Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contraceptive efﬁ cacy and tolerability of ethinylestradiol 20 μg/drospirenone 3 mg in a ﬂ exible extended regimen: an open-label, multicentre, randomised, controlled study

Background The contraceptive efﬁ cacy and tolerability of a new ﬂ exible extended regimen of ethinylestradiol (EE) 20 μg/drospirenone (DRSP) 3 mg to extend the menstrual cycle and enable management of intracyclic (breakthrough) bleeding (ﬂ exible MIB ) was investigated and the bleeding pattern compared with a conventional 28-day regimen and a ﬁ xed extended 124-day regimen. Study design This Phase III, 2-year, multicentre, open-label study randomly (4:1:1) allocated women (aged 18–35 years) to the following regimens: ﬂ exible MIB (24–120 days’ active hormonal intake with 4-day tablet-free intervals); conventional (24 days’ active hormonal intake followed by a 4-day hormone-free interval); or ﬁ xed extended (120 days’ uninterrupted active hormonal intake followed by a 4-day tablet-free interval). Primary outcomes included the number of bleeding/ spotting days during Year 1 (all regimens) and the number of observed unintended pregnancies over 2 years (ﬂ exible MIB only). Results Results were analysed in 1067 women (full analysis set). The mean number of bleeding/ spotting days was lower with the ﬂ exible MIB vs the conventional regimen [41.0±29.1 (95% CI 38.8–43.3) vs 65.8±27.0 (95% CI 62.2–69.4) days, p <0.0001; treatment difference −24.8 (95% CI −29.2 to −20.3) days]. The corresponding value for the ﬁ xed extended regimen was 60.9±51.1 (95% CI 53.9–67.9) days. The Pearl Index for the ﬂ exible MIB regimen was 0.64 (95% CI 0.28–1.26). All regimens had comparable tolerability proﬁ les. Conclusions EE 20 μg/DRSP 3 mg administered as a ﬂ exible extended regimen with MIB is effective, well tolerated and is associated with statistically signiﬁ cantly fewer bleeding/spotting days and fewer withdrawal bleeding episodes vs EE/DRSP in a conventional 28-day regimen. The ﬂ exible MIB also provided statistically signiﬁ cantly fewer spotting days vs EE/DRSP in a ﬁ xed extended 124-day regimen ( post hoc evaluation). The ﬂ exible MIB regimen allows women to extend their menstrual cycle and manage their intracyclic (breakthrough) bleeding.
Comparative analysis of prevalence of intimate partner violence against women in military and civilian communities in Abuja, Nigeria

Introduction Intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs across the world, in various cultures, and affects people across societies irrespective of economic status or gender. Most data on IPV before World Health Organization multicountry study (WHOMCS) usually came from sources other than the military. Result of this study will contribute to the existing body of knowledge and may serve as a baseline for future studies in military populations. This study compares the prevalence of the different types of IPV against women in military and civilian communities in Abuja, Nigeria. Methods Using a multistage sampling technique, 260 women who had intimate male partners were selected from military and civilian communities of Abuja. Collected data on personal characteristics and different types of IPV experienced were analyzed to demonstrate comparison of the association between the different forms of IPV and the respondents’ sociodemographic and partner characteristics in the two study populations using percentages and χ-square statistics, and P-value was assumed to be significant at ≤0.05. Results The prevalence of the four major types of IPV was higher among the military respondents than among civilians: controlling behavior, 37.1% versus 29.1%; emotional/psychological abuse, 42.4% versus 13.4%; physical abuse, 19.7% versus 5.9%, and sexual abuse, 9.2% versus 8.8%. Significantly more respondents from the military population (59 [45.4%]) compared to civilians (21 [19.4%]) were prevented by their partners from seeing their friends (P=0.000). The situation is reversed with regard to permission to seek health care for self, with civilians reporting a significantly higher prevalence (35 [32.4%]) than did military respondents (20 [15.4%]) (P=0.002). The military respondents were clearly at a higher risk of experiencing all the variants of emotional violence than the civilians (P=0.00). The commonest form of physical violence against women was “being slapped or having something thrown at them, that could hurt”, which was markedly higher in the military (43 [33.1%]) than in the civilian population (10 [9.3%]), (P<0.05). Conclusion IPV is a significant public health problem in Abuja, and the military population is clearly at a higher risk of experiencing all forms of IPV compared to the civilian population. The military should encourage and finance research on effect of military operations and posttraumatic stress disorders on family relationships with a view of developing evidence-based treatment models for military personnel.
Computational aspects in checking of coherence and propagation of conditional probability bounds

In this paper we consider the problem of reducing the computational difficulties in g-coherence checking and propagation of imprecise conditional probability assessments. We review some theoretical results related with the linear structure of the random gain in the betting criterion. Then, we propose a modified version of two existing algorithms, used for g-coherence checking and propagation, which are based on linear systems with a reduced number of unknowns. The reduction in the number of unknowns is obtained by an iterative algorithm. Finally, to illustrate our procedure we give some applications.
Evaluating the Effects of Land Use and Strategies for Parking and Transit Supply on Mode Choice of Downtown Commuters

Metropolitan regions around the world are looking for sustainable strategies to reduce motor-vehicle traffic congestion, energy consumption, and emissions. These strategies include land-use policies as well as improvements to public transit services. This empirical work aims at studying the potential impact of land use (LU), public transit supply (PT), and parking pricing strategies on the mode choice of commuters living in the commuter rail line catchments in the Montreal (Canada) region. It makes use of an econometric modeling approach with both transportation mode choice and neighborhood type choice as simultaneous decisions, in order to take into account the endogeneity of these choices. The neighborhood choices are represented by neighborhood typologies derived from a cluster analysis using land use and transit supply indicators (population density, land use mix, and bus transit supply). As part of the outcomes of this study, the elasticities of mode choice with respect to commuter-transit fees, travel time reductions, and hourly parking costs are estimated. From the results, it is observed that a reduction of 10 percent in the transit fee or relative travel time would increase mode split by 10 percent and 3 percent respectively. The effect of age on both mode choice and neighborhood choice is also estimated. The individual and household structure factors associated with mode choice and/or residential neighborhood choice are also identified. Commuter age affects both outcomes. Income and gender affect mode choice while car ownership and the presence of children are linked to neighborhood choice.
Close-Form Design of Antenna-Constrained Multi-Cell Multi-User Downlink Interference Alignment

This paper investigates the downlink channels in multi-cell multi-user interfering networks. The goal is to propose close-form designs to obtain degrees of freedom (DoF) in high SNR region for the network composed of base stations (BS) as transmitters and mobile stations (MS) as receivers. Consider the realistic system, both BS and MS have finite antennas, so that the design of interference alignment is highly constrained by the feasibility conditions. The focus of design is to explore potential opportunities of alignment in the subspace both from the BS transmit side and from the MS receive side. The new IA schemes for cellular downlink channels are in the form of causal dynamic processes in contrary to conventional static IA schemes. For different implementations, system conditions are compared from all aspects, which include antenna usage, CSI overhead and computational complexity. This research scope covers a wide range of typical multi-cell multi-user network models. The first one is a $K$-cell fully connected cellular network; the second one is a Wyner cyclic cellular network with two adjacent interfering links; the third one is a Wyner cyclic cellular network with single adjacent interfering link considering cell-edge and cell-interior users respectively.
Early Preferential Stimulation of gd T Cells by TNF- a 1

Although recent ﬁndings indicate that gd T cells inﬂuence both early innate and Ag-speciﬁc adaptive host responses, it has remained unclear what triggers gd T cell reactivity. Investigating very early T cell activation in mouse and human models of bacterial infection, we measured CD69 expression as an indicator of early cellular activation. Both murine ab and gd T cells responded polyclonally to systemic bacterial infections, and to LPS. However, gd T cells responded more strongly to the bacteria and to LPS. In vitro LPS-stimulated human T cells showed a similar differential response pattern. We identiﬁed TNF- a as mediator of the early differential T cell activation, and of differential proliferative responses. The stronger response of gd T cells to TNF- a was correlated with higher inducible expression levels of TNF-Rp75. Among unstimulated splenocytes, more gd T cells than ab T cells expressed CD44 at high levels. The data suggest that TNF-Rp75 determines the differential T cell reactivity, and that most gd T cells in the normal spleen are present in a presensitized state. As TNF- a stimulates activated T cells, it may early preferentially connect gd T cell functions with those of cells that produce this cytokine, including activated innate effector cells and Ag-stimulated T lymphocytes. The Journal of Immunology, 1998, 160: 5221–5230. anti-human CD69 (clone L78, 347823; Becton Dickinson), PerCP-conju- gated anti-human CD45 (clone 2D1, 347464; Becton Dickinson), FITC-conjugated anti-human TCR- ab (clone BW242/412; T Cell Sciences, Inc., Cambridge, MA), FITC-conjugated anti-human TCR- gd 5A6.E9; T Cell Sciences, Inc.). To examine TNF-R expression, lympho- cytes isolated peripheral blood samples centrifugation Piscataway, NJ)
Some Comments on Evolutionary Algorithm Theory

The development of a sound theory that predicts and verifies existing evolutionary algorithms (EA) is one of the most important research issues in the field today. In mathematical proofs, the assumption of spherical symmetry is probably one of the most widely used simplifications. This paper discusses the extent to which spherical symmetry is appropriate for certain EAs. It turns out that spherical symmetry leads to simplifications in (self-adaptive) EAs but seems inappropriate for certain genetic algorithm variants, since small mutation rates bias a search algorithm toward the coordinate axes. This paper also argues that current test suites are weak in that they do not provide problems with significant epistasis that describes the interaction between different parameters. Consequently, when using an empirical test for pushing existing theory beyond its limits, benchmark functions should include more epistatic interaction or at least should use coordinate rotations.
Identification of Keratinocyte Growth Factor as a Target of microRNA-155 in Lung Fibroblasts: Implication in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Interactions

Background Epithelial-mesenchymal interactions are critical in regulating many aspects of vertebrate embryo development, and for the maintenance of homeostatic equilibrium in adult tissues. The interactions between epithelium and mesenchyme are believed to be mediated by paracrine signals such as cytokines and extracellular matrix components secreted from fibroblasts that affect adjacent epithelia. In this study, we sought to identify the repertoire of microRNAs (miRNAs) in normal lung human fibroblasts and their potential regulation by the cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β and TGF-β. Methodology/Principal Findings MiR-155 was significantly induced by inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β while it was down-regulated by TGF-β. Ectopic expression of miR-155 in human fibroblasts induced modulation of a large set of genes related to “cell to cell signalling”, “cell morphology” and “cellular movement”. This was consistent with an induction of caspase-3 activity and with an increase in cell migration in fibroblasts tranfected with miR-155. Using different miRNA bioinformatic target prediction tools, we found a specific enrichment for miR-155 predicted targets among the population of down-regulated transcripts. Among fibroblast-selective targets, one interesting hit was keratinocyte growth factor (KGF, FGF-7), a member of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family, which owns two potential binding sites for miR-155 in its 3′-UTR. Luciferase assays experimentally validated that miR-155 can efficiently target KGF 3′-UTR. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that only one out of the 2 potential sites was truly functional. Functional in vitro assays experimentally validated that miR-155 can efficiently target KGF 3′-UTR. Furthermore, in vivo experiments using a mouse model of lung fibrosis showed that miR-155 expression level was correlated with the degree of lung fibrosis. Conclusions/Significance Our results strongly suggest a physiological function of miR-155 in lung fibroblasts. Altogether, this study implicates this miRNA in the regulation by mesenchymal cells of surrounding lung epithelium, making it a potential key player during tissue injury.
Identity and Illness: the effects of identity salience and frame of reference on evaluation of illness and injury.

Objectives: This paper describes two experiments which develop a Self Categorisation Theory (SCT) (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher and Wetherell 1987) approach to the way people make sense of their symptoms. The first experiment builds upon a study by Levine and Reicher (1996) in which it is proposed that symptoms are evaluated, not against preexisting illness representations, but by reference to their impact on situationally salient identities. The second experiment extends the SCT perspective on symptom evaluation to argue that the identities that are instrumental in assigning meaning to symptoms are themselves situationally constructed. Design and Methods: In the first experiment 40 female secretaries, defined either in terms of a ‘secretary’ identity or in terms of a ‘gender’ identity, were asked to evaluate a number of scenarios which describe different illnesses or injuries. In the second experiment 40 men from a rugby club were asked to evaluate a number of scenarios relating to illness and injuries. The identity from which scenarios were evaluated was held constant, but the comparison groups (or frame of reference) was manipulated. Results: Overall, the results of the first study provide clear evidence that the significance ascribed to scenarios depends on which identity is salient. The results from the second study provide clear evidence that the significance ascribed by male subjects to the scenarios was a function of the comparison groups they believed they were being compared to. Conclusions: Taken together, these two experiments provide strong evidence for the viability of an SCT approach to symptom evaluation.
The mechanism and boundary conditions of the relationship between customer incivility and service quality

Abstract This study addresses the causal linkage between customer incivility and service quality through the lens of self-determination theory, according to which need satisfaction as a potential mechanism mediates this relationship. Additionally, it examines the moderating role of surface acting in the relationship between customer incivility and need satisfaction. Dyadic questionnaires were collected from restaurant employees and their customers in Taiwan. A total of 190 employees and 645 customers participated in this study. Results found that need satisfaction mediates the negative relationship between customer incivility and service quality. Surface acting moderates the relationship between customer incivility and need satisfaction as well as the mediation effect of customer incivility on service quality through need satisfaction. Specifically, the indirect effect of need satisfaction on the relation between customer incivility and service quality creativity was more significantly negative at a high level of surface acting than the effect at a low level.
Kinesiological Analysis of Stationary Running Performed in Aquatic and Dry Land Environments

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to analyze the electromyographic (EMG) signals of the rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), semitendinosus (ST) and short head of the biceps femoris (BF) during the performance of stationary running at different intensities in aquatic and dry land environments. The sample consisted of 12 female volunteers who performed the stationary running exercise in aquatic and dry land environments at a submaximal cadence (80 beats·min-1 controlled by a metronome) and at maximal velocity, with EMG signal measurements from the RF, VL, ST and BF muscles. The results showed a distinct pattern between environments for each muscle examined. For the submaximal cadence of 80 beats·min-1, there was a reduced magnitude of the EMG signal in the aquatic environment, except for the ST muscle, the pattern of which was similar in both environments. In contrast to the submaximal cadence, the pattern of the EMG signal from all of the muscles showed similar magnitudes for both environments and phases of movement at maximal velocity, except for the VL muscle. Therefore, the EMG signals from the RF, VL, ST and BF muscles of women during stationary running had different patterns of activation over the range of motion between aquatic and dry land environments for different intensities. Moreover, the neuromuscular responses of the lower limbs were optimized by an increase in intensity from submaximal cadence to maximal velocity.
Performance Comparison of Various Maximum Likelihood Nonlinear Mixed-Effects Estimation Methods for Dose–Response Models

Estimation methods for nonlinear mixed-effects modelling have considerably improved over the last decades. Nowadays, several algorithms implemented in different software are used. The present study aimed at comparing their performance for dose–response models. Eight scenarios were considered using a sigmoid Emax model, with varying sigmoidicity and residual error models. One hundred simulated datasets for each scenario were generated. One hundred individuals with observations at four doses constituted the rich design and at two doses, the sparse design. Nine parametric approaches for maximum likelihood estimation were studied: first-order conditional estimation (FOCE) in NONMEM and R, LAPLACE in NONMEM and SAS, adaptive Gaussian quadrature (AGQ) in SAS, and stochastic approximation expectation maximization (SAEM) in NONMEM and MONOLIX (both SAEM approaches with default and modified settings). All approaches started first from initial estimates set to the true values and second, using altered values. Results were examined through relative root mean squared error (RRMSE) of the estimates. With true initial conditions, full completion rate was obtained with all approaches except FOCE in R. Runtimes were shortest with FOCE and LAPLACE and longest with AGQ. Under the rich design, all approaches performed well except FOCE in R. When starting from altered initial conditions, AGQ, and then FOCE in NONMEM, LAPLACE in SAS, and SAEM in NONMEM and MONOLIX with tuned settings, consistently displayed lower RRMSE than the other approaches. For standard dose–response models analyzed through mixed-effects models, differences were identified in the performance of estimation methods available in current software, giving material to modellers to identify suitable approaches based on an accuracy-versus-runtime trade-off.
Efficient Method of Detecting Globally Blurry or Sharp Images

In this paper we present a simple and efficient method for detecting the blurriness in the pictures. Recently, many digital cameras are equipped with auto-focusing functions to help the users take well-focused pictures. However, digital images can be degraded by limited contrast, inappropriate exposure, imperfection of auto-focusing or motion compensating devices, limited knowledge of amateur photographers, and so on. In order to detect blurry images for deleting them or making them go through an enhancement process automatically, a reliable measure of image degradation is needed. This paper presents a blurriness/sharpness detection algorithm based on the prediction-error variance, and demonstrates its feasibility by using extensive experiments. This method is fast, easy to implement and accurate. Regardless of the detection accuracy, the proposed method in this paper is not demanding on computation time.
Automatic Transcription Method for Polyphonic Music Based on Adaptive Comb Filter and Neural Network

This paper presents a method to transcribe polyphonic music based on adaptive comb filter and neural network. In the method, the input audio is firstly divided into snapshots by a BP neural network, and then comb filters of different notes are used to calculate features. Comb filter can be adjusted to take inharmonicity and note pitch error into consideration. Note energy, audible harmonic number and harmonic continuity obtained from filter are used in BP neural network to recognize notes in snapshot, which helps multipitch estimation algorithm to be more robust to frequency missing and sharing.
FALCON: a software package for analysis of nestedness in bipartite networks

Nestedness is a statistical measure used to interpret bipartite interaction data in several ecological and evolutionary contexts, e.g. biogeography (species-site relationships) and species interactions (plant-pollinator and host-parasite networks). Multiple methods have been used to evaluate nestedness, which differ in how the metrics for nestedness are determined. Furthermore, several different null models have been used to calculate statistical significance of nestedness scores. The profusion of measures and null models, many of which give conflicting results, is problematic for comparison of nestedness across different studies. We developed the FALCON software package to allow easy and efficient comparison of nestedness scores and statistical significances for a given input network, using a selection of the more popular measures and null models from the current literature. FALCON currently includes six measures and five null models for nestedness in binary networks, and two measures and four null models for nestedness in weighted networks. The FALCON software is designed to be efficient and easy to use. FALCON code is offered in three languages (R, MATLAB, Octave) and is designed to be modular and extensible, enabling users to easily expand its functionality by adding further measures and null models. FALCON provides a robust methodology for comparing the strength and significance of nestedness in a given bipartite network using multiple measures and null models. It includes an “adaptive ensemble” method to reduce undersampling of the null distribution when calculating statistical significance. It can work with binary or weighted input networks. FALCON is a response to the proliferation of different nestedness measures and associated null models in the literature. It allows easy and efficient calculation of nestedness scores and statistical significances using different methods, enabling comparison of results from different studies and thereby supporting theoretical study of the causes and implications of nestedness in different biological contexts.