Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation between Initial BIC and the Insertion Torque/Depth Integral Recorded with an Instantaneous Torque-Measuring Implant Motor: An in vivo Study.

BACKGROUND Quantitative intraoperative evaluation of bone quality at implant placement site and postinsertion implant primary stability assessment are two key parameters to perform implant-supported rehabilitation properly. A novel micromotor has been recently introduced allowing to measure bone density at implant placement site and to record implant insertion-related parameters, such as the instantaneous, average and peak insertion torque values, and the insertion torque/depth integral. PURPOSE The aim of this study was to investigate in vivo if any correlation existed between initial bone-to-implant contact (BIC) and bone density and integral values recorded with the instrument. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-five patients seeking for implant-supported rehabilitation of edentulous areas were consecutively treated. Before implant placement, bone density at the insertion site was measured. For each patient, an undersized 3.3 × 8-mm implant was placed, recording the insertion torque/depth integral values. After 15 minutes, the undersized implant was retrieved with a 0.5 mm-thick layer of bone surrounding it. Standard implants were consequently placed. Retrieved implants were analyzed for initial BIC quantification after fixation, dehydration, acrylic resin embedment, sections cutting and grinding, and toluidine-blue and acid fuchsine staining. Correlation between initial BIC values, bone density at the insertion site, and the torque/depth integral values was investigated by linear regression analysis. RESULTS A significant linear correlation was found to exist between initial BIC and (a) bone density at the insertion site (R = 0.96, explained variance R(2) = 0.92) and (b) torque/depth integral at placement (R = 0.81, explained variance R(2) = 0.66). CONCLUSIONS The system provided quantitative, reliable data correlating significantly with immediate postinsertion initial BIC, and could therefore represent a valuable tool both for clinical research and for the oral implantologist in his/her daily clinical practice.
Nonseparable Preferences, Fiscal Policy Puzzles, and Inferior Goods

Nonseparable preferences over consumption and leisure can generate an increase in private consumption in response to government spending, as found in the data, in a frictionless business cycle model. However, the conditions on preferences required for these result to obtain hold if and only if the consumption good is inferior. Similarly, positive co-movement of consumption and hours worked occurs if and only if either consumption or leisure is inferior.
The Native Bacterioplankton Community in the Central Baltic Sea Is Influenced by Freshwater Bacterial Species

ABSTRACT The Baltic Sea is one of the largest brackish environments on Earth. Despite extensive knowledge about food web interactions and pelagic ecosystem functioning, information about the bacterial community composition in the Baltic Sea is scarce. We hypothesized that due to the eutrophic low-salinity environment and the long water residence time (>5 years), the bacterioplankton community from the Baltic proper shows a native “brackish” composition influenced by both freshwater and marine phylotypes. The bacterial community composition in surface water (3-m depth) was examined at a single station throughout a full year. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) showed that the community composition changed over the year. Further, it indicated that at the four extensive samplings (16S rRNA gene clone libraries and bacterial isolates from low- and high-nutrient agar plates and seawater cultures), different bacterial assemblages associated with different environmental conditions were present. Overall, the sequencing of 26 DGGE bands, 160 clones, 209 plate isolates, and 9 dilution culture isolates showed that the bacterial assemblage in surface waters of the central Baltic Sea was dominated by Bacteroidetes but exhibited a pronounced influence of typical freshwater phylogenetic groups within Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Betaproteobacteria and a lack of typical marine taxa. This first comprehensive analysis of bacterial community composition in the central Baltic Sea points to the existence of an autochthonous estuarine community uniquely adapted to the environmental conditions prevailing in this brackish environment.
The Family in Family Business

Research abounds on the nuances of family business, many comparing management, leadership, and performance of these businesses against those that are not influenced by family involvement. Although comparative studies eventually led to the development of family business definitions, the treatment of in-laws has been surreptitiously left out. In the family business, are in-laws family members, nonfamily members, or perennially in limbo? This article presents that the in-law position, at least in the Philippine setting, is precarious, necessitating a unique circle in Tagiuri and Davis’s three-circle model. The standards of treatment and the measurement of performance depend on which position the in-law occupies in that model. Knowing exactly where everyone fits into the model creates a better understanding of how one should behave for optimal family business experience.
INVESTIGATING THE CRITERION VALIDITY OF PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOM SCALES USING SURROGATE MARKER VALIDATION METHODOLOGY

This work investigates whether techniques that are generally used for the validation of surrogate markers in clinical trials can be applied in the validation of psychiatric health measurements (often scales) and more generally to investigate relationships between treatment effects on different measurements. However, the categorical nature of some scales makes these techniques inapplicable in the way they were originally defined. In this work, we show a possible extension of this methodology to the setting in which one of the scales is an ordinal categorical variable. When psychiatric health measurements are either developed or used in a new population, reliability and validity must be investigated. Reliability, more specifically internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability, is focused on the reproducibility of the measurement. Validity is defined as the degree to which the scale measures what it purports to measure. This can be performed through the analysis of content, construct, and criterion validity. We argue that recent methodology, in particular developed to study surrogate endpoints, can be used to examine criterion validity, concurrent validity, and predictive validity. In concurrent validity, we correlate the measurement with a criterion measure, both of which are given at the same time. In predictive validity, the criterion will not be available to some point in time in the future. The surrogate methods were applied on pooled data from five trials in schizophrenia.
Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Pleura: MR Appearance and Enhancement Pattern

Purpose The aim of the current study was to characterize the MR appearance of solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura (SFTP). Method Twenty-two consecutive patients with histologically confirmed SFTP were retrospectively evaluated with MRI. Results Tumors demonstrated low signal intensity (n = 18, 82%), iso signal intensity (n = 2, 9%), and high signal intensity (n = 2, 9%) on T1-weighted images. On T2-weighted images, tumors were observed as low signal intensity (n = 10, 45%), high signal intensity (n = 2, 9%), and mixed signal intensity (n = 10, 45%). Solid component in the proliferation of tumor cells corresponded to low signal intensity in 12 tumors (55%) on T2-weighted images. On gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images, inhomogeneous enhancement (n = 18, 82%), nodular enhancement (n = 6, 27%), and homogeneous enhancement (n = 4, 18%) were observed. The enhanced lesion within the tumors had dense tumor tissue and dilated microvessels in the pathologic specimen. Conclusion SFTP shows variable appearance and enhancement pattern on MRI according to morphologic tumor heterogeneity.
Skill Shortages: An Overview

This brief article pulls together a number of general themes. In particular, it looks at a number of influences on the extent and nature of skill shortages, including: the growth of the economy; technological change; organisational change; international competition; changes in industrial structure; increased demands for a more formally qualified workforce; training; demographic changes; labour market flexibility; wastage rates, retention and recruitment; movement to a Single European Market. Finally it provides a number of more general comments which, in essence, serve to highlight the central role played by training.
Superflexibility of graphene oxide

Significance Bending of a thin plate simultaneously involves contraction and stretching of matter relative to a neutral plane, and tensile rigidity dictates the ability of a thin platelet to be bent. If graphene or graphene oxide (GO) were actually behaving as thin platelets, they would display high bending rigidity. Bending measurements for atomic monolayers remain particularly challenging because of their difficult manipulation. We quantitatively measure the GO bending rigidity by characterizing the flattening of thermal undulations in response to shear forces in solution. The bending modulus is found to be 1 kT, which is about two orders of magnitude lower than the bending rigidity of neat graphene. Amazingly, the high stiffness of GO is associated with an unexpected low bending modulus. Graphene oxide (GO), the main precursor of graphene-based materials made by solution processing, is known to be very stiff. Indeed, it has a Young’s modulus comparable to steel, on the order of 300 GPa. Despite its very high stiffness, we show here that GO is superflexible. We quantitatively measure the GO bending rigidity by characterizing the flattening of thermal undulations in response to shear forces in solution. Characterizations are performed by the combination of synchrotron X-ray diffraction at small angles and in situ rheology (rheo-SAXS) experiments using the high X-ray flux of a synchrotron source. The bending modulus is found to be 1 kT, which is about two orders of magnitude lower than the bending rigidity of neat graphene. This superflexibility compares with the fluidity of self-assembled liquid bilayers. This behavior is discussed by considering the mechanisms at play in bending and stretching deformations of atomic monolayers. The superflexibility of GO is a unique feature to develop bendable electronics after reduction, films, coatings, and fibers. This unique combination of properties of GO allows for flexibility in processing and fabrication coupled with a robustness in the fabricated structure.
Economic growth, trade and capital flows: A causal analysis of post-liberalised South Africa

Development Finance and EconometricsThis paper investigates the causal relationships between trade, capital inflows and economic growth in post-liberalised South Africa over the period from 1995 to 2011. The results show that economic growth in South Africa is driven primarily by trade and fixed investment rather than by capital inflows. However, the relationship between economic growth and imports is bidirectional, and thus economic growth in South Africa is associated to a greater extent with the export-led growth hypothesis than the import-led growth hypothesis. In addition, the results find in favour of growth-led FDI rather than FDI-led growth, and that portfolio inflows rather than FDI are integrated into the country's trade-led growth dynamics.
In vitro endothelial potential of human UC blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

BACKGROUND Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) possess powerful ex vivo expansion and versatile differentiation potential, placing themselves at the forefront of the field of stem cell-based therapy and transplantation. Of high clinical relevance is the endothelial differentiation potential of MSC, which can be used to treat various forms of ischemic vascular disease. METHODS We investigated whether human umbilical cord blood (UCB)-derived MSC are able to differentiate in vitro along an endothelial lineage, by using flow cytometry, RT-PCR and immunofluorescence analyzes, as well as an Ab array method. RESULTS When the cells were incubated for up to 3 weeks in the presence of VEGF, EGF and hydrocortisone, they began to express a variety of endothelial lineage surface markers, such as Flk-1, Flt-1, VE-Cadherin, vWF, VCAM-1, Tie-1 and Tie-2, and to secrete a specific set of cytokines. Differentiated cells were also found to be able to uptake low-density lipoprotein and form a tubular network structure. DISCUSSION These observations have led us to conclude that UCB-derived MSC retain endothelial potential that is suitable for basic and clinical studies aimed at the development of vasculature-directed regenerative medicine.
An International Marketing Curriculum - Development and Analysis

Abstract This paper shows the process of market-driven curriculum design, using a case study of the development of an International Marketing (IM) major at the undergraduate level. The need for an IM curriculum to serve the globalization of business is established. A market-based curriculum development plan is then outlined, based on a market study revealing the profiles and the IM curriculum design preferences of exporting companies in the North Central region of the United States. The curriculum development, analysis of moderators, and marketing strategy for the major are discussed.
Parent-child communication processes: preventing children's health-risk behavior.

PURPOSE Review individual, family, and environmental factors that predict health-risk behavior among children and to propose parent-child communication processes as a mechanism to mediate them. CONCLUSIONS Improving parent-child communication processes may: reduce individual risk factors, such as poor academic achievement or self-esteem; modify parenting practices such as providing regulation and structure and acting as models of health behavior; and facilitate discussion about factors that lead to involvement in health-risk behaviors. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Assessment strategies to identify youth at risk for health-risk behavior are recommended and community-based strategies to improve communication among parents and children need development.
A Study of the Formality of Human Resource Management Practices in Small and Medium-Size Enterprises in Vietnam

One main challenge for human resource (HR) management in small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) is to balance the formal policies and the informal culture of these smaller firms. While HR formality has remained a subject of much qualitative analysis, it has not received much quantitative analysis. Using a sample of 89 Vietnamese SMEs this study tested the level of formality as a dimension of HR management. The results supported our hypotheses that firm size is positively related to HR formality, and that HR formality is positively associated with owners’ perceptions of firm performance. This study provides important research implications as well as practical implications for managers and policy makers.
Are manufacturing exports the key to economic success in Africa

The poor performance of many African economies has been associated with low growth of exports in general and of manufacturing exports in particular. The two most successful countries in Africa have been Botswana and Mauritius. In Botswana, rapid export growth followed the discovery of diamonds; in Mauritius, manufacturing exports played a major role. In this paper we draw on both macro and micro evidence from nine African countries to investigate whether manufacturing exports are the key to success in Africa. We do this by posing three questions. First, how close is the link between export and income growth? Second, is there evidence from these African countries that manufactured exports have led to greater economic success? Third, what has limited the success of firms in the manufacturing sector? We argue that export and income growth are very closely linked. However, there is, for this sample of countries, no evidence that if their exports are manufactures, growth rates are higher. We show that the factors that limit the success of African manufacturing firms in exporting are their levels of efficiency and small size. We argue that the key to success in an area where Africa has a potential cost advantage -- labour-intensive garments -- is to enable large firms to use a more labour-intensive technology than is the case at present. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.
Evaluation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Hendrich II Fall Risk Model to Portuguese.

BACKGROUND Several tools for the assessment of the risk of falling are used commonly by clinical nurses, but none have been validated in Portuguese. AIMS To adapt and evaluate the Hendrich II Fall Risk Model (HIIFRM) for use with elderly Portuguese inpatients. METHOD We conducted a prospective study of 586 older inpatients in acute care hospitals, from November 2007 to May 2010. RESULTS The study involved 270 men and 316 women. The most frequent risk factor on admission and at discharge was a score ≥3 on the 'Get Up and Go' test. The adapted HIIFRM showed a sensitivity of 93.2% and 75.7%, and a specificity of 35% and 46.7%, on admission and at discharge, respectively. A positive predictive value of 17.2% on admission and 17% at discharge and a negative predictive value of 97.3% and 93%, respectively, were estimated. CONCLUSIONS The HIIFRM was shown to be a useful tool in predicting falls by patients. Nevertheless, the research model suggested that only four risk factors affected the occurrence of falls significantly on admission and two risk factors at discharge. Further research is required in Portuguese hospital settings.
Contrasting Perceptions of STEM Content and Careers

Analysis of baseline attitudinal data gathered from a National Science Foundation Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers project uncovered large contrasts between the perceptions of practicing professionals and students toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and careers (TylerWood, Knezek, & Christensen, 2010). These findings have been reconfirmed in a second year analysis based on new data and are reported in this paper. The pattern of findings suggests that university teacher preparation candidates hold attitudes similar to middle school students, while the faculty (the educators of teacher preparation candidates) have attitudes similar to STEM education professionals. Additional findings based on disaggregated data are reported. For example, middle school students appear to have more positive perceptions of science, mathematics, and engineering than do the university preservice teachers surveyed, who are destined to be middle school teachers.
Virtual 3D planning of acetabular fracture reduction

Displaced acetabular fractures are best treated with open reduction to achieve anatomic reduction and maximize the chance of a good functional outcome. Because of the anatomic complexity and often limited visualization, fracture reduction can be difficult. Virtual planning software can allow the surgeon to understand the fracture morphology and to rehearse reduction maneuvers. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a novel virtual fracture reduction module on time and accuracy of reduction. Four acetabular fracture patterns were created in synthetic pelves, which were implanted with fiducial markers and were registered with CT scan. Ten surgeons used virtual fracture reduction software or conventional 2D planning methods and immediately reduced the fractures blindly in a viscous gel medium. 3D imaging was again performed and the accuracy of reduction was assessed. The average malreduction was significantly improved following planning with the virtual software compared to the standard technique. The time taken for reduction was also significantly less for two of the four fracture patterns. Virtual software may be useful for visualizing and planning treatment of fractures of the acetabulum, potentially leading to more accurate and efficient reductions, and may also be an effective educational tool. © 2007 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 26:547–552, 2008
Influence of On-site Interpretation Intensity on Visitors to Natural Areas

There has been some debate about the benefits of high or low intensity use of on-site media at natural areas. The former may be viewed as overkill while the latter may not achieve the intended aims. Two similar natural area sites in Australia were selected with respective high and low intensity use of on-site interpretation. Visitors at each site were surveyed immediately before and after their experience to determine site influences on site perceptions and environmental attitudes. Comparative analysis revealed the intensity of interpretation did not appear to affect perceptions or attitude influence, while the character of the site experience and key visitor variables did. Site design needs to reflect interpretive media design to ensure visitor activities and subsequent effects on attitudes are consistent with conservation objectives.
Organisational responses to public sector reforms in higher education in Uganda: a case study of Makerere University

This paper analyses changes in university management structures and practices as a response to public sector reforms in Ugandan higher education using Makerere University as a case study. The study uses the organisational learning theory and a review of the higher education literature. Two adaptive responses in the management structures and practices emerge from the empirical discussion based on an analysis of documents. These responses illustrate strategies to fuel innovation and recent strategies to restore stability at the case study university.
Are there bubbles in Chinese RMB–dollar exchange rate? Evidence from generalized sup ADF tests

This article uses recently developed generalized sup ADF (GSADF) unit root tests into the analysis of nominal RMB–dollar exchange rates bubbles. Based on the results from the GSADF tests, we find strong evidence of explosive behaviour in the nominal exchange rate and investigate two bubbles there. The first bubble is during 2005–2006 which is determined neither by the relative prices of traded goods nor the relative price of nontraded goods. The second bubble busts in 2008 during subprime crisis period, and which is determined by the relative prices of traded goods but not the relative price of nontraded goods. There is no bubble before 2005 as the exchange rate is under fixed regime. As for this result, some expansionary monetary and fiscal policies are required in China since these are the most efficient and effective under a bubble burst scenario.