Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Management of Severe Open Ankle Injuries

Background: Functional outcome after reconstruction of open ankle injuries has not been well presented in the literature. The authors present the functional results of 24 patients who sustained complex ankle injuries. Methods: Patients were assessed using three scoring systems (a modified A/O score, the Enneking score, and the AOFAS) and subdivided into two groups: those primarily treated at Charing Cross Hospital according to strict protocols combining orthopedic and plastic surgical techniques (group P) and those secondarily treated who were transferred to Charing Cross Hospital after initial management at a remote unit (group S). Results: There were nine patients (37.5 percent) in group P and 15 (62.5 percent) in group S. Eighteen patients (75 percent) underwent free-tissue transfer. Sixteen patients (67 percent) were assessed (group P, n = 7; group S, n = 9) for return of function using the Enneking score. Mean time to assessment was 10.5 months for group P and 11.4 months for group S. Mean Enneking percentage score was 75 for group P and 72.2 for group S. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between these scores. The mean time to union was 19 weeks (n = 5) for group P and 24 weeks (n = 7) for group S. The mean AOFAS Ankle-Hindfoot Scores were comparable to the Enneking scores when independent observers undertook this assessment. Most patients in both groups reported difficulty with descent of stairs. Conclusions: Although the authors were able to achieve a similar return of function for both groups, group S patients needed at least one more operation. In cases of ankle fracture where there is significant soft-tissue injury (either closed or open), representing a complex injury, the authors recommend making no attempt to internally fix the fracture and instead referring the patient to a specialist center for combined orthoplastic attention. If this is not immediately at hand, screw fixation of the medial malleolus should be undertaken after open reduction. The lateral malleolus should not be internally fixed, but should it require control, external fixation is the preferred method of skeletal stabilization.
Survey of blindness in rural communities of south‐western Nigeria

A population based survey of rural communities in the Akinlalu‐Ashipa ward of Ife North Local Government in Osun State, Nigeria, was conducted to determine the prevalence and causes of blindness. 2921 inhabitants were screened by a random cluster sample technique, out of whom 27 were blind in both eyes. The overall prevalence rate of blindness (best corrected visual acuity less than 3/60 in the better eye) was found to be 0.9% (95% confidence interval 0.84–0.96%).
Cloning of the Penicillium minioluteum gene encoding dextranase and its expression in Pichia pastoris

The DEX gene encoding an extracellular dextranase was isolated from the genomic DNA library of Penicillium minioluteum by hybridization using the dextranase cDNA as a probe. Comparison of the gene and cDNA sequences revealed that the DEX gene does not contain introns. Amino acid sequences comparison of P. minioluteum dextranase with other reported dextranases reveals a significant homology (29% identity) with a dextranase from Arthrobacter sp. CB‐8. The DEX gene fragment encoding a mature protein of 574 amino acids was expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris by using the SUC2 gene signal sequence from Saccharomyces cerevisiae under control of the alcohol oxidase‐1 (AOX1) promoter. Over 3·2g/l of enzymatically active dextranase was secreted into the medium after induction by methanol. The yeast product was indistinguishable from the native enzyme in specific activity and the N‐terminus of both proteins were identical.
Hamiltonian Operator for Spectral Shape Analysis

Many shape analysis methods treat the geometry of an object as a metric space that can be captured by the Laplace-Beltrami operator. In this paper, we propose to adapt the classical Hamiltonian operator from quantum mechanics to the field of shape analysis. To this end, we study the addition of a potential function to the Laplacian as a generator for dual spaces in which shape processing is performed. We present general optimization approaches for solving variational problems involving the basis defined by the Hamiltonian using perturbation theory for its eigenvectors. The suggested operator is shown to produce better functional spaces to operate with, as demonstrated on different shape analysis tasks.
Head-to-Head Comparison of Auto-Antibodies for Cardiovascular Outcome Prediction after Myocardial Infarction: a Prospective Study

Background:Atherosclerosis-related inflammation fulfils the three required Koch’s postulates to be considered as an autoimmune disease. Accordingly, several auto-antibodies have been associated with an increased cardiovascular (CV) risk suggesting that they could be of help for cardiovascular risk stratification in the future. Aims:to compare the prognostic accuracies of auto-antibodies to β2 glycoprotein I (anti-β2GPI) domain I and IV, cardiolipin, apolipoproteinA-1 (anti-apoA-1 IgG), heat-shock protein 60 (anti-HSP-60), and to phosphorylcholine (anti-PC IgM) for 12-months major cardiovascular events (MACE) prediction after myocardial infarction (MI). Methods:Auto-antibodies were prospectively assessed by ELISA in 221 MI patients without autoimmune diseases who all completed the 12-months follow-up. Prognostic accuracies were evaluated by receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses, and risk analyses were performed using Cox regression model. Results:MACE rate was 14% during follow-up. Among the tested auto-antibodies, anti-apoA-1 IgG antibodies were found to be the only candidate significantly predicting subsequent MACE ((Area Under the Curve (AUC):0.65; p=0.007)). A non-significant trend was observed for anti-cardiolipin (AUC: 0.59; p=0.05) and anti-HSP-60 (AUC:0.58; p=0.06) antibodies. No association was retrieved for others auto-antibodies. Cox regression analyses indicated that anti-apoA-1 IgG positivity was associated to a 4-fold MACE risk increase, independently of the 10-year global Framingham risk-score (Hazard Ratio: 3.8; p=0.002) Conclusions:In this head-to-head prospective comparison study performed on secondary prevention patients anti-apoA-1 IgG appeared as the candidate with the strongest and independent MACE prognostic accuracy in non-autoimmune settings.
Linking Threat Avoidance and Security Adoption: A Theoretical Model For SMEs

A deficiency exists in the Information Systems Security literature because of the tendency to regard IT threat avoidance and IT security adoption as separate behaviours. In addressing the deficiency this research in progress focuses on entrepreneurial SME companies, for several reasons including their strategic importance globally, the current trend among cybercriminals to conduct more high volume, low risk attacks against weaker targets and also because of the individualistic behavioural patterns in SMEs. Drawing on several well-established behavioural theories, this paper synthesises elements of these theories into a holistic behavioural model, with coping theory placed firmly at is centre. This study will make several contributions to the field, initially creating an empirically validated model for behaviours surrounding both avoidance and preventative actions in entrepreneurial small firms and also in presenting and prioritising a specific view of the external factors influencing how threats are appraised, assessed and dealt with.
Cancer prevention by organosulfur compounds from garlic and onion

Environmental compounds are known to be involved in both the generation and prevention of many human cancers. It is important to discover naturally occurring or synthetic compounds which can block the process of carcinogenesis. We have focused attention on several organosulfur compounds (OSCs) in garlic and onion, and analyzed their potential for chemoprevention in the post‐initiation stage in a liver medium‐term bioassay (Ito test) and a multi‐organ carcinogenesis bioassay. In the ITO test, rats were given diethylnitrosamine (DEN), 200 mg/kg b.w. , i.p.; starting 2 weeks later they were treated with test chemicals for 6 weeks and then killed. All rats were subjected to 2/3 hepatectomy 1 week after the start of test chemical treatment. Inhibitory effects of a number of compounds could be identified in terms of reduced numbers and areas of liver glutathione S‐transferase placental (GST‐P) positive foci. In the multi‐organ carcinogenesis bioassay, rats were given DEN, N‐methyl‐N‐nitrosourea, N‐butyl‐N‐(4‐hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine, N, N′‐dimethylhydrazine, and dihydroxy‐dipropylnitrosamine during the first 4 weeks, followed by test chemicals for 24 weeks. Various organs were examined. As a result, oil‐soluble OSCs such as methyl propyl disulfide and propylene sulfide demonstrated inhibitory effects on the development of GST‐P positive foci. Moreover, water‐soluble OSCs such as S‐methylcysteine and cysteine similarly decreased GST‐P focus formation. In contrast, OSCs such as diallyl sulfide, diallyl trisulfide, and allyl methyl trisulfide enhanced formation of such altered hepatocellular foci. Inhibitory potential for colon and renal carcinogenesis was observed in rats treated with diallyl disulfide. Thus, the results indicate that some OSCs exert chemopreventive effects on chemical carcinogenesis. It must, however, be borne in mind that they may also demonstrate promotion potential, depending on the organ examined. J. Cell. Biochem. Suppl. 27:100–105. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Endometrial Cancer

Objective: To review the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in endometrial cancer and to identify the groups of patients who were most likely to have benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: Bibliographic search was conducted for randomized trials involving chemotherapy given in an adjuvant setting for early stage endometrial cancer or advanced stage with minimal residual disease after surgery. The search included the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE/PubMed database, studies cited in the reports, proceedings of international conferences, and registered clinical trials. Details of each trial were explored and summarized. Results: Seven reports from 8 randomized trials were identified. Two trials were reported together with separate and combined statistical analyses. Characteristic features of the patients and diseases, details of surgical treatment including lymph node resection, types and pattern of radiation and chemotherapy, and the results from each trial varied. Only 2 trials showed significant survival improvement in patients who had adjuvant chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy after radiation compared with radiation alone. Data from these trials showed that the patients who were likely to have survival benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy were those with the following high risk features: did not have or had limited lymph node surgical evaluation, metastatic nodal involvement, tumors of high-grade or aggressive histology, stage IC, stage II or IIIA with 50% or greater myometrial invasion, and stage IIIC to IV. Conclusions: The results from trials were inconsistent regarding a survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in comparison to radiation alone or in addition to radiation. Only certain groups of patients with high risk features were likely to gain survival advantage from adjuvant chemotherapy. The physician must carefully evaluate risk features of each patient and her disease to select one who is most likely to gain advantage from chemotherapy.
Monolithic InP HEMT V-band low-noise amplifier

A fully monolithic indium phosphide high electron mobility transistor (InP HEMT) two-stage low-noise amplifier has achieved a noise figure, of 4.2 dB with an associated gain of 15.25 dB over the band from 56 to 60 GHz. Noise matching and bias decoupling are accomplished on-chip. The successful performance of the amplifier is credited to accurate characterization of the active and passive devices that make up the circuit. <<ETX>>
Relationship between sex differences in locus of control and job performance in library organizations

The present study examines empirically the relationship betuieen sex and internal-external expectancy. It also studies the differences in the level of performance between internally and externally oriented male and female library employees. The results of inter-correlation suggest sex as a significant correlate of locus of control. Bivariate analysis reveals significant difference in the level of performance between internally oriented male and female subjects. No difference was observed in externally oriented males arid females with regard to their level of performance.
Banking Industry IPO Returns: A Test of the Informational Asymmetry Hypothesis

This study examines IPO returns for commercial banks and savings banks over the period 1975 to 1994. These financial firms have traditionally been eliminated from IPO studies due to the regulatory nature of the industry. Logue’s (1973) justification for excluding these firms is that they would create a downward bias in any IPO study as a result of the market’s more accurate pricing of these issues. The results indicate that positive abnormal returns exist, but are considerably less than in other non-financial industries. One possible explanation is that banking assets are generally easier to price due to their marketability.
Questionable necessity to remove the submandibular gland in neck dissection

Saliva is of major importance in taste, speech, swallowing, and protection against dental caries. Neck dissection surgery and/or radiotherapy may impair the function of the submandibular glands. Over the years, there has been a trend toward more conservative approaches to neck dissection. Metastasis to the submandibular gland itself is extremely rare and if removal of the lymph nodes of sublevel IB is imperative, it seems feasible to preserve the submandibular gland, unless it is involved by direct tumor extension of the primary tumor or the adjacent metastatic lymph nodes. Clinical studies to validate this concept are needed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2011
High Spatial Resolution T1-Weighted MR Imaging of Liver and Biliary Tract During Uptake Phase of a Hepatocyte-Specific Contrast Medium

Objectives:The hypothesis for this prospective study was that T1-weighted respiratory triggered high spatial resolution images of the liver acquired during the uptake phase of a hepatobiliary contrast medium are technically feasible and provide significantly improved image quality compared with breath-hold images. Materials and Methods:An inversion recovery-prepared spoiled gradient echo sequence was developed that can be obtained with respiratory triggering. This sequence was acquired in 20 patients with a total of 41 focal liver lesions and compared with axial and coronal breath-hold spoiled gradient echo sequences. All 3 sequences were obtained in the hepatobiliary phase after intravenous injection of Gd-EOB-DTPA at a dosage of 0.025 mmol/kg of body weight. Quantitative evaluation measured the contour sharpness index of the common bile duct and calculated the relative contrast between liver lesions (common bile duct, respectively) and liver parenchyma. In the qualitative assessment, 2 readers independently scored the depiction of focal liver lesions and 3 segments of the biliary tract, the sharpness of hepatic vessels, and the level of artifacts. Statistical significance was assumed at P < 0.05. Results:The respiratory-triggered sequence was technically successful in all 20 patients, revealed significantly higher liver-lesion contrast, contour-sharpness index and scores for depiction of focal liver lesions, biliary tree, and sharpness of hepatic vessels compared with the respective breath-hold sequence. The relative contrast between the common bile duct and the liver parenchyma was significantly higher for the coronal breath-hold sequence compared with the respiratory-triggered sequence. No significant difference was found with respect to the level of artifacts. The 2 readers agreed in 77.9% of the qualitative assessments. Conclusions:T1-weighted respiratory triggered high spatial resolution images obtained in the hepatobiliary phase are technically feasible and significantly improve the image quality compared with breath-hold images.
The cranial base of Australopithecus afarensis: new insights from the female skull

Cranial base morphology differs among hominoids in ways that are usually attributed to some combination of an enlarged brain, retracted face and upright locomotion in humans. The human foramen magnum is anteriorly inclined and, with the occipital condyles, is forwardly located on a broad, short and flexed basicranium; the petrous elements are coronally rotated; the glenoid region is topographically complex; the nuchal lines are low; and the nuchal plane is horizontal. Australopithecus afarensis (3.7–3.0 Ma) is the earliest known species of the australopith grade in which the adult cranial base can be assessed comprehensively. This region of the adult skull was known from fragments in the 1970s, but renewed fieldwork beginning in the 1990s at the Hadar site, Ethiopia (3.4–3.0 Ma), recovered two nearly complete crania and major portions of a third, each associated with a mandible. These new specimens confirm that in small-brained, bipedal Australopithecus the foramen magnum and occipital condyles were anteriorly sited, as in humans, but without the foramen's forward inclination. In the large male A.L. 444-2 this is associated with a short basal axis, a bilateral expansion of the base, and an inferiorly rotated, flexed occipital squama—all derived characters shared by later australopiths and humans. However, in A.L. 822-1 (a female) a more primitive morphology is present: although the foramen and condyles reside anteriorly on a short base, the nuchal lines are very high, the nuchal plane is very steep, and the base is as relatively narrow centrally. A.L. 822-1 illuminates fragmentary specimens in the 1970s Hadar collection that hint at aspects of this primitive suite, suggesting that it is a common pattern in the A. afarensis hypodigm. We explore the implications of these specimens for sexual dimorphism and evolutionary scenarios of functional integration in the hominin cranial base.
Promoting, Protecting, and Supporting Breastfeeding in a Community with a High Rate of Tobacco Use

Anne is a hospital midwife and international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) in the country of Norway, where about one fourth of mothers smoke daily. In Anne’s setting, breastfeeding is the norm for smokers and nonsmokers alike, and the hospital encourages exclusive breastfeeding from birth. Through government-sponsored public health campaigns, most Norwegian parents are aware of the fact that nicotine has an affinity for breast milk, resulting in the concentration in milk being more than double that in the mother’s blood at any given time. Tobacco use by parents of young children, especially smoking, has been the focus of Norwegian public health campaigns to reduce harm from secondhand smoke to children. Recently, smoking was banned from all establishments serving food or drink, and it has been banned in public places in general for years. While these campaigns have helped to decrease the smoking rate in Norway, Anne has noted that there has been an increase in the need to address mothers’ concerns that their milk might be bad for the baby if they do not manage to stop smoking completely. Smokeless tobacco use (snuff) has not been affected by the smoking ban, and it is readily available and growing in popularity. There is reason to expect that while some people will smoke less due to the new ban, others will compensate by using snuff, and this presents a new challenge to the lactation consultant because very little is known about the specific effects of snuff on lactation and on milk. What approaches should Anne take in protecting and supporting breastfeeding in this environment?
A flexible, transparent and high-performance gas sensor based on layer-materials for wearable technology

Gas sensors play a vital role among a wide range of practical applications. Recently, propelled by the development of layered materials, gas sensors have gained much progress. However, the high operation temperature has restricted their further application. Herein, via a facile pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method, we demonstrate a flexible, transparent and high-performance gas sensor made of highly-crystalline indium selenide (In2Se3) film. Under UV–vis-NIR light or even solar energy activation, the constructed gas sensors exhibit superior properties for detecting acetylene (C2H2) gas at room temperature. We attribute these properties to the photo-induced charger transfer mechanism upon C2H2 molecule adsorption. Moreover, no apparent degradation in the device properties is observed even after 100 bending cycles. In addition, we can also fabricate this device on rigid substrates, which is also capable to detect gas molecules at room temperature. These results unambiguously distinguish In2Se3 as a new candidate for future application in monitoring C2H2 gas at room temperature and open up new opportunities for developing next generation full-spectrum activated gas sensors.
Isolation and characterization of an RNA ligase from HeLa cells.

An RNA ligase has been purified from HeLa cells, which catalyzes the intra- and intermolecular ligation of linear RNA substrates possessing 5'-hydroxyl and 2',3'-cyclic phosphate termini in the presence of ATP or dATP. In this reaction, the 2',3'-cyclic phosphate is incorporated into a 3'-5'-phosphodiester bond, in agreement with the findings of Filipowicz et al. [Filipowicz, W. , Konarska, M. , Gross, H. J. & Shatkin, A. J. (1983) Nucleic Acids Res. 11, 1405-1418]. The activity of the purified enzyme is dependent on the addition of ATP or dATP, a divalent cation (Mg2+), and 5'-hydroxyl, 2',3'-cyclic phosphate-terminated RNA substrates. No ligation occurs with the substrates OH(Up)10G(3')p or OH(Up)10G(2')p or with 5'-phosphate, 2',3'-cyclic phosphate-terminated oligoribonucleotides.
Inter-specific intimidatory behaviour of adult Indian Eagle owls Bubo bengalensis (Franklin) in defence of their nestlings

1343 Abstract Intimidatory behaviour in adult Bubo bengalensis to human intruders in defence of their nest-bound young was documented in three pairs. This showed a series of distinct behavioural components that differed between the sexes. All these mechanisms had obvious purpose and survival value. However, little or no reactions to human intruders were recorded in one pair the reasons of which are not discernable.
Flipping a College Calculus Course: A Case Study

As online videos have become more easily available and more attractive to the new generation of students, and as new student-learning approaches tend to have more technology integration, the flipped classroom model has become very popular. The purpose of this study was to understand college students’ views on flipped courses and investigate how the flipping affects their achievement in mathematics. We also studied how college students prepared for flipped classroom sections. Finally, college students’ views were analyzed to see what they think about flipping in terms of benefits and preparation. Participants were 96 college students consisting of mostly freshmen & sophomores. We utilized descriptive statistics and paired t-test to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics revealed that participants preferred watching flip class videos (44%) over reading the sections from the textbook (17%) for preparation. Dependent t-test results showed that there is a statistically significant difference between students’ average quiz scores from non-flipped sections and flipped sections. Students achieved significantly higher quiz scores in flipped sections than non-flipped ones. Overall, most of the students (83%) stated that flipped-taught lessons prepared them better.