Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Mortgage Interest Rates and Cash Rate Cycle Relationship and International Funding Cost: Evidence in the Context of Australia

Australia is a nation of home-loan borrowers. Hence, the movement of mortgage rates is closely watched in the country. Borrowers expect mortgage rates to synchronise with the cash rate, particularly when the cash rate decreases. More recently, however, the media has reported a weakening of this link. This has been accompanied by complaints from the public and politicians that banks no longer automatically pass on full reductions in the cash rate to mortgage holders. Banks claim that this is due to the effect of international funding costs. We test this claim in this paper. We investigate the relationship between mortgage rates and the cash rate, taking into account international funding costs in the context of Australia. Using a battery of econometric tests, we analyse data pertaining to all 20 Australian banks during the period 1996 to 2012. We find that international funding costs significantly affect mortgage rates, but the cash rate still continues to drive mortgage rates in Australia. However, the linkage between the cash rate and mortgage rates has indeed weakened since 2006. Our findings, therefore, confirm the divergence of mortgage rates from the cash rate cycle and provide support for the claim by banks that this is due to the effect of international funding costs. The innovation of this paper is that it is the first to test the effect of international funding costs in the context of the cash rate cycle and mortgage interest rate relationship in Australia.
Does Visual Angle of a Line of Characters Affect Reading Speed?

Eighteen participants each proofread 12 three-page articles. Each article was printed at six sizes (or scales) and in two different character sets. Reading distance was constant (52 cm). The lines of characters on the pages subtended 6.7, 10.6, 16.0, 24.3, 36.4, and 53.4 deg at a participant's eye. Proofreading speed and accuracy were reduced at the extreme visual angles. Within a range of at least 16 to 36 deg, proofreading speed and accuracy were unaffected. The significance of these findings is that people's reading efficiency is invariant over a large range of normal viewing. Most printed text and text shown on computer terminal screens form visual angles within this range. Therefore, differences in visual angle probably do not account for the slower reading speed found when people read from CRT displays than from paper (Gould and Grischkowsky, 1984).
2‐Mercaptoethanol Acts as a Potentiating Factor of Interleukin‐2‐Dependent Lymphocyte Proliferation

An interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) dependent cell line which could be grown continuously with crude concanavalin A‐stimulated rat or mouse spleen cell culture supernatant could not survive for over 48 hr in the culture medium supplemented with partially purified or recombinant IL‐2. The cell growth was restored by adding another factor obtained from the same crude culture supernatant. This potentiating activity which was physicochemically inseparable from serum albumin was also obtained from the culture medium containing 2‐mercaptoethanol (2‐ME) and incubated at 37 C for 24 hr without the spleen cells. By further experiments, it was demonstrated that 2‐ME itself had the potentiating activity on the IL‐2‐dependent proliferation of this cell line and cysteine mediated the activity of 2‐ME. The cells could not enter S‐phase in the absence of 2‐ME even in the presence of IL‐2.
Nuclear DNA microsatellite analysis of genetic diversity and gene flow in the Scandinavian brown bear (Ursus arctos)

In the 1930s, the Scandinavian brown bear was close to extinction due to vigorous extermination programmes in Norway and Sweden. Increased protection of the brown bear in Scandinavia has resulted in the recovery of four subpopulations, which currently contain close to 1000 individuals. Effective conservation and management of the Scandinavian brown bear requires knowledge of the current levels of genetic diversity and gene flow among the four subpopulations. Earlier studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity revealed extremely low levels of genetic variation, and population structure that grouped the three northern subpopulations in one genetic clade and the southernmost subpopulation in a second highly divergent clade. In this study, we extended the analysis of genetic diversity and gene flow in the Scandinavian brown bear using data from 19 nuclear DNA microsatellite loci. Results from the nuclear loci were strikingly different than the mtDNA results. Genetic diversity levels in the four subpopulations were equivalent to diversity levels in nonbottlenecked populations from North America, and significantly higher than levels in other bottlenecked and isolated brown bear populations. Gene flow levels between subpopulations ranged from low to moderate and were correlated with geographical distance. The substantial difference in results obtained using mtDNA and nuclear DNA markers stresses the importance of collecting data from both types of genetic markers before interpreting data and making recommendations for the conservation and management of natural populations. Based on the results from the mtDNA and nuclear DNA data sets, we propose one evolutionarily significant unit and four management units for the brown bear in Scandinavia.
Comparison of two luting agents used for the retention of cast dowel and cores.

PURPOSE The first purpose of this study was to compare the retentive values of zinc phosphate and Panavia F resin cements when used for luting cast dowel and cores. The second purpose was to determine whether the use of a lubricant when making the resin pattern for a custom dowel and core would have an effect on the final retention of dowels cemented with either zinc phosphate or Panavia F cements. METHODS AND MATERIALS Sixty-three caries-free extracted single-rooted human teeth were randomly divided into three groups of 21. Root canal preparations were standardized for all 63 teeth. Clinical protocols for fabricating and cementing dowel and core restorations were examined, comparing zinc phosphate and Panavia F resin cements. Direct dowel patterns were fabricated using the Para Post system and cast in a noble metal alloy. Group I dowel spaces were lubricated with GC lubricant prior to dowel pattern fabrication and cleaned with Cavidry solvent before cementing the cast dowel and core with zinc phosphate cement. Group II dowel spaces were rinsed with water only prior to dowel pattern fabrication. The dowels and cores in this group were cemented with Panavia F resin cement. Group III dowel spaces were lubricated with GC lubricant prior to dowel pattern fabrication; the dowel spaces were cleaned with Cavidry solvent before the cast dowel and cores were cemented with Panavia F cement. The tensile force necessary to remove the cast dowel and cores was determined using a universal testing machine. Results were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD test. RESULTS The dowels and cores in Group I had significantly higher retentive values than either of the two Panavia F groups (p< or = 0.001). No difference in retentive values (p > 0.05) was found between dowels luted with either of the lubricating agents in the Panavia F groups. CONCLUSIONS Zinc phosphate cement had higher retentive values when cementing cast dowel and cores than Panavia F. The type of lubricant used for the resin dowel fabrication (water or GC lubricant that was removed with a solvent) had no effect on the retention of cast dowels cemented with Panavia F.
USING A SEMI-PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS TO UNDERSTAND THE OCCURRENCE OF COUPS D’ÉTAT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

This paper examines the factors that make a political regime more vulnerable to overthrow given the number of years elapsed since the regime's inception. By analyzing a relatively large dataset of 102 countries over the last 35 years and using the event history analysis (Cox regression model, frailty model), the present work builds upon previous theoretical attempts to offer a new empirical contribution to the understanding of the event of coup d'état. The main findings of this study indicate that non-democratic political regimes accelerate the recurrence of coup plots. Such a vulnerability to coup episodes is increased in low income economies. In contrast to previous research, I reach a nuanced conclusion with regard to the influence of military spending on the duration of periods of political stability. The study further uncovers the fact that the duration between two successive coup episodes seems not to be significantly affected by either internal or external crises. Finally, the results of the model confirm the existence of “coup trap” phenomena.
A high-throughput cost-effective ASIC implementation of the AES Algorithm

This paper proposes a high-throughput cost-effective implementation of AES supporting encryption and decryption with 128-, 192-, and 256-bit cipher key. Optimum irreducible polynomial coefficients are selected to construct the composite field GF(((22)2)2) on standard and normal base in order to minimize the gate count in SubBytes/InvSubBytes transformation. In addition, MixCoulmn/InvMixColumn transformations are optimized and the gate count is the least as we know. And then, a novel on-the-fly key expansion structure is applied to improve the throughput. The performance is evaluated on SMIC 0. 18µm CMOS technology and the design has been verified on FPGA. The throughput can achieve at 1.16Gbps with the cost of only 19476 equivalent NAND2 gates, which outperforms prior works with respect to the parameter throughput per kilo gates with the same process1.
Prevention of surgical site infection after oral cancer surgery by topical tetracycline

Background: In a pilot study, we showed that topical administration of a tetracycline could decrease oral bacteria levels for 6 hours in patients who underwent oral cancer surgery combined with tracheotomy and flap reconstruction. This multicenter, randomized control trial aimed to investigate the effectiveness of topical application of tetracycline ointment for prevention of surgical site infection (SSI) associated with major oral cancer surgery. Methods: One hundred seventeen patients who underwent oral cancer resection combined with neck dissection, flap reconstruction, and tracheotomy were divided randomly into an intervention group (n = 56) and a control group (n = 61). The intervention consisted of topical administration of tetracycline ointment on the dorsum of the tongue every 6 hours for 48 hours postoperatively. Factors relating to the occurrence of SSI in both groups were subjected to logistic regression analysis. Results: SSI occurred in 11 patients (19.6%) in the intervention group and 22 patients (36.1%) in the control group. Multivariate analysis showed that a longer operating time and not receiving topical tetracycline were independent risk factors for development of SSI. Conclusion: Administration of topical tetracycline for 48 hours postoperatively is an effective way of preventing SSI after oral cancer surgery.
Preclinical Evaluation and Quantification of 18F-Fluoroethyl and 18F-Fluoropropyl Analogs of SCH442416 as Radioligands for PET Imaging of the Adenosine A2A Receptor in Rat Brain

The cerebral adenosine A2A receptor is an attractive therapeutic target for neuropsychiatric disorders. 18F-fluoroethyl and 18F-fluoropropyl analogs of 18F-labeled pyrazolo[4,3-e]-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine (SCH442416) (18F-FESCH and 18F-FPSCH, respectively) were developed as A2A receptor–specific PET ligands. Our aim was to determine an appropriate compartmental model for tracer kinetics, evaluate a reference tissue approach, and select the most suitable PET ligand. Methods: A 90-min dynamic PET scan with arterial blood sampling and metabolite analysis was acquired for 22 healthy male Wistar rats starting at the time of 18F-FESCH (n = 12) and 18F-FPSCH (n = 10) injection. For each tracer, half the animals were vehicle-treated whereas the other half were pretreated with the A2A receptor–selective antagonist KW-6002, inducing full blocking. Regional tissue total volume of distribution (VT) was estimated by 1- and 2-tissue-compartment modeling (1TCM and 2TCM, respectively) and Logan graphical analysis. Midbrain, cerebellum, and hippocampus were evaluated as the reference region by comparing baseline VT with VT under full blocking conditions and comparing striatal nondisplaceable binding potential (BPND) using a simplified reference tissue model (SRTM) with distribution volume ratio minus 1 (DVR − 1) for 60- and 90-min scans. Results: On the basis of the Akaike information criterion, 1TCM and 2TCM were the most appropriate models for 18F-FPSCH (baseline striatal VT, 3.7 ± 1.1) and 18F-FESCH (baseline striatal VT, 5.0 ± 2.0), respectively. Baseline striatal VT did not significantly differ between tracers. After pretreatment, striatal VT was reduced significantly, with no significant decrease in hippocampus, midbrain, or cerebellum VT. Baseline striatal SRTM BPND did not differ significantly from DVR − 1 except for 18F-FPSCH when using a 60-min scan and midbrain as the reference region, whereas Bland–Altman analysis found a smaller bias for 18F-FESCH and a 60-min scan. After pretreatment, striatal SRTM BPND did not significantly differ from zero except for 18F-FPSCH when using hippocampus as the reference region. Striatal SRTM BPND using midbrain or cerebellum as the reference region was significantly lower for 18F-FPSCH (range, 1.41–2.62) than for 18F-FESCH (range, 1.64–3.36). Conclusion: Dynamic PET imaging under baseline and blocking conditions determined 18F-FESCH to be the most suitable PET ligand for quantifying A2A receptor expression in the rat brain. Accurate quantification is achieved by a 60-min dynamic PET scan and the use of either cerebellum or midbrain as the reference region.
Predicting Success: An Application of Data Mining Techniques to Student Outcomes

This project examines the effectiveness of applying machine learning techniques to the realm of college student success, specifically with the intent of discovering and identifying those student characteristics and factors that show the strongest predictive capability with regards to successful graduation. The student data examined consists of first time freshmen and transfer students who matriculated at California State University San Marcos in the period of Fall 2000 through Fall 2010 and who either graduated successfully or discontinued their education. Operating on over 30,000 student observations, random forests are used to determine the relative importance of the student characteristics with genetic algorithms to perform feature selection and pruning. To improve the machine learning algorithm cross validated hyperparameter tuning was also implemented. Overall predictive strength is relatively high as measured by the Matthews Correlation Coefficient, and both intuitive and novel features which provide support for the learning model are explored.
EFFECT OF SUPPLEMENTATION OF LEUKEMIA INHIBITORY FACTOR ON IN VITRO DEVELOPMENT OF BUFFALO EMBRYOS

The effect of supplementation of recombinant LIF in the embryo culture medium, effect of oviductal epithelial cells and Vero cells co-culture on subsequent embryo development were studied during in vitro culture of buffalo embryos. Oocytes collected from the slaughter house ovaries, were matured and fertilized in vitro. The presumptive zygotes were cultured in four different groups as control-group I, with rLIF-group II, co-culture with buffalo oviductal epithelial cells- group III and with Vero cells-group IV. There was no significant difference in the cleavage rate in all the four groups, however, development of expanded blastocysts was found to be significantly higher in all the treatment groups (13.58 to 16.57%) when compared with control (9.80%), but there was no significant difference noticed among the treatment groups. The percentage of hatched blastocysts were significantly higher in group II (10.86%) when compared with that of control (5.38%) group. From the present study it is concluded that supplementation of LIF 100ng/ml in the culture media improved the hatching rate in blastocysts.
[Lymphocytic infiltrate of the dermis preceding typical Sweet's syndrome].

BACKGROUND The histologic criteria for Sweet's syndrome consist in prominent oedema of the dermis and a diffuse infiltrate of numerous neutrophils with leukocytoclasis without vasculitis in the superficial and the deep dermis. Several comorbidities have been observed in patients with Sweet's syndrome, particularly hemo-proliferative diseases. PATIENTS We report the cases of two men aged 60 and 75 years with Sweet's syndrome associated in one case with myelodysplasia and in the other with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. These two patients had typical edematous plaques highly evocative of Sweet's syndrome. However, histological examination revealed superficial and deep perivascular lymphocytic infiltrate in the dermis on 5 occasions before the typical neutrophilic dermatosis of Sweet's could be diagnosed after respectively 2 and 4 years of progression. DISCUSSION Histological findings in Sweet's syndrome are characteristic and constitute a major diagnostic factor. However, these two cases show that a lymphocytic infiltrate can occur months or even years before the appearance of typical neutrophilic infiltrate in patients with Sweet's syndrome.
Higher-order Traits and Happiness in the Workplace: The Importance of Occupational Project Scale for the Evaluation of Characteristic Adaptations

ABSTRACT This study attempts to explain the relationship between job satisfaction and the Big Two, Stability and Plasticity, which are the higher-order traits of Big Five. Occupational Project, a narrative construct, was considered a mediator variable in this relationship. Occupational Project consists of affective and cognitive evaluations of an individual's work life as a project in terms of the completed (past), the ongoing (present) and the prospective (future) parts. The survey method was applied to a sample of 253 participants. The results supported the proposed model, in which Occupational Project mediated the relationship between the Big Two and both job satisfaction and affect in workplace. Discussion is focused on applying Occupational Project as a practical tool for management. Consideration of an employee's Occupational Project could provide management with a means to question, understand, intervene with and redefine the narrative quality of his/her occupational project that influences job satisfaction.
RANIBIZUMAB PLUS PROMPT OR DEFERRED LASER FOR DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA IN EYES WITH VITRECTOMY BEFORE ANTI-VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR THERAPY

Background: The approach to managing diabetic macular edema in eyes with previous vitrectomy is based on limited evidence. Therefore, an exploratory post hoc assessment of 3-year data from eyes with and without vitrectomy before randomization in a DRCR.net trial that evaluated ranibizumab + prompt or deferred laser for diabetic macular edema is presented. Methods: Visual acuity and optical coherence tomography outcomes were compared between eyes with and without previous vitrectomy. Results: At baseline, eyes with previous vitrectomy (n = 25) had longer duration of diabetes, worse visual acuity, less thickened central subfield measurements on optical coherence tomography and were more apt to have worse diabetic retinopathy severity level or previous treatment for macular edema or cataract surgery than eyes without a history of vitrectomy (n = 335). Analyses adjusted for these baseline imbalances did not identify substantial differences between eyes with and without previous vitrectomy at each annual visit through 3 years for the favorable visual acuity, optical coherence tomography central subfield thickness, or volume outcomes, although optical coherence tomography improvement appeared slower in vitrectomy eyes during the first year. Conclusion: This study provides little evidence that the beneficial clinical outcomes for patients with center-involved diabetic macular edema treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor are affected in the long term by previous vitrectomy.
Pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common cause of dementia in elderly people that is accompanied by progressive cognitive decline and memory loss. The pathologic hallmarks of AD are synaptic and neuronal degeneration together with extracellular senile plaques containing amyloid-beta (Aβ) and the intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the hippocampus and other cortical regions. Amyloid-beta peptide is believed to have a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AD as a major component of the senile plaques. It acts as a trigger key of AD and is considered as the principal toxic factor in the pathogenesis of the disease. Accumulation of amyloid β protein (Aβ), a main component of the senile plaques, in the brain initiates a cascade of events that ultimately lead to neuronal dysfunction and cognitive deficits. Other proposed mechanisms for AD include impairment in cholinergic function, oxidative stress, inflammatory agents and glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity. AD is characterized neuropathologically by impaired cholinergic function, increased oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, neuronal cell death, synapses loss, cortical atrophy, deficiencies in steroid hormones and appearance of glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity.
Establishing Thromboelastography with Platelet-Function Analyzer Reference Ranges and Other Measures in Healthy Term Pregnant Women

Abstract Objective The diagnosis of coagulopathy cannot always be performed at point of care. Thromboelastography (TEG) and the platelet-function analyzer (PFA-100), have emerged as reliable means for coagulation analysis. However, their reliable utility in pregnancy remains to be determined. We sought to establish reference values with concomitant determination of other known coagulation measures in nonlaboring gravidae in an effort to report the mean and variance of multiple testing modalities. Study Design Fifty-nine term, nonlaboring, pregnant women without comorbidities were enrolled, either at presentation for scheduled delivery or at presentation to triage for a non–labor-related indication. TEG, PFA-100, and complete coagulation measures of the overall hemostatic function (including prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, protein C, protein S, von Willebrand factor antigen, ristocetin cofactor activity, and ADAMTS-13) were performed. Prior investigations of TEG and PFA-100 parameters in normal gravidae were reviewed, and pooled means and standard deviations (as a measure of variance) were calculated. Results TEG and PFA-100 parameters were significantly different among pregnant gravidae compared with nonpregnant reference ranges, and varied in association with other measures of the coagulation system. Our results and the pooled results reflect a hypercoagulable state. Conclusion Our data suggest that TEG values are significantly different in term, nonlaboring, healthy gravidae compared with nonpregnant reference values. Pooled means and standard deviations shown here may be considered for reference.