Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Case Series of First Metatarsophalangeal Joint Injuries in Division 1 College Athletes

Context: Injuries of the first metatarsophalangeal (hallux MP) joint can be debilitating in the athletic population. Turf toe and plantar plate injuries are typically diagnosed similarly. However, variance in injury mechanism as well as compromised integrity of soft tissue and ligamentous structures make it difficult to accurately diagnose specific hallux MP injuries. Recent literature has supported the use of both radiographic imaging and the Lachman test as reliable indicators of joint instability in the presence of hallux MP injuries. To date, research supporting specific rehabilitation interventions and return-to-play decision making for hallux MP injuries has been limited to case studies and suggested guidelines from literature reviews. There is limited evidence suggesting specific criteria for surgical and nonsurgical decision making in conjunction with rehabilitation progressions to return an athlete to sport when managing hallux MP injuries. Evidence Acquisition: A literature search was performed using Medline, PubMed, and Google Scholar to find and review articles from 1970 to 2013 that addressed the basic anatomy of the plantar plate, injuries to this anatomical structure, and the evaluation, diagnosis, surgical and nonsurgical management, and rehabilitation of these injuries, specifically in the athletic population. Medical information for each case was gathered from electronic medical records from the individual athletes cited in this case series, which included imaging reports, rehabilitation documentation, and both evaluation and surgical reports. No statistical analysis was used. Study Design: Case series. Level of Evidence: Level 4. Results: Treatment plans for each case varied depending on surgical and nonsurgical intervention and rehabilitation outcomes. However, each athlete was able to return to sports-specific activities. Conclusion: Successful outcomes for hallux MP injuries are contingent on thorough evaluation, appropriate clinical decision making with regard to surgical versus nonsurgical treatment planning, and a multidisciplinary team approach for ensuring a safe return to sport. Strength-of-Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT): C.
Roles and responsibilities of open innovation specialists based on analysis of job advertisements.

Innovative companies are increasingly creating new open innovation functions and employing open innovation specialists to facilitate innovation processes. However, research that explores these emerging jobs remains scarce. This study examines the worldwide job market for ‘open innovation’ specialists as per job title and/or job description, and analyzes 100 job advertisements related to ‘open innovation’ specialists published during two periods in 2014 and 2016. The findings identify the key responsibilities of dedicated open innovation specialists and associated skills, and the competencies that companies seek in candidates. In addition, the findings indicate that companies need open innovation specialists to not only work in R&D departments. In addition, the ability to influence others and prior start-up experience have become basic requirements to apply for open innovation specialist positions.
The factors driving the synergy value in mergers of mechanical engineering companies in the Czech Republic

Research into factors that influence the outcome of mergers and acquisitions conducted over a few past decades focused on two areas, one being the forecasting of the volume of expected investments, the other investigating M&A efficiency, i.e. the search for the factors that drive the growth of value of combined firms (identification of the sources of synergy). Operating synergies, resulting from cost savings and investment reduction, are deemed the primary source of synergy. Determining the synergy value is a prerequisite for identifying sources of savings. This paper presents the results of research aimed at determining the synergy value and identifying the factors representing potential sources of synergy. The discounted capital cash flow method was used to determine the synergy value. In the set of 50 mergers carried out between 2004 and 2011 that we investigated, we found that a negative synergy effect developed at an average level of 8.13%. This means that most of these mergers were not associated with additional profits for the owners. The correlation between the selected financial ratios and the synergy value was tested. The results show that there is a statistically significant relationship between the indicators based on cash flow and the synergy value.
The influence of Nature 2000 Sites on land-taking processes at the regional level: an empirical analysis concerning Sardinia (Italy)

This article focuses on the role that the provisions of the Natura 2000 Network play in affecting land-taking processes by looking at the Italian region of Sardinia, where strict rules on land development have been enforced since 1993 through regional landscape plans and where an extensive Natura 2000 Network, covering nearly 19% of the regional land mass, was established in compliance with Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora and Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds. The results and inferences of our study could be easily generalized to other European Union regions, provided that similar geographic datasets are available. By shedding some light on the relation between land take on the one hand, and nature conservation and landscape protection on the other, it is possible to enhance regional planning policies to prevent or hinder land-taking processes, and, by doing so, to help implementing the European Commission recommendation on no net land take by 2050 into the EU regional policies.
Quantitative PET and SPECT performance characteristics of the Albira Trimodal pre-clinical tomograph

The Albira Trimodal pre-clinical scanner comprises PET, SPECT and CT sub-systems and thus provides a range of pre-clinical imaging options. The PET component consists of three rings of single-crystal LYSO detectors with axial/transverse fields-of-view (FOVs) of 148/80 mm. The SPECT component has two opposing CsI detectors (100 × 100 mm2) with single-pinhole (SPH) or multi(9)-pinhole (MPH) collimators; the detectors rotate in 6° increments and their spacing can be adjusted to provide different FOVs (25 to 120 mm). The CT sub-system provides ‘low’ (200 µA, 35 kVp) or ‘high’ (400 µA, 45 kVp) power x-rays onto a flat-panel CsI detector. This study examines the performance characteristics and quantitative accuracy of the PET and SPECT components. Using the NEMA NU 4-2008 specifications (22Na point source), the PET spatial resolution is 1.5 + 0.1 mm on axis and sensitivity 6.3% (axial centre) and 4.6% (central 70 mm). The usable activity range is ≤ 10 MBq (18F) over which good linearity (within 5%) is obtained for a uniform cylinder spanning the axial FOV; increasing deviation from linearity with activity is, however, observed for the NEMA (mouse) line source phantom. Image uniformity axially is within 5%. Spatial resolution (SPH/MPH) for the minimum SPECT FOV used for mouse imaging (50 mm) is 1.5/1.7 mm and point source sensitivity 69/750 cps MBq–1. Axial uniformity of SPECT images (%CV of regions-of-interest counts along the axis) is mostly within 8% although there is a range of 30–40% for the largest FOV. The variation is significantly smaller within the central 40 mm. Instances of count rate nonlinearity (PET) and axial non-uniformity (SPECT) were found to be reproducible and thus amenable to empirical correction.
Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders and Cardiac Arrhythmia

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) includes a range of conditions characterized by abnormalities in the frequency and/or depth of breathing during sleep. Cessations in breathing rhythm (apneas) are momentary and often cyclical, while reductions in breath amplitude (hypopneas) may be momentary or sustained (Dempsey et al., 2010). Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)/hypopnea syndrome (HS), obesity hypoventilation syndrome, central sleep apnea (CSA), upper airway resistance syndrome, and Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) are the primary sleep-related respiratory disorders. Although CSA is accompanied by alterations in neural input, the obstruction characteristic of OSA, the most common form of SDB, is also neurally mediated (Veasey, 2009). Intermittent episodes of partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway during sleep characteristic of OSA result from collapse of the upper airway. The concomitant disruption of normal ventilation and sleep architecture is typically associated with snoring, repeated arousals from sleep, and daytime sleepiness (Bradley & Floras, 2003; Lattimore et al, 2003; Quan & Gersh, 2004; Shamsuzzaman et al; 2003;). Prevalence studies indicate that SDB, and particularly OSA, are common problems worldwide, affecting millions of individuals. However, OSA is also considered to be largely undiagnosed (Young et al, 1993; Young et al, 2002; Lavie, 2007). In the United States, for example, the estimated proportions of adults with OSA who are not diagnosed range from 60% to 80%, with an even greater under diagnosis suspected for children (Carter III, 2008). The increasing prevalence can be intuitively associated with the global obesity epidemic; however, a reverse association has also been postulated based on emerging evidence that OSA promotes weight gain (Carter III, 2008). The clinical relevance of OSA was thought for years to be limited to what was considered a benign but often annoying manifestation as snoring, ranging to the possibly serious consequences of daytime sleepiness affecting cognitive function and work performance, mental state, and driving ability. OSA is now known to be a risk factor for other serious conditions, and has been associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality (Bradley & Floras, 2009; Devulapally et al., 2009; Lattimore et al, 2003; Lopez-Jiminez et al., 2008). Cardiac arrhythmias are common in OSA, and the potential link between tachyarrhythmias and bradyarrhythmias and adverse outcomes in OSA patients continues to be an important area of research (Chan & Wilcox, 2010; Verrier & Josephson, 2009). However, the complex cascade of events triggered by OSA, the difficulty in determining
Parallel Zigzag Scanning and Huffman Coding for a GPU-based MPEG-2 Encoder

GPUs excel in parallel computations, so they are very efficient calculating the discrete cosine transform of spatial domain images, as required for video encoding. The last steps of MPEG-2 compression, however, are inherently sequential since they require a serial processing of the resulting DCT coefficients. As that can easily become a bottleneck in GPUbased video encoders, in this paper we analyze the problem of computing the zigzag scan and Huffman encoding of a MPEG- 2 coefficient block in a GPU. We observed that simply optimizing the parallelism of the serialization and compression algorithm is not enough, and it can actually lead to worse results than a simple approach with no parallelism because of inefficient memory usage, since memory accesses can dramatically slow down the computation. This paper describes three different techniques to calculate the final bit stream for a MPEG-2 quantized coefficient matrix: a simple serial implementation, a fully parallel implementation, and a combination that beats them both when considering the cost of transferring the result to the CPU.
Follicular control of meiosis in the porcine oocyte.

Organ culture methods using segments of follicle wall and oocytes were employed to study the follicular control of meiosis in porcine oocytes. Segments of follicle wall maintained dictyate arrest in oocytes, an action which was specific to the follicle hemisections and not shown by control tissue. LH was shown to induce meiotic resumption in this in vitro system. The cumulus oophorus was found necessary to prevent oocyte maturation in vitro consistently when follicle wall was present.
Negative refraction effect in two-dimensional photonic crystals

A theoretical study of negative refraction in two-dimensional hexagonal and square lattice photonic crystals is presented in this paper. Using dispersion surfaces, an investigation of the two mechanisms of this unusual phenomenon is done. Photonic crystals exhibiting negative refraction can be used to realize integrated flat lenses in order to obtain imaging with sub-wavelength resolution surpassing the diffraction limit of the conventional lenses.
PatentCom: A Comparative View of Patent Document Retrieval

Patent document retrieval, as a recall-orientated search task, does not allow missing relevant patent documents due to the great commercial value of patents and significant costs of processing a patent application or patent infringement case. Thus, it is important to retrieve all possible relevant documents rather than only a small subset of patents from the top ranked results. However, patents are often lengthy and rich in technical terms, and it often requires enormous human efforts to compare a given document with retrieved results. In this paper, we formulate the problem of comparing patent documents as a comparative summarization problem, and explore automatic strategies that generate comparative summaries to assist patent analysts in quickly reviewing any given patent document pairs. To this end, we present a novel approach, named PatentCom, which first extracts discriminative terms from each patent document, and then connects the dots on a term co-occurrence graph. In this way, we are able to comprehensively extract the gists of the two patent documents being compared, and meanwhile highlight their relationship in terms of commonalities and differences. Extensive quantitative analysis and case studies on real world patent documents demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed approach.
Advocacy and people with learning disabilities in the UK

Advocacy schemes have been established throughout the United Kingdom (UK) but their evaluation by funders is varied. This article reviews the literature in respect of models of evaluation of advocacy schemes for people with learning disability. It discusses the six main models and the issues that arise in evaluation. The advantages and disadvantages of each model are analysed. The article concludes that whilst fears exist about the potential for evaluation to infringe advocacy schemes’ autonomy, funders need to undertake such a process for reasons of public accountability. Advocacy schemes may find it useful to consider which model of evaluation works best for them and will be appropriate and useful for their funders.
Cloud-Point Method of Extraction Co(II) and Determination by FAAS

A new, simple and versatile cloud-point extraction (CPE) methodology has been developed for type equation here.the separation and preconcentration of Co. The metals in the initial aqueous solution were complexed with 2-(2-benzothiazolylazo)-2-p-cresol (BTAC ) and Triton X-114 was added as surfactant. Dilution of the surfactant-rich phase with acidified methanol was performed after phase separation, and the Co contents were measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The variables affecting the cloud-point extraction were optimized using a Box– Behnken design. Under the optimum experimental conditions, enrichment factors of 29 and 25 were achieved for Cdmium. The accuracy of the method was evaluated and confirmed by analysis of the ICPAES. The limits of detection expressed to solid sample analysis were 0.1 µg g -1 (Co). The precision for 10 replicate measurements of 75 µgL ”1 Co was 0.9. The method has been successfully applied to the analysis of water samples.
ADSORPTION OF ANIONIC SURFACTANT BY A LOW-COST ADSORBENT

ABSTRACT This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficiency of rubber granule, a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) that is a representative member of anionic surfactant (AS). In the batch experiments conducted at an initial concentration range of 2–6 mg/l, it was found that the rubber granules selected could remove SDS from water up to 90%. Kinetic profiles were developed for various conditions. Effects of adsorbent size, initial adsorbate concentration and adsorbent dose, pH, Ca2+ ion concentration, Fe2+ ion concentration, Cl− ion concentration, and ionic strength on the adsorption of SDS on rubber granules were studied. The adsorption isotherm studies were also conducted.
Determinants of Branchless Digital Banking Acceptance Among Generation Y in Malaysia

Rapid advancement of technology in financial services has changed the nature of banking services. Banks have adopted new strategies by offering better products and services while decreasing and building customer satisfaction concurrently. Branchless Digital Banking is a new wave for the future banking service. By the end of 2018, the penetration in Malaysia is expected to exceed 60%. Generation Y has been identified the majority internet users in Malaysia. The aim of this study is to identify the factors that influence the Branchless Digital Banking acceptance among Generation Y in Malaysia. Quantitative research has been used as a research approach for the study. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was adapted in this study. Online surveys have been conducted to random respondents to identify the factors that influence the acceptance of Branchless Digital Banking among Gen Y in Malaysia. Based on the analysis results, two factors that have been identified are Perceive Ease of Use and Amount of Information. The findings of this study will assist banks to enhance their online services.
Transcallosal inhibition and motor conduction studies in patients with schizophrenia using transcranial magnetic stimulation

Background Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex may not only elicit excitatory responses in hand muscles contralateral to the stimulated hemisphere, but may also suppress tonic voluntary electromyogram activity in muscles ipsilateral to the stimulation. This inhibition is mediated between the motor cortices via the corpus callosum. Aims To investigate motor excitability and interhemispheric (transcallosal) connections in patients with schizophrenia. Method Transcallosal inhibition and motor conduction parameters were investigated in ten patients with schizophrenia and in ten age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Results Transcallosal conduction time (TCT) and duration of the inhibition were significantly longer in patients with schizophrenia (mean (s.d.)): TCT, 12.4 (2.9) ms in normal subjects and 15.3 (2.6) ms in patients (P=0.03); mean duration, 34.1 (4.9) ms in normal subjects and 51.9 (16.8) ms in patients (P=0.01). Conclusions Magnetic motor conduction parameters are unaltered in schizophrenia, but transcallosal inhibition is significantly delayed and prolonged. This may indicate abnormal function of the corpus callosum in these patients.
Design and simulation of wideband rectangular micro-coaxial lines to coplanar waveguide transitions

Present paper exhibits the computer aided design and simulation of a low loss, broadband, rectangular micro-coaxial line to coplanar waveguide (cpw) transition for measurement of two port network parameters for any devices built in micro coaxial transmission line. The transition is designed and optimized around 20 GHz and exhibits a maximum insertion loss of 0.15dB, and a return loss of 18dB.
Developmental expression of a voltage‐dependent potassium channel (Kv3.1) in auditory neurons without cochlear input

Kv3.1, a voltage‐dependent potassium channel, has two forms, ‐a and ‐b, which differ in expression during development and at the onset of function in the auditory system. To determine whether cochlear nerve input could affect the expression of these two forms, cultures of the developing cochlear nucleus were explanted in the absence of the cochlear nerve at the beginning of cell migration (Hamburger‐Hamilton stage 28–30), while neuroblasts continued to migrate onto the culture substrate. After 8, 15, and 22 days in vitro (three survival groups), cultures were immunostained with antibodies recognizing either both forms of Kv3.1 or only the ‐b form. Only young and newly migrated nerve cells were sampled. In the three survival groups, all nerve cells expressed Kv3.1, among which only 50% or less expressed the ‐b form. Some of the more differentiated multipolar cells expressed the ‐b form, but most were labeled with the antibody that recognizes both forms. Thus, in the absence of peripheral input, both forms of Kv3.1 appear at stages very early in development, although not all cells necessarily coexpress both forms. These results agree with other observations in the chick embryo in situ. They are consistent with previous work implicating Kv3.1 in cell migration during early development. J. Neurosci. Res. 65:121–128, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sympathy and Punishment: Evolution of Cooperation in Public Goods Game

An important way to maintain human cooperation is punishing defection. However, since punishment is costly, how can it arise and evolve given that individuals who contribute but do not punish fare better than the punishers? This leads to a violation of causality, since the evolution of punishment is prior to the one of cooperation behaviour in evolutionary dynamics. Our public goods game computer simulations based on generalized Moran Process, show that, if there exists a 'behaviour-based sympathy' that compensates those who punish at a personal cost, the way for the emergence and establishment of punishing behaviour is paved. In this way, the causality violation dissipates. Among humans sympathy can be expressed in many ways such as care, praise, solace, ethical support, admiration, and sometimes even adoration; in our computer simulations, we use a small amount of transfer payment to express 'behaviour-based sympathy'. Our conclusions indicate that, there exists co-evolution of sympathy, punishment and cooperation. According to classical philosophy literature, sympathy is a key factor in morality and justice is embodied by punishment; in modern societies, both the moral norms and the judicial system, the representations of sympathy and punishment, play an essential role in stable social cooperation.
The effect of embedded managerial values on corporate financial outcomes

Abstract This paper explored the relationship between the embeddedness of a firm’s managerial values and corporate financial performance in Swiss small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by developing a conceptual maturity model of managerial values (MM-MV). The MM-MV articulates the extent to which managerial values are embedded within organizations, allowing the analysis of the interrelationship between the degree of values-embeddedness and financial performance in SMEs. The findings suggested that as managerial values become more embedded, financial performance increases; therefore, SMEs exhibiting highly embedded managerial values such as customer-minded, team spirit, innovation-driven reliability, persistency, competency, and engagement tend to financially outperform SMEs that have not fully embedded managerial values throughout the firm.