Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in Segmental Intervertebral Motion Adjacent to Cervical Arthrodesis: A Prospective Study

Study Design. Prospective, observational. Objectives. Quantify the changes in intervertebral motion adjacent to cervical arthrodesis over time. Summary of Background Data. One of the frequently acknowledged sequelae following anterior cervical fusion is the development of adjacent segment disease. It has been argued that a spine fusion transfers stress to adjacent levels and results in increased compensatory motion. However, there are conflicting reports as to whether this actually occurs, and most of these are in vitro or retrospective clinical studies. Methods. Patients undergoing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion underwent a preoperative dynamic fluoroscopic study, followed by imaging at regular intervals after surgery. Imaging data were analyzed by a validated software system. Relative motion between adjacent vertebrae was then calculated, and changes in motion cephalad to the fusion followed over time. Results. Twenty-one patients were analyzed. Mean follow-up was 13 months (10–22 months). Intervertebral motion adjacent to the fusion changed by more than 4° in 4 of the 21 patients. However, on average, there was no difference between preoperative and postoperative motion for shear, flexion–extension, or vertical displacement at the anterior or posterior disc space. Conclusions. Although there was some individual variation, at a mean of 13 months following surgery, there was no significant change in the average junctional intervertebral motion. If fusion is going to affect adjacent motion, it appears that this does not consistently occur in the first 1 to 2 years following surgery. Additionally, there was no observable relationship between motion and development of degenerative changes during this time.
A Case of Familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting with Dry Cough

ABSTRACT: Background: Clinical diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is based on the classical triad of rapidly progressive dementia, myoclonus and abnormal EEG. The 200k mutation within the gene encoding PrP, located on the short arm of chromosome 20, accounts for more than 70% of families with CJD worldwide. Case Report: Herein, we report a patient who developed persistent dry cough and classical signs of CJD, including severe cognitive decline, cerebellar signs, and myoclonic jerks, leading to death a few weeks after disease onset. Mutation screening showed that he had the 200k point mutation in the PRNP gene. His mother had died twenty years earlier with neuropathologically confirmed CJD. She had presented a rapidly progressive ataxia with myoclonus, dementia, visual hallucinations, and the same persistent dry cough. Conclusions: The clinical presentation of this familial CJD case with persistent dry cough is quite unusual. Therefore, a neurological etiology should be sought when confronted with an unexplained persistent cough.
[Attendance in the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Programme].

BACKGROUND A high rate of attendance among women invited to the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Programme (NBCSP) is essential to achieve optimal effect, including reduction in breast cancer mortality. This article describes attendance in the programme by county, period and women’s age at invitation. MATERIAL AND METHOD All women in the age group 50 – 69 years who are registered in the National Population Register are invited to attend the NBCSP every second year. In the study period 2007 – 2014, 2 142 369 invitations were sent, and 1 600 293 screening examinations were performed for 710 169 women. Use of the data is pursuant to the Cancer Registry Regulations. RESULTS Altogether 84 % of the women invited attended at least once in the study period. The average attendance rate per screening round was 75 %. In Rogaland, Nordland and Sogn og Fjordane counties more than 80 % attended, while in Oslo the figure was 62 %. The highest rate of attendance recorded was for women in the age group 62 – 67 years. The attendance in the prior screening round was of influence for reattendance. INTERPRETATION The mammography screening programme has a high level of acceptance among women in the target group. Possible reasons for the variation in attendance among the county districts should be identified.
Transient Appearance of Tyrosine Hydroxylase Immunoreactive Cells in the Midline Epithelial Seam of the Human Fetal Secondary Palate

Objective Transient immunoreactivity for tyrosine hydroxylase, which mediates the conversion of the amino acid L-tyrosine to dihydroxyphenylalanine, in the midline epithelial seam between the bilateral palatal shelves was investigated in human fetuses. Materials and Methods Horizontal or frontal paraffin sections of two human fetuses at 9 and 15 weeks of gestation were used to examine the distribution of tyrosine hydroxylase–immunoreactive cells in regions of the entire head other than the brain. Immunohistochemical staining for S100 protein, calretinin, cytokeratin 14, and vimentin was examined using adjacent or near sections. Results Tyrosine hydroxylase–immunoreactive cells were large and densely distributed in the midline epithelial seam at the site of palatal fusion in fetuses at 9 weeks but not in fetuses at 15 weeks, in which the midline epithelial seam had already disappeared. No expression of S100 protein, calretinin, or vimentin was detected, but the midline epithelial seam was positive for cytokeratin 14. Tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity was not detected in epithelia during the process of palatal fusion in mice from E 14.0 to 15.0. Conclusions These findings indicate that tyrosine hydroxylase–immunoreactive cells in the midline epithelial seams are nonneural epithelial cells and suggest that the tyrosine hydroxylase is a novel factor involved in normal palatal formation, especially the fate of the midline epithelial seam in humans.
An all-digital reused-SAR delay-locked loop with adjustable duty cycle

An all-digital delay-locked loop (DLL) with multiple outputs and adjustable duty cycle is presented by using the reused successive approximation register (SAR). This DLL provides the multiple synchronous clocks with independently adjustable duty cycles. The proposed reused SAR is similar to a conventional SAR, but it saves a lot of area. The clock duty cycle is adjusted by a 5-bit coarse code and a 2-bit fine code shared each other. This DLL has been fabricated in a CMOS 0.18 mum technology. The measured input frequency is from 300 MHz to 800 MHz. The measured peak-to-peak jitter is 9.78 ps at 800 MHz. The power consumption of this DLL with one output clock is 2.7 mW at 800 MHz. The maximum duty cycle variation at 300 MHz is less than 1%. The area of this DLL is 0.054 mm2.
Bidding for contracts: a principal-agent analysis

This article models the process of bidding for government contracts in the presence of moral hazard. Several (possibly risk-averse) potential contractors (agents) submit sealed bids, on the basis of which the government (principal) selects one to perform a task. The optimal linear contract is derived. The bidding process induces the potential agents to reveal their relative expected costs. The optimal contract trades off giving the chosen agent an incentive to limit costs against stimulating bidding competition and sharing risks. The optimal contract is never cost-plus, may befixed-price, but is usually an incentive contract. Some prescriptions for government contracting emerge. * When the government offers a contract for a project such as the construction of a road or a warship, it usually calls for bids from interested firms and selects the lowest bidder. There are several informational asymmetries in this process. The government cannot directly observe any bidder's expected production costs, and therefore it does not know which is the efficient firm. Each bidder must determine his bid in ignorance of the expected costs of his rivals. After a bidder has been selected, he is better informed than the government about the vagaries of the particular project; thus, the government is unable to observe how much effort the firm is making to limit production costs. The government must design a contract to address both adverse selection (the government does not know the expected cost of any firm) and moral hazard (the government cannot observe the selected firm's effort to keep its realized production costs low). To complicate matters, if the firms are risk averse, it is in the government's interest to offer a contract in which the government bears some of the risk of unpredictable cost fluctuations. The forms of contract used in practice by governments make the payment to the contractor a linear function of its bid and/or its realized costs. With a fixed-price contract, the payment is simply the firm's bid. With a cost-plus contract, the government agrees to cover completely the costs incurred by the contractor, plus pay a fee that is either fixed in advance or is a proportion of costs. An incentive contract makes the payment depend both on the bid and on realized costs: if realized costs exceed the firm's bid, the firm is responsible for
Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: the role of sustainability-focused events

Tourism is a potential setting for encouraging sustainable behaviour. One popular mechanism is to stage events with a sustainability focus, aimed at fostering behaviour change amongst attendees. This paper reports on a study of a sustainability-focused event in Australia. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) was used to explore if and how this event could potentially promote pro-environmental behaviour change amongst attendees. TTM provides a five-stage framework, linked to a series of 10 processes of change, with both attitudinal and behavioural dimensions. The stages comprise pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. Findings suggest that this event attracts individuals already significantly committed to sustainable behaviour who are using the event as a source of encouragement and positive feedback for their lifestyle choices. They are not the audience that the organisers need to reach in order to achieve their aim of behaviour change on a broader scale. This event did, however, support the processes of change, particularly for those in the “action” and “maintenance” stages. This paper considers the implications of these findings and TTM as a research tool for the future promotion and marketing of these events to tourists, possible applications to tourism fairs and exhibitions, and to behavioural change in tourism generally.
ROAD CONGESTION PRICING IN SINGAPORE: 1975 TO 2003

This paper reviews the 28 years of experience with congestion pricing in Singapore, which abandoned its groundbreaking manual system of road pricing in 1998 in favor of electronic methods. This permitted tolls to be charged based on vehicle size, route and time of day. The island city-state of about 685 square km is at a crossroads of tourism and commerce at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It has an extremely high population density, more than 6,000 people per square km. Economic growth has averaged an impressive 8 percent annual for the past three decades with a per capita gross domestic product of US$20,856, comparable to the U.S. and most Western countries. Singapore has used a combination of market mechanisms and taxation and outright restrictions to control the degree of car ownership and accompanying congestion. Roads already occupy roughly the same share of the island's land mass, 12 percent, as housing does. The paper describes the origins of the first area licensing scheme in the early 1970s, gives the theoretical foundations for road pricing as a tool for allocative efficiency and shows the initial results of the first pricing schemes. Additional developments over time are detailed. The outcomes show a mixed success in terms of the goal of reducing congestion. Car ownership and usage are both separate problems but linked in terms of the effect car ownership has on usage. Some aspects of the schemes merely served to shift usage to other times of day or week. But the Draconian measures have largely succeeded in keeping traffic from stopping in gridlock, even if congestion has increased. However, the unique characteristics of Singapore suggest its experience is not easily translatable to other parts of the world.
Purification and characterization of a soluble glycoprotein from garlic (Allium sativum) and its in vitro bioactivity

ABSTRACT A soluble glycoprotein was purified to homogeneity from ripe garlic (Allium sativum) bulbs using ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, and diethylaminoethyl-52 cellulose anion-exchange chromatography. A native mass of 55.7 kDa estimated on gel permeation chromatography and a molecular weight of 13.2 kDa observed on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis supported that the glycoprotein is a homotetramer. β-Elimination reaction result suggested that the glycoprotein is an N-linked type. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy proved that it contains sugar. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometer analysis showed that its sugar component was galactose. The glycoprotein has 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil free radical scavenging activity and the peroxidation inhibition ability to polyunsaturated fatty acid. These results indicated that the glycoprotein has potential for food additives, functional foods, and even biotechnological and medical applications.
Leisure time and occupational physical activity among racial or ethnic minorities.

PURPOSE One of the factors distinguishing non-Latino blacks (NLB) and Latinos from non-Latino whites (NLW) is higher rates of occupational physical activity (OPA) and less participation in leisure time physical activity (LTPA). We examined participation in OPA and LTPA among employed individuals and the relationship between OPA and LTPA across select racial or ethnic groups and Latino subgroups. METHODS We pooled data from 2000 to 2003 of the National Health Interview Survey. We divided the survey participants into three groups: 1) those with no LTPA, 2) those who reported some LTPA but not for sufficient time and intensity to meet recommended guidelines, and 3) those who reported LTPA at levels that met or exceeded recommendations. We used ordinal logistic regression to examine whether NLB and Latinos or Latino subgroups were less likely to report LTPA than NLW while controlling for social, economic, and demographic factors that may have accounted for group differences. We further examined the prevalence of OPA and the relationship between LTPA and OPA. RESULTS Among employed individuals, NLB and Latinos had significantly more individuals reporting no LTPA compared with NLW. Latinos had the greatest proportion of individuals reporting no LTPA. Furthermore, it was found that significantly more Latinos had physically active occupations compared with NLB and NLB compared with NLW, respectively. Among employed Latinos, Cubans and Dominicans were most likely to report no LTPA, and Mexicans had the greatest percentage of workers with a physically active occupation. LTPA was not significantly associated with having a physically active occupation across races and Latino subgroups. CONCLUSIONS Participation in LTPA among ethnic or racial minorities is lower than that of NLW, and the OPA rates are higher. OPA does not significantly impact participation in LTPA in employed adults.
Who Will Teach?: Policies That Matter

Part 1 The teaching profession at a turning point: carrots and sticks critical questions incentives an opportunity for change. Part 2 Who prepares to teach? : the shrinking personnel pool the changing demographic profile of new licensees different teaching specialities for different times. Part 3 Who becomes a teacher? : national trends North Carolina trends incentives matter. Part 4 Finding skilled teachers - hiring practices make a difference: hiring new teachers - two case studies problems and solutions. Part 5 How long do teachers stay in teaching? : attrition is high in the first years race makes a difference mature women stay, young women leave elementary school teachers stay the longest, chemistry and physics teachers the shortest teachers with high test scores leave teachers who are paid more stay longer staffing the schools in the 1990s. Part 6 Who returns to teaching? : most career interruptions are short women are more likely to return than men elementary teachers are the most likely to return, chemistry and physics teachers the least likely teachers with higher test scores are less likely to return the reserve pool in the future. Part 7 Revising licensing requirements: the economics of occupational licensing why traditional licensing requirements for teachers are flawed why licensing of teachers is necessary evidence informing the redisign of licensing requirements directions for new licensing requriements trade-offs in the design of performance assessments the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards alternative assessment approaches using performance assessments in teacher licensing - evidence from Connecticut reforming licensing requirements - necessary, but not enough. Part 8 Getting the incentives right: fruitless policies elements of a promising strategy stimulating change critical questions. Appendices: research context - whom did we study? methodology.
Isolation of the carotenoid-containing cell wall of three unicellular cyanobacteria

A carotenoid-containing membrane fraction devoid of chlorophyll and phycobiliproteins was isolated from three unicellular cyanobacteria, Synechococcus sp. , Synechococcus leopoliensis UTEX 625, and Anacystis nidulans R-2, by aqueous-phase separation, hydrophobic chromatography, and differential centrifugation. The presence of 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate, muramic acid, and diaminopimelic acid suggests that the preparation is highly enriched in cell wall. Electron micrographs of thin sections of this material showed C-shaped membrane profiles similar to those seen in other gram-negative cell wall preparations. The inactivation of cyanophage AS-1 by this fraction confirmed its identity as cell wall. The cell wall contained approximately equal weights of total carbohydrate and protein. Absorption maxima at 434, 452, and 488 nm indicated the presence of carotenoids. These were in the outer membrane and were not due to contaminating cytoplasmic or thylakoid membranes. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the preparations showed a broad band of approximately 50,000 molecular weight which contained 35% of the total outer membrane protein. This band was resolved into at least two components running at approximately 50,000 and 52,000 molecular weight. The smaller of these polypeptides was a glycoprotein. The polypeptide components were unaffected by protease or detergent treatment in either whole cells or isolated cell wall preparations, indicating that the polypeptide components were not exposed to the surface or easily removed from the hydrophobic environment.
More on the Effects of Municipal Bond Monopsony

IN AN earlier article in this Journal, I suggested quite strongly that "some issuers of general obligation state and local government bonds have paid interest rates above the competitive level because of monopsony in the underwriting and distribution of their securities. "' However, because my article was primarily concerned with the effects of restricted bidding competition on new-issue reoffering yields, it did not provide direct estimates of the extent to which an issuer's "net interest cost"2 is inversely related to the number of bids he receives for his bonds. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by presenting the results of a study of the impact of fewness of bidders on the net interest cost of general-obligation state bond issues sold between 1956 and 1963. Briefly stated, the paper's main finding is that states which received only one bid for their bonds paid net interest costs approximately 4 per cent higher than those paid by states which received three or more bids for comparable issues. These results, of course, reinforce my earlier conclusion that sellers of new municipal issues consistently suffer a tangible disadvantage when they receive only one or two bids for their issues.
Conceptual development of a measure to assess pharmacists' knowledge of herbal and dietary supplements.

OBJECTIVES To describe the conceptual development of a measure for assessing pharmacist knowledge of herbal and dietary supplements. METHODS A standardized approach to constructing a multiple-choice competency examination following 8 pre-specified criteria (eg, specifying the target spectrum of herbal and dietary supplements) was used to create an item bank. The quality of each item was evaluated by 5 herbal and dietary supplement content experts based on specific criteria in 3 rounds of review. RESULTS From 122 initial items, 56 items were retained for the item bank representing 4 content areas: efficacy/effectiveness, safety, drug-supplement interactions, and regulation. The experts tended to agree that the constructed items represented a wide range of difficulty. CONCLUSION The initial development of a conceptually based item bank/measure of pharmacist herbal and dietary supplement knowledge lays the groundwork for a large-scale validation study. The measure should be useful as a standalone tool and as a component of a knowledge, attitude, and behavior survey for the assessment of pharmacist traits related to herbal and dietary supplements.
Academic Health Centers

Physicians undergo long and rigorous training before being allowed to practice medicine. Part of this medical education involves direct treatment of patients under the supervision of experienced physicians, especially at teaching hospitals—hospitals that are affiliated with medical schools and serve as “classrooms” for physicians, nurses, and other health care workers in training. At teaching hospitals, treatment plans are approved by an experienced physician and patients have the advantage of being cared for by a team of doctors, students, and nurses. The September 1, 2004, issue of JAMA is a theme issue on medical education. This Patient Page is adapted from one originally published in the September 5, 2001, JAMA medical education theme issue.
Enhanced dissolution rate of felodipine using spherical agglomeration with Inutec SP1 by quasi emulsion solvent diffusion method

Felodipine is a second generation calcium channel blocker widely used as antihypertensive and antianginal drug which belongs to BCS class II category. Hence, its low water solubility limits the pharmacological effect. The aim of this study was to improve the dissolution rate of felodipine using spherical agglomeration technique with acetone, water and dichloromethane as good solvent, poor solvent and bridging liquid, respectively. The quasi emulsion solvent diffusion technique was used as a method for spherical agglomeration. Inutec SP1 was used as an emulsion stabilizer and as hydrophilic polymer in agglomeration process. The FTIR and DSC results showed no change in the drug after crystallization process. PXRD studies showed sharp peaks in the diffractograms of spherical agglomerates with minor reduction in height of the peaks. The particle size of spherical agglomerates (FI-2) was about 134.33 ± 13.57 µm, n=3 and the dissolution efficiency of felodipine up to 120 min increased to about 4-fold in phosphate buffer containing 1.8% Tween 80 (pH 6.8). Spherical agglomerates showed enhanced solubility compared to untreated powder possibly due to the partial conversion to amorphous form.