Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fear-avoidance Beliefs, Physical Activity, and Disability in Elderly Individuals With Chronic Low Back Pain and Healthy Controls

ObjectiveResearch studies focussing on the fear-avoidance beliefs model (FABM) have expanded considerably during the last years, however, there has been very little research directed at the elderly. The objective of the present study was to investigate the validity of the FABM in older patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). MethodIn a cross-sectional study, a group of elderly patients with CLBP (N=103) was compared with an age-matched group of pain-free individuals (N=59) to test the constructs inherent in the FABM. Constructs include fear avoidance beliefs (FABs), disability, disuse, and physical activity. In addition, the relationship of these constructs was also investigated in the patient group. CLBP-patients had an average age of 71.41 years (SD=5.2) and pain-free individuals of 71.19 years (SD=4.73). Individuals participated in a photographed series of physical activities adapted to the age group (Photograph Series of Daily Activities-German version for the elderly) for the assessment of FAB, in the Hannover Disability Questionnaire, in the Freiburg Physical Activity Questionnaire, and in an ultrasound measurement to evaluate lumbar flexion. In addition, they completed an activity diary for 1 week. Before computation, the physical activity measurements were converted into metabolic units that characterize energy expenditure. ResultsIn the patient group, FAB, pain intensity, and age predicted functional capacity, but not physical activity. Lumbar flexion was predicted by FAB and age. Patients were more fear-avoidant, reported more disability, and displayed less lumbar flexion than the pain-free individuals. No differences between the groups could be detected in regard to energy expenditure measured either by the questionnaire or by diary data. ConclusionsThe findings are consistent with results reported in the literature for younger age groups and confirm the assumption that the FABM is also valid for the elderly.
Predictive and evolutive cross-referencing for web textual sources

One of the main challenges in the domain of competitive intelligence is to harness important volumes of information from the web, and extract the most valuable pieces of information. As the amount of information available on the web grows rapidly and is very heterogeneous, this process becomes overwhelming for experts. To leverage this challenge, this paper presents a vision for a novel process that performs cross-referencing at web scale. This process uses a focused crawler and a semantic-based classifier to cross-reference textual items without expert intervention, based on Big Data and Semantic Web technologies. The system is described thoroughly, and interests of this work in progress are discussed.
Observations on the carrier state and related antibody titres during an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease

Summary An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in a partially immune population of cattle in Botswana is described. The results show that when cattle immunized by vaccination were presented with natural field challenge of FMD, many animals with immunity sufficient to protect them against clinical disease were, however, susceptible to pharyngeal infection and subsequently became virus carriers. The proportion of animals becoming carriers appeared to vary with the degree of severity of the challenge. Vaccination before exposure to virus appeared to have little effect on the duration of the carrier state. No evidence was obtained of the spread of carrier virus to immune herds following the outbreak. Antibody titres during the outbreak were higher in the clinically infected animals than in the carrier animals and the uninfected animals. Evidence suggested that natural challenge boosted the titres of immune animals. After the outbreak, however, it was not possible to distinguish by their antibody titres between the carrier animal and the virus-negative animal. Antigenic studies on the strains of virus isolated are described.
Droplet-shape wave produced by line macroscopic current pulse of finite length

A physically tenable generic model of launching localized droplet-shape waves is proposed. All eventual concretizations of this model are based on a line pulsed source whose front propagates faster than its wave along a finite segment. For such class of models, the general spacetime structure of the emanated pulsed wave is found and investigated using the Riemann-Volterra technique enhanced by the method of spacetime triangle diagrams.
Enlarged and Colored Enhanced 3D Printing of Renal Artery Aneurysms for Improved Imaging and Treatment Planning

Three dimensional printing (3D printing) technology is increasingly used to improve results in many areas of medicine. Physical models produced by this technology allow better appreciation of complex anatomical and pathologic conditions. In cardiovascular medicine and surgery, 3D modeling has been reported to be of help in treatment planning of abdominal aortic aneurysm, especially in cases of complex angulations and branching at the aneurysm neck. Here we report the use of 3D printing in cases of renal aneurysms. Enhanced 3D models of CTA images of renal aneurysms were prepared in house using common and freely available software programs, and an accurate desktop 3D printer. Eight reconstructed models were enlarged by a factor of 2 or more and then differentially painted to delineate normal arteries and aneurysmatic ones. These enhanced 3D solid models allowed visual and tactile inspection for a better appreciation of complex aneurysms. Color enhancement of these models added another dimension of comprehension, even for experienced surgeons and invasive radiologists, and allowed more accurate measurements of branch numbers, distances, and angles in space even with severe tortuosity. Endovascular use of covered stents and embolization techniques could be easily envisioned preoperatively. We conclude that enhanced, enlarged, and colored 3D printed models are a powerful tool for preoperative endovascular treatment planning of complex renal artery aneurysms.
Recent topics related to nephrogenic systemic fibrosis associated with gadolinium‐based contrast agents

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis is a progressive, potentially fatal, multiorgan‐system fibrosing disease related to exposure of patients with renal failure to gadolinium‐based contrast agents used in magnetic resonance imaging. Between 1997 and 2007, more than 500 cases of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in patients with severe renal insufficiency (glomerular filtration rate less than 30 mL/min/1.73 m2) were reported, and no known cases of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis have occurred in patients with a glomerular filtration rate of more than 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 without acute kidney injury. Additional major risk factors are use of high‐dose and specific gadolinium‐based contrast agents, a pro‐inflammatory state. Although the mechanism of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis is unclear and there is no consistently‐effective therapy, nephrogenic systemic fibrosis is an entity that can be eliminated by observing recent recommended guidelines for gadolinium‐based contrast agents and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. This article reviews current knowledge about nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and focuses mainly on how to prevent it.
PSO-Greedy Search Algorithm for Helicopter Mission Assignment in Disaster Relief Operations

In the immediate aftermath of a large-scale disaster, optimal helicopter rescue mission assignment is critical to saving many lives. The current practice in the field is mostly humancentered, however. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has been developing a decisionsupport system for aircraft operation in order to promptly plan and execute rescue missions. The current research focuses on evacuation missions in particular and investigates the potential of particle swarm optimization (PSO) with integrated greedy search in aircraft resource management. We propose a robust particle model which can reflect various helicopter properties as well as evacuation mission characteristics. PSO parameters are modified and set based on numerical simulations and the values determined in this way are used in an optimization of disaster relief mission assignments based on real data obtained during the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011. We initialize the swarm with a greedy search algorithm to increase the calculation speed and improve the quality of the results. It is shown that a hybrid PSO/ greedy search algorithm can be successfully adapted to disaster relief support systems and provide valuable analysis and decision-making information to the authorities in charge.
On a First Evaluation of ROMOT - A RObotic 3D MOvie Theatre - For Driving Safety Awareness

In this paper, we introduce ROMOT, a RObotic 3D-MOvie Theatre, and present a case study related to driving safety. ROMOT is built with a robotic motion platform, includes multimodal devices, and supports audience-film interaction. We show the versatility of the system by means of different types of system setups and generated content that includes a first-person movie and others involving the technologies of virtual, augmented, and mixed realities. Finally, we present the results of some preliminary user tests made at the laboratory level, including the system usability scale. They give satisfactory scores for the usability of the system and the individual’s satisfaction.
Modulatory role for the serotonergic cerebral giant cells in the feeding system of the snail, Lymnaea. I. Fine wire recording in the intact animal and pharmacology.

1. The role of the paired serotonergic cerebral giant cells (CGCs) in the feeding system of Lymnaea was examined by electrophysiological and pharmacological techniques. 2. The firing characteristics of the CGCs were recorded by fine wires attached to their cell bodies in freely moving intact snails (in vivo recording) and their "physiological" rates of firing determined during feeding and other behaviors. 3. The mean CGC firing rates recorded in vivo varied between 1 and 20 spikes/min but never reached the average rates seen in the isolated CNS (60-120 spikes/min). Maximum rates of firing were seen during bouts of radula biting/rasping movements characteristic of the consummatory phase of feeding (15 +/- 1.69 spikes/min, mean +/- SE, range 7-20 spikes/min), with lower rates seen during locomotion (6.7 +/- 0.75 spikes/min; range 5-9 spikes/min. The cells were rarely active when the animal was quiescent (1.45 +/- 0.91 spikes/min; range 0-2 spikes/min). 4. In vivo recorded CGC firing was phase locked to the feeding movements of the animal, with spikes occurring just before the opening of the mouth, during the protraction phase of the feeding cycle. 5. Evoking firing rates on the CGCs in the isolated preparation similar to those seen in vivo during rasping movements (7-20 spikes/min) did not elicit a fictive feeding pattern in an inactive preparation. Neither did bath application of 10(-9) M serotonin (5-HT; the transmitter of the CGCs). 6. To allow the modulatory role of the CGCs to be examined during patterned activity, the fictive feeding pattern was evoked in the isolated preparation by injecting depolarizing current into a modulatory neuron, the slow oscillator (SO). 7. The tonic firing activity of the CGCs was accurately maintained by current injection in the isolated preparation at rates equivalent to that occurring during feeding, locomotion, and quiescence in the intact snail. This was possible where the CGCs became silent after 1-2 h. Only when the CGCs activity was maintained at a rate (approximately 15 spikes/min) similar to that occurring during rasping, was the SO able to drive a full, high-frequency fictive feeding pattern (15-20 cycles/min). At lower rates of CGC firing, the SO-driven rhythm was either of lower frequency or no rhythm occurred at all (CGCs silent). 8. In many isolated preparations (80%) the CGCs remained active, and it was difficult to maintain specific levels of tonic activity by current injection. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Hawkes Process Inference with Missing Data : Supplementary Material

Supplemental material: state-space formulation, likelihoodweighting sampler, pseudo-code for samplers, derivations of likelihood and acceptance ratios, sample generation speed for experimental results, full synthetic results, derivation of M-step for MCEM, and details of the network cluster analysis. Background Equation 3 (main paper) can be derived as p(x) = exp −∑ l ∫ T
Bickerstaff’s brainstem encephalitis related to Campylobacter jejuni gastroenteritis

Campylobacter species are microaerophilic spiral-shaped Gram-negative bacilli which cause diarrhoeal and systemic illness in humans and animals. They are the most commonly identified cause of bacterial intestinal disease in the UK and elsewhere in the developed world. The bacterial cell wall of the organism contains an endotoxin which, when released, can result in acute enteritis and complications such as reactive arthritis, erythema nodosum, peripheral neuropathy, haemolytic uraemic syndrome and Bickerstaff’s brain stem encephalitis (BBE). Here we report a case of BBE following a gastrointestinal infection with Campylobacter jejuni . The patient presented with acute onset of confusion and ophthalmoplegia. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed lymphocytic pleocytosis and raised protein. This acute presentation was preceded by an episode of Campylobacter -related diarrhoea as confirmed by high titres of Campylobacter -specific IgM antibodies. Over 50 000 laboratory confirmed cases of Campylobacter intestinal disease are reported annually in England and Wales.1 Campylobacter jejuni is the most common species of the genus Campylobacter identified in clinical samples.1 Transmission occurs throughout the year but rises in late spring and early summer, and requires only small inoculums.2 Clinical features of C jejuni infection range from an absence of symptoms to fulminant sepsis and death. In rare cases a potentially life threatening form of post-infectious encephalitis affecting the brainstem can arise.3 Initial colonisation occurs in the jejenum and ileum, which spreads distally to involve the colon and rectum. After a prodromal illness, the patient may develop abdominal pain and bloodstained diarrhoea. Other common complications include septic polyarthritis and peripheral polyneuropathy. In 1957 Bickerstaff described eight patients with brainstem encephalitis …
Is There a Correlation Between Tensile Strength and Retrievability of Cemented Implant-Retained Crowns Using Artificial Aging?

PURPOSE The main goal of this in-vitro study was to evaluate whether tensile strength and retrievability of cemented implant-retained crowns correlate when using artificial aging. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 128 crowns were fabricated from a cobalt-chromium alloy for 128 tapered titanium abutments (6 degrees taper, 4.3 mm diameter, 4 mm length, Camlog). The crowns were cemented with glass-ionomer (Ketac Cem, 3M) or resin cements (Multilink Implant, Telio CS Cem [Ivoclar Vivadent], Retrieve [Parkell]). Multilink Implant was used without priming. The experimental groups were subjected to either 37,500 thermal cycles between 5°C and 55°C, 1,200,000 chewing cycles, or a combination of both. Control groups were stored for 10 days in deionized water. The crowns were removed with a universal testing machine or a clinically used removal device (Coronaflex, KaVo). Data were statistically analyzed using nonparametrical tests. RESULTS Retention values were recorded between 31 N and 362 N. Telio CS Cem showed the lowest retention values, followed by Retrieve, Ketac Cem, and Multilink Implant (P≤.0001). The number of removal attempts with the Coronaflex were not significantly different between the cements (P>.05). Thermal cycling and chewing simulation significantly influenced the retrieval of Retrieve Telio CS Cem, and Ketac Cem specimens (P≤.05). Only for Multilink Implant and Telio CS Cem correlations between removal with the universal testing machine and the Coronaflex could be revealed (P≤.0001). CONCLUSIONS Ketac Cem and Multilink Implant (without silane) can be used for a semipermanent cementation. Retrieve and Telio CS Cem are recommendable for a temporary cementation.
The three Es of cancer immunoediting.

After a century of controversy, the notion that the immune system regulates cancer development is experiencing a new resurgence. An overwhelming amount of data from animal models--together with compelling data from human patients--indicate that a functional cancer immunosurveillance process indeed exists that acts as an extrinsic tumor suppressor. However, it has also become clear that the immune system can facilitate tumor progression, at least in part, by sculpting the immunogenic phenotype of tumors as they develop. The recognition that immunity plays a dual role in the complex interactions between tumors and the host prompted a refinement of the cancer immunosurveillance hypothesis into one termed "cancer immunoediting. " In this review, we summarize the history of the cancer immunosurveillance controversy and discuss its resolution and evolution into the three Es of cancer immunoediting--elimination, equilibrium, and escape.
In Utero Diagnosis and Management of a Fetus With Homozygous &agr;-Thalassemia in the Second Trimester: A Case Report and Literature Review

Alpha thalassemia with the absence of 4 &agr;-globin genes leads to fetal hydrops and fetal death from anemia. Historically considered a lethal condition, optimal in utero management of homozygous &agr;-thalassemia is unclear. A fetus of Filipino descent at 26 weeks gestation presented with ultrasound evidence of anemia. Cordocentesis confirmed anemia and homozygous &agr;-thalassemia (--SEA/--SEA). Intrauterine transfusion corrected anemia but fetal growth restriction and oligohydramnios persisted. Intrauterine exchange transfusion improved hemoglobin parameters, fetal growth, and oligohydramnios. The late preterm infant was delivered with classic limb reduction defects. Hemoglobin Bart's is nonfunctional for oxygen transport, and intrauterine exchange transfusion may be effective first-line therapy and further investigation is warranted.
Tumor microenvironment tenascin-C promotes glioblastoma invasion and negatively regulates tumor proliferation.

BACKGROUND Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most frequent and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Recent research on cancer stroma indicates that the brain microenvironment plays a substantial role in tumor malignancy and treatment responses to current antitumor therapy. In this work, we have investigated the effect of alterations in brain tumor extracellular matrix tenascin-C (TNC) on brain tumor growth patterns including proliferation and invasion. METHODS Since intracranial xenografts from patient-derived GBM neurospheres form highly invasive tumors that recapitulate the invasive features demonstrated in human patients diagnosed with GBM, we studied TNC gain-of-function and loss-of function in these GBM neurospheres in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS TNC loss-of-function promoted GBM neurosphere cell adhesion and actin cytoskeleton organization. Yet, TNC loss-of-function or exogenous TNC had no effect on GBM neurosphere cell growth in vitro. In animal models, decreased TNC in the tumor microenvironment was accompanied by decreased tumor invasion and increased tumor proliferation, suggesting that TNC regulates the "go-or-grow" phenotypic switch of glioma in vivo. We demonstrated that decreased TNC in the tumor microenvironment modulated behaviors of stromal cells including endothelial cells and microglia, resulting in enlarged tumor blood vessels and activated microglia in tumors. We further demonstrated that tumor cells with decreased TNC expression are sensitive to anti-proliferative treatment in vitro. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that detailed understanding of how TNC in the tumor microenvironment influences tumor behavior and the interactions between tumor cells and surrounding nontumor cells will benefit novel combinatory antitumor strategies to treat malignant brain tumors.
Aggressivity, Violence, Sociability and Conflict Resolution: What Genes Can Tell Us

Conflicts are inherent to the human condition, as they are for all living beings. Disputes about resources or access to mating partners are among the most common causes of conflict. Conflict is herein defined as a struggle or contest between individuals or parties, and may involve a variety of aggressive behaviours. In humans, aggressiveness, violence and conflicts, including individual predisposal to conflict resolution, have traditionally been said to have deep cultural roots, but recent research in both neuroscience and genetics has shown the influence of genes on such complex behavioural traits. In this paper, recent data on the genetic aspects of these interrelated behaviours will be put together, including the effects of particular genes, the influence of stress and gender on gene regulation, and gene–environment interactions, all of which may influence biological predisposal to conflict resolution. Other genetically influenced behavioural aspects involved in conflicts and conflict resolution, such as sociability, will also be discussed. The importance of taking into account genetic and biological data to provide strategies for conflict resolution will be highlighted.
Organizing and accessing the literature.

I SHALL CONSIDER selected aspects of the future of organizing and accessing the biomedical literature from the particular perspective of a clinical "end-user. " There are many other important perspectives, including those of database creators, librarians, editors, authors, and basic and applied medical researchers. These groups, however, are arguably all better served by existing literature systems and resources than are clinicians or clinicians-intraining, and it is through addressing the information problems of clinicians that the largest gains will be made in the overall effectiveness of the biomedical literature. Furthermore, improvements in organization of the medical literature that improve access by clinicians will certainly enhance the usefulness of the medical literature to other users. I shall review selected direct and indirect evidence concerning the information problems of practitioners and the role of the biomedical literature in addressing them, then propose improvements in organizing and accessing the literature that might improve the impact of the literature on the quality of medical care.