Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vision and resolution in the central retina.

The relation of the structure of the retina to factors influencing visual acuity is examined in some detail. Dimensions of the foveal cones have been redetermined in a series of measurements on histological materials from several sources. In no case has center to center distance between the most central cones in adult human eyes been found less than 2. 0μ nor greater than 2. 3μ, these being values for the living eye, due allowance being made for shrinkage of the preparations. Photomicrographs of the central foveal mosaic are shown to illustrate the rapid increase in center to center distance between cones a short distance from the small central fovea. These results are in general agreement with those of Polyak. This cone mosaic is in good accord with the observed effect on resolution acuity of the particular location of the image within the fovea. The central cones are of such size that the optical system of the eye at optimum pupil concentrates approximately three-quarters of the energy of a star image into a circle containing three cones, but some additional optical mechanism must exist in the retina to prevent loss of this image quality by spread of rays after the focus, but within the retinal depth represented by the length of the cones. Optical processes occurring within the cones are considered in detail. It is shown that not only is the Stiles and Crawford effect explained quantitatively by these processes, but also that the spread of rays beyond the focus is prevented, so that the retinal mosaic can behave as though the light receptors were concentrated in the focal plane. This same process also makes possible greatly increased light absorption per unit weight of cone pigment. The structure of the retina is thus consistent, numerically, with resolution acuity at high illumination but does not account for observed changes in acuity as retinal illumination is reduced. Ballistic stimulation of 10 microsecond duration eliminates effect of eye movements and serves to test both the Hecht theory of change of acuity with luminance, and the alternate hypothesis that very few quanta are absorbed per cone at threshold, statistical variation in this number accounting for the acuity change. The result of these experiments indicates that neither theory can be accepted.
Infection rates with use of intra‐articular pain catheters in total knee arthroplasty

Intra‐articular pain catheters effectively reduce postoperative pain in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) by delivering analgesia to the surgical site. However, concerns exist regarding the potential for increasing deep infections. This study tested the hypothesis that intra‐articular pain catheters in TKA increase the rate of deep surgical site infections.
Fractal analysis of spontaneous fluctuations of the BOLD signal in the human brain networks

To investigate what extent brain regions are continuously interacting during resting‐state, independent component analyses (ICA) was applied to analyze resting‐state functional MRI (RS‐fMRI) data. According to the analyzed results, it was surprisingly found that low frequency fluctuations (LFFs), which belong to the 1/f signal (a signal with power spectrum whose power spectral density is inversely proportional to the frequency), have been classified into groups using ICA; furthermore, the spatial distributions of these groups within the brain were found to resemble the spatial distributions of different networks, which manifests that the signal characteristics of RS LFFs are distinct across networks. In our work, we applied the 1/f model in the fractal analyses to further investigate this distinction.
A new genus of Boletaceae from eastern North America

Bothia is described as a new genus in the Boletaceae based on Boletinus castanellus described by C.H. Peck from eastern North America. A widespread, occasionally encountered taxon, Bothia castanella possesses a combination of macro- and microscopic features that has prompted past placement in seven different genera. Yet, as a species it is readily recognizable with its chestnut brown, dry pileus, decurrent, pale brown hymenophore with radially elongated tubes, a short, sometimes eccentric, exannulate stipe, yellow brown spore deposit and constant association with Quercus. Phylogenetic analyses of large subunit rDNA and BLAST searches using the ITS region confirm the placement of B. castanella as a unique generic lineage in the Boletaceae.
Ombitasvir (ABT-267), a novel NS5A inhibitor for the treatment of hepatitis C

Introduction: Chronic hepatitis C infection is a global disease with 160 million people infected worldwide. Until recently, therapy was characterized by long duration, suboptimal success rates and significant adverse drug reactions. The development of direct-acting antivirals initiated a dramatic change in the treatment of hepatitis C. Areas covered: This review covers the development of the novel NS5A inhibitor ombitasvir (ABT-267) and its clinical evaluation in Phase I to III trials as monotherapy and in combination with the NS3/4A inhibitor ABT-450/r and the non-nucleoside NS5B inhibitor dasabuvir (ABT-333) ± ribavirin. Expert opinion: Ombitasvir (ABT-267) is a potent inhibitor of the hepatitis C virus protein NS5A, has favorable pharmacokinetic characteristics and is active in the picomolar range against genotype 1 – 6. In patients with genotype 1 and 4, 12-week combination treatment with ombitasvir, dasabuvir and ABT-450/r plus ribavirin was highly effective and resulted in 12-week sustained virological response rates higher than 95% in treatment-naöve and treatment-experienced patients. In liver transplant recipients with genotype 1 hepatitis C, success rates in the same range can be expected after 24 weeks of treatment according to preliminary trial results. Genotype 1a patients with compensated cirrhosis who were prior nonresponders benefit from a treatment duration of 24 weeks.
A furazolidone-based quadruple therapy for Helicobacter pylori retreatment in patients with peptic ulcer disease.

PURPOSE Many of the currently used eradication regimens against Helicobacter pylori fail to cure the infection either due to antimicrobial resistance or to poor patient compliance. The infection leads to increased risk of developing potentially severe complications, such as gastric cancer. This study was aimed at assessing the efficacy and safety of a quadruple therapy with furazolidone for H. pylori retreatment. METHODS Patients who had failed one or more eradication regimens against H. pylori infection underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Biopsy specimens were taken from the gastric antrum and corpus for histology and for a urease test and. Patients received omeprazole 20 mg, bismuth citrate 240 mg, tetracycline 500 mg, and furazolidone 200 mg, all twice daily for 7 days. Therapeutic success was evaluated by endoscopy and biopsies 8 weeks after the end of treatment. RESULTS Sixty two patients were enrolled, and 58 completed the study. Under this protocol, H. pylori eradication was achieved in 39/58 patients (67%). Mild adverse events were reported. CONCLUSION The short quadruple therapy course with furazolidone is well tolerated, inexpensive, and effective in retreatment for H. pylori infection. It is a good option for developing countries.
Registering for Growth: Tax and the Informal Sector in Developing Countries

z z The tendency of small firms to remain in the informal sector may have an even more pervasive detrimental impact on growth than one might expect. Their informal status usually allows them to avoid taxes by keeping costs and revenues off the books. However, the lack of information arising from production costs, and the basic accounting systems on which they rely, mean many costly errors in pricing can be made, resulting in considerable lost business.
Evaluation of the Relationship Between L5-S1 Spondylolysis and Isthmic Spondylolisthesis and Lumbosacral-Pelvic Morphology by Imaging via 2- and 3-Dimensional Reformatted Computed Tomography

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in the axial and coronal parameters of lumbosacropelvic morphology among a population with spondylolysis and healthy individuals by using 2- and 3-dimensional (3D) reformatted computed tomographic images. Moreover, this study aimed to evaluate the differences in sagittal geometry. Materials and Methods: The stone protocol abdominal computed tomographic images of 386 patients were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty individuals who had spondylolysis at L5-S1 level were included in the study. Moreover, a control group of individuals free of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis was formed, similar in age and sex to the study group. A number of linear and angular lumbosacral morphologic parameters were evaluated using 2D and 3D reformatted computed tomographic images. The data of the 2 groups were compared using a t test. Results: There was an association between spondylolysis and decreased interpedicular angle and S1 vertebra interfacet index, increased distance between the iliac crest and L5 vertebral transverse process, decreased L5 pedicle width, and increased height of the iliac crest and decreased L5 vertebra sagittal index. The paravertebral muscle area was larger in the lysis group when compared with the healthy individuals. Conclusions: Multiple factors (eg, interpedicular angle, S1 vertebra interfacet index, the distance between the iliac crest and L5 vertebra transverse process, L5 pedicle width, height of the iliac crest and L5 vertebra sagittal index) in lumbosacropelvic morphology affect the defect development in pars interarticularis. In individuals with spondylolysis, paravertebral muscle hypertrophy develops as a secondary adaptive change.
Craniofacial Development and the Evolution of the Vertebrates: the Old Problems on a New Background

Abstract Based on recent advances in experimental embryology and molecular genetics, the morphogenetic program for the vertebrate cranium is summarized and several unanswered classical problems are reviewed. In particular, the presence of mesodermal segmentation in the head, the homology of the trabecular cartilage, and the origin of the dermal skull roof are discussed. The discovery of the neural-crest-derived ectomesenchyme and the roles of the homeobox genes have allowed the classical concept of head segmentation unchanged since Goethe to be re-interpreted in terms of developmental mechanisms at the molecular and cellular levels. In the context of evolutionary developmental biology, the importance of generative constraints is stressed as the developmental factor that generates the homologous morphological patterns apparent in various groups of vertebrates. Furthermore, a modern version of the germ-layer theory is defined in terms of the conserved differentiation of cell lineages, which is again questioned from the vantage of evolutionary developmental biology.
SINGLE 600‐MILLIGRAM ORAL DOSE OF DOXYCYCLINE IN THE TREATMENT OF GONORRHOEA

One‐hundred and fifty patients suffering from uncomplicated gonococcal infections were treated with a single oral dose of 600 mg doxycycline. Of the 117 patients who returned for follow‐up. 14 were classified as dropouts; 92 of the remaining 103 patients were judged to be cured by the results of clinical examination and negative culture.
A Non-Markovian Random Walk Underlies a Stochastic Model of Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity

A stochastic model of spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) proposes that spike timing influences the probability but not the amplitude of synaptic strength change at single synapses. The classic, biphasic STDP profile emerges as a spatial average over many synapses presented with a single spike pair or as a temporal average over a single synapse presented with many spike pairs. We have previously shown that the model accounts for a variety of experimental data, including spike triplet results, and has a number of desirable theoretical properties, including being entirely self-stabilizing in all regions of parameter space. Our earlier analyses of the model have employed cumbersome spike-to-spike averaging arguments to derive results. Here, we show that the model can be reformulated as a non-Markovian random walk in synaptic strength, the step sizes being fixed as postulated. This change of perspective greatly simplifies earlier calculations by integrating out the proposed switch mechanism by which changes in strength are driven and instead concentrating on the changes in strength themselves. Moreover, this change of viewpoint is generative, facilitating further calculations that would be intractable, if not impossible, with earlier approaches. We prepare the machinery here for these later calculations but also briefly indicate how this machinery may be used by considering two particular applications.
Business Strategy, Corporate Governance, Firm Characteristics, and Risk Disclosure in the Indonesian Stock Exchange

Companies were required to disclose non-financial information other than financial statements, due to the rapid and changing business conditions. This study aimed to examine the impact of business strategy, corporate governance, and firm characteristics on the risk disclosure. More specifically, we examined the impact of barriers to entry, cost leadership, the board of commissioner size, ownership concentration, liquidity, industrial profile, and auditor type on risk disclosure. We used a sample consisted of 96 observations for the period of 2008-2015 listed in Indonesian Stock Exchange and PEFINDO 25. This research conducted using multiple regression analysis methods to examine the factors influenced risk disclosure. This research also used independent sample T-test to investigate the quality of risk disclosure before, and after the implementation of IFRS in Indonesia, We found that barriers to entry, the board of commissioner size, ownership concentration, industrial profile, and auditor type significantly affect the risk disclosure. However, cost leadership and liquidity did not have significant effects on the risk disclosure. Results of the study might provide a sound contribution for further research, government, management of the company, and investors regarding the risk disclosure practices. JEL Classifications : G32, G34 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26905/jkdp.v22i3. 2167
Maintenance biotherapy for metastatic melanoma with interleukin-2 and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor improves survival for patients responding to induction concurrent biochemotherapy.

PURPOSE A prospective Phase II study of a novel maintenance biotherapy regimen after induction biochemotherapy was conducted in patients with metastatic melanoma in efforts to maintain responses and improve survival. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Thirty-three patients with poor prognosis metastatic melanoma who achieved a partial response (PR) or stable disease (SD) to induction concurrent biochemotherapy were treated with chronic low-dose interleukin (IL)-2 and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor, and intermittent pulses of intermediate/high-dose decrescendo IL-2 over a 12-month period. The outcome of these patients was compared with a control group of patients at our institution who were treated recently with induction biochemotherapy and achieved a PR or SD. RESULTS Five patients (15%) achieved a complete response, and 4 patients (12%) maintained SD for at least 6 months on maintenance biotherapy. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 8.1 months and 18.5 months, respectively, compared with historical controls, which were PFS 5.9 months (P = 0.0015) and OS 9.3 months (P = 0.0004). Administration of maintenance biotherapy was a significant predictor of PFS (P = 0.0008) and OS (P = 0.0001) in multivariate and matched-pair analyses (P = 0.002). The maintenance biotherapy regimen was well tolerated with no dose-limiting acute or cumulative toxicities. CONCLUSION In this single institution study, maintenance biotherapy with IL-2 and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor in patients achieving PR or SD to induction biochemotherapy improved PFS and OS compared with historical controls. A larger multicenter Phase II trial has been initiated in an effort to confirm these results.
Leakage evaluation in vitro of the root canal sealer cement Sealapex.

Summary. Sealapex was compared with two other root canal sealers for leakage in gutta-percha filled extracted teeth using a silver stain technique. The extent of leakage in vitro in the root canal systems over a 30-day period between the three root canal sealers was not statistically different. However, each sealer group leaked significantly less than the control group filled with gutta-percha only. The results support previous findings that a sealer with gutta-percha prevents apical leakage of the root canal system.
Assistive devices among very old people in five European countries

The aim of this study was to investigate the use and need of assistive devices (ADs) in a cross-national European sample of very old persons, focusing on national similarities and differences as well as similarities and differences according to age and level of health status. Data from the ENABLE-AGE research project were utilized involving very old persons in Sweden, Germany, Latvia, Hungary, and the United Kingdom (UK). Personal interviews with single-living old persons were conducted (n=1 918). Of the total sample 65% reported that they had and used one or more ADs, and 24% reported unfilled need. The most commonly used ADs were devices for communication, followed by devices for mobility. Participants in Hungary and Latvia used a lower total number of ADs. Comparisons among sub-groups according to age between the Western and the Eastern European national samples showed significant differences. The result can to some extent be explained by different welfare systems and presumably differences in knowledge and awareness of ADs, and further research is called for. However, the result can serve as input for future planning and development of information, services, and community-based occupational therapy, to improve healthcare and social services for older people.
Investigation of Factors Influencing Customer Loyalty in Malaysia and Jordan Hotel Industry

This study aims to proffer solutions to customer loyalty challenges at these destinations by proposing and validating customer loyalty model using relationship marketing and social exchange theory. Based on the underpinning theories, this study analyzed the direct and indirect influence of brand image, trust, convenience and emotion on customer loyalty of five star hotels in Malaysia and Jordan. Further, the mediating effect of customer satisfaction on the relationship between exogenous latent variables and endogenous latent variable was investigated. A total of 384 and 371customers respectively of three famous hotels under the management of Starwood were sampled using convenience sampling method for data analysis from Malaysia and Jordan. SPSS version 21.0 software was used for the analysis. However, the empirical results showed partial mediation effects on the relationship between brand image, trust, convenience, emotion and customer loyalty in respect of Malaysian hotel customers. In Jordan hotels, satisfaction does not mediate the relationship between trust and customer loyalty but partially mediate between emotion, brand image, convenience and customer loyalty. In summary, the findings of this study will narrow the perception of the top echelon of these hotels on the actual factors to focus in order to earn loyalty of their valued customers. This study also contributed to frontier of knowledge by integrating the variables of relationship marketing from the perspectives of two developing countries.
Green Investment of Heritage Environments a Doorway to a Life of Quality

The research aims to extract of tools that can be utilized to assess the quality of life in existing heritage environments through their green investment. The research presents the notion of green investment of heritage environments as a doorway to quality of life for residents. The research raises many questions: can life conditions be altered in heritage environments through their investment? To reach its aims, the research lays the hypothesis that can be tested for resolution of the results this hypothesis is: The copying and improvement of international or regional experiments in heritage environments' investment can lead to enhancement of the quality of life of residents. The research refers to terminologies like green economy, the concept of investment in general and specifically green investment, concept of heritage environments and how to invest them for development, green investment of heritage environments, quality of life as a concept, and its indicators, then the research comparatively study different quality of life indicators in foreign countries and then come up with indicators of green investment in heritage environments as a doorway to a life of quality.
Attachment toward the informal caregiver and perception of the amount of support received after elective surgery

This study investigated the relationship between attachment representations and help received from informal caregivers after elective surgery. In total, 98 respondents reported on their attachment toward their informal caregiver before surgery and on the amount of help they received from the caregiver after surgery. We found that anxious attachment was negatively related to all types of support except for ensuring and explaining medical care, whereas avoidant attachment was negatively related to emotional types of support. This study extends previous findings by demonstrating the influence of attachment representations on help received in the context of the unique help provided after elective surgery.
Blood flow in the calf muscle of man during heavy rhythmic exercise.

133Xenon clearance was recorded during maximal vasodilatation in the calf muscles of trained subjects during rest and during heavy rhythmic exercise (contraction about 0.3 sec, relaxation about 0.7 sec) when the subject was tilted from a supine to a “leg down” position. The k-value for the wash-out curve, divided by the mean arterial blood pressure at heart level (MABP), was considered to reflect the relative levels of maximal flow in the two experimental situations. While a shift to “leg down” position during post-exercise hyperemia did not significantly increase flow through the fully dilated muscle vessels, indicating that they were already maximally distended, the same shift during rhythmic exercise raised the average value of k/MABP approximately 60 per cent above control. This observation is in all probability explained by a marked lowering of mean venous pressure by the “muscle pump” in the dependent legs, despite the huge flow during the heavy rhythmic exercise. This would result in a considerable gain in local perfusion pressure and hence in maximal flow capacity.