Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of Custom-Made Orthopaedic Shoes in the Reduction of Foot Pain and Pressure in Patients with Degenerative Disorders of the Foot

Background: Degenerative disorders of the foot often are painful during standing and walking. It is assumed that, because of bone deformity, callus, and deformity of the plantar pads, the plantar pressure distribution changes. Prescription of orthopaedic shoes for patients with degenerative disorders of the foot is based on the hypothesis that excessive pressure under the foot causes pain. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of custom-made orthopaedic shoes, in terms of pressure and pain, in patients with degenerative disorders of the foot. Additionally, the relationship between plantar pressure parameters and foot pain was studied, with special emphasis on second and third metatarsal heads. Methods: Seventy-seven consecutive patients with degenerative disorders of the foot were recruited from the outpatient clinics of seven rehabilitation centers and rehabilitation departments of university hospitals in the Netherlands. The study was prospective. The Questionnaire for Usability Evaluation for Orthopaedic Shoes was used to measure perceived foot pain. To measure plantar pressures, the Pedar in-shoe pressure measurement system (Novel GmbH, Munich) was used. The effectiveness of custom-made orthopaedic shoes, in terms of pressure and pain in patients with degenerative disorders of the foot, was analyzed by means of a paired sample t-test. To select the pressure parameter (Pmax, PTI, and Pav) most closely associated with walking pain, within-subject correlation coefficients were calculated. Results: Custom-made orthopaedic shoes significantly decreased perceived foot pain by at least 23%, and significantly reduced plantar pressure under all foot regions by at least 9%. A significant correlation (r = 0.521) was found between walking pain and the average pressure beneath the second and third metatarsal heads. Conclusions: Based on these results, it can be concluded that custom-made orthopaedic shoes are effective in reducing foot pain and foot pressure. The moderate (significant) relationship between average pressure and walking pain can be used as a tool for evaluating custom-made orthopaedic shoes prescribed for patients with degenerative disorders of the foot.
Calcium and phospholipid binding properties of synthetic gamma-carboxyglutamic acid-containing peptides with sequence counterparts in human protein C.

Two peptides with counterpart sequences in the gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) domain of human protein C (PC) have been synthesized and characterized. One peptide contained 38 amino acids (38-mer) and spanned the region from the amino terminus of the protein to the DNA splice junction between the Gla domain and the following short helical stretch, and the second peptide (48-mer) included a 10 amino acid extension that has been designed to incorporate the exon for the helical segment that is thought to play a role in stabilizing the Ca(2+)-dependent conformation of the Gla domain of proteins of this class. The peptides were synthesized by solid-phase methodology, then oxidized to allow disulfide pairing, and finally purified by FPLC methodology. Chemical characterization showed that each peptide contained its full complement of Gla residues. Two types of Ca(2+)-binding sites were found in these peptides, tighter sights (2-3) with Kd values of 60-370 microM and a weaker set of sites (7-10) with a range of Kd values from 0.8 to 3.1 mM. In general, the 48-mer interacted with Ca2+ more tightly than the 38-mer. As revealed by circular dichroism analysis, and by reactivity with monoclonal antibodies that recognize both the unfolded form of the Gla domain as well as the Ca(2+)-dependent conformation of this same domain, the 38-mer and 48-mer underwent the Ca(2+)-induced conformational changes characteristic of the intact protein. Both peptides displayed Ca(2+)-dependent binding to negatively charged phospholipid vesicles (PL). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Motor output evoked by subsaccadic stimulation of primate frontal eye fields

In addition to its role in shifting the line of sight, the oculomotor system is also involved in the covert orienting of visuospatial attention. Causal evidence supporting this premotor theory of attention, or oculomotor readiness hypothesis, comes from the effect of subsaccadic threshold stimulation of the oculomotor system on behavior and neural activity in the absence of evoked saccades, which parallels the effects of covert attention. Here, by recording neck-muscle activity from monkeys and systematically titrating the level of stimulation current delivered to the frontal eye fields (FEF), we show that such subsaccadic stimulation is not divorced from immediate motor output but instead evokes neck-muscle responses at latencies that approach the minimal conduction time to the motor periphery. On average, neck-muscle thresholds were ∼25% lower than saccade thresholds, and this difference is larger for FEF sites associated with progressively larger saccades. Importantly, we commonly observed lower neck-muscle thresholds even at sites evoking saccades ≤5° in magnitude, although such small saccades are not associated with head motion. Neck-muscle thresholds compare well with the current levels used in previous studies to influence behavior or neural activity through activation of FEF neurons feeding back to extrastriate cortex. Our results complement this previous work by suggesting that the neurobiologic substrate that covertly orients visuospatial attention shares this command with head premotor circuits in the brainstem, culminating with recruitment in the motor periphery.
Late-Neoproterozoic Deep-Ocean Oxygenation and the Rise of Animal Life

Because animals require oxygen, an increase in late-Neoproterozoic oxygen concentrations has been suggested as a stimulus for their evolution. The iron content of deep-sea sediments shows that the deep ocean was anoxic and ferruginous before and during the Gaskiers glaciation 580 million years ago and that it became oxic afterward. The first known members of the Ediacara biota arose shortly after the Gaskiers glaciation, suggesting a causal link between their evolution and this oxygenation event. A prolonged stable oxic environment may have permitted the emergence of bilateral motile animals some 25 million years later.
Foreign trained teachers : the emergence of the right to practise their profession in Ontario

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of 2 recent legal events, specifically the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act (2006) and Siadat v. Ontario College of Teachers (2007) decision, with regards to the opportunity of foreign trained teachers to practice their profession in Ontario. The emphasis is on the case of Fatima Siadat, who was a teacher in Iran but was unable to satisfy all the licensing requirements of the Ontario College of Teachers and consequently was unable to practise her profession in Ontario. When the Ontario College of Teachers Appeals Committee upheld the previous decision of the Ontario College of Teachers Registrar to refuse to issue her a teacher's certificate, Ms. Fatima Siadat decided to initiate a lawsuit. Ms. Fatima Siadat challenged the decision ofthe Ontario College of Teachers Appeals Committee by raising a question of applicability of human rights legislation (i.e., The Ontario Human Rights Code, 1990) on the Ontario College of Teachers' decisions. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice decided in January of2007 in favour of Ms. Fatima Siadat (Siadat v. Ontario College of Teachers , 2007) and ordered that her licensing application be reconsidered by the Ontario College of Teachers Appeals Committee. In this thesis the author argues that the Fatima Siadat decision, together with the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006, will likely make a significant contribution to enhancing the access of foreign trained teachers and other professionals to practice their regulated professions in Ontario.
Stimulus–Response Compatibility for Vertically Oriented Stimuli and Horizontally Oriented Responses: Evidence for Spatial Coding

It has previously been shown that, when stimuli positioned above or below a central fixation point (“up” and “down” stimuli) are assigned to left and right responses, the stimulus–response mapping up-left/down-right is more compatible than the mapping up-right/down-left for responses executed by the left hand in the left hemispace, but this relation is reversed for responses executed by the right hand in the right hemispace. In Experiment 1, each hand responded at locations in both hemispaces to dissociate the influence of hand identity from response location, and response location was found to be the determinant of relative compatibility. In Experiment 2 responses were made at the sagittal midline, and an inactive response switch was placed to the left or right to induce coding of the active switch as right or left, respectively. This manipulation of relative location had an effect similar to, although of lesser magnitude than, that produced by physically changing location of the response switch in Experiment 1. It is argued that these results are counter to predictions of a movement-preference account and consistent with the view that spatial coding underlies compatibility effects for orthogonally oriented stimulus and response sets.
Crucial role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor 2 and membrane‐bound TNF in experimental cerebral malaria

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of experimental cerebral malaria (CM), but the respective role of its two types of receptors has not been established. A significant increase in the expression of TNF‐receptor 2 (TNFR2, p75), but not of TNFR1 (p55), was found on brain microvessels at the time of CM in susceptible animals. Moreover, mice genetically deficient for TNFR2 (Tnfr2°) were significantly protected from experimental CM, in contrast to TNFR1‐deficient (Tnfr1°) mice, which were as susceptible as wild‐type mice. To identify the factors involved in the protection from CM conferred by the lack of TNFR2, we assessed in both knockout and control mice the serum concentrations of mediators that are critical for the development of CM, as well as the up‐regulation of intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) in the brain microvessels. No significant difference in serum levels of TNF and interferon‐γ was found between infected wild‐type and Tnfr1° or Tnfr2° mice. Interestingly, the pronounced ICAM‐1 up‐regulation and leukocyte sequestration, typically occurring in brain microvessels of CM‐susceptible animals, was detected in infected control and Tnfr1° mice – both of which developed CM – whereas no such ICAM‐1 up‐regulation or leukocyte sequestration was observed in Tnfr2° mice, which were protected from CM. Making use of microvascular endothelium cells (MVEC) isolated from wild‐type, Tnfr1° or Tnfr2° mice, we show that soluble TNF requires the presence of both TNF receptors, whereas membrane‐bound TNF only needs TNFR2 for TNF‐mediated ICAM‐1 up‐regulation in brain MVEC. Thus, only in MVEC lacking TNFR2, neither membrane‐bound nor soluble TNF cause the up‐regulation of ICAM‐1 in vitro. In conclusion, these results indicate that the interaction between membrane TNF and TNFR2 is crucial in the development of this neurological syndrome.
Comparison of Human Papillomavirus Detection and Typing by Cycle Sequencing, Line Blotting, and Hybrid Capture

ABSTRACT We compared the results of human papillomavirus (HPV) detection and typing from 781 cervical samples assayed by three methods: L1 consensus PCR followed by cycle sequencing, L1 consensus PCR with biotinylated primers followed by hybridization to a line blot, and Hybrid Capture assay. Both PCR assays used L1 consensus PCR with primers MY09 and MY11. We evaluated the amplification efficiencies of both PCR assays and also compared the specific HPV types detected by each method. The samples positive by the Hybrid Capture assay were compared to the specific types detected by the PCR-based assays. The concordance between the two PCR assays in producing an HPV amplicon visible by gel electrophoresis or in detecting any HPV type was moderate: kappa values were 0.61 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.56 to 0.67) and 0.51 (95% CI = 0.46 to 0.58), respectively. The McNemar test for correlated proportions indicated that biotinylated PCR was less likely to produce a band (P = 0.001) and to detect an HPV type (P = 0.001) than the other PCR assay. In comparing the Hybrid Capture assay results with the HPV types detected by the PCR-based assays, we found that positivity by the Hybrid Capture assay for a number of samples may be due to cross-hybridization with HPV types not included in the Hybrid Capture assay probe cocktails.
Acetabular angles and femoral anteversion in dysplastic hips in adults: CT investigation.

Transpelvic CT was used to quantify the relationship between the acetabulum and proximal femur in 21 adult patients (33 hips) with congenital hip dysplasia (defined by a center edge angle of less than 20 degrees). The anterior and posterior acetabular sector angles (AASA and PASA) were measured, as well as the degree of acetabular and femoral anteversion. The results demonstrated deficient anterior acetabular support (i.e., decreased AASA) in approximately two-thirds of the dysplastic hips and reduced posterior support (i.e., decreased PASA) in one-third. The acetabular anteversion was normal. The femoral anteversion. however, was greater than normal in most hip. As important additional information is obtained by CT compared with conventional radiography, CT is recommended when operative procedures aimed at preventing or postponing osteoarthrosis are considered.
Personal Mastery Attenuates the Effect of Caregiving Stress on Psychiatric Morbidity

This study examined the protective effects of personal mastery on the relations between both objective and subjective stress and psychiatric morbidity in 79 spousal Alzheimer caregivers. Results indicated that with low mastery, the relations between patient problem behaviors and caregiver psychiatric symptoms was significant (t[71] = 2.03; p = 0.046). However, with high mastery, no significant association was found (t[71] = –0.76; p = 0.452). Similarly, the relations between role overload and psychiatric morbidity was significant when mastery was low (t[71] = 2.22; p = 0.029), but not high (t[71] = –1.49; p = 0.140). These results suggest that caregivers with a greater sense of personal mastery may be protected from the negative effects of caregiver stress.
Decision making in adolescents with behavior disorders and adults with substance abuse.

OBJECTIVE The study assessed the validity of the Gambling Task as a test of decision-making ability in adolescents and examined whether adolescents with behavior disorders, who are at risk for substance abuse, have deficits in decision making similar to those exhibited by adults with substance abuse. METHOD Performance on the Gambling Task in two testing sessions separated by 1 week was assessed in 64 12-14-year-old adolescents (31 healthy, 33 with externalizing behavior disorders) and 52 adults (22 healthy, 30 with substance abuse). RESULTS The healthy adolescents and the healthy adults had similar performance on the Gambling Task. Adolescents with behavior disorders performed more poorly than healthy adolescents, but only in the second testing session. In adults, overall Gambling Task performance did not differ between the healthy and substance abuse groups at either testing session, indicating no difference in learning of decision-making strategies between groups. However, adults with substance abuse performed more poorly than healthy adults during an early stage of the task, when participants presumably begin to understand the rewards and penalties involved in the task but are not yet sure of the actual risk of incurring penalities. CONCLUSIONS The Gambling Task can be used with adolescents. Testing with the Gambling Task revealed a deficit in decision making in adolescents with behavior disorders, who are at risk for substance abuse. This deficit may represent a vulnerability factor for the development of substance abuse.
Echinococcus multilocularis in Urban Coyotes, Alberta, Canada

Echinococcus multilocularis is a zoonotic parasite in wild canids. We determined its frequency in urban coyotes (Canis latrans) in Alberta, Canada. We detected E. multilocularis in 23 of 91 coyotes in this region. This parasite is a public health concern throughout the Northern Hemisphere, partly because of increased urbanization of wild canids.
Agency Costs and Tax Planning when the Government is a Major Shareholder

Prior research argues that tax avoidance is beneficial to shareholders. In state owned enterprises (SOEs), taxes are a dividend to the controlling shareholder, the state, but a cost to other shareholders. Therefore, the controlling shareholder of the SOE benefits from less tax avoidance by the SOE. Using a sample of publicly traded companies in China, we find that SOEs exhibit significantly higher income tax rates than do non-SOEs, consistent with less tax avoidance. These results are especially pronounced for local versus central SOEs and during the year in which SOE managers face term performance evaluations. SOE tax rates are negatively associated with stock returns, consistent with investors being aware of the transfer of wealth through less tax avoidance. Overall, the findings suggest SOEs make tax decisions favorable to the controlling shareholder but costly to the minority shareholders, and the state utilizes SOE managers’ career concerns to promote the minimization of tax avoidance. The findings contribute to our understanding of the impact of ownership structure on tax avoidance and to the agency literature on tunneling mechanisms.
Reliability and Validity of Functional Neuroimaging Techniques for Identifying Language-Critical Areas in Children and Adults

Advances in neuroimaging technologies over the last 15 years have prompted their relatively widespread use in the study of brain mechanisms supporting language function in children and adults. We reviewed reliability and external validity studies of 3 of the most common functional imaging methods, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), magnetoencephalography (MEG), and positron emission tomography (PET). Although reliability and validity reports for fMRI are generally quite favorable, significant variability was found across studies with respect to methodology, preventing in some cases either the assessment of the reliability of individual datasets, or cross-study comparisons. Reliability and validity reports of MEG are strong, yet methodological questions regarding optimal modeling techniques remain. PET investigators report good concordance of language maps with data from more invasive brain mapping techniques, but its use of radioactive tracers and poorer spatial and temporal resolution make it the least optimal of the 3 methods for language mapping. Investigations of the cortical networks supporting language function during development and into adulthood should be viewed in the context of the validity and reliability of the methods used, with careful attention to details regarding the methodologies employed in the acquisition and analysis of statistical maps.
Relationship of cigarette smoking to attachment level profiles.

OBJECTIVES The present investigation examined clinical features of periodontal disease and patterns of attachment loss in adult periodontitis subjects who were current, past or never smokers. MATERIAL AND METHODS 289 adult periodontitis subjects ranging in age from 20-86 years with at least 20 teeth and at least 4 sites with pocket depth and/or attachment level >4 mm were recruited. Smoking history was obtained using a questionnaire. Measures of plaque accumulation, overt gingivitis, bleeding on probing, suppuration, probing pocket depth and probing attachment level were taken at 6 sites per tooth at all teeth excluding 3rd molars at a baseline visit. Subjects were subset according to smoking history into never, past and current smokers and for certain analyses into age categories <41, 41-49, >49. Uni- and multi-variate analyses examined associations between smoking category, age and clinical parameters. RESULTS Current smokers had significantly more attachment loss, missing teeth, deeper pockets and fewer sites exhibiting bleeding on probing than past or never smokers. Current smokers had greater attachment loss than past or never smokers whether the subjects had mild, moderate or severe initial attachment loss. Increasing age and smoking status were independently significantly related to mean attachment level and the effect of these parameters was additive. Mean attachment level in non smokers <41 years and current smokers >49 years was 2.49 and 4.10 mm respectively. Stepwise multiple linear regression indicated that age, pack years and being a current smoker were strongly associated with mean attachment level. Full mouth attachment level profiles indicated that smokers had more attachment loss than never smokers particularly at maxillary lingual sites and at lower anterior teeth. CONCLUSIONS In accord with other studies, smokers had evidence of more severe periodontal disease than past or never smokers. At all levels of mean attachment loss, smokers exhibited more disease than never smokers. Difference in mean attachment level between smokers and never smokers at individual sites was not uniform. Significantly more loss was observed at maxillary lingual sites and lower anterior teeth suggesting the possibility of a local effect of cigarette smoking.
The relationship among technological creativity, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions of selected South African university of technology students

Orientation: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship among technological creativity, self-efficacy and entrepreneurship intentions of university students in an emerging economy context. Research purpose: This study explores how technological creativity is linked to self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions. Motivation of the study: African countries are pervaded by subdued imagination that breeds survivalist entrepreneurship, which is bereft of innovation. This reality calls for the input of technological creativity to innovative entrepreneurship. Although results from contemporary research acknowledge the explanatory effect of technological creativity on entrepreneurial intentions, they under-explore the mechanism of the relationship, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, hence this study. Research design, approach and method: Using a quantitative approach and cross-sectional survey design, a self-completion questionnaire was administered to 130 students who had undergone a compulsory entrepreneurship course at a South African university of technology. The study employed Pearson’s correlation test, regression analysis and the bootstrapping procedure to assess the mediation effects and test the different hypothesised relationships. Main findings: The findings revealed that self-efficacy fully mediated the influence of technological creativity on entrepreneurship intentions. Practical and managerial implications: The results of the study stress the importance of considering psychological aspects, such as technological creativity and self-efficacy, in the evaluation of ways that can be used to effectively foster the entrepreneurial intentions of students undergoing entrepreneurship education. Contribution or value-add: The results authenticated psychological frameworks as guiding tools to understanding the intentional component of planned entrepreneurship activity. The study added further knowledge by exploring a previously untested relation between technological creativity and self-efficacy to unravel the complexity of entrepreneurial intentions among tertiary students.