Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Significance of Bisynchronous Spike‐Waves in Patients with Temporal Lobe Spikes

Summary: We examined the clinical significance of bisynchronous spike‐wave complexes which appear in EEGs of some patients with focal spikes in one or both temporal lobes. Few features distinguished patients with bisynchronous spike‐waves from those with only focal temporal spikes: a higher incidence of patients with more than two grand mal seizures a year (43 vs. 7%) and a younger age at last recording (22.5 vs. 28.3 years) were the only statistically reliable factors. Proportion of patients with complex partial seizures (CPS) (100%), age of CPS onset, incidence of febrile convulsions, intellectual level, and normal neurologic examination were features common to the two groups. In contrast to other studies which did not exclude influencing variables such as extratemporal spike foci, our group with bisynchronous spike‐waves fared equally well after temporal lobectomy as did patients with temporal spikes alone. All 6 patients with spike‐waves obtained a reduction of at least 50% in seizure frequency and 5 of the 6 (83%) had a > 90% reduction. Sixteen of 17 patients (94%) without spike‐waves had a reduction of at least 50% and 14 of the 17 (82%) had a > 90% reduction of seizures.
[Functional and sonographic shoulder assessment after Seidel nailing: a retrospective study of 29 cases].

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Centromedullary nailing with a Seidel nail is a validated treatment for humeral shaft fractures which some teams have abandoned due to the injury caused to the rotator muscles. The purpose of this study is to assess shoulder function (Constant and DASH) after nailing procedures and to analyze sonographic findings. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-nine patients who underwent Seidel nailing between 1996 and 2002 were reviewed by an independent operator at 36 months follow-up on average (range 11-84 months). The sex-ratio was 1.64. Mean age at surgery was 41.5 years (range 17-81 years). The dominant side was involved in 17 cases. Fracture was caused by a traffic accident in 13 cases, a fall in 12, and a blunt injury in 4. The fracture was situated in the mid third of the shaft in 19 cases, the upper third in 3, the mid and lower third in 3 and mid and upper third in 3. Mean delay before surgery was 2.4 days. Initial complications were medioulnar palsy (n=1), complete brachial palsy (n=1), partial brachial palsy (n=1). There was one open Cauchoix I fracture. RESULTS Bone healing was achieved in 27/29 patients at 3.5 months on average. Revision was required in nine patients. The Constant score was 69.1 (86.9% contralateral). The weighted Constant score was 81.7 and the DASH was 25. The Constant score was significantly better in patients aged less than 50 years and with transverse fractures. Sub-acromial space narrowing was observed in six patients at follow-up and only 9/28 sonographic examinations (32%) were normal; most shoulders presented transient healing lesions. DISCUSSION This series was comparable with others regarding patient satisfaction, bone healing and complications, but was less satisfactory for the Constant score and time to healing. We have found that using a subjective function score (DASH) with an objective score (Constant) enables a better assessment of shoulder function. Like Gaullier, we consider that after cuff healing, anterograde nailing does not compromise shoulder function despite the injuries observed sonographically.
Adaptive increase in sample size when interim results are promising: A practical guide with examples

This paper discusses the benefits and limitations of adaptive sample size re‐estimation for phase 3 confirmatory clinical trials. Comparisons are made with more traditional fixed sample and group sequential designs. It is seen that the real benefit of the adaptive approach arises through the ability to invest sample size resources into the trial in stages. The trial starts with a small up‐front sample size commitment. Additional sample size resources are committed to the trial only if promising results are obtained at an interim analysis. This strategy is shown through examples of actual trials, one in neurology and one in cardiology, to be more advantageous than the fixed sample or group sequential approaches in certain settings. A major factor that has generated controversy and inhibited more widespread use of these methods has been their reliance on non‐standard tests and p‐values for preserving the type‐1 error. If, however, the sample size is only increased when interim results are promising, one can dispense with these non‐standard methods of inference. Therefore, in the spirit of making adaptive increases in trial size more widely appealing and readily implementable we here define those promising circumstances in which a conventional final inference can be performed while preserving the overall type‐1 error. Methodological, regulatory and operational issues are examined. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Blinded positron emission tomography study of dopamine cell implantation for Parkinson's disease

We assessed nigrostriatal dopaminergic function in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients undergoing a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled surgical trial of embryonic dopamine cell implantation. Forty PD patients underwent positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with [18F]fluorodopa (FDOPA) prior to randomization to transplantation or placebo surgery. The 39 surviving patients were rescanned 1 year following surgery. Images were quantified by investigators blinded to treatment status and clinical outcome. Following unblinding, we determined the effects of treatment status and age on the interval changes in FDOPA/PET signal. Blinded observers detected a significant increase in FDOPA uptake in the putamen of the group receiving implants compared to the placebo surgery patients (40.3%). Increases in putamen FDOPA uptake were similar in both younger (age ≤60 years) and older (age >60 years) transplant recipients. Significant decrements in putamen uptake were evident in younger placebo‐operated patients (–6.5% ) but not in their older counterparts. Correlations between the PET changes and clinical outcome were significant only in the younger patient subgroup (r = 0.58). The findings suggest that patient age does not influence graft viability or development in the first postoperative year. However, host age may influence the time course of the downstream functional changes that are needed for clinical benefit to occur.
Cross-level effects of affective climate on leader-member exchange, workplace friendship and team-member exchange

The present study advances the research on interpersonal exchange relationships by integrating social exchange, workplace friendship and climate research to develop a multilevel model. We tested the model with data obtained from a sample of 215 manager-employee dyads working in 36 teams using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM). At the individual level, LMX was positively associated with workplace friendship. Further, workplace friendship was positively related to TMX, and mediated the LMX-TMX relationship. At the team level, HLM results indicate that the relationship between LMX and workplace friendship was moderated by affective climate. Findings suggest that high-quality LMX relationships are associated with enhanced workplace friendship between employees, especially when affective group climate is strong and positive. (114 words)
Effects of Rumen Protected Oleic Acid in the Diet on Animal Performances, Carcass Quality and Fatty Acid Composition of Hanwoo Steers

The effects of different rumen protected forms, oleamide, Ca oleate, of dietary oleic acid on the carcass quality and fatty acid composition in intramuscular and subcutaneous fat tissues of Hanwoo steer were examined. Sixty, 25 month old Hanwoo steers divided into three groups were fed no supplement (Control), 2% of oleamide (Oleamide) or Ca-oleate (Ca-Oleate) in their diet for 45 or 90 days. Disappearance rates of oleic acid supplements in digestive tracts (Rumen bypass, abomasal and intestinal disappearance rate) were 48.5, 68.4 for oleamide and Ca oleate, respectively. Both oleic acid supplements affected feed intake, growth rate, cold carcass weight and carcass fatness. Live weight gain, carcass weight, backfat thickness and marbling score were higher in the oleic acid supplemented steers compared with those from the control. Oleic acid supplements increased marbling score and ether extract in Hanwoo steer m. logissi thoracicmus. Rumen protected oleic acid increased not only the level of oleic acid but also polyunsaturated fatty acids in intramuscular and subcutaneous fat tissue. Total saturated fatty acid contents in both fat tissues were decreased whereas total unsaturated fatty acid content was increased compared with those from control. Linoleic acid, linolenic acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid contents were significantly higher in Ca oleate than any other steers. Lipid metabolites in blood were increased in rumen protected oleic acid treatments. HDL content in blood was increased in Ca-oleate supplemented steers whereas LDL was decreased compared with control. The changes of fatty acid compositions in the rumen protected oleic acid supplemented steers suggest that the oleic acid and unsaturated fatty acid were protected from rumen biohydrogenation and can be deposited in the fat tissues.
Ranking of CTD articles and interactions using the OntoGene pipeline

In this paper we brieﬂy describe the architecture of the OntoGene Relation mining pipeline and its application in the task 1 of BioCreative IV. The aim of the task is to deliver information useful for the triage of abstracts relevant to the process of curation of the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database. Although the main focus of our text mining research is the extraction of interactions, we decided to participate in the task with the assumption that articles which contain relevant interactions would be relevant themselves. We use a conventional information retrieval system (Lucene) to provide a baseline ranking, which we then combine with information provided by the relation mining module, in order to achieve an optimized ranking.
CORRELATION OF CLINICAL AND VIRUS‐SPECIFIC IMMUNE RESPONSES FOLLOWING LEVAMISOLE THERAPY OF RECURRENT HERPES PROGENITALIS *

Patients with herpes progenitalis recurring every 14--28 days were treated with levamisole 150 mg orally twice weekly in an open trial to evaluate the relationship between immunomodulation and clinical response. Eight of 12 patients studied for 4--9 months reported a decrease in the frequency of recurrences. Enhanced virus-specific lymphoproliferative responses were observed in six of eight patients reporting clinical improvement. Herpes-antigen-induced production of leucocyte migration inhibitory factor (LMIF) was similarly enhanced in these individuals. In the four patients reporting no improvement, virus-specific lymphoproliferative and LMIF-generating responses were either depressed or unchanged. No significant alterations in neutralizing antibody titers were observed in any of the patients. Alterations in virus-specific lymphocyte transformation and lymphokine generation observed in vitro thus correlate with changes in clinical course in a manner consistent with the proposed immunomodulatory function of levamisole.
The relationship of the Functional Rating Index with disability, pain, and quality of life in patients with low back pain.

BACKGROUND The study was planned to determine the relationship of the Functional Rating Index (FRI) with disability, pain, and quality of life in patients with low back pain. MATERIAL/METHODS A total of 84 patients with low back pain, of whom 58 were women and 26 were men, with average age of 47.8 +/- 12.0 years participated in this study. The Functional Rating Index was used to determine the functional status of the patients. Disability was evaluated using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMQ), pain intensity was evaluated with the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) was used to assess quality of life. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used for correlation of the FRI with the RMQ, VAS, and SF-36. The internal consistency for test-retest reproducibility of FRI was assessed with Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS There was a strong positive correlation between the FRI and the RMQ (p < 0.05). It was found that an increase in severity of pain was associated with the FRI survey score (p < 0.05). There was a negative statistically significant correlation between the FRI and all parameters of SF-36 (p < 0.05). FRI demonstrated high internal consistency, with alpha = 0.960. The test-retest correlation was r = 0.926 (p = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS Our study reveals that the FRI, as a reliable instrument in assessing functional status, is associated with the RMQ, the VAS, and all items of the SF-36 in patients with LBP. It was concluded that changes in functional status were related to changes in disability, pain, and quality of life.
Association of treadmill upper airway endoscopic evaluation with results of ultrasonography and resting upper airway endoscopic evaluation.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Assessment of arytenoid movement has traditionally been performed using upper airway (UA) endoscopy. However, recent work suggests that laryngeal ultrasonography may provide additional complementary information. OBJECTIVE To determine the value of laryngeal ultrasonography for the diagnosis of recurrent laryngeal neuropathy in the horse. HYPOTHESES Horses with abnormal arytenoid movement (AM) during treadmill UA endoscopy would have increased echogenicity of the left cricoarytenoideus lateralis muscle (CALM) and smaller left CALM and vocalis size while horses with normal AM during treadmill UA endoscopy would have normal echogenicity of the left CALM and similar left and right CALM and vocalis muscle size. Laryngeal ultrasonography would be more accurate than resting endoscopy at predicting abnormal AM. METHODS Medical records were examined to identify Thoroughbred racehorses aged ≥2 years that had undergone resting and treadmill UA endoscopy and laryngeal ultrasonography. Resting and treadmill AM was graded using accepted scales. The treadmill examination was used as the criterion standard for AM. Laryngeal ultrasonography was performed and the relative echogenicity of the left and right CALM and the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the CALM and vocalis muscle determined. Data analysis included Chi-squared tests, paired t tests and one-way ANOVA. RESULTS The presence of abnormal AM was associated with relative hyperechogenicity of the CALM while normal AM was not. Laryngeal ultrasonography had a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 98% and resting UA endoscopy had a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 81% for diagnosis of abnormal AM. CSA of the left CALM and vocalis muscle was not different between groups. CONCLUSIONS Laryngeal ultrasonography has high accuracy for diagnosing abnormal AM. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE Ultrasonography is a valuable addition to the diagnostic evaluation of the equine UA.
Herd Behavior in Voluntary Disclosure Decisions: An Examination of Capital Expenditure Forecasts*

This study documents evidence consistent with herding in voluntary disclosure decisions in the context of capital expenditure forecasts and investigates two possible reasons for this behavior. Theories of rational herds suggest that herding in disclosure decisions may be due to either (1) the influence of information reflected in peer firms' past disclosure decisions (informational herding), and/or (2) managers' concern for their reputations (reputational herding). Using duration analysis for repeated events, we examine the timing of capital expenditure forecasts for a broad sample of disclosing and nondisclosing firms. We predict and find that the propensity to release capital expenditure forecasts is positively associated with the proportion of prior disclosing firms within the same industry, thus, providing evidence of herding. We also find that this positive association is even higher for firms in highly concentrated industries and firms with low barriers to entry. This finding suggests that firms facing relatively high industry competition may have greater incentives to herd. To provide further evidence of the underlying sources of this behavior, we examine whether the tendency to herd varies with the information content and specificity of prior same-industry forecasts, and with the level of managerial reputation. Our findings show that managers are more likely to disclose their expenditure plans when prior peer forecasts signal a decrease in future capital spending and when prior peer forecasts are more precise. Furthermore, we find that less reputable managers exhibit greater tendencies to herd in their disclosure decisions. These findings indicate that informational and reputational factors are both significant sources of herding in voluntary disclosure decisions.
Identification of Nutritional Components in Trypticase Responsible for Recovery of Escherichia coli Injured by Freezing

Moss, C. Wayne (North Carolina State University, Raleigh), and M. L. Speck. Identification of nutritional components in Trypticase responsible for recovery of Escherichia coli injured by freezing. J. Bacteriol. 91:1098–1104. 1966. —Freezing and storage of Escherichia coli at −20 C resulted in nonlethal or “metabolic” injury to a proportion of the surviving population. The injury was manifested as an increased nutritional requirement after freezing. Injured cells could not grow on a minimal agar medium, but could develop on Trypticase Soy Agar. The percentage of injured survivors varied among strains, but was little affected by altering the freezing menstruum. Trypticase was found to be the component in Trypticase Soy Agar responsible for the recovery of injured cells, and contained five closely related peptides that possessed most of the biological activity. Isolation of the peptides was accomplished by Sephadex gel chromatography, paper chromatography, and high-voltage paper electrophoresis. Hydrolysis of the peptides destroyed the ability to restore injured cells.
Whole‐brain 3D FLAIR at 7T using direct signal control

Image quality obtained for brain imaging at 7T can be hampered by inhomogeneities in the static magnetic field, B0, and the RF electromagnetic field, B1. In imaging sequences such as fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), which is used to assess neurological disorders, these inhomogeneities cause spatial variations in signal that can reduce clinical efficacy. In this work, we aim to correct for signal inhomogeneities to ensure whole‐brain coverage with 3D FLAIR at 7T.
New venture creation : resistance, coping and energy

Entrepreneurship can be described as the creation of a venture out of nothing, except for an entrepreneur’s idea.No manuals or blueprints for entrepreneurs‘ particular ideas exists. Add to this plenty of adversities along the way.For many, the entrepreneurial journey ends long before their products or services have reached the market. How do entrepreneurs deal with adversities and goal disruptions on the path to venture creation, and what effects does this have on their ventures? This study focuses on the goal disruptions that entrepreneursexperience and builds a model of perceived resistance. The model illustrates how entrepreneurs appraise goal disruptions, choose certain coping strategies, either eventually overcoming the goal disruptions or terminating their venture creation journey. The key issues affecting how novice entrepreneurs cope with goal disruptions are entrepreneurs’ emotions, life life goals, as well as their energetic resources.
Designing Visual Recognition for the Brand

The present paper examines how companies strategically employ design to create visual recognition of their brands' core values. To address this question, an explorative in-depth case study was carried out concerning the strategic design efforts of two companies: Nokia (mobile phones) and Volvo (passenger cars). It was found that these two companies fostered design philosophies that lay out which approach to design and which design features are expressive of the core brand values. The communication of value through design was modeled as a process of semantic transformation. This process specifies how meaning is created by design in a three-way relation among design features, brand values, and the interpretation by a potential customer. By analyzing the design effort of Nokia and Volvo with the help of this model, it is shown that control over the process of semantic transformation enabled managers in both companies to make strategic decisions over the type, strength, and generality of the relation between design features and brand values. Another result is that the embodiment of brand values in a design can be strategically organized around lead products. Such products serve as reference points for what the brand stands for and can be used as such during subsequent new product development (NPD) projects for other products in the brand portfolio. The design philosophy of Nokia was found to depart from that of Volvo. Nokia had a bigger product portfolio and served more market segments. It therefore had to apply its design features more flexibly over its product portfolio, and in many of its designs the relation between design features and brand values was more implicit. Six key drivers for the differences between the two companies were derived from the data. Two external drivers were identified that relate to the product category, and four internal drivers were found to stem from the companies' past and present brand management strategies. These drivers show that the design of visual recognition for the brand depends on the particular circumstances of the company and that it is tightly connected to strategic decision making on branding. These results are relevant for brand, product, and design managers, because they provide two good examples of companies that have organized their design efforts in such a way that they communicate the core values of their brands. Other companies can learn from these examples by considering why these two companies acted as they did and how their communication goals of product design were aligned to those of brand management.
Societal Information Disclosure and the Cost of Equity: the Case of Tunisian Companies

The purpose of this article is to identify the determinants of social and environmental disclosure and its relationship with the cost of equity. The sample used is composed of 36 Tunisian listed companies over the period 2001-2005. Results show that, in accordance with the theory of legitimacy, some parameters of the company affect its societal disclosure index. These variables are the size of the company and its membership to the financial sector. Moreover, a significant nonlinear relation is highlighted between the disclosure index and the future cost of equity. It is negative for low levels and positive for higher levels.
The local food sector

“Local food” is attracting considerable policy and public interest, but evidence is lacking about the emerging contours of the local food sector. This paper offers a preliminary assessment of the local food sector in the county of Gloucestershire. Based on interviews with farmers and retailers, it investigates the scope of local food production in the county, assesses the nature of the local food chain and considers the potential of local food production and marketing for adding value for the various actors in the chain, from producer to retailer. Questions are raised in the conclusion about the coherence and sustainability of the local food sector in the county given the differences in the ways in which producers and retailers construct “local” and some unintended consequences of the efforts to promote local food.