Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of spinal and general anesthesia in lumbar laminectomy surgery: a case-controlled analysis of 400 patients.

OBJECT Despite a history of safety and efficacy, spinal anesthesia is rarely used in lumbar surgery. Application of regional anesthetics is widely preferred for lower-extremity surgery, but general anesthesia is used almost exclusively in spine surgery, despite evidence that spinal anesthesia is as safe and may offer some advantages. METHODS In this case-controlled study the authors analyzed outcomes obtained in 400 patients in whom either spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia was induced to perform a lumbar decompression. Patients were matched for anesthesia-related class, preoperative diagnosis, surgical procedure, and perioperative protocols. All aspects of surgery, recovery, postanesthesia care, and pain management were uniform irrespective of the anesthetic type. Case complexity was equivalent. An independent observer performed analysis of the data. Data from the intraoperative period through hospital discharge were collected and compared. Two hundred consecutive patients meeting inclusion criteria were included in each group. Patients were treated for either lumbar stenosis or herniated nucleus pulposus. Demographically, both groups were well matched. Anesthetic and operative times were longer for patients receiving a general anesthetic (p < 0.05), in whom more nausea and greater requirements for antiemetics and pain medication were also present during recovery (p < 0.05). Overall complication rates and, specifically, the incidences of urinary retention were significantly lower in spinal anesthesia--induced patients (p < 0.05). There were no neural injuries in either group, and the incidence of spinal headache was lower in patients receiving a spinal anesthetic (1.5% compared with 3%). CONCLUSIONS Spinal anesthesia was as safe and effective as general anethesia for patients undergoing lumbar laminectomy. Potential advantages of spinal anesthsia include a shorter anesthesia duration, decreased nausea, antiemetic and analgesic requirements, and fewer complications. Successful surgery can be performed using either anesthesia type.
Deprofessionalization or Postprofessionalization? Reflections on the State of Social Work as a Profession

ABSTRACT Recent literature considering the state of the social work profession has primarily focused on concerns about deprofessionalization. This article provides an overview of the literature on professionalization and professional decline in order to situate the social work profession within a broader context. The article then describes the emergence of a new role for social workers in Canada that crosses the boundaries between clinical, managerial, and legal aspects of client care in the area of mental health forensics. It is argued that the future of social work's professionalization project around the world may not be as bleak as has been portrayed in the literature.
The Role of Liver Transplantation in theTreatment of Alcoholic Liver Disease

In 1988 Starzl challenged the consensus view from 1983 that only a small percentage of patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) would be expected to meet the criteria for transplantation (National Institute of Health [NIH], 1984). Starzl and his team reported the successful liver transplantation (LT) of patients with ALD, and suggested that few patients returned to alcohol after liver transplantation (Starzl et al., 1988). Since then ALD has become one of the most common indications for LT in adults. However, despite this success, there remains significant debate and controversy regarding the indication, as several studies over time have shown that the public may not be supportive of the idea of allocating a limited resource, such as the liver graft, to patients with ALD. This chapter will discuss the pretransplant evaluation of patients with ALD, the debate over the treatment of acute alcoholic hepatitis, and the outcome of LT for ALD, including the issue of relapse. Finally, certain ethical concerns such as the use of living donors and future challenges will be analyzed.
Anti-inflammatory Constituents of Mortonia greggii Gray

A new phytochemical study of Mortonia greggii (Celastraceae) afforded four friedelan derivatives (1-4), three lupanes (5-7), retusine (8), two esterified polyhydroxyagarofurans (9-10), mortonin C (11) and photomortonin C (12). The anti-inflammatory activity on carrageenan and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate induced models of inflammation, as well as the ability to inhibit the nitric oxide (NO) produced by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages were evaluated for the main metabolites. Our results showed that the friedelan dehydrocanophyllic acid methyl ester (1) exhibits an anti-inflammatory effect which could be related to an inhibition of prostaglandin and NO production. The activity of lupeol (5), 29-hydroxylupeol (6) and 29-hydroxylupenone (7) might be involved with the prostanoid synthesis. The presence of the hydroxy groups in 6 appears to be important for activity. The edema inhibition capacity of retusine (8) could be related to a reduction of the prostaglandin production. The agarofuran derivative 10 is an NO inhibitor whose activity is probably not involved in the synthesis of prostaglandins.
Efficient Memory Traces with Full Pointer Information

Tracing objects and their references is paramount for tracking down memory-related performance problems. In this paper, we present a novel approach for recording references between objects at minimal run-time overhead. Extending our memory monitoring tool AntTracks with pointer information allows for a complete reconstruction of the heap before and after garbage collections as well as for an offline analysis of all garbage collection decisions made. Additionally, we describe several trace optimization techniques, such as exploiting VM-internal information, to reduce the tracing overhead even further. We evaluate our approach by means of the DaCapo benchmark suite and a selection of memory-intensive benchmarks from the DaCapoScala benchmark suite and the SPECjvm benchmark suite.
A Picturesque Maze Generation Algorithm with Any Given Endpoints

: A picturesque maze is a kind of maze in which the solution path reveals a hidden black-and-white raster image. We propose here an algorithm to generate a picturesque maze of a given black-and-white raster image. Okamoto and Uehara proposed an algorithm to generate a picturesque maze by turning each original pixel into a 2-by-2 set of pixels. One drawback of the method is that the entrance and the exit are always adjacent. We propose a simple algorithm to generate a picturesque maze with any given endpoints for a 2-edge-connected input image.
Bat kinematics in Baseball: Implications for Ball Exit Velocity and Player Safety

Ball exit velocity (BEV) was measured from 17 experienced baseball hitters using wood and metal bats of similar length and mass but different moments of inertia. This research was conducted in response to safety issues for defensive players related to high BEV from metal baseball bats reported in the literature. Our purpose was to determine whether metal bats, with their lower swing moment of inertia, produce a higher linear bat tip velocity than wooden bats swung by the same players. Analysis using high-speed videography indicated significant differences in the x-component of velocity for both the proximal (metal = 5.4 m s−1; wood = 3.9 m s−1) and distal ends of the bats (metal = 37.2 m s−1; wood = 35.2 m s−1), p < 0.01. The orientation of the bats with respect to the horizontal plane was also significantly more “square” 0.005 s prior to impact (270°) for the metal (264.3°) compared with the wood bat (251.5°), p < 0.01. Mean BEV from metal bats (44.3 m s−1) was higher than the 41 m s−1 velocity which cor.
Proximate mechanisms and evolution of caste polyphenism in social insects: From sociality to genes

Evidence has accumulated over several decades to prove the kin selection theory of evolution of social insects, however, proximate mechanisms of social behavior, and/or caste differentiation remain obscure. Genes that regulate these mechanisms are apparently selected through kin selection, and organisms have consequently acquired sociality. Here, I will discuss several studies that were performed recently by Matsumoto Laboratory, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, in various social insects, such as termites and ants, in order to reveal the regulatory mechanisms of social behavior and the evolutionary processes of sociality. First, I will review the foraging behavior of the black marching termite Hospitalitermes medioflavus, where well-organized task allocation among castes is apparent. This suggests that regulation of postembryonic development is important in social behavior. Next, I will summarize recent progress in identifying caste-specific gene expression in the damp-wood termite Hodotermopsis sjostedti. This constitutes the basis for molecular mechanisms of caste differentiation, and moreover, the genes identified might be good markers for social evolution. Finally, the mechanism underlying winglessness in ant workers is reviewed. Apoptotic cell death was detected at the stage of pupation in wingless worker castes. Furthermore, the areas of study recently designated as ‘sociogenomics’ and ‘ecological developmental biology’ are discussed.
Spatial distribution of inspiratory drive to the parasternal intercostal muscles in humans

The human parasternal intercostal muscles are obligatory inspiratory muscles with a diminishing mechanical advantage from cranial to caudal interspaces. This study determined whether inspiratory neural drive to these muscles is graded, and whether this distribution matches regional differences in inspiratory mechanical advantage. To determine the neural drive, intramuscular EMG was recorded from the first to the fifth parasternal intercostals during resting breathing in six subjects. All interspaces showed phasic inspiratory activity but the onset of activity relative to inspiratory flow in the fourth and fifth spaces was delayed compared with that in cranial interspaces. Activity in the first, second and third interspaces commenced, on average, within the first 10% of inspiratory time, and sometimes preceded inspiratory airflow. In contrast, activity in the fourth and fifth interspaces began after an average 33% of inspiratory time. The peak inspiratory discharge frequency of motor units in the first interspace averaged 13.4 ± 1.0 Hz (mean ±s.e.m.) and was significantly greater than in all other interspaces, in particular in the fifth space (8.0 ± 1.0 Hz). Phasic inspiratory activity was sometimes superimposed on tonic activity. In the first interspace, only 3% of units had tonic firing, but this proportion increased to 34% in the fifth space. In five subjects, recordings were also made from the medial and lateral extent of the second parasternal intercostal. Both portions showed phasic inspiratory activity which began within the first 6% of inspiratory time. Motor units from the lateral and medial portions fired at the same peak discharge rate (10.4 ± 0.7 versus 10.7 ± 0.6 Hz). These observations indicate that the distribution of neural drive to the parasternal intercostals in humans has a rostrocaudal gradient, but that the drive is uniform along the mediolateral extent of the second interspace. The distribution of inspiratory neural drive to the parasternal intercostals parallels the spatial distribution of inspiratory mechanical advantage, while tonic activity was higher where mechanical advantage was lower.
Mobile web applications: bringing mobile apps and web together

The popularity of mobile applications is very high and still growing rapidly. These applications allow their users to stay connected with a large number of service providers in seamless fashion, both for leisure and productivity. But service prThe popularity of mobile applications is very high and still growing rapidly. These applications allow their users to stay connected with a large number of service providers in seamless fashion, both for leisure and productivity. But service providers suffer from the high fragmentation of mobile development platforms that force them to develop, maintain and deploy their applications in a large number of versions and formats. The Mobile Web Applications (MobiWebApp [1]) EU project aims to build on Europe's strength in mobile technologies to enable European research and industry to strengthen its position in Web technologies to be active and visible on the mobile applications market.
Understanding optimal colonic cancer surgery: comparison of Japanese D3 resection and European complete mesocolic excision with central vascular ligation.

PURPOSE Over recent years, patient outcomes after colon cancer resection have not improved to the same degree as for rectal cancer. Japanese D3 resection and European complete mesocolic excision (CME) with central vascular ligation (CVL) are both based on sound oncologic principles. Expert surgeons using both techniques report impressive outcomes as compared with standard surgery. We aimed to independently compare the physical appearances and quality of specimens resected using both techniques in major institutions in Japan and Germany. METHODS A series of resections for primary colon cancer from one European and two Japanese centers were independently assessed in terms of the plane of surgery, physical characteristics, and lymph node yields. RESULTS Mesocolic plane resection rates from both series were high; however, Japanese D3 specimens were significantly shorter (162 v 324 mm, P < .001), resulting in a smaller amount of mesentery (8,309 v 17,957 mm(2), P < . 001) and nodal yield (median, 18 v 32, P < .001). The distance from the high vascular tie to the bowel wall (100 v 99 mm, P = .605) was equivalent. CONCLUSION Both techniques showed high mesocolic plane resection rates and long distances between the high tie and the bowel wall. The extended longitudinal resection after CME with CVL increased the nodal yield but did not increase the number of tumor involved nodes. Both series were oncologically superior to recently reported series from other countries and confirm the wide variation in colonic cancer surgery and the need for further standardization and optimization following the approach undertaken in improving rectal cancer outcomes.
Holographic power combining: a new principle for millimeter and submillimeter-wave power combining

In this contribution, a novel concept based on holography is introduced for the challenging topic of millimeter and submillimeter-wave power combining. To spatially combine power generated by a set of sources, the interference of their wavefronts with the desired combined wave is recorded in a hologram. Exposing the hologram to the field of the same sources produces the desired combined wave. Basic features of this method are, among other things, applicability to an arbitrary number of sources and scalability to even optical wavelengths. The contribution also covers an empirical realization of a holographic power combiner for 5 Gunn oscillators at 24 GHz.
A constitutive damage-specific DNA-binding protein is synthesized at higher levels in UV-irradiated primate cells

Using a DNA band shift assay, we have identified a DNA-binding protein complex in primate cells which is present constitutively and has a high affinity for UV-irradiated, double-stranded DNA. Cells pretreated with UV light, mitomycin C, or aphidicolin have higher levels of this damage-specific DNA-binding protein complex, suggesting that the signal for induction can either be damage to the DNA or interference with cellular DNA replication. Physiochemical modifications of the DNA and competition analysis with defined substrates suggest that the most probable target site for the damage-specific DNA-binding protein complex is a 6-4'-(pyrimidine-2'-one)-pyrimidine dimer: specific binding could not be detected with probes which contain -TT- cyclobutane dimers, and damage-specific DNA binding did not decrease after photoreactivation of UV-irradiated DNA. This damage-specific DNA-binding protein complex is the first such inducible protein complex identified in primate cells. Cells from patients with the sun-sensitive cancer-prone disease, xeroderma pigmentosum (group E), are lacking both the constitutive and the induced damage-specific DNA-binding activities. These findings suggest a possible role for this DNA-binding protein complex in lesion recognition and DNA repair of UV-light-induced photoproducts.
Marginally stable equilibria in critical ecosystems

In this work we study the stability of the equilibria reached by ecosystems formed by a large number of species. The model we focus on are Lotka–Volterra equations with symmetric random interactions. Our theoretical analysis, confirmed by our numerical studies, shows that for strong and heterogeneous interactions the system displays multiple equilibria which are all marginally stable. This property allows us to obtain general identities between diversity and single species responses, which generalize and saturate May’s stability bound. By connecting the model to systems studied in condensed matter physics, we show that the multiple equilibria regime is analogous to a critical spin-glass phase. This relation suggests new experimental ways to probe marginal stability.
Muscle fibers actuated by neural signals

We propose a method for constructing “neuron-muscle fibers” driven by signals from activated neurons. The fibers consist of stretched muscle fibers covered with highly aligned neurons, and the axons of neurons extend into muscle fibers and form neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). We successfully constructed the neuron-muscle fibers by culturing neural stem cells on stretched muscle fibers; the neural stem cells then differentiated into neurons and connected to muscle cells, forming NMJs. Furthermore, we found that the neuron-muscle fibers contract after treatment of glutamic acid that activates neurons to stimulate the muscle cells. We believe that our neuron-muscle fibers will be not only used as soft-robotic actuators controlled by neuronal signals, but also used in therapeutic and pharmacokinetic assays for NMJ disease models.
Negative chemotaxis in cellular slime molds

This study confirms the suggestion of earlier workers that the vegetative amoebae of Dictyostelium repel each other while those of Polysphondylium violaceum do not. When Dictyostelium amoebae were placed in drops on thin and thick agar, the cells moved out faster on the thin agar, presumably because the repellent was more concentrated. This did not occur with Polysphondylium amoebae. Also, if 2 drops of cells were placed side by side, or a single drop was placed near an edge, in Dictyostelium there were fewer cells emerging between the drops (or near an edge) than on the far side. Polysphondylium showed no such difference. However, Polysphondylium amoebae were repelled by Dictyostelium cells (but not vice versa) when drops of each were placed beside one another. Finally, if Dictyostelium discoideum cells were placed in drops over thick and thin agar, but separated from the agar by a dialysis membrane, the cells again spread farther on the thin agar, indicating that the repellent is a dialyzable molecule.
A Survey on Asynchronous Quorum-Based Power Saving Protocols in Multi-Hop Networks

Quorum-based algorithms are widely used for solving several problems in mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) and wireless sensor networks (WSN). Several quorum-based protocols are proposed for multi-hop ad hoc networks that each one has its pros and cons. Quorum-based protocol (QEC or QPS) is the first study in the asynchronous sleep scheduling protocols. At the time, most of the proposed protocols were non-adaptive ones. But nowadays, adaptive quorum-based protocols have gained increasing attention, because we need protocols which can change their quorum size adaptively with network conditions. In this paper, we first introduce the most popular quorum systems and explain quorum system properties and its performance criteria. Then, we present a comparative and comprehensive survey of the non-adaptive and adaptive quorum-based protocols which are subsequently discussed in depth. We also present the comparison of different quorum systems in terms of the expected quorum overlap size (EQOS) and active ratio. Finally, we summarize the pros and cons of current adaptive and non-adaptive quorum-based protocols.
A role for the fibrinogen‐binding regions of streptococcal M proteins in phagocytosis resistance

All virulent group A streptococcal isolates bind fibrinogen, a property that is closely linked to expression of type‐specific antiphagocytic surface molecules designated M proteins. Here we show that although the M proteins from two different strains, M1 and M5, both bind fibrinogen with high affinity, they interact with different regions in the ligand. Moreover, mapping experiments demonstrated that the fibrinogen‐binding regions in the M1 and M5 proteins are quite dissimilar at the amino acid sequence level and that they bind to different regions in the plasma protein. In spite of these differences, the fibrinogen‐binding regions of M1 and M5 could both be shown to contribute to streptococcal survival in human blood, providing evidence for the distinct function of a plasma protein interaction in bacterial pathogenesis.
In vitro characterization and in vivo properties of a carbonated apatite bone cement.

This study evaluated the in vivo behavior of an injectable calcium phosphate bone cement implanted in bone defects at the distal end of rabbit femora. After 3 weeks, samples were harvested and processed for undecalcified sectioning. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy showed direct contact of bone and cement without soft tissue interposition, biocompatibility, and bioactivity with osteoconductive properties.
Identification of cell wall proteins in the flax (Linum usitatissimum) stem

Sequential salt (CaCl2, LiCl) extractions were used to obtain fractions enriched in cell wall proteins (CWPs) from the stem of 60‐day‐old flax (Linum usitatissimum) plants. High‐resolution FT‐ICR MS analysis and the use of recently published genomic data allowed the identification of 11 912 peptides corresponding to a total of 1418 different proteins. Subcellular localization using TargetP, Predotar, and WoLF PSORT led to the identification of 152 putative flax CWPs that were classified into nine different functional classes previously established for Arabidopsis thaliana. Examination of different functional classes revealed the presence of a number of proteins known to be involved in, or potentially involved in cell‐wall metabolism in plants. The flax stem cell wall proteome was also compared with transcriptomic data previously obtained on comparable samples. This study represents a major contribution to the identification of CWPs in flax and will lead to a better understanding of cell wall biology in this species.
Energy-based coordinated control of wind energy conversion system with DFIG

This article presents an energy-based coordinated control of machine- and grid-side converters in a wind energy conversion system (WECS) with a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) based on the theory of port-controlled Hamiltonian (PCH) system. Taking into account energy transmission in the dual PWM converter rather than treating rectification and inversion as separate parts, an integrated PCH model for the whole WECS was established from physical meanings. And depending on the new model, an energy-based coordinated control approach was proposed to meet the control requirements of the WECS with an additional objective which was to limit the DC-link voltage fluctuation. The approach was applied on a 2MW WECS, and compared with the energy-based respective control strategy using MATLAB/Simulink. The results show that the proposed control approach provides faster dynamic performance since the two converters operate with the knowledge of each other's operating status, and thus is able to smooth the power flow in the DC-link more effectively.