Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Smoking and Overweight as Predictors of Hospitalization for Back Disorders

Study Design. A prospective cohort study. Objective. To study the relationship of smoking and overweight with severe back disorders leading to hospitalization. Summary of Background Data. Many epidemiological studies have shown an association between smoking or overweight and back pain, but the results are still equivocal. Longitudinal studies are few. Methods. A cohort of metal industry employees (n = 902) was studied for lifestyle, work history, and health in 1973 by questionnaire and interview. The weight of the subjects was measured and body mass index (kg/m2) was calculated. Based on intensity and duration, smoking was categorized as: never smoked (reference), stopped smoking, smoked ≤9 or >9 pack-years. Information on hospital admissions from 1973 to 2000 from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register was linked to the data. Seventy-five individuals had been admitted to hospital because of back disorders. Intervertebral disc disorders and other common back disorders were analyzed separately. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the time between the assessment of potential risk factors and the first hospitalization for a back disorder. Results. The rate ratio of heavy smokers (>9 pack-years) for hospitalization because of intervertebral disc disorders was 3.4 (95% confidence interval 1.3–9.0) as compared with never-smokers, allowing for other risk factors. Accordingly, the rate ratio of body mass index >27.5 kg/m2 was 2.7 (1.1–6.45) as compared with people with normal weight. The results retained when patients with chronic back disease at baseline were excluded from the analyses. Other back-related diagnoses of hospitalization were not consistently associated with smoking or overweight. Conclusion. Heavy smoking and overweight predicted hospitalization for intervertebral disc disorders.
Chronic atrial fibrillation. Long-term results of direct current conversion.

: One hundred consecutive patients admitted in 1980-82 for direct current conversion of chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) were followed. The first attempt to convert was made without the institution of class I antiarrhythmics. If AF relapsed, patients were selected for further conversions, in connection with which quinidine or disopyramide treatment was instituted. The proportion of patients maintaining sinus rhythm (SR) one and two years after the first conversion was 23% and 16%, after the second conversion 40% and 33% and after any number of conversions [1-12] 54% and 41%. Fifty-three per cent of the patients were symptomless before at least one conversion. Of the patients maintaining SR two years after conversion, 46% did not receive antiarrhythmic therapy. More than two conversions should be exceptional since symptoms of AF are often absent and the additional effect of further conversions is minor. A first attempt to convert without antiarrhythmics identifies a substantial proportion of patients maintaining SR without any prophylactic antiarrhythmic therapy.
Selection of a curved switching surface for buck converters

A general procedure for the selection of a curved switching surface (SS) to control buck-type converters is presented in this letter. The analysis is based on the normalized representation of ideal SSs for different loading conditions. The normalization process leads to a unique representation of the SSs for any possible buck converter. A set of graphics in three dimensions is introduced to give a spatial sense of the behavior of the converter and its control requirements during transients. As a result of the investigation, a switching surface referred to in this letter as the natural unloaded SS is selected, providing excellent transient behavior and no overshoot during startup. For any buck converter with typical parameters, this control scheme produces, in one switching action, a minimum of 99% of the desired output voltage. The general concept of using second-order SS is also geometrically analyzed in this letter to clarify its characteristic features and disadvantages. Experimental results for a typical buck converter are presented to illustrate the transient behavior of the converter during startup and sudden load changes. The results confirm the virtues of the control scheme.
MULTI-DIMENSIONAL MODULATION CODES FOR FADING CHANNEL Technical Report to NASA

In this paper, we present some new codes which have good performance on Rician fading channel with small decoding complexities. First, we propose a new M-way partition chain for the L x MPSK (L < M) signal set which maximizes the intra-set distance of each subset at each partition level. Based on this partition chain, a class of asymptotical optimum codes has heen found. For M = 4, these codes have both large symbol distances and product distances. Multi-level coding scheme allows us to construct a code by hand such that the code meets some desired parameters, e.g., symbol distance, product distance, etc. In design of a multi-level code, we consider all factors which affect the performance and complexity of the code, such as, the decoding scheme, decoding complexity and performance under the decoding scheme, e.g., if the multi-stage decoding scheme is used, the performance degradation due to the suboptimum decoding is taken into . consideration. The performance for most of the codes presented in this paper has been simulated on Rayleigh fading channel, and the results show that these codes have good performance with small decoding complexities.
Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Candidate Genes and Pathways Involved in Larval Settlement of the Barnacle Megabalanus volcano

Megabalanus barnacle is one of the model organisms for marine biofouling research. However, further elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying larval settlement has been hindered due to the lack of genomic information thus far. In the present study, cDNA libraries were constructed for cyprids, the key stage for larval settlement, and adults of Megabalanus volcano. After high-throughput sequencing and de novo assembly, 42,620 unigenes were obtained with a N50 value of 1532 bp. These unigenes were annotated by blasting against the NCBI non-redundant (nr), Swiss-Prot, Cluster of Orthologous Groups (COG), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases. Finally, 19,522, 15,691, 14,459, and 10,914 unigenes were identified correspondingly. There were 22,158 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified between two stages. Compared with the cyprid stage, 8241 unigenes were down-regulated and 13,917 unigenes were up-regulated at the adult stage. The neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway (ko04080) was significantly enriched by KEGG enrichment analysis of the DEGs, suggesting that it possibly involved in larval settlement. Potential functions of three conserved allatostatin neuropeptide-receptor pairs and two light-sensitive opsin proteins were further characterized, indicating that they might regulate attachment and metamorphosis at cyprid stage. These results provided a deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying larval settlement of barnacles.
Pavlovian conditioning in the rabbit during inactivation of the interpositus nucleus.

1. We have examined the role of the anterior interpositus nucleus (AIP) of the cerebellum in Pavlovian conditioning of the nictitating membrane response (NMR) of the rabbit with the use of reversible brain lesions produced by the local anaesthetic lidocaine. Previous experiments have demonstrated that destructive lesions of the AIP prevent the performance of conditioned NMRs (CRs). Microinjections of lidocaine into the AIP were used in the present experiment to determine whether the deficit in the performance of CRs resulted from a deficit in learning or memory. 2. A 3‐phase procedure was employed to determine whether associative learning required the function of the AIP. In phase 1, rabbits were trained to make CRs to a flashing‐light conditioned stimulus (CS) that was paired with an air‐puff unconditioned stimulus (UCS) directed at the cornea. In phase 2, the AIP was anaesthetized during a session of conditioning in which a tone CS was paired with the UCS. Presentations of the light CS were interpolated throughout the tone conditioning in order to monitor the degree to which CRs were impaired by lidocaine. Phase 3 occurred after the effects of the lidocaine had dissipated and consisted of a test of retention to determine whether learning occurred during phase 2 but could not be expressed because of a performance deficit resulting from the inactivation of the AIP. 3. Infusion of lidocaine into the AIP abolished CRs to the light CS and prevented the performance of CRs to the tone CS in phase 2. The effect of the infusion was specifically due to a conduction block of neurons and/or fibres in the lateral aspect of the AIP. The infusion of lidocaine into regions surrounding the AIP did not affect CRs elicited by the light CS or prevent acquisition of CRs to the tone. Infusions of saline directly into the AIP did not impair the performance of CRs to either the tone or light CS. Quantitative analysis of diffusion revealed that the abolition of CRs was accompanied by anaesthetization of the AIP. 4. The retention test in phase 3 indicated that learning occurred normally during phase 2 when the AIP was inactivated and performance was abolished. When the function of the AIP was restored and performance had recovered, the subjects demonstrated a frequency of CRs to the tone CS that was indistinguishable from control subjects whose performance had never been impaired. 5. The CRs observed during the retention test provided an unequivocal measure of associative learning. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Do Business Borrowers Benefit from Bank Bailouts? - The Effects of TARP on Loan Contract Terms

We study the effects of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) on loan contract terms to businesses borrowing from recipient banks. Using a difference-in-difference analysis, we find that TARP led to more favorable terms to these borrowers in all five contract terms studied ? loan amounts, spreads, maturities, collateral, and covenants. This suggests recipient banks' borrowers benefited from TARP. These findings are statistically and economically significant, and are robust to dealing with potential endogeneity issues and other checks. {{p}} The contract term improvements are concentrated primarily among safer borrowers, consistent with a decrease in the exploitation of moral hazard incentives. Benefits extended to both relationship and non-relationship borrowers, and to term loan, revolver, and other loan borrowers. Results contribute to the TARP benefits-costs debate, by adding to the list of benefits of the program.
Incumbent Firm Invention in Emerging Fields: Evidence from the Semiconductor Industry

Incumbent firms are often thought to focus on incremental innovations and only respond to a major technological change once its impact on established markets and/or dominant designs becomes clear. We argue, however, that incumbent firms have many reasons to proactively invent early in cycles of technological change. Our interest is in the strategies that allow incumbents to be successful in this endeavor during the infancy of an emerging field – the period before it is clear how the field will affect dominant designs. Our evidence counters the stereotypical view that incumbent firms play a passive role in major technological changes by adhering to incremental inventions in the existing dominant designs. Rather, we find significant inventions by incumbents outside the existing dominant designs and relate their success to their willingness to search novel areas, explore scientific knowledge in the public domain, and form alliances with a balanced portfolio of partners. We find support for our hypotheses using data from the global semiconductor industry between 1989 and 2002.
Relationship between the phase diagram, the glass-forming ability, and the fragility of a water/salt mixture.

Water is known to be an exceptionally poor glass former, which is a significant drawback in the low-temperature storage of food and biomatter. This is one of the characteristic features of water, but its link to the thermodynamic and kinetic anomalies of water remains elusive. Recently, we showed that the glass-forming ability and the fragility of a water/salt mixture are closely related to its equilibrium phase diagram [Kobayashi, M. ; Tanaka, H. Phys. Rev. Lett.2011, 106, 125703]. Here we propose that frustration between local and global orderings controls both the glass-forming ability and fragility on the basis of experimental evidence. Relying on the same role of salt and pressure, which commonly breaks tetrahedral order, we apply this idea to pure water under pressure. This scenario not only explains unusual behavior of water-type liquids such as water, Si, and Ge but also provides a general explanation on the link between the equilibrium phase diagram, the glass-forming ability, and the fragility of various materials including oxides, chalcogenides, and metallic glasses.
Influence of Yucca shidigera extract on ruminal ammonia concentrations and ruminal microorganisms

An extract of the desert plant Yucca shidigera was assessed for its possible benefit in ruminal fermentation. The extract bound ammonia in aqueous solution when concentrations of ammonia were low (up to 0.4 mM) and when the extract was added at a high concentration to the sample (20%, vol/vol). The apparent ammonia-binding capability was retained after autoclaving and was decreased slightly following dialysis. Acid-precipitated extract was inactive. No evidence of substantial ammonia binding was found at higher ammonia concentrations (up to 30 mM). When Y. shidigera extract (1%, vol/vol) was added to strained rumen fluid in vitro, a small (6%) but significant (P < 0.05) decrease in ammonia concentration occurred, apparently because of decreased proteolysis. Inclusion of Y. shidigera extract (1%, vol/vol) in the growth medium of the rumen bacterium Streptococcus bovis ES1 extended its lag phase, while growth of Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens SH13 was abolished. The growth of Prevotella (Bacteroides) ruminicola B(1)4 was stimulated, and that of Selenomonas ruminantium Z108 was unaffected. Protozoal activity, as measured by the breakdown of 14C-leucine-labelled S. ruminantium in rumen fluid incubated in vitro, was abolished by the addition of 1% extract. The antimicrobial activities were unaffected by precipitating tannins with polyvinylpyrrolidone, but a butanol extract, containing the saponin fraction, retained its antibacterial and antiprotozoal effects. Saponins from other sources were less effective against protozoa than Y. shidigera saponins. Y. shidigera extract, therefore, appears unlikely to influence ammonia concentration in the rumen directly, but its saponins have antimicrobial properties, particularly in suppressing ciliate protozoa, which may prove beneficial to ruminal fermentation and may lead indirectly to lower ruminal ammonia concentrations.
Prediction of stroke outcome in relation to Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) at admission in acute ischemic stroke: A prospective study from tertiary care hospital in north India

Objective: To evaluate correlation of Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) and early and delay outcome measures among acute anterior ischemic stroke patients who presented within 48 hours of stroke onset. Methods: In a prospective cohort study, we recruited consecutive patients with acute middle cerebral artery (MCA) ischemic stroke who presented within 48 hours of stroke onset. All the patients were evaluated at admission (Glasgow Coma Scale - GCS and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale - NIHSS) at discharge (GCS, NIHSS, Barthel Index - BI and modifi ed Rankin Scale mRS) and at 3 months (BI and mRS). CT ASPECTS was calculated by two observers independently. We divided patients in to two groups with ‘Better’ and ‘Worse’ ASPECTS with score of 8-10 and 0-7 respectively and compared the primary and secondary stroke outcome measures. Results: Among 100 patients with acute MCA infarction (median age 55 yrs, 62 males), median ASPECTS scores had inter-rater reliability of 0.82. The mortality, GCS and NIHSS at discharge, and mRS and BI at 3 months are signifi cantly better among patients with ‘Better’ compared to ‘Worse’ APSECTS. The hospital stay was shorter in patients with Better ASPCTS. Conclusion: In the setting of acute ischemic stroke, ASPECTS has good correlation with severity of stroke, and is strong predictor of early and delayed outcome in acute ischemic stroke.
Role of presynaptic and postsynaptic IP3‐dependent intracellular calcium release in long‐term potentiation in sympathetic ganglion of the rat

In the rat superior cervical ganglion, a form of long term potentiation (LTP) can be elicited by a brief high frequency stimuli applied to the preganglionic nerve. Cumulative evidence shows that a transient increase in cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration is essential for the generation of the ganglionic LTP. Calcium influx and calcium release from intracellular calcium stores contribute to LTP. However, the differential role of presynaptic and postsynaptic calcium signaling has not been established. Herein, by using heparin, a membrane‐impermeant inositol trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) blocker, we explored the contribution of presynaptic and postsynaptic IP3‐sensitive calcium stores to the ganglionic LTP. The LTP was produced by a conditioning train of 40 Hz for 3 s. We analyzed the effects of heparin on the posttetanic potentiation: PTP magnitude and PTP time constant, and on two parameters that describe the LTP: LTP decay time (elapsed time required by the potentiated response to fall to 20% above the basal value) and LTP extent (the integral of the potentiated response). Heparin (100 and 200 μg/ml) was loaded in the preganglionic, the postganglionic, or in both nerves. We found that in all tested conditions heparin significantly decreased LTP but practically did not affect PTP. The preganglionic and postganglionic inhibitory effects of heparin were not additive. De‐N‐sulfated heparin, an ineffective IP3R blocker, had no effect on LTP, but abolished the heparin blocking effect. Data suggest that presynaptic and postsynaptic IP3‐dependent intracellular calcium release equally contribute to ganglionic LTP, supporting our proposal of a trans‐synaptic mechanism for LTP. Synapse, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Genome-wide association study on differentiated thyroid cancer.

CONTEXT Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) have identified associations with polymorphisms at 2q35 (DIRC3), 8p12 (NRG1), 9q22.33 (FOXE1), and 14q13.2 (NKX2-1). However, most of the inherited genetic risk factors of DTC remain to be discovered. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to identify additional common DTC susceptibility loci. DESIGN We conducted a GWAS in a high-incidence Italian population of 690 cases and 497 controls and followed up the most significant polymorphisms in 2 additional Italian series and in 3 low-incidence populations totaling 2958 cases and 3727 controls. RESULTS After excluding the most robust previously identified locus (9q22.33), the strongest association was shown by rs6759952, confirming the recently published association in DIRC3 (odds ratio [OR] = 1.21, P = 6.4 × 10(-10), GWAS and all replications combined). Additionally, in the combined analysis of the Italian series, suggestive associations were attained with rs10238549 and rs7800391 in IMMP2L (OR = 1.27, P = 4.1 × 10(-6); and OR = 1.25, P = 5.7 × 10(-6)), rs7617304 in RARRES1 (OR = 1.25, P = 4.6 × 10(-5)) and rs10781500 in SNAPC4/CARD9 (OR = 1.23, P = 3.5 × 10(-5)). CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide additional insights into the genetic and biological basis of inherited genetic susceptibility to DTC. Additional studies are needed to determine the role of the identified polymorphisms in the development of DTC and their possible use in the clinical practice.
FPGA-based harmonic computation through 1-bit data stream signals from delta-sigma modulators applied to induction heating appliances

This paper presents a field programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation of a digital circuit that measures in real-time first harmonics of voltage and current medium-frequency (25 kHz–70 kHz) induction-heating cooking appliances. The inverter output voltage and load current are sensed using first-order delta-sigma (ΔΣ) analog to digital converters. The coefficients of the Discrete-Time Fourier Series (DTFS) of voltage and current are computed over a half period of the mains. The DTFS coefficients are computed directly from the ΔΣ modulated 1-bit data stream signals. The main advantages are that the digital low-pass filter implementation at the output of the modulator is not needed and the arithmetic complexity is reduced since a bit-stream is processed. The system is simulated using a mixed-signal simulation tool and it is experimentally verified.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Web Reporting

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) represents the obligation of an individual, or in this case the company, to be beneficial to the society. The concept will no longer consider profit maximization of a company but to take care of the society and the environment in which they operate. In simple words, Corporate Social Responsibility is the way of doing business by combining economic benefit with sustainability of the environment. This paper puts special emphasis on the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility reporting and on the role of companies’ websites in it. This is the main reason why we analyzed the websites of the companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the specific focus on the CSR content.
EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN WEIGHT, BODY COMPOSITION, FITNESS AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON AORTIC PULSE WAVE VELOCITY IN OVERWEIGHT AN OBESE ADULTS

Vascular adaptations, such as arterial stiffness, have been established as precursors to cardiovascular outcomes, such as hypertension, stroke, and heart failure. Arterial stiffness of the aorta is elevated in conditions of obesity, specifically abdominal obesity, physical inactivity, and low cardiorespiratory fitness. Standard behavioral weight loss interventions often promote weight management through decreased caloric intake and increased physical activity. Whether increased physical activity and related gains in fitness have independent or additive effects with weight loss on aortic stiffness remains unclear. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the overall and independent effects of changes in overall and abdominal obesity, fitness, and physical activity within a standard behavioral weight loss intervention on carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity. METHODS: Eighty three (N=83) overweight and obese adults (age 44.5 ± 8.1 years; BMI 32.4 ± 4.0 kg/m2) completed 6-months of a standard behavioral weight loss intervention. Aortic, or, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) was assessed by applanation tonometry, abdominal obesity by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), objective moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) by BodyMedia SenseWearPro armband (Pittsburgh, PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness by graded exercise testing. RESULTS: After 6 months, cfPWV, body weight, BMI, waist circumference, total body fat, and abdominal fat significantly decreased, while VO2peak significantly increased (all p 0.1). Changes in body weight, abdominal fat, and all other obesity variables were not associated with changes in cfPWV (all p<0.1) CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that improvements in fitness, and not adiposity, were important for decreasing cfPWV. These results highlight the potential importance of targeting fitness in lifestyle interventions to reduce the elevated cardiovascular risk observed in sedentary and overweight or obese populations.