Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long time trends in influenza-like illness and associated determinants in The Netherlands

SUMMARY We analysed long-term epidemiological trends in influenza-like illness (ILI) in The Netherlands and used an ecological analysis to estimate its relationship with age, influenza vaccination, and virological aspects. This study used data from weekly ILI consultation reports from sentinel general practitioners (1986/1987 to 2006/2007), virological data from sentinel ILI patients (1992/1993 to 2006/2007), and data for influenza vaccine uptake (1991–2005). The incidence of ILI consultations, although varying during the study period, was estimated to decrease in the total population by 12·2/10 000 persons each season (95% CI 8·6–15·9). Uptake of influenza vaccination in people aged ⩾65 years (elderly) increased from 28% in 1991 to >70% since 1997. ILI incidence in the elderly declined by 1·7/10 000 persons (P=0·05) per percentage vaccine uptake per season. The decline in ILI incidence over the last 20 years could be related to the increased vaccine uptake. However, insufficient data were present to assess the impact of other potential contributing factors, such as diminished fitness of influenza viruses and changes in consulting behaviour.
Offering Differentiated Services in Peer-to-Peer Multimedia Multicast

In traditional overlay multicast network, all peers are treated as equal regardless of their importance and contribution to the network. In this paper, we consider that each user may have different cost function depending on his privilege, delay to source, available bandwidth, etc. We propose a fully distributed and scalable protocol to construct an overlay tree to minimize the overall cost of the users. It uses aggregation to account for the total cost of one's descendants, and reduces tree cost by a continuous improvement process. Through simulation, we show that our protocol converges reasonably fast. By comparing with other schemes, our resultant overlay tree offers differentiated services to users by appropriately taking into account individual user cost functions
Experiences of Father Absence Adolescents from a South African Community

The study adopted interpretive/constructivist approach to examine father absence experience in teenage South African boys. Ten adolescent boys (with mean age of 15 years) from an impoverish suburb of Cape Town participated in the study. Mixed method data collection techniques were used including observation, interview and compilation of collage. Data were collected on participants' emotional and behavioural reactions to the absence of their fathers in their households. The results revealed that participants considered fathers as role models to teach them safe behaviours, male interests, values and activities. Participants' perceived fathers as providers and protectors who occupy positions of authority and control.
Interaction of Alcohol Use and Specific Types of Smoking on the Development of Oral Cancer

Background: Oral cancer is one of the most common life threatening diseases all over the world, in particular in Asian countries, and tobacco and alcohol are considered to be the most potent risk factors for oral cancer. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the combined effect of smoking types and alcohol consumption on the development of oral cancer. Patients and Methods: A case-control study of 350 cases and 350 controls over a period of 19 months in the time period between February 2005 and September 2006 was carried out in Pune, India. The self-reported information about their consumption of alcohol and smoking behaviors was collected by structured questionnaires. The data was analyzed by SPSS software package. Risk analysis was performed using conditional logistic regression, which provides results in the form of crude odd ratios. Results: The smoking as well as alcohol drinking rates in the subjects of the case group were signiﬁcantly higher than the controls. Of smoking types, bidi (a hand rolled cigarette) (OR = 4.1, 95% CI = 2.4-6.9), and among alcohol types, hard liquor (OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1. 4-6.4), country liquor (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.3-3.6) and beer (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.2-5.0), showed a strong association with oral cancer. A significant interaction effect was found between alcohol consumption and bidi smoking (OR = 19.6, 95% CI = 4.6-83.5) followed by alcohol and non-filtered cigarette (OR = 4.2, 95% CI = 1.8-12.0) as well as filtered-cigarette (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.1-5.0). Conclusions: We conclude that oral cancer is etiologically related to the interaction between smoking and drinking.
Changes in body weight in relation to mortality in 6441 European middle-aged men: the Seven Countries Study.

OBJECTIVES To study the relation between changes in body weight and subsequent mortality. DESIGN Prospective follow-up study. SETTING Population study. SUBJECTS 6441 men aged 40-59 y at baseline participating in the European cohorts of the Seven Countries Study. The men were divided into groups depending on their weight pattern ascertained from three weight measurements with intervals of 5 years. They were also divided in quartiles according to the degree of weight variability. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES All-cause and cause-specific mortality during 15 years following the last weight measurement. Deaths occurring during the first 5 years of follow-up were excluded. RESULTS Significantly elevated hazard ratios (RR) for death from all causes (RR = 1.3; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2-1.5), all cardiovascular diseases (RR = 1.2; 95% CI: 1.0-1.5) and other causes (RR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.2) were found for men with a decreasing weight compared with men with a constant weight. A fluctuating weight was associated with an increased risk of all cause mortality (RR = 1.2; 95% CI: 1.0-1.4), coronary heart disease (RR = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0-1.9) and myocardial infarction (RR = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0-2.2). The group of men with an increasing body weight also had elevated hazard ratios for dying from coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction, but these were only significant when the total 15-year follow-up was analyzed. The risks of dying from all-causes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other causes were increased in the upper quartile versus the lower quartile of weight variability. CONCLUSIONS The results of the present study show that a decreasing and a fluctuating body weight are associated with increased mortality. An average increase of 7 kg body weight was associated with an elevated risk of dying from coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. Lowest mortality in these middle-aged men was found in those who maintained a constant body weight.
Semismooth Newton Methods for Operator Equations in Function Spaces

We develop a semismoothness concept for nonsmooth superposition operators in function spaces. The considered class of operators includes nonlinear complementarity problem (NCP)-function-based reformulations of infinite-dimensional nonlinear complementarity problems and thus covers a very comprehensive class of applications. Our results generalize semismoothness and $\alpha$-order semismoothness from finite-dimensional spaces to a Banach space setting. For this purpose, a new infinite-dimensional generalized differential is used that is motivated by Qi's finite-dimensional C-subdifferential [Research Report AMR96/5, School of Mathematics, University of New South Wales, Australia, 1996]. We apply these semismoothness results to develop a Newton-like method for nonsmooth operator equations and prove its local q-superlinear convergence to regular solutions. If the underlying operator is $\alpha$-order semismooth, convergence of q-order $1+\alpha$ is proved. We also establish the semismoothness of composite operators and develop corresponding chain rules. The developed theory is accompanied by illustrative examples and by applications to NCPs and a constrained optimal control problem.
Influence of Growth Phase on the Essential Oil Composition and Antimicrobial Activities of Satureja hortensis

The variations in quantity and quality of essential oils (EOs) from the aerial parts of cultivated Satureja hortensis were determined at different stages of harvesting. The EOs of air-dried samples were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The antimicrobial activity of the EOs was investigated by broth microdilution methods. The amount of EOs (w/w, %) were 2.3, 2.5, 2.0, and 1.8% at floral budding, full flowering, immature fruit, and ripened fruit stages, respectively. γ-Terpinene was the major compound of the EO at all developmental stages, except the ripened fruit stage when it was replaced by carvacrol (46.4%). The EOs exhibited strong antibacterial activities against the tested bacteria. Moreover, the EOs either inhibited or killed the examined yeasts at concentrations ranging from 0.03-8.0 μL/mL. Considering the wide range of antimicrobial activities of the examined EOs, they might have potential to be used in the management of infective agents.
Cutaneous Vasoproliferative Lesions in Goats

In a retrospective survey of caprine neoplastic disease, eight masses were diagnosed as cutaneous vascular tumors. The typical clinical presentation was a solitary raised, bleeding mass. No predilection with regard to age, breed, sex, or anatomic location was found. Reevaluation of the microscopic features of the masses resulted in diagnoses of hamartoma (2), hemangioma (4), and hemangiosarcoma (2). An endothelial cell origin was confirmed in all seven tumors tested immunohistochemically for factor VIII-related antigen. Although rarely reported, goats display a range of cutaneous vascular growth abnormalities similar to those observed in other domestic animals.
Systemic Sudden Stops: The Relevance of Balance-Sheet Effects and Financial Integration

Using a sample of 110 developed and developing countries for the period 1990-2004, this paper analyzes the characteristics of systemic sudden stops (3S) in capital flows and the relevance of balance-sheet effects in the likelihood of their materialization. A small supply of tradable goods relative to their domestic absorption? a proxy for potential changes in the real exchange rate? and large foreign-exchange denominated debts towards the domestic banking system are claimed to be key determinants of the probability of 3S, producing a balancesheet effect with non-linear impacts on the probability of 3S. While financial integration is up to a point associated with a higher likelihood of 3S, beyond that point financial integration is associated with a lower likelihood of 3S.
Identifying critical HR practices impacting employee perception and commitment during organizational change

Purpose – Prior research in the area of organizational change highlights the critical role played by HR practices during organizational change as it may require altering employee behavior to support the change direction. human resource (HR) function is considered to be well positioned to influence employee behavior by institutionalizing HR practices that support change. Further there is a significant body of literature that suggests that employee behavior is significantly influenced by the perceptions of HR practices during change. HR practices which create positive employee perceptions increase employee commitment to change. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework that identifies critical HR practices that support organizational change and examines their impact on employee perception and commitment to change. Design/methodology/approach – First, an extensive literature review on organizational change at macro level has been done to identify critical practices desired from key organizational members during organizational change. Second, a case for importance of HR function as a key organizational member during change is presented. Further literature on effectiveness of HR practices adopted by HR professionals during organizational change is examined to find out the gap areas. Third, literature on employee perception and commitment to change is examined to find out possible linkages to HR practices during organizational change. Finally, eight propositions are presented to build an integrated conceptual framework identifying critical HR practices during organizational change and their impact on employee perception and commitment to change. Findings – The study suggests that HR practices undertaken in the area of culture, leadership, cross functional integration, training, communication and technology if introduced and implemented will positively influence employee perception reducing resistance and increasing commitment to change. Therefore assessing employee perception about critical HR practices at different stages of change initiation, implementation and consolidation can enable understanding about employee commitment to change. This would also help HR professionals understand how effective the HR practices implemented during change have been. Originality/value – This framework can be used by the researchers and practitioners to study, guide, frame and model empirical research into the area of studying critical HR practices during organizational change. So far literature provides a generic view of desired organizational practices during change. Moreover there are few studies available on employee perception about HR practices implemented during organizational change and its impact on employee commitment to change. The framework presented in this paper would help explore the effectiveness of specific HR practices implemented during change by evaluating its impact on employee perception and commitment to change.
Are Daily Cross-Border Equity Flows Pushed or Pulled?

We investigate the conditions under which an intertemporal equilibrium model based on investors' portfolio decisions can explain the dynamics of high-frequency equity flows. Our model shows that, when there are barriers to international investment and when the expectations of foreign investors are more extrapolative than those of domestic investors (either due to foreigners being less informed or for behavioral reasons), unexpectedly high worldwide or local stock returns lead to net equity inflows in small countries. We investigate these predictions using daily data on net equity flows for nine emerging-market countries. Equity flows are positively related to host-country stock returns as well as market performance abroad at daily frequencies. Though these effects are remarkably robust at the daily frequency, they dissipate quickly.
How College Affects Students (Vol. 2): A Third Decade of Research (review)

September/OctOber 2006 ◆ vOl 47 nO 5 589 researched accounts (e.g., Clyde Brown and Gayle K. Pluta Brown’s chapter on anti­war protest at Iowa State University). Others (e.g., W. D. Ehrhart’s chapter on Pennridge High School) are more akin to personal memoir than rigorously researched scholarship. For those who experienced this turbulent era in our nation’s history, The Vietnam War on Campus leaves one with a feeling of nostal­ gic recognition rather than insight. However, the book does do an effective job of reminding us how complex “The Movement” was by showing how the anti­Vietnam war movement was just one tributary (albeit an important one—perhaps the Missouri to the larger Movement’s Mississippi) of a much larger river that was fed by the civil rights, women’s, and gay rights movements. All of these social movements have influenced our nation’s current condition and those wishing to understand those conditions would find reading this book enlightening.
Attention-Situation Awareness (A-SA) Model of Pilot Error

We describe three applications of an attention-situation awareness model to predicting pilot performance in high fidelity flight simulations. The model incorporates the SEEV model of selective attention, in which eye movements are driven by salience, expectancy and value, and are inhibited by the effort required to move the eyes over longer distance and of concurrent tasks. In application 1, we predict the taxi-way errors made in a simulation in which commercial airline pilots navigate the airport surface at Chicago O'Hare airport. In application 2, we predict the scanning behavior of three commercial pilots flying a simulated approach to Santa Barbara Airport, using a synthetic vision system display, and responding to occasional unexpected events. In application 3, we predict scanning behavior and performance of 8 general aviation pilots flying a simulated landing approach to a terrain challenged airport. Various forms of the computational model are evaluated to predict scanning performance, off-normal event detection and, in application 3, multi-task performance of flight path control and traffic detection. The model is shown to be quite valid, accounting for around 85% of the variance in scanning across different areas of interest in the pilots' visual field. The model fit is not improved by including the effort-inhibition parameter. The degree to which pilots conform to the expected value (optimal) version of the model is shown to positively predict the indices of multi-task performance. The role of redundancy is also addressed.
Sex Differences in the Attribution of Shame And Guilt

This study examined how the sex of a participant could moderate the elicitation of shame and guilt. Four hundred ninety students (107 men and 383 women) between the age of 17 and 20 (M=18.66, SD=.80) volunteered to participate. Moderated multiple regression analyses indicated an interaction effect between sex and external attribution with men likely to attribute experienced guilt to external stable causes while both sexes experienced more guilt when they attributed the cause of an event to external, unstable causes. External attributional styles may therefore be responsible for the differences in the experience of guilt in men and women. These results emphasize the importance of contextual appraisal in the elicitation of guilt.
Risk of Congestive Heart Failure in an Elderly Population Treated with Peripheral Alpha‐1 Antagonists

Objectives: To compare the risk of congestive heart failure (CHF) in elderly individuals treated with any peripheral alpha‐1 antagonist for hypertension with any thiazide, test whether the risk persists in subjects without cardiovascular disease (CVD) at baseline, and examine CHF risk in normotensive men with prostatism treated with alpha antagonists.
Gaussian hypergeometric functions and traces of Hecke operators

We establish a simple inductive formula for the trace Trknew(Γ0(8),p) of the pth Hecke operator on the space Sknew(Γ0(8)) of newforms of level 8 and weight k in terms of the values of 3 F 2 -hypergeometric functions over the finite field F p . Using this formula when k = 6, we prove a conjecture of Koike relating Tr6new(Γ0(8),p) to the values 6 F 5 (1) p and 4 F 3 (1) p . Furthermore, we find new congruences between Trknew(Γ0(8),p) and generalized Apery numbers.
Working Paper No . 2012 / 98 Stability and Vulnerability of the Latin American Middle Class Florencia Torche

Using panel datasets from Mexico and Chile for the 2000s, we examine the determinants of middle-class intra-generational mobility. We define the middle class by means of a latent index of economic wellbeing that is less sensitive to short-term fluctuation and measurement error than standard measures of income. We find high rates of both upward and downward mobility in Mexico and Chile, indicating that the middle class has the opportunity to move to higher levels of wellbeing but it is also vulnerable to falling into poverty. In both countries, labour market resources (education and occupational status of the head, number of members in the labour market) are much stronger determinant of mobility than demographic factors, suggesting the importance of policies that foster human capital and that protect workers from shocks. Rural middle-class households are substantially more vulnerable to falling into poverty and have little chance of advancing to upper classes.
Ignorance of Language

I. LINGUISTICS IS NOT PSYCHOLOGY 1. Introduction 2. A grammar as a theory of linguistic reality II. POSITIONS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL REALITY 3. Some possible positions on psychological reality 4. Some actual postions on psychological reality III. 'PHILOSOPHICAL' ARGUMENTS FOR THE REPRESENTATIONAL THESIS 5. The Rejection of Behaviourism 6. Folk Psychology 7. Intuitions IV. THE RELATION OF LANGUAGE TO THOUGHT 8. Thought before language 9. A case for the psychological reality of language 10. Thought and the language faculty V. LANGUAGE USE AND ACQUISITION 11. Language use 12. Language acquisition
Analytical and Finite Element Analysis for Short Term O-Ring Relaxation

The like-rubber O-ring gaskets are widely used in hydraulic and pneumatic equipments to ensure the sealing of the shaft, the pistons and the lids. The correct operation is due to the good tightening of the joint that generate a sufficient contact pressure able to confine the fluids inside rooms or to prevent their passage from one compartment to another. Several studies are carried out to model the O-ring behavior but without taking in account the effect of the relaxation and creep phenomena. In this article, an axisymmetric finite element model is proposed to study the O-ring relaxation during the first hours of its installation in the unrestrained axial loading case. The results of the numerical model are compared with an analytical approach results based on the classical Hertzian theory of the contact. The effects of the o-ring mechanical and geometrical characteristics are examined. The contact stress profiles and the peak contact stresses are determined versus the time relaxation in order to specify the working conditions thresholds.
Genetic variation of carotenoids, vitamin E and phenolic compounds in Provitamin A biofortified maize.

BACKGROUND Biofortified maize is not only a good vehicle for provitamin A carotenoids for vitamin A deficient populations in developing countries but also a source of vitamin E, tocochromanols and phenolic compounds, which have antioxidant properties. Using high-performance liquid chromatography and a total antioxidant performance assay, the present study analyzed the antioxidant variation and antioxidant activity of 36 provitamin A improved maize hybrids and one common yellow maize hybrid. RESULTS The ranges of major carotenoids in provitamin A carotenoids biofortified maize were zeaxanthin [1.2-13.2 µg g-1 dry weight (DW)], β-cryptoxanthin (1.3-8.8 µg g-1 DW) and β-carotene (1.3-8.0 µg g-1 DW). The ranges of vitamin E compounds identified in provitamin A carotenoids biofortified maize were α-tocopherol (3.4-34.3 µg g-1 DW), γ-tocopherol (5.9-54.4 µg g-1 DW), α-tocotrienol (2.6-19.5 µg g-1 DW) and γ-tocotrienol (45.4 µg g-1 DW). The ranges of phenolic compounds were γ-oryzanol (0.0-0.8 mg g-1 DW), ferulic acid (0.4-3.6 mg g-1 DW) and p-coumaric acid (0.1-0.45 mg g-1 DW). There was significant correlation between α-tocopherol and cis isomers of β-carotene (P < 0.01). Tocotrienols were correlated with α-tocopherol and γ-oryzanol (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION Genotype was significant in determining the variation in β-cryptoxanthin, β-carotene, α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol contents (P < 0.01). A genotype × environment interaction was observed for γ-tocopherol content (P < 0.01). © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.