Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What do general practitioners and paediatricians want from discharge letters

Objectives To ascertain the relative importance ascribed by general practitioners and hospital paediatricians to items of information given in paediatric final discharge letters, and determine general practitioner preference for the format of such letters. Design A questionnaire was sent to 158 local general practitioners and 24 hospital-based paediatricians. Setting A district general hospital serving both a large industrialized urban area and a rural catchment area in Northern England. Results One hundred and twenty-eight (81.0%) general practitioners and 23 (95.8%) hospital paediatricians responded. There was consensus on which items of information were essential. These included correct diagnosis; correct drug dosage, frequency and duration; dates of admission; investigations performed; admission ward; case history, and admitting/responsible consultant. There were differences as to the essential nature of which doctor wrote the letter; why the child was admitted; parental information given. Conclusions Many features of paediatric inpatient discharge letters are regarded with the same priority by general practitioners and hospital paediatricians. However, there are some important differences in preferences between these groups of doctors.
A new approach of geodesic reconstruction for drusen segmentation in eye fundus images

Segmentation of bright blobs in an image is an important problem in computer vision and particularly in biomedical imaging. In retinal angiography, segmentation of drusen, a yellowish deposit located on the retina, is a serious challenge in proper diagnosis and prevention of further complications. Drusen extraction using classic segmentation methods does not lead to good results. We present a new segmentation method based on new transformations we introduced in mathematical morphology. It is based on the search for a new class of regional maxima components of the image. These maxima correspond to the regions inside the drusen. We present experimental results for drusen extraction using images containing examples having different types and shapes of drusen. We also apply our segmentation technique to two important cases of dynamic sequences of drusen images. The first case is for tracking the average gray level of a particular drusen in a sequence of angiographic images during a fluorescein exam. The second case is for registration and matching of two angiographic images from widely spaced exams in order to characterize the evolution of drusen.
Quantitative performance characterization of three-dimensional noncontact fluorescence molecular tomography

Abstract. Fluorescent proteins and dyes are routine tools for biological research to describe the behavior of genes, proteins, and cells, as well as more complex physiological dynamics such as vessel permeability and pharmacokinetics. The use of these probes in whole body in vivo imaging would allow extending the range and scope of current biomedical applications and would be of great interest. In order to comply with a wide variety of application demands, in vivo imaging platform requirements span from wide spectral coverage to precise quantification capabilities. Fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) detects and reconstructs in three dimensions the distribution of a fluorophore in vivo. Noncontact FMT allows fast scanning of an excitation source and noninvasive measurement of emitted fluorescent light using a virtual array detector operating in free space. Here, a rigorous process is defined that fully characterizes the performance of a custom-built horizontal noncontact FMT setup. Dynamic range, sensitivity, and quantitative accuracy across the visible spectrum were evaluated using fluorophores with emissions between 520 and 660 nm. These results demonstrate that high-performance quantitative three-dimensional visible light FMT allowed the detection of challenging mesenteric lymph nodes in vivo and the comparison of spectrally distinct fluorescent reporters in cell culture.
Retardance of bilayer anisotropic samples consisting of well-aligned cylindrical scatterers and birefringent media

Abstract. Both cylindrical scatterers and birefringent media may contribute to the anisotropy of tissue, where anisotropy can be characterized using polarization techniques. Our previous studies have shown that a layer of well-aligned cylindrical scatterers displays anisotropic properties similar to those of a piece of birefringent media, whose equivalent extraordinary axis is along the axial direction of the cylinders. We focused on a sample consisting of two layers of anisotropic media, with each layer having a different orientation; the characteristics of this sample were representative of the properties of multilayer fibrous tissues. Using a Mueller matrix decomposition method, we examined in detail how the total retardance and the equivalent extraordinary axis of the bilayered sample varied with changes in the retardance of the two layers and the direction of the extraordinary axis. The results of this study showed that, in such bilayer samples, a layer of well-aligned cylindrical scatterers generated a retardance that behaved exactly like the retardance generated by a piece of birefringent media. The simulated results were also confirmed by the results of experiments using aligned glass fibers.
Repeatability and reproducibility of optic nerve head perfusion measurements using optical coherence tomography angiography

Abstract. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) has increasingly become a clinically useful technique in ophthalmic imaging. We evaluate the repeatability and reproducibility of blood perfusion in the optic nerve head (ONH) measured using optical microangiography (OMAG)-based OCTA. Ten eyes from 10 healthy volunteers are recruited and scanned three times with a 68-kHz Cirrus HD-OCT 5000-based OMAG prototype system (Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc., Dublin, California) centered at the ONH involving two separate visits within six weeks. Vascular images are generated with OMAG processing by detecting the differences in OCT signals between consecutive B-scans acquired at the same retina location. ONH perfusion is quantified as flux, vessel area density, and normalized flux within the ONH for the prelaminar, lamina cribrosa, and the full ONH. Coefficient of variation (CV) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) are used to evaluate intravisit and intervisit repeatability, and interobserver reproducibility. ONH perfusion measurements show high repeatability [CV≤3.7% (intravisit) and ≤5.2% (intervisit)] and interobserver reproducibility (ICC≤0.966) in all three layers by three metrics. OCTA provides a noninvasive method to visualize and quantify ONH perfusion in human eyes with excellent repeatability and reproducibility, which may add additional insight into ONH perfusion in clinical practice.
The crucial ligaments

"The Crucial Ligaments" is one of the latest of the many books dealing with the common, important and difficult problems of injuries of the cruciate ligaments. It is pertinent that John Feagin should use the word crucial in his title, thus both reiterating the style of Hey-Groves and emphasising the importance of these structures. This is an excellent book with contributions by most of the world's recognised experts. The illustrations are clear and relevant. The message of the importance of early recognition of the detail of various patterns of injury is emphatic and the global concept of treatment and counselling at all stages in the natural history of injury is well covered.
Quantitative mapping of collagen fiber alignment in thick tissue samples using transmission polarized-light microscopy

Abstract. Immersion optical clearing makes it possible to use transmission polarized-light microscopy for characterization of thick (200 to 2000 μm) layers of biological tissues. We discuss polarization properties of thick samples in the context of the problem of characterization of collagen fiber alignment in connective tissues such as sclera and dermis. Optical chirality caused by azimuthal variations of the macroscopic (effective) optic axis of the medium across the sample thickness should be considered in polarization mapping of thick samples of these tissues. We experimentally evaluate to what extent the optical chirality affects the measurement results in typical situations and show under what conditions it can be easily taken into account and does not hinder, but rather helps, in characterization of collagen fiber alignment.
Neck and other muscle pains in autonomic failure: their association with orthostatic hypotension

Neck pain in the suboccipital and paracervical region (‘coathanger' configuration) is often reported by patients with autonomic failure and orthostatic hypotension. The frequency of this pain, along with pains in the buttock and calf regions, was determined by questionnaire in two major groups with primary chronic autonomic failure—pure autonomic failure (PAF) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Comparisons were made with Parkinson's disease, cerebellar degeneration and other disorders in which neurological symptoms overlap but in which there was neither autonomic failure nor orthostatic hypotension. Neck pain was present in 93% of patients with PAF, 51% of patients with MSA and 38–47% of the non-autonomic groups. Buttock pain was present in smaller but similar proportions (8–19%) of each group, like calf pain (23–37%). Neck pain in PAF and MSA differed from that in the other groups in being relieved by sitting or lying flat and in being associated with factors that lower blood pressure in these patients. Buttock pain was posturally related in PAF and MSA; for calf pain there was no difference between groups. Neck pain was related to the degree of orthostatic hypotension; in PAF patients, whose postural blood-pressure fall was greater than that in MSA, there was a greater frequency of neck pain.
Investigations on non-Gaussian factor analysis

This letter further explores the Bayesian Ying-Yang learning based non-Gaussian factor analysis (NFA) via investigating its key yet analytically intractable factor estimating step. Among the three suggested numerical approaches we empirically show that the so-called iterative fixed posteriori approximation approach is the most optimal, as well as theoretically prove that the iterative fixed posteriori approximation is another type of EM-algorithm, with the proof of its convergence also shown.
Cerebral and Hepatic Tyrosine α‐Oxoglutarate Transaminase in the Immature and Adult Rat

IT has been proposed that the aromatic amino transaminases exist in nervous tissue and perhaps are functional in synthesizing amines in the brain (Haavaldsen 1962). The enzyme tyrosine a-oxoglutarate transaminase has been widely studied in the liver, where it is abundant and readily inducible by hydrocortisone (Lin and Knox 1957). The mechanism of the adaptive increase in enzyme activity of the liver in response to hydrocortisone has been elucidated by demonstrating a rise in the number of enzyme molecules during induction (Kenney 1962, 1963). Additional work has revealed that rapidly-labelled RNA production by liver nuclei is enhanced during induction (Garren et al. 1964). The subject of these experiments has been tyrosine a-oxoglutarate transaminase activity in rat brains under a variety of conditions, and evidence will be reported for differences between the behaviour of the enzyme in the liver and in the brain. For the enzyme assay, rat cerebra were homogenized 20 per cent w/v in ice cold 0.57M borate buffer pH 8.2. After centrifugation at 25,000 g. for 40 minutes the supernatants were immediately frozen. The liver tissue was prepared identically except that it was homogenized in a 10 per cent w/v buffer solution. The total . _ _ -~ cuvette volume was 1.3 ml. of which the brain assays contained 0 . 4 ml. of thawed supernatant and the liver assays only 0.1 ml. All other cuvette materials were dissolved in buffer and were in the following concentrations in the final cuvette mixture : pyridoxal phosphate 0 . 5 mM, tyrosine 1.75 x 102M (omitted from blank), a-oxoglutarate 1 x 10-2M, and diethyldithiocarbamic acid 2.86 mM. All ingredients were pre-incubated for 5 minutes and the reaction started by the addition of a-oxoglutarate. Optical density changes were recorded at 310 mp over a 20-minute period at an average temperature of 20' C. and the slope of the linear portion of the curve OD vs time was considered proportional to enzyme activity. The assay was based on the strong absorption of the enol tautomer of para-hydroxyphenylpyruvate (pHPP) in the 300 mp region; the formation of borate-enol complex of pHPP shifted the keto-enol equilibrium to the enol form (Lin et al. 1958). The basal enzyme level of' the brains in intact adult animals was very low. On a wet tissue weight comparison our results show the brain to have only 1/65 the activity of the liver. At least three days prior to the induction
Open Trial of Vinyasa Yoga for Persistently Depressed Individuals: Evidence of Feasibility and Acceptability

The aim of this study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of Vinyasa yoga as an adjunctive treatment for depressed patients who were not responding adequately to antidepressant medication. The authors also planned to ask participants for qualitative feedback on their experience of the class and to assess change over time in depression and in possible mediating variables. The authors recruited 11 participants in 1 month for an 8-week open trial of yoga classes. They found that 10 participants completed follow-up assessments, 9 of 10 were positive about their experience, and all provided feedback about what was and was not helpful about yoga, as well as barriers to class attendance. Over the 2-month period, participants exhibited significant decreases in depression symptoms and significant increases in an aspect of mindfulness and in behavior activation. This pilot study provided support for continuing to investigate Vinyasa yoga as an adjunct treatment for depression. The next step required is a rigorous randomized clinical trial.
The Effects of an Abolishing Operation Intervention Component on Play Skills, Challenging Behavior, and Stereotypy

The purpose of this study was to reduce stereotypy and challenging behavior during play skills instruction by adding an abolishing operation component (AOC) to the intervention strategy. An alternating treatments design compared one condition in which participants were allowed to engage in stereotypy freely before beginning the play skills intervention (AOC condition) to a second condition without this free access period (No AOC condition). Across 4 participants with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), levels of stereotypy and challenging behavior were lower and functional play was higher during play intervention sessions that followed the AOC. These data provided support for the inclusion of an AOC in interventions aimed at increasing the play skills of children with ASD who present with stereotypy.
Removing the Bedroom Television Set: A Possible Method for Decreasing Television Viewing Time in Overweight and Obese Adults

U.S. adults watch television (TV) for an average of 5 hours per day, an amount associated with increased obesity risk. Studies in children have found bedroom TV sets, which result in greater time spent by watching TV and shorter sleep durations, both of which increase a child’s odds of becoming overweight. The authors examined associations between bedroom TV viewing time (BTVT), Body Mass Index (BMI), sleep time, non-BTVT, and total TV viewing time in 39 overweight and obese adults with and without a bedroom TV set. No significant correlations are found between BTVT and BMI or sleep time. BTVT is positively associated with non-BTVT (Spearman’s rho = 0.37, p = .076; n = 24). Participants with a bedroom TV tend to watch significantly more TV (5.4 hours per day ± 2.7; p = .057; n = 28) than do participants without a bedroom TV (3.6 ± 1.9 hours per day, p = .057; n = 11). This article suggested that taking the TV out of the bedroom may help to reduce overweight and obese adults can decrease their TV viewing time.
Lorentz force optical coherence elastography.

Quantifying tissue biomechanical properties can assist in detection of abnormalities and monitoring disease progression and/or response to a therapy. Optical coherence elastography (OCE) has emerged as a promising technique for noninvasively characterizing tissue biomechanical properties. Several mechanical loading techniques have been proposed to induce static or transient deformations in tissues, but each has its own areas of applications and limitations. This study demonstrates the combination of Lorentz force excitation and phase-sensitive OCE at ? 1.5? million A-lines per second to quantify the elasticity of tissue by directly imaging Lorentz force-induced elastic waves. This method of tissue excitation opens the possibility of a wide range of investigations using tissue biocurrents and conductivity for biomechanical analysis.
A space-efficient short-finding algorithm [VLSI layouts]

A common method of locating electrical shorts in VLSI layouts is to build a connectivity graph of the shorted net and then find the shortest path between the two offending signals. The memory requirement of this method is proportional to the size of the net, which can be quite large. This paper presents a dynamic graph construction algorithm that significantly reduces the peak memory requirement. The algorithmic framework allows continuous trade-offs between run times and memory requirements. >
Tunable dispersion filter design for piano synthesis

The tunable dispersion filter is a new design approach presented in this letter to provide dispersion modeling for digital waveguide synthesis of musical instruments, which do not produce extremely inharmonic sounds, such as the piano. We propose to use a cascade of second-order allpass filters for modeling dispersion. The filter coefficients can be calculated by using simple formulae based on the Thiran allpass filter design, which is usually used for fractional delay approximation. Unlike the previous allpass filter approximations, this filter design is easily scalable to produce various inharmonicity values for a wide range of fundamental frequencies.
Married Female Migrants' Experiences of Health Care Services

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe married female migrants` experiences of health care services and to help nursing researchers, nursing educators, and clinical nurses understand married female migrants` experiences. Method: A conventional content analysis method was utilized. Individual in-depth interviews with 15 married female migrants were conducted. Subject recruitment was performed at a district in Seoul. Results: Ten categories were induced: language barrier, financial burden, insufficient time with a physician, complexity of utilization process, lack of support from peer group, health care providers` discrimination, anxiety regarding lack of information about children`s health, health care providers` concerns and efforts to minimize the language barrier, family support, and advanced health care service environment. Conclusion: This study provides basic knowledge regarding married female migrants` experiences related to health care services. Future research should designate and utilize valid instruments to measure the positive and negative experiences and to explore strategies to strengthen the positive features while eliminating the negative ones. Finally, the Korean nursing education curriculum should include cultural competence and knowledge about an ethnic minority`s right to health service utilization.
Practical evaluation of on-demand smallcell ON/OFF based on traffic model for 5G cellular networks

5G communication networks will bring enhanced mobile broadband services to users and vertical markets supporting very wide range requirements from context-dependent applications. To support such applications in 5G, not only the conventional area traffic capacity but network energy efficiency is also a critical factor since energy consumption of information processing is also becoming an economic issue for operators. Dealing with this problem, our project considers a C-RAN based cloud cooperated HetNet architecture which enables global resource optimization among smallcells to maximize objective functions of interest e.g. energy efficiency. On the other hand, a dynamic traffic model based on that the network can dynamically adapt to the variation in a cost-effective way is also crucial for the design of 5G. This paper develops such traffic model based on realistic measurement data in metropolitan Tokyo. Based on the developed model, a on-demand cell activation / deactivation jointly with user association mechanism is applied to maximize the network's energy efficiency defined as the system rate over the total consumed energy. Numerical results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm against dynamic variation of hourly traffic while improving users' satisfaction as compared to conventional homogeneous network. The paper also confirms the superiority of mm-wave smallcell HetNet against conventional microwave HetNet in terms of energy efficiency in bps/W.
The Effects of Small Muscle Training on Baseball Hitting Performance: A Brief Review

A CONTROVERSEY EXISTS IN RESISTANCE TRAINING FOR BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL HITTERS. TRADITIONAL AND ANECDOTAL “HERESAY” SUGGEST THAT STRENGTH COACHES SHOULD HAVE PLAYERS TRAIN THE SMALL FOREARM, WRIST, AND HAND MUSCLES FOR INCREASED BAT VELOCITY. CURRENT BASEBALL/SOFTBALL RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT THIS MAY NOT BE CORRECT. THIS ARTICLE WILL REVIEW THE EFFECTS OF SMALL MUSCLE ACTIVITY WHILE SWINGING A BASEBALL BAT, THE KINEMATICS OF SWINGING A BASEBALL BAT, AND THE EFFECTS OF STRENGTH TRAINING ON HITTING PERFORMANCES.
Development and application of the near-infrared and white-light thoracoscope system for minimally invasive lung cancer surgery

Abstract. In minimally invasive surgery, the white-light thoracoscope as a standard imaging tool is facing challenges of the low contrast between important anatomical or pathological regions and surrounding tissues. Recently, the near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging shows superior advantages over the conventional white-light observation, which inspires researchers to develop imaging systems to improve overall outcomes of endoscopic imaging. We developed an NIR and white-light dual-channel thoracoscope system, which achieved high-fluorescent signal acquisition efficiency and the simultaneously optimal visualization of the NIR and color dual-channel signals. The system was designed to have fast and accurate image registration and high signal-to-background ratio by optimizing both software algorithms and optical hardware components for better performance in the NIR spectrum band. The system evaluation demonstrated that the minimally detectable concentration of indocyanine green (ICG) was 0.01 μM, and the spatial resolution was 35 μm. The in vivo feasibility of our system was verified by the preclinical experiments using six porcine models with the intravenous injection of ICG. Furthermore, the system was successfully applied for guiding the minimally invasive segmentectomy in three lung cancer patients, which revealed that our system held great promise for the clinical translation in lung cancer surgeries.