Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A pilot randomized trial of meniscal allograft transplantation versus personalized physiotherapy for patients with a symptomatic meniscal deficient knee compartment

Aims Meniscal allograft transplantation is undertaken to improve pain and function in patients with a symptomatic meniscal deficient knee compartment. While case series have shown improvements in patient reported outcome measures (PROMs), its efficacy has not been rigorously evaluated. This study aimed to compare PROMs in patients having meniscal transplantation with those having personalized physiotherapy at 12 months. Patients and Methods A single‐centre assessor‐blinded, comprehensive cohort study, incorporating a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was performed on patients with a symptomatic compartment of the knee in which a (sub)total meniscectomy had previously been performed. They were randomized to be treated either with a meniscal allograft transplantation or personalized physiotherapy, and stratified for malalignment of the limb. They entered the preference groups if they were not willing to be randomized. The Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score and Lysholm score and complications were collected at baseline and at four, eight and 12 months following the interventions. Results A total of 36 patients entered the study; 21 were randomized and 15 chose their treatments. Their mean age was 28 years (range 17 to 46). The outcomes were similar in the randomized and preference groups, allowing pooling of data. At 12 months, the KOOS4 composite score (mean difference 12, p = 0.03) and KOOS subscales of pain (mean difference 15, p = 0.02) and activities of daily living (mean difference 18, p = 0.005) were significantly superior in the meniscal transplantation group. Other PROMs also favoured this group without reaching statistical significance. There were five complications in the meniscal transplantation and one in the physiotherapy groups. Conclusion This is the first study to compare meniscal allograft transplantation to non‐operative treatment. The results provide the best quality evidence to date of the symptomatic benefits of meniscal allograft transplantation in the short term, but a multicentre RCT is required to investigate this question further.
Hydraulic behaviour of vertical‐flow constructed wetland under different operating conditions

Five vertical‐flow constructed wetland (VFCW) units planted with cattail (Typha augustifolia) were used to study the effects of feeding (continuous and batch), hydraulic loading rates (HLR) and drainage patterns (free drainage and percolate impounding) on hydraulic behaviour. The tracer studies were divided into two parts: (i) continuous feeding at an HLR of 0.005, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1 and 0.3 m3 m−2 d−1 operating at different drainage patterns (i.e. free drainage and percolate impounding) and (ii) batch feeding at different water levels of percolate impounding (20, 30 and 40 cm). The results revealed that although the hydraulic behaviour of VFCW systems was strongly dependent on the operating pattern (feeding and drainage), it was not significantly affected by the hydraulic loading rate. The results of continuous feeding study concluded that (a) percolate impounding achieved an increase in HRT that was 1.6 times the HRT with free drainage, (b) the dispersion in both drainage patterns were moderate, and (c) the results from the tank‐in‐series (TIS) model correlated more closely with the data observed than with the dispersion plug flow (DPF) model. For batch feeding and percolate impounding, a uniform flow distribution of the tracer occurred in the water column after 2.1, 3.1 and 4.4 days for 20, 30 and 40 cm, respectively.
DNA Fingerprinting of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Typhimurium with Emphasis on Phage Type DT104 Based on Variable Number of Tandem Repeat Loci

ABSTRACT Seventy-eight human and environmental strains of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium, as well as 18 isolates of other Salmonella serovars and 6 isolates of Escherichia coli, were subjected to a novel variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR)-based fingerprinting method that showed high discrimination and reproducibility for typing serovar Typhimurium isolates. The method is based on capillary separation of PCR products from fluorescence-labeled VNTR in the serovar Typhimurium genome. The serovar Typhimurium isolates displayed 54 VNTR patterns, and the VNTR assay correctly identified strains from a well-characterized outbreak. Among 37 serovar Typhimurium phage type DT104 isolates, 28 distinct VNTR patterns were found. This VNTR-based method is fast and suitable for complete automation. Our VNTR-based method was capable of high discrimination within the homogeneous serovar Typhimurium DT104 phage type and can be used to trace outbreaks and to monitor DT104 as well as other phage types. The VNTR assay was compared to XbaI pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis, integron-cassette profiles and gene PCR of intI1, qacEΔ1, sulI1, and floR. The VNTR assay showed greatly improved resolution compared to all other tested methods in this study.
Association of polymorphic VNTR region in the first intron of the human TH gene with disturbances of the catecholamine pathway in schizophrenia

In the present study, five allelic fragments were typed by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process with a pair of primers specific for the tetranucleotide (TCAT) repeat sequence in the first intron of the human tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene and their sizes (bp) were 114 (A), 118 (B), 122 (C), 126 (D) and 130 (E), respectively. The AE genotypic frequency was found to be significantly higher in unrelated patients with schizophrenia than in unrelated control subjects (χ2 = 4.18, p < 0.05). ANOVA revealed a significant difference between the three groups (neuroleptic-free patients possessing or not possessing the AE genotype, and unrelated control subjects) in the concentration of serum noradrenaline (F = 4.96, df = 2.79, p < 0.01), but no significant differences were found between the three groups in the concentrations of serum homovanillk acid, phenylalanine and tyrosine. These results suggest that the polymorphic intron 1 of the human TH gene may be associated with disturbances of the catecholamine pathway in schizophrenia.
Religion and Public Perceptions of Gays and Lesbians in South Korea

ABSTRACT Public support for gay and lesbian rights has increased in Western democracies, yet less is known regarding views in South Korea, or East Asia more broadly. Rather than broad cultural claims, this analysis asks to what extent religious identification explains perceptions of gays and lesbians. Public opinion survey data from South Korea finds that Protestants were consistently less supportive of homosexual issues compared to Catholics, Buddhists, and those without a religious identification. Furthermore, after controlling for religion, identification with the largest conservative party associated with less support.
Cerebral blood flow measured with 3D pseudocontinuous arterial spin-labeling MR imaging in Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment: a marker for disease severity.

PURPOSE To compare quantitative cerebral blood flow (CBF) values in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD), patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and subjects with subjective complaints by using a whole-brain three-dimensional (3D) pseudocontinuous arterial spin-labeling (ASL) technique at 3.0 T. MATERIALS AND METHODS The local institutional review board approved the study. All subjects provided informed consent. Whole-brain 3D fast spin-echo pseudocontinuous ASL images were acquired at 3.0 T in 71 patients with AD (mean age, 65 years ± 7; 55% women), 35 patients with MCI (mean age, 65 years ± 8; 42% women), and 73 subjects with subjective complaints (mean age, 60 years ± 9; 39% women) who visited a memory clinic. Analyses were performed by using both uncorrected maps and maps corrected for partial volume effects. Regional CBF was compared by using analyses of variance; permutation tests were used for voxel-wise comparisons. Associations with cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination) were investigated by using linear regression analyses. All analyses were corrected for age and sex. RESULTS Uncorrected CBF was decreased in patients with AD compared with subjects with subjective complaints (27 mL/100 g/min ± 5 vs 33 mL/100 g/min ± 5; P < .001), with strongest reductions in the parietal lobes (22 mL/100 g/min ± 6 vs 30 mL/100 g/min ± 5; ie, decrease of 27%). Corrected cortical CBF showed similar results. In patients with MCI, CBF was decreased in the precuneus and the parietal and occipital lobes compared with subjects with subjective complaints. Voxel-wise comparisons confirmed the region of interest-based findings, showing the largest CBF differences in the precuneus and bilateral parietal cortex. Uncorrected and corrected cortical CBF were associated with cognition across diagnostic groups (β = 0.46 and β = 0.42, P < .001) and within the AD group (β = 0.41 and β = 0.42, P < .001). CONCLUSION CBF measured with 3D pseudocontinuous ASL MR imaging helps detect functional changes in the prodromal and more advanced stages of AD and is a marker for disease severity.
Defective Induction of Interleukin-12 in Human Monocytes by Germ-Tube Forms of Candida albicans

ABSTRACT Yeast (Y) to germ-tube (GT) transition of Candida albicans is considered a putative virulence trait. On the other hand, interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a key promoter of T-helper type 1 protective immunity against this human opportunistic pathogen. We studied IL-12 production by human monocytes cocultured in vitro with Y or GT forms of C. albicans. Following stimulation by Y cells, monocytes produced appreciable levels of IL-12, which, upon addition of gamma interferon (IFN-γ), compared to those achievable by lipopolysaccharide (100 ng/ml) stimulation (140 ± 65 and 185 ± 80 pg/ml, respectively [mean ± standard deviation in four independent experiments]). In contrast, IL-12 production by GT cell-stimulated monocytes was much lower or absent (<5 pg/ml) and could not be brought to the level induced by Y cells by the addition of IFN-γ (30 ± 10 pg/ml in the four independent experiments above). Besides being observed as actual cytokine production, this lower response was also observed as specific IL-12 p40 mRNA transcript and was not associated with hyperproduction of the IL-12-competing cytokine IL-10. Phagocytosis and killing experiments in the presence of cytochalasin D showed that IL-12 production by Y cell-stimulated monocytes was phagocytosis dependent and that GT cells of C. albicans were not phagocytized by the human monocytes. Importantly, however, Y and GT cells were equally killed by the monocytes. Thus, the virulence trait attributed to the Y-GT transition of C. albicans might also be related to the lack of induction by GT cells of a protective anticandidal immunity through defective IL-12 production.
Self-Organizing Map Based on Block Learning

A block-matching-based self-organizing map (BMSOM) is presented. Finding a winner is carried out for each block, which is a set of neurons arranged in square. The proposed learning process updates the reference vectors of all of the neurons in a winner block. Then, the degrees of vector modifications are mainly controlled by the size (i.e., the number of neurons) of the winner block. To prevent a single cluster with neurons from splitting into some disjointed clusters, the restriction of the block size is imposed in the beginning of learning. At the main stage, this restriction is canceled. In BMSOM learning, the size of a winner block does not always decrease monotonically. The formula used to update the reference vectors is basically uncontrolled by time. Therefore, even if a map is in a nonstationary environment, training the map is probably pursued without interruption to adjust time-controlled parameters such as learning rate. Numerical results demonstrate that the BMSOM makes it possible to improve the plasticity of maps in a nonstationary environment and incremental learning.
Environmental Exposure and Health of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans

Objective: We characterized the prevalence of self-reported environmental exposures, concerns about exposures, and their relationships with somatic symptoms in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) (OIF) veterans seeking treatment at a specialty Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic. Concerns about environmental exposures were expected to lead to more reporting of somatic symptom burden. Methods: We conducted a chart review of 469 OEF/OIF veterans seen at a VA tertiary care clinic. Results: OEF/OIF veterans reported a high level of environmental exposures and concerns about environmental exposures. Greater reported environmental exposures (&bgr; = 0.13) and environmental exposure concerns (&bgr; = 0.39) were associated with a greater somatic symptom burden. Exposure concerns accounted for some of the relationship of exposures on somatic symptom burden (confidence interval, 0.33–0.60). Conclusions: OEF/OIF veterans seeking treatment at a VA clinic reported a high prevalence of environmental exposures and exposure concerns. Both negatively impacted health outcomes.
Efficacy and outcomes of transobturator tension-free vaginal tape with or without concomitant pelvic floor repair surgery for urinary stress incontinence: five-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVES To compare the 5-year subjective and objective outcomes of transobturator tension-free vaginal tape alone versus the same procedure with concomitant pelvic floor repair surgery for pelvic organ prolapse in women with urinary stress incontinence. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Urogynaecology unit at a university hospital in Hong Kong. PATIENTS Of 218 women, 96 (44%) received transobturator tension-free vaginal tape alone and 122 (56%) received transobturator tension-free vaginal tape with concomitant pelvic floor repair surgery from September 2004 to December 2009. The women were followed up annually for up to 5 years after the operation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The 5-year subjective and objective cure rates were assessed. Subjective cure was defined as no urine loss during physical activity and objective cure was defined as no urine leakage on coughing during urodynamic study. RESULTS Overall, 88 women receiving transobturator tension-free vaginal tape alone and 101 women receiving transobturator tension-free vaginal tape with concomitant pelvic floor repair surgery were followed up for 5 years after operation. The subjective and objective cure rates of the two groups were 70.5% versus 94.1% (P<0.01) and 80.3% versus 85.7% (P=0.58), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Transobturator tension-free vaginal tape is an effective treatment for urinary stress incontinence in women who received it alone or with concomitant pelvic floor repair surgery for pelvic organ prolapse, providing high subjective and objective efficacy for up to 5 years after operation. Transobturator tension-free vaginal tape with concomitant pelvic floor repair surgery achieved similar, if not better, long-term outcome compared with transobturator tension-free vaginal tape alone.
Towards resolution invariant face recognition in uncontrolled scenarios

Face images captured by surveillance cameras usually have poor quality, particularly low resolution (LR), which affects the performance of face recognition seriously. In this paper, we develop a novel approach to address the problem of matching a LR face image against a gallery of relatively high resolution (HR) face images. Existing methods deal with such cross-resolution face recognition problem either by importing the information of HR images to help synthesize HR images from LR images or by applying the discrimination of HR images to help search for a unified feature space. Instead, we treat the discrimination information of HR and LR face images equally to boost the performance. The proposed approach learns resolution invariant features aiming to: (1) classify the identity of both LR and HR face images accurately, and (2) preserve the discriminative information among subjects across different resolutions. We conduct experiments on databases of uncontrolled scenarios, i.e., SCface and COX, and results show that the proposed approach significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods.
ANALISIS OVERREACTION PASAR PADA SAHAM WINNER DAN LOSER DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA

This research can give due consideration to investor in making an investment decision in order not react to overreaction of market information. The research objective test overreaction in the stock market winner and loser in the Indonesia Stock Exchange 2014. This research is a comparative study using secondary data. The population in this study were 141 companies and samples obtained after do a purposive sampling method are 137 manufacturing companies in 2014. This study uses abnormal return as research variables. The market model is used as a method to calculate the expected return. Statistical test used in this study was independent sample t-test, to test for differences in average abnormal return of winner and loser. The results based on hypothesis testing showed that there was no statistically significant overreaction in manufacturing companies in 2014, that proven by winner abnormal returns stock is bigger than the loser abnormal returns return, significantly.
Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Regulatory Protein ICP0 Does Not Protect Cyclins D1 and D3 from Degradation during Infection

ABSTRACT Previous reports have suggested that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) immediate-early regulatory protein ICP0 stabilizes cyclins D1 and D3 during infection by inducing the degradation of cdc34, the E2-conjugating enzyme that is responsible for regulating the stability of these cyclins. Since ICP0 has complex effects on the progress of viral infection that vary greatly with cell type and viral dose, it can be difficult to distinguish between direct effects caused by ICP0 itself and indirect effects caused by the rate of the progression of infection in the absence of ICP0 at the chosen multiplicity of infection. This report describes the fates of cdc34 and cyclins D1 and D3 during HSV-1 infection under conditions that ensured that viral infection and gene expression were proceeding at equivalent rates in the presence and absence of ICP0. It was confirmed that both D-type cyclins were unstable during HSV-1 infection of a variety of cell types, but no effect on cdc34 was observed, even when high levels of ICP0 were expressed. Furthermore, there was no evidence that ICP0 protected either cyclin D1 or cyclin D3 from degradation. Reconstruction of the conditions of the experiments in the previous studies, using the stated cell type and multiplicities of infection, indicated that the original results could be explained by differences in the rate of progression of infection rather than by the presence or absence of ICP0. The data presented in this report are incompatible with the hypothesis that ICP0 induces the degradation of cdc34 and thereby stabilizes cyclins D1 and D3 during HSV-1 infection.
Design of Low Phase Noise with Wide-band VCO Using Source Capacitive Degeneration

This paper presents a completely integrated low phase noise and wide tuning range CMOS LC voltage controlled oscillator with a source capacitive degeneration and large accumulation-mode varactors(AMOS) for a wide-band receiver front-end by a TSMC 0.18-mum 1P6M CMOS process. AMOS varactors are used to maintain a large tuning range. However, the capacitors connect to source of cross-couple pairs to further reduce the parasitic capacitance and increase VCO tuning capability. The VCO consumes 11 mA from 1.2 V supply and operates with a wide-band from 3.69 - 5.75 GHz. The measured phase noise is less than -113.6 dBc /Hz at 1 MHz offset within the entire tuning range.
The Effect Of Organizational Culture, Environmental Work, Leadership Style On The Job Satisfaction And Its Impact On The Performance Of Teaching In State Community Academy Bojonegoro

Tri Dharma college task, namely implements education and teaching, research and community service. Some of the factors that can affect the performance of the lecturer are organizational culture, work environment, leadership style, and job satisfaction. For this study aims to assess the effect of organizational culture, work environment, leadership style on job satisfaction lecturers as well as to analyze the influence of organizational culture, work environment, leadership style to the performance of lecturers. This study took 64 samples through census methods, and data collected through questionnaires in the form of Likert scale research. Results of analysis proving the hypothesis indicated that organizational culture, work environment, leadership style positive impact significant job satisfaction lecturer Bojonegoro State Community College. As well as organizational culture, work environment, leadership style, job satisfaction and positive effect significant the performance of lecturers Bojonegoro State Community College. Suggested to the management community college that faculty performance can be optimized, provide incentives for lecturers in order to work in the world of education through awards, strive to the increase salaries, keeping in touch, comfort, creation of competition, healthy performance appraisal is fair, providing an opportunity to follow the scientific activities at a cost from the academy. Encourage to continue their education to a higher level. Motivate to do research, and community service to the relevant fields at the expense of the institution/college or grants.
Managerial Control Divergence and Analysts’ Information Precision

Research Question/Issue This study addresses how financial analysts’ information environment varies with the extent to which insiders’ voting rights diverge from their cash flow rights (i.e., control divergence) in the firm. Research Findings/Insights This study finds evidence that both analysts’ public and private information precisions are decreasing with insiders’ control divergence for a sample of US dual class share firms. Dual class share firms feature ownership structures that allow us to measure the control divergence between insiders’ voting rights and their cash flow rights. Furthermore, we document that these effects are more pronounced for firms with lower firm-level uncertainty and for periods prior to the introduction of the SOX Act. Our results are robust to omitted variables, endogenous ownership, and any selection biases associated with dual class equity. Theoretical/Academic Implications Analysts’ skill and ability to formulate accurate forecasts are influenced by the quality of their information environment. We provide insights on how ownership mechanisms such as control divergence impact this ability by affecting their information environment. By using empirical proxies that precisely measure analysts’ information environment, we are able to better capture the adverse impact of control divergence on the public and private information that analysts convey in their forecasts. Practitioner/Policy Implications Policy makers are often concerned about issues that can constrain information processing by intermediaries such as analysts. Control divergence mechanisms can negatively impact analysts’ information processing by affecting their information environment and consequently their ability to effectively forecast earnings and stock prices. These have larger implications for social welfare and optimal capital allocation in the economy. Policy makers may therefore need to evolve better regulatory norms to negate some of the pernicious consequences of such ownership structures on information intermediation.