Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparing Recurrence and Complications After Laparoscopy and Laparotomy Surgery among Patients Suffering from Colorectal Cancer, Shiraz, Iran.

BACKGROUND The goal of this study was to compare the rate of recurrence and occurrence of complications in colorectal cancer patients after two kinds of laparoscopy and laparotomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS A followup study was carried out among 358 patients who suffered from colorectal cancer from 20122014. The data were gathered from colorectal research center in Shiraz, Shahid Faghihi hospital, and analyzed using the chisquare test, logistic regression, and multinomial regression. RESULTS The average age of these patients was 56.3±14.6, 55.0% being men. Moreover, 57.8% of them underwent laparoscopy surgery and 42.2% of the patients underwent laparotomysurgery and the conversion rate was 58.0% which ultimately was put under the category of laparotomy surgery. After biennial median followup, differences in the occurrence of complications such as bleeding (hemorrhage), fever, intestine blockage and wound infection in these two kinds of surgery werestatistically significant (P<0.05). However, the rate of recurrence and the patients' ultimate status (alive without disease, alive with disease, and death) did not significantly differ between these two surgery groups. CONCLUSIONS Post operation complications were laparoscopy surgery were less than those in laparotomy. However, the outcomes such as patients' ultimate status and recurrence were similar between the two groups.
EFFECT OF TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR ON HEPATIC OXIDATIVE STRESS AND ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE INDICES IN NORMAL AND PLASMODIUM YEOLII NIGERIENSIS INFECTED MICE

Background: Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis (P. y. nigeriensis) produces lethal malaria infection in Swiss albino mice. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide along with endogenously produced tumor necrosis factor (TNF) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of malaria. Objective: Study the effect of TNF on hepatic oxidative stress and antioxidant defense indices in normal and P. y. nigeriensis infected mice. Methods: Mice were divided into four groups. Normal group, TNF treated group, P. y. nigeriensis infected group, and P. y. nigeriensis infected mice treated with TNF group (250 μg/kg body weight, IP). Results: TNF treatment of normal mice caused a highly significant decrease in hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) while changes in other oxidative stress and antioxidant defense indices were nonsignificant. On the other hand, TNF treatment of P. y. nigeriensis infected mice caused a highly significant increase in hepatic xanthine oxidase, lipid peroxidation and a significant decrease in hepatic SOD with respect to infected mice. Conclusion: These results suggest that exogenous TNF acts synergistically with P. y. nigeriensis infection to generate oxidative stress in the host and also causes an impairment of antioxidant defense enzyme such as superoxide dismutase.
Risk Factors for Avascular Necrosis After Femoral Neck Fractures in Children: 25 Cincinnati Cases and Meta-analysis of 360 Cases

Purpose Avascular necrosis (AVN) is one of the most serious complications of femoral neck fractures in children. Variability in the reported rates of AVN and lack of statistical evidence has minimized the prognostic power of individual studies. The purpose of our study was to review our own cases as well as those from the literature in an effort to identify the risk factors for AVN. Methods We conducted a computerized search of medical records to identify all children with femoral neck fractures treated at our institution from 1980 to 2003. Records were reviewed to determine fracture type (Delbet type I to IV), displacement, age, treatment, and incidence of AVN. A structured search of PubMed was also performed to identify all reports published in English, on femoral neck fractures in children, from 1965 to 2003. Hand searches of major orthopedic journals and reference lists of publications identified additional cases. Of the 275 citations initially identified through our computerized search, 47 met the criteria for further evaluation. These citations were reviewed by 2 investigators, and data was abstracted from 20 reports that provided patient-level data and met our criteria for inclusion. Results Twenty-four patients with 25 femoral neck fractures from our institution were identified including 12 boys and 12 girls with an average age of 8 years (range 1.5 to 16). Over 300 patients who met our study criteria were also identified from the literature, and a total of 360 patients were included in the analysis. Fracture type, displacement, age, and treatment were all statistically significant independent predictors of AVN with P values ≤0.05. With logistic regression analysis, however, fracture type and age were identified as the only significant predictors of AVN. Older children were 1.14 times more likely to develop AVN for each year of increasing age. Type I to III fractures were 15, 6, and 4 times, respectively, more likely to develop AVN than type IV fractures. AVN rate by Delbet class was I=38%, II=28%, III=18%, and IV=5%. Conclusion and Significance Although several factors may contribute to the development of AVN, our meta-analysis provides statistical evidence that fracture type and age are the most significant predictors.
[Evaluation of compliance and level of knowledge of patients with hypertension living in Karaman city center, Turkey].

OBJECTIVES This descriptive study was performed in hypertensive patients to determine their level of knowledge on, and attitudes to drug use. STUDY DESIGN The study was carried out in 194 patients (144 women, 50 men) who had been on antihypertensive treatment for at least a year. The mean duration of hypertension was 6.3+/-5.7 years. Data were collected using a questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics and level of knowledge on, and attitudes to drug use. RESULTS Of the participants, 70.1% were at the age of 50 years or beyond. Fifty-six patients (28.9%) were found to have a poor compliance with drug use. Noncompliance showed a significant association with age and gender, being 43.1% and 22.8% in the age groups of <or=49 years and >or=50 years, and 34.7% and 12% in women and men, respectively. Compliance was significantly correlated with the delivery of information to the patients on the dose, the right time, and the properties of the drugs prescribed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age <or=49 years and lack of knowledge on the right time of drug intake were independent risk factors contributing to irregular drug use. The incidences of nonadherence were 2.916-fold (95% CI 1.415-6.009) and 8.964-fold (95% CI 2.164-37.127) higher in the age group of <or=49 years, and in those who did not know the right time of drug intake, respectively. CONCLUSION Poor compliance to therapy in about one-third of the patients is a critical problem. Patients with hypertension must be informed and monitored by health professionals with respect to drug use.
Third-Country Exchange Rate Volatility and Pakistan-U.S. Trade at Commodity Level

ABSTRACT We add to the literature on the “Third-Country” effect by assessing the impact of rupee-dollar volatility on 116 U.S. industries that export to Pakistan and 53 U.S. industries that import from Pakistan. As two measures of “Third-Country” effects, we include volatility measures of rupee-yuan and dollar-yuan rates due to the increased role of China in the global economy. We find evidence of “Third-Country” effects in more than half of the industries. Among affected industries are many of the large U.S. exporting industries, but not large U.S. importing industries.
The Impact of Size Bias on Empirical Research on Stock Market Anomalies: US and International Evidence

Using an international Thomson Reuters Datastream database, where size bias is minimized, we show that some specification decisions, and especially those related to size bias, may have a significant impact on asset pricing test results. We use the FF model as test case. We also show that size bias affects the optimal factor portfolio specifications. More specifically, using standard asset pricing models we encounter pricing errors for the ten percent smallest stocks. We, therefore, extend the standard 4-factor model (Carhart, 1997) by two additional risk factors (one sizeand one book-to-market factor). This 6-factor model is tested both on US and international data (with 39 countries both developed and emerging) and is able to price the entire size spectrum. We discuss the possible economic explanations of these risk premia for the smallest stocks. The fact that pricing errors are resolved by adding factors rather than characteristics, rules out data problems and information asymmetries as an explanation. Thin trading bias in the beta is also rejected as the source of abnormal returns. Liquidity remains a serious possible candidate, as is the hypothesis of additional downside risk for the smallest firms.
From strangers to partners: The role of information in the development of social exchange relationships between applicants and organizations

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I gratefully acknowledge my committee members and family without whom it would not be possible to complete this work. Table 4 Summary of regression results on establishment of self-imposed decision deadlines and length of self-imposed decision deadlines Table 7 Unstandardized indirect effect of positive diagnostic information seeking (through felt obligation) and the associated 95% confidence intervals (Study 1). Table 8 Unstandardized indirect effect of negative diagnostic information seeking (through felt obligation) and the associated 95% confidence intervals (Study 1). Table 9 Moderating effect of hiring likelihood perceptions on the effect of positive diagnostic information seeking through felt obligation Table 10 Moderating effect of hiring likelihood perceptions on the effect of negative diagnostic information seeking through felt obligation (Study 1). Table 13 Summary of regression results on establishment of self-imposed decision deadlines and length of self-imposed decision deadlines Table 15 Unstandardized indirect effect of positive diagnostic information seeking (through felt obligation) and the associated 95% confidence intervals (Study 2). viii Table 16 Unstandardized indirect effect of negative diagnostic information seeking (through felt obligation) and the associated 95% confidence intervals (Study 2). Table 17 Moderating effect of hiring likelihood perceptions on the effect of positive diagnostic information seeking through felt obligation Table 18 Moderating effect of hiring likelihood perceptions on the effect of negative diagnostic information seeking through felt obligation (Study 2). x SUMMARY Job applicants and hiring organizations bring a host of goals with them to the staffing process. This can lead to dysfunction as these goals have the potential to conflict on a within-entity basis (e.g. a job applicant has two goals that may conflict) and a between-entity basis (e.g., a job applicant's goal conflicts with an organization's goal). However, I draw upon social exchange theory to examine how organizational actions surrounding an especially valuable strategic resource during recruitment—information— might resolve the multiple conflicting goals of both organizations and job applicants. Based on social exchange theory, I argue that organizations can fulfill both their own goals as well as applicant goals by managing their provision of information-based resources (i.e., positive diagnostic information seeking) and costs (i.e., negative diagnostic information seeking) to applicants. In doing so, I theorize that organizations increase applicant levels of felt obligation which acts as a social exchange mechanism that drives applicant reciprocation of information-based resources back to the hiring organization. I identify four likely forms of applicant information-based reciprocation: the establishment of self-imposed decision …
Comparison of the short-term outcomes between trigger point dry needling and trigger point manual therapy for the management of chronic mechanical neck pain: a randomized clinical trial.

STUDY DESIGN Randomized clinical study. OBJECTIVES To compare the effects of trigger point (TrP) dry needling (DN) and TrP manual therapy (MT) on pain, function, pressure pain sensitivity, and cervical range of motion in subjects with chronic mechanical neck pain. BACKGROUND Recent evidence suggests that TrP DN could be effective in the treatment of neck pain. However, no studies have directly compared the outcomes of TrP DN and TrP MT in this population. METHODS Ninety-four patients (mean ± SD age, 31 ± 3 years; 66% female) were randomized into a TrP DN group (n = 47) or a TrP MT group (n = 47). Neck pain intensity (11-point numeric pain rating scale), cervical range of motion, and pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) over the spinous process of C7 were measured at baseline, postintervention, and at follow-ups of 1 week and 2 weeks after treatment. The Spanish version of the Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire was used to measure disability/function at baseline and the 2-week follow-up. Mixed-model, repeated-measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to determine if a time-by-group interaction existed on the effects of the treatment on each outcome variable, with time as the within-subject variable and group as the between-subject variable. RESULTS The ANOVA revealed that participants who received TrP DN had outcomes similar to those who received TrP MT in terms of pain, function, and cervical range of motion. The 4-by-2 mixed-model ANOVA also revealed a significant time-by-group interaction (P<.001) for PPT: patients who received TrP DN experienced a greater increase in PPT (decreased pressure sensitivity) than those who received TrP MT at all follow-up periods (between-group differences: posttreatment, 59.0 kPa; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 40.0, 69.2; 1-week follow-up, 69.2 kPa; 95% CI: 49.5, 79.1; 2-week follow-up, 78.9 kPa; 95% CI: 49.5, 89.0). CONCLUSION The results of this clinical trial suggest that 2 sessions of TrP DN and TrP MT resulted in similar outcomes in terms of pain, disability, and cervical range of motion. Those in the TrP DN group experienced greater improvements in PPT over the cervical spine. Future trials are needed to examine the effects of TrP DN and TrP MT over long-term follow-up periods. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapy, level 1b.
A model study of factors involved in adhesion of Pseudomonas fluorescens to meat

A study was undertaken to investigate the factors involved in the adhesion of Pseudomonas fluorescens to model meat surfaces (tendon slices). Adhesion was fast (less than 2.5 min) and was not suppressed by killing the cells with UV, gamma rays, or heat, indicating that physiological activity was not required. In various salt solutions (NaCl, KCl, CaCl2, MgCl2), adhesion increased with increasing ionic strength up to 10 to 100 mM, suggesting that, at low ionic strengths, electrostatic interactions were involved in the adhesion process. At higher ionic strengths (greater than 10 to 100 mM) or in the presence of Al3+ ions, adhesion was sharply reduced. Selectively blocking of carboxyl or amino groups at the cell surface by chemical means did not affect adhesion. These groups are therefore not directly involved in an adhesive bond with tendon. Given a sufficient cell concentration (10(10) CFU.ml-1) in the adhesion medium, the surface of tendon was almost entirely covered with adherent bacteria. This suggests that if the adhesion is specific, the attachment sites on the tendon surface must be located within collagen or proteoglycan molecules.
Social cognition in social anxiety: first evidence for increased empathic abilities.

BACKGROUND Individuals with social phobia (SP) show sensitivity and attentiveness to other peoples states of mind. Although cognitive processes in SP have been extensively studied, these individuals social cognition characteristics have never been examined before. We hypothesized that high socially anxious individuals (HSA) may exhibit elevated mentalizing and empathic abilities. METHODS Empathy was assessed using self-rating scales in HSA individuals (n=21) and low socially anxious (LSA) individuals (n=22), based on their score on the Liebowitz social anxiety scale. A computerized task was used to assess the ability to judge first and second order affective vs. cognitive mental state attributions. RESULTS HSA individuals exhibited elevated affective empathy tendencies. However, controlling for the general anxiety variable revealed that social anxiety was related to cognitive empathy measures, rather than affective empathy. In addition, compared with LSA participants, HSA participants exhibited higher accuracy levels on the affective mental state attribution conditions, but were less accurate than LSA individuals on the parallel cognitive mental state attribution conditions. LIMITATIONS Additional research with larger samples and clinically diagnosed individuals is required. CONCLUSIONS Results support the hypothesis that high socially anxious individuals may demonstrate a unique social-cognitive abilities profile with elevated cognitive empathy tendencies and high accuracy in affective mental state attributions.
Metabolic control of mitochondrial properties by adenine nucleotide translocator determines palmitoyl‐CoA effects

Inhibition of the mitochondrial adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) by long‐chain acyl‐CoA esters has been proposed to contribute to cellular dysfunction in obesity and type 2 diabetes by increasing formation of reactive oxygen species and adenosine via effects on the coenzyme Q redox state, mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψ) and cytosolic ATP concentrations. We here show that 5 µm palmitoyl‐CoA increases the ratio of reduced to oxidized coenzyme Q (QH2/Q) by 42 ± 9%, Δψ by 13 ± 1 mV (9%), and the intramitochondrial ATP/ADP ratio by 352 ± 34%, and decreases the extramitochondrial ATP/ADP ratio by 63 ± 4% in actively phosphorylating mitochondria. The latter reduction is expected to translate into a 24% higher extramitochondrial AMP concentration. Furthermore, palmitoyl‐CoA induced concentration‐dependent H2O2 formation, which can only partly be explained by its effect on Δψ. Although all measured fluxes and intermediate concentrations were affected by palmitoyl‐CoA, modular kinetic analysis revealed that this resulted mainly from inhibition of the ANT. Through Metabolic Control Analysis, we then determined to what extent the ANT controls the investigated mitochondrial properties. Under steady‐state conditions, the ANT moderately controlled oxygen uptake (control coefficient C = 0.13) and phosphorylation (C = 0.14) flux. It controlled intramitochondrial (C = −0.70) and extramitochondrial ATP/ADP ratios (C = 0.23) more strongly, whereas the control exerted over the QH2/Q ratio (C = −0.04) and Δψ (C = −0.01) was small. Quantitative assessment of the effects of palmitoyl‐CoA showed that the mitochondrial properties that were most strongly controlled by the ANT were affected the most. Our observations suggest that long‐chain acyl‐CoA esters may contribute to cellular dysfunction in obesity and type 2 diabetes through effects on cellular energy metabolism and production of reactive oxygen species.
Biological Control of Gastrointestinal Parasitic Nematodes Using Duddingtonia flagrans in Sheep under Natural Conditions in Mexico

Abstract: This investigation was aimed to evaluate the use of an oral bio‐preparation containing Duddingtonia flagrans chlamydospores for the control of sheep gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes under the Mexican cold high plateau conditions. Two groups of gastrointestinal parasitic nematode naturally infected sheep, were randomly selected and located into two free‐gastrointestinal nematode larvae paddocks. Group 1 received once a week a supplement containing D. flagrans chlamydospores mixed with oats and molasses. Group 2 received a similar supplement without any fungal material. After 5 months grazing animals were discarded from the experiment and two groups of free‐nematode “tracer” sheep were located into the same paddocks to collect larvae from the contaminated pastures. Animals were slaughtered and necropsied and the nematodes were obtained and counted. A screening of the number of gastrointestinal nematode larvae present on the grass was performed and compared between the two grazing areas. The results showed 56% reduction in the Ostertagia (Teladorsagia) circumcincta and 94% reduction in the Nematodirus sp. population of the “tracer” sheep who grazed on the D. flagrans‐treated sheep area, compared to the nematode population in animals grazed on the non‐treated area. The results of the number of larvae on the grazing pastures showed a 51.1% reduction for H. contortus, and 100% for Cooperia sp. in the area with fungi. In the case of Trichostrongylus sp. no reduction was observed, when compared to the control group.
Educational qualification and racial attitudes: does educational qualification really matter?

ii DEDICATION To my best friend and beloved husband, Braja. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a debt of gratitude to several people for their assistance during the course of my thesis research. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor Dr. Susan A. Dumais for meticulously guiding me in writing my entire thesis. She has been a strong and supportive advisor throughout the entire process and always given me freedom to pursue independent research. I would also like to express my gratitude to the other members of my committee-Dr. for their supervision, guidance and advice. I am deeply indebted to them for sharing their knowledge with me. I am also grateful to Dr. Yoshinori Kamo, Director of Graduate Studies, who always helped me and supported me to survive in this country as a graduate student. I am also thankful to other faculty members of the department of sociology for providing meaningful graduate education which have helped me how to think about sociology as well as social stratification and social inequality. It is needless to mention that I am also obliged to Tonya Duthu for her continuous flow of information regarding registration and administrative works. I would also like to thank my parents, Meera and Swapan Kumar Ray, my brother Sourav Kumar Ray, my in-laws, Anita and Ananga Mohan Ghosh, my sister-in-law Arpita Ghosh, and the rest of my extended family for all the love, encouragement, and support they have given me throughout my entire life. helped me, and amazed me to survive during my difficult times in this foreign country. Finally and most importantly, I would like to thank my best friend and husband, Braja. He showed me the way to make my dreams a reality. Without his care and support this journey would have been unthinkable. Braja, I love you and thanks for your love, encouragement and emotional support.