Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Psychological Factors on Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type-1

Background: To date, very little research has assessed the outcomes of CRPS, relationships between psychological factors, pain and disability in CRPS, and the influence of psychological factors on the recovery process. This thesis therefore had three aims: 1. ) To investigate the long-term outcomes of CRPS, 2. ) To measure associations between psychological factors, pain and disability in CRPS, and 3. ) To determine whether psychological factors are associated with future outcomes in CRPS. Methods: 1. ) A systematic review was conducted to investigate the outcomes of CRPS. 2. ) A crosssectional study was undertaken comparing chronic CRPS and low back pain patients in terms of the strength of associations between psychological factors, pain and disability. 3. ) Cross-sectional data was utilised to assess the influence of psychological factors on disability and work status amongst acute CRPS patients. 4. ) The same sample were followed prospectively for 12 months to determine the extent of symptomatic recovery, and to assess associations between baseline psychological factors and the outcomes of CRPS. Results: 1. ) The systematic review revealed inconsistencies in the literature. Whilst previous prospective studies demonstrated good outcomes in CRPS patients, retrospective and cross-sectional studies revealed high rates of chronic pain and disability. 2. ) The cross-sectional study found that amongst CRPS compared to low back pain patients, stronger associations existed between psychological factors, pain and disability. 3. ) Amongst the acute CRPS sample, depression was associated with greater disability and sick leave. 4. ) The prospective study showed lower rates of recovery amongst CRPS patients than previously documented. It also demonstrated that those with higher levels of anxiety, pain-related fear and disability at baseline exhibited a poorer recovery, with greater pain and disability over 12 months. Conclusions: The body of research showed that, in contrast with previous prospective studies, CRPS patients seldom make a complete recovery. Moreover, psychological factors are associated with greater pain and disability concurrently and are also associated with poorer long-term recovery. In future, researchers may wish to develop screening tools to identify those at risk of poor outcomes and/or develop early intervention treatments to prevent poor outcomes.
Role of CT Mastoids in the Diagnosis and Surgical Management of Chronic Inflammatory Ear Disease

Introduction: Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media (CSOM) is a chronic inflammation of middle ear cleft. It presents with discharging ear and decreased hearing. The diagnosis is mostly on clinical examination with otoscope or otoendoscope. Computerized Tomography (CT) of mastoids is done to evaluate the extent of the disease and its complication. High resolution CT is now the investigation of choice for temporal bone disease. This study emphasizes on the importance of CT scan in diagnosis of inflammatory ear diseases and most importantly identifying pitfalls or complications which a surgeon can come across during surgery. Objectives of the Study: The aims and objectives of this study is:  To establish the efficacy of CT in the diagnosis of the complications and surgical management of chronic inflammatory pathologies of middle ear.  To find subgroups of CSOM where CT is particularly useful. In this series, a total of 25 cases presenting to our OPD at Govt. ENT Hospital between 2013 to 2014 have been diagnosed and findings of surgery correlated with HRCT scan of temporal bones done preoperatively. Results: In this study, 64% of the patients were male and incidence of CSOM with patients undergoing surgery belonged to the age group 21-30 years (32%). The most common presenting symptom was ear discharge (92%) and decreased hearing (96%). The most common type of pathology in this study was attic perforation (36%) and granulations (40%) followed by cholesteatoma (36%) and mucosal edema (16%). Not all cases presented with complications, facial palsy (12%) and mastoid abscess (8%) were among few complications seen. 14 patients (56%) of 25 cases underwent simple cortical mastoidectomy followed by 9 cases (36%) for modified radical mastoidectomy and atticotomy for 2 cases (8%). CT scan findings correlated well with surgical findings for cholesteatoma, middle ear mass and bone erosions. Whereas for ossicular integrity and facial canal dehiscence, there was a discrepancy.
The Prevalence of Malaria in Soldiers, Zahedan, Iran

Background: Malaria is an infectious disease, which is caused by different species of plasmodium. It damages social and economic growth and is also one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Malaria is transmitted by female anopheles mosquitoes. Studying the epidemiology of malaria is critical, and it has been poorly studied in asymptomatic individuals, especially in boundary soldiers. Objectives: This study aimed at evaluating the prevalence of malaria in veterans. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 300 blood samples were collected from the volunteers of a garrison in Zahedan City, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Southeast of Iran during the spring and summer of 2017 and simultaneously, the questionnaires were completed by the subjects. Then, the samples were examined by microscopic examination and nested PCR method. Results: Of 300 studied samples, 4 samples (1.3%) were positive for P. vivax and had asymptomatic malaria, of which. Three samples were native to Sistan and Baluchistan and another one was native to Kerman. No species of Plasmodium was observed. Conclusions: A low prevalence (1.3%) of malaria indicated that it has decreased in Sistan and Baluchistan during the last years and also using the nested PCR technique is suggested to diagnose malaria in asymptomatic patients.
The effect of aggregating multivariate count data using Poisson profiles

Abstract The effect of aggregating data has been studied in several situations, including some related to health surveillance, from which univariate count data are frequently observed. However, this effect has not been studied in more complex situations such as the annual aggregations of cases of several diseases, discriminated by the age of patients. In this article we study the effect of aggregation of multivariate count data that depend on a single covariate, in the context of Statistical Quality Control, using a methodology based on Poisson profile monitoring. More specifically, the relative performance of two monitoring schemes is evaluated in terms of their average time to signal (ATS) when aggregated and disaggregated information is used. We also study whether or not the aggregation effect is the same for the two schemes.
P67: LONG‐TERM MANAGEMENT OF MODERATE‐TO‐SEVERE ATOPIC DERMATITIS WITH DUPILUMAB AND CONCOMITANT TOPICAL CORTICOSTEROIDS A 1‐YEAR RANDOMIZED, PLACEBO‐CONTROLLED PHASE 3 TRIAL (CHRONOS)

LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT OF MODERATE-TO-SEVERE ATOPIC DERMATITIS WITH DUPILUMAB AND CONCOMITANT TOPICAL CORTICOSTEROIDS: A 1-YEAR RANDOMIZED, PLACEBOCONTROLLED PHASE 3 TRIAL (CHRONOS) A Blauvelt, M Gooderham, P Foley, Griffiths CEM, JC Cather, M de Bruin-Weller, X Zhu, B Akinlade, Graham NMH, G Pirozzi and B Shumel Oregon Medical Research, Portland, OR, USA SKiN Centre for Dermatology, Peterborough, ON, Canada The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia Dermatology Centre, Salford Royal Hospital, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK Modern Dermatology + Modern Research Associates, Dallas, TX, USA University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA Sanofi, Bridgewater, NJ, USA
Preference Reversal Under Vulnerability

The behavioral agency theory explains that preferences have not always been stable over time and might change with the framing of the problem. A concept largely used in behavioral economics has been recently adopted in family firms’ literature: preference reversal. Preference reversal explains that in the presence of vulnerability, family firms are willing to change their most critical point of reference, socioemotional wealth, and that they are willing to focus on financial wealth. This chapter introduces the concept of preference reversal, explains the application of preference reversal in family firms, and makes an empirical exploration of the presence of preference reversal. The study explores one of the cases of firm vulnerability: a low financial performance by applying neural networks. The study applies to Mexican family firms and finds indications of preference reversal.
Fatigue–oxidation–creep damage model under axial-torsional thermo-mechanical loading

A fatigue–oxidation–creep damage model that can take into account the effect of multiaxial cyclic feature on the damage mechanism is proposed under axial-torsional thermo-mechanical fatigue loading. In the proposed model, the effects of non-proportional additional hardening on fatigue, oxidation, and creep damages are considered, and the variation of oxidation damage under different high temperature loading conditions is also described. Moreover, the intergranular creep damage needs to be equivalent to the transgranular damage before accumulating with the fatigue and oxidation damages. The fatigue, oxidation, and creep damages can be expressed as the fractions of fatigue life, critical crack length, and creep rupture time, respectively, which allows the linear accumulation of different types of damages on the basis of life fraction rule. In addition, the proposed model is validated by various fatigue experimental results, including uniaxial thermo-mechanical fatigue, axial-torsional thermo-mechanical fatigue, and isothermal axial-torsional fatigue under proportional and non-proportional loadings. The results showed that the errors are within a factor of 2.
D3 lymphadenectomy for right colon cancer

Extension of lymphadenectomy in case of right-sided colon cancer surgery is recently broadly discussed. Since the introduction of complete mesocolic excision (CME) with central lymph node resection or lymphadenectomy D3, a number of studies were undertaken to assess the beneficial role of these procedures on overall survival in colon cancer patients. While it is generally known that the number of dissected lymph nodes during cancer-related operation is associated with a better prognosis on overall survival, the results of studies on CME with central lymph node resection or D3 lymphadenectomy are inconclusive. The greater number of harvested lymph nodes warrants positive outcome, however, not every study confirms overall survival improvement. Extended lymphadenectomy has also been associated with a higher number of complications, compared to conventional resection of colonic cancer. In this review, we focus on the detailed description of the surgical technique for D3 lymphadenectomy in the right-sided colorectal cancer (CRC) patients as well as provide a critical appraisal of the quality of the available data in the current literature.
Assessment of chest wall movement following thoracotomy: a systematic review

Thoracotomy is a major cause of respiratory impairment, increasing the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC). Systems assessing ribcage kinematics may detect changes in chest expansion following thoracotomy and may thus aid in the development of patient-tailored chest physiotherapy. Hence, we aimed to identify studies assessing changes in chest wall movement following thoracotomy using objective measures. The Cochrane library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched to find relevant articles providing an objective assessment of chest wall movement following thoracotomy. Methodological quality of included studies concerning chest wall movement following thoracotomy was assessed by use of QUADAS-2 tool. A total of 12 articles were included for the assessment of chest wall changes following thoracotomy using objective measures. Four studies measured changes in the cross-sectional area of the ribcage and abdomen using the respiratory inductive plethysmography (RIP), 1 study computed the chest wall compliance by monitoring the intra-pleural pressure, 3 studies measured changes in chest circumference with a simple tape measure and 4 articles performed a compartmental analysis of the chest wall volume by means of an optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP). There was no delay in the collection of data of the index test and reference standard, resulting in a low risk of bias for the flow and timing domain. Across all studies, participants underwent the same reference standard, resulting in a low risk of verification bias. Several objective measures were able to detect changes in chest wall displacement following thoracotomy and differed in the practical use and invasive nature. OEP allows a compartmental analysis of the chest wall volume. Hence, this system allows to assess chest wall movement changes following thoracotomy and the impact of different types of surgical approach. Furthermore, it could aid in the development of tailored physiotherapy.
Assessing the questionnaires on perceived oral healthcare need: A systematic review

BACKGROUND AND AIM : Perception of the need for oral healthcare plays a key role in creating motivation and demand for utilization of oral healthcare services. Furthermore, while the lack of resources, people with perceived needs to oral healthcare, due to the higher profit potential of services, will be on higher priority for services. The aim of this study was to undertake a systematic review of the existing literature about questionnaires used for assessing the perceived oral healthcare needs. METHODS : The search was conducted in PubMed, ISI and Scopus databases in March 2016. Questionnaire-based and the papers which aimed to determine the perceived need for any type of oral healthcare and dental treatment were included to this study. After determining the appropriate papers, related data were extracted and reviewed. RESULTS : Out of 7069 records found, 190 questionnaire-based papers were included in the review. Ninety-four papers were related to the overall evaluation of oral healthcare need, which did not ask the need for types of oral healthcare service. Sixty-six papers studied the need for a specified dental service, and thirty papers recorded the types of oral healthcare service via asking the open or multiple choices questions. There were not comprehensive and standard questionnaires covering all the common types of oral healthcare services. CONCLUSION : Despite the importance of considering the perception of needs for oral healthcare, there is a lack of the comprehensive and standard questionnaires. Studies aimed to assess perceived oral healthcare needs should use questionnaires which include appropriate items on common types of oral healthcare services based on the characteristics of the target group. Concordance with perceived and normative need is an issue that should be addressed in future researches.
A Preliminary Study on 3600 Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) vs Non - Immersive Virtual Reality (N-IVR) of Event Marketing

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) has become a popular tool for experiential marketing to empower people experience and user's engagement. Many organizations have opted for virtual reality approach towards conveying brand experiences, promotional tools and consumer personalization through this interactive technology. IVR is known to arouse user emotional responses and engrave user behavior. The objective of this study is to conduct a preliminary study on user interaction with 360 0 IVR and non-immersive virtual reality (N-IVR) for a virtual event marketing. The research is attempt to compare the user presence and immersion with different virtual reality interactivity in the context of event campaign and marketing. The 360 0 IVR and non - IVR video content on real estate housing event were developed and was used as the promotional content for Company A, a local event company to market their services to potential client. A focus group session consists of 10 potential clients participated in the experimental work using 360 0 IVR and non-IVR interaction (N-IVR). The immersive and non-immersive interaction were measured using Presence measurement questionnaire and Positive and Negative Affect (PANAS) questionnaire. A descriptive analysis was conducted and experience with 360 0 immersive virtual content gives positive results and better experience about an event compare to the non-immersive virtual reality. The implication of this research and its future work are discussed.
Torsades de pointes: Should ECG be taken from all patients before surgery? A case report

Torsades de pointes is a rare but potentially lethal arrhythmia which mainly occurs in the setting of a prolonged QT interval. ECG is a reliable tool to detect such abnormalities, routinely taken from all patients over 40 who undergo surgery. We describe the case of a 35-year-old woman with torsades de points arrhythmia after hysterectomy surgery. Most likely, our patients had long QT syndrome which has not already been detected. Surgery can elicit both acquired and unknown congenital long QT syndrome. Preoperative ECG is recommended even for people under 40 years to detect unknown congenital long QT syndrome.
Test–retest reliability of the OptoGait system for the analysis of spatiotemporal running gait parameters and lower body stiffness in healthy adults

Despite the widespread use of the OptoGait photoelectric cell system for the analysis of running spatiotemporal parameters, its reliability has not been proved. Consequently, this study intends to determine the test–retest reliability of the system when applied to treadmill running spatiotemporal parameters and lower body stiffness at a constant velocity. Amateur endurance runners (n = 31; age: 34.42 ± 9.26 years; height: 171.54 ± 9.15 cm; body mass: 66.63 ± 11.3 kg) voluntarily consented to participate in this study. Data for each participant were recorded twice per session across two testing sessions. The intra-session and inter-session reliabilities of spatiotemporal parameters and lower body stiffness were determined through test–retest analysis. Although mean comparisons revealed significant differences between measurements in spatiotemporal running gait characteristics and lower body stiffness for intra-session (p < 0.05 in all parameters), the effect size was always small (<0.4). Moreover, the relationship between measurements was very large for spatiotemporal parameters and lower body stiffness (r > 0.7). The intraclass correlation coefficients revealed an almost perfect correlation between measurements (intraclass correlation coefficients >0.81), except Kleg with substantial reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.788). The inter-session reliability revealed some significant differences in contact time (p = 0.009) and Kleg (p = 0.013), although Cohen’s d indicated small effect size (<0.31). The relationship between sessions was very large for spatiotemporal parameters and lower body stiffness (r > 0.8), and the intraclass correlation coefficients revealed an almost perfect inter-session association (intraclass correlation coefficients >0.881). The results found here show that the OptoGait system can be used confidently for running spatiotemporal parameters analysis and lower body stiffness at a constant velocity for healthy adults.
Ultra-wideband Sensor Antenna Design for 5G/UWB Based Real Time Location Systems

This paper presents a compact wideband (WB) sensor antenna design for Fifth generation mobile communication network (5G) or UWB based real time locations systems (RTLS). The proposed design is inspired from sleeve dipole structure. This sensor antenna consists of wideband antipodal sleeve (WAS) dipole and sleeve monopole, connect with same feedline. The advantage of antipodal configuration lies in its capability of feeding without any matching balun. So, the proposed antenna is printed on both sides of F4BM350 substrate for ease of feeding. The upper wing of WAS antenna is connected to the inner core of the SMA connector and the back of the antenna is connected to the outer conductor of the SMA connector. This antenna covers a bandwidth ranging from 5.64 - 7.25 GHz with Omni-directional radiation characteristics. A prototype of antenna was fabricated for measurement. The measured results are consistent with the simulated results. Moreover, this antenna can be used as a sensor antenna design for 5G or UWB based real-time location systems, and further can offer applications such as smart parking, localization and positioning.
Strategies to prevent hypertrophic scar formation: a review of therapeutic interventions based on molecular evidence

Abstract Once scar tissues mature, it is impossible for the surrounding tissue to regenerate normal dermal tissue. Therefore, it is essential to understand the fundamental mechanisms and establish effective strategies to inhibit aberrant scar formation. Hypertrophic scar formation is considered a result of the imbalance between extracellular matrix synthesis and degradation during wound healing. However, the underlying mechanisms of hypertrophic scar development are poorly understood. The purpose of this review was to outline the management in the early stage after wound healing to prevent hypertrophic scar formation, focusing on strategies excluding therapeutic agents of internal use. Treatment aimed at molecular targets, including cytokines, will be future options to prevent and treat hypertrophic scars. More basic studies and clinical trials, including combination therapy, are required to investigate the mechanisms and prevent hypertrophic scar formation.
Durability and microstructural studies on fly ash blended self-compacting geopolymer concrete

Abstract Effect of Fly ash blending on self-compacting geopolymer concrete (SCGC) in terms of durability and microstructure is discussed here. 10% Class C fly ash was incorporated into Class F fly ash in self-compacting geopolymer, to alter the conventional methods of heat curing and aiming for commercialisation in concrete production. Geopolymer (GP) synthesis of low calcium fly ash was prepared using combination of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate, to achieve M30 grade concrete. Tests such as acid resistance, sulphate resistance, water absorption, sorption test, chloride penetration and accelerated corrosion were performed on account of durability, and interstitial characteristics were diagnosed using SEM analysis. Results prove that the inclusion of Class C fly ash did not show any detrimental effects in SCGC, and are viable for use in hazardous environmental conditions.
A novel dual band patch design for electrical steerable reflectarray antennas

ABSTRACT Reflectarray antennas do not necessarily exhibit a better antenna efficiency compared to ordinary reflector antennas. However, flat structure, multiband design capability, and specially, possibility of electrical beam scanning of this type of antenna are attractive to the antenna designers and researchers. By using elements with electrically tunable reflection phases, it is possible to design an electrically steerable beam reflectarray. In this paper, a novel dual band element is presented for which the reflection phase within each band can be controlled independently. Therefore, the reflectarray arranged by this element can perform the functions of two electrically steerable antennas simultaneously. An aperture coupled element and a miniaturized diplexer are used in the proposed structure. The reflection phase of the designed element can be controlled by changing the lengths of the output lines of the diplexer. It is possible to electrically change this line length using MEM switches. As a result, a dual band reflectarray with independent electrical beam scanning capabilities in each of its frequency bands is obtained.