Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of aquatic exercise and land-based exercise on postural sway in elderly with knee osteoarthritis

Abstract Background: Knee Osteoarthritis (knee OA) is the most common joint disease in the elderly. It is a major cause of walking disability and balance impairment. The balance impairment or increase postural sway may result in increased risk of fall. Objectives: Compare effects of aquatic exercise and land-based exercise on postural sway and physical performance (pain, quality of life, leg muscle strength and leg muscle flexibility) in the elderly with knee OA. Subjects and methods: Fifty elderly women with knee OA were recruited for this study. They were randomized into aquatic exercise (n=25) and land-based exercise group (n=25). Postural sway views by anterior-posterior amplitude, medio-lateral amplitude, and total area were measured in subjects with eye opened or closed during double and single leg stance after six-week training, using the Force platform. Functional outcome was tested by the modified WOMAC. Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and pain scale were tested by Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Leg muscle strength was measured by chair stand, and leg muscle flexibility was measured by sit-andreach test. Aquatic group exercised at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital therapeutic pool, while landbased group exercised at home. Results: In comparing postural sway before and after exercise, reduction in postural sway and pain, and increase in strength, the aquatic group were significantly better than those for land-based group (p <0.05). WOMAC, KOOS scores, and sit-and-reach test after six-weeks training were improved after exercise, but these were not significantly different between groups (p >0.05). Conclusion: Elderly patients with knee OA need exercise to improve balance and reduce sway. Six-week aquatic exercise was better than land-based exercise in sway reduction.
The simulated clinical environment: Cognitive and emotional impact among undergraduates

Abstract Context: Simulated clinical immersion (SCI) is used in undergraduate healthcare programs to expose the learner to real-life situations in authentic simulated clinical environments. For novices, the environment in which the simulation occurs can be distracting and stressful, hence potentially compromising learning. Objectives: This study aims to determine whether SCI (with environment) imposes greater extraneous cognitive load and stress on undergraduate pharmacy students than simulated patients (SP) (without environment). It also aims to explore how features of the simulated environment influence students’ perception of learning. Methods: In this mixed-methods study, 143 undergraduate pharmacy students experienced both SCI and SP in a crossover design. After the simulations, participants rated their cognitive load and emotions. Thirty-five students met in focus groups to explore their perception of learning in simulation. Results: Intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load and stress scores in SCI were significantly but modestly higher compared to SP. Qualitative findings reveal that the physical environment in SCI generated more stress and affected students? focus. In SP, students concentrated on clinical reasoning. SCI stimulated a focus on data collection but impeded in-depth problem solving processes. Conclusion: The physical environment in simulation influences what and how students learn. SCI was reported as more cognitively demanding than SP. Our findings emphasize the need for the development of adapted instructional design guidelines in simulation for novices.
Meningiomas of the tuberculum sellae and planum sphenoidale. A review of 83 cases.

A delay in the diagnosis of meningiomas of the tuberculum sellae and planum sphenoidale can lead to poor surgical results in terms of visual prognosis, morbidity, and mortality. A series of 83 consecutive patients operated on for these lesions at the Neurological Institute of New York was reviewed. In only five cases was the diagnosis made within three months of the onset of symptoms, and in 54 cases symptoms were present for one year or longer. Visual acuity improved postoperatively in 38 patients (58%), worsened in 8 (12%), and remained unchanged in 19 (29%). In 33 patients, total removal was not possible because of the extent of the tumor. It is hoped that a greater awareness of the symptoms of these lesions will lead to earlier diagnosis and earlier surgical therapy and, hence, better results.
Activation of different Stat5 isoforms contributes to cell-type-restricted signaling in response to interferons

Tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of the transcription factor Stat5 occur in response to stimuli like granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-3, or erythropoietin that stimulate both proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic cells. It is unclear whether Stat5 is part of a proliferative response or part of the events leading to cellular differentiation. Here we report that agents promoting differentiation but not proliferation of hematopoietic cells, like phorbol ester or both types of interferons (IFNs), activate Stat5 in promonocytic U937 cells. Both IFN types caused tyrosine phosphorylation and DNA binding of predominantly one Stat5 isoform (Stat5a) despite expression of both Stat5a and Stat5b proteins. Monocytic differentiation of U937 cells led to a strong decrease in IFN-gamma-mediated activation of Stat5 but not of Stat1. Transactivation of Stat5-target genes occurred in response to IFN-gamma, which activates both Stat5 and Stat1, but not in response to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, which activates only Stat5. Tyrosine phosphorylation of Stat5 is not generally part of the IFN response. IFN-gamma did not cause Stat5 activation in HeLa cells, despite the expression of both Stat5 isoforms at similar levels. By contrast, IFN-alpha caused tyrosine phosphorylation and DNA binding of exclusively the b isoform of Stat5, and activated Stat5b formed a DNA binding activity previously found in HeLa cells and designated IFN-alpha activation factor 2. Taken together, our results demonstrate that ligand binding of IFN receptors leads to an isoform-specific activation of Stat5 in a restricted number of cell lineages. Moreover, they suggest that Stat5 might be part of the differentiation response of myeloid cells.
Heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia in patients with cerebrovascular ischemic disease

We studied 137 patients who were treated with heparin for cerebral infarction (73), partially reversible ischemic neurologic deficit (22), or transient ischemic attack (42). Platelet counts were performed before therapy, twice weekly, and at cessation of therapy. Platelets decreased in 118 patients (86%). In 21 (15.3%), platelets dropped ≥40%; 9 of 14 new ischemic events and three of six deaths occurred in this group of patients. Because there was a significant association between poor outcome and platelet drop ≥40% (p < 0.001), we believe that platelets should be monitored frequently when patients are treated with heparin for ischemic cerebrovascular disease.
Structure and single-phase regime of boron carbides.

The boron carbides are composed of twelve-atom icosahedral clusters which are linked by direct covalent bonds and through three-atom intericosahedral chains. The boron carbides are known to exist as a single phase with carbon concentrations from about 8 to about 20 at. %. This range of carbon concentrations is made possible by the substitution of boron and carbon atoms for one another within both the icosahedra and intericosahedral chains. The most widely accepted structural model for B/sub 4/C (the boron carbide with nominally 20% carbon) has B/sub 11/C icosahedra with C-B-C intericosahedral chains. Here, the free energy of the boron carbides is studied as a function of carbon concentration by considering the effects of replacing carbon atoms within B/sub 4/C with boron atoms. It is concluded that entropic and energetic considerations both favor the replacement of carbon atoms with boron atoms within the intericosahedral chains, C-B-C. -->. C-B-B. Once the carbon concentration is so low that the vast majority of the chains are C-B-B chains, near B/sub 13/C/sub 2/, subsequent substitutions of carbon atoms with boron atoms occur within the icosahedra, B/sub 11/C. -->. B/sub 12/. Maxima of the free energy occur at the most ordered compositions: B/sub 4/C,B/sub 13/C/sub 2/,B/sub 14/C. This structuralmore » model, determined by studying the free energy, agrees with that previously suggested by analysis of electronic and thermal transport data. These considerations also provide an explanation for the wide single-phase regime found for boron carbides. « less
Nonpharmacological treatments for patients with Parkinson's disease

Since 2013, a number of studies have enhanced the literature and have guided clinicians on viable treatment interventions outside of pharmacotherapy and surgery. Thirty‐three randomized controlled trials and one large observational study on exercise and physiotherapy were published in this period. Four randomized controlled trials focused on dance interventions, eight on treatment of cognition and behavior, two on occupational therapy, and two on speech and language therapy (the latter two specifically addressed dysphagia). Three randomized controlled trials focused on multidisciplinary care models, one study on telemedicine, and four studies on alternative interventions, including music therapy and mindfulness. These studies attest to the marked interest in these therapeutic approaches and the increasing evidence base that places nonpharmacological treatments firmly within the integrated repertoire of treatment options in Parkinson's disease. © 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Measurement of total energy expenditure by the doubly labelled water method in professional soccer players

To determine the daily energy requirements of professional soccer players during a competitive season, we measured total energy expenditure in seven players (age 22.1 - 1.9 years, height 1.75 - 0.05 m, mass 69.8 - 4.7 kg; mean - s ) using the doubly labelled water method. Energy intake was simultaneously estimated from 7 day self-report dietary records. Mean total energy expenditure and energy intake were 14.8 - 1.7 MJ · day -1 (3532 - 408 kcal· day -1 ) and 13.0 - 2.4 MJ · day -1 (3113 - 581 kcal· day -1 ), respectively. Although there was a significant difference between total energy expenditure and energy intake ( P ≪ 0.01), there was a strong relationship between the two ( r = 0.893, P ≪ 0.01). Basal metabolic rate and recommended energy allowance calculated from the Recommended Dietary Allowances for the Japanese were 7.0 - 0.3 MJ ·day -1 (1683 - 81 kcal· day -1 ) and 15.6 - 0.8 MJ · day -1 (3739 - 180 kcal· day -1 ), respectively. A physical activity level (total energy expenditure/ basal metabolic rate) of 2.11 - 0.30 indicated that, during the competitive season, professional soccer players undertake much routine physical activity, similar to that of competitive athletes during moderate training. Energy intake estimated using dietary records was under-reported, suggesting that its calculation from these data does not predict energy expenditure in soccer players.
Spirometric predictors of lung function decline and mortality in early chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RATIONALE The course of lung function decline for smokers with early airflow obstruction remains undefined. It is also unclear which early spirometric characteristics identify individuals at risk for rapid decline and increased mortality. OBJECTIVES To determine the association between spirometric measures and 5-year decline in FEV(1) and 12-year mortality. METHODS We analyzed longitudinal data from the Lung Health Study, a clinical trial of intensive smoking cessation intervention with or without bronchodilator therapy in 5,887 smokers with mild to moderate airflow obstruction. Participants were stratified into bins of baseline FEV(1) to FVC ratio, using bins of 5%, and separately into bins of Z-score (difference between actual and predicted FEV(1)/FVC, normalized to SD of predicted FEV(1)/FVC). Associations between spirometric measures and FEV(1) decline and mortality were determined after adjusting for baseline characteristics and time-varying smoking status. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS The cohort was approximately two-thirds male, predominantly of white race (96%), and with mean age of 49 ± 7 years. In general, individuals with lower lung function by any metric had more rapid adjusted FEV(1) decline. A threshold for differential decline was present at FEV(1)/FVC less than 0.65 (P < 0.001) and Z-score less than -2 (2.3 percentile) (P < 0.001). At year 12, 575 (7.2%) of the cohort had died. Lower thresholds of each spirometric metric were associated with increasing adjusted hazard of death. CONCLUSIONS Smokers at risk or with mild to moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have accelerated lung function decline. Individuals with lower baseline FEV(1)/FVC have more rapid decline and worse mortality.
An evaluation of middle management skills in a private healthcare service in the Western Cape Province of South Africa

The objectives of this study were to evaluate middle management skills in a healthcare and identify which skills the managers deemed to be important and also assess the self efficacy of the mangers in these skills. The study found that general managerial skills such as interpersonal relationships, patient management, quality management, leadership and human resources management were considered to be important by the middle managers. Furthermore, there is a skills deficit in financial management, niche marketing and risk management. It is concluded that although most hospital jobs are technical and specialized, it is important for those professionals that aspire to move into managerial positions to acquire managerial skills.
Postoperative subdural hygroma and chronic subdural hematoma after unruptured aneurysm surgery: age, sex, and aneurysm location as independent risk factors.

OBJECTIVE This study investigated the incidence and risk factors for the postoperative occurrence of subdural complications, such as a subdural hygroma and resultant chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH), following surgical clipping of an unruptured aneurysm. The critical age affecting such occurrences and follow-up results were also examined. METHODS The case series included 364 consecutive patients who underwent aneurysm clipping via a pterional or superciliary keyhole approach for an unruptured saccular aneurysm in the anterior cerebral circulation between 2007 and 2013. The subdural hygromas were identified based on CT scans 6-9 weeks after surgery, and the volumes were measured using volumetry studies. Until their complete resolution, all the subdural hygromas were followed using CT scans every 1-2 months. Meanwhile, the CSDHs were classified as nonoperative or operative lesions that were treated by bur-hole drainage. The age and sex of the patients, aneurysm location, history of a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and surgical approach (pterional vs superciliary) were all analyzed regarding the postoperative occurrence of a subdural hygroma or CSDH. The follow-up results of the subdural complications were also investigated. RESULTS Seventy patients (19.2%) developed a subdural hygroma or CSDH. The results of a multivariate analysis showed that advanced age (p = 0.003), male sex (p < 0.001), middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysm (p = 0.045), and multiple concomitant aneurysms at the MCA and anterior communicating artery (ACoA) (p < 0.001) were all significant risk factors of a subdural hygroma and CSDH. In addition, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed a cut-off age of > 60 years, which achieved a 70% sensitivity and 69% specificity with regard to predicting such subdural complications. The female patients ≤ 60 years of age showed a negligible incidence of subdural complications for all aneurysm groups, whereas the male patients > 60 years of age showed the highest incidence of subdural complications at 50%-100%, according to the aneurysm location. The subdural hygromas detected 6-9 weeks postoperatively showed different follow-up results, according to the severity. The subdural hygromas that converted to a CSDH were larger in volume than the subdural hygromas that resolved spontaneously (28.4 ± 16.8 ml vs 59.6 ± 38.4 ml, p = 0.003). Conversion to a CSDH was observed in 31.3% (5 of 16), 64.3% (9 of 14), and 83.3% (5 of 6) of the patients with mild, moderate, and severe subdural hygromas, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Advanced age, male sex, and an aneurysm location requiring extensive arachnoid dissection (MCA aneurysms and multiple concomitant aneurysms at the MCA and ACoA) are all correlated with the occurrence of a subdural hygroma and CSDH after unruptured aneurysm surgery. The critical age affecting such an occurrence is 60 years.
Knapsack Voting for Participatory Budgeting

We address the question of aggregating the preferences of voters in the context of participatory budgeting. We scrutinize the voting method currently used in practice, underline its drawbacks, and introduce a novel scheme tailored to this setting, which we call “Knapsack Voting. ” We study its strategic properties—we show that it is strategy-proof under a natural model of utility (a dis-utility given by the ℓ1 distance between the outcome and the true preference of the voter) and “partially” strategy-proof under general additive utilities. We extend Knapsack Voting to more general settings with revenues, deficits, or surpluses and prove a similar strategy-proofness result. To further demonstrate the applicability of our scheme, we discuss its implementation on the digital voting platform that we have deployed in partnership with the local government bodies in many cities across the nation. From voting data thus collected, we present empirical evidence that Knapsack Voting works well in practice.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the efficacy of transdermal clonidine in autism.

BACKGROUND Autistic individuals often exhibit hyperarousal behaviors (e.g., stereotyped body movements, self-stimulation, hypervigilance, and hyperactivity). Clonidine, an alpha 2-adrenergic receptor agonist, has been shown to be effective in reducing impulsivity, inattention, and hyperactivity associated with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. This study investigated the efficacy and safety of transdermal clonidine in reducing hyperarousal behaviors associated with autism. METHOD A double-blind, placebo-crossover study with transdermal clonidine was performed in nine autistic males (aged 5 to 33 years). Subjects received either clonidine (approximately 0.005 mg/kg/day) or placebo by a weekly transdermal patch. Each trial lasted 4 weeks with a 2-week washout period between treatment phases. Subjects were evaluated every 2 weeks by clinician raters and weekly by parents. RESULTS The clonidine treatment showed a significant difference from placebo treatment on three subscales of the Ritvo-Freeman Real Life Rating Scale (i.e., social relationship to people, affectual responses, and sensory responses). The Clinical Global Impressions scale indicated that clonidine produced a significant improvement on severity of illness, global improvement, and efficacy index for therapeutic effect of the drug. A patient global rating scale showed clonidine treatment resulted in significant improvement in comparison with placebo. Adverse effects included sedation and fatigue during the first 2 weeks of clonidine treatment. CONCLUSION Results from this preliminary study show that clonidine was effective in reducing several hyperarousal behaviors and improved social relationships in some autistic subjects. Further studies are needed in a larger autistic population to determine the dose-response relationship of clonidine.
Epilogue: Ramsey’s Ubiquitous Pragmatism

A few weeks before I arrIved in cambridge in 2011, as Simon Blackburn’s suc­ cessor in the newly named Bertrand Russell Professorship, there was an oppor­ tunity to apply for conference funding from a new University scheme. with Fraser MacBride, i came up with a proposal that seemed not only an excellent fit with our own interests, but astonishingly inclusive within recent cambridge philoso­ phy more generally. From my side, it connected my work not only to Blackburn (that link was obvious) and to several of his and my apparently disparate prede­ cessors in the chair, such as Mellor, Anscombe, von wright, and wittgenstein, but also to many other distinguished cambridge philosophers of the past century or so—Frank Ramsey, Bernard williams, and Edward craig, for example. (From MacBride’s side, it connected to his interest in neglected figures in cambridge philosophy in the inter­war period.) what was this appealingly broad church? it was the view that for some in­ teresting topics, the path to philosophical illumination lies not, as others have thought, in an inquiry into the nature of the (apparent) subject matter, but in asking about the distinctive role of the concepts in question—how we come to have such concepts, what roles they play in our lives, and so on. This view is very famil­ iar in Blackburn’s work on topics such as morality and modality, for example— Blackburn now calls it expressivism, and traces it in both these cases to Hume. But it also turns up, in places, in the work of a very wide range of other cambridge philosophers: at least arguably, for example, in that of Mellor on tense, Anscombe on the first person, craig on knowledge, von wright on causation, williams on truth, as well as wittgenstein and Ramsey, famously, on various matters. The view in question seems appropriately called a kind of pragmatism. it proposes to understand the concepts in question in terms of their use, and their practical role in our lives, rather than in terms of any ‘corresponding’ metaphys­ ics. So, a little cheekily, we labelled our project ‘cambridge Pragmatism’. As we were aware, the cheek was double­barrelled. One could find such views outside cambridge, of course, and many of the cambridge philosophers on our list would not have regarded themselves as pragmatists. But despite or perhaps because of these blemishes, it served our purposes very well. with the generous support of the cambridge Humanities Research Grants Scheme, MacBride and i organized a
STOCK TYPE AFFECTS PERFORMANCE OF SHORTLEAF PINE PLANTED IN THE OUACHITA MOUNTAINS THROUGH 10 YEARS

Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) seeds collected from several half-sib families were grown as both bare-root and container stock and outplanted on two sites in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. When outplanted, the bare-root seedlings had greater mean height and root-collar diameter than the container seedlings. However, the container seedlings had greater mean root volume and more favorable shoot-to-root ratios than the bare-root stock. Survival of both stock types was excellent, exceeding 90 percent after 10 years. The container stock performed consistently better than the bare-root at each interval measured, but there were no statistically significant interactions between stock type and half-sib family at 3, 5, or 10 years.
Psychometrics and Psychometricians in the 20th and 21st Centuries: How it was in the 20th Century and How it is Now

This article is based largely upon the author's invited address at the 113th annual convention of the American Psychological Convention, Washington, DC, as the 2005 recipient of the Samuel J. Messick Award bestowed by APA Division 5 and the Educational Testing Service. The author summarizes the growth of graduate training in psychometrics and quantitative psychology, in the years prior to and following the end of WWII. He then opines the steady decline in the training of psychometricians and quantitative psychologists beginning in the 1970s and continuing into the 20th century. Likely causes of the decline are inferred and prospects for strengthening the quantitative skills of doctorates are discussed, including recommendations for reversing the downward trend.