Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The measurement of elongation of anterior cruciate-ligament grafts in vivo.

Many investigators who have studied the mechanical behavior of anterior cruciate-ligament grafts have attributed the increase in anterior translation of the tibia relative to the femur (an increase in the anterior laxity of the knee joint) to the temporal changes in the material behavior (strength and elastic properties) of the graft that occur throughout the process of remodeling. However, with the onset of motion of the joint, it is unclear whether the repeatable mechanical behavior of the graft remains unchanged immediately after fixation, if the fixation slips, or if the length of the graft changes and produces an increase in anterior translation of the tibia relative to the femur. It is also unknown if procedures performed by different surgeons, using similar graft material and similar operative techniques, can produce similar mechanical behavior of the graft, or if the behavior of the graft is similar to that of the normal anterior cruciate ligament. In an effort to address these questions, two surgeons performed a reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament on ten patients each (groups 1 and 2) with use of a bone-patellar ligament-bone graft. Immediately after fixation of the graft, a Hall-effect transducer was implanted to measure the changes in the length of the mid-substance of the graft while the knee was moved through twenty cycles of passive flexion-extension. Unlike the length pattern of the normal anterior cruciate ligament, the length pattern of the graft changed during the initial cycles of passive motion of the knee. We defined this phenomenon as the cyclic response of the graft and characterized it by calculation of the changes in the length of the graft at fixed positions of the knee across the multiple cycles of passive motion. In some patients, the length of the graft increased through the initial passive-motion cycles, while in others, it decreased. With the knee nearly extended, the predicted increase in anterior translation of the tibia relative to the femur, resulting from the increase in the length of the graft, was a maximum of 1.0 millimeter. This indicates that increases in anterior translation of the tibia relative to the femur can occur immediately after reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament and that changes in the length of the graft occur after fixation at loads that are less than the ultimate failure load of the graft or of the fixation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
U.S. Public Health Service Cooperative trial of three rifampin-isoniazid regimens in treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

A total of 822 patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis were assigned randomly to one of 3 daily rifampin-isoniazid (RIF-INH) regimens: 450, 600, or 750 mg of RIF in combination with 300 mg of INH. After an initial 20 weeks of therapy with RIF-INH, patients recieved 300 mg of INH and 15 mg of ethambutol (EMB) per kg of body weight for either 12 or 18 months after their sputum cultures became negative. The rate of bacteriologic conversion of sputum among the 3 RIF-INH regimens was compared for 552 patients who completed the 20 weeks of RIF-INH therapy. Apporximately 60 per cent of these patients also completed their assigned INH-EMB therapy and were examined for relapse for at least one year after therapy was stopped. There was no significant difference in the rate of sputum conversion or rate of relapse between the group of patients who received 600 mg of RIF and those who received 750 mg of RIF. However, the 450-mg RIF regimen was significantly less effective than the other 2 regimens, as manifested by a lower rate of sputum conversion and a higher rate of treatment failures. Further analysis showed that RIF dosages of less than 9 mg per kg of body weight per day may be inadequate for treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. The acceptability of these regimens was high, and the incidence of adverse reactions requiring discontinuation of RIF-INH therapy was quite low (3.3 per cent). A large proportion of patients (44 per cent) developed increased concentrations of transaminase during therapy with RIF-INH. These abnormalities were usually transient and, in most cases, of no clinical significance. In the relapse analysis, 12 months of chemotherapy after sputum conversion was shown to be as effective as 18 months of therapy after conversion of these RIF-containing regimens.
The effect of immigration on innovation in Italy

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the effect of immigration on innovation in Italy, a country characterized by prevalently unskilled immigration. After addressing the potential endogeneity of the share of immigrants in the population using immigrant enclaves, no evidence is found of either positive or negative effects of migrants on innovation. This result is robust to allowing for different effects of low- and medium-high-skilled migrants, to using linear and non-linear models, and to considering both province-level data on patent applications and firm-level self-reported measures also capturing innovation adoption.
Multimodel inference in ecology and evolution: challenges and solutions

Information theoretic approaches and model averaging are increasing in popularity, but this approach can be difficult to apply to the realistic, complex models that typify many ecological and evolutionary analyses. This is especially true for those researchers without a formal background in information theory. Here, we highlight a number of practical obstacles to model averaging complex models. Although not meant to be an exhaustive review, we identify several important issues with tentative solutions where they exist (e.g. dealing with collinearity amongst predictors; how to compute model‐averaged parameters) and highlight areas for future research where solutions are not clear (e.g. when to use random intercepts or slopes; which information criteria to use when random factors are involved). We also provide a worked example of a mixed model analysis of inbreeding depression in a wild population. By providing an overview of these issues, we hope that this approach will become more accessible to those investigating any process where multiple variables impact an evolutionary or ecological response.
Clinical and economic outcomes in critically ill patients with nosocomial catheter-related bloodstream infections.

BACKGROUND Central venous catheters are universally used during the treatment of critically ill patients. Their use, however, is associated with a substantial infection risk, potentially leading to increased mortality and costs. We evaluate clinical and economic outcomes associated with nosocomial central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection (CR-BSI) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHODS A retrospective (1992-2002), pairwise-matched (ratio of case patients to control subjects, 1:2 or 1:1), risk-adjusted cohort study was performed at a 54-bed general ICU at a university hospital. ICU patients with microbiologically documented CR-BSI (n = 176) were matched with control subjects (n = 315) on the basis of disease severity, diagnostic category, and length of ICU stay (equivalent or longer) before the onset of CR-BSI in the index case patient. Clinical outcome was principally evaluated by in-hospital mortality. Economic outcome was evaluated on the basis of duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU and hospital stays, and total hospital costs, as derived from the patient's hospital invoices. RESULTS The attributable mortality rate for CR-BSI was estimated to be 1.8% (95% confidence interval, -6.4% to 10.0%); in-hospital mortality rates for patients with CR-BSI and matched control subjects were 27.8% and 26.0%, respectively. CR-BSI was associated with significant excesses in duration of mechanical ventilation, duration of ICU and hospital stays, and a significant increase in total hospital cost. Linear regression analysis with adjustment for duration of hospitalization and clinical covariates, revealed that CR-BSI is independently associated with higher costs. CONCLUSIONS In ICU patients, CR-BSI does not result in increased mortality. It is, however, associated with a significant economic burden, emphasizing the importance of continuous efforts in prevention.
Treatment of Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage With Intravenous Glycerol: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Trial

Background and Purpose Hitherto, treatment of acute cerebral hemorrhage with intravenous glycerol has not been evaluated in rigorous clinical studies with sufficient patient numbers. Methods We undertook a double-blind, stratified and randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Only patients with a first stroke admitted to the hospital within 24 hours after onset of symptoms were recruited, provided computed tomography confirmed hemorrhage and informed consent was obtained. After stratification into alert, semicoma, and coma subgroups using the Glasgow Coma Scale, 107 patients received active treatment (500 ml of 10% glycerol in saline by intravenous infusion over 4 hours on 6 consecutive days) and 109 were given corresponding saline treatment. Using a variety of objective scoring systems, patients were followed up for up to 6 months. Results At follow-up, all measures of outcome in the treated and control groups were very similar. At 6 months, respective mortality rates were 37 of 107 and 33 of 109. Corresponding mean±SD improvements in Scandinavian Stroke Study Group scores were 8.35±16.9 versus 11.55±15.6 (long-term) and 0.64±7.3 versus 2.40±6.9 (prognostic), and improvements in the Barthel Index ratings were 10.72±24.7 versus 13.95±23.3, respectively. Glasgow Coma Scale score improvements in the survivors were 0.81±1.5 and 1.16±1.7 in the treated and control groups, respectively. Hemolysis (generally subclinical) was the only adverse effect of glycerol noted. Conclusions In the absence of any clinically or statistically significant difference in outcome between the treated and control groups, this trial provides no justification for glycerol therapy following acute cerebral hemorrhage.s
Cost efficiency of insurance firms in Ghana

The huge infrastructural deficit in Africa requires the establishment of an efficient insurance industry in the pursuance of economic development. Unfortunately, global statistics reveal low patronage of insurance in developing countries, thus making its impact limited in the region. To position the industry for economic development, this study utilizes the stochastic frontier technique to undertake a thorough analysis on the cost efficiency of insurers from the perspective of developing economies using Ghana as a case study. The results on the 30 insurers studied from 2005 to 2014 indicate that insurers in Ghana operate with about 53.8% average cost inefficiency. This stands to confirm the long existed low performance perception of Ghanaians about the industry. Factors identified to explain the cost inefficiencies were firm size, market share, capitalization, reinsurance, regulation, and business type. Several policy recommendations that can help boost the cost efficiency of insurers were derived from the results.
Emergence of a novel cluster of influenza A(H5N1) virus clade 2.2.1.2 with putative human health impact in Egypt, 2014/15.

A distinct cluster of highly pathogenic avian influenzaviruses of subtype A(H5N1) has been found to emergewithin clade 2.2. 1.2 in poultry in Egypt since summer2014 and appears to have quickly become predominant.Viruses of this cluster may be associated withincreased incidence of human influenza A(H5N1) infectionsin Egypt over the last months.
Dynamic Changes of Nasal Resistance

Fifty human subjects were studied and evaluated utilizing posterior rhinomanometry techniques. The main purpose of the investigation was to study the physiologic dynamic range of nasal resistance so that the data might serve as a baseline, not only for evaluation and diagnosis of pathologic states but also for the assessment of nasal responses to various physiologic, drug-induced, or pathologic challenges. Analysis was divided into two parts: first, the evaluation of the average resistance and average change in resistance for each patient, and, second, determination of the maximal amount of change to be expected over 15-minute periods in a healthy subject. These studies give the investigator an idea of the magnitude of change that one might expect in normal physiologic situations, based on the 50 subjects that allowed 1,272 observations for justification of the concept of percent change in nasal resistance and not the value of nasal resistance alone. We concluded that the physiologic change in nasal resistance in a normal individual during a 15-minute interval should be less than 53% of the previous observation of nasal resistance. A change greater than 53% suggests a significant change that cannot be attributed to physiologic variability.
Inferior Vena Cava Filter Placement in Late-Stage Cancer

Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters are increasingly used in patients with advanced-stage cancer for prophylaxis of pulmonary embolus. We evaluated the survival benefit of placing IVC filters in patients with late-stage malignancy and assessed their effectiveness in preventing pulmonary embolism. Between 1998 and 2003, 5,970 patients were treated with a primary diagnosis of malignancy at a tertiary care facility. Retrospective analysis identified 55 consecutive patients with stage III or IV malignant disease and venous thromboembolism (VTE) who received IVC filters. Retrospective review of electronic hospital charts identified subsequent pulmonary emboli, procedure-related complications, and survival. In a case control study, 16 patients with VTE but without IVC filter were matched for age, sex, type of malignancy, and stage of disease. IVC filter placement effectively prevented computed tomography (CT) scan or ventilation/perfusion ratio (V/Q) scan-proven pulmonary embolus in 52/55 (94.5%) patients. Complications developed in 4/55 or 7.3% of patients; 13/55 (23.6%) patients with late-stage cancer survived less than 30 days following placement of the filter. Another 23.6% of this group survived longer than 1 year. Ambulatory status differed significantly (p=0.01) between these 2 subgroups. In the case control study, IVC filter placement conferred no survival benefit compared to the control group. One recurrent pulmonary embolism was observed in both the filter group and the control group. No deaths due to thromboembolic complications were observed in either group. In late-stage cancer, patient survival is limited primarily by the malignant process. While IVC filter placement is effective in preventing pulmonary emboli, there may be limited survival benefit in this particular patient population. However, there exists a subset of this population whose functional status predicts longer survival times after filter placement.
Glucocorticoid‐induced tumour necrosis factor receptor‐related protein‐mediated macrophage stimulation may induce cellular adhesion and cytokine expression in rheumatoid arthritis

Glucocorticoid‐induced tumour necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)‐related protein (GITR) is one of the T cell co‐stimulatory molecules and is associated with the pathogenesis of a number of autoimmune diseases. We investigated the expression patterns of GITR in human arthritic synovium and the role of GITR in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Immunohistochemical analyses revealed the expression of GITR and its cognate ligand, GITRL, in macrophages in RA, but not in osteoarthritis (OA), synovium. To investigate the role of GITR in macrophage functions, primary macrophages from RA patients and a human macrophage cell line, THP‐1, were analysed. Stimulation of the macrophages with anti‐GITR monoclonal antibody induced up‐regulation of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)‐1 and subsequent aggregation/adhesion, which was enhanced by the presence of extracellular matrix proteins and blocked by anti‐ICAM‐1 monoclonal antibody. The validity of these in vitro observations was confirmed by immunohistochemical analyses of RA synovium, which showed strong expression of ICAM‐1 in GITR‐positive macrophages. Additionally, GITR stimulation induced expression of proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines and matrix metalloproteinase‐9 in synovial macrophages. These data indicate that GITR, expressed on macrophages in human RA synovium, may enhance inflammatory activation of macrophages by promoting cytokine gene expression and adhesion between cells and to extracellular matrix in RA synovium.
Introduction: Aging and Working in the New Economy

This book is about aging and working in the New Economy. It is about how individuals manage their paid work within fi rms that are struggling to survive and compete in global economies. It is also about the tensions that arise as workers and owners struggle for personal and fi rm survival, two processes that are often contradictory and result in paradoxes that occasionally produce confl ict. For centuries, of course, tension, contradiction, paradox, and confl ict have been used to describe the employment relations that exist between employers and employees. Yet, as this book will show, the specifi c character of employment relations and the tension, contradiction, paradox, and confl ict that ensue, take on a somewhat diff erent character in the small, New Economy fi rms in this study. Throughout the 1990s, the New Economy concept came to refer to the idea that old ways of doing business were waning, largely due to advances in information technology, the innovative implementation of these technologies in the workplace, and the commodifi cation of knowledge (Castells, 1996; Ranson, 2003). Although there have been debates about how new the New Economy really is, the evolution of employment relations over the last several decades and the idea that ‘business is not being conducted as usual’ have policymakers, think tanks, and academics taking notice. Indeed, according to Chris Benner ‘it is not at all an exaggeration to say that we are in the midst of an information revolution as signifi cant for changing economic and social structures in the twenty-fi rst century as the fi rst and second industrial revolutions were for the nineteenth and twentieth centuries’ (Benner, 2002: 1–2). Although it is diffi cult, and perhaps premature, to say for certain whether the changes in the use of information technology could be classifi ed as a revolution of the same magnitude and scope as the fi rst and second industrial revolutions, one need only consider the vast changes in manufacturing processes and the omnipresence of email and text messaging at work and at home to recognize that profound change is underway. The transformation of employment relations in the New Economy has coincided with workforce aging. Over the next few decades, population
On Evaluating Social Learning Outcomes of Serious Games to Collaboratively Address Sustainability Problems: A Literature Review

Serious games are increasingly explored as collaborative tools to enhance social learning on sustainable management of land and natural resources. A systematic literature review was conducted to examine the current state of the art of the different methods and procedures used to assess social learning outcomes of collaborative serious games. Forty-two publications were identified and included in the review following study selection and quality assessment steps. Extracted data from the publications were categorized in relation to five research questions. Approaches that were used to assess cognitive, normative, and relational learning outcomes of collaborative serious games were subsequently identified based on the categorizations. As a result, these approaches distinguished between the nature of learning in the assessment of collaborative serious games. Combined, these approaches provide an overview of how to assess social learning outcomes of collaborative serious games, including the methods and procedures that can be used, and may serve as a reference for scholars designing and evaluating collaborative serious games.
Emergence of socioeconomic inequalities in smoking and overweight and obesity in early adulthood: the national longitudinal study of adolescent health.

OBJECTIVES We examined whether socioeconomic inequalities in smoking and overweight and obesity emerged in early adulthood and the contribution of family background, adolescent smoking, and body mass index to socioeconomic inequalities. METHODS Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health we employed multinomial regression analyses to estimate relative odds of heavy or light-to-moderate smoking to nonsmoking and of overweight or obesity to normal weight. RESULTS For smoking, we found inequalities by young adult socioeconomic position in both genders after controlling for family background and smoking during adolescence. However, family socioeconomic position was not strongly associated with smoking in early adulthood. For overweight and obesity, we found socioeconomic inequalities only among women both by young adult and family socioeconomic position after adjusting for birthweight, other family background, and body mass index during adolescence. CONCLUSIONS Socioeconomic inequalities in smoking emerged in early adulthood according to socioeconomic position. Among women, inequalities in overweight or obesity were already evident by family socioeconomic position and strengthened by their own socioeconomic position. The relative importance of family background and current socioeconomic circumstances varied between smoking and overweight or obesity.
Bioremediation model for atrazine contaminated agricultural soils using phytoremediation (using Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and a locally adapted microbial consortium

ABSTRACT The objective of the present study was to examine a biological model under greenhouse conditions for the bioremediation of atrazine contaminated soils. The model consisted in a combination of phytoremediation (using Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and rhizopheric bio-augmentation using native Trichoderma sp. , and Rhizobium sp. microorganisms that showed no inhibitory growth at 10,000 mg L−1 of herbicide concentration. 33.3 mg of atrazine 50 g−1 of soil of initial concentration was used and an initial inoculation of 1 × 109 UFC mL−1 of Rhizobium sp. and 1 × 105 conidia mL−1 of Trichoderma sp. were set. Four treatments were arranged: Bean + Trichoderma sp. (B+T); Bean + Rhizobium sp. (BR); Bean + Rhizobium sp. + Trichoderma sp. (B+R+T) and Bean (B). 25.51 mg of atrazine 50 g−1 of soil (76.63%) was removed by the B+T treatment in 40 days (a = 0.050, Tukey). This last indicate that the proposed biological model and methodology developed is useful for atrazine contaminated bioremediation agricultural soils, which can contribute to reduce the effects of agrochemical abuse.
THE EFFECT OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND WORK CULTURE TO LECTURES’ PERFORMANCE

The objective of this study was to find out the influence of transformational leadership and work culture on lecturer’s performance of Universitas Muhammadiyah Palembang. This study used quantitative approach, survey method and path analysis. The data was taken from 204 lecturers and 29 heads of study program became the sample in this study. The result of the study found that (1) transformational leadership gave direct positive influence on the performance; (2) work culture gave direct positive influnce on lecturer’s performance; and (3) transformational leadership gave direct positive influnce on work culture. Form the research has been conducted, it could be concluded there must be the improvement of transformational leadership and work culture to improve the lecturer’s performance of Universitas Muhammadiyah Palembang.