Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical indicators of progression in psoriatic arthritis: multivariate relative risk model.

OBJECTIVE To identify markers for severe disease in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). METHODS Patients with PsA followed prospectively according to a standard protocol over 14 years were included. Clinical and laboratory assessments of both active inflammation and clinical damage were performed at 6-month intervals according to a standard protocol. The information was entered into a computer database. Progression in damage was defined as transitions between damage states based on the number of damaged joints. Both univariate and multivariate models were developed to identify predictors for progression of damage. RESULTS The best model available, based on patient characteristics at the time of being first seen in the psoriatic arthritis clinic suggests that a high number of effusions and of past medications predicts progression in damage, whereas a low sedimentation rate "protects" from such progression. CONCLUSIONS Evidence of significant inflammation at first visit predicts progression of damage in the future, suggesting that patients with PsA should be offered more aggressive treatment early in the course of their disease.
Unassisted detection of depression by GPs: who is most likely to be misclassified?

BACKGROUND Meta-analyses indicate 50% of cases of depression are not detected by GPs. It is important to examine patient and GP characteristics associated with misclassification so that systems can be improved to increase accurate detection and optimal management for groups at risk of depression. OBJECTIVE To examine patient and GP characteristics associated with GP misclassification of depression for patients classified by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 as depressed. METHODS A cross-sectional study within general practices in two states of Australia. GPs completed a one-page paper and pencil survey indicating whether they thought each patient was clinically depressed. Patients completed a computer tablet survey while waiting for their appointment to provide demographic information and indicate depression status. Chi-square analyses were used to determine whether patient and GP characteristics were associated with a false-negative and false-positive result. The probability of misclassification was modelled using Generalized Estimating Equations to account for clustering of patients. RESULTS Fifty GPs from 12 practices participated. GPs completed surveys for 1880 patients. Younger patients aged 25-44, and those with a health care card were less likely to have a false-negative assessment. Patients with 0-3 GP visits in the past 12 months, and those with private health insurance were less likely to have a false-positive assessment. GPs who worked five sessions or fewer per week were more likely to make false-positive assessments.
Injury Severity Score versus New Injury Severity Score for Penetrating Injuries

Abstract Introduction: The New Injury Severity Score (NISS) was introduced in 1997 to improve outcome prediction based on anatomical severity scoring in trauma victims. Studies on populations of blunt trauma victims indicate that the NISS, predicts better than the Injury Severity Score (ISS) mortality post-injury, which is why the NISS has been recommended as the new “gold standard” for severity scoring. However, so far the accuracy of the NISS for penetrating injuries has not been validated against the ISS. Methods: ISS and NISS scores were collected retrospectively for 1,787 war-and landmine victims in North Iraq. All victims only had penetrating injuries. The two tests were compared for prediction of short-term mortality and post-operative complications using Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis. Results: Both the ISS and the NISS predicted mortality with high accuracy (ROC area under curve 0.9). There were no significant differences between the two tests. The predictive accuracy for post-operative complications was moderate for both tests (ROC-AUC <0.8), with the NISS performing significantly better than the ISS. Conclusion: The NISS does not perform better than the ISS in penetrating injuries. However, this study was done on a low-risk trauma population, thus the results should not be extrapolated to high severity trauma. Due to statistical shortcomings in studies previously published, studies on far larger cohorts are necessary before the NISS should be adopted as the new “gold standard” for severity scoring.
The brokerage role of supporting organizations inside clusters: how does it work?

ABSTRACT The objective of this research is to examine in depth the brokerage roles that supporting institutions play in conducting local business and applying technical knowledge inside clusters. We identify three main roles: a coordination role, characterized by the efforts that organizations play in internally coordinating themselves and establishing a shared institutional framework; an interconnector role, where organizations foster communication along the value chain of the industry; and a gatekeeper role that allows organizations to connect cluster members with external networks. Results obtained in the Toy Valley cluster provide evidence that each kind of supporting organization tends to specialize in specific roles, since universities are best for a coordination role with regard to technical knowledge while private organizations are key for vertical communication and coordination. Similar results were obtained when analysing the extra-cluster contacts that these organizations develop as gatekeepers, as they tend to establish specific communication conduits with similar alters in external networks.
Business Model Innovation for Sustainable Performance in Retail and Hospitality Industries

In the service sector, technological innovation is typically dominated by suppliers, and hence involves external knowledge that can be easily acquired and imitated by competitors. However, innovation that can sustain superior performance in retail and hospitality firms tends to be internal and non-technical, involving business models. Building on the perspectives of the resource-based view and dynamic capability, this study aims to understand how industry turbulence in retail and hospitality affects the sustainable competitive advantage of the firms operating in these service industries. Based on a quantitative study of 214 retail and food services companies, our study has empirically demonstrated that firms operating in an industry with high turbulence have a higher probability of achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. Second, our findings establish that a firm’s business model innovation (BMI) activities partially mediate this positive relationship. This suggests that BMI plays a role in enhancing the firm’s ability to address the challenges of the present, as well as prepare itself to adapt to the industry evolution and revolution of the future. BMI not only influences the acquisition and application of external innovations, it also affects the generation of internal innovations.
Relationship Between Upper Body Anaerobic Power and Freestyle Swimming Performance

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of upper body anaerobic power, as measured by the Wingate Anaerobic Arm Test (WAAT), in 50-m sprint swim performance. Thirty competitive age-group swimmers (14 males and 16 females) participated in this investigation. Subjects had been training daily for 5 months prior to the study, swimming an average of 6,000 m.d-1, 6 d.wk-1. Swimmers performed a WAAT and a 50-m time-trial. Peak power (PP), mean power (MP) and fatigue index (FI) were determined for the WAAT. Subjects also reported their current competition performances for all distances up to 400 m. Significant relationships were obtained between swim speed over 50 m (S50) and PP (r = 0.82, p less than 0.001), S50 and MP (r = 0.83, p less than 0.001), and S50 and FI (r = 0.41, p less than 0.05). PP and MP showed significant but generally decreasing correlations with swim speed as distance increased. Substantial relationships (r = 0.74-0.96, p less than 0.001) were found between S50 and swim speeds over distances up to and including 400 m. This study shows a strong relationship exists between upper body anaerobic power, as measured by the WAAT, and performance in both sprint and longer distance (400 m) swim events. The WAAT may serve as a useful tool for coaches to objectively evaluate and monitor the upper body anaerobic power of competitive swimmers.
Improvement of Prediction Accuracy Using Discretization and Voting Classifier

There are many examples of classification algorithms developed so far for data analysis, pattern recognition, scene analysis and learning from graphical models. Being motivated by the works of a number of researchers, here the author have tried to improve the prediction accuracy by first discretizing the real world dataset and then applying a voting classifier on the discretized dataset. In this work, continuous dataset from the raw real world dataset having missing attribute values have been generated and discretized the dataset using SPID 3 algorithm. Then naive-Bayesian classifier has been implemented to apply it on the continuous and discretized dataset. Finally, an ensemble learner (Ada-boost algorithm) has been developed where the naive Bayesian classifier has been used as the base learner of the ensemble. The extensive empirical results over the twenty real world datasets show that the prediction accuracy can be increased by the joint performance of discretization and voting classifier
State Pension Funds and Corporate Social Responsibility: Do Beneficiaries’ Political Values Influence Funds’ Investment Decisions?

This study explores the underlying drivers of US public pension funds’ tendency to tilt their portfolios towards companies with stronger corporate social responsibility (CSR). Studying the equity holdings of large, internally managed US state pension funds, we find evidence that the political leaning of their beneficiaries and political pressures by state politicians affect funds’ investment decisions. State pension funds from states with Democratic-leaning beneficiaries tilt their portfolios more strongly towards companies that perform well on CSR issues, and this tendency is intensified when the state government is dominated by Democratic state politicians. Moreover, we find that funds which tilt their portfolios towards companies with superior CSR scores generate a slightly higher return compared with their counterparts. Overall, our findings indicate that funds align their investment choices with the financial and non-financial interests of their beneficiaries when deciding whether to incorporate CSR into their equity allocations.
Viewing presidential televised debates and civic engagement in Korea

This study examines the effects of viewing televised debates on political engagement. Voters consume information while viewing television debates, which can affect political engagement in a positive manner. Examining the effects of debates on political engagement, we analyze panel survey data from the 2012 Korean presidential election. According to the results, voters who view more televised debates are more likely to search for information and discuss political issues with others. The results provide evidence that viewing televised debates tends to enhance civic engagement.
Preclinical and clinical studies of bone marrow uptake of fluorine-1-fluorodeoxyglucose with or without granulocyte colony-stimulating factor during chemotherapy.

PURPOSE To evaluate the effect of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on bone marrow glucose metabolism in rodents and in patients, as assessed by 2-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) uptake measured directly or by positron-emission tomography (PET) scanning. MATERIALS AND METHODS Groups of three rats received either daily saline, G-CSF, or GM-CSF injections for 7 days. After treatment, FDG was injected and F-18 activities in tissues measured 1 hour later. Twenty-two breast cancer patients treated with multiagent chemotherapy were sequentially studied with PET. Eleven patients received G-CSF therapy as an adjunct to chemotherapy, while 11 received chemotherapy only. The standardized uptake value-lean (SUL) of bone marrow FDG uptake was measured and compared. RESULTS In rats, bone marrow F-18 activity was significantly higher in both CSF groups than in the saline group (G-CSF, 0.44 +/- 0.08; GM-CSF, 0.33 +/- 0.02; saline, 0.18 +/- 0.02% injected dose [ID]/g x kg; P < .05), but the other normal tissues had comparable biodistributions to controls. In breast cancer patients, the FDG uptake of bone marrow did not change with chemotherapy alone; however, marrow uptake was increased after treatment with G-CSF. The dose of G-CSF and duration of treatment were correlated with the extent of increase in FDG uptake. The SUL of bone marrow was as follows: baseline, 1.56 +/- 0.23; after one cycle, 3.13 +/- 1.40 (P < .01); after two cycles, 2.22 +/- 0.85 (P < .05); and after three cycles, 2.14 +/- 0.79 (P < .05), respectively. Although the FDG uptake of bone marrow declined after G-CSF treatment was completed, it was higher than the baseline level for up to 4 weeks postcompletion of G-CSF and the elevated marrow FDG uptake was sustained longer than the period of blood neutrophil count elevation. CONCLUSION Substantial increases in bone marrow FDG uptake are rapidly induced by CSF treatments and should not be misinterpreted as diffuse bone marrow metastases.
Delaying the American Board of Emergency Medicine qualifying examination is associated with poorer performance.

OBJECTIVES The initial step in certification by the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) requires passing a multiple-choice-question qualifying examination. The qualifying examination is typically taken in the first year after residency training. This study was undertaken to determine if a delay in taking the qualifying examination is associated with poorer performance. The authors also examined the relationship between in-training examination scores and qualifying examination scores. METHODS This was a pooled time-series cross-section study. Primary measurements were initial qualifying examination scores, the timing of the qualifying examination, and in-training examination scores. The three groups, based on qualifying examination timing, were immediate, 1-year delay, and ≥2-year delay. In-training examination scores were analyzed to determine the relationship between intrinsic ability, examination timing, and qualifying examination scores. For analysis, a generic pooled ordinary least-squares dummy variable model with robust standard errors was used. A pre hoc level of significance was determined to be α < 0.01. RESULTS There were 16,353 qualifying examination test administrations between 2000 and 2012. In-training examination scores were positively correlated with qualifying examination scores (p < 0.001). The group pass rates were 98.9% immediate, 95.6% 1-year delay, and 86.6% ≥2-year delay. After controlling for in-training examination scores, delay taking the qualifying examination of 1 year was associated with a decrease in score of -0.6 (p = 0.003). A delay in taking the qualifying examination ≥2 years was associated with a decrease in score of -2.5 points (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS After accounting for innate ability using in-training examination scores, delay taking the qualifying examination was associated with poorer performance. This effect was more pronounced if the delay was ≥2 years.
The Common Core State Standards and the Elementary Social Studies Curriculum: A Case Study of Teacher Perceptions in Florida

The most recent phase of curriculum reform in the era of accountability is the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) which have essentially reshaped the landscape of public education. Its objective of preparing K-12 students for college and career upon high school graduation have prioritized English language arts, mathematics, and science over social studies, which is not part of widespread high-stakes testing for elementary students. This qualitative case study investigated eleven intermediate elementary teachers’ perceptions of alignment between CCSS and the elementary social studies curriculum. Data gathering analysis included two semistructured interviews and an archival analysis of the mandated curriculum. The data revealed that perceptions of alignment vary among teachers and were influenced by the perceived effects of inadequate instructional time and resources, lack of content knowledge, and insufficient district levels of professional support. Teachers perceived some similarities between the methods of thinking skills, such as historical thinking and higher-order thinking, and the English/Language Arts standards of the Common Core and their district social studies curriculum. Despite perceived inadequate instructional time and resources, teachers believed that elementary social studies must be an instructional priority and found ways to include social studies through interdisciplinary approaches. Recommendations include district-level professional development focused on an integration between CCSS and social studies modeled in classroom practices. These approaches may improve use of instructional time and resources and reduce the marginalization of elementary social studies.
Blood levels of vitamin C, carotenoids and retinol are inversely associated with cataract in a North Indian population.

PURPOSE To examine the association of blood antioxidants with cataract. METHODS Cross-sectional study of people aged >or=50 years identified from a household enumeration of 11 randomly sampled villages in North India. Participants were interviewed for putative risk factors (tobacco, alcohol, biomass fuel use, sunlight exposure, and socioeconomic status) and underwent lens photography and blood sampling. Lens photographs (nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular) were graded according to the Lens Opacities Classification System (LOCS II). Cataract was defined as LOCS II grade >or=2 for any opacity or ungradable, because of dense opacification or history of cataract surgery. People without cataract were defined as LOCS II <2 on all three types of opacity, with absence of previous surgery. RESULTS Of 1443 people aged >or=50 years, 94% were interviewed, 87% attended an eye examination, and 78% gave a blood sample; 1112 (77%) were included in the analyses. Compared with levels in Western populations, antioxidants were low, especially vitamin C. Vitamin C was inversely associated with cataract. Odds ratios (OR) for the highest (>or=15 micromol/L) compared with the lowest (<or=6.3 micromol/L) tertile were 0.64, (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.48-0.85; P < 0.01). Tertiles of zeaxanthin (P < 0.03), alpha-carotene (P < 0.05), and retinol (P < 0.02) were associated with decreased odds of cataract. In analysis of continuous data, significant inverse associations were found for vitamin C, zeaxanthin, lutein, lycopene, alpha- and beta-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin, but not for alpha- or gamma-tocopherol. CONCLUSIONS Inverse associations were found between cataract and blood antioxidants in an antioxidant-depleted study sample.
Minimum Age Requirements and the Impact of School Choice

Using several data sources from Chile, we study the impact of school choice at the time of starting primary school. To study the contribution of school choice, we exploit the combination of multiple cutoffs defining the minimum age at entry, and the difference across municipalities in the composition of the schools according to these cutoffs. Children living in the same municipality, and whose birthday differs by a few days not only have their incentives to delay school entry affected, but also face, in case of not delaying, a different set of schools. We show that a larger set of schools increases the probability of starting in a better school, measured by non high-stakes examination. Moreover, this quasi-experimental variation reveals an important reduction in the likelihood of dropping out, and a reduction in the probability that a child would switch schools during her/his school life. Secondly, for a subsample of students who have completed high school, we observe that a larger school choice at the start of primary school increases students' chance of taking the national examination required for higher education and the likelihood of being enrolled in a selective college.
Symptom onset in autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease

Objective: To identify factors influencing age at symptom onset and disease course in autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease (ADAD), and develop evidence-based criteria for predicting symptom onset in ADAD. Methods: We have collected individual-level data on ages at symptom onset and death from 387 ADAD pedigrees, compiled from 137 peer-reviewed publications, the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) database, and 2 large kindreds of Colombian (PSEN1 E280A) and Volga German (PSEN2 N141I) ancestry. Our combined dataset includes 3,275 individuals, of whom 1,307 were affected by ADAD with known age at symptom onset. We assessed the relative contributions of several factors in influencing age at onset, including parental age at onset, age at onset by mutation type and family, and APOE genotype and sex. We additionally performed survival analysis using data on symptom onset collected from 183 ADAD mutation carriers followed longitudinally in the DIAN Study. Results: We report summary statistics on age at onset and disease course for 174 ADAD mutations, and discover strong and highly significant (p < 10−16, r2 > 0.38) correlations between individual age at symptom onset and predicted values based on parental age at onset and mean ages at onset by mutation type and family, which persist after controlling for APOE genotype and sex. Conclusions: Significant proportions of the observed variance in age at symptom onset in ADAD can be explained by family history and mutation type, providing empirical support for use of these data to estimate onset in clinical research.
Dosimetry and risk from low‐ versus high‐LET radiation of Auger events and the role of nuclide carriers

Purpose: To analyse the lethality to mammalian cells of 125I‐decays in DNA, in antipyrine in the whole cell and in oligodeoxynucleotides in the nucleus outside DNA as a function of Auger event‐site and number. Materials and methods: Auger events cause both low‐ and high‐linear energy transfer energy depositions including charge neutralization at the daughter nuclide. Microdosimetry allows the expression of absorbed dose to a defined micromass and the number of such events at given sites. Published data were used to relate micromass dose and event number to the dose to reduce survival to 37% of the initial survival (D37). Results: The D37 of 125I‐decays in DNA was 0.1 Gy in terms of absorbed dose to the cell nucleus and about 30 in terms of average decays per nucleus or whole cell. The D37 of 125I‐decays in antipyrine was 1.5 Gy for absorbed dose to the cell nucleus, about 250 in terms of average decays per nucleus and about 2×103 for average decays per whole cell. 125I‐decays in oligodeoxynucleotides were much less toxic than 125I‐decays in antipyrine by a factor of about 25 in terms of average absorbed dose to the cell nucleus, by a factor or about 40 in terms of average decays per cell nucleus and by a factor of six in terms of average decays per whole cell. Conclusion: The unexpected low toxicity of 125I‐decays in nuclear oligodeoxynucleotides outside the DNA in comparison with 125I‐decays in antipyrine in the nucleus or the whole cell demands further attention on the role of oligodeoxynucleotides in altering cellular radiation sensitivity.