nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Perforation Rates of Cervical Pedicle Screw Insertion by Disease and Vertebral Level

Different perforation rates for cervical pedicle screws by disease are expected in relation to bone quality and pedicle morphology; however, no report comparing pedicle screw perforation rate by disease had previously been published. This study investigated the perforation rates of pedicle screws inserted to cervical pedicle by disease and vertebral level using a CT-based navigation system.  Fifty-three patients who underwent cervical pedicle screw insertion using CT based navigation system were studied. Diseases included rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (24 cases), destructive spondyloarthropathy (DSA) (10), cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) (9), spine tumor (6), and cervical spondylotic myelopathy associated with athetoid cerebral palsy (CP) (4). Screw perforation rates for cervical pedicle screws were studied. Major perforation was defined as perforation 50% of screw diameter or more.  Major perforation rate by disease from C3 to C7 was as follows: spine tumor (0/24, 0%), RA (2/59, 3.4%), DSA (3/65, 4.6%), CP (2/20, 10.0%), and CSM (6/40, 15.0%). There were no clinically important complications such as vertebra arterial injury, spinal cord injury, or nerve root injury caused by any screw perforation. Major perforation rate by vertebral level was: C2(2/30, 6.7%), C3(4/49, 8.2%), C4(6/43, 14.0%), C5(1/32, 3.1%), C6(1/41, 2.4%), and C7(1/45, 2.2%), showing highest rate for C4, followed by C3.  Cervical pedicle screw perforation rate by disease was higher in CSM compared to RA and DSA. The perforation rate by vertebral level was higher for C4 and C3, in this order.

Field of study: Medicine
SPODOPTERA EXIGUA : MATING DISRUPTION, MEASUREMENT OF AIRBORNE CONCENTRATION OF PHEROMONE, AND USE OF SPECIALIST RECEPTOR CELL RESPONSES FOR COMPARISON TO FEMALE PHEROMONE EMISSION

Field experiments were conducted to evaluate Shin-Etsu Yoto-con-S® ‘rope’ pheromone dispensers applied at different site densities in cotton to determine effficacy in disrupting sexual communication and mating of beet armyworm moths, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner); obtain atmospheric measurements of the disruptant pheromone components in and away from treated areas; and relate this information to estimates of the concentration of pheromone in the near vicinity of a calling virgin female moth. The number of pheromone-dispensing sites/ha ranged from 25 with 20 ropes/site up to a total of 247 sites with 2 ropes each. A total of 112 g pheromone of a 70:30 blend of (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadien-1- ol acetate (ZETA) and(Z)-tetradecen-1-ol (Z9–14:OH) was applied/ ha. As few as 25 sites/ha effectively disrupted sexual communication by 91%, as measured by reductions of moth captures in traps baited with pheromone lures, and mating by beet armyworm females by 94% for at least 10 weeks post-treatment. The results compared favorably to an earlier large-scale field experiment in which beet armyworm larval populations were reduced 95% using 500 pheromone-dispensing sites/ha (two ropes/site) and 160 g total pheromone/ha. The airborne concentration of ZETA and Z9–14:OH measured within the pheromone-treated plots that disrupted mating was 1.5 × 1013 M and 1.2 × 1013 M, respectively. The airborne concentration of ZETA and Z9–14:OH in the vicinity of a female was estimated (by excision and electrophysiological methods) to range between 2.1 × 1011 M and 2.4 × 1012 M, respectively, in a 1.6 km / h (1 mph) wind speed. Thus, the average ZETA concentration in the treated plots was about 140 times less than that expected from a single female; the average Z9–14:OH in the treated plots was about 20 times less. The data support an argument that disruption of mating by beet armyworm resulted from an imbalance in sensory input because mating was almost completely disrupted in all of the plots for at least 10 weeks with a mixture of ZETA:Z9–14:OH that differed significantly with that from excised female sex pheromone glands. Estimates of these parameters provide a benchmark for the requisite pheromone concentration in the atmosphere to achieve a high level of mating disruption for beet armyworm and possibly other insect pest species.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Effects of cyclosporin A on expression of IL-2 and IL-2 receptors in normal and multiple sclerosis patients.

The effects of the immunosuppressant Cyclosporin A (CsA) on T cell activation in vivo and in vitro were examined using the monoclonal antibody, anti-Tac, for interleukin 2 (IL-2) receptors and 3.9C2, for a peptide fragment of human IL-2. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were stimulated with PHA in the presence of CsA. The expression of IL-2 receptors and production of IL-2 were reduced. PBL from CsA-treated MS patients had significantly lower proportions of Tac+ cells compared with untreated patients. This inhibition was not reflected in the CSF lymphocyte populations from CsA-treated patients and indicates the urgent need for an immunosuppressant drug which can enter the CNS in sufficient concentrations to inhibit local T cell activation.

Field of study: Biology, Medicine
Case Tool Use and Job Design: A Restrictiveness/Flexibility Explanation

Research on CASE tools includes conflicting accounts. Many report high productivity gains and improved quality of systems developed. Others report high costs and few gains, organizations abandoning the use of CASE, or seldom using the CASE tools. Organizational differences may, in part, be attributed to the underlying support philosophy of the CASE tool. We explore the tool philosophy in terms of restrictiveness or flexibility. Systems developers in four organizations were surveyed for perceptions of their CASE tool and of their jobs. We found that systems developers, who perceive their tool as restrictive, enjoy CASE less and think it less useful than those who perceive their tool as flexible. The people who perceived their tool as being restrictive also perceived their job as being lower quality by offering lower autonomy and lower skill variety.

Field of study: Computer science
Research progress in relationship between microbes and tumor immunity

Microbes are closely associated with tumor development. The interactions between microbes and immune system contribute to tumor progression and metastasis. This review focused on the interactions between microbes and immune cells (macrophages, T cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells and other immune cells) in the course of tumor growth, and summarized the roles of microbes in tumor immunotherapies, aiming to improve the overall understanding of the mechanisms for microbes affecting tumors, and provide ideas for tumor prevention and future immunotherapies. 
 
 
 
Microbes; Tumor; Immune cells; Immunotherapy

Field of study: Biology
Impedance Spectroscopy and Neurocomputing Approaches to Investigate the Enhanced Electrical Blocking Properties of CH3(CH2)n−1SH Thin Monolayers Electrodeposited on a Gold Electrode

The electrical blocking properties of defect-free self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of short CH3(CH2)n−1SH alkyl-thiol molecules electrodeposited on the surface of a mono-crystalline gold electrode were investigated. The results are compared with a second model calculation based on an artificial neural network prediction using molecules with chain lengths (n = 4, 6, 8). This approach estimates the equivalent circuit elements for the interface. The second model calculation is based on adjusting the electrical parameters by using a neural network methodology able to set the equivalent circuit parameters related to the systems under study. The results demonstrate high performance in predicting and optimizing the equivalent circuits related to the system when compared with experimental data analysis of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

Field of study: Materials science
Lightning safety and large stadiums

When lightning threatens an outdoor activity, it is usually postponed so that people may seek a safe location. When lightning threatens a large outdoor stadium, the game or event itself is usually postponed, but it is often difficult to ensure the safety of tens of thousands of spectators. Although stadiums may employ a general evacuation plan, complete evacuation is often counterproductive for efficient lightning safety. Outdoor events, which fill stadiums to capacity, are at the highest risk because there is little room for people to move and crowd panic becomes a real possibility. Lightning safety recommendations exist for both players and spectators during outdoor activities, however, most venues do not have a lightning action plan. This study recommends that stadiums and other outdoor venues develop a lightning action plan, which should include continuous education for stadium personnel, players, and spectators about the proper actions to take should lightning threaten a venue. The action plan should also distinguish safe locations within the venue that could provide shelter for players and spectators and delineate responsibility to stadium personnel for crowd management. Further, stadiums should consider the use of additional air terminals and caternaries (lightning rods and shield wires) to protect not just the stadium infrastructure from a lightning strike, but the entire spectator area as well.

Field of study: Environmental science
Intrepreneurial Practices and Organizational Competitiveness: A Theoretical Approach

Organizations or companies are facing many challenges today. This is due to the highly competitive environment in which they are operating. They have to be innovative enough in order to remain competitive. In this context, intrapreneurship seems to be a real opportunity to renew strategic innovation through an innovative approach. Hence, intrapreneurship allows the company to face competition by having a sense of creativity and innovation internally on one hand and, to cope with multiple constraints linked to the complexity of the environment on the other hand. Therefore, the Human Resources (HR) function is to give an ambitious and strategic challenge by shifting from human resources management to skills management. In this perspective, intrapreneurship would be a strategy for the company to involve staff, increase creativity and innovation and upturn organizational skills. In this paper, a theoretical approach is presented based on a review of the literature that demonstrates the interest of companies or organizations to involve their staff through interepreneurship program. Besides, we design a conceptual model that highlights the criteria to be taken into account by organizations so that intrapreneurial practices can have a positive influence on organizational involvement.

Field of study: Business
A Critical Evaluation of the Textbook Programme in Public Primary Schools and Implications for Laptop Classrooms in Kenya

Social development gravitates around the quality of learning experiences and skills acquired in the school. The utilization of effective teaching and learning strategies as well as the integration of technology are key drivers of Kenya’s Vision 2030 and social transformation. Importantly teaching and learning resources such as textbooks are essential but perhaps insufficient to facilitate learning. This paper reports the findings of an evaluation study of the textbook programme in a selected rural district in Kenya and analyses the implication for laptop classrooms within the Kenyan context.

Field of study: Education
Global and local-scale variation in bacterial community structure of snow from the Swiss and Australian Alps.

Seasonally, snow environments cover up to 50% of the land's surface, yet the microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning within snow, particularly from alpine regions are not well described. This study explores the bacterial diversity in snow using next-generation sequencing technology. Our data expand the global inventory of snow microbiomes by focusing on two understudied regions, the Swiss Alps and the Australian Alps. A total biomass similar to cell numbers in polar snow was detected, with 5.2 to 10.5 × 10(3) cells mL(-1) of snow. We found that microbial community structure of surface snow varied by country and site and along the altitudinal range (alpine and sub-alpine). The bacterial communities present were diverse, spanning 25 distinct phyla, but the six phyla Proteobacteria (Alpha- and Betaproteobacteria), Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria and Firmicutes, accounted for 72%-98% of the total relative abundance. Taxa such as Acidobacteriaceae and Methylocystaceae, associated with cold soils, may be part of the atmospherically sourced snow community, while families like Sphingomonadaceae were detected in every snow sample and are likely part of the common snow biome.

Field of study: Biology, Environmental science
A review of the impact of pipelines and power lines on biodiversity and strategies for mitigation

Linear infrastructure such as pipelines and power lines is ubiquitous and responsible for loss of habitats and disruption of landscape connectivity. We reviewed published research to answer the following questions: (1) Which organisms are commonly used to indicate impacts of pipelines and power lines to biodiversity? (2) How do pipelines and power lines impact biodiversity? and (3) How are these impacts mitigated? Studies of pipelines most often used mammals and plants as bioindicators, whereas studies of power lines focused largely on birds and plants. A myriad of impacts were identified, including the mortality of plants during construction, changes to the structure and composition of plant and animal communities that resulted from construction, the creation of open and shrubby corridors within intact forests, and collisions and electrocutions of birds with power lines. However, in most studies baseline data were not collected, so magnitudes of the impacts are often unknown. Mitigation in many studies was mentioned only in the discussion as a way to reduce impacts, but mitigation techniques were rarely tested directly. We outline considerations when selecting bioindicators—research that takes a community- or ecosystem-level approach will more fully determine the scope of impacts of linear infrastructure than the historical approach of focusing on populations of select bioindicators. Mitigation strategies must ultimately result from appropriate baseline studies, scientific data collection and analyses, and be implemented within an adaptive management strategy.

Field of study: Environmental science
Welfare‐To‐Work, Structural Injustice and Human Rights

This article discusses welfare&#8208;to&#8208;work schemes, places schemes with strict conditionality in the theoretical framework of structural injustice, and argues that they may violate human rights law. Welfare&#8208;to&#8208;work schemes impose obligations on individuals to seek and accept work on the basis that otherwise they will be sanctioned by losing access to social support. The schemes are often presented as the best route out of poverty. However, the system in the UK, characterised by strict conditionality, coerces the poor and disadvantaged into precarious work, and conditions of in&#8208;work poverty. Forcing people to work in these conditions creates and sustains widespread and routine structures of exploitation. The article further argues that a framework of &#8216;state&#8208;mediated structural injustice&#8217; is the best way of explaining the wrong. It finally claims that this injustice violates principles that are enshrined in human rights law, which the authorities have an obligation to examine and address.

Field of study: Law
Studies in Light Reinforced Behavior: II. Effect of Food Deprivation and Stress

A year ago the senior author reported a series of experiments (6) which demonstrated two phenomena. (a ) Hungry rats will operate a lever with considerable gusto when the only identifiable incentive is light-onset (switching on a 6-v, 5.2 -cps lamp ) . ( b ) If Ss are placed in an illuminated chamber and the lever in the apparatus is made to turn off a light, the lever pressing frequency falls below that recorded under condition (a) and is only slightly above the lever pressing frequency recorded under an "operant test," i.e., where no after effect attends a lever press. These results, taken together, make the interpretation by Girdner (1 ), Marx, et al. ( 11 ), and Kling, et al, (9) that the reinforcing effect of light-onset is rooted in a "curiosity" or "exploratory" drive difficult to sustain, since it could be argued that light-offset also satisfies curiosity and exploratory tendencies. Rather than setting up a counter-hypothesis which would offer an alternative motivational basis for this behavior, we have chosen to inquire further into the incentive properties of light, as well as examine some of the conditions which increase or suppress the incentive and reinforcing properties of this stimulus. In the present set of experiments two questions are raised. (a) Does the degree of hunger, as determined by the feeding-fasting regimen, affect the incentive properties of light? (b) To what extent may the incentive properties of light be suppressed?

Field of study: Psychology
Accuracy of the freehand technique for 3 fixation methods in the C-2 vertebrae.

OBJECT
Intraoperative imaging often does not provide adequate visualization to ensure safe placement of screws. Therefore, the authors investigated the accuracy of a freehand technique for placement of pars, pedicle, and intralaminar screws in C-2.



Sixteen cadaveric specimens were instrumented freehand by 2 experienced cervical spine surgeons with either a pars or pedicle screw, and bilateral intralaminar screws. The technique was based on anatomical starting points and published screw trajectories. A pedicle finder was used to establish the trajectory, followed by tapping, palpation, and screw placement. After placement of all screws (16 pars screws, 16 pedicle screws, and 32 intralaminar screws), the C-2 segments were disarticulated, radiographed in anteroposterior, lateral, and axial planes, and meticulously inspected by another spine surgeon to determine the nature and presence of any defects.



A total of 64 screws were evaluated in this study. Pars screws exhibited 2 critical defects (1 in the foramen transversarium and 1 in the C2-3 facet) and an insignificant dorsal cortex breech, for an overall accuracy rate of 81.3%. Pedicle screws demonstrated only 1 insignificant violation (inferior facet/medial cortex intrusion of 1 mm) with an accuracy rate of 93.8%, and intralaminar screws demonstrated 3 insignificant violations (2 in the ventral canal, 1 in the caudad lamina breech) for an accuracy rate of 90.6%. Pars screws had significantly more critical violations than intralaminar screws (p = 0.041).



Instrumentation of the C-2 vertebrae using the freehand technique for insertion of pedicle and intralaminar screws showed a high success rate with no critical violations. Pars screw insertion was not as reliable, with 2 critical violations from a total of 16 placements. The freehand technique appears to be a safe and reliable method for insertion of C-2 pedicle and intralaminar screws.

Field of study: Medicine
Salmonella-infeksies in kalwers en beeste (deel 1) : die koeidokter se dagboek

Salmonellose by beeste staan ook bekend as paratifus. Dit veroorsaak diarree en vrektes by kalwers, maar is ook die oorsaak van diarree, vrektes en aborsies by koeie. Ons bespreek die siekte, simptome, behandeling en voorkoming.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Elimination of Inclusions in (CdZn)Te Substrates by Post-grown Annealing

Post-grown annealing of (211) (CdZn)Te substrates has been used for elimination of Te and Cd inclusions with the objective of improving the yield of inclusion-free substrates for MBE growth of (HgCd)Te. Different annealing temperatures and Cd/Te overpressures were used to find the optimum annealing conditions. Te inclusions were significantly reduced by Cd-rich annealing at temperatures higher than 660°C, together with increasing the infrared transmittance at 10 µm to above 60%. Good crystalline quality was preserved after the annealing. Te-rich annealing at 700°C was found to be the optimum method for elimination of most of the Cd inclusions; infrared transmittance at 10 µm was suppressed by the annealing, however. Final Cd-rich annealing is recommended for infrared transmittance improvement.

Field of study: Materials science
Organelle redox autonomy during environmental stress.

Oxidative stress is generated in plants because of inequalities in the rate of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and scavenging. The subcellular redox state under various stress conditions was assessed using the redox reporter roGFP2 targeted to chloroplastic, mitochondrial, peroxisomal and cytosolic compartments. In parallel, the vitality of the plant was measured by ion leakage. Our results revealed that during certain physiological stress conditions the changes in roGFP2 oxidation are comparable to application of high concentrations of exogenous H2 O2 . Under each stress, particular organelles were affected. Conditions of extended dark stress, or application of elicitor, impacted chiefly on the status of peroxisomal redox state. In contrast, conditions of drought or high light altered the status of mitochondrial or chloroplast redox state, respectively. Amalgamation of the results from diverse environmental stresses shows cases of organelle autonomy as well as multi-organelle oxidative change. Importantly, organelle-specific oxidation under several stresses proceeded cell death as measured by ion leakage, suggesting early roGFP oxidation as predictive of cell death. The measurement of redox state in multiple compartments enables one to look at redox state connectivity between organelles in relation to oxidative stress as well as assign a redox fingerprint to various types of stress conditions.

Field of study: Environmental science
Payment mechanisms and prescriptions in four Thai hospitals.

This paper examines the effect of payment mechanisms on prescription patterns in four district hospitals in provincial Thailand. Outpatients aged 60 or over at the four hospitals belong either to an insurance scheme that funds hospitals on a fee-for-service basis, or to a scheme using capitation. Hospitals have a financial incentive to differentiate between patients belonging to different schemes; however, doctors, who are paid salaries, face different pressures. The paper has two objectives: (i) to describe financial and non-financial influences on doctors' prescribing decisions; (ii) to test for differences between the cost of prescriptions received by fee-for-service and those received by capitated patients. The analysis uses data from treatment records, surveys, and interviews. We find that prescription costs for fee-for-service patients are significantly higher than those for capitated patients, controlling for age, sex, diagnosis and (to a limited extent) socio-economic status. The cost differences are attributable entirely to differences in the probability of receiving expensive drugs, and owe nothing to differences in quantities prescribed.

Field of study: Medicine, Political science
[Psychopathological features of victimity in hemophiliacs].

To study psychopathological features of victimity in hemophiliacs.



Thirty-one men with hemophilia, aged 17-63 years, mean age 33.43±9.09, illness duration 16-62 years, were included in the study. All patients were admitted to the hospital due to the main disease and its complications. One of the inclusion criteria was a mental disorder with the symptoms of victimity. A clinical/psychopathological method was used in the study.



Mental state of the patients depended on the type of personality disorder. Four types of victimity (paranoiac, dissociative, dissocial, dependent) were singled out. Psychopathological features of each type and correlation with the psychiatric diagnosis were described.

Field of study: Medicine, Psychology