Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of alendronate on limited-activity days and bed-disability days caused by back pain in postmenopausal women with existing vertebral fractures. Fracture Intervention Trial Research Group.

BACKGROUND Women with new vertebral fractures have an increased risk of back pain and functional limitation because of back pain. Alendronate sodium treatment reduces the risk of new vertebral fracture by 50% in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of alendronate therapy on days affected by back pain in postmenopausal women with existing vertebral fractures. DESIGN Three-year, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind study. SETTING Fifteen university-based research clinics in the United States. PARTICIPANTS A total of 2027 postmenopausal women aged 55 to 81 years with low femoral neck bone density and a preexisting vertebral fracture. INTERVENTION Alendronate sodium (5 mg/d for 2 years and 10 mg/d for the third year) or placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Occurrence and severity of back pain, number of days with back pain, and number of days of bed rest or limited activity because of back pain during 3 years of follow-up. RESULTS Irrespective of treatment assignment, women with new, clinically recognized vertebral fractures during follow-up had an increased risk of days of bed disability and days of limited activity because of back pain after the fracture. Women receiving alendronate reported an average of 3.2 fewer days of bed rest (P = .001) and 11.4 fewer days of limited activity (not including days of bed rest) because of back pain (P = .04) during follow-up than those receiving placebo. In the alendronate group, relative to the placebo group, there was a reduced risk of 1 or more bed-rest days (relative risk, 0.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.87), of 7 or more bed-rest days (0.44; 0.30-0.64), and of 7 or more limited-activity days (0.87; 0.76-0.99). There were no statistically significant differences between treatment groups in the frequency of days of back pain or increases in back-related disability between baseline and study end. CONCLUSION In postmenopausal women with preexisting vertebral fracture, alendronate therapy for 3 years reduced the number of days of bed disability and days of limited activity caused by back pain.
Unisensory and multisensory Self-referential stimulation of the lower limb: An exploratory fMRI study on healthy subjects

ABSTRACT Background: The holistic view of the person is the essence of the physiotherapy. Knowledge of approaches that develop the whole person promotes better patient outcomes. Multisensory Self-referential stimulation, more than a unisensory one, seems to produce a holistic experience of the Self (“Core-Self”). Objectives: (1) To analyze the somatotopic brain activation during unisensory and multisensorial Self-referential stimulus; and (2) to understand if the areas activated by multisensorial Self-referential stimulation are the ones responsible for the “Core-Self. ” Methods: An exploratory functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was performed with 10 healthy subjects, under the stimulation of the lower limbs with three Self-referential stimuli: unisensory auditory-verbal, unisensory tactile-manual, and multisensory, applying the unisensory stimuli simultaneously. Results: Unisensory stimulation elicits bilateral activations of the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), of the primary motor cortex (BA4), of the premotor cortex (BA6) and of BA44; multisensory stimulation also elicits activity in TPJ, BA4, and BA6, and when compared with unisensory stimuli, activations were found in: (1) Cortical and subcortical midline structures—BA7 (precuneus), BA9 (medial prefrontal cortex), BA30 (posterior cingulated), superior colliculum and posterior cerebellum; and (2) Posterior lateral cortex—TPJ, posterior BA13 (insula), BA19, and BA37. Bilateral TPJ is the one that showed the biggest activation volume. Conclusion: This specific multisensory stimulation produces a brain activation map in regions that are responsible for multisensory Self-processing and may represent the Core-Self. We recommend the use of this specific multisensory stimulation as a physiotherapy intervention strategy that might promote the Self-reorganization.
Theory of heat transfer by evanescent electromagnetic waves.

We present a macroscopic, phenomenological theory for the heat flow between two material half-spaces of differing temperatures whose surfaces are separated by a gap of width l. Our calculation parallels Liftshitz's calculation of the van der Waals force between two dielectric slabs. For l sufficiently small, the heat flow is enhanced by a contribution from evanescent waves, and in the limit of a very small gap varies as ${\mathit{l}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}2}$.
Pilot-Channel-Assisted Log-Likelihood-Ratio Selective Combining for Low-Rate DS-UWB Communications

In this paper, we propose a pilot-channel-assisted log-likelihood-ratio selective combining (PCA-LLR-SC) scheme for Rake receivers that will be used in long-range low-rate UWB communications targeted by the IEEE 802.15. 4a specification. The pilot and data channels are constructed using quadrature sinusoidal bursts that have the same Gaussian envelope. The system parameters are optimized through jointly minimizing the channel estimation mean square error and maximizing the receiver output signal-to-noise ratio. Simulation results show that the proposed PCA-LLR-SC scheme is able to provide robust low-rate UWB communications in fast-fading multipath channels.
Radical surgery for T1 and T2 squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva through separate incisions.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to retrospectively evaluate treatment results in patients with T1 and T2 vulvar carcinoma. MATERIAL AND METHOD The medical records of 46 patients with T1 and T2 SCC of the vulva undergoing radical excision of the tumor and groin node dissection at Chiang Mai University Hospital between January 1998 and December 2004 were reviewed. The tumor size, histologic grade, nodal status, lymph-vascular space invasion, lesion location, surgical marginal status, complications, recurrence and survival were analyzed. RESULTS Mean age of the 46 patients (T1 = 15, T2 = 31) was 59 years with a range of 34-84 years. The incidence of lymph node metastases for T1 lesions was 13% compared to 35% for T2 lesions. Twenty nine patients (63%) experienced surgical complications, the most common one was lymphedema (16) while wound breakdown was noted in only 1 patient. With a median follow-up of 15 months, 14 patients (30%) developed recurrence, 3 (20%) and 11 (35%) in patients with T1 and T2 lesions respectively. The overall 5-year disease-free survival and 5-year survival were 37% and 40%, respectively. The 5-year survival of patients with T1 lesion was significantly higher than that of patients with T2 lesion (64% vs 31%, P = 0.04). Patients with negative nodes had significantly better survival than those with positive nodes (56% vs 18%, P = 0.02). In multivariable analysis, only the status of groin node remained as independent prognostic factors for survival. CONCLUSION Radical excision and groin node dissection through separate incision for T1 and T2 squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva in this study has a less favorable survival outcome compared with the literature.
Low-capture-power test generation for scan-based at-speed testing

Scan-based at-speed testing is a key technology to guarantee timing-related test quality in the deep submicron era. However, its applicability is being severely challenged since significant yield loss may occur from circuit malfunction due to excessive IR drop caused by high power dissipation when a test response is captured. This paper addresses this critical problem with a novel low-capture-power X-filling method of assigning 0's and 1's to unspecified (X) bits in a test cube obtained during ATPG. This method reduces the circuit switching activity in capture mode and can be easily incorporated into any test generation flow to achieve capture power reduction without any area, timing, or fault coverage impact. Test vectors generated with this practical method greatly improve the applicability of scan-based at-speed testing by reducing the risk of test yield loss
Morbidity associated with oral corticosteroids in patients with severe asthma

Cross-sectional primary care record studies show that 0.9% of the adult population receive regular oral corticosteroids (OCS). Prescriptions have increased steadily over the past 20 years, presumably reflecting an increasingly elderly and infirm population.1 Respiratory conditions (mainly airway diseases) are responsible for 25–40% of these OCS prescriptions,1 ,2 by some way the largest proportion of any specialty. Against this background, it is surprising and disappointing that little is known about morbidity due to OCS usage in patients with airway disease and we remain in the unsatisfactory position of having to extrapolate from studies carried out in non-respiratory conditions. Better information in an airway disease population is important as we are approaching the biological treatment era and have within our sights treatments that offer a realistic potential to be alternatives to OCS and to allow patients already taking them to withdraw therapy safely.3–9 High quality data will be key to inform cost-effectiveness analyses for these new asthma therapies. The paper by Sweeney et al 10 in this issue of the journal is therefore timely. The authors present data from two large severe asthma populations derived from the Optimum Patient Care Research Database (OPCRD) and British Thoracic Society (BTS) Difficult Asthma Registry on the occurrence of corticosteroid associated comorbidities. OPCRD is a respiratory database that contains anonymous longitudinal medical records supplemented by information from patient-completed questionnaires from over 525 general practices across UK. This data set was used to examine potentially OCS-related morbidity in a severe asthma cohort requiring regular OCS and two age and gender-matched control cohorts: one with mild/moderate asthma requiring minimal OCS use and the other without asthma. The BTS Difficult Asthma Registry consists of anonymised data collected from Specialist UK Difficult Asthma Services. Potentially OCS-related morbidity was compared in patients with severe asthma requiring daily …
Reactive Oxygen Species and Reactive Nitrogen Species in Peroxisomes. Production, Scavenging, and Role in Cell Signaling1

Peroxisomes can be broadly defined as subcellular organelles bounded by a single membrane that contain as basic enzymatic constituents catalase and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-producing flavin oxidases and occur in almost all eukaryotic cells ([Baker and Graham, 2002][1]). In recent years, it has
Characteristic Plantar Pressure Distribution Patterns during Soccer-Specific Movements

Purpose To characterize in-shoe pressure measurements during different soccer-specific maneuvers on two playing surfaces to identify the main loading areas of the foot. Methods Twenty-one experienced male soccer players participated in the study (25.5 ± 1.8 years, 78.7 ± 5.4 kg, and 182.9 ± 5.7 cm). The Pedar Mobile system was used to collect plantar pressure information inside the soccer shoe. Four soccer-specific movements were performed (normal run, cutting maneuver, sprint, and goal shot) on both a grass and a red cinder surface. Results Results showed characteristic pressure distribution patterns with specific loading areas of the foot that correspond to the evaluated movements. In addition, loading patterns with higher pressure values than those observed during normal run were found. In cutting, the medial part of the foot; in sprinting, the first and second ray; and in kicking, the lateral part of the foot are predominantly loaded. No global effect of the two surfaces on pressure parameters was found. Conclusion The results of the present investigation suggest that the high load in soccer in combination with a high repetition may have an important influence in the development of overuse injuries.
Introducing Close-Range Photogrammetry for Characterizing Forest Understory Plant Diversity and Surface Fuel Structure at Fine Scales

Abstract Methods characterizing fine-scale fuels and plant diversity can advance understanding of plant-fire interactions across scales and help in efforts to monitor important ecosystems such as longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests of the southeastern United States. Here, we evaluate the utility of close-range photogrammetry for measuring fuels and plant diversity at fine scales (submeter) in a longleaf pine forest. We gathered point-intercept data of understory plants and fuels on nine 3-m2 plots at a 10-cm resolution. For these same plots, we used close-range photogrammetry to derive 3-dimensional (3D) point clouds representing understory plant height and color. Point clouds were summarized into distributional height and density metrics. We grouped 100 cm2 cells into fuel types, using cluster analysis. Comparison of photogrammetry heights with point-intercept measurements showed that photogrammetry points were weakly to moderately correlated to plant and fuel heights (r = 0.19–0.53). Mann–Whitney pairwise tests evaluating separability of fuel types, species, and plant types in terms of photogrammetry metrics were significant 44%, 41%, and 54% of the time, respectively. Overall accuracies using photogrammetry metrics to classify fuel types, species, and plant types were 44%, 39%, and 44%, respectively. This research introduces a new methodology for characterizing fine-scale 3D surface vegetation and fuels.
Magneto-electro-mechanical modeling of magnetic actuation systems

This study presents a new modeling methodology for magnetic actuation systems (MAS) that can be realized on a single simulation platform and is applicable in the majority of present-day simulation tools. The main benefit of the modeling approach is that it significantly reduces the complexity and burden in the design and control of multidisciplinary systems. The method describes the behavior of the system by the physical representation of the individual counterparts. The behavior of an actuator is described by cross-coupled models of the mechanical and the electromagnetic interaction. An extended, non-linear inductor model has been developed, demonstrating the challenging control task of displacement regulation. The MAS model and the individual models have been verified experimentally on a single-axis levitator prototype.
An intermediate level representation scheme for secondary features recognition and B-rep model simplification

The presence of fillets, rounds, chamfers and grooves is typical of many real-world mechanical components. Such features introduce in the model various topological and geometrical modifications, which may alter the correct understanding of its main features. Another drawback which hinders the correct engineering evaluation of a part is that its geometrical and topological representation is not unique, since it depends either on the different procedures used to generate CAD models or on the different internal representation of the geometric kernels used by CAD packages. The overall aim of this work is to define an intermediate representation scheme, which incorporates information about minor features such as chamfers, fillets, rounds and grooves into a graph based representation and overcomes the problem of non-uniqueness in the geometric representation. The representation scheme discussed here takes as input a solid model in B-rep form, and provides a description of a part at a higher level of abstraction in comparison with the raw B-rep description. A procedure for secondary features recognition is also described in this paper. The proposed algorithm consists of two steps where both topological/geometrical properties and dimensional attributes are investigated in order to fulfill a correct recognition. The recognized secondary features are then inserted into the model as labels, which qualify the relationships between the faces of the graph representation. The resulting modeling scheme can be conveniently used for primary feature recognition as well as for other engineering analysis/simulation purposes.
Comparative outcomes between cord blood transplantation and bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation from unrelated donors in patients with hematologic malignancies: a single‐institute analysis

Background Umbilical cord blood (UCB) has grown substantially as an alternative source of hematopoietic stem cells for unrelated donor transplantation in both adult and pediatric patients. Our aim was to assess the leukemia‐free survival (LFS) and some primary results, such as hematologic recovery, risk of graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD), relapse, and long‐term survival, after unrelated cord blood transplantation compared with the outcomes of transplantations from other unrelated graft source. Methods The clinical outcomes of 112 consecutive patients with acute leukemia who received umbilical cord blood (UCBT) as a primary unrelated stem cell source (n=38), bone marrow (UBMT n=28, transplanted before January 2003), or peripheral blood stem cells (UPBSCT n=46, transplanted after January 2003) between July 2000 and July 2008 were analyzed. Results Except that the patients were much younger in the UCBT group (median age, 10.5 years in UCBT, 30 years in UPBSCT, and 20 years in UBMT), other pre‐transplant parameters, such as gender, diagnosis, and the phase of disease, were comparable. All patients received myeloablative regimens, primarily including BUCY; however, there was less anti‐thymocyte globulin (ATG) used for the UBMT patients (2/38 in UCBT, 0/46 in UPBSCT, and 8/28 in UBMT did not use ATG, P=0.000). Significant delays in engraftment occurred after UCBT for both neutrophil cells and platelets. The cumulative allo‐engraftment rates were also significantly lower (87.8% vs. 97.8% vs. 100% for WBC, P=0.000; 73.0% vs. 97.5% vs. 89.5% for PLT, P=0.000) for UCBT. The incidence of Grade 2‐4 and 3‐4 acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) was much higher in the UBMT group but did not differ among the other groups (51% and 13.2%, 40.2% and 10.5%, and 77.4% and 41.2%, respectively, for UCBT, UPBSCT, and UBMT, P=0.000). The occurrence of extensive chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was significantly decreased for recipients of UCBT (4%) compared with that of UPBSCT (39.1%) and UBMT (49.1%, P=0.000), although the rates of whole cGVHD were not significantly different (30.3%, 63.1%, and 60.1% for UCBT, UPBSCT, and UBMT, respectively). The patients had a similar rate of CMV infection (21/38, 28/46, and 22/28 for UCBT, UPBSCT, and UBMT, respectively), while the HC occurrence was lower after UCBT (7/38, 16/46, and 14/28 for UCBT, UPBSCT, and UBMT, respectively). As of August 2012, there was no apparent difference in 5‐year overall survival (OS), LFS, or the relapse rate for each graft source (52.5%, 52.6%, and 20.8% in UCBT; 48.7%, 46.4%, and 27.9% in UPBSCT; and 46.4%, 42.9%, and 16.0% in UBMT). Conclusion These data support the use of UCB donors as an alternative allogeneic donor.
Measurement of Ultrasound Velocity in Tissues Utilizing a Microcomputer-Based System

The continued interest in diagnostic applications of ultrasound has led to a need for more detailed knowledge of the ultrasonic properties of biological tissues. This communication describes an experimental system based on a Z-80 microprocessor which communicates with other devices via an STD bus for measuring ultrasound velocity in biological tissues as a function of temperature. Data have been collected for bovine heart, kidney, liver, and blood over the temperature range of 10-45 °C.
Chromogranin A Storage and Secretion: Sensitivity and Specificity for the Diagnosis of Pheochromocytoma

Chromogranin A, co-stored and co-released with catecholamines from adrenal medullary and sympathetic neuronal vesicles, is elevated in the plasma of patients with pheochromocytoma. The usefulness of the hormone in the differential diagnosis of hypertension is examined. An elevated level of chromogranin A had comparable diagnostic sensitivity (83%, 24/29) to, but greater diagnostic specificity (96%, 86/90) than the level of plasma catecholamines when subjects with pheochromocytoma (n = 29) were evaluated in comparison to several reference groups, including normotensive controls (n = 49), subjects with essential hypertension (n = 28), subjects with renovascular hypertension (n = 5), and subjects with primary aldosteronism (n = 3). Subjects with signs or symptoms suggesting pheochromocytoma, but in whom the diagnosis was ultimately ruled out (n = 5) had normal plasma levels of chromogranin A. A modest rise in chromogranin A in those with essential hypertension, and correlation of chromogranin A with diastolic blood pressure in normotensive patients and patients with essential hypertension did not impair the diagnostic usefulness of chromogranin A for pheochromocytoma. Renal failure was associated with an elevated plasma chromogranin A independently of blood pressure. Plasma chromogranin A correlated with tumor mass, tumor chromogranin A content, tumor norepinephrine content, and urinary vanillylmandelic acid excretion; it did not correlate with plasma or urinary catecholamines, nor with blood pressure in patients with pheochromocytoma. Plasma chromogranin A levels did not differ in subjects with pheochromocytoma when stratified by age, sex, tumor location, or tumor pathology. Several drugs used in the diagnosis or treatment of pheochromocytoma (clonidine, metoprolol, phentolamine, and tyramine) had little effect on plasma chromogranin A concentration. Within the pheochromocytoma, chromogranin A was localized along with catecholamines to the soluble core of chromaffin granules, where it accounted for 18 +/- 5% of vesicle soluble protein. We conclude that 1) chromogranin A emerges along with catecholamines from pheochromocytoma chromaffin granules; 2) plasma chromogranin A is a sensitive and specific diagnostic tool in evaluation of actual or suspected pheochromocytoma; 3) plasma chromogranin A predicts pheochromocytoma tumor size and overall catecholamine production; and 4) drugs commonly employed in the diagnosis or treatment of pheochromocytoma have little effect on plasma chromogranin A level, preserving the usefulness of chromogranin A in evaluating pheochromocytoma. Thus, measurement of chromogranin A provides a useful adjunct to the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma.
The prolongation of the in vitro dissolution of a soluble drug (phenethicillin potassium) by microencapsulation with ethyl cellulose

Microcapsules of phenethicillin potassium as a model water‐soluble drug, coated with ethyl cellulose, have been prepared (core: wall ratios 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3) in which the taste has been masked, the odour almost eliminated and the release retarded. Sieve analysis showed that with decreasing core: wall ratios there was a trend towards increasing amounts of larger sized microcapsules. At constant core: wall ratios in vitro release of drug was generally greatest from the larger microcapsules. This result correlated with the surface areas of the microcapsules which became less as the asymmetry of the microcapsules diminished with decrease in microcapsule size. There was a linear relation between the amount of ethyl cellulose and the time for 60% release of drug, and the release pattern was analogous to that from insoluble porous matrices. Scanning electron micrographs showed the microcapsules to be irregularly shaped with circular surface pores, and they did not alter in shape or size during dissolution. Tableting of 1:1 core: wall ratio microcapsules significantly further retarded the dissolution.