Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficient universal noiseless source codes

Although the existence of universal noiseless variable-rate codes for the class of discrete stationary ergodic sources has previously been established, very few practical universal encoding methods are available. Efficient implementable universal source coding techniques are discussed in this paper. Results are presented on source codes for which a small value of the maximum redundancy is achieved with a relatively short block length. A constructive proof of the existence of universal noiseless codes for discrete stationary sources is first presented. The proof is shown to provide a method for obtaining efficient universal noiseless variable-rate codes for various classes of sources. For memoryless sources, upper and lower bounds are obtained for the minimax redundancy as a function of the block length of the code. Several techniques for constructing universal noiseless source codes for memoryless sources are presented and their redundancies are compared with the bounds. Consideration is given to possible applications to data compression for certain nonstationary sources.
Biomarkers of Atherosclerosis and Acute Coronary Syndromes - A Clinical Perspective

Richard Body1, Mark Slevin2,3 and Garry McDowell4,5 1Cardiovascular Sciences Research Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, 2School of Biology, Chemistry and Health Science, John Dalton Building, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, 3Cardiovascular Research Centre, CSIC-ICCC, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, 4Faculty of Health, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, 5School of Translational Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, 1,2,4,5UK 3Spain
The Analysis of Bangkok Coffee Chain’s Consumers and the Influence of Brand Personalities on their Purchasing Decision

This research analyzes the demographic data of a Bangkok coffee chain’s consumers and investigates the relationship between their personality and the chain’s brand personality. It further examines the influence of brand personalities on the purchasing decision of consumers. Aaker’s (1997) five dimensions of brand personality, namely, sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness, are adopted as a framework for analysis. The research finds a significant correlation between consumer personalities and brand personalities in all dimensions. However, ‘competence’ is the only dimension that significantly influenced the purchasing decision of coffee chains’ consumers in Bangkok.
The expression of mutant pilins in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: fifth position glutamate affects pilin methylation

The expression within Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 of three mutant pilin genes from P. aeruginosa PAK was studied to determine their effects on pilin stability, translocation into the membrane, leader peptide removal, and methylation of the mature N‐terminal phenylalanine. The results revealed that a deletion of 4 or 8 amino acids within the immediate N‐terminus of pilin had deleterious effects upon leader peptide cleavage. In addition, while the 4‐amino‐acid deletion did not affect pilin partitioning into the membrane, the 8‐amino‐acid deletion decreased the amount of pilin found within the membrane fraction. Of considerable interest was the finding that the mutation within the mature pitin of the glutamate at position 5 to a lysine did not prevent leader peptide removal but did inhibit the methylation of the N‐terminal phenylalanine.
Understanding Global Trade

Global trade is of vital interest to citizens as well as policymakers, yet it is widely misunderstood. This compact exposition of the market forces underlying international commerce addresses both of these concerned groups, as well as the needs of students and scholars. Although it contains no equations, it is almost mathematical in its elegance, precision, and power of expression. Understanding Global Trade provides a thorough explanation of what shapes the international organization of production and distribution and the resulting trade flows. It reviews the evolution of knowledge in this field from Adam Smith to today as a process of theoretical modeling, accumulation of new empirical data, and then revision of analytical frameworks in response to evidence and changing circumstances. It explains the sources of comparative advantage and how they lead countries to specialize in making products which they then sell to other countries. While foreign trade contributes to the overall welfare of a nation, it also creates winners and losers, and Helpman describes mechanisms through which trade affects a country's income distribution. The book provides a clear and original account of the revolutions in trade theory of the 1980s and the most recent decade. It shows how scholars shifted the analysis of trade flows from the sectoral level to the business-firm level, to elucidate the growing roles of multinational corporations, offshoring, and outsourcing in the international division of labor. Helpman’s explanation of the latest research findings is essential for an understanding of world affairs.
Optimal combination of media for primary isolation of Helicobacter pylori from gastric biopsy specimens

The aim of the present study was to compare eight media, four nonselective and four selective media, to determine the best combination of media for the primary isolation of Helicobacter pylori. Over a period of 5 months, mucosal antral biopsy specimens were obtained from 222 consecutive dyspeptic patients undergoing endoscopy. Biopsy samples were plated in parallel on all eight media. Egg yolk emulsion agar (EYE), Skirrow's medium, Dent's medium, and modified Thayer-Martin medium were used as selective media; modified chocolate agar (MCHOC), Triptycase soy agar (TSA), brucella agar, and brain heart infusion agar were used as nonselective media. Overall, by using these eight media, H. pylori was recovered from biopsy specimens from 114 of 222 patients, yielding an isolation rate of 51%. Comparison of all possible combinations of the eight media showed that the highest rate of isolation of H. pylori was 100% (114 of 114) with EYE-MCHOC, followed by 96.5% (110 of 114) when EYE-TSA was used. Conversely, it was found that none of the media used alone yielded a 100% rate of recovery (the maximum recovery rate was 95%, which was achieved with EYE). These results indicate that the association of EYE and MCHOC yielded the maximum recovery of H. pylori from gastric biopsy specimens. Therefore, the use of selective and nonselective media in parallel offers optimal recovery rates with only a slight increase in costs.
Severe acute respiratory infections in the postpandemic era of H1N1

Purpose of reviewShortly after the advent of severe acute respiratory syndrome and the avian influenza, the emergence of the influenza A(H1N1)2009 pandemic caused significant vibrations to the public health authorities and stressed the health systems worldwide. We sought to investigate whether this experience has altered our knowledge and our current and future practice on the management of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and community-acquired pneumonia. Recent findingsA changing epidemiology was demonstrated, with obesity and pregnancy beyond established risk groups for influenza A, other clinical syndromes beyond primary viral pneumonia, possible coinfections by other viral beyond bacterial pathogens and a disappointing performance of all available severity assessment tools. On the treatment topic, accumulating evidence suggesting worse outcomes argues against the use of corticosteroids, but some noninvasive ventilating modalities require further assessment. SummaryThe recent influenza A(H1N1)2009 pandemic has highlighted our weaknesses relating to the diagnosis and assessment of severity of SARI, compromising early treatment and ultimate outcomes; further research based on this experience will help to improve prognosis and boost our future preparedness. An important message is the necessity of international collaboration for the rapid dissemination of locally acquired knowledge.
Idiopathic spinal epidural lipomatosis.

OBJECTIVE Spinal epidural lipomatosis (SEDL) is a rare disorder often associated with the administration of exogenous steroids or the elevation of endogenous steroids. Spinal epidural lipomatosis develops in some patients in the absence of elevated steroid levels. The limited information known about idiopathic SEDL comes predominantly from isolated case reports. We proposed to study our experience with idiopathic SEDL and to review the literature. METHODS We identified eight symptomatic patients with idiopathic SEDL treated at our institution, which is the largest series reported. All patients were male and obese by body mass index (> 27.5 kg/m2). The mean age of the patients was 35.4 years. Idiopathic SEDL was equally distributed between the thoracic and lumbar spine. Six patients underwent laminectomy and fat debulking with good postoperative results; two patients were treated with a weight loss diet, which resulted in the relief of symptoms after losing > 15 kg each. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION A review of our patients in conjunction with other reported cases reveals the following: 1) idiopathic SEDL occurs almost exclusively in the obese population; 2) idiopathic SEDL seems to occur with equal frequency between the thoracic and lumber spine; 3) a strong male predominance exists; 4) thoracic SEDL presents at an earlier age compared with lumbar SEDL; 5) surgical decompression remains the treatment of choice for the immediate relief of symptoms. Our experience suggests that idiopathic epidural lipomatosis may be a pathological entity that has been underdiagnosed.
Omeprazole-based antimicrobial therapies: results in 198 Helicobacter pylori-positive patients.

AIM To compare the efficacies of omeprazole-based antimicrobial therapies in Helicobacter pylori-positive patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS We report the results of seven therapeutic trials combining omeprazole, clarithromycin, amoxycillin, colloidal bismuth subcitrate and tinidazole in 198 patients (peptic ulcer disease/non-ulcerative dyspepsia, 137/61) to eradicate H. pylori infection. The diagnosis of infection was performed by Sydney system biopsies, compliance was checked after a pill count at the end of the treatment and eradication was assessed at least 4 weeks after the end of the treatment either by the Sydney system for peptic ulcer disease or the urease breath test for non-ulcerative dyspepsia. RESULTS When results were analysed on a protocol basis, the only significant difference in eradication (P = 0.006) was found between the total population of patients treated with amoxycillin-based combinations (27 eradications out of 48 patients) and those given a treatment that included clarithromycin (84 eradications out of 108). Forty-two patients (21%) dropped out either because of side effects (10 among patients taking clarithromycin and two taking amoxycillin) or because they were lost to follow-up (27 patients). Out of 64 patients with active ulcers, 43 (67%) were both H. pylori-negative and ulcer-free 4-8 weeks after the end of therapy, 12 out of 64 (19%) were ulcer-free but remained H. pylori-positive and nine out of 64 (14%) were H. pylori-positive and had active ulceration.
Dividend Changes and Profitability: An Empirical Study of Indian Manufacturing Firms

The study, using a large sample of firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), examines the stock price reaction to dividend changes and the relevance of signaling models in explaining the valuation effects associated with dividend changes. The study finds significant wealth effects around dividend changes as proposed by the signaling models. There is a strong positive relationship between dividend changes and profitability during the year of dividend change. Dividend initiating (omitting) firms have large increase (decrease) in earnings in the year of change, compared to the moderate change in earnings in case of dividend increasing (decreasing) firms. Dividend changes contain no information about future earnings in the subsequent years.
Seven Centuries of the Prices of Consumables, Compared with Builders' Wage- Rates

In an earlier papers we gave an account of builders' wages in southern England from 1264 to 1954, and now we shall try to relate these to the prices of some of the main articles of consumption. In 1901 Steffen3 displayed the movements of two wage-rates in comparison with those of the prices of wheat and meat through the preceding six cenituries and more: it was his Tafel 11 that first displayed the striking evidence for a great rise and fall in the real income of the wage-earner between 1300 and 1600, the level reached in 1450-1500 apparently not being regained until after 1860. We shall test these indications by bringing a wider range of prices to bear.
Choice and segregation in the ‘most egalitarian’ schools: Cumulative decline in urban schools and neighbourhoods of Helsinki, Finland

Finland has been known for its excellent PISA results in educational outcomes throughout the last decade. The country has boasted a rare combination of high overall level, as well as uniquely good outcomes of the bottom performers. However, the latest PISA results and the recent socio-spatial developments within the Finnish cities challenge this nationally celebrated balance in schools and urban social structure. Until now, research evidence has demonstrated that in the Finnish context with a powerful, universalist welfare state and a highly educated, homogenous population, differentiation increases mainly by the growth of an elite. Our analysis of large datasets from schools and neighbourhoods in Helsinki suggests that this development has been overturned in the local level: segregation has begun to increase and appears to operate through the trends of middle-class avoidance and the decline of the underprivileged groups in urban schools and neighbourhoods.
Suicide inactivation of the diphenolase and monophenolase activities of tyrosinase

The suicide inactivation mechanism of tyrosinase acting on its phenolic substrates has been studied. Kinetic analysis of the proposed mechanism during the transition phase provides explicit analytical expressions for the concentrations of o‐quinone versus time. The electronic, steric, and hydrophobic effects of the phenolic substrates influence the enzymatic reaction, increasing the catalytic speed by three orders of magnitude and the inactivation by one order of magnitude. To explain this suicide inactivation, we propose a mechanism in which the enzymatic form oxy‐tyrosinase is responsible for the inactivation. In this mechanism, the rate constant of the reaction would be directly related with the strength of the nucleophilic attack of the C‐1 hydroxyl group, which depends on the chemical shift of the carbon C‐1 (δ1) obtained by 13C‐NMR. The suicide inactivation would occur if the C‐2 hydroxyl group transferred the proton to the protonated peroxide, which would again act as a general base. In this case, the coplanarity between the copper atom, the oxygen of the C‐1 and the ring would only permit the oxidation/reduction of one copper atom, giving rise to copper (0), hydrogen peroxide, and an o‐quinone, which would be released, thus inactivating the enzyme. One possible application of this property could be the use of these suicide substrates as skin depigmenting agents. © 2010 IUBMB IUBMB Life 62(7): 539–547, 2010
Energy cost of ambulation with crutches.

Energy consumption data were obtained on 8 normal subjects ambulating with underarm crutches, using a 3-point gait at 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 meters per minute (m.min-1) on level terrain, and 40, 60m.min-1 on a 5% grade, and climbing 19-cm stairs at 16 and 24 steps/minute. The subjects ambulated without crutches at 30, 50, 70m.min-1 on the level, 60m.min-1 on a 5% grade, and stairs at 16 and 24 steps/minute. Oxygen consumption (VO2) and ventilation data were obtained from a portable device. Respiratory quotients were determined from samples of expired gas. Maximal upper extremity(bicycle ergometer) and lower extremity (treadmill) stress tests were determined. The energy cost (oxygen consumption) VO2.wt-1 (ml.min-1.kg-1) of ambulating with underarm crutches compared to normal walking was approximately twice as great. The heart rate (HR) and VO2 for any given rate of vertical rise tested was less with crutch stair climbing than with crutch walking. There was no difference in VO2 or HR when ambulating with underarm compared to forearm (Lofstrand) crutches.
Analysis of worst case Power system contingencies using vulnerability frontier

One of the most important aspect in a power system network is to make a network secure against unanticipated events. In general, a power system network is always made N-1 secure: any single outage will not lead to instability in a network. The electrical transmission system is vulnerable to extreme events which can cascade resulting in blackouts. In this thesis, we identify critical corridors, subsets of those transmission lines that are most vulnerable to extreme events. It is computationally difficult to take into account all possible multiple outages of lines. In this thesis, we consider the worst case scenario in which the outages of a particular subset of transmission lines result in maximum power imbalance. Subsets of transmission lines that appear with higher frequencies are candidates for detailed study as they may lead to extreme events. We present a vulnerability frontier (graph between number of lines cut and maximum power imbalance corresponding to those lines cut) for 30, 118, 179, 225 and 1553 bus system. Tables listing the frequencies at which a particular cut-set of transmission lines (for 30,118 and 179 bus system) occur have also been presented.
Extended follow-up after stopping mepolizumab in relapsing/refractory Churg-Strauss syndrome.

OBJECTIVES To report on the extended follow-up of relapsing/refractory CSS patients treated with mepolizumab with respect to relapse rates. METHODS The follow-up consisted of regular clinic visits of patients who received nine infusions of mepolizumab (750mg IV) and switched to methotrexate 0.3mg/kg for maintenance of remission. Glucocorticoids were maintained as low as possible. Disease activity was measured using the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS). Disease states as remission or relapse were defined according to the EULAR/EUVAS recommendations. The serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) was measured regularly and concentrations were correlated with BVAS. RESULTS The follow-up of the study population under standard methotrexate maintenance therapy was extended to a median of 22 months. Three of nine patients were still in remission at the end of follow-up. During this time five major relapses in three and seven minor relapses in five out of the total nine patients were recognised. ECP levels were found to correlate stronger with the BVAS (r=0.38; p<0.0001) than other measures such as eosinophil counts. CONCLUSIONS After induction of remission with mepolizumab the majority of patients suffered relapses when switched to methotrexate maintenance therapy. These data suggest that patients with CSS may require long term treatment with mepolizumab. Future trials in CSS should use other doses or dosing intervals for patients in remission. ECP is a promising marker of disease activity in CSS.
Predictors of type 2 diabetes among Taiwanese women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus.

AIM The aims of this study were to determine the blood glucose screening rate of Taiwanese post-partum women with gestational diabetes (GDM) and to identify the predictors of type 2 diabetes among Taiwanese women with GDM. METHODS The medical records of 130 women with GDM, who were delivered at a hospital in southern Taiwan between 1997 and 2010, were retrospectively reviewed. The GDM diagnosis was performed according to the National Diabetes Data Group and Expert Committee Criteria. The 2010 American Diabetes Association diabetes diagnosis criteria were used to determine whether post-partum women subsequently developed type 2 diabetes. RESULTS In total, 71 records (54.6%) included blood glucose testing after childbirth between the first month and the ninth year, and 29 records (22.3%) documented subsequent type 2 diabetes. In a multiple logistic regression analysis, the patients' pre-pregnancy body mass indices and insulin use during pregnancy were independently associated with subsequent type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSION In this study, documentation during pregnancy, which could have provided beneficial insights, was limited. Healthcare professionals should develop a program to improve the post-partum follow-up of women diagnosed with GDM.
Ratio of ryanodine to dihydropyridine receptors in cardiac and skeletal muscle and implications for E-C coupling.

We measured dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR) and ryanodine receptor (RYR) density in isolated ventricular myocytes from rabbits, rats, ferrets, and guinea pigs and also from rabbit ventricular homogenate, skeletal muscle homogenate, and isolated triads. In skeletal muscle homogenate and triads the RYR/DHPR ratio was 0.7 and 0.52, respectively. This stoichiometry is reasonably consistent with excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling models in skeletal muscle where the DHPR molecule itself may transmit the signal for Ca release to the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and with the molecular arrangement proposed for toadfish swimbladder from ultrastructural studies by B. A. Block, T. Imagawa, K. P. Campbell, and C. Franzini-Armstrong. (J. Cell Biol. 107: 2587-2600, 1988). That is, there could be approximately two RYR for each four DHPR or two RYR feet per DHPR tetrad in an organized array (assuming 1 high-affinity RYR/foot and 4 DHPR/tetrad). The fraction of rabbit ventricular protein that is cardiac myocyte protein was also estimated (< or = 55-62%), assuming that RYR and DHPR are useful but not exclusive markers for myocytes in the ventricle. In cardiac myocytes the RYR/DHPR was much higher than in skeletal muscle and varied among different mammalian myocytes. The RYR/DHPR ratios were 3.7 in rabbit, 4.3 in guinea pig, 7.3 in rat, and 10.2 in ferret myocytes. In contrast to skeletal muscle, these results indicate that there are many more RYR feet per DHPR in cardiac muscle, and this ratio depends on species (i.e., 4-10 times and would be 4 times higher still per putative DHPR tetrad if that structure exists in mammalian heart). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Onset of polyspike complexes in a mean-field model of human electroencephalography and its application to absence epilepsy

In this paper, we introduce a modification of a mean-field model used to describe the brain's electrical activity as recorded via electroencephalography (EEG). The focus of the present study is to understand the mechanisms giving rise to the dynamics observed during absence epilepsy, one of the classical generalized syndromes. A systematic study of the data from a number of different subjects with absence epilepsy demonstrates a wide variety of dynamical phenomena in the recorded EEG. In addition to the classical spike and wave activity, there may be polyspike and wave, wave spike or even no discernible spike–wave onset during seizure events. The model we introduce is able to capture all of these different phenomena and we describe the bifurcations giving rise to these different types of seizure activity. We argue that such a model may provide a useful clinical tool for classifying different subclasses of absence epilepsy.