Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Prophylactic Antibiotics on Iatrogenic Intervertebral Disc Infections: A Rabbit Model

Study Design A rabbit model was used to test the efficacy of two commonly used prophylactic antibiotics, cefazolin and vancomycin, in preventing latrogenically introduced Staphylococcus aureus intervertebral disc infections. Objective This study was performed to assess the efficacy of two prophylactic antibiotics in preventing iatrogenically introduced Staphylococcus aureus intervertebral disc infections. Summary of Background Data Previous studies have had conflicting results regarding the penetration of antibiotics into the nucleus pulposus and their ability to eradicate infection. Methods In this study, 40 adult New Zealand White rabbits underwent inoculation of 101 or 103 Staphylococcus aureus/ml into 3–6 lumbar intervertebral discs under direct visualization. Either no antibiotics (control groups) or various preoperative and postoperative dosing schedules of cefazolin or vancomycin were given intravenously. Five days after surgery, the discs were harvested and cultured. Results All 40 discs inoculated in the control groups became infected. None of the 35 discs inoculated in the cefazolin groups became infected. Infection developed in 23 of 107 discs inoculated in the vancomycin groups. Most notable of these were 17 of 17 positive cultures in animals given vancomycin 8 hours preoperatively only. Conclusions Based on these results, it was concluded that intravenous cefazolin or vancomycin given within 1 hour before surgery can effectively prevent postoperative discitis. No advantage was found with additional postoperative antibiotics.
CLINICOPATHOLOGIC CORRELATION OF DRUSEN AND RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIAL ABNORMALITIES IN AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION

Background: Clinicopathologic studies of eyes lead to a better understanding of the nature of the ophthalmoscopic and fluorescein angiographic features of drusen. A study was conducted to provide clinicopathologic correlation of drusen and present a classification of drusen based on clinical and histopathologic features. Methods: The macular areas of three eyes from two patients were serially sectioned and studied, and features were depicted in a two-dimensional map and compared with clinical findings. Results: All three tyes had large drusen (>63 µm) with soft morphologic characteristics (poorly demarcated borders) documented on fundus photographs. In both eyes from one patient, these large drusen corresponded to areas of focal retinal pigment epithelium hypopigmentation overlying Bruch's membrane, which was diffusely thickened throughout the macula. Similar findings were noted in another eye from a second patient, and additionally, where there was relatively marked fluorescein staining of large drusen on the late phase of an angiogram, the pathologic correlation demonstrated detachment of the thickened inner aspect of Bruch's membrane from the remainder of Bruch's membrane. Focal hyperpigmentation corresponded to areas of hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium and to clusters of pigmented cells in the subretinal space and outer nuclear area. Conclusion: Diffuse thickening of the inner aspect of Bruch's membrane is associated with retinal pigment epithelial hypopigmentation, focal atrophy, and soft (large) drusen formation.
Both Th1 and Th17 Are Immunopathogenic but Differ in Other Key Biological Activities1

The role of Th17 lymphocytes in immunopathogenic processes has been well established, but little is known about their basic cell features. In this study, we compared polarized Th1 and Th17 for key biological activities related to pathogenicity and trafficking. Th1 and Th17 lineages were derived from TCR-transgenic CD4 murine cells specific against hen egg lysozyme. When adoptively transferred into mice expressing hen egg lysozyme in their eyes, both Th1 and Th17 induced ocular inflammation but with slight differences in histological pathology. PCR analysis revealed selective expression of IFN-γ or IL-17 in eyes of Th1 or Th17 recipients, respectively. Additionally, Th1 and Th17 were found to differ in three other key activities: 1) Th17 cells were inferior to Th1 cells in their capacity to trigger massive lymphoid expansion and splenomegaly; 2) the proportion of Th1 cells among infiltrating cells in inflamed recipient eyes declined rapidly, becoming a minority by day 7, whereas Th17 cells remained in the majority throughout this period; and 3) remarkable differences were noted between Th1 and Th17 cells in their expression of certain surface markers. In particular, reactivated Th1 expressed higher levels of CD49d and α4β7 (mucosal homing) in vitro and higher levels of CXCR3 (Th1 trafficking) in vivo. Reactivated Th17, however, expressed higher levels of αEβ7 (epithelial tissue homing) and CD38 (activation, maturation and trafficking) in vitro, but in vivo Th17 expressed higher levels of α4β7 and CCR6 (lymphocyte trafficking). These data reveal that Th1 and Th17 cells differ in several key biological activities influencing migration and pathogenic behavior during inflammatory disease.
The shopping list in goal-directed shopping: scale development and validation

ABSTRACT This paper aims to develop and validate a shopping list scale in a goal-directed shopping context based on three complementary study phases (and literature review): shopper interviews (exploratory stage to identify the items and dimensions), a pilot study with 162 respondents for scale purification, and a refined questionnaire administered to 213 respondents (to establish reliability, convergent, discriminant and nomological validity). An exploratory factor analysis shows that the items load onto four factors: memory aid, money controller, shopping controller, and deviation controller. We performed confirmatory factor analysis to test the model and check for reliability and validity of the anticipated scale. The model fit and reliability levels are acceptable, as are the convergent and discriminant validities of the scale. The scale is a second-order factor, thus satisfying nomological validity. The shopping list scale should be of interest to researchers and retail managers in exploring factors and outcomes of goal-directed shopper behaviour.
The effect of 2 different surgical methods on intracompartmental pressure value in tibial shaft fracture: An experimental study in a rabbit model.

BACKGROUND Intracompartmental pressure (ICP) monitoring is a widely used modality, particularly after intramedullary nailing of tibial shaft fractures. It was hypothesized that ICP value in fracture fixed with Ilizarov circular fixator (ICF) might be lower than in fracture fixed with intramedullary pin (IMP). The present study is a comparison of ICP value in tibial fractures in a rabbit model fixed with ICF and IMP. METHODS Twenty male New Zealand White rabbits were randomly divided into 2 groups of equal size: ICF group (Group 1) and IMP group (Group 2). Under anesthesia, half of proximal part of the right tibia of all rabbits was fractured. Tibial fractures were fixed with ICF in Group 1 and IMP in Group 2. ICP values were monitored at 6-hour intervals for 48 hours. RESULTS There was statistically significant difference in ICP value between groups (p<0.001). While there was statistically significant increase in ICP values 24 hours post surgery, there was statistically significant decrease during second 24 hours following surgery. Most importantly, ICP values of ICF group were significantly lower than those of IMP group at 30, 36, and 42 hours post surgery (p<0.05). CONCLUSION At 24th hour after fixation, ICP values measured in ICF group were lower compared with those of IMP group. These results indicate that use of ICF in tibial fractures provides additional decompression in the anterior compartment. In light of these findings, ICF may be preferable for treatment of tibial fractures with high risk for compartment syndrome.
Vitamin K plasma levels determination in human health

Abstract Vitamin K (phylloquinone or vitamin K1 and menaquinones or vitamin K2) plays an important role as a cofactor in the synthesis of hepatic blood coagulation proteins, but recently has also aroused an increasing interest for its action in extra-hepatic tissues, in particular in the regulation of bone and vascular metabolism. The accurate measurement of vitamin K status in humans is still a critical issue. Along with indirect assays, such as the undercarboxylated fractions of vitamin K-dependent proteins [prothrombin, osteocalcin (OC), and matrix gla protein], the direct analysis of blood levels of phylloquinone and menaquinones forms might be considered a more informative and direct method for assessing vitamin K status. Different methods for direct quantification of vitamin K serum levels are available. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods coupled with post-column reduction procedures and fluorimetric or electrochemical detection are commonly used for food and blood analysis of phylloquinone, but they show some limitations when applied to the analysis of serum menaquinones because of interferences from triglycerides. Recent advancements include liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LCMS/MS) detection, which assures higher specificity. The optimization and standardization of these methods requires specialized laboratories. The variability of results observed in the available studies suggests the need for further investigations to obtain more accurate analytical results.
The Relationship of Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life in Adults With Left Ventricular Assist Devices

Psychological distress, including anxiety and depression, is commonly reported by patients with implantable left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). Still, the influence of anxiety and depression on global quality of life (QOL) is unknown. Moreover, the empirical data of LVAD patients’ QOL is limited to 24 months. This study examined the differences in anxiety, depression, and QOL based on 3 LVAD implant duration groups (⩽12, 13–24, and ≥25 months). We also examined the influence of anxiety and depression on QOL. An observational cross-sectional study design was employed using self-administered demographics, anxiety, depression, and global QOL questionnaires. A total of 100 patients (mean age 52 ± 13.3 years) across the United States completed the study. In the 3 implant duration groups, we found no significant differences in anxiety and depression, but the global QOL scores of patients with LVADs ≥ 13 months were significantly worse than those of patients with LVADs ⩽ 12 months. Also, the correlations between QOL and either anxiety or depression were significant: Pearson’s r ranged from −0.44 to −0.65 with all p values <0.0001. Compared with anxiety, depression is a stronger predictor of QOL. Our data showed that when depression is increased by 1 unit, the average QOL decreased by 0.76 units, assuming anxiety is held constant. This study uncovered relationships among anxiety, depression, and QOL in patients with long-term LVADs. Longitudinal research is needed to confirm our findings and explore factors that may contribute to worse QOL, particularly, those patients supported with LVADs beyond 13 months.
A comparison of the femoral head and neck trabecular architecture of Galago and Perodicticus using micro-computed tomography (microCT).

Innovations in micro-computed tomography (microCT) in the medical field have resulted in the development of techniques that allow the precise quantification of bone density and fabric related parameters of trabecular bone. For the purpose of this study, the technique was applied to a small sample of Perodicticus potto and Galago senegalensis femora to see if differences in loading environment elicit the predicted effects on trabecular structure. While the overall bone volume was approximately three times larger in the potto, there was no significant difference in the apparent volume density in the two taxa. When regional differences in the proximal femur were examined, the cancellous bone of the femoral head of Perodicticus potto and Galago senegalensis, while not differing in volume density, showed differences in trabecular orientation, with the potto having more randomly oriented trabeculae than the bushbaby. This was as hypothesized, given that the bushbaby submits its femora to more stereotypical loading environments than the potto. In the femoral neck, the cancellous bone was not only more randomly oriented, it was also denser in the potto compared with the bushbaby. This suggests that trabecular morphology may be extremely sensitive to certain differences in the loading environment and that this information, combined with information on cortical bone structure and external geometry, will result in a more complete understanding of how bone shape and composition correspond to loading and locomotor patterns. Ultimately, a synthesis of these different lines of evidence may have considerable applications in paleontological studies that attempt to reconstruct bone use from morphology.
The discourse of history: A cross cultural perspective

This paper analyzes two texts taken from an Australian and an Italian history textbook, using the systemic-functional model of language developed by Halliday, Martin and others. The analysis highlights fundamental differences in the way the discourse of history is realized in each text, both in terms of register and genre. It is argued that such a diversity can be explained with different expectations in each country not only towards the role of history as a subject, but also towards the role of education in general. It is suggested that, in the current debate about education reforms, the Australian educational system could look at other educational systems beyond the Anglo-American model.
The Effects of the Minimum Wage on the Employment and Earnings of Youth

The employment and earnings effects of the minimum wage are estimated by parameterizing a hypothesized relationship between underlying market employment and wage relationships versus observed wage and employment distributions in the presence of a legislated minimum. If there had been no minimum during the 1973-78 period, we estimate that employment among out-of-school men 16-24 would have been approximately 4% higher than it was. Among young men 16-19 employment would have been about 7% higher; among those 20-24, 2% higher. Employment among black youth 16-24 would have been almost 6% higher than it was, compared with somewhat less than 4% for white youth. Although it is sometimes argued that the adverse employment effects of the minimum are offset by increased earnings, we find virtually no earnings effect. Had the minimum not been raised over the 1973-78 period, inflation would have greatly moderated the adverse employment effects of the minimum, with approximately two-thirds of the potential employment gains from elimination of the minimum attained. The weight of our evidence is inconsistent with a general increase in youth wage rates with increases in the real minimum. Our findings support the hypothesis that the effects of the minimum are concentrated on youth with subminimum market wage rates.
Does candidate nomination in districts increase party votes of small parties? Evidence from the 2016 Taiwan legislative elections

Abstract This study addresses why small parties nominate candidates to run in the district elections and how nomination of district candidates could influence small parties’ share of party votes in Taiwan. Previous studies on party's strategic entry in the mixed electoral system demonstrate the existence of ‘contamination effect’ in various Western democracies. While ‘contamination effect’ suggests that party would gain more proportional representation (PR) seats by increasing its number of candidate nomination in the single-member-district (SMD) races, we contend that small parties should also take the strength of nominated candidates into consideration. Nominating strong candidates in SMD competitions could generate positive ‘spillover effect’ to party's PR tier. By focusing on the 2016 Taiwan legislative election, our findings suggest that first, small parties need to fulfill the institutional requirements in order to qualify for running in the party-list election; second, the ‘contamination effect’ exists in Taiwan, but it is conditional; and finally, candidates’ strength creates positive ‘spillover effect’ on party's proportional seats.
Comparison of Stochastic Frontier Approaches for Estimating National Efficiency: An Application to Sub-Saharan African Countries

In this paper, we attempt to estimate pure national (technical) efficiency for 19 SSA countries over the 1960-2010 periods. In doing this, we compare conventional stochastic frontier models for panel data with a number of recently developed models which seek to control for unobserved heterogeneity in the inefficiency component. We find that the i®truei¯ random effects model that treats unobserved heterogeneity in our national dataset generates more reasonable efficiency estimates. Moreover the results confirm that most SSA countries operate far from the efficient frontier.
Plasma Membrane Ca2+ Pump Isoforms 2a and 2b Are Unusually Responsive to Calmodulin and Ca2+ *

The full-length a and b variants of the rat plasma membrane calcium pump, isoform 2 (rPMCA2a and rPMCA2b), were constructed and expressed in COS-7 cells. To characterize these isoforms, calcium transport was determined in a microsomal fraction. Both rPMCA2a and rPMCA2b had a much higher affinity for calmodulin than the corresponding forms of hPMCA4, and rPMCA2b had the highest affinity among the isoforms that have been tested so far. When analyzed at a relatively high calmodulin concentration, rPMCA2b and, to a lesser extent, rPMCA2a showed higher apparent calcium affinity;i.e. they were more active at lower Ca2+concentrations than hPMCA4b. This indicates that these two variants of rat isoform 2 will tend to maintain a lower free cytosolic Ca2+ level in cells where they are expressed. Both variants also showed a higher level of basal activity (in the complete absence of calmodulin) than hPMCA4b, a property which would reinforce their ability to maintain a low free cytosolic Ca2+concentration. Experiments designed to determine the source of the higher apparent Ca2+ affinity of rPMCA2b showed that it came from the properties of the carboxyl terminus, rather than from any difference in the catalytic core.
A chemical-genetic approach to study G protein regulation of β cell function in vivo

Impaired functioning of pancreatic β cells is a key hallmark of type 2 diabetes. β cell function is modulated by the actions of different classes of heterotrimeric G proteins. The functional consequences of activating specific β cell G protein signaling pathways in vivo are not well understood at present, primarily due to the fact that β cell G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are also expressed by many other tissues. To circumvent these difficulties, we developed a chemical-genetic approach that allows for the conditional and selective activation of specific β cell G proteins in intact animals. Specifically, we created two lines of transgenic mice each of which expressed a specific designer GPCR in β cells only. Importantly, the two designer receptors differed in their G protein-coupling properties (Gq/11 versus Gs). They were unable to bind endogenous ligand(s), but could be efficiently activated by an otherwise pharmacologically inert compound (clozapine-N-oxide), leading to the conditional activation of either β cell Gq/11 or Gs G proteins. Here we report the findings that conditional and selective activation of β cell Gq/11 signaling in vivo leads to striking increases in both first- and second-phase insulin release, greatly improved glucose tolerance in obese, insulin-resistant mice, and elevated β cell mass, associated with pathway-specific alterations in islet gene expression levels. Selective stimulation of β cell Gs triggered qualitatively similar in vivo metabolic effects. Thus, this developed chemical-genetic strategy represents a powerful approach to study G protein regulation of β cell function in vivo.
An Accumulator—Based Test-Per-Clock Scheme

We propose a new scheme for reducing the test application time in accumulator-based test-pattern generation. Within this framework, we reduce the problem of efficiently generating test-patterns to that of finding the shortest Hamiltonian path in an associated directed graph. The resulting scheme exhibits extremely low demand for hardware based on a combination of decoders whose inputs are driven by a very slow external tester. Experimental results on ISCAS benchmarks substantiate the superiority of the proposed scheme over the previously-published test-set embedding approaches for accumulator-based test generation.
EEG alpha synchronization and functional coupling during top‐down processing in a working memory task

Electroencephalogram (EEG) α (around 10 Hz) is the dominant rhythm in the human brain during conditions of mental inactivity. High amplitudes as observed during rest usually diminish during cognitive effort. During retention of information in working memory, however, power increase of α oscillations can be observed. This α synchronization has been interpreted as cortical idling or active inhibition. The present study provides evidence that during top‐down processing in a working memory task, α power increases at prefrontal but decreases at occipital electrode sites, thereby reaching a state in which α power and frequency become very similar over large distances. Two experimental conditions were compared. In the first, visuospatial information only had to be retained in memory whereas the second condition additionally demanded manipulation of the information. During the second condition, stronger α synchronization at prefrontal sites and larger occipital α suppression was observed as compared to that for pure retention. This effect was accompanied by assimilation of prefrontal and occipital α frequency, stronger functional coupling between prefrontal and occipital brain areas, and α latency shifts from prefrontal cortex to primary visual areas, possibly indicating the control of posterior cortical activation by anterior brain areas. An increase of prefrontal EEG α amplitudes, which is accompanied by a decrease at posterior sites, thus may not be interpreted in terms of idling or “global” inhibition but may enable a tight functional coupling between prefrontal cortical areas, and thereby allows the control of the execution of processes in primary visual brain regions. Hum Brain Mapp, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.