Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unicompartmental Versus Total Knee Arthroplasty in the Same Patient

The purpose of this study was to compare unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) with total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and more specifically to evaluate the role of the patella in patient preference between UKA and TKA. A group of 23 patients were chosen, each with a UKA in one knee and a TKA in the opposite knee. As a subset of the group, 13 patients were compared who had not had patellar resurfacing on their TKA side (Group A) versus ten patients who had patellar resurfacing (Group B). Each patient had a UKA and TKA performed during the same hospitalization. Each patient's resurfacing was performed by the same surgical team. Moreover, inpatient care and physical therapy for each patient's respective UKA and TKA were the same. Patient evaluation consisted of chart review, joint registry data, and telephone interviews that focused on patient preference regarding pain, stability, “feel,” and ability to climb stairs. The 23 patients studied had an average follow-up period of 81 months (range, 38–153 months). There were 14 men and ten women with an average age of 67 years. Preoperative diagnosis was osteoarthritis in 22 patients and rheumatoid arthritis in one patient. Range of motion (ROM) improved from a preoperative mean of 106° to 123° postoperatively on the UKA side. Mean ROM for the Group A TKAs improved from 104° to 109°, whereas the Group B TKAs remained unchanged at 113°. For patients surveyed in Group A, 31% stated that their UKA knee was their better knee overall, 15% stated that their TKA knee was their better knee overall, and 54% could find no difference. Of the Group B patients, 60% stated that their UKA knee was their better knee overall, 10% stated that their TKA knee was their better knee overall, and 23% could find no difference. From this study, it was concluded that with proper patient selection, UKA more frequently provides a subjectively “better” knee along with increased ROM. Unresurfaced patellar TKAs appear to provide a more comparable knee to the UKA side than resurfaced TKAs, suggesting a possible proprioceptive role of the patella in patient preference.
The Perception of the Educational Value of Channel One among Secondary Level Teachers and Students.

Whittle Communication's Channel One is an educational broadcast service designed specifically for teenagers. This 12-minute daily broadcast claims to deliver top-quality news and information to schools, via satellite, with state-of-the-art production techniques. By creating a program that is completely original, Channel One hopes to consistently deliver riveting, age-appropriate coverage to an audience lacking in consistent news viewership. The purpose of this study was to describe student and teacher attentiveness to Channel One, and the perceived educational value and the quality of the presentation of Channel One within the Lakota School District of northwestern Ohio. A self-report questionnaire was used to survey all students (n=512) and teachers (n=33) at the junior and senior high schools. The results show that the mean viewing time of Channel One by students is 8.5 minutes, and that 74.8% of the students supported Channel One's claim that the service provides new ideas to think about. However, 78.9% of the students do not seek out more information about a topic shown on Channel One. In terms of the presentation of Channel One, 72.6% of the students rated the overall quality of the programming to be good or excellent. The average viewing time for teachers was 10 minutes, with 87.9% indicating that Channel One provides new ideas to think about. Ninety-seven percent of the teachers stated that the overall quality of Channel One was good or cxcellent. Overall, the analysis of the data seems to support the effectiveness of Channel One increasing students' awareness of news and current events. Data for the study are displayed in five tables. (11 references) (Author/BBM) **********************************************************R************ Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be mafle from the original document. *********************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office ot Educattonai 'arch and unprovemenl EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) I This document has been reproduced AS received from the person or crganization originahnu it 1' Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view Or opinions Staled in this docu mem do not necessarily ePresenl official OERI position or policy
Higher education and the myths of graduate employability

Graduate employability remains high on the political agenda. Currently, a strong policy drive to reform Higher Education aims to improve graduate employability and reduce social inequalities. As a result, employability skills are becoming part of the formal curriculum in many universities. This chapter examines whether the increased reliance on universities to deliver graduate employability is consistent with current labour market realities. We argue that the graduate labour market is increasingly congested as well as suffers from persistent inequalities in class, gender and ethnicity. Improving student employability skills within Higher Education will not solve these deep-rooted social problems.
The role of leadership at the implementation of innovations at the Netherlands fire service

The implementation of innovations is often a difficult task for many organizations. According to the theory innovation can be seen as a process and it is found that the most critical point is the transition between idea generation and implementation. This is also the case for the Netherlands Fire Service, which is a public organization with bureaucratic characteristics. Leadership can play a crucial role by enhancing the transition. They can enhance this by possessing some specific behavior types and there are some leadership behaviors which enhance the different phases of this process. Besides leadership behaviors, leaders may adopt a specific role which fosters the process. Therefore, this study investigates what the best leadership behaviors are to support the implementation of innovations at the Netherlands Fire Service. This study uses semi-structured interviews, secondary data and documentation analysis to investigate which leadership behaviors support the implementation of innovations at the Netherlands Fire Service. This study showed that open mindedness, organizing feedback, providing autonomy, raising expectations, building trustful relationships and providing network are appropriate leadership behaviors during the idea generation phase. For the implementation it is essential that leaders provide autonomy, support and stimulate innovation, provide resources and promote the idea/lobby. This research provides new theoretical insights into how leadership behavior can support the implementation in one specific context. The practical value is that leaders at the Netherlands Fire Service can use the results for improving their behavior on the work floor and enhance the implementation of innovations. Future studies should focus on leadership to make the results more valid.
Rehospitalization in a national population of home health care patients with heart failure.

OBJECTIVE Patients with heart failure (HF) have high rates of rehospitalization. Home health care (HHC) patients with HF are not well studied in this regard. The objectives of this study were to determine patient, HHC agency, and geographic (i.e., area variation) factors related to 30-day rehospitalization in a national population of HHC patients with HF, and to describe the extent to which rehospitalizations were potentially avoidable. DATA SOURCES Chronic Condition Warehouse data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective cohort design. DATA EXTRACTION The 2005 national population of HHC patients was matched with hospital and HHC claims, the Provider of Service file, and the Area Resource File. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The 30-day rehospitalization rate was 26 percent with 42 percent of patients having cardiac-related diagnoses for the rehospitalization. Factors with the strongest association with rehospitalization were consistent between the multilevel model and Cox proportional hazard models: number of prior hospital stays, higher HHC visit intensity category, and dyspnea severity at HHC admission. Substantial numbers of rehospitalizations were judged to be potentially avoidable. CONCLUSIONS The persistently high rates of rehospitalization have been difficult to address. There are health care-specific actions and policy implications that are worth examining to improve rehospitalization rates.
Stage Ib, IIa, and IIb cervix cancer, postsurgical staging, and prognosis

Two hundred fifty‐five cases of International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Stage Ib, IIa, and IIb cases of cervical cancer were analyzed following radical surgery with regard to the extent of invasion into vagina, parametria, and pelvic lymph nodes. Restaging was carried out based on the finding. Discrepancies were found between FIGO stages and the actual extent of the disease, particularly in Stage IIb. Among 99 cases of Stage IIb, only 42.4% were correctly staged. The 5‐year disease‐free survival by FIGO and postsurgical stagings were, respectively: Ib, 88.4% and 87.0%; IIa, 85.2% and 95.0%; IIb, 70.7% and 62.3%. Prognostic significance in the pathologic examination of operated materials was demonstrated when there were deep stromal invasions of cancer cell or parametrial invasions or pelvic lymph node metastases. When cancer was present in both of the parametrium and pelvic lymph nodes, the prognosis of the patient worsened (5‐year survival rate, 41.4%).
Long-term outcomes after meningioma radiosurgery: physician and patient perspectives.

OBJECT Stereotactic radiosurgery is a primary or adjuvant management approach used to treat patients with intracranial meningiomas. The goal of radiosurgery is long-term prevention of tumor growth, maintenance of the patient's neurological function, and prevention of new neurological deficits. The object of this study is to report longer-term patient outcomes. METHODS The authors evaluated 99 consecutive patients who underwent radiosurgery for meningioma between 1987 and 1992. Evaluation was performed using serial imaging tests, clinical evaluations, and a patient survey that was administered between 5 and 10 years after radiosurgery. Four patients underwent two radiosurgery procedures for separate meningiomas. The average tumor margin dose was 16 Gy and the median tumor volume was 4.7 ml (range 0.24-24 ml). Fifty-seven patients (57%) had undergone prior resection, of which 12 procedures were considered "total. " Five patients received fractionated radiation therapy before radiosurgery. Eighty-nine patients (89%) had skull base tumors. The clinical tumor control rate (no resection required) was 93%. Sixty-one (63%) of 97 tumors became smaller, 31 (32%) remained unchanged in size, and five (5%) were enlarged. Resection was performed in seven patients (7%), six of whom had undergone prior resection. New neurological deficits developed in five patients (5%) 3 to 31 months after radiosurgery. Twenty-seven (42%) of 65 responding patients were employed at the time of radiosurgery and 20 (74%) of these remained so. Radiosurgery was believed to have been "successful" by 67 of 70 patients who completed an outcomes questionnaire 5 to 10 years later. At least one complication was described by nine patients (14%) and in four patients the complications resolved. CONCLUSIONS Five to 10 years after radiosurgery, 96% of surveyed patients believed that radiosurgery provided a satisfactory outcome for their meningioma. Overall, 93% of patients required no other tumor surgery. Incidences of morbidity in this early experience were usually transitory and relatively mild. Radiosurgery provided long-term tumor control associated with high rates of neurological function preservation and patient satisfaction.
A new generation of S-band wide coverage antennas

We describe a new generation of high performance quadrifilar helix antennas built for space application. The new generation has implemented a cost effective way to allow for easy modification of the helices to adapt to different radiation requirements. In addition the developed antenna has minimized the risk for passive intermodulation (PIM) and improved the thermal and structural properties. As an additional feature for use together with the antennas, an external 3 dB coupler unit has been developed.
Could metformin be used in patients with diabetes and advanced chronic kidney disease?

Diabetes is an important cause of end stage renal failure worldwide. As renal impairment progresses, managing hyperglycaemia can prove increasingly challenging, as many medications are contra‐indicated in moderate to severe renal impairment. Whilst evidence for tight glycaemic control reducing progression to renal failure in patients with established renal disease is limited, poor glycaemic control is not desirable, and is likely to lead to progressive complications. Metformin is a first‐line therapy in patients with Type 2 diabetes, as it appears to be effective in reducing diabetes related end points and mortality in overweight patients. Cessation of metformin in patients with progressive renal disease may not only lead to deterioration in glucose control, but also to loss of protection from cardiovascular disease in a cohort of patients at particularly high risk. We advocate the need for further study to determine the role of metformin in patients with severe renal disease (chronic kidney disease stage 4‐5), as well as patients on dialysis, or pre‐/peri‐renal transplantation. We explore possible roles of metformin in these circumstances, and suggest potential key areas for further study.
Data depth, data completeness, and their influence on quantitative genetic estimation in two contrasting bird populations

Evolutionary biologists increasingly use pedigree‐based quantitative genetic methods to address questions about the evolutionary dynamics of traits in wild populations. In many cases, phenotypic data may have been collected only for recent parts of the study. How does this influence the performance of the models used to analyse these data? Here we explore how data depth (number of years) and completeness (number of observations) influence estimates of genetic variance and covariance within the context of an existing pedigree. Using long‐term data from the great tit Parus major and the mute swan Cygnus olor, species with different life‐histories, we examined the effect of manipulating the amount of data included on quantitative genetic parameter estimates. Manipulating data depth and completeness had little influence on estimated genetic variances, heritabilities, or genetic correlations, but (as expected) did influence confidence in these estimates. Estimated breeding values in the great tit were not influenced by data depth but were in the mute swan, probably because of differences in pedigree structure. Our analyses suggest the ‘rule of thumb’ that data from 3 years and a minimum of 100 individuals per year are needed to estimate genetic parameters with acceptable confidence, and that using pedigree data is worthwhile, even if phenotypes are only available toward the tips of the pedigree.
Clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of significant pericardial effusions following cardiothoracic surgery and outcomes of echo-guided pericardiocentesis for management: Mayo Clinic experience, 1979-1998.

STUDY OBJECTIVES This study assessed the clinical features, timing of presentation, and echocardiographic characteristics associated with clinically significant pericardial effusions after cardiothoracic surgery. The outcomes of echocardiographically (echo-) guided pericardiocentesis for the management of these effusions were evaluated. DESIGN From the prospective Mayo Clinic Registry of Echo-guided Pericardiocentesis (February 1979 to June 1998), 245 procedures performed for clinically significant postoperative effusions were identified. Clinical features, effusion causes, echocardiographic findings, and management outcomes were studied and analyzed. Cross-referencing the registry with the Mayo Clinic surgical database provided an estimate of the incidence of significant postoperative effusions and the number of cases in which primary surgical management was chosen instead of pericardiocentesis. RESULTS Use of anticoagulant therapy was considered a significant contributing factor in 86% and 65% of early effusions (< or =7 days after surgery) and late effusions (>7 days after surgery), respectively. Postpericardiotomy syndrome was an important factor in the development of late effusions (34%). Common presenting symptoms included malaise (90%), dyspnea (65%), and chest pain (33%). Tachycardia, fever, elevated jugular venous pressure, hypotension, and pulsus paradoxus were found in 53%, 40%, 39%, 27%, and 17% of cases, respectively. Transthoracic echocardiography permitted rapid diagnosis and hemodynamic assessment of all effusions except for three cases that required transesophageal echocardiography for confirmation. Echo-guided pericardiocentesis was successful in 97% of all cases and in 96% of all loculated effusions. Major complications (2%), including chamber lacerations (n = 2) and pneumothoraces (n = 3), were successfully treated by surgical repair and chest tube reexpansion, respectively. Median follow-up duration for the study population was 3.8 years (range, 190 days to 16.4 years). The use of extended catheter drainage was associated with reduction in recurrence for early and late postoperative effusions by 46% and 50%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The symptoms and physical findings of clinically significant postoperative pericardial effusions are frequently nonspecific and may be inadequate for a decision regarding intervention. Echocardiography can quickly confirm the presence of an effusion, and pericardiocentesis under echocardiographic guidance is safe and effective. The use of a pericardial catheter for extended drainage is associated with lower recurrence rates, and the majority of patients so treated do not require further intervention.
Are the Central East European Countries Pollution Havens?

The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between environmental stringency and intra–European Union (EU) trade flows. Two main hypotheses are tested. First, we test whether the stringency of a country's environmental regulations may result in pollution havens. Second, we test whether the results differ by industry and by the EU membership tenure (EU-15 vs. the newly added Central East European Countries). An augmented gravity model is estimated using panel data for 21 countries during the period from 1999 to 2013 for the full sample and also separately for the Central East European Countries and the EU-15 members. Our results show weak support for the pollution haven hypothesis for some dirty industries, mainly for net exports from western EU countries to the rest. Instead, support for the “Porter hypothesis” is found for trade in clean goods.
Compression standards in finger vein recognition

The impact of applying three ISO/IEC still image compression standards to finger vein recognition accuracy is assessed. While JPEG is not competitive for low bitrates, JPEG 2000 and JPEG XR turn out to perform well for different types of template generation techniques. PSNR as a generic measure for image quality is found not to be suited as a predictor for finger vein recognition performance under compression artifacts.
Pretransplant Interferon‐γ Secretion by CMV‐Specific CD8+ T Cells Informs the Risk of CMV Replication After Transplantation

In this prospective study we analyzed pretransplant interferon‐γ secretion by cytomegalovirus (CMV)‐specific CD8+ T cells to assess its possible utility in determining the risk of CMV replication after solid organ transplantation. A total of 113 lung and kidney transplant patients were enrolled in the study but only 55 were evaluable. All CMV‐seronegative recipients were pretransplant “nonreactive” (IFNγ <0.2 IU/mL) (11/11), whereas 30/44 (68.2%) CMV‐seropositive (R+) recipients were “reactive” (IFNγ ≥0.2 IU/mL) and 14/44 (31.8%) were “nonreactive”. In the R(+) “nonreactive” group, 7/14 (50%) developed posttransplant CMV replication, whereas the virus replicated only in 4/30 (13.3%) of the R(+) “reactive” patients (p = 0.021). According to the best multivariate model, pretransplant “nonreactive” recipients receiving an organ from a CMV‐seropositive donor had a 10‐fold increased risk of CMV replication compared to pretransplant “reactive” recipients (adjusted OR 10.49, 95% CI 1.88–58.46). This model displayed good discrimination ability (AUC 0.80) and calibration (Hosmer–Lemeshow test, p = 0.92). Negative and positive predictive values were 83.7% and 75%, respectively. The accuracy of the model was 82%. Therefore, assessment of interferon‐γ secretion by cytomegalovirus (CMV)‐specific CD8+ T cells prior to transplantation is useful in informing the risk of posttransplant CMV replication in solid organ transplant patients.
Lipoprotein Processing Is Essential for Resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to Malachite Green

ABSTRACT Malachite green, a synthetic antimicrobial dye, has been used for over 50 years in mycobacterial culture medium to inhibit the growth of contaminants. The molecular basis of mycobacterial resistance to malachite green is unknown, although the presence of malachite green-reducing enzymes in the cell envelope has been suggested. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of lipoproteins in resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to malachite green. The replication of an M. tuberculosis lipoprotein signal peptidase II (lspA) mutant (ΔlspA::lspAmut) on Middlebrook agar with and without 1 mg/liter malachite green was investigated. The lspA mutant was also compared with wild-type M. tuberculosis in the decolorization rate of malachite green and sensitivity to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) detergent and first-line antituberculosis drugs. The lspA mutant has a 104-fold reduction in CFU-forming efficiency on Middlebrook agar with malachite green. Malachite green is decolorized faster in the presence of the lspA mutant than wild-type bacteria. The lspA mutant is hypersensitive to SDS detergent and shows increased sensitivity to first-line antituberculosis drugs. In summary, lipoprotein processing by LspA is essential for resistance of M. tuberculosis to malachite green. A cell wall permeability defect is likely responsible for the hypersensitivity of lspA mutant to malachite green.