Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trends in Income Inequality, Pro-Poor Income Growth and Income Mobility

Provided is a method of operating an apparatus for inerting a wave soldering installation having a solder bath and a conveying system for producing one or more solder waves comprising an immersion box which is closed on all sides, shaped like a frame, can be immersed in the solder bath and which has porous pipes to distribute nitrogen, the pipes being arranged inside the immersion box in housings being designed such that the porous pipes are arranged therein in such a way that the porous pipes essentially cannot be struck by solder splashes produced during the operation of the wave soldering installation. The method includes supplying the inert gas at a temperature far below the temperature of the solder.
Serological evaluation of a Clostridium perfringens type A toxoid in a commercial swine herd

Clostridium perfringens type A (CPA) may cause suckling piglet diarrhea, which occurs within 48 hours of birth and may last approximately 5 days. Pathological findings may be unremarkable, but CPA is usually observed in or cultured in large numbers from the intestinal lumen. Preventions and treatments for CPA enteritis are variable in efficacy. A toxoid has recently become available. In this study, the serological response to the toxoid in vaccinated and nonvaccinated gilts and their progeny was evaluated in a commercial herd with a history of CPA enteritis. A toxin-antitoxin neutralization assay, quantifying neutralizing alpha antitoxin in a live-mouse model, demonstrated a difference in geometric mean alpha antitoxin titers (expressed in international antitoxin units per mL; au per mL) (± SD) between the vaccinated (239.33 ± 55.73 au per mL) and unvaccinated gilts (139.01 ± 26.35 au per mL) (P < .05). Passively acquired geometric mean titers were higher (P < .05) in piglets 2 to 4 days of age suckling vaccinated dams (231.55 ± 111.92 au per mL) than in piglets suckling control dams (112.93 ± 113.16 au per mL). These findings demonstrate that the toxoid induces a neutralizing antitoxin which is passively transferred to suckling piglets.
Bridging Differences in Outcomes of Pharmacoepidemiological Studies: Design and First Results of the PROTECT Project

Background: Observational pharmacoepidemiological (PE) studies on drug safety have produced discrepant results that may be due to differences in design, conduct and analysis. Purpose: The pharmacoepidemiology work-package (WP2) of the Pharmacoepidemiological Research on Outcomes of Therapeutics by a European ConsorTium (PROTECT) project aims at developing, testing and disseminating methodological standards for design, conduct and analysis of pharmacoepidemiological studies applicable to different safety issues using different databases across European countries. This article describes the selection of the safety issues and the description of the databases to be systematically studied. Methods: Based on two consensus meetings and a literature search, we selected five drug-adverse event (AE) pairs to be evaluated in different databases. This selection was done according to pre-defined criteria such as regulatory and public health impact, and the potential to investigate a broad range of methodological issues. Results: The selected drug-AE pairs are: 1) inhaled long-acting beta-2 agonists and acute myocardial infarction; 2) antimicrobials and acute liver injury; 3) antidepressants and/or benzodiazepines and hip fracture; 4) anticonvulsants and suicide/suicide attempts; and 5) calcium channel blockers and malignancies. Six European databases, that will be used to evaluate the drug-AE pairs retrospectively, are also described. Conclusion: The selected drug-AE pairs will be evaluated in PE studies using common protocols. Based on consistencies and discrepancies of these studies, a framework for guiding methodological choices will be developed. This will increase the usefulness and reliability of PE studies for benefit-risk assessment and decision-making.
Breast cancer risk in male twins: joint analyses of four twin cohorts in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the United States

To test the hypothesis that in utero exposure to high levels of oestrogen increases the risk of male breast cancer, we followed 115 235 male twins for more than 3.5 million person-years at risk. We observed 11 cases of male breast cancer versus 16.16 expected based on national rates (standardized rate ratio 0.68, 95% confidence interval 0.34–1.22) and conclude that any adverse influence of in utero oestrogen exposure is likely to be small. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign
Phonological activation of first language (Spanish) and second language (English) when learning third language (Slovak) novel words

Objectives/Research Questions: This study investigates whether bilinguals activate lexical knowledge from both their dominant first language (L1; Spanish) and their less-dominant second language (L2; English) during novel third language (L3; Slovak) word learning. Moreover, it examines the extent to which L2 activation in L3 lexical learning depends on the level of L2 proficiency. Methodology: Stimuli included 120 auditory Slovak words with substantial phonological overlap with either English or Spanish (homophones) or with neither language (control words), and their written Spanish translations. Two groups of participants (with high and low-proficiency in L2 English) completed paired-associate learning, correct/incorrect translation recognition and backward translation tasks on Slovak–Spanish translation equivalents to examine the facilitation effect of homophones with either Spanish or English. Data and Analysis: Response times, accuracy scores and correct translation counts were collected from 35 Spanish–English bilinguals and analyzed by means of repeated measures analyses of variance. Findings/Conclusions: The phonological similarity of novel L3 words with participants’ L2 words showed similar facilitation effects as phonological similarity with L1 words. This implies an involuntary activation of bilinguals’ less-dominant L2, even when not overtly present in the L3 lexical learning task. Moreover, the low-proficiency group experienced a higher facilitation for L1 than for L2 homophones, but overall lower facilitation in L3 lexical learning than the high-proficiency group. These findings suggest that bilinguals can activate lexical knowledge from both of their languages during novel L3 word learning, but the activation of the less-dominant L2 depends on participants’ L2 proficiency. Originality: We investigated how Spanish–English bilinguals incorporate vocabulary from an understudied language (i.e. Slovak) into their lexical system to test the language non-selective hypothesis in a multilingual lexical context. Significance: Our research contributes to the study of the degree of language dominance and its implications for L3 lexical learning and parallel activation of multilinguals’ languages.
Genetic and genomic architecture of salt tolerance in bread wheat

Soil salinization is the consequence of climate change and soil salinity significantly reduces wheat yield. Therefore, development of salt tolerant wheat is a feasible option for 1 billion hectares of salt affected land and wheat breeding for this trait could be enhanced by marker assisted selection (MAS) and identification of major genes for salt tolerance. The Axiom Wheat Breeder's Genotyping Array was used to genotype 154 F2 wheat lines developed from parents with contrasting salt tolerance. A high-density genetic linkage map consisting of 988 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) markers was constructed and 49 quantitative trait loci (QTL) were mapped for salt tolerance related traits and mineral nutrients concentrations under salt stress. Two Na+ exclusion (NAX) QTLs located on chromosome 2A coincided with a major reported QTL (Nax1 or HKT1;4) while two major NAX QTLs mapped on 7A contributed 18.79 and 11.23 % to salt tolerance. Another 13 QTLs including major QTLs were mapped for K+, Ca+2 and Mg+2 concentrations while 27 novel QTLs were identified for tissue Boron, Copper, Iron, Manganese Phosphorus, Sulphur and Zinc concentrations under salinity. Several of these QTLs were validated in two mapping populations. The segregating markers were annotated/located on 1257 genes for various ion channels, transcription factors (TFs), signaling pathways, genetic and epigenetic factors, tolerance mechanisms, metabolic pathways etc. The in-silico transcriptomics analysis found 258 of these genes to be differentially expressed under salinity, another 74 genes were found to be vital for plants under both normal and saline conditions. Another 156 genes showed the expression only under salt stress while 54 of them had significant number of alignments with salt-expressed transcriptome. The transcriptomics analysis for 478 NAC, WRKY, MADS-box, AP2-containing, MYB and MYB-related TF families revealed that 181 TFs were differentially expressed under salinity in wheat. Taken together, the SNPs, QTLs, genes, transcripts and TFs identified in this study will be a valuable source for wheat breeding for salt tolerance.
Production regions and physical quality of Urochloa decumbens CV. Basilisk seeds

Brazil is the largest world producer, consumer and exporter of forage grass seeds. Urochloa decumbens Stapf. species is the second in importance in the Brazilian market of seeds of tropical forage grasses. Seeds are harvested by the soil sweeping method and, in addition to other impurities, harvested lots can present weed seeds, which makes seeds unfeasible for commercialization. The aim of the present study was to evaluate differences in the physical quality and viability of Urochloa decumbens cv. Basilisk seeds produced in different production fields. Fifteen U. decumbens seed lots from the State of São Paulo (1 lot in the municipality of Cássia dos Coqueiros and 3 lots in the municipality of Santo Antônio da Alegria), Minas Gerais (2 lots in the municipality of Tupaciguara, 2 lots in the municipality of Unaí, 2 lots in the municipality of Chapada Gaúcha and 3 lots in the municipality of Monte Santo de Minas), Goiás (1 lot in the municipality of Jataí) and Mato Grosso (1 lot in the municipality of Primavera do Leste) were evaluated by means of the following parameters: water content, viability by tetrazolium test, purity, determination of other seeds by number and weight of one thousand seeds. A completely randomized design was used, and when significant, the means of treatments were compared by the Scott Knott test at 5% probability. The fields of the different regions produce U. decumbens seeds with high variability in physical quality. U. decumbens seeds with the highest physical quality and viability were produced in Cassia dos Coqueiros SP.
Estrutura Intelectual da Produção Científica sobre Propensão ao Empreendedorismo: uma Análise à Luz das Cocitações

A propensão ao empreendedorismo consiste na predisposição favorável do indivíduo para a criação de novos empreendimentos. Este trabalho pretende apresentar a estrutura da produção científica que serve de alicerce para os estudos referentes à propensão ao empreendedorismo, por meio da análise de cocitações. O método utilizado foi exploratório e os dados para as análises foram constituídos de artigos científicos, recuperados na base Scopus. Os resultados revelaram que os referidos estudos tiveram início na década de 70, embora só a partir de 2000 tenha ocorrido um aumento significativo destes. A Análise Fatorial Exploratória (AFE) revelou que a estrutura da produção científica sobre propensão ao empreendedorismo é explicada em 68,34% por 24 autores, os quais o agrupou em oito dimensões: empreendedorismo como processo organizacional; características do empreendedor; atitude e comportamento empreendedor; antecedentes da intenção empreendedora; lócus de controle e efeitos da cultura no empreendedorismo; processos cognitivos e identificação de oportunidades; ação empreendedora; e tomada de decisão. Este estudo corrobora a necessidade de continuidade de investigações visando a busca de um núcleo para entender o papel desempenhado pelo empreendedor na sociedade. Futuras pesquisas poderiam explorar semelhanças e diferenças entre os constructos presentes na literatura atual sobre futuros empreendedores.
Transcriptome Analysis of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 Harboring the Completely Sequenced IncP-7 Plasmid pCAR1

ABSTRACT The IncP-7 plasmid pCAR1 of Pseudomonas resinovorans CA10 confers the ability to degrade carbazole upon transfer to the recipient strain P. putida KT2440. We designed a customized whole-genome oligonucleotide microarray to study the coordinated expression of pCAR1 and the chromosome in the transconjugant strain KT2440(pCAR1). First, the transcriptome of KT2440(pCAR1) during growth with carbazole as the sole carbon source was compared to that during growth with succinate. The carbazole catabolic car and ant operons were induced, along with the chromosomal cat and pca genes involved in the catechol branch of the β-ketoadipate pathway. Additionally, the regulatory gene antR encoding the AraC/XylS family transcriptional activator specific for car and ant operons was upregulated. The characterization of the antR promoter revealed that antR is transcribed from an RpoN-dependent promoter, suggesting that the successful expression of the carbazole catabolic operons depends on whether the chromosome contains the specific RpoN-dependent activator. Next, to analyze whether the horizontal transfer of a plasmid alters the transcription network of its host chromosome, we compared the chromosomal transcriptomes of KT2440(pCAR1) and KT2440 under the same growth conditions. Only subtle changes were caused by the transfer of pCAR1, except for the significant induction of the hypothetical gene PP3700, designated parI, which encodes a putative ParA-like ATPase with an N-terminal Xre-type DNA-binding motif. Further transcriptional analyses showed that the parI promoter was positively regulated by ParI itself and the pCAR1-encoded protein ParA.
Switchless elastic rate node (SERANO) architecture: A universal node for optical grooming and adaptive networking

The switchless elastic rate node (SERANO) is an elastic optical network block architecture facilitating reduction in network cost and blocking due to spectral fragmentation while extending the capacity-reach product in translucent optical networks. We present an analytical mathematical method for minimizing the number of transceivers that are solely used to construct this block, albeit a finite blocking probability. Moreover, based on a realistic traffic matrix and making use of a networking planning tool, we deduce a SERANO's block dimension for BT's national backbone network. Finally, we estimate the conditions under which the cost of a SERANO block is lower to the corresponding electronic switch for providing important networking functions like 3R regeneration, defragmentation, and network reoptimization.
Incidental rewarding cues influence economic decisions in people with obesity

Recent research suggests that obesity is linked to prominent alterations in learning and decision-making. This general difference may also underlie the preference for immediately consumable, highly palatable but unhealthy and high-calorie foods. Such poor food-related inter-temporal decision-making can explain weight gain; however, it is not yet clear whether this deficit can be generalized to other domains of inter-temporal decision-making, for example financial decisions. Further, little is known about the stability of decision-making behavior in obesity, especially in the presence of rewarding cues. To answer these questions, obese and lean participants (n = 52) completed two sessions of a novel priming paradigm including a computerized monetary delay discounting task. In the first session, general differences between groups in financial delay discounting were measured. In the second session, we tested the general stability of discount rates. Additionally, participants were primed by affective visual cues of different contextual categories before making financial decisions. We found that the obese group showed stronger discounting of future monetary rewards than the lean group, but groups did not differ in their general stability between sessions nor in their sensitivity toward changes in reward magnitude. In the obese group, a fast decrease of subjective value over time was directly related to a higher tendency for opportunistic eating. Obese in contrast to lean people were primed by the affective cues, showing a sex-specific pattern of priming direction. Our findings demonstrate that environments rich of cues, aiming at inducing unhealthy consumer decisions, can be highly detrimental for obese people. It also underscores that obesity is not merely a medical condition but has a strong cognitive component, meaning that current dietary and medical treatment strategies may fall too short.
A multi-wave test of self-affirmation versus emotionally expressive writing

ABSTRACT Testing self-affirmation writing against well-established alternatives is an important step in validating self-affirmation writing as an empirically informed clinical exercise. Therefore, this multi-wave study examined the effects of two theoretically distinct writing exercises: self-affirmation and emotionally expressive writing. It was hypothesized that, compared to emotionally expressive writing, self-affirmation writing would elicit higher positive mood and lower negative mood while decreasing psychological distress over time. After completing pretest measures of distress, 152 undergraduates were randomly assigned to a self-affirmation or emotionally expressive writing task. Participants completed the assigned writing intervention three times: at Session 1, 1 week later at Session 2, and 1 week after that at Session 3. Mood and distress were assessed across four points in time: immediately after the first writing task (Session 1), 1 week later after the second writing task (Session 2), after the third writing task (Session 3), and 1 week following Session 3 (Session 4). A growth curve indicated that at Session 2, those completing self-affirmation writing reported lower distress than those completing emotionally expressive writing, and this difference did not significantly increase or decrease in subsequent sessions. The difference at Session 2 was more pronounced for those reporting lower distress than for those reporting higher distress.
Is the dollar/ECU exchange rate a random walk?

Monthly data on the $US/ECU exchange rate are analysed in light of the random walk hypothesis. A battery of tests, including procedures that are robust to conditional heteroscedasticity, are applied against linear alternatives to departures from the random walk. These tests are all based on the sample autocorrelations of the series of first differences of the logarithm of the monthly exchange rate. They were applied to the full sample of available data, and also to a subsample consisting of the most recent observations. On the whole, these tests provided just modest evidence against the random walk hypothesis.
How are Irish Households Coping with Their Mortgage Repayments? Information from The Survey on Income and Living Conditions

This paper uses information contained within the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) to examine the ability of Irish households to sustain their mortgage repayments. We calculate mortgage repayment to income (MRTI) ratios for a representative sample of Irish households and examine the distribution of this ratio across the sample. In particular, we stratify information on marital, work and educational status along with household composition according to this MRTI. We also examine the distribution of information on household mortgages such as the source, the interest rate paid, the age and tenure, and the monthly repayment of the mortgage according to the same ratio. Finally, the distributional implications for the MRTI of a significant unemployment and interest rate shock are also examined.
Realized Laplace Transforms for Estimation of Jump Diffusive Volatility Models

We develop a new efficient and analytically tractable method for estimation of parametric volatility models that is robust to price-level jumps and generally has good finite sample properties. The method entails first integrating intra-day data into the Realized Laplace Transform of volatility, which is a model-free and jump-robust estimate of daily integrated empirical Laplace transform of the unobservable volatility. The estimation then is done by matching moments of the integrated joint Laplace transform with those implied by various parametric volatility models. In the empirical application, the best fitting volatility model is a non-diffusive two-factor model where low activity jumps drive its persistent component and more active jumps drive the transient one.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Is Associated with Low Levels of Vitamin D

Introduction COPD patients may be at increased risk for vitamin D (25(OH)D) deficiency, but risk factors for deficiency among COPD patients have not been extensively reported. Methods Serum 25(OH)D levels were measured by liquid chromatography double mass spectrometry in subjects aged 40–76 years from Western Norway, including 433 COPD patients (GOLD stage II-IV) and 325 controls. Levels <20 ng/mL defined deficiency. Season, sex, age, body mass index (BMI), smoking, GOLD stage, exacerbation frequency, arterial oxygen tension (PaO2), respiratory symptoms, depression (CES-D score≥16), comorbidities (Charlson score), treatment for osteoporosis, use of inhaled steroids, and total white blood count were examined for associations with 25(OH)D in both linear and logistic regression models. Results COPD patients had an increased risk for vitamin D deficiency compared to controls after adjustment for seasonality, age, smoking and BMI. Variables associated with lower 25(OH)D levels in COPD patients were obesity ( = −6.63), current smoking ( = −4.02), GOLD stage III- IV ( = −4.71, = −5.64), and depression ( = −3.29). Summertime decreased the risk of vitamin D deficiency (OR = 0.22). Conclusion COPD was associated with an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency, and important disease characteristics were significantly related to 25(OH)D levels.
Smoking, drinking, diet and physical activity—modifiable lifestyle risk factors and their associations with age to first chronic disease

Abstract Background This study examined the incidence of a person’s first diagnosis of a selected chronic disease, and the relationships between modifiable lifestyle risk factors and age to first of six chronic diseases. Methods Ontario respondents from 2001 to 2010 of the Canadian Community Health Survey were followed up with administrative data until 2014 for congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive respiratory disease, diabetes, lung cancer, myocardial infarction and stroke. By sex, the cumulative incidence function of age to first chronic disease was calculated for the six chronic diseases individually and compositely. The associations between modifiable lifestyle risk factors (alcohol, body mass index, smoking, diet, physical inactivity) and age to first chronic disease were estimated using cause-specific Cox proportional hazards models and Fine-Gray competing risk models. Results Diabetes was the most common disease. By age 70.5 years (2015 world life expectancy), 50.9% of females and 58.1% of males had at least one disease and few had a death free of the selected diseases (3.4% females; 5.4% males). Of the lifestyle factors, heavy smoking had the strongest association with the risk of experiencing at least one chronic disease (cause-specific hazard ratio = 3.86; 95% confidence interval = 3.46, 4.31). The lifestyle factors were modelled for each disease separately, and the associations varied by chronic disease and sex. Conclusions We found that most individuals will have at least one of the six chronic diseases before dying. This study provides a novel approach using competing risk methods to examine the incidence of chronic diseases relative to the life course and how their incidences are associated with lifestyle behaviours.