Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of planar scintigraphy alone and with SPECT for the initial evaluation of femoral neck stress fracture.

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to compare the accuracy of planar scintigraphy alone versus planar scintigraphy with SPECT for the initial evaluation of femoral neck stress fractures in a young military population. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively identified 38 patients who had undergone planar scintigraphy and 33 patients who had undergone planar scintigraphy and SPECT before MRI of the hips over a 6-month period for evaluation of suspected femoral neck fracture. Data were analyzed regarding the sensitivity and specificity of bone scanning alone and with SPECT for detecting femoral neck stress fracture and grading fractures as low grade (grades I and II) or high grade (grades III and IV). RESULTS Twelve fractures were identified in the group who underwent planar scintigraphy alone and 13 in the group who underwent planar scintigraphy with SPECT. The sensitivities of planar scintigraphy alone and with SPECT were 50% and 92.3%, respectively (p = 0.03). The accuracy of each technique for the detection of high-grade fractures was 12.5% and 70%, respectively (p = 0.025). CONCLUSION Planar scintigraphy with SPECT had a higher sensitivity and accuracy in assessing the grade of femoral neck stress fractures than planar scintigraphy alone. The results of this study suggest that SPECT should be performed with planar bone scintigraphy for the evaluation of patients with suspected femoral neck stress fractures.
Thyroid Disease Is Prevalent and Predicts Survival in Patients With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

BACKGROUND A significant minority of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) display features of autoimmunity without meeting the criteria for overt connective tissue disease. A link between IPF and other immune-mediated processes, such as hypothyroidism (HT), has not been reported. In this investigation, we aimed to determine whether HT is associated with IPF and if outcomes differ between patients with IPF with and without HT. METHODS A retrospective case-control analysis was conducted. Of 311 patients referred to the University of Chicago Interstitial Lung Disease Center with an initial diagnosis of IPF, 196 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. Each case was matched 1:1 by age, sex, and race to a control subject with COPD. RESULTS HT was identified in 16.8% of cases and 7.1% of control subjects (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.31-5.54; P = .01). Among patients with IPF, HT was associated with reduced survival time (P < .001) and was found to be an independent predictor of mortality in multivariable Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.31-3.43; P = .002). A secondary analysis of two IPF clinical trial datasets supports these findings. CONCLUSIONS HT is common among patients with IPF, with a higher prevalence than in those with COPD and the general population. The presence of HT also predicts mortality in IPF, a finding that may improve future prognostication models. More research is needed to determine the biologic link between IPF and HT and how the presence of thyroid disease may influence disease progression.
From task assignment to patient allocation: a change evaluation.

The way in which nursing work in a ward is planned and allocated amongst the staff available has a considerable influence on the continuity of patient care, nurse-patient relationships, nurses' satisfaction with their role and the learning experiences of students. An attempt was made to explore these factors when it was decided to change the organization of a medical ward from task assignment to patient allocation. The change-over was accomplished successfully using a form of action research and the evaluation indicated general satisfaction with the new system.
A keypoint-based fast object tracking algorithm

This paper proposes a novel keypoint-based algorithm to track multiple objects in real time from a fixed camera. Instead of searching keypoints from the whole video image, we only detect keypoints from the region of interest, which can be obtained by adaptive background mixture models. Our approach is robust against object appearance changes because of its learning module. Furthermore, our algorithm makes a good use of fast keypoint detectors and binary descriptors to run in real-time, which qualifies it for online applications. It requires no camera or ground plane calibration and can efficiently work at a frame rate of 28-32 fps under the image resolution of 768 × 576.
Company Investment Announcements and the Market Value of the Firm

This paper examines the stock market reaction to 402 company investment announcements made by UK companies during the 1991-1996 period. The market-adjusted abnormal returns are generally positive but small. Investment announcements are classified according to functional categories, and we find the level of abnormal returns to vary according to the type of capital investment being announced. In particular, we find the market to react more favourably to investments that 'create' future investment opportunities, than to investments which can be categorized as 'exercising' investment opportunities. The market reaction also varies with firm size, with large companies tending to experience smaller responses to announcements than do smaller firms. Chung et al. (1998) reported that the quality of a company's investment opportunities is the primary determinant of market reactions to capital expenditure decisions. The findings presented here lend some support to a role for investment opportunities in market valuations. Project size is also found to have a significant positive impact on the level of abnormal returns.
Fetal CD103+ IL-17–Producing Group 3 Innate Lymphoid Cells Represent the Dominant Lymphocyte Subset in Human Amniotic Fluid

Amniotic fluid (AF) surrounds the growing fetus, and cells derived from AF are commonly used for diagnosis of genetic diseases. Intra-amniotic infections are strongly linked to preterm birth, which is the leading cause of perinatal mortality worldwide. Surprisingly little is known, however, about mature hematopoietic cells in AF, which could potentially be involved in immune responses during pregnancy. In this study, we show that the dominating population of viable CD45+ cells in AF is represented by a subset of fetal CD103+ group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) producing high levels of IL-17 and TNF. Fetal CD103+ ILC3s could also be detected at high frequency in second-trimester mucosal tissues (e.g., the intestine and lung). Taken together, our data indicate that CD103+ ILC3s accumulate with gestation in the fetal intestine and subsequently egress to the AF. The dominance of ILC3s producing IL-17 and TNF in AF suggests that they could be involved in controlling intra-amniotic infections and inflammation and as such could be important players in regulating subsequent premature birth.
Physical Fitness Evaluation of Paralympic Winter Sports Sitting Athletes

ObjectiveTo provide normative values of physical fitness in Paralympic winter sports athletes competing in a sitting posture and to identify the components relevant for successful performance. DesignCross-sectional study with sports. SettingThe Institute of Sports Medicine and Science of the Italian National Olympic Committee (Rome, Italy). ParticipantsFifteen Alpine skiers (3 BP), 16 Nordic skiers (2 BP), 10 curlers (2 BP), and 34 ISH players (7 BP). Independent VariablesCurling, Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, and ice sledge hockey (ISH). Main Outcome MeasuresPhysical fitness components. Oxygen uptake peak (V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak; L·min−1 and mL·kg−1·min−1), mechanical work in a high-intensity exhaustion exercise (MW-HIE; kJ and kJ·kg−1), upper-body strength (N and N·kg−1), mean explosive power (MEP; W and W·kg−1) in a 10-second arm cranking ergometer Wingate test, and fat mass (FM) (% body mass) were primary outcome measures when assessed in the whole sport groups and secondary outcome measures when separating the BP from the others. ResultsBased on 1-way analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc test (P < 0.05), V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak and MW-HIE were highest in Nordic skiers (2.9 ± 0.53 L·min−1 and 18.3 ± 3.98 kJ) and similar in ISH players and Alpine skiers (2.5 ± 0.42 and 2.3 ± 0.44 L·min−1 and 17.4 ± 2.62 and 16.8 ± 7.41 kJ, respectively). Alpine skiers showed the highest absolute strength values (1210.1 ± 220.92 N). Curlers had the highest FM (26.2% ± 7.74%) and the lowest V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak (1.8 ± 0.35 L·min−1), MW-HIE (11.4 ± 2.40 kJ), and MEP (251.1 ± 67.16 W). Among the BP, Nordic skiers, ISH players, and Alpine skiers showed V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak, MW-HIE, and strength equal to 3.4 ± 0.43, 2.9 ± 0.38, and 2.8 ± 0.18 L·min−1 and 22.6 ± 4.04, 19.4 ± 2.84, and 18.4 ± 7.86 kJ, respectively. ConclusionsAnalyzing physical fitness data of athletes competing in the last 4 winter Paralympic Games, normative values are provided. The specific components that are highly developed in the BP are considered relevant for successful performance.
A Real-Time Four-Dimensional Doppler Dealiasing Scheme

A new dealiasing scheme uses the full four-dimensionality available in an operational Doppler radar data stream. It examines one tilt angle at a time, beginning at the highest elevation where clutter is minimal and gate-to-gate shear is typically low compared to the Nyquist velocity. It then dealiases each tilt in descending order until the entire radial velocity volume is corrected. In each tilt, the algorithm performs six simple steps. In the first two steps, a reflectivity threshold and filter are applied to the radial velocity field to remove unwanted noise. The third step initializes dealiasing by attempting to adjust the value of each gate by Nyquist intervals such that it agrees with both the nearest gate in the next higher tilt and the nearest gate in the previous volume. The gates that pass the third step at a high confidence level become the initial values for step four, which consist of correcting the neighboring gates within the scan, while preserving environmental shear as much as possible. In step five, remaining gates are compared to an average of neighboring corrected gates, and anomalous gates are deleted. As a last resort, step six uses a velocity azimuth display (VAD) analysis of the wind field to interpret and correct any remaining isolated echoes. This scheme uses all available data dimensions to interpret and dealias each tilt and is efficient enough to operate on a continuous data stream. It performs reliably even in difficult dealiasing situations and at low Nyquist velocity. During two complex events observed by low-Nyquist Doppler radar in the European Alps, 93% of 4300 tilts were dealiased without error. When errors did occur, they were usually confined to small regions and most frequently resulted from the occurrence of gate-to-gate shear that was impossible to resolve by the Nyquist velocity.
Identifying submarket in the wine industry: a multivariate approach to hedonic regression

Several authors have utilized the hedonic approach (Rosen, 1974) to investigate the determinants of wine prices. Most of the research effort has been directed so far to determine which attributes are good candidates as explanatory variables in the hedonic function. Even though results in this area have been constrained by the nature of the available data, there is substantial agreement about what influences wine prices. Combris et al. (1997, 2000) showed that when regressing objective characteristics and sensory characteristics on wine price, the objective cues (such as expert score and vintage) are significant, while sensory variables such as tannins content and other measurable chemicals are not. Nevertheless, substantial evidence (Oczkowski 1994; Landon and Smith 1997; Shamel
Clostridium difficile carriage in healthy infants in the community: a potential reservoir for pathogenic strains.

BACKGROUND Clostridium difficile has long been considered to be a nosocomial pathogen but has emerged in the community in recent years. During infancy, asymptomatic C. difficile colonization is common. However, knowledge of colonization determinants and strain characteristics is limited. We studied the dynamics of C. difficile colonization in healthy infants from the community. Determinants of colonization and strain genotypes were also determined in a cohort of infants attending day nurseries. METHODS A 1-year follow-up study involving 10 healthy infants was performed to determine the incidence and kinetics of intestinal C. difficile colonization. In addition, a 1-point study involving 85 healthy infants (age, 0-3 years) from 2 day nurseries was performed. C. difficile isolates were typed by polymerase chain reaction-ribotyping and analyzed for the presence of toxin genes. RESULTS During the follow-up study, all infants acquired C. difficile and were colonized for several months. An early (neonatal) and a late (4-6 months of age) acquisition period were identified. In day nurseries, 38 infants (45%) carried C. difficile, with 11 (13%) carrying a toxigenic isolate. Age and several environmental factors were associated with the C. difficile carrier state. Strains causing disease in adults were identified in infants. Interestingly, no infant carried the common epidemic 027 or 078 strains. CONCLUSIONS This study provides information on the dynamics of colonization in infants in the community and on the genotype of involved strains. C. difficile colonization appears mainly as an age-dependent process. Pathogenic strains circulate in asymptomatic infants from the community, who represent a potential reservoir of pathogenic strains.
Look Closer . . . I Am Not “Just Shy”

Early recognition, assessment, and treatment of social anxiety disorder are criteria to prevent persistent functional impairment in educational and occupational settings and in relationships. Individuals who avoid social settings due to the fear of embarrassment miss out on activities, learning opportunities, and interactions with others. Those who work with children in schools or health care settings are in an ideal position to help those who often don’t have a voice. The 2013 updated NICE guideline, Social Anxiety Disorder: Recognition, Assessment and Treatment, has been critically reviewed and applied to a case study. The guideline is intended to provide evidence-based best practice advice for providers on how to recognize, complete assessments of, and treat social anxiety disorder.
Clinical and electrophysiological studies of human immunodeficiency virus—seropositive men without AIDS

Motor weakness and ataxia of lower limbs and abnormalities of somatosensory evoked potentials occur in many patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). We studied 15 human immunodeficiency virus‐seropositive subjects without AIDS and found no clinical neurological abnormalities. The mean latency of the brainstem auditory evoked potential (peak V) was increased, suggesting a central defect. Despite normal peripheral nerve conduction along the tibial nerve, the mean latency of the spinal cord potential of the twelfth thoracic vertebra was increased compared with normal, possibly indicating an incipient conduction defect at or near the spinal root ganglion or lumbar spinal cord.
The ESAT6 protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis induces apoptosis of macrophages by activating caspase expression

The secreted Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein, ESAT6, has been studied extensively in pathogenicity and vaccine experiments. Despite these studies little is known about the function of this protein. In this report, we demonstrate that ESAT6 induces apoptosis in THP‐1 human macrophages using fluorescein isothiocyanate‐Annexin V and intracellular caspase staining. We show that the induction of apoptosis by ESAT6 is dependent on the dose of the protein and the expression of caspase genes. Using real‐time RT‐PCR, we found that expression of caspase‐1, ‐3, ‐5, ‐7 and ‐8 genes was upregulated in cells treated with ESAT6 relative to untreated cells. Furthermore, we show that while infection of THP‐1 cells with wild‐type M. tuberculosis strain H37Rv resulted in significant apoptosis 48 h post infection, a deletion mutant that does not express ESAT6 failed to induce significant apoptosis. Finally, experimental results using a cell impermeable fluorescent stain suggests that the formation of membrane pores may be a primary mechanism by which ESAT6 evokes an apoptotic response.
A systematic approach to the construction of bandwidth-efficient multidimensional trellis codes

We present a unified approach to the construction of multidimensional trellis codes that have small constellation expansion ratio (CER) and small peak-to-average power ratio (PAR) and hence are of high bandwidth efficiency. In the approach, we extend Wei's (1987) construction to dimensionalities other than a power of two and propose a low-complexity encoder. We also present a general partition technique that gives geometrically uniform partitions with a good distance profile. The proposed method can generate many good codes including previously reported Ungerboeck codes, Gallager-Calderbank-Sloane codes, and Wei codes with quadrature amplitude modulation signals. Some newly discovered six-dimensional trellis codes are compared with these known codes on their CER, PAR, effective coding gain, and encoder/decoder complexities.
A Prospective, Randomized Trial of Intrathecal Injection vs. Epidural Infusion in the Selection of Patients for Continuous Intrathecal Opioid Therapy

The objective of this study was to compare the cost and safety of intrathecal injection (IN) vs. epidural infusion (CE) trial and to provide a preliminary assessment of the prognostic value of each in the selection of patients for long‐term continuous intrathecal opioid therapy (CIOT). Thirty‐seven patients with chronic nonmalignant pain who were being considered for CIOT were randomized to morphine trial by IN or CE. Analgesic response and complications were monitored throughout trial. Sixty‐seven percent of IN (12/18) and 79% (15/19) of CE subjects reported good pain relief (defined as ≥ 50% pain reduction) and were implanted with a permanent infusion system. Eighty‐nine percent (24/27) of subjects provided six‐month CIOT follow‐up data. Cost of trial and health care utilization during six months of CIOT were compared between groups. Analgesic and functional response during CIOT was also compared between IN and CE groups. The cost of IN trial was significantly less than CE trial (p < 0.001). Complications were generally mild in both groups, although opioid‐related side effects tended to be more common in the IN group. Successful pain relief after six months of CIOT was reported by 10 (60%) and 14 (64%) patients who underwent IN and CE trial, respectively (p = 0.32; Fisher's exact test). There was no difference between IN and CE groups in McGill Pain rating, quality of life (VAS), mood (Profile of Mood States), or function (Sickness Impact Profile) after six months of CIOT. We conclude that intrathecal injection is a safe procedure for use in selection of patients for CIOT and is less costly than epidural infusion. Differences in pain and functional response to long‐term opioids among patients selected by either trial method are not large.
Evidence-based Guidelines for the Management of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency After Pancreatic Surgery

Objective: To provide evidence-based recommendations for the management of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) after pancreatic surgery. Background: EPI is a common complication after pancreatic surgery but there is certain confusion about its frequency, optimal methods of diagnosis, and when and how to treat these patients. Methods: Eighteen multidisciplinary reviewers performed a systematic review on 10 predefined questions following the GRADE methodology. Six external expert referees reviewed the retrieved information. Members from Spanish Association of Pancreatology were invited to suggest modifications and voted for the quantification of agreement. Results: These guidelines analyze the definition of EPI after pancreatic surgery, (one question), its frequency after specific techniques and underlying disease (four questions), its clinical consequences (one question), diagnosis (one question), when and how to treat postsurgical EPI (two questions) and its impact on the quality of life (one question). Eleven statements answering those 10 questions were provided: one (9.1%) was rated as a strong recommendation according to GRADE, three (27.3%) as moderate and seven (63.6%) as weak. All statements had strong agreement. Conclusions: EPI is a frequent but under-recognized complication of pancreatic surgery. These guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for the definition, diagnosis, and management of EPI after pancreatic surgery.
Three-factor asset pricing model and portfolio holdings of foreign investors: evidence from an emerging market – Borsa Istanbul

This article contributes to the asset pricing literature by offering an alternative missing factor: the excess holdings of foreign investors. To incorporate this factor, we mimic the portfolio of foreign investors in Borsa Istanbul (BIST) with respect to portfolio preferences (foreign ownership) using the Fama and French’s three-factor model. Our findings suggest that market factor, size, and book-to-market (B/M) variables are still statistically significant and Jensen’s alpha is still not significant, and we obtain a statistically significant negative relationship between the excess return of foreign investors’ ownership and the return variation of a given portfolio.
Insulin-mimetic effect of (-) epicatechin on osmotic fragility of human erythrocytes.

(-) Epicatechin, a benzopyran extracted from the bark of Pterocarpus marsupium, is reported to have insulin like activity. The present work is undertaken to study the effect of insulin on erythrocyte osmotic fragility (OF) and then to evaluate the insulin-like role of (-) epicatechin on human erythrocytes. Insulin exerts a protective effect on erythrocyte OF and shows a dose response which is similar to other typical insulin effects i.e. a maximum at 0.1 nM and a lower effect at higher and lower concentration. (-) Epicatechin (1 mM) also shows protective effect, similar to insulin, on the OF. Ouabain (1 mM) has completely abolished the insulin effect on OF, and failed to have any effect on the action of (-) epicatechin, showing that (-) epicatechin and insulin act by a different mechanism of action while eliciting their protective effects on red cell OF.