Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The importance of social characteristics of communities for the medically based disability pension.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to look for any possible contextual effect of deprivation at municipality level on the risk of being granted the medically based disability pension, controlled for compositional effects due to spatial concentration of people with a high risk of disability. METHODS The material consists of the residentiary part of a total Norwegian county population aged 20-54 years without disability pension at baseline, n=40,083. This study was performed as a 10-year follow-up study. The relative risk of being granted a disability pension was estimated by logistic regression analyses as odds ratios (OR) between people living in different municipalities according to a municipality deprivation index at three levels, adjusted for individual factors. RESULTS The OR of disability pension was 1.36 (1.22, 1.51) for people residing in intermediate deprived municipalities and 1.48 (1.31, 1.67) for people residing in the most deprived municipalities compared to the most affluent municipalities, adjusted for gender and age. After adjustment for individual risk factors the OR was 1.26 (1.12, 1.41) and 1.18 (1.04, 1.35) respectively. Analyses stratified by gender showed that the increased risk of receiving a disability pension for men in the most deprived municipalities was explained by individual factors alone. CONCLUSION Relative municipality deprivation seems to account for an increase in the incidence of disability pension. This effect contributes to marginalization of people living in less affluent areas out of employment and thus to widening socioeconomic inequalities in the population.
Star counts in the Hubble Deep Field: constraining galactic structure models

Stellar sources are identified in the Hubble Deep Field, and accurate colours and magnitudes are presented. The predictions of a Galactic starcounts model are compared with the faint stellar counts in this field. The model reproduces the observations very well in the magnitude range 21.0 +11.0, or a stellar density 0.4 times that of the disc white dwarfs in the solar-neighborhood.
Development of a health‐related quality of life questionnaire for women with androgenetic alopecia

Despite the negative effects of androgenetic alopecia (AGA), no standardized health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaire which is both specific to women and suitable for use in clinical trials currently exists. A questionnaire to assess HRQOL in women with AGA, the Women's Androgenetic Alopecia Quality of Life Questionnaire (WAA‐QOL), was recently developed. Aspects of life affected by AGA were generated from literature review, discussion with experts, and a focus group. The number of issues identified was reduced based on importance and relevance to women with AGA. A questionnaire was then constructed and pilot‐tested for comprehension. The resulting 25‐item instrument was later included in a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled clinical trial of finasteride 1 mg for the treatment of hair thinning in postmenopausal women (n = 137). Based on test characteristics, several questions were eliminated, resulting in a 16‐item questionnaire. The WAA‐QOL exhibited excellent test–retest reliability overall (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.89), and for individual items (κ = 0.66–0.85), as well as high internal consistency (Crohnbach's α = 0.98). Responsiveness of the questionnaire could not be assessed. The WAA‐QOL is self‐completed in about 10 min, exhibits good content validity, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability, and may be useful in assessing the impact of female AGA on HRQOL or in evaluating therapeutic effects in clinical trials.
Supervised hypergraph labeling

We address the problem of labeling individual datapoints given some knowledge about (small) subsets or groups of them. The knowledge we have for a group is the likelihood value for each group member to satisfy a certain model. This problem is equivalent to hypergraph labeling problem where each datapoint corresponds to a node and the each subset correspond to a hyperedge with likelihood value as its weight. We propose a novel method to model the label dependence using an Undirected Graphical Model and reduce the problem of hypergraph labeling into an inference problem. This paper describes the structure and necessary components of such model and proposes useful cost functions. We discuss the behavior of proposed algorithm with different forms of the cost functions, identify suitable algorithms for inference and analyze required properties when it is theoretically guaranteed to have exact solution. Examples of several real world problems are shown as applications of the proposed method.
Behavioral Priming: It's All in the Mind, but Whose Mind?

The perspective that behavior is often driven by unconscious determinants has become widespread in social psychology. Bargh, Chen, and Burrows' (1996) famous study, in which participants unwittingly exposed to the stereotype of age walked slower when exiting the laboratory, was instrumental in defining this perspective. Here, we present two experiments aimed at replicating the original study. Despite the use of automated timing methods and a larger sample, our first experiment failed to show priming. Our second experiment was aimed at manipulating the beliefs of the experimenters: Half were led to think that participants would walk slower when primed congruently, and the other half was led to expect the opposite. Strikingly, we obtained a walking speed effect, but only when experimenters believed participants would indeed walk slower. This suggests that both priming and experimenters' expectations are instrumental in explaining the walking speed effect. Further, debriefing was suggestive of awareness of the primes. We conclude that unconscious behavioral priming is real, while real, involves mechanisms different from those typically assumed to cause the effect.
Compartmental Pharmacokinetic Analysis of Oral Amprenavir with Secondary Peaks

ABSTRACT Amprenavir is a protease inhibitor that has been shown to have secondary peaks postulated to be due to enterohepatic recycling. We propose a model to describe the pharmacokinetics of amprenavir which accommodates the secondary peak(s). A total of 82 healthy human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seronegative subjects were administered a single 600-mg dose of amprenavir as part of adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group protocol A5043. Serial blood samples were obtained over 24 h. Samples were analyzed for amprenavir and fit to a compartmental model using ADAPT II software, with all relevant parameters conditional with respect to bioavailability. The model accommodated secondary peaks by incorporating clearance out of the central compartment with delayed instantaneous release back into the gut compartment. The data were weighted by the inverse of the estimated measurement error variance; model discrimination was determined using Akaike's Information Criteria. A total of 76 subjects were evaluable in the study analysis. The data were best fit by a two-compartment model, with 98.7% of the subjects demonstrating a secondary peak. Amprenavir had a mean total clearance of 1.163 liters/h/kg of body weight (0.7), a central volume of distribution of 1.208 liters/kg (0.8), a peripheral volume of distribution of 8.2 liters/kg (0.81), and distributional clearance of 0.04 liters/h/kg (0.81). The time to the secondary peak was 7.86 h (0.17), and clearance into a recycling compartment was 0.111 liters/kg/h (0.74). Amprenavir pharmacokinetics has been well described using a two-compartment model with clearance to a recycling compartment and release back into the gut. The nature of the secondary peaks may be an important consideration for the interpretation of amprenavir plasma concentrations during therapeutic drug monitoring.
Eyes Absent Tyrosine Phosphatase Activity Is Not Required for Drosophila Development or Survival

Eyes absent (Eya) is an evolutionarily conserved transcriptional coactivator and protein phosphatase that regulates multiple developmental processes throughout the metazoans. Drosophila eya is necessary for survival as well as for the formation of the adult eye. Eya contains a tyrosine phosphatase domain, and mutations altering presumptive active-site residues lead to strongly reduced activities in ectopic eye induction, in vivo genetic rescue using the Gal4-UAS system, and in vitro phosphatase assays. However, these mutations have not been analyzed during normal development with the correct levels, timing, and patterns of endogenous eya expression. To investigate whether the tyrosine phosphatase activity of Eya plays a role in Drosophila survival or normal eye formation, we generated three eya genomic rescue (eyaGR) constructs that alter key active-site residues and tested them in vivo. In striking contrast to previous studies, all eyaGR constructs fully restore eye formation as well as viability in an eya null mutant background. We conclude that the tyrosine phosphatase activity of Eya is not required for normal eye development or survival in Drosophila. Our study suggests the need for a re-evaluation of the mechanism of Eya action and underscores the importance of studying genes in their native context.
Increased Insect Virulence in Beauveria bassiana Strains Overexpressing an Engineered Chitinase

ABSTRACT Entomopathogenic fungi are currently being used for the control of several insect pests as alternatives or supplements to chemical insecticides. Improvements in virulence and speed of kill can be achieved by understanding the mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis and genetically modifying targeted genes, thus improving the commercial efficacy of these biocontrol agents. Entomopathogenic fungi, such as Beauveria bassiana, penetrate the insect cuticle utilizing a plethora of hydrolytic enzymes, including chitinases, which are important virulence factors. Two chitinases (Bbchit1 and Bbchit2) have previously been characterized in B. bassiana, neither of which possesses chitin-binding domains. Here we report the construction and characterization of several B. bassiana hybrid chitinases where the chitinase Bbchit1 was fused to chitin-binding domains derived from plant, bacterial, or insect sources. A hybrid chitinase containing the chitin-binding domain (BmChBD) from the silkworm Bombyx mori chitinase fused to Bbchit1 showed the greatest ability to bind to chitin compared to other hybrid chitinases. This hybrid chitinase gene (Bbchit1-BmChBD) was then placed under the control of a fungal constitutive promoter (gpd-Bbchit1-BmChBD) and transformed into B. bassiana. Insect bioassays showed a 23% reduction in time to death in the transformant compared to the wild-type fungus. This transformant also showed greater virulence than another construct (gpd-Bbchit1) with the same constitutive promoter but lacking the chitin-binding domain. We utilized a strategy where genetic components of the host insect can be incorporated into the fungal pathogen in order to increase host cuticle penetration ability.
A General Analytical Model of Permanent Magnet Eddy Current Couplings

An improved practical two-dimensional model for the analytical calculation of the magnetic field distributions in permanent magnet (PM) eddy current couplings is presented to obtain the torque characteristics. By establishing the Cartesian coordinate reference system on the rotating conductor, the PM region is treated as a source of traveling wave magnetic field and then the multi-layer boundary value problem is solved. The formulation for the magnet blocks, the eddy current and saturation effects in the solid secondary back iron, and the equivalence relationships between typical PM shapes, are all reasonably taken into account. Calculation results produced by the proposed analytical model are compared with those from the nonlinear finite element method and experimental measurement.
Sleep staging classification based on HRV: Time-variant analysis

An algorithm to evaluate the sleep macrostructure based on heart rate fluctuations from ECG signal is presented. This algorithm is an attempt to evaluate the sleep quality out of sleep centers. The algorithm is made up by a) a time-variant autoregressive model used as feature extractor and b) a hidden Markov model used as classifier. Characteristics coming from the joint probability of HRV features were used to fed the HMM. 17 full polysomnography recordings from healthy subjects were used in the current analysis. When compared to Wake-NREM-REM given by experts, the automatic classifier achieved a total accuracy of 78.21±6.44% and a kappa index of 0.41±. 1085 using two features and a total accuracy of 79.43±8.83% and kappa index of 0.42±. 1493 using three features.
Immunoassays of human trefoil factors 1 and 2: measured on serum from patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Background: The trefoil factors (TFF1–3) are cysteine‐rich peptides expressed in the gastrointestinal tract where they play a critical role in mucosal protection and repair. The expression is up‐regulated at sites of ulceration in various chronic inflammatory diseases. Recently, we presented an ELISA method for measurement of TFF3. The aims of the present study were to develop and evaluate ELISAs for the other two known human trefoil peptides, TFF1 and TFF2, and to carry out a cross‐sectional study on serum TFF levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods: The TFF1‐ELISA was based on two polyclonal rabbit antibodies and the TFF2‐ELISA on a monoclonal mouse antibody and a polyclonal rabbit antibody. RhTFF1 and 2 were employed to prepare the calibrators. TFF1–3 were assayed in serum from IBD patients (n=41) and controls (n=13). Results: The TFF1‐ (TFF2‐) ELISA had a detection limit of 3 pmol/L (6 pmol/L) and an analytical imprecision (CVA) of 7.0–8.8 for mean concentrations of 24–120 pmol/L (6.1–8.0 for mean concentrations of 17–77 pmol/L). The central reference intervals (n=300) were 140–1400 pmol/L (37–190 pmol/L). There was no variation with age and menstrual cycle. Food intake reduced concentrations of TFF1 by ∼15%, but did not influence concentrations of TFF2. TFF1 and TFF3 were increased in serum from IBD patients. Conclusions: We have developed assays for measuring TFF1 and TFF2. Finding increased TFF concentrations in serum from IBD patients suggests that measurements of trefoil peptides may be of clinical relevance in IBD.
Distributed power control for time varying systems: performance and convergence analysis

This paper deals with a class of power control problems where the system link gains are assumed to be time varying and the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) estimates are allowed to be corrupted with bounded noises. A simple control algorithm is devised by applying a distributed, fixed step approach. It is a feedback algorithm that requires only local information. By modifying the distributed, fixed step power control algorithm proposed by Sung and Wong, we obtain here a more robust version that can handle time varying link gains and measurement noises. The convergence property of the new algorithm is established and simulation studies were carried out to show that it is effective.
Trade Policy Determinants and Trade Reform in a Developing Country : The Case of Colombia Baybars Karacaovali

In this paper, I empirically examine trade policy determinants and trade reform in a developing country setting by using a political economy of trade policy model to guide my estimations for Colombia between 1983 and 1998. I introduce a novel approach to estimating the extra political weights placed by the government on the well-being of producers relative to average citizens. This is under the assumption that producers are organized in terms of trade policy while the public is not. I measure the impact of sectorial characteristics on tari¤s indirectly through political weights as a novel alternative to nonstructurally estimating them as determinants of protection. Accordingly, I obtain more realistic estimates as compared to the earlier literature. I also show that it is important to control for the drastic unilateral trade reform shock that a¤ects all sectors and I test the e¤ect of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) on tari¤s in the presence of such trade liberalization. I nd that protection is higher in sectors that are important exports for preferential partners which may be seen as a slowing down e¤ect of PTAs for Colombia. The estimations account for endogeneity and omitted variable bias concerns. JEL Classi cation: F13, F14, F15.
Static interactions of non-Abelian vortices

Interactions between non-BPS non-Abelian vortices are studied in non-Abelian U(1) × SU(N) extensions of the Abelian-Higgs model in four dimensions. The distinctive feature of a non-Abelian vortex is the presence of an internal CPN−1 space of orientational degrees of freedom. For fine-tuned values of the couplings, the vortices are BPS and there is no net force between two static parallel vortices at arbitrary distance. On the other hand, for generic values of the couplings the interactions between two vortices depend non-trivially on their relative internal orientations. We discuss the problem both with a numerical approach (valid for small deviations from the BPS limit) and in a semi-analytical way (valid at large vortex separations). The interactions can be classified with respect to their asymptotic property at large vortex separation. In a simpler fine-tuned model, we find two regimes which are quite similar to the usual type I/II Abelian superconductors. In the generic model we find other two new regimes: type I*/II*. Unlike the type I (type II) case, where the interaction is always attractive (repulsive), the type I* and II* have both attractive and repulsive interactions depending on the relative orientation. We have found a rich variety of interactions at small vortex separations. For some values of the couplings, a bound state of two static vortices at a non-zero distance exists.
Persistence and Subtype Stability of ADHD Among Substance Use Disorder Treatment Seekers

Objective: To examine ADHD symptom persistence and subtype stability among substance use disorder (SUD) treatment seekers. Method: In all, 1,276 adult SUD treatment seekers were assessed for childhood and adult ADHD using Conners’ Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; CAADID). A total of 290 (22.7%) participants met CAADID criteria for childhood ADHD and comprise the current study sample. Results: Childhood ADHD persisted into adulthood in 72.8% (n = 211) of cases. ADHD persistence was significantly associated with a family history of ADHD, and the presence of conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder. The combined subtype was the most stable into adulthood (78.6%) and this stability was significantly associated with conduct disorder and past treatment of ADHD. Conclusion: ADHD is highly prevalent and persistent among SUD treatment seekers and is associated with the more severe phenotype that is also less likely to remit. Routine screening and follow-up assessment for ADHD is indicated to enhance treatment management and outcomes.
Self measured and ambulatory blood pressure in assessing the 'white-coat' phenomenon.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and self blood pressure monitoring (SBPM) at home offer clear advantages compared to conventional office blood pressure readings [4–17], at least when accurately validated devices are used [18,19] and appropriate reference values are considered [20–22]. These advantages include not only avoidance of the alerting reaction associated with a ‘white coat effect’, but also a higher reproducibility of the average blood pressure values recorded, the lack of a significant placebo effect, the possibility to monitor blood pressure repeatedly over time, the collection of ‘objective’ measurements, free from digit preference and observer bias, and a better prediction of outcome compared to ‘casual’ office blood pressure readings. In particular, SBPM at home offers the possibility of obtaining repeated measurements at different times of the day for several days, weeks, months and even years, which may allow a multiple daily assessment of the blood pressure effects of treatment over a wide time interval. The higher reproducibility of the average values derived from repeated SBPM also carries practical advantages when calculating the sample size of a trial, allowing for a lower number of subjects to be recruited. Such detailed and robust information can be obtained at a lower cost compared to ABPM, and its handling is now made much easier by recent technological progress in data storage, data printing and data tele-transmission [4]. Among these advantages, the possibility offered by both ABPM and SBPM for obtaining blood pressure measurements free from interference by the white coat effect has probably been the most important reason for their progressively increasing clinical use. This feature has also led to the proposal of considering the difference between office and either home blood pressure or daytime average ABP as surrogate [23] measures of the ‘white-coat effect’ [24]. Because of its simple implementation, such an indirect approach has been employed in several studies assessing the frequency and/or the clinical relevance of the white-coat phenomenon. This approach is still being proposed despite recent evidence indicating that the surrogate quantification of the ‘white-coat effect’ derived from the difference between clinic and home or daytime average blood pressure values is unable to faithfully reflect the ‘real’ white-coat effect, as directly assessed through continuous blood pressure recordings obtained immediately before and during the physician’s visit [25–29].
The elevated 10-year risk of cervical precancer and cancer in women with human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 or 18 and the possible utility of type-specific HPV testing in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND Human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 cause 60%-70% of cervical cancer worldwide, and other HPV types cause virtually all remaining cases. Pooled HPV testing for 13 oncogenic types, including HPV16 and 18, is currently used in clinical practice for triage of equivocal cytology and, in conjunction with Pap tests, is an option for general screening among women 30 years of age and older. It is not clear to what extent individual identification of HPV16 or HPV18 as an adjunct to pooled oncogenic HPV testing might effectively identify women at particularly high risk of cervical cancer or its immediate precursor, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 3 (CIN3). METHODS From April 1, 1989, to November 2, 1990, a total of 20 810 women in the Kaiser Permanente health plan in Portland, OR, enrolled in a cohort study of HPV and cervical neoplasia. Women were tested for 13 oncogenic HPV types by Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2), and those women with a positive HC2 test were tested for HPV16 and 18. Enrollment Pap smear interpretation and HPV test results were linked to histologically confirmed CIN3 and cervical cancer (> or = CIN3) occurring during 10 years of cytologic follow-up. We calculated cumulative incidence rates with 95% confidence intervals for each interval up to 122 months using Kaplan-Meier methods. RESULTS The 10-year cumulative incidence rates of > or = CIN3 were 17.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 11.5% to 22.9%) among HPV16+ women and 13.6% (95% CI = 3.6% to 23.7%) among HPV18+ (HPV16-) women, but only 3.0% (95% CI = 1.9% to 4.2%) among HC2+ women negative for HPV16 or HPV18. The 10-year cumulative incidence among HC2- women was 0.8% (95% CI = 0.6% to 1.1%). A subanalysis among women 30 years of age and older with normal cytology at enrollment strengthened the observed risk differences. CONCLUSIONS HPV screening that distinguishes HPV16 and HPV18 from other oncogenic HPV types may identify women at the greatest risk of > or = CIN3 and may permit less aggressive management of other women with oncogenic HPV infections.