Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Peripapillary choroidal thickness in nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy.

PURPOSE To compare peripapillary choroidal thickness, macular thickness, and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness between the affected eyes of patients with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) and their unaffected eyes and the eyes of normal control subjects. METHODS Thirty-two eyes with NAION, 25 unaffected fellow eyes, and 25 normal control subjects met the inclusion criteria in this prospective comparative study at a single academic institution. Optic disc area, macular thickness, and RNFL thickness were evaluated at last follow up time using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). Enhanced depth imaging OCT was obtained to evaluate peripapillary choroidal thickness. RESULTS Mean follow up time was 4.9 ±0.8 months and all data was collected from the last follow up. The mean optic disc area in NAION eyes and their unaffected fellow eyes were significantly smaller than normal control disc area measurements (P<0.001). Average PCT and all regional values were significantly greater in the NAION eyes and unaffected fellow eyes than in the control eyes (P=0.01). In all subjects, optic disc area was correlated with average PCT (r = -0.33, P = 0.002). In addition, RNFL thickness and macular thickness values were significantly lesser in the NAION eyes than in the unaffected fellow eyes and control eyes. CONCLUSIONS PCT is thicker in NAION eyes and unaffected fellow eyes than control eyes. Thick peripapillary choroid might contribute to the development of NAION.
SenseMaking presentations : the effect of storytelling and knowledge visualization in B2B sales situations on attitudes, knowledge acquisition, and purchase intention

Making sense of the world is a universal human aspiration. In human history legends, myths and everyday wisdom was – and still is – transferred from one generation to the next using stories. In addition, visuals ranging from cave paintings to sculptures and art paintings supported this process. The result is a complex architecture of knowledge pieces, but it supports the cognitive structure of our human brains, and thus helps the learning process.
Stabilization of joint forces of the subtalar complex via HyProCure sinus tarsi stent.

BACKGROUND The foot is the foundation of the body. The stability of the osseous hindfoot structure is crucial in bipedal locomotion. The subtalar joint is responsible for conversion of the rotatory forces of the lower extremities and dictates the movements of the midtarsal joints and the forefoot. In a hyperpronated foot, excessive abnormal pronation results in partial to full obliteration of the sinus tarsi. The hypothesis is that the HyProCure device will prevent obliteration of the sinus tarsi, thereby stabilizing the subtalar joint complex and eliminating the excessive forces to the proximal and distal musculoskeletal system that occur with every step. METHODS Five fresh-frozen human foot cadaver specimens that represented pathologic hindfoot and midfoot instability and partial to full obliteration of the sinus tarsi were axially compressed to 2,000 N and internally rotated by 15° to produce maximum pronation of the subtalar joint using a biaxial materials testing machine. The forces were measured across the posterior and anterior talocalcaneal joint facets before and after placement of the HyProCure stent. RESULTS The subtalar joint stabilized after placement of the HyProCure sinus tarsi stent. The mean ± 1 SD forces in the posterior talocalcaneal joint increased from 795.88 ± 106 N to 1,004.86 ± 72.41 N (P < 0.05, two-tailed paired t test). The mean ± SD forces at the anterior talocalcaneal joint decreased from 520.15 ± 127.18 N to 394.56 ± 73.83 N (P < 0.05), shifting the contact area posteriorly. CONCLUSIONS Placement of the HyProCure subtalar stabilization stent in a hyperpronated foot prevents excessive talar subluxation and assists in proper distribution of the axial loads on the subtalar facet joints.
Impact of yoga on biochemical profile of asthmatics: A randomized controlled study

Background: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways. The chronic inflammation causes an associated increase in airway hyperresponsiveness that leads to recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing at night or in the early morning. Most of the studies have reported, as the effects of yoga on bronchial asthma, significant improvements in pulmonary functions, quality of life, and decrease in medication use, but none of the studies has attempted to show the effect of yoga on biochemical changes. Objective: To evaluate the effect of yoga on biochemical profile of asthmatics. Materials and Methods: In the present study, 276 patients of mild to moderate asthma (FEV 1> 60%) aged between 12 to 60 years were recruited from the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George's Medical University, U.P., Lucknow, India. They were randomly divided into two groups: Yoga group (with standard medical treatment and yogic intervention) and control group as standard medical treatment (without yogic intervention). At completion of 6 months of the study period, 35 subjects were dropped out, so out of 276 subjects, only 241 subjects completed the whole study (121 subjects from yoga group and 120 subjects from control group). Biochemical assessment was carried out at baseline and after 6 months of the study period. Results: In yoga group, there was significant improvement found in the proportion of hemoglobin and antioxidant superoxide dismutase in comparison to control group and significant decrease was found in total leukocyte count (TLC) and differential leukocytes count in comparison to control group. There was no significant change found in TLC, polymorphs, and monocytes in between group comparison. Conclusions: Yoga group got significantly better improvement in biochemical variables than control group. Result shows that yoga can be practiced as adjuvant therapy with standard inhalation therapy for better outcome of asthma.
Outsourcing Decisions of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Multiple-Case Study Approach in the German Software Industry

Outsourcing of software development tasks has become a major issue for large software enterprises over the last decades. Nowadays, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) follow this trend and outsource parts of their software development as well. However, most of the existing literature deals with large enterprises whereas the situation of SMEs is being neglected. Especially sourcing decisions and the organizational as well as operational setup may differ between large enterprises and SMEs. We choose an exploratory multiple-case study approach focusing on the German software market in order to shed light on these aspects of the sourcing behavior of SMEs. This paper addresses three complementing research questions. Besides the question of which phases of the software development process qualify for outsourcing, we explore the organizational setup of SMEs' outsourcing scenarios. In addition, we seek to find out which characteristics a software component has to fulfill in order to qualify for outsourcing.
Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Attitudes toward Organizational Change: A Study in the Local Government

ABSTRACT The present study investigates the direct and indirect relationships among job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and attitudes toward organizational change and their dimensions. Results indicated that employees in the investigated departments are highly satisfied with supervision and coworkers, whereas they are slightly satisfied with work conditions and job security, but they have low satisfaction with pay and promotion facets of the job. Results further demonstrated that employees in the investigated departments are remaining with their current departments either because they want to do so, or because they have to do so, but not because they feel they ought to do so.
Neuromorphic vision chip fabricated using three-dimensional integration technology

Information processing in the human brain is based on advanced parallel processing with a large number of memories and interconnections. To achieve such highly advanced parallel processing, the human brain has modules with layered structures, that is, three-dimensional structures as basic processing units. The human retina and visual cortex also have layered structures with various kinds of cells. The three-dimensional (3D) integration technology reported here achieves an image processing and pattern recognition system with parts of functions of the retina and visual cortex using silicon.
Per Capita Income Distribution: Linking Theory to Empirics

The present work analyzes convergence issues on a sample of international countries. By using nonparametric and semiparametric techniques, evidence of club convergence is found. Multimodality and persistence is a result emerging from the study of both real data and steady-state solutions. Thus, divergence and polarization in income distribution are due to the structural characteristics of economies, rather than to transitional dynamics. Besides, simulations show that multimodality is due to fundamentals and the implementation of not efficient policies. Finally, the most important contribution of this work is due to the first utilization of transition matrices in causal terms, so that we can investigate the reasons for cross-country divergence.
Problems and Functional Disabilities Among Patients with Cervical Disc and Relationship with Low Back Pain

Background: cervical disc disorder is associated with many problems and functional disabilities which affect quality of life for patients. Neck pain is as common as low back pain which are considered from associated problems with cervical disc. Aim: This study was conducted to assess problems and functional disabilities among patients with cervical disc and relationship with low back pain. Design and Setting: A descriptive exploratory correlational study design was used and data were collected from Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department and it's affiliated out patient clinic of Tanta Main University Hospital. Sample: Purposive sampling of (90) patients from previous mentioned setting during follow-up period. Tools : Three tools were used for data collection: Tool (I); Sociodemographic and Medical data of the patients, Tool (II); Neck Disability Index scale to examine the degree of disability resulted from cervical disc and its effect on daily activities. Tool (III); Roland-Morris Low Back Pain and Disability Questionnaire to assess pain-related disability resulting from low back pain . Results: As a result of this study, the majority (66.7%) of the patients had complete level of neck disability and (82.2%) of them had high level of disability due to low back pain. Moreover the majority of the patients (67.6%) had high level of disability due to low back pain associated with complete neck disability due to cervical disc. Significant positive correlation was noted between total score of neck disability index and total score of roland-morrislow back pain and disability. Conclusion and Recommendation : These results indicate that majority of the patients had complete level of neck disability and high level of disability due to low back pain. Significant positive correlation was noted between total score of neck disability index and total score of roland-morrislow back pain and disability. Further research must be done in many settings to evaluate whether disability prevention or interventions can improve functional disabilities. Keywords: Cervical disc, functional disability, Low Back Pain. DOI : 10.7176/JHMN/61-05 Publication date : April 30 th 2019
MR arthrography of the glenohumeral joint: two concentrations of gadoteridol versus Ringer solution as the intraarticular contrast material.

PURPOSE To compare two concentrations of gadoteridol with Ringer solution as the contrast material for magnetic resonance (MR) arthrography of the glenohumeral joint. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred fifty-six consecutive MR arthrograms were randomly obtained with either 2 mmol/L gadoteridol (n = 52), 4 mmol/L gadoteridol (n = 52), or Ringer solution (n = 52). MR arthrograms were assessed quantitatively (for contrast-to-noise ratio [CNR]) and qualitatively (for overall image quality, image contrast, degree of joint distention, and motion artifacts). MR diagnoses were compared with arthroscopic or surgical reports in 88 patients. RESULTS The mean CNR at imaging was 40.4 with 2 mmol/L gadoteridol, 45.6 with 4 mmol/L gadoteridol, and 48.7 with Ringer solution. The CNR with 2 mmol/L gadoteridol was significantly lower than that with 4 mmol/L gadoteridol (P =.025) and Ringer solution (P =.012). Qualitative differences between the two gadoteridol concentrations were not significant. Ringer solution was significantly worse with regard to overall quality, motion artifacts, image contrast, and joint distention compared with both gadoteridol concentrations. Ringer solution was slightly more sensitive and less specific than the gadoteridol solutions in the detection of supraspinatus tears and less sensitive and more specific in enabling diagnosis of superior labrum anteroposterior lesions. CONCLUSION MR arthrograms of the shoulder obtained with gadoteridol and those obtained with Ringer solution provided equivalent diagnostic accuracy. The authors, however, preferred the image quality of the gadoteridol-enhanced arthrograms.
Transparency at the Parish Pump: A Field Experiment to Measure the Effectiveness of Freedom of Information Requests

How effective are systems of transparency, such as Freedom of Information (FOI) requests? The ambitious aims of FOI hinge on the extent to which requests produce the desired information for the citizen or group. The question is whether such legally mandated requests work better than the more informal mechanisms that frequently precede them. Despite the high hopes of advocates, organisational routines and political values may limit legal access and public bodies may seek to minimally comply rather than behave in concordance with the spirit of the law. This paper reports a field experiment that compared FOI requests and informal asks to measure which is more effective in accessing information from English parish councils. The basic premise of statutory access is borne out. FOI requests are more effective than simple asks, though the size or pre-existing level of openness appears to make little difference to responsiveness. FOI requests are more effective at higher levels of compliance than at the minimal legal levels in comparative terms, indicating high levels of concordance once within the system. The findings bear out the stronger impact of formal requests when compared to less formal contacts.
Incidence of arterial cardiovascular events after venous thromboembolism: a systematic review and a meta‐analysis

Summary. Background: Whether patients with unprovoked venous thromboembolism (VTE) have a higher risk of arterial cardiovascular events than the general population and patients with provoked VTE is a matter of debate. Objective: To perform a systematic review and a meta‐analysis aimed at assessing the risk of arterial cardiovascular events in patients with unprovoked VTE as compared with both patients with provoked VTE and controls. Methods: A systematic search was performed. Studies reporting on (i) patients with confirmed VTE, (ii) a follow‐up of at least 6 months and (iii) the incidence of arterial cardiovascular events (acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke) were included in the systematic review. Those studies reporting separate incidences of cardiovascular events in patients with unprovoked and provoked VTE or patients with unprovoked VTE and controls were included in the incidence rate meta‐analysis. Results: Overall, 17 studies were included in the systematic review. The weighted mean incidence of arterial cardiovascular events was 0.46% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.34–0.59] and 0.35% (95% CI 0.24–0.49) per patient‐year in patients with unprovoked and provoked VTE, respectively. Six studies were included in the meta‐analysis. The risk of arterial cardiovascular events appeared to be higher in patients with unprovoked VTE than in controls [incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.87, 95% CI 1.32–2.65] and than in patients with provoked VTE (IRR 1.86, 95% CI 1.19–2.89). Conclusions: Patients with unprovoked VTE have a higher risk of arterial cardiovascular events than patients with provoked VTE over long‐term follow‐up.
Effects of Pisolithus tinctorius and Cenococcum geophilum inoculation on pine in copper-contaminated soil to enhance phytoremediation

ABSTRACT We used Pisolithus tinctorius and Cenococcum geophilum to determine the copper (Cu) resistance of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi and their potential for improving phytoremediation of Cu-contaminated soil by Chinese red pine (Pinus tabulaeformis). The results showed that nutrient accumulation in C. geophilum mycelium was significantly lower under higher Cu concentrations in the soil, which was not observed in P. tinctorius. Meanwhile, P. tinctorius exhibited greater Cu tolerance than C. geophilum. Inoculation with ECM fungi significantly improved the growth of pine shoots planted in polluted soil in pot experiments (p < 0.01). The total accumulated Cu in pine seedlings planted in Cu-contaminated soil increased by 72.8% and 113.3% when inoculated with P. tinctorius and C. geophilum, respectively, indicating that ECM fungi may help their host to phytoextract heavy metals. Furthermore, the majority of the total absorbed metals remained in the roots, confirming the ability of ECM fungi to promote heavy metal phytostabilization. There were no differences between the effects of the two fungi in helping the host stabilize and absorb Cu, even though they have different Cu tolerances. Inoculation with ECM fungi can benefit plant establishment in polluted environments and assist plants with phytoremediating heavy-metal-contaminated soils.
Exploring the Racial Wealth Gap Using the Survey of Consumer Finances

This paper studies the racial wealth gap using data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances from 1989 to 2013. We document that the mean and median wealth (net worth) of white families has consistently been much greater than that of black and Hispanic families, and the gap between them has increased in recent years. We use reduced-form OLS regressions and non-parametric decomposition techniques to assess the contribution to the racial wealth gap of life-cycle patterns, educational attainment, inheritance, attitudes toward saving and investing, and a number of additional factors. Our analysis indicates that the wealth gap between white and Hispanic families can be almost entirely attributed to differences in observable variables. Observable factors account for most of the gap between white and black families, but a substantial unexplained portion remains. Wealth differences between black and white families are completely due to different asset holdings, while wealth differences between black and Hispanic families are mostly a result of different debt holdings. The unexplained portion of the wealth gap, for white families relative to black and Hispanic families, is greater at the top of the wealth distribution.
Point of care testing is appropriate for National Health Service health check

Background The Department of Health launched a cardiovascular disease risk assessment initiative with particular reference to reducing health inequalities in ethnic minorities. Collaboration between HEART UK, Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust and Hindu Temples resulted in vascular screening in North London. Methods Subjects of South Asian origin were screened. A full lipid profile and glucose were measured using a point of care testing (POCT) Cholestech LDX analyser (LDX). Venous samples were analysed in our hospital laboratory. Results The results (215 men; 191 women) were divided into tertiles and Bland–Altman plots were used to assess agreement. At high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations <1.0 mmol/L the LDX underestimated values by −0.2 mmol/L (P<0.0001). At HDL-C concentrations >1.3 mmol/L this bias disappeared. For total cholesterol the concentration-dependent negative bias was evident at concentrations of <4.1 mmol/L (P < 0.0001). This bias was less evident at higher concentrations. A similar pattern was seen for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. There were also small variations in glucose and triglyceride values. However, there was excellent agreement in calculated cardiovascular disease risk using kappa analysis for JBS2, QRISK2, ETHRISK and Framingham (κ = 0.86, 0.92, 0.94 and 0.88, respectively). This was a high-risk population since 9.7–19.4% had a ≥20% 10-y probability of a vascular event depending on the risk engine and assay method used. The corresponding values for intermediate risk (11–19%) were 18.6–25.7%. Conclusions There was a minimum mismatch irrespective of the type of risk calculator used. POCT measurements are adequate for the National Health Service Health Check.
Characteristics of community acquired and hospital acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates in the National Hospital of Sri Lanka

Introduction and Objectives: Highly virulent community acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains emerged recently causing infections in healthy young adults without predisposing factors. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to compare socio-demography of patients and microbiology and molecular characteristics of Community acquired (CA) and Hospital acquired (HA) methicillin resistant S. aureus strains isolated at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. Methods and Results: Antimicrobial susceptibility test and Panton Valentine Leukocidine (PVL) gene detection was carried out on 100 MRSA isolates. CDC epidemiological criteria were used for differentiation of CA and HA MRSA. Of those 100 isolates, 21(21%) were CA-MRSA and 79(79%) were HA-MRSA. Patients did not show any significant difference in acquiring CA MRSA and HA MRSA in relation to their age, sex and gender except ethnicity. The majority of these isolates were from pus samples. CA-MRSA isolates were significantly more sensitive to ciprofloxacin, fusidic acid, tetracycline, cotrimoxazole, and gentamicin compared with HA-MRSA isolates (p Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of accurate differentiation of CA and HA MRSA using epidemiological, microbiological and molecular characteristics. Further, awareness of the existence of these types will optimise individual treatment strategies.
Circuit mechanisms of GluA1‐dependent spatial working memory

Spatial working memory (SWM), the ability to process and manipulate spatial information over a relatively short period of time, requires an intact hippocampus, but also involves other forebrain nuclei in both in rodents and humans. Previous studies in mice showed that the molecular mechanism of SWM includes activation of AMPA receptors containing the GluA1 subunit (encoded by gria1) as GluA1 deletion in the whole brain (gria1–/–) results in strong SWM deficit. However, since these mice globally lack GluA1, the circuit mechanisms of GluA1 contribution to SWM remain unknown. In this study, by targeted expression of GluA1 containing AMPA receptors in the forebrain of gria1–/– mice or by removing GluA1 selectively from hippocampus of mice with “floxed” GluA1 alleles (gria1fl/fl), we show that SWM requires GluA1 action in cortical circuits but is only partially dependent on GluA1‐containing AMPA receptors in hippocampus. We further show that hippocampal GluA1 contribution to SWM is temporally restricted and becomes prominent at longer retention intervals (≥30 s). These findings provide a novel insight into the neural circuits required for SWM processing and argue that AMPA mediated signaling across forebrain and hippocampus differentially contribute to encoding of SWM. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.