Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exercise Regions And Efficient Valuation Of American Lookback Options

This paper presents an efficient method to compute the values and early exercise boundaries of American fixed strike lookback options. The method reduces option valuation to a single optimal stopping problem for standard Brownian motion and an associated path‐dependent functional, indexed by one parameter in the absence of dividends and by two parameters in the presence of a dividend rate. Numerical results obtained by this method show that, after a space‐time transformation, the stopping boundaries are well approximated by certain piecewise linear functions with a few pieces, leading to fast and accurate approximations for American lookback option values. An explicit decomposition formula for American lookback options is derived and applied not only to the development of these approximations but also to the asymptotic analysis of the early exercise boundary near the expiration date.
Osteoprotegerin concentration and risk of cardiovascular outcomes in nine general population studies: Literature-based meta-analysis involving 26,442 participants

Background Recent experimental and epidemiological studies have suggested that osteoprotegerin, a key regulator in bone metabolism, may be involved in vascular calcification and atherosclerosis. Our aim was to reliably quantify the associations of osteoprotegerin concentration and incidence of first-ever cardiovascular disease outcomes in the general population. Methods Using the electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science (January 1975 and April 2017, no language restrictions), nine relevant studies were identified involving a total of 26,442 participants recruited from the general population. Over a mean follow-up of 8.5 years, 2,160 cardiovascular disease, 2,123 coronary heart disease, and 1,102 stroke outcomes were recorded. Study-specific risk ratios were combined with random-effects meta-analysis. Results When comparing individuals in the top with those in the bottom third of osteoprotegerin concentration, the combined risk ratio was 1.83 (95% confidence interval: 1.46, 2.30; P<0.001; I2 = 76.8%) for cardiovascular disease, 1.72 for coronary heart disease (1.26, 2.37; P = 0.001; I2 = 83.5%), and 1.58 for stroke (1.18, 2.12; P = 0.002; I2 = 65.2%). Associations appeared stronger at younger age (P = 0.018 for cardiovascular disease), in studies that did not employ statistical adjustment (P = 0.023 for cardiovascular disease and 0.018 for coronary heart disease), and potentially in studies that measured osteoprotegerin in plasma rather than in serum (P = 0.005 for cardiovascular disease and 0.018 for coronary heart disease). Magnitudes of associations did not differ according to the proportion of males, geographical region, or osteoprotegerin assay manufacturer. There was no evidence for publication bias for any of the outcomes assessed (all P>0.05). Conclusions Elevated osteoprotegerin concentration is associated with an increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease in the general population. The mechanisms underlying this observation deserve further investigation.
The status of medical laboratory towards of AFRO-WHO accreditation process in government and private health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Introduction The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) introduces a step wise incremental accreditation approach to improving quality of laboratory and it is a new initiative in Ethiopia and activities are performed for implementation of accreditation program. Methods Descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in 30 laboratory facilities including 6 laboratory sections to determine their status towards of accreditation using WHO AFRO accreditation checklist and 213 laboratory professionals were interviewed to assess their knowledge on quality system essentials and accreditation in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Results Out of 30 laboratory facilities 1 private laboratory scored 156 (62%) points, which is the minimum required point for WHO accreditation and the least score was 32 (12.8%) points from government laboratory. The assessment finding from each section indicate that 2 Clinical chemistry (55.2% & 62.8%), 2 Hematology (55.2% & 62.8%), 2 Serology (55.2% & 62.8%), 2 Microbiology (55.2% & 62.4%), 1 Parasitology (62.8%) & 1 Urinalysis (61.6%) sections scored the minimum required point for WHO accreditation. The average score for government laboratories was 78.2 (31.2%) points, of these 6 laboratories were under accreditation process with 106.2 (42.5%) average score, while the private laboratories had 71.2 (28.5%) average score. Of 213 respondents 197 (92.5%) professionals had a knowledge on quality system essentials whereas 155 (72.8%) respondents on accreditation. Conclusion Although majority of the laboratory professionals had knowledge on quality system and accreditation, laboratories professionals were not able to practice the quality system properly and most of the laboratories had poor status towards the WHO accreditation process. Thus government as well as stakeholders should integrate accreditation program into planning and health policy.
Apolipoprotein E ɛ2/ɛ3/ɛ4 variant in association with obstructive sleep apnoea and lipid profile: A meta-analysis

Objective A meta-analysis of the association between haplotypical variants of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene (ɛ2/ɛ3/ɛ4) and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) risk and changes in lipid profile. Methods Electronic databases were searched to retrieve articles that provided data on APOE gene ɛ2/ɛ3/ɛ4 variants in patients with OSA and healthy controls. Data were extracted from eligible articles and statistical analyses were performed. Results The meta-analysis included 14 articles involving 19 study populations (3198 patients and 6031 controls). There was no significant association between the presence of the ɛ4 allele and OSA risk. The presence of ɛ4 was associated with significantly increased total cholesterol and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, compared with ɛ4 allele negative individuals. There was a low probability of publication bias but significant heterogeneity. Conclusions There was no association between APOE ɛ2/ɛ3/ɛ4 and OSA susceptibility. The presence of APOE ɛ4 was associated with changes in lipid profile.
Chronic Pain and Associated Factors in India and Nepal: A Pilot Study of the Vanderbilt Global Pain Survey

BACKGROUND: Evaluation and treatment of chronic pain worldwide are limited by the lack of standardized assessment tools incorporating consistent definitions of pain chronicity and specific queries of known social and psychological risk factors for chronic pain. The Vanderbilt Global Pain Survey (VGPS) was developed as a tool to address these concerns, specifically in the low- and middle-income countries where global burden is highest. METHODS: The VGPS was developed using standardized and cross-culturally validated metrics, including the Brief Pain Inventory and World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale, as well as the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, the Fibromyalgia Survey Questionnaire along with queries about pain attitudes to assess the prevalence of chronic pain and disability along with its psychosocial and emotional associations. The VGPS was piloted in both Nepal and India over a 1-month period in 2014, allowing for evaluation of this tool in 2 distinctly diverse cultures. RESULTS: Prevalence of chronic pain in Nepal and India was consistent with published data. The Nepali cohort displayed a pain point prevalence of 48%–50% along with some form of disability present in approximately one third of the past 30 days. Additionally, 11% of Nepalis recorded pain in 2 somatic sites and 39% of those surveyed documented a history of a traumatic event. In the Indian cohort, pain point prevalence was approximately 24% to 41% based on the question phrasing, and any form of disability was present in 6 of the last 30 days. Of the Indians surveyed, 11% reported pain in 2 somatic sites, with only 4% reporting a previous traumatic event. Overall, Nepal had significantly higher chronic pain prevalence, symptom severity, widespread pain, and self-reported previous traumatic events, yet lower reported pain severity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm prevalent chronic pain, while revealing pertinent cultural differences and survey limitations that will inform future assessment strategies. Specific areas for improvement identified in this VGPS pilot study included survey translation methodology, redundancy of embedded metrics and cultural limitations in representative sampling and in detecting the prevalence of mental health illness, catastrophizing behavior, and previous traumatic events. International expert consensus is needed.
Movie Stars and the Volatility of Movie Revenues

Research has found conflicting results regarding the profitability of movies that have big-name stars. Why then, are stars selected to act in movies? Using the concepts of risk, volatility, and brand loyalty, this research proposes that although stars may not guarantee profits, their presence results in lower weekly revenue volatility. Using a database comprising 41 stars and their presence in 467 movies from over a 26-year period, this study finds broad support for this hypothesis.
Low levels of serum vitamin D3 are associated with autoimmune thyroid disease in pre-menopausal women.

BACKGROUND Low serum vitamin D levels have been associated with several autoimmune diseases, but their association with thyroid autoimmunity is unclear. We evaluated the association of serum vitamin D levels with the prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). METHODS Our cross-sectional study included subjects who underwent routine health checkups, which included assays of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab), as well as thyroid ultrasonography (US) between 2008 and 2012 at the Asan Medical Center. We defined AITD according to the levels of TPO-Ab and US findings. RESULTS A total of 6685 subjects (58% male; 42% female) were enrolled for this study. Overall prevalence of TPO-Ab positivity and both TPO-Ab/US positivity were 10.1% (6.3% male; 15.3% female) and 5.4% (2.3% male; 9.7% female) respectively. In female subjects, mean serum 25(OH)D3 levels were significantly lower in the TPO-Ab(+) (22.0 vs. 23.5 ng/mL, p=0.030) and TPO-Ab(+)/US(+) groups (21.6 vs. 23.4 ng/mL, p=0.027) compared with the control group, respectively. According to the levels of serum 25(OH)D3, the prevalence of TPO-Ab positivity (21.2%, 15.5%, and 12.6% in deficient, insufficient, and sufficient group, respectively; p=0.001) and both TPO-Ab and US positivity (14.7%, 9.9%, and 7.1% in deficient, insufficient, and sufficient group, respectively; p<0.001) decreased in female subjects. Interestingly, this pattern was significant only in pre-menopausal women (p=0.003 and p<0.001; respectively), but not in postmenopausal women. Multivariate analysis indicated that the adjusted odds ratios (OR) for AITD among those in the 25(OH)D3-deficient [TPO-Ab(+): OR 1.95, p=0.001; TPO-Ab(+)/US(+): OR 2.36, p<0.001] and -insufficient groups [TPO-Ab(+): OR 1.31, p=0.043; TPO-Ab(+)/US(+): OR 1.50, p=0.017] were significantly increased when compared with the sufficient group. CONCLUSIONS The levels of serum vitamin D were significantly lower in pre-menopausal women with AITD. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were significantly associated with AITD in pre-menopausal women.
Below-replacement fertility in Japan: trends determinants and prospects.

This paper discusses the trends determinants and prospects of below-replacement fertility in Japan. It is noted that the environment surrounding the Japanese economy and society is undergoing a profound transformation marked by changes in the demographic background caused by low fertility in the past. Data show that the existing fertility decline in Japan has been caused by trends in marriage and marital fertility. The trend in postponing marriage among never-married youths has led to a massive reduction in the married population of childbearing age; and certain changes in birth behavior eventually reduced completed fertility in the future. These trends in marriage and marital fertility may be the outcomes of the rising standards of marital lives and partners among youths. It is possible that the prevalence of marriage in the future may remain low or become even lower even if circumstantial factors such as womens social status remain constant. An important prospect of the fertility trend indicates that the number of births in the medium variant is expected to increase slightly until 2003 and then decline monotonically.
Portfolio Choice Under Local Factors

This paper extends the parametric portfolio policy approach to optimizing portfolios with large numbers of assets, derived by Brandt et al. (2007). The proposed approach incorporates unobserved effects into the portfolio policy function. These effects measure the importance of unobserved heterogeneity for exploiting the difference between groups of assets. The source of the heterogeneity is local priced factors such as industry or country. The statistical model derived allows to test the importance of such local factors in portfolio optimization. Preliminary evidence indicates no significant gains of tilting a benchmark assignment (value weighted or equal weighted portfolio) to a particular industry.
A case-control study of rapid readmission in a state hospital population.

A case-control comparison of clinical and service system characteristics among chronic psychiatric patients with rapid readmission (within 90 days of discharge), patients with readmission after more than 90 days of community tenure, and nonreadmitted patients revealed several clinical variables (e.g., medication noncompliance, substance abuse, and disruptive behavior) to be associated with readmission regardless of community tenure. In contrast, two service system variables (discharge to a structured outpatient treatment program and adequacy of discharge planning) were more highly associated with rapid readmission than the other conditions, while availability of case management had no association with readmission, rapid or otherwise.
Deletion of Various Carboxy-Terminal Domains ofLactococcus lactis SK11 Proteinase: Effects on Activity, Specificity, and Stability of the Truncated Enzyme

ABSTRACT The Lactococcus lactis SK11 cell envelope proteinase is an extracellular, multidomain protein of nearly 2,000 residues consisting of an N-terminal serine protease domain, followed by various other domains of largely unknown function. Using a strategy of deletion mutagenesis, we have analyzed the function of several C-terminal domains of the SK11 proteinase which are absent in cell envelope proteinases of other lactic acid bacteria. The various deletion mutants were functionally expressed in L. lactis and analyzed for enzyme stability, activity, (auto)processing, and specificity toward several substrates. C-terminal deletions of first the cell envelope W (wall) and AN (anchor) domains and then the H (helix) domain leads to fully active, secreted proteinases of unaltered specificity. Gradually increasing the C-terminal deletion into the so-called B domain leads to increasing instability and autoproteolysis and progressively less proteolytic activity. However, the mutant with the largest deletion (838 residues) from the C terminus and lacking the entire B domain still retains proteolytic activity. All truncated enzymes show unaltered proteolytic specificity toward various substrates. This suggests that the main role played by these domains is providing stability or protection from autoproteolysis (B domain), spacing away from the cell (H domain), and anchoring to the cell envelope (W and AN domains). In addition, this study allowed us to more precisely map the main C-terminal autoprocessing site of the SK11 proteinase and the epitope for binding of group IV monoclonal antibodies.
Factor analysis of sarcoidosis phenotypes at two referral centers in Brazil.

BACKGROUND In sarcoidosis, clinical presentations and outcomes vary widely. OBJECTIVE To characterize the clinical phenotypes of sarcoidosis, by factor analysis, in a series of cases with long-term follow-up. METHODS We conducted a retrospective study involving 137 patients with biopsy-confirmed sarcoidosis, recruited from two referral centers in São Paulo, Brazil. Organ involvement was evaluated in accordance with a previously established protocol. Sarcoidosis phenotypes were characterized by factor analysis. RESULTS Follow-up ranged from 6 to 144 months. Four factors (phenotypes) were identified: relevant residual pulmonary fibrosis; relapse; residual airflow limitation; and acute disease. The four factors collectively accounted for 66% of the total variance. Patients with relevant residual pulmonary fibrosis were older and presented with the following: greater symptom duration; skin involvement; low forced vital capacity; low forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity ratio; and more advanced radiographic stages at baseline. The relapse phenotype was associated with chronic disease, greater dyspnea severity, neurologic involvement, and cardiac involvement. Patients with residual airflow limitation more often had airflow obstruction at baseline, chronic disease, and relevant residual pulmonary fibrosis. Acute disease was associated with being younger, weight loss, scoring lower for dyspnea, and having extensive involvement. Abnormal calcium metabolism was associated with acute disease and with relapse. CONCLUSIONS Sarcoidosis can be categorized into four different clinical phenotypes: three that are chronic; and one that is acute and self-limiting. In many cases, these phenotypes can be easily recognized.
Energy Prices, Technological Knowledge, and Innovation in Green Energy Technologies: a Dynamic Panel Analysis of European Patent Data

We examine the effect of energy prices and technological knowledge on innovation in green energy technologies. In doing so, we consider both demand-pull effects, which induce innovative activity by increasing the expected value of innovations, and technology-push effects, which drive innovative activity by extending the technological capability of an economy. Our analysis is conducted using patent data from the European Patent Office on a panel of 26 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries over the period 1978–2009. Utilizing a dynamic count data model for panel data, we analyze 11 distinct green energy technologies. Our results indicate that the existing knowledge stock is a significant driver of green energy innovation for all technologies. Furthermore, the results suggest that energy prices have a positive impact on innovation for some but not all technologies, and that the effect of energy prices and technological knowledge on green energy innovation becomes more pronounced after the Kyoto protocol agreement in 1997 (JEL codes: C33, O31, Q40, Q42, Q55).
Targeting Id1 and Id3 inhibits peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer

Inhibitor of DNA binding (Id) proteins are essential for cell differentiation, proliferation, migration, invasion and angiogenesis. Recently, they have been shown to correlate with less differentiated phenotypes, high malignant potential and poor clinical outcome in various kinds of tumors. In an attempt to develop new strategies for the treatment of peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer, we prepared an Id1, 3 double‐knockdown gastric cancer cell line, MKN45, by RNA interference and investigated its effects on the development of metastatic nodules in the peritoneal cavity. Both cell proliferation and migration capabilities were decreased in Id1, 3 double‐knockdown cells, as was their ability to bind to laminin, which could be explained by the decreased expression of integrin α6. These are important steps in the metastatic process. In a mouse model, the number of peritoneal metastatic nodules formed by Id1, 3 double‐knockdown cells was reduced compared to mock‐transfected control cells, as was the size of individual tumors. In this study, we clearly demonstrated that Id1, 3 double‐knockdown significantly impaired the ability of gastric cancer cells to form peritoneal metastasis. Id should be considered an ideal target for the treatment and prevention of gastric cancer, and RNA interference is an attractive and promising strategy to achieve it. (Cancer Sci 2005; 96: 784–790)
Factors associated with childhood overweight and obesity among acculturated and new immigrants.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between acculturation and obesity among low socioeconomic status (LSES) children. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Children from 12 preschools in LSES neighborhoods were recruited. PARTICIPANTS Anthropometric measurements were obtained from 238 children (aged 4-7 years) and 224 mothers. Sociodemographic characteristics and perceptions of child's weight were collected from mothers. We compared native Israelis and immigrants for risk factors for obesity, using a 9-year cut-off to define new and acculturated immigrants. RESULTS The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity (OWOB) among children was 29.8% (71/238) using the World Health Organization (WHO) growth standard. Mean age, sleeping hours, sex distribution and poverty level were similar between immigrants and natives. Prevalence of OWOB and current parental smoking were significantly lower among children of new immigrants (P = .02). More than 82% of mothers underestimated their child's weight status, 74.2% of OWOB children were perceived as normal-weight (NW) and 8% as thin. In a multivariable logistic-regression analysis comparing NW to OWOB children, maternal underestimation of the child's weight status (OR = 7.5; 95%CI: 3.4-16.5, P < .0001) and being born to acculturated immigrants (OR = 2.3 95% CI: 1.1-4.7, P = .03) were associated with OWOB. Ethiopian children were at lower risk for obesity. Paternal smoking increased the risk for obesity by 2-fold in non-Ethiopian, and 5-fold in Ethiopian children (OR = 2.0 and 5.0, respectively; P for interaction = .026). CONCLUSIONS Acculturation, perception of child's weight status and parental smoking are associated with childhood OWOB. Immigration status should be considered when programs to prevent childhood obesity are implemented in mixed populations.