Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of sotalol with amiodarone for long-term treatment of spontaneous sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmia based on coronary artery disease.

AIM To compare the efficacy of sotalol versus amiodarone for long-term treatment of ventricular tachyarrhythmias. METHODS Patients (n=75) with spontaneous, sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmias secondary to remote myocardial infarction were studied. After intravenous electrophysiological testing, both sotalol and amiodarone were predicted to be ineffective in 50 (67%) patients. Five patients were excluded. Forty-five patients were randomized to receive sotalol (n=22) or amiodarone (n=23) for maintenance therapy. The primary outcome variable was the time to first recurrence of sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmia. RESULTS At 36 months. 75% of those allocated sotalol remained free of ventricular tachyarrhythmia compared with 38% of those allocated amiodarone (P=0.05). On multivariate analysis the risk of recurrence of ventricular tachyarrhythmia for patients on amiodarone was 5.9 times higher (P=0.008) than that for patients on sotalol. CONCLUSION Sotalol is superior to amiodarone for long-term treatment of ventricular tachyarrhythmia secondary to coronary artery disease when both drugs have been predicted to be ineffective at intravenous electrophysiological testing. Randomized trials in larger numbers of patients with ventricular tachyarrhythmia need to be performed comparing the two agents directly.
Persistence of Livestock Associated MRSA CC398 in Humans Is Dependent on Intensity of Animal Contact

Introduction The presence of Livestock Associated MRSA (LA-MRSA) in humans is associated with intensity of animal contact. It is unknown whether the presence of LA-MRSA is a result of carriage or retention of MRSA-contaminated dust. We conducted a longitudinal study among 155 veal farmers in which repeated nasal and throat swabs were taken for MRSA detection. Periods with and without animal exposure were covered. Methods Randomly, 51 veal calf farms were visited from June - December 2008. Participants were asked to fill in questionnaires (n = 155) to identify potential risk factors for MRSA colonisation. Nasal and throat swabs were repeatedly taken from each participant for approximately 2 months. Swabs were analysed for MRSA and MSSA by selective bacteriological culturing. Spa-types of the isolates were identified and a ST398 specific PCR was performed. Data were analyzed using generalized estimation equations (GEE) to allow for correlated observations within individuals. Results Mean MRSA prevalence was 38% in farmers and 16% in family members. Presence of MRSA in farmers was strongly related to duration of animal contact and was strongly reduced in periods with absence of animal contact (−58%). Family members, especially children, were more often carriers when the farmer was a carrier (OR = 2, P<0.05). Only 7% (n = 11) of the participants appeared to be persistent carriers. A large heterogeneity in spa-types was detected, however 92.7% belonged to LA-MRSA CC398. A surprisingly high fraction of the spa-types (7.3%) did not belong to CC398. Conclusion The presence of LA-MRSA in farmers is strongly animal-exposure related. The rapidly decreasing MRSA prevalence during absence of animal contact suggests that LA-MRSA is a poor persistent colonizer in most humans. These results are of relevance for MRSA control strategies.
Role of the angiogenic components, VEGFA, FGF2, OPN and RHOC, in urothelial cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder

The objective of this study was to analyze the expression profile of the angiogenic components, vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGFA), basic fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2), osteopontin (OPN) and ras homolog gene family, member C (RHOC), in urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) of the urinary bladder and to examine their role as candidate diagnostic biomarkers. Using qPCR, 77 samples of UCC of the urinary bladder and 77 matched tumor-associated normal samples were investigated to determine the expression of the four angiogenic components. The correlation between gene expression, patient survival and pathological features of the tumors was also examined. The VEGFA and OPN transcript levels were greater in the bladder cancer tissue than in the normal urothelium (P<0.001). Patients with higher VEGFA mRNA levels showed a tendency towards shorter cancer-specific survival. OPN levels showed a gradual increase, the lowest levels being found in non-invasive carcinoma and the highest in muscle invasive tumors. Elevated OPN levels indicated poor prognosis in connection with advanced disease stage (P<0.001). Both superficially invasive and muscle invasive tumors had significantly higher FGF2 levels compared to the control tissues (P=0.018 and P=0.050, respectively). Moreover, FGF2 was significantly higher in the metastatic vs. the non-metastatic tumors (P=0.0097). FGF2 levels exhibited a trend towards a correlation with worse patient survival. RHOC mRNA levels were higher in muscle invasive compared to superficially invasive tumors, as well as in grade III vs. grade I/II tumors. Furthermore, we detected worse overall survival for patients with high RHOC expression levels. VEGFA and FGF2 exhibited the best linear combination in the ROC curves for specificity and sensitivity. Thus, VEGFA and FGF2 may serve as candidate biomarkers for diagnostic purposes. Higher OPN expression may be used as a potential biomarker to predict patient survival relative to advanced tumor stage. However, further studies are required to investigate its role in urinary bladder carcinogenesis.
Job Access, Workplace Mobility And Occupational Achievement

Are career opportunities influenced by the place where you live? Does it help your career if you accept a job at a longer distance? What is the best place to live if you want to combine maximum career opportunities with a minimum of commuting and migration costs? Job access, workplace mobility, and occupational achievement provides a theoretical framework on the effects of geographical barriers on occupational achievement using a spatial elaboration of the human capital theory. An approach which places the choice of work location in perspective of the labour career of individuals. The central idea developed is twofold. First, the location of residence in combination with the spatial flexibility of workers determines the opportunity set, and therefore the possibilities for occupational achievement. Second, workplace mobility can serve as an instrument to overcome a poor opportunity set and therefore as an instrument for occupational achievement. The empirical results show that workers who live in locations with good access to employment opportunities get better jobs. It is also shown that accepting a job at a longer distance pays off.
Real Options and the Universal Bad News Principle

A general framework for pricing of real options in continuous time for wide classes of payoff streams that are monotone functions of a Levy process is provided. Exercise rules are formulated in terms of statistics of record-setting low payoffs and can be viewed as an extension of Bernanke's bad news principle. To illustrate the framework, we solve analytically the following problems: a capital expansion program when the underlying price exhibits mean reverting features; an entry decision with an option to exit, and a new technology adoption. The effects of industry specific and idiosyncratic risks are separated. The third model is driven by two factors: one describes the dynamics of the frontier technology, the other incorporates non-technological uncertainty. The former factor follows a process with upward jumps. The impact of these factors on new technology adoption is analyzed.
User Experience Enhanced Task Scheduling and Processor Frequency Scaling for Energy-Sensitive Mobile Devices

Mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and various tiny smart equipment are widely subjected to the limit of energy consumption. Moreover, user experience has become an up-to-the-moment research topic in mobile devices. In most mobile devices, the processor is usually set in a higher frequency level to provide better performance, which would cause the increment of energy consumption. In order to address this issue, in this paper, we propose a novel task scheduling model to harvest the energy saving and user experience improvement in energy-sensitive mobile devices. In our task scheduling model, we introduce the concept of user-centric task, and present tow judgmental principles to determine user-centric tasks (i.e., foreground/interactive tasks). For enhancing user experience, we reduce slack time of the user-centric tasks properly to achieve a shorter response time. We then present two algorithms to calculate the optimal frequencies and allocate the CPU resources. The experimental evaluation results show that our task scheduling model can achieve a tradeoff between energy consumption and performance, and enhance user experience.
Identification and characterization of an actin-binding site of CapZ

A mAb (1E5) that binds the COOH-terminal region of the beta subunit of chicken CapZ inhibits the ability of CapZ to bind the barbed ends of actin filaments and nucleate actin polymerization. CapZ prepared as fusion proteins in bacteria or nonfusion proteins by in vitro translation has activity similar to that of CapZ purified from muscle. Deletion of the COOH-terminus of the beta subunit of CapZ leads to a loss of CapZ's ability to bind the barbed ends of actin filaments. A peptide corresponding to the COOH-terminal region of CapZ beta, expressed as a fusion protein, binds actin monomers. The mAb 1E5 also inhibits the binding of this peptide to actin. These results suggest that the COOH-terminal region of the beta subunit of CapZ is an actin- binding site. The primary structure of this region is not similar to that of potential actin-binding sites identified in other proteins. In addition, the primary structure of this region is not conserved across species.
Does Autocthonous Primary Production Influence Oviposition by Aedes japonicus japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Container Habitats?

ABSTRACT Aedes (Finlaya) japonicus japonicus (Theobald) (Diptera: Culicidae) is recently invasive in North America and has expanded its range rapidly since 1998. Throughout its native and expanded range, Ae. j. japonicus larvae are commonly observed in many types of natural and artificial water-filled containers that vary in organic matter content and exposure to sunlight. Larvae are most often found in containers with decaying leaf material or algae, and we postulated that the added autocthonous primary production from algae could be both an important food source for larvae and an influential oviposition attractant to adult Ae. j. japonicus. We tested this hypothesis by placing plastic containers with varied levels of shading to manipulate algal density in the field, and then monitored oviposition by natural populations of Ae. j. japonicus. Over 99% of larvae hatching from eggs laid on the walls of our containers were Ae. j. japonicus, indicating that this species is a dominant colonizer of artificial containers in the study areas. Although full shading treatments effectively reduced algal biomass (significant reduction in chlorophyll a levels), at only one of three sites did this appear to affect Ae. j. japonicus oviposition. We conclude that algae in larval habitats are not a major factor in oviposition choices of adult Ae. j. japonicus females except when in situ primary production is high enough to substantially alter overall organic matter content cues.
Off-line Omni-style Handwriting Arabic Character Recognition System Based on Wavelet Compression

The device has a winding drum with thread guide and a rotatable disc having pins for successively moving yarn coils from the drum. The pins are driven by cranks, the crank shafts of which are driven by a second disc provided in eccentric relation to the first disc. Thereby the rotational velocity of the thread guide may be increased relative to that of the pins so that each yarn coil may comprise more windings while maintaining the separation accuracy between successive coils.
Capital in the 21st Century

On 19 December 2014, the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the Bank of England hosted a discussion forum based around Thomas Piketty’s book, Capital in the twenty-first century, with a number of economists from academia, public sector bodies and private sector institutions. Four speakers presented research on various issues relating to inequality, including: access to education; wealth and taxation policy; and the role of governance and institutions. This article presents each speaker’s key arguments, and includes a summary of the open-floor debate that followed.
Promoting Inclusive Growth : Challenges and Policies

Countries worldwide face challenges of high unemployment, unsustainable public finances and lower potential output. It is pertinent therefore to understand future challenges and devise policies accordingly. This document contains the proceedings of a conference co-hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank in 2011. The policy issues highlighted herein include financial development, social policies, innovation, regulation, and political economy issues. The importance of structural reform, and exploiting synergies among policy domains are explored. It is understood that structural reforms can do much to unleash opportunities for investment and to allow countries to tap new sources of growth. They can also address issues of inclusiveness and social cohesion, ensuring that the benefits of sustained growth are shared equitably. Exploiting synergies among policy domains is also essential. For example, innovation calls for investment in human resources and appropriate competition policies to encourage entrepreneurship. Innovation is a key pillar of green growth, which is about greening old activities by harnessing knowledge and new technologies that can also create jobs and promote welfare in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Sourcing Science The use by Industry of the Science Base for Innovation ; Evidence from the UK ’ s Innovation Survey

This paper draws on the UK’s version of the 3 European Community Innovation Survey (CIS-3) to investigate the contribution that the ‘public science base’ – that is universities and publicly funded research institutes – makes to innovation in firms. We use the CIS-3 to investigate the direct and indirect links between the science base and innovation in firms. Although, with some exceptions, the direct links are not widespread, there is evidence that as firms’ own commitment to innovation increases so does the extent to which they engage the science base in their innovation activities. Meanwhile, there is also evidence that the indirect links between the science base and industry are more important than the direct links, but overall access to technology is not amongst the most significant impediments to innovation in firms. Other factors (such as market conditions, lack of ambition, access to finance, and the quality of demand) have a greater role in explaining the innovation performance of firms. Essentially, the primary reason why firms rarely engage the science base is that relatively few firms have high commitments to innovation. Bruce Tether & Peter Swann Sourcing Science: The Contribution of the Science Base to Innovation in UK Firms
Identifying Household Level Determinants of Poverty in Albania Using Logistic Regression Model

The general goal of this paper is to analyze poverty in household per capita consumption as a monetary measurement and based in the data from Albania trying to identify probable determinants that influence in falling in a trap of poverty. Current literature suggests several ways of modeling the determinants of poverty. Usually the regression analysis is used to check in the same time the influence of the different factors. In this paper, binary logistic regression was estimated with economic status (poor-non poor) as dependent variable and a set of characteristics of individual and household as independents variables. The logistic model used shows that probability of being poor is found to be influenced mainly by education and status of employment of household head, the household composition and geographic divisions.
A Desire for Active Citizens: An Exploratory Analysis of Citizenship Education for Young Migrants in New Zealand

This thesis examines whether the introduction of citizenship education in New Zealand would increase the levels of active citizenship of young migrant New Zealanders, using voter turnout as a measure. This research draws attention to an overlooked part of New Zealand political science research by studying young migrant New Zealanders. The theories and topics covered in this research include the notion of citizenship, education, political participation, social capital and multiculturalism. Both surveys and interviews are used to gauge young New Zealanders’ political attitudes and opinions, and their levels of political knowledge, interest, sophistication and socialisation are examined. The findings of this research suggest that citizenship education would not only be beneficial to young migrant New Zealanders but that citizenship education would benefit all young New Zealanders. It is argued that an increase in all young New Zealanders’ levels of political knowledge and interest are likely to have a positive effect on voter turnout levels. It is also argued that the current education curriculum does not explicitly encourage such learning. Using these findings in conjunction with theory, it is recommended that citizenship education is implemented into the New Zealand secondary school curriculum to ensure that New Zealand’s democracy is in good health for the current and future generations. CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION “The health and stability of a modern democracy depends on the qualities and attitudes of its citizens”
TB Screening in Canadian Health Care Workers Using Interferon-Gamma Release Assays

Background While many North American healthcare institutions are switching from Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) to Interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs), there is relatively limited data on association between occupational tuberculosis (TB) risk factors and test positivity and/or patterns of test discordance. Methods We recruited a cohort of Canadian health care workers (HCWs) in Montreal, and performed both TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold In Tube (QFT) tests, and assessed risk factors and occupational exposure. Results In a cross-sectional analysis of baseline results, the prevalence of TST positivity using the 10 mm cut-off was 5.7% (22/388, 95%CI: 3.6–8.5%), while QFT positivity was 6.2% (24/388, 95%CI: 4–9.1%). Overall agreement between the tests was poor (kappa = 0.26), and 8.3% of HCWs had discordant test results, most frequently TST−/QFT+ (17/388, 4.4%). TST positivity was associated with total years worked in health care, non-occupational exposure to TB and BCG vaccination received after infancy or on multiple occasions. QFT positivity was associated with having worked as a HCW in a foreign country. Conclusions Our results suggest that LTBI prevalence as measured by either the TST or the QFT is low in this HCW population. Of concern is the high frequency of unexplainable test discordance, namely: TST−/QFT+ subjects, and the lack of any association between QFT positivity and clear-cut recent TB exposure. If these discordant results are indeed false positives, the use of QFT in lieu of TST in low TB incidence settings could result in overtreatment of uninfected individuals.
Public Capital and Economic Performance: Evidence from Italy

This paper addresses the issue of whether and by how much public capital can enhance economic performance. We apply different methodologies to Italian regional data for the period 1970-1994. The results are presented for Italy as a whole, for different macroregions, and for individual categories of public capital. For the Center and the South, the methodologies employed indicate a positive contribution of infrastructure investment to TFP growth, output, and cost reduction. However, the magnitude of the cost reducing effect does not seem large enough to outweigh the social user cost of public capital. Also, we get mixed results on which types of infrastructure are most effective. Overall, investment in transportation appears to be the most productive: railways in the North and roads in the Center and South are the categories that mostly contributed to TFP growth.
What is QFT? Resurgent trans-series, Lefschetz thimbles, and new exact saddles

This is an introductory level review of recent applications of resurgent trans-series and Picard-Lefschetz theory to quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Resurgence connects local perturbative data with global topological structure. In quantum mechanical systems, this program provides a constructive relation between different saddles. For example, in certain cases it has been shown that all information around the instanton saddle is encoded in perturbation theory around the perturbative saddle. In quantum field theory, such as sigma models compactified on a circle, neutral bions provide a semi-classical interpretation of the elusive IR-renormalon, and fractional kink instantons lead to the non-perturbatively induced gap, of order of the strong scale. In the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, saddles must be found by solving the holomorphic Newton's equation in the inverted (holomorphized) potential. Some saddles are complex, multi-valued, and even singular, but of finite action, and their inclusion is strictly necessary to prevent inconsistencies. The multi-valued saddles enter either via resurgent cancellations, or their phase is tied with a hidden topological angle. We emphasize the importance of the destructive/constructive interference effects between equally dominant saddles in the Lefschetz thimble decomposition. This is especially important in the context of the sign problem.
Strong Rigidity of Locally Symmetric Spaces.

*Frontmatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. v* 1. Introduction, pg. 1* 2. Algebraic Preliminaries, pg. 10* 3. The Geometry of chi : Preliminaries, pg. 20* 4. A Metric Definition of the Maximal Boundary, pg. 31* 5. Polar Parts, pg. 35* 6. A Basic Inequality, pg. 44* 7. Geometry of Neighboring Flats, pg. 52* 8. Density Properties of Discrete Subgroups, pg. 62* 8. Density Properties of Discrete Subgroups, pg. 66* 10. Pseudo Isometries of Simply Connected Spaces with Negative Curvature, pg. 71* 11. Polar Regular Elements in Co-Compact GAMMA, pg. 76* 12. Pseudo-Isometric Invariance of Semi-Simple and Unipotent Elements, pg. 80* 13. The Basic Approximation, pg. 96* 14. The Map , pg. 103* 15. The Boundary Map 0, pg. 107* 16. Tits Geometries, pg. 120* 17. Rigidity for R-rank > 1, pg. 125* 18. The Restriction to Simple Groups, pg. 128* 19. Spaces of R-rank 1, pg. 134* 20. The Boundary Semi-Metric, pg. 142* 21. Quasi-Conformal Mappings Over K and Absolute Continuity on Almost All R-Circles, pg. 156* 22. The Effect of Ergodicity, pg. 169* 23. R-Rank 1 Rigidity Proof Concluded, pg. 180* 24. Concluding Remarks, pg. 187*Bibliography, pg. 193*Backmatter, pg. 197
Linear Antenna Array synthesis with Decreasing Sidelobe and Narrow Beamwidth

—Synthesizing arrays with low sidelobe and pencil beam radiation profile is under investigation for decades. A variety of array structures are available, but the simplest and useful structure is that of a linear array. Here, two basic symmetric Linear Antenna Array structures are assumed. The required array structure is assumed to provide low sidelobe and pencil beam profile. Departure from a uniformity in current and location profile has shown quiet appreciable improvement in the radiation pattern. The simulations are carried out using Differential Evolution Algorithm employing Best of Random mutation strategy (DEBoR).