Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study of Facial Growth in Patients with Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Treated by the Oslo CLP Team

Lateral and frontal cephalometric analysis of a mixed longitudinal survey of 257 individuals with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate from the Oslo CLP Growth Archive is described. All subjects were treated and followed up by the Oslo CLP Team according to strictly defined protocols for treatment and documentation. Craniofacial form for this sample is generally similar to that reported for Caucasian children treated for this condition elsewhere.
System-level performance analysis of relay-aided multiple-antenna cellular networks

Motivated by recent results regarding the performance analysis, in terms of coverage probability and average rate, of microwave single-antenna cellular networks with Half-Duplex (HD) Relay Nodes (RNs) by using a stochastic-geometry approach, in this work we extend this study by considering multiple-antenna Base Stations (BSs) and RNs. Analytical formulas are provided for the achieved coverage probability and average rate of these networks, which are shown to closely match the simulation results. In addition, the simulation results show that the availability or not of a large antenna array determines whether RNs can be beneficial to the network in terms of coverage improvement. In particular, substantial coverage gains are observed for a massive-antenna deployment, whereas no rate gains are achieved due to the half-duplex constraint of the RNs.
Clonal Relatedness of Erythromycin-Resistant Streptococcus pyogenes Isolates in Germany

ABSTRACT In a nationwide study in Germany, a total of 381 Streptococcus pyogenes were collected. Erythromycin A-resistant strains were characterized for the underlying resistance genotype, showing 55.6% had the efflux type mef(A), 31.5% had erm(A), and 13.0% had erm(B). A total of 23 different multilocus sequence types were observed.
[18F]-T807 tauopathy PET imaging in chronic traumatic encephalopathy

A new molecular ligand for positron emission tomography (PET) of the human brain, [18F]-T807, is under investigation for the antemortem detection of pathological neurofibrillary aggregates, which are evidence of neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) diseases, also known as tauopathies. Repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries in athletes and battlefield veterans are associated with one such tauopathy, known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In a recent case report, a former NFL player with clinically probable CTE and a concurrent Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) –like syndrome was studied using [18F]-T807. The interpretation of this player’s [18F]-T807 PET imaging was complicated by the overlap of tracer uptake in brain regions involved in CTE and PSP with regions associated with either nonspecific [18F]-T807 ligand binding or “aging-associated” binding of [18F]-T807 to authentic tauopathy known to be associated with aging and disease severity (i.e., NFT in the mesial temporal lobe). The implications of these data for the utility of [18F]-T807 in the pre-mortem detection of CTE are summarized.
Chaotic Synchronization in Discrete-Time Systems Connected by Bandlimited Channels

Due to the broadband characteristic of chaotic signals, many of the methods that have been proposed for synchronizing chaotic systems do not usually present a satisfactory performance when applied to bandlimited communication channels. Here, the effects of bandwidth limitations imposed by the channel on the synchronous solution of a discrete-time chaotic master-slave network are investigated. The discrete-time system considered in this study is the Hénon map. It is analytically shown that synchronism can be achieved in such a network by introducing a digital filter in the feedback loop responsible for generating the chaotic signal that will be sent to the slave node. Numerical simulations relating the filter parameters, such as its order and cut-off frequency, to the maximum Lyapunov exponent of the master node, which determines if the transmitted signal is chaotic or not, are also presented. These results can be useful for practical communication schemes based on chaos.
Defining the Extent of Irreversible Brain Ischemia Using Perfusion Computed Tomography

Background: Perfusion computed tomography (PCT) shows promise in acute stroke assessment. However, the accuracy of CT perfusion thresholds in defining the acute infarct core remains uncertain. Method: Concurrent PCT and MRI-DWI performed 3–6 h after symptoms onset were assessed in 57 ischemic stroke patients. PCT was compared to DWI images to define the infarct core using a pixel-based receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to calculate the area under the curve (AUC) for thresholds from PCT maps that were coregistered with the DWI slice location. Results: A relative cerebral blood flow (CBF) of 45% of the contralateral hemisphere was found to be the most accurate threshold for describing the infarct core (AUC 0.788), and it was also by far the most frequent threshold with the highest AUC across patients. Conclusion: CBF thresholds on PCT define the acute infarct core more accurately than do other PCT thresholds, including a cerebral blood volume of 2 ml/100 g.
Immersed disks, slicing numbers and concordance unknotting numbers

We study three knot invariants related to smoothly immersed disks in the four-ball. These are the four-ball crossing number, which is the minimal number of normal double points of such a disk bounded by a given knot; the slicing number, which is the minimal number of crossing changes to a slice knot; and the concordance unknotting number, which is the minimal unknotting number in a smooth concordance class. Using Heegaard Floer homology we obtain bounds that can be used to determine two of these invariants for all prime knots with crossing number ten or less, and to determine the concordance unknotting number for all but thirteen of these knots. As a further application we obtain some new bounds on Gordian distance between torus knots. We also give a strengthened version of Ozsvath and Szabo's obstruction to unknotting number one.
Immunofluorescence study of brain plaques from two patients with multiple sclerosis

lmmunofluorescence studies were performed on selected plaques from two multiple sclerosis patients. Positive staining revealed the corresponding presence of immunoglobulin G and complement fraction C1q within the plaque areas. These components could be removed only after low pH washing. On the basis of these observations, we discuss the possibility of the presence of immunocornplexes within the multiple sclerosis brain.
A response adaptive design for ordinal categorical responses

ABSTRACT A two treatment response adaptive design is developed for phase III clinical trials with ordinal categorical treatment outcome using Goodman-Kruskal measure of association. Properties of the proposed design are studied both empirically and theoretically and the acceptability is further illustrated using two real data-sets; one from a clinical trial with trauma patients and the other from a trial with patients having rheumatoid arthritis.
Microvolt Electric Signals from Fishes and the Environment

Pulses in the 0.01 to 40 microvolt range, probably generated by white fiber muscle action potentials, were remotely received through dipole antennae from five fishes and one amphibian in aquarium tests. In natural environments, however, no biologically generated signals have been detected. Received instead were a multitude of similar signals originating from unknown sources. The dominant types of these "atmospheric" signals and their reception rates change diurnally and can easily be confused with the fish-generated signals.
Definition and analysis of population-based data completeness measurement

Poor quality data such as data with errors or missing values cause negative consequences in many application domains. An important aspect of data quality is completeness. One problem in data completeness is the problem of missing individuals in data sets. Within a data set, the individuals refer to the real world entities whose information is recorded. So far, in completeness studies however, there has been little discussion about how missing individuals are assessed. In this thesis, we propose the notion of population-based completeness (PBC) that deals with the missing individuals problem, with the aim of investigating what is required to measure PBC and to identify what is needed to support PBC measurements in practice. To achieve these aims, we analyse the elements of PBC and the requirements for PBC measurement, resulting in a definition of the PBC elements and PBC measurement formula. We propose an architecture for PBC measurement systems and determine the technical requirements of PBC systems in terms of software and hardware components. An analysis of the technical issues that arise in implementing PBC makes a contribution to an understanding of the feasibility of PBC measurements to provide accurate measurement results. Further exploration of a particular issue that was discovered in the analysis showed that when measuring PBC across multiple databases, data from those databases need to be integrated and materialised. Unfortunately, this requirement may lead to a large internal store for the PBC system that is impractical to maintain. We propose an approach to test the hypothesis that the available storage space can be optimised by materialising only partial information from the contributing databases, while retaining accuracy of the PBC measurements. Our approach involves substituting some of the attributes from the contributing databases with smaller alternatives, by exploiting the approximate functional dependencies (AFDs) that can be discovered within each local database. An analysis of the space-accuracy trade-offs of the approach leads to the development of an algorithm to assess candidate alternative attributes in terms of space-saving and accuracy (of PBC measurement). The result of several case studies conducted for proxy assessment contributes to an understanding of the space-accuracy trade-offs offered by the proxies. A better understanding of dealing with the completeness problem has been achieved through the proposal and the investigation of PBC, in terms of the requirements to measure and to support PBC in practice.
Study of Myoelectric Prostheses Based on Improved LS-SVM and Fuzzy Control

The sticking point in studying multi-freedom myoelectric prostheses is based on multi-motion pattern recognition of surface electromyography, therefore, in this paper, a method that takes those singular eigen values of wavelet coefficients as the eigenvector of improved Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) is presented to discriminate the motion pattern. Considering the non-steady character of electromyography signal, wavelet transform is employed to analyse electromyography on the basis of acquired signals that have been pre-processed earlier, consequently singular value decomposition of a wavelet coefficient matrix is adopted to extract features of surface electromyography and the Least Squares Support Vector Machine algorithm is utilized to implement the multi-motion pattern recognition of surface electromyography. Then a fuzzy controller is designed specially to control the adjustment of myoelectric prosthetic hand’s movement, which can make the system of myoelectric prosthetic hand grasp object stably. Experimental results indicate that above method has a fast running speed, high discrimination rate and good robust, it can increase the correct ratio of movement pattern recognition and decrease the possible damage to grasped objects, so it has a great potential in the area of bionic man-machine systems such as using electromyography signal to control powered prosthesis.
Time Estimation Methods—Do They Influence Prospective Duration Estimates?

The validity of an attentional model of prospective time estimation was tested in three experiments. In the first experiment two variables were manipulated: (1) nontemporal information processing load during the estimated interval, and (2) time estimation method, ie production of time simultaneously with the performance of a second task, or reproduction of time immediately upon termination of a task whose duration has to be measured. As predicted, a positive relationship between produced time length and information processing load demanded by a simultaneous task, and a negative relationship between reproduced time length and information processing load during the estimated interval, were found. The results were replicated in a second experiment in which verbal estimates of time were also measured and the objective duration of the estimated interval was varied. The pattern of results obtained for verbal estimates was similar to that obtained for reproduced ones. The results of a third experiment indicated that produced and reproduced times were positively correlated with clock time. The results are interpreted as supporting an attentional model of prospective time estimation.
A Study to Explore the Key Factors Impacting on Cloud Based Service Adoption in Indian SMEs

This paper discusses the factors influencing Indian Small and Medium Enterprises' (SMEs) adoption of Cloud based services. This research, through an extensive literature review, analyzes the current situation, benefits, and challenges of Cloud based services adoption for Indian SMEs. It identifies and confirms the key factors (e.g., Cost reduction, relative advantage, security, regulatory support, firm size, top management support, technological readiness) that determine the adoption of Cloud based services by Indian SMEs, based on secondary research. The target population for this study is SMEs in India that are using or considering using Cloud based services, regardless of the field or industry. The theoretical basis for this study is the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory, and Technology Organization and Environment (TOE) theory. These two technology adoption theories present a solid theoretical framework on which this study is based. This paper provides an understanding of the extent to which innovation characteristics, technology context, organizational context, and environmental context influence the decision of Indian SMEs to adopt Cloud based services.
Myofibrillar Damage Following Intense Eccentric Exercise in Man

Muscle soreness that has a delayed onset is a common feature among both athletes and untrained individuals who engage in unusual exercises. This study was designed to provide additional morphological data to assess the relevance and significance of our previous findings that the sore muscles contain fibers with disorganized myofibrillar material. Muscle biopsies were obtained from 12 males (mean age 25 +/- 7 years), who suffered from severe soreness in their thigh muscles 18--72 h following eccentric bicycle exercise. Their strength performance were tested in parallel. Knee extensor strength was decreased at all angular velocities soon after exercise but gradually increased over the subsequent days although slower at the fastest contractions. Disturbances of the cross-striated band pattern were constantly observed. They originated from the myofibrillar Z-band, which showed marked streaming, broadening and, at places, total disruption. The disturbances were found in every second to every third fiber up to 3 days after exercise and in one tenth of the fibers 6 days following the exercise. Type 2 fibers were predominantly affected. Thus, the eccentric exercise gives rise to muscles soreness and influences, on mechanical basis and selectively with regard to fiber type, the fine structure of the contractile apparatus.
Incidence of and treatment for ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast.

OBJECTIVE To describe trends in incidence and treatment for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast in the United States between 1973 and 1992 and to estimate total numbers of in situ cases diagnosed and numbers treated by mastectomy since 1983, when screening mammography for breast cancer began to become widespread. DESIGN Analysis of population-based breast cancer incidence data collected by the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program since 1973 and treatment data collected by the SEER program since 1983. STUDY POPULATION All women in the geographic areas af the United States included in the SEER program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Annual age-adjusted and age-specific incidence rates for DCIS; time trends in distribution of cases by type of treatment; percentage of cases treated by mastectomy by geographic area; and estimated numbers for the entire United States of DCIS cases, mastectomies for DCIS, and cases attributable to mammography. RESULTS There was a marked increase in DCIS incidence beginning in the early 1980s. Average annual increases in rates between 1973 and 1983 and between 1983 and 1992 changed from 0.3% to 12.0% among women aged 30 to 39 years, from 0.4% to 17.4% among women aged 40 to 49, and from 5.2% to 18.1% among women aged 50 years or older. The total estimated number of DCIS cases in the United States in 1992 (23,368) was 200% higher than expected based on 1983 rates and trends between 1973 and 1983. Between 1983 and 1992, there was a marked decline in the proportion of DCIS cases treated by mastectomy (from 71% to 43.8%) and an increase in those treated by lumpectomy (from 25.6% to 53.3%). In 1992, 23.3% of cases were treated by lumpectomy and radiation, 30.2% by lumpectomy alone, and 2.6% with no surgery. Treatment patterns varied substantially by geographic area, with 57.7% of cases in New Mexico treated by mastectomy in 1992 compared with 28.8% in Connecticut. Despite the decline in the proportion of cases treated by mastectomy, the increased DCIS incidence rates resulted in an increase in the absolute number of cases treated by mastectomy until 1990 (n=10,657); in 1992, there were an estimated 10,242 DCIS cases treated by mastectomy. CONCLUSIONS Incidence rates of DCIS of the breast have increased dramatically since 1983. This increase correlates with the widespread adoption of modern mammographic screening. While early detection of invasive breast cancer is beneficial, the value of DCIS detection is currently unknown. There is cause for concern about the large number of DCIS cases that are being diagnosed as a consequence of screening mammography, most of which are treated by some form of surgery. In addition, the proportion of cases treated by mastectomy may be inappropriately high, particularly in some areas of the United States.
Bolstering the Case for Lobectomy in Stages I, II, and IIIA Small-Cell Lung Cancer Using the National Cancer Data Base

Introduction: Current therapy for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) relies on chemoradiation therapy, and the role of primary surgical resection in these patients remains controversial. A minority of SCLC patients present without metastatic disease and are candidates for surgery. This study investigates the role of surgical resection in select patients with SCLC, using a national cohort of approximately 2500 resected patients. Methods: A retrospective study of SCLC patients in the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) was performed where patients were grouped for comparison by stage and treatment regimen. Survival was estimated by Kaplan–Meier methods and multivariate comparisons using Cox regression. Results: Of 28,621 cases of potentially resectable SCLC, 2476 patients (9%) underwent surgery of the primary site with curative intent. Five-year overall survival for patients after resection was 51%, 25%, and 18% for clinical stages I, II, and IIIA, respectively. Addition of surgery to chemotherapy was associated with decreased likelihood of death (hazard ratio: 0.57, 95% confidence interval: 0.47–0.68), independent of age, stage, and comorbidity score. Lobectomy was associated with a 5-year overall survival of 40% compared with 21% and 22% for sublobar resection and pneumonectomy, respectively. Hazard ratio for death after sublobar resections compared with lobectomy was 1.38 (95% confidence interval: 1.12–1.71). Conclusions: Patients with stages I, II, and III SCLC, who underwent surgical resection as part of initial treatment with chemotherapy had respectable OS. These data may warrant prospective studies of including surgery in the multimodality treatment of SCLC in specific circumstances.
The multifunctional RNase XRN 2

Different classes of RNA function in various cellular processes, and their biogenesis and turnover involve diverse RNases for processing and degradation. XRN2 is a 5′→3′ exoribonuclease that is evolutionarily conserved in eukaryotes. It is predominantly localized in the nucleus and recognizes single-stranded RNA with a 5′-terminal monophosphate to degrade it processively to mononucleotides. In the present paper, we review functions of XRN2 and its cofactors in maturation, surveillance and activity control of several classes of RNA such as pre-mRNA (precursor mRNA), rRNA and snoRNA (small nucleolar RNA). XRN2 is an evolutionarily conserved 5′→3′ exoribonuclease related to XRN1 XRN2 was originally identified in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a gene mutated in cells with a poly(A)+ RNA (polyadenylated RNA) nuclear export defect, and accordingly named RAT1 for ribonucleic acid trafficking protein 1 [1]. Orthologous proteins were subsequently identified in other eukaryotes [2–4], and mouse Xrn2 was shown to complement the lethality of an XRN2 null mutation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe [3], indicating widespread conservation throughout evolution (Figure 1). XRN2/RAT1 is additionally known as TAP1, HKE1 and DHM1 [3,5,6], but we will use XRN2 throughout the present review for clarity. XRN2 has regions homologous with the 5′→3′ exoribonuclease XRN1 [1,7] (Figure 1), and both possess comparable exonuclease activity in vitro: they recognize single-stranded RNA with a 5′-terminal monophosphate and degrade it processively to mononucleotides [6,8,9]. XRN2 is predominantly localized in the nucleus [10], whereas XRN1 is localized in the cytoplasm [11]. Johnson [10] showed that XRN2 with a mutation in a putative NLS (nuclear localization signal), which was mislocalized to the cytoplasm, could complement defects in cytoplasmic RNA turnover and sporulation of S. cerevisiae XRN1 mutants. Conversely, XRN1 fused to the SV40 (simian virus 40) large T antigen NLS, which accumulated in the nucleus, could restore viability of XRN2 mutant cells, suggesting that catalytic activities of XRN2 and XRN1 are comparable in vivo and that their cellular roles are largely determined by subcellular
SLFM: A new DOA estimator for wideband signals

This paper introduces a new direction- of arrival(DOA) estimation algorithm for wideband sources called source line fitting method(SLFM). Unlike other coherent wideband methods, such as CSSM, TOPS and WAVES, the new method does not require to decompose wideband signals into multiple frequency components. Instead, it uses time delay information directly to construct the source lines, each of which corresponds to a wideband source, then estimates the DOAs by measuring the angle of source lines, and that is the reason it is called SLFM. The main advantage of SLFM is that it works well when the inter-element spacing of the array is much larger than wavelength, which is usually used to combat multipath fading. Computer simulation is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of SLFM.