Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of care for 16,924 planned home births in the United States: the Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project, 2004 to 2009.

INTRODUCTION Between 2004 and 2010, the number of home births in the United States rose by 41%, increasing the need for accurate assessment of the safety of planned home birth. This study examines outcomes of planned home births in the United States between 2004 and 2009. METHODS We calculated descriptive statistics for maternal demographics, antenatal risk profiles, procedures, and outcomes of planned home births in the Midwives Alliance of North American Statistics Project (MANA Stats) 2.0 data registry. Data were analyzed according to intended and actual place of birth. RESULTS Among 16,924 women who planned home births at the onset of labor, 89.1% gave birth at home. The majority of intrapartum transfers were for failure to progress, and only 4.5% of the total sample required oxytocin augmentation and/or epidural analgesia. The rates of spontaneous vaginal birth, assisted vaginal birth, and cesarean were 93.6%, 1.2%, and 5.2%, respectively. Of the 1054 women who attempted a vaginal birth after cesarean, 87% were successful. Low Apgar scores (< 7) occurred in 1.5% of newborns. Postpartum maternal (1.5%) and neonatal (0.9%) transfers were infrequent. The majority (86%) of newborns were exclusively breastfeeding at 6 weeks of age. Excluding lethal anomalies, the intrapartum, early neonatal, and late neonatal mortality rates were 1.30, 0.41, and 0.35 per 1000, respectively. DISCUSSION For this large cohort of women who planned midwife-led home births in the United States, outcomes are congruent with the best available data from population-based, observational studies that evaluated outcomes by intended place of birth and perinatal risk factors. Low-risk women in this cohort experienced high rates of physiologic birth and low rates of intervention without an increase in adverse outcomes.
Dietary habits and lifestyle among adolescents in Damascus, Syria.

INTRODUCTION Dietary and lifestyle behaviours among adolescents are risk factors for several chronic diseases in adulthood. OBJECTIVE To examine the differences in dietary habits and lifestyle between male and female adolescents in Syria. MATERIALS AND METHOD A cross-sectional multi-stage stratified sampling study was carried out on adolescents, 15-18-years-old, in Damascus, Syria. The total sample selected was 365 (178 males and 187 females). Data were collected with a pretested questionnaire. RESULTS There were significant differences between males and females in the frequency of intake of vegetables, milk and dairy products, red meat, sugary beverages and fast foods. Females were more likely to skip breakfast than males (52.4% vs. 43%), but the difference was not statistically significant. Males were significantly more likely to consume larger portions of fast foods and soft drinks. Significant differences were found between genders in eating while watching television, hours using Internet, practicing physical activity and emotional eating. CONCLUSION A significant variation between male and female Syrian adolescents in their food habits and lifestyle was observed. Interventions should consider the gender differences to promote a healthy lifestyle for schoolchildren in Syria.
Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods a Comparison of Usual T-test Statistic and Modified T-test Statistics on Skewed Distribution Functions Recommended Citation a Comparison of Usual T-test Statistic and Modified T-test Statistics on Skewed Distribution Functions

When the sample size n is small, the random variable   T n X S   is said to follow a central t distribution with degrees of freedom (n – 1), where X is the sample mean and S is the sample standard deviation, provided that the data X ~ N (μ, σ 2). The random variable T can be used as a test statistic to hypothesize the population mean μ. Some argue that the t-test statistic is robust against the normality of the distribution and claim that the normality assumption is not necessary. In this article we will use simulation to study whether the t-test is really robust if the population distribution is not normally distributed. In particular, we will study how the skewness of a probability distribution will affect the confidence interval as well as the t-test statistic.
Computation Peer Offloading for Energy-Constrained Mobile Edge Computing in Small-Cell Networks

The (ultra-)dense deployment of small-cell base stations (SBSs) endowed with cloud-like computing functionalities paves the way for pervasive mobile edge computing, enabling ultra-low latency and location-awareness for a variety of emerging mobile applications and the Internet of Things. To handle spatially uneven computation workloads in the network, cooperation among SBSs via workload peer offloading is essential to avoid large computation latency at overloaded SBSs and provide high quality of service to end users. However, performing effective peer offloading faces many unique challenges due to limited energy resources committed by self-interested SBS owners, uncertainties in the system dynamics, and co-provisioning of radio access and computing services. This paper develops a novel online SBS peer offloading framework, called online peer offloading (OPEN), by leveraging the Lyapunov technique, in order to maximize the long-term system performance while keeping the energy consumption of SBSs below individual long-term constraints. OPEN works online without requiring information about future system dynamics, yet provides provably near-optimal performance compared with the oracle solution that has the complete future information. In addition, this paper formulates a peer offloading game among SBSs and analyzes its equilibrium and efficiency loss in terms of the price of anarchy to thoroughly understand SBSs’ strategic behaviors, thereby enabling decentralized and autonomous peer offloading decision making. Extensive simulations are carried out and show that peer offloading among SBSs dramatically improves the edge computing performance.
Climate and Conflict

We review the emerging literature on climate and conflict. We consider multiple types of human conflict, including both interpersonal conflict, such as assault and murder, and intergroup conflict, including riots and civil war. We discuss key methodological issues in estimating causal relationships and largely focus on natural experiments that exploit variation in climate over time. Using a hierarchical meta-analysis that allows us to both estimate the mean effect and quantify the degree of variability across 55 studies, we find that deviations from moderate temperatures and precipitation patterns systematically increase conflict risk. Contemporaneous temperature has the largest average impact, with each 1σ increase in temperature increasing interpersonal conflict by 2.4% and intergroup conflict by 11.3%. We conclude by highlighting research priorities, including a better understanding of the mechanisms linking climate to conflict, societies’ ability to adapt to climatic changes, and the likely impacts of future global warming.
Chinese Paroemias as Intertextual Insertions in American Mass Media and Social Media Discourse

Mass media and social media discourse was analyzed to reveal the techniques of integration of Chinese sayings and proverbs to the contemporary American verbal communication. The study was conducted via the methodological approach of intertextuality, according to which borrowed proverbs and sayings may be considered in-texts by being references to the fragments of the source culture. The paper aims at investigating the causes and consequences of the incorporation of Chinese paroemias into American mass media and social media discourse. The Chinese proverbs and sayings entering the American verbal culture undergo transformation of axiology, imagery and content. The degree of the paroemialogeme modulation depends on the discourse pragmatics and the vector of the Chinese and American axiological interaction. The Chinese paroemias functioning in American mass media and social media discourse mark the current trends of American cultural cognition.
Heterogeneity Matters: Labour Productivity Differentiated by Age and Skills

This study aims at evaluating the actual profile of marginal productivity across the age groups within the workforce. As age-productivity profile might differ between occupations, we differentiate the workforce simultaneously by skills (low-skilled, high-skilled) and by age (young, middle-aged, old). Estimating a production function with a nested constant-elasticity-of-substitution (CES) specification in labour allows the imperfect substitution between different categories of workers. We use French dataset for manufacturing, services and trade sectors. Labour productivity is found to be the lowest for the low-skilled older workers while high-skilled senior employees in manufacturing and trade are the most productive group. Throughout the sectors, wage rates vary considerably less than productivity and wage profiles are steeper for high-skilled workers. The relative productivity over wage ratio is found to be sector-specific. It is the highest for young workers in manufacturing while in services and trade it is the highest for the mid-age employees.
Testing models of stochastic choice in health state valuation data

Expected Utility (EU) theory is the standard economic model of individual preferences under uncertainty. However, observed violations of the axioms of EU have generated interest in the incorporation of a stochastic element into deterministic models of decision-making. Previous empirical investigation of the theories of stochastic choice has involved monetary gambles in risky conditions using convenience samples of students. The aim of this study is to test generalisations of these models in the context of eliciting the preferences of the general public over health states under conditions of certainty. Our findings lend support to the `white noise´ stochastic specification of Hey and Orme (1994) which indicates that the stronger the preferences of an individual, the less likely they are to make a mistake and attach a lower value to their truly preferred alternative. JEL Classification: D0 Key words: Stochastic preferences, utility assessment, expected utility theory.
Total ankle replacement: THE RESULTS IN 200 ANKLES

Between 1993 and 2000 we implanted 200 cementless, mobile-bearing STAR total ankle replacements. None was lost to follow-up for reasons other than the death of a patient. The mean follow-up was for 46 months (24 to 101). A complication requiring further surgery developed in eight ankles and 14 were revised or fused. The cumulative survival rate at five years was 92.7% (95% CI 86.6 to 98.8) with time to decision to revision or fusion as an endpoint. The most frequent complications were delayed wound healing and fracture of a malleolus. These became less common with experience of the operation. The radiological appearance of the interface of the tibial implant was significantly related to its operative fit and to the type of bioactive coating.
VARIATIONAL AND GENETIC PROPERTIES OF DEVELOPMENTAL STABILITY IN DALECHAMPIA SCANDENS

Abstract Because low developmental stability may compromise the precision with which adaptations can be reached, the variability and genetic basis of developmental stability are important evolutionary parameters. Developmental stability is also an important clue to understanding how traits are regulated to achieve their phenotypic target value. However, developmental stability must be studied indirectly through proxy variables, such as fluctuating asymmetry, that are suggested to have noisy and often nonlinear relationships to the underlying variable of interest. In this paper we first show that mean-standardized measures of variance and covariance in fluctuating asymmetry, unlike heritabilities, repeatabilities, and correlations, are linearly related to corresponding measures of variation in underlying developmental stability. We then examine the variational properties of developmental stability in a population of the Neotropical vine, Dalechampia scandens (Euphorbiaceae). By studying fluctuating asymmetry in a large number of floral characters in both selfed and outcrossed individuals in a diallel design, we assemble strong evidence that both additive genetic and individual variation and covariation in developmental stability are virtually absent in this population.
Exploring Teacher Candidates’ Attitudes towards Pedagogical Teacher Training Based on Different Variables

The raising of the life standards of individuals living within a society is only possible through the provision of quality education. Quality education can be realized only through the training of teachers with the necessary skills and positive attitudes towards the training provided at faculties of education and through teacher training programs. The purpose of this study is to compare the attitudes of teacher candidates enrolled on teacher training programs towards this type of education with their views concerning this model of education within the context of numerous variables factors. The participants in this study, that was designed according to a descriptive model, consisted of an appropriate sample of 202 teacher candidates from the teacher training program program at a state university situated in Istanbul. The data of the research were collected using “an attitude scale with regard to teacher training” and “an identification scale of the level of support provided to become a teacher”. The data were analyzed using a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, a Spearman Brown Rank Correlation Coefficient (test) and Binary Logistic Regression (method). A positive development was seen to have taken place in the attitudes of teacher trainees from the point prior to embarking on Teacher Training to completion of the training. Teacher candidates were of the view that teacher training contributed only slightly to the acquisition of skills relating to the learning and teaching process, however contributed greatly to development of the skills of being able to recognize diversity (among students) and in those related to class management. In accordance with the logistic regression model, it was realized that the above may represent predictor variables outside the model adopted.
Molecular Profiling of Endometrial Malignancies

Molecular profiling of endometrial neoplasms reveals genetic changes in endometrial carcinomas that support the dualistic model, in which type I carcinomas are estrogen-dependent, low grade lesions and type II carcinomas are nonestrogen dependent and high grade. The molecular changes in type I endometrial carcinomas include mutations in PTEN, PIK3CA, KRAS, and β-catenin, along with microsatellite instability, whereas type II endometrial carcinomas are characterized by genetic alterations in p53, HER2/neu, p16, and E-cadherin. For endometrial neoplasms with a malignant mesenchymal component, C-MYC mutations and loss of heterozygosity are frequently seen in carcinosarcomas, and a fusion gene, JAZF1/JJAZ1, is distinctive for endometrial stromal sarcoma. In addition, p53 mutations may play an important role in tumorigenesis of undifferentiated endometrial sarcoma. These molecular changes can help in the diagnosis of endometrial neoplasms, as well as form the basis of molecular targeted therapy.
Reduced Room for Cardiac Vagal Modulation to Increase and Cardiac Sympathetic Modulation to Decrease by Resting in Football Players

Background: This study investigated the cardiac autonomic nervous modulation of football (soccer) players at rest, and whether resting can change it further. Methods: The stationary state spectral heart rate variability (HRV) measures at rest and 60 and 90 min after baseline measurement were compared between football players and sedentary controls. The percentages of change in HRV measures 60 and 90 min after baseline measurement were also compared between football players and sedentary controls. Results: Seventeen football players and 17 sedentary normal subjects were recruited in this study. The total power (TP), very low frequency power (VLFP), low frequency power (LFP), high-frequency power (HFP) and normalized high-frequency power (nHFP) of football players at rest were all significantly higher, while both normalized low-frequency power (nLFP) and low-/high-frequency power ratio (LHR) of football players at rest were significantly lower than those of normal controls. Sixty and 90 min after baseline measurement, though the heart rate (HR) was significantly decreased and the standard deviation of RR intervals (SDRR), root mean squared successive difference (rMSSD), TP, VLFP, and HFP were all significantly increased in the control group, there were no significant changes in the HRV measures except that the HR was slightly decreased in the football players. Conclusion: The football players have increased vagal modulation and decreased sympathetic modulation at rest as compared to sedentary non-athletes. Although vagal modulation can be increased significantly by resting in the sedentary non-athlete, it cannot be increased significantly in the football players. The football players at rest seem to be already in a relatively relaxed state which cannot be relaxed further by further resting, whereas the nonathletes are not relaxed fully at rest and more rest can lead to further relaxation. The room for cardiac vagal modulation to increase and cardiac sympathetic modulation to decrease by resting is reduced in the football players relative to that of normal subjects.
Assessing the Effects of Exposure to Supermax Confinement on Offender Postrelease Behaviors

A number of studies have examined whether the carceral experience has a criminogenic, deterrent, or null effect on offenders’ postrelease behaviors, but it is less clear whether exposure to different types of confinement similarly affects offenders’ postrelease behaviors. Using data collected from offenders released under postrelease supervision in Ohio, we examine the impact of exposure to one type of penal environment, supermax confinement, on offenders’ odds of recidivism and other postrelease outcomes. The findings revealed that exposure to supermax confinement had no impact on offenders’ postrelease behaviors.
Multirobot Localisation Using Interlaced Extended Kalman Filter

This paper deals with a new approach to multi robot localization. An Interlaced extended Kalman filter is shown to be a good solution to the problem of estimating the pose of a team of robots with a fully decentralized algorithm. Moreover, it is feasible to dynamically "correct" the estimation autonomously evaluated by each single robot, updating this quantity anytime two robots randomly come across. The algorithm combines the robustness of a full state EKF with the simplicity of its interlaced implementation. It does not need global supervision, and allows a large flexibility in using exteroceptive sensors. The paper presents some simulations to show the feasibility of the approach considering a set of robots equipped with different combinations of sensors and with wireless communication devices able to support data exchange when they are sufficiently close
An Integrated Approach for the Analysis of Biological Pathways using Mixed Models

Gene class, ontology, or pathway testing analysis has become increasingly popular in microarray data analysis. Such approaches allow the integration of gene annotation databases, such as Gene Ontology and KEGG Pathway, to formally test for subtle but coordinated changes at a system level. Higher power in gene class testing is gained by combining weak signals from a number of individual genes in each pathway. We propose an alternative approach for gene-class testing based on mixed models, a class of statistical models that: provides the ability to model and borrow strength across genes that are both up and down in a pathway, operates within a well-established statistical framework amenable to direct control of false positive or false discovery rates, exhibits improved power over widely used methods under normal location-based alternative hypotheses, and handles complex experimental designs for which permutation resampling is difficult. We compare the properties of this mixed models approach with nonparametric method GSEA and parametric method PAGE using a simulation study, and illustrate its application with a diabetes data set and a dose-response data set.
Visual Sliding Window SLAM with Application to Planetary Landers

This paper describes a Sliding Window Filter (SWF) that is a constant-time approximation to the feature-based batch non-linear least squares Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) problem. In particular, we are interested in improving the range resolution of stereo vision for Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) missions to Mars and other planetary bodies. The goal is to create accurate and precise 3D planetary surface structure estimates by filtering sequences of stereo images taken from an autonomous landing vehicle. More generally we are interested in fast, optimal, relative spatial estimation for mobile robots. The SWF is useful in this context because it can scale from the offline, optimal batch least squares solution to fast online incremental solutions. For instance, if the window encompasses all time, the solution is algebraically equivalent to full SLAM; if only one time step is maintained, the solution is algebraically equivalent to the Extended Kalman Filter SLAM solution; if robot poses and environment landmarks are slowly marginalized out over time such that the state vector ceases to grow, then the filter becomes constant time, like Visual Odometry. Further, the sliding window method exhibits other interesting properties, like reversible data association, out-of sequence measurement updates, and robust estimation across multiple timesteps. We test the SWF with image data captured to emulate EDL conditions for a Mars lander. Experiments show that structure estimates derived from the SWF converge to the optimal result predicted by theory. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to show optimal structure convergence with real stereo data from a moving platform. Robotics, Computer Vision, SLAM, Estimation Theory
Role of the amino terminal RHAU-specific motif in the recognition and resolution of guanine quadruplex-RNA by the DEAH-box RNA helicase RHAU

Under physiological conditions, guanine-rich sequences of DNA and RNA can adopt stable and atypical four-stranded helical structures called G-quadruplexes (G4). Such G4 structures have been shown to occur in vivo and to play a role in various processes such as transcription, translation and telomere maintenance. Owing to their high-thermodynamic stability, resolution of G4 structures in vivo requires specialized enzymes. RHAU is a human RNA helicase of the DEAH-box family that exhibits a unique ATP-dependent G4-resolvase activity with a high affinity and specificity for its substrate in vitro. How RHAU recognizes G4-RNAs has not yet been established. Here, we show that the amino-terminal region of RHAU is essential for RHAU to bind G4 structures and further identify within this region the evolutionary conserved RSM (RHAU-specific motif) domain as a major affinity and specificity determinant. G4-resolvase activity and strict RSM dependency are also observed with CG9323, the Drosophila orthologue of RHAU, in the amino terminal region of which the RSM is the only conserved motif. Thus, these results reveal a novel motif in RHAU protein that plays an important role in recognizing and resolving G4-RNA structures, properties unique to RHAU among many known RNA helicases.