Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DEATH AND DIVORCE: THE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES OF PARENTAL LOSS*

Two quasi-experiments are used to estimate the impact of parental divorce on the adult incomes and labour market behaviour of children, as well as on their use of social programs, and their marital/fertility behaviour. These involve the use of individuals experiencing the death of a parent, and legislative changes to the Canadian divorce law in 1986. Parental loss by death is assumed to be exogenous; the experiences of children with a bereaved background offering a benchmark to assess the endogeneity of parental loss through divorce. Raw differences between individuals with divorced parents and those from intact and bereaved families significantly overstate the impact of divorce across a broad range of outcomes. When background characteristics are controlled for—most notably the income and labour market activities of parents in the years leading up to the divorce—parental divorce seems to influence the marital and fertility decisions of children, but not their labour market outcomes. Children whose parents divorced tend to put off marriage, and once married suffer a greater likelihood of marital instability, but their earnings and incomes are not much different from others.
MTHFR gene C677T and A1298C polymorphisms and homocysteine levels in primary open angle and primary closed angle glaucoma

Purpose To investigate the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C genotypes and plasma concentrations of total homocysteine (tHcy) in Pakistani patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary closed angle glaucoma (PCAG). Methods This was a prospective case-control study. A total of 295 patients (173 POAG, 122 PCAG) and 143 age- and sex-matched controls were subdivided into two ethnic groups, Punjabis (Punjab province, central Pakistan) and Pathans (North-West Frontier Province, northern Pakistan). Genotypes of the MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms were detected by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the total serum homocysteine (tHcy) levels. Associations were determined by logistic regression analysis. Results Frequency distributions of genotypes and combined genotypes as well as homocysteine levels were obtained. The overall distribution of the C677T genotype was found to be significantly associated with PCAG (CC 69%, CT 21%, TT 10%; p=0.001, χ2=12.6), but not with POAG (CC 71%, CT 28%, TT 1%; p=0.98, χ2=0.02) as compared to the controls (CC 71%, CT 29%, TT 1%). The Pathan cohorts revealed no association with the disease; however, the Punjabis demonstrated a significant association with PCAG (CC 75%, CT 11%, TT 13%; p<0.001, χ2=17.2). PCAG in the Punjabi subjects was also significantly associated with the A1298C polymorphism (AA 43%, AC 54%, CC 3%; p<0.001, χ2=33.9) as compared to the controls. Combined genotype data showed no association with POAG; however, a significant association with all combined genotypes was observed in the overall PCAG subjects (p<0.05, χ2=20.1). This difference was particularly apparent in the TTAA and TTAC combinations that were completely absent in the control groups (p<0.05. χ2=49.6). Mean serum tHcy levels were found to be significantly increased in the POAG (15.2±1.28 µmol/l, p<0.001) and PCAG (20.8±4.8 µmol/l) groups as compared to the controls (10.0±0.97 µmol/l). The tHcy levels in the TT and AC genotype were significantly elevated in the PCAG group (67±12.39 µmol/l, p<0.001; 23±5.94 µmol/l, p=0.027) as compared to the controls. Conclusion The TT and AC genotypes of MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms and the combined genotype TTAC were associated with PCAG in Punjabi subjects of Pakistani origin and correlated with the high serum tHcy levels seen in these patients.
Minimum-time control of flexible joints with input and output constraints

The paper proposes a linear programming approach to the feedforward minimum-time control of flexible joints. Taking into account both input and output constraints, the optimal bang-bang control is computed by discretizing a continuous-time joint model and by solving a sequence of linear programming feasibility problems. The resulting joint motion is a smooth rest-to-rest motion without oscillations. Experimental results illustrate the proposed open-loop technique.
A Study of Minimum Classification Error (MCE) Linear Regression for Supervised Adaptation of MCE-Trained Continuous-Density Hidden Markov Models

In this paper, we present a formulation of minimum classification error linear regression (MCELR) for the adaptation of Gaussian mixture continuous-density hidden Markov model (CDHMM) parameters. Two optimization approaches, namely generalized probabilistic descent (GPD) and Quickprop are studied and compared for the optimization of the MCELR objective function. The effectiveness of the proposed MCELR technique is confirmed via a series of supervised speaker adaptation experiments on a task of continuous Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese) speech recognition
A comparison of psychological skills and traits in male handball players of different age groups

The goals of this research are to determine the differences in the personality traits, psychological skills and optimism among handball players in different age groups (1) and to determine the correlations between these characteristics (2). The research was conducted on a sample of 78 subjects, members of one handball team (Prvo plinarsko drustvo Zagreb), in the beginning of 2015. In this study, three instruments from the battery Multidimensional Scale of Sports’ Psychological Talents (MSSPT) are used for the first time. The results show that no differences are found between age groups of handball players in optimism and personality traits. The oldest age group (age of 18) have the experience that they are the best mentally prepared. The youngest handball players (age of 12) have the experience that they are the most motivated, confident and concentrated. Motivation is the skill with highest associated with other psychological skills. However, the Scale of the Future and Psychological Skills Scale show satisfactory reliability (except the subscale Team emphasis). Big Five Modified Inventory-10 in all subscales showed unsatisfactory reliability, so have to be improved in future studies.
Using IR Optical Marker Based Motion Capture for Exploring Musical Interaction

The paper presents a conceptual overview of how optical infrared marker based motion capture systems (IrMoCap) can be used in musical interaction. First we present a review of related work of using IrMoCap for musical control. This is followed by a discussion of possible features which can be exploited. Finally, the question of mapping movement features to sound features is presented and discussed.
Cofilin is a pH sensor for actin free barbed end formation: role of phosphoinositide binding

Newly generated actin free barbed ends at the front of motile cells provide sites for actin filament assembly driving membrane protrusion. Growth factors induce a rapid biphasic increase in actin free barbed ends, and we found both phases absent in fibroblasts lacking H+ efflux by the Na-H exchanger NHE1. The first phase is restored by expression of mutant cofilin-H133A but not unphosphorylated cofilin-S3A. Constant pH molecular dynamics simulations and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) reveal pH-sensitive structural changes in the cofilin C-terminal filamentous actin binding site dependent on His133. However, cofilin-H133A retains pH-sensitive changes in NMR spectra and severing activity in vitro, which suggests that it has a more complex behavior in cells. Cofilin activity is inhibited by phosphoinositide binding, and we found that phosphoinositide binding is pH-dependent for wild-type cofilin, with decreased binding at a higher pH. In contrast, phosphoinositide binding by cofilin-H133A is attenuated and pH insensitive. These data suggest a molecular mechanism whereby cofilin acts as a pH sensor to mediate a pH-dependent actin filament dynamics.
Epicardial Origin of Resident Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Adult Mammalian Heart

The discovery of stem and progenitor cells in the adult mammalian heart has added a vital dimension to the field of cardiac regeneration. Cardiac-resident stem cells are likely sequestered as reserve cells within myocardial niches during the course of embryonic cardiogenesis, although they may also be recruited from external sources, such as bone marrow. As we begin to understand the nature of cardiac-resident stem and progenitor cells using a variety of approaches, it is evident that they possess an identity embedded within their gene regulatory networks that favours cardiovascular lineage potential. In addition to contributing lineage descendants, cardiac stem cells may also be stress sensors, offering trophic cues to other cell types, including cardiomyocytes and vasculature cells, and likely other stem cells and immune cells, during adaptation and repair. This presents numerous possibilities for endogenous cardiac stem and progenitor cells to be used in cell therapies or as targets in heart rejuvenation. In this review, we focus on the epicardium as an endogenous source of multi-potential mesenchymal progenitor cells in development and as a latent source of such progenitors in the adult. We track the origin and plasticity of the epicardium in embryos and adults in both homeostasis and disease. In this context, we ask whether directed activation of epicardium-derived progenitor cells might have therapeutic application.
Link Aware Earliest Deadline Scheduling Algorithm for WiMAX

Allocating slots dynamically to the service flows in heterogeneous wireless network is highly complex and non-linear. Since the link quality is continuously changing, a wireless network employing adaptive modulation like WiMAX, allocating slot in such network is based on the link quality. In this paper, we present link aware packet scheduling algorithm using packet’s earliest deadline and buffer status called LAEDF, the proposed algorithm is suitable for service flows in WiMAX. The wireless link is estimated based on computed total path loss between the subscriber station (SS) and the base station for each scheduling packet. The simulation shows that the proposed algorithm has achieved higher throughput with fairness among service flows when compared with fixed modulation earliest deadline scheduling algorithm (FMEDF).
Relative Body Parts Movement for Automatic Depression Analysis

In this paper, a human body part motion analysis based approach is proposed for depression analysis. Depression is a serious psychological disorder. The absence of an (automated) objective diagnostic aid for depression leads to a range of subjective biases in initial diagnosis and ongoing monitoring. Researchers in the affective computing community have approached the depression detection problem using facial dynamics and vocal prosody. Recent works in affective computing have shown the significance of body pose and motion in analysing the psychological state of a person. Inspired by these works, we explore a body parts motion based approach. Relative orientation and radius are computed for the body parts detected using the pictorial structures framework. A histogram of relative parts motion is computed. To analyse the motion on a holistic level, space-time interest points are computed and a bag of words framework is learnt. The two histograms are fused and a support vector machine classifier is trained. The experiments conducted on a clinical database, prove the effectiveness of the proposed method.
A Phase I Clinical Trial of the hu14.18-IL2 (EMD 273063) as a Treatment for Children with Refractory or Recurrent Neuroblastoma and Melanoma: a Study of the Children's Oncology Group

Purpose: Evaluate the clinical safety, toxicity, immune activation/modulation, and maximal tolerated dose of hu14.18-IL2 (EMD 273063) in pediatric patients with recurrent/refractory neuroblastoma and other GD2-positive solid tumors. Experimental Design: Twenty-seven pediatric patients with recurrent/refractory neuroblastoma and one with melanoma were treated with a humanized anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody linked to human interleukin 2 (IL-2). Cohorts of patients received hu14.18-IL2, administered i.v. over 4 hours for three consecutive days, at varying doses. Patients with stable disease, partial, or complete responses were eligible to receive up to three additional courses of therapy. Results: Most of the clinical toxicities were anticipated and similar to those reported with IL-2 and anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody therapy and to those noted in the initial phase I study of hu14.18-IL2 in adults with metastatic melanoma. The maximal tolerated dose was determined to be 12 mg/m2/d, with agent-related dose-limiting toxicities of hypotension, allergic reaction, blurred vision, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and leukopenia. Three patients developed dose-limiting toxicity during course 1; seven patients in courses 2 to 4. Two patients required dopamine for hypotension. There were no treatment-related deaths, and all toxicity was reversible. Treatment with hu14.18-IL2 led to immune activation/modulation as evidenced by elevated serum levels of soluble IL-2 receptor α (sIL2Rα) and lymphocytosis. The median half-life of hu14.18-IL2 was 3.1 hours. There were no measurable complete or partial responses to hu14.18-IL2 in this study; however, three patients did show evidence of antitumor activity. Conclusion: Hu14.18-IL2 (EMD 273063) can be administered safely with reversible toxicities in pediatric patients at doses that induce immune activation. A phase II clinical trial of hu14.18-IL2, administered at a dose of 12 mg/m2/d × 3 days repeated every 28 days, will be done in pediatric patients with recurrent/refractory neuroblastoma.
Expression of Carbonic Anhydrase I in Motor Neurons and Alterations in ALS

Carbonic anhydrase I (CA1) is the cytosolic isoform of mammalian α-CA family members which are responsible for maintaining pH homeostasis in the physiology and pathology of organisms. A subset of CA isoforms are known to be expressed and function in the central nervous system (CNS). CA1 has not been extensively characterized in the CNS. In this study, we demonstrate that CA1 is expressed in the motor neurons in human spinal cord. Unexpectedly, a subpopulation of CA1 appears to be associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes. In addition, the membrane-associated CA1s are preferentially upregulated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and exhibit altered distribution in motor neurons. Furthermore, long-term expression of CA1 in mammalian cells activates apoptosis. Our results suggest a previously unknown role for CA1 function in the CNS and its potential involvement in motor neuron degeneration in ALS.
Pengaruh tingkat pendidikan, pekerjaan dan pendapatan keluarga yang mendapat pendidikan kesehatan terhadap penatalaksanaan diet diabetes melitus dalam keluarga di rumah sakit umum daerah Gambiran Kediri

ABSTRAK Sucipto, S 540907117, Pengaruh tingkat pendidikan, pekerjaan, dan pendidikan yang mendapat pendidikan kesehatan terhadap penatalaksanaan diet diabetes mellitus dalam kelurga . Tesis Program Studi Magister Kedokteran Keluarga, Program Pascasarjana Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta 2009. Diabetes Melitus jika tidak ditangani dengan baik akan mengakibatkan komplikasi pada berbagai organ vital tubuh. Dengan pengalaman yang baik, yaitu kerja sama antara pasien, keluarga, dan petugas kesehatan, komplikasi kronik DM akan dapat dicegah, setidaknya dihambat perkembangannya. Untuk mencapai hal tersebut, keikutsertaan pasien, keluarga untuk mengelola anggota keluarganya menjadi sangat penting. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh tingkat pendidikan, pekerjaan, dan pendidikan yang mendapat pendidikan kesehatan terhadap penatalaksanaan diet diabetes mellitus dalam kelurga. Metode penelitian ini adalah diskriptif analitik dengan pendekatan cross sectional penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada bulan November 2008. Populasi sasaran keluarga dengan anggota menderita DM yang berobat di RSUD Gambiran Kediri. Pengambilan sampel menggunakan purposive sampling, jumlah sample sebanyang 60 responden . Pengumpulan data dengan menggunakan questioner, data disajikan dalam bentuk gambar, tabel dan narasi dan analisis data dengan uji statistik Chi-Square untuk mengetahui hubungan antar variable. Sedangkan untuk mengetahui pengaruh semua variable independent terhadap variable dependent menggunakan analisis regresi biner logistic menggunakan program SPSS versi 12. Hasil penelitian menunjukan pendidikan tinggi kemungkinan 3,4 kali penatalaksanaan DM lebih baik dari pada pendidikan rendah (OR=3,369, CI= 0,728 – 15,604), faktor-faktor lain yang meningkatkan penatalaksanaan diet dalam keluarga adalah pekerjaan, pendapatan dan umur. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan tingkat pendidikan, pekerjaan, pendapatan dan umur merupakan faktor yang penting untuk meningkatkan pentalaksanaan diet dalam keluarga. Disarankan penyuluh kesehatan (ahli gizi agar dalam memberikan penyuluhannya disesuaikan dengan latar belakang pendidikan, pekerjaan, pendapatan dan umur sasaran. Kata kunci : Pendidikan, Pekerjaan, pendapatan, diet, diabetes melitus.
Direct Effects of Exendin-(9,39) and GLP-1-(9,36)amide on Insulin Action, β-Cell Function, and Glucose Metabolism in Nondiabetic Subjects

Exendin-(9,39) is a competitive antagonist of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) at its receptor. However, it is unclear if it has direct and unique effects of its own. We tested the hypothesis that exendin-(9,39) and GLP-1-(9,36)amide have direct effects on hormone secretion and β-cell function as well as glucose metabolism in healthy subjects. Glucose containing [3-3H]glucose was infused to mimic the systemic appearance of glucose after a meal. Saline, GLP-1-(9,36)amide, or exendin-(9,39) at 30 pmol/kg/min (Ex 30) or 300 pmol/kg/min (Ex 300) were infused in random order on separate days. Integrated glucose concentrations were slightly but significantly increased by exendin-(9,39) (365 ± 43 vs. 383 ± 35 vs. 492 ± 49 vs. 337 ± 50 mmol per 6 h, saline, Ex 30, Ex 300, and GLP-1-[9,36]amide, respectively; P = 0.05). Insulin secretion did not differ among groups. However, insulin action was lowered by exendin-(9,39) (25 ± 4 vs. 20 ± 4 vs. 18 ± 3 vs. 21 ± 4 10−4 dL/kg[min per μU/mL]; P = 0.02), resulting in a lower disposition index (DI) during exendin-(9,39) infusion (1,118 ± 118 vs. 816 ± 83 vs. 725 ± 127 vs. 955 ± 166 10−14 dL/kg/min2 per pmol/L; P = 0.003). Endogenous glucose production and glucose disappearance did not differ significantly among groups. We conclude that exendin-(9,39), but not GLP-1-(9,36)amide, decreases insulin action and DI in healthy humans.
Sample Size Requirements for Studies of Treatment Effects on Beta-Cell Function in Newly Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes

Preservation of -cell function as measured by stimulated C-peptide has recently been accepted as a therapeutic target for subjects with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes. In recently completed studies conducted by the Type 1 Diabetes Trial Network (TrialNet), repeated 2-hour Mixed Meal Tolerance Tests (MMTT) were obtained for up to 24 months from 156 subjects with up to 3 months duration of type 1 diabetes at the time of study enrollment. These data provide the information needed to more accurately determine the sample size needed for future studies of the effects of new agents on the 2-hour area under the curve (AUC) of the C-peptide values. The natural log(), log(+1) and square-root transformations of the AUC were assessed. In general, a transformation of the data is needed to better satisfy the normality assumptions for commonly used statistical tests. Statistical analysis of the raw and transformed data are provided to estimate the mean levels over time and the residual variation in untreated subjects that allow sample size calculations for future studies at either 12 or 24 months of follow-up and among children 8–12 years of age, adolescents (13–17 years) and adults (18+ years). The sample size needed to detect a given relative (percentage) difference with treatment versus control is greater at 24 months than at 12 months of follow-up, and differs among age categories. Owing to greater residual variation among those 13–17 years of age, a larger sample size is required for this age group. Methods are also described for assessment of sample size for mixtures of subjects among the age categories. Statistical expressions are presented for the presentation of analyses of log(+1) and transformed values in terms of the original units of measurement (pmol/ml). Analyses using different transformations are described for the TrialNet study of masked anti-CD20 (rituximab) versus masked placebo. These results provide the information needed to accurately evaluate the sample size for studies of new agents to preserve C-peptide levels in newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes.
Maximum likelihood estimation of dynamic panel structural equation models with an application to finance and growth

The paper considers maximum likelihood estimation of dynamic panel structural equation models with latent variables and fixed effects (DPSEM). This generalises the structural equation methods where latent variables are measured by multiple observable indicators and where structural and measurement models are jointly estimated to dynamic panel models with fixed effects. Analytical expressions for the covariance structure of the DPSEM model as well as the score vector and the Hessian matrix are given in a closed form, and a scoring method approach to the estimation of the unknown parameters is suggested. We apply these methods to an empirical model of financial development and economic growth where financial development is measured by several observable indicators and the dynamic effects were incorporated in the model. The results suggest a different explanation of the finance-growth relationship to the one commonly reported in the mainstream empirical literature and stress the importance of modelling the measurement structure of the latent variables. JEL classification: C33, G21, O16, O40
On the limiting moments of Vandermonde random matrices

In this paper, analytical methods for finding moments of random Vandermonde matrices are developed. Vandermonde matrices play an important role in signal processing and communication applications such as direction of arrival estimation, sampling theory or precoding. Within this framework, we extend classical freeness results on random matrices with i.i. d entries and show that Vandermonde structured matrices can be treated in the same vein with different tools. We focus on various types of Vandermonde matrices, namely Vandermonde matrices with or without uniformly distributed phases. In each case, we provide explicit expressions of the moments of the associated Gram matrix, as well as more advanced models involving the Vandermonde matrix. Comparisons with classical i.i. d. random matrix theory are provided and free deconvolution results are also discussed.