Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Culture-negative prosthetic joint infection.

BACKGROUND Culture-negative (CN) prosthetic joint infection (PJI) has not been well studied. We performed a retrospective cohort study to define the demographic characteristics and determine the outcome of patients with CN PJI. METHODS All cases of CN total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty infections (using a strict case definition) treated at our institution from January 1990 through December 1999 were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival methods were used to determine the cumulative probability of success. RESULTS Of 897 episodes of PJI during the study period, 60 (7%) occurred in patients for whom this was the initial episode of CN PJI. The median age of the cohort was 69 years (range, 36-87 years). Patients had received a prior course of antimicrobial therapy in 32 (53%) of 60 episodes. Of the 60 episodes, 34 (57%), 12 (20%), and 8 (13%) were treated with 2-stage exchange, debridement and retention, and permanent resection arthroplasty, respectively. The median duration of parenteral antimicrobial therapy was 28 days (range, 0-88 days). Forty-nine (82%) of 60 episodes were treated with a cephalosporin. The 5-year estimate of survival free of treatment failure was 94% (95% confidence interval, 85%-100%) for patients treated with 2-stage exchange and 71% (95% confidence interval, 44%-100%) for patients treated with debridement and retention. CONCLUSIONS CN PJI occurs infrequently at our institution. Prior use of antimicrobial therapy is common among patients with CN PJI. CN PJI treated at our institution is associated with a rate of favorable outcome that is comparable to that associated with PJI due to known bacterial pathogens.
Automata Simulation of N-Person Social Dilemma Games

Collective behavior of N players in a social dilemma game is simulated by automata exhibiting cooperative behavior. In his models of simple biological systems, Tsetlin assumed minimum information available to the players. The automata in this study were somewhat more sophisticated, using Markov strategies in their interactions. The authors investigated relationships between information received by the automata and the emergence of cooperation in a simulated evolution process. In some ways, this approach is similar to that of Axelrod. However, instead of determining the most successful strategy, the authors seek surviving strategies in a social dilemma environment. Previous results showed that cooperation could be established asymptotically under partially centralized control. In this model there is no such control. The main result is that more sophisticated behavior of self-seeking automata compensates for the absence of such control. Moreover, cooperation is established more rapidly when more information is available to the automata.
The congruence of quality values in higher education

Purpose – To investigate, in the context of university education, the relationship between the congruence of the quality values held by the students, the teaching staff and the university senior management and the level of student satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach – The research was carried out within a large Business School in a major UK University through a set of focus groups and questionnaires investigating the quality values held by the three main participant stakeholders.Findings – For the case example a coherent framework of quality values relevant to higher education has been established, and the relative importance attached to each element in this framework by the different stakeholders has been identified. While many values are shared there are significant differences between the stakeholders and there is generally no student dissatisfaction on issues where the stakeholders do not share the same values.Research limitations/implications – Limited in that the research was carried out in sin.
Hierarchical models of high-redshift galaxies with thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch stars: comparison with observations

In a recent paper, we presented the first semi-analytic model of galaxy formation in which the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) phase of stellar evolution has been fully implemented. Here, we address the comparison with observations, and show how the TP-AGB recipe affects the performance of the model in reproducing the colours and near-infrared luminosities of high-redshift galaxies. We find that the semi-analytic model with the TP-AGB better matches the colour–magnitude and colour–colour relations at z∼ 2, both for nearly passive and for star-forming galaxies. The model with TP-AGB produces star-forming galaxies with red V−K colours, thus revising the unique interpretation of high-redshift red objects as ‘red and dead’. We also show that without the TP-AGB the semi-analytic model fails at reproducing the observed colours, a situation that cannot be corrected by dust reddening. We also explore the effect of nebular emission on the predicted colour–magnitude relation of star-forming galaxies, to conclude that it does not play a significant role in reddening their colours, at least in the range of star-formation rates covered by the model. Finally, the rest-frame K-band luminosity function at z∼ 2.5 is more luminous by almost 1 mag. This indicates that the active galactic nuclei feedback recipe that is adopted to regulate the high-mass end of the luminosity function should be sophisticated to take the effect of the stellar populations into account at high redshifts.
Conductive properties of the proximal tubule in Necturus kidney

The electrical properties of the proximal tubule of the in vivo Necturus kidney were investigated by injecting current (as rectangular waves) into the lumen or into the epithelium of single tubules and by studying the resulting changes of transepithelial (VL) and/or cell membrane potential (VC) at various distances from the source. In some experiments paired measurements of VL and VC were performed at two abscissas x and x'. The luminal length constant of about 1,030 micrometer was shown to provide a good estimate of the transepithelial resistance, specific resistance (RTE = 420 omega.cm2) and/or per unit length (rTE = 1.3 x 10(4) omega.cm). The apparent intraepithelial length constant was subject to distortions arising from concomitant current spread in the lumen. The resistances of luminal membrane (rL), basolateral membrane (rB), and shunt pathway (rS) were estimated by two independent methods at 3.5 x 10(4), 1.2 x 10(4), and 1.7 x 10(4) omega.cm, respectively. The corresponding specific resistances were close to 1,200, 600, and 600 omega.cm2. There are two main conclusions of this study. (a) The resistances of cell membranes and shunt pathway are of the same order of magnitude. The figure of the shunt resistance is at variance with the notion that the proximal tubule of Necturus is a leaky epithelium. (b) A rigorous assessment of the conductive properties of concentric cylindrical double cables (such as renal tubules) requires that electrical interactions arising from one cable to another be taken into account. Appropriate equations were developed to deal with this problem.
Ethnic variation in AMD‐associated complement factor H polymorphism p.Tyr402His

Age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible visual loss in the developed world. Previous studies have demonstrated that the c.1204T>C, p.Tyr402His allelic variant in the complement factor H (CFH) gene is associated with an approximately three‐fold increased risk for AMD in Caucasians of predominantly European descent. Both the prevalence as well as the phenotypic spectrum of AMD varies widely among persons of different ethnicities. We hypothesized that populations with a lower prevalence of AMD might also have a lower prevalence of the CFH risk allele. In this study we sought to determine the frequency of this sequence variant in control populations of Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, Somalis, and Japanese. Normal control populations were assembled for each ethnic group: Caucasian (n=148), Somali (n=128), African American (n=75), Hispanic (n=81), and Japanese (n=82). Individuals were genotyped using a restriction digest assay and the frequency of the C allele at nucleotide position 1204 of the CFH gene was determined. A bioinformatic approach was used to identify SNPs in linkage disequilibrium with rs1061170 (c.1204T>C, p.Tyr402His) from the human haplotype map project database (HapMap) in order to validate the findings. We found widely discordant frequencies of the risk allele between some of the different ethnic groups: Japanese 0.07±0.02, Hispanics 0.17±0.03, African‐Americans 0.35±0.04, Caucasians 0.34±0.03, and Somalis 0.34±0.03. Allele frequencies generated by analysis of the HapMap database were consistent with these findings. This study suggests that there are other yet unidentified genetic factors important in the pathogenesis of AMD that may mitigate the effects of c.1204T>C, p.Tyr402His variant. Hum Mutat 27(9), 921–925, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Race and The Educational Expectations of Parents and Children: The Case of South Africa

South Africa, a country that is highly stratified by race, is an important location for studying the relationship between race and educational expectations. Using a longitudinal data set, we examine the educational expectations of black (African), colored (mixed race), and white (European ancestry) parents and children in Cape Town, South Africa. We find that parents and children have high educational expectations regardless of race, but black parents and children have higher educational expectations than coloreds and whites once socioeconomic and other factors are controlled. We also find that parents' and children's expectations tend to agree more and are more closely correlated among coloreds and whites than blacks. We test two explanations for the educational expectations of parents and children, finding more support for the status attainment perspective among coloreds and whites than blacks and support for the family social capital perspective among blacks and coloreds only.
The Relationship Between Individualism-Collectivism, Face, And Feedback And Learning Processes In Hong Kong, Singapore, And The United States

This article focuses on the relationships among face (mianzi), individualism-collectivism, feedback processes, and learning outcomes in HongKong, Singapore, and the United States. An expected effect between individualism and desire to gain mianzi (Mianzigain) was generally confirmed; however, the mirror effect between collectivism and fear of losing mianzi (Mianziloss) was not. As, expected, there was a consistent negative effect between Mianziloss and student question-asking in class (InAsk), but the positive effect from Mianzigain to InAsk was only found in the U.S. sample. Selective effects of feedback forms on learning were highly sensitive to cultural contexts. In the United States, asking questions outside of class was positively related to grades. However, InAsk had a negative effect. In contrast, InAsk was positively related to grades in Hong Kong. For Singaporeans, only checking with students outside of class had an effect on performance, but it was negative.
A Meta-Analysis of Different Forms of Shared Leadership–Team Performance Relations

Using 50 effect sizes from both published and unpublished studies (team n = 3,198), we provide meta-analytic support for the positive relationship between shared leadership and team performance. Employing a random effects model, we found that the theoretical foundation and associated measurement techniques used to index shared leadership significantly moderated effect size estimates. Specifically, as compared to studies that conceptualized and employed assessments of overall shared leadership from members (i.e., an aggregation approach), network conceptions and measures of shared leadership evidenced higher effect sizes. Both network density and (de)centralization approaches to the study of shared leadership–performance relations exhibited significant and higher effect sizes than did the aggregation-based studies. Analyses also revealed lower average effect sizes when the sample studied was in the classroom/lab as compared to the field. Task complexity significantly moderated the shared leadership, with lower effect sizes observed with more complex tasks. No significant influence of team task interdependence was observed. We highlight the relative value of employing social network theories and measures as compared to aggregate theories and measures of shared leadership. Directions for future research and application are discussed.
Turning the analytic gaze on "Us" : the role of authorities in the alienation of minorities

What leads to the alienation and political (dis)engagement of minority groups is a critical question for political psychologists. Recently, research has focused attention on one particular minority group – Muslims in the West – and on what promotes “anti-Western” attitudes and behavior. Typically, the research focus is on factors internal to the individuals or the minority communities concerned. However, we argue this overlooks the ways in which the perspective and practices of the majority group affect minority group members’ understandings of who they are and how they stand in relation to the majority. In this paper we examine the social-psychological processes through which authorities’ surveillance and intervention affects minority group members’ sense of themselves, their relationship to authorities and the wider community. In doing so, we discuss a number of hitherto neglected psychological processes that may contribute to alienation-namely, processes of misrecognition, disrespect, and humiliation.
CT and MRI findings of eclampsia and their correlation with neurologic symptoms.

BACKGROUND To evaluate the brain lesions of eight eclamptic patients with computed tomogram (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and correlate their radiologic lesions with the neurologic symptoms. METHODS We recorded and followed up the neurologic presentations of eight eclamptic patients. They received brain CT and MRI the first two days after the development of seizures, then follow-up study of the brain lesions with MRI. Correlation of their radiologic brain lesions with neurologic presentations was also done. RESULTS Radiologic studies of these patients showed hypoxic-ischemic brain lesions and brain edema involving the temporo-parieto-occipital junctions; these lesions were bilateral and relatively symmetrical in distribution. Other involved regions of the brain included the basal ganglia, periventricular white matter, internal and external capsules and scattered lesions involving various lobes. Almost all the radiologic brain lesions had had total resolution in the follow-up MRI study. Besides generalized tonic-clonic seizure, the other neurologic presentations included headache, blurred vision, and dizziness. CONCLUSIONS Although the brain lesions involved many regions, the temporo-parieto-occipital junction is the most frequently involved area. The incidence of appearance of brain lesions in radiologic study is greatly affected by the temporal relationship of the scan to the development of seizure. Visual disturbance and headache have a good correlation with radiologic findings, i.e. occipital lobe involvement and diffuse brain edema, respectively. However, some of the other neurologic presentations do not have comparable radiologic lesions.
Heterogeneous Defect Prediction

Many recent studies have documented the success of cross-project defect prediction (CPDP) to predict defects for new projects lacking in defect data by using prediction models built by other projects. However, most studies share the same limitations: it requires homogeneous data; i.e., different projects must describe themselves using the same metrics. This paper presents methods for heterogeneous defect prediction (HDP) that matches up different metrics in different projects. Metric matching for HDP requires a “large enough” sample of distributions in the source and target projects—which raises the question on how large is “large enough” for effective heterogeneous defect prediction. This paper shows that empirically and theoretically, “large enough” may be very small indeed. For example, using a mathematical model of defect prediction, we identify categories of data sets were as few as 50 instances are enough to build a defect prediction model. Our conclusion for this work is that, even when projects use different metric sets, it is possible to quickly transfer lessons learned about defect prediction.
People's Perceptions of Their Likely Future Risk of Criminal Victimization

Crime surveys typically ask respondents how likely they think it is that they will be a crime victim in the year after questioning. A three-wave longitudinal panel survey conducted in Trinidad was no exception. This design permits an examination of both the degree to which predictions are based on past experience and of the accuracy or otherwise of such predictions when compared to subsequent events. Analysis revealed that respondents typically do not base predictions on experience, are typically pessimistic and that this is not warranted by their subsequent experience. It is cautiously suggested that rather than be involved in probabilistic mathematical calculations, respondents are more likely to consult lay heuristics which may be utterly fallacious from the perspective of probability theory, but convenient and available, if rather gloomy, nevertheless.
The impact of funding deadlines on personal workloads, stress and family relationships: a qualitative study of Australian researchers

Objective To examine the impact of applying for funding on personal workloads, stress and family relationships. Design Qualitative study of researchers preparing grant proposals. Setting Web-based survey on applying for the annual National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant scheme. Participants Australian researchers (n=215). Results Almost all agreed that preparing their proposals always took top priority over other work (97%) and personal (87%) commitments. Almost all researchers agreed that they became stressed by the workload (93%) and restricted their holidays during the grant writing season (88%). Most researchers agreed that they submitted proposals because chance is involved in being successful (75%), due to performance requirements at their institution (60%) and pressure from their colleagues to submit proposals (53%). Almost all researchers supported changes to the current processes to submit proposals (95%) and peer review (90%). Most researchers (59%) provided extensive comments on the impact of writing proposals on their work life and home life. Six major work life themes were: (1) top priority; (2) career development; (3) stress at work; (4) benefits at work; (5) time spent at work and (6) pressure from colleagues. Six major home life themes were: (1) restricting family holidays; (2) time spent on work at home; (3) impact on children; (4) stress at home; (5) impact on family and friends and (6) impact on partner. Additional impacts on the mental health and well-being of researchers were identified. Conclusions The process of preparing grant proposals for a single annual deadline is stressful, time consuming and conflicts with family responsibilities. The timing of the funding cycle could be shifted to minimise applicant burden, give Australian researchers more time to work on actual research and to be with their families.
Connecting Classrooms in Pre-service Education: Conversations for learning

Many students enter pre-service education programmes believing that their practical learning experiences will occur in schools and that their theoretical learning experiences will occur in the university or college setting. Research shows that frequently student teachers retain this perception throughout their programmes without acknowledging the interplay of theory and practice in their learning. Through the use of communication technologies, student teachers participating in the Bachelor of Teaching degree at the University of Otago are encouraged to make connections between the activities in their university-based classes and those of classrooms in primary schools. Frequent dialogue through fax, audio-conference and e-mail between student teachers based in the university and children and their teachers in classrooms enables them to access the thinking of children and teachers, and provides additional opportunities to theorise their practice and practise their theory. Student teachers are provided with a range of opportunities to explore the potential of information technologies in education while interacting with children and teachers beyond the traditional practicum experience. The use of technology to connect student teachers to learners in classrooms challenges the conventional teacher education curriculum.
Persistence of Health Labeling Information Asymmetry in the United States

Food labeling in the United States has been a topic of public debate and conflict for almost two centuries. Legislative activity has involved consumer–industry–government battles over both mandated requirements for food labeling, industry’s freedom of speech in messaging, and consumers’ struggle to make informed choices in a complex food environment. Information asymmetries have been attributed to the failure of government in terms of enough legislation, industry’s noncompliance with existing regulations, lack of consumer attention to the information available, and industry marketing practices. This overview of food labeling legislation combined with a discussion of contemporary labeling issues makes the case that information asymmetry is likely to persist. The food environment is changing quickly, regulatory authorities are not nimble, regulators often clash with themselves and industry, business has been unable to look far beyond its bottom line, and consumers are unwilling or unable to comprehend and use label information to make choices that maintain and/or improve their health.
Acquisition of generic noun phrases in Chinese: learning about lions without an ‘-s’*

ABSTRACT English-speaking children understand and produce generic expressions in the preschool years, but there are cross-linguistic differences in how generics are expressed. Three studies examined interpretation of generic noun phrases in three- to seven-year-old child (N=192) and adult speakers (N=163) of Mandarin Chinese. Contrary to suggestions by Bloom (1981), Chinese-speaking adults honor a clear distinction between generics (expressed as bare NPs) and other quantified expressions (‘all’/suo3you3 and ‘some’/you3de). Furthermore, Mandarin-speaking children begin to distinguish generics from ‘all’ or ‘some’ as early as five years, as shown in both confirmation (Study 2) and property-generation (Study 3) tasks. Nonetheless, the developmental trajectory for Chinese appears prolonged relative to English and this seems to reflect difficulty with ‘all’ and ‘some’ rather than difficulty with generics. Altogether these results suggest that generics are primary, and that the consistency of markings affects the rate at which non-generic NPs are distinguished from generics.
A Study of the Relationship Between Organizational Commitment and Human Values in Four Countries

Cross-cultural comparisons of the relationship between human values and both continuance commitment (CC) and affective commitment (AC) are presented using data collected from 1259 nurses from Hungary, Italy, the UK, and USA. That correlations between Schwartz’s (1992) values and both AC and CC will differ between communal and contractual cultures was partially supported. Moreover, certain values correlate more often with AC or CC depending on the culture one is in. Openness to change values accounted for significant variance in AC in Hungary, Italy and the USA. Pan-culturally, openness to change values partially mediated the effects of countries on AC. It is concluded that values likely influence one’s organizational commitment and that the values people endorse might be influenced by national culture.