Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The association between underweight and the development of albuminuria is different between sexes in relatively healthy Korean subjects.

BACKGROUND There are limited data on the association between underweight and albuminuria. The aim of this study is to verify the effect of underweight on the development of albuminuria. METHODS Participants who underwent two health check-ups with a 2-year interval at a tertiary hospital in Korea between 2002 and 2009 were studied. After exclusion of participants with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) or dipstick albuminuria ≥1+ at the first check-up, 53 876 participants were enrolled. We measured the incidence of albuminuria at the second check-up and calculated the odds ratio (OR) for the development of albuminuria according to body mass index (BMI). RESULTS After 2 years, 746 cases of incident albuminuria were observed among 53 876 participants. The effect of BMI on the development of albuminuria was modified by sex in a multivariate logistic model with adjustment for age, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, uric acid, eGFR, current smoking status and alcohol intake (P-value for interaction <0.001). Compared with participants in the normal weight range (BMI, 18.5-22.9), the ORs for incident albuminuria were 1.93 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.35-2.76; P ≤ 0.001], 1.19 (0.84-1.67; P = 0.329) and 0.71 (0.43-1.17; P = 0.177) in underweight (BMI, <18.5), overweight (BMI, 23.0-24.9) and obese (BMI, ≥25) women. However, the ORs were 0.9 (95% CI, 0.39-2.05; P = 0.794), 1.08 (0.84-1.38; P = 0.567) and 1.38 (1.09-1.75; P = 0.007) for each corresponding group of men. CONCLUSIONS Underweight was significantly associated with the development of albuminuria after 2 years in relatively healthy Korean females, but this relationship was not significant in males. This study suggests the need for more studies on the role of underweight in renal injury in men and women.
Should we combine incentive payments and tendering for efficiently purchasing conservation services from landholders

Policy makers aiming to get private landholders to provide non-marketed environmental services need to provide efficient economic incentives. Two ideas have been explored to achieve this: linking contract payments to environmental outcomes and putting the contracts up for tender. This paper investigates whether there are any gains to be had by combining the benefits of both approaches. Landholder risk aversion may offset incentive effects if the fall in participation outweighs any increases in individual effort. Using controlled lab experiments in two countries and across four subject groups, and systematically varying the rate at which payments are linked to uncertain outcomes, this paper clarifies the conditions under which incentives overcome risk-aversion – a parameter which was also measured. Results show that for risk averse landholders the most efficient approach is in general to tender contracts only moderately linked to environmental outcomes – that is, using a balanced combination of fixed input payments and of payments linked to uncertain outcomes. This paper also highlights how experiments can complement the inherent limitations of a purely theoretical analysis.
Keck spectroscopy of globular clusters in the spiral galaxy NGC 2683

We analyse Keck spectra of 24 candidate globular clusters (GCs) associated with the spiral galaxy NGC 2683. We identify 19 bona fide GCs based on their recession velocities, of which 15 were suitable for stellar population analysis. Age and metallicity determinations reveal old ages in 14 out of 15 GCs. These old GCs exhibit age and metallicity distributions similar to that of the Milky Way GC system. One GC in NGC 2683 was found to exhibit an age of ∼3 Gyr. The age, metallicity and α-element abundance of this centrally located GC are remarkably similar to the values found for the Galactic Centre itself, providing further evidence for a recent star formation event in NGC 2683.
A Critical Appraisal of the Conceptualization of Public Park and Recreation Marketing

The objectives of the study were (a) to identify the reasons and concerns of those public administrators and marketing scholars who do not accept the usefulness of marketing in the public sector; (b) to deconstruct, comprehend, interpret, and critically appraise the current conceptualization of public sector marketing from the viewpoint of negativists identified in step (a); and (c) to reconstruct, redefine, reinterpret, and reoperationalize the current controversial conceptualization of public sector marketing into a new conceptualization in the context of park and recreation services. The critical theory approach to the study primary used non-empirical procedures data collection and analytic procedures which included investigative research, negative case analysis, and theoretical triangulation. These procedures were supplemented with empirical data collected from in-depth interviews with five scholars and with three parks and recreation managers. Results of the non-empirical procedures revealed the biased selective nature of the current conceptualization of public park and recreation marketing and the existence of alternative conceptualizations which have been ignored. The existing and alternative models were discussed with scholars and park and recreation managers. Support was found for the alternative models. From these data an alternative conceptualization of public park and recreation marketing was developed and named the concept of administered marketing. Implications for park and recreation managers are discussed. Directions for future research into the administratively managed park and recreation marketing concept are suggested.
Cost-Benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice

Part I: Overview 1. Introduction to Cost-Benefit Analysis 2. Conceptual Foundations of Cost-Benefit Analysis Part II: Fundamentals of Cost-Benefit Analysis 3. Basic Microeconomic Foundations of Cost-Benefit Analysis 4. Valuing Benefits and Costs in Primary Markets 5. Valuing Benefits and Costs in Secondary Markets 6. Discounting Benefits and Costs in Future Time Periods 7. Dealing with Uncertainty: Expected Value, Sensitivity Analysis, and the Value of Information 8. Option Price and Option Value 9. Existence Value 10. The Social Discount Rate Part III: Valuation of Impacts 11. Valuing Impacts from Observed Behavior: Demonstrations 12. Valuing Impacts from Observed Behavior: Direct Estimation of Demand Curves 13. Valuing Impacts from Observed Behavior: Other Revealed Preference Methods 14. Contingent Valuation: Using Surveys to Elicit Information About Costs and Benefits 15. Shadow Prices from Secondary Sources 16. Shadow Prices: Applications to Developing Countries Part IV: Related Methods and Accuracy 17. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis 18. Distributionally Weighted Cost-Benefit Analysis 19. How Accurate is CBA? A Selected Cost-Benefit Analysis Bibliography Name Index Subject Index
On the Spectral Efficiency and Security Enhancements of NOMA Assisted Multicast-Unicast Streaming

This paper considers the application of non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) to a multi-user network with mixed multicasting and unicasting traffic. The proposed design of beamforming and power allocation ensures that the unicasting performance is improved while maintaining the reception reliability of multicasting. Both analytical and simulation results are provided to demonstrate that the use of the NOMA assisted multicast-unicast scheme yields a significant improvement in spectral efficiency compared with orthogonal multiple access (OMA) schemes which realize multicasting and unicasting services separately. Since unicast messages are broadcast to all the users, how the use of NOMA can prevent those multicast receivers intercepting the unicasting messages is also investigated, where it is shown that the secrecy unicasting rate achieved by NOMA is always larger than or equal to that of OMA. Simulation results are provided to verify the developed analytical results and demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed NOMA scheme.
Effect of submerged plant Potamogeton crispus on the concentrations of phosphorus fractions in overlying water

The effect of submerged plant P. crispus on the concentrations of phosphorus (P) fractions in overlying water and seasonal variation were investigated under simulating condition. The growth and decomposition of P. crispus were discussed. The mechanism of the P exchange at sediment-water interface in shallow lake was elucidated ulteriorly. The results indicated that dissolved total P (DTP) was the dominated P fraction in the overlying water in the experiment. Tatal P (TP), DTP, particulate P (PP), dissolved organic P (DOP), soluble reactive P (SRP) were decreased and maintained in a low level during the growth period of P. crispus. All P fractions ranged between 0.02 and 0.08mg/l during growth period of P. crispus. SRP was the dominated P fraction in the overlying water in the decomposition period of P. crispus. The average proportion of SRP to TP was 62.37% in the decomposition period.
The Mystery of the Vanishing Benefits: Ms. Speedy Analyst's Introduction to Evaluation

The setting for this good-natured training guide for impact evaluation is the fictional developing country Labas. Twelve months ago the government introduced an antipoverty program in Northwest Labas with support from the World Bank. The programs aims to provide cash transfers to poor families with school-age children. To be eligible to receive the transfer, households must have observable characteristics that suggest they are poor. To continue receiving the transfer, they must keep their children in school until 18 years of age. The program is called PROSCOL. The government wants to assess PROSCOL's impact on poverty, to help decide whether the program should be expanded or dropped. The Finance Minister asks the undersecretary, and the undersecretary calls in Ms. Speedy Analyst. Ms. Speedy Analyst's on-the-job training in how to assess the impact of a social program provides the vehicle through which this paper explains: Methods of evaluating a program's impact-randomizing, matching, reflexive comparisons, double difference (or"difference in difference") methods, and instrumental variables methods. The types of data used for impact evaluation, typical problems with and uses of data, control variables, instrumental variables, regressions, and so on. How to form and match comparison groups. Sources of bias. The value of baseline surveys. Measures of poverty (headcount index, poverty gap index, and squared poverty gap). How to compare poverty with and without the program.
Imaging of an Early Memory Trace in the Drosophila Mushroom Body

Extensive molecular, genetic, and anatomical analyses have suggested that olfactory memory is stored in the mushroom body (MB), a higher-order olfactory center in the insect brain. The MB comprises three subtypes of neurons with axons that extend into different lobes. A recent functional imaging study has revealed a long-term memory trace manifested as an increase in the Ca2+ activity in an axonal branch of a subtype of MB neurons. However, early memory traces in the MB remain elusive. We report here learning-induced changes in Ca2+ activities during early memory formation in a different subtype of MB neurons. We used three independent in vivo and in vitro preparations, and all of them showed that Ca2+ activities in the axonal branches of α′/β′ neurons in response to a conditioned olfactory stimulus became larger compared with one that was not conditioned. The changes were dependent on proper G-protein signaling in the MB. The importance of these changes in the Ca2+ activity of α′/β′ neurons during early memory formation was further tested behaviorally by disrupting G-protein signaling in these neurons or blocking their synaptic outputs during the learning and memory process. Our results suggest that increased Ca2+ activity in response to a conditioned olfactory stimulus may be a neural correlate of early memory in the MB.
Problem and Strategy: Overfitting in Recurrent Cycles of Internal Symmetry Networks by Back Propagation

Overfitting is an important topic in Neural Network. Internal Symmetry Networks are a new modern Cellular Neural Networks inspired by the phenomenon of internal symmetry in quantum physics. Recurrent Internal Symmetry Networks are just studied very recently. In this paper, overfitting in recurrent cycles of Internal Symmetry Networks is analyzed. Back propagation is trained for an image processing task.
Effects of statin use on the response duration to androgen deprivation therapy in metastatic prostate cancer

Purpose To determine whether statin use delays the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in patients with metastatic prostate cancer treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Materials and Methods A total of 171 patients with metastatic prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis who were treated with ADT between January 1997 and December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were classified into two groups: the nonstatin use group (A group) and the statin use group (B group). Multivariate analysis was performed on statin use and other factors considered likely to have an effect on the time to progression to CRPC. Results The mean patient age was 67.1±9.1 years, and the mean follow-up period was 52 months. The mean initial prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was 537 ng/mL. Of the 171 patients, 125 (73%) were in group A and 46 (27%) were in group B. The time to progression to CRPC was 22.7 months in group A and 30.5 months in group B, and this difference was significant (p=0.032). Blood cholesterol and initial PSA levels did not differ significantly according to the time to progression to CRPC (p=0.288, p=0.198). Multivariate analysis using the Cox regression method showed that not having diabetes (p=0.037) and using a statin (p=0.045) significantly increased the odds ratio of a longer progression to CRPC. Conclusions Statin use in metastatic prostate cancer patients appears to delay the progression to CRPC. Large-scale, long-term follow-up studies are needed to validate this finding.
Animal Models of Rheumatoid Arthritis (I): Pristane-Induced Arthritis in the Rat

Background To facilitate the development of therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the Innovative Medicines Initiative BTCure has combined the experience from several laboratories worldwide to establish a series of protocols for different animal models of arthritis that reflect the pathogenesis of RA. Here, we describe chronic pristane-induced arthritis (PIA) model in DA rats, and provide detailed instructions to set up and evaluate the model and for reporting data. Methods We optimized dose of pristane and immunization procedures and determined the effect of age, gender, and housing conditions. We further assessed cage-effects, reproducibility, and frequency of chronic arthritis, disease markers, and efficacy of standard and novel therapies. Results Out of 271 rats, 99.6% developed arthritis after pristane-administration. Mean values for day of onset, day of maximum arthritis severity and maximum clinical scores were 11.8±2.0 days, 20.3±5.1 days and 34.2±11 points on a 60-point scale, respectively. The mean frequency of chronic arthritis was 86% but approached 100% in long-term experiments over 110 days. Pristane was arthritogenic even at 5 microliters dose but needed to be administrated intradermally to induce robust disease with minimal variation. The development of arthritis was age-dependent but independent of gender and whether the rats were housed in conventional or barrier facilities. PIA correlated well with weight loss and acute phase reactants, and was ameliorated by etanercept, dexamethasone, cyclosporine A and fingolimod treatment. Conclusions PIA has high incidence and excellent reproducibility. The chronic relapsing-remitting disease and limited systemic manifestations make it more suitable than adjuvant arthritis for long-term studies of joint-inflammation and screening and validation of new therapeutics.
Income diversification strategies among rural households in developing countries evidence from Ghana

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the income strategies adopted by rural households in Ghana and analyzes the determinants of households’ choice of income portfolio. Design/methodology/approach - – A multinomial logit approach is employed by the paper to investigate the determinants of various income strategies adopted by households in rural Ghana. Findings - – Results indicate that household characteristics, location and infrastructure all play a role in explaining the adoption of income strategies other than a purely on-farm strategy by households. Education is a key determinant of income strategies involving non-farm wage employment, while access to credit and electricity play important roles in non-farm self-employment income strategies. Practical implications - – The findings of the paper call for a promotion of off-farm income opportunities to complement farm incomes and to enhance access of rural households to these sources of income. Originality/value - – The paper models rural household income portfolios into mutually exclusive categories which enables the application of the multinomial logit approach. The paper deviates from mainstream rural income diversification literature that has focussed on assessing the determinants of income shares.
Preliminary: Not for Quotation or Citation the Distribution and Determinants of Job Vacancies: Evidence from the 2001 Employers Skill Survey

Despite their obvious importance for employment determination and the operation of labour markets, little is known about the distribution, nature or determinants of job vacancies. This paper describes and analyses the results of a large-scale establishment-level survey for England conducted in Spring 2001. It documents the distribution of unfilled jobs and investigates the factors which influence firms' recruitment practices and difficulties in a period of strong labour demand. While there is considerable heterogeneity in the stock of vacancies, it is possible to identify a downward sloping UV relationship between vacancies and the local unemployment rate. Acknowledgements: The 2001 Employers Skill Survey was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills and I would like to thank them for allowing me to use these data. However, they bear no responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented in this paper.
Dilated LMI Characterization and a New Stability Criterion for Polytopic Uncertain Systems

This work is motivated by some recent works on dilated LMI characterization (M.C. de Oliveira et al., 1999), (M.C. de Oliveira and R.E. Skelton, 2001), (D. Peaucelle et al., 2000) and sums-of-squares Lyapunov functions (J. Xu and L. Xie, 2005), (G. Chesi et al., 2003), as well as duality theory (R. Goebel et al., 2004), (A. Rantzer, 2001), (R. Goebel et al., 2005). The paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, we study the dilated LMI characterization, and show that many existing results can be derived under a unified framework. In the second part, we present a new stability result employing the dilated LMI characterization and sums-of-squares Lyapunov function, which can improve the stability analysis for polytopic uncertain systems compared with the existing works
Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.

BACKGROUND Little is known about the general population prevalence or severity of DSM-IV mental disorders. OBJECTIVE To estimate 12-month prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of DSM-IV anxiety, mood, impulse control, and substance disorders in the recently completed US National Comorbidity Survey Replication. DESIGN AND SETTING Nationally representative face-to-face household survey conducted between February 2001 and April 2003 using a fully structured diagnostic interview, the World Health Organization World Mental Health Survey Initiative version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. PARTICIPANTS Nine thousand two hundred eighty-two English-speaking respondents 18 years and older. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Twelve-month DSM-IV disorders. RESULTS Twelve-month prevalence estimates were anxiety, 18.1%; mood, 9.5%; impulse control, 8.9%; substance, 3.8%; and any disorder, 26.2%. Of 12-month cases, 22.3% were classified as serious; 37.3%, moderate; and 40.4%, mild. Fifty-five percent carried only a single diagnosis; 22%, 2 diagnoses; and 23%, 3 or more diagnoses. Latent class analysis detected 7 multivariate disorder classes, including 3 highly comorbid classes representing 7% of the population. CONCLUSION Although mental disorders are widespread, serious cases are concentrated among a relatively small proportion of cases with high comorbidity.
A process study of enterprise systems implementation in higher education institutions in Malaysia

The implementation of information technology and its impact on organisational change has been an important phenomenon, discussed in the IS literature over the last 30 years. Treating information system (IS) implementation as organisational change is a complex phenomenon. This complexity is mainly due to its multidisciplinary, socio-technical, dynamic and non-linear nature. This challenging nature of IS implementation complexities has a direct relationship to the IS implementation project outcomes ? its success or failure. In view of this complexity, this research aims to understand how process studies can improve the understanding of enterprise system implementation. We argue that the socio-technical nature of IS development is inevitable thus the only way to go forward is to explore and understand the phenomenon. Following this, we adopt the stakeholder? s perspective solely for the purpose of identification of stakeholders and their embedded interests and expectations. While prior research concentrated on a limited number of stakeholders of IS, we attempt to adopt Pouloudi et al. (2004) in mobilizing a stakeholder perspective to incorporate non-human stakeholders within the analysis. Within the actor-network perspective, complexity is resolved through simplification (black-boxing) ? unpacking or collapsing the complexity. However, during this simplification process, the risk of removing useful description of the phenomenon through labelling was avoided. To support this research, the punctuated socio-technical information systems change (PSIC) model was applied. In this model, interactions and relationships between its components (antecedent condition, process, outcomes and organisational context) play a vital role. This research focuses on the implementation of an integrated financial system in three Malaysian universities through three interpretive case studies. Our findings show that each of our case studies provides a unique IS development trajectory. Following stakeholder analysis, the different cases provide interesting combinations of conflicts and coalitions among human and non-human stakeholders which further dictates the project outcomes or the process of IS black-boxing. The relationship between the three case studies on the other hand provides an interesting illustration of IS technology transfer.