Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) PEG 3350 ( Transipeg ) versus lactulose in the treatment of childhood functional constipation : a double blind , randomised , controlled , multicentre trial

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva. nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
COMPARISON OF TWO FIELD DATA COLLECTION METHODS IN RECORDING AVIAN BEHAVIOR

Animal behavior research relies on the accuracy, amount, and detail of data that can be collected while observing the animals in natural or experimental scenarios. This study provides a quantitative evaluation of a new electronic methodology in the study of animal behavior, as applied to field observations on birds. We compared quantitative data collected via the digital application WhatISee to data collected via pen-and-paper, testing for differences in several behvioral variables. We predicted that, compared to the traditional pen-and-paper method, the digital method would allow focal birds to be followed for longer periods before disappearing out of sight and would capture larger numbers of rapid, short duration avian behaviors. We also tested the digital method's ability to detect inter-specific and inter-sexual differences in behavior. The results showed no significant differences between the data collection methods on the specific avian behaviors observed, suggesting that the digital application is equally effective for recording animal behavior in the field, compared to the traditional method. Critically, the data collected with the application were sensitive enough to detect species-specific differences in behavioral patterns among American Robins (Turdus migratorius), Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula), and European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), as well as sex-specific differences in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus), satisfying an essential requirement for this new approach to studying and comparing multiple species in future research on avian behavior.
Personal Branding ThroughImagification in Social Media : Identity Creation and Alteration Through Images

The general purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate how individuals today, in a societywhere people spend more and more time on social media, create and alter their identity throughimages. The study is focused on Instagram, the most widespread social media only focused onphotos. The study is based on a postmodern perspective and focuses on symbolic interactionism,identity capital and psychological self. The empirical data was collected through semi-structuredinterviews with fifteen Instagram users, most of who are from the Stockholm, Sweden region. Thestudy was influenced by the Grounded Theory method where emergent themes describing howindividuals alter and create their identity through images were deduced from the interviews. Thesethemes were: showing a nuanced image of themselves, images as a means of conveying identity forrecognition, imagification as personal branding tool and reflexive social interaction.The findings suggest that individuals show only a selected, a nuanced, part of their identity onInstagram and Instagram gives a greater freedom to express what people want to express as theiridentity and their self. By using photos in social media individuals are not as limited as they wouldotherwise be in the real world in terms of how they want to market their identity. But there is also afrustration among many users of Instagram and other social media as many feel that the nuancedand perfected image that many people convey is fake and annoying to see and this could thus havea negative impact on that person’s personal brand. Images were seen to be more efficient than textfor the purpose of personal branding and it also appeared that identity creation through imagescould create a more expressive society.
Capacity of Markov channels with receiver CSI and delayed feedback

Capacity of time-varying channels can increase with feedback. Feedback information from the receiver is usually available at the transmitter only after some time delay. The capacity increase due to feedback depends on the feedback delay relative to the channel decorrelation time. We determine the capacity of finite-state Markov channels as a function of the feedback delay assuming perfect channel state information at the receiver.
Identifying Confirmatory Bias in the Field

Laboratory experiments have established the existence of cognitive biases, but their explanatory power in real-world economic settings has been difficult to quantify. We evaluate the extent to which a cognitive bias, confirmatory bias, affects the opinions of experts in a real-world environment. In the Associated Press Top 25 College Football Poll, expert pollsters are tasked with assessing team quality, and their beliefs are treated week to week with game results that serve as signals about an individual team’s quality. We exploit the variation provided by actual game results relative to market expectations to develop a novel regression-discontinuity approach to identify confirmatory bias. We construct a data set that matches more than 20 years of individual game characteristics to poll results and betting market information and show that teams that slightly exceed and barely miss market expectations are exchangeable. The likelihood of winning the game, the average number of points scored by teams and their opponents, and even the average week of the season are no different between teams that slightly exceed and barely miss market expectations. Pollsters, however, significantly upgrade their beliefs about a team’s quality when a team slightly exceeds market expectations. The effects are sizable—one fifth of the standard deviation in poll points in a given week can be attributed to confirmatory bias, which is equivalent to nearly half of the voters in the poll ranking a team one slot higher when they slightly exceed market expectations. This type of updating suggests that even when informed agents make repeated decisions, they may act in a manner consistent with confirmatory bias.
The Effect of Selected Sociodemographic Characteristics on Daily Travel-Activity Behavior

The hypothesis that daily travel-activity behavior is influenced by the role, life-cycle, and life-style attributes of individuals and households is examined. Daily travel-activity behavior is described by a five-state categorical variable which is defined by analytical classification of a sample of daily travel-activity patterns. The explanatory variables used in this study are age, marital status, gender, employment status, education level, presence of young children, auto-ownership, income, and residential density. Parametric maximum likelihood models of multiway contingency tables are used to test the hypothesized relationships. The statistical analyses confirm that personal daily travel-activity behavior is significantly influenced by the role, life-cycle, and life-style characteristics of individuals and their households. The statistical results also demonstrate that specific sociodemographically defined segments of the urban travel market have differential likelihoods of undertaking particular daily travel-activity patterns.
Forecasting Under Structural Break Uncertainty

This paper examines some existing forecasting techniques that can be used when the forecasting model has possibly undergone structural changes at unknown points in time. We also propose two new forecast methods that are designed to account for structural changes. The proposed combination forecasts are evaluated using Monte-carlo techniques, and they outperform forecasts based on other methods that try to account for structural change, including average forecasts weighted by the past forecasting performance and techniques that first estimate a break point and then forecast using the post break data. An empirical application based on a NAIRU Phillips curve model for the United States indicates that it is possible to outperform the random walk forecasting models when we employ the forecasting methods to account for break uncertainty.
Fractional photothermolysis: Current and future applications

Ablative lasers (CO2 and Er:YAG) provide the greatest improvement in photoaging, but significant adverse effects limit their use. Nonablative lasers have reduced adverse effects, but limited efficacy. Fractional photothermolysis (FP) produces arrays of microscopic thermal wounds called microscopic treatment zones (MTZs) at specific depths in the skin without injuring surrounding tissue. Wounding is not apparent because the stratum corneum remains intact during treatment and acts as a natural bandage. Downtime is minimal and erythema is mild, permitting patients to apply cosmetics immediately after treatment. As with other nonablative laser modalities, multiple treatments are required. FP represents an alternative for treatment of dermatologic conditions without the adverse effects of ablative laser devices and can be used on all parts of the body. FP can be used for the treatment of facial rhytides, acne scars, surgical scars, melasma, and photodamaged skin. Lasers Surg. Med. 38:169–176, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Data-based stability analysis for linear discrete-time systems

This paper proposes a novel approach to stability analysis of linear time-invariant discrete-time systems based on experimental input and output data. In this approach, we develop data-based stability conditions for both open-loop and closed-loop systems in the framework of the Lyapunov's second method. Unlike conventional model-based stability analysis, no mathematical model is employed.
X-ray fluorescence analysis of iron and manganese distribution in primary dopaminergic neurons

Transition metals have been suggested to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. X‐ray microscopy combined with a cryogenic setup is a powerful method for elemental imaging in low concentrations and high resolution in intact cells, eliminating the need for fixation and sectioning of the specimen. Here, we performed an elemental distribution analysis in cultured primary midbrain neurons with a step size in the order of 300 nm and ~ 0.1 ppm sensitivity under cryo conditions by using X‐ray fluorescence microscopy. We report the elemental mappings on the subcellular level in primary mouse dopaminergic (DAergic) and non‐DAergic neurons after treatment with transition metals. Application of Fe2+ resulted in largely extracellular accumulation of iron without preference for the neuronal transmitter subtype. A quantification of different Fe oxidation states was performed using X‐ray absorption near edge structure analysis. After treatment with Mn2+, a cytoplasmic/paranuclear localization of Mn was observed preferentially in DAergic neurons, while no prominent signal was detectable after Mn3+ treatment. Immunocytochemical analysis correlated the preferential Mn uptake to increased expression of voltage‐gated calcium channels in DAergic neurons. We discuss the implications of this differential elemental distribution for the selective vulnerability of DAergic neurons and Parkinson's disease pathogenesis.
Birth Outcomes in Obese Women After Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding

OBJECTIVE: This prospective study sought to examine the outcomes of 79 consecutive first pregnancies (> 20 weeks of gestation) in women following laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) for severe obesity. METHODS: The 79 women are from a cohort of 1,382 consecutive patients. The prospectively collected data from 79 first pregnancies has been compared with these patients' previous penultimate pregnancies (n= 40), obstetric histories from matched severely obese subjects (n = 79), and community outcomes. RESULTS: The mean maternal weight gain was 9.6 ± 9.0 kg, compared with 14.4 ± 9.7 kg for the 40 penultimate pregnancies of women in this group (P < .001). There was no difference in birth weights: 3,397 g compared with 3,350 g for preband pregnancies, and these were consistent with normal community birth weights. The incidence of pregnancy-induced hypertension (10%) and gestational diabetes (6.3%) were comparable with community levels (12% and 5.5%) and lower than the obese cohort (38% and 19%) and these patients' penultimate pregnancies (45% and 15%). Monitoring and, if necessary, band adjustments during pregnancy provided more favorable maternal weight outcomes (P = .027). Neonatal outcomes, including stillbirths, preterm deliveries, low birth weight, and high birth weight, were consistent with community values. One woman developed anemia during pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy outcomes after LAGB are consistent with general community outcomes rather than outcomes from severely obese women. The adjustability of the LAGB assists in achieving these outcomes. Adjustability is appealing because it allows adaptation to the altered requirements of pregnancy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II-2
Anti‐gp210 antibody mirrors disease severity in primary biliary cirrhosis

We read with interest the article by Nakamura et al.1 reporting clinical and prognostic significance of autoantibodies to nuclear pore gp210 antigen and centromere in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). By studying 276 Japanese patients, the authors found that anti-gp210 antibody positivity was a risk factor for progression to end-stage hepatic failure and related to disease severity whereas anti-centromere antibody positivity predicted progression to complications of portal hypertension, such as esophageal varices, in the absence of jaundice. We tested 332 PBC patients including 170 from Barcelona, Spain and 162 from Larissa, Greece for gp210 and centromere autoantibody reactivity, using the same commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits used by Nakamura et al.1 Biochemical, clinical, and immunological data were obtained at presentation and during follow-up. Compared to the Japanese study, which reported a prevalence of 26% for both autoantibodies, we found this to be much lower in our cohort with anti-gp210 being present in 38 of 362 (10.4%) and anticentromere in 39 of 362 patients (10.8%). There was no difference between Spanish and Greek patients. Compared to seronegative patients, those who were positive for anti-gp210 had higher baseline (895 340 versus 612 423, P 0.006) and 12-month (573 213 versus 359 292, P 0.01) alkaline phosphatase levels, higher baseline bilirubin levels (1.4 0.7 versus 0.78 0.4, P 0.001), and higher Mayo risk score (5.2 1 versus 4.2 0.7, P 0.012). Anti-gp210 positivity neither predicted outcome (survival, transplantation, liver-related death) nor defined histologic disease severity. Anti-centromere seropositivity predicted neither clinical or biochemical disease severity nor outcome. Akin to Nakamura et al.,1 we found that fewer than 15% anti-gp210 –seropositive patients progress to hepatic failure, but at variance with them, we are hesitant at attributing prognostic value to what appears to be a relatively weak association. In summary, our data highlight 3 points. They show that antigp210 is a biomarker of disease severity in PBC,2-5 partially concurring with the findings from Japan. They also show that the autoantibody prevalence is much lower—less than half—in Mediterranean populations, in whom it also fails to act as a prognostic marker. Differences in results between the 2 studies are likely to derive from ethnic/geographical variations, because the methodological approach was identical. To define more confidently which characteristics of anti-gp210 are universal and which are ethnically/geographically determined, further studies on large PBC cohorts are needed.
Binding of pertussis toxin to eucaryotic cells and glycoproteins

The binding of pertussis toxin and its subunits to cell surface receptors and purified glycoproteins was examined. The interaction of pertussis toxin with components of two variant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines was studied. These cell lines are deficient in either sialic acid residues (LEC 2) or sialic acid and galactose residues (LEC 8) on cell surface macromolecules. The binding of pertussis toxin to components of these cells differed from the binding of the toxin to wild-type components. Although the toxin bound to a 165,000-dalton glycoprotein found in N-octylglucoside extracts of wild-type cells, it did not bind to components found in extracts of LEC 2 cells. In contrast, the toxin bound to components found in extracts of LEC 8 cells, which are variant cells that contain increased amounts of terminal N-acetylglucosamine residues on cell surface macromolecules. These results suggest that the receptor for pertussis toxin on CHO cells contains terminal acetamido-containing sugars. The cytopathic effect of the toxin on both types of variant cells was much reduced compared with its effects on wild-type cells. Thus, optimal functional binding of pertussis toxin appears to require a complete sialyllactosamine (NeuAc----Gal beta 4GlcNAc) sequence on surface macromolecules. In addition to studying the nature of the eucaryotic receptor for pertussis toxin, we examined corresponding binding sites for glycoproteins on the toxin molecule. Binding of both S2-S4 and S3-S4 dimers of the toxin to cellular components and purified glycoproteins was observed. The two dimers bound to a number of glycoproteins containing N-linked oligosaccharides but not O-linked oligosaccharides, and differences in the binding of the two dimers to some glycoproteins was noted. These data indicate that the holotoxin molecule contains at least two glycoprotein-binding sites which may have slightly different specificities for glycoproteins.
Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Vestibular Neuritis

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) in subjects with vestibular neuritis (VN) and to determine the impact of the disease in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Study Design: Case series. Setting: Tertiary referral center. Patients: Fifty patients with VN (episode of sudden onset of prolonged vertigo [>24 h] associated with peripheral vestibular hypofunction, imbalance in absence of hearing loss, or other neurologic symptoms). Intervention: VEMPs were measured in 41 patients by using an air-conducted 500 Hz tone burst. HRQoL was evaluated in all cases by the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and Dizziness Handicap Inventory Short Form (DHI-S) instruments, after the acute episode was resolved. Main Outcome Measure: Latencies P1 or N1 peaks, corrected amplitude or the absence of response, for VEMPs; scores obtained in SF-36 and DHI-S instruments. Results: VEMPs showed abnormal results in 21 (51%) of 41cases, with an increase in ipsilateral latencies for P1 and N1 peaks being the most common finding. Three patients (7%) had ipsilateral abnormal VEMP response with normal caloric response, indicating isolated involvement of inferior vestibular nerve. The total score obtained for the DHI-S was 14.76 ± 11.07 (range, 0-34/40), suggesting a variable impact among patients with VN. For the SF-36, scores in men with VN were worse than their age-matched controls for all dimensions, except for mental health. However, women only showed lower scores for general health and social function. Conclusion: Abnormal VEMP responses demonstrate the involvement of the inferior vestibular nerve in half of the patients with VN. Moreover, VN has a moderate impact in HRQoL, and it is perceived more disabling by men than women.
Policy capturing analyses of factors influencing decisions to seek professional counseling

s International, 42(2), 579-B. Cooperstock. R. (1971). Sex differences in the use of mood-modifying drugs : An explanatory model. Journal of Health & Social Behavior, 12, 238-244. Corrigan, J. D. (1978). Salient attributes of two types of helpers: Friends and mental health professionals. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 25, 588-590. Cozby, P. (1973). Self-disclosure: A literature review. Psychologi­ cal Bulletin, 79. 73-91.
Practical Compress-Forward in User Cooperation: Wyner-Ziv Cooperation

A novel user cooperation scheme, termed Wyner-Ziv cooperation, is proposed as generalization of Slepian-Wolf cooperation and a solid example for compress-forward. After motivating the idea, we present the framework of Wyner-Ziv cooperation and discuss the technical details including input/output relationships for a soft (BCJR) decoder, the cooperative strategy, quantizer optimization technologies, and a modified BCJR decoding algorithm. The gains observed in the computer simulations, up to 11.5 dB for the source-relay outage case and 3.5 dB on average, a strong testimony that it is not only feasible but also beneficial to exploit Wyner-Ziv coding in user cooperation
Neurosecretory Dysfunction of Growth Hormone Secretion in Thalassemia Major

ABSTRACT. The growth retardation of children with thalassemia major is multifactorial. Along the endocrine axis of growth hormone (GH), serum somatomedin has been shown to be deficient and GH response to GH‐relasing hormone impaired, while GH response to provocative stimuli is normal. We studied the spontaneous secretion of GH in seven patients with thalassemia major and growth retardation. Three of the patients were hypothyroid, and the other four were euthyroid. Spontaneous secretion of GH in all seven patients was subnormal: the number of pulses, the mean pulse amplitude, and the integrated concentration of GH were all lower than in 14 age‐ and sex‐matched (10 pubertal and 4 prepubertal) control subjects. GH response to provocative stimuli was normal in the euthyroid patients. This pattern of response corresponds with the definition of neurosecretory dysfunction of GH secretion. It is concluded that the growth retardation of patients with thalassemia major is partly due to neurosecretory dysfunction of GH secretion.
Parametric Estimation for Partially Hidden Diffusion Processes Sampled at Discrete Times

A one dimensional diffusion process $X=\{X_t, 0\leq t \leq T\}$ is observed only when its path lies over some threshold $\tau$. On the basis of the observable part of the trajectory, the problem is to estimate finite dimensional parameter in both drift and diffusion coefficient under a discrete sampling scheme. It is assumed that the sampling occurs at regularly spaced times intervals of length $h_n$ such that $h_n\cdot n =T$. The asymptotic is considered as $T\to\infty$, $n\to\infty$, $n h_n^2\to 0$. Consistency and asymptotic normality for estimators of parameters in both drift and diffusion coefficient is proved.