Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk of stroke associated with abciximab among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

CONTEXT Abciximab, a potent inhibitor of the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor, reduces thrombotic complications in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Because of its potent inhibition of platelet aggregation, the effect of abciximab on risk of stroke is a concern. OBJECTIVE To determine whether abciximab use among patients undergoing PCI is associated with an increased risk of stroke. DESIGN Combined analysis of data from 4 double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trials (EPIC, CAPTURE, EPILOG, and EPISTENT) conducted between November 1991 and October 1997 at a total of 257 academic and community hospitals in the United States and Europe. PATIENTS A total of 8555 patients undergoing PCI with or without stent deployment for a variety of indications were randomly assigned to receive a bolus and infusion of abciximab (n = 5476) or matching placebo (n = 3079). One treatment group in EPIC received a bolus of abciximab only. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Risk of hemorrhagic and nonhemorrhagic stroke within 30 days of treatment among abciximab and placebo groups. RESULTS No significant difference in stroke rate was observed between patients assigned abciximab (n = 22 [0.40%]) and those assigned placebo (n = 9 [0.29%]; P =.46). Excluding the EPIC abciximab bolus-only group, there were 9 strokes (0.30%) among 3023 patients who received placebo and 15 (0.32%) in 4680 patients treated with abciximab bolus plus infusion, a difference of 0.02% (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.23% to 0.28%). The rate of nonhemorrhagic stroke was 0.17% in patients treated with abciximab and 0.20% in patients treated with placebo (difference, -0.03%; 95% CI, -0.23% to 0.17%), and the rates of hemorrhagic stroke were 0.15% and 0.10%, respectively (difference, 0.05%; 95% CI, -0.11% to 0.21%). Among patients treated with abciximab, the rate of hemorrhagic stroke in patients receiving standard-dose heparin in EPIC, CAPTURE, and EPILOG was higher than in those receiving low-dose heparin in the EPILOG and EPISTENT trials (0.27% vs 0.04%; P =.057). CONCLUSIONS Abciximab in addition to aspirin and heparin does not increase the risk of stroke in patients undergoing PCI. Patients undergoing PCI and treated with abciximab should receive low-dose, weight-adjusted heparin.
Management strategy for dirty abdominal incisions: primary or delayed primary closure? A randomized trial.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE It is still a matter of debate whether delayed primary closure (DPC) of dirty abdominal incisions reduces surgical site infections (SSIs) compared with primary closure (PC). Our objective was to determine whether DPC of dirty abdominal incisions reduces SSIs. METHOD A controlled randomized study was conducted at an academic tertiary care 1,500-bed university hospital in Western India involving 81 consecutive patients with dirty abdominal incisions. Only 77 patients (DPC = 37, PC = 40) were evaluable because of the deaths of four patients. A total of 52 patients had peptic or typhoid perforations, whereas the rest had appendicular perforations/abscesses, penetrating or blunt abdominal injuries with gastrointestinal perforation, or intra-peritoneal abscesses. Patients were randomized to have their surgical incisions (skin and subcutaneous tissue) either closed primarily (PC) or left open with saline-soaked gauze dressings for DPC on the 3(rd) postoperative day or later if the incision conditions were inappropriate for closure. The main outcome measure was the incidence of postoperative SSI. RESULTS In the entire series, SSI developed after incision closure in 23% of the patients. Infections were significantly more common in the PC group (42.5% vs. 2.7% for DPC; p = 0.0000375). There also were significantly more cases of abdominal dehiscence in the PC group (DPC 1 [2.7%] vs. PC 10 [25%]; p = 0.005). The mean complete incision healing (CIH) time and length of hospital stay (LOS) were longer after PC (18.52 days) than DPC (13.86 days), resulting in a significant difference in the end point of healing and LOS (p = 0.0207). Short-term cosmetic results for PC incisions were significantly inferior to those for DPC (p = 0.03349). CONCLUSIONS Delayed primary closure is a sound incision management technique that should be utilized for dirty abdominal incisions. It significantly lowers the rate of superficial SSI as well as fascial dehiscence and reduces the mean CIH time and hospitalization. The short-term cosmetic appearance is superior.
Some Methodological Issues in Cohort Analysis of Archival Data

Walton, John 1966a "Substance and artifact: the current status of research on community power structure. " American Journal of Sociology 71 (January) :430-8. 1966b "Discipline, method and community power: a note on the sociology of knowledge. " American Sociological Review 31 (October): 684-99. 1967 "The vertical axis of community organization and the structure of power. " Southwestern Social Science Quarterly 48 (December) :353-68. Wolfinger, Raymond E. 1962 "Reputation and reality in the study of community power. " American Sociological Review 25 (October) :636-44.
Late-Onset Schizophrenia: A Review for Clinicians

Although presumed to be relatively infrequent in presentation, the existence of late-onset schizophrenia (LOS) is now recognized by the International Consensus on Late-Onset and Very-Late-Onset Schizophrenia Group. In 2000, this group agreed upon ages 40 to 60 years as LOS cutoffs. This review is focused on identifying features of LOS that are important for clinicians working with middle-aged and older adults. Although the symptoms in LOS and early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) are more similar than different, patients with LOS tend to experience more positive and fewer negative symptoms. Specifically, persecutory and paranoid delusions and visual, tactile, and auditory hallucinations tend to be more prominent in patients with LOS than in patients with earlier onsets. Risk factors for the disease include sex (female) and social isolation. Current pathophysiological findings suggest that patients with LOS have enlarged ventricles and more white-matter hyperintensities when compared than age-matched patients with EOS and controls. Finally, treatment for LOS should include a combination of second generation antipsychotics administered at low dosages with small incremental increases as well as psychological therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy, social and functional skills training, and supported employment rehabilitation.
Global Variability in Reported Mortality for Critical Illness during the 2009-10 Influenza A(H1N1) Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression to Guide Reporting of Outcomes during Disease Outbreaks

Purpose To determine how patient, healthcare system and study-specific factors influence reported mortality associated with critical illness during the 2009–2010 Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. Methods Systematic review with meta-regression of studies reporting on mortality associated with critical illness during the 2009–2010 Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. Data Sources Medline, Embase, LiLACs and African Index Medicus to June 2009-March 2016. Results 226 studies from 50 countries met our inclusion criteria. Mortality associated with H1N1-related critical illness was 31% (95% CI 28–34). Reported mortality was highest in South Asia (61% [95% CI 50–71]) and Sub-Saharan Africa (53% [95% CI 29–75]), in comparison to Western Europe (25% [95% CI 22–30]), North America (25% [95% CI 22–27]) and Australia (15% [95% CI 13–18]) (P<0.0001). High income economies had significantly lower reported mortality compared to upper middle income economies and lower middle income economies respectively (P<0.0001). Mortality for the first wave was non-significantly higher than wave two (P = 0.66). There was substantial variability in reported mortality among the specific subgroups of patients: unselected critically ill adults (27% [95% CI 24–30]), acute respiratory distress syndrome (37% [95% CI 32–44]), acute kidney injury (44% [95% CI 26–64]), and critically ill pregnant patients (10% [95% CI 5–19]). Conclusion Reported mortality for outbreaks and pandemics may vary substantially depending upon selected patient characteristics, the number of patients described, and the region and economic status of the outbreak location. Outcomes from a relatively small number of patients from specific regions may lead to biased estimates of outcomes on a global scale.
POLITICAL AND APOLITICAL ACTION: TOWARD A RECONCILIATION OF CONTRADICTORY MODELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

Two models of organizational behavior are reviewed. The apolitical model describes a relatively stable and centralized monolith, while the political model describes a potentially unstable federation of self‐interested parties. It is argued that the apolitical model is largely predicated on social and generalized exchange and forces for stability, while the political model is largely predicated on economic and dyadic exchange and forces for instability. It is further argued that the contradictions inherent in these forces help fuel evolutionary change (where the apolitical model becomes most salient), punctuated by revolutionary change (where the political model becomes most salient). Thus, the two models apply simultaneously to organizational action, suggesting that the organization can be seen as both a stable monolith and an unstable coalition.
Sibling risk of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and adenotonsillar hypertrophy.

OBJECTIVES To estimate sibling risk of hospitalization for children with sleep disordered breathing (SDB), diagnosed with (1) obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), or (2) adenotonsillar hypertrophy in the total Swedish population. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Using the MigMed database at the Karolinska Institute, we divided the population of Sweden aged 0-18 years into sibling groups based on a shared mother and father and presence of a primary hospital diagnosis of OSAS or adenotonsillar hypertrophy for each individual born between 1978 and 1986, during the follow-up period 1997-2004. Individuals with at least one affected sibling were identified and the incidence rates were computed, using standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Reference groups were boys and girls with unaffected siblings of 2 or more. RESULTS After accounting for socioeconomic status, age, and geographic region, boys with at least one sibling with OSAS had an increased risk of having OSAS (SIR, 33.2; 95% CI, 16.5-64.8), and in girls the SIR was 40.5 (19.4-81.4). For hypertrophy of the tonsils or hypertrophy of the adenoids and tonsils the corresponding SIRs were 4.53 (3.0-6.8) for boys and 4.94 (3.3-7.4) for girls. CONCLUSIONS The study indicate an increased sibling risk of sleep disordered breathing in children, which may be due to heritable genes and/or shared environment such as increased awareness among family members or referring doctors. Caregivers should ask parents if siblings have similar symptoms, and thus offer them early treatment.
Re-Inventing Africa: Matriarchy, Religion and Culture

* Introduction Writing Africa * African social history and the sociology of history * PART ONE RE-WRITING HISTORY * Chapter One The Matriarchal Roots of Africa * Chapter Two Race and Gender * Cheikh Anta Diop's Moral Philosophy * Chapter Three Theorizing Matriarchy in Africa * Kinship Ideologies and socio-cultural systems in Africa and Europe * Chapter Four Women's Achievements in African Political Systems * Transforming culture for 500 years * Chapter Five Gender and Social Movements in Africa * A West African experience * Chapter Six Gender and the Contestation of Religion * A historical perspective on African societies * PART TWO DE-COLONIZING HISTORY * Chapter Seven African Women and Politics * A history of transformation * Chapter Eight Cycles of Western Imperialism * Feminism, race, gender, class and power * Chapter Nine In the Company of Women * Love, struggle, class and our feminisms
A compound memristive synapse model for statistical learning through STDP in spiking neural networks

Memristors have recently emerged as promising circuit elements to mimic the function of biological synapses in neuromorphic computing. The fabrication of reliable nanoscale memristive synapses, that feature continuous conductance changes based on the timing of pre- and postsynaptic spikes, has however turned out to be challenging. In this article, we propose an alternative approach, the compound memristive synapse, that circumvents this problem by the use of memristors with binary memristive states. A compound memristive synapse employs multiple bistable memristors in parallel to jointly form one synapse, thereby providing a spectrum of synaptic efficacies. We investigate the computational implications of synaptic plasticity in the compound synapse by integrating the recently observed phenomenon of stochastic filament formation into an abstract model of stochastic switching. Using this abstract model, we first show how standard pulsing schemes give rise to spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) with a stabilizing weight dependence in compound synapses. In a next step, we study unsupervised learning with compound synapses in networks of spiking neurons organized in a winner-take-all architecture. Our theoretical analysis reveals that compound-synapse STDP implements generalized Expectation-Maximization in the spiking network. Specifically, the emergent synapse configuration represents the most salient features of the input distribution in a Mixture-of-Gaussians generative model. Furthermore, the network's spike response to spiking input streams approximates a well-defined Bayesian posterior distribution. We show in computer simulations how such networks learn to represent high-dimensional distributions over images of handwritten digits with high fidelity even in presence of substantial device variations and under severe noise conditions. Therefore, the compound memristive synapse may provide a synaptic design principle for future neuromorphic architectures.
China English, at home and in the world

First describing the rapid growth of English as a lingua franca in Europe and East Asia, and having drawn attention to similarities and differences in the evolution of the varieties of English worldwide, the author focuses on China where, as in so many other domains, growth and change are currently very rapid. She reports in particular on an investigation into 586 Chinese English teachers' attitudes to both the standard varieties of the language around the world and a new variety, China English. A majority of the teachers surveyed considers that China English will eventually become a standard variety of the language in its own right, and at least stand alongside the current national favourite, American English. In addition, the teachers' views on both the cultural content of teaching materials and the use of native speakers of English in Chinese institutions of education reflect both China's openness to the world and a strong adherence to its own culture. The signs are, she argues, that China English is on its way to becoming another world variety, which will happen when it has been adequately described, codified and officially recognized.
Is the Arginine-Nitric Oxide Pathway Involved in the Pathogenesis of Schizophrenia?

The reciprocal regulation of arginase and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in L-arginine-metabolizing pathways has been demonstrated. There are various evidences of the role of the nitric oxide (NO) in several neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. However, there is no study which has investigated the role of arginase as an important part of the arginine regulatory system affecting NOS activity in schizophrenia. This study aims to investigate arginase, manganese (Mn) and total nitrite levels (a metabolite of NO) and their relationship to the arginine-NO pathway in patients with schizophrenia. Arginase activities, Mn and total nitrite levels were measured in plasma from 46 patients with schizophrenia and 32 healthy control subjects. Plasma arginase activities and Mn were found to be significantly lower and total nitrite level higher in patients with schizophrenia compared with controls. Our results suggest that the arginine-NO pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.
Uncoupled Embryonic and Extra-Embryonic Tissues Compromise Blastocyst Development after Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is the most efficient cell reprogramming technique available, especially when working with bovine species. Although SCNT blastocysts performed equally well or better than controls in the weeks following embryo transfer at Day 7, elongation and gastrulation defects were observed prior to implantation. To understand the developmental implications of embryonic/extra-embryonic interactions, the morphological and molecular features of elongating and gastrulating tissues were analysed. At Day 18, 30 SCNT conceptuses were compared to 20 controls (AI and IVP: 10 conceptuses each); one-half of the SCNT conceptuses appeared normal while the other half showed signs of atypical elongation and gastrulation. SCNT was also associated with a high incidence of discordance in embryonic and extra-embryonic patterns, as evidenced by morphological and molecular “uncoupling”. Elongation appeared to be secondarily affected; only 3 of 30 conceptuses had abnormally elongated shapes and there were very few differences in gene expression when they were compared to the controls. However, some of these differences could be linked to defects in microvilli formation or extracellular matrix composition and could thus impact extra-embryonic functions. In contrast to elongation, gastrulation stages included embryonic defects that likely affected the hypoblast, the epiblast, or the early stages of their differentiation. When taking into account SCNT conceptus somatic origin, i.e. the reprogramming efficiency of each bovine ear fibroblast (Low: 0029, Med: 7711, High: 5538), we found that embryonic abnormalities or severe embryonic/extra-embryonic uncoupling were more tightly correlated to embryo loss at implantation than were elongation defects. Alternatively, extra-embryonic differences between SCNT and control conceptuses at Day 18 were related to molecular plasticity (high efficiency/high plasticity) and subsequent pregnancy loss. Finally, because it alters re-differentiation processes in vivo, SCNT reprogramming highlights temporally and spatially restricted interactions among cells and tissues in a unique way.
Interactive effects of absence culture salience and group cohesiveness: A multi‐level and cross‐level analysis of work absenteeism in the Chinese context

This study examined the interactive effects of group cohesiveness and absence culture salience on absence proposed by Johns and Nicholson (1982). It was hypothesized that group cohesiveness and absence culture salience would be negatively related to work-group absence. Emphasis was placed on the interactive effects of cohesiveness and cultural salience on work-group absence rate and employee self-reported absence. In addition, the potential mediating effect of group absence norms was explored. Survey responses were collected from 800 employees in a state-owned manufacturing enterprise in the People's Republic of China. Aggregate measures of salience and cohesiveness each had a negative relationship with work-group absenteeism. Consistent support for the interactive effects of cohesiveness and salience was provided by group, individual, and cross-level analyses. Group absence norms mediated the effects of cohesiveness, cultural salience, and their interaction on self-reported absenteeism.
Craniofacial profile in Asian and white subjects with obstructive sleep apnoea

Background: Clinical detection of structural narrowing of the upper airway may facilitate early recognition of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). To determine whether the craniofacial profile predicts the presence of OSA, the upper airway and craniofacial structure of 239 consecutive patients (164 Asian and 75 white subjects) referred to two sleep centres (Hong Kong and Vancouver) were prospectively examined for suspected sleep disordered breathing. Methods: All subjects underwent a history and physical examination with measurements of anthropometric parameters and craniofacial structure including neck circumference, thyromental distance, thyromental angle, and Mallampati oropharyngeal score. OSA was defined as an apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) of ⩾5/hour on full overnight polysomnography. Results: Discriminant function analysis indicated that the Mallampati score (F = 0.70), thyromental angle (F = 0.60), neck circumference (F = 0.54), body mass index (F = 0.53), and age (F = 0.53) were the best predictors of OSA. After controlling for ethnicity, body mass index and neck circumference, patients with OSA were older, had larger thyromental angles, and higher Mallampati scores than non-apnoeic subjects. These variables remained significantly different between OSA patients and controls across a range of cut-off values of AHI from 5 to 30/hour. Conclusions: A crowded posterior oropharynx and a steep thyromental plane predict OSA across two different ethnic groups and varying degrees of obesity.
Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex is required for performance of a strategy implementation task but not reinforcer devaluation effects in rhesus monkeys

The ability to apply behavioral strategies to obtain rewards efficiently and make choices based on changes in the value of rewards is fundamental to the adaptive control of behavior. The extent to which different regions of the prefrontal cortex are required for specific kinds of decisions is not well understood. We tested rhesus monkeys with bilateral ablations of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex on tasks that required the use of behavioral strategies to optimize the rate with which rewards were accumulated, or to modify choice behavior in response to changes in the value of particular rewards. Monkeys with ventrolateral prefrontal lesions were impaired in performing the strategy‐based task, but not on value‐based decision‐making. In contrast, orbital prefrontal ablations produced the opposite impairments in the same tasks. These findings support the conclusion that independent neural systems within the prefrontal cortex are necessary for control of choice behavior based on strategies or on stimulus value.
Supervised Edge Learning

Edge detection is utilized in a variety of computer vision applications, yet it remains a challenging problem on its own. Boosting has shown impressive performance in training offline classifiers for detection tasks. In this paper we propose the use of an online supervised learning algorithm for edge detection. The algorithm trains incrementally as new data becomes available, which has several advantages over offline methods, and opens the possibility for new applications. Our method combines a large number of features across different scales in order to learn a discriminative model using an online boosting classification framework. The resulting edge detector is adaptive with no parameters to tune. We test our algorithm on images from two different domains and demonstrate promising results with a relatively small number of training examples.