Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-Term Functional Outcomes of Resected Tarsal Coalitions

Background: There are few long-term studies evaluating tarsal coalition resections. The purpose of this study was to compare patient outcomes following resection of calcaneonavicular (CN) and talocalcaneal (TC) bars and to determine the relationship between the extent of a coalition and the outcome of resection. Methods: Patients younger than 18 years receiving resection for symptomatic tarsal coalition (1991-2004 inclusive) were eligible to participate. Follow-up evaluation included clinical examination to assess range of motion and self-reported functional outcome questionnaires. Two validated functional scales were used: the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Foot and Ankle Module, and the Foot Function Index (FFI). Twenty-four patients with 32 tarsal coalition resections (19 CN and 13 TC feet) were included in this study. For CN and TC patients, the mean age at the time of surgery was 11.8 ± 1.1 and 11.9 ± 2.5 years, and the mean age at follow-up was 27.1 ± 1.1 and 25.0 ± 2.5 years, respectively. Results: Inversion and eversion were significantly less for TC feet when compared with CN (P = .03 and P = .01, respectively). No difference was noted between the CN and TC groups with respect to outcome scores. Furthermore, no association was noted between the size of TC coalition or hindfoot valgus angle with respect to outcome scores. Conclusion: Resected CN and TC bars behaved similarly in the long term in terms of function and patient satisfaction. Favorable results were attained when resections were performed on TC coalitions that were greater than 50% of the posterior facet and hindfoot valgus angles greater than 16 degrees. Level of Evidence: Level III, retrospective comparative study.
The Influence of Age on Emotion Regulation Strategies and Psychological Distress

Background: To date there is promising, yet limited, evidence to suggest that differences exist between older and younger adults’ emotion regulation styles. Aims: The study aimed to explore emotion regulation style across the adult lifespan by assessing whether self-reported reappraisal, or suppression, differs across age groups, and how these emotion regulation strategies may impact upon psychological distress. Method: Three hundred and seventeen younger, 175 middle-aged and 85 older adults’ emotion regulation styles and levels of psychological distress were measured using self-report questionnaires and examined using a cross-sectional design. Results: The findings suggest that, compared to younger adults, older adults make greater use of suppression, the emotion regulation strategy. This greater use of suppression by older adults was not related to increased levels of psychological distress. By contrast, younger adults who reported high levels of suppression reported higher levels of psychological distress. In addition, older adults reported less anxiety and stress than younger adults, with no age differences in depression. Conclusions: Findings suggest a possible decoupling of the use of emotional suppression and psychological distress with age. Suppression may be a useful form of emotion regulation for the stressors experienced in later life and, arguably, therefore may not be associated with the negative outcomes observed in younger adults.
The HAP3 regulatory locus of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes divergent overlapping transcripts

Activation of the CYC1 upstream activation site, UAS2, and transcription of several other genes encoding respiratory functions requires the product of the regulatory gene HAP2. We report here the isolation and characterization of a second UAS2 regulatory gene, HAP3. Like mutations in HAP2, a mutation in HAP3 abolishes the activity of UAS2 and prevents growth on nonfermentable carbon sources. The HAP3 gene was cloned and, surprisingly, was found to encode two divergently transcribed, overlapping transcripts: a 570-base RNA and a 3-kilobase (kb) RNA. Chromosomal disruption experiments defined the critical region for HAP3 function to a 1.3-kb segment in which the two transcripts overlap. Analysis of the HAP3 DNA sequence showed that the 570-base transcript could encode a protein of 144 amino acids. Synthesis of the 144-amino-acid protein under regulatory control in vivo demonstrated that this protein is essential for activity of UAS2 as well as for growth on nonfermentable carbon sources. The largest open reading frame in the critical region of the 3-kb transcript is only 86 amino acids. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we demonstrated that the 86-amino-acid open reading frame was not involved in UAS2 activity. The possible role of this 3-kb antisense RNA in HAP3 expression or function is discussed.
The Geography of Economic Inequality, Institutions and Party System Territorialization

This paper tackles a familiar question in the study of parties and party systems: why some countries develop party systems dominated by regional or local parties whereas other countries have party systems dominated by parties with broad national constituencies and broad programmatic appeals (Cox 1997, 2003; Chhibber and Kollman 2004; Hicken 2009; Morgenstern 2009). Scholars have mostly focused on institutions to explain variation in the territorial structure of party systems. Surprisingly little attention has been paid to the societal structure under which these institutions operate. This paper points to this theoretical gap, and argues that societal preferences and especially the geographic distribution of these preferences are important to understand the incentives of candidates and voters to coordinate across districts. I explore this claim by focusing on the geography of economic preferences. I show that an uneven distribution of income across regions in a country creates incentives for candidates and voters to "go regional". Furthermore, I show that the effect of an unequal geography of income can be mitigated by loose/weakly disciplined party organizations. In sum, I show that contrary to the expectations of scholars, institutions seldom have a direct effect on the territorial nature of party systems; instead, how preferences are distributed in space (in interaction with institutions) better explains the strategies of candidates and voters to coordinate across territorial units.
A Revelation Mechanism for Soft Information Under Moral Hazard

This paper constructs a revelation mechanism to address a problem of moral hazard under soft information. The agent alone observes the stochastic outcome of her action, which she reports to the principal. Therefore the principal also faces a problem of ex post adverse selection. Economically relevant restrictions induces constraints on the principal’s choice of mechanism and the Revelation Principle fails to apply. Specifically, a direct mechanism induces some pooling, which does not replicate the allocation obtained using a larger message space. Pooling also weakens the ex ante incentives. The Revelation Principle is extended to obtain type separation. A better audit relaxes frictions.
A REVIEW OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF PROSPECT THEORY FOR NATURAL HAZARDS AND DISASTER PLANNING

Traditional approaches for environmental hazards and disaster planning under conditions of risk and uncertainty are discussed, including normative expected utility theory, “satisificing”, and robustness analyses. Prospect theory, a descriptive technique with roots in psychology, has emerged as an alternative theory of decision making under risk and uncertainty to utility theory and other classic approaches. Over the past quarter century Prospect theory has been increasingly used in various disciplines such as political science, public health, engineering, economics, insurance, and business. This paper aims to introduce and discuss some of the potential implications of prospect theory for environmental hazards and disaster planning theory and practice. It is argued that prospect theory can significantly enhance environmental hazards and disaster planning theory and practice, particularly for decision making under uncertainty. Several practical examples are provided to illustrate the strengths of this versatile method.
Factors Influencing the Soft Tissue Changes Around Single Laser Microtextured Implants-Abutments in the Anterior Maxilla: A 5-Year Retrospective Study

Purpose:The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible factors that influenced the periimplant soft tissue changes around single implants-abutments with laser-microtextured surface (LMS) in the esthetic zone. Materials and Methods:Thirty-nine units, formed by implant-abutment with LMS were studied. Variables possibly associated with the periimplant soft tissue changes were obtained from clinical measurements (plaque [present/absent], periimplant biotype [thin/thick], and probing depth); intrasurgical measurements (vertical height in millimeters of the keratinized gingiva in the vestibular part of the implant site vestibular keratinized gingiva [VKG], implant vestibular crestal exposition, vestibular crestal level, and vestibular bone width); cast models (implant position [buccal/palatal], implant abutments angle); periapical radiographs (distance from the contact point to the interproximal bone crest of the adjacent tooth [CP-BC], distance from the contact point to the implant platform [CP-P], distance from the contact point to the first bone to implant contact [CP-IB]); and digital clinical photographs. Fisher exact test was used to determine the influence of each factor on the papilla level and on the facial marginal mucosal level. Results:The papillae level at the implant sites was significantly associated with the distance from the contact point to the alveolar bone crest, whereas no association was found with other variables. Periimplant biotype, differences in the VKG, CP-BC, and CP-IB were found associated with the different facial marginal mucosal level groups. Conclusions:This study showed that the papilla level at single-tooth implants-abutments with LMS in the anterior maxilla was mainly influenced by the interproximal bone crest level of the adjacent tooth, whereas the marginal mucosal level was affected by periimplant biotype, facial bone crest level, and crestal implant exposition.
Induction of pleomorphism in Lactobacillus bifidus

It is welt known that Lalctobcicillus bifidus often shows branched forms (R. F. Norris, T. Flanders, R. M. Tomarelli, and P. Gyorgy, J. Bacteriol. 60:681, 1950; V. Sundman, K. Bjrokesten, and H. G. Gyllenberpg, J. Gen. Microbiol. 21:371, 1959), but the mnechanism underlying this phenomenon has not yet been clarified. Although it has been reported that the bifid form of the organisms is induced by certain carbonates [N. Homma, J. Ota, and S. Arai, Japan. J. Pediat. 131:274, 1960 (in Japanese)], it remained to be seen whether CO©2 or cations were responsible for the induction. In this paper, the induction of pleomorphism by cations, especially by univalent alkali metallic ones, is described. The basal culture medium consisted of I glu-
Altered pattern of motor cortical activation–inhibition during voluntary movements in Tourette syndrome

In patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) alterations of motor cortex (M1) excitability at rest have been evidenced. In contrast, there has so far been little research into changes of motor cortical reactivity during the time course of voluntary movements in GTS patients. The present study investigates neuromagnetic event‐related desynchronization (ERD) and event‐related synchronization (ERS) of bilateral M1 in 11 GTS patients and 11 healthy control subjects. ERD represents motor cortical activation, whereas ERS most likely indicates its inhibition. Subjects performed a self‐paced finger movement task while magnetoencephalography was used to record neuromagnetic activity. In GTS patients, ERD at beta frequency was significantly increased in the contralateral hemisphere before and during movements, whereas ERS following movement termination was increased in M1 ipsilateral. Ipsilateral ERS was inversely correlated with tic severity as determined by the Yale Global Tic Severity Rating Scale. The data of the present study support the hypothesis that during voluntary movements, motor cortical reactivity is pathologically altered in GTS patients. The observed pattern of increased activation (ERD) prior to and during movement execution followed by increased inhibition (ERS) after movement termination at beta frequency suggests abnormally increased motor cortical activation, possibly driving stronger inhibition. The stronger this inhibition is, the better symptoms appear to be controlled. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society
Double Plating of Distal Fibula Fractures

Introduction. Distal fibula fractures are common orthopaedic injuries that often require open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) to anatomically reduce the fracture and minimize the risk of posttraumatic arthritis. In certain clinical situations, stouter fixation may be advantageous to decrease the risk of fixation failure. In this study, the authors report on 12 patients who underwent distal fibula ORIF with 2 one-third tubular plates. Materials and Methods. Twelve consecutive patients who underwent distal fibula ORIF with 2 one-third tubular plates were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical and radiographic outcomes were reviewed, and functional outcomes were obtained using the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS). Institutional review board approval was obtained. Results. All 12 fractures healed clinically and radiographically. One patient was lost to follow-up after healing of the fracture. One patient had removal of fibular hardware at 15 months after surgery. Ten patients had no hardware related pain and good ankle function. FAOS scores were obtained at a mean of 25.6 months after surgery and were as follows: pain (87.6, SD = 9.5), activities of daily living (90.4, SD = 14.5), symptoms (93.3, SD = 9.5), sports (89.5, SD = 18.1), and quality of life (57.4, SD = 21.3). Conclusions. Double plating of distal fibula fractures is a viable technique for problem fractures that potentially provides a readily accessible, low-cost alternative to other means of enhancing fixation. Levels of Evidence: Level IV
The small population of PIG-A mutant cells in myelodysplastic syndromes do not arise from multipotent hematopoietic stem cells

Background Patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria harbor clonal glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient cells arising from a multipotent hematopoietic stem cell acquiring a PIG-A mutation. Many patients with aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes also harbor small populations of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient cells. Patients with aplastic anemia often evolve into paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria; however, myelodysplastic syndromes seldom evolve into paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Here, we investigate the origin and clonality of small glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient cell populations in aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. Design and Methods We used peripheral blood flow cytometry to identify glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient blood cells, a proaerolysin-resistant colony forming cell assay to select glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient progenitor cells, a novel T-lymphocyte enrichment culture assay with proaerolysin selection to expand glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient T lymphocytes, and PIG-A gene sequencing assays to identify and analyze PIG-A mutations in patients with aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. Results Twelve of 15 aplastic anemia patients were found to harbor a small population of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient granulocytes; 11 of them were found to harbor a small population of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient erythrocytes, 10 patients were detected to harbor glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient T lymphocytes, and 3 of them were detected only after T-lymphocyte enrichment in proaerolysin selection. PIG-A mutation analyses on 3 patients showed that all of them harbored a matching PIG-A mutation between CFU-GM and enriched T lymphocytes. Two of 26 myelodysplastic syndromes were found to harbor small populations of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient granulocytes and erythrocytes transiently. Bone marrow derived CD34+ cells from 4 patients grew proaerolysin-resistant colony forming cells bearing PIG-A mutations. No glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient T lymphocytes were detected in myelodysplastic syndrome patients. Conclusions In contrast to aplastic anemia and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, where PIG-A mutations arise from multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor deficient cells in myelodysplastic syndromes appear to arise from more committed progenitors.
Reduction of Pulmonary Complications and Hospital Length of Stay with a Clinical Care Pathway after Head and Neck Reconstruction

Background: Pulmonary complications are common after major head and neck oncologic surgery with microsurgical reconstruction and are associated with increased mortality and morbidity. Clinical care pathways are evidence-based tools that reduce unnecessary practice variation and ultimately improve patient outcomes. In this study, the authors evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive care pathway on reducing postoperative pulmonary complications and hospital length of stay in patients undergoing major head and neck carcinoma resection with free flap reconstruction. Methods: Fifty-five consecutive patients treated according to a prescribed postoperative clinical care pathway were compared to a historical cohort of patients treated before the implementation of the pathway. The incidence of pulmonary complications, hospital length of stay, and free flap survival were compared between the control and intervention groups. Results: Patients on the clinical care pathway had 32.5 percent fewer pulmonary complications (p < 0.0001) and 7.4 days’ shorter hospital length of stay (p = 0.0007) than patients not on the postoperative pathway. There was no significant difference in the rate of flap reoperation. Conclusions: A multidisciplinary, comprehensive, clinical care pathway for patients undergoing major head and neck surgery with microsurgical reconstruction is effective in reducing postoperative pulmonary complications and hospital length of stay. The postoperative pathway is safe in this patient population and should be considered for adoption into clinical practice. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, III.
Refugee Roulette: Disparities in Asylum Adjudication

This study analyzes databases of merits decisions from all four levels of the asylum adjudication process: 133,000 decisions by 884 asylum officers over a seven year period; 140,000 decisions of 225 immigration judges over a four-and-a-half year period; 126,000 decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals over six years; and 4215 decisions of the U.S. Courts of Appeal during 2004 and 2005. The analysis reveals significant disparities in grant rates, even when different adjudicators in the same office each considered large numbers of applications from nationals of the same country. In many cases, the most important moment in an asylum case is the instant in which a clerk randomly assigns an application to a particular asylum officer or immigration judge. Using cross-tabulations based on public biographies, the paper also explores correlations between sociological characteristics of individual immigration judges and their grant rates. The cross tabulations show that the chance of winning asylum was strongly affected by whether or not the applicant had legal representation, by the gender of the immigration judge, and by the immigration judge's work experience prior to appointment. In their conclusion, the authors do not recommend enforced quota systems for asylum adjudicators, but they do make recommendations for more comprehensive training, more effective and independent appellate review, and other reforms that would further professionalize the adjudication system.
Reflective Practices in Online Education for Non-Traditional Students

The goal of this research was to better understand the lived experiences and perceptions of nontraditional, adult college students in an asynchronous online environment. Contemporary researchers have investigated the differences between online education and the traditional, inclass learning. Most of the work has been done in quantitative methodologies, focusing on the similarities and differences in cognitive achievement. The extant literature is replete with studies and positions claiming little or no difference between the two delivery methods. However, most research is not presented in a theoretical construct; therefore, it is difficult to create a nexus between one study and the next. Investigating the different ways in which students report their experiences and perceptions in the asynchronous, online environment provides a much richer understanding of nontraditional, adult students. One interesting result of the study was the student’s perception and experience of the importance of using refection and/or reflective activities in meeting educational objectives. This was particularly true in assignments and communication through online discussion boards.
POPCORN Functions in the Auxin Pathway to Regulate Embryonic Body Plan and Meristem Organization in Arabidopsis[W][OA]

This study describes a WD-40 repeat–containing gene, POPCORN (PCN), required for embryo development in Arabidopsis thaliana. PCN functions in the auxin pathway and regulates establishment and maintenance of shoot and root meristems during embryonic and postembryonic development. The shoot and root apical meristems (SAM and RAM) formed during embryogenesis are crucial for postembryonic plant development. We report the identification of POPCORN (PCN), a gene required for embryo development and meristem organization in Arabidopsis thaliana. Map-based cloning revealed that PCN encodes a WD-40 protein expressed both during embryo development and postembryonically in the SAM and RAM. The two pcn alleles identified in this study are temperature sensitive, showing defective embryo development when grown at 22°C that is rescued when grown at 29°C. In pcn mutants, meristem-specific expression of WUSCHEL (WUS), CLAVATA3, and WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX5 is not maintained; SHOOTMERISTEMLESS, BODENLOS (BDL) and MONOPTEROS (MP) are misexpressed. Several findings link PCN to auxin signaling and meristem function: ectopic expression of DR5rev:green fluorescent protein (GFP), pBDL:BDL-GFP, and pMP:MP-β-glucuronidase in the meristem; altered polarity and expression of pPIN1:PIN1-GFP in the apical domain of the developing embryo; and resistance to auxin in the pcn mutants. The bdl mutation rescued embryo lethality of pcn, suggesting that improper auxin response is involved in pcn defects. Furthermore, WUS, PINFORMED1, PINOID, and TOPLESS are dosage sensitive in pcn, suggesting functional interaction. Together, our results suggest that PCN functions in the auxin pathway, integrating auxin signaling in the organization and maintenance of the SAM and RAM.