Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of preoperative cardiac investigation in emergency hip surgery.

BACKGROUND Given the well recognized imperative to treat hip fractures as expeditiously as possible there can arise uncertainty regarding the balance between pre-operative medical optimization and delay of surgery. Echocardiography is often felt to considerably delay surgery with limited change to patient management. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed forty-nine consecutive patients who had echocardiography prior to surgery for hip fracture and compared them to fifty-eight patients who did not have echocardiography. RESULTS We found that those who had echocardiography were more likely to have medication changes (51.02% vs. 6.9%) but were unlikely to require angiography, bypass or valvular surgery prior to fracture fixation. Those undergoing echo had a longer time to surgery-3.30 days (SD=2.49) while those in the control group waited 1.5 days (SD=1.29), (p=0.005). Rates of spinal anaesthesia were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS We feel that these results confirm the theory that echocardiography, as currently provided, significantly delays surgery for hip fracture and that this may negatively affect patient outcomes.
Role of venoconstriction in thromboxane-induced pulmonary hypertension and edema in lambs.

We evaluated the dose response to a stable thromboxane (Tx) A2 analogue (sTxA2; 0.3-30 micrograms) in the pulmonary circulation and its effect on the distribution of pressure gradients determined by the occlusion technique in isolated nonblood perfused newborn lamb lungs. The total pulmonary pressure gradient (delta Pt) was partitioned into pressure drops across the relatively indistensible arteries and veins (delta Pv) and relatively compliant vessels. We also evaluated the effects of prostacyclin (PGI2) and a Tx receptor antagonist (ONO 3708) on the sTxA2-induced pulmonary responses. Injection of sTxA2 caused a dose-related increase in the pulmonary arterial pressure, with the primary component of the increase in delta Pt (4.1 +/- 0.8 to 13.9 +/- 0.4 Torr) at 30 micrograms derived from the prominent rise in delta Pv (1.8 +/- 0.3 to 9.8 +/- 0.9 Torr). Infusion of PGI2 (0.4 microgram.kg-1.min-1) reduced the response to sTxA2 mainly by attenuating the delta Pv elevation. Infusion of ONO 3708 (100 micrograms.kg-1.min-1) completely abolished the sTxA2-induced pulmonary hypertension. Injection of sTxA2 resulted in pulmonary edema characterized by a significant increase in wet-to-dry lung weight ratio (9.13 +/- 0.35 vs. 7.15 +/- 0.41 in control lungs). The sTxA2-induced pulmonary edema was increased by PGI2 and inhibited by ONO 3708. We conclude that thromboxane-induced pulmonary hypertension is primarily produced by venoconstriction and prostacyclin may worsen the edema induced by thromboxane.
The impact of NABARD's Self Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme on poverty and empowerment in India

Exiting impact analysis studies on the Self Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme (SBLP) of the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) underline that the programme has done extremely well in rural India in terms of its outreach, generating income, reducing poverty levels and empowering people both economically and socially. This paper evaluates the impact of SBLP on Self Help Group (SHG) members at the household level from a gender perspective. The analysis of the study is based on a large sample of primary data covering 4791 SHG households and 900 SHGs collected from six states in India. Furthermore, the sample covers more than 60% of SHGs that consist of members belonging to below poverty line families. Overall, the performance analysis reveals that households whose member(s) belong to all-female SHGs perform better than households whose members belong to other types of SHGs. This is mainly because female SHGs are doing extremely well in terms of recovery of loans and per capita income and savings. A chunk of female SHG members in all the six sample states reported an improvement of their social empowerment after joining the SHG programme. Furthermore, the fall of poverty is more pronounced in cases of households whose members belong to female SHGs at 26.0 percentage points between pre-SHG period and post-SHG period. The policy implication is that the formation of female SHGs needs to be encouraged and all necessary services should be provided to them.
Introduction: The EU in International Trade Negotiations

This special issue presents new research on the EU's role in international trade negotiations. In the introduction, we sketch out the relevance of this topic, introduce some of the core institutional features of trade policy-making in the EU, review the existing literature dealing with the EU in international trade negotiations, and briefly present the contributions included in this issue.
Worker Adaptation and the Desire for Accommodations after the Onset of a Disability

I use a multinomial logit model to estimate the probability of the type of adaptation or employment response individuals make after the onset of disability, using the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey from Canada. I consider three types of adaptations: no change in jobs, changing jobs, and leaving employment. I also examine worker desires for employer accommodations, which are arrangements employers make for disabled persons after the onset of a disability.
Asymptotic F-Test in a GMM Framework with Cross-Sectional Dependence

Abstract The paper develops an asymptotically valid F-test that is robust to spatial autocorrelation in a GMM framework. The validity of the F-test is established under mild conditions that can accommodate a wide range of spatial processes. The proposed F-test is very easy to implement, as critical values are from a standard F-distribution. The F-test achieves triple robustness: it is asymptotically valid regardless of the spatial autocorrelation, the sampling region, and the limiting behavior of the smoothing parameter. Simulation also shows that the F-test has good size and power properties in finite samples.
La Curva en S como Herramienta para la Medición de los Ciclos de Vida de Productos

The aim of this article was to carry out a study of the life cycles of three products of Colombian companies; based on a logistic model of population growth as a life cycles measurement tool. We found that the products life cycles have a similar behavior to the population growth, according to an S curve. The inflection points of the curves were obtained by a nonlinear regression. These points might be used as a tool for strategic decision making in products, in terms of identifying key instants for launching technological innovations, investments and execute marketing strategies.
A review of the European Union shipping policy

It is the aim of the European Union to develop a transport policy that supports its economic and sustainable growth and where the concept of sustainable mobility is a driver in the development of such policy. To achieve this goal, the European Union (EU) is promoting the shift of goods to unused existing capacity in rail and sea modes. As such, it is the objective of this paper to carry out a review of the European shipping policy at a time when the EU Member-States are suffering from high levels of congestion, noise and pollution that not only affect the environment but also the quality of life of all citizens. This paper considers the development of EU shipping policy in three stages.
Titratable acidity: A Pitts concept revisited

Abstract Titratable Acidity (TA) in urine can be measured directly or calculated from actual and reference pH, by using the pKa2 6,8 for phosphate. In urine, H2PO4− represents the excretion of filtered H2PO4−, filtrated HPO42− being completely reabsorbed by the proximal tubule (the Van Slyke approach). Since excretion of H2PO4− frequently exceeds its glomerular filtration, this approach is considered inadequate by Pitts. He claimed that it is the tubular H+ secretion which converts filtered HPO42− to H2PO4−, thereafter excreted in urine. This is only true under conditions of inorganic acid or neutral phosphate loading, when the maximum tubular phosphate reabsorption (TmPi) is overcharged. In controls, H2PO4− excretion is lower than its glomerular filtration, provided that acid-base status is normal and tubular phosphate reabsorption is below the TmPi. The TmPi is lower than its glomerular filtration, provided that acid-base status is normal and tubular phosphate reabsorption is below the TmPi. When the TmPi is exceeded, a portion of HPO42− escapes proximal reabsorption, reaching the distal tubule where its absorption is precluded, while tubular H+ secretion converts HPO42− to H2PO4−. In man and dog, the attainment of TmPi is evidenced by a FE% of 20%, and only beyond this limit H2PO4− excretion exceeds glomerular filtration. When FE% is lower than 20%, H2PO4− filtration exceeds excretion, HPO42− being completely reabsorbed at the proximal tubule by NaPi-2a and 2c cotransporters. While Van Slyke's approach is always valid, Pitts’ approach is only valid under loading conditions, when the two processes of H2PO4− excretion overlap each other. NH +4 increases inversely to TA excretion in conditions of acidosis and tP restriction, but is independent of TA in Pi-replete dogs, independently of acidosis.
Analysis of Household Labour Use In Yam Production In Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria

The study analyzed the use of household labour in the production of yam in Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. It examined the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers and factors that influenced the use of household labour in yam production. It also examined and determined the technical efficiency of the farmers as well as the constraints the farmers face in yam production. A total of 80 respondents were randomly selected from four randomly selected communities. The respondents were orally interviewed using a well structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, regression model and stochastic production function were used for the data analysis. The findings revealed that the study area is dominated by aged, male, married, experienced and small holder farmers who mostly attained secondary level of education. The major constraints are high cost of seed yam and unavailability of credit. The regression analysis indicated Cobbdouglas production function as the best fit with an R 2 value of 0.98. The coefficients of age, education, household size, farm size, wage rate, hired labour, credit; cooperative membership and occupational status were all significant at 1% level of probability and determined the household labour use in the study area. The coefficients of labour, seed yam and fertilizer significantly (1% respectively) determined yam output among the household. The mean and maximum technical efficiency is 0.88 and 0.99 respectively. Age, education, household size, extension contact, gender were significant and positively related to technical efficiency. The study recommended that government should provide the farm household with access to resources they need at an affordable price for increased productivity.
Horizontal inequalities in the access to land and inter-group violence around the 2007 Kenyan elections

Whether an increase in the scarcity of renewable resources like arable land can be considered as a valid cause of armed conflict or not remains a fervently debated question in environmental security research. Systematic quantitative investigation of the causal connection between resource scarcity and conflict, so far, has exclusively focused on supply and demand induced scarcity, that is, on scarcity caused by ecological and demographic changes like land degradation, rainfall variations or population growth, which bring about a reduced per capita availability of resources. Yet, a close look at the case study literature reveals that such processes are unlikely to provoke armed conflict unless they have a profoundly detrimental impact on the social cohesion of affected populations. Among the different social consequences adverse demographic and ecological changes might have, a highly skewed distribution of resources seems particularly likely to breed violent conflict, especially if it matches demarcation lines between different social groups with a historically rooted perception of shared identity. As they result from exclusionary politics of resource appropriation, such horizontal inequalities are likely to breed grievances among disadvantaged communities, while the conflation of group affiliation with political power and the prospects to secure one’s livelihood facilitates intra-group cohesion and the collective use of violence against members of other communities. Inter-ethnic clashes around the 2007 Kenyan elections represent a paramount example of the brisance of such a conjuncture. Employing structural equation modelling techniques as well as historical analysis, this contribution demonstrates the highly destabilising effect of land scarcity and horizontal inequalities in the access to land on Kenyan society. Using a sample of 3,225 Kenyans employed in the agricultural sector, it confirms systematic discrepancies in experiencing the adverse effects of land scarcity between members of different ethnic communities prior to 2007. A short historical review of land distribution issues in post-independence Kenya complements this analysis. It clarifies that horizontal inequalities in the access to fertile land were the result of land grabbing and patrimonial politics of resource allocation, substantiating a strong feeling of relative deprivation among disadvantaged communities. This explains the susceptibility of Kenyan society to ethno-politically instigated mass violence in late 2007.
Dividend signalling in the UK market

The main aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between changes in dividend payout, earnings and share price movement, and to evaluate the joint effects of earnings and dividend changes. Managers of a firm usually have more information about the firm's prospects than its shareholders; for example, they may know of deals about to be struck or of new senior appointments about to be made. Since this information cannot be openly communicated, managers may try to 'signal' the improved future prospects of the firm - and hence its increased value - through dividend payouts. The so-called dividend signalling hypothesis, which captures this mechanism, suggests that the market reacts to dividend increases in a positive fashion and therefore firms will have higher share prices because of such higher dividends. This paper attempts to provide a clearer theoretical understanding of dividend signalling by considering 234 non-financial UK PLCs over the period 1995 to 2006 using panel data and random effects regression models. The findings suggest firstly, dividend and earnings increases move in the same direction, as do share prices (in both the current and following year). Secondly, dividend payouts contain some information about earnings, although this link is confined to the current year. Finally, only marginal support is found for the dividend signalling hypothesis with earnings providing a stronger signal than dividends.
Cryptosporidium parvum and Isospora belli infections among patients with and without diarrhoea.

OBJECTIVE To assess the importance of Cryptosporidium parvum and Isospora belli infections as a cause of diarrhoea among patients admitted to the Medical Wards in Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre, Malawi. DESIGN Prospective case control study. SUBJECTS One hundred and twenty one patients with diarrhoea and 122 patients without diarrhoea. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Demonstration of C. parvum and I. belli oocysts by examination of at least one stool sample per patient using phenol auramine-O-fluorescence staining and an immuno-fluorescent assay with monoclonal antibodies against Cryptosporidium, seropositivity for HIV and AIDS. RESULTS In 22% of the patients with diarrhoea an infection with C. parvum or I. belli was found. Thirteen (11%) of them had a C. parvum and 14 (12%) an I. belli infection; a mixed infection was found in one patient. In the control group, three (3%) C. parvum and three (3%) I. belli infections were seen. The prevalence of both infections was very significantly higher in the cohort of diarrhoea patients than in the controls, 13/108 versus 3/119 (p=0.0099) for C. parvum, and 14/107 versus 3/119 (p=0.0056) for I. belli. Infections were only seen in HIV positive patients. Two hundred and four (84%) patients were HIV positive and 145 (60%) of them had AIDS. CONCLUSIONS C. parvum and I. belli infections are a significant cause of diarrhoea among medical in-patients at QECH. Examinations of stool specimen for parasites among hospitalised patients with diarrhoea provide data for a more appropriate management.
When energy saving advice leads to more, rather than less, consumption

Energy saving technology that relies on behaviour change fails to deliver on its promise. Energy saving advice also has limited effect. This paper examines and reveals how technology and energy saving advice interacts with householders’ thought processes to influence energy consumption. A case study of three households that held a ‘Feedback’ mental model of the home heating thermostat, as defined by Kempton [1986. ‘Two Theories of Home Heat Control’. Cognitive Science 10 (1): 75–90], was undertaken to understand the driver behind differences in their home heating strategies, and the effect on energy consumption. Analysis was undertaken from five different data sources comprising: (1) boiler on durations, (2) thermostat set point adjustments, (3) self-reported strategies with home heating controls, (4) user mental model descriptions of the home heating system, and (5) Interview transcripts. The authors found that differences in user mental models of home heating at the system level explained differences in the strategies chosen at the control device level. Differences in boiler on periods were found to relate to limitations of the ‘Feedback’ mental model; that is, the model fails to consider the effect of the movement of warm air within the home and the impact of internal/external temperature differentials on heat loss rates. The authors argue that technology and advice should be tailored to the thought processes adopted by householders in order to promote behaviour that would realise intended energy savings.
Impact of Office Layout on Communication in a Science-Driven Business

Driving innovation and creativity has relied heavily on new information technologies in the last decade. Human capital has certainly had its importance, but how to coordinate human capital in order to push productivity in research and development without compromising individual initiative is still not well understood. In this paper, we provide results showing that geometry of workspace has indeed an impact on communication patterns and may thus be used as a means to drive both innovation and efficient research. In order to be creative, new knowledge has to be created. Communication facilitates knowledge creation. We try to close the bridge between areas of creation of tacit knowledge and transfer of knowledge highlighted by authors like Nonaka, Takeuchi, Konno, von Krogh and von Hippel with the area of communication patterns pioneered by Allen, Hatch, and Stryker, by considering face-to-face (FTF) communication as a first step for socialization, socialization as a means for knowledge creation. In this article, we compare two different office environments within the same site, same activity, same hierarchical level and same company: a traditional cell office area and a new multi-space office, used by people who used to work in cell offices. We observed FTF communication patterns during 120 h in two areas and measured over 2,000 communication events. We found that people communicate three times more often in a multi-space area than in a cell-space area. We also found that the mean duration of communication events decreased from 9 to 3 min when transferring collaborators from a cell-space to a multi-space. Finally time spent without communication increased from 5% to 29% when going from cell-offices to multi-space areas – leaving more time for people to work and think on their own. And we found that most communication events during work time in the multi-space took place at the work place and seldom or never in soft sitting areas installed for the purpose of communication.
Audit Value and Charitable Organizations

I examine whether donors favor charities that use high quality auditors and whether the propensity to donate varies directly with audit quality. I find that audit quality affects donor decisions in the market for contributions. From a signaling perspective, charities benefit simply from engaging a higher quality auditor. From an information perspective, donors are more sensitive to changes in reported accounting information verified by a high quality auditor. I also find that, after conditioning on the charity's reputation, donors are still willing to give more to charities aligned with a quality auditor, but the effect of audit quality choice dissipates with the size of the charity. Thus, a charity's reputation and the choice of auditor are substitute mechanisms for signaling the credibility of financial information to donors.
Examining Sentiments and Popularity of Pro- and Anti-Vaccination Videos on YouTube

Vaccine misinformation on social media poses significant drawbacks to the efforts of vaccine coverage rates. This research studies the interlinkages between pro- and anti-vaccine YouTube videos to help public health professionals explore new ways to reach anti-vaccine and vaccine-hesitant audiences. Using YouTube's API, we retrieved 9,489 recommended videos from 250 seeds using keywords such as "vaccines" and its derivatives. We then manually identified 1,984 videos directly related to vaccination and then categorized their vaccine sentiment into pro-, anti-, and neutral. Results show that 65.02% of the videos were anti-vaccine, and only 20.87% were pro-vaccine, 14.11% were neutral. Anti-vaccine videos were significantly more prevalent in the "News & Politics" and "People & Blogs" video categories; while pro-vaccine videos were more prevalent in the "Education" and "Science & Technology" categories. Results also showed that anti-vaccine sentiment videos have higher values of closeness centrality (p<0.05), suggesting that watching an anti-vaccine video will likely lead to more anti-vaccine video recommendations. Moreover, videos that had more dislikes than likes (dislike/like ratio) are positively related to pro-vaccine videos (OR=3.912), suggesting that pro-vaccine videos are more ill-received on YouTube than anti-vaccine videos. This study is the first to examine the network of vaccine-related videos on YouTube and their centralities. The results highlight some possible limitations of YouTube-based vaccination awareness campaigns and also emphasize the need to diversify how YouTube makes its recommendations to help viewers break out of the anti-vaccine "bubble. "