Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Associations of sodium, potassium and protein intake with blood pressure and hypertension in Switzerland.

BACKGROUND Nutritional factors play an important role in the regulation of blood pressure and in the development of hypertension. In this analysis, we explored the associations of 24-hour urinary Na+, K+ and urea excretion with blood pressure levels and the risk of hypertension in the Swiss population, taking regional linguistic differences into account. METHODS The Swiss Survey on Salt is a population based cross-sectional study that included 1336 subjects from the three main linguistic regions (French, German and Italian) of Switzerland. Blood pressure was measured with a validated oscillometric Omron HEM 907 device. Hypertension was defined as current antihypertensive treatment or a mean systolic blood pressure >140 mm Hg and/or diastolic >90 mm Hg, based on eight blood pressure measurements performed at two visits. Na+, K+ and urea excretion were assessed in 24-hour urine collections. We use multiple logistic/linear regressions to explore the associations of urine Na+, K+ and urea with blood pressure / hypertension, taking into account potential confounders and effect modifiers. RESULTS The prevalence of hypertension was 30%, 26% and 17% in the German-, French- and Italian- speaking regions respectively, (p-value across regions <0.001). In the Swiss adult population, besides age, sex, and body mass index, urinary Na+ excretion was positively associated with systolic blood pressure and hypertension. Urinary K+ excretion tended to be negatively associated with blood pressure but this was not significant (p = 0.08). Hypertensive people had a higher 24-hour urinary Na+/K+ ratio than normotensive people (p = 0.003). Urinary urea excretion was associated with neither blood pressure nor hypertension. Participants from the German-speaking region had a higher likelihood of having a high systolic blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS We confirm a high prevalence of elevated blood pressure in Swiss adults, including regional differences. In Switzerland, urinary Na+ excretion is associated positively with blood pressure and hypertension, independently of urinary K+ and urea excretion. The observed differences in blood pressure levels across linguistic regions are independent of the urinary Na+, K+ and urea excretion.
A comparison of left ventricular endocardial, multisite, and multipolar epicardial cardiac resynchronization: an acute haemodynamic and electroanatomical study.

AIMS Alternative forms of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), including biventricular endocardial (BV-Endo) and multisite epicardial pacing (MSP), have been developed to improve response. It is unclear which form of stimulation is optimal. We aimed to compare the acute haemodynamic response (AHR) and electrophysiological effects of BV-Endo with MSP via two separate coronary sinus (CS) leads or a single-quadripolar CS lead. METHODS AND RESULTS Fifteen patients with a previously implanted CRT system received a second temporary CS lead and left ventricular (LV) endocardial catheter. A pressure wire and non-contact mapping array were placed into the LV cavity to measure LVdP/dtmax and perform electroanatomical mapping. Conventional CRT, BV-Endo, and MSP were then performed (MSP-1 via two epicardial leads and MSP-2 via a single-quadripolar lead). The best overall AHR was found using BV-Endo pacing with a 19.6 ± 13.6% increase in AHR at the optimal endocardial site over baseline (P < 0.001). There was an increase in LVdP/dtmax with MSP-1 and MSP-2 compared with conventional CRT, but this was not statistically significant. Biventricular endocardial pacing from the optimal site was significantly superior to conventional CRT (P = 0.039). The AHR achieved when BV-Endo pacing was highly site specific. Within individuals, the best pacing modality varied and was affected by the underlying substrate. Left ventricular activation times did not predict the optimal haemodynamic configuration. CONCLUSION Biventricular endocardial pacing and not MSP was superior to conventional CRT, but was highly site specific. Within individuals, however, different methods of stimulation are optimal and may need to be tailored to the underlying substrate.
Semantic Bootstrapping: A Theoretical Perspective

Knowledge acquisition is an iterative process. Most previous work has focused on bootstrapping techniques based on syntactic patterns, that is, each iteration finds more syntactic patterns for subsequent extraction. However, syntactic bootstrapping is incapable of resolving the inherent ambiguities in the syntactic patterns. The precision of the extracted results is thus often poor. On the other hand, semantic bootstrapping bootstraps directly on knowledge rather than on syntactic patterns, that is, it uses existing knowledge to understand the text and acquire more knowledge. It has been shown that semantic bootstrapping can achieve superb precision while retaining good recall. Nonetheless, the working mechanism of semantic bootstrapping remains elusive. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of semantic bootstrapping from a theoretical perspective. We show that the efficiency and effectiveness of semantic bootstrapping can be theoretically guaranteed. Our experimental evaluation results substantiate the theoretical analysis.
An investigation of the effects of work and family characteristics on work-family balance

Men and women in the Netherlands seem to be busier than they have ever been. The growing participation of women in the labour market has increased the pressure on the division of tasks in Dutch households. Different work and family characteristics seem to have an influence on the work-family balance (WFB) for both men and women. In this study we will investigate whether certain work and family characteristics influence one’s WFB. Hypotheses have been formulated about two work characteristics (work time control and job satisfaction) and two family characteristics (gender and the age of the youngest child). Based on data collected in 2013 (with 1294 respondents) the results show that work time control, job satisfaction and gender indeed influence one’s WFB. Only having young children did not lead to a conflict in one’s WFB.
The Limiting Sequence and Proper Ratio of Lysine, Methionine and Threonine for Calves Fed Milk Replacers Containing Soy Protein

The limiting sequence and relative ratio of lysine (Lys), methionine (Met), and threonine (Thr) for calves about 2 mo of age fed milk replacers (MR) containing soy protein are not clearly defined. The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of supplementing MR containing 22% CP, half from soy protein concentrate (SPC, 40.56% CP, flour) and half from whey proteins, with Lys, Met, and Thr to estimate amino acid (AA) sequence and their relative ratio for calves about 2 mo of age. A method of partial deduction of AA was adopted. Twenty-four newborn calves (half males and half females, 40.7±0.9 kg of BW) were fed 1 of 4 MR diets for 56 d (n = 6/diet). The diets were supplemented with all (positive control) or with 2 of the 3 AAs: Lys, Met and Thr, (i.e., PC (22% CP, 2.34% Lys, 0.72% Met and 1.80% Thr), PC-Lys (22% CP, 1.64% Lys, 0.72% Met and 1.80% Thr), PC-Met (22% CP, 2.34% Lys, 0.50% Met and 1.80% Thr), and PC-Thr (22% CP, 2.34% Lys, 0.72% Met and 1.26% Thr)). Calves were fed thrice daily; starter (20% CP, 1.03% Lys, 0.30% Met and 0.69% Thr), hay (3.23% CP, 0.29% Lys, 0.12% Met and 0.23% Thr) and water were offered free choice. Starter and hay were only offered beginning on d 36 (after 5 wk) and d 43 (after 6 wk), respectively. BW, body size and blood samples measures were taken every two weeks. Three-day total collection of feed refusals, feces, and urine were recorded starting at d 33 and d 54 of age, respectively. From the results, the limiting sequence and relative ratio between the 3 AAs in calves with different diet structures were calculated. The limiting sequence of the 3 AAs were ranked as Lys, Met and Thr; the proper ratio was 100:29:70 for MR-only diet and 100:30:60 for diets consisted of MR, starter and hay. Nitrogen digestion and utilization and nutrient digestibility were negatively affected by AA deletion treatments. From the evidence of this experiment, it did not appear that the AA limiting sequence was selectively altered by differences in diet structures such as would be encountered in practice. The relative ratio between the 3 AAs varied with the offer of starter and hay to calves, and the average ratio was 100:29.5:65 for calves during 2 to 10 wk of age.
Smoking at the workplace: effects of genetic and environmental causal accounts on attitudes toward smoking employees and restrictive policies

People hold diverse beliefs regarding the etiologies of individual and group differences in behaviors which, in turn, might affect their attitudes and behaviors. It is important to establish how perceived etiologies of smoking might affect the effectiveness of policy initiatives and prevention efforts. The present study assessed whether exposure to genetic vs. environmental accounts for smoking affects attitudes toward (a) workplace-related smoking policies and (b) smokers at the workplace. Results indicate that exposure to a genetic explanation led to stronger objections to a smoking restrictive policy compared with a non-genetic explanation. Additionally, participants in the genetic condition were more accepting of a smoker in the workplace than those in the environmental condition. Evidently, beliefs about the etiology of smoking influence a range of attitudes related to smokers and smoking-related policies.
Role of Position 627 of PB2 and the Multibasic Cleavage Site of the Hemagglutinin in the Virulence of H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus in Chickens and Ducks

Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses have caused major disease outbreaks in domestic and free-living birds with transmission to humans resulting in 59% mortality amongst 564 cases. The mutation of the amino acid at position 627 of the viral polymerase basic-2 protein (PB2) from glutamic acid (E) in avian isolates to lysine (K) in human isolates is frequently found, but it is not known if this change affects the fitness and pathogenicity of the virus in birds. We show here that horizontal transmission of A/Vietnam/1203/2004 H5N1 (VN/1203) virus in chickens and ducks was not affected by the change of K to E at PB2-627. All chickens died between 21 to 48 hours post infection (pi), while 70% of the ducks survived infection. Virus replication was detected in chickens within 12 hours pi and reached peak titers in spleen, lung and brain between 18 to 24 hours for both viruses. Viral antigen in chickens was predominantly in the endothelium, while in ducks it was present in multiple cell types, including neurons, myocardium, skeletal muscle and connective tissues. Virus replicated to a high titer in chicken thrombocytes and caused upregulation of TLR3 and several cell adhesion molecules, which may explain the rapid virus dissemination and location of viral antigen in endothelium. Virus replication in ducks reached peak values between 2 and 4 days pi in spleen, lung and brain tissues and in contrast to infection in chickens, thrombocytes were not involved. In addition, infection of chickens with low pathogenic VN/1203 caused neuropathology, with E at position PB2-627 causing significantly higher infection rates than K, indicating that it enhances virulence in chickens.
Soft-Decision-Aided, Smoothness-Constrained Channel Estimation over Time-Varying Fading Channels With No Channel Model Information

We consider frequency-flat time-varying fading channels with no channel model information (CMI). By introducing the smoothness function to measure the extent of channel fluctuation, we derive a robust soft-decision-aided (SDA) channel estimator based on Pareto optimality of the double-objective optimization of the likelihood function of the received signal sequence and the smoothness constraint of the channel estimates. Compared with the conventional maximum-likelihood-based channel estimators derived under the block-fading assumption, the newly derived SDA-Pareto estimator gives more freedom to the channel estimation process, allowing channel estimates to have controlled variations to track the time-varying channel more closely. Compared with estimators derived based on the maximum a posteriori probability or the minimum mean-square error criterion which require explicit acquisition of the CMI, the SDA-Pareto estimator significantly simplifies the channel measurement process by requiring only a suitable regularization parameter to balance the trade-off between the likelihood function and the smoothness condition. An adaptive algorithm is proposed to adjust the regularization parameter adaptively, enabling an efficient and effective implementation of the SDA-Pareto estimator in practical applications. Simulation studies are provided to demonstrate the advantage of the SDA-Pareto estimator over the conventional estimators in both channel estimation accuracy and error-rate performance.
Intuitive Prediction: Biases and Corrective Procedures

Introduction Any significant activity of forecasting involves a large component of judgment, intuition, and educated guesswork. Indeed, the opinions of experts are the source of many technological, political, and social forecasts. Opinions and intuitions play an important part even where the forecasts are obtained by a mathematical model or a simulation. Intuitive judgments enter in the choice of the variables that are considered in such models, the impact factors that are assigned to them, and the initial values that are assumed to hold. The critical role of intuition in all varieties of forecasting calls for an analysis of the factors that limit the accuracy of expert judgments, and for the development of procedures designed to improve the quality of these judgments. … Singular and distributional data Experts are often required to provide a best guess, estimate, or prediction concerning an uncertain quantity such as the value of the Dow-Jones index on a particular day, the future sales of a product, or the outcome of an election. A distinction should be made between two types of information that are available to the forecaster: singular and distributional. Singular information, or case data, consists of evidence about the particular case under consideration. Distributional information, or base-rate data, consists of knowledge about the distribution of outcomes in similar situations.
Cyberporn Use in the Context of Religiosity

Past studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between religiosity and addictive behaviors, such as gambling, smoking, alcoholism, and substance use. This association suggests that religiosity may act as a buffer against such behaviors. In recent literature, Internet-based pornography involvement has been identified as an addictive behavior, and popular Christian writing has suggested that it is affecting the Church. In this study, the relationship between religiosity and cyberporn involvement was examined among 125 undergraduate, college males. Findings suggested that involvement in Internet-based pornography among participants was prevalent. Furthermore, religiosity was not inversely related to the use of online sexual materials.
Comparison of simulated periodontal bone defect depth measured in digital radiographs in dedicated and non-dedicated software systems.

OBJECTIVES To compare simulated periodontal bone defect depth measured in digital radiographs with dedicated and non-dedicated software systems and to compare the depth measurements from each program with the measurements in dry mandibles. METHODS Forty periodontal bone defects were created at the proximal area of the first premolar in dry pig mandibles. Measurements of the defects were performed with a periodontal probe in the dry mandible. Periapical digital radiographs of the defects were recorded using the Schick sensor in a standardized exposure setting. All images were read using a Schick dedicated software system (CDR DICOM for Windows v.3.5), and three commonly available non-dedicated software systems (Vix Win 2000 v.1.2; Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and Image Tool 3.0). The defects were measured three times in each image and a consensus was reached among three examiners using the four software systems. The difference between the radiographic measurements was analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and by comparing the measurements from each software system with the dry mandibles measurements using Student's t-test. RESULTS The mean values of the bone defects measured in the radiographs were 5.07 mm, 5.06 mm, 5.01 mm and 5.11 mm for CDR Digital Image and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) for Windows, Vix Win, Adobe Photoshop, and Image Tool, respectively, and 6.67 mm for the dry mandible. The means of the measurements performed in the four software systems were not significantly different, ANOVA (P = 0.958). A significant underestimation of defect depth was obtained when we compared the mean depths from each software system with the dry mandible measurements (t-test; P approximately equal to 0.000). CONCLUSIONS The periodontal bone defect measurements in dedicated and in three non-dedicated software systems were not significantly different, but they all underestimated the measurements when compared with the measurements obtained in the dry mandibles.
English pronunciation teaching in Finland

Tergujeff, Elina English Pronunciation Teaching in Finland Jyvaskyla: University of Jyvaskyla, 2013, 72 p. (Jyvaskyla Studies in Humanities ISSN 1459-4323 (nid.), 1459-4331 (PDF); 207) ISBN 978-951-39-5321-8 (nid.) ISBN 978-951-39-5322-5 (PDF) Finnish summary Diss. This doctoral dissertation explores what English pronunciation teaching is like in the Finnish school context, from primary to upper secondary level. More specifically, this research looks into the extent to which pronunciation teaching corresponds to recent recommendations in the pronunciation teaching literature (communicative approach and suprasegmental orientation), and at the role of phonetic training in English pronunciation teaching in Finland. A further aim was to find out whether the English as an International Language (EIL) approach is taken into account in the choice of pronunciation model. To attain a good cross-sectional view of the topic, a mixed methods research design was chosen. The research task was divided into four sub studies, each of which used different data and research methods. Thus, the study comprises a textbook analysis, a survey for teachers, a classroom observations study, and a learner interview study. The results of the sub studies are presented in the four original papers on which this dissertation is based. The results show that the recent recommendations for pronunciation teaching are not fully applied in practice in English pronunciation teaching in Finnish schools. Instead of focusing on suprasegmental features of speech, such as rhythm and intonation, the teaching mainly concentrates on individual sounds. Using communicative tasks that explicitly focus on pronunciation is rare and phonetic training plays only a minor role in the teaching. The relevant phonetic symbols seem to be taught at the primary level, but thereafter are only sparsely used in teaching. The results also indicate increasing influence of the EIL approach on the choice of pronunciation model.
Improvement of Oligonucleotide Probe Design Criteria for Functional Gene Microarrays in Environmental Applications

ABSTRACT To optimize oligonucleotide probe design criteria, PCR products with different similarities to probes were hybridized to a functional gene microarray designed to detect homologous genes from different organisms. In contrast to more restrictive probe designs based on a single criterion, simultaneous consideration of the percent similarity (≤90%), the length of identical sequence stretches (≤20 bases), and the binding free energy (≥−35 kcal mol−1) was found to be predictive of probe specificity.
Racism in Europe, 1870-2000

Acknowledgements Introduction: The Roots of Modern Racism PART 1: 1870-1914 The Race: Degeneration and Eugenics, 1870-1914 Blackness without Blacks, 1870-1914 The Rise of Political Anti-Semitism, 1870-1914 PART 2: 1914-1945 Anti-Black Racism in an Age of Total War, 1914-1945 Anti-Semitism in the Nazi Era, 1914-1945 PART 3: 1945-2000 Racism in the Age of Labour Immigration, 1945-1974 The 'New Racism' and National Populism Conclusion A Short Guide to Further Reading Index
Syntax as a Marker of Rhetorical Organization in Written Texts: Arabic and English.

Two Arabic stories and their English translations and two Arabic and English stories (unrelated by translation) were compared with reference to sentence organization, coordination and subordination. This comparison showed that Arabic and English sentences are differently organized, coordination is more common in Arabic than in English, while subordination is more frequent in English than in Arabic. It is argued that these syntactic differences and their underlying semantic representations reflect differences at the higher level of rhetorical text organization
The role of observers' gaze behaviour when watching object manipulation tasks: predicting and evaluating the consequences of action

When watching an actor manipulate objects, observers, like the actor, naturally direct their gaze to each object as the hand approaches and typically maintain gaze on the object until the hand departs. Here, we probed the function of observers' eye movements, focusing on two possibilities: (i) that observers' gaze behaviour arises from processes involved in the prediction of the target object of the actor's reaching movement and (ii) that this gaze behaviour supports the evaluation of mechanical events that arise from interactions between the actor's hand and objects. Observers watched an actor reach for and lift one of two presented objects. The observers' task was either to predict the target object or judge its weight. Proactive gaze behaviour, similar to that seen in self-guided action–observation, was seen in the weight judgement task, which requires evaluating mechanical events associated with lifting, but not in the target prediction task. We submit that an important function of gaze behaviour in self-guided action observation is the evaluation of mechanical events associated with interactions between the hand and object. By comparing predicted and actual mechanical events, observers, like actors, can gain knowledge about the world, including information about objects they may subsequently act upon.
Concurrent Validity and Diagnostic Accuracy of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills and the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing

Abstract The purpose of this study was to (a) examine the concurrent validity of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) with the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP), and (b) explore the diagnostic accuracy of the DIBELS in predicting CTOPP performance using suggested and alternative cut-scores. Eighty-six students were administered the DIBELS and the CTOPP in the winter of their kindergarten year. Patterns of correlations between the two sets of measures were examined and decision accuracy studies conducted based on suggested cut-scores and cut-scores determined as a result of Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results showed moderate to strong correlations between the DIBELS and the CTOPP suggesting that both measure a similar construct. Analysis of decision accuracy indicated that using the author suggested cut-scores resulted in extremely high sensitivity; however, this was at the expense of an inordinate number of false positives. Follow-up analyses using adjusted cut-scores improved specificity and positive predictive power, reduced false positives, and increased the number of correct classifications sizably.