Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Markers of vascular perturbation correlate with airway structural change in asthma.

RATIONALE Air trapping and ventilation defects on imaging are characteristics of asthma. Airway wall thickening occurs in asthma and is associated with increased bronchial vascularity and vascular permeability. Vascular endothelial cell products have not been explored as a surrogate to mark structural airway changes in asthma. OBJECTIVES Determine whether reporters of vascular endothelial cell perturbation correlate with airway imaging metrics in patients with asthma of varying severity. METHODS Plasma from Severe Asthma Research Program subjects was analyzed by ELISAs for soluble von Willebrand factor mature protein (VWF:Ag) and propeptide (VWFpp), P-selectin, and platelet factor 4. Additional subjects were analyzed over 48 hours after whole-lung antigen challenge. We calculated ventilation defect volume by hyperpolarized helium-3 magnetic resonance imaging and areas of low signal density by multidetector computed tomography (less than -856 Hounsfield units [HU] at functional residual capacity and -950 HU at total lung capacity [TLC]). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS VWFpp and VWFpp/Ag ratio correlated with and predicted greater percentage defect volume on hyperpolarized helium-3 magnetic resonance imaging. P-selectin correlated with and predicted greater area of low density on chest multidetector computed tomography less than -950 HU at TLC. Platelet factor 4 did not correlate. Following whole-lung antigen challenge, variation in VWFpp, VWFpp/Ag, and P-selectin among time-points was less than that among subjects, indicating stability and repeatability of the measurements. CONCLUSIONS Plasma VWFpp and P-selectin may be useful as surrogates of functional and structural defects that are evident on imaging. The results raise important questions about why VWFpp and P-selectin are associated specifically with different imaging abnormalities.
Effect of follicular components on meiotic arrest and resumption in horse oocytes.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of follicular components on the maintenance of meiotic arrest in horse oocytes. In Expt 1, oocytes were incubated for 24 h with follicular fluid, or with granulosa cells suspended either in medium or in follicular fluid at 25 x 10(6) cells ml-1. None of the treatments resulted in significant maintenance of the germinal vesicle stage over that of non-suppressive control. Culture with follicular fluid plus granulosa cells resulted in a significantly higher proportion of oocytes at metaphase I compared with controls. In Expt 2, oocytes were divided into those originally having compact or expanded cumuli. Oocytes were cultured with sheets of mural granulosa or sections of follicle wall, or after injection into intact dissected follicles. After incubation, half of the oocytes from each suppressive treatment were matured for 24 h. All three suppressive treatments were effective in maintaining oocytes at the germinal vesicle stage (no significant difference from control oocytes fixed directly after removal from the follicle). However, no treatment maintained normal viability of oocytes, as significantly fewer oocytes were at metaphase II after all the suppression-maturation treatments compared with the maturation control. The highest rate of post-suppression maturation was found in the mural granulosa treatment. Within this treatment, the proportion of oocytes in metaphase II was significantly higher for oocytes with expanded than for oocytes with compact cumuli (31% versus 11%, respectively; P < 0.05). Suppression by injection into an intact follicle was associated with a lack of progression to metaphase II during subsequent maturation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

President Bill Clinton won a hardfought, but decisive battle last week when the House of Representatives voted 234 to 200 to approve NAFTA—the North American Free Trade Agreement. That's a much wider margin than most observers anticipated. NAFTA will bind Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. into a trilateral trade agreement that will, among other things, eliminate tariffs on trade among the three countries over a 15-year period. The vote was a victory not only for the Clinton Administration, but also for the chemical industry. Chemical industry executives and trade associations were among the treaty's earliest supporters. Most lobbied long and hard for NAFTA's passage, stressing that eliminating tariffs will increase U.S. chemical exports to Mexico. NAFTA also will make it easier for U.S. chemical companies to invest in Mexican industry, and to protect their patents and other intellectual property. The House vote was considered the major stumbling block on NAFTA's road to approval in the .
Use of a combined oxygen and carbon dioxide transcutaneous electrode in the estimation of gas exchange during exercise.

BACKGROUND--Accurate and reliable measurement of gas exchange during exercise has traditionally involved arterial cannulation. Non-invasive devices to estimate arterial oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) tensions are now available. A method has been devised and evaluated for measuring gas exchange during exercise with a combined transcutaneous O2 and CO2 electrode. METHODS--Symptom limited exercise tests were carried out in 24 patients reporting effort intolerance and breathlessness. Exercise testing was performed by bicycle ergometry with a specifically designed protocol involving gradual two minute workload increments. Arterial O2 and CO2 tensions were measured at rest and during exercise by direct blood sampling from an indwelling arterial cannula and a combined transcutaneous electrode heated to 45 degrees C. The transcutaneous system was calibrated against values obtained by direct arterial sampling before each test. RESULTS--In all tests the trend of gas exchange measured by the transcutaneous system was true to the trend measured from direct arterial sampling. In the 140 measurements the mean difference between the O2 tensions estimated by direct sampling and the transcutaneous method was 0.08 kPa (0.62 mm Hg, limits of agreement 4.42 and -3.38 mm Hg). The mean difference between the methods for CO2 was 0.02 kPa (0.22 mm Hg, limits of agreement 2.20 and -1.70 mm Hg). There was no morbidity associated with the use of the transcutaneous electrode heated to 45 degrees C. CONCLUSIONS--A combined transcutaneous O2 and CO2 electrode heated to 45 degrees C can be used to provide a reliable estimate of gas exchange during gradual incremental exercise in adults.
University Technology Transfer: How (In-)Efficient are French Universities?

This paper assesses the efficiency of the technology transfer operated by the French university system and its main determinants. The analysis is based on a detailed and original database of 51 TTOs, categorized by type of university, over the period 2003-2007. Overall, we find low-level of efficiency and both intra-category and inter-categories efficiency variation. The analysis of determinants shows that French TTOs efficiency depends extensively on the nature of the category (with universities specialised in science and engineering resulting the most efficient ones), on institutional and environmental characteristics. We found that both the seniority of TTO and size of the university have a positive effect. In terms of environmental variables, the intensity of RD however, in terms of growth rate, only the Private R&D activity seems to be the main driver. Lastly, having a medical school related to a hospital is a source of inefficiency.
A profile of the labour market for school principals in South Africa: Evidence to inform policy

In the past decade there has been a notable shift in South African education policy that raises the value of school leadership as a lever for learning improvements. Despite a growing discourse on school leadership, there has been a lack of empirical-based evidence on principals to inform, validate or debate the efficacy of proposed policies in raising the calibre of school principals. In response, this paper profiles the labour market for school principals in South Africa, highlighting its overarching characteristics with implications for principal policy reforms. A defining feature of this market is that principals are unequally distributed across schools with typically less qualified and less experienced principals overly represented in poorer schools. In part, the patterns of unequal principal sorting across schools are attributable to historically imposed policies that matched teachers and principals to schools along racial lines. However initial matching of new principals to schools continues to persist in line with historical patterns. In a context of low levels of principal mobility and high tenure, policies should be aimed at improving the initial match of principals to schools while developing incumbent principals over their length of tenure. Moreover improving the design and implementation of policies guiding the appointment process for principals is a matter of urgency. A substantial and increasing number of principal replacements are taking place across South African schools given a rising age profile of school principals. Selection criteria need to be amended to identify relevant expertise and skills, rather than relying on observed principal credentials in payroll which are shown to be poor signals of principal quality in school fixed effects estimations.
Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury, Stress, and Self‐Differentiation

The authors surveyed 458 young adults and examined the relationships among stress, self-differentiation, and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). They conducted multiple regression analyses to explore whether characteristics of self-differentiation (i.e., emotional reactivity and “I position”) were related to NSSI after controlling for the effects of stress, as well as whether emotional reactivity and I position served as mediators in the stress–NSSI relationship. I position and emotional reactivity both contributed statistically significant variance to NSSI after accounting for stress. Moreover, both I position and emotional reactivity served as partial mediators in the stress–NSSI relationship. The authors discuss counseling and research implications.
Left and Right Hemifield Advantages of Fusions and Combinations in Audiovisual Speech Perception

If a place-of-articulation contrast is created between the auditory and the visual component syllables of videotaped speech, frequently the syllable that listeners report they have heard differs phonetically from the auditory component. These “McGurk effects”, as they have come to be called, show that speech perception may involve some kind of intermodal process. There are two classes of these phenomena: fusions and combinations. Perception of the syllable /da/ when auditory /ba/ and visual /ga/ are presented provides a clear example of the former, and perception of the string /bga/ after presentation of auditory /ga/ and visual /ba/ an unambiguous instance of the latter. Besides perceptual fusions and combinations, hearing visually presented component syllables also shows an influence of vision on audition. It is argued that these “visual” responses arise from basically the same underlying processes that yield fusions and combinations, respectively. In the present study, the visual component of audiovisually incongruous CV-syllables was presented in the left and the right visual hemifield, respectively. Audiovisual fusion responses showed a left hemifield advantage, and audiovisual combination responses a right hemifield advantage. This finding suggests that the process of audiovisual integration differs between audiovisual fusions and combinations and, furthermore, that the two cerebral hemispheres contribute differentially to the two classes of response.
A reconnaisance study to delineate the potential mineral zones around the schist belt areas Of Kano State, Nigeria using airborne magnetic data

This work presents a reconnaissance study to delineate potential mineral zones in the schist belt areas of Kano State. These parts of the state have received little or no attention for a long time and activities of artisanal miners suggest that the area is of economic mineral value. Airborne magnetic data acquired from Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) were first reduced to the equator before subjecting them to first and second vertical derivatives. The short wavelength anomalies recorded in the study area, ranging from -99.182 to 88.338 nT indicate that the area is characterized by crystalline basement complex rocks. The results of the vertical derivatives show that lineaments (depicting faults, fractures and contacts) which represent veins of possible mineralization exist in the study area. The trend of these lineaments is in the NE-SW and E-W directions with the NE-SW trend dominating. Location with high mineral favorability is bounded within longitudes 7°51’ E to 8° 12’ E and latitudes 11° 46‘ N to 12° 30’ N in the NE – SW directions. The trend cuts through Gwarzo, Shanono, Bagwai, Tsanyawa, Bichi and Kunchi. Key words: Airborne magnetic data, Lineament, Mineralization, Schist Belt and Vertical derivatives.
Professional trust in osteopathy : a theory for educational practice

This research, exploring a theory of professionalism in osteopathy, comes at an opportune moment when regulation and implications for practice are evolving in healthcare. The study sought to uncover the perceptions of osteopaths, students and patients as to their concept of professionalism and to seek a consensus on what this constitutes in osteopathy. It developed the PIECE theory of professional trust containing five key elements which are mediated by dialogue and touch used by the osteopath. The elements are Personal approach; Interaction and communication; Engagement and relationships; Customised approach; Empowerment and education. Twenty-nine interviews were undertaken using two video vignettes to prompt discussion, three facilitated and three unfacilitated focus groups with individual stakeholder groups followed, with a final focus group of mixed stakeholders to develop the final theory using Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology. The findings show how the elements of dialogue and touch are key throughout all phases of the osteopathic consultation and to the formation of professional trust in osteopathy. An important implication of these findings is that the values and attitudes are not stand-alone concepts but learnt and enacted within the clinical context, not only for students, but for clinicians throughout their working lives. The research has explored the perceptions of patients who are also learners within the osteopathic consultation. The PIECE learning cycle to build professional trust in osteopathy has been developed to aid educators and students along with the PIECE self-reflection tool for students to learn about professional trust in osteopathy.
Multi-task learning with deep model based reinforcement learning

In recent years, model-free methods that use deep learning have achieved great success in many different reinforcement learning environments. Most successful approaches focus on solving a single task, while multi-task reinforcement learning remains an open problem. In this paper, we present a model based approach to deep reinforcement learning which we use to solve different tasks simultaneously. We show that our approach not only does not degrade but actually benefits from learning multiple tasks. For our model, we also present a new kind of recurrent neural network inspired by residual networks that decouples memory from computation allowing to model complex environments that do not require lots of memory. The code will be released before ICLR 2017.
Patterns of physician retirement and pre-retirement activity: a population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND: Knowing when physicians retire and how they practise in the pre-retirement years is important information for health human resource planning. We identified patterns of retirement for physicians in British Columbia and the determinants of when and how physicians retire. METHODS: For this population-based retrospective cohort study, we used administrative data to examine activity levels and to identify retirements among BC’s practising physicians. We included all physicians who were at least 50 years of age as of March 2006 and who had received payments for clinical services in at least 1 year between 2005/06 and 2011/12. We defined retirement as a permanent drop in monthly payments to less than $1667/month ($20 000/yr). We examined the patterns and timing of retirement by age, sex, specialty and location using linear and logistic regression models. RESULTS: Of the 4572 physicians who met the inclusion criteria, 1717 (37.6%) retired during the study period. The average age at retirement was 65.1 (standard deviation 7.8) years. Controlling for other demographic and practice characteristics, we found that women and physicians working in rural areas retired earlier, by 4.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] −4.9 to −3.2) years and 2.3 (95% CI −3.4 to −1.1) years, respectively. We found no difference in retirement age by specialty. We identified 4 patterns of pre-retirement activity: slow decline, rapid decline, maintenance and increasing activity. About 40% of physicians (440/1107) reduced their activity levels by at least 10% in the 3 years preceding retirement. INTERPRETATION: During the study period, physicians in BC — particularly women and those in rural areas — retired earlier than indicated by licensure and survey data. Many physicians reduced their practice activity in the pre-retirement years. These trends indicate that forecasts relying on licensure “head counts” are likely overestimating current and future physician supply.
The snRNP core assembly pathway: identification of stable core protein heteromeric complexes and an snRNP subcore particle in vitro.

Stable association of the eight common Sm proteins with U1, U2, U4 or U5 snRNA to produce a spliceosomal snRNP core structure is required for snRNP biogenesis, including cap hypermethylation and nuclear transport. Here, the assembly of snRNP core particles was investigated in vitro using both native HeLa and in vitro generated Sm proteins. Several RNA‐free, heteromeric protein complexes were identified, including E.F. G, B/B’. D3 and D1.D2. E.F. G. While the E.F. G complex alone did not stably bind to U1 snRNA, these proteins together with D1 and D2 were necessary and sufficient to form a stable U1 snRNP subcore particle. The subcore could be chased into a core particle by the subsequent addition of the B/B’. D3 protein complex even in the presence of free competitor U1 snRNA. Trimethylation of U1 snRNA's 5′ cap, while not observed for the subcore, occurred in the stepwise‐assembled U1 snRNP core particle, providing evidence for the involvement of the B/B′ and D3 proteins in the hypermethylation reaction. Taken together, these results suggest that the various protein heterooligomers, as well as the snRNP subcore particle, are functional intermediates in the snRNP core assembly pathway.
[Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis and risk factors associated with infection detected in endocervical sample].

PURPOSE It was to determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis and the risk factors associated with infection in endocervical specimens from women seen in outpatient Obstetrics and Gynecology. METHODS Samples of endocervical secretion of 200 women treated at the University Hospital of the Federal University of Rio Grande were analyzed for the presence of C. trachomatis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers that amplify CT05/CT06 281 base pairs of the main outer membrane protein of C. trachomatis. All participants completed a pre-coded and self-report questionnaire. Data were analyzed with the SPSS 17.0 software; for multivariate analysis it was used Poisson regression. RESULTS Of the 200 women who were included in the study, the prevalence of infection with C. trachomatis was 11% (22 patients) and these 55 (27.5%) were positive for HPV. Risk factors associated with infection by C. trachomatis were: 8 years or less of schooling (p<0.001), family income below the poverty level (p=0.005), first intercourse at age 15 or less (p=0.04) and being a carrier of the virus HIV (p<0.001). After multivariate analysis, only the variables of schooling or less than eight years (PR 6.0; 95%CI 1.26 - 29.0; p=0.02) and presence of HIV (RP 14.1; 95%CI 3.4 - 57.5; p<0.001) remained statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of C. trachomatis in endocervical specimens by PCR was 11%. The factors associated with a higher infection by C. trachomatis were lower education and being HIV positive.
Controlled mechanical ventilation in horses under vecuronium blockage

O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar os efeitos metabolicos e respiratorios da administracao de vecuronio em cavalos submetidos a ventilacao controlada e compara-los aqueles que permaneceram em respiracao espontânea. Foram empregados vinte animais higidos alotados em dois grupos experimentais. Todos os animais foram pre-medicados com romifidina (100 m g/kg IV) sendo a anestesia induzida com a associacao de tiletamina-zolazepam (2 mg/kg IV) e a manutencao realizada com halotano. Os animais do grupo I permaneceram em respiracao espontânea enquanto os animais do grupo II receberam vecuronio na dose de 0,1 mg/kg IV sendo submetidos a ventilacao controlada mecânica. A administracao do vecuronio nao promoveu qualquer alteracao significativa da frequencia ou ritmo cardiaco, pressao venosa central ou pressao arterial. No atinente aos animais que permaneceram em respiracao espontânea, nao houve qualquer diferenca em relacao a estes parâmetros quando comparados aos dos animais que permaneceram em respiracao espontânea. Os animais que receberam o vecuronio apresentaram valores inferiores de PaCO2 e valores normais de pH em relacao aos animais do grupo I. A duracao de acao do vecuronio foi de 12,83 ± 1,72 minutos. Apos o termino da administracao do halotano, os animais do grupo II retornaram a ventilacao espontânea em 6,09 minutos demonstrando valores de PaCO2 da ordem de 50,78 mmHg. Nao houve necessidade de reversao farmacologica do bloqueador e a qualidade da recuperacao foi semelhante nos dois grupos. Frente aos resultados obtidos, pode-se concluir que o emprego de ventilacao controlada mecânica e vecuronio em equinos e factivel e isenta de efeitos adversos, sendo portanto indicada nesta especie.
Which firms participate in open source software development? A study using data from Debian

This paper is currently about facts rather than hypotheses. We are curious to understand which firms participate in Free/Libre/Open Source Software development, and from which sectors they come, by size, region, and industry. To this end, we collected a dataset based on all the signed code in the five versions of Debian from 2.0 to 3.1 (aka hamm, sarge, woody, potato, and slink), which were released during the years 1998-2005. The data included the name of the code contributor (committer), from which we identified the type of contributor (firm, individual, foundation, etc.). Approximately 1000 firms worldwide contributed to at least one of the five versions. To the data on firm contributions, we added information from Hoovers on the size, region, and industry distribution of firms worldwide. The latter data allow us to present our results on firm participation as probabilities of participation. That is, we can ask questions such as “do SMEs participate more or less given their share in the industry or in the economy? ”