Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hierarchical Guessing with a Fidelity Criterion

Arikan and Merhav (1998) studied the problem of guessing a random vector X within distortion D, and characterized the best attainable exponent E(D,/spl rho/) of the /spl rho/th moment of the number of required guesses G(X) until the guessing error falls below D. We extend these results to a multistage, hierarchical guessing model, which allows for a faster search for a codeword vector at the encoder of a rate-distortion codebook. In the two-stage case of this model, if the target distortion level is D/sub 2/, the guesser first makes guesses with respect to (a higher) distortion level D/sub 1/, and then, upon his/her first success, directs the subsequent guesses to distortion D/sub 2/. As in the above-mentioned earlier paper, we provide a single-letter characterization of the best attainable guessing exponent, which relies heavily on well-known results on the successive refinement problem. We also relate this guessing exponent function to the source-coding error exponent function of the two-step coding process.
INFLUENCE OF CHOKEBERRY JUICE ON ARTERIAL BLOOD PRESSURE AND LIPID PARAMETERS IN MEN WITH MILD HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA

Aronia melanocarpa is a common plant in Eastern Europe and in the North America. The fruit contains a lot of polyphenols, including anthocyanins, caffeic acid, and its derivatives also present in chokeberry at relatively high concentrations. Anthocyanins have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and, therefore, may be potentially used to prevent oxidative stress, frequently associated with cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the study was to estimate the influence of anthocyanins contained in chokeberry juice on arterial blood pressure, lipid parameters, inflammatory state parameters and concentrations of antioxidant vitamins in men with mild hypercholesterolemia. Fifty eight healthy men with the diagnosed mild hypercholesterolemia without pharmacological treatment were enrolled to the study in 2006. In all men biochemical measurements were carried out 4 times: at the beginning, after 6 weeks of regular chokeberry juice drinking, after 6 weeks without the juice drinking, then repeated after 6 weeks of chokeberry juice drinking. Laboratory tests included: total, low density lipoprotein (LDL), and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and its subfractions: HDL and HDL , triglycerides, lipid peroxides (LPO), C-reactive high sensitivity protein (hsCRP), homocysteine, fibrinogen, glucose and antioxidant vitamins. Regular chokeberry juice drinking resulted in reduction of total cholesterol level (p < 0.001) and LDL cholesterol (p < 0.01) and triglycerides (p < 0.001), and increased HDL cholesterol (p < 0.001) level. Moderate but significant decreases in the serum glucose (p < 0.05), homocysteine (p < 0.001) and fibrinogen (p < 0.01) concentrations were also observed. These beneficial metabolic changes were associated with significant hypotensive effect of chokeberry juice drinking. Our studies showed that drinking of Aronia melanocarpa fruit juice may have a beneficial effect on reduction of cardiovascular risk.
Effect of Entry into Socially Responsible Investment Index on Cost of Equity and Firm Value

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of a company’s incorporation into the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) index on its cost of equity (COE) and corporate value. The study collected and analyzed data about the four-year long changes of the component stocks of the Korea Exchange (KRX) SRI index from September 2010 to September 2013 to verify the correlation between the incorporation of the SRI index and the cost of equity or corporate value by using the Price-Earnings Growth (PEG), Modified PEG (MPEG) and Gode and Mohanram (GM) models for estimation of the implied costs of equity capital, as well as Tobin’s Q ratio. The analysis results failed to show any significant relation between the incorporation of the SRI index and the cost of equity capital. Also, no statistically significant correlation between the incorporation of the SRI index and corporate value was observed. However, at an early phase of introduction of the SRI index, the included companies revealed a negative correlation with the cost of equity. However, after changing the listed stocks, they showed a positive correlation with the cost of equity capital. All in all, this can be ascribed to a mixed presence of optimistic and pessimistic investors about CSR activities, or there is a possibility that the KRX SRI index might not correctly reflect the CSR activities of companies.
HIV incidence in 3 years of follow-up of a Zimbabwe cohort--1998-2000 to 2001-03: contributions of proximate and underlying determinants to transmission.

BACKGROUND In recent years, HIV prevalence has begun to decline in Zimbabwe, which has been associated with reductions in sexual risk behaviour. Here, we analyse the determinants of HIV incidence in this period of decline and estimate the population-level impact of identified risk factors. METHODS A population-based cohort of 1672 HIV-negative adult males and 2465 HIV-negative adult females was recruited between 1998 and 2000. Each individual was then followed-up 3 years later. The influence and inter-relationship of social, behavioural and demographic variables were examined using a proximate determinants framework. To explore the population-level influence of a variable, methods were developed for estimating a risk factor's contribution to the reproductive number (CRN). RESULTS HIV incidence was 19.9 [95% confidence interval (CI) 16.3-24.2] per 1000 person years in men and 15.7 (95% CI 13.0-18.9) in women. Multiple sexual partners, having an unwell partner, and reporting another sexually transmitted disease were risk factors that captured the main aspects of the proximate determinants framework: individual behaviour, partnership characteristics and the probability of transmission, respectively. If the proximate determinants fully captured risk of HIV infection, underlying factors would not influence a fully parameterized model. However, a number of underlying social and demographic determinants remained important in regression models after including the proximate determinants. For both sexes, having multiple sexual partners made a substantial CRN, but, for women, no behaviour explained more than 10% of new infections. CONCLUSIONS The proximate determinants did not explain the majority of new infections at the population level. This may be because we have been unable to measure some risks, but identifying risk factors assumes that those acquiring infections are somehow different from others who do not acquire infections. That they are not suggests that in this generalized epidemic there is little difference in readily identifiable characteristics of the individual between those who acquire infection and those who do not.
Survey on Urinary Levels of Aflatoxins in Professionally Exposed Workers

Feed mill workers may handle or process maize contaminated with aflatoxins (AFs). This condition may lead to an unacceptable intake of toxins deriving from occupational exposure. This study assessed the serological and urinary levels of AFs in workers exposed to potentially contaminated dusts in two mills. From March to April 2014, blood and urine samples were collected, on Monday and Friday morning of the same working week from 29 exposed workers and 30 non-exposed controls. AFs (M1, G2, G1, B1, B2) and aflatoxicol (AFOH) A were analyzed. Each subject filled in a questionnaire to evaluate potential food-borne exposures to mycotoxins. AFs contamination in environmental dust was measured in both plants. No serum sample was found to be positive. Seventy four percent of urine samples (73.7%) revealed AFM1 presence. AFM1 mean concentration was 0.035 and 0.027 ng/mL in exposed and non-exposed workers, respectively (p = 0.432); the concentration was slightly higher in Friday’s than in Monday’s samples, in exposed workers, 0.040 versus (vs.) 0.031 and non-exposed controls (0.030 vs. 0.024, p = 0.437). Environmental AFs contamination ranged from 7.2 to 125.4 µg/kg. The findings of this study reveal the presence of higher AFs concentration in exposed workers than in non-exposed controls, although these differences are to be considered consistent with random fluctuations.
Koopman operator based observer synthesis for control-affine nonlinear systems

We propose a new observer form based on Koopman operator theoretic framework for input-output nonlinear systems with control affine inputs. Based on this observer form, we describe an observer synthesis framework which exploits estimation techniques developed for Lipschitz systems and bilinear systems. We also formulate nonlinear observability rank condition in terms of the Koopman observer form, and numerically illustrate the benefits of the proposed framework.
DPP 4 inhibition improves functional outcome after renal ischemia-reperfusion injury

Glorie LF, Verhulst A, Matheeussen V, Baerts L, Magielse J, Hermans N, D’Haese PC, De Meester I, De Beuf A. DPP4 inhibition improves functional outcome after renal ischemia-reperfusion injury. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 303: F681–F688, 2012. First published June 20, 2012; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00075. 2012. —Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) is an exopeptidase which modulates the function of its substrates, among which are insulin-releasing incretins. DPP4 inhibitors are currently used to improve glucose tolerance in type 2 diabetes patients. Inhibition of DPP4 exhibits protective effects on ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) of the heart and lung. As DPP4 and its substrates are also expressed in the kidney, we studied the effect of the DPP4 inhibitor vildagliptin on the outcome of IRIinduced acute kidney injury in rats in a model of 30-min unilateral renal ischemia, followed by contralateral nephrectomy. Saline, 1, or 10 mg/kg vildagliptin (VG1/VG10) was administered intravenously 15 min before the surgery. Animals were euthanized after 2, 12, amd 48 h of reperfusion. DPP4 inhibition resulted in a significant dosedependent decrease in serum creatinine (1.31 0.32 and 0.70 0.19 mg/dl for VG1 and VG10, respectively, vs. 1.91 0.28 mg/dl for controls at 12 h; P 0.01). Tubular morphology (PAS-PCNA) revealed significantly reduced tubular necrosis at 12 h (62.1 18.0 and 77.5 22.0% in VG10 and saline, respectively). VG did not affect regeneration but decreased apoptosis, as shown by twofold decreased Bax/Bcl-2 mRNA expression and a threefold decrease in apoptotic bodies on terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nickend labeling-stained sections. VG treatment significantly reduced serum malondialdehyde twofold in both VG1and VG10-treated ischemic and sham-operated animals compared with controls and also resulted in a significant decrease in mRNA expression of the proinflammatory marker CXCL10 at 2 h of reperfusion. Through a mechanism yet to be fully understood, VG treatment results in a functional protection of the kidney against IRI. This protection was associated with antiapoptotic, immunological, and antioxidative changes.
The nature of subslab slow velocity anomalies beneath South America

Slow seismic velocity anomalies are commonly imaged beneath subducting slabs in tomographic studies, yet a unifying explanation for their distribution has not been agreed upon. In South America two such anomalies have been imaged associated with subduction of the Nazca Ridge in Peru and the Juan Fernández Ridge in Chile. Here we present new seismic images of the subslab slow velocity anomaly beneath Chile, which give a unique view of the nature of such anomalies. Slow seismic velocities within a large hole in the subducted Nazca slab connect with a subslab slow anomaly that appears correlated with the extent of the subducted Juan Fernández Ridge. The hole in the slab may allow the subslab material to rise into the mantle wedge, revealing the positive buoyancy of the slow material. We propose a new model for subslab slow velocity anomalies beneath the Nazca slab related to the entrainment of hot spot material.
Multifractal-based Image Analysis with applications in Medical Imaging

In this thesis we look at the use of Multifractals as a tool in image analysis. We begin by studying the mathematical theory behind the concept of multifractals and give a close description of both fractal theory and multifractal theory. Different proposed approaches for estimating the multifractal exponents for a digital image is then presented and we describe how these exponents can be used to perform image segmentation and texture classification. Based on one of the presented approaches, a method for calculating the multifractal spectrum for a grayscale image is implemented and then tested for generated images with known multifractal spectra. We see that in this case there is a large number of parameters that will affect the result, but with the right parameter setting we can obtain spectra that are close to the theoretically calculated spectra. However, finding a good parameter setting is not easy since the values depend on the type of image under consideration and the image size. To see examples of the potential use of the multifractal approach in real applications, the implemented method is also tested for two different kinds of medical images mammograms and digital microscopy images. For both these applications it seems very promising to use the multifractal spectra to distinguish between different tissue types represented in the images.
Effect of Transient Cerebral Ischaemia and Cardiac Arrest on Brain Extracellular Dopamine and Serotonin as Determined by In Vivo Dialysis in the Rat

Abstract: The effects of 20‐min transient, global, forebrain ischaemia and cardiac arrest on extracellular concentrations of dopamine (DA), serotonin (5‐HT), and their respective metabolites, homovanillic acid (HVA) and 5‐hydroxyindole‐acetic acid (5‐HIAA), were measured in vivo by dialysis of rat striatum and hippocampus. During the ischaemic period, striatal DA content increased (250‐fold basal concentrations) with parallel but much less marked increases of both striatal and hippocampal 5‐HT content (eight‐ to 10‐fold). Baseline values were restored during reperfusion. Subsequent increases of DA and 5‐HT levels on cardiac arrest were comparable after both sham operation and ischaemia. Significant decreases of HVA and 5‐HIAA levels were observed following ischaemia or cardiac arrest. The differential effects of ischaemia on DA and 5‐HT suggest selective alterations in disposition or metabolism of the two transmitters and that dopaminergic neurones may be more vulnerable to ischaemic insults.
Citizen science and the public nature of climate action

ABSTRACT International efforts to implement the Paris Agreement call for unprecedented levels of collaboration to address one of society’s most pressing crises. In this study we take the position that climate action work is very public work, in that decarbonization requires significant effort to learn together in ways that change commitments to enact environmental stewardship. To better understand this challenge, we examined citizen science as a space where climate action work is also the work of knowledge co-creation. Pre–post experience surveys and interviews with citizen scientists illustrate the transformative potential of place-based climate learning. Findings suggest that the relationships individuals developed with specific scientists and their personalized approaches to conducting science impacted how individuals related to the responsibility of environmental stewardship. This study highlights how effective, impactful collaboration is enriched when professionals share who they are in the context of the climate action work they do.
Family Characteristics as Risk Factors for Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

Background To date, few risk factors for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have been confirmed and the scientific literature is full of controversial “evidence. ” We examined if family characteristics, particularly maternal and paternal age and number of older siblings, were risk factors for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methodology/Principal Findings In this population-based nationwide matched case-control study, patients 0–14 years of age with ALL diagnosed 1991–2006 and registered in the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry were linked with their census records of 1990 and 2000. Eight controls per case were selected from the census. The association between family characteristics and ALL was analyzed by conditional logistic regressions. We found that increasing maternal age was associated with incidence of ALL in the offspring (OR per 5-year increase in maternal age 1.18, 95% CI 1.05–1.31; p = 0.004), remaining stable (trend OR 1.14, 95% CI 0.99–1.31; p = 0.060) after adjustment for other risk factors. The association with paternal age was weaker (OR per 5-year increase 1.14, 95% CI 1.01–1.28, p = 0.032) and disappeared after adjustments. Number of older siblings was not associated with risk of ALL in the overall group of children aged 0–14 years at diagnosis. However, we found a negative trend between number of older siblings and ALL diagnosed at age 0–4 years (OR per sibling 0.85, 95% CI 0.68–1.06; p = 0.141) and a positive trend for ALL diagnosed at age 5–9 (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.05–1.72; p = 0.019), with some evidence for an effect modification (p-value for interaction = 0.040). Conclusions As in other studies, increasing maternal, but not paternal age was associated with risk of ALL. We found only a weak association with the number of older siblings, suggesting a delay in disease manifestation rather than a decrease in incidence.
Strategies for enhancing the adoption of school‐based prevention programs: Lessons learned from the Blueprints for Violence Prevention replications of the Life Skills Training program

Widespread implementation of effective programs is unlikely to affect the incidence of violent crime unless there is careful attention given to the quality of implementation, including identification of the problems associated with the process of implementation and strategies for overcoming these obstacles. Here we describe the results of a process evaluation focused on discovering common implementation obstacles faced by schools implementing the Life Skills Training (LST) drug prevention program. The evaluation was conducted by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) under the Blueprints for Violence Prevention Initiative in conjunction with the designer of the LST program, Dr. Gilbert Botvin and his dissemination agency, National Health Promotion Associates (NHPA), and was funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
Interdigitated Electrode-Less High-Performance Macroporous Silicon Structure as Impedance Biosensor for Bacteria Detection

In this paper, an interdigitated electrode-less, high performance macroporous silicon-based impedance biosensor has been reported first time for the detection of E.ColiO157. Macroporous silicon of three different pore thickness of around 3, 8, and 12 μm and 55% porosity have been fabricated on a 10-20 Ω-cm wafer using hydrofluoric acid (HF) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The samples are next thermally oxidized for partial oxidation of silicon crystallites followed by optimized silanization and antibody immobilization. Two simple gold coated aluminium electrodes of 2 mm by 1 mm dimensions and 1 mm spacing have been fabricated similar to our previous report. It has been observed that the macroporous silicon with 8 μm thickness exhibits the maximum sensitivity of 30% corresponding to 104 CFU/ml which is twice compared to the earlier report on macroporous silicon and also it is higher than most of the other reports using IDE structures. The optimized sensor has been found to be reproducible, specific and capable of detecting down to 103 CFU/ml with a simple structure. A distributed transmission line model has been developed for macroporous silicon in presence of solution to explain the nature of variation of sensitivity with thickness from the current line confinement effects.
Clinico-Epidemiological Profile of Snakebite Cases Admitted in a Tertiary Care Centre in South India: A 5 Years Study

Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the clinic-epidemiological profile of snakebite cases admitted at a Tertiary Care Centre in South India. Materials and Methods: A record based retrospective study was carried out at Kasturbha Medical College affiliated hospitals in Mangalore. All the snakebite cases admitted to the hospitals from January 2007 to December 2011 were included in the study. Data were collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 11.5). The results are expressed as percentages. Results: The study included 198 cases of snakebite victims. The majority of the cases were males (68.2%). The mean age of the study population was 34.8 years. Maximum numbers of snakebite cases were reported during the month of September to December (47.9%). The peak time of snakebite was between 18.01 and 24.00 h which was reported in 40.5% of the cases. Lower extremities were the most common site of bite in more than three-fourth of the cases (80.9%). The most common symptoms were a pain (45.9%) and swelling (44.9%). The case fatality rate was observed to be 3.0%. Conclusion: Snakebite still remains a major public health problem in this part of the world. Knowledge must be imparted regarding the prevention of snakebites through community health programs. Messages regarding prompt reporting of such cases and importance of effective treatment must be disseminated among people through mass media and role plays.
Mental Disorders and Hypertension: Factors Associated With Awareness and Treatment of Hypertension in the General Population of Germany

Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify the association between mental disorders and awareness and treatment of hypertension in a large representative community sample. Methods: The analysis was based on data from 4149 respondents, ages 18 to 65 years, from the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey, a nationally representative multistage probability survey conducted from 1997 to 1999. Mental disorders were assessed by a modified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Blood pressure was measured during the medical examination by a health examiner. Results: There was no general association between awareness of hypertension and affective, anxiety, and substance abuse/dependence disorders. Men with acknowledged but untreated hypertension more often experienced affective and substance abuse/dependence disorders than men with treated hypertension. These relationships were stable after adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Conclusions: Our results suggest that it is important to distinguish between treated and acknowledged but untreated hypertension when evaluating the associations between mental disorders and hypertension. BMI = body mass index; CI = confidence interval; CIDI-S = Composite International Diagnostic Screener; CIDI = Composite International Diagnostic Interview; CVD = cardiovascular diseases; DBP = diastolic blood pressure; GHS = German National Health Interview and Examination Survey; OR = odds ratio; SBP = systolic blood pressure.