Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How Many Alternative Eggs Should You Put in Your Investment Basket?

There is some debate about how many stocks can effectively eliminate most of the unsystematic risk in an equity portfolio. Estimates range from 10 to 40. Given the growing proliferation of pooled investment vehicles aimed at the UK's pension fund industry, where these pools consist of various combinations of alternative asset classes and alternative investment strategies, in this paper we investigate the limits of diversification amongst these less conventional investments. Our results indicate that 40% of the time series risk can be eliminated by combining 8 strategies, but only a further 4% from combining 12. We also find that an investor could reduce 60% of the dispersion in terminal wealth of an alternative investment basket - which is arguably what investors should really be concerned with - by combining 6 of these less conventional asset approaches to investment, but only a further 20% by combining 15.
Risk of transmission of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by surgical procedures: systematic reviews and quality of evidence

Background: Sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD) is potentially transmissible to humans. Objective: This study aimed to summarise and rate the quality of the evidence of the association between surgery and sCJD. Design and methods: Firstly, we conducted systematic reviews and meta-analyses of case–control studies with major surgical procedures as exposures under study. To assess quality of evidence, we used the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. Secondly, we conducted a systematic review of sCJD case reports after sharing neurosurgical instruments. Results: Thirteen case–control studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review of case–control studies. sCJD was positively associated with heart surgery, heart and vascular surgery and eye surgery, negatively associated with tonsillectomy and appendectomy, and not associated with neurosurgery or unspecified major surgery. The overall quality of evidence was rated as very low. A single case–control study with a low risk of bias found a strong association between surgery conducted more than 20 years before disease onset and sCJD. Seven cases were described as potentially transmitted by reused neurosurgical instruments. Conclusion: The association between surgery and sCJD remains uncertain. Measures currently recommended for preventing sCJD transmission should be strongly maintained. Future studies should focus on the potential association between sCJD and surgery undergone a long time previously.
Informing policy to deliver comprehensive care for women veterans.

T he goal of this supplement is to disseminate new research ﬁndings related to the planning, organization, ﬁnancing, provision, evaluation, and improvement of health services and/or outcomes for women Veterans (WVs) and women actively serving in the military. We received wide-ranging, outstanding submissions that demonstrated advances in ever-widening domains of women’s health (WH) and health care, which was the goal of the VA WH research agenda. 1 The resulting supplement of selected articles is or-ganized by the research agenda’s 6 main topics and is further framed by their relationships to informing policy on delivery of comprehensive care to WVs.
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Specific Identification and Enumeration of Azospirillum brasilense Cd. in Cereal Roots

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is suggested as a reliable, sensitive, and highly specific method for the identification and enumeration of Azospirillum brasilense Cd. As few as 105 CFU/ml can be practically identified by this method. At higher bacterial numbers, sensitivity increased linearly up to 5 × 108 CFU/ml, yielding useful standard curves. No cross-reaction was found either with different closely related Azospirillum strains or with other rhizosphere bacteria. The method allows for a specific identification of A. brasilense Cd. both in pure cultures and in mixtures with other bacterial species, even when the colony morphology is variable. The method was successfully applied to assess the degree of root colonization on various cereals by A. brasilense Cd.
Persistent Sacral Sensory Deficit Induced by Intrathecal Local Anesthetic Infusion in the Rat

Background:Several cases of cauda equina syndrome after continuous spinal anesthesia have been recently reported. One possible etiology is toxic exposure of the sacral roots resulting from intrathecal maldistribution of a relatively large dose of local anesthetic. The current experiments sought to determine whether a local anesthetic solution, injected intrathecally to produce a restricted distribution of anesthesia, could result in a sacral deficit. In addition, we sought to test the hypothesis that, when equal volumes are administered intrathecally, significant differences exist in the potential of three commonly used anesthetic solutions to induce sensory impairment. Methods:Thirty-two rats were implanted with intrathecal catheters to permit repetitive infusion of local anesthetic. Animals were randomly assigned to four groups of eight to receive either 5% lidocaine with 7.5% dextrose; 0.75% bupivacaine with 8.25% dextrose; 0.5% tetracaine with 5% dextrose; or normal saline. Each rat received, in sequence, a 1-h (60 μl), a 2-h (120 μl), and a 4-h (240 μl) infusion; the infusions were separated by a 4-day rest period. Sensory function was assessed using the tail-flick test, which was performed immediately before each infusion and 6 days after the last infusion by an investigator blinded to the solution infused. Results:There was no significant difference in baseline tail-flick latencies for the four groups. Tail-flick latency for the lidocaine group was significantly prolonged when compared with the bupivacaine, tetracaine, and saline groups. This difference was apparent after the first infusion and persisted throughout the study. Conclusions:In the rat, restricted anesthetic distribution can be achieved, and sensory impairment may result. These findings further support an etiology of local anesthetic neurotoxicity for recent clinical injuries after continuous spinal anesthesia. The functional model described appears to be suitable for in vivo study of local anesthetic neurotoxicity.
Collateralized Security Markets

Much of the lending in modern economies is secured by some form of collateral: residential and commercial mortgages, corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities, and collateralized debt obligations are familiar examples. This paper builds an extension of general equilibrium theory that incorporates durable goods, collateralized securities and the possibility of default to argue that the reliance on collateral to secure loans, the particular collateral requirements (chosen by the social planner or by the market), and the scarcity of collateral have a profound impact on prices, on allocations, on the structure of markets, and especially on the efficiency of market outcomes. Some of these findings provide useful insights into housing and mortgage markets, and into the sub-prime mortgage market in particular.
Satisfactory Level of Undergraduate Students with Academic Library: A Case study of Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka

An academic library plays a vital role in order to contribute to its users in an efficient and effective manner to satisfy their thirst of knowledge as well as in our information society. They help to connect people with the ever changing world of information. This article investigates satisfactory level of undergraduates of Faculty of Management Studies & Commerce with the facilities offered by the main library, University of Jaffna. A self-developed questionnaire was used to measure the satisfaction on the statements relating to four dimensions with a sample of 202 students. Mean analysis reflects that students were relatively most satisfied with competence of library staff, followed by information sources, library environment and library general services. According to the regression analysis, library facilities have an impact on undergraduate satisfaction at the rate of 20.1 % which is significant at 0.05 levels.
Intrinsic Macrolide Resistance in Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria

ABSTRACT This study reports the discovery of erm genes in seven species of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM): Mycobacterium boenickei, M. goodii, M. houstonense, M. mageritense, M. neworleansense, M. porcinum, and M. wolinskyi. This study further substantiates the role of erm genes in intrinsic macrolide resistance in RGM.
Corporate identity, corporate branding and corporate reputations: Reconciliation and integration

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to explore, define, reconcile and depict corporate identity (CI), corporate brand (CB) and corporate reputation (CR) in a framework that reflects the dimensions of these constructs, discriminates between them and represents their inter‐relatedness. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on key literature relating to CI, CB and CR. Findings – The paper develops a framework that explains and aligns the drivers of CB and CR. Practical implications – Managers will be able to use the framework to help them align and optimise brand and reputation building efforts of their organisation. Academics will be able to use the framework as a basis for empirical research. Originality/value – The article reconciles disparate views from a number of theoretical streams that have investigated CI, CB and CR and develops a comprehensive framework that shows that although the management and measurement of the constructs may overlap, the constructs themselves are not interchangeable.
Seropositivity and determinants of immunoglobulin-G (IgG) antibodies against Herpes simplex virus (HSV) types -1 and -2 in pregnant women in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND This study is the first documented prevalence of IgG antibody against HSV-1&-2 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and thus provides baseline data for future in-depth studies on HSV infection in South-South, Nigeria. OBJECTIVE This study determined the seropositivity and determinants of serum IgG antibody against HSV-1 & HIV-2 among pregnant women attending BMSH, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. METHODS Serum samples from 180 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Serum samples were analysed with commercial HSV type-1&-2 specific IgG Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kits. Chi-square analysis was used to determine the association of infection with socio-demographic variables. RESULTS Of the 180 pregnant women, 179 (99.4%) were seropositive and 1(0.6%) was seronegative for HSV 1&2 IgG antibody. No statistical association existed between the prevalence of HSV-1&-2 IgG antibodies and the socio-demographic variables studied (p>0.05) except for marital status which was significantly associated (p<0.05). CONCLUSION Our data shows that HSV-1 & 2 seropositivity among pregnant women in Port Harcourt is high; thus serological screening for HSV-1&-2 might be advisable for antenatal attendees.
Public health expenditure and the rural poor in Kenya

The paper is part of an overall review of public expenditures for Kenya, which includes analysis of health expenditures. The health expenditure analysis has been divided into two separate reports, this paper being one of them. The first report addresses the main the sectoral expenditure issues. This paper is intended to complement that report by providing analysis of the benefits to the rural poor of public health expenditures in Kenya. Most of Kenya's rural poverty is found in Rift Valley region, which accounts for just under a third of its incidence. The report is concerned only with rural Kenya because of limitations of the available data on urban health facility use. It also discusses briefly the main trends in health expenditures, assessing how the poor are likely to have been affected by them. The analysis that follows disaggregates the rural population into deciles. These preliminary results of Mukui (1993) suggest that the bottom four deciles should be treated as representing the poor in rural Kenya.
Conventional superficial X‐ray versus Grenz ray therapy in the treatment of constitutional eczema of the hands

Twenty‐five patients with symmetrical constitutional eczema of the hands, resistant to topical treatment, took part in a double‐blind trial which showed that 300 rad (3 Gy) of conventional superficial X‐ray therapy was superior to 900 rad (9 Gy) of Grenz ray therapy (both given in three divided doses at 21 day intervals).
Misrepresentation by ophthalmology residency applicants.

OBJECTIVES To determine the percentage of publication misrepresentation among applicants to an ophthalmology residency, to compare that percentage with published percentages from other specialties, and to compare the number of US-trained applicants vs non-US-trained applicants found to misrepresent published articles. METHODS Published articles in peer-reviewed journals listed on residency applications to the Jones Eye Institute from October 10, 2000, to December 1, 2004, were searched, excluding applications that were unavailable or were from current residents and faculty. The type of misrepresentation of published articles and the country of medical school training were recorded. Compared were US-trained applicants vs non-US-trained applicants to determine which group was more likely to list published articles and which group was more likely to have a misrepresented published article. RESULTS Eight hundred twenty-one of 852 applications (96.4%) were reviewed. Five hundred fifty applicants (67.0%) were from US medical schools, and 271 applicants (33.0%) were from non-US medical schools. Two hundred one applicants (24.5%) listed peer-reviewed published articles. Misrepresentation of published articles was found in 15 applicants (5 US trained and 10 non-US trained). The mean percentage of applicants with misrepresentation per applicant pool was 1.9%, while the mean percentage per applicants listing published articles was 8.1%. The most common misrepresentation found was self-promotion on the author list (50.0%), followed by omission of other authors (25.0%), nonexistent articles (12.5%), and nonauthorship (12.5%). Foreign medical graduates were more likely to list published articles (P = .008) and to have a misrepresented published article (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS Ophthalmology has one of the lowest reported percentages of applicant publication misrepresentation in the literature. Foreign medical graduates were more likely to list published articles and to misrepresent published articles. Self-promotion on the author list was the most common type of misrepresentation found. Residency program directors should request copies of published articles from interviewing applicants.
Evaluation of antiviral activity and toxicity of recombinant human interferon alfa-2a in calves persistently infected with type 1 bovine viral diarrhea virus.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate antiviral activity and toxicity of recombinant human interferon alfa-2a in calves persistently infected with noncytopathic type 1 bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). ANIMALS 5 Holstein heifers, 4 to 12 months of age. PROCEDURES Calves persistently infected with noncytopathic type 1 BVDV were treated with recombinant human interferon alfa-2a every other day for 12 weeks. Viral loads were measured during the treatment period and compared with pre- and post-treatment values. Complete physical examinations were performed weekly, and calves were observed daily for signs of systemic illness. Complete blood counts and serum biochemical analyses were performed before, during, and after the treatment period. Because calves developed anemia during the treatment period, bone marrow biopsy specimens were collected. Antirecombinant human interferon alfa-2a antibody concentrations in serum samples obtained before, during, and after the treatment period were measured by use of an ELISA. RESULTS Recombinant human interferon alfa-2a had no antiviral activity against noncytopathic type 1 BVDV in persistently infected calves. All calves developed microcytic anemia during the treatment period that persisted for up to 13 weeks after cessation of treatment. Anti-interferon antibodies were detected during the treatment period and persisted for at least 2 weeks after cessation of treatment. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Because of lack of in vivo antiviral activity against BVDV, recombinant human interferon alfa-2a has little promise as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of BVDV infection, at least in persistently infected cattle. Furthermore, treatment was associated with adverse immunologic and hematologic effects.
Implementation of a Tunable RGB LED Light Source

There have been a lot of advancements in the luminaire technology which has resulted in the popularity of LED’s (Light Emitting Diode). These light emitting diodes are being used almost everywhere mainly because of their high efficacy and possibility of controlling color. Any color can be produced by proper mixing of Red-Green-Blue LEDs. This paper, proposes the technique of generating different CCTs of white light located on the planckian locus of CIE 1931 by varying the driving current of a luminaire. This is done by Hardware in loop simulation using NI LabVIEW that takes the user preference and accordingly regulates the light output by providing the required control signals to the DAQ. This system uses DAQ to generate the PWM signals according to the mixing proportions thereby eliminating the need of microcontrollers. Switch mode power converters behave as a constant current source for the RGB LED luminaire. The implemented RGB LED light source that is dynamically tunable can be a good lighting fixture for mood lighting in hotels, entertainment halls, shops etc
Anti‐angiogenic drugs: from bench to clinical trials

Angiogenesis, the generation of new capillaries through a process of pre‐existing microvessel sprouting, is under stringent control and normally occurs only during embryonic and post‐embryonic development, reproductive cycle, and wound repair. However, in many pathological conditions (solid tumor progression, metastasis, diabetic retinopathy, hemangioma, arthritis, psoriasis and atherosclerosis among others), the disease appears to be associated with persistent upregulated angiogenesis. The development of specific anti‐angiogenic agents arises as an attractive therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancer and other angiogenesis‐dependent diseases. The formation of new blood vessels is a complex multi‐step process. Endothelial cells resting in the parent vessels are activated by an angiogenic signal and stimulated to synthesize and release degradative enzymes allowing endothelial cells to migrate, proliferate and finally differentiate to give rise to capillary tubules. Any of these steps may be a potential target for pharmacological intervention. In spite of the disappointing results obtained initially in clinical trials with anti‐angiogenic drugs, recent reports with positive results in phases II and III trials encourage expectations in their therapeutic potential. This review discusses the current approaches for the discovery of new compounds that inhibit angiogenesis, with emphasis on the clinical developmental status of anti‐angiogenic drugs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 26, No. 4, 483–530, 2006
Alterations of GSH and MDA levels and their association with bee venom‐induced DNA damage in human peripheral blood leukocytes

Bee venom (BV) has toxic effects in a variety of cell systems and oxidative stress has been proposed as a possible mechanism of its toxicity. This study investigated the in vitro effect of BV on glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and their association with BV‐induced DNA strand breaks and oxidative DNA damage in human peripheral blood leukocytes (HPBLs). Blood samples were treated with BV at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 10 μg/ml over different lengths of time, and DNA damage in HPBLs was monitored with the alkaline and formamidopyrimidine glycoslyase (FPG)‐modified comet assays, while GSH and MDA levels were determined in whole blood. Results showed a significant increase in overall DNA damage and FPG‐sensitive sites in DNA of HPBLs exposed to BV compared with HPBLs from controls. An increase in DNA damage (assessed with both comet assays) was significantly associated with changes in MDA and GSH levels. When pretreated with N‐acetyl‐L‐cysteine, a source of cysteine for the synthesis of the endogenous antioxidant GSH, a significant reduction of the DNA damaging effects of BV in HPBLs was noted. This suggests that oxidative stress is at least partly responsible for the DNA damaging effects of BV. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Single-Chip CMOS Radio SoC for v2.1 Bluetooth Applications

This paper presents a Bluetooth v2.1 compliant SoC that integrates all functions of a Bluetooth radio. The transceiver comprises a two-point modulated fractional-N synthesizer, a polar transmitter, and a 500 kHz IF receiver with minimal analog filtering. The radio architecture is chosen to minimize overall die area as well as power consumption for both the basic and enhanced data rates. The SoC is implemented in a standard 0.13 mum digital CMOS technology with a die area of 9.2 mm2, of which only 3.0 mm2 is occupied by the analog and RF blocks. The basic-rate radio draws a total supply current of 29.7 mA in the receive mode and 29.4 mA in the transmit mode.
Regional Nodal Irradiation in Early-Stage Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND Most women with breast cancer who undergo breast-conserving surgery receive whole-breast irradiation. We examined whether the addition of regional nodal irradiation to whole-breast irradiation improved outcomes. METHODS We randomly assigned women with node-positive or high-risk node-negative breast cancer who were treated with breast-conserving surgery and adjuvant systemic therapy to undergo either whole-breast irradiation plus regional nodal irradiation (including internal mammary, supraclavicular, and axillary lymph nodes) (nodal-irradiation group) or whole-breast irradiation alone (control group). The primary outcome was overall survival. Secondary outcomes were disease-free survival, isolated locoregional disease-free survival, and distant disease-free survival. RESULTS Between March 2000 and February 2007, a total of 1832 women were assigned to the nodal-irradiation group or the control group (916 women in each group). The median follow-up was 9.5 years. At the 10-year follow-up, there was no significant between-group difference in survival, with a rate of 82.8% in the nodal-irradiation group and 81.8% in the control group (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72 to 1.13; P=0.38). The rates of disease-free survival were 82.0% in the nodal-irradiation group and 77.0% in the control group (hazard ratio, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.61 to 0.94; P=0.01). Patients in the nodal-irradiation group had higher rates of grade 2 or greater acute pneumonitis (1.2% vs. 0.2%, P=0.01) and lymphedema (8.4% vs. 4.5%, P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS Among women with node-positive or high-risk node-negative breast cancer, the addition of regional nodal irradiation to whole-breast irradiation did not improve overall survival but reduced the rate of breast-cancer recurrence. (Funded by the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute and others; MA.20 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00005957.).