Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Headache after Removal of Vestibular Schwannoma Via the Retrosigmoid Approach: A Long-Term Follow-Up-Study

OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to study the occurrence and source of origin of postcraniotomy headache syndrome after removal of vestibular schwannoma via the retrosigmoid approach. METHODS: A retrospective chart analysis was conducted of all patients with headache at 3 months after removal of vestibular schwannoma from January 1981 through March 1997 and with a minimum of 24 months of follow-up. Diagnosis was made according to the headache classification and was graded using the HARNER scale. Recovery outcome was compared in selected groups of patients with and without headache. A descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyze differences between groups. RESULTS: Of the patients who underwent retrosigmoid craniotomy for removal of vestibular schwannomas, 52 of 155 patients (34%) reported having severe headache of requiring medication every day and/or feeling incapacitated 3 months after surgery. Headache was more prevalent in those who had the bone flap replaced (94% versus 27%), if there was duraplastic or direct dura closure (0% versus 100%). Laboratory-proven aseptic meningitis, most likely due to the use of fibrin glue and drilling of posterior aspect of the internal auditory canal, was mainly associated with postoperative headache (81% versus 2%). In 75% of these cases, calcifications along the brainstem had been noted. CONCLUSION: The origin of postoperative headaches after retrosigmoid vestibular schwannoma resections is not yet fully understood. Different factors may play a role in preventing or reducing headache: dural adhesions to nuchal muscles or to subcutaneous tissues and dural tension in the case of direct dural closure may explain postoperative headache from dural tension. Intradural drilling and the use of fibrin glue may be the source of aseptic meningitis as the etiology of persistent postoperative headache. Prevention of postoperative headache may include the replacement of bone flap at the end of surgery, duraplastic instead of direct dural closure, and prevention of the use of fibrin glue or extensive drilling of the posterior aspect of internal auditory canal.
Spatio-temporal variability in the distribution of ground-dwelling riparian spiders and their potential role in water-to-land energy transfer along Hong Kong forest streams

Terrestrial predators have been shown to aggregate along stream margins during periods when the emergence of adult aquatic insects is high. Such aggregation may be especially evident when terrestrial surroundings are relatively unproductive, and there are steep productivity gradients across riparia. In tropical forests, however, the productivity of inland terrestrial habitats may decrease the resource gradient across riparia, thus lessening any tendency of terrestrial predators to aggregate along stream margins. We elucidated the spatio-temporal variability in the distribution of ground-dwelling spiders and terrestrial arthropod prey within the riparia of two forest streams in tropical Hong Kong by sampling arthropods along transects at different distances from the streams during the wet and dry seasons. Environmental variables that may have influenced spider distributions were also measured. The vast majority of ground-dwelling predators along all transects at both sites were spiders. Of the three most abundant spiders captured along stream margins, Heteropoda venatoria (Sparassidae) and Draconarius spp. (Agelenidae) were terrestrially inclined and abundant during both seasons. Only Pardosa sumatrana (Lycosidae) showed some degree of aggregation at the stream banks, indicating a potential reliance on aquatic insect prey. Circumstantial evidence supports this notion, as P. sumatrana was virtually absent during the dry season when aquatic insect emergence was low. In general, forest-stream riparia in Hong Kong did not appear to be feeding hotspots for ground-dwelling predators. The lack of aggregation in ground-dwelling spiders in general may be attributed to the low rates of emergence of aquatic insects from the study streams compared to counterpart systems, as well as the potentially high availability of terrestrial insect prey in the surrounding forest. Heteropoda venatoria, the largest of the three spiders maintained a high biomass (up to 28 mg dry weight/m2) in stream riparia, exceeding the total standing stock of all other spiders by 2–80 times. The biomass and inland distribution of H. venatoria could make it a likely conduit for the stream-to-land transfer of energy.
Lives Saved by Expanding HIV Treatment Availability in Resource-Limited Settings: The Example of Haiti

Background:Guidelines recommend antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation at CD4 <350 cells per microliter for HIV-infected individuals in resource-limited settings. However, funding for treatment expansion remains uncertain. We forecast the mortality impact of ART expansion alternatives in Haiti. Methods:We used data from Haiti to develop a country-specific model of HIV disease. The model projects the mortality, total number of HIV-infected individuals, and number and coverage (percentage of those eligible) on ART by simulating cohorts of HIV-infected individuals over 10 years. Five ART expansion scenarios, ranging from fully expanded ART (best case) to No New ART (worst case), were assessed. Results:By 2010, the model predicts 103,500 individuals living with HIV in Haiti, of whom 27,300 were estimated to receive ART. Continuing ART initiation at current rates requires increasing the number on ART to 43,300 by 2020 (56% coverage), with 89,700 deaths estimated between 2010 and 2020. The number on ART could increase by 7400 (+17.1%, best case) or decrease by 25,600 (−59.1%, worst case), resulting in 19,500 deaths averted and 9900 fewer in care awaiting ART (best versus worst case). Results are sensitive to untreated disease progression and pre-ART loss from care. Increased HIV testing, linkage to care, and retention in care can avert additional deaths and achieve nearly 80% ART coverage with optimal policy improvements. Conclusions:In resource-limited settings, continued improvements in HIV treatment access will save lives. Efforts to efficiently expand ART access should remain a global priority.
Transforming the Public Sector Into an Arena for Co-Creation: Barriers, Drivers, Benefits, and Ways Forward

This article explores whether co-creation offers a viable path for the public sector. After an initial account of the transformation of the public sector from a legal authority and a service provider to an arena of co-creation, it defines co-creation and provides some empirical examples. This is followed by a discussion of the risks and benefits of co-creation as well as the drivers and barriers that may stimulate or hamper its expansion. The article also reflects on how institutional design, public leadership, and systemic change can advance co-creation. The conclusion summarizes the findings by setting out some researchable propositions.
The effects of organisational capabilities on firm success

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of organisational capabilities on the success of Eritrean wood- and metal-manufacturing firms. Specifically, the paper analyses the effects of owner-managers’ innovativeness, personal relations and employees’ technical skills on the firms’ success. Design/methodology/approach - The study entailed a survey of 287 wood- and metal-manufacturing small and medium enterprises, which were selected using stratified random sampling. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data and generate the findings presented in this paper. Findings - The findings indicate that owner-managers’ innovativeness and personal relations have a significant influence on the firms’ success. However, although employees’ technical skills relate positively to the firms’ success, the relationship is statistically insignificant largely because of the limited participation of workers in designing and developing the products. Practical implications - The paper can enlighten owner-managers about the value of innovativeness and relational capabilities for the success of their firms. It generates insights that can guide policy makers to promote innovation and relational capabilities in the wood- and metal-manufacturing sub-sector. Originality/value - The paper contributes to the debate on firms’ success by empirically testing the effect of the specific dimensions of organisational capabilities on the success of SMEs operating in a developing economy context. It widens the understanding of how organisational capabilities influence firm success.
An Evaluation of How Search Engines Respond to Greek Language Queries

Over 20 billion Web pages from around the world have been indexed by search engines. This study investigates how search engines respond to non-English queries and more specifically to Greek language queries. To address this we conducted an evaluation using Greek queries in ten search engines: five "global" (A9, AltaVista, Google, MSN Search, and Yahoo! ) and five Greek (Anazitisi, Ano-Kato, Phantis. Trinity, and Visto). A set of navigational queries for known Greek organizations was created. The organizations correspond to ten categories: government departments, universities, colleges, travel agencies, museums, media (TV, radio, newspapers), transportation, and banks. Searches were performed using the Greek and its corresponding English, Latin, or transliterated name of each organization. The ideal retrieval would be to get the website of that organization ranked first in the result set. The results of this evaluation are presented in this paper, together with a report on how the engines respond to Greek and Anglicized queries, and on the best performing global and Greek search engines.
Clinical Outcomes of Pregnancies Complicated by Mild Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Differ by Combinations of Abnormal Oral Glucose Tolerance Test Values

OBJECTIVE To examine the association between levels of hyperglycemia, determined by each prenatal oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) value (fasting, 1 and 2 h), and maternal and perinatal outcomes and to determine whether the risk for these outcomes differs for women whose value(s) equaled or exceeded the thresholds for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) established by the International Association of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This article discusses a retrospective study of 8,711 women, delivering at ≥20 weeks' gestation, who had a prenatal 2-h 75-g OGTT without a prior 50-g challenge and were not treated with insulin, glyburide, diet, and/or exercise during pregnancy. Associations between adverse outcomes and elevated OGTT values are reported. RESULTS After excluding treated women, 19.4% of the remaining women had IADPSG-defined GDM. Continuous fasting, 1- and 2-h OGTT measures, and GDM (yes/no) were significantly associated with most adverse outcomes. However, the magnitude and significance of risk for these outcomes differed by various combinations of abnormal glucose values. Women with normal fasting and elevated postload values were at higher risk for preterm delivery, gestational hypertension, and having an infant with hyperbilirubinema, whereas women with elevated fasting and normal postload values were at higher risk of having a large-for-gestational-age infant, compared with women without GDM. CONCLUSIONS Risks for different adverse outcomes vary depending on which single or combined IADPSG-defined OGTT thresholds are equaled or exceeded. Prospective studies are needed to determine whether changing pre- and postprandial glucose targets during pregnancy will more uniformly reduce adverse outcomes.
Comparison of the effects of short-term hypolipidaemic treatment on plasma adipokine levels in men and women with isolated hypercholesterolaemia.

INTRODUCTION Hypolipidaemic agents were found to affect plasma adipokine levels, but no previous study has investigated whether this effect is sex-dependent. MATERIAL AND METHODS We retrospectively analysed 61 patients participating in our previous studies, who because of isolated hypercholesterolaemia were treated with simvastatin (40 mg daily), ezetimibe (10 mg daily) or simvastatin (40 mg daily) plus ezetimibe (10 mg daily). Plasma levels of leptin, adiponectin, visfatin, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), free fatty acids (FFA), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were assessed separately for men and women before and after 30 days of treatment. RESULTS At baseline, plasma levels of adiponectin and leptin were lower, while plasma levels of TNF-alpha were higher in men than in women. Administration of simvastatin and statin/ezetimibe combination for 30 days reduced plasma levels of hsCRP, FFA, leptin, visfatin, and TNF-alpha but increased plasma levels of adiponectin, while the effect of ezetimibe was much more limited. The effect of simvastatin and ezetimibe, administered alone or in combination, on plasma hsCRP, FFA, leptin, adiponectin, visfatin, and TNF-alpha did not differ between men and women. Irrespectively of sex, the changes in plasma adipokines and systemic-anti-inflammatory effects were more expressed in simvastatin - than in ezetimibe-treated patients and were strongest when both these agents were administered together. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that sex differences do not determine the effect of hypolipidaemic agents on adipose tissue and low-grade inflammation.
A Direct Algorithm for Optimization Problems With the Huber Penalty

We present a direct (noniterative) algorithm for 1-D quadratic data fitting with neighboring intensity differences penalized by the Huber function. Applications of such an algorithm include 1-D processing of medical signals, such as smoothing of tissue time concentration curves in kinetic data analysis or sinogram preprocessing, and using it as a subproblem solver for 2-D or 3-D image restoration and reconstruction. dynamic programming was used to develop the direct algorithm. The problem was reformulated as a sequence of univariate optimization problems, for <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${k} =\textsf {1}, \ldots , {N}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${N}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is the number of data points. The solution to the univariate problem at index <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${k}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is parameterized by the solution at <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${k}+\textsf {1}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, except at <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${k}={N}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. Solving the univariate optimization problem at <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${k}={N}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> yields the solution to each problem in the sequence using back-tracking. Computational issues and memory cost are discussed in detail. Two numerical studies, tissue concentration curve smoothing and sinogram preprocessing for image reconstruction, are used to validate the direct algorithm and illustrate its practical applications. In the example of 1-D curve smoothing, the efficiency of the direct algorithm is compared with four iterative methods: the iterative coordinate descent, Nesterov’s accelerated gradient descent algorithm, FISTA, and an off-the-shelf second order method. The first two methods were applied to the primal problem, the others to the dual problem. The comparisons show that the direct algorithm outperforms all other methods by a significant factor, which rapidly grows with the curvature of the Huber function. The second example, sinogram preprocessing, showed that robustness and speed of the direct algorithm are maintained over a wide range of signal variations, and that noise and streaking artifacts could be reduced with almost no increase in computation time. We also outline how the proposed 1-D solver can be used for imaging applications.
Bystander killing of neurons by cytotoxic T cells specific for a glial antigen

To explore pathways to neuron loss in inflammatory diseases, transgenic mice expressing β‐galactosidase (β‐gal) in either astrocytes or photoreceptor cells, or both, were inoculated with activated, β‐gal‐specific cytotoxic CD8 T lymphocytes (CTLs). β‐gal‐positive astrocytes in brain were rapidly attacked, with particular damage in cerebellum. Substantial loss of cerebellar granule cells was found, even though these neurons did not express β‐gal. The small number of β‐gal‐positive retinal astrocytes present in these mice was also rapidly destroyed by transferred CTLs, but without detectable consequences for retinal neurons. However, in mice with photoreceptor cell‐specific β‐gal expression, near‐total destruction of photoreceptor cells was produced by CTL transfer. Attack on photoreceptor cells displayed minimal inflammation, and onset was a week later than onset of astrocyte‐directed disease. CTL transfer into F1 mice expressing β‐gal in both astrocytes and photoreceptor cells confirmed that pathogenesis directed against antigen expressed in glia versus neurons proceeded in two distinct, independent phases. β‐gal‐positive retinal astrocytes were severely affected by 5 days post‐transfer, followed by rapid resolution. Photoreceptor cells in the same retina were unaffected until 12 days post‐transfer. The susceptibility of photoreceptor cells was not enhanced by the prior CTL attack on β‐gal‐expressing retinal astrocytes. The results demonstrate that extensive bystander killing of neurons can occur in vivo as a result of direct CTL attack on surrounding astrocytes. Antigen‐expressing retinal neurons were also efficiently killed by CTLs, but by a mechanism that was substantially delayed and dissociated from the killing of retinal astrocytes. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Adaptability of Training in Simulated Process Control: Knowledge- Versus Rule-Based Guidance Under Task Changes and Environmental Stress

Objective: The study examined the adaptability of different types of process control training across changes in task and environmental stress. Background: The literature on training leads us to expect greater flexibility for system-based training, as opposed to procedure-based training. However, the stress literature suggests that knowledge-based strategies (making use of executive control) may be more vulnerable under stress conditions. Method: Two groups were given 6 hr of training on the Cabin Air Management System (CAMS), a complex, multilevel, PC-based process control task, emphasizing either system knowledge or use of procedures. They were then required to carry out the task for 3 hr (with noise during the middle 1 hr) across a range of both familiar and unfamiliar fault scenarios. Results: For the primary control task, the system-trained group performed better, especially for less familiar and complex faults. However, for lower priority tasks requiring executive control, procedure-trained operators performed better and were less impaired by noise. Conclusion: System training was more effective for managing unexpected task events, whereas procedural training was better under noise. The results are interpreted in terms of the rationale for instructing operators in the range of strategies required for effective process skills in complex work environments. Application: Training methodologies for safety critical applications should aim to develop skill in the use of both procedural and system knowledge strategies. Operators should be trained in the most effective deployment of these strategies during unfamiliar task events and environmental stress and given stress exposure training.
Co-digestion of sewage sludge and dewatered residues from enzymatic hydrolysis of sugar beet pulp

Sugar beet pulp residues (SBPR) from hydrolysis and dewatering of beet pulp were co-digested with municipal sewage sludge (MSS). The highest biogas yields of nearly 512 dm3/kg VSfed (volatile solids fed) were achieved for SBPR, treated both as the monosubstrate and as a mixture with MSS (1 : 1 by weight). Simultaneously, the highest methane production of 348 dm3 CH4/kg VSfed was determined when the sewage sludge was co-digested with 35% SBPR. The analysis of digestate showed that neither ammonia nor volatile fatty acids destabilized the biogas production. Implications: Processing of sugar beet pulp into bioethanol via enzymatic hydrolysis and microbial fermentation has become increasingly attractive. However, in this process, only the liquid fraction derived from hydrolysis is subjected into alcoholic fermentation, whereas the remaining solid fraction needs to be utilized. This study demonstrated that sugar beet pulp residues after bioethanol production can successfully be co-digested with sewage sludge to increase biogas productivity of anaerobic digesters located at wastewater treatment plants.
Competition in Stackelberg Oligopolies: First Mover Advantage vs. Inequality Aversion

This paper reports on experimental results from a 2-period sequential Stackelberg game where players have a one time opportunity to invest positive relative profits in order to lower marginal cost and gain competitive advantage. Theory predicts one sub-game perfect Nash equilibrium in pure strategies with both Stackelberg leaders and Stackelberg followers playing absolute profit maximizing strategies and leaders earning much larger payoffs than followers. Experimental results, however, show that Cournot play is modal. Stackelberg leaders learn to play fair through punishment. Investment to lower marginal cost was more frequent among Stackelberg followers, who used relative profit maximizing strategies to punish rather than to gain competitive advantage.
Comparison of ACL strain estimated via a data-driven model with in vitro measurements

Abstract Computer modeling and simulation techniques have been increasingly used to investigate anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) loading during dynamic activities in an attempt to improve our understanding of injury mechanisms and development of injury prevention programs. However, the accuracy of many of these models remains unknown and thus the purpose of this study was to compare estimates of ACL strain from a previously developed three-dimensional, data-driven model with those obtained via in vitro measurements. ACL strain was measured as the knee was cycled from approximately 10° to 120° of flexion at 20 deg s−1 with static loads of 100, 50, and 50 N applied to the quadriceps, biceps femoris and medial hamstrings (semimembranosus and semitendinosus) tendons, respectively. A two segment, five-degree-of-freedom musculoskeletal knee model was then scaled to match the cadaver’s anthropometry and in silico ACL strains were then determined based on the knee joint kinematics and moments of force. Maximum and minimum ACL strains estimated in silico were within 0.2 and 0.42% of that measured in vitro, respectively. Additionally, the model estimated ACL strain with a bias (mean difference) of −0.03% and dynamic accuracy (rms error) of 0.36% across the flexion-extension cycle. These preliminary results suggest that the proposed model was capable of estimating ACL strains during a simple flexion-extension cycle. Future studies should validate the model under more dynamic conditions with variable muscle loading. This model could then be used to estimate ACL strains during dynamic sporting activities where ACL injuries are more common.