Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative effectiveness of second generation long-acting injectable antipsychotics based on nationwide database research in Hungary

Background Schizophrenia is a severe condition that affects approximately 1% of the population. Certain elements of antipsychotic treatment can only be examined in large population, thus the need for population-based real-world analyses has been increasing. Patients and methods Hungarian National Health Fund database includes all healthcare data of the population of Hungary. All patients diagnosed with schizophrenia between 01.01. 2006 and 31.12. 2015 were included in the study. We analyzed all patients with newly initiated second-generation antipsychotic during the inclusion period (01.01.2012–31.12.2013). Patients were followed for 2 years. All-cause treatment discontinuation served as the primary outcome of the study. Patients with newly initiated long-acting injectable treatments were further investigated in stratified analyses based on their previous treatment. Results 106,624 patients had schizophrenia diagnosis during the study period. 12,232 patients met the inclusion criteria for newly initiating second-generation antipsychotic during the inclusion period. The proportion of patients still on treatment after 1 year for oral treatments varied between 17% (oral risperidone) and 31% (oral olanzapine) while the analogous data for long acting injectables were between 32% (risperidone long acting) and 64% (paliperidone long acting one monthly). The 2-year data were similarly in favor of long-actings. Median time to discontinuation in the oral group varied between 57 days (clozapine) and 121 days (olanzapine). The median time to discontinuation for long-actings was significantly longer: between 176 and 287 days; in case of paliperidone long acting, median was not reached during the observation period. Patients receiving long-acting treatment switched from another long-acting remained on the newly initiated treatment significantly longer than those switched from orals. Conclusion Our results indicate the superiority of second generation long-acting antipsychotics with regard to rates of treatment discontinuation and periods of persistence to the assigned medication.
Feasibility RCT protocol evaluating a powered-wheelchair training program for older adults

Background. Powered-wheelchair use improves participation for people with mobility limitations; however, many individuals do not receive powered-wheelchair skills training that meets their learning needs. Purpose. The aim of this work is to evaluate the feasibility of a powered-wheelchair training program for older adults with cognitive impairment, using errorless learning strategies facilitated by shared control technology. Method. A feasibility 2 × 2 factorial randomized controlled trial will recruit 32 older adults in residential care with mild to moderate cognitive impairment who are new powered-wheelchair use. The intervention consists of six or 12 training sessions, facilitated by shared control technology, using errorless learning techniques. Control participants will receive six or 12 training sessions using trial-and-error methods. Feasibility and clinical outcomes data (primary outcome: powered-wheelchair skills) will be collected. Implications. Errorless learning facilitated by shared control technology may be an alternative to meet the powered-wheelchair learning needs of older adults with cognitive impairments.
Evidence of Conditional and Unconditional Cooperation in a Public Goods Game: Experimental Evidence from Mali Job Market Paper

This paper measures the relative importance of conditional cooperation and unconditional cooperation in a large public goods experiment conducted in Mali. I use expectations about total public goods provision to estimate a structural choice model with heterogeneous preferences. While unconditional cooperation can be captured by common preferences shared by all participants, conditional cooperation is much more heterogeneous and depends on unobserved individual factors. This structural model, in combination with two experimental treatments, suggests that leadership and group communication incentivize public goods provision through dierent channels. First, I nd that participation of local leaders eectively changes individual choices through unconditional cooperation. A simulation exercise predicts that even in the most pessimistic scenario in which all participants expect zero public good provision, 60% would still choose to cooperate. Second, allowing participants to communicate fosters conditional cooperation. The simulations suggest that expectations are responsible for around 24% of the observed public good provision and that group communication does not necessarily ameliorate public good provision, it may even worsen the outcome when expectations are low.
Utility and Predictive Value of Human Standard Semen Parameters and Sperm DNA Dispersion for Fertility Potential

Because the assessment of sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) plays a key role in male fertility, our study was designed to find the relationships between SDF and standard semen parameters. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that 18% SDF is a prognostic parameter for discriminating between men with normal and abnormal standard semen parameters (n = 667). Men with > 18% SDF had significantly lower quality semen, a higher prevalence of abnormal semen characteristics, and a higher odds ratio for abnormal semen parameters compared to men with ≤ 18% SDF. An ROC analysis provided predictive values for age and semen parameters to distinguish between men with SDF > 18% and men with ≤ 18% SDF. SDF was positively correlated with male age and teratozoospermia index but negatively with sperm concentration, total number of spermatozoa, sperm morphology, progressive motility, and vitality. Our study shows that 18% SDF has a predictive value for distinguishing between men with normal and abnormal semen characteristics. Men with >18% SDF have a higher risk for abnormal semen parameters, while age and obtained semen parameters have a predictive value for SDF. There is a relationship between SDF and conventional sperm characteristics, and thus, SDF can be incorporated into male fertility assessment.
Moist Hadley Circulation: Possible Role of Wave-Convection Coupling in Aquaplanet Experiments

AbstractAquaplanet simulations for a given sea surface temperature (SST) are conducted to elucidate possible roles of transient variability in the Hadley circulation and the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Their roles are best illustrated with globally uniform SSTs. For such SSTs, an ITCZ and a Hadley circulation that are nearly equatorially symmetric emerge spontaneously. Their strength varies over a wide range from being faint to climatologically significant depending on a tunable parameter of the model’s cumulus parameterization. In some cases asymmetric Hadley circulations formed along with long-lived tropical cyclones.The tunable parameter affects the transient variability of tropical precipitation. In the runs in which well-defined near-symmetric ITCZs formed, tropical precipitation exhibited clear signatures of convectively coupled equatorial waves. The waves can explain the concentration of precipitation to the equatorial region, which induces the Hadley circulation. Also, the meridional st.
A simulation model for predicting the voluntary feed intake of a growing pig

Abstract The main goal of this simulator is to predict voluntary feed intake based on the effects of temperature and stocking density. The model indicates the limiting factors relative to diet (protein, energy or ash), housing environmental conditions and stocking density. The concepts of compensatory protein growth, correction of lipid growth, the desired feed intake to meet energy, protein and ash requirements, and influences of stocking density, genotype and sex are also introduced in this model. This study draws a flow chart and steps to predict feed intake of a growing pig to make it clear how the model works. The model simulates the outcomes of feed intake, energy and protein requirements for maintenance, the energy cost for cold thermogenesis, and protein and lipid retention on a daily basis until slaughter weight. This model was also validated by comparison with published experiments.
The effect of financial sector development on economic growth: Evidence from the GCC Countries

This research investigates whether financial sector development plays a role in economic growth in the Gulf Region. Using panel data, we examine whether the growth of financial sector and stock market development have a bearing on economic growth in selected GCC countries. The empirical evidence reveals a positive relationship between financial sector development and economic growth. We observe that the banking sector and stock markets indicators have influence on economic growth even after including other factors that affect economic growth. We also observe that the banking sector and stock markets complement each other in providing financial services to GCC economies.
Ownership governance and performance in Spanish-Moroccan joint ventures

This paper analyses the impact of ownership on performance by SMEs formed as Spanish-Moroccan international joint ventures (IJVs). In such SMEs, the functions and persons involved at different levels of governance – ownership, board and managers – often overlap. The results obtained from 210 SMEs suggest that owners often exert control by participating in the other mechanisms of governance. Their participation as members of the board has a positive influence on performance and thus the success of the IJV, but when owners form part of the management team (a less frequent situation), the influence on performance is negative and not significant. Participation by owners in the management team is not associated with the IJV’s performance.
Impact of Coal-fired Power Plant Emissions on Children’s Health: A Systematic Review of the Epidemiological Literature

Coal-based energy production is the most utilized method of electricity production worldwide and releases the highest concentration of gaseous, particulate, and metallic pollutants. This article aims to systematically review the public health impact of coal-fired power plant emissions on children’s health. PubMed, Web of Science, and Toxline databases were queried for the past 20 years. Inclusion criteria included original scientific articles with (a) coal-fired power plant exposure assessment, (b) at least one primary pediatric health outcome, and (c) assessment of potential sources of confounding and bias. Only morbidity and mortality studies were included; economic analysis and risk assessment studies without a primary health outcome were not included. Of 513 articles initially retrieved, 17 epidemiological articles were included in the final systematic review after screening and eligibility. The articles reviewed showed a statistically significant adverse effect on pediatric neurodevelopment; birth weight and pediatric respiratory morbidity was associated with exposure to coal-fired power plant emissions, primarily particulate matter and polyaromatic hydrocarbon exposure. There is a lack of consistency of exposure assessment and inadequate control of significant potential confounders such as social economic status. Future research should focus on improving exposure assessment models with an emphasis on source-apportionment and geographic information system methods to model power plant-specific emissions.
FAME (v1.0): a simple module to simulate the effect of planktonic foraminifer species-specific habitat on their oxygen isotopic content

Abstract. The oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 ratio recorded in fossil planktonic foraminifer shells has been used for over 50 years in many geoscience applications. However, different planktonic foraminifer species generally yield distinct signals, as a consequence of their specific living habitats in the water column and along the year. This complexity is usually not taken into account in model–data integration studies. To overcome this shortcoming, we developed the Foraminifers As Modeled Entities (FAME) module. The module predicts the presence or absence of commonly used planktonic foraminifers and their oxygen-18 values. It is only forced by hydrographic data and uses a very limited number of parameters, almost all derived from culture experiments. FAME performance is evaluated using the Multiproxy Approach for the Reconstruction of the Glacial Ocean surface (MARGO) Late Holocene planktonic foraminifer calcite oxygen-18 and abundance datasets. The application of FAME to a simple cooling scenario demonstrates its utility to predict changes in planktonic foraminifer oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 ratio in response to changing climatic conditions.
Accuracy of mHealth Devices for Atrial Fibrillation Screening: Systematic Review

Background Mobile health (mHealth) devices can be used for the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. Early diagnosis allows better treatment and prevention of secondary diseases like stroke. Although there are many different mHealth devices to screen for atrial fibrillation, their accuracy varies due to different technological approaches. Objective We aimed to systematically review available studies that assessed the accuracy of mHealth devices in screening for atrial fibrillation. The goal of this review was to provide a comprehensive overview of available technologies, specific characteristics, and accuracy of all relevant studies. Methods PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched from January 2014 until January 2019. Our systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses. We restricted the search by year of publication, language, noninvasive methods, and focus on diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. Articles not including information about the accuracy of devices were excluded. Results We found 467 relevant studies. After removing duplicates and excluding ineligible records, 22 studies were included. The accuracy of mHealth devices varied among different technologies, their application settings, and study populations. We described and summarized the eligible studies. Conclusions Our systematic review identifies different technologies for screening for atrial fibrillation with mHealth devices. A specific technology’s suitability depends on the underlying form of atrial fibrillation to be diagnosed. With the suitable use of mHealth, early diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation are possible. Successful application of mHealth technologies could contribute to significantly reducing the cost of illness of atrial fibrillation.
Duality with time-changed Lévy processes

In this paper we study the pricing problem of derivatives written in terms of a two dimensional time–changed Lévy processes. Then, we examine an existing relation between prices of put and call options, of both the European and the American type. This relation is called put–call duality. It includes as a particular case, the relation known as put–call symmetry. Necessary and sufficient conditions for put–call symmetry to hold are shown, in terms of the triplet of local characteristic of the Time–changed Lévy process. In this way we extend the results obtained in Fajardo and Mordecki (2004) to the case of time–changed Lévy processes.
Asian Currency and Financial Crises: Lessons from Vulnerability, Crisis, and Collapse.

This paper presents an analytical framework for understanding the East Asian crises. We argue that vulnerability was created by the boom and bust incurred under pegged exchange rates, and by liberalisation in the presence of a bank-based financial regime with implicit promises of bail-out. These vulnerabilities were interconnected. Negative shocks precipitated both currency devaluation and financial crisis, and the latter created obligations for the government to bail out the financial sector. The critical"feature which led to collapse was, we argue, the fact that currency depreciation led to a worsening of the financial crisis, due to massive unhedged borrowing in foreign currency, to which the fixed exchange rate regime had led. Financial collapse resulted when the currency devaluation was sufficiently large that those who had lent to the financial system came to believe that government guarantees could not be honoured. This in turn triggered fears of sovereign insolvency, which turned currency depreciation into currency collapse.
Development of a rapid and highly sensitive direct-PCR assay to detect a single conidium of Botrytis cinerea Pers.:Fr in vitro and quiescent forms in planta

“Direct-PCR” amplifications of Botrytis cinerea -specific genomic sequences, without any DNA purification step or time consuming sample preparation, were developed. A single copy sequence of 0.7 Kb in the Botrytis cinerea genome was amplified in reactions containing no more than 1 x 105 to 1 single conidium. As a demonstrative application, this assay was applied to detect B. cinerea in different parts of immature grape berries (at ‘pea size’), when previously inoculated with conidia at flowering. Using this method we showed the presence of quiescent Botrytis in the receptacle area only. Cloning and sequencing of the fragment confirmed the single sequence gene of B. cinerea . These results demonstrate that the method is easy to apply and of sufficiently high sensitivity to detect the presence of B. cinerea in immature grape berries. Its use for studies on the development of grey mould and improved control of the disease in vineyards is discussed.
Cell wall hydrolases act in concert during aerenchyma development in sugarcane roots.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Cell wall disassembly occurs naturally in plants by the action of several glycosyl-hydrolases during different developmental processes such as lysigenous and constitutive aerenchyma formation in sugarcane roots. Wall degradation has been reported in aerenchyma development in different species, but little is known about the action of glycosyl-hydrolases in this process. METHODS In this work, gene expression, protein levels, and enzymatic activity of cell wall hydrolases were assessed. Since aerenchyma formation is constitutive in sugarcane roots, they were assessed in segments corresponding to the first 5 cm from the root tip where aerenchyma develops. KEY RESULTS Our results indicate that the wall degradation starts with a partial attack to pectins (by acetyl esterases, endopolygalacturonases, β-galactosidases, and α-arabinofuranosidases) followed by the action of β-glucan/callose hydrolyzing enzymes. At the same time, there are modifications in arabinoxylan (by α-arabinofuranosidases), xyloglucan (by XTH), xyloglucan-cellulose interactions (by expansins), and partial hydrolysis of cellulose. Saccharification revealed that access to the cell wall varies among segments, consistent with an increase in recalcitrance and composite formation during aerenchyma development. CONCLUSION Our findings corroborate the hypothesis that hydrolases are synchronically synthesized leading to cell wall modifications that are modulated by the fine structure of cell wall polymers during aerenchyma formation in the cortex of sugarcane roots.
Causality between Financial Development and Economic Growth: Evidence from10 Sub-Sahara African Countries (2002-2013)

This study empirically examines the impact and direction of causality between financial development and economic growth in 10sub-Saharan African countries for the period 2002 to 2013. The empirical investigation was carried out using the static panel data where three possible procedures were considered; the pooled (OLS); fixed effects (FE) and random effects (RE) methods, each with its underlying assumptions necessary to obtain unbiased and efficient estimates. Our results showed that the fixed model is preferred. This presupposes that the individual specific effects in each country’s development finance can no longer be ignored, in examining their impacts on the country’s economic growth. Also, the results of the co integration test, provides evidence of the existence of a long-run relationship between financial development and economic growth in all the countries studied. The fixed effect model results also indicate that financial development plays a causal role on economic growth, again in all the countries studied. These findings imply that Sub-Sahara African countries can accelerate their economic growth by improving their financial systems.
Policy Considerations for Random Allocation of Research Funds

There are now several proposals for introducing random elements into the process of funding allocation for research, and some initial implementation of this policy by funding bodies. The proposals have been supported on efficiency grounds, with models, including social epistemology models, showing random allocation could increase the generation of significant truths in a community of scientists when compared to funding by peer review. The models in the literature are, however, fairly abstract (by necessity). This paper introduces some of the considerations that are required to build on the modelling work towards a fully-fledged policy proposal, including issues of cost and fairness.
The Effect of Triple Helix System and Habitat on Regional Entrepreneurship: Empirical Evidence from the U.S.

The ‘triple helix’ of the university–industry–government relationship and habitat are accepted as important determinants of innovation and entrepreneurship. However, empirical explorations of the effects of these variables and their interrelationships on regional entrepreneurial activities are highly limited. To fill this gap, we investigate the effect of the triple helix system and habitat on birth and death rates of U.S. firms at the state level. As expected, we find that industrial R&D expenditure plays an important role in promoting regional firm birth. However, university and government R&D also generate a synergistic effect that indirectly influences regional firm birth rates. In addition, we find that the synergy between university and industrial R&D enhances the sustainability of firms, while the interactions between (1) university and government R&D and (2) government and industrial R&D are associated with an increase in firm death. Other factors linked to more favorable conditions for firm formation include higher educational attainment in a region, lower tax rate, and habitat factors affecting quality of life, such as lower housing prices and higher rates of health insurance coverage. In regions with high entrepreneurial activity, we find positive synergistic effects of the interactions between (1) university and government R&D and (2) university and industrial R&D on firm birth rate, suggesting that university R&D plays an important role as an ‘entrepreneurial mediator’ among the three spheres in the triple helix system. In low entrepreneurial regions, the only triple helix system factors significantly influencing firm birth rate were tax rate. This finding suggests that the independent and interdependent components of the triple helix system and habitat are less powerful in low entrepreneurial regions.