Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DIURNAL VARIATION IN CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA MEASURED BY THE STRATUS OCT

Purpose: To investigate diurnal variation in clinically significant macular edema (CSME) using the Stratus OCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec). Methods: Fifteen eyes of 15 diabetic patients with CSME and 10 healthy subjects (controls) underwent four optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements of macular thickness with the fast macular thickness mapping protocol of the Stratus OCT at 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm, and 6 pm. Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study visual acuity and refraction data were also collected at each time. Retinal thickness measurements from each of the nine macular Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study areas of the retina map, visual acuity, and refraction were plotted over time. Results: Mean retinal thickness remained unchanged in all retinal sectors over the course of the day for the controls and the 6 diabetic patients with a baseline foveal thickness of <300 &mgr;m, and it significantly decreased in 7 of the 9 retinal sectors for the 9 diabetic patients with a baseline foveal thickness of ≥300 &mgr;m (ANOVA model for repeated measures). In these patients, the mean initial foveal thickening ± SD of 211 ± 104 &mgr;m was reduced by an average of 6.1%, 15.2%, and 21.2% at 12 pm, 3 pm, and 6 pm, respectively. Two of these nine patients also had an increase in visual acuity without change in refraction. There were no changes in refractive errors over the course of the study in the two groups. A positive correlation between initial central thickening and decrease in thickness was found (r = 0.732; P= 0.002). Conclusion: This study suggests that macular thickening, as measured by the Stratus OCT, may spontaneously decrease in some patients with more severe CSME over the course of the day, and it confirms previous findings. However, in our study, the entity of this decline was relatively small and not relevant from a clinical standpoint.
Ileal interposition with sleeve gastrectomy for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Aim: Combination of laparoscopic ileal interposition (II) with sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is an upcoming procedure, which offers good metabolic improvement and weight reduction without causing significant malabsorption. The objective of this study was to evaluate the results of this novel procedure for control of type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and related metabolic abnormalities. Materials and Methods: The II and SG was performed in 43 patients (M:F = 25:18) from February 2008. Participants had a mean age of 47.2 ± 8.2 years (range 29–66 years), mean duration of diabetes of 10.1 ± 9.2 years (range 1–32 years), and mean preoperative body mass index (BMI) of 33.2 ± 7.8 kg/m2. All patients had poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) [mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) 9.6 ± 2.1%] despite use of oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) and/or insulin. Thirty (70%) patients had hypertension, 20 (46%) had dyslipidemia, and 18 (42%) had significant microalbuminuria. The primary outcome was remission of diabetes (HbA1C < 6.5% without OHAs/insulin) and the secondary outcomes were reduction in antidiabetic agent requirement and components of metabolic syndrome. Results: Mean follow-up was for 20.2 ± 8.6 months (range 4–40 months). Postoperatively, glycemic parameters (fasting and post-lunch blood sugar, HbA1C improved in all patients (P < 0.05) at all intervals. Twenty (47%) patients had remission in diabetes and the remaining patients showed significantly decreased OHA requirement. All patients had weight loss between 15 and 30% (P < 0.05). Twenty-seven (90%) patients had remission in hypertension. At 3 years, the mean fall in HbA1C (34%) was more than reduction in BMI (25%). There was a declining trend in lipids and microalbuminuria postoperatively, though it was significant for microalbuminuria only. Conclusions: The laparoscopic II with SG seems to be a promising procedure for control of type 2 DM, hypertension, weight reduction, and associated metabolic abnormalities. A multicenter study with larger number of patients and a longer follow-up period is needed to substantiate our preliminary findings.
Evaluation of the Indirect Hemagglutination Technique for Study of Trichomonas vaginalis Infections, Particularly in Men

The indirect hemagglutination (IHA) technique was evaluated for use in the serologie study of infection with Trichomonas vaginalis. The IHA test showed that sera from 88% of women attending a venereal disease clinic had antibody to T. vaginalis. The antibody frequency and titers were highest in women who had documented infections due to T. vaginalis. Serologie and cultural evidence of recent or active trichomonal infection was found in 11% of 85 men who had nongonococcal urethritis, but was absent in a control group of 27 men. Clinical findings in ten men with symptomatic genitourinary trichomoniasis arc described; all but one had relatively high (5≥1:80) IHA antibody titers. Antibody to T. vaginalis was found significantly (P < 0.005) more often in sera from women than in sera from men in an apparently healthy group of individuals between the ages of 1 and 20 years. The IHA test appears potentially useful for the diagnosis of trichomoniasis in men and in the seroepidemiology of infections due to T. vaginalis.
Computer vision for active and assisted living

In this chapter, author is going to review how cameras are employed in AAL and what the current state of the art is related to applications and recognition techniques. Author will distinguish between traditional RGB cameras and depth sensors (or multimodal approaches, where both techniques are combined), whose recent great impact in the field deserves an individual overview. With the goal of introducing professionals of other AAL fields to computer vision in general and specifically to its application to assisted living, we will review the image processing pipeline, from different camera types that can be installed in care centres and people's homes to recent advances in image and video feature extraction and classification. For depth sensors, specific applications, feature estimation techniques and the most successful data representations are reviewed to detail how these differentiate from the traditional RGB approaches.
High-Energy Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy as a Treatment for Chronic Noninsertional Achilles Tendinopathy

Background High-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for chronic insertions Achilles tendinopathy. The results of high-energy shock wave therapy for chronic noninsertional Achilles tendinopathy have not been determined. Hypothesis Shock wave therapy is an effective treatment for noninsertional Achilles tendinopathy. Study Design Case control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods Thirty-four patients with chronic noninsertional Achilles tendinopathy were treated with a single dose of high-energy shock wave therapy (shock wave therapy group; 3000 shocks; 0.21 mJ/mm2; total energy flux density, 604 mJ/mm2). Thirty-four patients with chronic noninsertional Achilles tendinopathy were treated not with shock wave therapy but with additional forms of nonoperative therapy (control group). All shock wave therapy procedures were performed using regional anesthesia. Evaluation was by change in visual analog score and by Roles and Maudsley score. Results One month, 3 months, and 12 months after treatment, the mean visual analog scores for the control and shock wave therapy groups were 8.4 and 4.4 (P < .001), 6.5 and 2.9 (P < .001), and 5.6 and 2.2 (P < .001), respectively. At final follow-up, the number of excellent, good, fair, and poor results for the shock wave therapy and control groups were 12 and 0 (P < .001), 17 and 9 (P < .001), 5 and 17 (P < .001), and 0 and 8 (P < .001), respectively. A χ2 analysis revealed that the percentage of patients with excellent (“1”) or good (“2”) Roles and Maudsley scores, that is, successful results, 12 months after treatment was statistically greater in the shock wave therapy group than in the control group (P < .001). Conclusion Shock wave therapy is an effective treatment for chronic noninsertional Achilles tendinopathy.
General Partitioning on Random Graphs

Consider the general partitioning (GP) problem defined as follows: Partition the vertices of a graph into k parts W1,? ,Wk satisfying a polynomial time verifiable property. In particular, consider properties (introduced by T. Feder, P. Hell, S. Klein, and R. Motwani, in “Proceedings of the Annual ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC '99), 1999” and) specified by a pattern of requirements as to which Wi forms a sparse or dense subgraph and which pairs Wi, Wj form a sparse or dense or an arbitrary (no restriction) bipartite subgraph. The sparsity or density is specified by upper or lower bounds on the edge density d? 0,1, which is the fraction of actual edges present to the maximum number of edges allowed. This problem is NP-hard even for some fixed patterns and includes as special cases well-known NP-hard problems like k-coloring (each d(Wi)=0; each d(Wi,Wj) is arbitrary), bisection (k=2; |W1|=|W2|; d(W1,W2)? b), and also other problems like finding a clique/independent set of specified size. We show that GP is solvable in polynomial time almost surely over random instances with a planted partition of desired type, for several types of pattern requirement. The algorithm is based on the approach of growing BFS trees outlined by C. R. Subramanian (in “Proceedings of the 8th Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA '00), 2000,” pp. 415? 426).
High performance control of a PZT scanner for fast nanoscale positioning of atomic force microscope

This paper demonstrates the design and experimental implementation of an observer based model predictive control (OMPC) with a notch filter for the positioning of the piezoelectric tube (PZT) scanner of an atomic force microscope (AFM). This control scheme achieves active damping of the resonant mode of the PZT scanner and accurate tracking of a reference triangular signal. Kalman filter is used to obtain full-state information in the presence of position sensor noise. The experimental results confirm the efficacy of the proposed controller.
The influence of carbon fibres on the resorption time and mechanical properties of the lactide–glycolide co-polymer

In this study the influence of short carbon fibres (CF) on mechanical properties and degradation time of the lactide–glycolide co-polymer (PGLA) and on the mechanism of bone ingrowth into the implants was determined. Mechanical properties and push-out tests were measured. The pH of solutions and the implants' weights were tested after incubation in Ringer fluid. Analysis was based upon FT-IR and SEM with EDS studies. Pathological examinations were also performed. The in vitro examination revealed that carbon fibres accelerated polymer degradation process and increased the mechanical strength of polymer. In the case of PGLA + CF under in vivo conditions, initially, the superficial polymer degradation with new tissue in-growth was observed. Next, the degradation process included also the inner part of the implant, while the bone began to grow on exposed carbon fibres. In the case of pure PGLA the growth of soft tissue can be observed at the bone–implant interface and in the implant area. Our research indicates that PGLA + CF composite can be used in bone surgery as a short-term multifunctional load-bearing implant, which initially provides a mechanical support. During the time of controlled resorption of PGLA, carbon fibres act as a scaffold for the bone growth.
Status for trombolysebehandling – med nogle visioner for de kommende år

Trombolyse ved akut cerebral iskaemi har vaeret forsogt siden 1958. De forste kliniske forsog var ikke positive, og behandlingen blev derfor opgivet. Fra begyndelsen af 1980’erne, hvor trombolysebehandling af akut myokardieinfarkt viste gode resultater, blev behandlingsforsogene genoptaget. I 1996 blev behandling med intravenos rt-PA til patienter med akut cerebral iskaemi godkendt i USA. NINDS-undersogelsen (1) havde vist, at behandlingen var gavnlig, nar den blev givet indenfor 3 timer efter symptomdebut. I 2002 blev behandlingen godkendt i EU og dermed ogsa i Danmark. Den europaeiske forsinkelse skyldes, at de europaeiske forsog ECASS (2) og ECASS II (3) med 6 timers inklusionsvindue ikke havde givet positive resultater bedomt pa de primaere effektmal. Hvis analysen af resultaterne fra ECASS II blev aendret en smule, saledes at et godt resultat blev forstaet som en modificeret Rankin Scale (mRS) 0-2 i stedet for mRS 0-1 var forsoget imidlertid positivt, tydende pa at der kunne vaere en effekt ogsa efter 3 timer.
Digital Capabilities as Key to Digital Business Performance

We are currently dealing with the challenges of a digital economy, as well as a digital transformation. Furthermore, digital technologies are reshaping traditional business strategy and transforming the structure of social relationships for both consumers and enterprises. However, there is still no in-depth discussion regarding the skills and abilities that can help organizations face these new challenges in the emerging digital economy. Thus, the objective of our research is to propose a model with digital capabilities as the drivers of digital business performance, particularly in e-commerce and e-business. Our research makes several contributions by conceptualizing digital capabilities, providing some initial results from the qualitative part of the study and presenting a model that will be tested empirically in the near future. The practical value of this research rests on demonstrating the relation between digital capabilities and the digital business performance model.
Modeling of a Fuel Cell Stack by Neural Networks Based on Particle Swarm Optimization

This paper presented a nonlinear voltage modeling procedure of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack by neural networks based on particle swarm optimization (PSO). PEMFC stack is a complex nonlinear system which is hard to model by traditional ways. So neural networks based on particle swarm optimization (PSONN) was developed to identify a nonlinear PEMFC stack voltage model. In the paper, the PSO algorithm trained the connection weights and thresholds of neural networks, and a neural networks nonlinear autoregressive model with exogenous inputs was applied in modeling PEMFC stack voltage model. The simulation indicated that the PSONN model can efficiently approach the behavior of a PEMFC stack.
A Review of Soft Computing Techniques in Short-Term Load Forecasting

Load forecasting plays a significant role in power systems and smart buildings in efficient planning, distribution and management of power. Various exogenous and meteorological factors, gave made accurate load forecasting complex making it a challenging task. In recent years, the research on shortterm power load forecasting has become inevitable for the reliable and efficient functioning of power systems. This paper discusses different soft computing techniques such as neural network, fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms for the short term load forecasting.
Characterization of Swine Infertility and Respiratory Syndrome (SIRS) Virus (Isolate ATCC VR-2332)

The characterization of an isolate of swine infertility and respiratory syndrome (SIRS) virus (ATCC VR-2332) is reported. A commercial cell line (CL262 1) was used for the propagation of the virus for all assays. Laboratory studies indicate that this isolate is a fastidious, nonhemagglutinating, enveloped RNA virus. Cesium chloride-purified virions visualized by electron microscopy were spherical particles with an average diameter of 62 nm (range: 48–83 nm) and a 25–30 nm core surrounded by an envelope. Virus replication was restricted to the cytoplasm, as demonstrated by immunofluorescence. The virus did not react serologically with antisera to several common porcine viruses or with antisera to known viruses in the alphavirus, rubivirus, pestivirus, and ungrouped lactic dehydrogenase virus genera of the Togaviridae. However, convalescent sow sera and rabbit hyperimmune sera neutralized the SIRS virus at titers of 1:256 and 1:512, respectively. The virus was stable at 4 and −70 C, but was labile at 37 and 56 C. The properties of this isolate of SIRS virus resemble those of the family Togaviridae but do not match the described genera.
Theorizing Technostress in Organizations: A Cybernetic Approach

We report the outcome of a research project which has the goal to develop a theoretical framework that makes it possible to gain an advanced un- derstanding of employees' perceptions of technostress in organizations. We ar- gue that such a framework is urgently needed, because empiricism has far out- stripped theory-building in the field of technostress. In the course of analyzing theories of stress used in organizational research, we identified cybernetics as a potentially fruitful theoretical lens through which technostress in organizations can be studied. Specifically, we merged two major stress models based on cy- bernetics and integrated findings from previous technostress research into this unified framework. This new framework aims to advance the understanding of technostress in organizations.
The Imaging Features of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Immune Reconstitution Syndrome

Objective: The purpose was to characterize the spectrum of imaging findings of nontuberculous mycobacterial immune reconstitution syndrome in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. Methods: A retrospective review of 33 human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial immune reconstitution syndrome was performed. Radiography, ultrasound, and computed tomography (CT) imaging was reviewed. Results: Intrathoracic and intra-abdominal abnormalities were identified in 16 and 14 patients, respectively. Lymphadenopathy was detected on chest radiographs in 11 patients and on CT in 13. Focal consolidation (n = 8) and centrilobular nodularity (n = 8) were common CT findings. Lymphadenopathy was the predominant abdominal finding (n = 10). Splenomegaly (n = 9), ascites (n = 7), and multiple hypoattenuating splenic lesions (n = 6) were additional findings. Peripheral lymph node masses were detected in 7 patients. Conclusions: The most common manifestation of nontuberculous mycobacterial immune reconstitution syndrome is lymphadenopathy. Other common findings are pulmonary consolidation and centrilobular nodularity, ascites, splenomegaly, multiple hypoattenuating splenic lesions, and peripheral lymphadenopathy.
Improving Access to Hospice and Palliative Care for Patients near the End of Life: Present Status and Future Direction

The field of hospice and palliative care has grown tremendously in the United States during the past 20 years. The number of hospice progran:s has more than doubled, from 1,545 programs In 1985 to more than 3,200 today, and the number of patients served has increased nearly sixfold (from an estimated 158,000 in 1985 to more than 885,000 in 2002) (1). The number of health care providers receiving specialized trainmg ha~ also gro~n through training programs mcl,u~lng hos,p~ce rotations in medical schools, palliative medicine fellowships, and continuing professional ,development programs for health care professlon~ls. The number of academic, community, and faithbased hospitals offering palliative care ser~ices to their patients is also growing-17% of registered community hospitals have pa11iative care programs and at least 20% of US academic teach~ng hospitals have either a pa11iative care consultatIOn service or an inpatient unit (2). , Despite the impressive growth of the field, however, large numbers of patients receive far less than optimal end-of-life care. Nearly 50% of patients die in hospitals or other health care facilities, although most patients indicate that they would prefer to die at home, and patients still die in pain without the benefit of comprehensive palliative care (3). Only one in five Medicareeligible patients with terminal iIlnesses who are eligible for hospice services actually receive them (3). Clearly, much more can be done to overcome high levels of preventable suffering at the end of life by removing barriers to access for hospice and palliative care services
Phosphatidylinositol‐3 kinase is distinctively required for µ‐, but not κ‐opioid receptor‐induced activation of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase

Opioid receptors are the therapeutic targets of narcotic analgesics. All three types of opioid receptors (µ, δ and κ) are prototypical Gi‐coupled receptors with common signaling characteristics in their regulation of intracellular events. Nevertheless, numerous signaling processes are differentially regulated by the three receptors. We have recently demonstrated that stimulation of δ‐opioid receptor can up‐regulate the activity of the c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) in a pertussis toxin‐sensitive manner ( Kam et al. 2003 ; J. Neurochem. 84, 503–513). The present study revealed that the µ‐opioid receptor could stimulate JNK in both SH‐SY5Y cells and transfected COS‐7 cells. The mechanism by which the µ‐opioid receptor stimulated JNK was delineated with the use of specific inhibitors and dominant‐negative mutants of signaling intermediates. Activation of JNK by the µ‐opioid receptor was mediated through Gβγ, Src kinase, son‐of‐sevenless (Sos), Rac and Cdc42. Interestingly, unlike the δ‐opioid receptors, the µ‐opioid receptor required phosphatidylinositol‐3 kinase (PI3K) to activate JNK. The µ‐opioid receptor‐induced JNK activation was effectively inhibited by wortmannin or the coexpression of a dominant negative mutant of PI3Kγ. Like the δ‐opioid receptor, activation of JNK by the κ‐opioid receptor occurred in a PI3K‐independent manner. These studies revealed that the µ‐opioid receptor utilize a distinct mechanism to regulate JNK.
Follicular variant of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid: Fine‐needle aspirates with histologic correlation

Crile and Hazard reported in 1953 a follicular pattern of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Little has been said about this pattern in the cytologic literature. From more than 8,000 thyroid aspirates in our files, we reviewed all those diagnosed as “follicular variant of papillary carcinoma,” “suspect follicular variant of papillary carcinoma,” and “follicular neoplasm vs. follicular variant of papillary carcinoma. ” Also, we reviewed all aspirates in which a diagnosis of follicular variant of papillary carcinoma had been made on surgically excised glands, regardless of the cytologic diagnosis; 63 aspirates from 45 patients were collected. All smears were air‐dried and stained with Diff‐Quik. Most smears were very cellular (“tumor cellularity”), and the neoplastic follicular cells formed empty follicles, rosettes, tubules, and papillary structures. Nuclei were twice the size of red blood cells, had smooth contours, were hyperchromatic, and varied in shape but not much in size. Nuclear overlapping was common. Some nuclei had one small and almost pointed end, thereby resembling arrowheads. Intranuclear inclusions, multinucleated histiocytes, and psammoma bodies were uncommon. Pink‐stained colloid was frequent. Diagn. Cytopathol. 16:207–213, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fast extraction of ellipses

The process for fast extraction is divided into two steps: first, it looks for the areas where there might be ellipses by using heuristic function and a pyramid structure; then it finds the parameters of the ellipses in each area searched by a method that combines transformation of the feature space, projection, and optimum approximation approaches. Experiments indicate that both fast processing speed and suitable ellipse parameters are obtained. <<ETX>>