Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age–period–cohort effects on inequalities in psychological distress, 1981–2000

Background. In the closing decades of the twentieth century, changes in population sociodemographics took place that might be thought to have an adverse influence on the nation's psychological distress. Here, we examine the stability of social and gender inequalities in psychological distress throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Methods. The study uses data from the 1958 National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study collected when the cohort members were aged between 23 and 42. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to examine the effects of social class, gender, age, period and cohort on psychological distress as measured by the Malaise Inventory. Results. We identify clear social inequalities in psychological distress during 1981–2000 that reduced in magnitude over this period. Non-linear age effects were observed: psychological distress improves in early adulthood but declines again on approaching mid-life. The 1970 cohort had poorer psychological distress than the 1958 cohort. Although women had higher rates of psychological distress than men, gender differences reduced in magnitude. Declining rates of women's psychological distress over time have not been matched in men. A reduction in social inequalities over time was also observed. Improvements in the psychological health of those in manual occupations were not equalled among those in non-manual occupations. Conclusions. Both social and gender inequalities have narrowed in the last two decades of the twentieth century.
Limited knowledge of lipid rescue therapy in local anaesthetic systemic toxicity.

INTRODUCTION There is increasing evidence to support the use of intravenous lipid emulsion (ILE) in the management of local anaesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) and non-local anaesthetic lipophilic-drug poisoning. This trend is supported by the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland's latest guidelines on LAST treatment. Similar national guidelines have yet to be introduced in Denmark. The aim of the present study was to study the adoption of lipid rescue therapy in Denmark. MATERIAL AND METHODS All Danish hospitals with an attending anaesthesiologist (no. 38) were contacted by phone. A total of 34 attending anaesthesiologists (AAs) participated in the systematic telephone survey. RESULTS A total of 22 (65%) of the AAs were aware of use of ILE in the management of LAST. One (3%) had knowledge of ILE treatment for non-local anaesthetic-drug poisoning. Eight (24%) had access to local guidelines on lipid rescue therapy. The same eight AAs also knew where to find ILE. None of the hospitals lacking guidelines had taken an active stand against the treatment. CONCLUSION Patients with toxic reactions who could potentially benefit from ILE will not be offered lipid rescue therapy in 26 of 34 hospitals (76%)--either because the AA is not aware of this treatment modality, or due to absence of either guidelines or ILE. To improve the availability of lipid rescue therapy, more hospitals need to develop emergency packs containing ILE and guidelines. Introduction of national guidelines on lipid rescue therapy would probably accelerate this process.
Hepatitis E virus infection in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a newly‐identified causative agent of acute and chronic hepatitis in severely immunocompromized patients. The present study sought to assess the prevalences of past, recent, on‐going, and chronic HEV infections in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Marseille, South‐eastern France, and to determine if they were correlated with the patients' immunological status or with cirrhosis. Anti‐HEV IgG and IgM and HEV RNA testing were concurrently performed on the plasma from 184 patients infected with HIV, including 81 with a CD4+ T‐lymphocyte count (CD4 count) <50 cells/mm3 and 32 with a cirrhosis. Prevalence of anti‐HEV IgG and IgM was 4.4% (8/184) and 1.6% (3/184), respectively. Past, recent, and on‐going infections were observed in 3.3% (6/184), 1.6% (3/184), and 0.5% (1/184) of the patients, respectively. Anti‐HEV antibodies prevalence did not differ significantly according to CD4 count, cirrhosis, sex, age, mode of HIV transmission, and infection with hepatitis B or C virus. Anti‐HEV IgG seroreversion was observed in two patients. The patient whose plasma tested positive for HEV RNA had a CD4 count <50 cells/mm3; HEV genotype was 3f. In this patient, longitudinal testing showed HEV RNA positivity during a 10‐month period, indicating chronic HEV infection; in contrast, anti‐HEV IgG never tested positive. Further studies are needed to evaluate the performance of commercial HEV serological assays in patients infected with HIV and to assess the actual incidence, prevalence, and outcome of HEV infection in this special group of patients. HEV RNA testing is necessary for such purposes. J. Med. Virol. 83:1704–1716, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
MARTINGALE REPRESENTATION FOR CONTINGENT CLAIMS WITH REGIME SWITCHING

We derive a martingale representation for a contingent claim under a Markov-modulated version of the Black-Scholes economy. The mar- tingale representation for the price of the claim is established with respect to an equivalent martingale measure chosen by the Esscher transform. Under some dieren tiability conditions for the coecien ts of the price processes, we shall identify explicitly the integrands in the martingale representation us- ing stochastic o ws. We shall introduce a zero-coupon bond to minimize the residual risk due to incomplete hedging. Recently, regime-switching models have played an important role in dieren t branches of modern nancial economics. The origin of regime-switching models in econometrics goes back to the original work of Hamilton (1989) in which a discrete-time Markov-switching autoregressive time series models was proposed. Applications of regime-switching models penetrate dieren t areas in modern - nancial economics. Some works on these applications include Elliott and van der Hoek (1997) for asset allocation, Pliska (1997), and Elliott, Hunter and Jamieson (2001) for short rate models, Elliott and Hinz (2002) for portfolio analysis and chart analysis, Niak (1993), Guo (2001) and Bungton and Elliott (2002a,b) for option valuation and Elliott, Malcolm and Tsoi (2003) for volatility estimation. The representation of martingales as stochastic integrals and the identication of the integrand in the representation are important topics in stochastic calculus and its applications. In mathematical nance, the integrand in the martingale representation of the discounted price process of a contingent claim may be used to construct a hedging policy for the claim. Colwell, Elliott and Kopp (1991) use the martingale representation theorem and stochastic o ws to identify a hedging policy for a contingent claim in the context of a multi-dimensional diusion model. Colwell and Elliott (1993) use a martingale representation result to construct the local risk-minimizing strategy explicitly. Their result provides an alternative mo- tive for the concept of the minimal martingale measure. In this paper, we shall derive a martingale representation for a contingent claim written on a risky asset under a Markov-modulated version of the Black-Scholes economy. We assume that the market parameters, including the market interest 2000 Mathematics Subject Classic ation. Primary 91B70; Secondary 91B28.
"Kinder - jetzt, später oder nie?"

Die eingereichte Dissertation beleuchtet das Thema Geburtenentwicklung und Kinderwunsch aus einem internationalen Blickwinkel. Ausgangspunkt ist die Frage, warum in einigen europaischen Landern die Geburtenzahlen stabil sind bzw. sogar ansteigen, wahrend in anderen Landern die Fertilitat rucklaufig ist. Um sich dieser Frage anzunahern, werden drei europaische Lander – namlich Osterreich, Schweden und Spanien – ausgewahlt und einer vergleichenden Analyse unterzogen. Diese Lander reprasentieren in ihrer Heterogenitat die unterschiedlichen Trends in Europa und lassen dadurch auch gewisse, allgemeine Schlussfolgerungen fur die gesamteuropaische Geburtenentwicklung zu. Die Zielsetzungen der eingereichten Arbeit liegen sowohl auf inhaltlicher als auch auf methodischer Ebene. Die inhaltliche Zielsetzung ist es, einen Beitrag zur Ursachenforschung zum Kinderwunsch und dem generativen Verhalten zu leisten. Denn gerade die Ursachenforschung – also die Frage, warum sich Paare fur oder gegen Kinder entscheiden - ist in der Forschung bis dato vergleichsweise unterbelichtet geblieben. Die Verbreiterung der diesbezuglichen Wissensbasis ist jedoch nicht nur aus wissenschaftlicher Sicht bedeutsam, sondern stellt eine wesentliche Voraussetzung fur die Entwicklung moglicher Gegensteuerungsstrategien zum Geburtenruckgang dar. Die methodische Zielsetzung besteht darin, unter Bezugnahme auf theoretische Ansatze in der neueren Forschungsliteratur ein theoretisches Modell zur Erklarung der Geburtenentwicklung abzuleiten. Viele der bestehenden Erklarungsansatze erscheinen als zu eng gefuhrt. Sie tragen dem Umstand, dass es sich beim Kinderwunsch und dem generativen Verhalten um sehr komplexe Phanomene handelt, nur unzureichend Rechnung. Insofern wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit der Versuch unternommen, einen Ansatz zu entwickeln, der gesellschaftliche und strukturelle Rahmenbedingungen berucksichtigt, aber auch Entscheidungsprozesse auf individueller Ebene und auf der Paarebene miteinbezieht. Das entwickelte Modell wird in einem Landervergleich zwischen Osterreich, Schweden und Spanien an einer empirischen Datenbasis, namlich der qualitativen Studie zum Kinderwunsch von Paaren, zu uberprufen sein. Die Komplexitat der zu untersuchenden Phanomene Kinderwunsch und generatives Verhalten muss aber nicht nur im theoretischen Modell abbildbar, sondern auch in der Analyse methodisch umsetzbar sein. Hierfur scheint ein Instrumentarium notwendig, das imstande ist, komplexe Kausalbeziehungen aufzudecken. In der eingereichten Dissertation kommt eine fur die Erklarung von Fertilitatsentscheidungen bisher noch kaum verwendete, aber durchaus geeignet erscheinende Methode zur Anwendung, namlich die Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) nach Charles Ragin. Neben der inhaltlichen Zielsetzung mochte die vorliegende Arbeit also auch Es soll uberpruft werden, inwieweit jene Methode ein adaquates Analyseinstrument zur Bearbeitung der vorliegenden Fragenstellung darstellt.
Influence of the home environment on the prevention of mother to child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune-deficiency syndrome in South Africa

Abstract The human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is still a ‘family crises’ which marks the beginning of the deterioration of the family unit and the trauma in the emotional, psychological and material lives of both the mother and child. In South African context where the majority of HIV-positive mothers are young single women who live in extended families, disclosure to the sexual partner alone is not an adequate condition for the success of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT). In South Africa, close to one in three women who attend antenatal clinics are HIV positive. KwaZulu-Natal is one of the worst affected provinces, where as many as 40–60% of pregnant women attending antenatal services are living with HIV infection. The study sought to investigate the link between the home environment and its contribution to the success of the programme on PMTCT of HIV/AIDS. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual study was used in this study to explore whether the home environment for the support system is available for the HIV-positive women on the PMTCT programme. The population of this study included all women who have undergone counselling and tested HIV positive and who have joined the programme on PMTCT of HIV/AIDS in a specific hospital in KwaZulu-Natal Province. Although 14 women agreed to participate in the study, only 10 women were interviewed as saturation was attained. Data were collected using semi-structured interview schedule. Interviews were audio-taped and field notes were taken. Content analysis was used and it was done manually. This study revealed that one of the major issues still surrounding HIV/AIDS and PMTCT is that of non-disclosure, selective disclosure and the stigma and discrimination that surrounds this disease.
Arrovian efficiency in allocation of discrete resources

Efficiency in the Pareto sense and strategy-proofness have been the central design desiderata in market design for allocation of discrete resources, such as dorm allocation, school choice, and kidney exchange. However, more precise efficiency objectives, such as welfare maximization, have been neglected. In a setting where heterogeneous indivisible goods are being allocated without monetary transfers and each agent has a unit demand, we use Arrovian efficiency as the notion of welfare optimization and show that a mechanism is individually strategy-proof and Arrovian efficient, i.e., it always selects the best outcome with respect to some Arrovian social welfare function, if and only if the mechanism is group strategy-proof and Pareto efficient. If the Arrovian social welfare function completely ranks all matchings, then the individually strategy-proof and Arrovian-efficient mechanisms are almost sequential dictatorships.
Considering behaviour to ensure the success of a disease control strategy

The success or failure of a disease control strategy can be significantly affected by the behaviour of individual agents involved, influencing the effectiveness of disease control, its cost and sustainability. This behaviour has rarely been considered in agricultural systems, where there is significant opportunity for impact. Efforts to increase the adoption of control while decreasing oscillations in adoption and yield, particularly through the administration of subsidies, could increase the effectiveness of interventions. We study individual behaviour for the deployment of clean seed systems to control cassava brown streak disease in East Africa, noting that high disease pressure is important to stimulate grower demand of the control strategy. We show that it is not necessary to invest heavily in formal promotional or educational campaigns, as word-of-mouth is often sufficient to endorse the system. At the same time, for improved planting material to have an impact on increasing yields, it needs to be of a sufficient standard to restrict epidemic spread significantly. Finally, even a simple subsidy of clean planting material may be effective in disease control, as well as reducing oscillations in adoption, as long as it reaches a range of different users every season.
Craniofacial anthropometric norms of Malays.

INTRODUCTION This study was undertaken to establish the craniofacial anthropometric norms of young adult Malaysian Malays. METHODS The study group consisted of convenient samples of 100 healthy volunteers (aged 18-25 years), with an equal number of female and male subjects who had no history of mixed racial parentage. 22 linear measurements were taken twice from 22 landmarks over six craniofacial regions. RESULTS The Malays shared many similar sizes of measurements with the Singaporean Chinese. Their left eye fissure length and mouth width (ch-ch) were almost identical for both genders. However, Malay females had an upper lip height (sn-sto) (left) and ear width (pra-pa) similar to Singaporean Chinese females. Six other measurements, viz. the head width (eu-eu), head circumference (on-op), face height (n-gn), lower face height (sn-gn), (left) eye fissure height (ps-pi), cutaneous upper lip height (sn-ls) and cutaneous upper lip height (ls-sto), were 0.4-4.3 mm less in the Malays. Measurements for another four parameters, viz. the length of the head (g-op), biocular width (ex-ex), lower vermillion height (sto-li) and (left) ear length (sa-sba), were 0.5-3.6 mm higher in the Malays. Only three measurements were obviously different; the height of the head (v-n) and intercanthal width (en-en), were lower, and the protrusion of the nasal tip (sn-prn) was higher in the Malays. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that three features, i.e. the height of the head (v-n), intercanthal width (en-en) and protrusion of the nasal tip (sn-prn) may be useful in differentiating a Malay face from a Singaporean Chinese one.
Abundance of West Nile Virus Mosquito Vectors in Relation to Climate and Landscape Variables

ABSTRACT: It is currently unclear if the potential for West Nile virus transmission by mosquito vectors in the eastern United States is related to landscape or climate factors or both. We compared abundance of vector species between urban and suburban neighborhoods of Henrico County, VA, in relation to the following factors: temperature, precipitation, canopy cover, building footprint, and proximity to drainage infrastructure. Mosquitoes were collected throughout the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons and tested for West Nile virus (WNV) in pools of 10–50. Test results of mosquito pools were compared to average site abundance from 37 sites in Henrico County, VA; abundance was then examined in relation to ecological variables. Urban infrastructure was positively correlated with the abundance of Culex pipiens L. / Cx. restuans, and our findings implicate combined sewer overflow systems as large contributors to Culex vector populations. No measure of urbanization examined in our study was correlated with Aedes albopictus abundance. Our study showed that certain landscape variables identified using Geographic Information Systems are valuable for predicting primary WNV vector abundance in Virginia, and that temperature along with low precipitation are strong predictors of population growth. Our results support other regional studies that found WNV proliferates under drought conditions.
Alternative endocytosis pathway for productive entry of hepatitis C virus.

Previous studies have shown that hepatitis C virus (HCV) enters human hepatic cells through interaction with a series of cellular receptors, followed by clathrin-mediated, pH-dependent endocytosis. Here, we investigated the mechanisms of HCV entry into multiple HCV-permissive human hepatocyte-derived cells using trans-complemented HCV particles (HCVtcp). Knockdown of CD81 and claudin-1, or treatment with bafilomycin A1, reduced infection in Huh-7 and Huh7.5. 1 cells, suggesting that HCV entered both cell types via receptor-mediated, pH-dependent endocytosis. Interestingly, knockdown of the clathrin heavy chain or dynamin-2 (Dyn2), as well as expression of the dominant-negative form of Dyn2, reduced infection of Huh-7 cells with HCVtcp, whereas infectious entry of HCVtcp into Huh7.5. 1 cells was not impaired. Infection of Huh7.5. 1 cells with culture-derived HCV (HCVcc) via a clathrin-independent pathway was also observed. Knockdown of caveolin-1, ADP-ribosylation factor 6 (Arf6), flotillin, p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) and the PAK1 effector C-terminal binding protein 1 of E1A had no inhibitory effects on HCVtcp infection into Huh7.5. 1 cells, thus suggesting that the infectious entry pathway of HCV into Huh7.5. 1 cells was not caveolae-mediated, or Arf6- and flotillin-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis, but rather may have occurred via an undefined endocytic pathway. Further analysis revealed that HCV entry was clathrin- and dynamin-dependent in ORL8c and HepCD81/miR122 cells, but productive entry of HCV was clathrin- and dynamin-independent in Hep3B/miR122 cells. Collectively, these data indicated that HCV entered different target cells through different entry routes.
Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) Population Size Survey in the 2007 Chikungunya Outbreak Area in Italy. I. Characterization of Breeding Sites and Evaluation of Sampling Methodologies

ABSTRACT The population of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) was measured in four towns in northern Italy by means of Stegomyia indices (house index: percentage of houses with at least one active breeding site; container index: percentage of containers with larvae; and Breteau index: number of active breeding sites per premises), pupae per premises index (PPI), pupae per hectare index (PHI), and ovitrap monitoring. A detailed investigation on types and number of productive or potential larval habitats in the inspected premises was performed. Catch basins were the most productive breeding sites in both private and public areas. The influence of the premises maintenance and premises shading indices (PMI and PSI) on the population indices and the correlations between the latter and egg density were assessed. The highest PPI was found in badly maintained premises, most times combined with shady coverage. Stegomyia indices and PPI were well correlated with each other, but not with the PHI, which also included the pupae collected in public areas. We obtained a highly positive correlation (R = 0.86) between the PHI and weekly mean egg density estimated 7–14 d after inspection of the premises. The number of females per hectare, calculated using the Focks model, was correlated with the mean egg density of the week after sampling (R = 0.79), and we propose that ovitrap monitoring can be used to evaluate the efficiency of the control activities or to determine a mean egg density threshold for epidemic risk evaluation.
Green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate enhances 5‐fluorouracil‐induced cell growth inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Aim: 5‐Fluorouracil (5‐FU) is one of the most commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs. Resistance to 5‐FU is a major cause of chemotherapy failure in advanced‐stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Green tea polyphenol Epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG) plays a critical role in growth inhibition and apoptotic induction in HCC cell lines. The aim of this study is to investigate whether EGCG can enhance 5‐FU‐induced cell growth inhibition and to explore its potential mechanisms.
Thresholds for health and thresholds for illness: panic disorder versus subthreshold panic disorder

Background. There is increasing evidence that subthreshold forms of psychopathology are both common and clinically relevant. To enable classification of these subthreshold forms of psychopathology, it may be useful to distinguish not only a threshold for illness but also for health. Our aim was to investigate this with regard to panic. Method. Data were derived from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS), which is based on a large representative sample of the adult general population (18–65 years) of The Netherlands (n=7076). The Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used as a diagnostic instrument. By defining two thresholds, three groups were formed: panic disorder, subthreshold panic disorder and no-panic. These groups were compared using multinomial regression analysis, χ2 and analysis of variance. Results. The 12-month prevalence of panic disorder was 2·2% while that of subthreshold panic disorder was 1·9%. Symptom profiles and risk indicators associated with panic disorder and subthreshold panic disorder were similar, and half of the risk indicators were more strongly associated with panic disorder than with subthreshold panic disorder. Subthreshold panic disorder occupied an intermediate position between panic disorder and no-panic with regard to the number of symptoms, the percentage of subjects with co-morbidity, and functioning. Conclusions. Subthreshold panic disorder is common, and seems clinically relevant, but is milder than panic disorder. These results thus support the use of a double threshold in panic. Further research should focus on the positioning of the thresholds, the course of subthreshold panic disorder and its treatment options.