Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Knockout of Vasohibin-1 Gene in Mice Results in Healthy Longevity with Reduced Expression of Insulin Receptor, Insulin Receptor Substrate 1, and Insulin Receptor Substrate 2 in Their White Adipose Tissue

Vasohibin-1 (Vash1), originally isolated as an endothelium-derived angiogenesis inhibitor, has a characteristic of promoting stress tolerance in endothelial cells (ECs). We therefore speculated that the lack of the vash1 gene would result in a short lifespan. However, to our surprise, vash1−/− mice lived significantly longer with a milder senescence phenotype than wild-type (WT) mice. We sought the cause of this healthy longevity and found that vash1−/− mice exhibited mild insulin resistance along with reduced expression of the insulin receptor (insr), insulin receptor substrate 1 (irs-1), and insulin receptor substrate 2 (irs-2) in their white adipose tissue (WAT) but not in their liver or skeletal muscle. The expression of vash1 dominated in the WAT among those 3 organs. Importantly, vash1−/− mice did not develop diabetes even when fed a high-fat diet. These results indicate that the expression of vash1 was required for the normal insulin sensitivity of the WAT and that the target molecules for this activity were insr, irs1, and irs2. The lack of vash1 caused mild insulin resistance without the outbreak of overt diabetes and might contribute to healthy longevity.
Nursing Home Quality, Chain Affiliation, Profit Status and Performance

This study uses data on 487 nursing homes in Florida for 1996 to examine several issues about the efficiency of nursing homes. Chain affiliation (national, regional or independent) is examined, as is profit status (for-profit or non-profit). For the first time quality of care is also included, due to the uniqueness of the data which contains quality scores assigned by State of Florida officials. Multiple regression analysis, as well as data envelopment analysis (DEA), is used. The results, in general, indicate that substantial inefficiencies do exist in the range of 20% to 30%, which is consistent with previous efficiency studies in this industry. Without controlling for quality, for-profit firms and chain affiliated firms are shown to be slightly more efficient than their independent and non-profit counterparts. However, chain affiliated firms scored lower on quality than independents and for-profit firms scored lower on quality than non-profit firms. When controlling for quality, the profit status of the firm and room utilization rates are positively and significantly related to efficiency. However, in the presence of the quality control variable, there is no evidence to suggest that chain affiliation impacts efficiency.
Dengue fever epidemic potential as projected by general circulation models of global climate change.

Climate factors influence the transmission of dengue fever, the world's most widespread vector-borne virus. We examined the potential added risk posed by global climate change on dengue transmission using computer-based simulation analysis to link temperature output from three climate general circulation models (GCMs) to a dengue vectorial capacity equation. Our outcome measure, epidemic potential, is the reciprocal of the critical mosquito density threshold of the vectorial capacity equation. An increase in epidemic potential indicates that a smaller number of mosquitoes can maintain a state of endemicity of disease where dengue virus is introduced. Baseline climate data for comparison are from 1931 to 1980. Among the three GCMs, the average projected temperature elevation was 1.16 degrees C, expected by the year 2050. All three GCMs projected a temperature-related increase in potential seasonal transmission in five selected cities, as well as an increase in global epidemic potential, with the largest area change occurring in temperate regions. For regions already at risk, the aggregate epidemic potential across the three scenarios rose on average between 31 and 47% (range, 24-74%). If climate change occurs, as many climatologists believe, this will increase the epidemic potential of dengue-carrying mosquitoes, given viral introduction and susceptible human populations. Our risk assessment suggests that increased incidence may first occur in regions bordering endemic zones in latitude or altitude. Endemic locations may be at higher risk from hemorrhagic dengue if transmission intensity increases. ImagesFigure 1Figure 2Figure 3
The Impact of Dividend Initiation on the Earnings Announcements and Returns Volatility

This article provides some evidence on the empirical consequences of initiating dividends. First, it documents that the information content of quarterly earnings announcements decreases after the introduction of cash dividends. This suggests that dividends and earnings are partial "information substitutes. " The second finding is that the volatility of total daily returns decreases after the initiation of dividends and that most of this decrease is attributable to a decrease in the firm-specific volatility. A possible reason for this is that, in the postdividend period, investors place less weight (relative to the predividend period) on other "information signals" and, hence, observed volatility may be lower. Copyright 1989 by the University of Chicago.
A taxonomy of manufacturing strategies

This paper describes the development and analysis of a numerical taxonomy of manufacturing strategies. The taxonomy was developed with standard methods of cluster analysis, and is based on the relative importance attached to eleven competitive capabilities defining the manufacturing task of 164 large American manufacturing business units. Three distinct clusters of manufacturing strategy groups were observed. Though there is an industry effect, all three manufacturing strategy types are observed in various industries. The two main dimensions along which the manufacturing strategy groups differ are the ability of the firms in them to differentiate themselves from competition with their products and services, and the scope of their product lines and markets. A general method for mapping manufacturing strategies on these dimensions is described. For each manufacturing group, the relationships between the competitive capabilities (which describe the manufacturing task), the business context (the business unit strategy), manufacturing activities (manufacturing strategy choices), and manufacturing performance measures are explored and compared.
Cellular Network Based Real-Time Urban Road Traffic State Estimation Framework Using Neural Network Model Estimation

This paper presents real time road traffic state estimation framework together with its evaluation. To evaluate the framework, a three-layer Artificial Neural Network model is proposed and used to estimate complete link traffic state. The inputs to the ANN model include probe vehicle's position, time stamps and speeds. To model the arterial road network the microscopic simulation SUMO is used to generate aggregated speed and FCD export files which are used in the training and evaluation of the ANN model. Besides, real A-GPS data gathered using A-GPS mobile phone on a moving vehicle on the sample roads is used to evaluate the ANN model. The performance of the ANN model is evaluated using the performance indicators RMSE and MPAE and on average the MPAE is less than 1.2%. The trained ANN model is also used to estimate the sample road link speeds and compared with ground truth speed (aggregate edge states) on a 10-minute interval for 1hr. The estimation accuracy using MAE and estimation availability indicated that reliable link speed estimation can be generated and used to indicate real-time urban road traffic condition.
Comparison of Laboratories Directors’ and Assessors’ Opinions on Challenges and Solutions of Standardization in Iran: A Qualitative Study

Objective: The quality medical laboratory services play a vital role in healthcare systems. Iran has set national standards based on the international standard ISO15189. These standards came into force in September 2007. Given the important role of both laboratories professional and assessors in the standardization, this study aims to compare and analyze medical laboratory directors’ and assessors’ opinions about this process, its challenges and relevant solutions. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted on two populations in 2013. The first survey population consisted of 150 assessors. The second group consisted of directors working in medical laboratory settings. From all universities of medical sciences, 258 medical laboratories were randomly selected. Data were gathered using two open-ended questionnaires and analyzed using the thematic analysis. Results: Challenges and relevant solutions regarding the standardization and standards, the assessment process and assessor, laboratories, external entities and contextual factors across laboratories directors and assessors were derived and compared. Both groups had a positive attitude towards the standardization process. However, they expressed some concerns regarding the process and accordingly proposed solutions to overcome the challenges. Conclusion: This study provides insights into the challenges and solutions of the standardization from two professional groups’ viewpoint. These two factors are closely related and should be considered when implementing standards since a positive perception of them increases the likelihood of successful standardization. Similarities and divergences regarding challenges and solutions of the standardization, in turn, can provide insights into how this process can be improved and deserve policy makers’ attention to continue the progress.
A Curve Shaped Description of Large Networks, with an Application to the Evaluation of Network Models

Background Understanding the structure of complex networks is a continuing challenge, which calls for novel approaches and models to capture their structure and reveal the mechanisms that shape the networks. Although various topological measures, such as degree distributions or clustering coefficients, have been proposed to characterize network structure from many different angles, a comprehensive and intuitive representation of large networks that allows quantitative analysis is still difficult to achieve. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we propose a mesoscopic description of large networks which associates networks of different structures with a set of particular curves, using breadth-first search. After deriving the expressions of the curves of the random graphs and a small-world-like network, we found that the curves possess a number of network properties together, including the size of the giant component and the local clustering. Besides, the curve can also be used to evaluate the fit of network models to real-world networks. We describe a simple evaluation method based on the curve and apply it to the Drosophila melanogaster protein interaction network. The evaluation method effectively identifies which model better reproduces the topology of the real network among the given models and help infer the underlying growth mechanisms of the Drosophila network. Conclusions/Significance This curve-shaped description of large networks offers a wealth of possibilities to develop new approaches and applications including network characterization, comparison, classification, modeling and model evaluation, differing from using a large bag of topological measures.
Market Dynamics in Food Supply Chains: The Impact of Globalization and Consolidation on Firms’ Market Power

The author examines whether ownership and increased competitive pressure affect food retailers’ market power, analyzing whether all actors involved in the food supply chain deviate from the pricing behavior that exists under perfect competition. A method proposed by Roeger (1995) is used to estimate monopoly and monopsony market power, relaxing the assumptions of perfect competition and constant returns to scale, and avoiding any endogeneity issues. The results obtained indicate that foreign investments and consolidation have a positive and significant impact on food processors’ and retailers’ mark-ups. Food processors, agricultural producers, and wholesalers have lower price-cost margins than retailers, whereas retailers exert monopsonistic power in the upstream food market as well. The results are robust for various estimation techniques and specifications.
The Effects of Babesiosis on Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage in Anatolian Black Goats Naturally Infected with Babesia ovis

Background A reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediate produced during an inflammatory response is the important part of host-defense strategies of organisms to kill the parasite. However, it is not well known whether these intermediates cause DNA damage and oxidative stress in goats infected with Babesia ovis. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of babesiosis on basal levels of DNA damage and oxidative status of goats naturally infected with B.ovis. Methods DNA damage and antioxidant parameters were determined in B. ovis infected goats. Ten infected Anatolian Black Goats with B. ovis diagnosed via clinical signs and microscopic findings and ten healthy were used in the study. Results The Babesia infection increased the levels of DNA damage, malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl content (PCO) and plasma concentration of nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), and decreased total antioxidant activities (AOA) and reduced glutathione (GSH). A significant positive correlation between DNA damage, MDA, PCO, and NOx concentrations was found in the infected goats. DNA damage showed a negative association with AOA and GSH concentrations in the infected goats. Conclusion The Babesia infection increases oxidative stress markers and DNA damage and decreases AOA in goats. These results suggest that the increases in the production of free radicals due to Babesia infection not only contribute to host-defense strategies of organisms to kill the parasite but also induce oxidative damage in other cells.
Dry Socket: Frequency, Clinical Picture, and Risk Factors in a Palestinian Dental Teaching Center

Aims: The objectives of this study were to find out the frequency, clinical picture, and risk factors of dry socket at the Dental Teaching Center of Al-Quds University in Palestine. Methods and Materials: Two previously used questionnaires were accomplished in this study over a one year period. The first questionnaire was completed for every patient who had one or more permanent teeth extracted in the Dental Surgery Clinic. The other one was completed for every patient suffered a postoperative pain and was diagnosed with dry socket. Results: There were 1305 dental extractions performed in 805 patients. The overall frequency of dry socket was 3.2%. The incidence of dry socket following non-surgical extractions was 1.7% while it was 15% following surgical extractions (P< 0.005). The incidence of dry socket was significantly higher in smokers (12%) than in non-smokers (4%) (P < 0.005), however, there is a strong association between the amount of smoking and the incidence of dry socket (P < 0.002). The incidence of dry socket was significantly higher in the single extraction cases (13%) than in the multiple extraction cases (5%) (P = 0.005). Age, sex, medical history, extraction site, amount of local anesthesia and experience of operator play no role in the occurrence of dry socket. Conclusion: Smoking, surgical trauma and single extractions are considered predisposing factors in the occurrence of dry socket. On the other hand, factors like: age, sex, medical history, extraction site, amount of anesthesia, and operator experience have no effect on the observation of dry socket.
The Causes and Consequences of Increasing Inequality

Despite the economic boom of the 1990s, the gap between the wealthy and the poor in the United States is growing larger. While ample evidence exists to validate perceived trends in wage, income, and overall wealth disparity, there is little agreement on the causes of such inequality and what might be done to alleviate it. This volume draws together a panel of distinguished scholars who address these issues in terms comprehensible to noneconomists. Their findings are surprising, suggesting that factors such as trade imbalances, immigration rates, and differences in educational resources do not account for recent increases in the inequality of wealth and earnings. Rather, the contributors maintain that these discrepancies can be attributed to workplace demand for high-skilled labor. They also insist that further research must examine the organization of industry in order to better understand the concurrent devaluation of manual labor. Addressing a topic that is of considerable public interest, this collection helps move the issue of increasing economic inequality in America to the center of the public policy arena. Contributors: Donald R. Deere, Claudia Goldin, Lawrence F. Katz, James P. Smith, Franco Peracchi, Gary Solon, Eric A. Hanushek, Julie A. Somers, Marvin H. Kosters, William Cline, Finis Welch, Angus Deaton, Charles Murray, Kevin Murphy
Contingency Learning in Alcohol Dependence and Pathological Gambling: Learning and Unlearning Reward Contingencies

Background Patients with alcohol dependence (AD) and pathological gambling (PG) are characterized by dysfunctional reward processing and their ability to adapt to alterations of reward contingencies is impaired. However, most neurocognitive tasks investigating reward processing involve a complex mix of elements, such as working memory, immediate and delayed rewards, and risk-taking. As a consequence, it is not clear whether contingency learning is altered in AD or PG. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine performance in a deterministic contingency learning task, investigating discrimination, reversal, and extinction learning. Methods Thirty-three alcohol-dependent patients (ADs), 28 pathological gamblers (PGs), and 18 healthy controls (HCs) performed a contingency learning task in which they learned stimulus–reward associations that were first reversed and later extinguished while receiving deterministic feedback throughout. Accumulated points, number of perseverative errors and trials required to reach a criterion in each learning phase were compared between groups using nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis rank-sum tests. Regression analyses were performed to compare learning curves. Results PGs and ADs did not differ from HCs in discrimination learning, reversal learning, or extinction learning, on the nonparametric tests. Regression analyses, however, showed differences in the initial speed of learning: PGs were significantly faster in discrimination learning compared to ADs, and both PGs and ADs learned slower than HCs in the reversal learning and extinction phases of the task. Conclusions Learning rates for reversal and extinction were slower for the alcohol-dependent group and PG group compared to HCs, suggesting that reversing and extinguishing learned contingencies require more effort in ADs and PGs. This implicates a diminished flexibility to overcome previously learned contingencies.
International Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences and Technology Socio-demographic Correlates Explaining the Longevity of Graying Population in a Traditional Society

Growing interest in the field population ageing lead to the study of factors related to the increase in survival of elderly population. Aging is a continuing process which involves genetic, socio-demographic, economic and environmental covariates. The planning of future elderly healthcare strongly depends on these factors. Among the various factors responsible for the human longevity, a few socio-demographic factors namely sex, place of residence, education, personal income, health rate, marital status, occupation status, caste, and leisure time activity have been identified. By applying hazard model, an attempt has been made to estimate the relative risk of survivability. This study uses the data collected in a survey conducted in 1998 to study the socio-demographic profiles of elderly population in Assam. Applying the hazard regression model, we found the evidence that covariate sex, personal income, marital status, and occupation are highly significant. Covariate like place of residence, education and caste are not found significant and when these covariate are excluded all covariate except place of residence are found significant. Among them females, elderly having personal income, married elderly, re-employed or still active elderly are found to be highly significant for living longer.
Impact of high-resolution data assimilation of GPS zenith delay on Mediterranean heavy rainfall forecasting

Abstract. Impact of GPS (Global Positioning System) data assimilation is assessed here using a high-resolution numerical weather prediction system at 2.5 km horizontal resolution. The Zenithal Tropospheric Delay (ZTD) GPS data from mesoscale networks are assimilated with the 3DVAR AROME data assimilation scheme. Data from more than 280 stations over the model domain have been assimilated during 15-day long assimilation cycles prior each of the two studied events. The results of these assimilation cycles show that the assimilation of GPS ZTD with the AROME system performs well in producing analyses closer to the ZTD observations in average. Then the impacts of assimilating GPS data on the precipitation forecast have been evaluated. For the first case, only the AROME runs starting a few hours prior the triggering of the convective system are able to simulate the convective precipitation. The assimilation of GPS ZTD observations improves the simulation of the spatial extent of the precipitation, but slightly underestimates the heaviest precipitation in that case compared with the experiment without GPS. The accuracy of the precipitation forecast for the second case is much better. The analyses from the control assimilation cycle provide already a good description of the atmosphere state that cannot be further improved by the assimilation of GPS observations. Only for the latest day (22 November 2007), significant differences have been found between the two parallel cycles. In that case, the assimilation of GPS ZTD allows to improve the first 6 to 12 h of the precipitation forecast.
Layer Assignment for Reduced Crosstalk Risk

Under modern VLSI technology, crosstalk noise is so severe that effort merely in detaied routing stage is not adequate for solving the problem and it has to be considered in earlier design stages. In this paper, we propose two heuristic algorithms for crosstalk mitigation in layer assignment, which is a stage between global routing and detailed routing, so that subsequent crosstalk avoidance in detailed routing can be more attainable. The pre-detailed-routing crosstalk is estimated through a probabilistic model. Constraint on the amount of vias is also considered. Experimental results on benchmark circuits confirm the effectiveness of the proposed heuristics.