Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Missing Men: High Risk of Disease in Men of Mexican Origin

The present study sought to determine gender- and age-specific prevalences of chronic diseases in an urban Mexican American border community. The Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (CCHC; n = 2,000) was selected using a multistaged cluster design. Sociodemographics, anthropometric measures, and blood samples were collected on each participant. More women were obese (55.1%) than men (44.8%). Men had significantly higher rates of diabetes (20.4% for men vs. 15.8% for women, p < .05) and undiagnosed diabetes (6.2% for men vs. 2.4% for women, p < .01); the prevalence of diabetes rose steeply between the ages of 40 and 49 years. Men were significantly more likely to have serum cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL and elevated low-density lipoprotein levels (22.6% vs. 26.1%, p < .01). Mexican American males in the U.S./Mexico border region have a high prevalence of obesity in younger men and higher overall rates of diabetes, including undiagnosed diabetes, and significantly higher serum cholesterol levels than women.
Dramatic amplification of a rice transposable element during recent domestication

Despite the prevalence of transposable elements in the genomes of higher eukaryotes, what is virtually unknown is how they amplify to very high copy numbers without killing their host. Here, we report the discovery of rice strains where a miniature inverted-repeat transposable element (mPing) has amplified from ≈50 to ≈1,000 copies in four rice strains. We characterized 280 of the insertions and found that 70% were within 5 kb of coding regions but that insertions into exons and introns were significantly underrepresented. Further analyses of gene expression and transposable-element activity demonstrate that the ability of mPing to attain high copy numbers is because of three factors: (i) the rapid selection against detrimental insertions, (ii) the neutral or minimal effect of the remaining insertions on gene transcription, and (iii) the continued mobility of mPingelements in strains that already have >1,000 copies. The rapid increase in mPing copy number documented in this study represents a potentially valuable source of population diversity in self-fertilizing plants like rice.
The elicitation of the most joyless of all sins: Determinants of benign and malicious envy

Envy stems from a frustrating upward comparison and leads to diverse affective, cognitive, and behavioral changes aimed at leveling the status difference between the envier and the envied person. Benign envy increases efforts to improve the envier's status whereas malicious envy increases efforts to harm the envied person's position. Still, the elicitation of envy is poorly understood. I propose a model for the elicitation of envy in which appraisals of personal control over reaching the envied person's status-yielding standard and deservingness of the advantage coordinate envy's diverse components—a conceptualization of benign and malicious envy as a social-functional emotion syndromes. Dispositional and situational determinants that affect the appraisal dimensions should therefore elicit either benign or malicious envy. Chapter 2 demonstrates that different forms of achievement motivation modulate envy, which is in line with the notion that they are theoretically linked to appraisals of personal control. Hope for success relates to dispositional benign envy, while the latter correlates with increased performance in long-distance runners. In contrast, fear of failure relates to dispositional malicious envy, while the latter is associated with the avoidance of a time goal. Chapter 3 demonstrates that superior individuals' pride displays modulate envy by conveying affective and inferential information to observers, which is in line with the notion that they are theoretically linked to appraisals of deservingness and personal control. Authentic pride displays are likable and convey status in the form of prestige, increasing benign envy. Hubristic pride displays are less likable and convey status in the form of dominance, increasing malicious envy. Collectively, the evidence supports the model of the elicitation of envy. I highlight future research opportunities regarding the coordination of envy's components and how this approach informs emotion research in general.
Circulating irisin levels reflect visceral adiposity in non-diabetic patients undergoing hemodialysis

Abstract Background: Recent evidence suggests that increased visceral adiposity is a strong independent risk factor for cardiovascular death and all-cause mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Irisin, which is a novel myokine, can play critical roles in diabetes and adiposity. The purpose of our study was to investigate whether serum irisin levels are associated with body mass index, waist circumference (WC), and total fat mass in non-diabetic patients undergoing maintenance HD. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 108 non-diabetic HD patients and 40 age- and sex-matched apparently healthy subjects. Serum irisin concentrations were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Body fat composition (TBF-410 Tanita Body Composition Analyzer) was measured and calculated. Results: Serum irisin levels did not differ between HD patients and the healthy controls (523.50 ± 229.32 vs. 511.28 ± 259.74, p = 0.782). Serum irisin levels were associated with age (r = 0.314; p =0.006), HOMA-IR (r = 0.472; p = 0.003), WC (r = 0.862; p < 0.001), and total fat mass (r = 0.614; p < 0.001). In multivariate regression analysis, WC (β = 1.240, p < 0.001) and total fat mass (β = 0.792, p = 0.015) were the variables that were significantly associated with irisin concentrations (R2 = 0.684, p < 0.001) after adjusting for confounding factors (age and HOMA-IR). Conclusions: These results suggest that serum irisin levels are related to visceral adiposity in non-diabetic HD patients.
Changes in the Cultivable Flora in Deep Carious Lesions following a Stepwise Excavation Procedure

This study examined the cultivable microflora before and after stepwise excavation procedures in deep carious lesions in 9 permanent teeth, categorized according to degrees of proximal surface destruction. The final excavation was performed 4–6 months after the initial treatment, which included peripheral dentine excavation and removal of the central cariogenic biomass and the superficial necrotic dentine. Dentine colour and consistency were assessed by means of standardized scales before the application of a Ca(OH)2 compound and temporary sealing. Reassessments were performed before and after the final excavation. Microbiological samples of the central demineralized dentine were obtained with a sterile bur before and after the first excavation, as well as before and after the final excavation. After anaerobic cultivation on enriched non–selective tryptic soy agar, 30 colonies from a representative area were identified by standardized biochemical and physiological tests. Before temporary restoration, a yellowish and light brown demineralized soft dentine was typically observed, and gram–positive rods accounted for 70% and lactobacilli for 50% of the total colony–forming units. Lactobacillus casei subsp. rhamnosus and Actinomyces naeslundii dominated the lactobacilli and the other gram–positive rods, respectively. Gram–negative rods were the next most frequent isolates, followed by streptococci, each group accounting for about 20% of the colony–forming units in positive samples. Before the final excavation, which did not cause exposure of the pulp in any of the cases, the retained demineralized dentine had changed into a darker and harder tissue, and the total colony–forming units, as well as the frequency and proportions of lactobacilli were substantially reduced. Gram–negative rods also declined, and the flora was dominated by A. naeslundii and various streptococci. In conclusion, the cultivable flora detected following the treatment interval had declined substantially, and the distribution of bacterial species did not represent a typical cariogenic microbiota of deep lesions, confirming the clinical findings of arrested caries progression.
Evaluation of the Temporal Association between Kawasaki Disease and Viral Infections in South Korea

Background and Objectives This study is aimed at elucidating potential temporal associations between the occurrence of Kawasaki disease (KD) and various viral infections. Subjects and Methods We obtained monthly patterns of KD from the seventh nationwide survey and viral detection data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2009 to 2011 and evaluated temporal correlations between them for each month. The respiratory viruses detected using a multiplex real-time-polymerase chain reaction kit were influenza virus (A/H1N1, A/H3N2, A/H5N1, and B), adenovirus, parainfluenza virus (type 1, 2, 3), respiratory syncytial virus (type A, B), human rhinovirus, human coronavirus (OC43/229E, NL63), human bocavirus, and enterovirus. Results We obtained data from a total of 13031 patients who were treated for acute KD from 87 hospitals with pediatric residence programs. During this survey, KD showed highest overall incidence in summer and winter seasons and lowest incidence in February and October. We received viral detection data for a total of 14267 patients. Viral detection was highest during winter and spring seasons. The most commonly detected virus was human rhinovirus (32.6%), followed by influenza virus (26.8%). The monthly incidence of KD showed significant correlation with the monthly overall viral detection (p=0.022, r=0.382). In particular, human bocavirus and enterovirus have significant correlations with monthly patterns of KD occurrence (p=0.032 and p=0.007, respectively) and influenza virus correlated with KD occurrence with borderline significance (p=0.063). Conclusion The temporal association between monthly occurrence of KD and viral detection suggests the etiologic importance of precedent infection in the development of KD.
Physical Educators’ Concerns about Integrating Children with Disabilities: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

The purpose was to conduct a qualitative cross-cultural comparison of the concerns of physical educators in two countries about integration of children with and without disabilities. In-depth interviews were held with 30 regular elementary physical education teachers in Berlin (7 males, 9 females) and in the Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) area (2 males, 12 females), and observations were made of school settings. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) of Hall, Wallace, and Dossett (1973) guided the study. Data were analyzed by grounded theory procedures. Many concerns about integration were generalizable across cultures. In both countries, teachers reported concerns at only four of the seven stages of CBAM: personal, management, consequence, and collaboration. Most concerns focused on management. The major cultural difference was that DFW teachers reported more personal concerns (uncertainty about everyday demands and competence to meet these demands) than Berlin teachers. A dynamic systems model was proposed to.
Systemic Risk in the Financial Sector: An Analysis of the Subprime-Mortgage Financial Crisis

The paper analyses the causes of the current crisis of the global financial system, with particular emphasis on the systemic elements that turned the crisis of subprime mortgage-backed securities in the United States, a small part of the overall system, into a worldwide crisis. The first half of the paper explains the role of mortgage securitization as a mechanism for allocating risks from real estate investments and discusses what has gone wrong and why in the implementation of this mechanism in the United States. The second half of the paper discusses the incidence of systemic risk in the crisis. Two elements of systemic risk are identified. First, there was excessive maturity transformation through conduits and structured-investment vehicles (SIVs); when this broke down in August 2007, the overhang of asset-backed securities that had been held by these vehicles put significant additional downward pressure on securities prices. Second, as the financial system adjusted to the recognition of delinquencies and defaults in US mortgages and to the breakdown of maturity transformation of conduits and SIVs, the interplay of market malfunctioning or even breakdown, fair value accounting and the insufficiency of equity capital at financial institutions, and, finally, systemic effects of prudential regulation created a detrimental downward spiral in the overall financial system. The paper argues that these developments have not only been caused by identifiably faulty decisions, but also by flaws in financial system architecture. In thinking about regulatory reform, one must therefore go beyond considerations of individual incentives and supervision and pay attention to issues of systemic interdependence and transparency.
ShiftCNN: Generalized Low-Precision Architecture for Inference of Convolutional Neural Networks

In this paper we introduce ShiftCNN, a generalized low-precision architecture for inference of multiplierless convolutional neural networks (CNNs). ShiftCNN is based on a power-of-two weight representation and, as a result, performs only shift and addition operations. Furthermore, ShiftCNN substantially reduces computational cost of convolutional layers by precomputing convolution terms. Such an optimization can be applied to any CNN architecture with a relatively small codebook of weights and allows to decrease the number of product operations by at least two orders of magnitude. The proposed architecture targets custom inference accelerators and can be realized on FPGAs or ASICs. Extensive evaluation on ImageNet shows that the state-of-the-art CNNs can be converted without retraining into ShiftCNN with less than 1% drop in accuracy when the proposed quantization algorithm is employed. RTL simulations, targeting modern FPGAs, show that power consumption of convolutional layers is reduced by a factor of 4 compared to conventional 8-bit fixed-point architectures.
A conceptual operational risk model for SMEs: Impact on organisational information technology

Building on prior research related to the impact of information technology (IT) and operational risk management (OPM) in the context of SMEs, this paper proposes there is a relationship between IT operational risk management and performances of SMEs. Specifically, a model is developed showing the relationship between IT operational risks, evaluation models, principal causes of IT failure, change management requirements, characteristic(s) of business information and lastly disorganised (chaotic) state of organisation(s) will never lead to the same results of operational risk management (ORM). Conceptual and empirical literature is explained within this model. The discussions are then used to generate research propositions that represent the models which in effect provide insight on how the variables are linked. Hence, further research can prove empirically the relationships and hence provide a contribution in the area of IT operational risk with regards to SMEs.
Isotretinoin alleviates renal damage in rat chronic glomerulonephritis.

BACKGROUND Retinoids, derivatives of vitamin A, have strong anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative properties. We previously demonstrated that the pan-agonists all-transretinoic acid (RA) and isotretinoin (13-cis RA) alleviate renal damage in rat acute glomerulonephritis (GN) induced by anti-Thy-1.1 mAb OX-7. METHODS The present study examined the effects of low dose and high dose treatment with isotretinoin in the chronic glomerulonephritis model, Thy-GN. Thy-GN was induced by a single intravenous injection of monoclonal antibody (mAb) 1-22-3 in uninephrectomized Wistar rats (N = 7 to 10 per group). Control and nephritic groups were treated with vehicle (veh), low dose isotretinoin (2 mg/kg body wt), or high dose isotretinoin (10 mg/kg body wt). The experiment was terminated 60 days after induction of Thy-GN. RESULTS In animals with Thy-GN, isotretinoin abrogated the increase in blood pressure and significantly reduced albuminuria. Glomerulosclerosis index, glomerular and interstitial cell counts, as well as the area of the interstitial space were significantly lower in nephritic rats treated with low and high dose isotretinoin compared to vehicle-treated nephritic controls. Treatment with isotretinoin also significantly reduced the number of glomerular and interstitial macrophages. The increase of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1, TGF receptor II and prepro-endothelin-1 gene expression in vehicle-treated nephritic rats was significantly attenuated by isotretinoin. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with isotretinoin significantly reduces glomerular and interstitial damage in rats with chronic glomerulonephritis as indicated by different functional and histological markers. Retinoids may provide a novel therapeutic option for the treatment of glomerulonephritis.
Identifying Collocations for Recognizing Opinions

Subjectivity in natural language refers to aspects of language used to express opinions and evaluations (Banfield, 1982; Wiebe, 1994). There are numerous applications for which knowledge of subjectivity is relevant, including genre detection, information extraction, and information retrieval. This paper shows promising results for a straightforward method of identifying collocational clues of subjectivity, as well as evidence of the usefulness of these clues for recognizing opinionated documents.
Association Between Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Outcomes and Number of Cases Treated at California Hospitals

Background and Purpose— Studies of several complex medical conditions have shown that outcomes are better at hospitals that treat more cases. We tested the hypothesis that patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage treated at high-volume hospitals have better outcomes. Methods— Using a database of all admissions to nonfederal hospitals in California from 1990 to 1999, we obtained discharge abstracts for patients with a primary diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage who were admitted through the emergency department. Hospital volume, defined as the average number of subarachnoid hemorrhage cases admitted each year, was divided into quartiles. Rates of mortality, adverse outcomes (death or discharge to long-term care), length of stay, and hospital charges were computed by univariate analysis and by multivariable general estimating equations, with adjustment for demographic and admission characteristics. Results— A total of 12 804 patients were admitted for subarachnoid hemorrhage through the emergency departments of 390 hospitals. Hospital volumes varied from 0 to 8 cases per year in the first quartile to 19 to 70 cases per year in the fourth quartile. The mortality rate in the lowest volume quartile (49%) was larger than that in the highest volume quartile (32%, P <0.001). In multivariable analysis, the difference persisted (odds ratio comparing highest with lowest volume quartiles 0.57, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.67;P <0.001). At higher volume hospitals, lengths of stay were longer, and hospital charges were greater in univariate and multivariable models (all P <0.001). Only 4.8% of those admitted to hospitals in the lowest volume quartile were transferred to hospitals in the highest quartile. Conclusions— In this study of discharge abstracts in California, hospitals that treated more cases of subarachnoid hemorrhage had substantially lower rates of in-hospital mortality. Few patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage are being transferred to high-volume centers.
Abdominal Manifestations of Lymphoma: Spectrum of Imaging Features

Non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin lymphomas frequently involve many structures in the abdomen and pelvis. Extranodal disease is more common with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma than with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Though it may be part of a systemic lymphoma, single onset of nodal lymphoma is not rare. Extranodal lymphoma has been described in virtually every organ and tissue. In decreasing order of frequency, the spleen, liver, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, abdominal wall, genitourinary tract, adrenal, peritoneal cavity, and biliary tract are involved. The purpose of this review is to discuss and illustrate the spectrum of appearances of nodal and extranodal lymphomas, including AIDS-related lymphomas, in the abdominopelvic region using a multimodality approach, especially cross-sectional imaging techniques. The most common radiologic patterns of involvement are illustrated. Familiarity with the imaging manifestations that are diagnostically specific for lymphoma is important because imaging plays an important role in the noninvasive management of disease.
Cytoarchitectonic organization of the human auditory cortex

A new cytoarchitectonic study of the human auditory cortex was undertaken in the light of recent knowledge concerning the architecture, fiber connectivity, and physiology of this region in the monkey. The survey of three normative human brains (six hemispheres) processed in whole‐brain serial sections disclosed a cytoarchitectonic organization of the cortical auditory region similar to that in the macaque. Unlike the monkey, auditory‐related cortex was found in parietal operculum and inferior parietal lobule. Similarities in cortical architectonics between human and monkey brains may provide a rationale for the application of knowledge concerning animal physiology and connectivity to man.
Stolper-Samuelson Is Dead: And Other Crimes of Both Theory and Data

This conference asks what impact globalization has on poverty. What role are theorists to play in these discussions? A temptation is simply to write yet another model using newer and cooler techniques drawn from other fields. We are skeptical about whether this is what the world really needs (at least at the moment). In this, we are on the side of Descartes, who in his Discourse on Method enjoins the researcher to proceed from the simple to the complex. We think that we need to start with the absolutely simplest models that we can and add complexity only as persistent empirical evidence forces us to do so. At least as a starting point, H0 should not be too complex. Having argued that we should start with very simple models and add complexity only as necessary, let us head the other direction and critique our fixation on the predictions of the simplest models. Models exist to make a point. Just as a toy hammer prepares a child to use a real hammer, our toy models provide us with insights that will be immensely useful when we turn to more complex problems. But when we need to pound in a nail, we don’t want to use a toy hammer. And we should be equally cautious spending all of our time testing toy theories or interpreting the data in terms of these theories. We shouldn’t ignore them, discard them, or least of all mutilate them. But we do
The 'Butterfly effect' in Cayley graphs, and its relevance for evolutionary genomics

Suppose a finite set $X$ is repeatedly transformed by a sequence of permutations of a certain type acting on an initial element $x$ to produce a final state $y$. We investigate how 'different' the resulting state $y'$ to $y$ can be if a slight change is made to the sequence, either by deleting one permutation, or replacing it with another. Here the 'difference' between $y$ and $y'$ might be measured by the minimum number of permutations of the permitted type required to transform $y$ to $y'$, or by some other metric. We discuss this first in the general setting of sensitivity to perturbation of walks in Cayley graphs of groups with a specified set of generators. We then investigate some permutation groups and generators arising in computational genomics, and the statistical implications of the findings.