Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Histomorphometric and histopathological studies on the effect of Calotropis procera (giant milkweed) on the male reproductive organs of wistar rats

Histomorphometric and histopathological evaluations of the effects of fresh leaf extract of Calotropis procera on the reproductive organs of male wistar rats given 20mg\gm body weight of the extract once daily, orally, for varying number of days showed varying degrees of desquamation of seminiferous epithelial cells, degeneration of seminiferous tubules and presence of large-sized multinucleated cells as well as significant reduction (P in the mean ductular and luminal diameter while fluctuating changes were observed in the epithelial height of the epididymis of treated rats. The accessory glands of test rats showed pinkish homogenous fluid as well as inflammatory cells in the lumen and glandular degeneration of the seminal vesicles. The result from this study revealed that Calotropis procera has a potentially deleterious effect on the testes and accessory sex org an s.
ENDOSCOPIC THIRD VENTRICULOSTOMY IN IDIOPATHIC NORMAL PRESSURE HYDROCEPHALUS: AN ITALIAN MULTICENTER STUDY

OBJECTIVESThe aim of the report is to define the indications and results of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus and to discuss the physiopathological mechanism of this procedure. METHODSThe cases of 110 patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus who underwent ETV in four Italian neurosurgical centers were retrospectively reviewed. The postoperative outcome was correlated with patient age, length of clinical history, preoperative clinical score, symptoms of clinical onset, type of hydrocephalus, and intraoperative findings. RESULTSThe follow-up period ranged from 2 to 12 years (average, 6.5 yr). The outcome evaluation was made 2 years after the procedure. Postoperative clinical improvement occurred in 76 (69.1%) of 110 patients. There was no correlation between success rate and patient age or type of ventricular enlargement (normal or enlarged fourth ventricle). Conversely, the rate of neurological improvement was higher in patients with shorter clinical history, better preoperative neurological score, and clinical onset with gait disturbances. Moreover, the intraoperative finding of the sudden reappearance of normal cerebral pulsations and significant downward and upward movements of the third ventricular floor after ETV was also correlated with a good outcome. CONCLUSIONETV results in a relatively high rate of clinical improvement and a low complication rate in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus. Therefore, it may be easily performed with the same approach used for intracranial pressure monitoring with low morbidity. However, our data must be confirmed by additional studies.
Metal stents improve dysphagia, nutrition and survival in malignant oesophageal stenosis: a randomized controlled trial comparing modified Gianturco Z-stents with plastic Atkinson tubes.

OBJECTIVE To compare modified Gianturco metal stents with plastic Atkinson tubes in the palliation of malignant dysphagia. DESIGN Patient single-blind, multi-centre prospective, randomized trial. SETTING Three district general hospitals in the Wessex region. PARTICIPANTS Thirty one consecutive patients with inoperable malignant oesophageal stenosis causing dysphagia and suitable for treatment with an endoprosthesis. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive either a modified Gianturco metal stent or a plastic Atkinson tube. Sedation was similar and patients were given identical dietary advice. Data were collected after insertion until the patients' death. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Procedural mortality/morbidity; hospital stay; weight loss; quality of life (Nottingham Health Profile, Spitzer QL index and specific questions about dysphagia and enjoyment of food); duration of survival after insertion; cost effectiveness of each intervention. RESULTS Overall complication rates were similar in the two groups. Compared with Atkinson tubes, patients with Gianturco stents had better palliation of dysphagia (median dysphagia score 1 vs 2, P = 0.04), maintained their weight longer (median percent weight loss 0.66 vs 6.51, P = 0.007), enjoyed food more (enjoyment score 2 vs 1, P = 0.03) and survived longer (log rank P < 0.025). Patients with metal stents were discharged from hospital earlier (Gianturco 4 days, Atkinson 10 days, P = 0.001), and initial treatment cost was lower if the cost of hospital stay exceeded pound sterling 120 per day. CONCLUSION Gianturco stents are superior to Atkinson tubes in the palliation of malignant oesophageal stenosis.
Simple method for estimating neutron-induced soft error rates based on modified BGR model

Recently the importance of cosmic ray neutron-induced soft errors has been recognized. We propose a simple model to estimate the neutron-induced soft error rates (SER's), which is a modified version of the burst generation rate (BGR) model. Our model can be used to easily and quickly estimate neutron-induced soft error rates and provides a useful guideline for device and circuit engineers to estimate neutron-induced soft errors (SE's),.
Adherence to extended postpartum antiretrovirals is associated with decreased breast milk HIV-1 transmission

Objective:Estimate association between postpartum antiretroviral adherence and breast milk HIV-1 transmission. Design:Prospective cohort study. Methods:Mother–infant pairs were randomized after delivery to immediately begin receiving 28 weeks of either triple maternal antiretrovirals (zidovudine, lamivudine, and either nevirapine, nelfinavir, or lopinavir-ritonavir) or daily infant nevirapine as part of the Breastfeeding, Antiretrovirals, and Nutrition (BAN) study. Associations between postpartum antiretroviral adherence and rate of breast milk HIV-1 transmission were estimated using Cox models. We measured adherence over four postpartum time intervals using pill count, suspension bottle weight, and maternal self-report. Adherence was categorized and lagged by one interval. Missing adherence measures were multiply imputed. Infant HIV-1 infection was determined by DNA PCR every 2–6 weeks. The primary endpoint was infant HIV-1 infection by 38 weeks of age among infants alive and uninfected at 5 weeks. Results:Analyses included 1479 mother–infant pairs and 45 transmission events. Using pill count and bottle weight information, 22–40% of mother–infant pairs at any given interval were less than 90% adherent. Having at least 90% adherence was associated with a 52% [95% confidence interval (CI) 3–76] relative reduction in the rate of breast milk HIV-1 transmission, compared with having less than 90% adherence when controlling for study arm, breastfeeding status, and maternal characteristics. Complete case analysis rendered similar results (n = 501; relative reduction 59%, 95% CI 6–82). Conclusion:Nonadherence to extended postpartum antiretroviral regimens in ‘real world’ settings is likely to be higher than that seen in BAN. Identifying mothers with difficulty adhering to antiretrovirals, and developing effective adherence interventions, will help maximize benefits of antiretroviral provision throughout breastfeeding.
Research and development expenditures between discretionary costs and source for economic growth

At the microeconomic level, the research and development costs are included in a broader category known as "discretionary costs", i.e. they are not mandatory and occur as a result of managerial decisions. At the macroeconomic level, research and development spending stimulates innovation and contributes in this way to increase and diversify production, performance, productivity and economic efficiency.The Europe 2020 Strategy, based on the role of research and development expenses in the current period, has set a target on medium term for such expenditures: to rise up to 3% of GDP in the EU for 2020. The source of funding for research and development expenditures may be: state budget allocations to the government sector and higher education institutions and private funds allocated by corporate or nonprofit organizations. Our study aims to rank the impact of research activities undertaken by the government sector, higher education institutions and the private sector by GDP and gross private domestic investment and identify the most appropriate measures for achieving the Europe 2020 goals by Romania.
Expectations and Risk Premia at 8:30am: Macroeconomic Announcements and the Yield Curve

We investigate the movements of the yield curve after the release of major U.S. macroeconomic announcements through the lenses of an arbitrage-free dynamic term structure model with macroeconomic fundamentals. Combining estimated yield responses obtained using high-frequency data with model estimates using monthly data, we show that bond yields move after announcements mostly because of revisions to expectations about short-term interest rates. Changes in risk premia are also sizable, partly offset the effects of short-rate expectations and help to account for the hump-shaped pattern across maturities. Most announcement responses are due to changes in expectations about the output gap.
A longitudinal study of the use of mental health services by persons with serious mental illness: do Spanish-speaking Latinos differ from English-speaking Latinos and Caucasians?

OBJECTIVE Reports of mental health care use by Latinos compared to Caucasians have been mixed. To the authors' knowledge, no large-scale studies have examined the effects of language on mental health service use for Latinos who prefer Spanish compared to Latinos who prefer English and to Caucasians. Language is the most frequently used proxy measure of acculturation. The authors used the administrative database of a mental health system to conduct a longitudinal examination of mental health service use among Spanish-speaking versus English-speaking Latinos and Caucasians with serious mental illness. METHOD There were 539 Spanish-speaking Latinos, 1,144 English-speaking Latinos, and 4,638 Caucasians initiating treatment for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression during 2001-2004. Using multivariate regressions, the authors examined the differences among the groups in the type of service first used. The authors also examined the probability of use of each of four types of mental health services and the intensity of outpatient treatment. RESULTS Spanish-speaking Latinos differed from both English-speaking Latinos and Caucasians on most measures. Compared to patients in the other groups, the Spanish-speaking Latinos were less likely to enter care through emergency or jail services and more likely to enter care through outpatient services. There were no group differences in the proportion that stayed in treatment or used inpatient hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that for Latinos, preferred language may be more important than ethnicity in mental health service use. Future studies comparing mental health use may need to differentiate between Spanish- and English-speaking Latinos.
Exploring a link between fatigue and intestinal injury during pelvic radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND The association between cancer-related fatigue and pathological processes in the body is largely unknown. This study was designed to investigate a possible linkage between fatigue and intestinal injury during pelvic radiotherapy. METHODS Twenty-nine women undergoing pelvic radiotherapy for anal or uterine cancer were prospectively followed. Fatigue and diarrhea were assessed using patient self-reported questionnaires. Plasma citrulline concentration, as a sign of intestinal injury, and C-reactive protein, orosomucoid, albumin, α(1)-antitrypsin, and haptoglobin, as signs of systemic inflammation, were analyzed. RESULTS Fatigue increased significantly (p < .001) and citrulline decreased significantly (p < .001) during treatment. A significant negative correlation (r = -0.40; p < .05) was found between fatigue and epithelial atrophy in the intestine (as assessed by plasma citrulline) after 3 weeks of treatment and a significant positive correlation (r = 0.75; p < .001) was found between fatigue and diarrhea. Signs of systemic inflammation were evident, with significant increases in serum orosomucoid, serum haptoglobin (p < .05) and serum α(1)-antitrypsin (p < .001) and a significant decrease in serum albumin (p < .001). CONCLUSION The present study indicates a link between fatigue and intestinal injury during pelvic radiotherapy. This observation should be considered as a preliminary finding because of the small sample size but may serve as a rationale for therapeutic interventions aimed at alleviating both fatigue and gastrointestinal symptoms during pelvic radiotherapy.
POSTOPERATIVE INNER NUCLEAR LAYER MICROCYSTS AFFECTING LONG-TERM VISUAL OUTCOMES AFTER EPIRETINAL MEMBRANE SURGERY

Purpose: To investigate the risk factors and long-term visual impact of microcysts in the inner nuclear layer developed after epiretinal membrane (ERM) surgery. Methods: This study used a retrospective review of medical records, operative video and images of patients who had undergone idiopathic ERM surgery with more than 12 months of follow-up. Results: This study enrolled 44 patients (44 eyes) with ERM and a mean follow-up period of 30.2 months. The visual acuity improved from a mean of 6/22.8 to 6/12 (P < 0.001). Results indicated that a final visual acuity greater than 0.5 was associated with younger age, better preoperative visual acuity, a complete postoperative inner segment and outer segment line, and absence of inner nuclear layer microcysts. The visual acuity difference between patients with and without inner nuclear layer microcysts emerged in the first month and continued throughout the entire study period. Shorter duration of visual symptoms, more severe grade of ERM with paravascular abnormalities, and retinal petechiae immediately after the peeling of the ERM are risk factors of microcysts. Conclusion: This study suggests that inner nuclear layer microcysts are induced shortly after surgery and have long-term visual effects. Factors associated with this side effect suggest that severity, acuteness, and adhesiveness of ERM may play a significant role in visual outcomes.
Hong Kong journalists’ attitude towards social protests: A belief system perspective

Social protests have become an increasingly prominent aspect of the political process in Hong Kong in the past decade. Yet how the news media handle social protests and movements have important consequences on the development and influence of protest politics in a society. Based on this premise, this study examines Hong Kong journalists’ attitude towards social protests by adopting a belief system perspective. The perspective posits that journalists’ attitudes towards prominent social and political phenomena are embedded in their existing belief systems, which encompass both professional norms and beliefs and social and political attitudes and perceptions. Drawing upon a representative survey of journalists, the empirical analysis shows that Hong Kong journalists’ attitude towards social protests is significantly related to beliefs in the importance of several social functions of the news media, a liberal political orientation, political identities, and perceived seriousness of media self-censorship. Political orientation also moderates the relationship between attitude towards social protests and some of the factors. Implications of the findings are discussed.
EXAMINING ADOLESCENT INTERNET LITERACY PRACTICES: AN EXPLORATION OF RESEARCH METHODS (ERGENLERDE ĠNTERNET OKURYAZARLIĞI UYGULAMALARININ ĠNCELENMESĠ: ARAġTIRMA YÖNTEMLERĠNĠN ARAġTIRILMASI)

Internet literacy is now recognized as critical to the social and economic development of a nation. School systems throughout the world are finding ways to develop students’ internet literacy and to use the internet in meaningful ways to support student learning. However, implementation efforts are largely directed by top down policy and by findings from large scale surveys of internet usages. Improved curriculum and pedagogy also needs to be informed by highly focused, qualitative studies of the everyday internet practices of a country’s youth. In this article, we illustrate the use of multiple qualitative research methods from a pilot study that can be used to gain in-depth observation about youth internet literacy and skills, as well as perspectives from students, parents and teachers about effective internet use in schools. These methods involve multiple tools including audio and video recording, and digital screen capturing. We conclude with suggestions for ways of improving the validity of findings about youth internet literacy, and consequently contributing to more informed educational implications.
Enkephalinergic afferents of the centromedial amygdala in the rat

The connectivity of the amygdaloid complex has been extensively explored with both anterograde and retrograde tracers. Even though the afferents of the centromedial amygdala [comprising the central (CEA) and medial (MEA) amygdaloid nuclei] are well established, relatively little is known about the neuropeptide phenotype of these connections. In this study, we first examined the distribution of μ‐opioid receptor (MOR) and δ‐opioid receptor (DOR) in the amygdala via in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. We then investigated the distribution of Met‐enkephalin (ENK) and Leu‐ENK fibers with immunohistochemistry and examined the distribution of preproenkephalin mRNA in the amygdala by using in situ hybridization. Finally, we examined the ENK projections to the CEA and MEA by using stereotaxic injections of the retrograde tracer cholera toxin subunit B or fluorogold revealed by immunohistochemistry combined with in situ hybridization to identify ENKergic neurons. Our results indicate that the centromedial amygdala receives ENK afferents, as indicated by the presence of MOR, DOR, and ENK fibers in the CEA and MEA, originating primarily from the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) and from other amygdaloid nuclei. The posterior BST, the basomedial nucleus (BMA), and the cortical nucleus of the amygdala (COA) were found to be the major ENK afferents of the MEA, whereas the anterolateral BST, the COA, the MEA, and the BMA provided the main ENKergic innervation of the CEA. In addition, we found that the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus and the pontine parabrachial nucleus provide a moderate ENK input to the CEA and MEA. The functional implications of these connections in stress, anxiety, and nociception are discussed. J. Comp. Neurol. 496:859–876, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Influence of platform switching on crestal bone changes at non-submerged titanium implants: a histomorphometrical study in dogs.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study was to investigate histomorphometrically the influence of platform switching on crestal bone changes at non-submerged wide-body titanium implants in a dog model. MATERIAL AND METHODS One-stage insertion of sand-blasted and acid-etched screw-type implants with either matching (CAM) or smaller-diameter healing abutments (CPS) were randomly assigned to the lower jaws of nine beagle dogs. The animals were killed after 7, 14, and 28 days of non-submerged healing. Dissected blocks were processed for histomorphometrical analysis. Measurements were made between the implant shoulder (IS) and:--the apical extension of the long junctional epithelium (aJE), --the most coronal level of bone in contact with the implant (CLB), and --the level of the alveolar bone crest (BC). RESULTS At 7, 14, and 28 days, the mean IS-aJE values were significantly the lowest at CPS implants. However, after 28 days of healing, both groups revealed significantly increased mean IS-BC values at the buccal aspect of the alveolar bone. The difference in IS-CLB and IS-BC between groups was not significant. CONCLUSIONS Within the limits of the present study, it was concluded that both CAM and CPS implants revealed crestal bone-level changes after 28 days of healing.
Network analysis of the universal healthcare financial reform in Taiwan

Taiwan adopted its National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme in 1995. Presently, the scheme covers virtually all of the island’s citizens. However, it is under the threat of a serious imbalance between expenditure and revenue. As spending has become unsustainable, everyone has realised the need for financial reform. However, the reform process itself is beset by political confrontations. There is a need to deepen the understanding of the relationships and dependencies among the policy actors. With a view to helping address this problem, this study empirically examines the multiple types of ties prevailing between the policy actors and the resulting power distribution while the DPP government was working earnestly towards reforming the NHI’s financial system in the period 2000-2008. Apart from official documents, data are drawn from a network survey coupled with semi-structural interviews of 62 policy actors including government officials and related unofficial policy participants. Measures such as the in-degree centrality index and core/periphery model, betweenness centrality, structural hole index (effective size), density index, E-I index and CONOOR procedure (Blockmodeling and multidimensional scaling - MDS) are used to identify the major participants and network structures in the NHI domain and assess their relative influence-powers on the basis of information transmission patterns, resource exchanges, action-set coalition relationships and reputational attributions. It is shown that, although the public sector and the medical associations were at the helm of the NHI reform, financial reform remained unfulfilled mainly because of poor communications among societal actors. We then performed a social network analysis and systematically mapped the prevailing political conflicts among diverse policy stakeholders. We confirm that SNA is an effective research tool for political feasibility evaluation; it can facilitate smoother policy adoption by enhancing better interactions within networks.