Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experience with endoscopic third ventriculostomy in the management of hydrocephalus secondary to posterior fossa tumor

Objective: To analyze the outcome of endoscopic 3rd ventriculotomy in the management of hydrocephalussecondary to posterior fossa tumor. Methodology: Sixty five cases of hydrocephalus secondary to posterior fossa tumor underwent endoscopic3rd ventriculostomy in the Department of Neurosurgery, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar Pakistan fromJanuary, 2011 to June, 2012 (18 months). This was an observational study and the sampling was by simplerandom method. Results: The study included 65 patients, 37 males, 28 females; M/F ratio, 1.32; with the age range 1-45 years. Fifty one percent (33 cases) of posterior fossa tumors occurred in children less than five years, 23% (15cases) in the 6-10 year age group, 16% (11 cases) occurred in 11-14 years and 10% (06 cases) in agegroup >14 yrs. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy was performed in 54 (83.07%) patients with successfuloutcome. Ventriculoperitoneal shunt was required in 5 (7.69%) patients for the suspicion of inadequateventriculostomy. Ventricular drainage device (EVD) was inserted in 2 (3.07%) cases for hemorrhagic CSF.In 4 (6.15%) patients no drainage procedure was done (4th ventricle floor not involved / Aqueduct openingvisible). Conclusions: Preoperative endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) control the intracranial pressure (ICP),avoid the necessity of an emergency procedure, allow appropriate scheduling of the operation for tumorremoval, and eliminate the risks related to the presence of an external drainage. The most common agegroup involved was under 5 years. The success rate of ETV was 83% and Medulloblastoma was the mostcommon Histopathological findings.
Um olhar sobre diferentes perspectivas do design especulativo na produção especializada

The Speculative Design is a concept present in design studies, but it shows frailties, either because of the lack of agreement among the authors about the use of a specific term that describes such concept or by an apparent elitism that permeates such practices, isolating the discussion from other fields of practice. In order to strengthen and contribute to the theoretical structuring of the field, this article seeks to identify what has already been published about speculative design. Through the technique of systematic review, we intend to analyze the articles indexed in the portal of Periódicos Capes (Periodical Capes) that carry this and other terms related to that practice. It is then sought (i) to understand how authors who cite speculative design in their works understand the term, (ii) what authors and references they use to justify this definition, and (iii) to analyze how the speculative design relates to what is being investigated in the works analyzed. The search considered articles published in the last 20 years, in English, containing the keywords “speculative design” and “Dunne” anywhere in the text. The system returned 34 peer-reviewed articles within these parameters. The first filtering consisted of reading the abstracts of these papers, resulting in the permanence of 22 articles. The second filter consisted of the complete reading of the papers in order to evaluate the pertinence of the writings to the established objectives resulting in 17 articles chosen for the final analysis. From this analysis, it was possible to identify that the speculative design is seen as a practice that potentiates the debate and expands the problem-space through the development of artifacts. In addition, the cooperation between designers and scientists allows that the discoveries that are made in the academic-scientific scope can be brought to the public sphere from the critical and speculative movements. The lack of definition of terms seen in the field itself is reflected in the analyzed articles, especially when one considers that the subject is discussed by fields ranging from architecture and urbanism, through sociology and even reaching the medical areas.
Hybrid membrane processes in removal of iron from aqueous media

Separation performance of micellar and polymer enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF and PEUF) and polymer enhanced dialysis (PED) processes in Fe(II) and Fe(III) removal have been evaluated. The sulfonated and aminated derivatives of poly(phenylene oxide) have been tested as a material for membrane preparation while sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), polyethyleneimine (PEI), and poly(acrylic acid) served as surfactant and complexion polymers, respectively. It has been shown that hybrid membrane processes: MEUF, PEUF and PED can be valuable alternative for the removal of iron cations from aqueous media.
Suppression of RNA Interference by Virus-Associated RNA of Adenovirus Serotypes Ad4, Ad5, Ad11 and Ad12

RNA Interference (RNAi) is the process of gene silencing that is induced by double-stranded RNA, in a homology-dependent manner. Human adenovirus 5 (Ad5) produces highly-structured virus-associated (VA) RNAs that resemble precursors to microRNA, which are cleaved by Dicer into virus-associated RNA-derived small RNAs (mivaRNAs) during a lytic infection. These mivaRNAs are then functionally incorporated into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), thereby inhibiting RNAi. Related studies to date have only focused on human Ad5. There are 56 serotypes of human adenoviruses. To investigate whether they share the same RNAi suppression mechanism with Ad5, we selected adenovirus type 4, 11 and 12 (belonging to subgroup E, B and A respectively) to infect 293-Ago2 cells. mivaRNAs in immunopurified RISC from cytoplasmic extracts at 24 hours post-infection were analyzed by Northern blotting. The results showed that also Ad4, Ad11 and Ad12 produce VA RNA-derived mivaRNAs, which are efficiently incorporated into RISC complexes. Thus, suppression of the RNAi pathway by mivaRNAs is probably a shared gene regulatory mechanism among different adenovirus serotypes. Here we also quantified Ad5 VA RNAI in human 293 cells and verified that during late infection, the synthesis the VA RNAI rapidly accumulate to very high level, around 2.6-4.0× 10 Ad5 VA RNAI
Using Bus Travel Time Data to Estimate Travel Times on Urban Corridors

Obtaining near real-time information of travel times is a critical element of most applications of intelligent transportation systems. The use of transit vehicles as probe vehicles for collecting travel time data for automobiles on urban corridors was examined. Because transit vehicles are increasingly equipped with an automated vehicle locator (AVL) for reporting the current location of the vehicle, it may be possible to use the AVL data for travel time purposes. In anticipation of such an application of AVL, the relationship between travel times of a transit vehicle and of an automobile is examined for stability of data and adjustment needs. Travel times of transit vehicles and automobiles were measured simultaneously along the same sections on major corridors in Delaware. The difference in travel times was relatively stable, and, hence, appropriate formulas for predicting the travel time of automobiles were developed. The model coefficients were found to be reasonable and stable for various traffic conditions. The study suggests that the AVL-equipped transit vehicle can be used as a probe vehicle to collect travel time data at regular intervals with minimum cost.
Multidimensional Computerized Adaptive Testing in a Certification or Licensure Context

Multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) com puterized adaptive testing, building on recent work by Segall (1996), is applied in a licensing/certification context. An example of a medical licensure test is used to demonstrate situations in which complex, integrated content must be balanced at the total test level for va lidity reasons, but items assigned to reportable subscore categories may be used under a MIRT adaptive paradigm to improve the reliability of the subscores. A heuristic optimization framework is outlined that gen eralizes to both univariate and multivariate statistical objective functions, with additional systems of con straints included to manage the content balancing or other test specifications on adaptively constructed test forms. Simulation results suggested that a multivariate treatment of the problem, although complicating some what the objective function used and the estimation of traits, nonetheless produces advantages from a psycho metric perspective.
Factors Influencing the Adoption of the World Wide Web for Job-Seeking in South Africa

In the past decade, the use of the World Wide Web (WWW) as a tool for job-seeking and recruitment has increased globally, changing the dynamics for job-seekers and recruitment organisations. The purpose of this study was to gain greater insight into the factors that influence the adoption of the Internet (WWW) for job-seeking within a South African context. The impact of the Internet (WWW) and newspaper-reading habits on the adoption process was of specific interest. Data was gathered by survey through telephonic interviews with 228 job seekers applying for information technology (IT) work in Cape Town, South Africa. The findings show that the income of a job-seeker influences the favourability of internet facilitating conditions they encounter. Facilitating conditions in turn influence Internet (WWW) usage habits. Such habits influence performance expectancy, effort expectancy and intentions to use the Internet (WWW) for job-seeking. The actual extent of Internet (WWW) usage for job-seeking is positively influenced by these usage intentions and negatively influenced by newspaper-reading habits. These and other findings are discussed and implications drawn.
Effectiveness and efficiency of the CMA-ES algorithm

This research paper discusses the Evolutionary Computing algorithm CMA-ES. It is investigated how the CMA-ES algorithm performs relative to a Bayesian Optimizer. Two measures are used to assess the performance: the speed of convergence and the number of function evaluations. The optimizers are used to optimize the controller of robots. The characteristics of such controller functions are typically rugged, noisy and ill-conditioned. Therefore, a test suite is made up that consists of nine functions who have the characteristics mentioned. From the testing results it can be concluded that in general the CMA-ES algorithm is more effective and the BO algorithm is more efficient for a few function evaluations. As more function evaluations are acceptable, CMA-ES outperform BO in terms of efficiency.
1 Dialectical GAN for SAR Image Translation : From 2 Sentinel-1 to TerraSAR-X 3

Contrary to optical images, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images are in different 11 electromagnetic spectrum where the human visual system is not accustomed to. Thus, with more 12 and more SAR applications, the demand for enhanced high-quality SAR images has increased 13 considerably. However, high-quality SAR images entail high costs due to the limitations of current 14 SAR devices and their image processing resources. To improve the quality of SAR images and to 15 reduce the costs of their generation, we propose a Dialectical Generative Adversarial Network 16 (Dialectical GAN) to generate high-quality SAR images. This method is based on the analysis of 17 hierarchical SAR information and the “dialectical” structure of GAN frameworks. As a 18 demonstration, a typical example will be shown where a low-resolution SAR image (e.g., a 19 Sentinel-1 image) with large ground coverage is translated into a high-resolution SAR image (e.g., a 20 TerraSAR-X image). Three traditional algorithms are compared, and a new algorithm is proposed 21 based on a network framework by combining conditional WGAN-GP (Wasserstein Generative 22 Adversarial Network Gradient Penalty) loss functions and Spatial Gram matrices under the rule 23 of dialectics. Experimental results show that the SAR image translation works very well when we 24 compare the results of our proposed method with the selected traditional methods. 25
Synoptic measurements of ingestion rate, ingestion selectivity, and absorption efficiency of natural foods in the deposit-feeding molluscs Nucula annulata (Bivalvia) and Hydrobia totteni (Gastropoda)

Three of the most important aspects of deposit-feeding behaviour are ingestion rate, ingestion selectivity and absorption efficiency of ingested food. The purpose of the experimental results described here is to allow estimation of these traits for animals offered natural sediments. Experiments were performed to measure ingestion rate and selectivity of inorganic, organic and microbial fractions, and absorption efficiency of ingested microbes by Nucula annulata (Bivalvia) and Hydrobia totteni (Gastropoda) offered silt-clay sediments. N. annulata selectively ingested the organicand bacteria-rich sediment fraction, and absorbed bactena with 72 % efficiency. H. totteni ingested the sediment non-selectively, and absorbed sediment-associated bacteria and algae with approximately 40 % efficiency.
Backward Walking : A Possible Active Exercise for Low Back Pain Reduction and Enhanced Function in Athletes

Dufek JS, House AJ, Mangus BC, Melcher GG, Mercer JA. Backward Walking: A Possible Active Exercise for Low Back Pain Reduction and Enhanced Function in Athletes. JEPonline 2011;14(1):17-26. Specific pathologies that associate with low back pain (LBP) challenge athletic trainers and other healthcare professionals with techniques to treat stricken athletes. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a backward walking exercise program in alleviating LBP and enhancing function in athletes. A secondary purpose was to identify which aspects of backward walking performance may be beneficial to the alleviation of LBP. Subjects, who included NCAA Division I athletes experiencing LBP (n = 5) and healthy, active individuals not experiencing LBP (n = 5), performed a pre-test, 3-week intervention of backward walking, and post-test. Low back range of motion, stride parameters, shock attenuation and pain scores were measured and/or recorded during each test session. Group results for 2 (group) x 2 (time) ANOVAs identified significant (p < 0.05) differences between groups and time for all stride parameters. The LBP group exhibited significantly greater sagittal plane low back motion and lesser coronal plane motion versus the healthy group. Single subject analyses identified unique participant responses with most reducing shock attenuation (17.2 ± 5.9%), and increasing sagittal (3.9 ± 1.6 deg) and coronal (5.0 ± 4.2 deg) plane range of motion following the intervention while one participant elicted responses that were opposite. Results suggest that backward walking may reduce LBP and enhance function for athletes. Further investigation is warranted.
Surmounting innovation project failure

Innovations may have large commercial potential, but innovating is a very difficult activity. Innovation development is a process that requires financial resources and appropriate skills and knowledge. At the same time, innovation development is uncertain and affected by various internal and external obstacles. It is wrought with risk that cannot be avoided but rather managed (Keizer, Halman and Song, 2002). Taking all this together, it is not surprising that many innovation projects are either abandoned or delayed.
Human amniotic membrane intra-articular injection prevents cartilage damage in an osteoarthritis model

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that affects the soft tissues and bones of involved articulations as a result of deregulation between synthesis and extracellular matrix degradation in articular cartilage. The present study evaluated the effect of intra-articular injection of human amniotic membrane (AM) as a treatment in an OA animal model in the knee. Chemical OA was developed in the knees of New Zealand rabbits. Once OA was established, the right knees only were treated with an intra-articular injection of human AM, with the left knees considered as a negative control group. The evaluation was performed at 3 and 6 weeks post-treatment. At 3 weeks post-injection, the cartilage exhibited fibrillation, erosion, cracks and cell clusters in the negative control group, but not in the treated group (P=0.028). At 6 weeks post-injection, the left knees exhibited hypertrophy, cracks, cell clusters, decreased matrix staining and structure loss. However, the right knees exhibited cell clusters without evidence of disruption in cartilage integrity (P=0.015). These results suggested that the intra-articular injection of human AM delays histological changes of cartilage in OA.
Essential Oils and Their Characteristics

Essential oils are the main raw material for the aroma and fragrance, food and pharmaceutical industries. They have important biological activities that have been disclosed often in recent years. However, as the industry seeks its practical application and the development of new natural drugs containing active compounds from essential oils, there is an urgent need to standardise the plant material source. For this to become achievable, it is necessary to know the different factors that affect the production of essential oils by plants, in terms of its quantity as well as its quality. It is known that plants produce essential oils as secondary metabolites in response to a physiological stress, pathogen attack and ecological factors. Also, in nature, the essential oils are recognised as defence compounds and attractors of pollinators, facilitating the reproduction of the vegetal species. The environmental variations, in turn, are also important in a plant’s ability to produce these compounds. Considering all of these factors, the main problems related to the cultivation of aromatic plants are due to variations that occur in quantitative and qualitative changes in the essential oils production. The main factors involved in the biosynthesis of essential oils by medicinal and aromatic plants are discussed in this chapter. In order to optimise its commercial exploitation, the different factors involved in the production of essential oils must be taken into account, since the induction into its substance synthesis could affect the specific compounds of interest and their economic applications, as well as affecting the standard amount of produced oil.
Production Technology Estimates and Balanced Growth

type="main" xml:id="obes12049-abs-0001"> Capital-labour substitution and total factor productivity (TFP) estimates are essential features of many economic models. Such models typically embody a balanced growth path. This often leads researchers to estimate models imposing stringent prior choices on technical change. We demonstrate that estimation of the substitution elasticity and TFP growth can be substantially biased if technical progress is thereby mis-specified. We obtain analytical and simulation results in the context of a model consistent with balanced and near-balanced growth (i.e. departures from balanced growth but broadly stable factor shares). Given this evidence, a constant elasticity of substitution production function system is then estimated for the US economy. Results show that the estimated substitution elasticity tends to be significantly lower using a factor-augmenting specification (well below one). We are also able to reject conventional neutrality forms in favour of general factor augmentation with a non-negligible capital-augmenting component. Our work thus provides insights into production and supply-side estimation in balanced-growth frameworks.
Amenable pairs of groups and ergodic actions and the associated von Neumann algebras

If X and Y are ergodic G-spaces, where G is a locally compact group, and X is an extension of Y, we study a notion of amenability for the pair (X, Y). This simultaneously generalizes and expands upon previous work of the author concerning the notion of amenability in ergodic theory based upon fixed point properties of affine cocycles, and the work of Eymard on the conditional fixed point property for groups. We study the relations between this concept of amenability, properties of the von Neumann algebras associated to the actions by the Murray-von Neumann construction, and the existence of relatively invariant measures and conditional invariant means.
Chapter 12 Nephrotic Syndrome 207 Congenital Nephrotic Syndrome

Nephrotic syndrome is a common type of kidney disease seen in children. Historically, Roelans is credited with the fi rst clinical description of nephrotic syndrome in the late fi fteenth century, whereas Zuinger later provided a detailed description of the clinical course of the disease and its importance as a cause of chronic renal failure in the presteroid era. Nephrotic syndrome is characterized by massive proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and edema, although additional clinical features such as hyperlipidemia are also usually present. In the fi rst few years of life, children with this condition often show periorbital swelling with or without generalized edema. The disease is due to development of structural and functional defects in the glomerular fi ltration barrier, resulting in its inability to restrict urinary loss of protein. Physiologically, the liver tries to compensate for the excessive loss with increased protein and lipoprotein synthesis. Nephrotic syndrome develops when the loss of protein in urine exceeds the rate of albumin synthesis in the liver, resulting in hypoalbuminemia and edema. Nephrotic syndrome may be caused by a variety of glomerular and systemic diseases, but by far the most common type in childhood is idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Before the introduction of antibiotics, corticosteroids, and other immunosuppressive therapies, nephrotic syndrome was associated with mortality as high as 67%, usually following infections. The fi rst signifi cant improvement in mortality was seen in 1939 after the introduction of sulfonamides and then penicillin. The introduction of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisone in the 1950s contributed to an even greater decrease in mortality (to 9%), which was noted to occur in association with dramatic resolution of proteinuria.