Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Postoperative Functional Evaluation of Percutaneous Vertebroplasty Compared With Percutaneous Kyphoplasty for Vertebral Compression Fractures

Both percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) have shown their superiorities in the treatment of vertebral compression fractures (VCFs), yet, few studies have compared their postoperative functional outcomes in patients with VCFs; the authors therefore conducted this meta-analysis to explore the postoperative functional recovery efficacies of PVP and PKP in the treatment of VCFs. Computerized bibliographic databases were applied to identify relevant articles comparing the therapeutic effect of PVP and PKP in the treatment of VCFs. Standardized mean difference and its 95% confidence interval were calculated. Statistical analyses were conducted with the STATA statistical software. Postoperative Oswestry Disability Index investigation outcomes revealed a significant difference between the PVP group and PKP group. Subgroup analysis by the 8 dimensions of the SF-36 health survey presented a statistical significance in general health between the PVP group and PKP group. The application of PKP has the superiority in postoperative functional recovery of VCFs as compared with PVP, especially in efficaciously extending kyphosis angle, improving vertebral body height and decreasing complication rate.
Tn5401, a new class II transposable element from Bacillus thuringiensis

A new class II (Tn3-like) transposable element, designated Tn5401, was recovered from a sporulation-deficient variant of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. morrisoni EG2158 following its insertion into a recombinant plasmid. Sequence analysis of the insert revealed a 4,837-bp transposon with two large open reading frames, in the same orientation, encoding proteins of 36 kDa (306 residues) and 116 kDa (1,005 residues) and 53-bp terminal inverted repeats. The deduced amino acid sequence for the 36-kDa protein shows 24% sequence identity with the TnpI recombinase of the B. thuringiensis transposon Tn4430, a member of the phage integrase family of site-specific recombinases. The deduced amino acid sequence for the 116-kDa protein shows 42% sequence identity with the transposase of Tn3 but only 28% identity with the TnpA transposase of Tn4430. Two small open reading frames of unknown function, designated orf1 (85 residues) and orf2 (74 residues), were also identified. Southern blot analysis indicated that Tn5401, in contrast to Tn4430, is not commonly found among different subspecies of B. thuringiensis and is not typically associated with known insecticidal crystal protein genes. Transposition was studied with B. thuringiensis by using plasmid pEG922, a temperature-sensitive shuttle vector containing Tn5401. Tn5401 transposed to both chromosomal and plasmid target sites but displayed an apparent preference for plasmid sites. Transposition was replicative and resulted in the generation of a 5-bp duplication at the target site. Transcriptional start sites within Tn5401 were mapped by primer extension analysis. Two promoters, designated PL and PR, direct the transcription of orf1-orf2 and tnpI-tnpA, respectively, and are negatively regulated by TnpI. Sequence comparison of the promoter regions of Tn5401 and Tn4430 suggests that the conserved sequence element ATGTCCRCTAAY mediates TnpI binding and cointegrate resolution. The same element is contained within the 53-bp terminal inverted repeats, thus accounting for their unusual lengths and suggesting an additional role for TnpI in regulating Tn5401 transposition.
Alcohol Consumption and Diabetes: A Case Control Study in a Rural Area of Kancheepuram District of Tamil Nadu.

Background: India was home to 62.4 million diabetics in the year 2011 and the incidence is on a continuous rise. It was projected that India will have the largest number of diabetics in 2025. So studying the risk factors for diabetes is much needed in India. Objectives: To assess the association between alcohol intake and diabetes mellitus in a study population and to assess the association between socio demographic profile and diabetes in a study population. Methodology: A community based case control study to associate alcohol and diabetes was conducted in the rural area of Chunampet, Cheyyurtaluk of Kanchipuram district in Tamilnadu, which is under field practicing area, Rural Health Training Centre , Department of Community Medicine, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Chunampet. Study participants: Adult population aged above 30 years of age. Sample size: Calculated using Epi info. 150 cases and 150 controls. Definition of cases: Known diabetics or persons with FBS> 126 mg/dl or RBS>140mg/dl. Definition of controls: Persons who are not a known a case of Diabetes and with FBS<126 or RBS<140. Exclusion criteria: Critically ill persons, persons with other comorbidities. Questionnaire: A pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used. Details regarding diabetes history, alcohol intake , physical activity were collected by house to house survey. Weight in kgs, height in cms were recorded. Blood sugar was estimated using Accu-chek glucometer. Results: The study was conducted with 150 Diabetics (Cases) and 150 Non-Diabetics (Controls). Among the 150 Diabetics (Cases), 124 were males and 26 females. And, among the 150 Non-Diabetics (Controls), 124 were males and 26 were females. Cases and controls are matched for sex and age (± 5 years). Out of 85 subjects who consumed alcohol 63(74.11%) were diabetics and out of 215 who were non drinkers 87(40.40%) were diabetics. A positive association between alcohol and diabetes was found (OR=4.21, 95% CI 2.41-7.35) and it was statistically significant (p value< 0.001).
Comparison of quantitative microscopic and submicroscopic analyses of the liver in cows bred in various polluted regions

The influence of polluted environment on microscopic and submicroscopic structure of the liver in cows was studied. Experimental animals came from two areas of East Slovakia: Strednogemerska and Kosicka. Samples of the liver were taken from adult (range 6-8 years) cows, then were prepared for light and electron microscopy by standard methods. We analysed their morphological structures and gave them morphometric values. All the results were processed statistically. Some differences between results from experimental animals in morphological and stereological analyses were found. A significant increase in a relative volume of capillaries in quantitative microscopic analysis was noted. On the other hand, a significant decrease in the relative volume of mitochondria and significant increase in the relative volume of rough endoplasmic reticulum were observed.
Compact wideband single-ended and differential microstrip-to-waveguide transitions at W-band

Two W-band inline transitions between microstrip line and rectangular waveguide are presented. They cover the single-ended and equivalent differential microstrip line case and result from a common design procedure. This is based on antipodal finlines and Vivaldi-like antennas on an ultrathin liquid crystal polymer substrate inserted in a WR10-waveguide. The designs are presented and the performance of the transitions is evaluated in simulation and measurements. The back-to-back measurement results show good agreement with simulation and exhibit less than 0.9 dB insertion loss and more than 12 dB return loss for the differential transition over the whole W-band.
Finite-precision implementation issues in narrowband active control

The domain of active control of narrowband disturbances, of either vibrational or acoustic noise source, poses several methodological and implementational issues. Besides all the problems that normally arise in digital control, some specific issues are related to the attenuation of harmonic or quasi-harmonic signals, which require the usage of control blocks approaching, or even touching, the stability limit, such as notch filters or dynamic oscillators. The finite-precision implementation of these blocks can evidence several problems related to nonlinear effects such as signal quantization, numerical representation, and approximate computation. This paper focuses on the effects related to finite-precision computations and floating point numerical representation, and, after a brief literature review, shows the necessity of extending conventional methodologies for the analysis of finite-precision controller implementation. Some illustrative examples are also provided to illustrate the implementation problems discussed.
AN INTERNET SURVEY OF LYME PATIENT’S EXPERIENCE OF ACCESS TO CARE

The aim of this study was to begin to explore patients lived experience of access to care of patients who had a Lyme disease diagnosis. A descriptive, retrospective internet based survey of 152 people who had been diagnosed professionally as having Lyme disease (LD) in the UK and Ireland was undertaken in 2011. Amongst this (self-selected) group of patients, there was a problematic experience of the NHS overall – the majority felt that they had been misdiagnosed and this was a cause of diagnostic delays. Over one third of patients (irrespective of NHS test results) felt that diagnostic delays were due to misdiagnosis. Time intervals between getting ill and being diagnosed with LD were often long. The data suggest there is room for improvement within the NHS, for a specific group of patients, at least. More work needs to be done to establish the biological, human and social/psychological factors (and dynamics) leading to this situation, and to understand how these sit within the policy and health services context. We also need to know if these types of problems are more widespread, and recognition of the potential causes in a patient-centred review, would be useful for policy-makers and other stakeholders.
Effects of Alzheimer Disease on the Facial Expression of Pain

Objectives:Facial expression may be a surrogate marker of pain in Alzheimer disease (AD) when self-report of pain is compromised. Recent studies have demonstrated increased pain sensitivity in AD; however, experimental pain studies analyzing facial expressions in AD are limited and report inconsistent results. The aims of this study were to examine facial expression of pain in AD patients and its relationship to sum-scored measures of multiple pain behavioral domains and subjective pain ratings. Materials and Methods:The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) was used to characterize facial expressions in 35 AD patients and 33 healthy seniors during pressure algometry. To improve pain specificity, facial responses were categorized as pain-relevant or pain-irrelevant before group analyses. We also assessed the relationship of AD severity to differential facial responsiveness by correlating FACS-based results with clinical pain scales (portions of the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia scale and the Faces Pain Scale-Revised [FPS-R]). Results:No significant relationship was found between AD severity and FACS scores. Pain-relevant, but not irrelevant, FACS scores were increased in AD patients compared with seniors without AD. Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia scale stimulus-response slopes were correlated with those of pain-relevant FACS and FPS-R in both the groups. Pain-relevant FACS slopes showed no relationship with those of the FPS-R in either group. Discussion:Pain sensitivity is increased across all severities of AD when measured using the FACS. Clinical observational pain scales support the relevance of facial expression as a partial compensatory pain communication modality for AD. However, measures of pain behavior that sum across objective coding of several domains provide a better indicator of subjective pain than measures of facial expression alone.
Putting Implementation into Enterprise Architecture Research

Enterprise architecture EA has provided organizations with powerful frameworks with which to plan, manage, model and coordinate the alignment of organizational IS/ IT portfolios with organizational strategy. However, for the benefits of EA to be realized, it needs to also contribute to the process of implementing the specified systems and platforms. Whilst implementation was seen by early authors as an integral aspect of the EA process, it has since generally been ignored by authors, or investigated through an ontological lens of discreet technical architecture activities that does not account for the social context of an EA implementation EAI. Drawing on an actual case study of an EAI in a large Australian financial services organization, I examine the importance of the EAI process to the delivery of the systems and platforms specified in the EA plans and highlight an alternative perspective that has the potential to sensitize scholars and practitioners appreciate to the social context of an EAI.
Passive Q-Switching of a Diode-Pumped Pr:LiYF4 Visible Laser Using WS2 as Saturable Absorber

Q-switched laser operation of a blue-diode-pumped Pr:LiYF4 laser is demonstrated at 640 nm for the first time by using a tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanosheet material as a saturable absorber. Stable laser pulses of 630 ns are obtained with a pulse repetition rate of 88 kHz, a pulse energy of about 0.24 μJ, and an average output power of 21.5 mW. This paper broadens the application of WS2-like 2-D nanosheet saturable absorbers from the near- and mid-infrared to the visible domain.
Analytical expressions for transient specific yield and shallow water table drainage

New closed‐form expressions are introduced to capture the dependence of specific yield on time and depth to water table. The expressions allow the user to convert observations of water table fluctuations to volumes of water released from storage in a shallow water table aquifer. Whereas a linear relationship between water table fluctuations and released volumes holds for a deep water table aquifer, this relationship is nonlinear for shallow water table aquifers. The dependence of specific yield on time stems from the slow drainage of soil water from pores above the water table. The new expressions allow determination of transient specific yield and time to drain the soil water profile for a given water table fluctuation. If the time step in a numerical groundwater model is longer than the time for limiting specific yield, then a constant (time independent) specific yield can be justifiably adopted. The new expressions are easy to use and require knowledge of soil hydraulic properties which are readily available from soil water retention data and surveys.
Evidence that Prostaglandin E2 Can Block Calcium‐Activated 86Rb Efflux from Rat Brain Synaptosomes via a Protein Kinase C‐Dependent Mechanism

Abstract: The effects of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) on 86Rb efflux from rat brain synaptosomes were studied to explore its role in nerve ending potassium (K+) channel modulation. A selective dose‐dependent inhibition of the calcium‐activated charybdotoxin‐sensitive component of efflux was found upon application of PGE2. No significant effect was seen on basal and voltage‐dependent components over the concentration range of 10–8 to 10–5M. The protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors H‐7 (10 μM) and staurosporine (100 nM), as well as prolonged preincubation (90 min) with 40‐phorbol 12, 13‐dibutyrate, which has been reported to down‐regulate PKC, abolished the PGE2‐in‐ duced inhibition, whereas HA1004 (10 μM) and Rp‐3′,5’cyclic phosphorothioate (100 nM), which are relatively more selective for protein kinase A than PKC, did not. 4β‐Phorbol 12, 13‐dibutyrate (100 nM), an activator of PKC, produced a similar inhibition of the Ca2+‐dependent component of 86Rb efflux but also had no effect on the basal and voltage‐dependent components. These data suggest that PGE2 can inhibit rat brain nerve ending calcium‐activated 86Rb efflux, and this inhibition may involve PKC activation.
Microbes and Microbial Toxins : Paradigms for Microbial-Mucosal Interactions III . Shigellosis : from symptoms to molecular pathogenesis

Sansonetti, Philippe J. Microbes and Microbial Toxins: Paradigms for Microbial-Mucosal Interactions. III. Shigellosis: from symptoms to molecular pathogenesis. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 280: G319–G323, 2001. —Interaction of Shigella flexneri with epithelial cells includes contact of bacteria with the cell surface and release of Ipa proteins through a specialized type III secreton. A complex signaling process involving activation of small GTPases of the Rho family and c-src causes major rearrangements of the subcortical cytoskeleton, thereby allowing bacterial entry by macropinocytosis. After entry, shigellae escape to the cell cytoplasm and initiate intracytoplasmic movement through polar nucleation and assembly of actin filaments caused by bacterial surface protein IcsA, which binds and activates neuronal Wiskoff-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP), thus inducing actin nucleation in an Arp 2/3-dependent mechanism. Actin-driven motility promotes efficient colonization of the host cell cytoplasm and rapid cell-to-cell spread via protrusions that are engulfed by adjacent cells in a cadherin-dependent process. Bacterial invasion turns infected cells to strongly proinflammatory cells through sustained activation of nuclear factor-kB. A major consequence is interleukin (IL)-8 production, which attracts polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). On transmigration, PMNs disrupt the permeability of this epithelium and promote its invasion by shigellae. At the early stage of infection, M cells of the follicle-associated epithelium allow bacterial translocation. Subsequent apoptotic killing of macrophages in a caspase 1-dependent process causes the release of IL-1b and IL-18, which accounts for the initial steps of inflammation.
Influence of titanium on the light transmittance through a nano-aperture

The Al-coated-oxide pyramids have been fabricated with and without Ti wetting layer. The nano-size aperture surrounded by the periodic structure on the fabricated oxide pyramid has been fabricated using focused ion beam milling system. The significantly reduced light transmittance from the Al metal aperture with Ti wetting layer have been measured, and compared it with the sample without Ti layer. This can be the evidence for surface plasmon polariton contribution to the enhancement of light transmittance through the metallic subwavelength size aperture in the visible range.
CIGARETTE CONSUMPTION AND ETHNICITY AMONG YOUTH IN THE PROVINCE OF JUJUY) (1)

America Latina es la region del mundo con las tasas mas altas de uso de tabaco entre los jovenes. Tambien es la region con las mas amplias brechas socioeconomicas. Aunque los pueblos indigenas constituyen el grupo social mas desfavorecido en la region, no existen datos sobre el consumo de cigarrillos en esta poblacion. En el 2004 se aplico una encuesta auto-administrada a 3131 jovenes inscriptos en una muestra aleatoria de 27 escuelas urbanas y rurales de la provincia de Jujuy, Argentina. Se usaron preguntas adaptadas de encuestas globales sobre tabaquismo. Encontramos un mayor porcentaje de fumadores corrientes (consumo en el ultimo mes) entre los jovenes indigenas (23%; 95% CI=21-25) y aquellos auto identificados como mezcla de indigena y europeo (23%; 95% CI=18.9-27.1), comparados con los europeos (11.4%; 95% CI=6.7-15.1). Las probabilidades ajustadas de consumo de cigarrillos en el ultimo mes fueron considerablemente mas elevadas para jovenes indigenas (OR=1.9; el 95% CI=1.1-3.3) y jovenes mezcla de indigena y europeo (OR=2.0; 95% CI=1.2-3.4), luego de controlar por factores de riesgo sociodemograficos y psicosociales. Otros factores psicosociales que tuvieron que ver con el consumo corriente incluian: tener algun amigo fumador, repetir un grado en la escuela, sintomas depresivos el ano anterior, orientacion hacia comportamientos de riesgo y consumir bebidas alcoholicas durante la semana anterior. Estos resultados subrayan la importancia de abordar aspectos de diversidad social y cultural en la epidemia global de tabaquismo. Palabras Clave: uso de tabaco, adolescentes, America Latina, etnicidad.
Disproportionate exercise load and remodeling of the athlete's right ventricle.

PURPOSE There is evolving evidence that intense exercise may place a disproportionate load on the right ventricle (RV) when compared with the left ventricle (LV) of the heart. Using a novel method of estimating end-systolic wall stress (ES-σ), we compared the RV and LV during exercise and assessed whether this influenced chronic ventricular remodeling in athletes. METHODS For this study, 39 endurance athletes (EA) and 14 nonathletes (NA) underwent resting cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), maximal oxygen uptake (VO2), and exercise echocardiography studies. LV and RV end-systolic wall stress (ES-σ) were calculated using the Laplace relation (ES-σ = Pr/(2h)). Ventricular size and wall thickness were determined by CMR; invasive and Doppler echo estimates were used to measure systemic and pulmonary ventricular pressures, respectively; and stroke volume was quantified by Doppler echocardiography and used to calculate changes in ventricular geometry during exercise. RESULTS In EA, compared with NA, resting CMR measures showed greater RV than LV remodeling. The ratios RV ESV/LV ESV (1.40 ± 0.23 vs 1.26 ± 0.12, P = 0.007) and RV mass/LV mass (0.29 ± 0.04 vs 0.25 ± 0.03, P = 0.012) were greater in EA than in NA. RVES-σ was lower at rest than LVES-σ (143 ± 44 vs 252 ± 49 kdyn · cm, P < 0.001) but increased more with strenuous exercise (125% vs 14%, P < 0.001), resulting in similar peak exercise ES-σ (321 ± 106 vs 286 ± 77 kdyn · cm, P = 0.058). Peak exercise RVES-σ was greater in EA than in NA (340 ± 107 vs 266 ± 82 kdyn · cm, P = 0.028), whereas RVES-σ at matched absolute workloads did not differ (P = 0.79). CONCLUSIONS Exercise induces a relative increase in RVES-σ which exceeds LVES-σ. In athletes, greater RV enlargement and greater wall thickening may be a product of this disproportionate load excess.
An improved ideagraph algorithm for discovering important rare events

In recent years, Chance Discovery as an extension of data mining has been presented to discover rare but significant events, i.e., chances, for human decision making from large amounts of data. KeyGraph or IdeaGraph as a chance mining algorithm can capture these chances by converting the unstructured data into a scenario graph. However, they both fail to eliminate the interference of frequent events when uncovering rare events, causing a bottleneck of capturing important rare events. In this paper, we propose an improved algorithm of IdeaGraph to address this issue. It takes rare events as the essential components to preserve them from being filtered when forming a cluster. On base of that, it conducts cluster refining such as pruning and ranking to optimize the construction of a scenario graph. Additionally, it provides an enhanced method to evaluate important rare events by measuring the significance of an event on the perspectives of the co-occurring frequency and the probability distribution. An experiment demonstrates the superiority of our algorithm on capturing important rare events by comparing with benchmark algorithms.