Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Flat vs. concave tibial joint surface in total knee arthroplasty: Randomized evaluation of 39 cases using radiostereometry

40 patients with non-inflammatory arthrosis and minor preoperative deformity (/ 5°) were operated on with an AMK type (DePuy, Johnson & Johnson) total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The posterior cruciate ligament was retained. The patients were divided into those with a flat (terminology of the manufacturer: standard) or a concave (terminology of the manufacturer: constrained) polyethylene insert (20 in each group). Radiostereometric (RSA) examinations were done postoperatively and after 3, 12 and 24 months. The median absolute rotations of the tibial inserts varied between 0.12 and 0.24 (range 0.00-1.54) degrees, with no differences between the 2 groups. The median maximum totalpoint motions (flat/concave = 0.41/0.42 mm), the maximum subsidence or lift-off did not differ. The Hospital for Special Surgery knee score and the patients' opinion about the operation, based on their preoperative expectations, showed little, if any, differences. At 2 years, 10 of 20 patients with flat and 13 of 19 with concave inserts regarded their knee function as normal or almost so.
Behavioral engagement and disaffection in school activities: exploring a model of motivational facilitators and performance outcomes

Previous research has shown that perceived control, task value, behavioral engagement and disaffection are personal determinants of academic performance. However, little research has simultaneously examined these constructs in secondary education. The present study analyzed the structural relationships between these variables and the role of engagement and disaffection as mediators of control and value on performance. Participants were 446 students (51.3% girls) ranging in age from 12 to 16 years attending six Spanish compulsory secondary schools (from 7th to 10th grades). The variables were assessed over a nine-month period. Structural equation models results confirmed the hypotheses: control and value significantly predicted engagement, disaffection, and performance; engagement and disaffection predicted performance and partially mediated the effects from control and value on performance. Implications for psycho-educational theory and practice are discussed.
Comparison of new and 3-month-old brush heads in the removal of plaque using a powered toothbrush.

AIM To compare the effectiveness of new and 3-month-old worn brush heads in plaque removal using a rotation-oscillation-powered toothbrush. MATERIAL AND METHODS A single examiner blinded, randomized, cross-over study was conducted in which 34 adults attended the clinic on two occasions following 48-h periods of no oral hygiene. Following plaque scoring, subjects brushed for 2 min. with either a new brush or a brush they had used for 3 months and plaque was then re-scored. Bristle wear was assessed by measuring brushing surface areas on digital images. RESULTS The mean plaque score percentage reductions with new brush heads were not significantly different from those achieved with 3-month-old heads for total surfaces (new=38.1%; worn=37.1%; p=0.83) and approximal surfaces (new=31.3%; worn=30.8%; p=0.9). Brushing surface area increases of the 3-month-old heads ranged from 0% to 135% (mean 26.9%). Compared with new brush heads, no significant differences were found for plaque score reductions for heads with minor, moderate or marked wear. CONCLUSION Rotation-oscillation-powered toothbrushes with 3-month-old brush heads exhibiting various degrees of wear were as effective as new brush heads in plaque removal. Bristle age and wear on a powered toothbrush may not impede the effectiveness of plaque removal.
We Have Come to Stay and We Shall Find All Means to Live and Work in this Country : Nigerian Migrants and Life Challenges in South Africa

In recent times many Nigerians have been singled out when it comes to criminal activities and xenophobic attacks in South Africa, which leads to disruption of the hitherto cordial relationship between South African host communities and Nigerian migrants. Nevertheless, the rate of Nigerians migrating to South Africa keeps soaring. Studies of migration between Nigeria and South Africa, have been scanty, often limited to the study of traditional economic disparity between the two countries with less emphasis on the social-cultural challenges facing Nigerian migrants in the host communities. This paper thus examined the socio-economic and cultural challenges facing Nigerian migrants in selected communities in Johannesburg, South Africa. Data for the study were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with Nigerian migrants in Hillbrow, Braamfontein and Alexandra suburbs in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Title of Document: COMPETING DEMANDS: DEPENDENT CHILDREN AND PARENTAL RETIREMENT

Title of Document: COMPETING DEMANDS: DEPENDENT CHILDREN AND PARENTAL RETIREMENT Joanna Motro, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Directed By: Associate Professor, Joan R. Kahn, Department of Sociology The 1960s through the 1980s saw an expansion of generous pensions allowing workers to retire at younger ages. Since then, pensions have become less generous, and more people are working longer. Although previous research has often focused on financial and pension-related explanations for the postponement of retirement, little research has focused on how family demands shape retirement decisions. Changes in family formation in the second half of the 20th Century include delayed marriage, delayed childbearing, divorce, and remarriage. These trends, combined with the increasing time children are taking to transition to adulthood, means that parents are now more likely to be supporting children as they prepare to retire. This dissertation examines how demands from children affect older parents as they approach retirement. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, I ask whether parents with adolescent or dependent adult children postpone retirement to later ages than other parents. I examine retirement both prospectively, by comparing parents’ retirement expectations across cohorts, and then longitudinally, by modeling one cohort’s transition from working to retirement. In both analyses, I focus on the impact of children who are either dependent-aged (<18), college-aged, coresident, or financially dependent. Results from this study show that needs of children do not appear to exert much influence over their parent’s retirement plans. Net of parental characteristics, demands from children do not have an independent effect on retirement outcomes. It also does not appear that children in more recent cohorts exert a greater influence on parental retirement despite greater demands from children in recent years. For some subgroups (e.g. unmarried mothers and fathers, black and Hispanic parents) having certain types of demands from children is associated with greater expectations of working at older ages, while having other types of children is associated with a lower chance of expecting to work longer. For some subgroups (e.g. unmarried mothers), having certain types of dependent children are associated with retiring later. However, for the majority of adults, retirement plans and behaviors are driven more by parental retirement readiness (e.g. wealth, pension participation, and age) rather than the needs of children. COMPETING DEMANDS: DEPENDENT CHILDREN AND PARENTAL RETIREMENT
Zinc Deficiency–Associated Dermatitis in Infants During a Nationwide Shortage of Injectable Zinc — Washington, DC, and Houston, Texas, 2012–2013

Injectable zinc, a vital component of parenteral nutrition (PN) formulations, has been in short supply in the United States since late 2012. In December 2012, three premature infants with cholestasis hospitalized in Washington, DC, experienced erosive dermatitis in the diaper area and blisters on their extremities, a condition that can be associated with zinc deficiency. All three infants were receiving PN because they had extreme cholestasis and were unable to be fed by mouth or tube. The PN administered to each infant was zinc deficient. Injectable zinc normally is added to PN for premature or medically compromised infants (e.g., those with cholestasis) by the hospital pharmacy because the amount of zinc needed by each patient differs; however, the pharmacy had run out of injectable zinc. No alternatives were available; other preparations of parenteral trace elements either contained insufficient zinc to meet infants' requirements or had the potential to cause trace element toxicity in infants with cholestasis (2). The dermatitis of one infant resolved after the patient was able to take nutrition by mouth. The other two infants were found to have low serum zinc levels. In January 2013, CDC was notified of four additional cases of zinc deficiency among infants with cholestasis who received zinc-deficient PN in a hospital in Houston, Texas. In collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the two hospitals obtained emergency shipments of injectable zinc. No additional cases were reported. Current injectable zinc supplies have been increasing as FDA collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to import emergency supplies. FDA is working to establish temporary backup sources should future shortages occur.
Openness and Growth in South Asia

The determinants of economic growth have long been a subject for economists, historians and sociologists. Traditionally, economic growth has been attributed to physical factors of production like labor and capital but, in the past few decades, there has been a search going on for the part of growth that remains unexplained when the physical factors of production are accounted for. At least two third of economic growth cannot be attributed to the physical factors of production. Several other factors contributing to economic growth have been highlighted in the recent past. Such factors include human capital, increasing returns to scale and openness. Openness of the economy is thought to be an important part of the equation of growth and there are a large number of studies and estimation using a large number of cross-sectional datasets. Time series models have been applied to single country analysis in South Asia. However, in the present paper, focusing on the three largest economies of South Asia, the authors apply, along with several other models, a panel data model to a panel dataset of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh for the period of 1980 to 2008. The results confirm that openness played an important part in the economic growth of South Asia during the period 1980-2008.
Surgical management of osteochondritis dissecans of the capitellum

Ten cases of osteochondritis dissecans of the humeral capitellum which were treated surgically are reviewed. All 10 cases were males and involved the dominant side. The ages at surgery ranged from 13 to 17 years. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 7 years. All of the youths had competed in organized athletics, either baseball or football. By position there were three pitchers, two catchers, two infielders, and one outfielder; in addition there were one quarterback and one linebacker. Only one patient presented with locking of the elbow, whereas the others presented with pain and limitation of extension. The locked elbow was explored immediately and the others were explored after immobilization failed to relieve their symptoms. In seven of the joints a loose fragment of the capitellum was found lying either in the joint or in a defect in the capitellum. The fragment had multiple small holes. In three cases there was no loose fragment. In this situation a cortical window was cut above the capitellum. The capitellum was then drilled and bone was grafted from above. Over all, there were one excellent, six good, one fair, and two poor results. There seemed to be little difference between curetting alone or curetting and drilling. The cases with the cartilage intact and bone grafted from above did worse, with one fair and one poor result of three cases. The two poor results required further surgery, which consisted of partial excision of the capitellum. All cases lacked elbow extension before and after surgery, but nine of 10 gained some motion after surgery. Pre- and postoperative x-rays are shown in this report and a brief review of the literature concerning osteochondritis dissecans is presented.
A Digital Brain Atlas for Surgical Planning, Model-Driven Segmentation, and Teaching

We developed a three-dimensional (3D) digitized atlas of the human brain to visualize spatially complex structures. It was designed for use with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging data sets. Thus far, we have used this atlas for surgical planning, model-driven segmentation, and teaching. We used a combination of automated and supervised segmentation methods to define regions of interest based on neuroanatomical knowledge. We also used 3D surface rendering techniques to create a brain atlas that would allow us to visualize complex 3D brain structures. We further linked this Information to script files in order to preserve both spatial information and neuroanatomical knowledge. We present here the application of the atlas for visualization in surgical planning far model-driven segmentation and for the teaching of neuroanatomy. This digitized human brain has the potential to provide important reference information for the planning of surgical procedures. It can also serve as a powerful teaching tool, since spatial relationships among neuroanatomical structures can be more readily envisioned when the user is able to view and rotate the structures in 3D space. Moreover, each element of the brain atlas is associated with a name tag, displayed by a user controlled pointer. The atlas holds a major promise as a template for model-driven segmentation. Using this technique, many regions of interest can be characterized simultaneously on new brain images.
Generalized PID Observer Design for Descriptor Linear Systems

A type of generalized proportional-integral-derivative observers is proposed for descriptor linear systems. Based on a general parametric solution to a type of generalized Sylvester matrix equations, a parametric design approach for such observers is established. The proposed approach provides parameterizations for all the observer gain matrices, gives the parametric expression for the corresponding left eigenvector matrix of the observer system matrix, realizes the elimination of impulsive behaviors, and guarantees the regularity of the observer system. The design method can offer all the degrees of design freedom, which can be utilized to achieve various desired system specifications and performances. In addition, a numerical example is employed to show the design procedure and illustrate the effect of the presented approach.
Variation in chemical composition and physical characteristics of cereal grains from different genotypes

ABSTRACT Genotypes of cereal grains, including winter barley (n = 21), maize (n = 27), oats (n = 14), winter rye (n = 22), winter triticale (n = 21) and winter wheat (n = 29), were assayed for their chemical composition and physical characteristics as part of the collaborative research project referred to as GrainUp. Genotypes of one grain species were grown on the same site, except maize. In general, concentrations of proximate nutrients were not largely different from feed tables. The coefficient of variation (CV) for the ether extract concentration of maize was high because the data pool comprised speciality maize bred for its high oil content. A subset of 8 barley, 20 rye, 20 triticale and 20 wheat samples was analysed to differ significantly in several carbohydrate fractions. Gross energy concentration of cereal grains could be predicted from proximate nutrient concentration with good accuracy. The mean lysine concentration of protein was the highest in oats (4.2 g/16 g N) and the lowest in wheat (2.7 g/16 g N). Significant differences were also detected in the concentrations of macro elements as well as iron, manganese, zinc and copper. Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium and lead were below the limit of detection. The concentration of lower inositol phosphates was low, but some inositol pentaphosphates were detected in all grains. In barley, relatively high inositol tetraphosphate concentration also was found. Intrinsic phytase activity was the highest in rye, followed by triticale, wheat, barley and maize, and it was not detectable in oats. Substantial differences were seen in the thousand seed weight, test weight, falling number and extract viscoelasticity characteristics. The study is a comprehensive overview of the composition of different cereal grain genotypes when grown on the same location. The relevance of the variation in composition for digestibility in different animal species will be subject of other communications.
Evaluation of the District of Columbia Superior Court Drug Intervention Program: Focus Group Interviews

This report evaluates the Superior Court Drug Intervention Program (SCDIP), a model drug court for drug felony offenders that seeks to identify drug-involved offenders soon after arrest and to encourage drug desistance using a combination of treatment, incentives, and sanctions. This evaluation discusses the process and its outcomes and provides a cost-benefit analysis. The report focuses on three programs: (1) a graduated sanctions program; (2) the SCDIP treatment program; and (3) the standard docket program. It also briefly reviews the role of judges and the effect of their commitment on the program.
Morfología y anatomía floral en especies de Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae).

Fil: Galetto, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Cordoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologia Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologia Vegetal; Argentina
The 2014 Thai Coup and Some Roots of Authoritarianism

ABSTRACT Thailand is the only country currently ruled by a coup-installed military government. The 2014 coup aimed not only to abolish the influence of Thaksin Shinawatra but also to shift Thailand’s politics in an authoritarian direction. While the army authored the coup, the professional and official elite played a prominent role in engineering the coup and shaping political reforms. This article examines some historical antecedents of this authoritarian turn, first in the broad trends of Thailand’s modern political history, and second in the emergence and political evolution of the Bangkok middle class.
Work under communicative capitalism

Work’s Intimacy and Capital and Affects explore the effects of new technologies and more generally ‘communicative capitalism’ (Dean, 2009) on work, domestic life and politics. Work’s Intimacy makes for uncomfortable reading, as I felt my life was being described; I frequently work from home, work evenings and weekends, using my laptop in bed (like the cover photograph). The book’s significance lies in how it calls on us to implicate ourselves, and in its rich empirical detail. Countering hype about the advantages of remote working and the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in boosting productivity, Work’s Intimacy explores the consequences of home working via ICTs for lives and relationships. The focus is on white collar professionals: IT workers and arts freelancers, but also public sector employees including academics and a librarian (highlighting the extension of working practices associated with freelancing into more conventional jobs). Gregg draws on classic studies of white collar work such as William F Whyte’s The Organization Man (1956), particularly of descriptions of executives who work 50–60 hour weeks, making use of communications technologies to enable evening and weekend working:
System R: An Architectural Overview

We have described the architecture of System R, including the Relational Data System and the Research Storage System. The RDS supports a flexible spectrum of binding times, ranging from precompilation of “canned transactions” to on-line execution of ad hoc queries. The advantages of this approach may be summarized as follows: 1. For repetitive transactions, all the work of parsing, name binding, and access path selection is done once at precompilation time and need not be repeated. 2. Ad hoc queries are compiled on line into small machine-language routines that execute more efficiently than an interpreter. 3. Users are given a single language, SQL, for use in ad hoc queries as well as in writing PL/I and COBOL transaction programs. 4. The SQL parser, access path selection routines, and machine language code generator are used in common between query processing and precompilation of transaction programs. 5. When an index used by a transaction program is dropped, a new access path is automatically selected for the transaction without user intervention.
Pricing Asian options via Fourier and Laplace transforms

By means of Fourier and Laplace transforms, we obtain a simple expression for the double transform (with respect to the logarithm of the strike and timeto-maturity) of the price of continuously monitored Asian options. The double transform is expressed in terms of gamma functions only. The computation of the price requires a multivariate numerical inversion. We show that the numerical inversion can be performed with great accuracy and low computational cost.
U-Pb Isotopic Age of the StW 573 Hominid from Sterkfontein, South Africa

Sterkfontein cave, South Africa, has yielded an australopith skeleton, StW 573, whose completeness has excited great interest in paleoanthropology. StW 573, or “Little Foot,” was found 25 meters below the surface in the Silberberg Grotto. 238U-206Pb measurements on speleothems immediately above and below the fossil remains, corrected for initial 234U disequilibrium, yield ages of 2.17 ± 0.17 million years ago (Ma) and \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(2.24_{-0.07}^{+0.09}\) \end{document} Ma, respectively, indicating an age for StW 573 of close to 2.2 Ma. This age is in contrast to an age of ∼3.3 Ma suggested by magnetochronology and ages of ∼4 Ma based on 10Be and 26Al, but it is compatible with a faunal age range of 4 to 2 Ma.
Ribonucleic Acid Synthesis During Microcyst Formation in Myxococcus xanthus: Characterization by Deoxyribonucleic Acid-Ribonucleic Acid Hybridization

The technique of deoxyribonucleic acid-ribonucleic acid (RNA) hybridization was used to compare the RNA synthesized during vegetative growth and microcyst formation in Myxococcus xanthus. All classes of RNA, including ribosomal RNA, were synthesized during microcyst formation. The results indicate that the ribosomal RNA synthesized during microcyst formation was indistinguishable from that made during vegetative growth. Hybridization competition experiments demonstrated that certain messenger RNA species are synthesized only during vegetative growth, whereas others are synthesized only during microcyst formation. The synthesis of a new species of RNA polymerase does not appear to be responsible for differential transcription during morphogenesis in M. xanthus since the rifampicin sensitivity of transcription was conserved during microcyst formation.
Association of incretin receptors genetic polymorphisms with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Egyptian patients

Incretins have opened a new era in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) pathogenesis. The present study aimed to assess whether there is an association between GIPR rs2302382, GIPR rs1800437 and GLP‐1R rs367543060 polymorphisms with T2DM or not and also to determine the effect of these polymorphisms on gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) levels.