Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of creatinine clearance equations on the original Cockcroft-Gault population.

BACKGROUND Prediction of endogenous creatinine clearance by mathematical equations such as the Cockcroft-Gault formula is used in clinical practice in spite of the reported concern for their limited predictability. The aim of this study is to determine whether the measured creatinine clearance can be predicted accurately by a number of published equations including the recently modified Cockcroft-Gault formula = Cockcroft-Gault formula x 1.73 m2/body surface area from the original Cockcroft-Gault population. METHODS The performance of the mathematical equations in patients with different creatinine clearance and body mass indices was assessed by computing accuracy at different percentiles, bias and precision from the original Cockcroft-Gault data. RESULTS Refitting the modified formula to the Cockcroft-Gault data gave superior results compared to the original Cockcroft-Gault formula with an overall accuracy in the general and subgroup analysis above 70% agreement within 30% estimate of the measured creatinine clearance. On the other hand, analysis of the other equations, including the original Cockcroft-Gault, demonstrated a limited accuracy to predict creatinine clearance particularly in patients with creatinine clearance below 50 ml/min with an overall accuracy in less than 1/3 of the calculated creatinine clearance within 30% range from the measured creatinine clearance. CONCLUSION The current creatinine clearance equations and even the original Cockcroft-Gault formula did not accurately predict the measured creatinine clearance. Normalization for body surface area in the original Cockcroft-Gault formula demonstrated more accuracy to estimate creatinine clearance, particularly in patients with diminished renal function and is recommended to physicians who wish to use the Cockcroft-Gault formula in their practice until more credible formulas are developed.
Implant Breast Reconstruction Using Acellular Dermal Matrix

Thirteen breast reconstructions in 11 patients, averaging 58 years of age, underwent mastectomies. The technique uses a saline implant either totally or partially covered with a human acellular dermal matrix. The mean postoperative follow-up time was 14 months. Ninety percent of the patients were considered high risk; the thickness of the human acellular dermal matrix was an average of 1.3 mm, with an average area per breast of 121 cm2. There were 12 successful breast reconstructions (92%) that provided stability, increased soft tissue padding, which allowed a greater resemblance to normal breast shape and decreased rippling and implant visibility. The graft was used in an onlay fashion or as an extension of the pectoralis major muscle that covers the implant. A representative histologic cross-section of well-integrated human acellular dermal matrix is presented. The use of a human acellular dermal matrix in breast reconstruction is an alternative protocol in high-risk patients, resulting in a minimal increase in operative time and a decrease in morbidity compared with more extensive procedures.
The connexion between the ion‐binding sites of the sodium pump.

1. A study has been made of K influx into human red blood cells in order to determine the influence of internal Na on the affinity of the Na pump for external K. Cells were prepared to contain minimal K and two Na concentrations (about 10 and 30 mueqiv/ml. cells) and incubated in solutions with a range of K concentrations. 2. In choline (Na‐free) Ringer, activation of K influx by external K was hyperbolic. The Km for external K increased as the internal Na concentration was raised. The increase was greater than the increase in K influx with saturating external K. The Km for external K increased towards a limiting value as the internal Na concentration was raised. 3. In contrast, in Na‐Ringer, the activation by external K was sigmoidal and the affinity for external K was independent of the internal Na concentration. 4. K influx was measured at two submaximal levels of external K with a range of internal Na. The affinity for internal Na fell as external K was raised. 5. The results suggest that in the absence of competition between Na and K on the same side of the membrane, there is a connexion between the ion‐binding sites of the Na pump.
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) and Rewards

Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) has attracted the attention of academicians and practitioners due to its proven significance towards organizational effectiveness. The current study aims to estimate empirically the degree of relationship between OCB and Organizational Rewards given to employees. The study will answer the question that “Does the display of OCB have any impact on the rewards given to employees by the organization? ” Five most widely acknowledged dimensions of OCB - Altruism, Courtesy, Sportsmanship, Conscientiousness, and Civic Virtue -have been considered for analysis purposes. OCB is measured through self-evaluation as well as peer evaluations to avoid any social desirability effect and common method variance errors. The organizational rewards taken in the study are Salary Increment, Promotion and Performance Appraisal Grade. The current study includes all of these together for analyzing this relationship with rigor. This is the first ever study of OCB which incorporates all five major dimensions of OCB (measured through self-reporting as well as through peer reports) and three well acknowledged types of rewards together in a single study. The study thus draws various practical implications for organizational managers on basis of the empirical findings from banking sector of Pakistan.
Identifying patients' beliefs about treatments for chronic low back pain in primary care: a focus group study.

BACKGROUND Current evidence-based guidelines for low back pain (LBP) recommend multiple diverse approaches to treatment and suggest considering patient preferences when formulating a treatment plan. AIM To explore patient preferences and to identify patients' beliefs about LBP treatments. DESIGN AND SETTING Qualitative study using focus groups in primary care in South-West England. METHOD Thirteen focus groups were organised with a purposive sample of 75 adults with LBP. Group discussions of LBP treatments were facilitated, audiorecorded, and the verbatim transcripts thematically analysed. RESULTS Eight themes were identified, four related to treatment beliefs and four to seeking treatment. Treatment beliefs comprised participants' expectations and appraisals of specific treatments, which were underpinned by four distinct dimensions: credibility, effectiveness, concerns and individual fit. Treatment beliefs were expressed in the broader context of treatment seeking: participants' primary concern was to obtain a clear explanation of their LBP which went beyond a diagnostic label and provided an understanding of the cause(s) of their LBP. They described engaging in self-management activities and claimed they were willing to try anything if it might help them. Participants wanted an empathic and expert practitioner who could deliver a suitable treatment (or refer them on to someone else) and help them to negotiate the challenges of the healthcare system. CONCLUSION These findings highlight the importance of helping patients develop coherent illness representations about their LBP before trying to engage them in treatment-decisions, uptake, or adherence. Addressing patients' illness and treatment perceptions in clinical practice could improve shared decision making and patient outcomes.
Changes in Neuropsychological and Behavioral Functioning in Children with and without Obstructive Sleep Apnea Following Tonsillectomy

Abstract The most common treatment for sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is adenotonsillectomy (AT). Following AT, SDB resolves in most cases, and gains in cognitive and behavior scores are consistently reported, although persistent neuropsychological deficits or further declines also have been noted. This study presents results of the comprehensive 1-year follow-up neuropsychological examinations for children in the Washtenaw County Adenotonsillectomy Cohort I (95% return rate). After adjusting for normal developmental and practice-effect related changes in control children, significant improvements 1 year following AT were noted in polysomnography and sleepiness, as well as parental reports of behavior, although cognitive outcomes were mixed. Children undergoing AT with and without polysomnography-confirmed obstructive sleep apnea improved across a range of academic achievement measures, a measure of delayed visual recall, short-term attention/working memory, and executive functioning, along with parental ratings of behavior. On the other hand, measures of verbal abstraction ability, arithmetic calculations, visual and verbal learning, verbal delayed recall, sustained attention, and another measure of visual delayed recall demonstrated declines in ability, while other measures did not improve over time. These findings call into question the expectation that AT resolves most or all behavioral and cognitive difficulties in children with clinical, office-based diagnoses of SDB. (JINS, 2012, 18, 212–222)
HPV vaccination: Population approaches for improving rates

ABSTRACT Objective: To review the literature on interventions to increase HPV vaccinations and assess whether The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations are supported by current evidence. Methods: We used a PubMed search to identify studies that assessed interventions that looked at provider assessment and feedback, provider reminders, client reminder and recall, and clinic based education programs. Results: Of the 13 studies identified, 8 included client reminder and recall interventions, 4 included provider assessment and feedback and/or provider reminders and 2 included clinic based education. 11 of the 13 studies demonstrated a positive effect on HPV vaccine initiation or completion. Provider assessment and feedback studies were more likely to report a positive effect on HPV vaccine initiation than on series completion, while client reminder recall interventions more frequently produced an effect on series completion than on initiation. Conclusions: There is evidence to support the application of the Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations specifically to HPV vaccination both for client reminder and recall programs and for provider assessment and feedback interventions. Multiple targeted approaches will be needed to substantially impact HPV vaccine rates.
Formal Adaptability: A Discussion of Morphological Changes and their Impact on Density in Low-Rise Mass Housing

Upon building completion, housing value starts diminishing over time. If it fails to fulfil stakeholders’ long-term needs, the building becomes obsolescent. While some housing schemes survive, others do not, being inflexible in changes over time. This paper explores physical adaptability as a design characteristic that other things being equal, adds to longterm viability in urban housing. It addresses the topic by investigating the adaptability of urban form and the impact of physical adaptations on space consumption and density in low-income mass residential developments. It studies urban form, buildings, plots and streets in and for themselves independent of their use. The objective is to understand how the three elements adapt over time and which morphological characteristics determine their capacity to adapt, a property that may contribute to greater socio-spatial sustainability in the built environment. Taking ‘Cite Ouvriere’ as an example –a working-class housing scheme in Mulhouse (France)– the paper traces its transformation process from its birth till the beginning of 21st century. First, it focuses on the adaptability of the streets using space syntax analysis. Having the local network resisting to changes over time, its degree of adaptability has been subject to three factors: the morphology of blocks, the evolution of the wider city network, and the configurational relation of the two local and global networks. The second part of the paper discusses the building and plot types of Cite Ouvriere and their bottom-up typo-morphological evolution. Based on empirical and archival data, the study identifies eight ‘mechanisms’ of physical change and examines their impact on the built density using Berghauser Pont and Haupt’s Spacematrix density model at the level of building-plot compounds. Ultimately, the same model is used to describe the degree of adaptability as a matter of built density for four housing typologies. For buildings and plots, adaptability refers to their ability to accommodate effectively changes in their form over time. In the context of Cite Ouvriere, physical adaptations have transformed an initially uniform garden city into a morphologically heterogeneous and compact urban quarter. Despite the original standardisation, a variety of formal outcomes and typological mutations have emerged as a result of three morphological characteristics inherent in the original design: location within the city, low built intensity and small plot coverage providing surplus open space.
Development of Meissner‐like and Pacinian sensory corpuscles in the mouse demonstrated with specific markers for corpuscular constituents

The development of Meissner‐like and Pacinian corpuscles was studied in mice [from postnatal day (Pd) 0 to 42] by using immunohistochemistry for specific corpuscular constituents. The battery of antigens investigated included PGP 9.5 protein and neurofilaments, as markers for the central axon; S100 protein, vimentin, and p75LNGFR protein, to show Schwann‐related cells; and epithelial membrane antigen to identify perineurial‐related cells. In Meissner‐like corpuscles immunoreactivity (IR) for neuronal markers was found by Pd7 and later. The lamellar cells of these corpuscles expressed first S100 protein IR (Pd7 to Pd42), then vimentin IR (Pd12 to Pd42), and transitory p75LNGFR IR (Pd7 to Pd19–20). Vimentin IR, but not epithelial membrane antigen, was detected in the capsule‐like cells of the Meissner‐like corpuscles. On the other hand, the density of Meissner‐like corpuscles progressively increased from Pd0 to Pd19–20. Pacinian corpuscles were identified by Pd7. From this time to Pd42 the central axon showed IR for neuronal markers, and the inner core cells were immunoreactive for S100 protein. Moreover, vimentin IR was detected in the inner core cells by Pd19 and later. Unexpectedly, the central axons displayed S100 protein IR (from Pd7 to P28), while p75LNGFR protein IR or epithelial membrane antigen IR were never detected. Taken together, and based on the expression of the assessed antigens alone, the present results suggest that the Meissner‐like and the Pacinian corpuscles in mice become mature around Pd19–Pd28 and Pd20, respectively. Furthermore, these results provide a baseline timetable for future studies in the normal or altered development of sensory corpuscles in mice since specific sensory corpuscles are functionally associated with different subtypes of sensory neurons the development of which is selectively disturbed in genetically manipulated mice. Anat Rec 258:235–242, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The role of the L‐type Ca2+ channel in refilling functional intracellular Ca2+ stores in guinea‐pig detrusor smooth muscle

The transient rise of intracellular Ca2+ in detrusor smooth muscle cells is due to the release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores. However, it is not known how store refilling is maintained at a constant level to ensure constancy of the contractile response. The aim of these experiments was to characterise the role of L‐type Ca2+ channels in refilling. Experiments used isolated guinea‐pig detrusor myocytes and store Ca2+ content was estimated by measuring the magnitude of change to the intracellular [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]i) after application of caffeine or carbachol using epifluorescence microscopy. Membrane potential was controlled when necessary by voltage clamp. After Ca2+ stores were emptied they refilled with an exponential time course, with a time constant of 88 s. The value of the time constant was similar to that of the undershoot of [Ca2+]i following store Ca2+ release. The degree of store filling was enhanced by maintained depolarisation, or by transient depolarising pulses, and attenuated by L‐type Ca2+ channel antagonists. Inhibition of the sarcoplasmic reticular Ca2+‐ATPase prevented refilling. Reduction of the resting [Ca2+]i was accompanied by membrane depolarisation; under voltage clamp reduction of [Ca2+]i decreased the number and magnitude of spontaneous transient outward currents. Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, elicited by caffeine or carbachol, is independent of membrane potential under physiological conditions. However, store refilling occurs via Ca2+ influx through L‐type Ca2+ channels. Ca2+ influx is regulated by a feedback mechanism whereby a fall of [Ca2+]i reduces the activity of Ca2+‐activated K+ channels, causing cell depolarisation and an enhancement of L‐type Ca2+ channel conductance.
Altruism toward Deviant Persons in Cities, Suburbs, and Small Towns

Of 405 letters “lost” in Florida, 167 were returned in the mail (the altruistic response). Addressees' affhations were significantly associated with return rates; fewer highly deviant “Communist” and “FLAB” addressees were returned. The associations of urban size and addressees' affiliations with altruistic responses in 31 cities and 10 suburbs were substantially greater than in 5 small towns but only moderately so if the addressee was highly deviant. Small town residents returned only 7 letters to highly deviant addressees compared to 31 for nonrural residents.
Estrogen Receptor α, but Not β, Is Required for Optimal Dendritic Cell Differentiation and CD40-Induced Cytokine Production1

Dendritic cells (DC) are critical actors in the initiation of primary immune responses and regulation of self-tolerance. The steroid sex hormone 17β-estradiol (E2) has been shown to promote the differentiation of DCs from bone marrow (BM) precursors in vitro. However, the estrogen receptor (ER) involved in this effect has not yet been characterized. Using recently generated ERα- or ERβ-deficient mice, we investigated the role of ER isotypes in DC differentiation and acquisition of effector functions. We report that estrogen-dependent activation of ERα, but not ERβ, is required for normal DC development from BM precursors cultured with GM-CSF. We show that reduced numbers of DCs were generated in the absence of ERα activation and provide evidence for a cell-autonomous function of ERα signaling in DC differentiation. ERα-deficient DCs were phenotypically and functionally distinct from wild-type DCs generated in the presence of estrogens. In response to microbial components, ERα-deficient DCs failed to up-regulate MHC class II and CD86 molecules, which could account for their reduced capacity to prime naive CD4+ T lymphocytes. Although they retained the ability to express CD40 and to produce proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-12, IL-6) upon TLR engagement, ERα-deficient DCs were defective in their ability to secrete such cytokines in response to CD40–CD40L interactions. Taken together, these results provide the first genetic evidence that ERα is the main receptor regulating estrogen-dependent DC differentiation in vitro and acquisition of their effector functions.
Risk-Based Capital Requirements for Banks and International Trade

We test the trade finance channel of exports by controlling for the bank credit channel. Using Turkey’s July 2012 adoption of Basel II as a quasi-natural experiment, we examine whether shocks to trade financing costs affect exports. With data for 16,662 Turkish exporters shipping 2,888 different products to 158 countries, we find that the share of letters-of-credit-based exports decreases (increases) when the associated risk weights for counterparty exposure increase (decrease) after the adoption of Basel II. However, growth of firm-product-country-level exports remains unaffected. Trade financing might have a lesser role in exports than previously suggested by the previous literature. Received October 26, 2014; editorial decision March 15, 2017 by Editor Philip Strahan.
Clinical risk factors for Alzheimer's disease

Using information on clinical risk factors provided through the medical record linkage system of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, we conducted a population-based case-control study of Alzheimer's disease (AD). During the period 1960 to 1974, we identified 415 newly diagnosed cases of AD among residents of Rochester, Minnesota, and matched one community control to each case based on age, sex, and duration of community medical record. We estimated odds ratios using conditional logistic regression for several potential clinical risk factors for AD. Among more than 20 clinical risk factors that were evaluated, the only statistically significant findings were for episodic depression, personality disorder, and hypertension.
Increased risk of thyroid pathology in patients with thyroid hemiagenesis: results of a large cohort case-control study.

OBJECTIVE Thyroid hemiagenesis (THA) is an anomaly resulting from the developmental failure of one thyroid lobe. Etiopathogenesis, clinical significance, and management of patients in whom THA is diagnosed are still a matter of debate. The aim of the study is to provide the first systematic analysis of a large cohort of subjects with THA. DESIGN Forty patients with THA are described in comparison to a control group of 80 subjects with fully developed thyroid gland. METHODS Serum concentrations of thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine (FT(4)), free triiodothyronine (FT(3)), and thyroid autoantibodies were measured. In 37 patients, thyroid ultrasonography and Tc-99m thyroid scintiscan were performed, followed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy if indicated. The remaining archival three cases were diagnosed with the use of I-131 scintiscan under basal conditions and after TSH stimulation. RESULTS Patients with THA, while usually clinically euthyroid, presented with significantly higher levels of TSH and FT(3) as well as with higher FT(3)/FT(4) concentration in comparison to the control group. Furthermore, a higher incidence of associated functional, morphological, and autoimmune thyroid disorders in patients with THA was observed when compared to subjects with bilobate thyroid (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Our results revealed that individuals with THA are more likely to develop thyroid pathology. The observed high incidence of associated pathologies is presumably due to long-lasting TSH overstimulation. Therefore, THA diagnosis should be followed by systematic observation and adequate levothyroxine treatment in patients with elevated TSH level.
Home advantage in judo: A study of the world ranking list

Abstract In 2009, the International Judo Federation established a ranking system (RS) to classify athletes and to distribute the competitor quotas of the Olympic Games. However, the RS does not consider the home advantage. This issue has not been studied in judo, and its implications for the RS have not been determined. The objective was to verify the home advantage in judo in terms of winning a medal or the number of matches won. Therefore, 25 competitions that computed points for the RS in 2009 were analysed. Logistic regression analysis and the Poisson generalised linear model were used for the analyses, which included the relative quality of the athletes. The sample was composed only of athletes who had competed both at home and away. The odds ratio for winning medals was higher for athletes who competed at home for both males and females. The association between the number of matches won and competing at home was significant only for the male athletes. The home advantage was observed in the competitions that used the judo RS. Thus, it is likely that athletes from countries that host competitions using the RS have an advantage in terms of obtaining their Olympic classification.