMFM was unchanged for 10 children and improved for one child. Walking ability was improved in 10 children. Gait distance increased in all 11. Both physical and psychosocial dimensions of CHQ improved in six of nine (two missing data). Expectations of outcomes were fulfilled in seven and partly fulfilled in four. Satisfaction with care was fulfilled in 10 of 11. Conclusion. Self-reported walking ability improved after multilevel surgery and intensive rehabilitation. This result was partly supported by lower energy cost and improved HRQOL. Expectations and satisfaction were fulfilled for the majority of children.