Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are Canadian Seniors Becoming More Active? Empirical Evidence Based on Time-Use Data*

ABSTRACT In this study, we examine trends in the patterns of time use of seniors in Canada since the 1980s. In particular, we ask whether today's seniors devote more, or less, time to productive activities than 20 years ago. Our inquiry is motivated by the claims that today's seniors are not engaged in ‘active aging. ’ This study uses data from a series of time-use surveys carried out in Canada since 1981 to empirically test the validity of this claim. Our results suggest that some shift towards active aging has taken place in Canada since the 1980s; however, this shift involves a complex pattern of reallocation of time that varies by gender and age. RÉSUMÉ Dans cette étude, nous examinons les tendances en terme d'emploi du temps chez les personnes âgées au Canada depuis les années 1980s. Tout particulièrement, nous posons la question à savoir si les personnes âgées aujourd'hui consacrent plus, ou moins, de temps aux activités productives qu'il y a 20 ans. Notre étude est motivée par l'énoncé fait par certains auteurs que les personnes âgées d'aujourd'hui ne poursuivent pas un vieillissement actif (active aging). Notre étude utilise des données tirées d'une série d'enquêtes budget-temps administrées au Canada depuis 1981 afin de tester empiriquement la validité de cet énoncé. Nos résultats suggèrent certains changements vers un vieillissement plus actif depuis les années 1980s. Cependant, ces changements impliquent un modèle complexe de ré-allocation du temps qui varie par genre et âge.
Comparison of the RECIST 1.0 and RECIST 1.1 in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Cytotoxic Chemotherapy

Background : The impact of the RECIST 1.1 on the selection of target lesions and assessment of tumor response was not evaluated in patients with advanced NSCLC who received cytotoxic chemotherapy. Methods: We reviewed medical records of patients with advanced NSCLC who received first-line chemotherapy between January 2004 and December 2013 and compared the selection of target lesions and tumor responses using the two RECIST versions. Results: A total of 88 patients who had at least one target lesion according to the RECIST 1.0 were included in the study. The number of target lesions by the RECIST 1.1 was significantly lower than that by the RECIST 1.0. When adopting the RECIST 1.1 instead of the RECIST 1.0, 40 patients (45.4%) showed a decrease in the number of target lesions. Three patients no longer had target lesion because of the new lymph node (LN) criteria of the RECIST 1.1. Tumor responses showed a high level of concordance between the RECIST 1.0 and RECIST 1.1, with a kappa value of 0.912. Four patients (4.5%) showed disagreement of tumor responses between the two criteria, which were all due to the change of the LN criteria. Conclusion: The RECIST 1.1 showed a high level of concordance with the RECIST 1.0 in the assessment of tumor response in advanced NSCLC patients treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy. The new LN criteria were the major cause of the reduction of target lesions and reclassification of the tumor response.
Changes in knowledge and attitudes of folate, and use of dietary supplements among women of reproductive age in Norway 1998 - 2000

Aims: From March 1998, Norwegian nutrition authorities have recommended that women consume a folic acid supplement before and early in pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects. The authors wished to establish Norwegian data on knowledge of, use of, and attitudes to folic acid supplement and dietary supplements before and after implementing national information campaigns on folate and pregnancy. Methods: Telephone surveys were carried out in late 1998 and in late 2000 among, respectively, 1,146 and 1,218 Norwegian women of reproductive age. Results: Overall, 50% of the women in 1998 and 60% of the women in 2000 had heard about folate, 33% and 46% knew about its role in pregnancy, and 9.5% and 21% knew that it may prevent a congenital malformation. Only 4.0% and 8.5% of the women, respectively, knew that the critical period for folic acid supplement to reduce the risk of neural tube defect is before and early in pregnancy. Knowledge and increase in knowledge between the two surveys were highest among women close to pregnancy (woman planning pregnancy, pregnant women, or women who had given birth within the last 12 months), and among women with high education. Among the 54 women in 1998 and the 55 women in 2000 whose last birth was within the previous year, use of a folic acid supplement before or early in the last pregnancy was reported by 10% (95% confidence interval (CI) 5 - 21%) and by 47% (95% CI 35 - 60%), respectively. Among women close to pregnancy, 76% in 1998 and 87% in 2000 stated that they would use a folic acid supplement in a future pregnancy. Conclusions: Knowledge and use of folate among Norwegian women increased from 1998 to 2000. Future information strategies on folate and pregnancy should in particular aim at increasing women's knowledge on the critical period for folic acid supplementation, as well as reducing socio-demographic differences in use and knowledge of folate.
A central limit theorem for adaptive and interacting Markov chains

Adaptive and interacting Markov Chains Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are a novel class of non-Markovian algorithms aimed at improving the simulation efficiency for complicated target distributions. In this paper, we study a general (non-Markovian) simulation framework covering both the adaptive and interacting MCMC algorithms. We establish a Central Limit Theorem for additive functionals of unbounded functions under a set of verifiable conditions, and identify the asymptotic variance. Our result extends all the results reported so far. An application to the interacting tempering algorithm (a simplified version of the equi-energy sampler) is presented to support our claims.
Turning into frogs: Asymmetry in forelimb emergence and escape direction in metamorphosing anurans

ABSTRACT There is considerable debate about the pattern and origin of laterality in forelimb emergence and turning behaviour within amphibians, with the latter being poorly investigated in tadpoles around metamorphic climax. Using 6 species of metamorphosing anurans, we investigated the effect of asymmetrical spiracle location, and disturbance at the time of forelimb emergence, on the pattern of forelimb emergence. Turning behaviour was observed to assess whether motor lateralization occurred in non-neobatrachian anurans and was linked to patterns of forelimb emergence. Biases in forelimb emergence differed among species, supporting the hypothesis that asymmetrical spiracle position results in the same asymmetry in forelimb emergence. However, this pattern only occurred when individuals were undisturbed. Therefore, context at the time of the emergence of the forelimbs may be important, and might explain some discrepancies in the literature. Turning biases, unconnected to forelimb emergence, were found in Pipidae and Bombinatoridae, confirming the basal origin of lateralized behaviour among anurans. Turning direction in our metamorphs differed from the leftward bias commonly observed in tadpoles, but may be analogous to the prevalent right-“handedness” among adult anurans. Therefore, the transitions occurring during metamorphosis may affect lateralized behaviour and metamorphosis may be fruitful for understanding the development of lateralization.
The Prevalence of Elevated Psychological Distress Among Canadian Undergraduates: Findings from the 1998 Canadian Campus Survey

Abstract For a study of elevated psychological distress, the authors used data based on a national probability sample of 7,800 Canadian undergraduate students from 16 universities. They used the 12-item General Health Questionnaire to assess mental health. Thirty percent of the students in the sample reported elevated psychological distress, which varied significantly according to sex, region, year of study, and recreational and academic orientation. Rates of elevated distress were significantly higher among the students than among the general population in Canada.
The Universal Character of the Tumor-Associated Antigen Survivin

Survivin is expressed in most human neoplasms, but is absent in normal, differentiated tissues. Survivin is a bifunctional inhibitor of apoptosis protein that has been implicated in protection from apoptosis and regulation of mitosis. Several clinical trials targeting survivin with a collection of different approaches from small molecule antagonists to immunotherapy are currently under way. With regard to the latter, spontaneous anti-survivin T-cell reactivity has been described in cancer patients suffering from a huge range of cancers of different origin, e.g., breast and colon cancer, lymphoma, leukemia, and melanoma. Thus, survivin may serve as a universal target antigen for anticancer immunotherapy. Accordingly, down-regulation of survivin as a means of immune escape would severely inflict the survival capacity of tumor cells, which highlights this protein as a prime target candidate for therapeutic vaccinations against cancer. Data from several ongoing phase I/II trials targeting survivin for patients with advanced cancer will provide further information about this idea.
A Combination of Transfer Learning and Deep Learning for Medicinal Plant Classification

Medicinal plants are an important element of indigenous medical systems in Viet Nam. These resources are usually regarded as a part of culture's traditional knowledge. One of the prerequisites for any medical recommendation systems and/or applications is accurate identification and classification of medicinal plants. Hence, leveraging technology in automatic classification of these curative herbs has become essential. Unfortunately, building and training a machine learning model from scratch is next to impossible due to the lack of hardware infrastructure and finance support. It painfully restricts the requirements of rapid solutions to deal with the demand. For this purpose, this paper exploits the idea of transfer learning which is the improvement of learning in a new prediction task through the transferability of knowledge from a related prediction task that has already been learned. By utilizing state-of-the-art deep networks re-trained with our collected data, our extensive experiments show that the proposed combination performs perfectly and achieves the classification accuracy of 98.7% within the acceptable training time.
Trend in mode of delivery in Rajavithi Hospital: a ten-year analysis (2002-2011).

OBJECTIVE To create trends in mode of delivery both public and private service at Rajavithi Hospital. MATERIAL AND METHOD The medical records of singleton pregnant women delivered between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2011 were retrospectively analyzed for mode of delivery, indication of operative obstetrics, and modality of services (public and private service). RESULTS During the study period, total singleton deliveries gradually decreased from 9,418 to 6,023 while the spontaneous vaginal delivery rate fluctuated, and the cesarean delivery rate increased from 25.48% to 34.70%. Vaginal operative deliveries steadily declined such as, forceps extraction 3.83% to 0.95%, vacuum extraction, 1.72% to 0.85%, and vaginal breech delivery 0.92 to 0.28%. CONCLUSION The cesarean delivery rate increased in contrast with the decline of the vaginal operative delivery rate.
Evaluation of reasons for extraction of crowned teeth: A prospective study at a university clinic

Abstract Objective. The aim of this study was to determine and classify the major reasons for extraction of teeth with full crowns belonging to patients admitted to a university clinic within a specific time frame. Methods. Two hundred and eight extracted teeth with full crown belonging to 75 patients were included. Apart from demographic information, reasons for presenting to the hospital, the major reason for extraction, the type of the crown (single crown, bridge abutment, abutment for removable prosthesis), presence of posts, age of restorations, presence of an endodontic treatment and quality were recorded. Comparable data were statistically analyzed using the chi-square test. Results. Forty-three (57.3%) of the patients were females, whereas 32 (42.7%) were males with an average age of 63.21 ± 13.56. A statistically significant relationship was determined between age groups and rate of extractions, with the lowest extractions detected in the 35–44 years age group and the highest in the 55–64 years age group (p = 0.001). Tooth mobility was the predominant reason for patients' initial presentation (52.9%). The most encountered reason for extraction was periodontal reasons with a prevalence of 59.1%, followed by caries (26.9%) and periapical lesions (12%); 35.6% of extracted teeth had endodontic treatment. Sixty teeth (81.1%) had incomplete root fillings. There was a significant relationship between extractions and incomplete root fillings (p = 0.001). Conclusion. Studies comprising other faculty clinics as well as general practices will be complementary in making more generalized statements regarding the etiology of extractions of crowned teeth.
Paediatric Perianesthesia questionnaire: development and data from eight hospitals across Germany.

BACKGROUND Opinions about satisfaction with care are rarely obtained from children and few studies of this type exist in the area of paediatric anaesthesia. In this study, we developed a comprehensive self-administered questionnaire to measure the level of paediatric and, as a substitute in younger children, parental satisfaction with anaesthesia. In addition, we aimed to identify factors influencing satisfaction and compare results between hospitals. METHODS We followed a rigorous protocol including construction of a pilot questionnaire and qualitative and quantitative analysis. The questionnaire was adapted for confounding variables. We analysed satisfied and dissatisfied groups and compared satisfaction scores between participating hospitals. RESULTS A questionnaire was developed which comprised 37 questions assessed on a five-point Likert scale. With a response rate of 71%, a total of 1052 patients completed the questionnaire. In the final analysis, 760 questionnaires (72%) were included. Most questionnaires were answered by the parents [705 (92.8%)]. The mean age of children was 6.7 (4.97) yr. Multivariate analysis found a history of previous anaesthetic problems and the identity of the person answering the questionnaire as influencing factors on the sum score. The most important differences between satisfied and dissatisfied children were found for the dimensions 'privacy and waiting', 'information giving', and 'discomfort'. Scores differed between hospitals. CONCLUSIONS Our psychometric questionnaire provides a novel approach to paediatric patient satisfaction with anaesthesia care and covers areas deemed important by children, parents, and carers. Significant differences between satisfied and dissatisfied groups and between participating hospitals were found.
UNVEIL: Capture and Visualise WiFi Data Leakages

In the past few years, numerous privacy vulnerabilities have been discovered in the WiFi standards and their implementations for mobile devices. These vulnerabilities allow an attacker to collect large amounts of data on the device user, which could be used to infer sensitive information such as religion, gender, and sexual orientation. Solutions for these vulnerabilities are often hard to design and typically require many years to be widely adopted, leaving many devices at risk. In this paper, we present UNVEIL - an interactive and extendable platform to demonstrate the consequences of these attacks. The platform performs passive and active attacks on smartphones to collect and analyze data leaked through WiFi and communicate the analysis results to users through simple and interactive visualizations. The platform currently performs two attacks. First, it captures probe requests sent by nearby devices and combines them with public WiFi location databases to generate a map of locations previously visited by the device users. Second, it creates rogue access points with SSIDs of popular public WiFis (e.g. _Heathrow WiFi, Railways WiFi) and records the resulting internet traffic. This data is then analyzed and presented in a format that highlights the privacy leakage. The platform has been designed to be easily extendable to include more attacks and to be easily deployable in public spaces. We hope that UNVEIL will help raise public awareness of privacy risks of WiFi networks.
Murine Prkdc Polymorphisms Impact DNA-PKcs Function

Polymorphic variants of DNA repair genes can increase the carcinogenic potential of exposure to ionizing radiation. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Prkdc, the gene encoding the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), have been identified in BALB/c mice and linked to reduced DNA-PKcs activity and mammary cancer susceptibility. We examined three additional mouse strains to better define the roles of the BALB/c Prkdc SNPs (R2140C and M3844V). One is a congenic strain (C.B6) that has the C57BL/6 Prkdc allele on a BALB/c background, and the other is a congenic strain (B6.C) that has the BALB/c variant Prkdc allele on a C57BL/6 background. We also examined the LEWES mouse strain, which possesses only one of the BALB/c Prkdc SNPs (M3844V). Our results demonstrate that both Prkdc SNPs are responsible for deficient DNA-PKcs protein expression, DNA repair and telomere function, while the LEWES SNP affects only DNA-PKcs expression and repair capacity. These studies provide insight into the separation of function between the two BALB/c SNPs as well as direct evidence that SNPs positioned within Prkdc can significantly influence DNA-PKcs function involving DNA repair capacity, telomere end-capping, and potentially cancer susceptibility.
Edinburgh Research Explorer Association analyses identify 31 new risk loci for colorectal cancer susceptibility

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and has a strong heritable basis. We report a genome-wide association analysis of 34,627 CRC cases and 71,379 controls of European ancestry that identi ﬁ es SNPs at 31 new CRC risk loci. We also identify eight independent risk SNPs at the new and previously reported European CRC loci, and a further nine CRC SNPs at loci previously only identi ﬁ ed in Asian populations. We use in situ promoter capture Hi-C (CHi-C), gene expression, and in silico annotation methods to identify likely target genes of CRC SNPs. Whilst these new SNP associations implicate target genes that are enriched for known CRC pathways such as Wnt and BMP, they also highlight novel pathways with no prior links to colorectal tumourigenesis. These ﬁ ndings provide further insight into CRC susceptibility and enhance the prospects of applying genetic risk scores to personalised screening and prevention. 89 (BFDP) based OR and ability of 10 Analysis (GCTA) , on the and known SNPs, SNPs with P 5× − and
Incidence and Some Characteristics of Fimbriae FY and 31A of Escherichia coli Isolates from Calves with Diarrhea in Japan

Escherichia coli isolates from calves with diarrhea (1 day to 8 weeks old, 140 individuals) were surveyed for the three immunologically distinct fimbrial adhesins FY, 31A, and K99. Of a total of 1,370 strains isolated, 96 (7.0%), 34 (2.5%), 75 (5.5%), and 13 (0.9%) were identified as FY+, 31A+, FY+·31A+, and K99+, respectively. The K99+ strains also manifested heat‐stable enterotoxin production (ST+), while FY+, 31A+, and FY+·31A+ strains were ST‐. Expression of FY and 31A was repressed at lower temperatures or poor aeration. The FY+ and 31A+ E. coli showed mannose‐resistant hemagglutinating activity with bovine erythrocytes. Electron microscopy revealed that FY is a gently curled fimbria with a mean diameter of 4.2 nm, and 31A is a fimbria with a mean diameter of 5.1 nm. The molecular mass of protein subunits was found to be approximately 20 kilodaltons (Kd) and 19 Kd for FY and 31A, respectively. Lethal diarrhea of neonatal calves was induced by challenge with the combination of a K99+·ST+ E. coli strain and either a 31A+ E. coli strain or a 31A+ E. coli strain plus an FY+ E. coli strain under the experimental conditions in which lethal diarrhea was not induced by challenge with a K99+·ST+ E. coli strain alone.
A Class of Optimum Block Codes in Signal Space

By using convolutional coding coupled with expanded sets of channel signals, Ungerboeck showed that it is possible to obtain coding gains of several decibels at a given data rate without increasing the transmission bandwidth. In this paper, we construct a class of optimum signal space codes using short binary block (as opposed to convolutional) codes. Our results are compared to those obtained by Ungerboeck. A simplified decoding procedure that is asymptotically optimum is also presented.
Cognitive bias modification as a strategy to reduce children's fears and concerns about the secondary school transition

ABSTRACT Background and objectives: Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations (CBM-I) has emerged as an anxiety-reducing tool for children and adolescents, targeting maladaptive interpretations of everyday situations. This literature falls short of addressing whether the effects of CBM-I extend to worries about a real-life stressor, such as a school transition. Design: The study comprised a between-groups design comparing the effects of CBM-I to an active control (AC) intervention in children. Method: We recruited 38 children within two months of their primary–secondary school transition and investigated the capacity for multi-session, parent-administered CBM-I, compared to an AC condition, to modify cognitive style and reduce anxiety symptoms and school concerns. Results: While benign interpretations increased significantly and negative interpretations tended to decrease following CBM-I, both interventions significantly reduced anxiety symptoms and school concerns. Conclusions: These findings indicate that anxiety-reducing effects of CBM-I in children extend to a real life stressful event, but that equivalent anxiety reduction may be achieved through exposure to potentially worrying situations and parent–child interaction in the absence of bias modification.
The Pricey Bill of Technical Debt: When and by Whom will it be Paid?

Software companies need to support continuous and fast delivery of customer value both in short and a long-term perspective. However, this can be hindered by evolution limitations and high maintenance efforts due to internal software quality issues by what is described as Technical Debt. Although significant theoretical work has been undertaken to describe the negative effects of Technical Debt, these studies tend to have a weak empirical basis and often lack quantitative data. The aim of this study is to estimate wasted time, caused by the Technical Debt interest during the software life-cycle. This study also investigates how practitioners perceive and estimate the impact of the negative consequences due to Technical Debt during the software development process. This paper reports the results of both an online web-survey provided quantitative data from 258 participants and follow-up interviews with 32 industrial software practitioners. The importance and originality of this study contributes and provides novel insights into the research on Technical Debt by quantifying the perceived interest and the negative effects it has on the software development life-cycle. The findings show that on average, 36% of all development time is estimated to be wasted due to Technical Debt; Complex Architectural Design and Requirement Technical Debt generates most negative effect; and that most time is wasted on understanding and/or measuring the Technical Debt. Moreover, the analysis of the professional roles and the age of the software system in the survey revealed that different roles are affected differently and that the consequences of Technical Debt are also influenced by the age of the software system.