Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The incidence of Mirizzi syndrome in patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

BACKGROUND Mirizzi syndrome is a rare complication of cholelithiasis, characterized by the narrowing of the common hepatic duct as a result of mechanical compression and/or inflammation due to biliary calculus impacted in the infundibula of the gallbladder or in the cystic duct. In this study, we aimed to describe the clinical presentations, investigations, operative details, and complications of seven patients who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and were finally diagnosed with Mirizzi syndrome in our center. METHOD We performed a retrospective analysis of the records of 7 patients with Mirizzi syndrome who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. RESULTS The incidence of Mirizzi syndrome was 1.07% of 656 patients given endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Ultrasonography was able to diagnose one case. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography suggested the diagnosis in five cases and helped further in the management of these patients. Four patients had cholecystectomy and T-tube placement, and two had cholecystectomy and choledochoduodenostomy. One patient with type I Mirizzi syndrome according to the Csendes classification successfully underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. CONCLUSIONS In the study, the incidence of Mirizzi syndrome was 1.07% of patients who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Preoperative diagnosis of Mirizzi syndrome by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is important to prevent complications.
Student Teacher Dialogue in an Electronic Community of Practice: Cognition Level Related to the InTASC Standards.

Teachers are constantly being evaluated based upon their ability to provide the best education for their students. These evaluations are done at a macro level, where teachers must meet state and national mandates that deem them highly qualified, and at a micro level, where teachers must display proficiency as effective teachers through teacher education standards. Specific to preservice teachers, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) aligns standards based upon what preservice teachers should know and be able to do. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency in which student teacher blog posts in an electronic community of practice related to the InTASC standards, as well as determine the average level of student teacher critical thinking displayed in the blog posts related to those standards. Student teachers most frequently blogged about the Professional Learning and Ethical Practices standard as compared to the other nine InTASC standards. It was found that for blog posts discussing InTASC standards, overall critical thinking was displayed at knowledge, comprehension, or application levels. It is recommended that future studies utilize open coding in order to gain a broader insight of the student teachers’ discussions. This article is a product of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa, Project 3713 and sponsored by the Hatch Act and State of Iowa funds.
Flexural properties of denture base resins subjected to long-term water immersion

Abstract Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the flexural properties of denture base resins subjected to long-term water immersion. Materials and methods. Four denture base resins (one conventional heat-processed, one microwave energy-processed and two pour-type autopolymerizing) were selected for this study. The specimens of each denture base material tested were fabricated according to the manufacturers' instructions (n = 10). The flexural properties of the denture base resins were measured according to ISO 20795-1. The ultimate flexural strength, the flexural strength at the proportional limit and the elastic modulus of the specimens were evaluated. Results. The ultimate flexural strengths of the heat-processed resin and the two pour-type autopolymerizing resins significantly decreased after 6 months water immersion. The flexural strength at the proportional limit of the heat-processed resin significantly decreased after 6 months water immersion, but the microwave energy-processed denture base resin and two pour-type autopolymerizing resins did not change after 6 months water immersion. The elastic moduli of the heat-processed resin, the microwave energy-processed denture base resin and one pour-type autopolymerizing resin significantly increased after 6 months water immersion. Conclusion. The flexural properties of denture base resins significantly changed after long-term water immersion.
Dental health behaviour in relation to caries status among medical and dental undergraduate students of Udaipur district, India.

OBJECTIVE To compare the caries status and oral hygiene behaviour of dental and medical students and to assess the influence of oral hygiene behaviour on the caries status. METHODS A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour along with clinical examination to asses the caries status. A total of 403 dental and medical students enrolled with Rajasthan University of Health Sciences of Udaipur district, India were recruited in the study. RESULTS 56.4% of dental students brushed their teeth twice daily compared to 38.5% of medical students. There was no significant difference between the mean decayed components of males and females of dental stream, whereas among medical subjects, males had a higher decayed score than females (P = 0.012). The mean behaviour score obtained by dental students (19.38) was greater than that of medical students (18.34). Moreover, medical students presented a higher decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) score (1.96) than dental students (1.16). Subjects who had a habit of brushing after every meal showed lower DMFT score (1.4) than those who brushed only once a day (1.64). Step-wise linear regression analysis revealed that course of education and final behaviour score were the best predictors for the DMFT status. CONCLUSION This study revealed significant differences between the oral hygiene behaviour and caries status of dental and medical students; furthermore, caries status was significantly influenced by the oral hygiene behaviour.
World Energy Investment 2019

World Energy Investment 2019: Methodology Annex . 2 Measuring investment in energy efficiency . 3 Measuring investment in oil, gas, and coal . 5 IEA Upstream Investment Cost Index (UICI) . 5 IEA Upstream Shale Investment Cost Index (USICI) . 6 Measuring investment in power . 6 Financing and funding trends . 8 By financing mechanism. 8 Green bonds . 8 Research and Development . 9 References . 11
Markups, Market Imperfections, and Trade Openness: Evidence from Ghana

This article investigates the impact of Ghana’s World Trade Organization (WTO) accession on firm-level product and labor market imperfections. The article exploits a rich dataset of firm-level information to estimate markups and the degree of monopsony power enjoyed by manufacturing firms. The results indicate that price-cost margins declined while the degree of monopsony power increased in the wake of WTO accession. These diverging dynamics suggest that firms compress real wages to offset loss of market power in the product market due to increased international competition. This gives rise to an increase in the market imperfection gap, which gradually erodes the pro-competitive gains from trade. The article contributes to the literature by identifying channels through which allocative inefficiencies and misallocation can persist even after trade liberalization.
Trust and Economic Performance: A Panel Study

This paper critically reviews the current various measures of trust through surveys/questionnaires and trust experiments. The main shortcoming from such approaches is that the trust index produced from surveys and experiment are ambiguous. Given these arguments, I use Factor Analysis technique to construct a new trust index that account for indicators of degree of trust. Consequently, the rankings of countries in my index is more consistent compared to the rankings of existing trust indices. Using the above, I illustrate the panel analysis on the influence of trust on FDI inflows and income inequality. Trust turns out to play a significant role on FDI inflows. With regard to income inequality, trust is more pronounced among the OECD countries.
Waiting: the experience of persons in a critical care waiting room.

The purposes of this study were to discover the essences of the experience of waiting, to provide new knowledge about what it is like to wait, and to contribute to nursing knowledge. Participants were 12 persons who were family members or friends of persons in an adult critical care unit. The Parse research method was used to answer the research question: What is the structure of the lived experience of waiting? The central finding of this study was this structure: The lived experience of waiting is a vigilant attentiveness surfacing amid an ambiguous turbulent lull as contentment emerges with uplifting engagements. The structure is discussed in relation to nursing knowledge and in relation to how it can inform future research and practice.
The utility of magnetic stimulation for routine peripheral nerve conduction studies

The magnetic stimulator was compared with percutaneous electrical stimulation for activation of the median nerve at the wrist in four volunteers. Magnetic stimulation was unable to achieve supramaximal stimulation without activation of the ulnar nerve. The point of nerve depolarization could not be reliably estimated from the relationship of the stimulator head to the nerve. We conclude that the magnetic stimulator coil is as yet not suitable for routine electrodiagnositic use in the peripheral nervous system.
In vivo maturation and migration of dendritic cells

The hallmark of immunity is antigen (Ag) recognition. From early life until death we face countless Ags; many are deleterious and come from the outside world. However, lymphocytes, the mediators of specific acquired immunity, are usually not exposed where foreign antigens are encountered. Thus a system must ferry these Ags from the periphery into inner tissues where lymphocytes comfortably reside or traffic. Clearly, translocating Ags from the periphery to the lymphoid niches is a pivotal function whereby the dendritic cell (DC) system initiates immune responses. DCs, however, are not passive Ag couriers; a dynamic process not fully understood is triggered by Ag deposition. Strategically poised at the boundaries between the inner and the outside world, in a way bridging innate and acquired immunity, DCs sample, trap, engulf, and digest Ags of very diverse origin, in what is called Ag processing. Antigenic fragments are then regurgitated, exposed at the cell surface through one of three molecular pathways [Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) CI and CII, and CD1)] responsible for an efficacious Ag presentation. Concomitantly, DC bear an arsenal of powerful costimulatory molecules [CD40; CD80; CD86; DC-specific/intercellular adhesion molecule type 3-grabbing, non-integrin (DC-SIGN)] and the potential to produce critical cytokines [chemokines, interleukin-12 (IL-12), etc.], thus ensuring the initiation and the fate of acquired immunity. The DC system is particularly efficient, not just translocating, but also transforming antigens sampled at the earlier local milieu into an immunologically accesible language, becoming an excellent reporter of the previous antigenic past, translating the conundrum posed by viruses, bacteria, proteins, etc., into T-cell receptor (TCR) ligands; a short-peptide vocabulary that T cells especially now understand. A highly dynamic process is thus triggered by encountering Ags; while these are carried and processed to be appropriately presented, DCs in turn experience a variety of changes: migratory, phenotypical, functional; all encompassed in the term maturation. Essentially, DC maturation means to change from an antigen-capturing to an antigen-presenting, T-cell-priming mode, a process whereby DCs convert antigens into efficacious immunogens, express the necessary cytokines and costimulatory molecules, thus appropriately initiating the specific, acquired clonal immunity.
Review essay on Rex B. Kline’s Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling: Encouraging a fifth edition

Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling, 4th editionRex B. KlineNew York: The Guilford Press 2016ISBN 978-1-4625-2334-4Softcover, US$65, 534 pp.Kline’s fourth edition is reasonably strong but improvable. The text aims to introduce newcomers to fundamental structural equation modeling (SEM) principles, but tends to confuse “Principles” with “Rules. ” Rules having insufficient grounding in principles leave readers ill-prepared for understanding and responding to changes in previously traditional “rules”—such as those concerning model testing, and latents having single indicators. SEM’s foundations would be clearer if Kline began by presenting structural equation models as striving to represent causal effects—a commitment that differentiates structural equation models from regression and encourages model testing. I begin this review by summarizing the covariance/correlation implications of three simple causal structures, which pinpoints multiple text improvements and underpins the discussions of measurement and model testing that follow. Causal structuring also grounds my later comments regarding modelling means/intercepts and interactions. A file of Supplementary Sections expands on several points and lists multiple editorial corrections you might pencil into your copy of Kline’s text.
On definability of types of finite Cantor‐Bendixson rank

We prove that every type of finite Cantor‐Bendixson rank over a model of a first‐order theory without the strict order property is definable and has a unique nonforking extension to a global type. © 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Importance of bleomycin in favorable-prognosis disseminated germ cell tumors: an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group trial.

PURPOSE This prospective, randomized trial was designed to determine if three cycles of cisplatin plus etoposide (PVP16) can produce therapeutic results comparable to three cycles of cisplatin, etoposide, and bleomycin (PVP16B) in patients with disseminated germ cell tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred seventy-eight patients with minimal- or moderate-stage disease (Indiana staging system) were randomized to receive cisplatin (20 mg/m2 on days 1 to 5) plus etoposide (100 mg/m2 on days 1 to 5) with or without weekly bleomycin (30 IU/wk for 9 consecutive weeks). Following three cycles of chemotherapy over 9 weeks, patients with residual radiographic disease underwent surgical resection. If persistent carcinoma was noted, two additional 3-week courses of chemotherapy were administered. RESULTS One hundred seventy-one patients were fully assessable for response and survival. The two treatment groups were similar with respect to patient characteristics. The toxicities were comparable between the two arms. No clinically significant incidence of pulmonary toxicity occurred with PVP16B. Overall, 81 of 86 patients (94%) who received PVP16B and 75 of 85 patients (88%) who received PVP16 achieved a disease-free status with chemotherapy and/or surgery. However, greater numbers of treatment failures, including persistent carcinoma in postchemotherapy resected residual disease and relapses from complete remission, occurred on the arm without bleomycin (overall adverse outcome, P = .004). The failure-free (86% v 69%; P = .01) and overall survival (95% v 86%; P = .01) rates were inferior on the PVP16 arm. CONCLUSION Bleomycin is an essential component of PVP16B therapy in patients who receive three cycles of treatment for minimal- or moderate-stage disseminated germ cell tumors.
Optimal Stabilization in an Emission Permits Market

We develop a 2-period emission trading model for a stock pollutant with demand shocks resolving over time. We find precise conditions for efficiency of a stabilization mechanism where cumulative available permits decrease with excess supply in early periods. Our model describes the stabilization rule, and identifies optimal parameters. The market stability mechanism substantially increases welfare, increases the domain of parameter values where (Stabilized) Banking outperforms Prices, and reduces price volatility. Our findings are important for emission trading schemes worldwide, such as California's Global Warming Solutions Act Scoping Plan, the U.S. Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, EU-ETS, and China's National ETS, the world’s largest carbon market.
The Genetic Basis for Cognitive Ability, Memory, and Depression Symptomatology in Middle-Aged and Elderly Chinese Twins

The genetic influences on aging-related phenotypes, including cognition and depression, have been well confirmed in the Western populations. We performed the first twin-based analysis on cognitive performance, memory and depression status in middle-aged and elderly Chinese twins, representing the world's largest and most rapidly aging population. The sample consisted of 384 twin pairs with a median age of 50 years. Cognitive function was measured using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale; memory was assessed using the revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence scale; depression symptomatology was evaluated by the self-reported 30-item Geriatric Depression (GDS-30)scale. Both univariate and multivariate twin models were fitted to the three phenotypes with full and nested models and compared to select the best fitting models. Univariate analysis showed moderate-to-high genetic influences with heritability 0.44 for cognition and 0.56 for memory. Multivariate analysis by the reduced Cholesky model estimated significant genetic (rG = 0.69) and unique environmental (rE = 0.25) correlation between cognitive ability and memory. The model also estimated weak but significant inverse genetic correlation for depression with cognition (-0.31) and memory (-0.28). No significant unique environmental correlation was found for depression with other two phenotypes. In conclusion, there can be a common genetic architecture for cognitive ability and memory that weakly correlates with depression symptomatology, but in the opposite direction.
Patient information in otorhinolaryngology: a prospective audit

Objectives The aim of patient information is to involve patients in their condition and their treatment. The literature states that good information can improve medical outcomes, reduce patient anxiety and that patients want access to it. We wanted to calculate the provision of written patient information to ENT day-case patients, measure information recall and patient satisfaction. Design A prospective audit cycle. The first cycle of the audit studied patients receiving current practice, where verbal information was provided but written patient information was not routine. Following a departmental drive towards provision of written patient information, a second cycle was audited. A questionnaire on admission to the ward on the day of surgery was used to measure outcomes. Setting The ENT Department of a UK university teaching hospital. Main outcome measures The number of patients receiving written patient information, the rate of recall of complications and patient satisfaction with the information provided. Participants One hundred patients undergoing day-case surgery were included. The first cycle of the audit studied 50 consecutive patients, receiving current practice. The second cycle, following implementation of change, studied a further 50 consecutive patients. Results Following a departmental drive towards provision of patient information, 64% of patients received written patient information improving the rate of recall of the majority of complications from 24% to 52%. There was no significant difference in patient satisfaction between groups. Conclusions Written patient information leaflets are a useful tool to improve recall of information given to patients, in order to facilitate informed consent.
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in slaughtered pigs in the Czech Republic

SUMMARY In the Czech Republic, sera from 551 clinically healthy adult slaughtered pigs (females, 6–8 months old) were collected during the first half of June in 2010. Sera were tested for Toxoplasma gondii-specific IgG antibodies by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; samples with more than 50% S/P were considered as positive. The same samples were also analysed for Neospora caninum antibodies using a commercial competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; samples with more than 30% inhibition were considered as positive. Antibodies against T. gondii were found in 198 pigs (36%) in all districts with prevalences ranging from 18% to 75%. Antibodies against N. caninum were found in 16 pigs (3%); positive animals were found in 4 districts with prevalences ranging from 1% to 20%. Indication of mixed infections (concurrent presence of both N. caninum and T. gondii antibodies) was found in 8 (1·5%) pigs. The results of our study indicate that pigs in the Czech Republic have a relatively high seroprevalence for T. gondii, while they have only a low seroprevalence for N. caninum. Therefore, natural infection with T. gondii seems to be very common in Czech pigs. It is the first evidence of N. caninum antibodies in pigs in the Czech Republic. These results complete data about N. caninum infection in pigs in Europe.
Optimization of insulation levels from an environmental perspective: impact of HVAC controls and Personal Comfort Systems

Today, strict insulation requirements apply. Nevertheless, the inverse correlation of thermal conductivity with insulation thickness leads to decreasing energy savings with increasing insulation packages. Therefore, a balance between potential energy savings and environmental impact due to additional materials using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) needs to be strived for. This balance is sought for a case study called ‘The Mobble’ i.e. a flexible, modular, and circular building system developed by a student team from Ghent University. Through an iterative design process supported by LCA, comfort and dynamic energy simulations efforts are made to design an energy-efficient and low impact module with an agreeable indoor environment. First, material choices are made based on LCA and the material impact of a 5-module home is calculated. Second, energy calculations are executed in Modelica/Dymola. For this, three possible energy reductions are explored: insulating the building, altering the working regime of the HVAC system and lowering the setpoint temperature while maintaining comfort by using personal comfort systems (PCS). The results support PCS as a possible energy conservation measure and indicate that reducing operational energy does not shift the environmental burden to the additional materials’ production. However, these environmental saving effects decrease as the operational share decreases.