Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality of Life after Diet or Exercise-Induced Weight Loss in Overweight to Obese Postmenopausal Women: The SHAPE-2 Randomised Controlled Trial

Introduction This study investigates the effect of a modest weight loss either by a calorie restricted diet or mainly by increased physical exercise on health related quality of life (HRQoL) in overweight-to-obese and inactive postmenopausal women. We hypothesize that HRQoL improves with weight loss, and that exercise-induced weight loss is more effective for this than diet-induced weight loss. Methods The SHAPE-2 trial was primarily designed to evaluate any additional effect of weight loss by exercise compared with a comparable amount of weight loss by diet on biomarkers relevant for breast cancer risk. In the present analysis we focus on HRQoL. We randomly assigned 243 eligible women to a diet (n = 97), exercise (n = 98), or control group (n = 48). Both interventions aimed for 5–6 kg weight loss. HRQoL was measured at baseline and after 16 weeks by the SF-36 questionnaire. Results Data of 214 women were available for analysis. Weight loss was 4.9 kg (6.1%) and 5.5 kg (6.9%) with diet and exercise, respectively. Scores of the SF-36 domain ‘health change’ increased significantly by 8.8 points (95% CI 1.6;16.1) with diet, and by 20.5 points (95% CI 13.2;27.7) with exercise when compared with control. Direct comparison of diet and exercise showed a statistically significantly stronger improvement with exercise. Both intervention groups showed a tendency towards improvements in most other domains, which were more pronounced in the exercise group, but not statistically different from control or each other. Conclusion In a randomized trial in overweight-to-obese and inactive postmenopausal women a comparable 6%-7% weight loss was achieved by diet-only or mainly by exercise and showed improvements in physical and mental HRQoL domains, but results were not statistically significant in either the diet or exercise group. However, a modest weight loss does lead to a positive change in self-perceived health status. This effect was significantly larger with exercise-induced weight loss than with comparable diet-induced weight loss. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01511276
Macular Structure and Function in Nonhuman Primate Experimental Glaucoma

Purpose To evaluate structure and function of macular retinal layers in nonhuman primate (NHP) experimental glaucoma (EG). Methods Twenty-one NHP had longitudinal imaging of macular structure by SDOCT, 16 also had recordings of function by multifocal ERG. The average thickness over 15° was derived for seven individual SDOCT layers: macular nerve fiber layer (m-NFL), retinal ganglion cell layer (RGCL), inner plexiform layer (IPL), inner nuclear layer (INL), outer plexiform layer (OPL), outer nuclear layer+inner segments combined (ONL+IS), and outer segments (OS). Peripapillary RNFL thickness (ppRNFLT) was measured from a single circular B-scan with 12° diameter. Responses to a slow-sequence multifocal ERG (mfERG) stimulus (7F) were filtered (at 75 Hz) into low- and high-frequency components (LFC, HFC). Results At final follow-up, significant structural loss occurred only in EG eyes and only for ppRNFLT (−29 ± 23%), m-NFL (−17 ± 16%), RGCL (−22 ± 15%), and IPL (−19 ± 14%); though there was also a small increase in OPL (+6 ± 7%) and ONL+IS (4 ± 4%) and a similar tendency for INL. Macular structural loss was correlated with ppRNFLT only for the NFL, RGCL and IPL (R = 0.95, 0.93 and 0.95, respectively, P < 0.0001). Significant functional loss occurred only for HFC and N2 in EG eyes. Significant longitudinal structure–function correlations (P < 0.01) were observed only in EG eyes and only for mfERG HFC and N2: HFC was correlated with ppRNFLT (R = 0.69), macular NFL (R = 0.67), RGCL (R = 0.74), and IPL (R = 0.72); N2 was correlated with RGCL (R = 0.54) and IPL (R = 0.48). High-frequency components amplitude change was inversely correlated with outer retinal thickness change (= −0.66). Conclusions Macular structural and functional losses are correlated and specific to ganglion cells over a wide range of EG severity. Outer retinal changes are likely due to inner retinal loss.
Currency Crashes and Bond Yields in Industrial Countries

This paper examines episodes of sudden large exchange rate depreciations (currency crashes) in industrial countries and characterizes the behavior of government bond yields during and after these crashes. The most important determinant of changes in bond yields appears to be inflationary expectations. When inflation is high and rising at the time of a currency crash, bond yields tend to rise. Otherwise--and in every currency crash since 1985--bond yields tend to fall. Over the past 20 years, inflation rates have been remarkably stable in industrial countries after currency crashes.
The Underpayment of Restricted Players in North American Sports Leagues

In this paper,we consider whether underpaying players restricted by the reserve clause is a common practice in the three largest sports leagues in North America—the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that owners of professional sports teams do exercise monopsony power whenever and wherever they can. Although differences exist across the three sports, our results indicate that in general: restricted players are underpaid; when the negotiating power of players rises, owners are less able to extract a surplus; and, the greatest surplus tends to be extracted from those who create the greatest amount of value.
Selection at Linked Sites Shapes Heritable Phenotypic Variation in C. elegans

Selection and Variation In order to understand adaptation and evolution, it is necessary to understand the relationship between natural phenotypic variation and population genetics. Rockman et al. (p. 372; see the Perspective by Charlesworth) examined the level of genetic variance affecting gene expression through the comparison of two strains of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Surprisingly, the variation observed in each trait was better explained by the genomic pattern of background selection than by selection on the traits themselves. Thus, the removal of deleterious mutations from the population by selection reduces phenotypic variability caused by genetic variation at closely linked neutral or nearly neutral sites, and quantitative variability in gene expression shows a similar pattern to sequence diversity and is affected by local rates of genetic recombination and the effective population size. Genome organization affects the distribution of phenotypic variation in nematode worms more than mutation and selection. Mutation generates the heritable variation that genetic drift and natural selection shape. In classical quantitative genetic models, drift is a function of the effective population size and acts uniformly across traits, whereas mutation and selection act trait-specifically. We identified thousands of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) influencing transcript abundance traits in a cross of two Caenorhabditis elegans strains; although trait-specific mutation and selection explained some of the observed pattern of QTL distribution, the pattern was better explained by trait-independent variation in the intensity of selection on linked sites. Our results suggest that traits in C. elegans exhibit different levels of variation less because of their own attributes than because of differences in the effective population sizes of the genomic regions harboring their underlying loci.
Identification of New Sphingomyelinases D in Pathogenic Fungi and Other Pathogenic Organisms

Sphingomyelinases D (SMases D) or dermonecrotic toxins are well characterized in Loxosceles spider venoms and have been described in some strains of pathogenic microorganisms, such as Corynebacterium sp. After spider bites, the SMase D molecules cause skin necrosis and occasional severe systemic manifestations, such as acute renal failure. In this paper, we identified new SMase D amino acid sequences from various organisms belonging to 24 distinct genera, of which, 19 are new. These SMases D share a conserved active site and a C-terminal motif. We suggest that the C-terminal tail is responsible for stabilizing the entire internal structure of the SMase D Tim barrel and that it can be considered an SMase D hallmark in combination with the amino acid residues from the active site. Most of these enzyme sequences were discovered from fungi and the SMase D activity was experimentally confirmed in the fungus Aspergillus flavus. Because most of these novel SMases D are from organisms that are endowed with pathogenic properties similar to those evoked by these enzymes alone, they might be associated with their pathogenic mechanisms.
Unfair offers, unfair offenders? Fairness considerations in incarcerated individuals with and without psychopathy

Offenders with psychopathy have often committed crimes violating social norms, which may suggest a biased moral reasoning in psychopathy. Yet, as findings on utilitarian decisions remain conflicting, the current study investigated different aspects of fairness considerations in offenders with psychopathy, offenders without psychopathy and healthy individuals (N = 18/14/18, respectively). Unfair offers in a modified Ultimatum Game (UG) were paired with different unselected alternatives, thereby establishing the context of a proposal, and made under opposing intentionality constraints (intentional vs. unintentional). As in previous studies, unfair offers were most often rejected when the alternative was fair and when the offer was made intentionally. Importantly, however, offenders with psychopathy demonstrated a similar rejection pattern to that of healthy individuals, i.e., taking the unselected alternative into account. In contrast, delinquents without psychopathy did not adjust their decision behavior to the alternatives to an offer, suggesting stronger impairments in social decision-making. Crucially, the mechanisms and processes underlying rejection decisions might differ, particularly with regard to cognitive vs. emotional competencies. While preserved cognitive perspective-taking could drive seemingly intact decision patterns in psychopathy, emotional empathy is likely to be compromised.
Recovery of Drawing Order from Single-Stroke Handwriting Images

Describes a method to recover a drawing order of a handwritten script from a static 2D image. The script should be written in a single stroke and may include double-traced lines. After the script is scanned in and preprocessed, we apply our recovery method which consists of two phases. In the first phase, we globally analyze the graph constructed from the skeletal image and label the graph by determining the types of each edge. In the second phase, we trace the graph from the start vertex to the end vertex using the labeling information. This method does not enumerate the possible cases, for example, by solving the traveling salesman problem and, therefore, does not cause a combinatorial explosion even if the script is very complex. By recovering a drawing order of a handwritten script, the temporal information can be recovered from a static 2D image. Hence, this method will be used as a bridge from the offline handwriting character recognition problem to the online one.
The Information Efficiency of Econometric Model Forecasts

The informational efficiency of econometric model forecasts made by Data Resources, Incorporated and Chase Econometrics is evaluated. The criterion tested is an implication of the rational expectations hypothesis. Statistically significant serial correlations are found for several series of one-period forecast revisions, indicating rejection of the efficiency hypothesis. The use of these one-period revisions avoids some problems that have plagued previous tests that employed different efficiency criteria. Alternative explanations of the empirical results are suggested and analyzed.
Alternatives for flow solution at the leading edge of gravity currents using the shallow water equations

ABSTRACT The shallow water equations (SWEs) are implemented in gravity current (GC) models because of the good balance between accuracy and computational effort. In this context appropriate treatment is required at the GC leading edge that is analogous to a moving boundary condition. To date, solution strategies used at the leading edge have not been systematically compared to determine the best alternatives. This work aims to analyse three strategies, comparing results with experiments and Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (NS) models. Two of these alternatives are implemented using method of characteristics theory, while the third alternative, proposed by the authors, constitutes a newer conservative shock-tracking approach. Despite some of the differences in continuity error and computational effort, these solution strategies accurately predicted front trajectories albeit with much less computational effort when compared with NS models. As anticipated, GC shapes yielded by one-layer SWE models do not compare well particularly at earlier flow stages.
Semantics based Event-driven Publish/Subscribe Service-Oriented Architecture

The rapid progress of Information and Communication Technology has dissolved many technical and social barriers. Publishing, storing, updating and even accessing information through wireless devices is no longer a significant problem. As information increases, finding, sharing and integrating information from distributed heterogeneous sources become a major issue. The challenge is no longer in providing information anytime anywhere but in providing context and location aware personalized information. We need a mechanism that allows to collect and to fuse the information according to the requirements of user. In this paper, we have proposed a semantics based event-driven publish/subscribe services-oriented architecture to facilitate the seamless and meaningful information integration and interoperation of distributed and heterogeneous Web hosted services and to deliver personalized context and location-based information on wireless resources constrained devices
Uptake of Amino Acids and Their Metabolic Conversion into the Compatible Solute Proline Confers Osmoprotection to Bacillus subtilis

ABSTRACT The data presented here reveal a new facet of the physiological adjustment processes through which Bacillus subtilis can derive osmostress protection. We found that the import of proteogenic (Glu, Gln, Asp, Asn, and Arg) and of nonproteogenic (Orn and Cit) amino acids and their metabolic conversion into proline enhances growth under otherwise osmotically unfavorable conditions. Osmoprotection by amino acids depends on the functioning of the ProJ-ProA-ProH enzymes, but different entry points into this biosynthetic route are used by different amino acids to finally yield the compatible solute proline. Glu, Gln, Asp, and Asn are used to replenish the cellular pool of glutamate, the precursor for proline production, whereas Arg, Orn, and Cit are converted into γ-glutamic semialdehyde/Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate, an intermediate in proline biosynthesis. The import of Glu, Gln, Asp, Asn, Arg, Orn, and Cit did not lead to a further increase in the size of the proline pool that is already present in osmotically stressed cells. Hence, our data suggest that osmoprotection of B. subtilis by this group of amino acids rests on the savings in biosynthetic building blocks and energy that would otherwise have to be devoted either to the synthesis of the proline precursor glutamate or of proline itself. Since glutamate is the direct biosynthetic precursor for proline, we studied its uptake and found that GltT, an Na+-coupled symporter, is the main uptake system for both glutamate and aspartate in B. subtilis. Collectively, our data show how effectively B. subtilis can exploit environmental resources to derive osmotic-stress protection through physiological means.
A road map on human-human interaction and fine-function collaboration in collaborative integrated design environments

From human-computer interaction to human-human interaction and from information sharing to function collaborative are major advances from traditional single-user design to collaborative design. This work presents a road map to achieve this goal with computer-aided tools. The models, methods and techniques in developing collaborative tools for collaborative integrated design environment are discussed in details. The proposed ideas have been implemented in an aware collaborative tool to support transparent CAx/DFx systems.
Corporate culture and economic theory

INTRODUCTION In this chapter, I explore how an economic theorist might explain or model a concept such as corporate culture. While the theoretical construction that is given is far from inclusive (which is to say that many aspects of corporate culture are not covered), I conclude that economic theory is moving in the direction of what seems a reasonable story. But before that story can be considered told, we must employ tools that are currently missing from the economist's tool kit. In particular, we require a framework for dealing with the unforeseen. I can give two explanations for why I present this topic. The first concerns how economists (and those weaned on the economic paradigm) deal with the topic of business strategy. If we take Porter (or Caves or Spence) as the prototype, business strategy could roughly be called applied industrial organization. The firm and its capabilities are more or less taken as givens, and one looks at the tangible characteristics of an industry to explain profitability. It sometimes seems, in this approach, that there are good industries (or segments of industries) and bad: Find yourself in a bad industry (low entry barriers, many substitutes, powerful customers and suppliers, many and surly competitors), and you can do nothing except get out at the first opportunity. Now, this is assuredly a caricature of the Porter approach. The size of entry barriers, relations with suppliers/customers, and, especially, competitive discipline within an industry are all at least partially endogenous.
Bistable traveling waves around an obstacle

We consider traveling waves for a nonlinear diffusion equation with a bistable or multistable nonlinearity. The goal is to study how a planar traveling front interacts with a compact obstacle that is placed in the middle of the space ℝN. As a first step, we prove the existence and uniqueness of an entire solution that behaves like a planar wave front approaching from infinity and eventually reaching the obstacle. This causes disturbance on the shape of the front, but we show that the solution will gradually recover its planar wave profile and continue to propagate in the same direction, leaving the obstacle behind. Whether the recovery is uniform in space is shown to depend on the shape of the obstacle. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Lifecycle consistent estimation of effect of taxes on female labor supply in the US: evidence from panel data

Very few existing studies have estimated female labor supply elasticities using a U.S. panel data set, though cross-sectional studies abound. Also, most existing studies have modeled female labor supply in the U.S. in a static framework. I make an attempt to fill the gap in this literature, by estimating a lifecycle-consistent specification with taxes, in a limited dependent variable framework, on a panel of married females from the PSID. Both parametric random effects and semiparametric fixed effects methods are applied. The estimate of compensated elasticity for females in the sample is 0.63 (with a standard error of 0.14). These estimates are fairly robust to the choice of both random effects and semiparametric fixed effect estimators and also to the choice of instruments for the endogenous net wage and virtual full income. I estimate exact deadweight loss from taxes and find that deadweight loss from a 20 percent increase in the marginal tax rate is about 18 percent of tax revenue collected, evaluated at the sample mean.
the p 110 structure : mechanisms for selectivity and potency of new pI ( 3 ) K inhibitors

cover caption Nat. Chem. Biol. 6 (2010); published online 12 February 2010; corrected after print 18 March 2010 In the version of this cover caption initially published, Sigrid Hart’s name was misspelled. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the cover caption. erratum the p110δ structure: mechanisms for selectivity and potency of new Pi(3)K inhibitors Alex Berndt, Simon Miller, Olusegun Williams, Daniel D Le, Benjamin T Houseman, Joseph I Pacold, Fabrice Gorrec, Wai-Ching Hon, Pingda Ren, Yi Liu, Christian Rommel, Pascale Gaillard, Thomas Rückle, Matthias K Schwarz, Kevan M Shokat, Jeffrey P Shaw & Roger L Williams Nat. Chem. Biol. 6, 117–124 (2010); published online 10 January 2010; corrected after print 12 February 2010 and 2 March 2010 In the version of this article initially published, the structure of p110δ in complex with the inhibitor IC87114 was refined with an incorrect inhibitor structure (original Protein Data Bank accession code 2WXE). The structure has now been refined with the correct inhibitor structure and redeposited in the PDB with accession code 2X38. The structural image in Fig. 2a and the PDB accession code in the Methods section of the paper have been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article. corrigendum
Occupational pensions and employee retention

This article explores the relationship, in the contemporary UK context, between employee retention and the provision by employers of occupational pension schemes. Several sources of literature are drawn on to develop cases for and against the proposition that pensions play a discernible role in reducing employee turnover. Original research carried out by the author is then presented which suggests that the retention effect is limited in terms of both its potency and its extent. A particular finding is the varying importance of pension schemes in terms of the retention of different staff groups.