Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of evidence based leaflets to promote informed choice in maternity care: randomised controlled trial in everyday practice

Abstract Objective: To assess the effect of leaflets on promoting informed choice in women using maternity services. Design: Cluster trial, with maternity units randomised to use leaflets (intervention units) or offer usual care (control units). Data collected through postal questionnaires. Setting: 13 maternity units in Wales. Participants: Four separate samples of women using maternity services. Antenatal samples: women reaching 28 weeks' gestation before (n=1386) and after (n=1778) the intervention. Postnatal samples: women at eight weeks after delivery before (n=1741) and after (n=1547) the intervention. Intervention: Provision of 10 pairs of Informed Choice leaflets for service users and midwives and a training session for staff in their use. Main outcome measures: Change in the proportion of women who reported exercising informed choice. Secondary outcomes: changes in women's knowledge; satisfaction with information, choice, and discussion; and possible consequences of informed choice. Results: There was no change in the proportion of women who reported that they exercised informed choice in the intervention units compared with the control units for either antenatal or postnatal women. There was a small increase in satisfaction with information in the antenatal samples in the intervention units compared with the control units (odds ratio 1.40, 95% confidence interval 1.05 to 1.88). Only three quarters of women in the intervention units reported being given at least one of the leaflets, indicating problems with the implementation of the intervention. Conclusion: In everyday practice, evidence based leaflets were not effective in promoting informed choice in women using maternity services.
Caregiving strain and all-cause mortality: evidence from the REGARDS study.

OBJECTIVES Using a large, national sample, this study examined perceived caregiving strain and other caregiving factors in relation to all-cause mortality. METHOD The REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study is a population-based cohort of men and women aged 45 years and older. Approximately 12% (n = 3,710) reported that they were providing ongoing care to a family member with a chronic illness or disability. Proportional hazards models were used for this subsample to examine the effects of caregiving status measures on all-cause mortality over the subsequent 5-year period, both before and after covariate adjustment. RESULTS Caregivers who reported high caregiving strain had significantly higher adjusted mortality rates than both no strain (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.55, p = .02) and some strain (HR = 1.83, p = .001) caregivers. The mortality effects of caregiving strain were not found to differ by race, sex, or the type of caregiving relationship (i.e., spouse, parent, child, sibling, and other). DISCUSSION High perceived caregiving strain is associated with increased all-cause mortality after controlling for appropriate covariates. High caregiving strain constitutes a significant health concern and these caregivers should be targeted for appropriate interventions.
Comparison of the hemostatic efficacy of low-volume lyophilized plasma reconstituted using sterile water, lactated Ringer’s, normal saline, and Hextend solutions

BACKGROUND Low-volume ascorbic acid–buffered reconstituted lyophilized plasma (LP) provides logistic advantages, reduces the risks for large-volume resuscitation, modulates inflammation, and is equally effective for hemostatic resuscitation as full-volume LP. We compared the physiologic effects of resuscitation using LP reconstituted with sterile water (LP-SW), lactated Ringer’s solution (LP-LR), normal saline (LP-NS), and Hextend (LP-Hx). METHODS Plasma was collected from swine, lyophilized, and then reconstituted into four test solutions: LP-SW, LP-LR, LP-NS, or LP-Hx. Forty swine were anesthetized and subjected to a validated model of polytrauma and hemorrhagic shock (including a Grade V liver injury), then randomized to receive one of the four test solutions. Physiologic parameters, blood loss, lactate, and hematocrit were followed up. Coagulation status was evaluated using thrombelastography. Inflammatory mediator expression was evaluated by multiplex serum assay. RESULTS Forty animals were included in the study (10 animals per group). One animal died following LP-Hx resuscitation. There was less blood loss in the LP-SW and LP-LR groups compared with the LP-NS and LP-Hx groups (p < 0.05). The LP-SW group exhibited less early coagulopathic changes by thrombelastography, and the LP-Hx group had persistently elevated international normalized ratios at the end of the study period (p < 0.05). Serum interleukin 6 was lower after 4 hours in the LP-SW group compared with LP-NS (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Resuscitation using low-volume LP-SW and LP-LR buffered with ascorbic acid confers an anti-inflammatory benefit and results in less blood loss. Sterile water is a safe, cost-effective, and universally available fluid for creating a low-volume hemostatic LP resuscitation solution.
Economic Value of Analyst Recommendations in Australia: An Application of the Black–Litterman Asset Allocation Model

This study empirically examines the investment value of security analyst recommendations on constituent stocks of the S&P/ASX 50 index. We find that stocks with favourable (unfavourable) recommendations on average outperformed (underperformed) the benchmark index. An investment strategy using the Black–Litterman asset allocation model that incorporates consensus analyst recommendations, in conjunction with daily rebalancing, outperforms the market in terms of return and risk‐adjusted performance measures. The investment strategy involves high levels of trading, and no significant abnormal returns are achieved after transaction costs. Less frequent rebalancing, under most situations, causes a decrease in both performance and turnover. Filtering of dated recommendations causes an increase in turnover, while having mixed effects on investment returns.
Modelling angiogenesis in three dimensions

The process through which new blood vessels are formed within the body is known as angiogenesis. An essential part of our survival, it has also been implicated more recently in many diseases both in terms of induced growth, and abnormal vascular structure. Angiogenesis is characterized as two processes, the development of a vascular network during embryonic growth and the production of new blood vessels. This work focuses on the latter, and seeks to develop a robust, three-dimensional model for simulating blood vessel growth and the attendant processes of blood flow and mass transfer within the simulated system. A system was developed which utilises medical imaging scan data (specifically, MicroCT) as the initial conditions from which a network of vessels is grown. This is combined with GPU accelerated simulations of fluid dynamics, with the intention of providing a technique for future use in predictive medicine and therapeutic simulation.
Ethnic Diversity and Spatial Segregation in the Stockholm Region

This paper describes the development of ethnic segregation and ethnic diversity in the Stockholm region from 1991 to 2001, a period characterised by a rapid increase in the population share with foreign background and in ethnic variety. The population is cross-classified into 13 ethnic groups, 16 age and income groups and 240 planning districts and various entropy measures are used to quantify the ethnic diversity and residential segregation by ethnicity. Light is also shed upon the ethnic segregation process by means of the 'shift-and-share' technique. In the discussion, the quantitative results are related to important policy changes that have taken place since the 1970s. The cementation of ethnic diversity in some planning districts and the increasing overall segregation in the region contrast sharply with the longstanding political rhetoric concerning the importance of fighting segregation and fostering spatial diversity. It is perhaps even more worrying that some of the policy measures imbedded in the Swedish model of social welfare might have contributed to this development.
Efficient Tools for the Calculation of Drag Forces on Planar Microelectromechanical Systems

In air-packaged surface micromachined devices, drag forces introduce coupling between moving mechanical parts and are an important energy loss mechanism, thus playing an important role in device performance. In these devices, the amount of drag is greatly influenced by the presence of the nearby substrate. In this paper, we present a precorrected fast Fourier transform (pFFT) accelerated boundary element method specialized for calculating the drag force on structures above a substrate. Our method uses the Green's function for Stokes flow bounded by an infinite plane to implicitly represent the device substrate, requiring a number of modifications to the pFFT algorithm. Computational results demonstrate that the use of the implicit representation of the substrate reduces computation time and memory while increasing the solution accuracy. The results demonstrate that surprisingly, and unfortunately, even though representing the substrate implicitly has many benefits, it does not completely decouple discretization fineness from distance to the substrate.
A new bioinspired pit texture to enhance the light-coupling efficiency of silicon solar cells

Pit and hillock textures enhance the light-coupling efficiency of silicon solar cells. In a bioinspired pit/hillock texturing scheme, inspired by the compound eye of the common housefly, the surface of the silicon solar cell is textured as an array of parallel and equally spaced grooves/prisms whose cross-section is a circular segment that is decorated further by smaller equally spaced circular grooves/prisms. Complementary examples of both textures had been recently analyzed over the wavelength range [400,1100] nm under the rubric of geometrical optics. Here, we consider a new bioinspired pit texture and show that it leads to a light-coupling efficiency significantly greater than that of a flat silicon surface but intermediate between those of the previously analyzed hillock and pit textures.
From philanthropy to a different way of doing business: strategies and challenges in integrating pro-poor approaches into tourism business

Pro-poor tourism means managing a tourism business so that it makes business sense for the operator and at the same time benefits the poor. Based on the Pro-Poor Tourism Pilot Programme conducted in southern Africa, this article argues that ‘mainstream’ commercial tourism can do much to embrace pro-poor approaches. In particular, the tourism sector needs to go further in shifting from philanthropic approaches to pro-poor approaches that entail doing business differently, with more committed changes to strategy and business structures. The pilot programme case studies reveal a range of potential business benefits companies can achieve through pro-poor approaches, such as enhanced social licence to operate and increased brand recognition. They also show that implementing a pro-poor approach depends on the company's context and circumstances. Such a shift entails a number of challenges and companies need to commit to making the necessary effort.
Interleukin‐2/interleukin‐2 antibody therapy induces target organ natural killer cells that inhibit central nervous system inflammation

The role of natural killer (NK) cells in regulating multiple sclerosis (MS) is not well understood. Additional studies with NK cells might provide insight into the mechanism of action of MS therapies such as daclizumab, an antibody against the interleukin (IL)‐2R α‐chain, which induces expansion of CD56bright NK cells.
Different modes of synergistic toxicities between metam/copper (II) and metam/zinc (II) in HepG2 cells: apoptosis vs. necrosis

Both metam sodium and copper/zinc‐containing compounds are widely used as fungicides. They therefore may co‐occur in the biosphere. Despite certain studies of individual toxicity for either metam or copper (II)/zinc (II), their synergistic toxicity has not been examined. In this paper, a remarkable synergistic toxicity was observed in HepG2 cells when metam and copper (II)/zinc (II) at non‐toxic and sub‐toxic levels were combined. Unexpectedly, cell death modes between metam/copper (II) and metam/zinc (II) were different: For metam/copper (II), apoptosis was evident from morphological characteristics including cytoplasm‐chromatin condensation, phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure, SubG0/G1 DNA fragmentation, mitochondrial membrane potential decrease, pro/anti‐apoptotic protein activation, and cytochrome c release; for metam/zinc (II), necrosis was evident from organelle swelling and uncontrolled collapse. To our knowledge, this work first not only demonstrates the synergistic toxicities of metam and both copper (II)/zinc (II), but also verifies the different modes of apoptosis/necrosis between metam/copper (II) and metam/zinc (II). © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 1964–1973, 2016.
Aft1p and Aft2p Mediate Iron-responsive Gene Expression in Yeast through Related Promoter Elements*

The transcription factors Aft1p and Aft2p from Saccharomyces cerevisiae regulate the expression of genes that are involved in iron homeostasis. In vitro studies have shown that both transcription factors bind to an iron-responsive element (FeRE) that is present in the upstream region of genes in the iron regulon. We have used DNA microarrays to distinguish the genes that are activated by Aft1p and Aft2p and to establish for the first time that each factor gives rise to a unique transcriptional profile due to the differential expression of individual iron-regulated genes. We also show that both Aft1p and Aft2p mediate the in vivo expression of FET3 and FIT3 through a consensus FeRE. In addition, both proteins regulate MRS4 via a variant FeRE with Aft2p being the stronger activator from this particular element. Like other paralogous pairs of transcription factors within S. cerevisiae, Aft1p and Aft2p are able to interact with the same promoter elements while maintaining specificity of gene activation.
On Pythagorean and Complex Fuzzy Set Operations

Complex fuzzy logic is a new multivalued logic system that has emerged in the last decade. At this time, there are a limited number of known instances of complex fuzzy logic, and only a partial exploration of their properties. There has also been relatively little progress in developing interpretations of complex-valued membership grades. In this paper, we address both problems by examining the recently developed Pythagorean fuzzy sets (a generalization of intuitionistic fuzzy sets). We first characterize two lattices that have been suggested for Pythagorean fuzzy sets and then extend these results to the unit disc of the complex plane. We thereby identify two new complete, distributive lattices over the unit disc, and explore interpretations of them based on fuzzy antonyms and negations.
A Comparison of Prices in Electronic Markets and Traditional Markets of China

As the largest developing country in the world, China is experiencing fast development in e-commerce, and its online marketplace has rapidly taken shape. In this research, we examine the price levels, menu costs, and price dispersions of books and CDs in China. We collected data from ten online bookstores and eight online CD stores for five weeks. To form a basis of comparison, we also collected data from eight traditional bookstores and eight traditional CD retailers. Our results show that for both products, price levels and menu costs in online markets are significantly lower than those of traditional markets. As for price dispersion, we get two different results. For books, the price dispersion of the online market is larger than that of the traditional market, while the opposite is true for CDs. These results can be explained by the characteristics of the Chinese online marketplace, such as immaturity, unbalanced development, and diversity.
Gibberellins and Heterosis in Maize : II. Response to Gibberellic Acid and Metabolism of [H]Gibberellin A(20).

Two maize inbreds, CM7 and CM49, and CM7 x CM49, their F(1) hybrid (which displayed significant heterosis), were examined with regard to response to exogenous gibberellin A(3) (GA(3)), and in their ability to metabolize GA(20), a native GA of maize. The leaf sheath elongation response to GA(3) was far greater for the imbreds than for their hybrid. The inbreds also displayed significant elongation of the leaf blades in response to GA(3), whereas the hybrid was unaffected. Promotion of cell division in the leaf sheath of CM7 and the hybrid was effected by GA(3), but no promotion of cell elongation was observed in CM49, even though significant leaf sheath elongation occurred. Shoot dry weight of both inbreds was significantly increased by GA(3), but response by the hybrid in this parameter was slight and variable. Root dry weight of CM7 was significantly increased by GA(3), but was unchanged in CM49 and the hybrid. Thus, inbred shoot dry weight increases effected by GA(3) were not at the expense of the root system. Rapid metabolism of [2,3-(3)H]GA(20) occurred in all genotypes, although genotypic differences were observed. The hybrid had the highest rates of metabolism to GA glucosyl conjugate-like substances. Oxidative metabolism was also fastest in the hybrid, followed by CM7, and slowest in CM49, the slowest-growing inbred. Thus, rate of GA(20) metabolism is under genetic control in normal (i.e. not dwarfed) maize genotypes. These results, taken together with previous reports that the hybrid has significantly enhanced levels of endogenous GA-like substances, suggest that GA play a role in the expression of heterosis in maize.
Assessing the structural VAR approach to exchange rate pass-through

A common approach to evaluate dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models is to compare the impulse responses functions from the DSGE model to impulse responses obtained from identified vector autoregressions (VARs). This paper uses Monte Carlo techniques to address the question: Are impulse responses of prices to a UIP shock a useful tool to evaluate DSGE models with incomplete exchange rate pass-through? The data generating process is a small open economy DSGE model. The results suggest that (i) the estimates obtained from a VAR estimated in first differences exhibit a systematic downward bias, even when the VAR is specified with a large number of lags; (ii) by contrast, estimates derived from a low order vector equilibrium correction model are fairly accurate; but (iii) standard cointegration tests have low power to detect the cointegration relations implied by the DSGE model.
Addiction to Work: An Inelastic Wage Elasticity of Labour Supply Equals Long Hours of Work

A phenomenon of the last twenty years is the growth of ‘very long hours’ of work, especially amongst high-skilled labour. This is an unexpected reversal of a long trend in the opposite direction. This paper criticises the Beckerian analysis of labour-leisure choice. It argues that the more time is consumed in paid work, the more are preferences for paid work affected by it; thereby creating a vicious cycle of consumption patterns which lead to longer than expected hours of work.
Role of microRNA-136-3p on the Expression of Luteinizing Hormone-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Receptor mRNA in Rat Ovaries1

ABSTRACT MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that interact with mRNAs and trigger either translation repression or RNA cleavage of target genes. In this study, we investigated whether miRNA was involved in down-regulation of the luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) in rat ovaries. An miRNA microarray was used to analyze the overall miRNA expression profile of rat ovaries in association with the down-regulation of LHR mRNA. We found that 23 miRNAs were highly expressed during this period. Combining these results with data from a bioinformatics database, clustering analysis led us to focus on miR-136-3p for further analysis. In both in vivo and in vitro studies, miR-136-3p expression levels were increased at 6 h after human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration, concurrent with down-regulation of LHR mRNA. Moreover, transfection of cultured granulosa cells with miR-136-3p resulted in a significant decrease in LHR mRNA levels in comparison with those of cells transfected with negative control. In contrast, transfection with a miR-136-3p inhibitor increased LHR mRNA levels. Finally, cotransfection of granulosa cells with a miR-136-3p inhibitor and a reporter vector containing the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of LHR mRNA and Renilla luciferase coding sequence revealed that miR-136-3p bound directly to the 3′-UTR of LHR mRNA. These data demonstrated that miR-136-3p participated in the down-regulation of LHR mRNA by binding directly to LHR mRNA.
Adaptive Beamforming in TDD-Based Mobile Communication Systems: State of the Art and 5G Research Directions

Adaptive beamforming has been attracting considerable attention from both academia and industry for decades. It has already played an important role in modern wireless communication systems. This article provides an overview of adaptive beamforming and its application in cellular systems including the fundamental principle and schemes. This article points out that TD-SCDMA 3G spins off the commercial scale of adaptive beamforming in cellular networks. Beamforming-based spatial multiplexing is a breakthrough in adaptive beamforming and the symbolic technology of TD-LTE 4G. The standardization of adaptive beamforming in 3GPP LTE networks is summarized. To evaluate adaptive beamforming techniques, system simulation and field test results from commercial TD-LTE 4G networks are presented and associated with gains achieved through adaptive beamforming in different scenarios. Finally, future research areas of massive beamforming in 5G are envisioned.
Left Out: Trust and Social Capital Among Migrant Seasonal Farmworkers

We analyze the levels of trust and social capital among an understudied group: migrant seasonal farmworkers (MSFW). MSFWs of today are likely to become the "Hispanics" of tomorrow, which means that understanding what affects the development of social capital of this group is critical to understanding how these individuals are incorporated-or not-into the U.S. polity. Copyright (c) 2006 Southwestern Social Science Association.
Does climate matter? An examination of the relationship between organisational climate and OCB among Israeli teachers

Two alternative models were proposed to test whether organisational climate (OC) is related to organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) of teachers. The first model assumed a direct relationship between the two. The alternative model contended that the relationship between OC and OCB is not direct but mediated by variables representing justice perceptions (distributive justice, interactional justice, and formal procedures). Respondents were 287 teachers from 12 schools in northern Israel. The 12 principals of these schools provided the data on OCB for the employees. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the data supported the mediated model, namely, the relationship between OC and OCB was mediated by variables representing justice in the workplace. The data also showed that OC, particularly perceptions about the principals' leadership style, made a unique and significant contribution to the understanding of OCB. Implications for the continuing examination of OCB are discussed.