Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation between the Limbus-Insertion Distance of the Lateral Rectus Muscle and Lateral Rectus Recession Surgery in Intermittent Exotropia

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the limbus-insertion distance (LID) of the lateral rectus (LR) muscle can be a useful indicator for predicting the surgical effect of recession surgery in intermittent exotropia (IXT). Patients who underwent unilateral or bilateral LR recession for the basic type of IXT were included. The distance between the corneal limbus and the posterior edge of the insertion of LR muscle (limbus-insertion distance) was measured intraoperatively using surgical calipers (graded with 0.25 mm precision). We calculated the actual dose-response effect as the difference between the angle of preoperative deviation and the angle of postoperative deviation, and then divided the figure by the total amount of recession at postoperative months 1, 3, and 6. The correlation between the limbus-insertion distance (LID) of LR muscle and each dose-response effect was statistically analyzed. A total of 60 subjects were enrolled in this study. The mean LID of LR muscle was 5.8±0.7 mm. The dose-response effect was 3.2±1.0 prism diopters (PD)/mm at postoperative month 1, 3.4±1.0 PD/mm at postoperative month 3, and 3.4±1.1 PD/mm at postoperative month 6. The LID of the LR muscle was significantly correlated with dose-response effects in cases of unilateral and bilateral LR recession at postoperative months 3 and 6 (P = 0.01, <0.01, 0.04 and <0.01 respectively). As the LID of the LR muscle increased by 1 mm, the dose-response effect increased by 0.2PD/mm in unilateral LR recession, and by 0.4 PD/mm in bilateral LR recession at postoperative month 6. In conclusion, the LID of the LR muscle can be used as one predictor of the recession effect to assist in surgical planning for IXT. Moreover, undercorrection at the time of LR recession might be considered in patients with long LID of the LR muscle.
Occupational Tasks and Changes in the Wage Structure

This paper argues that changes in the returns to occupational tasks have contributed to changes in the wage distribution over the last three decades. Using Current Population Survey (CPS) data, we first show that the 1990s polarization of wages is explained by changes in wage setting between and within occupations, which are well captured by tasks measures linked to technological change and offshorability. Using a decomposition based on Firpo, Fortin, and Lemieux (2009), we find that technological change and deunionization played a central role in the 1980s and 1990s, while offshorability became an important factor from the 1990s onwards.
Messenger RNA Oxidation Occurs Early in Disease Pathogenesis and Promotes Motor Neuron Degeneration in ALS

Background Accumulating evidence indicates that RNA oxidation is involved in a wide variety of neurological diseases and may be associated with neuronal deterioration during the process of neurodegeneration. However, previous studies were done in postmortem tissues or cultured neurons. Here, we used transgenic mice to demonstrate the role of RNA oxidation in the process of neurodegeneration. Methodology/Principal Findings We demonstrated that messenger RNA (mRNA) oxidation is a common feature in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients as well as in many different transgenic mice expressing familial ALS-linked mutant copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1). In mutant SOD1 mice, increased mRNA oxidation primarily occurs in the motor neurons and oligodendrocytes of the spinal cord at an early, pre-symptomatic stage. Identification of oxidized mRNA species revealed that some species are more vulnerable to oxidative damage, and importantly, many oxidized mRNA species have been implicated in the pathogenesis of ALS. Oxidative modification of mRNA causes reduced protein expression. Reduced mRNA oxidation by vitamin E restores protein expression and partially protects motor neurons. Conclusion/Significance These findings suggest that mRNA oxidation is an early event associated with motor neuron deterioration in ALS, and may be also a common early event preceding neuron degeneration in other neurological diseases.
Lexical richness in the advanced learner's oral production of French and Italian L2

Abstract This study investigates Swedish learners' lexical richness in French and Italian L2. A frequency-based measure was used to compare the lexical richness of learners at different proficiency levels to that of native speakers. Frequency bands based on oral L1 data were created for both languages to serve as a benchmark. For French, the results show that there are differences between two groups of learners at different proficiency levels concerning lexical richness. Moreover, the most advanced learners have a lexical profile that is similar to that of a control group of native speakers, suggesting that these learners are native-like as far as lexical richness is concerned. The results for Italian also point at differences between the learner groups. However, the most advanced group does not reach the degree of lexical richness of the native speakers. The overall results support earlier proposals of a discriminating capacity of lexical frequency profiling methods for L2 proficiency.
Mid-Infrared Images of Luminous Infrared Galaxies in a Merging Sequence

We report mid-infrared observations of several luminous infrared galaxies (LIGs) carried out with the Infrared Space Observatory. Our sample was chosen to represent different phases of a merger sequence of galaxy-galaxy interaction with special emphasis on early/intermediate stages of merging. The mid-infrared emission of these LIGs shows extended structures for the early and intermediate mergers, indicating that most of the mid-infrared luminosities are not from a central active galactic nucleus. Both the infrared hardness (indicated by the IRAS 12, 25, and 60 μm flux density ratios) and the peak-to-total flux density ratios of these LIGs increase as projected separation of these interacting galaxies become smaller, consistent with increasing star formation activities that are concentrated to a smaller area as the merging process advances. These observations provide among the first observational constraint of largely theoretically based scenarios.
ACUTE GASTROENTERITIS IN RWANDAN CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS OF AGE INVESTIGATED BY REAL-TIME PCR

Acute gastroenteritis is a major cause of illness and death among children in developing countries. Knowledge about the aetiology is important to make the right priorities regarding preventive measures, and for the recommendation to use or not use antibiotics. The objective of this thesis was to investigate causes of acute diarrhea in children in Rwanda by real-time PCR targeting a wide range of infectious agents. By analysing 326 paired faecal samples we found that rectal swabs provided equal rates of PCR detection of 10 different pathogens as usual stool samples, and correlating Ct values indicated that rectal swabs also may be used for quantitative measurements. PCR findings in 544 children with acute diarrhea and 162 controls showed a higher prevalences in children with than without diarrhea only for rotavirus and the enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC-estA) (42% vs. 2%, and 21% vs. 9%). Other agents were detected at similar rates in sick and healthy children (adenovirus, 39% vs. 36%; ETEC-eltB, 29% vs. 30%, Campylobacter, 14% vs. 17%, Shigella, 13% vs. 10%). Lower Ct values for ETEC-estA, Shigella and norovirus GII indicate that measuring pathogen concentration in faeces may help to identify clinically relevant infections. At least one pathogen was detected in 92% of 880 children with diarrhea. Rotavirus and ETEC-estA were associated with more severe dehydration, Shigella with bloody diarrhoea and higher CRP, and concentrations in faeces of rotavirus, ETEC-estA and Shigella were associated with more severe symptoms. Rotavirus and ETEC-estA were more common in younger, Shigella more a common in older children. Antibiotics were given to 42% of children, mainly those with fever and more severe dehydration, and without any logical connection with the causative organism. The conclusions of this thesis are (i) that rectal swabs are as good as conventional stool samples for pathogen detection by PCR, (ii) that rotavirus, ETEC-estA and Shigella were the major causes of gastroenteritis, (iii) that higher concentrations of rotavirus, ETEC-estA, Shigella and norovirus GII were associated with symptoms, and that Ct value cut-offs for these agents improved identification of them as causes of disease, (iv) that antibiotics were used extensively and in a seemingly irrational manner, and (v) highly sensitive multiple real-time PCR was efficient and informative and that its use in future studies may provide valuable new information about the clinical significance and epidemiology of these infections.
Understanding the antecedents, the outcomes and the mediating role of social capital: An employee perspective

This study examines 1) how job security, expected organizational change and workload influence employees’ perceptions of organizational social capital, and 2) how organizational social capital influences affective commitment through both direct and mediated routes. Results from an employee survey (n = 1977) demonstrate that workload and organizational change negatively influence employees’ social capital perceptions, and that job security has a positive relationship with perceived social capital. In addition, we confirm that perceived social capital has a positive relationship with affective commitment, partially mediating the negative relationships between workload, expected organizational change and affective commitment, and similarly mediating the positive relationship between job security and affective commitment.
The Supreme Court in the American Legal System

The Supreme Court in the American Legal System. By Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, and Sara C. Benesh. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 416p. $75.00 cloth, $28.99 paper. If there is any example of a Kuhnian paradigm in political science, it would be the attitudinal model in Supreme Court decision making. Over a half century ago, C. Herman Pritchett boldly showed data that revealed “political” decision making by the justices of the nation's high court. Harold Spaeth was among the pioneers in this research and is now regarded as its strongest adherent. The justification for the Supreme Court Attitudinal Model, known to friends and foes alike by the acronym “SCAM,” is relatively simple: The preponderance of individual-level decision making can be explained as a function of the attitudes of the justices. Like the ideal model, it is parsimonious and explains a great deal of variance. Even those who have been critical of SCAM concede that the attitudes of the justices are the most important determinant of individual-level decision making at the Supreme Court level.
Internal capital markets and diversified firms: Theory and practice

We analyze a unique dataset from a survey of CFOs of diversified firms to examine four areas of diversification and internal capital markets: causes and financing effects of corporate diversification, capital budgeting processes, capital investment methods, and reallocation policies in internal capital markets. CFOs see the main financial benefits of being diversified in lower costs of capital and higher debt capacities. Challenging the usual bottom-up view on capital allocation, firms' capital budgeting processes have typically also a top-down component: while top management relies on financial projections provided by divisions it also uses its own qualitative information. Top management is aware of agency and information problems at the divisional level and organizes the budgeting process to counteract managerial opportunism. Firms acknowledge that capital allocation decisions can frequently lead to a more evenly distributed allocation than pure financial criteria suggest.
Enhanced Thermoelectric Properties of Cu3SbSe3-Based Composites with Inclusion Phases

Cu 3 SbSe 3 -based composites have been prepared by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) combined with spark plasma sintering (SPS) technology. Phase composition and microstructure analysis indicate that the obtained samples are mainly composed of Cu 3 SbSe 3 phase and CuSbSe 2 /Cu 2− x Se secondary phases. Our results show that the existence of Cu 2− x Se phase can clearly enhance the electrical conductivity of the composites (~16 S/cm), which is 2.5 times higher than the pure phase. The thermal conductivity can remain at about 0.30 W·m −1 ·K −1 at 653 K. A maximum ZT (defined as ZT = S 2 σ Τ /κ, where S , σ, Τ , κ are the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, absolute temperature and total thermal conductivity) of the sample SPS 633 can be 0.42 at 653 K, which is 60% higher than the previously reported values. Our results indicate that the composite structure is an effective method to enhance the performance of Cu 3 SbSe 3 .
Thermal inactivation of eight Salmonella serotypes on dry corn flour

Dry heat was used to inactivate Salmonella newington, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella anatum, Salmonella kentucky, Salmonella cubana, Salmonella seftenberg, Salmonella thompson, and Salmonella tennessee in corn flour at 10 and 15% moisture. The flour was spray inoculated at 10(5) Salmonella cells per g and then stored at 49 degrees C (120 degrees F); viable Salmonella cells were counted on Trypticase (BBL Microbiology Systems) soy agar plates every 30 min for the first 4 h and then at 4-h intervals for 20 additional h of storage. After 24 h, 99.9% of all Salmonella cells were killed. S. thompson and S. tennessee were more resistant to heat inactivation than the other serotypes. Naturally occurring contamination by Salmonella spp. in dry food products could be significantly reduced with this treatment.
Constructing Tests of Cognitive Abilities for Schooled and Unschooled Children

It is frequently necessary to assess children with little or no schooling to determine their level of cognitive functioning, especially in developing countries. It is not possible, however, to assume that assessments will hold equal validity for children with and without the experience of schooling. The authors, therefore, set out to create a battery of tests suitable for both schooled and unschooled children. They assessed 973 schooled and 645 unschooled children in rural coastal Kenya using culturally adapted cognitive tests. Significant effects of age and schooling were found on all tests. On some tests (verbal knowledge, speeded figure matching, and pattern copying), unschooled children did not improve as much with age as schooled children. The effects of length of exposure to schooling and of age were greater than that of initial enrollment in school. The authors conclude that it is possible to assess unschooled children, but test batteries must be carefully constructed and standardized.
Clinically-inspired automatic classification of ovarian carcinoma subtypes

Context: It has been shown that ovarian carcinoma subtypes are distinct pathologic entities with differing prognostic and therapeutic implications. Histotyping by pathologists has good reproducibility, but occasional cases are challenging and require immunohistochemistry and subspecialty consultation. Motivated by the need for more accurate and reproducible diagnoses and to facilitate pathologists′ workflow, we propose an automatic framework for ovarian carcinoma classification. Materials and Methods: Our method is inspired by pathologists′ workflow. We analyse imaged tissues at two magnification levels and extract clinically-inspired color, texture, and segmentation-based shape descriptors using image-processing methods. We propose a carefully designed machine learning technique composed of four modules: A dissimilarity matrix, dimensionality reduction, feature selection and a support vector machine classifier to separate the five ovarian carcinoma subtypes using the extracted features. Results: This paper presents the details of our implementation and its validation on a clinically derived dataset of eighty high-resolution histopathology images. The proposed system achieved a multiclass classification accuracy of 95.0% when classifying unseen tissues. Assessment of the classifier′s confusion (confusion matrix) between the five different ovarian carcinoma subtypes agrees with clinician′s confusion and reflects the difficulty in diagnosing endometrioid and serous carcinomas. Conclusions: Our results from this first study highlight the difficulty of ovarian carcinoma diagnosis which originate from the intrinsic class-imbalance observed among subtypes and suggest that the automatic analysis of ovarian carcinoma subtypes could be valuable to clinician′s diagnostic procedure by providing a second opinion.
Effects of agmatine on tolerance to and substance dependence on morphine in mice.

AIM To study the effects of agmatine on tolerance to and dependence on morphine. METHODS Inhibitory effects of agmatine on tolerance to and substance dependence on morphine were observed in mouse tolerant models and in mouse jumping test, respectively. RESULTS Agmatine 0.125-2.5 mg.kg-1 prevented the development of tolerant to morphine in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment of mice with morphine induced an over 3-fold increase in analgesic ED50 (20.1, 14.4-28.0 mg.kg-1) than those with normal saline (6.3, 5.1-7.8 mg.kg-1). Pretreatment of mice with both of agmatine and morphine made morphine loss the ability to induce tolerance. Withdrawal jumps and loss in body weight induced by naloxone in morphine-dependent mice were prevented by agmatine (2.5-10 mg.kg-1) in a dose-dependent manner. ED50 of naloxone (21.4, 18.4-24 mg.kg-1) required to precipitate withdrawal jumps in mice pretreated with both agmatine and morphine was 8 times higher than that with morphine alone (2.5, 2.1-2.8 mg.kg-1). These effects of agmatine were blocked by idazoxan. CONCLUSION Agmatine prevented tolerance to and substance dependence on morphine in mice by activation of imidazoline receptors.
From Urban Social Space to Social and Environmental Justice: Observations on Laurence Ma's Essay

A senior American specialist on China and noted geographer evaluates the merits of an essay by an equally prominent specialist who advocates reflexive activism as a method designed to generate more relevant studies of the country. The author of the evaluation stresses the value of empirically based work, noting a number of contributions by geographers to the study of China's transition from doctrinaire communism to "socialism with Chinese characteristics. " While not denying the need for geographical research focused on deficiencies in social and environmental justice, he is not in favor of excessive activism that may overlook advances in economic development and related accomplishments of China's governing regime. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: P30. 24 references.
It is okay to play as long as you wear lingerie (or skimpy bikinis): a moral evaluation of the Lingerie Football League and its rebranding

The Lingerie Football League, now referred to as the Legends Football League (LFL), is morally problematic. The LFL is an all-woman contact football league that originated from a 2004 pay-per-view event during the 2004 Super Bowl's half-time. In 2013, the LFL rebranded the league by modifying the name and uniform requirements. Previously, players wore lingerie-style of uniforms, but now compete in ‘performance wear’. However, the new uniforms involve skimpy bikinis. This paper questions the ethical and moral foundations of the LFL. As women strive for opportunities in sport, the LFL creates an unrealistic and sexist portrayal of women in sport that causes more harm than good. Drawing on some of the common arguments used in the doping and sociocultural-sport literature to ban acts, practices and behaviours in sport, I conclude that the LFL is problematic because the league promotes unfairness and harm, and contradicts the spirit of sport principle.
Solution-focused couples therapy groups: an empirical study

The professional literature contains numerous theoretical and case study articles regarding the development and use of solution-focused therapy. However, as with many models of systems-oriented therapy in use with couples, very little has been subjected to empirical investigation. This project was designed to make a contribution to the empirical literature regarding the effectiveness of solution-focused therapy in use with couples’ groups. This study utilized pre-test comparisons of treatment and comparison groups, and examined pre- to post-test changes in the scores of the treatment group couples. Twenty-three treatment group couples participated in a six-week solution-focused couples therapy (SFCT) group. A separate group of thirteen couples served as a comparison group. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) was used to assess changes in the couples’ relationships. Scores on the Marital Status Inventory (MSI), as a pre-test measure indicating the couples’ likelihood of divorce, indicated no significant differences between groups. The remaining analyses revealed significant improvement in DAS scores. Self-reports from the couples involved indicate improvement in a variety of areas after completing the six-week solution-focused couples group therapy process.
Changes in the maximum speed of shortening of frog muscle fibres early in a tetanic contraction and during relaxation

1 Isotonic shortening velocities at very light loads were examined in single fibres of the anterior tibialis muscle of the frog, Rana temporaria, using load‐clamp recording and slack tests (temperature, 1‐3 °C; initial sarcomere length, 2.25 μm). 2 Shortening velocities at very light loads (force‐clamp recording) were found to be higher early in the rise of a tetanic contraction than during the plateau of the contraction. The upper limit of the load at which there was elevated shortening velocity early in the contraction was 1.5‐5.4 % of the maximum tetanic tension (Fo) depending on the particular fibre. 3 The maximum shortening velocity determined using the slack test method (Vo) was as much as 30 % greater early in a contraction than at the tetanic plateau. Vo was elevated above the plateau level up to about 30 ms after the end of the latent period, which is equivalent to the time required for the force in an isometric contraction to rise to about 30 % of Fo. Vo is depressed below the plateau value during relaxation at the cessation of stimulation. 4 Simulation studies show that the cross‐bridge model of Huxley (1957) predicts the maximum shortening velocity to be greater early in a contraction, when new actin binding sites are becoming activated and new cross‐bridge connections are being formed rapidly, than during steady‐state contraction. The elevated shortening velocity in the model is a consequence of new cross‐bridges being formed in the pulling configuration, and there being a delay before the newly added bridges are dragged beyond their equilibrium position so they begin to retard shortening. The model also predicts that maximum shortening velocity should be depressed below the plateau level during early relaxation as cross‐bridge binding sites are rapidly removed from the active population.