Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Economic Resilience Lessons from the ShakeOut Earthquake Scenario

Following a damaging earthquake, “business interruption” (BI)—reduced production of goods and services—begins and continues long after the ground shaking stops. Economic resilience reduces BI losses by making the best use of the resources available at a given point in time (static resilience) or by speeding recovery through repair and reconstruction (dynamic resilience), in contrast to mitigation that prevents damage in the first place. Economic resilience is an important concept to incorporate into economic loss modeling and in recovery and contingency planning. Economic resilience framework includes the applicability of resilience strategies to production inputs and output, demand- and supply-side effects, inherent and adaptive abilities, and levels of the economy. We use our resilience framework to organize and share strategies that enhance economic resilience, identify overlooked resilience strategies, and present evidence and structure of resilience strategies for economic loss modelers. Numerous resilience strategies are compiled from stakeholder discussions about the ShakeOut Scenario (Jones et. al. 2008). Modeled results of ShakeOut BI sector losses reveal variable effectiveness of resilience strategies for lengthy disruptions caused by fire-damaged buildings and water service outages. Resilience is a complement to mitigation and may, in fact, have cost and all-hazards advantages.
Associations of Breast Cancer Risk Prediction Tools With Tumor Characteristics and Metastasis.

PURPOSE The association between established risk factors for breast cancer and subtypes or prognosis of the disease is not well known. We analyzed whether the Tyrer-Cuzick-predicted 10-year breast cancer risk score (TCRS), mammographic density (MD), and a 77-single nucleotide polymorphism polygenic risk score (PRS) were associated with breast cancer tumor prognosticators and risk of distant metastasis. PATIENTS AND METHODS We used a case-only design in a population-based cohort of 5,500 Swedish patients with breast cancer. Logistic and multinomial logistic regression of outcomes, estrogen receptor (ER) status, lymph node involvement, tumor size, and grade was performed with TCRS, PRS, and percent MD as exposures. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of distant metastasis. RESULTS Women at high risk for breast cancer based on PRS and/or TCRS were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with favorable prognosticators, such as ER-positive and low-grade tumors. In contrast, PRS weighted on ER-negative disease was associated with ER-negative tumors. When stratifying by age, the associations of TCRS with favorable prognosticators were restricted to women younger than age 50. Women scoring high in both TCRS and PRS had a lower risk of distant metastasis (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.49 to 0.98). MD was not associated with any of the examined prognosticators. CONCLUSION Women at high risk for breast cancer based on genetic and lifestyle factors were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancers with a favorable prognosis. Better knowledge of subtype-specific risk factors could be vital for the success of prevention programs aimed at lowering mortality.
Quantifying the risk of coronary artery disease in a community: the Bambuí project.

OBJECTIVE To determine the coronary risk profile in adults and elderly in a community. METHODS The study comprised a sample of adults (30-59 years, n=547) and the entire elderly population (60-74 years, n=1165) residing in Bambuí town, Brazil. The Framingham score based on sex, age, smoking, diabetes mellitus, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and HDL-C was used. The score based on age and sex was defined as "expected" and compared with the mean score obtained by the sum of all risk factors in each age group and sex (score "observed"). RESULTS The difference between the scores "observed" and "expected" increased with aging in both sexes. Smoking increased the difference from 30 years of age onwards, in both sexes, and hypertension was important in men above the age of 30 years and in women above the age of 50 years. Diabetes and elevated total cholesterol increased the risk of the disease above the age of 50 years in both sexes. A higher level of HDL-C reduced the risk among men above the age of 30 years, with no significant difference among women. Less schooling (< 4 years versus > or = 4 years) was associated with a higher score in adults of both sexes, but not among the elderly. CONCLUSION Based on these results, in the community studied, the risk of coronary artery disease may be reduced up to 44% in men and 38% in women.
Phase III trial of vandetanib compared with erlotinib in patients with previously treated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE Vandetanib is a once-daily oral inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and epidermal growth factor receptor signaling. This phase III study assessed the efficacy of vandetanib versus erlotinib in unselected patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after treatment failure with one to two prior cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens. PATIENTS AND METHODS One thousand two hundred forty patients were randomly assigned to receive vandetanib 300 mg/d (n = 623) or erlotinib 150 mg/d (n = 617). The primary objective was to show superiority in progression-free survival (PFS) for vandetanib versus erlotinib. If the difference did not reach statistical significance for superiority, a noninferiority analysis was conducted. RESULTS There was no significant improvement in PFS for patients treated with vandetanib versus erlotinib (hazard ratio [HR], 0.98; 95.22% CI, 0.87 to 1.10; P = .721); median PFS was 2.6 months for vandetanib and 2.0 months for erlotinib. There was also no significant difference for the secondary end points of overall survival (HR, 1.01; P = .830), objective response rate (both 12%), and time to deterioration of symptoms for pain (HR, 0.92; P = .289), dyspnea (HR, 1.07; P = .407), and cough (HR, 0.94; P = .455). Both agents showed equivalent PFS and overall survival in a preplanned noninferiority analysis. Adverse events (AEs; any grade) more frequent with vandetanib than erlotinib included diarrhea (50% v 38%, respectively) and hypertension (16% v 2%, respectively); rash was more frequent with erlotinib than vandetanib (38% v 28%, respectively). The overall incidence of grade ≥ 3 AEs was also higher with vandetanib than erlotinib (50% v 40%, respectively). CONCLUSION In patients with previously treated advanced NSCLC, vandetanib showed antitumor activity but did not demonstrate an efficacy advantage compared with erlotinib. There was a higher incidence of some AEs with vandetanib.
Developing Measures of Teachers’ Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching

In this article we discuss efforts to design and empirically test measures of teachers’ content knowledge for teaching elementary mathematics. We begin by reviewing the literature on teacher knowledge, noting how scholars have organized such knowledge. Next we describe survey items we wrote to represent knowledge for teaching mathematics and results from factor analysis and scaling work with these items. We found that teachers’ knowledge for teaching elementary mathematics was multidimensional and included knowledge of various mathematical topics (e.g., number and operations, algebra) and domains (e.g., knowledge of content, knowledge of students and content). The constructs indicated by factor analysis formed psychometrically acceptable scales.
Demonstration of the Chemotactic Properties of Collagen 1

Summary An in vivo method for measuring chemotaxis has been described using Millipore filters. This method demonstrated that soluble collagen, but not gelatin, was quite chemotactic. Further, the products of collagenolysis produced by cutaneous collagenase, but not by bacterial collagenase, were extraordinarily chemotactic for polymorphonuclear leukocytes within 4 hr after testing at a concentration of about 0.1 μg.
And Not Anti-Realism Either

As my title suggests, this paper is another episode in a continuing story. In the last episode the body of realism was examined, the causes of its death identified, and then the project of constructing a suitable successor for these post-realist times was begun ([3]). I called that successor the "natural ontological attitude" or NOA, for short, and I shall return to it below. In today's episode, however, the subject of criticism becomes anti-realism, and this is a live and, therefore, a shiftier target. For the death of realism has revived interest in several anti-realist positions and, appropriately enough, recent philosophical work has explored modifications of these antirealisms to see whether they can be refurbished in order to take over, from realism, as the philosophy-of-science "of choice. " My first object here will be to show that just as realism will not do for this choice position, neither will anti-realism. That job accomplished, I shall then sing some more in praise of NOA. To understand anti-realism we have first to backtrack a bit and re-examine realism. Given the diverse array of philosophical positions that have sought the "realist" label, it is probably not possible to give a sketch of realism that will encompass them all. Indeed, it may be hopeless to try, even, to capture the essential features of realism. Yet, that is indeed what I hope to do in identifying the core of realism with the following ideas. First, realism holds that
Inactivation of Brassinosteroid Biological Activity by a Salicylate-inducible Steroid Sulfotransferase from Brassica napus *

Recent discoveries from brassinosteroid-deficient mutants led to the recognition that plants, like animals, use steroids to regulate their growth and development. We describe the characterization of one member of a Brassica napussulfotransferase gene family coding for an enzyme that catalyzes theO-sulfonation of brassinosteroids and of mammalian estrogenic steroids. The enzyme is specific for the hydroxyl group at position 22 of brassinosteroids with a preference for 24-epicathasterone, an intermediate in the biosynthesis of 24-epibrassinolide. Enzymatic sulfonation of 24-epibrassinolide abolishes its biological activity in the bean second internode bioassay. This mechanism of hormone inactivation by sulfonation is similar to the modulation of estrogen biological activity observed in mammals. Furthermore, the expression of the B. napussteroid sulfotransferase genes was found to be induced by salicylic acid, a signal molecule in the plant defense response. This pattern of expression suggests that, in addition to an increased synthesis of proteins having antimicrobial properties, plants respond to pathogen infection by modulating steroid-dependent growth and developmental processes.
Multiple Accountabilities in Incident Reporting and Management

In this article, we examine the current and increasing emphasis on accountability and patient safety in health care, focusing on practices of incident reporting and management in New South Wales, Australia. We describe the frames of accountability associated with an incident reporting system, and explore how this system manifests in practice. In contrast to literature that situates incident reporting and local practices as oppositional, we used ethnographic methods to observe the incident management practices of clinical staff in a hospital, and found evidence to characterize this relationship differently. We found that accountability has multiple conceptualizations, and we present three findings that demonstrate how the reporting system and incident management policy are interwoven with local enactments of accountability. We suggest that systematic efforts toward improvement cannot be divorced from the local context, and emphasize the importance of local ecologies of practice in facilitating the meaningful utilization of such incident reporting systems.
Risk factors for onset of asthma: a 12-year prospective follow-up study.

BACKGROUND Asthma development and prognosis have been studied extensively in at-risk populations, but knowledge of the natural history of asthma in the general population is limited. OBJECTIVE To describe the incidence and remission of asthma and its predictors, data from a 12-year follow-up study of a random population sample (n = 291; age range, 7 to 17 years) at enrollment, were analyzed. METHODS The sample was examined in 1986 and in 1998. A case history, including data on asthma, allergic diseases, and lifestyle factors, was obtained by questionnaire and interview. Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) to histamine, lung function, and skin-prick test reactivity to a standard panel of 10 aeroallergens were measured. RESULTS The point prevalence of asthma increased from 4.1% at the first survey to 11.7% at follow-up, at which point 19.6% of the sample had ever experienced asthma symptoms. Of the subjects with ever-asthma, 40% had remitted at follow-up. Asthma developed in 45 subjects (16.1%) during the follow-up period, which was predicted by the following factors: wheezing in childhood (odds ratio [OR], 3.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.34 to 9.75), AHR (OR, 4.94; 95% CI, 2.42 to 10.08), allergic sensitization to house dust mites (OR, 3.23; 95% CI, 1.00 to 10.40), and dermatitis (OR, 2.94; 95% CI, 1.22 to 7.11). The simultaneous presence of more than one of these risk factors was associated with a high probability of developing asthma at follow-up (61.5%). In subjects without any risk factors, such as AHR, allergic sensitization, rhinitis, dermatitis or wheezing in childhood; paternal/maternal allergy, or asthma, asthma developed in only 4% during follow-up. CONCLUSION The presence of AHR and concomitant atopic manifestations in childhood increase the risk of developing asthma in adulthood, and should be recognized as markers of prognostic significance, whereas the absence of these manifestations predicts a very low risk of future asthma.
Body water and sodium in patients with acromegaly.

thy-rotoxicosis, testicular atrophy could be Signs of congestive heart failure were not present in any of the cases. No instances of acromegalic gigantism ap-peared in these patients. The cases were unselected with respect to the activity of the disease; cases Nos. 6, 11, and 15 were therefore included despite the fact that they were considered almost "cured. " The table gives clinical and laboratory data, describing the status of the patients at the time of the present study.
Role of angiotensin II in the pressor response to cortisol in fetal sheep during late gestation

Glucocorticoids increase blood pressure in utero, but the mechanisms responsible are unclear. This study investigated the hypothesis that the hypertensive effects of cortisol depend upon a functional renin–angiotensin system (RAS). The study examined, in the sheep fetus, whether blockade of the Ang II type 1 (AT1) specific receptor prevented the cortisol‐induced increase in blood pressure. From 124 ± 1 days of gestation (term 145 ± 2 days), 27 chronically catheterized sheep fetuses were infused i.v. for 5 days with one of the following: (1) saline (0.9% NaCl at 2.5 ml day−1, n= 6); (2) cortisol (3−5 mg kg−1 day−1, n= 7); (3) AT1 receptor antagonist (GR138950, 1–3 mg kg−1 day−1 in saline, GRS, n= 7); or (4) cortisol and GR138950 (GRC, n= 7). On all days of infusion, plasma cortisol was greater in both groups of cortisol‐treated fetuses than in the respective control fetuses (P < 0.05), and GR138950 prevented the pressor response to exogenous Ang II. Over 5 days of infusion, blood pressure increased by a maximum of 7.6 ± 1.4 mmHg (mean ±s.e.m., P < 0.05) in the cortisol‐, but not saline‐infused, fetuses. Blockade of the AT1 receptor caused significant reductions in blood pressure in both GRS‐ and GRC‐treated groups (P < 0.05); in the GRS‐treated fetuses, the fall in blood pressure was significant from the first day of infusion, while in GRC‐treated fetuses the decrement was not significant until the second day (P < 0.05). Over the period of the infusion, decreases in arterial blood pH and P a,O 2 , and an increase in P a,CO 2 , were observed in the fetuses treated with the AT1 receptor antagonist (P < 0.05). Therefore, in the sheep fetus, 5 days of AT1 receptor antagonism suppresses the cortisol‐induced rise in blood pressure. These results suggest that cortisol may increase blood pressure within 24 h of administration by a mechanism that is independent of the fetal RAS. Thereafter, Ang II, via the AT1 receptor, may mediate, in part, the hypertensive effects of cortisol in utero.
A Preliminary Study: N-acetyl-L-cysteine Improves Semen Quality following Varicocelectomy

Background Surgery is considered the primary treatment for male infertility from clinical varicocele. One of the main events associated with varicocele is excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant that scavenges free radicals, is considered a supplement to alleviate glutathione (GSH) depletion during oxidative stress. Despite beneficial effects of NAC in other pathological events, there is no report on the effect of NAC in individuals with varicocele. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of NAC on semen quality, protamine content, DNA damage, oxidative stress and fertility following varicocelectomy. Materials and Methods This prospective clinical trial included 35 infertile men with varicocele randomly divided into control (n=20) and NAC (n=15) groups. We assessed semen parameters, protamine content [chromomycin A3 (CMA3)], DNA integrity [terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)] and oxidative stress [2', 7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein-diacetate (DCFH-DA)] before and three months after varicocelectomy. Results Percentage of abnormal semen parameters, protamine deficiency, DNA fragmentation and oxidative stress were significantly decreased in both groups compared to before surgery. We calculated the percentage of improvement in these parameters compared to before surgery for each group, then compared the results between the groups. Only percentage of protamine deficiency and DNA fragmentation significantly differed between the NAC and control groups. Conclusion The results of this study, for the first time, revealed that NAC improved chromatin integrity and pregnancy rate when administered as adjunct therapy post-varico- celectomy (Registeration Number: IRCT201508177223N5).
Deoxyribonucleic acid of Marek's disease virus in a lymphoblastoid cell line from Marek's disease tumours.

Summary DNA extracted from a chicken lymphoblastoid cell line (MSB-1) originally derived from a Marek's disease tumour was examined for the presence of the Marek's disease virus genome. DNA cRNA membrane filter hybridization experiments established the presence of 60 to 90 genome equivalents in these cells.
Probing Shakespeare's Idiolect in Troilus and Cressida, 1.3.1–29

John Heminge and Henry Condell first speak of Shakespeare's idiolect — his personal language behaviour — in their preface to the 1623 folio: `His mind and hand went together: And what he thought, he vttered with that easinesse, that wee haue scarse receiued from him a blot in his papers. ' They echo Shakespeare, who said, of his `noted weed,' that `every word doth almost [tell] my name, / Showing their birth, and where they did proceed' (sonnet 76.6–8). For these three men, style is more than `an elegant fourme or order in writynge or speakinge,' and invention more than rhetorical inventio, where one finds material in `loci or ``places, seats'' in one's notebooks. ' Idiolect reflects `mind' and should be approached through cognition. Descartes notwithstanding, mind is now analysable biologically by scientific methods. Even in the humanities, authorship attribution now uses quantitative profiles of lexical, grammatical, metrical, and syntactic regularities, such as function-word combinations, rare words, and.
Moment Lyapunov Exponent and Stability Index for Linear Conservative System with Small Random Perturbation

Asymptotic expansion series for the moment Lyapunov exponent and stability index are constructed and justified for the two-dimensional linear stochastic system close to a harmonic oscillator. As an example, a one-degree-of-freedom mechanical system parametrically excited in stiffness and damping is considered and several terms of the expansion are obtained.
Psychosocial factors and obstetric complications

SYNOPSIS A number of studies have attempted to explain obstetric difficulties on the basis of psychosocial conditions which exist during pregnancy. In addition, recent research in the field of life event stress has indicated that life experiences occurring prior to a pregnancy may influence pregnancy outcome. The present study examines the ability of life event stress as well as a variety of medical, social and psychological variables to predict complications of pregnancy. In contrast to previous small-sample research, the present study examines 782 subjects. Multivariate statistical techniques are employed to analyse the numerous variables measured. Results suggest that ‘age at birth of first child’, ‘education level’, ‘menstrual history’, ‘attitudes to pregnancy’ and ‘age at menstruation’ best predict obstetric difficulties. However, only a small percentage of the variance of pregnancy complication scores is explained by these factors.
[Placental location and incidence of pre-eclampsia].

AIM In pregnancies with unilateral placental location, the uteroplacental Doppler flow measurements show significant side-to-side differences. Highly divergent findings seem to be associated with an unfavourable outcome, particularly with preeclampsia. Therefore, we studied the relationship between placental location and subsequent development of preeclampsia prospectively. METHOD 184 patients between 24 and 36 weeks of gestation were studied prospectively. Placental location was classified as central or lateral by ultrasound. Preeclampsia was defined by blood pressure > or = 140/90 mmHg and proteinuria > or = 500 mg/24 h. RESULTS After consideration of exclusion criteria, 148 pregnancies could be evaluated: 115 had a laterally and 33 a centrally located placenta. The incidence of preeclampsia in these groups was 32/115 (28%) and 3/33 (9%) respectively. CONCLUSION These data suggest that a laterally located placenta is associated with a significantly increased incidence of preeclampsia, with a risk ratio of 3.1 when compared to pregnancies with centrally located placentas.
Novel targets and new potential: developments in the treatment of inflammation in chronic kidney disease

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) of all stages experience extremely high mortality, with cardiovascular causes accounting for about half of all their deaths. Traditional risk factors such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes mellitus cannot explain the excessively high cardiovascular mortality in CKD. Chronic inflammation is one of the novel risk factors that appear to contribute to the increased mortality seen in patients with CKD. Therapeutic interventions targeting chronic inflammation in CKD may lead to improved outcomes. Objectives: To describe the role of inflammation in CKD and to review anti-inflammatory pharmacologic therapies that could have a role in its therapy. Methods: A review of the literature was carried out and expert opinion expressed. Results/conclusion: Inflammation is a common and significant problem in CKD. There are currently no approved pharmacologic anti-inflammatory therapies in CKD but several agents are being studied in early clinical trials, while others could become viable alternatives in the future.