Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intertrochanteric Corrective Osteotomy as a Joint-Saving Surgical Treatment for Femoral Head Necrosis

Forty-seven intertrochanteric osteotomies were performed in 9 years on 40 patients with femoral head necrosis in Arlet and Ficat stages II and III in the Orthopaedic Department of the Medical School, Hannover. With an average follow up of 5.9 years (minimum 2.3 years, maximum 9.3 years), the study shows only 46% of the patients with satisfactory, good and very good results. After the joint saving operation, 26% of treated patients with pre-operative employment went into premature retirement. The average postoperative non-working period was 11 months (7-18 months). Clinical Relevance The results after the joint-saving operation were better when the operation was performed at an early stage of the disease with only a small area of necrosis. Although the operation will not prevent a progression of necrosis and a secondary arthrosis, we recommend that the joint-saving operation be performed during stages I and II to prolong the period before a total hip joint replacement becomes necessary. During stage III a total hip joint replacement may be preferable depending on clinical symptoms, patient age and the radiological findings (necrosis angle > 180°).
Association of Some Polymorphisms in the VDR Gene, CYP17 Gene and SRD5A2 Gene and Prostate Cancer among Lebanese Men

Aims: The goal of the study was to investigate possible association of some single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the VDR gene (the FokI, BsmI, ApaI and TaqαI loci), and the CYP17 gene (the MspA1I locus), and 0 or 9 TA repeats in the SRD5A2 gene, and prostate cancer (PCa) among Lebanese men. Materials and Methods: Blood DNA of 69 subjects with confirmed PCa and 69 controls, all about 50 years of age or older, was subjected to PCR or PCR-restriction fragment-length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analyses, and the risk-bearing and the protective alleles were identified. The odds ratio (OR) of having a genotype and the relative risk (RR) of developing PCa were calculated. In addition, the distributions of homozygosis and heterozygosis in the risk-bearing alleles and the protective alleles among the control and the PCa groups were compared. Results: The f allele of the VDR FokI locus and the (TA) 9 repeat allele of the SRD5A2 gene were found to be associated with increased risks of PCa (p = 0.006 and 0.050, respectively). Homozygosis in the risk-bearing alleles was rare both in the control and the PCa groups. A higher fraction of the controls compared to the PCa group was double-homozygous in the two protective alleles (52.2% for controls, 24.6% for PCa group, p = <0.001). Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first genetic study demonstrating the association of certain polymorphisms of the VDR gene and the SDR5A2 gene and increased risk of PCa among Lebanese men. Our study also indicates that the overall polymorphism profile of all genes involved in the prostate physiology is likely to be a better indicator for PCa risk than the polymorphisms in the individual genes.
Obligatory decomposition in reading prefixed words

The reported experiment examines the impact of stem frequency on lexical decision responses to prefixed words. Both when the nonword distractors had nonsense stems (e.g., recodge) and real-word stems (e.g., relaugh), words with high frequency stems (e.g., unreal) were recognized more quickly than words with low frequency stems (e.g., refuel) when matched on surface frequency. This was taken as evidence that a whole-word representation exists for prefixed words, but that activation of this representation is always mediated by a representation of the stem, unlike the claims of a Dual Pathways model.
“Motherhood Is Hard”: Exploring the Complexities of Unplanned Motherhood Among HIV-Positive Adolescents in South Africa

For any woman, pregnancy and giving birth are major life-changing experiences. This period is argued to indicate a shift from girlhood into womanhood. However, this experience takes on new meaning when the woman is very young—an adolescent, who is still in school—and learns that she is HIV-positive. For such adolescent, becoming a mother, just like living with HIV/AIDS, involves moving from a known, current reality to an unknown, new reality. To understand how HIV-positive adolescent mothers grapple with the demands and responsibilities of unplanned motherhood while living with HIV, this study explores the complexities of their experiences in South Africa. Drawing on qualitative methods, this study examines their meaning to motherhood while meeting their personal health needs. Through in-depth interviews conducted among 10 HIV-positive adolescent mothers living in Johannesburg, this article presents an empirical study of their narratives and how they negotiate these complexities in their unplanned new realities. Emerging themes from the interview transcripts were identified, coded, and analyzed thematically following an interpretivist approach. From the interviews conducted, it is evident that HIV-positive adolescent mothers perceive unplanned motherhood as difficult and this negatively affects their future childbearing decisions. Given the importance of motherhood and adolescents globally, this article advocates for feminist policies that would facilitate larger transformative narratives. It also recommends the implementation of relevant policy that would alleviate the difficulties of HIV-positive adolescent mothers generally.
Effect of Powder Recycling in Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion of Ti-6Al-4V

Lucia Denti1, Antonella Sola1, Silvio Defanti1, Corrado Sciancalepore2, Federica Bondioli3 1Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari” (DIEF), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via P. Vivarelli 10, 41125 Modena. Italy. E-mail: lucia.denti@unimore.it, antonella.sola@unimore.it, silvio.defanti@unimore.it 2INSTM, Research Unit of Modena, Department of Engineering Enzo Ferrari (DIEF), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via P. Vivarelli 10, 41125 Modena. Italy. E-mail: corrado.sciancalepore@unimore.it 3Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Polytechnic University of Turin, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy. E-mail: Federica.bondioli@polito.it
Issues for the Learning Community

The Head Start program has a history of using research to guide its efforts. In this way, Head Start practitioners, policy makers, and researchers comprise a “learning community. ” The release of the first-year results of the Head Start Impact Study provides an important opportunity for reflection by the learning community, and for identification of strategies to further strengthen the program. This article begins by illustrating how Head Start has responded to previous research. It then underscores some key features of the Head Start Impact Study that set it apart from other important evaluation studies. Within this framework, the article goes on to identify a set of key issues that the first-year results of the Head Start Impact Study pose for the learning community to consider in charting the future course of the program as well as to others focusing on strengthening young children's school readiness.
Muscle fiber type‐specific myofibrillar Ca2+ ATPase activity after spinal cord injury

Biopsies of the vastus lateralis muscle were analyzed to determine if increased energy demand of contraction, as indirectly reflected by myofibrillar Ca2+ adenosine triphosphate activity (qATPase), contributes to greater fatigue in affected muscle of spinal cord injured (SCI) patients. The qATPase activity showed a fiber‐type effect, IIax + IIx > IIa > I. Average fiber qATPase and fiber specific qATPase activities were not different between SCI and able‐bodied controls, nor did they change over time. We suggest greater fatigue in SCI subjects early after injury does not reflect increased energy demand of contraction. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 23: 119–121, 2000
The Role of Oceanic Heat Transport and Wind Stress Forcing in Abrupt Millennial-Scale Climate Transitions

The last glacial period was punctuated by rapid climate shifts, known as Dansgaard‐Oeschger events, with strong imprint in the North Atlantic sector suggesting that they were linked with the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Here an idealized single-hemisphere three-dimensional ocean‐atmosphere‐sea ice coupled model is used to explore the possible origin of the instability driving these abrupt events and to provide a plausible explanation for the relative stability of the Holocene. Focusing on the physics of noise-free millennial oscillations under steady external (solar) forcing, it was shown that cold climates become unstable, that is, exhibit abrupt millennial-scale transitions, for significantly lower freshwater fluxes than warm climates, in agreement with previous studies making use of zonally averaged coupled models. This fundamental difference is a direct consequence of the weaker stratification of the glacial ocean, mainly caused by upper-ocean cooling. Using a two-hemisphere configuration of a coupled climate model of intermediate complexity, it is shown that this result is robust to the added presence of a bottom water mass of southern origin. The analysis reveals that under particular conditions, a pronounced interdecadal variability develops during warm interstadials. While the nature of the instability driving the millennial oscillations is identical to that found in ocean models under mixed boundary conditions, these interstadial‐interdecadal oscillations share the same characteristics as those previously found in ocean models forced by fixed surface fluxes. The wind stress forcing is shown to profoundly affect both the properties and bifurcation structure of thermohaline millennial oscillations across a wide range of variation of freshwater forcing. In particular, it is shown that the wind stress forcing favors the maintenance of thermally direct meridional overturning circulations during the cold stadial phases of Dansgaard‐Oeschger cycles.
Establishment of an in vitro three‐dimensional model for cartilage damage in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that leads to progressive joint destruction. To further understand the process of rheumatoid cartilage damage, an in vitro model consisting of an interactive tri‐culture of synovial fibroblasts (SFs), LPS‐stimulated macrophages and a primary chondrocyte‐based tissue‐engineered construct was established. The tissue‐engineered construct has a composition similar to that of human cartilage, which is rich in collagen type II and proteoglycans. Data generated from this model revealed that healthy chondrocytes were activated in the presence of SFs and macrophages. The activated chondrocytes subsequently displayed aberrant behaviours as seen in a disease state such as increased apoptosis, decreased gene expression for matrix components such as type II collagen and aggrecan, increased gene expression for tissue‐degrading enzymes (MMP‐1, ‐3, ‐13 and ADAMTS‐4, ‐5), and upregulation of inflammatory mediator gene expression (TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6 and IKBKB). Additionally, the inclusion of SFs and macrophages in the model enabled both cell types to more closely replicate an in vivo role in mediating cartilage destruction. This is evidenced by extensive matrix loss, detected in the model through immunostaining and biochemical analysis. Subsequent drug treatment with celecoxib has shown that the model was able to respond to the therapeutic effects of this drug by reversing cartilage damage. This study showed that the model was able to recapitulate certain pathological features of an RA cartilage. If properly validated, this model potentially can be used for screening new therapeutic drugs and strategies, thereby contributing to the improvement of anti‐rheumatic treatment. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fixed-point roundoff error analysis of the exponentially windowed RLS algorithm for time-varying systems

A fixed-point roundoff error analysis of the exponentially windowed RLS algorithm is presented. It is shown that a tradeoff exists in the choice of the forgetting factor λ. In order to reduce the sensitivity of the algorithm to additive noise, λ must be chosen close to one. On the other hand, the roundoff error increases as \lambda \rightarrow 1 . It is shown that the algorithm is stabilized with λ \lambda \rightarrow 1 . To derive the theoretical results, it is assumed that the input signal is a white Gaussian random process. Finally, simulations are presented which confirm the theoretical findings of the paper.
Incidental paranasal sinus inflammatory changes in a British population

Abstract A retrospective study was carried out to determine the prevalence of abnormality in the paranasal sinuses in a British population having magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans for neurological signs and symptoms. The T2-weighted scans of 130 patients were studied. Abnormalities in the paranasal sinuses show as high signal on the T2-weighted scans and thus are clearly seen. Abnormalities included mucosal thickening, fluid levels, sinus opacification and retention cysts/polyps. Of the patients studied, 49.2 per cent showed one or more abnormality. Mucosal thickening was the most common abnormality noted and the ethmoid sinuses the most commonly affected.
Contagious acute gastrointestinal infections.

The epidemiology of acute gastrointestinal illness is complex. The relevant infectious agents may spread from person to person or they may be acquired from a common food or environmental source, often water, but also from animal exposure. This article examines direct human-to-human spread of acute gastrointestinal illness, defined as a syndrome of vomiting, diarrhea, or both that begins abruptly in otherwise healthy persons and is most often self-limited.
The Influence of Soil Compaction on Runoff Formation. A Case Study Focusing on Skid Trails at Forested Andosol Sites

This study discusses the influence of soil compaction on runoff generation with a special focus on forested Andosol sites. Because of their typical soil physical characteristics (low bulk density, high pore volumes) and the existent land use, these areas are expected to show low to no measurable overland flow during heavy rainfall events. However, due to heavy machinery traffic in the course of forestry actions and pumice excavations, skid trails have been established. Here, a distinct shift of soil dry bulk density (DBD) was observable, using a detailed soil mapping and data interpolation in order to generate in-depth DBD-cross profiles. Additionally, infiltration measurements and rainfall simulations (I = 45 mm·h−1, t = 30 min) were conducted to evaluate effects of observed soil compaction on infiltration rates and overland flow formation. Results show that soil compaction was increased by 21% on average in skid trail wheel ruts. As a consequence, observed runoff was 8.5-times higher on skid trails, while saturated hydraulic conductivity was diminished by 36%. These findings show, that soil compaction leads to a higher possibility of runoff formation during heavy rainfall events, especially at sites which showed initial conditions with presumably low tendencies of runoff formation.
Evaluation of moisture sources for the Central European summer flood of May/June 2013 based on regional climate model simulations

Heavy precipitation affected Central Europe in May/June 2013, triggering damaging floods both on the Danube and the Elbe rivers. Based on a modelling approach with COSMO-CLM, moisture fluxes, backward trajectories, cyclone tracks and precipitation fields are evaluated for the relevant time period 30 May–2 June 2013. We identify potential moisture sources and quantify their contribution to the flood event focusing on the Danube basin through sensitivity experiments: Control simulations are performed with undisturbed ERA-Interim boundary conditions, while multiple sensitivity experiments are driven with modified evaporation characteristics over selected marine and land areas. Two relevant cyclones are identified both in reanalysis and in our simulations, which moved counter-clockwise in a retrograde path from Southeastern Europe over Eastern Europe towards the northern slopes of the Alps. The control simulations represent the synoptic evolution of the event reasonably well. The evolution of the precipitation event in the control simulations shows some differences in terms of its spatial and temporal characteristics compared to observations. The main precipitation event can be separated into two phases concerning the moisture sources. Our modelling results provide evidence that the two main sources contributing to the event were the continental evapotranspiration (moisture recycling; both phases) and the North Atlantic Ocean (first phase only). The Mediterranean Sea played only a minor role as a moisture source. This study confirms the importance of continental moisture recycling for heavy precipitation events over Central Europe during the summer half year.
HABITAT DURATION, LENGTH OF LARVAL PERIOD, AND THE EVOLUTION OF A COMPLEX LIFE CYCLE OF A SALAMANDER, AMBYSTOMA TEXANUM

In many organisms, genotypic selection may be a less effective means of adapting to unpredictable environments than is selection for phenotypic plasticity. To determine whether genotypic selection is important in the evolution of complex life cycles of amphibians that breed in seasonally ephemeral habitats, we examined whether mortality risk from habitat drying in natural populations of small‐mouthed salamanders (Ambystoma texanum) corresponded to length of larval period when larvae from the same populations were grown in a common laboratory environment. Comparisons were made at two levels of organization within the species: 1) among geographic races that are under strongly divergent selection regimes associated with the use of pond and stream habitats and 2) among populations within races that use the same types of breeding habitats.
Successful implementation of an alcohol-withdrawal pathway in a general hospital.

BACKGROUND Although alcohol use and abuse are common among general-hospital inpatients, many patients are inadequately assessed and treated for alcohol withdrawal. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether the implementation of a clinical pathway for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal in medical inpatients would result in improvements in clinical practice and patient outcomes. METHOD Authors retrospectively reviewed 80 patient records (including 40 of those treated before the implementation of a pathway and 40 of those treated after pathway implementation). RESULTS Assessment procedures and ordering patterns of physicians (medical house staff and staff physicians) shifted in a fashion consistent with the new treatment guidelines. Patient outcomes (e.g., length of stay and the incidence of delirium) improved for those patients who received benzodiazepines within the range of the pathway guidelines. CONCLUSIONS Timely assessment and staff education can shift prescription patterns, increase patient monitoring, and reduce costs associated with alcohol withdrawal.
Resveratrol decreases inflammation in the brain of mice with mild traumatic brain injury

BACKGROUND Following a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) event, the secondary brain injury that persists after the initial blow to the head consists of excitotoxicity, decreased cerebral glucose levels, oxidant injury, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and neuronal cell death. To date, there are no effective interventions used at decreasing secondary brain injury after mild TBI. METHODS In this study, male mice were treated with either placebo or resveratrol (100 mg/kg) at 5 minutes and 12 hours after mild TBI. The mice were injured using the controlled cortical impact device. In this closed-head model, a midline incision was made to access the skull and the impactor tip was aligned on the sagittal suture midway between the bregma and lambda sutures. The mice were injured at a depth of 2.0 mm, velocity of 4 m/s, and a delay time of 100 milliseconds. At 72 hours following injury, the animals were intracardially perfused with 0.9% saline followed by 10% phosphate-buffered formalin. The whole brain was removed, sliced, and stained for microglial activation (Iba1). In addition, using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, tissue levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and IL-12 were measured in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. RESULTS In this study, we found that in the placebo treatment group, there was a significant increase in Iba1 staining in the brain. The levels of microglial activation was reduced by resveratrol in the cerebral cortex (p < 0.001), corpus callosum (p < 0.001), and dentate gyrus (p < 0.005) brain regions after mild TBI. In addition to Iba1, resveratrol decreased the brain levels of IL-6 (p < 0.0001) and IL-12 (p < 0.004), which were observed in the hippocampus of the placebo group. In our model, no increase of IL-6 or IL-12 was observed in the cerebral cortex following TBI. CONCLUSION Resveratrol given acutely after TBI results in a decrease in neuroinflammation. These results suggest that resveratrol may be beneficial in reducing secondary brain injury after experiencing a mild TBI.
Prospective Validation of Molecular Prognostic Markers in Cutaneous Melanoma: A Correlative Analysis of E1690

Purpose: To validate the prognostic impact of combined expression levels of three markers (SPP1, RGS1, and NCOA3) in melanoma specimens from patients enrolled in the E1690 clinical trial of high-dose or low-dose IFNα-2b versus observation. Experimental Design: Tissue was available from 248 patients. Marker expression was determined by digital imaging of immunohistochemically stained slides. The prognostic impact of each marker was first assessed by recording its expression value relative to the median. A multimarker index was then developed to combine marker expression levels by counting for each patient the number of markers with high expression. The impact of the multimarker index on relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) was assessed using Kaplan–Meier analysis, and both univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Results: By Kaplan–Meier analysis, high multimarker expression scores were significantly predictive of RFS (P < 0.001) and OS (P < 0.001). Stepwise multivariate Cox regression analysis with backward elimination that included routine clinical and histologic prognostic factors revealed high multimarker expression scores and tumor thickness as the only factors significantly and independently predicting RFS and OS. Stepwise multivariate Cox regression analyses that also included treatment type and number of positive lymph nodes generated identical results for both RFS and OS. In the molecularly defined low-risk subgroup, patients treated with high-dose IFN had a significantly improved RFS compared with patients in the other two subgroups (P < 0.05). Conclusions: These results validate the independent impact of combined expression levels of SPP1, RGS1, and NCOA3 on survival of melanoma in a prospectively collected cohort. Clin Cancer Res; 23(22); 6888–92. ©2017 AACR.
Ergonomics and Safety of Manual Bag Sealing

A variety of seals is used to close bags. Each seal has advantages and disadvantages. For shop assistants sealing bags could be a repetitive physically demanding action. Opening and closing the bags again can cause some discomfort or annoyance for consumers. Besides, it is an activity which can endanger safety, i.e., knives being used in opening, children swallowing the systems of sealing. To prevent these problems a new sealing system was developed. In this paper the opinion of shop assistants, consumers and experts on several bag sealing systems was studied. It appeared that for sealing plastic bags, adhesive tape with paper is the best out of 4 systems, closely followed by adhesive tape. It is discussed that for the elderly, there is still room for improvement in opening bag seals.