Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effectiveness and Complications of Double-Forced Sling Method in Stress Incontinence Surgery

DOI: 10.4328/JCAM.1079 Received: 11.05. 2012 Accepted: 27.05. 2012 Printed: 01.07. 2013 J Clin Anal Med 2013;4(4): 297-301 Corresponding Author: Emrah Okulu, Umit Mh. Meksika Cd. 2463. Sk 4/32 Umitkoy, Ankara, Turkey. GSM. : +905052530921 F. : +903122912707 E-Mail: eokulu@yahoo.com Özet Amaç: Bu çalışmada, 4 yıllık takip sürecinde stress tipte idrar kaçırmanın cerrahi tedavisinde geniş tabanlı Double Forced sling yönteminin başarısını, etkinliğini ve komplikasyonlarını araştırmayı amaçladık. Gereç ve Yöntem: Kliniğimizde 2005 ve 2007 tarihleri arasında 144 stress tipte idrar kaçırması olan bayan hastaya mono ve multiflaman sentetik meş kullanılarak geniş tabanlı double forced sling ameliyatı uygulandı. Çalışmaya alınan hastalara ayrıntılı öyküsü, sistemik ve pelvik muayene, idrar kültürü, Q-tip ve Boney testi, supine stres testi, işeme günlüğü, 24 saatlik ped testi, sistoskopi ve ürodinami (sistometri ve Valsalva leak point pressure ölçümü) yapıldı. Hastalara idrar kaçırma için ICIQ-SF sorgulama formu ile Korman sorgulama formları dolduruldu. Hasta sonuçları ve ameliyatın başarısı ped testi, ICIQ-SF skorlaması ve Korman sorgulama analizine göre değerlendirildi. Bulgular: Hastaların ortalama yaşı 49.7 ± 8.7 (31-75 arasında) idi. Hiçbir hastada cerrahi sırasında komplikasyon gelişmedi. Tüm hastalarda ameliyat sonrası 6. 12. ve 48. aylardaki ICIQ-SF skoru, pad sayısı ve 24 saatlik pad testi sonuçları ameliyat öncesi döneme göre istatistiksel açıdan anlamlı derecede düşük olarak saptanmıştır (p<0.05). Ameliyat sonrası 48.ayda 135 hasta idrarını tutabiliyordu, 125 hasta ise yapılan ameliyattan memnundu. Ameliyat sonrasında hastaların 4’ünde vajinal erozyon ve sütür granülomu, 2’sinde üretral erozyon, 10 hastada yeniden acil işeme semptomları görüldü. Tartışma: Geniş tabanlı Double Forced Sling ameliyatı stres tipte idrar kaçırmanın tedavisinde efektif bir şekilde kullanılabilir. Stres tipte idrar kaçırmanın tedavisinde cerrahi tekniğin yanı sıra kullanılan meş materyalinin tipi ve yeri oldukça önemli olup bu konuda klinik ve deneysel çalışmalara ihtiyaç vardır.
Limpet grazing and loss of Ascophyllum nodosum canopies on decadal time scales

The role of limpet grazing in preventing the development of algal canopies is a recurrent theme in intertidal ecology. Less is known about interactions of limpets with the long-term dynamics of established canopies. Aerial photographs indicate that intertidal canopy cover has declined over the past 44 yr in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland. There has been a loss of the previously continuous cover of Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) Le Jolis in the mid-shore. A barnacledominated assemblage now fills gaps in the A. nodosum canopy. The rates at which barnacle patches become established and grow have increased since 1990. Changes in canopy cover have been accompanied by increases in limpet densities since the 1980s. Measurements between 2003 and 2004 showed no increase in length of A. nodosum fronds when limpets Patella vulgata had access to the algal holdfasts. In contrast, when limpets were experimentally excluded from the holdfasts, there was net frond growth. In the Isle of Man, which is climatically similar to Strangford Lough but has fewer limpets, growth occurred regardless of limpet grazing. The breaking force for A. nodosum declined with increasing local densities of limpets. A. nodosum is a sheltered shore species, potentially vulnerable to changes in wave exposure. There is no evidence, however, that Strangford Lough has become windier over the past 3 decades. Variation in wave exposure among locations within the lough was not related to rates of barnacle patch creation or expansion. Limpet population density has increased following a series of mild winters. Climate change may have a role in causing canopy loss, not by direct effects on the growth of fucoids, but by increasing the severity of grazing through changes to limpet populations.
Structural Assessment to Support Engineering Education

The ABET 2000 changes in accreditation standards of engineering programs will soon make it necessary for engineering programs to demonstrate that their students have the knowledge and abilities necessary for performing professional engineering activities. Structural Assessment, a method for assessing students knowledge of the relationships among concepts, methodologies, and problems in a domain, may represent a valuable assessment resource. Past research shows that this assessment methodology can be valuable, but does not focus on how to make the methodology feasible for classroom use. In this paper, we describe how we created a suit of tools that support structural knowledge assessment for classroom use and a pilot evaluation of these tools that demonstrates the feasibility of such a method. 1. DEVELOPING ASSESSMENT PRACTICES FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION
Evaluating multi-beta pricing models: an empirical analysis with spanish market data

Using Spanish stock market data running from January 1982 to December 1998, this paper examines competing models of price formation in security markets on the basis of the relationship between expected returns and different risk measures. The aim of the work is two- fold: to analyze whether the factor betas considered in each model have a significant role in explaining the behavior of average returns, and to compare the performance of the alternative models studied. We consider both static and conditional models, in which book-to-market and dividend yield aggregated ratios are chosen as predictors of changes in the market information set. We find that conditional models perform relatively better than static models.
Prosthetic Status and Prosthetic Needs of Institutionalized Elderly People in Jodhpur City, Rajasthan, India

In this study, the aim was to assess the prosthetic status and prosthetic needs of the institutionalized elderly people in Jodhpur city. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey study of 66 inmates living in an old age home was included. A modified WHO proforma was administered to obtain information. One-way ANOVA was used to identify the association of prosthetic status and needs with sex, chronic diseases, oral hygiene practices, adverse habits, dental visit, duration of stay, education, and source of financial assistance. Results: Among institutionalized elderly people, 11 were wearing partial denture and 9 were having full removable denture. 54 people had edentulous space and were having healthy denture bearing tissues. Upper full prosthesis was required in 19 elderly people while 16 people required lower full prosthesis. Age, chronic diseases, oral hygiene practices, adverse habit, dental visit, duration of living, education status, source of financial assistance were found to be significantly associated with prosthetic status and needs. Conclusion: The oral health of institutionalized elderly people in Jodhpur is poor. Study findings contribute to the need for continued dental care.
First comparison between ground-based and satellite-borne measurements of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide in the Po basin

in the Mount Cimone area is good (R 2 = 0.9) with the mixing properties of the atmosphere being the most important parameter for a valid comparison of the measurements. However, even when the atmospheric mixing properties are optimal for comparison, the ratio between GOME and ground-based tropospheric column data may not be unity. It is demonstrated that the values obtained (less than 1) are related to the fraction of the satellite ground pixel occupied by the NO2 hot spot. INDEX TERMS: 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution—urban and regional (0305); 0365 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—composition and chemistry; 0368 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—constituent transport and chemistry; 0360 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Transmission and scattering of radiation; KEYWORDS: tropospheric NO2, satellite validation, Po basin
Cartilage Palisade Grafting in Retrograde Canal Wall Down Mastoidectomy: AReview of 80 Cases

Objective: Although synthetic grafts have been extensively used for tympanoplasty in canal wall down mastoidectomy, a substantial proportion of the patients show graft extrusion. Conchal cartilage grafts can be effectively used for the above purpose for a better graft uptake and hearing gain. Here, anatomical and functional outcomes have been assessed in 80 patients undergoing retrograde canal wall mastoidectomy with cartilage tympanoplasty. Material and methods: This study was conducted in a tertiary care referral hospital during the period from July 2012 to June 2015. A total 80 patients of active squamous disease with conductive hearing had undergone canal wall down mastoidectomy. Pure tone audiogram and speech reception thresholds were carried out in preoperative and each postoperative visit i.e. at 3, 6, 12 months of surgery. ≥ 10 dB closure of air-bone (AB) gap and ≥ 10 dB improvement in speech reception threshold were considered significant. Results: Out of 80 patients, 58 (72.50%) were males and 22 (27.50%) were females and 68 (85.00%) were fresh cases and 12 (15.00%) were revision cases. Overall closure of the tympanic membrane was achieved in 76 (95.00%) cases. At the end of 12 months, mean air conduction threshold was 34.30 dB with 8.2 dB closures of AB gap was found in new cases and 35.08% of them had significant improvement in hearing. Again the mean air conduction thresholds for the revision cases was 40.8 dB with 6.9 dB closure of AB gaps noticed at the end of 12 months and 25% of the them had significant improvement in hearing (≥ 10 dB closure). Conclusion: Autologous conchal cartilage can be used for the tympanic membrane grafting in patients undergoing canal wall down mastoidectomy with minimal rejection rate. Although significant improvement in hearing was achieved in 33.80% cases, almost all had social serviceable hearing till the end of 12 months.
Peste des Petits Ruminants serological survey in Karamoja sub region of Uganda by competitive ELISA

Following the historical reports of mysterious illnesses and deaths in goats in the Karamoja sub-region in April, 2007 and subsequent confirmation of Pest des Petitis Ruminants in July, 2007; we carried out a serological survey to determine the indicative caprine PPRV exposure rate by 2009. We sampled 280 goats from Moroto, Nakapiripirit, Abim and Kotido Districts of North-eastern Uganda to detect antibodies against PPRV using competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). The prevalence of PPRV antibodies in the districts of Moroto, Nakapiripirit, Kotido and Abim was 63.2% (CI = 95%, 58.0 � 68.0%), 72.0% (CI = 95%, 65.6 - 78.4%), 85% (CI = 95%, 81.0 � 88.9%) and 1.6% (CI = 95%, -0.01 � 3.22%) respectively. The overall prevalence of antibodies against PPRV in Karamoja sub-region was found to be 57.6 % (CI = 95%, 48.8 � 66.4%). The high prevalence of antibodies against PPRV suggests that active infection may still be present and therefore the need to institute disease control measures. More studies should be undertaken to characterize the viruses involved and the epidemiology of PPR in Uganda.
Exploring EU food safety notifications on agro-food imports: are Mediterranean partner countries discriminated?

Limited capacity to comply with standards and controls has constrained the trade opportunities generated by bilateral agreements and preferences given to developing countries such as those belonging to the Mediterranean region. Specifically, in this paper we focus on the implementation of a specific type of Non-Tariff Measures that includes food safety concerns by the European Union. This is carried out through exploring some of the influencing factors on food standard enforcement in the EU, which is a major importer of agro-food products from developing countries. The issue at stake emerges on the possible rationale behind the border notifications on food imports -which can be the result of the management of specific risks- but beyond that by considering the reputation of the product or of the country of origin. We explore the hypothesis that the past border notifications affect current notifications, in other words, they affect current decisions on the implementation of food standards by the EU. Methodologically, notifications are extracted from those reported on the Rapid Alert System for Feed and Food (RASFF), and count data models are used to account for the over-dispersion existing in them. The results of the paper support the hypothesis that previous food notifications may slightly affect current notifications; nevertheless this effect seems to be less relevant for products of interest for Mediterranean Partner Countries. Hence, we cannot identify a pro or anti Mediterranean bias in the way that food safety controls are implemented at the EU borders.
Adaptation versus pleiotropy: why do males harm their mates?

Recent studies have documented male traits that cause physical harm to their mates during copulation. Such harm has been suggested to either (1) arise as a negative pleiotropic side effect of adaptations that give males a reproductive advantage in another context or (2) represent a male adaptation per se. In other words, male traits that cause harm to their mates may become established despite the fact that they cause harm or because they do so. A critical assumption of the latter hypotheses is that females respond to infliction of harm in a manner that is beneficial to their mates: by reducing their propensity to remate and/or by elevating their current reproductive rate. In the present study, we test this assumption by experimentally inflicting various forms of harm to females immediately after copulation in three different insect species. We reveal that females do not delay remating or increase their reproductive rate after being harmed but, on the contrary, remate sooner and lay fewer eggs in some cases. We conclude that selection for infliction of harm to females per se is unlikely. Instead, available empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that harmful male traits arise as negative pleiotropic side effects of adaptations that yield other selective advantages to males during reproductive competition. Copyright 2003.
The Role of Application Portfolio Management in Application Services Outsourcing: Explicating Variations in Application Portfolio Management among Outsourcing Gestalts

Prior research has identified different outsourcing strategy types most likely to succeed, described by the outsourcing extent, the contract type, and duration. Each of the strategy types serves a particular outsourcing outcome. Since application portfolio management pursues improvement and optimization in the application landscape, it supports and enables decisions in the field of application services outsourcing. The aim of our research is to investigate the varying role of application portfolio management (APM) for different application services outsourcing strategies. Therefore, we conducted case study research with eleven large German and Swiss companies. In order to identify the varying role of APM, we compared the behaviors of the companies successfully applying particular strategy types, analyzing the differences in APM capabilities, application portfolio structure, and the influence of application characteristics. The results reveal that the companies applying different strategies vary in the extent to which APM is implemented in an organization.
The relationship between the self-esteem and employability attributes of postgraduate business management students

Orientation: The effects of challenges (like decreased employment opportunities, increased personal responsibility to keep up with changes, current skill shortages and of retaining talented and skilled staff) have led to an emphasis on career meta-competencies to improve employability attributes. Research purpose: The objectives of the study were to determine the relationship between self-esteem (as the Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory measures it) and employability attributes (as the Employability Attributes Scale measures it); to determine whether people’s biographical details significantly predict their self-esteem and employability attributes; and whether men and women differ significantly in their self-esteem and employability attributes. Motivation for the study: There seems to be a paucity of studies that investigate how people’s self-esteem relates to their employability attributes in South Africa’s multi-cultural context. Research design, approach and method: The researcher conducted a quantitative survey on a convenience sample of 304 employed adults enrolled for an honours degree in business management in a higher education institution. She used correlational statistics, multiple regression analyses, categorical regressions and independent t -tests to analyse the data. Main findings: The researcher found a number of significant relationships between the participants’ self-esteem and employability. The results showed that biographical details significantly predicted participants’ employability attributes. Practical/managerial implications: Career counsellors and human resource practitioners need to recognise how people’s self-esteem and their biographical details influence their employability attributes. Contribution/value-add: The findings add to the literature on the skills, abilities and biographical information that influence employability and give valuable information that organisations can use during career development support and career counselling practices in the contemporary world of work.
A Type of Multigrid Method Based on the Fixed-Shift Inverse Iteration for the Steklov Eigenvalue Problem

For the Steklov eigenvalue problem, we establish a type of multigrid discretizations based on the fixed-shift inverse iteration and study in depth its a priori/a posteriori error estimates. In addition, we also propose an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the a posteriori error estimates. Finally, we present some numerical examples to validate the efficiency of our method.
Lyman-α observations of astrospheres

Charge-exchange reactions between outflowing stellar wind protons and interstellar neutral hydrogen atoms entering a stellar astrosphere produce a region of piled-up-decelerated neutral hydrogen called the hydrogen wall. Absorption by this gas, which is observed in stellar Lyman-α emission lines, provides the only viable technique at this time for measuring the mass-loss rates of F–M dwarf stars. We describe this technique, present an alternative way for understanding the relation of mass-loss rate with X-ray emission, and identify several critical issues.
NEW U-Pb DATES FROM SILURIAN ROCKS ON FOGO ISLAND: PRELIMINARY STRATIGRAPHIC AND TECTONIC IMPLICATIONS

This short article reports on two chemical abrasion (CA-) ID-TIMS U–Pb zircon age determinations from volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks on Fogo Island, northeast Newfoundland. The study was initiated to test new ideas about stratigraphic and structural relationships based upon field mapping, and to ascertain the age of the Brimstone Head Formation, which is one of the youngest volcanic units recognized in east-central Newfoundland. A tuff horizon in the immediately underlying sedimentary Fogo Harbour Formation was also targeted. Although a precise age was obtained for a Brimstone Head Formation rhyolite, results for the tuff are complicated by clastic detritus. Nevertheless, the data provide useful preliminary constraints. The basal rhyolitic unit of the Brimstone Head Formation, near the town of Fogo, yielded a relatively simple concordant U–Pb zircon age of 421.2 ± 0.6 Ma. This resembles ages from other Silurian volcanic rocks in eastern Notre Dame Bay, and is identical, within uncertainty, to a previously determined U–Pb zircon age from granite in eastern Fogo Island. The result lends support to earlier suggestions that the Brimstone Head Formation is at least, partially, an extrusive equivalent of the Fogo Island intrusion. It also indicates that penetrative deformation of the Brimstone Head Formation is latest Silurian or younger, likely recording Acadian events. A felsic tuff unit near the top of the Fogo Harbour Formation, which sits beneath the Brimstone Head Formation, yielded a mixed zircon population that includes Precambrian grains, implying that the rock includes a detrital component. The youngest analyzed zircon grains have a concordant U–Pb age of about 440 Ma, some 20 my older than the Brimstone Head Formation. This potential time gap is consistent with suggestions of a cryptic angular unconformity between the two formations, but the U–Pb data alone cannot prove this interpretation. Further investigative work, canvassing larger populations using microbeam geochronological techniques, is needed to better characterize the zircon age modes in the Fogo Harbour Formation tuff, and ascertain if there is indeed a discrete ca. 440 Ma (or younger) population of magmatic origin.
Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Geophagic Clays from Share Area,Northern Bida Sedimentary Basin,Nigeria

The Share area occurs within the northern Bida Sedimentary Basin in Nigeria. The focus is on the geological settings, mineralogical and chemical compositions of Share geophagic clays with the aim of inferring their depositional environments, provenance and possible human health implications. The field method include collection of representative samples at appropriate clay stratum and the samples of the geophagic clays were subjected to petrographic, X-Ray fluorescence and X-Ray diffraction analyses. XRD revealed that Geophagic clays are polymineralic and the main reflections of the clay minerals identified were kaolinite, nacrite, gibbsite and dickite. The peaks of other traces are hematite, quartz and pyrite. Geochemical data indicated that geophagic clays composed of SiO2 content ranging from 64.40% to 46.30%, Al2O3 values varies from 36.54% to 20.54%, Fe2O3 values varies from 4.71% to 1.42%, MgO content varies from 0.08% to 0.06%, CaO ranges between 1.30% and 0.03%, TiO2 values varies from 9.17% to 0.20%, and MnO content ranges from 0.631%. to 0.09%. These values indicate that the geophagic clays are essentially siliceous aluminosilicates. The presence of sedimentary structures typical of tidal sedimentation, low abundance of MgO and K2O indicate lack of expandable clays, and the presence of ironstones further attests to abundant oxygen due to sub aerial exposure resulting to the oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+. The presence of basal conglomerate, rootlets structures, iron capping, fining upward sequence and abundances of kaolinite indicate a fluvial (continental) sedimentation. Geophagic clays may introduce metals like Fe, Zn, Cu, Ni, Ti, and Zr to the gastro-intestinal system of consumers, causing adverse effects like increase in the gastro-intestinal pH, and the binding of plant toxins and pathogens which create a surfacial coating on the stomach with inferred pharmaceutical implications. Negative impact of ingesting geophagic clays may lead to electrolyte disturbance, intestinal obstruction, constipation, hypertension, peritonitis, eclampsia, iron deficiency, anemia, microbiological infections, helminthiasis and heavy metal poisoning while coarse sandy quartz particles in the clays could affect dental enamel and also lead to the possible rupturing of the Sigmoid colon due to the abrasive nature of the particles.