Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis: an update

Purpose of review Our review of current literature within the past 12–24 months for the treatment of lumbar spinals stenosis (LSS) serves to update providers on recent advances and comparisons regarding therapy spanning lifestyle modification, pharmacologic therapy, minimally invasive interventions, and surgical interventions. Recent findings Current literature supporting the inclusion of physical therapy and gabapentin/pregabalin within an initial treatment regimen have been positive. A recent randomized, double-blinded clinical trial of adding calcitonin to epidural steroid injections have shown improvement in pain and function up to 1 year. The minimally invasive lumbar decompression (mild) procedure is showing ongoing beneficial results in pain and function. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) may have a role for select patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. Finally, the benefits of surgical treatment versus nonsurgical treatment is ultimately inconclusive because of the nature of data collection, inconsistencies with the clinical definition of LSS, and a lack of standardized treatment guidelines. Summary Our review of current research demonstrates there is a positive role for the current conservative therapies, with favorable results for interventions such as minimally invasive decompression and SCS. Pharmacologic interventions such as systemic prostaglandin analogues and epidural agents such as calcitonin demonstrate early promise, but need to undergo additional safety testing and confirmatory trials. Further long-term research with validated, objective measurements for the aforementioned treatments are needed to draw any definitive conclusions for clinical practice.
Subretinal fibrosis in diabetic macular edema. ETDRS report 23. Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study Research Group.

OBJECTIVE To describe the characteristics of and risk factors for subretinal fibrosis (SRF) in patients with diabetic macular edema. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 109 eyes (in 96 persons) with SRF, defined as a mound or sheet of gray to white tissue beneath the retina at or near the center of the macula, were identified during the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study, which is a randomized clinical trial of photocoagulation and aspirin treatment in patients with mild to severe nonproliferative or early proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The patients and the ocular characteristics of these 109 eyes, all of which had clinically significant macular edema, were compared with those of 5653 eyes in which clinically significant macular edema, but not SRF, was observed during the trial. RESULTS In 9 of 109 eyes, the development of SRF may have been directly related to focal photocoagulation. Seventy-four percent of the eyes in which SRF developed had very severe hard exudates in the macula prior to the development of SRF, while this level of hard exudates was seen in only 2.5% of the eyes with clinically significant macular edema in which SRF did not develop (P < .001). Of the 264 eyes with this level of hard exudates at baseline (n = 29) or during follow-up (n = 235), SRF developed in 30.7% of the eyes, while this complication developed in only 0.05% of 5498 eyes with clinically significant macular edema without this level of hard exudates. CONCLUSIONS Subretinal fibrosis is an infrequent complication of diabetic macular edema. Although it has been reported to be associated with photocoagulation burn intensity, in only 9 of 109 eyes in which SRF developed was it located adjacent to a photocoagulation-related scar (among 4823 eyes that received focal photocoagulation for treatment of macular edema). The strongest risk factor for the development of SRF is very severe hard exudate.
If you're going to be a leader, at least act like it! Prejudice towards women who are tentative in leader roles.

Role congruity theory predicts prejudice towards women who meet the agentic requirements of the leader role. In line with recent findings indicating greater acceptance of agentic behaviour from women, we find evidence for a more subtle form of prejudice towards women who fail to display agency in leader roles. Using a classic methodology, the agency of male and female leaders was manipulated using assertive or tentative speech, presented through written (Study 1, N = 167) or verbal (Study 2, N = 66) communications. Consistent with predictions, assertive women were as likeable and influential as assertive men, while being tentative in leadership reduced the likeability and influence of women, but not of men. Although approval of agentic behaviour from women in leadership reflects progress, evidence that women are quickly singled out for disapproval if they fail to show agency is important for understanding how they continue to be at a distinct disadvantage to men in leader roles.
The revised digital transcutaneous PCO2/SpO2 ear sensor is a reliable noninvasive monitoring tool in patients after cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to validate the revised SenTec V-Sign 2 sensor (SenTec AG, Therwil, Switzerland) for combined noninvasive continuous assessment of pulse rate, pulse oximetry (SpO(2)), and transcutaneous carbon dioxide tension (PtcCO(2)) in adults after cardiac surgery. DESIGN A prospective clinical study. SETTING A single-center university hospital. PARTICIPANTS Twenty adult patients aged 36 to 84 years after cardiac surgery. INTERVENTIONS SpO(2) and PtcCO(2) values of three V-Sign 2 sensors (SenTec AG) attached at the earlobe, forehead, and cheek and SpO(2) values of the Nellcor Durasensor (Model DS-100A; Nellcor Puritan Bennett Inc, Pleasanton, CA) were compared with simultaneous measurements of blood gases and end-expiratory carbon dioxide. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Measurements were performed during periods of hyper-, normo-, and hypocapnia and then at 30-minute intervals up to 5 hours. Bland-Altman analysis and simple regression analysis were used. RESULTS The detection failures for PtcCO(2) were 0.3% to 1.3%, for SpO(2) 10% to 25%, and for pulse rate 5% to 10%. The V-Sign 2 earlobe sensor provided the best results. The mean bias and limits of agreement for PtcCO(2ear) and PaCO(2) were 1.1 and -3.4/+5.5 mmHg. The drift of PtcCO(2) was negligible at all locations. The mean bias and limits of agreement of V-Sign SpO(2ear) and SaO(2), as well as V-Sign pulse rate and the electrocardiogram, were -1.7% and -6.8/+3.9% and 1.2 beats/min and -3.3/+5.8 beats/min. End-expiratory carbon dioxide showed a weak correlation with PaCO(2) (r(2) = 0.47). CONCLUSIONS Transcutaneous capnometry using the revised V-Sign 2 sensor at the earlobe is a reliable monitoring tool during the recovery period of patients after cardiac surgery. This approach has the potential to reduce the number of arterial blood gas samples.
Theft in the hotel workplace: Exploring frontline employees’ perceptions towards hotel employee theft

A plethora of studies has investigated theft in the workplace in various industries. However, few studies investigated the motivations behind hotel employee theft especially among Generation Z undergraduates working full time as part of their internship. This targeted sample group is pivotal to the hotel industry as they are the future generation of hotel leaders. These reasons can be attitudinal such as excitement, influenced by fellow colleagues and perceived ease of committing the theft. To address this research gap, this study utilised the established theory of planned behaviour to investigate underlying motivations of employee theft behaviour in the hotel industry. Personal interviews were conducted with 29 hotel management undergraduates who were doing their internships as full-time hotel employees in various frontline jobs in food and beverage, housekeeping and front office. Results revealed the adrenaline feeling when committing hotel employee theft as the key motivator. The most influential social group was colleagues in the same department. The main perceived difficulty was the grey area of defiant behaviour and what actually constitutes as employee theft.
Effective information rates of single-carrier and multi-carrier modulation schemes for bandwidth constrained IM/DD systems

Information-theoretic and signal processing aspects of some modulation schemes designed for intensity modulation/direct detection (IM/DD) optical wireless communication (OWC) systems are studied. Due to the constraints of IM/DD signals (non-negative real and baseband signals), the construction of these signals along with their time and frequency characteristics differ from their RF counterparts. This necessitates a careful study of such schemes under practical constraints. Three schemes are studied in this paper, namely, single carrier pulse amplitude modulation (SC-PAM), asymmetrically clipped optical OFDM (ACO-OFDM), and DC biased optical OFDM (DCO-OFDM). Our aim is to carry out a comparative study of these schemes in the presence of identical constraints on bandwidth and average optical power. The study reveals that the clipping operation required in ACO-OFDM significantly reduces its information rate, and as a result, it is outperformed by SC-PAM. Such a limitation does not apply to DCO-OFDM which has a higher information rate, even though part of the available optical power is expended in the non-information-bearing DC bias.
Evaluation of Factors Affecting Size and Size Distribution of Chitosan-Electrosprayed Nanoparticles

Background: Size and size distribution of polymeric nanoparticles have important effect on their properties for pharmaceutical application. In this study, Chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by electrospray method (electrohydrodynamic atomization) and parameters that simultaneously affect size and/or size distribution of chitosan nanoparticles were optimized. Methods: Effect of formulation/processing three independent formulation/processing parameters, namely concentration, flow rate and applied voltage was investigated on particle size and size distribution of generated nanoparticles using a Box–Behnken experimental design. Results: All the studied factors showed important effects on average size and size distribution of nanoparticles. A decrease in size and size distribution was obtainable with decreasing flow rate and concentration and increasing applied voltage. Eventually, a sample with minimum size and polydispersity was obtained with polymer concentration, flow rate and applied voltage values of 0.5 %w/v, 0.05 ml/hr and 15 kV, respectively. The experimentally prepared nanoparticles, expected having lowest size and size distribution values had a size of 105 nm, size distribution of 36 and Zeta potential of 59.3 mV. Conclusion: Results showed that optimum condition for production of chitosan nanoparticles with the minimum size and narrow size distribution was a minimum value for flow rate and highest value for applied voltage along with an optimum chitosan concentration.
The Public Stigma of Mental Illness

By the 1990s, sociology faced a frustrating paradox. Classic work on mental illness stigma and labeling theory reinforced that the “mark” of mental illness created prejudice and discrimination for individuals and family members. Yet that foundation, coupled with deinstitutionalization of mental health care, produced contradictory responses. Claims that stigma was dissipating were made, while others argued that intervention efforts were needed to reduce stigma. While signaling the critical role of theory-based research in establishing the pervasive effects of stigma, both claims directed resources away from social science research. Yet the contemporary scientific foundation underlying both claims was weak. A reply came in a resurgence of research directed toward mental illness stigma nationally and internationally, bringing together researchers from different disciplines for the first time. I report on the general population’s attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral dispositions that targeted public stigma and implications for the next decade of research and intervention efforts.
Health Care Regionalization in Italy

This work aims at bringing into focus the main change that the Italian National Health Service has been undergoing over the past twenty years, namely the gradual transfer of jurisdiction from the central government to the regions. Starting with the 1992-1993 reform the regions were indeed granted broad latitude in organizing health care services in their own territories. The individual regions have thus been able to choose among various organization models, differing from each other in a variety of aspects. During the past years, frictions between central government and regions have been frequent. The central government has often accused the regions of being financially irresponsible and overrunning systematically the spending levels assigned to them; for their part, the regions have regularly accused the central government of allocating an inadequate amount of resources to the National Health Service.
Hydrogen exchange in native and denatured states of hen egg‐white lysozyme

The hydrogen exchange kinetics of 68 individual amide protons in the native state of hen lysozyme have been measured at pH 7.5 and 30°C by 2D NMR methods. These constitute the most protected subset of amides, with exchange half lives some 105–107 times longer than anticipated from studies of small model peptides. The observed distribution of rates under these conditions can be rationalized to a large extent in terms of the hydrogen bonding of individual amides and their burial from bulk solvent. Exchange rates have also been measured in a reversibly denatured state of lysozyme; this was made possible under very mild conditions, pH 2.0 35°C, by lowering the stability of the native state through selective cleavage of the Cys‐6–Cys‐127 disulfide crosslink (CM6−127 lysozyme). In this state the exchange rates for the majority of amides approach, within a factor of 5, the values anticipated from small model peptides. For a few amides, however, there is evidence for significant retardation (up to nearly 20‐fold) relative to the predicted rates. The pattern of protection observed under these conditions does not reflect the behavior of the protein under strongly native conditions, suggesting that regions of native‐like structure do not persist significantly in the denatured state of CM6−127 lysozyme. The pattern of exchange rates from the native protein at high temperature, pH 3.8 69°C, resembles that of the acid‐denatured state, suggesting that under these conditions the exchange kinetics are dominated by transient global unfolding. The rates of folding and unfolding under these conditions were determined independently by magnetization transfer NMR methods, enabling the intrinsic exchange rates from the denatured state to be deduced on the basis of this model, under conditions where the predominant equilibrium species is the native state. Again, in the case of most amides these rates showed only limited deviation from those predicted by a simple random coil model. This reinforces the view that these denatured states of lysozyme have little persistent residual order and contrasts with the behavior found for compact partially folded states of proteins, including an intermediate detected transiently during the refolding of hen lysozyme. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Elasticidades de demanda de un medicamento antidepresivo en Colombia como estrategia para evaluar poder de mercado

This article develops an estimation of the price elasticity of demand of a medication “type” for treating depression. This disorder affects physically and mentally a big part of the population around the world. This disorder is considered an important public health problem whose preva­lence has been increasing. For the purpose of this research two econometric models of vectors were estimated for the previous period of the issuance of Circular 03 of 2013, which regulates the price of medications in Colombia. The outcomes of the estimation show a non-significant price elasticity of 0.35 %, that is to say, changes in price do not generate the expected response in demand. This result suggests that the company, which produces this type of medication, exerts significant power in the market. Therefore, this result proves the need to implement the Circular.
International Trade and Economic Development: The Recent Experience of Developing Countries

In the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, based on the experience of the Great Depression and the early post-World War II period, a strong pessimism evolved among professional economists and policymakers about trade prospects of developing countries and the role that international trade could play in the process of economic development. The trade-pessimists argued that the capacity of developing countries to import goods and services expands very slowly because world demand for their exports does not grow at a rapid pace and the terms of trade constantly move against them. I Demand for exports of poor countries is apt to grow slowly because of the shift of industrial production in advanced countries from low-technology, material-intensive goods to high-technology, skill-intensive products; increased efficiency in industrial uses of material inputs; substitution of synthetics for natural raw materials; low income elasticity of demand for many agricultural commodities and simple manufactures in which low-income countries have a comparative advantage; the rising productivity of agriculture in developed countries; and the protection of agriculture and laborintensive industries in advanced countries. Furthermore, there is a secular tendency for commodity terms of trade to turn against developing countries because factor and commodity markets are more oligopolistic in developed countries, and since demand for exports of poor nations expands at a much slower rate than their demand for imported manufactures from advanced countries. Based on their assessment of trade prospects of developing countries and a number of other assumptions, the trade pessimists also maintained that an "outward-oriented" trade policy could act as an impediment to economic
EFFECT OF CRIME ON POVERTY IN NIGERIA

The link between crime and poverty was considered in this work by controlling for economic growth.That is, the study examined the cointegration of these variables and based on previous work; the issue of causal relationship among these variables were studied. Moreover, the study extends the theory of rational choice to poverty situation in Nigeria by testing the crime-wealth hypothesis in rational choice theory. In testing these hypotheses, the study used data set from 1990 to 2012 and analysed data through the estimation of bounds test; vector error correction model and Granger causality test. Also, for policy making the levels of shocks convergence were determined by variance decomposition test. However, the results showed that there is existence of short-run impact of crime on poverty and a unidirectional causality of crime affecting poverty using the Granger causality which support the crime-wealth hypothesis. In addition, growth played crucial role by impacting on poverty in the short-run and further, a bidirectional relationship was obtained between growth and poverty in the Granger causality. Based on these results, the study suggested that the policy makers should encourage policies that can improve economic growth with the possibility that crime may be reduced in the country and consequently, the reduction of poverty as well
Examining Tourists’ Push and Pull Travel Motivations and Behavioral Intentions: The Case of British Outbound Tourists to Phuket, Thailand

ABSTRACT This research aimed specifically to (1) determine the socio-demographic characteristics and travel patterns of British tourists visiting Phuket; (2) identify the main “push” and “pull” travel motivations of British tourists visiting Phuket; and (3) examine the relationship between British tourists’ main “push/pull” motivations and future travel intention to Phuket. Findings revealed that British tourists’ main push motivations were: “to have fun,” “to rest and relax,” and “to escape from daily routine and environment”; while the main pull motivations were: “natural sceneries and landscapes,” “beaches,” and “hospitality and friendliness of the people. ” There was also a relationship found between “push/pull” motivations and future travel intention to Phuket.
Draft Genome Sequence of a Pseudomonas sp. Strain Carrying blaIMP-25 and blaVIM-2 Carbapenemase Genes from Hospital Sewage

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas strain WCHP16 recovered from hospital sewage in West China Hospital, Chengdu, China was found to carry two carbapenemase genes blaIMP-25 and blaVIM-2. Here, we report its 5.7-Mb draft genome sequence, comprising 141 contigs and an average 59.53% G+C content. The genome contained 5,504 coding sequences and 67 tRNA genes.
Ethnicity and low wage traps: favouritism, homosocial reproduction and economic marginalization

This article analyses the relationship between cultural difference, social connections and opportunity structures using interview evidence from low-paid workers and managers in local government, the health service, facilities management and housing. Exploring the operation of homosocial reproduction it reveals the double-edged nature of informality and the role of favouritism in particular in perpetuating ethnic advantage and privilege. While demonstrating that uses of homosocial reproduction need to be sensitive to intersections of identities or categories of difference, the article adds further evidence of the persistent gap between equal opportunities policies and practice for ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom labour market. The article concludes that stronger forms of positive action, and even positive discrimination, are needed to address the low pay traps and restricted opportunities of ethnic minority workers.