Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of multiple elements of SRR-based Bandpass Filter

This paper presents an investigation of the effect of various changes in each dimension components that build Split-ring resonator (SRR)-based bandpass filter (BPF) to its characteristic. The most suitable dimension is used to develop three elements SRR-based BPF design that intended to operate at around center frequency 2.4 GHz for wireless application and deployed and fabricated on Rogers RT/duroid 6010/6010LM™ with 1.9 mm thickness. The SRR-based BPF characteristics that investigated include return loss, insertion loss, center frequency and working bandwidth. The result of investigation show that center frequency of realization slides from 2.4GHZ to 2.42GHz, the insertion get better 9.15% from the simulation and the return loss become worst 35.93% from the simulation and working bandwidth just 1.1% sharper then simulation.
IFN-α Is Constitutively Expressed in the Human Thymus, but Not in Peripheral Lymphoid Organs

Type I interferons have been typically studied for their effects in the context of bacterial or viral infections. However in this report, we provide evidence that Interferon-alpha (IFN-α) expressing cells are present in the thymus in the absence of infection. We show that pDC express the highest level of IFN-α and that MxA, which is exclusively expressed after engagement of the type I IFN receptor by IFN-α/β, is expressed in normal fetal and post-natal thymus, but not in the periphery. The highest level of MxA is expressed in mature thymocytes and pDC located in the medulla and at the cortico-medullary junction. The anti-microbial peptide LL-37, which is expressed in the thymus, when complexed with eukaryotic nucleic acids, induces the secretion of IFN-α by thymic pDC. This results in the upregulation of MxA expression in responsive thymocytes. We propose that the secretion of IFN-α in the thymus may function to regulate the rate of T cell development and modulate the requirements for the selection of developing T cells.
Predicting contraceptive behaviour among adolescents : social, cognitive, and contextual influences

This paper examines the socio-cognitive processes underlying intentions to use condoms and contraceptive pills, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) extended with prototypes in a group of young Norwegian adolescents. The data are derived from a questionnaire survey comprising all pupils in grade 9 at three schools in Oslo (n = 196). Using hierarchical multiple regression analyses, the results showed that prototypes and normative beliefs, especially partner’s opinion, were the most important predictors for boys’ condom decisions. For girls’ condom decisions, normative and attitudinal considerations were most important. Perceived risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases was the most important predictor among behavioural beliefs for condom intention for both girls and boys. Normative beliefs and especially parent’s opinions were most important for girls’ decisions to use contraceptive pills. Implications of the findings are discussed.
« How do parents allocate time : the effects of wages and income » N ° 2008-30 September 2008

This paper focuses on the time allocation of spouses and the impact of economic variables. We present a stylized model of the time allocation of spouses to illustrate the expected impact of wages and non-labour income. The empirical model simultaneously specifies three time-use choices -paid work, childcare, and houseworkand wage and employment equations for each spouse, allowing for correlation across the errors of the ten equations. We exploit the rich information in the French time-use survey 1998-99 to estimate the model. The predictions of the theoretical model are mostly validated with the main exception of the standard hypothesis that performing housework does not bring utility. Parents’ market time responds positively to changes in own wage. The own-wage elasticity of housework is negative while childcare does not react to changes in own wage. Women’s non-market time is independent of their husband’s wage; but both housework and childcare of fathers react positively to an increase in their wife’s wage. Nonlabour income reduces paid work by parents and increases their non-market time. Higher-educated and older parents spend more time with their children. There are significant and positive correlations across the errors of the spousal equations. ∗ Free University Amsterdam, Department of Economics, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tinbergen Institute, IZA, and Netspar. ∗∗ CNRS, THEMA, University of Cergy Pontoise ∗∗∗ This research has benefited from a grant by the French National Research Agency (ANR). The data for this paper were made available by the INSEE. We thank the participants to a workshop on the labour market behaviour of couples that we organized in Nice in June 2008 for their comments. All errors are ours.
Incidence of Stroke among Swedish-Born and Migrant Women —The Role of Socio-Economic Status, Smoking, and Physical Activity

Introduction: The incidence of stroke has decreased in Sweden as well as in most developed countries, but a high number of migrants have arrived in Sweden, during the last decades, which may have influenced the incidence. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the incidence of stroke in women, born outside as well as in Sweden. Furthermore, the aim was to examine how socio-economic factors, smoking, and physical activity could modify the risk for stroke. Method: Data from the “Malmo Diet and Cancer Study” was used for the analysis. In total, 16,857 women were included (14,849 of them born in and 2,008 born outside Sweden), aged 45 - 73 years with a mean age of 57.4 years. Result. A significantly increased relative risk (RR) was found for the incidence of stroke for current smokers in both Swedish-born and migrant women. In Swedish-born women the RR was 1.98 (CI: 1.66 - 2.36) and for migrant women the RR was 1.83(CI: 1.13 - 2.96). The adjusted relative risk for the incidence of stroke in Swedish-born women performing moderate/high physical activity was RR 0.71 (CI: 0.61 - 0.84) and for migrant women it was RR 0.77 (CI: 0.49 - 1.20). The relative risk in relation to low socio-economic circumstances (SES) was significant only for Swedish-born women (RR 0.85 [CI: 0.73 - 0.99]). Among currently smoking Swedish-born women with a low SES the RR was 1.27 (CI: 1.03 - 1.57) in comparison with smoking migrant women, whose RR was 1.68 (CI: 0.92 - 3.09). Conclusion: No differences were found indicating that migrant women in this population had a higher risk as compared to Swedish-born women. However, migrant smoking women were more vulnerable to stroke compared to Swedish-born women. Physical activity was effective in reducing the risk of stroke among the total population and especially in the Swedish-born women. To increase physical activity in middle-aged women, in both migrant and Swedish-born women, is a highly recommended public health strategy.
Improvements in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Rankings: Do they Translate into Greater Foreign Direct Investment Inflows?

The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business reports have been ranking countries since 2006. However, do improvements in rankings generate greater foreign direct investment inflows? This study is the first to test such a proposition empirically with Arellano-Bond dynamic panel estimators using the official rankings from 2006 to 2009. The paper shows this relationship is significant for the average country. However, when the sample is restricted to developing countries, the results suggest an improved ranking has, on average, an insignificant (albeit positive) influence on foreign direct investment inflows. Although robust, this result should be taken with caution given that it refers to the average developing country using data across a four-year time period. Finally, the paper demonstrates that, on average, countries that undertake large-scale reforms relative to other countries do not necessarily attract greater foreign direct investment inflows. This analysis may have important ramifications for developing country governments wanting to improve their Doing Business Rankings in the hope of attracting foreign direct investment inflows.
Population-Based Reversible Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo

We present an extension of population-based Markov chain Monte Carlo to the transdimensional case. A major challenge is that of simulating from high- and transdimensional target measures. In such cases, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods may not adequately traverse the support of the target; the simulation results will be unreliable. We develop population methods to deal with such problems, and give a result proving the uniform ergodicity of these population algorithms, under mild assumptions. This result is used to demonstrate the superiority, in terms of convergence rate, of a population transition kernel over a reversible jump sampler for a Bayesian variable selection problem. We also give an example of a population algorithm for a Bayesian multivariate mixture model with an unknown number of components. This is applied to gene expression data of 1000 data points in six dimensions and it is demonstrated that our algorithm outperforms some competing Markov chain samplers. In this example, we show how to combine the methods of parallel chains (Geyer, 1991), tempering (Geyer & Thompson, 1995), snooker algorithms (Gilks et al., 1994), constrained sampling and delayed rejection (Green & Mira, 2001). Copyright 2007, Oxford University Press.
Trends of Tuberculosis Case Notification and Treatment Outcomes in the Sidama Zone, Southern Ethiopia: Ten-Year Retrospective Trend Analysis in Urban-Rural Settings

Background Ethiopia is one of the high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries. An analysis of trends and differentials in case notifications and treatment outcomes of TB may help improve our understanding of the performance of TB control services. Methods A retrospective trend analysis of TB cases was conducted in the Sidama Zone in southern Ethiopia. We registered all TB cases diagnosed and treated during 2003–2012 from all health facilities in the Sidama Zone, and analysed trends of TB case notification rates and treatment outcomes. Results The smear positive (PTB+) case notification rate (CNR) increased from 55 (95% CI 52.5–58.4) to 111 (95% CI 107.4–114.4) per 105 people. The CNRs of PTB+ in people older than 45 years increased by fourfold, while the mortality of cases during treatment declined from 11% to 3% for smear negative (PTB-) (X2 trend, P<0.001) and from 5% to 2% for PTB+ (X2 trend, P<0.001). The treatment success was higher in rural areas (AOR 1.11; CI 95%: 1.03–1.2), less for PTB- (AOR 0.86; CI 95%: 0.80–0.92) and higher for extra-pulmonary TB (AOR 1.10; CI 95%: 1.02–1.19) compared to PTB+. A higher lost-to-follow up was observed in men (AOR 1.15; CI 95%: 1.06–1.24) and among PTB- cases (AOR 1.14; CI 95%: 1.03–1.25). More deaths occurred in PTB-cases (AOR 1.65; 95% CI: 1.44–1.90) and among cases older than 65 years (AOR 3.86; CI 95%: 2.94–5.10). Lastly, retreatment cases had a higher mortality than new cases (6% vs 3%). Conclusion Over the past decade TB CNRs and treatment outcomes improved, whereas the disparities of disease burden by gender and place of residence reduced and mortality declined. Strategies should be devised to address higher risk groups for poor treatment outcomes.
The association of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defense parameters with inflammatory markers in patients with exudative form of age-related macular degeneration

There are evidence that oxidative stress and inflammation are involved in the pathogenesis of the age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The aim of this study was to analyze the antioxidant defense parameters and inflammatory markers in patients with exudative form of AMD (eAMD), their mutual correlations and association with the specific forms of AMD. The cross-sectional study, included 75 patients with the eAMD, 31 patients with the early form, and 87 aged-matched control subjects. Significantly lower SOD, TAS and albumin values and higher GR, CRP and IL-6 were found in the eAMD compared to the early form (p<0.05). Significant negative correlations were found between GPx and fibrinogen (r = –0.254), TAS and IL-6 (r = –0.999) and positive correlations between uric acid and CRP (r = 0.292), IL-6 and uric acid (r = 0.398) in the eAMD. A significant association of CRP (OR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03–1.32, p = 0.018), fibrinogen (OR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.14–4.85, p = 0.021), TAS (OR: 7.45, 95% CI: 3.97–14.35, p = 0.0001), albumin (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.11–1.41, p = 0.0001) and uric acid (OR: 1.006, 95% CI: 1.00–1.02, p = 0.003) was found with the eAMD. In conclusion it may be suggested, there is a significant impairment of antioxidant and inflammatory parameter levels in eAMD patients. In addition, significant association exists between the tested inflammatory markers and antioxidant parameters with late-eAMD.
Long-lasting reduction of risk of colorectal cancer following screening endoscopy

Several studies have suggested that incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC) may be strongly reduced for up to 10 years by endoscopic screening with removal of precancerous lesions, but so far there are no data on risk reduction beyond this period. We assessed long-term reduction of CRC risk following screening endoscopy in a statewide population-based case–control study in Saarland, Germany. Lifetime history of screening endoscopy was compared between 320 cases with CRC aged 45–80 and 263 controls with other forms of cancer recruited from the same population. Potential confounding factors were controlled for by multiple logistic regression. 11% of cases compared to 27% of controls had a history of endoscopy for screening purposes (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.16–0.48). This strong risk reduction was also seen (OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.19–0.89) in subjects who had their last screening endoscopy more than 10 years ago (median: 18.9 years). Long term (> 10 years since last screening) risk reduction appeared to be particularly strong for advanced (Dukes C or D) CRC (OR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.06–0.64). We conclude that risk reduction by screening endoscopy is long lasting, in particular with respect to advanced CRC. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer. com
Mantle Structure beneath the Western United States and Its Implications for Convection Processes

[1] We present tomographic images of the mantle structure beneath the western United States. Our Dynamic North America Models of P and S velocity structure (DNA07‐P and DNA07‐S) use teleseismic body waves recorded at ∼600 seismic stations provided by the Earthscope Transportable Array and regional networks. DNA07‐P and ‐S benefit from the unprecedented aperture of the network while maintaining a dense station distribution providing high‐resolution body wave imaging of features through the transition zone and into the lower mantle. The main features imaged include (1) the Juan de Fuca subduction system that bottoms at ∼400 km beneath Oregon, implying interaction with the Yellowstone anomaly; (2) a low‐velocity conduit beneath Yellowstone National Park that bottoms at 500 km and dips toward the northwest; (3) shallow low‐velocity anomalies (upper 200 km) beneath the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) and the High Lava Plains, and a deep low‐velocity anomaly (>600 km) beneath the ESRP but not Newberry; (4) a low‐velocity " slab gap " to ∼400 km depth immediately south of the Mendocino Triple Junction and south of the Gorda slab; and (5) high‐velocity " drips " beneath the Transverse Ranges, the southern Central Valley/Sierra Nevada, and central Nevada. These observations reveal extremely heterogeneous mantle structure for the western United States and suggest that we are only just beginning to image the complex interactions between geologic objects. The transportable array allows for analysis of the relationships between these anomalies in an internally consistent single tomographic model. The DNA velocity models are available for download and slicing at http://dna.berkeley. edu.
Cytokine Detection and Modulation in Acute Graft vs. Host Disease in Mice

A murine model for acute lethal graft vs. host disease (GVHD) was used to study the role that a number of cytokines play in the development of lethal GVHD. In this study we focused on the role of IL-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ and TNF-α. Lethally irradiated (C57BL × CBA)F1 mice were reconstituted either with 107 allogeneic BALB/c spleen cells or with a similar number of syngeneic cells, as a control. A significant rise in serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α and IFN-γ levels was found in allogeneically reconstituted mice. This is in contrast to the syngeneic control group in which no rise was seen. Serum IL-2 and IL-4 levels were below the detection limit. In the supernatant of Con A stimulated spleen cells from allogeneically reconstituted mice IL-6, IFN-γ and TNF-α concentrations were increased. The expression of mRNA for cytokines as detected by reverse transcription PCR was studied in spleen cells. In the allogeneic reconstituted mice the mRNA expression of IL-1α, IL-2, IL-6, IFN-γ and TNF-α displayed faster kinetics compared with that in syngeneic reconstituted mice. The effect of treatment with recombinant cytokines, antibodies to cytokines and to cytokine receptors on the development of GVHD was investigated. Administration of recombinant IL-2 to allogeneically reconstituted mice strongly increased the morbidity and mortality whereas injection of IL-1α and TNF-α did not influence survival. Administration of antibodies against IL-2 or the IL-2 receptor decreased the morbidity and mortality. Anti-IL-6, anti-IFN-γ, and anti-TNF-α mAB, on the other hand, did not affect the morbidity and mortality of GVHD. The results of this study suggest successive waves of cytokine-secreting cell populations consistent with the induction of an inflammatory response in the development of acute GVH disease.
Prognostic Importance of Quantitative Exercise Doppler Echocardiography in Asymptomatic Valvular Aortic Stenosis

Background—In patients with asymptomatic valvular aortic stenosis, exercise testing may help to stratify the clinical risk. However, data are limited, and the role of quantitative exercise Doppler echocardiography has never been investigated. Methods and Results—Sixty-nine consecutive patients with severe asymptomatic aortic stenosis (aortic valve area <1 cm2) who prospectively underwent quantitative Doppler echocardiographic measurements at rest and during semisupine exercise test were followed up for 15±7 months. Of these, 26 had an abnormal response to exercise [occurrence of ≥1 of the following findings: angina, dyspnea, ≥2 mm ST segment depression, or fall or small (<20 mm Hg) rise in systolic blood pressure during the test] and 18 presented cardiac events during follow-up (symptoms in 2 patients, acute pulmonary edema in 2, aortic valve replacement in 12, and cardiac death in 2). In univariate analysis, patients who had cardiac events exhibited a higher increase in both peak (29±16 versus 22±14 mm Hg; P=0.019) and mean (23±8 versus 12±7 mm Hg; P=0.000003) transvalvular pressure gradients, whereas the left ventricular ejection fraction reached at peak stress was lower. These patients experienced more frequently symptoms during exercise (14 of 18 versus 12 of 51; P=0.0008). By multivariate Cox regression analysis, independent predictors of cardiac events were as follows: an increase in mean transaortic pressure gradient by ≥18 mm Hg during exercise (P=0.0015), an abnormal exercise test (P=0.0026), and an aortic valve area <0.75 cm2 (P=0.0031). Exercise Doppler echocardiographic findings provided incremental prognostic value over resting echocardiographic and exercise electrocardiographic parameters. Conclusions—Quantitative Doppler exercise echocardiography could be useful to identify a high-risk subset of patients with asymptomatic valvular aortic stenosis and help for clinical decision making.
GHASP: an Hα kinematic survey of spiral and irregular galaxies - VI. New Hα data cubes for 108 galaxies

We present the Fabry-Perot observations obtained for a new set of 108 galaxies in the frame of the Gassendi Ha survey of SPirals (GHASP). The GHASP survey consists of 3D Ha data cubes for 203 spiral and irregular galaxies, covering a large range in morphological types and absolute magnitudes, for kinematics analysis. The new set of data presented here completes the survey. The GHASP sample is by now the largest sample of Fabry-Perot data ever published. The analysis of the whole GHASP sample will be done in forthcoming papers. Using adaptive binning techniques based on Voronoi tessellations, we have derived Ha data cubes from which are computed Ha maps, radial velocity fields as well as residual velocity fields, position-velocity diagrams, rotation curves and the kinematical parameters for almost all galaxies. Original improvements in the determination of the kinematical parameters, rotation curves and their uncertainties have been implemented in the reduction procedure. This new method is based on the whole 2D velocity field and on the power spectrum of the residual velocity field rather than the classical method using successive crowns in the velocity field. Among the results, we point out that morphological position angles have systematically higher uncertainties than kinematical ones, especially for galaxies with low inclination. The morphological inclination of galaxies having no robust determination of their morphological position angle cannot be constrained correctly. Galaxies with high inclination show a better agreement between their kinematical inclination and their morphological inclination computed assuming a thin disc. The consistency of the velocity amplitude of our rotation curves has been checked using the Tully-Fisher relationship. Our data are in good agreement with previous determinations found in the literature. Nevertheless, galaxies with low inclination have statistically higher velocities than expected and fast rotators are less luminous than expected.