Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal management therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa ventilator-associated pneumonia: An observational, multicenter study comparing monotherapy with combination antibiotic therapy*

Objective:To evaluate whether one antibiotic achieves equal outcomes compared with combination antibiotic therapy in patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa ventilator-associated pneumonia. Design:A retrospective, multicenter, observational, cohort study. Setting:Five intensive care units in Spanish university hospitals. Patients:Adult patients identified to have monomicrobial episodes of ventilator-associated pneumonia with significant quantitative respiratory cultures for P. aeruginosa. Interventions:None. Measurement and Main Results:A total of 183 episodes of monomicrobial P. aeruginosa ventilator-associated pneumonia were analyzed. Monotherapy alone was used empirically in 67 episodes, being significantly associated with inappropriate therapy (56.7% vs. 90.5%, p < .001). Hospital mortality was significantly higher in the 40 patients with inappropriate therapy compared with those at least on antibiotic with activity in vitro (72.5% vs. 23.1%, p < .05). Excess mortality associated with monotherapy was estimated to be 13.6% (95% confidence interval −2.6 to 29.9). The use of monotherapy or combination therapy in the definitive regimen did not influence mortality, length of stay, development of resistance to the definitive treatment, or appearance of recurrences. Inappropriate empirical therapy was associated with increased mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 1.85; 95% confidence interval 1.07–3.10; p = .02) in a Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, after adjustment for disease severity, but not effective monotherapy (adjusted hazard ratio 0.90; 95% confidence interval 0.50–1.63; p = .73) compared with effective combination therapy (adjusted hazard ratio 1). The other two variables also independently associated with mortality were age (adjusted hazard ratio 1.02; 95% confidence interval 1.01–1.04; p = .005) and chronic cardiac insufficiency (adjusted hazard ratio 1.90; 95% confidence interval 1.04–3.47; p = .035). Conclusions:Initial use of combination therapy significantly reduces the likelihood of inappropriate therapy, which is associated with higher risk of death. However, administration of only one effective antimicrobial or combination therapy provides similar outcomes, suggesting that switching to monotherapy once the susceptibility is documented is feasible and safe.
Association Members' Meeting Participation Behaviors

Abstract Understanding meeting participation behaviors of association members is the key to a well-attended meeting, which is a common goal of both associations and host destinations. However, little research has contributed to theoretical development in this area, and the lack of a theoretical framework may negatively influence the validity of research. This study attempts to explain association members' meeting participation behaviors by introducing the meeting participation model (MPM) derived from existing human behavior models (the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior). The proposed MPM was examined empirically using the data collected from 245 members of the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE). The results reveal that the MPM fits the data very well, providing a fuller understanding of association meeting participation. In addition, findings from this study suggest that past behavior and subjective norm are strong predictor of meeting participation intention. Several implications and marketing strategies for meeting planners and destination marketers are discussed.
Determination of Trace Amounts of Lead Using the Flotation-spectrophotometric method

The present study describes a simple and highly selective method for separation, preconcentration and spectrophotometric determination of extremely low concentrations of lead. It is based on flotation of a complex of Pb2+ ions and Alizarin yellow between aqueous and n-hexane interface at pH = 6. The proposed procedure is also applied for determination of lead in both tap water and prepared sea water samples. Beer’s Law was obeyed over the concentration range of 3.86 × 10−8 To 8.20 × 10−7 molL−1 (8–170 ngmL−1) with an apparent molar absorptivity of 1.33 × 106 molL−1 cm−1 for a 100 mL aliquot of the water sample. The detection limit (n = 10) was 8.7 × 10−9 molL−1 (1.0 ngmL−1) and the Relative standard deviation (R.S.D), (n = 10) for 7.2 × 10−7 molL−1 (150 ngmL−1) of Pb (II) was 4.36%. A notable advantage of the method is that the determination of Pb (II) is free from the interference of almost all cations and ions found in the environment and waste water samples. The determination of Pb (II) in tap and synthetic seawater samples was also carried out by the present method. The results were satisfactorily comparable so that the applicability of the proposed method was confirmed to the real samples.
Explaining intergroup differentiation in an industrial organization

We report a study of intergroup relations in a paper factory in which we examine the utility of three social-psychological approaches: realistic conflict theory, the contact hypothesis and social identity theory. A sample of 177 shop floor workers from five different departments was interviewed. From them, measures of intergroup differentiation, perceived intergroup conflict, amount of intergroup contact, and strength of workgroup identification were obtained. The latter was assessed using a new scale of group identification developed for this study. Reliability and validity data for this scale are reported. Using multiple regression analyses we attempt to explain variance in respondents' intergroup differentiation using the other measures as predictor variables. The most powerful and reliable predictor was perceived conflict which, as expected, was positively correlated with differentiation. Less consistent was amount of contact which was negatively but only weakly associated with differentiation. Strength of group identification, while generally showing a positive correlation with differentiation as predicted, was also only a weak and inconsistent predictor variable. Noting that these results confirm findings from other studies we discuss their theoretical implications.
The TREC-8 Filtering Track Final Report

The TREC-8 (cid:12)ltering track measures the ability of systems to build persistent user pro(cid:12)les which successfully separate relevant and non-relevant documents. It consists of three major subtasks: adaptive (cid:12)ltering, batch (cid:12)ltering, and routing. In adaptive (cid:12)ltering, the system begins with only a topic statement and must learn a better pro(cid:12)le from on-line feedback. Batch (cid:12)ltering and routing are more traditional machine learning tasks where the system begins with a large sample of evaluated training documents. This report describes the track, presents the evaluation results in graphical format, and provides a general commentary on lessons learned from this year’s track.
How is New Organizational Knowledge Created in a Virtual Context? An Ethnographic Study

Seeking to enhance our understanding of organizational knowledge creation in multimodal polysynchronous contexts, this paper empirically explores a project team, within a UK-based international company, concerned with the development of new software. Our aim is to extend current dialogical approaches to organizational knowledge creation, largely developed in the context of face-to-face communication, into virtual contexts of communication. Through close analysis of the ICT-mediated dialogical interactions between the members of a project team and the occasional face-to-face interactions between certain members of the project team and other organizational members, we show how knowledge creation emerges via three core dialogical processes: dialogues with real others, quasi-dialogues with invisible others, and quasi-dialogues with virtual artifacts. Exploring these processes in more depth, we further argue that the dialogical processes at hand are crucially shaped by team members actively working with the materiality of technology used, which enables them to: (a) mobilize multiple task-related voices when simultaneously interacting in multiple contexts; (b) alter the boundaries of communication to suit the demands of the task at hand; and (c) textualize the ongoing experience of interaction with others and artifacts.
Intersecting Domains of Assessment Knowledge: School Typologies Based on Interviews with Secondary Teachers

This study used qualitative interviewing with teachers at three high schools to answer research questions about teachers' assessment knowledge, school-specific assessment cultures, and teachers' perceptions of the assessment literacy of other key stakeholders. Data analysis revealed shared knowledge and practices across schools—use of formative assessment to guide instructional decision making; reliance on collaborative processes as the basis for cultivating school-wide assessment practices; and the belief among teachers that students, parents, and school administrators often hold naive views about the relative primacy of summative over formative assessment. Data analysis also identified distinctive features of the assessment culture at each of the schools.
Maxillary Anterior Segmental Distraction Osteogenesis With 2 Different Types of Distractors

Objective Maxillary anterior segmental distraction osteogenesis (DO) has been the alternative treatment option for patients with midfacial retrusion. To investigate a potentially more effective maxillary anterior segmental DO, a newly designed intraoral alveolar distractor was applied. The objectives of this study were to investigate the skeletal and dental effects of maxillary anterior segmental DO and the relapse pattern. Methods The study was carried out for 8 patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (mean age, 16 years 7 months). Four patients were treated with an intraoral appliance (IA), and the remaining with a rigid external distractor (RED). Dental and skeletal measurements were obtained for both groups. These measurements were compared for different time points including pre-DO (T1), post-DO (T2), postconsolidation (T3), and 1-year follow-up (T4). Results Horizontal change of A point was significantly larger after distraction period (T2) in the RED group (mean, 11.0 mm; median, 10.1 mm) than in the IA group (mean, 6.6 mm; median, 7.4 mm) (P < 0.05). Relapse of A point was observed in both RED (mean, −2.3 mm; median, −2.3 mm) and IA groups (mean, −2.6 mm; median, −1.5 mm) at T4. The vertical position of the anterior nasal spine was found to have moved downward in the RED group (mean, 5.5 mm; median, 4.9 mm) but upward in the IA group (mean, −2.5 mm; median, −2.7 mm) after distraction, showing a significant difference between groups (P < 0.05). Axis of upper incisor increased at T2 in the IA group (mean, 10.4 degrees; median, 11.3 degrees), but decreased in the RED group (mean, −10.2 degrees; median, −9.0 degrees) (P < 0.05). It recovered in the RED group at T4. Conclusions Maxillary anterior segmental DO is effective for the treatment of patients with cleft lip and palate. The alveolar space is regained, and the facial profile is improved without velopharyngeal problems. Superior results are obtained using the RED appliance for maxillary anterior segmental DO relative to the use of the intraoral distractor appliance.
Pseudorabies virus glycoprotein gIII is a major target antigen for murine and swine virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Pseudorabies virus (PrV) is the etiological agent of Aujeszky's disease, a disease that causes heavy economic losses in the swine industry. A rational approach to the generation of an effective vaccine against this virus requires an understanding of the immune response induced by it and of the role of the various viral antigens in inducing such a response. We have constructed mutants of PrV [strain PrV (Ka)] that differ from each other only in expression of the viral nonessential glycoproteins gI, gp63, gX, and gIII (i.e., are otherwise isogenic). These mutants were used to ascertain the importance of each of the nonessential glycoproteins in eliciting a PrV-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response in mice and pigs. Immunization of DBA/2 mice and pigs with a thymidine kinase-deficient (TK-) mutant of PrV elicits the formation of cytotoxic cells that specifically lyse syngeneic infected target cells. These PrV-specific cytolytic cells have the phenotype of major histocompatibility complex class I antigen-restricted CTLs. The relative number of CTLs specific for glycoproteins gI, gp63, gX, and gIII induced in mice vaccinated with a TK- mutant of PrV was ascertained by comparing their levels of cytotoxicity against syngeneic cells infected with either wild-type virus or gI-/gp63-, gX-, or gIII- virus deletion mutants. The PrV-specific CLTs were significantly less effective in lysing gIII(-)-infected targets than in lysing gI-/gp63-, gX-, or wild-type-infected targets. The in vitro secondary CTL response of lymphocytes obtained from either mice or pigs 6 or more weeks after immunization with a TK- mutant of PrV was also tested. Lymphocytes obtained from these animals were cultured with different glycoprotein-deficient mutants of PrV, and their cytolytic activities against wild-type-infected targets were ascertained. The importance of each of the nonessential viral glycoproteins in eliciting CTLs was assessed from the effectiveness of each of the virus mutants to stimulate the secondary anti-PrV CTL response. Cultures of both murine or swine lymphocytes that had been stimulated with gIII- virus contained only approximately half as many lytic units as did those stimulated with either wild-type virus, a gX- virus mutant, or a gI-/gp63- virus mutant. Thus, a large proportion of the PrV-specific CTLs that are induced by immunization with PrV of both mice and pigs are directed against gIII. Furthermore, glycoproteins gI, gp63, and gX play at most a minor role in the CTL response of these animals to PrV.
Knowledge Creation and Financial Firm Performance: Mediating Processes from an Organizational Agility Perspective

Knowledge creation has emerged as a critical area in information systems research in the past decade [1]. One of the mechanisms through which knowledge creation enhances firm performance has been theorized as organizational agility. This paper empirically examines the role of organization agility as a mediator between knowledge creation processes and financial firm performance. Our survey study of 134 firms combined with objective measures of firm performance indicates that two forms of organizational agility -- customer agility and operational agility, significantly mediate the effect of knowledge creation processes on firm performance. Our findings confirm prior research results that were based exclusively on survey data, and provide additional discussions on the role of organizational agility in facilitating the effect of knowledge creation processes on firm performance. Implications for researchers and managers are discussed.
Incidence of Second ACL Injuries 2 Years After Primary ACL Reconstruction and Return to Sport

Background: The incidence of second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in the first 12 months after ACL reconstruction (ACLR) and return to sport (RTS) in a young, active population has been reported to be 15 times greater than that in a previously uninjured cohort. There are no reported estimates of whether this high relative rate of injury continues beyond the first year after RTS and ACLR. Hypothesis: The incidence rate of a subsequent ACL injury in the 2 years after ACLR and RTS would be less than the incidence rate reported within the first 12 months after RTS but greater than the ACL injury incidence rate in an uninjured cohort of young athletes. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: Seventy-eight patients (mean age, 17.1 ± 3.1 years) who underwent ACLR and were ready to return to a pivoting/cutting sport and 47 controls (mean age, 17.2 ± 2.6 years) who also participated in pivoting/cutting sports were prospectively enrolled. Each participant was followed for injury and athlete exposure (AE) data for a 24-month period after RTS. Twenty-three ACLR and 4 control participants suffered an ACL injury during this time. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated to compare the rates (per 1000 AEs) of ACL injury in athletes in the ACLR and control groups. For the ACLR group, similar comparisons were conducted for side of injury by sex. Results: The overall incidence rate of a second ACL injury within 24 months after ACLR and RTS (1.39/1000 AEs) was nearly 6 times greater (IRR, 5.71; 95% CI, 2.0-22.7; P = .0003) than that in healthy control participants (0.24/1000 AEs). The rate of injury within 24 months of RTS for female athletes in the ACLR group was almost 5 times greater (IRR, 4.51; 95% CI, 1.5-18.2; P = .0004) than that for female controls. Although only a trend was observed, female patients within the ACLR group were twice as likely (IRR, 2.43; 95% CI, 0.8-8.6) to suffer a contralateral injury (1.13/1000 AEs) than an ipsilateral injury (0.47/1000 AEs). Overall, 29.5% of athletes suffered a second ACL injury within 24 months of RTS, with 20.5% sustaining a contralateral injury and 9.0% incurring a retear injury of the ipsilateral graft. There was a trend toward a higher proportion of female participants (23.7%) who suffered a contralateral injury compared with male participants (10.5%) (P = .18). Conversely, for ipsilateral injuries, the incidence proportion between female (8.5%) and male (10.5%) participants was similar. Conclusion: These data support the hypothesis that in the 24 months after ACLR and RTS, patients are at a greater risk to suffer a subsequent ACL injury compared with young athletes without a history of ACL injuries. In addition, the contralateral limb of female patients appears at greatest risk.
Dynamic response of adhesion complexes: beyond the single-path picture.

We analyze the response of molecular adhesion complexes to increasing pulling forces (dynamic force spectroscopy) when dissociation can occur along either one of two alternative trajectories in the underlying multidimensional energy landscape. A great diversity of behaviors (e.g., nonmonotonicity) is found for the unbinding force and time as a function of the rate at which the pulling force is increased. In particular we identify a class of "harpoon" stickers that bind easily but resist strong pulling efficiently. Using existing data, we also demonstrate the consequent difficulty of unambiguously determining the features of the energy landscape from such single-molecule pulling experiments.
Scalable motion-aware panoramic videos

This work presents a method for obtaining perceptually natural panoramic videos, that is, videos composed of wide-angle frames where straight lines and object shapes are preserved. The shape preservation for moving objects has a special treatment that ensures temporal coherence. Energies describing these properties are obtained for the case of a fixed omni-directional camera, and an optimization procedure is presented. Our optimization works per-frame, which makes the method scalable for arbitrarily long scenes.
Using What Is Known About Change to Inform the Regular Education Initiative

Over the past two decades, research on the change process in education has converged on several conclusions that can fruitfully be applied to the Regular Education Initiative. This article discusses these conclusions, including the need for adequate time for change to occur; concrete models of innovations for teachers and administrators to adapt to their own situations; assistance and support that is tailored to the needs of teachers and administrators as the change process proceeds; opportunities for educators to be involved in decisions about the changes; and mandates that set clear direction and protect educators while they learn the new behaviors and procedures required by the change.
Influence and Political Processes in Cyberspace

The ways team members choose to influence each other and the political processes that take place within the team have important implications for the team’s effectiveness. We present an exploratory investigation of the ways both phenomena occur in global virtual teams. Based on interviews with team members and managers, combined with existing knowledge of these processes, we present a preliminary model that includes familiarity, team centrality and task focus as variables mediating the relationship between the multicultural and virtual aspects of the teams and the use of influence and politics. Our findings also suggest that the use of hard influence tactics and political actions is milder in global virtual teams in relation to collocated teams.
Spatial Prediction Under Location Uncertainty in Cellular Networks

Coverage optimization is an important process for the operator, as it is a crucial prerequisite toward offering a satisfactory quality of service to the end users. The first step of this process is coverage prediction, which can be performed by interpolating geo-located measurements reported to the network by mobile user's equipments. In the previous works, we proposed a low complexity coverage prediction algorithm based on the adaptation of the geo-statistics fixed rank kriging (FRK) algorithm. We supposed that the geo-location information reported with the radio measurements was perfect, which is not the case in reality. In this paper, we study the impact of location uncertainty on the coverage prediction accuracy and we extend the previously proposed algorithm to include geo-location error in the prediction model. We validate the proposed algorithm using both simulated and real-field measurements. The FRK is extended to take into account that the location uncertainty proves to enhance the prediction accuracy while keeping a reasonable computational complexity.
Examination of CD8+ T Cell Function in Humans Using MHC Class I Tetramers: Similar Cytotoxicity but Variable Proliferation and Cytokine Production Among Different Clonal CD8+ T Cells Specific to a Single Viral Epitope

Following infection by human T cell lymphotrophic virus-I (HTLV-I), high frequencies of polyclonal Tax11–19-reactive CD8+ T cells can be detected in the peripheral blood. To investigate whether there are differences in the effector functions of these cells, we generated a panel of Tax11–19-reactive T cell clones by single cell sorting of HLA-A2/Tax11–19 tetramer binding CD8+ T cells followed by repeated stimulation with PHA and IL-2. Examination of the TCRs revealed 17 different T cell clones with unique clonal origins. Nine representative CD8+ T cell clones showed a similar cytotoxic dose-response activity against Ag-pulsed target cells, even though they express different TCRs. This cytotoxic effector function was not influenced by the engagement of either CD28 or CD2 costimulatory molecules. In contrast to the cytotoxic activity, qualitatively different degrees of proliferative response and cytokine secretion were observed among T cell clones of different clonal origin. The induction of proliferation and cytokine secretion required the engagement of costimulatory molecules, particularly CD2-LFA-3 interaction. These results indicate that functionally diverse, polyclonal CTL populations can be activated specific to a single immunodominant viral epitope; they can manifest virtually identical cytotoxic effector function but have marked differences in proliferation and cytokine secretion.