Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measurement of long-term outcomes in observational and randomised controlled trials

Background Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard for evaluating treatment efficacy. However, the outcomes of RCTs often lackclinical utility and usually do not address real-world effectiveness Aims To review how traditional RCTs may be triangulatedwith other methodologies such as observational studies and pragmatic trials by highlighting recently reported studies, outcomes used and their respective merits Method Literature review focusing on drug treatment Results Recently reported observational and some pragmatic studies show a degree of consistency in reported results and use outcomes that have face validity for clinicians Conclusions No single experimental paradigm or outcome provides the necessary data to optimise treatment of mental illness in the clinical setting
Role of Brushing and Occlusal Forces in Non-Carious Cervical Lesions (NCCL)

Objective: To assess the association of occlusal forces and brushing with non-carious cervical lesions (NCCL). Methodology: It was a Cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in Dental clinics, Department of Surgery, The Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi. The study duration was from 1st January 2009 to 28th Feb 2009. Ninety patients visiting dental clinic were examined clinically. Presence of Non- carious cervical lesions, broken restorations, fractured cusps, presence of occlusal facets, brushing habits, Para functional habits were assessed. All the relevant information and clinical examination were collected on a structured Performa and was analyzed using SPSS version 14.0. Chi square χ2 test was applied to assess association among different categorical variables. Result: Twenty three (26%) females and 67 (74%) males were included in the study. Thirty five of them (38.9%) were found to have Non-carious cervical lesions. Presence of NCCL has no association with gender (P value 0.458). A significant association was found between NCCL and teeth sensitivity (P value 0.002). The association between use of hard tooth brush and Non-carious cervical lesions was found significant (P value <0.001). However the association among Non-carious cervical lesions and fractured cups, broken restoration, teeth grinding, jaw clenching, pan chalia chewing and frequency of teeth brushing were insignificant. Conclusion: Hard tooth brushing and teeth sensitivity have significant association with Non-carious cervical lesions. The role of occlusal wear in the formation of NCCL is not significant.
Laparoscopic Intraperitoneal Onlay Polytetrafluoroethylene Mesh Repair (IPOM) for Inguinal Hernia During Spinal Anesthesia in Patients With Severe Medical Conditions

In patients with severe pulmonary disease, laparoscopic techniques are not advised. The authors report their preliminary experience with laparoscopic intraperitoneal onlay polytetrafluoroethylene mesh repair for inguinal hernia during spinal anesthesia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Spinal anesthesia was performed using hyperbaric bupivacaine (3–3.5 mL) injected at L2–L3. If necessary, additive opioid therapy was administered. Under low-pressure pneumoperitoneum (10 mm Hg), polytetrafluoroethylene mesh was stapled securely on the posterior inguinal wall to spare epigastric and iliac vessels. Fifteen patients underwent surgery. Median age was 62 years. All patients were classified American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status III/IV. Mean forced expiratory volume in the first second was 1.1 L/s. Median operating time was 20 minutes. Postoperative recovery was uneventful for all patients. The average duration of hospital stay was 1.5 days. Seroma or hematoma was not noted. Six-month follow-up did not show recurrence or infection. This technique is an effective method of repair of inguinal hernia in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and it provides a maximum of comfort.
Boosting Variational Inference: an Optimization Perspective

Variational inference is a popular technique to approximate a possibly intractable Bayesian posterior with a more tractable one. Recently, boosting variational inference has been proposed as a new paradigm to approximate the posterior by a mixture of densities by greedily adding components to the mixture. However, as is the case with many other variational inference algorithms, its theoretical properties have not been studied. In the present work, we study the convergence properties of this approach from a modern optimization viewpoint by establishing connections to the classic Frank-Wolfe algorithm. Our analyses yields novel theoretical insights regarding the sufficient conditions for convergence, explicit rates, and algorithmic simplifications. Since a lot of focus in previous works for variational inference has been on tractability, our work is especially important as a much needed attempt to bridge the gap between probabilistic models and their corresponding theoretical properties.
Engineering the Bacterial Microcompartment Domain for Molecular Scaffolding Applications

As synthetic biology advances the intricacy of engineered biological systems, the importance of spatial organization within the cellular environment must not be marginalized. Increasingly, biological engineers are investigating means to control spatial organization within the cell, mimicking strategies used by natural pathways to increase flux and reduce cross-talk. A modular platform for constructing a diverse set of defined, programmable architectures would greatly assist in improving yields from introduced metabolic pathways and increasing insulation of other heterologous systems. Here, we review recent research on the shell proteins of bacterial microcompartments and discuss their potential application as “building blocks” for a range of customized intracellular scaffolds. We summarize the state of knowledge on the self-assembly of BMC shell proteins and discuss future avenues of research that will be important to realize the potential of BMC shell proteins as predictively assembling and programmable biological materials for bioengineering.
Exposure to wind turbine noise: Perceptual responses and reported health effects.

Health Canada, in collaboration with Statistics Canada, and other external experts, conducted the Community Noise and Health Study to better understand the impacts of wind turbine noise (WTN) on health and well-being. A cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out between May and September 2013 in southwestern Ontario and Prince Edward Island on 1238 randomly selected participants (606 males, 632 females) aged 18-79 years, living between 0.25 and 11.22 km from operational wind turbines. Calculated outdoor WTN levels at the dwelling reached 46 dBA. Response rate was 78.9% and did not significantly differ across sample strata. Self-reported health effects (e.g., migraines, tinnitus, dizziness, etc.), sleep disturbance, sleep disorders, quality of life, and perceived stress were not related to WTN levels. Visual and auditory perception of wind turbines as reported by respondents increased significantly with increasing WTN levels as did high annoyance toward several wind turbine features, including the following: noise, blinking lights, shadow flicker, visual impacts, and vibrations. Concern for physical safety and closing bedroom windows to reduce WTN during sleep also increased with increasing WTN levels. Other sample characteristics are discussed in relation to WTN levels. Beyond annoyance, results do not support an association between exposure to WTN up to 46 dBA and the evaluated health-related endpoints.
A one-year study of foodborne illnesses in the municipality of Uppsala, Sweden.

Surveillance was enhanced and a retrospective interview study performed in 1998-99 to determine incidence, causes, and costs of foodborne illnesses in Uppsala, Sweden. Sixty-eight percent of the detected foodborne illness incidents were single cases, and 32% were outbreaks. Most (85%) of the incidents came to the attention of the municipal authorities through telephone calls from affected persons. Calicivirus, Campylobacter spp. , and Staphyloccocus aureus were the most common etiological agents; meat, meat products, and mixed dishes were the most implicated food categories. The incidence of foodborne illness was estimated to be 38 cases per 1,000 inhabitants per year. The estimated average costs per illness were 2,164 Swedish Krona (SEK) ($246) to society and 500 SEK ($57) to the patient. The annual cost of foodborne illnesses in Sweden was estimated to be 1,082 million SEK ($123 million).
Knee biomechanics of alternate stair ambulation patterns.

PURPOSE This study compared the kinematics and kinetics of the knee joint during traditional step-over-step (SOS) and compensatory step-by-step lead-leg (SBSL) and trail-leg (SBST) stair ambulation patterns. METHODS Seventeen (M:9) healthy adults completed five trials of ascent and descent using three different stepping patterns: 1) SBSL, 2) SBST, and 3) SOS. Kinematics and kinetics were collected with an optoelectronic motion-tracking system and a force plate embedded into a four-step staircase. An inverse-dynamics link-segment model (QGAIT system) was used to calculate the net joint kinetics. RESULTS During stair ascent, different peak anteroposterior (AP) forces were observed across all three stepping patterns (SOS > SBSL > SBST, P < 0.05). During ascent, the flexion moments of SOS (0.96 N x m x kg(-1)) and SBSL (0.97 N x m x kg(-1)) patterns were similar and much larger than the SBST moments (0.14 N x m x kg(-1)). In the descent conditions, the initial AP peak force for SOS was larger than that of SBSL and SBST. However, the second peak force for SOS (4.92 N x kg(-1)) and SBST (4.68 N x kg(-1)) were larger than SBSL (1.57 N x kg(-1)). During descent, the initial peak flexion moment for the SOS pattern was larger than SBSL and SBST, whereas during the second peak, SOS (1.05 N x m x kg(-1)) and SBST (1.11 N x m x kg(-)) were no different and larger than SBSL (0.18 N x m x kg(-1)). CONCLUSION Overall, SBSL during ascent and SBST during descent had the highest loads. These results increase our understanding of alternative stepping patterns and have important clinical (reduction of loading on injured/diseased leg) and rehabilitation implications.
Intersarcomere dynamics of single muscle fibers during fixed-end tetani

The contraction dynamics of end and center regions of single fibers have been measured during fixed-end tetani. Experimental control and data acquisition are provided by a digital system that can acquire diffraction data as fast as every 260 microseconds for 300-700 ms. Tension records are simultaneously displayed on a storage oscilloscope. Resting sarcomere length variation between the end and center regions was analogous to that of Gordon et al. (1966). During the rapid rise in force (less than 45 ms), the end regions contract almost twice as fast as the center regions. During the slow rise in force, the velocity of contraction of the end regions was 3.8 times the velocity of stretch of the center regions. In addition, factors that affected the rate and extent of the slow rise in tension also affected the rate and extent of end shortening. In 58% of the cases studied, the amount of shortening observed in the end region was enough to explain the extent of the slow rise in tension. These data support the explanation of creep first proposed by A. V. Hill (1953) and used by Gordon et al. (1966) to justify their use of the back-extrapolation technique in measuring the isometric force-generating capability of a single fiber. These data also indicate that the laser diffraction technique may provide an effective, noninvasive method for studying sarcomere dynamics during creep and related phenomena.
A cost-effective location tracking strategy for femtocell based mobile network

This paper has proposed a cost-effective location tracking method for future generation macrocell-femtocell based LTE network where femtocells are deployed within the macrocells. A new database, DM is maintained at each macrocell base station to denote the presence of a mobile terminal within macrocell or femtocell. Considering the information contained in DM, selective paging is performed. The proposed selective paging considering received signal strength by each mobile terminal achieves 76-87% and 16-41% reduction in paging cost and delay respectively than previous approach.
Microenvironmental VEGF distribution is critical for stable and functional vessel growth in ischemia

The critical role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression levels in developmental angiogenesis is well established. Nonetheless, the effects of different local (microenvironmental) VEGF concentrations in ischemia have not been studied in the adult organism, and VEGF delivery to patients has been disappointing. Here, we demonstrate the existence of both lower and upper threshold levels of microenvironmental VEGF concentrations for the induction of therapeutic vessel growth in ischemia. In the ischemic hind limb, implantation of myoblasts transduced to express VEGF164 at different levels per cell increased blood flow only moderately, and vascular leakage and aberrant preangiomatous vessels were always induced. When the same total dose was uniformly distributed by implanting a monoclonal population derived from a single VEGF‐expressing myoblast, blood flow was fully restored to nonischemic levels, collateral growth was induced, and ischemic damage was prevented. Hemangiomas were avoided and only normal, pericyte‐covered vessels were induced persisting over 15 mo. Surprisingly, clones uniformly expressing either lower or higher VEGF levels failed to provide any functional benefit. A biphasic effect of VEGF dose on vessel number and diameter was found. Blood flow was only improved if vessels were increased both in size and in number. Microenvironmental VEGF concentrations determine efficacy and safety in a therapeutic setting. —von Degenfeld, G. , Banfi, A. , Springer, M. L. , Wagner, R. A. , Jacobi, J., Ozawa, C. R. , Merchant, M. J., Cooke, J. P., Blau, H. M. Microenvironmental VEGF distribution is critical for stable and functional vessel growth in ischemia. FASEB J. 20, E2277–E2287 (2006)
Effect of Forest Cover on Water Treatment Costs

This paper studies the relationship between forest cover and drinking water chemical treatment costs using land use data and a survey by the American Water Works Association (AWWA). The survey gathers cost and water quality data from 37 treatment plants in forested ecoregions of the United States. We model the effect of forest conversion on the cost of water treatment using a two-step process. First, we examine the effect of changes in land use on water quality through an ecological production function. Second, we examine the effect of changes in water quality on cost of treatment through an economic benefits function. We find a negative relationship between forest cover and turbidity, but no relationship between forest cover and total organic carbon (TOC). Increasing forest cover in a watershed by 1% reduces turbidity by 3%, and increasing development by 1% in a watershed increases turbidity by 3%. The impact of development is more consistent across models than the impact of forest cover. We also find a large impact on turbidity from grazing in the watershed. Our economic benefits function shows a 1% increase in turbidity increases water treatment costs by 0.19%, and 1% increase in TOC increases water treatment costs by 0.46%. TOC has a clearer impact on costs than turbidity, which becomes insignificant when we omit one of our observations with high turbidity.
The Organization of Firms Across Countries

We argue that social capital as proxied by regional trust and the Rule of Law can improve aggregate productivity through facilitating greater firm decentralization. We collect original data on the decentralization of investment, hiring, production and sales decisions from Corporate Head Quarters to local plant managers in almost 4,000 firms in the US, Europe and Asia. We find Anglo-Saxon and Northern European firms are much more decentralized than those from Southern Europe and Asia. Trust and the Rule of Law appear to facilitate delegation by improving co-operation, even when we examine "bilateral trust" between the country of origin and location for affiliates of multinational firms. We show that areas with higher trust and stronger rule of law specialize in industries that rely on decentralization and allow more efficient firms to grow in scale. Furthermore, even for firms of a given size and industry, trust and rule of law are associated with more decentralization which fosters higher returns from information technology (we find IT is complementary with decentralization). Finally, we find that non-hierarchical religions and product market competition are also associated with more decentralization. Together these cultural, legal and economic factors account for four-fifths of the cross-country variation in the decentralization of power within firms.
Alloantibody and Autoantibody Monitoring Predicts Islet Transplantation Outcome in Human Type 1 Diabetes

Long-term clinical outcome of islet transplantation is hampered by the rejection and recurrence of autoimmunity. Accurate monitoring may allow for early detection and treatment of these potentially compromising immune events. Islet transplant outcome was analyzed in 59 consecutive pancreatic islet recipients in whom baseline and de novo posttransplant autoantibodies (GAD antibody, insulinoma-associated protein 2 antigen, zinc transporter type 8 antigen) and donor-specific alloantibodies (DSA) were quantified. Thirty-nine recipients (66%) showed DSA or autoantibody increases (de novo expression or titer increase) after islet transplantation. Recipients who had a posttransplant antibody increase showed similar initial performance but significantly lower graft survival than patients without an increase (islet autoantibodies P < 0.001, DSA P < 0.001). Posttransplant DSA or autoantibody increases were associated with HLA-DR mismatches (P = 0.008), induction with antithymocyte globulin (P = 0.0001), and pretransplant panel reactive alloantibody >15% in either class I or class II (P = 0.024) as independent risk factors and with rapamycin as protective (P = 0.006) against antibody increases. DSA or autoantibody increases after islet transplantation are important prognostic markers, and their identification could potentially lead to improved islet cell transplant outcomes.
The Effect of Figural Manipulations on Brightness Differences in the Benary Cross

The Benary cross is a classical demonstration showing that the perceived brightness of an area is not solely determined by its luminance, but also by the context in which it is embedded. Despite the fact that two identical grey triangles are flanked by an equal amount of black and white, one of the triangles is perceived as being lighter than the other. It has been argued that the junctions surrounding a test area are crucial in determining brightness. Here, we explored how different aspects influencing perceptual organisation influence perceived figure – background relations in the Benary cross and, with that, the perceived brightness of the triangular patches in our stimuli. The results of a cancellation task confirm that the alignment of contours at junctions indeed has a strong influence on an area's brightness. At the same time, however, the Benary effect is also influenced by the overall symmetry of the cross and its orientation.
The Integration of Imperfect Financial Markets: Implications for Business Cycle Volatility

During the last two decades, the degree of openness of national financial systems has increased substantially. At the same time, asymmetries in information and other financial market frictions have remain prevalent. We study both empirically and theoretically the implications of the opening up of national financial systems in the presence of financial market frictions for business cycle volatility. In our empirical analysis, we demonstrate that stylised facts suggest that countries with more developed financial systems have lower business cycle volatility. Financial openness has no strong impact on business cycle volatility, in contrast. In our theoretical analysis, we use a dynamic general equilibrium model to study the implications of the opening up of national financial markets and of financial market frictions for business cycle volatility. We find that the implications of opening up national financial markets for business cycle volatility are largely unaffected by the presence of financial market frictions.
Disruption of the Cathepsin K Gene Reduces Atherosclerosis Progression and Induces Plaque Fibrosis but Accelerates Macrophage Foam Cell Formation

Background— Cathepsin K (catK), a lysosomal cysteine protease, was identified in a gene-profiling experiment that compared human early plaques, advanced stable plaques, and advanced atherosclerotic plaques containing a thrombus, where it was highly upregulated in advanced stable plaques. Methods and Results— To assess the function of catK in atherosclerosis, catK−/−/apolipoprotein (apo) E−/− mice were generated. At 26 weeks of age, plaque area in the catK−/−/apoE−/− mice was reduced (41.8%) owing to a decrease in the number of advanced lesions as well as a decrease in individual advanced plaque area. This suggests an important role for catK in atherosclerosis progression. Advanced plaques of catK−/−/apoE−/− mice showed an increase in collagen content. Medial elastin fibers were less prone to rupture than those of apoE−/− mice. Although the relative macrophage content did not differ, individual macrophage size increased. In vitro studies of bone marrow derived–macrophages confirmed this observation. Scavenger receptor–mediated uptake (particularly by CD36) of modified LDL increased in the absence of catK, resulting in an increased macrophage size because of increased cellular storage of cholesterol esters, thereby enlarging the lysosomes. Conclusions— A deficiency of catK reduces plaque progression and induces plaque fibrosis but aggravates macrophage foam cell formation in atherosclerosis.
Cattle distribution under rotational grazing as affected by mineral mix supplements and traditional salt placement in Alpine environments

Effects of strategically placed mineral mix supplement (MMS) and traditional salt placement (TS) on cattle distribution were compared within Val Troncea Natural Park (Italy). Loose salt (TS) was placed on the rocks traditionally used by the farmers within flat and herbaceous areas. MMS blocks were strategically placed along 50-m transects in steep and shrub-encroached sites. Each TS and MMS treatment area was paired with a control site without supplements. Grazing period within each pasture was divided into two equal sub-periods during which TS and MMS were available. Eleven cows were tracked at 15 minute intervals with GPS collars. Both TS and MMS placement areas were used more (P<0.001) than associated control areas. No differences were detected (P>0.05) in the time spent near TS and MMS. During both periods, cattle preferred areas with gentler terrain, closer to streams, closer to TS or MMS points, and with higher forage pastoral value. During TS periods, cattle preferred (P<0.01) areas with higher percentage of large leaf grasses, whereas during MMS periods cattle avoided (P<0.01) areas with higher bare ground and rock cover. Since we did not detect differences in the time spent in MMS and TS placement sites, strategically placed MMS appears to be a very promising tool to increase the use of steep and shrubencroached areas and to enhance cattle distribution within large pastures.