bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Distally extended muscle belly of the flexor digitorum within the carpal tunnel: is it a risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome?
Authors: Choo Hye Jung , Lee Sun Joo , Park Young-Mi , Kim Dong Wook 
Published: February 2017

Background The distally extended muscle belly of the flexor digitorum (MB-FD) within the carpal tunnel has been suggested as a plausible cause for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) based on cadaveric studies. Purpose To evaluate whether MB-FD within the carpal tunnel is a risk factor for CTS by comparing asymptomatic volunteers and patients with CTS. Material and Methods Presence, length, and cross-sectional area of MB-FD within the carpal tunnel were evaluated in 63 wrists of 32 asymptomatic volunteers and 52 wrists of 33 patients with CTS using ultrasonography. Length of MB-FD within the carpal tunnel was measured as the distance between the distal end of MB-FD and the palmar margin of the distal radius longitudinally. On a transverse scan, the cross-sectional area of MB-FD at the proximal limit of the carpal tunnel was measured. Results MB-FD in the carpal tunnel was found in 39 (62%) asymptomatic volunteers and 35 (67%) patients with CTS ( P = 0.549). There was a female preponderancy of MB-FD within the carpal tunnel in asymptomatic volunteers ( P = 0.044), but not in patients. Length and cross-sectional area of MB-FD within the carpal tunnel were significantly greater in male-CTS patients than in male volunteers ( P = 0.022 and 0.012, respectively). These qualities were risk factors for CTS in men, though not in women. Conclusion The presence of distally extended MB-FD within the carpal tunnel was not a risk factor for CTS. In men, a longer and thicker MB-FD within the carpal tunnel increased the risk for CTS.
Evaluation of the impact of preoperative assessment on length of stay after a total hip arthroplasty
Authors: Harte Daniel , Hamill Philip , Williams-Condell Caroline , Lewis Stephanie 
Published: February 2017

Introduction To investigate if preoperative assessment delivered by occupational therapists, physiotherapists and social workers for people awaiting a total hip arthroplasty decreased the length of stay in hospital postoperatively. Method A retrospective data review was conducted on all patients who had a primary total hip arthroplasty across a 6-month period. A total of 101 patients (mean age 67.16 years) was included in this evaluation. Clinical notes were used to determine which patients attended or did not attend preoperative assessment. Statistical modeling was used to analyse the association of a series of variables and time spent in hospital after a total hip arthroplasty. Results There was no significant difference in the length of stay for patients who attended preoperative assessment ( P < 0.05) while patients who were medically unfit, lived alone and/or required a care package experienced a significantly higher length of stay ( P < 0.05). Conclusion These results do not support the British Orthopaedic Association’s recommendation that preoperative assessment delivered by allied health professionals helps reduce length of stay. However, it identifies variables which could be managed potentially to reduce length of stay. A large multisite clinical trial is required to determine if preoperative assessment reduces length of stay for people undergoing this surgical procedure.
Natural characteristic analysis of wind turbine drivetrain considering flexible supporting
Authors: Shenglin Zhang , Caichao Zhu , Chaosheng Song , Jianjun Tan , Xu Chen 
Published: February 2017

The mechanical system of wind turbine is much complicated and can be divided into the drivetrain and supporting portions. The drivetrain consists of wheel, main shaft, gearbox, generator, etc. and the supporting portion mainly consists of a tower and a cabin. In order to reduce the unit cost of electricity, the capacity and size of wind turbine are increased gradually in the past years. Meanwhile, with the increase of the wind turbine height, the tower actually becomes more flexible as the supporting part. And the influence of the supporting tower flexibility becomes stronger due to the varying wind loads both in magnitude and direction. Using the rigid–flexible coupling multibody dynamic theory, the coupled dynamic model of the wind turbine drive train was developed considering the flexible supporting. Then the natural characteristics of the system were computed and investigated. For the dynamic modeling, the blades, the tower and main shaft were modeled as flexible bodies, while the other components, such as the hub and the gearbox, were modeled as rigid bodies. The potential resonance frequencies of the system were discussed through the Campbell diagram and the modal energy distribution analysis. The results show that the natural frequency of swing mode shapes for the tower was 0.399 Hz and 0.405 Hz. The first natural frequency of drivetrain, which represented a torsional vibration mode, was 1.64 Hz. From the Campbell diagram and the modal energy distribution analysis, resonances would not occur within the normal operating speed range for the drivetrain. And a comparison analysis indicated that the flexible supports would increase the bearing loads along axial direction and radial direction, especially in main shaft and torque arm, but that influence was not obvious at parallel stage. However, to some extent, the flexible supports can decrease the loads fluctuation of drivetrain. Finally, the online vibration experiments were carried out in the wind field. The vibration characteristics of the wind turbine drivetrain were analyzed and the experimental results also compared well with the theoretical dynamic results.
Failure of a systemic lupus erythematosus response index developed from clinical trial data: lessons examined and learned
Authors: Forbess L J , Bresee C , Wallace D J , Weisman M H 
Published: February 2017

Background Our primary goal was to create an outcome change score index similar to a standard rheumatoid arthritis (RA) model utilizing real-world data in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients that occurred during their phase 3 trials with a Food and Drug Administration-approved drug. Methods We utilized raw data from trials of belimumab for the treatment of SLE. Data were split 80/20 into training/validation sets. Index variables present in a majority of patients and with face validity were selected. Variables were scored for each patient as percentage improvement from baseline after one year. The percentage of placebo- and drug-treated patients considered improved after the application of various criteria was ascertained. Logistic regression was employed to determine the ability of the new index to predict treatment assignment. Results A total of 1693 subjects had data for analyses. Eight variables were chosen: arthritis, rash, physician global assessment, fatigue, anti-double stranded DNA antibodies, C3, C4 and C-reactive protein. In the training dataset, ≥20% improvement in ≥4 of eight variables produced the largest difference between placebo- and drug-treated patients (22.1%) with an acceptable rate of improved placebo-treated patients (25%). This resulted in an odds ratio for belimumab (10 mg/kg) vs placebo of 2.7 (95% CI: 2.0–3.6; p < 0.001). However, in the validate dataset the odds ratio was not significant at 1.3 (95% CI: 0.8–2.2; p = 0.863). Conclusions The index created from training data did not achieve statistical significance when tested in the validation set. We have speculated why this happened. Is the lack of success of therapeutics for SLE caused by ineffective medications, study design and outcome instruments that fail to inform us, or is the heterogeneity of the disease too daunting? The lessons learned here can help direct future endeavors intended to improve SLE outcome instruments.
Firm Characteristics and Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing Firms
Authors: Satpathy Lopamudra D. , Chatterjee Bani , Mahakud Jitendra 
Published: February 2017

Measurement of the productivity of firms is an important research issue in productivity literature. Over the years, various methods have been developed to measure firm productivity across the globe. But there is no unanimity on the use of methods, and research on the identification of factors which determine productivity has been neglected. In view of these gaps, this study aims to measure total factor productivity (TFP) and tries to identify firm-specific factors which determine productivity of Indian manufacturing companies. The study is based on data of 616 firms from 1998–99 to 2012–13. To measure TFP, the Levinsohn–Petrin (L-P) method has been employed, and the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) method has been used to identify factors that affect TFP. The results reveal that embodied and disembodied technology plays a crucial role in the determination of productivity overall in manufacturing and other sub-industries. Similarly, the size of firms and intensity of raw material imports are also important for the determination of productivity across the sub-industries. JEL Classification: C14, C33, D24, L60
Comparative Notes on Injunction and Wrongful Risk-Taking
Authors: Van Boom Willem H. 
Published: February 2017

This article looks into the role of injunctive relief in tort law. More specifically, it focuses on the role of injunction in cases concerning wrongful risk-taking behaviour (as opposed to intentional or deliberate wrongdoing). Although there seems to be little practical experience with injunctive relief in cases of wrongful risk-taking behaviour, both the dogmatic and practical implications of allowing or rejecting such claims are formidable. By granting petitions for injunctive relief, courts effectively convert ex post claims for compensation into primary duties to act or omit. By contrast, rejecting injunctive relief renders tort law rules into mere taxes on wrongful behaviour. Which of these two routes is chosen by courts and legislators and how forceful are the arguments used to support either choice? The aim of this paper is twofold: firstly, to gain a better understanding of the French, German and English legal systems with respect to the role of injunction in tort law and secondly, by drawing on the comparative analysis, to identify the implications of allowing and rejecting injunctive relief for the understanding of tort law. If indeed the role of injunctive relief in cases of wrongful risk-taking behaviour sheds light on tort law's ends, then perhaps a threefold conception of tort law is in order.
Translation in the EU: Language and Law in the EU's Judicial Labyrinth
Authors: Künnecke Martina 
Published: February 2017

The decline, even the ‘end’, of comparative law in the 21st century has recently been predicted.1 However, this statement overlooks the vital and continuing role of comparative law in the complex task of legal translation in an expanding EU. To ensure the protection of language rights and transparency, the Court of Justice of the European Union requires translations of national and EU law on a daily basis. The complex task of the translation of law in the Court is carried out by highly qualified Lawyer-Linguists, experts in law and language, who enter the service through rigorous selection processes.2 The methodology employed by these specialists, however, remains to a large extent a ‘black box’ and traditional tenets of legal translation theory appear to be of limited application.3 This article aims to shed light on this black box with a focus on the rarely discussed use of comparative law in the translation process in the Court, in particular in preliminary ruling procedures.4
Meroni Circumvented? Article 114 TFEU and EU Regulatory Agencies
Authors: Van Cleynenbreugel Pieter 
Published: February 2017

This paper conceptualizes the somewhat neglected constitutional and constitutive roles of Article 114 TFEU in the establishment and functioning of EU integrated market supervision mechanisms. Relying on a virtually unlimited interpretation of that provision by the Court of Justice, EU institutions and Member States have been able to design an institutional ‘supranational operational support’ narrative that allowed for the expansion of supranational agencies as extensions of national supervisory bodies operating in an EU integrated administration framework. This paper submits that this interpretation of Article 114 TFEU incorporates a template within which a nascent ius commune underlying the organization and operationalization of EU internal market supervision mechanisms can effectively take shape. That template allows for circumvention of some infamous agency delegation limits and grants Member States and national authorities a more direct role in a supranational system of integrated administration. In doing so however, new constitutional problems are created that have not been adequately addressed by the post-Lisbon Treaty framework. This paper identifies those problems and their impact on the emergence of integrated EU market supervision structures.
Precarious employment among South Korean women: Is inequality changing with time?
Authors: Bonneuil Noël , Kim Younga 
Published: February 2017

AbstractTheories of precarious employment based on the constructs of job quality and job stability have highlighted the issue of transitions, linked to gender and age, from long-duration employment in bad-quality jobs, into good-quality stable employment. This article uses Markov chain analysis to study the labour market transitions of South Korean women in different age groups. It shows the importance of differentiating the effects of contemporary labour market conditions, shaped by the forces of the moment, from conditions created by the institutional legacy of the past. Women’s traditional position in the labour market has resulted in age-linked gendered precariousness, while the conditions of the moment are generating a tendency towards less precarious employment. Transition matrices are developed for types of precarious employment defined by the combination of job stability and job quality, taking into account duration by age group, time period, and covariates. These matrices yield distributions of asymptotic prevalence, reflecting labour market conditions of the moment. The forces of the moment favour the predominance of stable good-quality employment, whereas observed prevalence at a given date is characterised by the polarisation of the labour market between stable good-quality and unstable bad-quality employment. Asymptotic prevalence reveals a steady increase in stable but bad-quality employment. Older women are observed mostly in unstable bad-quality employment, but labour market conditions are tending to attenuate this age cleavage over time, as the conditions of the moment are reducing the proportions of older women in stable bad-quality and unstable good-quality employment. The conclusion is an age-based polarisation, in which older women are faring badly, but where possibilities are now opening up to younger South Korean women, reflected in the sharp break between the situation inherited from the past and the conditions of the moment. But possibilities for younger women will be realised only through a reinforcement of government policies to support career breaks and work–family balance through decent part-time jobs.
Oasistan
Authors: de Jong Martin , Warmelink Harald 
Published: February 2017

Aim. Although cultural dimensions theory is a topical strand of quantitative cultural research, few intercultural simulation games use it. We present the design and review of the application of OASISTAN, an intercultural role-playing simulation game that is specifically based on cultural dimensions theory. Method. OASISTAN was first designed in 1999 for use in Master’s courses on cross-cultural management at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, attracting 20-23 year old students with a Bachelor degree in engineering and from various cultural backgrounds. Since its first design the game has been played approximately 45 times at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and three times at Harbin Institute of Technology in China in the years 2006-2008. We reviewed their experiences designing and facilitating OASISTAN since 1999. Results. The game has a no-tech role-play design and revolves around the geopolitically complex region of the Caspian Sea, specifically the fictional country of ‘Oasistan’. The game consists of students forming small teams of Oasistani, Western and non-Western public/private actors collaborating with each other to try and reach the common goal of oil exploration and production in this country. In total 15-30 students were involved. We found that OASISTAN allowed its players not only to intensely experience the difficulty and awkwardness of being confronted with cultural differences, but also to interpret and understand these differences through cultural dimensions. Students who played OASISTAN identified ten out of the 12 dimensions by Maleki and De Jong. The two dimensions that students were not able to identify are uncertainty avoidance and collaborativeness. Conclusion. OASISTAN shows how a game design field (i.e., intercultural simulation gaming) can be reinvigorated in light of new or updated scientific theories pertaining to the field’s subject matter (i.e., cultural dimensions). Several opportunities for future research are identified.
Age-dependent cellular reactions of the human immune system of humanized NOD scid gamma mice on LPS stimulus
Authors: Rodewohl Anja , Scholbach Johanna , Leichsenring Anna , Köberle Margarethe , Lange Franziska 
Published: February 2017

Despite sepsis being a life-threatening disease, targeted drugs that improve the therapy of affected patients are still lacking. Infants and adults differ in the maturity level of their immune system and this results in distinct reactions to Gram-negative bacteria. To study reactions of human immune cells in vivo, we used NOD scid gamma mice transplanted with human CD34+ stem cells to engraft a functional human immune system. Human cells undergo differentiation and maturation in these mice after transplantation and, accordingly, animals were divided into two groups: 8–13 wk and 15–22 wk after transplantation. Endotoxemia was induced by injecting LPS. Six h later, mice were euthanized. In both groups, LPS stimulation induced a decrease of CD14+ monocytes in peripheral blood, an up-regulation of activation markers on different cell subsets such as myeloid dendritic cells, and a release of the human cytokines TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10. However, significant differences were detected with regard to the amounts of released cytokines, and 8–13-wk-old mice produced more IL-6, while PTX3 was mainly released by 15–22-wk-old animals. Thus, here we provide a potential model for preclinical research of sepsis in infants and adults.
Platelet-Rich Plasma and Hyaluronic Acid Are Not Synergistic When Used as Biological Adjuncts with Autologous Osteochondral Transplantation
Authors: Smyth Niall A. , Ross Keir A. , Haleem Amgad M. , Hannon Charles P. , Murawski Christopher D. , Do Huong T. , Kennedy John G. 
Published: February 2017

Introduction Autologous osteochondral transplantation (AOT) is a treatment for osteochondral lesions with known concerns, including histological degradation of the graft and poor cartilage integration. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and hyaluronic acid (HA) have been described has having the potential to improve results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of PRP and HA on AOT in a rabbit model. Methods Thirty-six rabbits underwent bilateral knee AOT treated with either the biological adjunct (PRP, n = 12; HA, n = 12; PRP + HA, n = 12) or saline (control). PRP and HA were administered as an intra-articular injection. The rabbits were euthanized at 3, 6, or 12 weeks postoperatively. The graft sections were assessed using the modified International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) scoring system. The results from the PRP alone group is from previously published data. Results The mean modified ICRS histological score for the PRP-treated group was higher than its control ( P = 0.002). The mean modified ICRS histological score for the HA-treated group showed no difference compared with its control ( P = 0.142). The mean modified ICRS histological score for the PRP + HA–treated group was higher than its control ( P = 0.006). There was no difference between the mean modified ICRS scores of the PRP- and the PRP + HA–treated grafts ( P = 0.445). Conclusion PRP may decrease graft degradation and improve chondral integration in an animal model. In this model, the addition of HA was not synergistic for the parameters assessed. Level of Evidence. Basic science, Level V. Clinical Relevance. PRP can be used as an adjunct to AOT, which may decrease graft degeneration and improve clinical outcomes. HA may not influence AOT.
Changes in management of stress urinary incontinence following the 2011 FDA Health Notification
Authors: Khan Aqsa A , Rosenblum Nirit , Brucker Benjamin , Nitti Victor 
Published: February 2017

Purpose: We sought to assess for impact on management trends in new patients presenting to our institution with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) following the release of the FDA Health Notification in July 2011 for vaginal mesh. Materials and methods: Chart analysis was performed on patients assigned a primary International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9) diagnosis code of 625.6 for SUI at initial consultation by two providers at our institution between June 1, 2010 and November 30, 2014. Rates of treatment and types of procedures performed were analyzed: urethral bulking, mesh sling, or pubovaginal sling. Results: A total of 333 new patients were identified with an increasing trend over time. One hundred and twenty-three patients underwent 153 procedures for stress incontinence. The mean proportion that had a procedure per six-month period was 37%, with decreasing proportions over time. Initially all procedures were midurethral mesh slings, with a decline at the time of and after the notification, and a temporary increase in bulking procedures. Subsequently, there was a rise again in sling placement, namely with an increase in pubovaginal slings. Of the 20 pubovaginal slings placed, 13 were placed in patients who had a prior anti-incontinence surgery (eight for sling failure, vaginal mesh, or fixed urethra, and two in patients with mesh extrusion/erosion). Seven were performed in patients who had never had prior surgery (two for very high-grade incontinence, two with urethral diverticulectomy, and three in patients who expressed concern about mesh). Conclusions: Although there were an increasing number of patients seen for management of SUI over time, there was a progressive decrease in the proportion of patients having anti-incontinence procedures after release of the FDA notification. There was an overall decrease in the use of mesh slings and an increase in bulking, and more notably, placement of pubovaginal slings.