Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Relationship Between Diabetes Distress and Clinical Depression With Glycemic Control Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE To clarify previous findings that diabetes distress is related to glycemic control and self-management whereas measures of depression are not, using both binary and continuous measures of depression. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Four hundred and sixty-three type 2 patients completed measures of diabetes distress (Diabetes Distress Scale [DDS]) and clinical depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 8 [PHQ8]). PHQ8 was employed as either a binary (≥10) or continuous variable. Dependent variables were A1C, diet, physical activity (PA), and medication adherence (MA). RESULTS The inclusion of a binary or continuous PHQ8 score yielded no differences in any equation. DDS was significantly associated with A1C and PA, whereas PHQ8 was not; both DDS and PHQ8 were significantly and independently associated with diet and MA. CONCLUSIONS The lack of association between depression and glycemic control is not due to the use of a binary measure of depression. Findings further clarify the significant association between distress and A1C.
Paranormal belief and perceived control over life events

The psychodynamic functions hypothesis has been proposed as a means to explain the high levels of paranormal belief among the population. According to this view, the world appears to some to be unpredictable, uncontrollable and inherently meaningless, which gives rise to anxiety. Paranormal beliefs may develop to allay this anxiety by offering the promise of order and personal power. Although there is some evidence to support the putative association between the three variables of perceived helplessness, anxiety and paranormal belief, these have not previously been considered together in the same population. Sixty-five participants completed a battery of measures including the State-Trait Anxiety Index (Spielberger, 1983), the revised Paranormal Belief Scale (Tobacyk, 2004) as well as newly constructed Estimated Likelihood of Stressful Events and Perceived Control over Stressful Events scales. No relationship was found between perceived control over future life events and paranormal belief, but measures of state and trait anxiety correlated significantly with both perceived control and paranormal belief. Results of a path analysis suggested a model that was broadly in agreement with the psychodynamic functions hypothesis in describing a mediating role for anxiety.
Time-Varying Risk Premia in the Foreign Currency Futures Basis

Significant time-varying risk premia exist in the foreign currency futures basis, and these risk premia are meaningfully correlated with common macroeconomic risk factors from equity and bond markets. The stock index dividend yield and the bond default and term spreads in the U.S. markets help forecast the risk premium component of the foreign currency futures basis. The specific source of risk matters, but the relationships are robust across currencies. The currency futures basis is positively associated with the dividend yield and negatively associated with the spread variables. These correlations cannot be attributed to the expected spot price change component of the currency futures basis, thus establishing the presence of a time-varying risk premium component in the currency futures basis.
Belief revision in quantum decision theory: gambler's and hot hand fallacies

In the present article we introduce a quantum mechanism which is able to describe the creation of correlations in the evaluation of random independent events: such correlations, known as positive and negative recency, correspond respectively to the hot hand's and to the gambler's fallacies. Thus we propose a description of these effects in terms of qubits, which may become entangled, forming a system which can not be described completely only in terms of its constituents. We show that such formalism is able to describe and interpret the experimental results, thus providing a general and unifying framework for the cognitive heuristics.
Neural Correlates of Developmental Coordination Disorder: The Mirror Neuron System Hypothesis

Primary impairments of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) include impairments in motor skill, motor learning, and imitation. Such difficulties present challenges for individuals with DCD and may persist into adulthood, negatively impacting daily life in school, work, and social domains. A better understanding of the neural correlates of motor and imitation impairments in DCD holds the potential for informing development of treatment approaches to address these impairments. Although the disorder is assumed to be of neurological origin, little is known of the brain-based etiology of DCD. In recent years the discovery of a fronto-parietal circuit—known as the mirror neuron system—has enabled researchers to better understand imitation, general motor functions, and aspects of social cognition. Given its involvement in imitation and other motor functions, we propose that dysfunction in the mirror neuron system may underlie the characteristic impairments of DCD. We review literature pertaining to the mirror neuron system and develop a theory of disordered mirror neuron functioning in DCD. Finally, we review the limited neuroimaging literature available on neural correlates of DCD and show that the findings from those investigations are congruent with a mirror neuron system theory of DCD. Future research in this population should be designed to investigate specifically mirror neuron regions in individuals with DCD during skilled motor tasks and imitation in particular.
The Social Dimension of Service Interactions

Service interactions run a gamut from an instrumental self-focus to full social appreciation. Observing another customer’s incivility toward a frontline employee can emphasize social concerns as guiding principles for the observer’s own service interaction. Five studies test these dynamics; the results reveal that an incivility incident leads observers to prioritize social over market concerns. This reprioritization becomes manifest in a subsequent service interaction through increased feelings of warmth toward the employee who experienced incivility. In turn, feelings of warmth prompt observers to provide emotional support to the affected employee. Yet such prosocial inclinations are less likely when an employee is held responsible for or reciprocates incivility. Finally, this article also examines the effects of different employee reaction strategies on observers’ inferences about the employee and the service firm, showing that observers are most positively disposed toward the employee and the firm when the former reacts to incivility with a polite reprimand. Together, the results suggest that, contrary to past theorizing, observing customers may contribute to employee well-being, contingent on appropriate employee responses. Notably, the commonly prescribed polite, submissive employee reaction that requires emotional labor may not be the most desirable reaction—neither for the employee nor for the firm.
Automatic transcription of conversational telephone speech

This paper discusses the Cambridge University HTK (CU-HTK) system for the automatic transcription of conversational telephone speech. A detailed discussion of the most important techniques in front-end processing, acoustic modeling and model training, language and pronunciation modeling are presented. These include the use of conversation side based cepstral normalization, vocal tract length normalization, heteroscedastic linear discriminant analysis for feature projection, minimum phone error training and speaker adaptive training, lattice-based model adaptation, confusion network based decoding and confidence score estimation, pronunciation selection, language model interpolation, and class based language models. The transcription system developed for participation in the 2002 NIST Rich Transcription evaluations of English conversational telephone speech data is presented in detail. In this evaluation the CU-HTK system gave an overall word error rate of 23.9%, which was the best performance by a statistically significant margin. Further details on the derivation of faster systems with moderate performance degradation are discussed in the context of the 2002 CU-HTK 10 /spl times/ RT conversational speech transcription system.
Effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba in treating tinnitus: double blind, placebo controlled trial

Abstract Objective: To determine whether Ginkgo biloba is effective in treating tinnitus. Design: Double blind, placebo controlled trial using postal questionnaires. Participants: 1121 healthy people aged between 18 and 70 years with tinnitus that was comparatively stable; 978 participants were matched (489 pairs). Intervention: 12 weeks' treatment with either 50 mg Ginkgo biloba extract LI 1370 three times daily or placebo. Main outcome measures: Participants' assessment of tinnitus before, during, and after treatment. Questionnaires included items assessing perception of how loud and how troublesome tinnitus was. Changes in loudness were rated on a six point scale. Changes in how troublesome were rated on a five point scale. Results: There were no significant differences in primary or secondary outcome measures between the groups. 34 of 360 participants receiving active treatment reported that their tinnitus was less troublesome after 12 weeks of treatment compared with 35 of 360 participants who took placebo. Conclusions: 50 mg Ginkgo biloba extract LI 1370 given 3 times daily for 12 weeks is no more effective than placebo in treating tinnitus.
Pentraxin 3: A Novel Biomarker for Inflammatory Cardiovascular Disease

Numerous studies have recently examined the role of pentraxin 3 (PTX3) in clinical situations. The pentraxin family includes C-reactive protein (CRP); however, unlike CRP, PTX3 is expressed predominantly in atherosclerotic lesions that involve macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells, or smooth muscle cells. Interestingly, PTX3 gene expression in human endothelial cells is suppressed to a greater extent by pitavastatin than the expression of 6,000 other human genes that have been examined, suggesting that PTX3 may be a novel biomarker for inflammatory cardiovascular disease. The expression and involvement of PTX3 in cardiovascular diseases are discussed in this paper, along with the characteristics of PTX3 that make it a suitable biomarker; namely, that the physiological concentration is known and it is independent of other risk factors. The results discussed in this paper suggest that further investigations into the potential novel use of PTX3 as a biomarker for inflammatory cardiovascular disease should be undertaken.
2 ELECTRONIC TRADING : DETACHED , INDIVIDUALIZED , AND VIRTUAL ?

Advances in information technology allow for remote working, leading to suggestions that remote individuals can work as well in virtual teams as in face-to-face teams. This paper considers the continued use of face-to-face communication in a European group of stock traders, despite the capabilities of information technology to individuate the work. The case illustrates that traders prefer to work in face-to-face settings for various reasons. Short term reasons arise from a need for instant and effortless communication in their manipulation of market prices and instant knowledge sharing, leading to both higher individual and collective profits. Long term reasons arise from a need for continuous learning across novices and experts, as stock markets and stock prices settle into behavioral patterns over longer periods of time. The implications for computing and work are discussed.
Successful sulfonylurea treatment in a patient with permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus with a novel KCNJ11 mutation

Permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus refers to diabetes that occurs before the age of 6 months and persists through life. It is a rare disorder affecting one in 0.2-0.5 million live births. Mutations in the gene KCNJ11, encoding the subunit Kir6.2, and ABCC8, encoding SUR1 of the ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel, are the most common causes of permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus. Sulfonylureas close the KATP channel and increase insulin secretion. KCNJ11 and ABCC8 mutations have important therapeutic implications because sulfonylurea therapy can be effective in treating patients with mutations in the potassium channel subunits. The mutation type, the presence of neurological features, and the duration of diabetes are known to be the major factors affecting the treatment outcome after switching to sulfonylurea therapy. More than 30 mutations in the KCNJ11 gene have been identified. Here, we present our experience with a patient carrying a novel p.H186D heterozygous mutation in the KCNJ11 gene who was successfully treated with oral sulfonylurea.
THE ANNALS OF APPLIED PROBABILITY ( To Appear ) Stochastic Calculus for BrownianMotion on a Brownian FractureBy

(To Appear) Stochastic Calculus for Brownian Motion on a Brownian Fracture By Davar Khoshnevisan* & Thomas M. Lewis University of Utah & Furman University Abstract. The impetus behind this work is a pathwise development of stochastic integrals with respect to iterated Brownian motion. We also provide a detailed analysis of the variations of iterated Brownian motion. These variations are linked to Brownian motion in random scenery and iterated Brownian motion itself.
Mass Migration and Seasonality. Evidence on Moldova's Labour Exodus

This paper identifies the determinants and patterns of mass migration in Moldova a country in which migration has become the dominant socioeconomic phenomenon in a period of less than 8 years. Special emphasis is placed on seasonal migration, which has become increasingly popular in many Eastern European countries. Our findings indicate that poverty is a main push factor of migration decisions. Additionally, network effects and migration experience appear to be crucial for Moldovan migration flows. Concerning the choice of seasonal vs. permanent migration, we find that neither young dependents in the household nor marital status seem to influence the migrant’s decision of whether to leave seasonally or permanently. The main group of seasonal migrants are less educated men from rural areas.
Feeding Behavior-Related Toxicity due to Nandina domestica in Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum)

Dozens of Cedar Waxwings were found dead in Thomas County, Georgia, USA, in April 2009. Five of these were examined grossly and microscopically. Grossly, all the examined birds had pulmonary, mediastinal, and tracheal hemorrhages. Microscopically, several tissues and organs were diffusely congested and hemorrhagic. Congestion and hemorrhage were marked in the lungs. Intact and partly digested berries of Nandina domestica Thunb. were the only ingesta found in the gastrointestinal tract of these birds. Due to their voracious feeding behavior, the birds had eaten toxic doses of N. domestica berries. N. domestica contains cyanide and is one of the few berries readily available at this time of the year in the region. The gross and microscopic findings are consistent with lesions associated with cyanide toxicity. This paper for the first time documents toxicity associated with N. domestica in Cedar Waxwings.
Fertile forests produce biomass more efficiently.

Trees with sufficient nutrition are known to allocate carbon preferentially to aboveground plant parts. Our global study of 49 forests revealed an even more fundamental carbon allocation response to nutrient availability: forests with high-nutrient availability use 58 ± 3% (mean ± SE; 17 forests) of their photosynthates for plant biomass production (BP), while forests with low-nutrient availability only convert 42 ± 2% (mean ± SE; 19 forests) of annual photosynthates to biomass. This nutrient effect largely overshadows previously observed differences in carbon allocation patterns among climate zones, forest types and age classes. If forests with low-nutrient availability use 16 ± 4% less of their photosynthates for plant growth, what are these used for? Current knowledge suggests that lower BP per unit photosynthesis in forests with low- versus forests with high-nutrient availability reflects not merely an increase in plant respiration, but likely results from reduced carbon allocation to unaccounted components of net primary production, particularly root symbionts.
Cone beam computed tomographic analysis of maxillary premolars and molars to detect the relationship between periapical and marginal bone loss and mucosal thickness of maxillary sinus

Background This study assessed the relationship between mucosal thickness (MT) of the maxillary sinus and periodontal bone loss (PBL) and periapical condition of related teeth. We also aimed to identify the association between root apices and the inferior wall of the maxillary sinus using Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Material and Methods In this study, CBCT images of 205 patients with 410 maxillary sinuses were examined, retrospectively. A total of 582 maxillary molars and 587 premolars were observed. The relationship of each root with maxillary sinus and apical lesions of these roots were classified, PBL was examined and the situations of adjacent teeth were estimated. The effect of these conditions on sinus mucosal thickness (MT) was evaluated. Results There was a significant correlation between MT of maxillary sinus and both PBL and age (r = 0.52, p=0.000 and r = 0.111, p= 0.002, respectively). The frequency of MT increased as the severity of apical lesion enlarged. A positive correlation was found between MT and degree of PBL and periapical lesions. To reveal the association between MT and pulpoperiapical condition bivariate correlation was done and a significant relationship between the pulpoperiapical condition and MT was found (r = 0.17, p=0.000). Conclusions This retrospective study showed that MT of the maxillary sinus was common among patients with PBL and MT was significantly associated with PBL and apical lesions. The relationship of maxillary sinus to adjacent teeth had also positive correlation with MT. CBCT imaging enabled better evaluation of maxillary sinus, posterior teeth and surrounding structures compared to other imaging tools. Key words:Maxillary sinus mucosal thickness, apical periodontitis, periodontal bone loss, CBCT.
Experience with an adaptive indexing scheme

Previous work has shown that there is a major vocabulary barrier for new or intermittent users of computer systems. The barrier can be substantially lowered with a rich, empirically defined, frequency weighted index. This paper discusses experience with an adaptive technique for constructing such an index. In addition to being an easy way for system designers to collect the necessary data, an adaptive system has the additional advantage that data is collected from real users in real situations, not in some laboratory approximation. Implementation considerations, preliminary results and future theoretical directions are discussed.
The Human Empowerment Sequence and the Development of Libertarian Values: A Theoretical and Empirical Adjustment to the Human Empowerment Sequence

Building on the work of Inglehart and colleagues, Welzel sets out a step-by-step theory explaining how democracies arise from processes of modernization. The intermediary stages in the causal chain he sets out explain the connection between action resources and emancipatory values. In short, Welzel provides strong evidence that people must first have the material, intellectual, and connective resources to exercise certain freedoms before they develop values that will motivate them to seek out those freedoms. Although we are convinced by much of Welzel’s argument, we also note a substantial overlap between these intermediary stages of Welzel’s theory and the individual-level authoritarianism literature. Integrating current theory on authoritarianism into Welzel’s thesis at the point of overlap provides for a distinct set of hypotheses and a more nuanced understanding of how individual differences work in Welzel’s theory. Analyses of data from Wave 5 of the World Values Survey and Vanhanen provide some initial evidence in support of our amended view of the intermediary stages of Welzel’s modernization thesis.
TGR5: A Novel Target for Weight Maintenance and Glucose Metabolism

TGR5, an emerging G protein-coupled receptor, was identified as a membrane receptor for bile acids. The expression of TGR5 and its function are distinct from the previously identified nuclear bile acid receptor, farnesoid X receptor (FXR). These two bile acid receptors complement with each other for maintaining bile acid homeostasis and mediating bile acid signaling. Both receptors are also shown to play roles in regulating inflammation and glucose metabolism. An interesting finding for TGR5 is its role in energy metabolism. The discovery of TGR5 expression in brown adipocyte tissues (BATs) and the recent demonstration of BAT in adult human body suggest a potential approach to combat obesity by targeting TGR5 to increase thermogenesis. We summarize here the latest finding of TGR5 research, especially its role in energy metabolism and glucose homeostasis.
Robust Doppler spread estimation in nonisotropic fading channels

A new parametric approach is proposed for the estimation of the maximum Doppler frequency, or equivalently the mobile speed, in narrowband mobile radio channels. In this work, simple and efficient Doppler-frequency estimators are formulated based on using a small number of samples of the channel autocorrelation function. Unlike previous approaches, the chosen parameterization is shown to be robust in a microcellular propagation environment, which may be characterized by nonisotropic scattering and/or a specular component of unknown strength. Simulation results are described to illustrate the effects of additive noise and the finite data-record performance.
Estimating Contemporary Effective Population Size on the Basis of Linkage Disequilibrium in the Face of Migration

Effective population size (Ne) is an important genetic parameter because of its relationship to loss of genetic variation, increases in inbreeding, accumulation of mutations, and effectiveness of selection. Like most other genetic approaches that estimate contemporary Ne, the method based on linkage disequilibrium (LD) assumes a closed population and (in the most common applications) randomly recombining loci. We used analytical and numerical methods to evaluate the absolute and relative consequences of two potential violations of the closed-population assumption: (1) mixture LD caused by occurrence of more than one gene pool, which would downwardly bias N^e, and (2) reductions in drift LD (and hence upward bias in N^e) caused by an increase in the number of parents responsible for local samples. The LD method is surprisingly robust to equilibrium migration. Effects of mixture LD are small for all values of migration rate (m), and effects of additional parents are also small unless m is high in genetic terms. LD estimates of Ne therefore accurately reflect local (subpopulation) Ne unless m > ∼5–10%. With higher m, N^e converges on the global (metapopulation) Ne. Two general exceptions were observed. First, equilibrium migration that is rare and hence episodic can occasionally lead to substantial mixture LD, especially when sample size is small. Second, nonequilibrium, pulse migration of strongly divergent individuals can also create strong mixture LD and depress estimates of local Ne. In both cases, assignment tests, Bayesian clustering, and other methods often will allow identification of recent immigrants that strongly influence results. In simulations involving equilibrium migration, the standard LD method performed better than a method designed to jointly estimate Ne and m. The above results assume loci are not physically linked; for tightly linked loci, the LD signal from past migration events can persist for many generations, with consequences for Ne estimates that remain to be evaluated.