Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dissociating medication effects from learning and practice effects in a neurocognitive study of schizophrenia: Olanzapine versus haloperidol

Objective. To contrast the effect of a typical antipsychotic (haloperidol) and an atypical antipsychotic (olanzapine) on neurocognitive functioning in schizophrenia when learning and practice (LP) effects are controlled. Methods. Two groups of participants were recruited, 27 schizophrenia patients in their first 5 years of illness and 13 normal controls. Prior to double-blind randomisation, all subjects were assessed on four occasions within 5 days (prerandomisation period) on the same neurocognitive battery. Repeated assessment prior to randomisation was chosen as a method to control for LP effects. Patients were then randomised to 56 days of treatment with haloperidol or olanzapine (postrandomisation). All subjects were assessed on neurocognitive measures at Days 28 and 56. Results. LP effects were present during the prerandomisation period on motor tasks, verbal and visual short-term memory, attention, and on a measure of verbal working memory. There were no changes in performance for patients randomised to treatment with olanzapine or haloperidol or the normal control group during the postrandomisation period. Conclusions. Once LP effects are controlled, olanzapine and haloperidol do not affect performance on measures of motor functioning, verbal short-term memory, attention, verbal working memory, reaction time, visuospatial short-term memory, and visual working memory beyond that observed from LP effects.
Balancing parallel assembly lines via Ant Colony Optimization

Increasing flexibility, reducing failure sensitivity, increasing productivity and balancing production lines (systems) are considered as critical factors for enabling competitiveness in manufacturing industry. Parallel assembly lines are proposed as alternative system configurations for improved production recently. This paper is focused on balancing parallel assembly lines which are very advantageous especially when the capacity of production system is insufficient. Unlike the traditional assembly lines there are a few studies on balancing parallel assembly lines in the literature. Parallel assembly line balancing is a NP-hard problem similar to all other assembly line balancing problems. In this paper, a novel Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) based algorithm is proposed for Parallel Assembly Line Balancing Problem (PALBP). The proposed algorithm is tested on several benchmark problems and its performance is compared with several other algorithms.
Getting management accounting off the ground: post-colonial neoliberalism in healthcare budgets

Taking Modell's [(2014) The societal relevance of management accounting: an introduction to the special issue. Accounting and Business Research, 44 (2), 83–103] ‘societal relevance of management accounting’ agenda forward, and based on a cost accounting initiative in a Sri Lankan hospital, this paper examines how management accounting is implicated in societal relevance. It reports on a post-colonial neoliberal state's use of cost-saving experiments and the resultant emancipation of the individuals involved. It conducts a bottom-up analysis, from micro events in the hospital to policymaking at the level of the Provincial Council. This analysis suggests that cost accounting acts as a mediating instrument: it begins to loosen the old Keynesian post-colonial bureaucratic budget confinements, creates a social space for individuals to consider cost-saving experiments, and addresses wider policy concerns about hospital resource management. The story is illuminated by Gilles Deleuze's and Zigmund Bauman's ideas on post-panoptic societies: old confinements are being problematised and new flexible, ‘liquid’ spaces created, in which individuals are emancipated in terms of their ability to influence resource management within and beyond the organisational constituency.
[Physiological value of pelvic and spinal parameters of sagital balance: analysis of 250 healthy volunteers].

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Sagital balance of the spine is a fundamental element necessary for understanding spinal disease and instituting proper treatment. The aim of this prospective work was to establish the physiological values of pelvic and spinal parameters of sagital balance of the spine and to investigate their interactions. MATERIAL AND METHOD Pelvic and spinal parameters were measured on the standing radiographs of 250 healthy volunteers. The following parameters were measured on lateral views including the head, the spine and the pelvis: lumbar lordosis, thoracic kyphosis, sagital tilt at T9, sacral inclination, pelvic incidence, pelvic version, intervertebral angulation, and the vertebral cuneiformization from T9 to S1. These measurements were taken after digitalization of the radiographs. Two types of analysis were performed: a descriptive univariate analysis to characterize the angular parameters and multivariate analysis (correlation, principal component analysis) to detail the relative variations of these parameters. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Mean values were: maximal lumbar lordosis 61 +/- 12.7 degrees, maximal thoracic kyphosis 41.4 +/- 9.2 degrees, sacral inclination 44.2 +/- 8.5 degrees, pelvic version 13 +/- 6 degrees, pelvic incidence 55 +/- 11.2 degrees, sagital tilt at T9 10.5 +/- 3.1 degrees. There was a strong correlation between sacral inclination and pelvic incidence (r=0.86), pelvic version and pelvic incidence (r=0.66), lumbar lordosis pelvic incidence pelvic version and thoracic kyphosis (r=0.9) and finally between pelvic incidence and the following parameters: sagital tilt at T9, sacral inclination, pelvic version, lumbar lordosis, and thoracic kyphosis (r=0.98). The relations between the different parameters studied demonstrated that saggital tilt at T9, which reflects spinal balance, is determined by three independent factors. The first is a linear combination of pelvic incidence, lumbar lordosis, and sacral inclination. The second is pelvic version. The third is thoracic kyposis. CONCLUSION This work provided a useful tool for analyzing and understanding anteroposterior imbalance in patients with spinal disease and also a means of calculating corrections to be made with treatment, established from the linear regression equations which were elaborated.
DA white dwarfs from the LSS-GAC survey DR1: the preliminary luminosity and mass functions and formation rate

Modern large-scale surveys have allowed the identification of large numbers of white dwarfs. However, these surveys are subject to complicated target selection algorithms, which make it almost impossible to quantify to what extent the observational biases affect the observed populations. The LAMOST (Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope) Spectroscopic Survey of the Galactic anti-center (LSS-GAC) follows a well-defined set of criteria for selecting targets for observations. This advantage over previous surveys has been fully exploited here to identify a small yet wellcharacterised magnitude-limited sample of hydrogen-rich (DA) white dwarfs. We derive preliminary LSS-GAC DA white dwarf luminosity and mass functions. The space density and average formation rate of DA white dwarfs we derive are 0:83±0:16×10 3 pc 3 and 5:42 ± 0:08 × 10 13 pc 3 yr 1 , respectively. Additionally, using an existing Monte Carlo population synthesis code we simulate the population of single DA white dwarfs in the Galactic anti-center, under various assumptions. The synthetic populations are passed through the LSS-GAC selection criteria, taking into account all possible observational biases. This allows us to perform a meaningful comparison of the observed and simulated distributions. We find that the LSS-GAC set of criteria is highly efficient in selecting white dwarfs for spectroscopic observations (80-85 per cent) and that, overall, our simulations reproduce well the observed luminosity function. However, they fail at reproducing an excess of massive white dwarfs present in the observed mass function. A plausible explanation for this is that a sizable fraction of massive white dwarfs in the Galaxy are the product of white dwarf-white dwarf mergers.
The Hiring Function in Local Labour Markets in Britain

The labour market hiring function is estimated in the 104 areas of Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) and Local Enterprise Companies (LECs) that cover Britain. The model gives good overall fit with a general pattern evidencing constant returns to scale between unemployment and vacancies. Important variations occur between local TEC/LEC areas, particularly for islands, the City of London, suburban commuter areas, and coalfields or other areas suffering steep rises in redundancies. The estimates suggest that there is a linear aggregation between the local and national level. It is also concluded that the present boundaries of TEC/LEC areas should be reviewed, particularly in metropolitan areas, or that government contracts should give a strong emphasis to TECs or LECs working more closely together in these areas.
Pregnancy outcomes following placement of elective, urgent and emergent cerclage

Objective. To describe pregnancy outcomes following elective (history-indicated), urgent (ultrasound-indicated) or emergent (physical-exam indicated) cerclage placement. Materials and Methods. Study design was retrospective chart review. Women with singleton gestation and cervical cerclage were categorised into: elective, urgent and emergent group. Results. One hundred and thirty-three women were included; 89 in elective, 26 in urgent and 18 in emergent group. Difference was detected when elective and urgent groups were compared with emergent group for: gestation at delivery (35.9 ± 5.1 vs. 34.2 ± 5.9 vs. 29.3 ± 7.2 weeks, respectively, P < 0.05), delivery beyond 36 weeks, (73.9%, 57.7%vs. 23.5%, respectively, P < 0.05), neonatal death (6.8%, 9.5%vs. 43.8%, respectively, P < 0.05) and Apgar score <7 at 5 min (9.1%, 11.5%vs. 47.1%, respectively, P < 0.05). Difference was also detected between elective vs. urgent and emergent groups for: preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) (19.3%vs. 38.5%vs. 64.7%, respectively, P < 0.05) and chorioamnionitis (1.4%vs. 18.2%vs. 42.9%, respectively, P < 0.05). Conclusions. Emergent cerclage group had the poorest obstetric outcomes. The urgent cerclage group reached similar gestational age at delivery as the elective group but is more likely to have PPROM and chorioamnionitis.
Wikipedia as a Data Source for Political Scientists: Accuracy and Completeness of Coverage

Abstract In only 10 years, Wikipedia has risen from obscurity to become the dominant information source for an entire generation. However, any visitor can edit any page on Wikipedia, which hardly fosters confidence in its accuracy. In this article, I review thousands of Wikipedia articles about candidates, elections, and officeholders to assess both the accuracy and the thoroughness of Wikipedia's coverage. I find that Wikipedia is almost always accurate when a relevant article exists, but errors of omission are extremely frequent. These errors of omission follow a predictable pattern. Wikipedia's political coverage is often very good for recent or prominent topics but is lacking on older or more obscure topics.
[Identification of biomarkers in serum of early rheumatoid arthritis by proteomic methods].

OBJECTIVE To discover the biomarkers of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and healthy person were analyzed by proteomic methods to discover serum biomarkers. METHODS Samples of peripheral blood were collected form 10 newly diagnosed active RA patients, 5 males and 5 females, aged 54.3 +/- 12.78, with a disease course of 4.08 +/- 1.9 months, and 10 age and sex matched healthy persons. The samples were divided into 10 groups containing 1 sample of patient serum and 1 sample of healthy serum to undergo. High-molecular-weight protein (HMWP) was enriched by depletion of albumin with HiTrap Blue column and depletion of immunoglobulin G with HiTrap rProtein A column. Low-molecular-weight protein (LMWP) was enriched by C18 absorbent binding and elution. After comparative proteomic analysis, the different protein spots were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight-ionization-mass spectrometry. (MALDI-TOF-MS). RESULTS Marrow-related protein (MRP) 14, a protein of the S100 family was 100% positive in the RA patient sera and 100% negative in the sera of the healthy controls. MRP8, another protein of the S100 family, was 100% positive in the RA patient sera and 50% positive in the sera of the healthy controls. Ubiquitin was 90% positive in the RA patient sera and 10% positive in the sera of the healthy controls. The levels of apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), serum amyloid A1 and A2 (SAA1/SAA2), and transthyretin of the RA patients were all significantly higher than those of the healthy controls. CONCLUSION MRP14/MRP8, SAA1/SAA2 and ubiquitin may play important roles in development of RA and their determination may benefit early diagnosis, evaluation of disease activity and investigation of new therapy targets.
Moving Out of Home Ownership in Later Life: The Influence of the Family and Housing Careers

Home ownership is often regarded as the preferred housing tenure; however, situations in parallel life-course careers might make moving to a rental home necessary or attractive to home owners. Retrospective data from the SHARELIFE survey were used to study the short- and long-term impact of situations and disruptions in the family and housing careers on leaving home ownership at middle (45–64) and older ages (65–80) in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. We found that directly after separation and widowhood, the likelihood of leaving home ownership was the greatest. However, more than 10 years after separation and widowhood, individuals were still significantly more likely to leave ownership than those in their first marriage. Furthermore, late first childbirth and early first-time home ownership were associated with lower chances of leaving home ownership. We conclude that situations and changes in family and housing careers have both a short-term and a long-term impact on the likelihood of moving out of home ownership.
Silvering of European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.): seasonal changes of morphological and metabolic parameters

The transformation of yellow eel into silver eel is called `silvering? , and takes place prior to migration. We found the sedentary yellow phase in spring, the migratory silver phase in autumn, while August was a cross-over month. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to characterise the morphological and physiological changes that accompany silvering in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.). Silvering is positively related to external parameters such as eye size, internal maturation parameters like GSI, vitellogenine (VIT), and blood-substrates such as phospholipids, Free Fatty Acids (FFA), and cholesterol. The Hepatosomatic Index was not significantly different between yellow and silver groups. In contrast, a significant difference was observed for parameters of body constitution (fat, protein, dry matter) between yellow and silver stages. Furthermore, the process of silvering is accompanied with increased levels of cortisol in autumn, which plays a role in mobilisation of metabolic energy from body stores towards migratory activity and gonadal growth. Based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with physiological, morphological and endocrinological parameters, it is concluded that during the process of silvering, several developmental stages can be recognised, with a timeframe of the premigratory sedentary yellow phase from April until July, August is a cross-over month, and the migratory silver phase is found from September until November.
The Separation of Powers, Court Curbing, and Judicial Legitimacy

AmajorfocusofjudicialpoliticsresearchhasbeentheextenttowhichideologicaldivergencebetweentheCourtandCongress can explain variation in Supreme Court decision making. However, conflicting theoretical and empirical findings have given rise to a significant discrepancy in the scholarship. Building on evidence from interviews with Supreme Court justices and former law clerks, I develop a formal model of judicial-congressional relations that incorporates judicial preferences for institutional legitimacy and the role of public opinion in congressional hostility towards the Supreme Court. An original dataset identifying all Court-curbing legislation proposed between 1877 and 2006 is then used to assess the influence of congressional hostility on the Court’s use of judicial review. The evidence indicates that public discontent with the Court, as mediated through congressional hostility, creates an incentive for the Court to exercise self-restraint. When Congress is hostile,theCourtusesjudicialreviewtoinvalidateActsofCongresslessfrequentlythanwhenCongressisnothostiletowards the Court. D uring each of the two recent Supreme Court confirmation hearings in the United States Senate, the Judiciary Committee noted its concern with what it perceived to be an overly aggressive Supreme Court and an imbalance in the separation of powers. Chairman Arlen Specter opened the confirmation hearings of John Roberts by commenting, “I’m very much concerned about what I conceive to be an imbalance in the separation-of-powers between the Congress and the court.IamconcernedaboutwhatIbluntlysayisthedenigration by the court of congressional authority. ” 1 Senator Specter’s comments highlight a claim about American democracy which has been at the center of a lively academic debate for decades: the Supreme Court is an insulated legal body, free to make decisions away from the political pressures of Congress and the Executive. In this article, I challenge that claim. First, relying on evidence from interviews with Supreme Court justices and former law clerks, I establish a set of assumptions about judicial preferences that departs from previ
Real wages, inequality and globalization in latin america before 1940

RESUMEN Hacia 1914 existían notables diferencias económicas entre los países del Cono Sur y Cuba y el resto de América Latina. El artículo indaga las razones de estas diferencias, cuando aparecieron, así como la distancia existente entre los países latinoamericanos, los de la cuenca mediterránea y el líder industrial. Se ocupa de examinar el papel que desempeñaron las fuerzas demográficas, la localización geográfica y el grado de globalización e integracion económica. El trabajo utiliza nuevos datos de salarios reales y precios relativos de los factores de siete países latinoamericanos y de tres regiones mediterráneas. Estos datos se comparan con la información disponible para Gran Bretaña y los Estados Unidos. ABSTRACT By 1914, there were huge economic gaps between the Southern Cone plus Cuba and the rest of Latin America. Can they be explained by the varying ability of these countries to exploit the first great globalization boom after about 1870? Or did the gaps appear much earlier? And what about the gaps between Latin America and the Mediterranean, let alone with industrial leaders like Britain? What role did geographic isolation, globalization and demographic forces play in the process? Conventional GDP estimates are much too coarse to confront these questions. This essay uses a new data base on real wages and relative factor prices for seven Latin American and three Mediterranean regions, the latter being a source of so many of immigrants for the former. These ten regions, plus comparative information from Britain and the United States, form the data base for the paper.
Modeling the effects of a posterior glottal opening on vocal fold dynamics with implications for vocal hyperfunction.

Despite the frequent observation of a persistent opening in the posterior cartilaginous glottis in normal and pathological phonation, its influence on the self-sustained oscillations of the vocal folds is not well understood. The effects of a posterior gap on the vocal fold tissue dynamics and resulting acoustics were numerically investigated using a specially designed flow solver and a reduced-order model of human phonation. The inclusion of posterior gap areas of 0.03-0.1 cm(2) reduced the energy transfer from the fluid to the vocal folds by more than 42%-80% and the radiated sound pressure level by 6-14 dB, respectively. The model was used to simulate vocal hyperfucntion, i.e., patterns of vocal misuse/abuse associated with many of the most common voice disorders. In this first approximation, vocal hyperfunction was modeled by introducing a compensatory increase in lung air pressure to regain the vocal loudness level that was produced prior to introducing a large glottal gap. This resulted in a significant increase in maximum flow declination rate and amplitude of unsteady flow, thereby mimicking clinical studies. The amplitude of unsteady flow was found to be linearly correlated with collision forces, thus being an indicative measure of vocal hyperfunction.
Mycobacterial infections in organ transplant recipients.

Tuberculosis has a major adverse impact on solid organ transplant recipients; this article attempts to define this fact. The prevalence of posttransplant tuberculosis is increasing globally and currently is 13.7% at our center. The transplant surgery divides the continuum of pretransplant tuberculosis and posttransplant tuberculosis; immunosuppression accounts for a greater severity of the latter. Cyclosporin and tacrolimus are associated with an earlier onset of tuberculosis when compared with prednisolone and azathioprine immunosuppression. Disseminated disease is more common in nonrenal transplants. The risk for developing posttransplant tuberculosis in renal transplant recipients increased 2.25 times independently with cytomegalovirus (CMV) and twice with chronic liver disease; OKT3 treatment enhances the risk 1.8-fold. Tuberculosis occurring after 2 years of transplantation, diabetes mellitus, posttransplant diabetes mellitus, chronic liver disease, CMV, and deep mycoses each independently confer a risk, 1.5-times or higher, for death. Disseminated disease entails a 2-fold risk. Treatment with or without rifampicin is possible; the former is associated with a higher risk for allograft rejection. Isoniazid prophylaxis is recommended for high-risk patients with apparent clinical efficacy. However, in endemic areas, attendant liver disease makes it a difficult goal.
High Frequency of Codon 12 but not Codon 13 and 61 K-ras Gene Mutations in Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of Breast in a South Indian Population.

BACKGROUND Ras genes are thought to play an important role in human cancer since they have been found to be activated frequently in several types of tumors including breast cancer, where the overall incidence of K-RAS oncogene activation is 0-10%. Evaluation of K-RAS gene not only for mutational frequency but also for mutation types in this downstream signaling gene pathway is necessary to determine the mechanisms of action. The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that K-RAS activation is involved in breast cancer risk of south Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 70 paired pathologically confirmed tumor and non-tumor tissues from the same breast cancer patients were analysed for most common K-RAS mutations of codon 12,13 and 61 by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction digestion and direct nucleotide sequencing method. RESULTS We found that a high rate of homozygous and heterozygous mutations of codon 12, but not codon 13 and 61, may influence the invasive ductal carcinoma of breast risk in this study. CONCLUSIONS Our study indicated that only codon 12 may be involved in initiating breast carcinogenesis in India.