Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lobectomy by VATS: taking the plunge.

Th e favorable outcomes in a large cohort of patients treated according to the American Th oracic Society/ Infectious Disease Society of America guidelines are their best available endorsement. Both daily and thrice-weekly therapy are recommended by the guidelines and resulted in sputum conversion-to-negative rates of approximately 85%. Lao Tzu’s dictum to “embrace simplicity” applies to patient adherence. Th e simpler a regimen, the more likely patients will be able to adhere to it. Th e report by Wallace and colleagues 7 represents an important advance reassuring physicians that the simpler thrice-weekly regimen is as eff ective as daily therapy yet much better tolerated and undoubtedly less expensive for patients with FNB. As suggested previously, these results should not be extrapolated to patients with cavitary disease. Th e high reinfection rate within the 3.5 years following treatment emphasizes the importance of the recommendation for ongoing surveillance of these patients aft er successful treatment.
The accuracy of EUS-FNA in assessing mediastinal lymphadenopathy and staging patients with NSCLC

Optimal management of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) depends on tissue diagnosis and accurate staging. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is minimally invasive and provides cytological confirmation of malignant mediastinal disease. The aim was to assess the accuracy of EUS-FNA in cases of enlarged mediastinal lymphadenopathy (LN) of unknown aetiology and in the staging of NSCLC. A total of 52 consecutive patients with stage I–IIIb NSCLC or enlarged mediastinal LN of unknown aetiology underwent EUS-FNA. Negative results were confirmed with a surgical procedure: mediastinoscopy, video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) or lobectomy with systematic mediastinal lymph node dissection. In total, 34 patients had EUS-FNA performed for diagnosis, whilst the remaining 18 had EUS-FNA for staging. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy (95% confidence interval) were 93% (77–99), 100% (78–100), 100% (87–100), 88% (63–99) and 95% (84–99), respectively. When EUS-FNA was used in patients with NSCLC, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy were 92% (73–99), 100% (69–100), 100% (85–100), 83% (51–98) and 94% (80–99), respectively. For mediastinal LN of unknown aetiology, no malignant disease was missed. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration is an accurate tool for assessing mediastinal lymph node involvement in nonsmall cell lung cancer and in the diagnosis of unexplained mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration is a minimally invasive procedure that can be used as an adjunct or alternative to mediastinoscopy.
The relationship of social stress, economic hardship, and psychological distress to addiction severity among Kentucky substance abuse treatment participants

OF DISSERTATION THE RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIAL STRESS, ECONOMIC HARDSHIP, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS TO ADDICTION SEVERITY AMONG KENTUCKY SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT PARTICIPANTS Stress is associated with poor mental health, specifically anxiety and depression, and stress and mental health problems are predictors of substance dependence and relapse. Social characteristics, such as racial/ethnic minority status, female gender, and low socioeconomic status, are often associated with increased psychological distress and substance use disorders. Pearlin’s social stress theory postulates that this association is due to increased exposure to stress and subsequent experiences of distress related to social disadvantage and decreased access to resources for coping with stress. This project uses a social stress theoretical perspective to examine predictors of substance use after treatment entry and follow-up addiction severity in a large sample of Kentucky substance abuse treatment participants (N = 1123). A conceptual model is tested to determine if social characteristics along with psychological distress, perceived stress, and economic hardship are predictors of substance use and follow-up addiction severity. In addition, since recovery support, efficacy, and self-control have been previously identified as mediators in the stress and relapse processes these factors were included as mediators in the model tested. The conceptual model was tested with three outcome variables, substance use between baseline and 12-month follow-up, follow-up alcohol addiction severity, and follow-up drug addiction severity. Bivariate and multivariate analyses, including logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression, were used to test conceptual models with the full sample and also with a subsample with baseline substance use indicative of potential substance dependence. Findings indicated that significance of predictors varied depending on outcome variable, although recovery support, efficacy, and self-control were significant predictors of all three dependent variables. Findings for each outcome variable are discussed, as well as limitations of the present study, implications for social work practice, and implications for future research.
Characterizing Risk Attitudes of Industrial Managers

We study the risk attitudes of an important segment of the economy: managers. We conduct artefactual field experiments with 130 managers from 12 industrial companies. Our analysis is particularly careful to evaluate alternative models of decision-making under risk. In general, we find that the managers in our sample are moderately risk averse. Assuming a standard EUT model they exhibit similar risk attitudes as other sample populations. However, we find some differences within our sample. Superiors exhibit a higher level of risk aversion than team members that work for them in their department. Comparing purchasing managers with a random sample of non-purchasing managers from different corporate functions such as controlling, sales, engineering and so on, we cannot conclude that they differ from each other. We show that alternative theories of risky behavior provide complementary information on the risk attitude of industrial managers. While an expected utility theory model only characterizes managers as globally risk averse, we learn from a prospect theory model that the managers in our sample are only risk averse for a certain range of payoffs. For other payoffs, they even exhibit risk-seeking behavior. The reference point that determines which outcomes are to be viewed as losses and which as gains is not that induced by the task frame. We show that subjects had implicit expectations about their earning in the experiment, and used these expectations to evaluate the lotteries presented to them. Remarkably, the managers in our sample did not weigh probabilities and they did not exhibit a hypothetical bias in their decisions.
Educators\' perceptions of the efficiency of school governing bodies

The efficiency of school governing bodies, as perceived by educators, was investigated. The School Governing Body Efficiency Scale (SGBES) was used to determine the extent to which educators perceive the efficiency of their respective governing bodies. The findings indicated that educators differed significantly in their perceptions of the efficiency of school governing bodies. The results also showed that educator biographical variables (gender, regional location and teaching phase) had no influence on their perceptions. The findings are discussed and suggestions are made with regard to measures to improve the efficiency of school governing bodies. South African Journal of Education Vol.24(4) 2004: 260-263
Once- and twice-daily dosing with rosiglitazone improves glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of rosiglitazone compared with placebo in reducing hyperglycemia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS After a 4-week placebo run-in period, 959 patients were randomized to placebo or rosiglitazone (total daily dose 4 or 8 mg) for 26 weeks. The primary measure of efficacy was change in the HbA1c concentration. RESULTS Rosiglitazone produced dosage-dependent reductions in HbA1c of 0.8, 0.9, 1.1, and 1.5% in the 4 mg o.d. , 2 mg b.i. d. , 8 mg o.d. , and 4 mg b.i. d. groups, respectively, compared with placebo. Clinically significant decreases from baseline in HbA1c were observed in drug-naive patients at all rosiglitazone doses and in patients previously treated with oral monotherapy at rosiglitazone 8 mg o.d. and 4 mg b.i. d. Clinically significant decreases from baseline in HbA1c were also observed with rosiglitazone 4 mg b.i. d. in patients previously treated with combination oral therapy. Approximately 33% of drug-naive patients treated with rosiglitazone achieved HbA1c < or =7% at study end. The proportions of patients with at least one adverse event were comparable among the rosiglitazone and placebo groups. There was no evidence of hepatotoxicity in any treatment group. There were statistically significant increases in weight and serum lipids in all rosiglitazone treatment groups compared with placebo. For LDL and HDL cholesterol, the observed increase appeared to be dose related. CONCLUSIONS Rosiglitazone at total daily doses of 4 and 8 mg significantly improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes and was well tolerated.
Entry, Exit, Firm Dynamics, and Aggregate Fluctuations

Do firm entry and exit play a major role in shaping aggregate dynamics? Our answer is yes. Entry and exit propagate the effects of aggregate shocks. In turn, this results in greater persistence and unconditional variation of aggregate time-series. These are features of the equilibrium allocation in Hopenhayn (1992)'s model of equilibrium industry dynamics, amended to allow for investment in physical capital and aggregate fluctuations. In the aftermath of a positive productivity shock, the number of entrants increases. The new firms are smaller and less productive than the incumbents, as in the data. As the common productivity component reverts to its unconditional mean, the new entrants that survive become more productive over time, keeping aggregate efficiency higher than in a scenario without entry or exit.
Evidence for Association of the E23K Variant of KCNJ11 Gene with Type 2 Diabetes in Tunisian Population: Population-Based Study and Meta-Analysis

Aims. Genetic association studies have reported the E23K variant of KCNJ11 gene to be associated with Type 2 diabetes. In Arab populations, only four studies have investigated the role of this variant. We aimed to replicate and validate the association between the E23K variant and Type 2 diabetes in Tunisian and Arab populations. Methods. We have performed a case-control association study including 250 Tunisian patients with Type 2 diabetes and 267 controls. Allelic association has also been evaluated by 2 meta-analyses including all population-based studies among Tunisians and Arabs (2 and 5 populations, resp.). Results. A significant association between the E23K variant and Type 2 diabetes was found (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.14–2.27, and P = 0.007). Furthermore, our meta-analysis has confirmed the significant role of the E23K variant in susceptibility of Type 2 diabetes in Tunisian and Arab populations (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.15–1.46, and P < 10−3 and OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.13–1.56, and P = 0.001, resp.). Conclusion. Both case-control and meta-analyses results revealed the significant association between the E23K variant of KCNJ11 and Type 2 diabetes among Tunisians and Arabs.
Personality at work : the role of individual differences in the workplace

Introduction 1. Personality testing and the work place 2. Personality and vocational preference 3. Personality and work motivation 4. Personality and productivity 5. Personality and work satisfaction 6. Ability, biography and sex differences at work 7. Personality and work-related problems: absenteeism, accidents, illness and stress 8. Personality, leisure, sport, unemployment and retirement 9. Implications for selection, training and reward structure 10. Conclusions.
Blueprint for 21st Century Innovation Management

This paper argues that the foundation for a new economic order has been laid. It is one that rests on the value of human potential and how it might be systematically leveraged for the benefit of mankind. The challenge is to determine the integral linkage between human potential and economic performance. This will be accomplished by creating a worldwide innovation vision and culture, supported by innovation tools, techniques and metrics.
A study on agility and testing processes in software organizations

In this paper, we studied the differences in testing activities between software organizations which apply agile development methods and organizations which take the traditional plan-driven approach. Our focus was on the concepts which allow the software organization to successfully apply agile development methods or plan-driven methods. We also observed the test process enhancements and hindrances, which originate in the selected development method. We interviewed 12 organizations, which were selected to represent different polar types of software production. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed for further analysis. The study yielded hypotheses which were derived by applying the qualitative grounded theory method. The results indicated that in practice, agile methods can improve the position of testing through the early involvement of testing activities in development, and also have a positive influence on end-product satisfaction. By applying these results, organizations can improve their processes and avoid pitfalls when transitioning to agile methods.
Changes of Constituents and Activity to Apoptosis and Cell Cycle During Fermentation of Tea

Tea is believed to be beneficial for health, and the effects of the fermentation process on its contributions to apoptosis and cell cycle arrest of gastric cancer cells have not been completely investigated. In this study, the chemical components in green tea, black tea and pu-erh tea aqueous extracts were analyzed and compared. The polysaccharide and caffeine levels were substantially higher in the fermented black tea and pu-erh tea, while the polyphenol level was higher in the unfermented green tea. Hence, a treatment of tea aqueous extract and the components, which are emerging as promising anticancer agents, were pursued to determine whether this treatment could lead to enhance apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. In the human gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901, the cell viability and flow cytometry analysis for apoptotic cells indicated effects in a dose-dependent inhibition manner for the three tea treatment groups. The apoptosis rates were found to be elevated after 48 h of treatment with 31.2, 125, and 500 μg/mL of green tea extract, the higher catechins content may be involved in the mechanism. Cell cycle was arrested in S phase in the fermented black tea and pu-erh tea, and the populations were significantly decreased in G2/M phases, possibly due to the oxidation of tea polyphenols, which causes an increase of theabrownins. CCC-HEL-1 normal cells were not sensitive to tea extract. These findings suggest that the fermentation process causes changes of the compounds which might be involved in the changes of cell proliferation inhibition, apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest.
Dialogues across Disciplines: Preparing English-as-a-Second-Language Teachers for Interdisciplinary Collaboration

This study examines interdisciplinary collaboration between mainstream-English and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) in-service and pre-service teachers enrolled in graduate methods courses in their respective fields. During the semester, TESOL and secondary English Education teacher candidates collaborated to develop young adult literature based thematic units that supported the curricular needs of the secondary English education curriculum in the ESL classroom and the provided for the linguistic, second-language-literacy, and cultural needs of English language learners (ELLs) in the mainstream English classroom through interdisciplinary teacher collaboration.
Religiosity, socio-economic development and work values: a cross-national study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use international survey data to investigate the effects of religiosity, religious denomination, communist heritage, and socio-economic development on work values. Design/methodology/approach – First, religiosity and work values are conceptualized. Next, the relationships among these concepts are discussed and the hypotheses, variables, and data are presented. Finally, the results of the empirical tests are presented and the theoretical and managerial implications, as well as avenues for future research, are discussed. Findings – It is found that socio-economic development negatively, whereas religiosity and communist heritage positively, influence extrinsic work values. Further analysis reveals that religiosity has a quadratic relationship with intrinsic work values. Conspicuously, after controlling for the effects of religiosity, no significant association is found between religious denominations and work values. Research limitations/implications – The current a.
Coronavirus infection and hospitalizations for acute respiratory illness in young children

There is only limited knowledge on the burden of disease due to both new (HCoV‐NL63 and HKU‐1) and previously discovered coronaviruses (OC43 and 229E) in children. Respiratory specimens and clinical data were prospectively collected in an active, population‐based surveillance study over a 2‐year period from children aged <5 years hospitalized with acute respiratory symptoms or fever. These samples were retrospectively tested by real‐time RT‐PCR for HCoV‐NL63, HKU1, OC43, and 229E. Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) were identified in 2.2% of study children <2 years of age. Rates of HCoV‐associated hospitalization per 10,000 were 10.2 (95% CI 4.3, 17.6), 4.2 (95% CI 1.9, 6.9), and 0 (95% CI 0, 3.7) in children aged <6 months, 6–23 months, and 24–59 months, respectively. Coronaviruses were identified in a modest number of hospitalized children. J. Med. Virol. 81:853–856, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Interaction of Mn(II) ions with human serum albumin.

Investigation of nonspecific interactions of metal ions with proteins and studies of biological function of such complexes are of importance (Breslow 1978; Friedberg 1975). Identification of the binding centers of metal ions with proteins and determination of the binding constants are necessary to explain the transfer mechanisms of these ions by proteins. Earlier it has been shown (Lau et al. 1971; Friedberg 1975) that serum albumin is the major carrier of metal ions in the blood. The present paper is a report of a comparative spin resonance (ESR) investigation of Mn(II) ion binding with human serum albumin (HSA) and lysozyme, and the effect of pH
Diethyl 1,4-dioxo-1,2,2a,3,4,10b-hexahydro-5H,10H-2,3,4a,10a-tetraazabenzo[g]cyclopenta[cd]azulene-2a,10b-dicarboxylate

In the title compound, C18H20N4O6, the dihedral angle between the two fused five-membered rings in the glycoluril unit is 64.42 (2)°. The crystal structure features intermolecular N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O interactions. An intramolecular C—H⋯O contact is also present.
Rib‐reinforced Shell Structure

Shell structures are extensively used in engineering due to their efficient load‐carrying capacity relative to material volume. However, large‐span shells require additional supporting structures to strengthen fragile regions. The problem of designing optimal stiffeners is therefore becoming a major challenge for shell applications. To address it, we propose a computational framework to design and optimize rib layout on arbitrary shell to improve the overall structural stiffness and mechanical performance. The essential of our method is to place ribs along the principal stress lines which reflect paths of material continuity and indicates trajectories of internal forces. Given a surface and user‐specified external loads, we perform a Finite Element Analysis. Using the resulting principal stress field, we generate a quad‐mesh whose edges align with this cross field. Then we extract an initial rib network from the quad‐mesh. After simplifying rib network by removing ribs with little contribution, we perform a rib flow optimization which allows ribs to swing on surface to further adjust rib distribution. Finally, we optimize rib cross‐section to maximally reduce material usage while achieving certain structural stiffness requirements. We demonstrate that our rib‐reinforced shell structures achieve good static performances. And experimental results by 3D printed objects show the effectiveness of our method.
A new speech modeling method: SYMPES

In this paper, the method of speech modeling which is called SYMPES is introduced and it is compared with the commercially available methods. It is shown that for the same compression ratio or better, SYMPES yields considerably better hearing quality over the coders such as G.726 at 16 Kbps and voice excited LPC-10E of 2.4Kbps
Social learning : psychological and biological perspectives

Contents: Part I:Social Learnlng: Theoretical and Methodological Issues. B.G. Galef, Jr., Imitation in Animals: History, Definition, and Interpretation of Data from the Psychological Laboratory. R. Boyd, P.J. Richerson, An Evolutionary Model of Social Learnlng: The Effects of Spatial and Temporal Variation. Part II:Social Influences on Avoidance Learning. S. Mineka, M. Cook, Social Learning and the Acquisition of Snake Fear in Monkeys. E. Curio, Cultural Transmission of Enemy Recognition by Birds. J.R. Mason, Direct and Observational Learning by Red-Winged Blackbirds (Agelaius Phoeniceus): The Importance of Complex Visual Stimuli. Part III:Social Influences on Foraging and Feeding. B.G. Galef, Jr., Communication and Information Concerning Distant Diets in a Social, Central-Place Foraging Species: Rattus Norvegicus. L. Lefebvre, B. Palameta, Mechanisms, Ecology, and Population Diffusion of Socially-Learned, Food-Finding Behavior in Feral Pigeons. P. Rozin, Social Learning About Food by Humans. Part IV:Social Learning of Arbitrary Responses. T.R. Zentall, Experimentally Manipulated Imitative Behavior in Rats and Pigeons. M.R. Denny, C.F. Clos, R.C. Bell, Learning in the Rat of a Choice Response by Observation of S-S Contingencies. D.E. Hogan, Learned Imitation by Pigeons. D. Mainardi, M. Mainardi, Culture and Genetics in the House Mouse. Part V:Social Influences on Communication. L. Petrinovich, The Role of Social Factors in White-Crowned Sparrow Song Development. I.M. Pepperberg, The Importance of Social Interaction and Observation in the Acquisition of Communicative Competence: Possible Parallels Between Avian and Human Learning. E.F. Masur, Infants Imitation of Novel and Familiar Behaviors. A.N. Meltzoff, The Human Infant as "Homo Imitans".
Why are Net-Interest Margins Across Countries so Different?

In this study, we use panel data from 121 countries over the period 1999-2012 to provide new evidence regarding why bank margins differ across countries. More specifically, we test whether, and, if so, by how much, country-level governance variables and bank-specific factors explain the net-interest margins over time. We find that both bank-specific factors and country-level governance variables are important determinants of the interest margins. We also investigate whether these determinants vary by the level of economic development by analyzing developed and developing countries separately. We find significant differences in the determinants of margins between developed and developing countries.