Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treatment of cervical stenotic myelopathy: a cost and outcome comparison of laminoplasty versus laminectomy and lateral mass fusion.

OBJECT Cervical stenotic myelopathy due to spondylosis or ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament is often treated with laminoplasty or cervical laminectomy (with fusion). The goal of this study was to compare outcomes, radiographic results, complications, and implant costs associated with these 2 treatments. METHODS The authors analyzed the records of 56 patients (age range 42–81 years) who were surgically treated for cervical stenosis. Of this group, 30 underwent laminoplasty and 26 underwent laminectomy with fusion. Patients who had cervical kyphosis or spondylolisthesis were excluded. An average of 4 levels were instrumented in the laminoplasty group and 5 levels in the fusion group (p < 0.01). Forty-two percent of the fusions crossed the cervicothoracic junction, but no laminoplasty instrumentation crossed the cervicothoracic junction, and it only reached C-7 in one-third of the cases. Preoperative and postoperative Nurick grades and modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) scores were obtained. Outcomes were also assessed with neck pain visual analog scale (VAS) scores and the Odom outcome criteria. Postoperative length of stay, complications, and implant costs were calculated. RESULTS The mean duration of follow-up, average patient age, and length of hospital stay were similar for both groups. The mean Nurick scores were also similar in the 2 groups and improved an average of 1.4 points in both (p < 0.01 for preoperative-postoperative comparison in each group). The mean mJOA scores improved 2.7 points in laminoplasty patients and 2.8 points in fusion patients (p < 0.01 for each group). The mean VAS scores for neck pain did not change significantly in the laminoplasty cohort (3.2 ± 2.8 [SD] preoperatively vs 3.4 ± 2.6 postoperatively, p = 0.50). In the fusion cohort, the mean VAS scores improved from 5.8 ± 3.2 to 3.0 ± 2.3 (p < 0.01). Excellent or good Odom outcomes were observed in 76.7% of the patients in the laminoplasty cohort and 80.8% of those in the fusion cohort (p = 0.71). In the fusion group, complications were twice as common and implant costs were nearly 3 times as high as in the laminoplasty group. When cases involving fusions crossing the cervicothoracic junction were excluded, analysis showed similar complication rates in the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS Patients treated with laminoplasty and patients treated with laminectomy and fusion had similar improvements in Nurick scores, mJOA scores, and Odom outcomes. Patients who underwent fusion typically had higher preoperative neck pain scores, but their neck pain improved significantly after surgery. There was no significant change in the neck pain scores of patients treated with laminoplasty. Our series suggests cervical fusion significantly reduces neck pain in patients with stenotic myelopathy, but that the cost of the implant and rate of reoperation are greater than in laminoplasty.
Vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA), a key toxin for Helicobacter pylori pathogenesis

More than 50% of the world's population is infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Chronic infection with this Gram-negative pathogen is associated with the development of peptic ulcers and is linked to an increased risk of gastric cancer. H. pylori secretes many proteinaceous factors that are important for initial colonization and subsequent persistence in the host stomach. One of the major protein toxins secreted by H. pylori is the Vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA). After secretion from the bacteria via a type V autotransport secretion system, the 88 kDa VacA toxin (comprised of the p33 and p55 subunits) binds to host cells and is internalized, causing severe “vacuolation” characterized by the accumulation of large vesicles that possess hallmarks of both late endosomes and early lysosomes. The development of “vacuoles” has been attributed to the formation of VacA anion-selective channels in membranes. Apart from its vacuolating effects, it has recently become clear that VacA also directly affects mitochondrial function. Earlier studies suggested that the p33 subunit, but not the p55 subunit of VacA, could enter mitochondria to modulate organelle function. This raised the possibility that a mechanism separate from pore formation may be responsible for the effects of VacA on mitochondria, as crystallography studies and structural modeling predict that both subunits are required for a physiologically stable pore. It has also been suggested that the mitochondrial effects observed are due to indirect effects on pro-apoptotic proteins and direct effects on mitochondrial morphology-related processes. Other studies have shown that both the p55 and p33 subunits can indeed be efficiently imported into mammalian-derived mitochondria raising the possibility that they could re-assemble to form a pore. Our review summarizes and consolidates the recent advances in VacA toxin research, with focus on the outstanding controversies in the field and the key remaining questions that need to be addressed.
Sibling constellations and sex typing of interests in adolescence.

GROTEVANT, HAROLD D. Sibling Constellations and Sex Typing of Interests in Adolescence. CmLD DEVELOPMENT, 1978, 49, 540-542. 2 competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain the relation between a child's position in his constellation of siblings and the degree to which the child's interests are sex typed. The first proposes that children reinforce characteristics typical of their own sex in their siblings; the second states that children differentiate themselves from their siblings. These hypotheses were tested with a sample of 425 adolescent males and females whose Strong-Campbell Interest Inventories were scored on an experimental scale of sex differences in interests (SDI). Boys' SDI scores were largely unrelated to sibling constellation. Girls' SDI scores supported the second hypothesis in that girls with sisters tended to develop less "feminine" interests than girls with brothers. The hypothesis that children reinforce characteristics of their own sex in their siblings was rejected.
Political and Social Dimensions of Economic Growth

The definition of what precisely we mean by poverty is controversial. Yet empirical evidence establishes firmly that both the gap between the richest and the poorest countries in the world has been widening (as measured in terms of per capita GDP) since 1960, and that since independence a number of the very poorest countries in the world have experienced negative growth in per capita GDP. Regardless of whether one is concerned with relative or absolute conceptions of poverty, therefore, it is difficult to argue that poverty has not become a problem of greater urgency. Redistributive policies are one response. But for significant areas of the world any long term redress of poverty will also have to allow the size of the pie to be shared to increase, and has thus to encompass economic growth as a necessary though not a sufficient condition.1 The development of growth theory and its revival in the 1980s and 1990s has added much to both our theoretical and empirical understanding of economic growth. The consequence is that some necessary preconditions for economic growth appear to be well established. On the other hand our understanding as yet falls short of the ideal of being able to specify sufficient conditions for the realisation of economic growth. The discussion in the present paper will point to some limitations which attach to 'simple' or core models of growth, and briefly outline, as non-technically as possible, the directions in which the newer growth theory has led. The increasingly wide-ranging search for additional determinants of growth has led to an increased preoccupation with the wider institutional contexts - political and social - within which growth occurs, and it is this which will form the central focus of the present paper. While the institutional determinants of growth appear with increasing frequency in the empirical literature on economic growth, there does not yet appear to exist a synthetic and comparative assessment of the various contributions which have thus far been made. The purpose of the present discussion will be to place the contributions which have thus far appeared in a coherent context, to
A escola, a metrópole e a vizinhança vulnerável

Este artigo apresenta resultados de pesquisa cujo objetivo geral foi explorar a hipotese do efeito de territorio sobre as oportunidades educacionais. Seus objetivos especificos consistiram em apreender se e como desigualdades nos niveis de vulnerabilidade social da vizinhanca da escola impactam a oferta educacional que ali se realiza e, por meio dela, o desempenho dos estudantes. A investigacao conjugou procedimentos metodologicos de natureza quantitativa e qualitativa, tendo como campo uma subprefeitura da regiao leste do municipio de Sao Paulo. A analise dos dados mostra que, quanto maiores os niveis de vulnerabilidade social do entorno do estabelecimento de ensino, mais limitada tende a ser a qualidade das oportunidades educacionais por ele oferecidas. Mostra tambem que o efeito negativo do territorio vulneravel sobre a escola se exerce por meio de cinco mecanismos articulados: isolamento da escola no territorio; reduzida oferta de matricula de educacao infantil; concentracao e segregacao de sua populacao escolar em estabelecimentos de ensino nele localizados; posicao de desvantagem de suas escolas no quase mercado escolar oculto; e dificuldades, dada essa posicao de desvantagem, de apresentarem as condicoes necessarias para garantir o funcionamento do modelo institucional que orienta a organizacao escolar.
STUDENT PEER RELATIONS AT A COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Recent studies have reported little student social activity and conflicting findings of positive, negligible, or even negative effects of social integration on academic outcomes at community colleges. These conflicting research findings may be partially attributable to the use of instruments originally developed for the study of traditional social relations at four-year institutions. This study explored the possibility of distinctive patterns of student peer relations at a community college in terms of two questions: (a) frequency of peer relations and (b) variation among students. Classroom surveys were given to students in 19 general education courses at the beginning of the semester (N=1, 359) and midsemester (N=744). The findings indicated that few students engaged in some of the traditional activities of four-year college students and that over half of the students occasionally or frequently studied together.
Epidemiology of physical child abuse in Japan. How big is the iceberg

Abstract A total of 207 individuals (90 men and 117 women) aged 18 or more living in a provincial town in Japan were asked about their experience of five categories of disciplinary behaviour from the father or mother before the age of 16. Father's scolding, slapping, punching, hitting and burning were reported to have occurred at least several times a year by 22%, 15%, 8%, 2% and 0% of the subjects, respectively. The corresponding figures for maternal disciplinary behaviour were 15%, 4%, 2%, 2% and 1%, respectively. The study revealed that 2% of boys and 1% of girls were hit with an object by the father at least several times a month and that 3% of boys were also hit similarly by the mother at least several times a month. Boys were also victims of parental burning: 1% and 3% of boys were burned by the father and the mother, respectively, at least several times a year. The frequencies of disciplinary behaviour by the father (r = 0.07 to 0.62) and by the mother (r = 0.31 to 0.96) were moderately correlated .
THE IMPRISONMENT PENALTY PAID BY YOUNG, UNEMPLOYED BLACK AND HISPANIC MALE OFFENDERS

A recent study of sentencing decisions in Pennsylvania (Steffensmeier et al., 1998) identified significant interrelationships among race, gender, age, and sentence severity. The authors of this study found that each of the three offender characteristics had significant direct effects on sentence outcomes and that the characteristics interacted to produce substantially harsher sentences for one category of offenders—young black males. This study responds to Steffensmeier et al.'s (1998:789) call for “further research analyzing how race effects may be mediated by other factors. ” We replicate their research approach, examining the intersections of the effects of race, gender, and age on sentence outcomes. We extend their analysis in three ways: We examine sentence outcomes in three large urban jurisdictions; we include Hispanics as well as blacks and test for interactions between ethnicity, age, and gender; and we test for interactions between race/ethnicity, gender, and employment status. Our results are generally—although not entirely—consistent with the results of the Pennsylvania study. Although none of the offender characteristics affects the length of the prison sentence, each has a significant direct effect on the likelihood of incarceration in at least one of the jurisdictions. More importantly, the four offender characteristics interact to produce harsher sentences for certain types of offenders. Young black and Hispanic males face greater odds of incarceration than middle-aged white males, and unemployed black and Hispanic males are substantially more likely to be sentenced to prison than employed white males. Thus, our results suggest that offenders with constellations of characteristics other than “young black male” pay a punishment penalty.
A Pooled Genome-Wide Association Study of Asperger Syndrome

Asperger Syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, alongside the presence of unusually repetitive, restricted interests and stereotyped behaviour. Individuals with AS have no delay in cognitive and language development. It is a subset of Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC), which are highly heritable and has a population prevalence of approximately 1%. Few studies have investigated the genetic basis of AS. To address this gap in the literature, we performed a genome-wide pooled DNA association study to identify candidate loci in 612 individuals (294 cases and 318 controls) of Caucasian ancestry, using the Affymetrix GeneChip Human Mapping version 6.0 array. We identified 11 SNPs that had a p-value below 1x10-5. These SNPs were independently genotyped in the same sample. Three of the SNPs (rs1268055, rs7785891 and rs2782448) were nominally significant, though none remained significant after Bonferroni correction. Two of our top three SNPs (rs7785891 and rs2782448) lie in loci previously implicated in ASC. However, investigation of the three SNPs in the ASC genome-wide association dataset from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium indicated that these three SNPs were not significantly associated with ASC. The effect sizes of the variants were modest, indicating that our study was not sufficiently powered to identify causal variants with precision.
Hypermultiplets, domain walls and supersymmetric attractors

We establish general properties of supersymmetric flow equations and of the superpotential of five-dimensional N=2 gauged supergravity coupled to vector multiplets and hypermultiplets. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for BPS domain walls and find a set of algebraic attractor equations for N=2 critical points. As an example we describe in detail the gauging of the universal hypermultiplet and a vector multiplet. We study a two-parameter family of superpotentials with supersymmetric AdS critical points and we find, in particular, an N=2 embedding for the UV-IR solution of Freedman, Gubser, Pilch, and Warner of the N=8 theory. We comment on the relevance of these results for brane world constructions.
Supranational cultural norms, domestic value orientations and the diffusion of same-sex union rights in Europe, 1988–2009

The process of policy diffusion is gaining increasing attention among social scientists. Following world society theory, a burgeoning literature reports a positive relationship between national linkages to global cultural norms and the diffusion of public policies. However, previous analyses do not simultaneously control for time-varying domestic cultural orientations. In order to conduct a stricter test of this theory, this article examines the wave of same-sex union (SSU) laws in Europe. While in the mid-1980s, no European country provided explicit recognition to gay and lesbian couples, by 2009, 16 European countries had legalized these unions. Using event history models, the article tests predictions of the world society theory and Inglehart’s domestic-cultural theory. Results provide strong support for the world society and domestic-cultural theories. Countries with a higher level of value secularization and stronger links to the global cultural order are more likely to introduce legal protections for SSUs.
Postischemic cardiac recovery in heme oxygenase-1 transgenic ischemic/reperfused mouse myocardium

Heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) transgenic mice (Tg) were created using a rat HO‐1 genomic transgene. Transgene expression was detected by RT‐PCR and Western blots in the left ventricle (LV), right ventricle (RV) and septum (S) in mouse hearts, and its function was demonstrated by the elevated HO enzyme activity. Tg and non‐transgenic (NTg) mouse hearts were isolated and subjected to ischemia/reperfusion. Significant post‐ischemic recovery in coronary flow (CF), aortic flow (AF), aortic pressure (AOP) and first derivative of AOP (AOPdp/dt) were detected in the HO‐1 Tg group compared to the NTg values. In HO‐1 Tg hearts treated with 50 μmol/kg of tin protoporphyrin IX (SnPPIX), an HO enzyme inhibitor, abolished the post‐ischemic cardiac recovery. HO‐1 related carbon monoxide (CO) production was detected in NTg, HO‐1 Tg and HO‐1 Tg + SnPPIX treated groups, and a substantial increase in CO production was observed in the HO‐1 Tg hearts subjected to ischemia/reperfusion. Moreover, in ischemia/reperfusion‐induced tissue Na+ and Ca2+ gains were reduced in HO‐1 Tg group in comparison with the NTg and HO‐1 Tg + SnPPIX treated groups; furthermore K+ loss was reduced in the HO‐1 Tg group. The infarct size was markedly reduced from its NTg control value of 37 ± 4% to 20 ± 6% (P < 0.05) in the HO‐1 Tg group, and was increased to 47 ± 5% (P < 0.05) in the HO‐1 knockout (KO) hearts. Parallel to the infarct size reduction, the incidence of total and sustained ventricular fibrillation were also reduced from their NTg control values of 92% and 83% to 25% (P < 0.05) and 8% (P < 0.05) in the HO‐1 Tg group, and were increased to 100% and 100% in HO‐1 KO−/− hearts. Immunohistochemical staining of HO‐1 was intensified in HO‐1 Tg compared to the NTg myocardium. Thus, the HO‐1 Tg mouse model suggests a valuable therapeutic approach in the treatment of ischemic myocardium.
A multicase study in the middle school : Complexities among young adolescent readers

La lecture des eleves au niveau du lycee est une question opportune etant donne l'interet que l'on porte actuellement a l'education des jeunes adolescents. Une recherche anterieure a apporte des informations sur les strategies qu'utilisent les eleves de lycee, leurs attitudes envers la lecture, et le temps qu'ils passent a lire. Mais cette recherche est de portee limitee parce qu'elle ne prend pas en compte la multitude de facteurs qui pesent sur les comportements de lecture, qu'il viennent des lecteurs eux-memes ou du monde exterieur. La recherche presentee ici elargit la recherche sur les jeunes adolescents lecteurs en se centrant sur trois lecteurs individuels et sur la facon dont ils vivent la lecture jour apres jour dans leur classe pendant une periode de cinq mois Les participants a ces etudes de cas etaient des eleves de premiere et terminale : un bon lecteur, un lecteur moyen, et un eleve en difficulte. Une analyse comparative et identique des donnees, comportant des observations en classe, des entretiens avec les eleves, des moments de lecture en tete a tete avec chacun individuellement, un journal de terrain des chercheurs revele que les resultats en lecture des trois eleves et leurs attitudes envers la lecture varient selon le contexte de lecture, le materiau a lire, et les raisons de lire. En depit du degre de reussite different de ces trois eleves, il n'est pas possible de les classer avec precision comme fort ou faible, motive ou non motive. Chacun d'eux apparait etre un cas de lecteur presentant une grande complexite.
Changes in aerobic capacity and coronary risk factors during long-term exercise training in women with ischemic heart disease: a 36-month follow-up.

We evaluated the time course of alteration in aerobic capacity and coronary risk factors associated with a 36-month exercise program in women with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Twenty-one patients participated in supervised exercise and home-based exercise programs for 36 months. However, of all patients, 11 patients completed the entire program. Oxygen uptake corresponding to lactate threshold (VO2LT), peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), percent of body fat (%BF), systolic (BPs) and diastolic (BPd) blood pressure, total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) and triglycerides (TG) were assessed before and 4, 8, 12, 24, and 36 months after exercise. The intensity of exercise was set at individually determined LT, i.e., 60 to 70% VO2peak. The daily amount of exercise during 36 months averaged 24.0 +/- 11.4 minutes per day. During the course of exercise program, VO2LT, VO2peak, BPs, BPd, and TG improved significantly at month 4. Although %BF decreased significantly at month 8 to 12, it tended to return to the initial level at month 36. On the other hand, a significant increase in HDLC was found at month 24 and improved state of HDLC remained unchanged thereafter. No changes were found in TC and LDLC. These results suggest that most of the beneficial effects of exercise on aerobic capacity and coronary risk factors in women with IHD are obtained within 4-8 months, with some further improvement seen with continued exercise up to 24 months.
Intelligence Differentiation in Early Childhood

According to the age differentiation hypothesis, cognitive abilities become more differentiated with increasing age during childhood. Using data from the German standardization of the SON-R 2½-7 intelligence test, we examined age-related differentiation of cognitive abilities from age 2½ to age 7. The SON-R 2½-7 is a nonverbal intelligence test for children and consists of six subtests. SON-R 2½-7 supposedly has a two-factorial structure, with a reasoning and a performance factor. We used age-weighted measurement models to describe the age gradients of model parameter estimates. In line with the differentiation hypothesis, we observed a decrease in the correlation between both factors with increasing age. We tested the significance of this observed decrease using a permutation test. Participants were allocated age randomly in 1,000 datasets. Age-weighted measurement models were estimated to observe the age gradients of the correlation between the two factors in these datasets. The results of the permutation test show that the decrease in the correlation observed in the real dataset is significant but of small magnitude. The findings provide some support for intelligence differentiation with increasing childhood age.
SUMO (Simulation of Urban MObility) - an open-source traffic simulation

As no exact model of traffic flow exists due to its high complexity and chaotic organisation, researchers mainly try to predict traffic using simulations. Within this field, many simulation packages exist and differ in their software architecture paradigm as well as in the models that describe traffic itself. We will introduce yet another system which, in contrast to most of the other simulation software packages, is available as on open-source programm and may therfore be extended in order to fit a researcher´s own needs and also be used as a reference testbed for new traffic models.