Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PREDICTORS OF THE SENSE OF BELONGING TO THE COUNTRY: EXPLORING A NEW MODEL

This study explored new possibilities for measuring the sense of belonging to the country and investigated predictors of the sense of belonging to Latvia. Focusing on students’ sense of belonging to the country is explained by two reasons: 1) emigration is the main factor of depopulation in Latvia; 2) students’ intention to emigrate is the highest among other social groups. Studies in the field of community psychology present models of the sense of community and explore intentions to stay in a particular place. Within a new model, different levels of social systems (from meso- to macro-system) were included into the analysis of predictors of the sense of belonging to the country. The participants were 205 university students from 18 to 30 (67% females). On the basis of previous studies, a new measure of the sense of belonging and perceived context was developed. The results confirmed a complex model of the sense of belonging in the context of social systems. Higher perceived opportunities at the level of the country and more positive evaluation of the future of Latvia predicted higher level of the sense of belonging to Latvia directly. In addition, female students perceived higher level of the sense of belonging than male students.
Intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy prevents tumor progression and death from superficial bladder cancer: ten-year follow-up of a prospective randomized trial.

PURPOSE Superficial bladder tumors (stage Ta, T1, and Tis) may progress to invade the bladder muscle and cause death from metastatic cancer. Transurethral tumor resection (TURB) is the standard therapy for such tumors, but surgery alone may not prevent tumor progression. Intravesical therapy is widely used as an adjunct to TURB. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the most active intravesical agent, but whether BCG prevents tumor progression and death from bladder cancer is unknown. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between 1978 and 1981, 86 high-risk patients with superficial bladder cancer were randomly assigned to receive either TURB (n = 43) or TURB plus BCG (n = 43). Adverse tumor features for progression were equally distributed between the two groups. BCG was administered weekly for 6 weeks. Patients were evaluated every 3 to 6 months thereafter for progression to muscle invasion or metastasis. Control (TURB) patients with recurrent superficial tumors were eligible for crossover to the BCG arm. All patients have been monitored until event or for a minimum of 10 years (range, 10 to 14). RESULTS The 10-year progression-free rate was 61.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 47.2% to 76.7%) for patients treated with BCG and 37% (95% CI, 22.9% to 53.1%) for control patients. The median progression-free interval was not reached for the BCG group and was 46 months for the control group (P = .0063). Of 18 control patients crossed over to BCG (median, 29 months), 15 did not show tumor progression. TURB plus BCG resulted in a 10-year disease-specific survival rate of 75%, compared with 55% with TURB alone (P = .03). CONCLUSION This study shows that intravesical therapy with BCG delays tumor progression and death from tumor in patients who present with superficial bladder cancer.
Asset Prices, Monetary Policy and Macroeconomic Stability

A focal point of macroeconomic policy analysis over the past decade has been whether central banks should respond to changes in asset prices. This thesis addresses the question from the distinct perspective of equilibrium determinacy. By obtaining the conditions for equilibrium determinacy, it is possible to ascertain whether a central bank could induce additional volatility in an economy by adopting a monetary policy rule which incorporates asset prices. This thesis employs a New Keynesian model with a nancial accelerator developed by Bernanke, Gertler and Gilchrist (1999) to analyse the e¤ects on equilibrium determinacy. In contrast to most of the related literature, the principal nding of this thesis is that a central bank can respond to asset prices without inducing additional volatility in the economy. Moreover, responding to asset prices actually decreases the likelihood of indeterminacy. This can be attributed to the substitutability between responding to ination and asset prices present in a New Keynesian model with a nancial accelerator. The key implication is that central banks should take asset prices into account when designing monetary policy.
Relation of Cumulative Low-Level Lead Exposure to Depressive and Phobic Anxiety Symptom Scores in Middle-Age and Elderly Women

Background: Different lines of evidence suggest that low-level lead exposure could be a modifiable risk factor for adverse psychological symptoms, but little work has explored this relation. Objective: We assessed whether bone lead—a biomarker of cumulative lead exposure—is associated with depression and anxiety symptoms among middle-age and elderly women. Methods: Participants were 617 Nurses’ Health Study participants with K-shell X-ray fluorescence bone lead measures and who had completed at last one Mental Health Index 5-item scale (MHI-5) and the phobic anxiety scale of the Crown-Crisp Index (CCI) assessment at mean ± SD age of 59 ± 9 years (range, 41–83 years). With exposure expressed as tertiles of bone lead, we analyzed MHI-5 scores as a continuous variable using linear regression and estimated the odds ratio (OR) of a CCI score ≥ 4 using generalized estimating equations. Results: There were no significant associations between lead and either outcome in the full sample, but associations were found among premenopausal women and women who consistently took hormone replacement therapy (HRT) between menopause and bone lead measurement (n = 142). Compared with women in the lowest tertile of tibia lead, those in the highest scored 7.78 points worse [95% confidence interval (CI): –11.73, –3.83] on the MHI-5 (p-trend = 0.0001). The corresponding OR for CCI ≥ 4 was 2.79 (95% CI: 1.02, 7.59; p-trend = 0.05). No consistent associations were found with patella lead. Conclusions: These results provide support for an association of low-level cumulative lead exposure with increased depressive and phobic anxiety symptoms among older women who are premenopausal or who consistently take postmenopausal HRT.
An improved stress map for Italy and surrounding regions (central Mediterranean)

[1] We present an updated present-day stress data compilation for the Italian region and discuss it with respect to the geodynamic setting and the seismicity of the area. We collected and analyzed 190 new stress data from borehole breakouts, seismicity, and active faults and checked in detail the previous compilation [Montone et al., 1999]. Our improved data set consists of 542 data, 362 of which with a reliable quality for stress maps. The Italian region is well sampled, allowing the computation of constrained smoothed stress maps; for surrounding regions we added the World Stress Map 2003 release data. These maps depict the active stress conditions and, in the areas where the data are sparse, contribute to understand the relationship between active stress, past tectonic setting, and the seismicity of the study region. The new data are particularly representative along the northern Apennine front, from the Po Plain to offshore the Adriatic, and along the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, north of Sicily, where they point out a compressive tectonic regime. In the Alps both compressive and transcurrent regimes are observed. Our data also confirm that the whole Apenninic belt and the Calabrian arc are extending. Along the central Adriatic coast, changes from one stress regime to another are shown by abrupt variations in the minimum horizontal stress directions. Other gentler stress rotations, as, for instance, from the southern Apennines to the Calabrian arc or along the northern Apennines, follow the curvature of the arcs and are not associated to a stress regime variation.
Influence of CHIEF pathway genes on gene expression: a pathway approach to functionality.

BACKGROUND Candidate pathway approaches in disease association studies often utilize a tagSNP approach to capture genetic variation. In this paper we assess gene expression patterns with SNPs in genes in the CHIEF pathway to help determine their potential functionality. METHODS Quantitative real-time RT-PCR was run to determine gene expression of 13 genes in normal colon tissue samples from 82 individuals. TagSNP genotype data were obtained from a GoldenGate Illumina multiplex bead array platform. Age, sex, and genetic ancestry adjusted general linear models were used to estimate beta coefficients and p values. RESULTS Genetic variation in mTOR (1 SNP), NFKB1 (4 SNPs), PRKAG2 (3 SNPs), and TSC2 (1 SNP) significantly influenced their expression. After adjustment for multiple comparisons several associations between pathway genes and expression of other genes were significant. These included AKT1 rs1130214 associated with expression of PDK1; NFκB1 rs13117745 and rs4648110 with STK11 expression; PRKAG2 rs6965771 with expression of NFκB1, PIK3CA, and RPS6KB2; RPS6KB1 rs80711475 with STK11 expression; STK11 rs741765 with PIK3CA and PRKAG2 expression; and TSC2 rs3087631 with AKT1, IkBκB, NFκB1, PDK1, PIK3CA, PRKAG2, and PTEN expression. The higher levels of differential expression were noted for TSC2 rs3087631 (percent difference ranges from 108% to 198% across genes). Many of these SNPs and genes also were associated with colon and rectal cancer risk. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that pathway genes may regulate expression of other genes in the pathway. The convergence of these genes in several biological pathways involved in cancer further supports their importance to the carcinogenic process.
Response inhibition difficulties in preterm children aged 9–12 years: Relations with emotion and behavior

Previous studies with children have demonstrated inhibition difficulties associated with prematurity, but the question of potentially catching up with a delay in inhibition processes before adolescence still remains. Moreover, preterm adolescents are more at risk than their term-born peers for presenting behavioral problems such as emotional difficulties and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In addition to examining response inhibition, this study addressed, for the first time, the impact of an emotional context on response inhibition abilities and its relation to behavioral problems in late school-aged preterm children. Fifty-eight preterm children aged 9–12 years were compared with 61 controls on two versions of a stop-signal task, the Delay Frustration Task, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results showed general difficulties in inhibiting a response, rather than a specific impact of emotional context in preterm children. Compared with controls, these children exhibited more and longer button presses in a delay situation, as well as faster go reaction times associated with lower probability of inhibition in the stop-signal tasks. These difficulties reflected impulsivity and were associated with higher hyperactivity/inattention and conduct problems. Additionally, intrauterine growth restriction was found to be an additional perinatal risk factor for hyperactivity/inattention symptoms. These findings suggest that remaining inhibition difficulties in the preterm population at preadolescence could reveal increasing behavioral issues.
Heavy Traffic Analysis of Polling Systems in Tandem

We analyze the performance of a tandem queueing network populated by two customer types. The interarrival times of each type and the service times of each type at each station are independent random variables with general distributions, but the load on each station is assumed to be identical. A setup time is incurred when a server switches from one customer type to the other, and each server employs an exhaustive polling scheme. We conjecture that a time scale decomposition, which is known to occur at the first station under heavy traffic conditions, holds for the entire tandem system, and we employ heavy traffic approximations to compute the sojourn time distribution for a customer that arrives to find the network in a particular state. When setup times are zero (except perhaps at the first station) and additional "product-form" type assumptions are imposed, we find the steady-state sojourn time distribution for each customer type.
Very high risk of cancer in familial Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.

BACKGROUND & AIMS The Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is an autosomal dominant polyposis disorder with increased risk of multiple cancers, but literature estimates of risk vary. METHODS We performed an individual patient meta-analysis to determine the relative risk (RR) of cancer in patients with PJS compared with the general population based on 210 individuals described in 6 publications. RESULTS For patients with PJS, the RR for all cancers was 15.2 (95% confidence limits [CL], 2, 19). A statistically significant increase of RR was noted for esophagus (57; CL, 2.5, 557), stomach (213; CL, 96, 368), small intestine (520; CL, 220, 1306), colon (84; CL, 47, 137), pancreas (132; CL, 44, 261), lung (17.0; CL, 5.4, 39), breast (15.2; CL, 7.6, 27), uterus (16.0; CL, 1.9, 56), ovary (27; CL, 7.3, 68), but not testicular or cervical malignancies. Cumulative risk for all cancer was 93% from age 15 to 64 years old. CONCLUSIONS Patients with PJS are at very high relative and absolute risk for gastrointestinal and nongastrointestinal cancers.
Ripening-Regulated Susceptibility of Tomato Fruit to Botrytis cinerea Requires NOR But Not RIN or Ethylene1[W][OA]

Fruit ripening is a developmental process that is associated with increased susceptibility to the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea. Histochemical observations demonstrate that unripe tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit activate pathogen defense responses, but these responses are attenuated in ripe fruit infected by B. cinerea. Tomato fruit ripening is regulated independently and cooperatively by ethylene and transcription factors, including NON-RIPENING (NOR) and RIPENING-INHIBITOR (RIN). Mutations in NOR or RIN or interference with ethylene perception prevent fruit from ripening and, thereby, would be expected to influence susceptibility. We show, however, that the susceptibility of ripe fruit is dependent on NOR but not on RIN and only partially on ethylene perception, leading to the conclusion that not all of the pathways and events that constitute ripening render fruit susceptible. Additionally, on unripe fruit, B. cinerea induces the expression of genes also expressed as uninfected fruit ripen. Among the ripening-associated genes induced by B. cinerea are LePG (for polygalacturonase) and LeExp1 (for expansin), which encode cell wall-modifying proteins and have been shown to facilitate susceptibility. LePG and LeExp1 are induced only in susceptible rin fruit and not in resistant nor fruit. Thus, to infect fruit, B. cinerea relies on some of the processes and events that occur during ripening, and the fungus induces these pathways in unripe fruit, suggesting that the pathogen itself can initiate the induction of susceptibility by exploiting endogenous developmental programs. These results demonstrate the developmental plasticity of plant responses to the fungus and indicate how known regulators of fruit ripening participate in regulating ripening-associated pathogen susceptibility.
A Meta-Analysis of the Short- and Long-Term Results of Randomized Controlled Trials That Compared Laparoscopy-Assisted and Conventional Open Surgery for Colorectal Cancer

Purpose: We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate and compare the short- and long-term results of laparoscopic colorectal surgery (LCRS) and conventional open surgery (OCRS) for colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: We searched relevant papers published between January 1990 and May 2011. We analyzed the outcomes of each type of surgery over the short- and long-term periods. Results: In the short-term period, we found no significant differences in overall perioperative complications and anastomotic leakage between LCRS and OCRS groups. We found no significant differences in overall, distant, local and wound-site recurrence, overall mortality, 3 and 5 year disease-free survival rate, and cancer-related mortality between the 2 groups. Conclusions: LCRS has the benefits of reducing intraoperative blood loss, earlier resumption of oral intake, and shorter duration of hospital stay in the short-term. The long-term outcomes of LCRS seem to be similar to those of OCRS.
High levels of folate from supplements and fortification are not associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Folate intake has been inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk in several prospective epidemiologic studies. However, no study fully assessed the influence of the high levels of folate that are frequently consumed in the United States as a result of mandatory folate fortification, which was fully implemented in 1998, and the recent increase in use of folate-containing supplements. There is evidence that consumption of high levels of folic acid, the form of folate used for fortification and in supplements, has different effects on biochemical pathways than natural folates and might promote carcinogenesis. METHODS We investigated the association between folate intake and colorectal cancer among 43,512 men and 56,011 women in the Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II) Nutrition Cohort; 1023 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer between 1999 and 2007, a period entirely after folate fortification began. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate multivariate hazards ratios (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS Intake of high levels of natural folate (RRQ5vsQ1=0.86; 95% CI: 0.70-1.06; P trend=.12) or folic acid (RRQ5vsQ1=0.84; 95% CI: 0.68-1.03; P trend=.06) were not significantly associated with risk of colorectal cancer. Total folate intake was significantly associated with lower risk (RRQ5vsQ1=0.81; 95% CI: 0.66-0.99; P trend=.047). CONCLUSIONS Intake of high levels of total folate reduces risk of colorectal cancer; there is no evidence that dietary fortification or supplementation with this vitamin increases colorectal cancer risk.
Hubble Space Telescope and United Kingdom Infrared Telescope Observations of the Center of the Trifid Nebula: Evidence for the Photoevaporation of a Proplyd and a Protostellar Condensation

The Trifid Nebula (M20) is a well-known prominent optical H II region trisected by bands of obscuring dust lanes and excited by an O7.5 star, HD 164492A. Previous near-IR, mid-IR, and radio continuum observations of the cluster of stars at the center of the Trifid Nebula indicated the presence of circumstellar disks associated with hot stars with envelopes that are photoionized externally by the UV radiation from the hot central star, HD 164492A. Using the WFPC2 on the Hubble Space Telescope, we present evidence of a resolved proplyd in Hα and [S II] line emission from a stellar source emitting cool dust emission. Using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope, an infrared observation of the stellar source with a proplyd indicates a late F to mid-G spectral type. We also note a remarkable complex of filamentary and sheetlike structures that appear to arise from the edge of a protostellar condensation. These observations are consistent with a picture in which the bright massive star HD 164492A is responsible for the photoevaporation of protoplanetary disks of other less massive members of the cluster, as well as the closest protostellar condensation facing the central cluster. Using the evidence for a proplyd, we argue that the massive and intermediate-mass members of the cluster, HD 164492C (B6 star) and HD 164492 (Herbig Be star), have disks associated with them.
The Roles of Convection over the Western Maritime Continent and the Philippine Sea in Interannual Variability of Summer Rainfall over Southwest China

AbstractFloods and droughts hit southwest China (SWC) frequently, especially over the last decade. In this study, the dominant modes of summer rainfall anomalies over SWC on the interannual time scale and the possible causes are investigated. Interannual variability of the summer rainfall over SWC has two dominant modes. The first mode features rainfall increases over most of SWC except central Sichuan, and the second mode exhibits wet conditions in the north but dry conditions in the south. The suppressed convection over the Philippine Sea affects the first mode by inducing anomalous anticyclones over the western North Pacific and to the south of the Tibetan Plateau, which transport more water vapor to eastern Tibet and eastern SWC and hence favor above-normal rainfall there. The enhanced convection over the western Maritime Continent could generate similar atmospheric circulation anomalies associated with the suppressed convection over the Philippine Sea but with a northward shift, resulting in signific.
Sequential Adoption Theory: A Theory for Understanding Herding Behavior in Early Adoption of Novel Technologies

Technology adoption often occurs sequentially, so that later potential adopters can see the decisions (adopt or not adopt) of earlier potential adopters. In this paper we review the literature on observational learning, in which people use information gained by observing the behavior of others to inform their decisions, and note that little prior research has used an observational learning perspective to understand the adoption of information technology. Based on theory and previous literature, we suggest that observational learning is likely to be common in adoption decisions. We develop a model that extends existing observational learning models and use simulation to test the model. The results suggest that following the behavior of other similarly-situated decision makers can be a very useful strategy in adoption situations in which there is a great deal of uncertainty. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Compatibility of different methods for the measurement of visceral fat in different body mass index strata.

PURPOSE Obesity, particularly visceral obesity, is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Therefore, cardiovascular risk should be determined by evaluating visceral fat tissue not only in obese individuals but also in non-obese individuals. We aimed to evaluate the comparison of visceral fat tissue measurement methods with computed tomography (CT). MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred four participants, 19 to 58 years of age (21 males, 83 females) were enrolled in this study. Participants underwent anthropometric evaluation, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), ultrasonography (US), and CT examinations on the same day. RESULTS The mean body mass index (BMI) was 31.2 +/- 8.7 kg/m2 (73 individuals [70.2%] had BMI > or =30, and 31 individuals [29.8%] had BMI < 30). The non-obese group (BMI < 30) that showed the best correlation coefficient values were for visceral fat area (VFA) by BIA in all participants, males and women (r = 0.902, P < 0.001; r = 0.994, P < 0.001; r = 0.645, P = 0.01, respectively); in case of BMI > or =30 the best correlation coefficient values were for VFA by BIA (r = 0.774, P < 0.001) for all participants, and visceral fat thickness by US for males (r = 0.851, P < 0.001), and BMI (r = 0.786, P < 0.001) for females. Using multiple stepwise regression analysis, the methods best reflecting VFA by CT were as follows: In subjects with BMI < 25, BIA correlated best with CT measures of VFA; while in subjects with BMI > 30 waist-to-hip ratio showed the best correlation with CT measures of VFA. The method best reflecting VFA by CT was visceral thickness by US in males; and the method best reflecting VFA by CT in females was visceral thickness by US, BMI and waist circumference. CONCLUSION Anthropometric measurements and visceral fat tissue measurement methods such as US and BIA exhibit differences with respect to compliance with CT results in visceral fat tissue measurements by gender and BMI levels.