Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computer-assisted surgery and intraoperative three-dimensional imaging for screw placement in different pelvic regions.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and accuracy of computer-assisted surgery (CAS) for screw placement in different pelvic regions using intraoperative three-dimensional (3D) imaging and to evaluate the influence of surgeons' experience with such a system on procedure time, radiation time, radiation dose, and misplacement rate. METHODS Experimental study in a human cadaveric model (n=5) for percutaneous screw placement in the anterior column of the acetabulum, the posterior pelvic ring (S1, S2), and the superior pubic ramus via 3D fluoroscopic navigated procedure. Accuracy of screw placement was assessed by 3D image intensifier, including the reconstruction of multiplanar images and by computer tomography (CT) scan. Influence of surgeons' experience was assessed by direct comparison of a low- and high-volume surgeon using the same technical setting. RESULTS In 100% of all procedures, intraoperative Iso-C3D image analysis was sufficient to confirm a correct screw placement. The postoperative CT scan revealed no further screw misplacement. However, for a correct supraacetabular screw placement, the intraoperative 3D scan was essential. In this group, the 3D scan showed screw misplacement in three cases. Procedure time for all indications and screw failure rate were significantly lower for the higher experienced surgeon. CONCLUSION The 3D fluoroscopic navigated procedure in pelvic surgery seems to be a useful tool for all surgeons and especially for less experienced ones. Furthermore, the intraoperative reconstruction of multiplanar 3D images allows a secure control of implant positioning.
Gender Differences in Remarriage: Marriage Formation and Assortative Mating After Divorce

ii Acknowledgements. iv Vita. vii List of Tables . x List of Figures . xii Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 Chapter 2: Theoretical Perspectives.9 Chapter 3: Data, Measures, and Analytic Strategy . 37 Chapter 4: Gender Differences in Remarriage Formation.53 Chapter 5: Educational and Age Assortative Mating in Remarriage.82 Chapter 6: Conclusion.127 References.139 Appendix A: Supplemental Results . 155
IGF‐I and microglia/macrophage proliferation in the ischemic mouse brain

We have used a model of hypoxic‐ischemic brain injury in adult male C57BL/6 mice to study insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) and IGF‐binding protein (IGFBP) expression in response to cerebral hypoxia‐ischemia (H/I) in the adult mouse. A period of 20 min of H/I that resulted in histopathology in cortex, striatum, and thalamus was correlated with induction of mRNA for IGF‐I, IGFBP‐2, IGFBP‐3, IGFBP‐5, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) by 4 days of recovery. Increased IGF‐I mRNA was located within damaged regions and was surrounded by IGFBP‐2 mRNA expression. The results of combined immunostaining/in situ hybridzation showed that the cells expressing IGFBP‐2 mRNA were also GFAP‐positive and comprised a subset of activated astrocytes immediately surrounding areas of damage. In contrast, staining within damaged regions showed high numbers of cells immunopositive for F4/80 and lectin B4 indicative of microglia and macrophages but no cells immunopositive for the astrocytic proteins GFAP or S‐100β. Microglia/macrophages within the damaged areas expressed IGF‐I mRNA and were also immunopositive for the proliferating cell nuclear antigen. To determine whether expression of IGF‐I could contribute to proliferation of microglia, we treated purified cultures of adult brain microglia with IGF‐I in the presence of 3H‐thymidine. IGF‐I stimulated a twofold increase in DNA synthesis in cultures of adult brain microglia. Taken together with previous data demonstrating that IGF‐I promotes proliferation of peripheral macrophages, these data support the hypothesis that IGF‐I is an autocrine/paracrine mitogen for microglia/macrophages after H/I. GLIA 38:85–97, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
QE: The Story so Far

In the past decade or so, a number of central banks have purchased assets financed by the creation of central bank reserves as a tool for loosening monetary policy - a policy often known as "quantitative easing" or "QE". The first half of the paper reviews the international evidence on the impact on financial markets and economic activity of this policy. It finds that these central bank balance sheet expansions had a discernible and significant impact on financial markets and the economy. The second half of the paper provides new empirical analysis on the macroeconomic impact of central bank balance sheet expansions, across time and countries. It finds three key results. First, it is only when central bank balance sheet expansions are used as a monetary policy tool that they have a significant macro-economic impact. Second, there is evidence for the US that the effectiveness of QE may vary over time, depending on the state of the economy and liquidity of the financial system. And third, QE can have strong spill-over effects cross-border, acting mainly via financial channels. For example, the impact of US QE on UK economic activity may be as large as the impact on US economic activity.
School District Responses to Enrollment Changes: The Direction of Change Matters!.

argument is that enrollment declines result in increases in per pupil expenditures because school districts find it difficult, in the short run, to reduce input levels in proportion to enrollment declines. Reasons include citizen resistance to school closings, and job security provisions in teachers' and administrators' contracts. When input levels are not reduced as enrollment falls, per pupil expenditures rise because the costs of inputs that are relatively fixed in the short run are spread over fewer students. The purpose of this paper is to assess quantitatively the significance of the argument that enrollment declines have contributed to increases in per pupil expenditures in public education. As background, it is important to recognize that the most important sources of increases in expenditures per pupil over the period 1970-80 have been increases in the prices school districts paid for inputs (e.g., fuel, books, teachers, administration, and transportation). Some of these price changes (e.g., fuel) are part of the general inflation observed over this period, while others are more closely related to changes in the public education environment (e.g., collective bargaining agreements). Expenditures per pupil also rose in real terms during the 1970s due to increases in resources per pupil. This paper analyzes these changes in resource levels per pupil and the extent to which they are related to changes in enrollment. In particular, this study
The Teratogenic Metabolites of Vitamin A in Women Following Supplements and Liver

1 Ten healthy female volunteers were given 5 doses of retinol as the palmitate; 50 and 150 mg retinol as an oral supplement, 50 and 150 mg as fried calf liver (50 and 150 g) and 3, 9 or 30 mg by intra-muscular injection. 2 Plasma concentrations of retinyl palmitate were higher after 50 mg retinol given as an oral supplement compared with 50 mg as liver; there was no significant difference between the 150 mg doses. Plasma concentrations of retinol showed only small increases. 3 The peak plasma concentrations (Cmax) of all-trans-retinoic acid, the principal teratogenic metabolite of retinol, and the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) were up to 20-times higher after supplements compared to the same dose as liver. Plasma concentrations of all-trans-4-oxo-retinoic acid, 13-cis-retinoic acid and 13-cis-4-oxo-retinoic acid showed smaller differences between supplements and liver. 4 Intra-muscular administration of 30 mg retinol gave retinyl palmitate concentrations similar to those found after the oral doses but did not increase circulating concentrations of the acid metabolites. 5 Based on the formation of all-trans-retinoic acid, liver and supplements are not of equivalent teratogenic potential. Advice to pregnant women on the consumption of liver based on the reported teratogenicity of vitamin A supplements should be reconsidered.
한국 의과대학생들의 의학교육환경에 대한 인식

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine students' perception of the educational environment of medical schools in Korea. METHODS A total of 9,096 of 12,035 students (75.6%) responded to our questionnaire. This study was conducted at the end of the 2013 academic year using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) at 40 medical schools in Korea. DREEM comprises five domains: students' perceptions of learning (SPL); students' perceptions of teachers (SPT); students' academic self-perceptions; students' perceptions of atmosphere; and students' social self-perception. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS The overall mean DREEM score was 113.97 (of 200), and the scores for the 40 medical schools ranged from 100.24 to 134.32. The overall mean and domains scores of the DREEM differed significantly between educational systems, grades, genders, and academic achievement levels. Graduate-level medical students had higher scores for the DREEM and its five domains than undergraduate medical students. The scores were lowest in second-year students (mean, 111.80). Male students' perceptions were significantly higher than those of female students except for SPL and SPT. High academic achievers' perceptions were also greater versus low academic achievers. CONCLUSION Students' perceptions of their educational environment are positive in Korea. The learning environment should be evaluated by curriculum planners and administrators of medical schools to improve its quality.
Use of Oral Corticosteroids and Risk of Hip Fracture in the Elderly in a Case-Control Study

Aim: Little is known regarding the relationship between use of oral corticosteroids and hip fracture in the elderly in Taiwan. The aim of the study was to examine this issue. Methods: A retrospective population-based case-control study using the database of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Program (2000–2013) was conducted. We identified 4538 individuals aged ≥ 65 years with newly diagnosed hip fracture as the cases. We randomly selected 4538 individuals without hip fracture as the control subjects. The cases and the control subjects were matched with sex, age, comorbidities, and the year of index date. Individuals who never had a prescription for oral corticosteroids were defined as never use. Individuals who ever had at least one prescription for oral corticosteroids were defined as ever use. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of hip fracture associated with oral corticosteroids use was estimated by a multivariable unconditional logistic regression analysis. Results: After adjustments for potential confounding factors, the multivariable logistic regression model showed that the adjusted OR of hip fracture was 1.17 for individuals with ever use of oral corticosteroids (95%CI 1.08, 1.28), compared to those with never use of oral corticosteroids. An sub-analysis showed that for every 1-mg increase in cumulative dose of oral corticosteroids, the adjusted OR of hip fracture was 1.01 (95% CI 1.01, 1.02). The adjusted ORs were 1.31 (95% CI 1.17, 1.47) for cumulative exposure to oral corticosteroids ≥ 3 months and 1.09 (95% CI 0.98, 1.20) for cumulative exposure < 3 months. Conclusion: We conclude that oral corticosteroids use is associated with a trivial but statistically significant increase in risk of hip fracture in Taiwan. Additionally, the results suggest that there are dose-response and duration-response effects of oral corticosteroids on the risk of hip fracture. The results confirm our understanding of oral corticosteroid-associated hip fracture in the elderly.
Distorted-wave calculations of cross sections for electron-impact ionization of lithiumlike ions.

We used distorted-wave and multiconfigurational Dirac-Fock methods to calculate direct and indirect contributions to cross sections for electron-impact ionization of ${\mathrm{C}}^{3+}$, ${\mathrm{N}}^{4+}$, ${\mathrm{O}}^{5+}$, and ${\mathrm{F}}^{6+}$. The features due to excitation autoionization and resonant excitation double autoionization observed in recent cross-beam measurements [G. Hofmann et al., Z. Phys. D 16, 113 (1990)] are well reproduced in our results. Our cross sections are also in good agreement with reported results of nonrelativistic close-coupling calculations [S. S. Tayal and R. J. W. Henry, Phys, Rev. A 42, 1831 (1990); 44, 2955 (1991)] over most of the energy range studied. We examine the effects of radiative decay on the intermediate states, and we show that neglect of certain channels in the close-coupling calculation results in overestimation of the cross sections in the region of the 1s2s2pnl resonances.
Microbial responses to multi-factor climate change: effects on soil enzymes

The activities of extracellular enzymes, the proximate agents of decomposition in soils, are known to depend strongly on temperature, but less is known about how they respond to changes in precipitation patterns, and the interaction of these two components of climate change. Both enzyme production and turnover can be affected by changes in temperature and soil moisture, thus it is difficult to predict how enzyme pool size may respond to altered climate. Soils from the Boston-Area Climate Experiment (BACE), which is located in an old field (on abandoned farmland), were used to examine how climate variables affect enzyme activities and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) in different seasons and in soils exposed to a combination of three levels of precipitation treatments (ambient, 150% of ambient during growing season, and 50% of ambient year-round) and four levels of warming treatments (unwarmed to ~4°C above ambient) over the course of a year. Warming, precipitation and season had very little effect on potential enzyme activity. Most models assume that enzyme dynamics follow microbial biomass, because enzyme production should be directly controlled by the size and activity of microbial biomass. We observed differences among seasons and treatments in mass-specific potential enzyme activity, suggesting that this assumption is invalid. In June 2009, mass-specific potential enzyme activity, using chloroform fumigation-extraction MBC, increased with temperature, peaking under medium warming and then declining under the highest warming. This finding suggests that either enzyme production increased with temperature or turnover rates decreased. Increased maintenance costs associated with warming may have resulted in increased mass-specific enzyme activities due to increased nutrient demand. Our research suggests that allocation of resources to enzyme production could be affected by climate-induced changes in microbial efficiency and maintenance costs.
Penalizing the Underdogs? Employment Protection and the Competitive Dynamics of Firm Innovation

This study examines how constraining a firm’s ability to adjust resources affects innovation and underscores a firm’s competitive position as a critical contingency to the competing demands for flexibility and efficiency. In response to losing competitiveness, lagging firms must release obsolete resources and increase experimentation with new resources. Limiting the pace and efficiency at which they can do so impedes their ability to innovate and challenge leading firms. I explore these ideas empirically by exploiting the staggered adoption of employment protection laws. Employment protection indeed reduces innovation by lagging firms, driven by a decrease in radical innovations. In contrast, I find a small yet positive effect on leading firms in low-velocity sectors, which prioritize the efficient use of existing resources. This study extends the prior contingency approach based on industry and task characteristics to incorporate a firm’s competitive position and provides a much more dynamic account of when and how firms experiment with new inventors, resources, and radical innovations.
Evaluation of the effects of various gestagens on insulin sensitivity, using homeostatic model assessment, in postmenopausal women on hormone replacement therapy

The objective of the present study was to compare the effects of various gestagens on insulin sensitivity in postmenopausal women on hormone replacement therapy (HRT). This prospective study enrolled 156 postmenopausal women who had menopausal status for at least 6 months. Group 1 was treated with 17β-estradiol (E2; 2 mg) plus norethisterone acetate (NETA; 1 mg); Group 2 was given E2 (2 mg) plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA; 2.5 mg); Group 3 was given E2 (2 mg) plus dydrogesterone (DG; 10 mg); and Group 4 was given E2 (2 mg) plus micronized progesterone (MP; 100 mg). Group 5 was the surgical menopausal group and was given only E2 (2 mg) continuously. All 156 subjects completed the 3-month follow-up on the trial. The patients were analyzed by using homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) for insulin sensitivity before treatment and 3 months after treatment, comparing the effects of various HRT regimens on insulin sensitivity. No significant differences were found in the baseline characteristics of the patients (p > 0.05). There were no significant differences in mean values of HOMA before HRT among the five groups (p > 0.05). There were statistically significant differences in mean values of HOMA only in Group 1 (E2 + NETA) and Group 3 (E2 + DG) after HRT (p > 0.05). E2 + NETA and E2 + DG were found to improve insulin sensitivity in postmenopausal women after 3 months of treatment, whereas E2 + MPA, E2 + MP and E2 only did not show such an effect in postmenopausal women.
Characterization of membrane proteins exported from Plasmodium falciparum into the host erythrocyte

SUMMARY Plasmodium falciparum is an intracellular parasite of the red blood cell. During development it exports proteins which are transported to specific locations within the host erythrocyte. We have begun to identify and characterize exported membrane proteins of P.falciparum in order to obtain specific marker molecules for the study of the mechanisms involved in the distribution of parasite-derived proteins within the host cell. In this report we describe the characterization of a 35 kDa protein which is recognized by a monoclonal antibody. The protein is tightly associated with membranes isolated from infected erythrocytes; it is resistant to extraction with alkali and soluble after treatment with detergents. It is located at the membrane of the parasitophorous vacuole and in membrane-bound compartments which appear in the cytoplasm of the infected erythrocyte. The protein co-localizes with the previously described exported protein-1 (exp-1). Considering its localization and physical similarities to exp-1, we name the 35 kDa protein the exported protein-2 (exp-2).
Probabilistic linkage of large public health data files.

Probabilistic linkage technology makes it feasible and efficient to link large public health databases in a statistically justifiable manner. The problem addressed by the methodology is that of matching two files of individual data under conditions of uncertainty. Each field is subject to error which is measured by the probability that the field agrees given a record pair matches (called the m probability) and probabilities of chance agreement of its value states (called the u probability). Fellegi and Sunter pioneered record linkage theory. Advances in methodology include use of an EM algorithm for parameter estimation, optimization of matches by means of a linear sum assignment program, and more recently, a probability model that addresses both m and u probabilities for all value states of a field. This provides a means for obtaining greater precision from non-uniformly distributed fields, without the theoretical complications arising from frequency-based matching alone. The model includes an iterative parameter estimation procedure that is more robust than pre-match estimation techniques. The methodology was originally developed and tested by the author at the U.S. Census Bureau for census undercount estimation. The more recent advances and a new generalized software system were tested and validated by linking highway crashes to Emergency Medical Service (EMS) reports and to hospital admission records for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Household Model of Chagas Disease Vectors (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) Considering Domestic, Peridomestic, and Sylvatic Vector Populations

ABSTRACT Disease transmission is difficult to model because most vectors and hosts have different generation times. Chagas disease is such a situation, where insect vectors have 1–2 generations annually and mammalian hosts, including humans, can live for decades. The hemataphagous triatominae vectors (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) of the causative parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) usually feed on sleeping hosts, making vector infestation of houses, peridomestic areas, and wild animal burrows a central factor in transmission. Because of difficulties with different generation times, we developed a model considering the dwelling as the unit of infection, changing the dynamics from an indirect to a direct transmission model. In some regions, vectors only infest houses; in others, they infest corrals; and in some regions, they also infest wild animal burrows. We examined the effect of sylvatic and peridomestic vector populations on household infestation rates. Both sylvatic and peridomestic vectors increase house infestation rates, sylvatic much more than peridomestic, as measured by the reproductive number R0. The efficacy of manipulating parameters in the model to control vector populations was examined. When R0 > 1, the number of infested houses increases. The presence of sylvatic vectors increases R0 by at least an order of magnitude. When there are no sylvatic vectors, spraying rate is the most influential parameter. Spraying rate is relatively unimportant when there are sylvatic vectors; in this case, community size, especially the ratio of houses to sylvatic burrows, is most important. The application of this modeling approach to other parasites and enhancements of the model are discussed.
Do Big 4 firms benefit or suffer losses when another Big 4 firm fails to detect fraud?

Abstract This paper examines how investors and companies in China benefit or penalize other audit firms (and their clients) when one Big 4 audit firm fails to detect a fraud. Using a detailed archival study of a fraud by a manufacturing firm (Kelon), we propose that an audit failure by one Big 4 firm hurts not only itself and shareholders of its clients, but also competing Big 4 firms and their clients. Unlike results in developed countries, clients of both the failing auditor (Deloitte) and other foreign (Big 4) auditors experience more negative stock market reactions than local non-Big 4 auditors’ clients at the disclosure event pertaining to Kelon. Negative effects are more pronounced for companies in Kelon’s industry. Shareholder losses are moderated by government ownership. Furthermore, companies are less likely to switch to other Big 4 auditors after disclosure of the fraud case. Our results are robust to additional analyses, including controls for self-selection of Big 4 auditors.
On Worst-Case Portfolio Optimization

We formulate a worst-case portfolio optimization problem that technically appears as a game where the investor chooses a portfolio and his opponent, the market, chooses some market crashes. The asymmetry of the opponents' decision processes leads to a new and delicate generalization of the classical Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation in stochastic control. We characterize the optimal controls in general and specify them further in the cases of Hara, logarithmic, and exponential utilities of the investor.