Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Degenerative Spondylolisthesis Does Not Affect the Outcome of Unilateral Laminotomy With Bilateral Decompression in Patients With Lumbar Stenosis

Study Design. Prospective subcohort study. Objective. To determine whether preoperative presence of degenerative spondylolisthesis worsens the outcome of patients undergoing unilateral laminotomy with bilateral decompression for lumbar stenosis. Summary of Background Data. The standard surgical treatment for degenerative spondylolisthesis with lumbar stenosis is lumbar fusion after standard laminectomy. Although this strategy is widely adopted, it is not supported by class I evidence. This strategy assumes that degenerative spondylolisthesis worsens the outcome of laminectomy by causing postoperative instability. However, instability may be reduced or prevented by the use of less invasive decompression techniques. Methods. To test the hypothesis that preoperative degenerative spondylolisthesis worsens the outcome of less invasive lumbar decompression, we performed a prospective cohort study of 165 consecutive patients who underwent unilateral laminotomy with bilateral decompression at our institution. The patients were prospectively followed with a standardized questionnaire, 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, and standing lumbar radiographs for a maximum follow-up period of 5 years. According to the presence or absence of degenerative spondylolisthesis, the patients were divided into 2 groups: an olisthesis group and a nonolisthesis group. Results. The average 36-Item Short Form Health Survey physical score and bodily pain score improved substantially immediately after surgery. This improvement was maintained up to 5 years postoperatively. Progression of slippage was uncommon in both groups, with an overall incidence of 8% at 5 years of follow-up. There was no significant difference in the average physical score, the bodily pain score, or the rate of progression of slippage between the olisthesis and nonolisthesis groups. Conclusion. Our study thus indicates that preoperative degenerative spondylolisthesis does not worsen the outcome of patients with lumbar stenosis undergoing unilateral laminotomy with bilateral decompression. These results suggest that lumbar fusion is often unnecessary in patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis and lumbar stenosis if the posterior decompression technique is unilateral laminotomy with bilateral decompression. Level of Evidence: 2
Repositioning and Cost-Cutting: The Impact of Competition on Platform Strategies

Organizational structures are increasingly complex. In particular, more firms today operate as multisided platforms. In this paper, we study how platform firms use repositioning and cost-cutting in response to competition, elucidate external and internal factors that constrain or enable these responses, and examine how the firms’ responses affect their performance. Our empirical context is the U.S. newspaper industry, which has experienced increased competition following the entry of Craigslist, an online provider of classified ads. We find that when Craigslist enters a newspaper’s market, the newspaper repositions itself away from other newspapers by changing its content. This results in greater differentiation between newspapers in a market, but occurs primarily in markets in which reader preferences are heterogeneous. When reader preferences are homogeneous, newspapers are more likely to engage in cost-cutting. Both responses are more pronounced for newspaper firms whose sister firms have already exper.
Effect of Boschniakia rossica on expression of GST-P, p53 and p21(ras)proteins in early stage of chemical hepatocarcinogenesis and its anti-inflammatory activities in rats.

AIM:To investigate the effect of Boschniakia rossica (BR) extract on expression of GST-P, p53 and p21(ras) proteins in early stage of chemical hepatocarcinogenesis in rats and its anti-inflammatory activities.METHODS:The expression of tumor marker-placental form glutathione S-transferase (GST-P), p53 and p21(ras) proteins were investigated by immunohisto-chemical techniques and ABC method. Anti-inflammatory activities of BR were studied by xylene and croton oil-induced mouse ear edema, carrageenin, histamine and hot scald-induced rat pow edema, adjuvant-induced rat arthritis and cotton pellet induced mouse granuloma formation methods.RESULTS:The 500mg/kg of BR-H2O extract frac-tionated from BR-Methanol extract had inhibitory effect on the formation of DEN-induced GST-P-positive foci in rat liver (GST-P staining was 78% positive in DEN+AAF group vs 20% positive in DEN+AAF+BR group, P<0.05) and the expression of mutant p53 and p21(ras) protein was lower than that of hepatic preneoplastic lesions (33% and 22% positive respectively in DEN+AAF group vs negative in DEN+AAF+BR group). Both CH(2)Cl(2) and H(2)O extracts from BR had anti-inflamatory effect in xylene and crotonoil induced mouse ear edema (inhibitory rates were 26%-29% and 35%-59%, respectively). BR H(2)O extract exhibited inhibitory effect in carrageenin, histamine and hot scald-induced hind paw edema and adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats and cotton pellet-induced granuloma formation in mice.CONCLUSION:BR extract exhibited inhibitory effect on formation of preneoplastic hepatic foci in early stage of rat chemical hepato-carcinogenesis.Both CH(2)Cl(2) and H(2)O extracts from BR exerted anti-inflammatory effect in rats and mice.
Suspected zoonotic transmission of rotavirus group A in Danish adults

SUMMARY Group A rotaviruses infect humans and a variety of animals. In July 2006 a rare rotavirus strain with G8P[14] specificity was identified in the stool samples of two adult patients with diarrheoa, who lived in the same geographical area in Denmark. Nucleotide sequences of the VP7, VP4, VP6, and NSP4 genes of the identified strains were identical. Phylogenetic analyses showed that both Danish G8P[14] strains clustered with rotaviruses of animal, mainly, bovine and caprine, origin. The high genetic relatedness to animal rotaviruses and the atypical epidemiological features suggest that these human G8P[14] strains were acquired through direct zoonotic transmission events.
The impact of Inward FDI on host country labour markets. A counterfactual analysis on Italian manufacturing companies

Countries are increasingly competing to attract inward foreign direct investments (FDIs) to benefit from the superior performance of the international firms. Yet there is still scant evidence about the effects of inward FDIs on the high-income countries’ industrial base. In advanced economies a specialised, skilled workforce has emerged as a pivotal economic development asset to enhance innovation capabilities. The paper aims at investigating how the use of a local, skilled workforce differs according to the firms’ ownership; being either affiliates of foreign multinationals (MNEs), or uni-national firms (firms that have neither been acquired in the period of analysis, nor have invested abroad; henceforth NATs). We empirically investigate this issue by adopting a novel database linking regional labour force characteristics with economic data on inward FDIs and NATs, operating in the manufacturing industry in the Veneto NUTS2 region (northeast of Italy) between 2007 and 2013. Descriptive statistics and counterfactual estimation have been developed, focusing on firms’ skill composition (e.g. skill level, age, gender and nationality). The results show that the two groups of firms differ in terms of workforce skill composition, and the affiliates of foreign MNEs positively impact on the regeneration of the host country’s human capital by attracting and employing a wider share of more highly skilled labour force.
Visual, Kinaesthetic and Cross-Modal Development: Relationships to Motor Skill Development

The ability of children between the ages of 5 and 10 years to match the length of lines within and between the modalities of vision and kinaesthesis was studied. No evidence was found for specific increases in cross-modal skill which could not be explained in terms of within-modal development. Performance in the perceptual task was related to measures of developing motor skill in the children. Substantial relationships were found between performance on the within-modal tasks and motor skill, but no significant relationships were found between cross-modal measures and motor skill development. It is concluded that the development of cross-modal integration is not a major determinant of motor skill development.
Olopatadine Hydrochloride and Fluticasone Propionate in Topical Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis: A Single Blind Randomised Study.

INTRODUCTION The use of corticosteroids or antihistaminics in treatment of allergic rhinitis is known and practiced since long. The efficacy of topical use of fluticasone propionate and Olopatadine Hydrochloride (HCL) for symptomatic relief of allergic rhinitis has been studied either individually or with other drugs. But very few studies show comparison between these two drugs. AIM To compare the efficacy of topical use of fluticasone propionate and olopatadine hydrochloride for symptomatic relief of allergic rhinitis. DESIGN In this single blind, randomized control study, the efficacy of topical use of olopatadine HCL was compared with fluticasone propionate for relieving symptoms of allergic rhinitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS The symptomatic cases were randomized in two groups for treatment using either olopatadine HCL or fluticasone propionate respectively. In each group, the Total Symptom Scores (TSS) and individual symptom scores were recorded before and after treatment with the help of symptom evaluation scale. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Chi-square test, unpaired t-test, Mann Witney U-test, and Wilcoxon signed Rank test were used during analysis. The results of the comparison were noted and analysed. RESULTS During four week study period both TSS and individual symptom score were reduced (p<0.05) in either groups. The TSS decreased by an average of 85.07% for those treated with olopatadine and by 95.55% for those treated with fluticasone. CONCLUSION Overall fluticasone propionate was superior to olopatadine in relieving symptoms of allergic rhinitis (p<0.005).
Weighted Lp Boundedness of Pseudodifferential Operators and Applications

Abstract In this paper we prove weighted norm inequalities with weights in the ${{A}_{p}}$ classes, for pseudodifferential operators with symbols in the class $S_{\rho ,\delta }^{n(\rho -1)}$ that fall outside the scope of Calderón–Zygmund theory. This is accomplished by controlling the sharp function of the pseudodifferential operator by Hardy–Littlewood type maximal functions. Our weighted norm inequalities also yield ${{L}^{p}}$ boundedness of commutators of functions of bounded mean oscillation with a wide class of operators in $\text{OPS}_{\rho ,\delta }^{m}$ .
Trends in Adjuvant and Neoadjuvant Radiotherapy for Cancer Treatment From 1973 to 2011

PurposeCancer care is becoming increasingly complicated, in particular with the integration of radiation and surgery. Institutions may need to increase coordination between multidisciplinary clinical teams to optimize patient care. This study examines historical trends in adjuvant and neoadjuvant radiation therapy (ANRT) before or after cancer-directed surgery to identify disease sites that may benefit from coordinated care. MethodsThe Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was queried to identify patients with bladder cancer; breast cancer; cervical cancer; colorectal cancer; kidney cancer; cancer of the lung, bronchus, and pleura; lymphoma; melanoma; cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx; ovarian cancer; pancreatic cancer; prostate cancer; thyroid cancer; and uterine cancer from 1973 to 2011. Number and percentage of patients who received ANRT were calculated from 1973 to 2011. ResultsAdjuvant and neoadjuvant radiation therapy usage increased from 14% in 1973 to 19% in 2011. Adjuvant and neoadjuvant radiation therapy use for breast, oral cavity/pharynx, and thyroid cancers increased from 24%, 16%, and 9% in 1973 to 53%, 32%, and 46% in 2011, respectively. Changes in ANRT were seen in gynecologic and genitourinary cancers, with increased use of ANRT in cervical cancer and declines in uterine, ovarian, bladder, prostate, and kidney cancers. There were minimal changes in ANRT usage for patients within other diagnosis groups. DiscussionOverall usage of ANRT is increasing over time, with increased need for coordinated care in breast and head and neck cancers. Adjuvant and neoadjuvant radiation therapy in genitourinary and gynecologic cancers is undergoing significant change.
Spectral Energy Balance in Convective Boundary Layers

In his pioneering 1941 papers, Kolmogorov derived that the energy spectrum follows a universial form within a range of wavenumbers removed from both the forcing and dissipation and depending only on the wavenumber and the rate of dissipation. Analysis of the spectral kinetic energy budget can help explain the dynamics of the energy spectrum. Each term in this budget, representing nonlinear transfer, external forcing, and viscous dissipation, have been extensively studied in the idealised triply periodic case. In this thesis we apply these ideas to the study of convective boundary layer turbulence for both the dry and moist cases. To this end, the large-eddy simulation technique is employed to numerically integrate the anelastic Navier-Stokes equations. Each term in the spectral budget is computed and dependence on surface heating and water vapour flux, grid resolution, and domain size is investigated. It is found that the buoyancy term acts as a relatively large-scale forcing, i.e. horizontal scales of the boundary layer thickness. Energy at large-scales is then transfered to small scales by the nonlinear term where it is then removed through dissipation. This down-scale energy transfer is consistent with three-dimensional turbulence theory. It is also found however that the forcing term, while peaked at large-scales, actually extends all the way to the small scales. Also, despite increases in resolution, the transfer spectrum exhibited no range of constant spectral flux. Both of these results indicate that the convective boundary layer setup differs from the assumptions used in deriving the -5/3 inertial range scaling. Indeed, the kinetic energy spectrum itself did not exhibit an exact -5/3 scaling in the present study. Instead the spectrum was found to follow a shallower power law closer to -4/3, likely as a result of the broad spectrum of buoyancy flux.
Investigating Indian Car Buyers’ Decision to Use Digital Marketing Communication: An Empirical Application of Decomposed TPB

Digital marketing communication has affected consumer behaviour across product categories like books, music, fashion accessories, clothing, banking, online gaming, and so on. However, the automobile industry, despite being one of the largest digital spenders in India for past many years, has faced a dearth of academic studies. The objective of the research is to investigate the Indian car buyers’ decision to use digital marketing communication while buying a car using Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour model (DTPB). Data was collected from 801 actual and potential car buyers from Delhi. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the overall fit and explanatory power of the model. The DTPB model successfully explained 63 per cent of the variation in usage intentions. Attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control were found to be the significant determinants affecting usage intentions and actual usage of digital marketing communication.
Differential expression of proteins in renal cortex and medulla: a proteomic approach.

BACKGROUND Western blotting has previously been used to identify changes in protein expression in renal tissue. However, only a few proteins can be studied in each experiment by Western blot. We have used proteomic tools to construct protein maps of rat kidney cortex and medulla. METHODS Expression of proteins was determined by silver stain after two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE). Protein spots were excised and digested with trypsin. Peptide masses were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The Mascot search engine was used to analyze the peptide masses and identify the proteins. RESULTS Seventy-two proteins were identified (54 unique proteins) out of approximately 1000 spots visualized on each gel. Most of the spots were expressed both in cortex and medulla. Of the identified proteins, three were expressed only in medulla and one only in cortex. Nine proteins were expressed in both regions but to a greater extent in cortex and three proteins were expressed more in medulla. Differential expression was confirmed for three proteins by Western blot. CONCLUSIONS A large group of proteins and their relative expression levels from cortical and medullary portions of rat kidneys were found. Sixteen proteins are differentially expressed. Proteomics can be used to identify differential expression of proteins in the kidney on a large scale. Proteomics should be useful to detect changes in renal protein expression in response to a large range of physiological and pathophysiological stimuli.
Silencing of the integrin-linked kinase gene induces the apoptosis in ovarian carcinoma

Context: Integrin-linked kinase (ILK), a multidomain focal adhesion protein serine/threonine kinase, plays an essential role in ovarian carcinoma. There are reports that the expression and activity of ILK are increased in ovarian cancer. Objective: To test the hypothesis that ILK pathway mediates the apoptosis of ovarian carcinoma SKOV3 cell influencing the cell survival, we performed these studies. Materials and methods: We applied lentivirus transfection, 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), apoptotic proteins expressions assay, and Hoechst to study our hypothesis. Results: We found that silencing of the ILK increases the cell cytotoxic, growth inhibition, and apoptosis. Moreover, after blocking the activation of ILK with ILK shRNA, up-regulation of pro-apoptotic bax expression and down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic bcl-2 expression were found in ovarian cancer SKOV3 cell line. These were associated with an increasing cleaved caspase-3 activity and chromatin condensation of cell nuclear. Furthermore, the expressions of fas and fas ligand (fasL), belonging to the tumor necrosis factor family and controlling the cell apoptosis, were also enhanced. Conclusions: Thus, these findings indicate that both the intrinsic pathway and the extrinsic death receptor pathway are involved in the process that silencing of the ILK gene induces the apoptosis in ovarian carcinoma SKOV3 cell.
Financial liberalization, financial development and economic growth: the case for South Africa

iii Acknowledgements iv Table of contents v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Context of research 1 1.2 Goal of the research 4 1.3 Research design and Methodology 5 1.4 Organization of study 6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.
A Rebalancing Chinese Economy: Challenges and International Implications

China’s twin imbalances – the high investment-to-GDP and low consumption-to-GDP ratios and the current account surplus – have been a focus of international policy discussions since the mid 2000s. Between 2000 and 2007, China’s current account surplus surged from less than 2 per cent of GDP to 10 per cent. The rise in the current account surplus was accompanied by a sharp increase in the household saving rate (31 per cent to 39 per cent of household disposable income) and in the investment share of GDP (33 per cent to 40 per cent). In the wake of China’s policy response to the global financial crisis, the investment share of GDP expanded even further, reaching 44 per cent in 2014, although the current account surplus has receded to around 2 per cent.
Confirmatory factor analysis of the Menopausal Interpretations/Perceptions Questionnaire

ObjectiveThis study aims to develop the Menopausal Interpretations/Perceptions Questionnaire (MIPQ) using confirmatory factor analysis. MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional design was used to examine the MIPQ. We recruited 228 women through mail-outs and word of mouth. The women were aged between 45 and 64 years (mean [SD], 55.6 [5.2] y) and were able to read and write English. Most were non-Hispanic white (63.4%), college-educated (74.2%), and postmenopausal (76.8%). We modified the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire to reflect menopausal perception by substituting the word “menopause” or “menopausal symptoms” for the word “illness” to develop the MIPQ. ResultsUsing confirmatory factor analysis to test the MIPQ model, we deleted 22 items that did not reflect their respective subscales (latent variable). The fit indices indicated acceptable fit (&khgr;2209 = 425.5; P = 0.000; goodness of fit = 0.96; comparative fit index = 0.93; root mean square error of approximation = 0.07; 90% CI, 0.06-0.08; Akaike information criterion = 559.5). There were significant correlations among the MIPQ constructs. Correlations between the MIPQ subscales and the Greene Climacteric Scale were significant and in the expected direction, supporting construct validity. The intercorrelations between the MIPQ subscales supported the discriminant validity of the constructs. ConclusionsThe MIPQ provides a comprehensive measure of menopausal experience to more fully understand women’s interpretations/perceptions of their experiences. Future researchers should further examine the construct validity of the MIPQ.
Salinity-induced Patterns of Natural Abundance Carbon-13 and Nitrogen-15 in Plant and Soil

Although it is estimated that salinity stress occurs in 50% of irrigated agroecosystems around the world, not much is known about its impact on C and N dynamics. This study was conducted to characterize the impact of salinity stress on natural abundance 13 C and 15 N (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) on a Lethent Clay Loam (fine, smectitic, thermic typic natrargid) in the San Joaquin Valley (California) for a nonhalophyte, C 3 plant and soil organic matter (SOM) fractions. A total of 101 plant (Littleseed Canarygrass, [Phalaris minor Retz.]) and soil samples were collected from a 10-ha area. Electrical conductivity in a 1:5 soil/ water paste (EC 1:5 ) ranged from 2.7 to 8.9 dS m -1 . The δ 13 C plant values varied from -29.8 to -24.0‰, and δ 15 N from 2.2 to 19.1‰. Average values for δ 13 C increased from -26.9‰ in the plant, to -25.3‰ in the light fraction (LF) and -24.1‰ in the SOM. Salinity explained 57% of variance in δ 13 C plant , 16% of δ 13 C LF and 6% of δ 13 C SOM , For δ 15 N, these numbers were 41, 56, and 0%, respectively. There was a clear spatial pattern match between salinity, δ 13 C plant , δ 15 N plant , and δ 15 N LF . The lack of any salinity-induced signature in total SOM probably indicates that the salinity was of recent origin. The high positive correlation between salinity and δ 15 N in crop and LF might be because of higher NH 3 volatilization caused by high pH, combined with a relative increase of NH + 4 -uptake by the plant under saline conditions. Under certain conditions, δ 13 C and δ 15 N signatures of recalcitrant SOM fractions may be used to reconstruct historic salinity patterns.