Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
No Clinical or Electrophysiologic Evidence of Nerve Injury after Intraneural Injection during Sciatic Popliteal Block

Background: Intraneural injection during nerve-stimulator–guided sciatic block at the popliteal fossa may be a common occurrence. Although intraneural injections have not resulted in clinically detectable neurologic injury in small studies in human subjects, intraneural injections result in postinjection inflammation in animal models. This study used clinical, imaging, and electrophysiologic measures to evaluate the occurrence of any subclinical neurologic injury in patients with intraneural injection during sciatic popliteal block. Methods: Twenty patients undergoing popliteal block were enrolled; 17 patients completed the study protocol. After tibial nerve response was achieved by nerve stimulation (0.3–0.5 mA; 2 Hz; 0.1 ms), 20 ml mixture of mepivacaine (1.25%) and radiopaque contrast (2 ml) were injected. Location and spread of the injectant were assessed by ultrasound measurements of the sciatic nerve area before and after injection, and by computed tomography. In addition to clinical neurologic evaluations, serial electrophysiologic studies (nerve conduction and late response studies using predefined criteria) were performed at baseline and at 1 week and 3 weeks after the block for signs of subclinical neurologic dysfunction. Results: Sixteen injections (94%, 95% CI: 71–100%) met criteria for an intraneural injection. Postinjection nerve area on ultrasound increased by 45% (95% CI: 29–58%), P < 0.001. Computed tomography demonstrated fascicular separation in 70% (95% CI: 44–90%), air within the nerve in 29% (95% CI: 10–56%), contrast along bifurcations in 65% (95% CI: 38–86%), and concentric contrast layers in 100% (95% CI: 84–100%). Neither clinical nor electrophysiologic studies detected neurologic dysfunction indicating injury to the nerve. Conclusions: Nerve-stimulator–guided sciatic block at the popliteal fossa often results in intraneural injection that may not lead to clinical or electrophysiologic nerve injury.
The Impact of Extension Services on Farm-level Income: An Instrumental Variable Approach to Combat Endogeneity Concerns

Agricultural extension is an important policy instrument utilized to diffuse knowledge and increase profitability among farmers. However, analyses on impact are subject to endogeneity concerns, causing multiple biases. Failure to combat endogeneity can lead to false inferences on impact. This article addresses this issue by applying an instrumental variable approach with distance to local advisory office and a policy change chosen as instruments for extension participation. The results show that participation significantly increased farm income and that OLS estimates underestimated the impact. Therefore, a superior estimate of impact is achieved which can be leveraged to better support accurate policy making.
Systematic Review of Live Tissue Versus Simulation Education for Prehospital Trauma Providers.

BACKGROUND Advanced simulation capabilities have provided medical educators novel approaches for learners. Simulation has successfully replaced many aspects of medical education that previously used animal live-tissue training (LTT) for physician education. However, prehospital trauma providers, such as combat medics, currently used LTT to prepare for patient care. This use of LTT has sparked a debate about the optimal educational modality for this unique learner population. At this time, there is no clear evidence-based recommendation available to recommend either LTT or simulation as a superior modality. METHODS The authors performed a systematic review of observational studies and randomized control trials (RCTs) to examine the use of LTT versus simulation in the trauma education of prehospital providers. The authors judged studies for inclusion and data abstraction independently and in duplicate, while also assessing quality and risk of bias. Since the literature demonstrated a heterogeneous background, no meta-analysis was performed. RESULTS 12 studies met inclusion criteria: seven RCTs, four prospective cohorts, one cross-sectional study. Two of seven RCTs were presented as abstracts only. Ten of 12 studies were performed in a military setting, whereas two occurred in a civilian setting. Four studies used swine, two used goats, one used swine and goats, one used canines, and four did not specify the animal type. The authors used the Cochrane Collaboration tool to assess RCTs and found a considerable risk of bias. They used the Newcastle-Ottawa score to assess prospective cohorts (mean score of 5.75 ± 0.5, range 1-9), and the cross-sectional study (score 4, range 1-9). CONCLUSION The existing literature provides limited, low-to-moderate quality outcome data. Evidence does not exist at this time to recommend either LTT or simulation as a superior educational modality for prehospital trauma care providers.
Long-term use of antidepressants for depressive disorders and the risk of diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE Use of antidepressants has been reported to cause considerable weight gain. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of diabetes mellitus associated with antidepressant treatment and to examine whether the risk is influenced by treatment duration or daily dose. METHOD This was a nested case-control study in a cohort of 165,958 patients with depression who received at least one new prescription for an antidepressant between January 1, 1990, and June 30, 2005. Data were from from the U.K. General Practice Research Database. Patients were at least 30 years of age and without diabetes at cohort entry. RESULTS A total of 2,243 cases of incident diabetes mellitus and 8,963 matched comparison subjects were identified. Compared with no use of antidepressants during the past 2 years, recent long-term use (>24 months) of antidepressants in moderate to high daily doses was associated with an increased risk of diabetes (incidence rate ratio=1.84, 95% CI=1.35-2.52). The magnitude of the risk was similar for long-term use of moderate to high daily doses of tricyclic antidepressants (incidence rate ratio=1.77, 95% CI=1.21-2.59) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (incidence rate ratio=2.06, 95% CI=1.20-3.52). Treatment for shorter periods or with lower daily doses was not associated with an increased risk. CONCLUSIONS Long-term use of antidepressants in at least moderate daily doses was associated with an increased risk of diabetes. This association was observed for both tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
On the Dynamical Interplay of Positive and Negative Affects

Emotional disorders and psychological flourishing are the result of complex interactions between positive and negative affects that depend on external events and the subject’s internal representations. Based on psychological data, we mathematically model the dynamical balance between positive and negative affects as a function of the response to external positive and negative events. This modeling allows the investigation of the relative impact of two leading forms of therapy on affect balance. The model uses a delay differential equation to analytically study the bifurcation diagram of the system. We compare the results of the model to psychological data on a single, recurrently depressed patient who was administered the two types of therapies considered (coping focused versus affect focused). The model leads to the prediction that stabilization at a normal state may rely on evaluating one’s emotional state through a historical ongoing emotional state rather than in a narrow present window. The simple mathematical model proposed here offers a theoretical framework for investigating the temporal process of change and parameters of resilience to relapse.
Morphological and Histochemical Observations on the Crural Gland-Spur Apparatus of the Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) together with Comparative Observations on the Femoral Gland-Spur Apparatus of the Duckbilled Platypus (Ornithorhyncus anatinus)

The echidna and platypus have a crural/femoral gland that is linked by a large duct to a canalized, keratinous spur located on the medial side of the ankle. The echidna crural gland, like the femoral gland of the platypus, exhibits cyclic activity, being prominent in both monotremes when they are sexually active. In the present study, we compared the structure and histochemistry of these glands. During the active phase, the secretory epithelium forming the respective glands of both species increased in height and became packed with secretory granules that differed markedly in structure. Secretory granules of the echidna crural gland were electron dense and characterized by cores or areas of increased electron density. Those of the platypus were initially electron dense, but then became less dense and coalesced into irregular complexes of secretory material. Large cytoplasmic blebs extended from epithelial cell apices and appeared to be shed into the lumen, resulting in an apocrine mode of secretion. Exocytosis was also observed. A similar form of release of secretory product was not observed in the echidna. Secretory granules of both species were periodic acid-Schiff positive and stained for protein, suggesting that much of the secretory product was glycoprotein. Myoepithelial cells enveloped the secretory tubules of the platypus femoral gland, whereas they were not observed surrounding tubules comprising the echidna crural gland. During the quiescent phase, the epithelial cells of both species lost their secretory granules and decreased in height. As a result, the secretory tubules became smaller, intralobular connective tissue increased and the glands decreased in overall size.
Assessment of energy security in the electricity industry value chain: 10 selected Latin American countries

When technological advances were reached during the XIX century, energy started to be transformed into electricity through the use of different energy resources, technologies and processes. The importance of electricity supply in terms of energy security emerged from the fact that it is a basic service which has to meet demand requirements in real time and therefore must be guaranteed through controlling the factors that may affect the stability in supplying the service, in addition electricity industry by its own nature is connected to the energy resource system. Beside the electricity industry value chain, we found different processes or systems such as electricity generation, transmission and distribution. Although there is an extensive literature regarding security of energy supply, still there is no prior study that undertakes energy security for the electricity industry through considering the electricity industry’s value chain and the core indicators that can influence negatively the continuity of electricity supply. There is a need for accomplishing new research methodologies in different energy security fields. Based on these conditions and after researching and analyzing various textbooks, papers and journal articles, our research objective is to define and develop a proper approach for evaluating energy security in the electricity industry value chain through considering ten different Latin American countries: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
D-Dimer in the Early Diagnosis of Acute Mesenteric Ischemia Secondary to Arterial Occlusion in Rats

Background: Early diagnosis of mesenteric ischemia can be life saving. The aim of this study is to investigate the time-dependent diagnostic value of plasma D-dimer and other ancillary laboratory evaluations such as creatine phosphokinase, lactic dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, amylase, and leukocyte count in an experimental superior mesenteric arterial occlusion (SMA-O) model in rats. Methods: Forty male Wistar-Albino rats were separated into 4 groups: 2-, 4-, 6-, and 12-hour SMA-O groups. After laparotomy, the SMA was identified and ligated for 2, 4, 6 and 12 h in the 4 respective study groups. Blood samples were taken for laboratory tests 2 h after laparotomy in the control group and at the end of the ischemic period in the study groups. Results: The longer the duration of mesenteric ischemia, the higher were the serum D-dimer levels in the study groups, and statistical significance was obtained at 2 h (p = 0.021). Sensitivity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of the relation were 88.8, 88.8, 100 and 90%, respectively. Leukocyte count was significantly higher than controls after 12 h. No other laboratory parameter correlated positively with the duration of mesenteric ischemia. Conclusion: Serum D-dimer measurements may be a valuable diagnostic parameter in the early diagnosis of mesenteric ischemia.
Curvilinear Stabilization Techniques for Truncated Newton Methods in Large Scale Unconstrained Optimization

The aim of this paper is to define a new class of minimization algorithms for solving large scale unconstrained problems. In particular we describe a stabilization framework, based on a curvilinear linesearch, which uses a combination of a Newton-type direction and a negative curvature direction. The motivation for using negative curvature direction is that of taking into account local nonconvexity of the objective function. On the basis of this framework, we propose an algorithm which uses the Lanczos method for determining at each iteration both a Newton-type direction and an effective negative curvature direction. The results of extensive numerical testing are reported together with a comparison with the LANCELOT package. These results show that the algorithm is very competitive, which seems to indicate that the proposed approach is promising.
CXCR3 Mediates Region-Specific Antiviral T Cell Trafficking within the Central Nervous System during West Nile Virus Encephalitis1

Regional differences in inflammation during viral infections of the CNS suggest viruses differentially induce patterns of chemoattractant expression, depending on their cellular targets. Previous studies have shown that expression of the chemokine CXCL10 by West Nile virus (WNV)-infected neurons is essential for the recruitment of CD8 T cells for the purpose of viral clearance within the CNS. In the current study we used mice deficient for the CXCL10 receptor, CXCR3, to evaluate its role in leukocyte-mediated viral clearance of WNV infection within various CNS compartments. WNV-infected CXCR3-deficient mice exhibited significantly enhanced mortality compared with wild-type controls. Immunologic and virologic analyses revealed that CXCR3 was dispensable for control of viral infection in the periphery and in most CNS compartments but, surprisingly, was required for CD8 T cell-mediated antiviral responses specifically within the cerebellum. WNV-specific, CXCR3-expressing T cells preferentially migrated into the cerebellum, and WNV-infected cerebellar granule cell neurons expressed higher levels of CXCL10 compared with similarly infected cortical neurons. These results indicate that WNV differentially induces CXCL10 within neuronal populations and suggest a novel model for nonredundancy in chemokine-mediated inflammation among CNS compartments.
Strategies of Successful Anti-Dam Movements: Evidence from Myanmar and Thailand

ABSTRACT Scholars are rarely able to examine anti-dam movements that result in project suspensions or cancellations since these cases are rare empirically. Yet, they are central to understanding how anti-dam movements can succeed. This paper analyzes the movements against Myanmar’s Myitsone Dam and Thailand’s Kaeng Suea Ten Dam. Likely the most successful anti-dam movements in Southeast Asia in recent years, they achieved suspension over 6 and 37 years, respectively. The research is based on 60 semistructured interviews carried out over a period of 8 months. Leveraging thinking from both the constructionist and structural schools within the field of social movement studies, it is found that the framing of the Myitsone Dam as a project threatening the national cultural heritage of Myanmar (in combination with political change in the country in 2010/2011) largely explains the movement’s success. Meanwhile, the set of sophisticated tactics (including inter alia demonstrations, Thai Baan research, 24/7 monitoring of the dam site, and spiritual activities) was decisive for the efficacy of the movement against Thailand’s Kaeng Suea Ten Dam.
The Gilded Bubble Buffer

We provide a microfounded framework for the welfare analysis of macroprudential policy by means of an overlapping generation model where productivity and credit supply are subject to random shocks in order to analyze rational bubbles that can be fueled by banking credit. We find that credit financed bubbles may be welfare improving because of their role as a buffer in channeling excessive credit supply and inefficient investment at the firms' level, but can cause systemic risk. Therefore macroprudential policy plays a key role in improving efficiency while preserving financial stability. Our approach allows us to compare the efficiency of alternative macroprudential policies. Contrarily to conventional wisdom, we show that macroprudential policy may be efficient even in the absence of systemic risk, that it has to be contingent on productivity shocks, to take into account real interest rates.
Consumption Dynamics and Inequality of Opportunity with an Application to Uganda

This paper proposes the adoption of an opportunity egalitarian perspective to assess and compare growth processes and their distributional implications. To this aim, a set of graphical tools are introduced that allow one to evaluate the role of growth and recessions in the evolution of individualsâ€™ opportunities over time. These tools satisfy the ex post principle of equality of opportunity and represent an extension of the â€œopportunity growth incidence curve,â€ a framework proposed by the literature to evaluate growth according to the ex ante principle of equality of opportunity. This measurement framework is applied to evaluate the economic dynamic between 2009 and 2011 in Uganda. The results show that despite a reduction in the real value of household consumption and a surge in outcome inequality, its effects appear to be less dramatic when the ex post equality of opportunity perspective is invoked.
[Tectonic epikeratoplasty as an alternative to keratoplasty à chaud?].

PURPOSE To compare the outcome of epikeratoplasty vs. penetrating keratoplasty in patients with corneal ulcer. PATIENTS AND METHODS 24 patients had been treated by an epikeratoplasty and 20 patients by a penetrating keratoplasty within 5 years. The indication to operate was progression of a corneal ulcer, perforated ulcer or a descemetocele. In epikeratoplasty a complete cornea with adjacent scleral rim was fixed upon the recipient eye by scleral sutures. This transplant was removed after some weeks. In both groups the patients were reexamined and the anatomical and functional outcome was registered. RESULTS In both groups all but one globe could be saved. The integrity of corneal surface was restored in 85% (n = 17) of the keratoplasty group and in 75% (n = 18) in epikeratoplasty. The vascularization of the cornea after removing the transplant in epikeratoplasty patients was increased by 70% (n = 17) and their corneas revealed more opacification than before. In the penetrating keratoplasty patient group the vascularization increased in 40% (n = 8) and in 20% (n = 4) of the patients the transplant became cloudy. The visual acuity improved in 13 cases in penetrating keratoplasty but only in two cases after epikeratoplasty. CONCLUSION A corneal ulcer (with or without perforation) treated by a penetrating keratoplasty with removing the ulcerated tissue has a better outcome than an ulcer covered by an epikeratoplasty. In patients only able to tolerate a short time of surgery with minimal operative risk or if there is no possibility of microsurgical treatment epikeratoplasty may be an alternative to penetrating keratoplasty in saving the globe. However, in most patients penetrating keratoplasty has better functional results.
Developmental mercury exposure elicits acute hippocampal cell death, reductions in neurogenesis, and severe learning deficits during puberty

Normal brain development requires coordinated regulation of several processes including proliferation, differentiation, and cell death. Multiple factors from endogenous and exogenous sources interact to elicit positive as well as negative regulation of these processes. In particular, the perinatal rat brain is highly vulnerable to specific developmental insults that produce later cognitive abnormalities. We used this model to examine the developmental effects of an exogenous factor of great concern, methylmercury (MeHg). Seven‐day‐old rats received a single injection of MeHg (5 μg/gbw). MeHg inhibited DNA synthesis by 44% and reduced levels of cyclins D1, D3, and E at 24 h in the hippocampus, but not the cerebellum. Toxicity was associated acutely with caspase‐dependent programmed cell death. MeHg exposure led to reductions in hippocampal size (21%) and cell numbers 2 weeks later, especially in the granule cell layer (16%) and hilus (50%) of the dentate gyrus defined stereologically, suggesting that neurons might be particularly vulnerable. Consistent with this, perinatal exposure led to profound deficits in juvenile hippocampal‐dependent learning during training on a spatial navigation task. In aggregate, these studies indicate that exposure to one dose of MeHg during the perinatal period acutely induces apoptotic cell death, which results in later deficits in hippocampal structure and function.
Histopathological comparison of the onset of peri‐implantitis and periodontitis in rats

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE There are a few experimental models that clearly describe the pathological differences in tissue destruction between periodontitis and peri-implantitis. We recently reported that the formation of immune complexes accelerates site-specific loss of attachment and alveolar bone resorption when an antigen is topically applied in the gingival sulcus of an immunized rat. We applied this model to the peri-implant tissues and compared peri-implant destruction to periodontitis without using a ligature. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-five rats were used in this study and were divided into five groups. Implantation was performed immediately after extraction of right first molars in rats. The left first molars were left untreated to be examined as natural teeth. The immunized group consisted of rats that had received intraperitoneal lipopolysaccharide (LPS), whereas the nonimmunized group received only phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). The untreated baseline group received only implantation. After intraperitoneal booster injection, half of each group received topical application of LPS in the palatal gingival sulcus daily for 3 days. The other half of the groups received PBS. Histopathological and histometrical findings were observed with hematoxylin and eosin staining, collagen fibers were observed with Azan staining, and formation of immune complexes was immunohistologically evaluated by C1qB expression. RESULT Peri-implant tissue destruction was greater in the immunized and LPS-applied groups than in the other groups. No periodontal destruction was observed. Formation of immune complexes was observed in the junctional epithelium and adjacent connective tissue in the immunized groups. CONCLUSION Antigen-induced peri-implant tissue destruction occurs faster than periodontal tissue destruction.