Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic correlations between live yearling bull and steer carcass traits adjusted to different slaughter end points

We studied genetic relationships between age-constant live yearling beef bull growth and ultrasound traits and steer carcass traits with dissected steer carcass lean percentage adjusted to slaughter age-, HCW-, fat depth-, and marbling score-constant end points. Three measures of steer carcass lean percentage were used. Blue Tag lean percentage (BTLean) was predicted from HCW, fat depth, and LM area measurements. Ruler lean percentage (RulerLean) was predicted from carcass fat depth and LM depth and width measurements. Dissected lean percentage (DissLean) was based on dissection of the 10–11–12th rib section. Both BTLean (h2 = 0.30 to 0.44) and DissLean (h2 = 0.34 to 0.39) were more heritable than RulerLean (h2 = 0.05 to 0.14) at all end points. Genetic correlations among DissLean and RulerLean (rg = 0.61 to 0.70), DissLean and BTLean (rg = 0.56 to 0.72), and BTLean and RulerLean (rg = 0.59 to 0.90) indicated that these traits were not genetically identical. Adjusting DissLean to different end points changed the magnitude, but generally not the direction, of genetic correlations with indicator traits. Ultrasound scan-age-constant live yearling bull lean percentage estimates were heritable (h2 = 0.26 to 0.42) and genetically correlated with each
Stochastic Sorting∗

We analyze matching markets with stochastic characteristics: agents’ payoff-relevant characteristics are realized after matching takes place, and matches are formed based on ex-ante attributes that affect the distributions of ex-post ones. This generates stochastic sorting patterns and naturally gives rise to ex-post mismatch and correlation in realizations due to selection. We derive conditions for positive and negative sorting in the standard setting with transferable utility, as well as in the more complex case with nontransferable utility, such as risk sharing and moral hazard problems. In addition to complementarity in the match output function, the conditions for assortative matching now also depend on the properties of the stochastic order imposed on the distributions of the agents’ ex-post characteristics. We provide two applications of the model: one analyzes mismatch in the labor market for executives, and the other decomposes the sources of increased inequality of married household into marital and stochastic sorting.
P o S ( B E A U T Y 2 0 1 6 ) 0 3 2 The Renaissance of Kaon Flavour Physics

There is no doubt that in the coming years we will witness the renaissance of kaon flavour physics with crucial measurements of the branching ratios for the rare decays K+→ π+νν̄ and KL→ π0νν̄ that are very sensitive to new physics (NP) and are theoretically very clean. Simultaneously the role of ε ′/ε , εK , ∆MK , KL → μ+μ− and KL → π0`+`−in searching for NP will significantly increase through their improved estimates within the SM. In fact the hints for NP contributing to ε ′/ε have been signalled last year through improved estimates of hadronic matrix elements of QCD and electroweak penguin operators Q6 and Q8 by lattice QCD and large N dual QCD approach. Also recent increased tensions between εK and ∆Ms,d mass differences in Bs,d − B̄s,d mixing within the SM and models with constrained MFV tell us that we should have tremendous fun in chasing NP through all these observables. The present talk discusses the hinted anomalies in ε ′/ε and ∆F = 2 transitions and summarizes possible implications of simultaneous anomalies in ε ′/ε and εK for K+ → π+νν̄ , KL → π0νν̄ and ∆MK in models with tree-level Z and Z′ exchanges. The anomalies in ε ′/ε and εK , if confirmed, would signal new sources of CP violation. This is in contrast to the recent anomalies in B physics that signal lepton flavour non-
Pembrolizumab for the treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancer: Current status and future directions

The development of inhibitors of immune checkpoints has revolutionized the treatment for a subset of patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), resulting in promising clinical outcomes and durable responses. Pembrolizumab, a humanized anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) antibody, has been approved as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced NSCLC with PD-L1 expression of ≥50% and as a second-line treatment for PD-L1 expression of ≥1%. Pembrolizumab in combination with standard chemotherapy has shown better clinical outcomes than chemotherapy as a first-line therapy in patients with advanced NSCLC without targetable mutations, regardless of PD-L1 expression. In this review, we summarized the current indications of pembrolizumab for NSCLC, briefly described immune-relevant pneumonitis and discussed potential biomarkers to predict clinical efficacy.
Ultrasound-guided popliteal sciatic and adductor canal block for below-knee surgeries in high-risk patients

Background and Aims: Central neuraxial block and general anaesthesia in patients with significant comorbidities are associated with considerable peri-operative morbidity and mortality. This study aims to delineate peripheral nerve block as a suitable alternative technique in high-risk patients posted for below-knee surgery. Methods: Twenty patients with the American Society of Anesthesiologist's (ASA) physical status grade III and IV, aged 30–80 years, scheduled for below-knee surgery from May 2018 to February 2019 were enrolled in this prospective study. All patients received ultrasound-guided popliteal sciatic block with 20 ml 0.5% ropivacaine and adductor canal block with 10 ml 0.375% ropivacaine. The peripheral nerve block success rate, sensory and motor block onset time, haemodynamic parameters, duration of post-operative analgesia and patient's satisfaction were recorded. Descriptive statistics of the study were calculated and the data was analysed using an SPSS statistics 21.0 program. Result: Surgery was performed successfully with no additional analgesic requirement in all patients. The mean duration for sensory and motor block onset time was 3.35 ± 0.49 (mean ± standard deviation) and 4.65 ± 0.48 (mean ± standard deviation) minutes respectively. Haemodynamic parameters were maintained stable throughout the procedure. The average duration of postoperative analgesia was 7.5 ± 0.8 (mean ± standard deviation) hours. Patient overall satisfaction as assessed, by three-point Lickert's scale, was satisfactory. Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided combined popliteal sciatic and adductor canal block is an effective alternative anaesthetic technique for below-knee surgeries with stability of haemodynamic parameters and pain management in high-risk patients.
Pectoral nerve versus erector spinae block for breast surgeries: A randomised controlled trial

Background and Aims: Patients undergoing breast cancer surgeries face significant post-operative pain. We aimed to compare pectoral nerve (PECS) block with erector spinae (ESP) block in these patients in terms of analgesic efficacy and adverse effects. Methods: Sixty four American Society of Anesthesiologists' status I and II female patients between age 18 to 60 years scheduled for unilateral modified radical mastectomy (MRM) under general anaesthesia, were enrolled in this prospective randomised study. Patients in group I received ultrasound guided (USG) ESP block (20 cc 0.2% ropivacaine) while group II received USG guided PECS II block (25 cc 0.2% ropivacaine). General anaesthesia was administered in a standardised manner to both the groups. The various parameters observed included sensory blockade, duration of analgesia and any adverse effects. The primary outcome was the total morphine consumption in 24 hours. Results: The total morphine consumption in 24 hours was less in group II (4.40 ± 0.94 mg), compared to group I (6.59 ± 1.35 mg; P = 0.000). The mean duration of analgesia in patients of group II was 7.26 ± 0.69 hours while that in the group I was 5.87 ± 1. 47 hours (P value = 0.001). 26 patients in group II (PECS) had blockade of T2 as compared to only 10 patients in group I. (P value = 0.00). There was no incidence of adverse effects in either group. Conclusion: PECS II block is a more effective block when compared to ESP block in patients of MRM in terms of postoperative analgesia and opioid consumption.
A Model of the Exchange Rate with Informational Frictions

Data for the U.S. and the Euro-zone (12) during the post-Bretton Woods period show that nominal and real exchange rates are more volatile than consumption, very persistent, and highly correlated with each other. Open-economy models with price stickiness and local-currency pricing often require an average duration above 4 quarters to approximate those stylized facts. I argue that limited and asymmetric information introduces a lag in the consumption decisions, and as a result the real exchange rate becomes more volatile to ensure that goods markets clear at all times. Hence, informational frictions can explain the volatility of the real exchange rate without imposing price stickiness above the available estimates (e.g., Galı́ et al., 2001). I also find that differences in price stickiness across markets weaken the correlation between the nominal exchange rate and the CPI ratio between countries. This can increase the persistence of the real exchange rate, but often by worsening the model along other dimensions (e.g., by lowering the correlation between nominal and real exchange rates).
Aggregate Indices and Their Corresponding Elementary Indices

Summary “Which index formula at the elementary level, where no expenditure share weights are available, corresponds to a desired aggregate index? ” To answer this question, this paper develops a statistical approach. It proposes a theoretical framework which makes it possible to achieve numerical equivalence of an elementary index with the Laspeyres, Paasche or Fisher price index. Depending on the price elasticity, different elementary indices should be applied to different groups of goods in order to approach the desired aggregate index as closely as possible. Furthermore, the new statistical approach assures internal consistency between price and volume measurement.
Does history-taking help predict rabies diagnosis in dogs?

Abstract Background: Rabies is a fatal disease. However, dogs are the principal vehicle for rabies transmission of human. A little information about pre-morbid behavior in rabid dogs could be found in the literature. Objective: Assess the value of history taking in predicting rabies diagnosis in dogs, and identify the percentage of rabies positives by history taking in a prospective study. Materials and methods: Studies were conducted at the Rabies Diagnostic Unit, Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, Thai Red Cross Society between 2002 and 2008. Historical data were collected prospectively from 153 live rabies suspected dogs on admission to the diagnostic facility. Results: Rabies was found in 14% to 80% of dogs with completed questionnaires except for dogs less than one month old, not sick or sick for more than 10 days. Conclusion: History taking does not help in decision-making for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis of humans.
A Utility-Based Diffusion Model Applied to the Digital Camera Case

We present a model that deals with the challenge of forecasting market acceptance and technology evolution along the product lifecycle, pre-launch. Market growth is driven by product's utility increase due to technology evolution, while firms' product improvements strategies are motivated by market growth and directed by market preferences. The interdependency between utility increase and market growth makes the problem inherently dynamic. To find the dependency of utility increase on market growth, we conduct an industry and technology analysis that follows industry financial policies, innovation orientation, industry players' inter-relations and technologic capabilities. For relating market preferences and purchase intentions to product's utility, we use data collected by a conjoint study. The ability to collect and interpret data about both demand and supply aspects, before the product is introduced, leads to a pre-launch forecasting. The evolution of the cumulative adoption level over time, as a result of the technology evolution, and vice versa, is based on both customer purchase decision processes and firms responses. We demonstrate the applicability of the model on the digital camera market.
Thai parental perception of the etiology of autism spectrum disorders with an emphasis on genetics

Abstract Background: More than 90% of cases of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are idiopathic and are multi-factorial inheritant in etiology. Although parental perceptions of ASDs etiologies including genetics have been investigated well in western countries, there is no study regarding Asian parental perspectives on the genetic etiology of ASDs. Objectives: Examine what Thai parents perceived to be the etiology of ASDs with particular focus on the role of genetics, and analyze the correlation between demographics of parents and the perception of genetics as an etiology of ASDs. Methods: Children diagnosed with an ASD at Ramathibodi Hospital were recruited, and 328 questionnaires were mailed to their parents between February 1 and March 31, 2008. Based on 252 answers received, the perception of genetics as an etiology of ASDs was evaluated using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Among 252 parents, 44.0% cited genetics, 52% cited other prenatal and perinatal factors such as stress and chemical exposure during pregnancy, 33% cited postnatal factors such as child rearing, child’s viewing of television, and playing computer game as etiologies of ASDs. Parents’ education, positive family history of ASDs, and positive family history of speech delay were all significantly associated with the perception of genetics as an etiology of ASDs. Conclusions: Less than half of Thai parents cited genetics as an etiology of ASDs. This finding alerts medical professionals to spend more time and effort to educate and counsel parents.
An Assessment of Barbados' Competitiveness within the EU Market 1992-2006

This paper assesses Barbados’ competitiveness within the EU market in light of its recent signing of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU in 2008. Using SITC data from 1992-2006, indices of revealed comparative advantage (RCA) were calculated. We found that Barbados possesses comparative advantages in Live Animals; Raw Sugars, Beet and Cane; and Spirits. However, policies such as the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), stringent sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, onerous rules of origin and non-tariff barriers including technical barriers to trade, threaten to undermine these advantages. These developments strongly suggest that Barbados must move agriculture up the value chain and increase value-added, as well as integrate it more fully with other sectors of its economy. Greater attention must be focused on countries in the EU other than the UK, if full advantage is to be taken of the EPA, as the UK market is already mature. There is evidence that export opportunities to these countries exist in other commodity groups (Fuels, Lubricants, etc.; Animal, Vegetable Oils Fats, Wax; Chemicals, Related Products; Manufactured Goods). When these issues are placed within the context of Barbados’ history of weak capacity to take advantage of the market access opportunities available from their trading arrangements, the overarching challenge for Barbados is one of effective market access. This will require, among other things, a capable export promotion agency. The export of non-traditional commodities should be promoted, and greater support, perhaps in the form of incentives, should be provided to large firms that are not yet exporters to encourage them to look beyond the domestic market.
Protocols for early discharging of premature infants: an empirical assessment on safety and savings

Abstract Background Preterm newborns may be discharged when clinical conditions are stable. Several criteria for early discharge have been proposed in the literature. This study carried out the first quantitative comparison of their impact in terms of hospitalization savings, safety and costs. Methods This study was based on the clinical histories of 213 premature infants born in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Padova University Hospital between 2013 and 2014. Seventeen early discharge criteria were drawn from the literature and retrospectively applied to these data, and computation of hospitalization savings, safety and costs implied by each criterion was carried out. Results Among the criteria considered, average gains ranged from 1.1 to 10.3 hospital days and between 0.3 and 1.1 fewer infections per discharged infant. Criteria that led to saving more hospital days had higher cost-effectiveness in terms of crisis and infection, and they spared infants from more infections. However, episodes of apnea and bradycardia were detected after the potential early discharge date for all criteria, with a mean number of episodes numbering between 0.3 and 1.4. Conclusion The results highlight a clear trade-off between days saved and health risks for infants, with potential consequences for health care costs.
Impaired Arterial Elastic Properties and Endothelial Glycocalyx in Patients with Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source

Abstract Background and Purpose Cardioembolism is a postulated mechanism of embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS). We investigated endothelial glycocalyx, aortic elastic properties, oxidative stress, and their association with left atrial (LA) function in ESUS and healthy individuals. Methods In 90 ESUS patients (age 50.4 ± 13.2) and 90 controls with similar risk factors, we measured: (1) perfused boundary region (PBR) of the sublingual arterial microvessels (range 5–25 µm), a marker inversely related with glycocalyx thickness, (2) pulse wave velocity (PWV), central systolic blood pressure (cSBP), and augmentation index (AIx), (3) LA volume and strain using speckle-tracking imaging, and (4) malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyls (PCs), as oxidative stress markers. Results Compared with controls, ESUS had higher PWV, PBR, MDA, and PC levels as well as higher LA volume and reduced reservoir LA strain (p < 0.05). PBR > 1.2 μm of microvessel ranging from 5 to 9 μm and PWV > 10.2 m/s were associated with ESUS on multivariable analysis (odds ratio: 2.374 and 5.429, p < 0.05, respectively) and increased the c-statistic of the initial model from 0.54 to 0.71. In ESUS, glycocalyx damage (increased PBR) was related with increased PWV (p < 0.01) which was linked with LA reservoir strain after controlling for age, sex, and risk factors (p = 0.03). Increased MDA and PC were related with glycocalyx damage, increased PWV (r = 0.67 and r = 0.52), AIx, cSBP, and aortic atheroma (p < 0.01). Conclusion Arterial function and endothelial glycocalyx are severely impaired in ESUS and are linked to LA dysfunction suggesting their contribution to ESUS pathogenesis. Clinical Trial Registration URL-http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT03609437.
The predictive value of serum cancer antigen 125 (CA125) levels on pregnancy outcome in threatened miscarriages

Abstract Background Spontaneous miscarriages are common pregnancy complications which result in psychological and emotional burden in the affected women. It is therefore necessary to identify biomarkers that can predict pregnancy outcome in women with threatened miscarriages so as to assist in their counselling and management. Methods The study compared levels of maternal serum CA125 in 65 pregnancies with threatened miscarriages (study group) with 65 normal intrauterine pregnancies (control group) between 6 weeks and 19 weeks + 6 days gestation using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Results The mean age of the study and control groups were 29.5 ± 0.14 years and 30.1 ± 0.14 years, respectively. The mean serum CA125 in the study group was 30.1 ± 1.1 IU/mL while that of the control group was 22.9 ± 1.2 IU/mL and this was statistically significant (P = 0.0001). The mean serum CA125 level in the women whose pregnancies were aborted (aborters) was 34.8 ± 1.4 IU/mL while the mean value among those whose pregnancies continued till term (non-aborters) was 27.3 ± 1.2 IU/mL. This was statistically significant (P = 0.001). Further analysis using CA125 ≥36.2 IU/mL (mean value of serum CA125 among aborters + 1 standard deviation) as a threshold for intrauterine pregnancies that eventually got aborted showed a sensitivity of 66.7%, specificity of 83.3%, positive predictive value of 55.6%, negative predictive value of 88.9% and the diagnostic effectiveness (accuracy) was 79.4%. Conclusion The measurement of serum CA125 is a useful predictor of pregnancy outcome in threatened miscarriages.
A young and obscured AGN embedded in the giant radio galaxy Mrk 1498

Mrk 1498 is part of a sample of galaxies with extended emission line regions (extended outwards up to a distance of ∼7 kpc) suggested to be photo-ionized by an AGN that has faded away or that is still active but heavily absorbed. Interestingly, the nucleus of Mrk 1498 is at the center of two giant radio lobes with a projected linear size of 1.1 Mpc. Our multi-wavelength analysis reveals a complex nuclear structure, with a young radio source (Giga-hertz Peaked Spectrum) surrounded by a strong X-ray nuclear absorption, a mid-infrared spectrum that is dominated by the torus emission, plus a circum-nuclear extended emission in the [OIII] image (with radius of ∼ 1 kpc), most likely related to the ionization of the AGN, aligned with the small and large scale radio jet and extended also at X-rays. In addition a large-scale extended emission (up to ∼ 10 kpc) is only visible in [OIII]. These data show conclusive evidence of a heavily absorbed nucleus and has recently restarted its nuclear activity. To explain its complexity, we propose that Mrk 1498 is the result of a merging event or secular processes, such as a minor interaction, that has triggered the nuclear activity and produced tidal streams. The large-scale extended emission that gives place to the actual morphology could either be explained by star formation or outflowing material from the AGN.
On a fractional Schrödinger equation in the presence of harmonic potential

In this paper, we establish the existence of ground state solutions for a fractional Schrodinger equation in the presence of a harmonic trapping potential. We also address the orbital stability of standing waves. Additionally, we obtain novel and interesting numerical results about the dynamics. Our results explain the effect of each term of the Schrodinger equation : The fractional power, the power of the nonlinearity and the harmonic potential.
M-BERT: Injecting Multimodal Information in the BERT Structure

Multimodal language analysis is an emerging research area in natural language processing that models language in a multimodal manner. It aims to understand language from the modalities of text, visual, and acoustic by modeling both intra-modal and cross-modal interactions. BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) provides strong contextual language representations after training on large-scale unlabeled corpora. Fine-tuning the vanilla BERT model has shown promising results in building state-of-the-art models for diverse NLP tasks like question answering and language inference. However, fine-tuning BERT in the presence of information from other modalities remains an open research problem. In this paper, we inject multimodal information within the input space of BERT network for modeling multimodal language. The proposed injection method allows BERT to reach a new state of the art of $84.38\%$ binary accuracy on CMU-MOSI dataset (multimodal sentiment analysis) with a gap of 5.98 percent to the previous state of the art and 1.02 percent to the text-only BERT.