Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mitral Valve Repair at the Time of Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation Confers Meaningful Decrement in Pulmonary Vascular Resistance

We hypothesized that the addition of mitral valve replacement or repair (MVR) to implantation of continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (cf-LVAD) may further decrease pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) over Heartmate II (HMII) implantation alone. Patients undergoing MVR with concomitant HMII implantation were compared with those undergoing HMII implantation alone. Of the 57 patients undergoing cf-LVAD implantation, 21 (36.8%) underwent concomitant MVR and 36 (63.2%) underwent cf-LVAD implantation alone. Patients receiving MVR had greater decrement in PVR (59.4% vs. 35.2%, p = 0.01). Decrease in end-diastolic diameter was greater for patients receiving MVR but did not reach statistical significance (18.2 vs. 13.5 mm, p = 0.33). Duration of mechanical ventilation (121.6 vs. 181.4 hours, p = 0.45) and inotropic support (162.4 vs. 153.2 hours, p = 0.86), change in creatinine (0.19 vs. −0.26 mg/dl, p = 0.34), increase in bilirubin (2.54 vs. 1.55 mg/dl, p = 0.63), intensive care unit stay (168.0 vs. 231.5 hours, p = 0.38), and overall length of stay (32.0 vs. 42.5 days, p = 0.75) were similar. There was no difference in survival at 3 months (89.7% vs. 83.3%) and 1 year (83.7 vs. 67.3%, p = 0.34). Addition of MVR may result in greater decrement of PVR than HMII implantation alone. This may permit certain patients thought to be ineligible for transplantation to become candidates.
Process Evaluation of the Saskatoon Breastfeeding Center

A process evaluation of the Breastfeeding Center in Saskatoon was conducted to assess clients’ characteristics and satisfaction. Fiftywomen completed a questionnaire immediately after visiting the center and were interviewed by telephone 2 to 4 weeks later; another 25women telephoned the center for information and were interviewed by telephone 2 to 4 weeks after initial contact. Four visits were observed and timed. Respondents were generally very satisfied with all aspects of the center. All said theywould use the center again and recommend it to others. Most of the respondents were still breastfeedingwhen interviewed and felt that the center had helped them do so. Observation of the visits revealed a consistent sequence of activities, with visits taking longer on average than the time allotted. The evaluation confirmed that the center was meetingits process objectives. This evaluation could be used as a model for other community-based breastfeedingcenters.
THE DEMAND FOR LABOR BY EDUCATIONAL CATEGORY

on the demand for different types of labor and, in fact, on their supplies,1 and this paper is an attempt to shed some light on the problem. In the first section of the paper various theoretical aspects of the problem are explored. In particular, the hiring decision of the individual profit-maximizing (and, in some cases, utility-maximizing) firm is examined to derive implications concerning the conditions under which relatively highly educated employees will be preferred to employees with relatively low educational attainment. This model is then combined with an aggregative model of individual educational choice to determine both the equilibrium distributions of educational attainment and the structure of rates of return to education. The second section
What Motivates Members to Participate in Co-Operative and Mutual Businesses?

This article reports the findings of a project entitled 'The participation of members in mutual businesses'. A previous project developed a theoretical model of what makes people participate, focusing on the participation of public service users in council housing and social care services. The current project builds on this work, applying the 'mutual incentives model' to a population sample of area committee members and a random sample of non-participant members of a very large UK consumer co-operative, the Co-operative Group. Two arguments are presented as to why such research is needed. First, member participation in co-operative and mutual businesses is becoming an important issue both for this sector and more generally for public policy. Second, a comparison between a public services setting and a co-operative setting enables us to extend and further test the theoretical model. Two main features of the model are outlined: a 'mutual incentives theory' that goes beyond other models to combine individualistic and collectivistic motivations, and the 'participation chain', a synthesis of existing knowledge that joins motivations to three 'links' that we call 'resources', 'mobilization' and 'dynamics'. The article then summarizes the project methodology, and reports the main findings. As in the public services project, on the 'demand' side, collectivistic incentives prove to be dominant over individualistic, but with some individual 'internal' benefits also being important. On the 'supply' side, skills derived from previous experience were important, as were a positive evaluation of opportunities to participate, and recruitment through existing networks. We then compare the findings to those from the public service users and from a regional co-operative society; Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-op. Collective motivations are dominant in all three datasets, but are shown to vary in interesting ways that have important implications for member participation strategies. Copyright CIRIEC, 2004.
Small Extra-Adrenal Pheochromocytoma Causing Severe Hypertension in an Elderly Patient

We report the case of a 67-year-old woman withsevere hypertension caused by an extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma.The tumor was detected by 131I metaiodobenzylguanidinescintigraphy and it was found to be small (2 cm ø) by enhanced CT. After the extirpation of the tumor, the blood pressure ofthe patient immediately normalized. It should be taken into accountthat a small extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma can be one of the causesof secondary hypertension in elderly patients. Since small extra-adrenal pheochromocytomasare difficult to detect, it is also important to perform suitableexaminations to establish the diagnosis. Furthermore, we emphasizethe importance of an accurate diagnosis in elderly patients with pheochromocytoma,for they often have less symptomatology and more severe cardiovascularcomplications due to refractory hypertension than younger patients.
Tracking Human-Induced Landscape Disturbance at the Nasca Lines UNESCO World Heritage Site in Peru with COSMO-SkyMed InSAR

The “Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa” in Peru are among the most well-known UNESCO World Heritage Sites globally, and an exemplar of site where heritage assets cannot be separated from their natural and anthropogenic environment. The site is exposed to interactions with natural processes, as well as human presence. In this work, 3-m resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) StripMap HIMAGE HH-polarised scenes acquired by the X-band COSMO-SkyMed constellation are exploited to track two events of human-induced landscape disturbance that occurred in December 2014 and January 2018. Pre-, cross-, and post-event interferometric SAR (InSAR) pairs characterised by small temporal and normal baselines allow the detection of temporal decorrelation associated with the two events, the extent and time reference of which match with online photographic and video evidence, published literature, web news, and press releases by the Ministry of Culture in Peru. Further elements enhancing the understanding of the 2018 event come from 10-m resolution Sentinel-2B satellite data that reveal the occurrence of apparent changes of surface reflectance due to uncovering of the light grey-yellow clay underneath the darker pebble constituting the fragile surface of the Pampa de Jumana. This scientific study confirms that SAR imagery archives, such as those being built by COSMO-SkyMed for Nasca, prove valuable for the retrospective analysis and digital recording of human-induced landscape disturbance events from space. These archives therefore act as essential sources of geospatial information on the conservation history of heritage sites and assets.
The Dynamics and Inequality of Italian Men’s Earnings

This paper provides a longitudinal perspective on changes in Italian men’s earnings inequality since the late 1970s by decomposing the earnings autocovariance structure into its long-term and transitory parts. Cross-sectional earnings differentials grew over the period and the longitudinal analysis shows that such growth was determined by the long-term earnings component. Using parameter estimates to analyze low-pay probabilities shows that low-pay persistence and the probability of repeated low-pay episodes grew for all birth cohorts during the early 1990s. Moreover, long-term heterogeneity is found to characterize the earnings distribution of nonmanual workers, accounting for a large part of overall heterogeneity.
Addition of epidural Clonidine enhances postoperative analgesia: A double-blind study in total knee- replacement surgeries

Background: This study was undertaken to evaluate the analgesic effect of the combination of epidural Clonidine with Bupivacaine versus epidural Bupivacaine alone in patients undergone knee replacement surgery. Materials and Methods: A randomized double-blind design was used, and 60 adult patients (40-60 years) of ASA grade I and II scheduled for post-operative pain relief in total knee replacement surgeries by epidural Clonidine were studied. Patients received either an epidural Clonidine (1μg/kg) with Bupivacaine (1.5mg/kg) group CL (n=30) or Bupivacaine alone group CT (n=30) for Knee replacement surgeries. The pain score, blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate were measured at fixed times during the first 24 h after operation. Onset and duration of sensory and motor blockade, duration of analgesia, and analgesic requirement were compared. Results: The onset of sensory anesthesia was faster (493.8±31.66 in sec.) and the duration was significantly longer in Clonidine group (334.2 min). Requirement of supplementary analgesia (Inj. diclofenac) was markedly decreased in Clonidine group as evident from the findings that in control group 18 patients required 3 supplemental analgesic doses in first 24 hours as compared to only 3 patients in Clonidine group. Epidural Clonidine produced a significant decrease (P less than 0.05) in heart rate and blood pressure, whereas the respiratory rate was not affected. We also observed for side effects in both the groups. Incidence of significant hypotension was higher, 8 patients (26%) in Clonidine group compared to 2 patient (6%) in control group. Incidence of dryness of mouth was higher, 12 patients (48%) in Clonidine group compared to 5 (18%) in control group. Conclusion: The addition of Clonidine to Bupivacaine epiduraly prolongs motor and sensory block and analgesia, without an increased incidence of side effects.
Socialist Republic of Vietnam Coffee Sector Report

Vietnam's meteoric rise to become one of the world's largest coffee producers in world-record time has been matched by equally fast changes in policies and market structure. It has moved from a planned economy to a much more open market orientation and become one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. While many benefits can be attributed to the coffee sector's growth, there are also questions about how equitable the socioeconomic impact has been and about the overall sustainability of the sector. This paper offers a thorough look at the functions and trends of the sector within the enlightening context of its history and fundamental structure. It also includes many new calculations and data tables for production, export, acreage planted, value, and more.
Global warming projections derived from an observation-based minimal model

Abstract. A simple conceptual model for the global mean surface temperature (GMST) response to CO2 emissions is presented and analysed. It consists of linear long-memory models for the GMST anomaly response ΔT to radiative forcing and the atmospheric CO2-concentration response ΔC to emission rate. The responses are connected by the standard logarithmic relation between CO2 concentration and its radiative forcing. The model depends on two sensitivity parameters, αT and αC, and two "inertia parameters," the memory exponents βT and βC. Based on observation data, and constrained by results from the Climate Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), the likely values and range of these parameters are estimated, and projections of future warming for the parameters in this range are computed for various idealised, but instructive, emission scenarios. It is concluded that delays in the initiation of an effective global emission reduction regime is the single most important factor that influences the magnitude of global warming over the next 2 centuries. The most important aspect of this study is the simplicity and transparency of the conceptual model, which makes it a useful tool for communicating the issue to non-climatologists, students, policy makers, and the general public.
A search range prediction for fast stereo matching in 3-D video

In this paper, we generate the valid search range information for prediction of search range. We compare a previous frame with a current one for acquiring disparity levels of pick values and the sum of object pixel values in each frame. The result obtained from comparing two frames is used to estimate the search range for the next frame. Also, to reduce the processing time, we use sub-sampled images and reuse the search range to realize the real-time system. As a result of our experiment, the processing time of our proposed algorithm is reduced by about 70% compared with the one using the full search range, with achieving similar PSNR.
Perceived change in life satisfaction following epilepsy diagnosis

Aims: To study the development in perceived life satisfaction of people with epilepsy. Methods: In 2005, members of the Norwegian Epilepsy Association responded to a version of the Self-Anchoring Striving Scale (termed Cantril’s Ladder). In this article, we compare the answers given to two questions, one related to the person’s life satisfaction today, and the other related to the person’s life satisfaction 5 years ago. The same people were asked about time since epilepsy onset. Those who reported being diagnosed during the previous 5 years were compared with those who had been diagnosed earlier, with regard to reported life satisfaction, at the present and 5 years ago. The hypothesis to be tested was that people who have been diagnosed with epilepsy report their life satisfaction as being reduced in comparison to their life satisfaction before the diagnosis. Results: The hypothesis was confirmed. The respondents in our study who had been diagnosed less than 5 years ago perceived their life satisfaction to be reduced by almost a standard deviation as compared to their life satisfaction before the diagnosis. Conclusions: People diagnosed with epilepsy perceive their life satisfaction to be reduced as a consequence of the diagnosis, and should be supported in their coping with the disease. This conclusion should be drawn with caution, owing to a low response rate and difficulties related to retrospective self-reports. Prospective population-based studies are needed to explore the causal pathways.
Regulatory Reform: Assessing the Government's Numbers

This paper provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of the costs and benefits of federal regulatory activities. The assessment, based on the government's own numbers, shows that the net benefits for final regulations promulgated from 1981 to mid-1996 approach a net present value of $1.6 trillion. The analysis also shows that the government can significantly increase the net benefits of regulation. Less than half of final regulations pass a neutral economist's benefit-cost test. Net benefits could increase by approximately $280 billion if agencies rejected such regulations. Net benefits could also increase if agencies replace existing regulations with more efficient alternatives, or if agencies substantially improve regulatory programs. The efficiency of official regulations varies by agency and by the type of risk the regulation is designed to reduce. Regulations from the Department of Transportation comprise over half of the total net benefits of final regulations, although they account for less than 10% of all regulations. The net benefits of regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency account for only a third of total net benefits, primarily because of 19 Clean Air Act regulations with high net benefits, although two-thirds of all regulations are EPA regulations. On average, regulations that reduce cancer risk are less efficient than other social regulations, and EPA cancer regulations appear less efficient than other cancer regulations. Regulations that reduce the risk of car, fire, or work-related accidents are generally more efficient than regulations that reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. The study also shows that the efficiency of regulations ha not declined over time, as some scholars suggest. Furthermore, the introduction of formal regulatory oversight by the OMB does not appear to influence the cost-effectiveness of regulations. The paper shows that agency compliance with regulatory impact analysis requirements in Reagan's Executive Order 12291 and Clinton's Executive Order 12866, the basis for agency estimates of the costs and benefits or regulation, is usually superficial. As a result, the quality of such analyses is generally poor. Partly because of the poor quality of analyses, it appears that agencies do not often use the analyses to improve regulatory outcomes. If Congress and the White House are serious about regulatory reform, they must cooperate to enforce the regulatory impact analyses requirement. Successful enforcement requires high-level political support, statutory language requiring all agencies to adhere to established principles of economic analysis, and rigorous review of agency analyses by an independent entity. At this time, it is unclear whether law makes are willing to exert the political muscle necessary to achieve real reform.
Analyzing Three-Dimensional Panel Data of Forecasts

With the proliferation of quality multi-dimensional surveys, it becomes increasingly important for researchers to employ an econometric framework in which these data can be properly analyzed and put to their maximum use. In this chapter we have summarized such a framework developed in Davies and Lahiri (1995, 1999), and illustrated some of the uses of these multi-dimensional panel data. In particular, we have characterized the adaptive expectations mechanism in the context of broader rational and implicit expectations hypotheses, and suggested ways of testing one hypothesis over the others. We find that, under the adaptive expectations model, a forecaster who fully adapts to new information is equivalent to a forecaster whose forecast bias increases linearly with the forecast horizon. A multi-dimensional forecast panel also provides the means to distinguish between anticipated and unanticipated changes in the forecast target as well as volatilities associated with the anticipated and unanticipated changes. We show that a proper identification of anticipated changes and their perceived volatilities are critical to the correct understanding and estimation of forecast uncertainty. In the absence of such rich forecast data, researchers have typically used the variance of forecast errors as proxies for shocks. It is the perceived volatility of the anticipated change and not the (subsequently-observed) volatility of the target variable or the unanticipated change that should condition forecast uncertainty. This is because forecast uncertainty is formed when a forecast is made, and hence anything that was unknown to the forecaster when the forecast was made should not be a factor in determining forecast uncertainty. This finding has important implications on how to estimate forecast uncertainty in real time and how to construct a measure of average historical uncertainty, cf. Lahiri and Sheng (2010a). Finally, we show how the Rational Expectations hypothesis should be tested by constructing an appropriate variance-covariance matrix of the forecast errors when a specific type of multidimensional panel data is available.
Monetary Policy Preferences of the European Monetary Union and the UK

This paper estimates central bank policy preferences in the case of the European Monetary Union and of the UK. We do so, by adopting the framework suggested by Cecchetti and Ehrmann (1999), which, however, we extent in two respects. First, we allow policy preferences to be asymmetric by assuming that inflation and output follow a Markov process. Second, following Bean (1998) we introduce dynamics in the supply and demand relationships. In doing so we estimate state-dependent policy frontiers. Empirical results from the static model show that monetary policy in the European Monetary Union and in the UK put a lot of weight on price stability. However, there is evidence of 'price puzzle' especially in the high volatility regime. The price puzzle might be the by-product of frequent realignments in the European Monetary System currency crises in 1992, 1993 and 1995 and of the more recent 2008 financial crisis. Estimates of the optimal policy frontier suggest that although the UK enjoys higher anti-inflatonary credibility, it also faces a higher trade-off between inflation and output variability than the European Monetary Union.
FOLLICLE STIMULATING HORMONE, THYROTROPHIN, HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE AND PROLACTIN IN HYPEREMESIS GRAVIDARUM

To investigate the functional capacity of the anterior pituitary gland in hyperemesis gravidarum, the serum levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), thyrotrophin (TSH), human growth hormone (HGH) and prolactin were measured before and after the combined administration of gonadotrophin and thyrotrophin releasing hormones (GnRH, TRH), and insulin in seven normal pregnancies, nine with hyperemesis and eight nonpregnant subjects. There was no difference between normal pregnancy and hyperemesis for FSH and TSH, but the basal level of HGH was lower and that of prolactin higher in hyperemesis although their responses following stimulation were similar. Thus there seems to be no hypofunction of the anterior pituitary gland in hyperemesis gravidarum.