Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term mortality among adults with or without asthma in the PAARC study

The Pollution Atmosphérique et Affections Respiratoires Chroniques (PAARC; Air Pollution and Chronic Respiratory Diseases) study provided the opportunity to examine the 25-yr mortality of 940 asthmatic adults drawn from a large population-based sample of 14,267 adults investigated during 1974–1976 in seven French cities. Vital statistics were collected in 2001 for the whole population. Multivariate survival analysis was used to assess exact survival rates in asthmatics and nonasthmatics taking relevant confounders into account. On average, the mortality rates obtained were 10.4 and 6.9 deaths·1,000 person-yrs−1 in asthmatics and nonasthmatics, respectively. On univariate analysis, asthma increased the relative risk (RR) of death by 1.48 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29–1.69). The association between asthma and death had an RR of 1.16 (95% CI 0.99–1.37) when age, sex, educational level, smoking habits, occupational exposure and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were taken into account. FEV1 was an important contributive factor causing increased risk of death in both smokers and nonsmokers. For instance, in asthmatics, the numbers of deaths due to respiratory disease and cancer appeared excessive. The present study suggests that asthmatics exhibit a higher risk of mortality.
Relations among questionnaire and laboratory measures of rhinovirus infection

Due to high incidence and quality-of-life impact, upper respiratory infection substantially impacts on population health. To test or compare treatment effectiveness, a well-designed and validated illness-specific quality-of-life instrument is needed. Data reported in the current study were obtained from a trial testing echinacea for induced rhinovirus infection. Laboratory-assessed biomarkers included interleukin (IL)-8, nasal neutrophil count (polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN)), mucus weight, viral titre and seroconversion. The questionnaires used included the general health short form (SF)-8 (24-h recall version), the eight-item Jackson cold scale, and the 44-item Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey (WURSS). In total, 399 participants were inoculated with rhinovirus and monitored over 2,088 person-days. Statistically significant associations were found among nearly all variables. Between-questionnaire correlations were: WURSS–Jackson = 0.81; WURSS–SF-8 = 0.62; and Jackson–SF-8 = 0.60. Correlations with laboratory values were as follows: WURSS–mucus weight = 0.53; Jackson–mucus weight = 0.55; WURSS–viral titre = 0.37; Jackson–viral titre = 0.46; WURSS–IL-8 = 0.31; Jackson–IL-8 = 0.36; WURSS–PMN = 0.31; and Jackson–PMN = 0.28. Neither WURSS nor Jackson yielded satisfactory cut-off scores for diagnosis of infection. Symptomatic and biological outcomes of upper respiratory infection are highly variable, with only modest associations. While Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey and Jackson questionnaires both correlate with biomarkers, neither is a good predictor of induced infection. The inclusion of functional and quality-of-life items in the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey does not significantly decrease the strength of association with laboratory-assessed biomarkers.
Changing Center and Stagnant Periphery in Communication and Media Studies: National Diversity of Major International Journals in the Field of Communication from 2013 to 2017

In this research, we explored what has changed in the field of communication and media studies since Edmund Lauf’s research in 2005, in which he analyzed publication patterns of leading communication journals from 1998 to 2002. We compared the results of our current analysis of 14,925 articles published in 72 Web of Science-ranked communication journals from 2013 to 2017 with Lauf’s earlier data. We found that most leading journals still publish articles almost exclusively from the developed world, and we found the same bias regarding the composition of journal editorial boards. Analysis shows a decreasing contribution of the U.S., while Asia and Western Europe greatly increased their participation, and developing regions are still underrepresented. Our research shows that the field is still deliberately dominated by Western articles in Western journals edited by Western editorial board members. Given this, we suggest that the international community of communication scholars develop strategies to expand common standards for a more balanced international contribution pattern.
An unusual lysosome compartment involved in vitellogenin endocytosis by Xenopus oocytes

We have investigated the lysosomal compartment of Xenopus oocytes to determine the possible role of this organelle in the endocytic pathway of the yolk protein precursor, vitellogenin. Oocytes have lysosome-like organelles of unusual enzymatic composition at all stages of their development, and the amount of hydrolase activity increases steadily throughout oogenesis. These unusual lysosomes appear to be located primarily in a peripheral zone of oocyte cytoplasm. At least two distinct populations of lysosomal organelles can be identified after sucrose density gradient fractionation of vitellogenic oocytes. Most enzyme activity resides in a compartment of large size and high density that appears to be a subpopulation of yolk platelets that are less dense than most platelets within the cell. The appearance of this high density peak of lysosomal enzyme activity coincides with the time of onset of vitellogenin endocytosis during oocyte development. The data suggest that endocytic vesicles that contain vitellogenin fuse with modified lysosomes shortly after their internalization by the oocyte. Pulse-chase experiments with radiolabeled vitellogenin suggest that the ligand passes through the low density platelet compartment en route to the heavy platelets. The accumulation of yolk proteins apparently results from a failure of these molecules to undergo complete digestion after their entry into an unusual lysosomal compartment. The yolk platelets that these proteins finally enter for prolonged storage appear to be a postlysosomal organelle.
LiNbO3 Coating on Concrete Surface: A New and Environmentally Friendly Route for Artificial Photosynthesis

The addition of a photocatalyst to ordinary building materials such as concrete creates environmentally friendly materials by which air pollution or pollution of the surface can be diminished. The use of LiNbO3 photocatalyst in concrete material would be more beneficial since it can produce artificial photosynthesis in concrete. In these research photoassisted solid-gas phases reduction of carbon dioxide (artificial photosynthesis) was performed using a photocatalyst, LiNbO3, coated on concrete surface under illumination of UV-visible or sunlight and showed that LiNbO3 achieved high conversion of CO2 into products despite the low levels of band-gap light available. The high reaction efficiency of LiNbO3 is explained by its strong remnant polarization (70 µC/cm2), allowing a longer lifetime of photoinduced carriers as well as an alternative reaction pathway. Due to the ease of usage and good photocatalytic efficiency, the research work done showed its potential application in pollution prevention.
Towards closing the gender gap in Iraq: understanding gender differences in smartphone adoption and use

ABSTRACT This paper examines gender differences in Iraq in terms of smartphone adoption and use, with a specific focus on the factors that can affect women’s adoption and use of smartphones. The research used the mobile phone acceptance and use model. In total, 533 questionnaires were distributed to consumers aged 18-29 and the data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The findings revealed that the model fitted well with men and women, but the order of significance of the factors differed between the two genders. Three factors in the model had significantly different effects on behavioral intention when compared by gender. These three factors are culture-specific beliefs and values, habit and perceived relative advantage. The findings indicate that when targeting Iraqi women, other factors in addition to price must be considered.
A micromechanics inspired constitutive model for shape-memory alloys: the one-dimensional case

This paper presents a constitutive model for shape-memory alloys that builds on ideas generated from recent micromechanical studies of the underlying microstructure. The presentation here is in one dimension. It is applicable in a wide temperature range that covers both the shape-memory effect and superelasticity, is valid for a wide range of strain rates and incorporates plasticity. The thermodynamic setting of the model is explained and the model is demonstrated through examples.
Demasking the impact of micro nance

We reconsider data from a randomized control trial study in India. The data reveal the impact of a microloan program. We extend the often used randomized impact evaluation and di¤erence-in-di¤erence approach by quantile regression and the consideration of the quantile treatment e¤ects. The use of additional, more advanced, evaluation methods allows a more detailed consideration of borrowers at the lower and at the upper end of the wealth distribution. We nd a strong negative and signi cant time-trend. Furthermore, we observe a negative impact of the provision of micro nance loans such that the overall impact is even more negative. This is particularly well seen for entrepreneurs in the lower and in the higher quantiles. As we learn that poor entrepreneurs use microloans for consumption, we doubt that micro nance is the right instrument for them. The data suggest that providing microloans for average entrepreneurs, who can hire very poor entrepreneurs, might be an e¤ective solution for that dilemma. Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, University of Mainz, Jakob-Welder-Weg 4, 55128 Mainz, Germany, helke.waelde@uni-mainz.de, www.helke.waelde.com, Phone +49.6131. 39-23969, Fax +49.6131. 39-25053. We would like to thank Amelie Wuppermann for helpful comments and the Johannes Gutenberg-University for the nancial support of this paper by a research grant.
DNA Damage Responses following Exposure to Modulated Radiation Fields

During the delivery of advanced radiotherapy treatment techniques modulated beams are utilised to increase dose conformity across the target volume. Recent investigations have highlighted differential cellular responses to modulated radiation fields particularly in areas outside the primary treatment field that cannot be accounted for by scattered dose alone. In the present study, we determined the DNA damage response within the normal human fibroblast AG0-1522B and the prostate cancer cell line DU-145 utilising the DNA damage assay. Cells plated in slide flasks were exposed to 1 Gy uniform or modulated radiation fields. Modulated fields were delivered by shielding 25%, 50% or 75% of the flask during irradiation. The average number of 53BP1 or γH2AX foci was measured in 2 mm intervals across the slide area. Following 30 minutes after modulated radiation field exposure an increase in the average number of foci out-of-field was observed when compared to non-irradiated controls. In-field, a non-uniform response was observed with a significant decrease in the average number of foci compared to uniformly irradiated cells. Following 24 hrs after exposure there is evidence for two populations of responding cells to bystander signals in-and out-of-field. There was no significant difference in DNA damage response between 25%, 50% or 75% modulated fields. The response was dependent on cellular secreted intercellular signalling as physical inhibition of intercellular communication abrogated the observed response. Elevated residual DNA damage observed within out-of-field regions decreased following addition of an inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (Aminoguanidine). These data show, for the first time, differential DNA damage responses in-and out-of-field following modulated radiation field delivery. This study provides further evidence for a role of intercellular communication in mediating cellular radiobiological response to modulated radiation fields and may inform the refinement of existing radiobiological models for the optimization of advanced radiotherapy treatment plans.
Revised Tectonic Forecast of Global Shallow Seismicity Based on Version 2 . 1 of the Global Strain Rate Map by Peter Bird and Corné Kreemer

A major upgrade of the Global Strain Rate Map, version 2.1, uses far more geodetic data, systematic data processing, more modeled plates and plate boundaries, an improved algorithm, and a finer spatial grid than version 1 (Kreemer et al., 2014). We convert this model to an indefinite-term tectonic forecast of shallow seismicity on a fine global grid, using the assumptions of Bird et al. (2010) and similar algorithms. One new feature is smoothing of model strain rates, and thus forecast seismicity, around offshore plate boundaries where strain rates are not controlled by local geodetic data. Another is incorporation of velocity-dependent seismic coupling in subduction zones and continental convergent boundaries (Bird et al., 2009). The seismicity model is constructed in six progressively more complex versions. Only catalog years 1977–2004 are used for calibration, leaving years 2005–2012 available for retrospective tests. Tests of forecast success that are independent of total earthquake rate and that use no declustering show success comparable to that of one mature, optimized smoothed-seismicity algorithm. Online Material: FORTRAN 90 codes to generate seismicity forecasts.
Investigation of neuroanatomical differences between autism and Asperger syndrome.

BACKGROUND Autism and Asperger syndrome (ASP) are neurobiological conditions with overlapping behavioral symptoms and of unknown etiologies. Results from previous autism neuroimaging studies have been difficult to replicate, possibly owing to site differences in subject samples, scanning procedures, and image-processing methods. We sought (1) to determine whether low-functioning autism (LFA; IQ<70), high-functioning autism (HFA; IQ>or=70), and ASP constitute distinct biological entities as evidenced by neuroanatomical measures, and (2) to assess for intersite differences. METHODS Case-control study examining coronally oriented 124-section spoiled gradient echo images acquired on 3 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, and processed by BrainImage 5.X. Participants were recruited and underwent scanning at 2 academic medicine departments. Participants included 4 age-matched groups of volunteer boys aged 7.8 to 17.9 years (13 patients with LFA, 18 with HFA, 21 with ASP, and 21 control subjects), and 3 volunteer adults for neuroimaging reliability. Main outcome measures included volumetric measures of total, white, and gray matter for cerebral and cerebellar tissues. RESULTS Intersite differences were seen for subject age, IQ, and cerebellum measures. Cerebral gray matter volume was enlarged in both HFA and LFA compared with controls (P =.009 and P =.04, respectively). Cerebral gray matter volume in ASP was intermediate between that of HFA and controls, but nonsignificant. Exploratory analyses revealed a negative correlation between cerebral gray matter volume and performance IQ within HFA but not ASP. A positive correlation between cerebral white matter volume and performance IQ was observed within ASP but not HFA. CONCLUSIONS Lack of replication between previous autism MRI studies could be due to intersite differences in MRI systems and subjects' age and IQ. Cerebral gray tissue findings suggest that ASP is on the mild end of the autism spectrum. However, exploratory assessments of brain-IQ relationships reveal differences between HFA and ASP, indicating that these conditions may be neurodevelopmentally different when patterns of multiple measures are examined. Further investigations of brain-behavior relationships are indicated to confirm these findings.
High-Resolution Molecular Gas Maps of M33

New observations of CO (J = 1 → 0) line emission from M33, using the 25 element BEARS focal plane array at the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45 m telescope, in conjunction with existing maps from the BIMA interferometer and the FCRAO 14 m telescope, give the highest resolution (13'') and most sensitive (σrms ~ 60 mK) maps to date of the distribution of molecular gas in the central 5.5 kpc of the galaxy. A new catalog of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) has a completeness limit of 1.3 × 105 M☉. The fraction of molecular gas found in GMCs is a strong function of radius in the galaxy, declining from 60% in the center to 20% at galactocentric radius Rgal ≈ 4 kpc. Beyond that radius, GMCs are nearly absent, although molecular gas exists. Most (90%) of the emission from low-mass clouds is found within 100 pc projected separation of a GMC. In an annulus 2.1 kpc < Rgal < 4.1 kpc, GMC masses follow a power-law distribution with index -2.1. Inside that radius, the mass distribution is truncated, and clouds more massive than 8 × 105 M☉ are absent. The cloud mass distribution shows no significant difference in the grand-design spiral arms versus the interarm region. The CO surface brightness ratio for the arm to interarm regions is 1.5, typical of other flocculent galaxies.
A distributed archival network for process-oriented autonomic long-term digital preservation

The reliable and consistent long-term preservation of digital content and metadata is becoming increasingly important -- even though the storage media used are potentially subject to failures, or the data formats may become obsolete over time. A common approach is to replicate data across several sites to increase their availability. Nevertheless, network, software, or hardware failures as well as the evolution of data formats have to be coped with in a timely and, ideally, an autonomous way, without intervention of an administrator. In this paper we present DISTARNET, a distributed, autonomous long-term digital preservation system. Essentially, DISTARNET exploits dedicated processes to ensure the integrity and consistency of data with a given replication degree. At the data level, DISTARNET supports complex data objects, the management of collections, annotations, and arbitrary links between digital objects. At process level, dynamic replication management, consistency checking, and automated recovery of the archived digital objects is provided utilizing autonomic behavior governed by preservation policies without any centralized component. We present the concepts and implementation of the distributed DISTARNET preservation approach. Most importantly, we provide details of the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the DISTARNET system. The former addresses the effectiveness of the internal preservation processes while the latter evaluates DISTARNET's performance regarding the overall archiving storage capacity and scalability.
Observational Evidence from Supernovae for an Accelerating Universe and a Cosmological Constant

We present spectral and photometric observations of 10 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the redshift range 0.16 ≤ z ≤ 0.62. The luminosity distances of these objects are determined by methods that employ relations between SN Ia luminosity and light curve shape. Combined with previous data from our High-z Supernova Search Team and recent results by Riess et al., this expanded set of 16 high-redshift supernovae and a set of 34 nearby supernovae are used to place constraints on the following cosmological parameters: the Hubble constant (H0), the mass density (ΩM), the cosmological constant (i.e., the vacuum energy density, ΩΛ), the deceleration parameter (q0), and the dynamical age of the universe (t0). The distances of the high-redshift SNe Ia are, on average, 10%–15% farther than expected in a low mass density (ΩM = 0.2) universe without a cosmological constant. Different light curve fitting methods, SN Ia subsamples, and prior constraints unanimously favor eternally expanding models with positive cosmological constant (i.e., ΩΛ > 0) and a current acceleration of the expansion (i.e., q0 < 0). With no prior constraint on mass density other than ΩM ≥ 0, the spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia are statistically consistent with q0 < 0 at the 2.8 σ and 3.9 σ confidence levels, and with ΩΛ > 0 at the 3.0 σ and 4.0 σ confidence levels, for two different fitting methods, respectively. Fixing a "minimal" mass density, ΩM = 0.2, results in the weakest detection, ΩΛ > 0 at the 3.0 σ confidence level from one of the two methods. For a flat universe prior (ΩM + ΩΛ = 1), the spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia require ΩΛ > 0 at 7 σ and 9 σ formal statistical significance for the two different fitting methods. A universe closed by ordinary matter (i.e., ΩM = 1) is formally ruled out at the 7 σ to 8 σ confidence level for the two different fitting methods. We estimate the dynamical age of the universe to be 14.2 ± 1.7 Gyr including systematic uncertainties in the current Cepheid distance scale. We estimate the likely effect of several sources of systematic error, including progenitor and metallicity evolution, extinction, sample selection bias, local perturbations in the expansion rate, gravitational lensing, and sample contamination. Presently, none of these effects appear to reconcile the data with ΩΛ = 0 and q0 ≥ 0.
Interactive responses of old‐field plant growth and composition to warming and precipitation

As Earth's atmosphere accumulates carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, Earth's climate is expected to warm and precipitation patterns will likely change. The manner in which terrestrial ecosystems respond to climatic changes will in turn affect the rate of climate change. Here we describe responses of an old‐field herbaceous community to a factorial combination of four levels of warming (up to 4 °C) and three precipitation regimes (drought, ambient and rain addition) over 2 years. Warming suppressed total production, shoot production, and species richness, but only in the drought treatment. Root production did not respond to warming, but drought stimulated the growth of deeper (> 10 cm) roots by 121% in 1 year. Warming and precipitation treatments both affected functional group composition, with C4 grasses and other annual and biennial species entering the C3 perennial‐dominated community in ambient rainfall and rain addition treatments as well as in warmed treatments. Our results suggest that, in this mesic system, expected changes in temperature or large changes in precipitation alone can alter functional composition, but they have little effect on total herbaceous plant growth. However, drought limits the capacity of the entire system to withstand warming. The relative insensitivity of our study system to climate suggests that the herbaceous component of old‐field communities will not dramatically increase production in response to warming or precipitation change, and so it is unlikely to provide either substantial increases in forage production or a meaningful negative feedback to climate change later this century.
Primordial Non-Gaussianities from the Trispectra in Multiple Field Inflationary Models

We investigate the primordial non-Gaussianities from the trispectra in multi-field inflation models, which can be seen as generalization of multi-field k-inflation and multi-DBI inflation. We derive the full fourth-order perturbation action for the inflaton fields and evaluate the four-point correlation functions for the perturbations in the limit ca << 1 and ce << 1. There are three types of momentum-dependent shape functions which arise from three types of four-point interaction vertices. The final trispectrum of the curvature perturbation can be expressed in terms of the deformations and permutations of these three shape functions, and is determined by ca, ce, λ , Π which depend on the non-linear structure of the model and also the transfer function T. We also discuss the parameter space for the trispectrum and plot the shape diagrams for the trispectrum both for visualization and for distinguishing different shapes from each other.