Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Implant Sonication as a Diagnostic Tool in Implant-associated Infections

Infections of implants pose a severe problem in the field of orthopedic surgery, because they can cause bone degradation with subsequent loosening of the implant. The discrimination between septic implant loosening and aseptic loosening can be a challenge, and hence novel diagnostic methods have been introduced to improve the detection of bacteria. Because a major problem is their firm adherence to implants due to biofilm formation, sonication has been introduced, followed by identification of bacteria by culture or genetic methods. In this study, we compared the results obtained after sonication pretreatment with those of microbiological testing of tissue samples and histopathological evaluation of the same tissue. Furthermore, we related the results obtained following sonication to the clinical diagnosis of septic or aseptic implant loosening, respectively. Sonication of explanted devices also enhances the likelihood of detecting bacterial growth in patients who were considered “aseptic” based on the clinical evaluation.
Optimal Wine Pricing for Restaurants*

Abstract We present a simple static way of optimizing the prices of bottles of wine for restaurants with a given cellar. In contrast to classical assortment pricing models, we posit that the cellar (i.e., inventory) is given and is not taken as a variable entering the optimization program. In our model, the optimal price is driven mainly by a rating parameter after the effect of initial cost is removed. This parameter plays the role of a dominant characteristic in hedonic models, even though the levels of stocks may also be determinant when they are very low. We provide a numerical sensitivity analysis of prices to various parameters and study a realistic large-scale example based on two wine lists with 50 bottles each. Finally, several extensions are discussed. (JEL Classifications: C61, L11, L83)
Which Factors Determine Cross-Border Real Estate Capital Flows? A Gravity Modelling Approach

For the period 2007-12, this paper investigates the scale and determinants of cross-border investment flows between national real estate markets. The literature on the application of gravity models to international investment and previous research on cross-border real estate investment is reviewed. This is followed by a discussion of the data and empirical framework used to assess the determinants of cross-border real estate investment. A range of specifications for the gravity model are used to empirically estimate the models. The results indicate that, consistent with previous studies for trade, foreign direct and portfolio investment, variables such as size and distance have expected effects on cross-border real estate investment flows. The results are consistent with increased risk aversion in the period 2008-12 with variables associated with informational frictions becoming more significant.
Who Pays for Disinflation? Disinflationary Monetary Policy and the Distribution of Income

Using theoretical predictions, econometric results, and the example of the Volcker disinflation, Thorbecke establishes that through disinflation's burden on the durable goods and construction industries, small firms, and low-wage workers and its benefits to bond market investors, it effects a redistribution of wealth from the poor to the rich. Because of this distributional consequence, he argues, engineering a disinflationary recession now to wring more inflation out of the economy would be inappropriate. On the contrary, with inflation as low as it is and with upward pressure on wages that could trigger a rise in inflation also low, now is the time for the Federal Reserve to let the economy grow--to seek policies that promote distributive justice and that help those individuals most at risk for shrinking income.
Bank Valuation in New EU Countries

This paper studies the role of institutional reforms in affecting bank valuation in new European Union (EU) member countries. It takes advantage of the dynamic nature of institutional reforms in transition economies and explores the causal effects of those reforms on banks’ Tobin’s Q over the period of 1997–2008. Using a difference-in-difference approach, the paper shows that Tobin’s Q increases substantially after these countries reform their legal institutions and liberalize banking. However, it decreases after stock market reforms. After further examination of the interactive relationships between different reforms and bank valuation, it is observed that when the banking reform is well implemented, legal reform can have a stronger impact on banks’ Tobin’s Q. On the other hand, banking reform and security market reform has a substitutive relationship. The analysis also suggests that foreign ownership, market power, and asset diversification significantly affect Tobin’s Q. These results are robust even after simultaneously controlling for equity risk. 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author at: Fordham University, 113 West 60th Street, New York, NY 10023, United States. Tel. : +1 646 312 8278; fax: +1 646 312 8290. E-mail addresses: yfang15@stuart.iit. edu (Y. Fang), ihasan@fordham.edu, iftehas@gmail.com (I. Hasan), marton@fordham.edu (K. Marton), waisman@fordham.edu (M. Waisman).
Validation of the Fear of Pelvic Examination Scale (F-PEXS) – measuring students’ fear of performing a pelvic examination

Abstract Introduction: Medical students of both genders often show signs of fear before they perform their first pelvic examination. This situation puts a novice in a special setting of intimacy never experienced before and where different emotions may emerge. A specially designed questionnaire, the Fear of Pelvic Examination Scale (F-PEXS) has been developed to assess fear in this context. The aim of this paper is to describe the validation of the F-PEXS. Methods: Undergraduate medical students (N = 100) answered the F-PEXS one week before, prior to and after a learning session with professional patients to assess levels of anxiety towards performing the pelvic exam. The validity of the scale was examined using item analysis, reliability assessments and analysis of the construct validity in comparing the F-PEXS with the Spielberger State and Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck’s Anxiety Inventory. Results: The F-PEXS has very good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha 0.96) and good construct validity. The mean score on the F-PEXS did not differ between gender either before or after the learning session. Conclusions: The F-PEXS can be used to assess students’ fear of performing the pelvic examination, to evaluate new strategies for learning the pelvic exam and to evaluate the outcome of such interventions.
Social Media as a Driver for New Rhetorical Practices in Organisations

Social media adoption within organisations enables wider employee participation in corporate communication and rhetoric. We study the impact of social media on rhetorical practices inside organisations, namely how social media reshapes senior management communication. We study the online communication environments of eight organisations and identify two contrasting approaches in dealing with social media adoption: the closed and open model. In the closed model, organisations maintain central control and their communication platforms remain mainly one-way. In the open model, organisations develop and foster two-way interaction. The study finds that in the "open model", governance and culture of the organisation changes in order to address the shift in control and tension between top-down and bottom-up communication. Our key contribution is in rethinking rhetorical practices in the context of modern open and fluid online communication environments in organisations -- rhetorical diffusion - and characterising the changes in governance and culture that enable this transition -- internal ambidexterity.
Free/Libre Open Source Software, Liberalism, Conviviality and Private Property. An anthropological view of Zotero Advocates.

This study examines Free/Libre Open Source Software and its inherent problematisation of property rights. An ethnographic study of a network of FLOSS advocates based in academic libraries supporting the use of bibliographical management tool Zotero is used as a way of teasing out themes of community, conviviality, liberalism and definitions of 'free' to examine how property rights around ideas formed into software question commercial proprietary forms of commoditisation.
Material characterisation and parameter effects on bulk solid dissolution rate of paracetamol in a stirred tank vessel using an in situ UV-ATR probe

The progress from batch to continuous manufacture of pharmaceuticals has highlighted the requirement for dosing solid feed material directly, efficiently and accurately into continuous flow systems. Solids are currently dissolved in batch vessels before feeding into a flow system. This study focuses on gaining scientific understanding on rate kinetics of solid dissolution and parameters affecting solid dosing in current batch systems as a starting point; the knowledge gained will inform future continuous solid dosing work. Paracetamol was the model compound and the mixtures of water/ IPA the solvent systems. An in situ UV spectrometer was used to quantify the concentration of solute in solution during dissolution. In this paper, we present the dissolution kinetics results from a parametric study of effects of temperature, solvents, mixing and particle sizes on dissolution characteristics in a stirred tank vessel. The dissolution profiles from our system are similar to that of published work, with the fastest kinetics for the micronised particles, albeit problematic when dosing as a single shot. Dissolution rate is increased with increasing temperature, solvent content (solubility), mixing intensity and decreasing particle size
Linkage disequlibrium in the DTNBP1 (dysbindin) gene region and on chromosome 1p36 among psychotic patients from a genetic isolate in Israel: Findings from identity by descent haplotype sharing analysis

Several genes have been reported recently to be associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Because of the complexity of the inheritance of these disorders, there is an urgent need to replicate these findings and to search for additional candidate genes. The study of genetic isolates is a powerful technique that may overcome some of the obstacles caused by genetic heterogeneity and ambiguity of phenotype definition. Identity by descent (IBD) haplotype sharing analysis in these populations may be used to detect mutations within shared haplotypes in smaller samples of affected individuals. In this study, we used IBD haplotype sharing analysis to replicate positive linkage and association findings in psychotic disorders, and to identify other regions of interest. Fifty‐two patients with major psychiatric disorders from a genetically isolated village in Israel were studied. By studying eight Y chromosome markers, we were able to confirm the oral tradition of members of this isolate regarding a common paternal origin. Three hundred fifty nine microsatellite markers on 9 candidate chromosomes were genotyped, and haplotypes were reconstructed using information from family members. Two highly significant (P < 0.0001) peaks of haplotype sharing were found. One was for psychotic patients with any diagnosis at the location of dysbindin, a gene previously associated with schizophrenia. The other peak was for patients with schizophrenia on chromosome 1p36. Thus, this study both replicates an earlier finding and points to a novel region of interest, which might be unique to this population. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Heterogeneous Human Capital and Environment Influence Mechanism of FDI: An Empirical Research Based on the Panel Data Derived from Provinces of China

In this paper, the human capital is divided into two kinds of types: heterogeneous human capital and coessential human capital, and the environmental impact mechanism of FDI in different human capital is studied by using the panel data from 1999 to 2012. The research shows that, in general, the FDI investment will not produce pollution effect on the environment; but in fact, it is the heterogeneous human capital in the human capital, which leads to the emission reduction effect of FDI. In contrast, FDI investment in high homogeneous human capital will lead to environmental degradation.
A Nurse-Coached Exercise Program to Increase Muscle Strength, Improve Quality of Life, and Increase Self-Efficacy in People With Tetraplegic Spinal Cord Injuries

ABSTRACTA nurse-coached exercise intervention for 10 people with tetraplegic spinal cord injuries was conducted over a period of 2 years at an accessible, community-based YMCA using an equipment especially designed for people with mobility issues and neurological deficits. In this single-subject design study, each participant completed three 3-hour exercise sessions a week for over 6 months. The purpose of the study was to determine what effects the program would have on increasing muscle strength, improving quality of life, and increasing self-efficacy after traditional outpatient therapy sessions were no longer available or affordable. The Sheehy Spinal Cord Injury Functional Improvement via Exercise Model was constructed at the conclusion of an unpublished pilot study and was tested in this study. Expectations of the model were that, if a person with a tetraplegic spinal cord injury participated in a coached program of exercise, muscle strength would increase and functional ability would improve, resulting in greater independence, a higher sense of self-efficacy, and a higher quality of life. Study results using a single-subject design of graph-trend analysis showed upward trajectories in muscle strength, quality of life, and self-efficacy in all study participants regardless of the length of time since his or her original injury. The results support the efficacy of this nurse-coached program for people with tetraplegic spinal cord injuries and validate the Sheehy Spinal Cord Injury Functional Improvement via Exercise Model.
Immunofluorescent quantification of tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins in whole cells by flow cytometry.

Tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins, a major event in the transduction of mitogenic signals, was analysed by flow cytometry with a fluorescent antiphosphotyrosine monoclonal antibody, on formaldehyde-fixed, permeabilized cells. We have used this method (PY-Facs) to study activation of normal human T lymphocytes and cells of a leukemic T-cell line: Jurkat. In contrast to normal T cells, Jurkat cells as well as three other leukemic cell lines display a higher constitutive level of tyrosine phosphorylation. This level of tyrosine phosphorylation results from an equilibrium that can be up-regulated by the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor, vanadate peroxide, and down-regulated by the tyrosine kinase inhibitors, genistein and staurosporine. We have also observed an increased tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins after mitogenic stimulation of Jurkat cells via T-cell receptor triggering. In addition, the entry of normal purified T cells from G0 phase into the cell cycle after co-stimulation with a phorbol ester and an anti-receptor antibody is correlated with a pronounced increase in tyrosine phosphorylation. We thus confirmed that this biochemical event was tightly associated with the activation status of the cells. The rapidity and sensitivity of the method we describe here make it particularly convenient for routine use and processing of a large number of samples, e.g., during analysis of human tumors. Moreover, because it retains sufficiently the integrity of treated cells and does not alter expression of membrane antigens, this method is suitable for multiparametric analysis, particularly for simultaneous studies associating the measure of tyrosine phosphorylation levels with possible modifications of membrane or intracellular structures as well as with cell cycle status. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
All-MOS charge-redistribution analog-to-digital conversion techniques. II

For pt.I see ibid., vol.SC-10, no.6, p.371-9 (1975). Describes techniques for performing A/D conversion compatibly with standard single-channel MOS technology. This second paper describes a two-capacitor successive approximation technique which, in contrast to the first, requires considerably less die area, is inherently monotonic in the presence of capacitor ratio errors, and which operates at somewhat lower conversion rate. Factors affecting accuracy and conversion rate are considered analytically. Experimental results from a monolithic prototype are presented; a resolution of eight bits was achieved with an A/D conversion time of 100 /spl mu/s. Used as a D/A convertor, a settling time of 12.5 /spl mu/s was achieved. The estimated total die size for a completely monolithic version including logic is 5000 mil/SUP 2/.
Reconfigurable RF CMOS circuit design for cognitive radios

This paper presents a novel wideband voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and a tunable power amplifier (PA) for multi-band transceivers. The proposed oscillator has a core VCO and a tuning-range extension circuit, which consists of an injection-locked frequency divider (ILFD), and flip flop dividers. The 2-stage differential ILFD can generate quadrature outputs, and it realizes 2, 3, 4, and 6 of divide ratio with very wide output frequency range. In the measurement result, the VCO achieves 9.3 MHz-to-5.7GHz (199%) of continuous frequency tuning range with −210 dBc/Hz of FoMT, which is implemented by using a 90 nm CMOS process. The proposed tunable PA realizes an output impedance tuning from 0.9 GHz to 3.0 GHz so that external isolators following PAs can be eliminated. The tunable PA employs resistive feedback and a parallel resonance consisting of an inductor and a tunable capacitor array. The PA is implemented by using a 0.18 μm CMOS process. Over all of the frequency range, the PA realizes output return loss S22 of smaller than −10 dB, power gain of larger than 16 dB, output 1-dB compression point of larger than 17 dBm, and power added efficiency (PAE) at 1-dB compression point of larger than 10 %.
Curcumin and enalapril ameliorate renal failure by antagonizing inflammation in 5/6 nephrectomized rats: role of phospholipase and cyclooxygenase.

Previously, we showed that curcumin prevents chronic kidney disease (CKD) development in ⅚ nephrectomized (Nx) rats when given within 1 wk after Nx (Ghosh SS, Massey HD, Krieg R, Fazelbhoy ZA, Ghosh S, Sica DA, Fakhry I, Gehr TW. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 296: F1146-F1157, 2009). To better mimic the scenario for renal disease in humans, we began curcumin and enalapril therapy when proteinuria was already established. We hypothesized that curcumin, by blocking the inflammatory mediators TNF-α and IL-1β, could also reduce cyclooxygenase (COX) and phospholipase expression in the kidney. Nx animals were divided into untreated Nx, curcumin-treated, and enalapril-treated groups. Curcumin (75 mg/kg) and enalapril (10 mg/kg) were administered for 10 wk. Renal dysfunction in the Nx group, as evidenced by elevated blood urea nitrogen, plasma creatinine, proteinuria, segmental sclerosis, and tubular dilatation, was comparably reduced by curcumin and enalapril, with only enalapril significantly lowering blood pressure. Compared with controls, Nx animals had higher plasma/kidney TNF-α and IL-1β, which were reduced by curcumin and enalapril treatment. Nx animals had significantly elevated kidney levels of cytosolic PLA(2), calcium-independent intracellular PLA(2), COX 1, and COX 2, which were comparably reduced by curcumin and enalapril. Studies in mesangial cells and macrophages were carried out to establish that the in vivo increase in PLA(2) and COX were mediated by TNF-α and IL-1β and that curcumin, by antagonizing the cytokines, could significantly reduce both PLA(2) and COX. We conclude that curcumin ameliorates CKD by blocking inflammatory signals even if it is given at a later stage of the disease.
SPICE modeling of wideband RF front-end for electromagnetic coupling analyses

This paper presents a SPICE model for the fast calculation of the coupling voltages of a wideband RF front-end illuminated by electromagnetic pulses with different parameters. A SPICE model of a wideband antenna for receiving based on Thevetin's theorem and the reciprocity theory is firstly established, which allows the incorporation of nonlinear loads. As a result, the SPICE model of the wideband RF front-end can be established by connecting a wideband LNA's SPICE model to the antenna SPICE model. The proposed SPICE model can be applied to both frequency-domain and time-domain analyses and can be used for nonlinear simulation. The SPICE model of a wideband RF front-end with frequency bands ranging from 0.8∼20GHz, which is composed of an Archimedean spiral antenna and a low-noise travelling wave amplifier (TWA), is established and analyzed.
Optimal Growth Strategy under Dynamic Threshold

We consider an economy in which the technology exhibits nonconvexities due to fixed costs associated with production. Taking into account the incentives for investment to decrease fixed costs, we characterize the circumstances under which an underdeveloped economy can catch up with the developing ones. We show that it is optimal to get rid of the fixed costs inherent in production in finite time provided that the initial level of fixed costs are not too high and the technology for reducing fixed costs is sufficiently efficient. Indeed, we obtain that even though the income disparities may be very persistent and can be perceived as poverty traps, economies with not very high initial fixed costs and sufficiently efficient technology for reducing fixed costs would ultimately converge to the same steady state level of per capita income.
An Experiment on Democratic Versus Dictatorial Collective Decision Making

We report on an experiment that tests for the effects of democratic versus hierarchical rules for joint decision making in organizations, like companies, which operate in a competitive environment. While discussion improves outcomes via an effect on public goods contributions, we find that there is no difference between the decisions made under democracy and those made under hierarchy: an institutional version of the Modigliani-Miller theorem. The wisdom of crowd effect benefiting democratic organizations is counterbalanced by a greater attention paid by the manager in hierarchical organizations to the price decision, which we call the attention responsibility effect.
Allozyme analysis of the hybrid origin of Arisaema ehimense (Araceae)

Allozyme diversity was examined in the Japanese jack-in-the pulpit species, Arisaema serratum and A. tosaense, and their putative hybrid species, A. ehimense (all diploid). Arisaeme ehimense contains mostly alleles found in one or both of the putative parent species but few unique alleles, partially supporting the hypothesis that A. ehimense is of hybrid origin from the two species, although the possibility that A. ehimense arose via divergent speciation cannot be excluded. Because only limited information was gained from the survey of allozyme variation, additional taxon-specific markers from A. serratum and A. tosaense are required to test rigorously the hybrid origin of A. ehimense. A phenogram based on allele frequencies suggested that introgression occurs between A. serratum and A. tosaense where these species are sympatric.