Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic Variants on Chromosome 1q41 Influence Ocular Axial Length and High Myopia

As one of the leading causes of visual impairment and blindness, myopia poses a significant public health burden in Asia. The primary determinant of myopia is an elongated ocular axial length (AL). Here we report a meta-analysis of three genome-wide association studies on AL conducted in 1,860 Chinese adults, 929 Chinese children, and 2,155 Malay adults. We identified a genetic locus on chromosome 1q41 harboring the zinc-finger 11B pseudogene ZC3H11B showing genome-wide significant association with AL variation (rs4373767, β = −0.16 mm per minor allele, Pmeta = 2.69×10−10). The minor C allele of rs4373767 was also observed to significantly associate with decreased susceptibility to high myopia (per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.68–0.84, Pmeta = 4.38×10−7) in 1,118 highly myopic cases and 5,433 controls. ZC3H11B and two neighboring genes SLC30A10 and LYPLAL1 were expressed in the human neural retina, retinal pigment epithelium, and sclera. In an experimental myopia mouse model, we observed significant alterations to gene and protein expression in the retina and sclera of the unilateral induced myopic eyes for the murine genes ZC3H11A, SLC30A10, and LYPLAL1. This supports the likely role of genetic variants at chromosome 1q41 in influencing AL variation and high myopia.
Differences in the Inflammatory Response Induced by Acute Pancreatitis in Different White Adipose Tissue Sites in the Rat

Background There is increasing evidence of the role of adipose tissue on the systemic effects of acute pancreatitis. Patients with higher body mass index have increased risk of local and systemic complications and patients with android fat distribution and higher waist circumference are at greater risk for developing the severe form of the disease. Here we evaluated the changes on different areas of adipose tissue and its involvement on the inflammatory response in an experimental model of acute pancreatitis. Methods Pancreatitis was induced in male Wistar rats by intraductal administration of sodium taurocholate. Orlistat was administered to inhibit lipase activity. Activation of peritoneal macrophages was evaluated by measuring IL1β and TNFα expression. Inflammation was evaluated by measuring myeloperoxidase activity in mesenteric, epididymal and retroperitoneal areas of adipose tissue. Changes in the expression of inflammatory mediator in these areas of adipose tissue were also evaluated by RT-PCR. Results Pancreatitis induces the activation of peritoneal macrophages and a strong inflammatory response in mesenteric and epididymal sites of adipose tissue. By contrast, no changes were found in retroperitoneal adipose tissue. Inhibition of lipase prevented the activation of macrophages and the local inflammation in adipose tissue. Conclusions Our results confirm the involvement of adipose tissue on the progression of systemic inflammatory response during acute pancreatitis. However, there is a considerable diversity in different adipose tissue sites. These differences need to be taken into account in order to understand the progression from local pancreatic damage to systemic inflammation during acute pancreatitis.
Entropy constrained exemplar-based image inpainting

Image inpainting is the process of filling the unwanted region in an image marked by the user. It is used for restoring old paintings and photographs, removal of red eyes from pictures, etc. In this paper, we propose an efficient inpainting algorithm which takes care of false edge propagation. We use the classical exemplar based technique to find out the priority term for each patch. To ensure that the edge content of the nearest neighbor patch found by minimizing L2 distance between patches, we impose an additional constraint that the entropy of the patches be similar. Entropy of the patch acts as a good measure of edge content. Additionally, we fill the image by considering overlapping patches to ensure smoothness in the output. We use structural similarity index as the measure of similarity between ground truth and inpainted image. The results of the proposed approach on a number of examples on real and synthetic images show the effectiveness of our algorithm in removing objects and thin scratches or text written on image. It is also shown that the proposed approach is robust to the shape of the manually selected target. Our results compare favorably to those obtained by existing techniques.
When Should Epidemiologic Regressions Use Random Coefficients?

Summary. Regression models with random coefficients arise naturally in both frequentist and Bayesian approaches to estimation problems. They are becoming widely available in standard computer packages under the headings of generalized linear mixed models, hierarchical models, and multilevel models. I here argue that such models offer a more scientifically defensible framework for epidemiologic analysis than the fixed‐effects models now prevalent in epidemiology. The argument invokes an antiparsimony principle attributed to L. J. Savage, which is that models should be rich enough to reflect the complexity of the relations under study. It also invokes the countervailing principle that you cannot estimate anything if you try to estimate everything (often used to justify parsimony). Regression with random coefficients offers a rational compromise between these principles as well as an alternative to analyses based on standard variable‐selection algorithms and their attendant distortion of uncertainty assessments. These points are illustrated with an analysis of data on diet, nutrition, and breast cancer.
Papua New Guinea's Last Place: Experiences of Constraint in a Postcolonial Prison

Prison studies, a growing field of interest for social scientists, mostly focuses on western societies and Japan. This is the first study of a prison in the Asia Pacific area and contributes to a better understanding of life in post-colonial penal institutions. The author, who shared his respondents' lives for many months, vividly and sympathetically conveys their experiences of separation and loss. He describes their coping mechanisms that help them to adjust to an institution which has introduced Western forms of punishment alien to their own institutions and social relations.
Podophyllum hexandrum Offers Radioprotection by Modulating Free Radical Flux: Role of Aryl-Tetralin Lignans

We have evaluated the effect of variation in aryl-tetralin lignans on the radioprotective properties of Podophyllum hexandrum. Two fractionated fractions of P. hexandrum [methanolic (S1) and chloroform fractions (S2)], with varying aryl-tetralin lignan content were utilized for the present study. The peroxyl ion scavenging potentials of S1 and S2 were found to be comparable [i.e. 45.88% (S1) and 41% (S2)] after a 48 h interval in a time-dependent study, whereas in a 2 h study, S2 exhibited significant (P < 0.05) antioxidant activity in different metal ion + flux states. In the aqueous phase, S2 exhibited non-site-specific reactive oxygen species scavenging activity, i.e. 73.12% inhibition at 500 μg ml−1. S1 exhibited 58.40 ± 0.8% inhibition (at 0.025 μg ml−1) of the formation of reactive nitrite radicals, comparable to S2 (52.45 ± 0.825%), and also showed 45.01% site-specific activity (1000 μg ml−1), along with significant (P < 0.05) electron donation potential (50–2000 μg ml−1) compared to S2. Such activities of S1 could be attributed to the significantly (P < 0.05) higher levels of podophyllotoxin β-d-glucopyranoside (16.5 times) and demethyl podophyllotoxin glucoside (2.9 times) compared with S2. Together, these findings clearly prove that aryl-tetralin lignan content influences the radiation protective potential of the Podophyllum fractions to a great extent.
Earnings Surprise Implicit in Stock Prices: Which Earnings Forecasting Models are Investors Using and What Determines Their Choice?

: In this paper we address the issue of modeling the relationship between stock prices and accounting earnings in the presence of potential divergence of opinion regarding the expected company earnings. We introduce a new measure of the earnings surprise, the implied earnings surprise, which we define as the weighted average of the random walk, time series and the analysts’ earnings surprises, with the weights being estimated directly from stock prices. The link function which determines the relationship between the stock returns and the implied earnings surprise is estimated semi-nonparametrically, allowing our framework to nest a variety of models used in previous studies. Our key findings are as follows. First, we find the weight of the random walk (analysts) forecast to be significantly larger (smaller) for the stocks with low share of institutional holdings and impoverished information environment. Second, we find the choice of a particular earnings forecasting model to be related to its forecast accuracy, an effect which is more pronounced for the institutional investors. Finally, we show how conditioning on the implied measure of the earnings surprise substantially improves the profitability of the post-earnings announcement drift-based investment strategies
A Cultural Comparison of Open Innovation in Online Brand Communities

Open online brand communities represent a significant potential for innovative ideas. Companies are seeking ways to utilize this source of information and knowledge and to promote knowledge exchange between the company and active members of open online brand communities. In open online brand communities, members voluntarily contribute and control their knowledge. For this research, we collected data from the members of online brand communities from two high technology but culturally different countries: Finland and the USA. Our primary goal was to compare the willingness of members in an online brand community (for a heart rate monitor company) to share information and knowledge and to participate in companies’ innovation processes between two different high technology cultures. We used Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to help explain differences between information and knowledge sharing and participation in open innovation activities between Finland and the USA. We found that the effect of utility, social identity, and domain-specific skills on information and knowledge sharing differed between the Finnish and American sample. Structural equation modelling results indicate that information and knowledge sharing play an important role.
Evaluating the Effects of Multi-Modal Travel Information Based on the Principle of Relative Utility Maximization

It’s well known that information plays a significant role in influencing individual travel decisions, however, intelligent transportation system (ITS) deployment becomes slow these days. To provide additional evidence that the provision of information is effective in promoting modal shift, this paper attempts to establish a new nested choice model based on the principle of relative utility maximization (called r_NL model), in order to properly evaluate the effects of multi-modal travel information, which is expected to encourage the use of transit systems and consequently to mitigate traffic congestion. The principle of relative utility maximization assumes that an individual chooses an alternative with the highest relative utility considering his/her relative interests in alternatives from choice set. The new model can be used to represent unequal, asymmetric and heterogeneous choice structures of decisionmakers under the influence of incomplete information and context dependence. The effectiveness of the r_NL model was empirically confirmed by using a stated preference data collected in Japan. It turns out that the provision of multi-modal travel information can increase the users of a reliable transit system by 7-11%, reduce the car users by 3-5% and also leads to the decrease of bus users by 4-6%.
Concentrations of AMH and inhibin-B in relation to follicular diameter in normal human small antral follicles.

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to determine the intrafollicular concentrations of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), inhibin-B and steroids in normal human small antral follicles and to relate them to follicular size. METHODS A group of 103 women having one ovary removed for fertility preservation by cryopreservation prior to gonadotoxic treatment served as a source of a total of 272 human small antral follicles. Prior to cryopreservation of the ovarian cortex, fluid from small antral follicles were collected. On the basis of the follicular volume, the diameter was calculated and follicles with diameters from 3 to 12 mm were included. RESULTS Concentrations of AMH decreased significantly (P < 0.0005) from 1124 +/- 158 ng/ml (mean +/- SEM) in follicles with a diameter of 3 mm to a concentration of 392 +/- 98 ng/ml in 9 mm follicles, followed by a reduction to below 100 ng/ml in 12 mm follicles. The concentrations of inhibin-B rose from 57 +/- 10 ng/ml (mean +/- SEM) in 3 mm follicles to 142 +/- 10 ng/ml in 12 mm follicles (P < 0.0005) with a peak concentration of almost 200 ng/ml in 9-10 mm follicles. Relating hormone concentrations with age showed that even follicles from girls younger than 10 years showed the same range of AMH concentrations as those from older girls or women. CONCLUSIONS The intrafollicular concentrations of AMH become progressively lower with increasing follicle diameters. In contrast, concentrations of inhibin-B increased with increasing follicle diameter with peak values at around 9 mm in diameter. This suggests that AMH and inhibin-B undertake important intrafollicular functions around the time of normal follicular selection in the mid-follicular phase of the menstrual cycle.
Order Lead-Time Improvement Following Enterprise Information Technology Implementation: An Empirical Study

This paper investigates the influence of enterprise systems implementation on operational performance. The work extends the literature on enterprise systems by focusing on changes in process dynamics as a source for ongoing firm-level performance improvement. A case discussion of Tristen Corporation, a firm that implemented ERP and subsequently experienced benefits through gains to its continuous improvement efforts, is examined in light of theorized impacts of such implementations on process dynamics. Analyses of longitudinal data suggest that performance along a key metric motivating the ERP initiative (i.e., order fulfillment lead-time) showed a significant improvement immediately after system deployment. The data further suggest that the system implementation gave rise to an ongoing trend of performance improvement, in contrast to a stable performance trend prior to go-live.
Municipal Contact Centres: A Slower Approach Towards Sustainable Local Development by E-government

Abstract It is Swedish government policy to use information and communication technologies to increase sustainability. This has implications for planning and local organization of communities. In the municipalities where most public services are provided, there are growing numbers of local contact centres (CCs) aiming to meet citizens' needs for information and coordination of public services. The CCs localize public services and combine different services into a one-stop practice focusing on needs and demands of individual citizens and their unique situations. The municipalities hereby have to plan for service provision in new ways to meet more individualized needs that are also in line with improved sustainability. CCs are both local offices and advanced services on-line, as e-governmental services. E-government could be considered fast government, but this article aims to turn that obvious first impression upside down and discuss how e-government can slow down and make services more local, personalized and sustainable. Theoretically we take off from a time-geographical modelling of slow processes that has implication for slower, more sustainable development. Based on in-depth case studies of municipal CCs we argue that they are tools towards improved sustainability and localism, and that they are “slowing up” administrative processes. In particular, we point out that e-government has a potential to plan for, and promote, sustainability and slow local development.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PROFESSIONALISM OF FUTURE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS AMONG THREE PRIVATE MEDICAL COLLEGES OF BANGLADESH

Objectives: Medical professionalism forms the bridge between doctors and society. Conserving and maintaining professionalism is obligatory for physician curriculum. The objective of this study was to scrutinize and compare the professionalism of future medical professionals among different medical institutes. Methodology: It was a cross-sectional study conducted on 332 year-III and year-IV MBBS students of session 2012-2013 from three private medical colleges in Bangladesh. Data was collected using a mixed validated instrument containing items under fundamental elements of professionalism, measured by 5-points Likert scale giving a maximum score of 220. Results: Among 332 respondents, 44% were male, 56% female; Year-III respondents constituted 51% and Year-IV constituted 49%. Mean professionalism scores for male and female were 176.21 and 175.33, while for Year-III and Year-IV were 174.96 and 176.50 respectively. No significant differences observed between gender and year of study. However, significant differences were noticed between year-IV male students among three medical colleges. Majority (83%) students were imprecise of professionalism. Conclusions: Lack of focus is a worry for professionalism. Educators should focus on fundamental elements of professionalism. KEYWORDS : Professionalism, Medical-student, Core-values, Comparisons, Bangladesh.
Version Incompleteness of Behavioral Logics

Incompleteness results for behavioral logics are investigated. We show that there is a basic nite behavioral speci cation for which the behavioral satisfaction problem is not recursively enumerable, which means that there are no automatic methods for proving all true statements; in particular, behavioral logics do not admit complete deduction systems. This holds for all of the behavioral logics of which we are aware. We also prove that the behavioral satisfaction problem is not co-recursively enumerable, which means that there is no automatic way to refute false statements in behavioral logics. In fact we show stronger results, that all behavioral logics are 0 2 -hard, and that, for some data algebras, the complexity of behavioral satisfaction is not even arithmetic; matching upper bounds are established for some behavioral logics. In addition, we show for the xed-data case that if operations may have more than one hidden argument, then nal models need not exist, so that the coalgebraic avor of behavioral logic is lost.
Comparison of ionospheric electric currents and plasma convection patterns observed during substorms

This paper was presented at the Fifth International Conference on Substorms, 16-20 May 2000, Congress Centre of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia, and published in: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Substorms / [edited by A. Wilson], ESA Publications Division, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 2000, p. 295.
Low-cost gaze interaction: ready to deliver the promises

Eye movements are the only means of communication for some severely disabled people. However, the high prices of commercial eye tracking systems limit the access to this technology. In this pilot study we compare the performance of a low-cost, webcam-based gaze tracker that we have developed with two commercial trackers in two different tasks: target acquisition and eye typing. From analyses on throughput, words per minute and error rates we conclude that a low-cost solution can be as efficient as expensive commercial systems.
The Rule of Law in Nascent Democracies: Judicial Politics in Argentina

This book explains how the rule of law emerges and how it survives in nascent democracies. The question of how nascent democracies construct and fortify the rule of law is fundamentally about power. By focusing on judicial autonomy, a key component of the rule of law, this book demonstrates that the fragmentation of political power is a necessary condition for the rule of law. In particular, it shows how party competition sets the stage for independent courts. Using case studies of Argentina at the national level and of two neighboring Argentine provinces, San Luis and Mendoza, this book also addresses patterns of power in the economic and societal realms. The distribution of economic resources among members of a divided elite fosters competitive politics and is therefore one path to the requisite political fragmentation. Where institutional power and economic power converge, a reform coalition of civil society actors can overcome monopolies in the political realm.
Short-term protein intake increases fractional synthesis rate of muscle protein in the elderly: meta-analysis

The precise effects of protein intake on fractional synthesis rate (FSR) of muscle protein are still under debate. The sample size of these studies was small and the conclusions in young and elderly subjects were inconsistent. To assess the effect of dietary protein intake on the FSR level, we conducted a meta-analysis of controlled protein intake trials. Random-effects models were used to calculate the weighted mean differences (WMDs). Ten studies were included and effects of short-term protein intake were evaluated. In an overall pooled estimate, protein intake significantly increased the FSR (20 trials, 368 participants; WMD: 0.025%/h; 95%CI: 0.019-0.031; P < 0.0001). Meta-regression analysis suggested that the protein dose was positively related to the effect size (regression coefficient = 0.108%/h; 95%CI: 0.035, 0.182; P = 0.009). A subgroup analysis indicated that protein intake significantly increased FSR when the protein dose was ≤ 0.80 g/kg BW (16 trials, 308 participants; WMD: 0.027%/h; 95%CI: 0.019-0.031; P < 0.0001), but did not affect FSR when the protein dose was > 0.80 g/kg BW (4 trials, 60 participants; WMD: 0.016%/h; 95%CI: 0.004-0.029; P = 0.98). In conclusion, this study is the first integrated results showing that a short-term protein intake is effective at improving the FSR of muscle protein in the healthy elderly as well as young subjects. This beneficial effect seems to be dose-dependent when the dose levels of protein range from 0.08 to 0.80 g/kg BW.
Pancreatic Serous Cystadenoma with Compression of the Main Pancreatic Duct: An Unusual Entity

Serous cystadenoma is a common benign neoplasm that can be managed without surgery in asymptomatic patients provided that the diagnosis is certain. We describe a patient, whose pancreatic cyst exhibited a radiological appearance distinct from that of typical serous cystadenoma, resulting in diagnostic difficulties. CT and MRI showed a 10 cm-polycystic tumor with upstream dilatation of the main pancreatic duct (MPD), suggestive of intraductal papillary mucinous tumor (IPMT). Ultrasonographic aspect and EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration gave arguments for serous cystadenoma. ERCP showed a communication between cysts and the dilated MPD, compatible with IPMT. The patient underwent left pancreatectomy with splenectomy. Pathological examination concluded in a serous cystadenoma, with only a ductal obstruction causing proximal dilatation.