Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Rechargeable Device for Deep Brain Stimulation: A Prospective Patient Satisfaction Survey

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is highly successful in treating Parkinson’s disease (PD), dystonia, and essential tremor (ET). Until recently implantable neurostimulators were nonrechargeable, battery-driven devices, with a lifetime of about 3–5 years. This relatively short duration causes problems for patients (e.g. programming and device-use limitations, unpredictable expiration, surgeries to replace depleted batteries). Additionally, these batteries (relatively large with considerable weight) may cause discomfort. To overcome these issues, the first rechargeable DBS device was introduced: smaller, lighter and intended to function for 9 years. Methods: Of 35 patients implanted with the rechargeable device, 21 (including 8 PD, 10 dystonia, 2 ET) were followed before and 3 months after surgery and completed a systematic survey of satisfaction with the rechargeable device. Results: Overall patient satisfaction was high (83.3 ± 18.3). Dystonia patients tended to have lower satisfaction values for fit and comfort of the system than PD patients. Age was significantly negatively correlated with satisfaction regarding process of battery recharging. Conclusions: Dystonia patients (generally high-energy consumption, severe problems at the DBS device end-of-life) are good, reliable candidates for a rechargeable DBS system. In PD, younger patients, without signs of dementia and good technical understanding, might have highest benefit.
THE REFRACTION OF INDIAN SCHOOL CHILDREN*†

VERY little is known about the refractive state of populations in some of the technically underdeveloped countries of the world. What data there are from these parts have usually been collected in the course of an ophthalmic practice and are not representative of the population as a whole. Thorough studies have been made of very few groups, notably of palaenegrids by Holm (1937), Eskimos by Skeller (1954), and Indian children in Poona by Pendse (1954). The last report is of particular interest in that the refractions of two distinct social groups, the Brahmins and "untouchables", are compared and the possibility of environmental factors being responsible for the differences found is considered.
Are women prepared to be school superintendents?1 An Essay on the Myths and Misunderstandings

The purpose of this essay is to examine and respond to Tom Glass's (2000) assertions about the dearth of women in the superintendency using the lenses of new data (from two large national studies) and analysis — an analysis that primarily focuses on women superintendents’ and central office administrators’ formal, experiential, and personal preparedness. The essay concludes that women who aspire to and who are seated in the superintendency meet and even exceed preparation requirements and expectations. Further, while experiential preparedness for women may look different from that gained by men, the variation and concentration on curriculum and instruction during career path development may render women better prepared than men.
Industrialisation after a Deep Economic Crisis: Indonesia

Abstract Indonesia experienced a deep economic contraction as a result of the 1997–1998 Asian crisis. This paper develops an analytical framework that facilitates an examination of trends and patterns in the country's industrial sector in the wake of the crisis, and explains why it appears to be on a lower growth trajectory. We particularly focus on why industrialisation has become less employment elastic; why industrial exports have performed indifferently; and why the process of small firms ‘graduating’ to larger units has slowed, and most of the output growth is now coming from existing firms rather than new entrants.
The importance of socio-economic and political losses and gains in welfare state reform

When do governments pursue unpopular reform, such as cutting benefits? And when do they engage in not-unpopular reform, such as activation? Current approaches in welfare state research cannot systematically explain the cross-government variation in the two types of reform. Based on insights from prospect theory, a psychological theory of choice under risk, this article complements existing theories by arguing that losses and gains matter crucially for welfare state reform. A fs/QCA analysis of labour market reforms pursued by 23 Danish, German, Dutch and British Cabinets between 1979 and 2005 corroborates this hypothesis. Specifically, it shows that an improving political position (a gain) is the necessary condition for not-unpopular reform while for unpopular reform it is a deteriorating socio-economic situation (a loss). This finding helps account for the puzzling cross-government variation in different types of welfare state reform.
Heme Oxygenase 1 Modulates Thrombomodulin and Endothelial Protein C Receptor Levels to Attenuate Septic Kidney Injury

ABSTRACT This study investigated the effects of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) on thrombomodulin (TM) and endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) expression in sepsis-induced kidney injury. The role of HO-1 was evaluated in a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)–induced model. Wistar rats were randomly assigned into four groups: sham, CLP, CLP + hemin (an HO-1 inducer), CLP + ZnPP (zinc protoporphyrin IX, an HO-1 inhibitor), and CLP + bilirubin. Compared with the sham group, the CLP group exhibited significantly elevated plasma levels of cystatin C, creatinine, urea nitrogen (blood urea nitrogen), tumor necrosis factor &agr;, interleukin 1&bgr;, TM, and EPCR; lower plasma level of activated protein C, shorter prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time; significantly increased microthrombus formation; and lower TM and EPCR mRNA and protein expression in the kidney. The administration of hemin lowered the plasma levels of cystatin C, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, tumor necrosis factor &agr;, interleukin 1&bgr;, TM, and EPCR; elevated plasma level of activated protein C; prolonged prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time; attenuated microthrombus formation; and upregulated the expression of TM and EPCR and mRNA levels of TM and EPCR in the kidney in the CLP + hemin group. In contrast, ZnPP had the opposite effects. The results indicated that the enhanced induction of HO-1 increased the expression of TM and EPCR in the kidney and exerted an anticoagulant effect, thereby attenuating kidney injury in septic rats.
Survey of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Candidate Genes using Chromatin Immunoprecipitation and Tiled Microarrays (ChIP-chip)

It has been difficult to identify disease-causing alleles in schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) candidate genes. One reason is that responsible functional variants may exist in unidentified regulatory domains. With the advent of microarray technology and high throughput sequencing, however, it is now feasible to screen genes for such regulatory domains relatively easily by using chromatin immunoprecipitation–based methodologies, such as ChIP-chip and ChIP-seq. In ChIP-chip, regulatory sequences can be captured from chromatin immunoprecipitates prepared with antibodies against covalently modified histones that mark certain regulatory domains; DNA extracted from such immunoprecipitates can then be used as microarray probes. As a first step toward demonstrating the feasibility of this approach in psychiatric genetics, we used ChIP-chip to identify regulatory domains in several candidate genes: NRG1, DTNBP1, DISC1, DAO, DAOA, PDE4B, and COMT. Immunoprecipitates were generated with antibodies to histone H3 acetylated at lysine 9 (H3K9Ac) and histone H3 monomethylated at lysine 4 (H3K4me1), which mark promoters and some enhancers, using fetal brain chromatin as a substrate. Several novel putative regulatory elements, as well as the core and proximal promoters for each gene, were enriched in the immunoprecipitates. Genetic variants within these regions would be of interest to study as potential disease-associated alleles.
The motivations and environmental attitudes of nature-based visitors to protected areas in Hong Kong

Understanding nature-based visitors’ motivations and environmental attitudes is important for the development of appropriate visitor management strategies for protected areas. This study categorised Hong Kong nature-based visitors of protected areas into different subgroups according to their visiting motivations and environmental attitudes. The association between their motivations and environmental attitudes was also assessed. A total of 585 completed responses were collected from on-site questionnaire surveys, and three subgroups of protected area visitors, according to their visiting motivations, i.e. travel for novelty, travel for recreation and travel to escape, have been identified. Similarly, three subgroups, namely conservation and development, conservation priority and leisure rights, were identified based on visitors’ environmental attitudes. Results showed that visitors’ environmental attitudes and their motivations were found to be closely related, indicating that visitors with higher environmental concerns tended to travel for novelty and those exhibiting a lower environmental concerns travel to escape.
Polymeric thin films of controlled complex refractive index formed by the electrostatic self-assembled monolayer process

This letter reports a method, the electrostatic self-assembled monolayer process, for the synthesis of multilayer thin-film materials with controlled complex refractive index. By incorporating appropriate precursor molecules in each monolayer and organizing the physical order of the multiple monolayers through the material, it is possible to achieve designed complex refractive index properties. In this work, the real part of the refractive index of materials formed by this process was controlled from 1.424 to 1.615, and the imaginary part was controlled from 0.00001 to 0.035, both at a wavelength of 550 nm. To our knowledge, this is the first time that experimental measurements of self-assembled thin films are presented to demonstrate that this method is useful for the design and synthesis of thin films of controllable refractive index.
A new strategy for multifunction myoelectric control

A novel approach to the control of a multifunction prosthesis based on the classification of myoelectric patterns is described. It is shown that the myoelectric signal exhibits a deterministic structure during the initial phase of a muscle contraction. Features are extracted from several time segments of the myoelectric signal to preserve pattern structure. These features are then classified using an artificial neural network. The control signals are derived from natural contraction patterns which can be produced reliably with little subject training. The new control scheme increases the number of functions which can be controlled by a single channel of myoelectric signal but does so in a way which does not increase the effort required by the amputee. Results are presented to support this approach. <<ETX>>
An Adaptive Traffic Allocation Scheduling for Mobile WiMAX

OFDMA is suitable for multiple access technique for packet- based wireless communication system. OFDMA-based system can achieve high system throughput by multi-user diversity in limited radio resource. One important technique to increase system performance is a scheduling supporting multi-traffic in the 4G system. The proposed algorithm provides priority regarding delay requirement and then allocates user's packets in a frame according to required data rate of each traffic class. Simulation results show that proposed algorithm satisfies require data rate of real time and non-real time traffic class at large number of users and has low outage ratio.
Strong Financial Laws Without Strong Enforcement: Is Good Law Always Better than No Law?

This paper examines whether strong laws are effective when regulatory institutions are weak. This has become especially relevant due to criticisms of financial market regulation in the US. I test the impact of imposing strong laws on a weak regulatory environment by using China’s principled reforms to market manipulation law as a natural experiment. The results from difference in difference tests suggest that China’s principled law reforms did not improve the market’s information environment, as proxied by the level of informed trade and information asymmetry. This implies that principled law reform is ineffective if the regulatory environment is weak.
Lower limb joint kinetics and ankle joint stiffness in the sprint start push-off

Abstract Sprint push-off technique is fundamental to sprint performance and joint stiffness has been identified as a performance-related variable during dynamic movements. However, joint stiffness for the push-off and its relationship with performance (times and velocities) has not been reported. The aim of this study was to quantify and explain lower limb net joint moments and mechanical powers, and ankle stiffness during the first stance phase of the push-off. One elite sprinter performed 10 maximal sprint starts. An automatic motion analysis system (CODA, 200 Hz) with synchronized force plates (Kistler, 1000 Hz) collected kinematic profiles at the hip, knee, and ankle and ground reaction forces, providing input for inverse dynamics analyses. The lower-limb joints predominately extended and revealed a proximal-to-distal sequential pattern of maximal extensor angular velocity and positive power production. Pearson correlations revealed relationships (P < 0.05) between ankle stiffness (5.93 ± 0.75 N · m · deg−1) and selected performance variables. Relationships between negative power phase ankle stiffness and horizontal (r = −0.79) and vertical (r = 0.74) centre of mass velocities were opposite in direction to the positive power phase ankle stiffness (horizontal: r = 0.85; vertical: r = −0.54). Thus ankle stiffness may affect the goals of the sprint push-off in different ways, depending on the phase of stance considered.
A long-term analysis evaluating the cost-effectiveness of biphasic insulin lispro mix 75/25 and mix 50/50 versus long-acting basal insulin analogs in the United States

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of biphasic insulin lispro mix 75/25 (LM75/25) and mix 50/50 (LM50/50) compared with a long-acting analog insulin (LAAI) regimen from the perspective of a US healthcare payer. Methods: A published computer simulation model of diabetes was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of LM75/25 and LM50/50 vs a LAAI (insulin glargine) from the perspective of a US healthcare payer. Treatment effects in terms of HbA1c benefits were taken from a recent meta-analysis. Direct medical costs including pharmacy, complication, and patient management costs were obtained from published sources. All costs were expressed in 2010 US dollars and future costs and clinical benefits were discounted at 3% per annum. Sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: LM75/25 and LM50/50 were associated with improvements in life expectancy of 0.08 and 0.09 years, improvements in quality-adjusted life expectancy of 0.07 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and 0.08 QALYs and increases in cost of US$ 1724 and US$ 1720, respectively, when compared with LAAI. Limitations: The base case analysis did not capture mild or serious hypoglycemia on the grounds that the hypoglycemia rate odds ratios failed to reach statistical significance in the meta-analysis. In addition, the baseline cohort characteristics were based on an insulin-naïve population, as opposed to the cohorts in the meta-analysis, which were heterogeneous with regard to insulin treatment history. Conclusions: Based on a recently published meta-analysis, biphasic analog insulins are likely to improve clinical outcomes and reduce costs vs LAAIs in the long-term treatment of type 2 diabetes patients in the US.
ABR, a novel inducer of transcription factor C/EBPα, contributes to myeloid differentiation and is a favorable prognostic factor in acute myeloid leukemia

Active BCR related (ABR) gene deactivates ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (RAC1), which plays an essential role in regulating normal hematopoiesis and in leukemia. BCR gene, closely related to ABR, acts as a tumor suppressor in chronic myeloid leukemia and has overlapping functions with ABR. Evidence for a putative tumor suppressor role of ABR has been shown in several solid tumors, in which deletion of ABR is present. Our results show downregulation of ABR in AML. A block of ABR prevents myeloid differentiation and leads to repression of the myeloid transcription factor C/EBPα, a major regulator of myeloid differentiation and functionally impaired in leukemia. Conversely, stable overexpression of ABR enhances myeloid differentiation. Inactivation of the known ABR target RAC1 by treatment with the RAC1 inhibitor NSC23766 resulted in an increased expression of C/EBPα in primary AML samples and in AML cell lines U937 and MV4;11. Finally, AML patients with high ABR expression at diagnosis showed a significant longer overall survival and patients who respond to azacitidine therapy showed a significant higher ABR expression. This is the first report showing that ABR expression plays a critical role in both myelopoiesis and AML. Our data indicate the tumor suppressor potential of ABR and underline its potential role in leukemia therapeutic strategies.
Non‐motile mutants of Helicobacter pylori and Helicobacter mustelae defective in flagellar hook production

Flagellar hooks were purified from Helicobacter pylori and Helicobacter mustelae. The 70 × 16nm H. pylori hook was composed of FIgE subunits of 78kDa, while the 72 × 16nm H. mustelae hook was composed of 87kDa subunits. N‐terminal sequence was obtained for the FIgH proteins of both species, and for an internal H. mustelae FlgE peptide. Degenerate oligonucleotide primers allowed amplification of a 1.2 kb fragment from the H. mustelae chromosome, which carried part of the flgE gene. The corresponding H. pylori gene was cloned by immunoscreening of a genomic library constructed in λZAP Express, The translated H. pylori flgE sequence indicated a protein with limited homology with the hook proteins from Salmonella typhimurium and Treponema phagedenis. Mutants of H. pylori and H. mustelae defective in hook production generated by allele replacement were non‐motile and devoid of flagellar filaments but produced both flagellin subunits, which were localized in the soluble fraction of the cell. The level of flagellin production was unchanged in the mutants, indicating that the regulation of flagellin expression in Helicobacter differs from that in the Enterobacteriaceae.
Corporate bankruptcy and managers' self-serving behavior

We investigate whether insiders of bankrupt firms hold less stock or reduce their stockholdings compared to what we observed for insiders of similar firms that do not go bankrupt. We find little evidence of such time-series and cross-sectional differences in spite of the fact that the stock value of bankrupt firms falls by more than ninety percent in the five years preceding bankruptcy. One implication of our results is that the amount of stock owned and the magnitude of the trades undertaken by corporate insiders of both bankrupt and nonbankrupt firms appear to provide no information about firm value.
ECOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUS, WEST NILE VIRUS, AND AVIAN PARAMYXOVIRUS INFECTION AND ANTIBODY STATUS IN BLUE-WINGED TEAL (ANAS DISCORS) IN THE CANADIAN PRAIRIES

Abstract The Canadian prairies are one of the most important breeding and staging areas for migratory waterfowl in North America. Hundreds of thousands of waterfowl of numerous species from multiple flyways converge in and disperse from this region annually; therefore this region may be a key area for potential intra- and interspecific spread of infectious pathogens among migratory waterfowl in the Americas. Using Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors, BWTE), which have the most extensive migratory range among waterfowl species, we investigated ecologic risk factors for infection and antibody status to avian influenza virus (AIV), West Nile virus (WNV), and avian paramyxovirus-1 (APMV-1) in the three prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) prior to fall migration. We used generalized linear models to examine infection or evidence of exposure in relation to host (age, sex, body condition, exposure to other infections), spatiotemporal (year, province), population-level (local population densities of BWTE, total waterfowl densities), and environmental (local pond densities) factors. The probability of AIV infection in BWTE was associated with host factors (e.g., age and antibody status), population-level factors (e.g., local BWTE population density), and year. An interaction between age and AIV antibody status showed that hatch year birds with antibodies to AIV were more likely to be infected, suggesting an antibody response to an active infection. Infection with AIV was positively associated with local BWTE density, supporting the hypothesis of density-dependent transmission. The presence of antibodies to WNV and APMV-1 was positively associated with age and varied among years. Furthermore, the probability of being WNV antibody positive was positively associated with pond density rather than host population density, likely because ponds provide suitable breeding habitat for mosquitoes, the primary vectors for transmission. Our findings highlight the importance of spatiotemporal, environmental, and host factors at the individual and population levels, all of which may influence dynamics of these and other viruses in wild waterfowl populations.
Dissecting anomalies in the Australian stock market

The study examines the pervasiveness of eight well-documented anomalies in global equity markets for the Australian stock market. After partitioning stocks into three size categories (micro, small and big), we find that none of the eight anomalies are pervasive across size groups in either sorts or cross-sectional regressions. The existence of size, value, profitability, asset growth and accruals anomalies is primarily attributable to micro-cap stocks. Momentum and asset growth predict the expected returns of big stocks, but momentum does not predict the returns on micro stocks, and asset growth does not matter for small stocks. Contrarian returns are largely explained by stock size and value dimensions. Evidence for the earnings growth anomaly contradicts the growth extrapolation hypothesis. By looking at the hedge portfolio returns of anomalies in different regimes, we also show that many anomalies tend to exist in bear markets rather than bull markets. This evidence contradicts the risk-based explanations for the existence of anomalies.