Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Calorie disclosure and color-coding on QSR menus: A multi-method approach using eye-tracking technology, grouping and surveys

ABSTRACT Several attempts have been made to assess the efficacy of healthy menu labeling with mixed findings. Recent studies have focused mainly on traditional survey techniques; the present study focused on the effects and relationships of disclosure of calories and color-coding as well as the role of gender, hunger level, quick service restaurant (QSR) dining frequency and calorie consciousness using eye-tracking technology, surveys and qualitative results. Based on these techniques, results indicated relatively equal effects for calorie disclosure and color-coding treatments, but when calorie information was provided QSR menu selections changed to less caloric choices when participants had higher hunger levels, were less frequent QSR diners and when calorie information in menus was deemed as higher importance by participants.
Scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia

Objective: To develop a reliable and valid clinical scale measuring the severity of ataxia. Methods: The authors devised the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) and tested it in two trials of 167 and 119 patients with spinocerebellar ataxia. Results: The mean time to administer SARA in patients was 14.2 ± 7.5 minutes (range 5 to 40). Interrater reliability was high, with an intraclass coefficient (ICC) of 0.98. Test-retest reliability was high with an ICC of 0.90. Internal consistency was high as indicated by Cronbach's α of 0.94. Factorial analysis revealed that the rating results were determined by a single factor. SARA ratings showed a linear relation to global assessments using a visual analogue scale, suggesting linearity of the scale (p < 0.0001, r2 = 0.98). SARA score increased with the disease stage (p < 0.001) and was closely correlated with the Barthel Index (r = −0.80, p < 0.001) and part IV (functional assessment) of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS-IV) (r = −0.89, p < 0.0001), whereas it had only a weak correlation with disease duration (r = 0.34, p < 0.0002) Conclusions: The Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia is a reliable and valid measure of ataxia, making it an appropriate primary outcome measure for clinical trials.
Immunolocalization of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) testes during postnatal development

The age‐related distribution of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the testes of cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) during postnatal development was detected using light‐microscopic immunohistochemistry. In neonatal testes, some PCNA‐positive spermatogonia, Sertoli cells, peritubular cells, and Leydig cells were detected. In early infantile testes, only a few of these cell types were positive. In late infantile testes, the numbers of positive cells were greater than in the earlier developmental stages. In pubertal testes, the numbers of positive spermatogonia, spermatocytes, Sertoli cells, peritubular cells, and Leydig cells were considerably higher. In adult testes, a larger percentage of spermatogonia and spermatocytes was positive, and peritubular cells and Leydig cells were occasionally positive; secondary spermatocytes, spermatids, and Sertoli cells were not positive. We concluded that immunolocalization of PCNA can serve as a tool for studying proliferation status in developing testes of cynomolgus monkeys. A relatively low proliferative activity in early infantile testes and a remarkable increase of proliferative activity in pubertal testes correlate with the fluctuations of steroidogenic functions during postnatal development in cynomolgus monkeys.
Asset growth and stock return: evidence in the Brazilian market

Abstract Empirical evidence suggests that firms which have experienced fast growth, through increased external funding and by making capital investments and acquisitions, tend to show bad operating performance and lower stock returns, whereas firms that have experienced contraction, through divestiture, share repurchase and debt retirement, tend to show good operating performance and higher stock returns. So, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between asset growth and stock return in the Brazilian stock market, and it tested the hypothesis that asset growth is negatively related to future stock return. To do this, the methodology was divided into 3 steps: verifying 1) if asset growth anomaly exists; 2) if this relation may be explained by the investment friction hypothesis and/or by the limits-to-arbitrage hypothesis; and 3) if asset growth is a risk factor or mispricing. In addition, the analysis was carried out both at a portfolio level and an individual assets level. The sample included all the non-financial firms listed at B3 from June 1997 to June 2014. As for the main results, this study found that the asset growth effect exists, both at the portfolio level and the individual assets level, although it is sensitive to the proxy. About the effect’s materiality, this study concluded that the asset growth effect is not economically relevant, since it is not observed in big firms, regardless of the proxy used, a fact that makes it difficult to explore this effect. Another finding is that the asset growth effect may not be related to the limits-to-arbitrage hypothesis and to the financial constraint hypothesis; also, this effect may be considered a risk factor, suggesting that the investment effect documented in the Brazilian stock market may be explained by the rational asset pricing perspective. Therefore, capital market professionals should take into account the asset growth factor in asset pricing models for better investment risk assessment.
A Sensitive Method to Quantify Human Long DNA in Stool: Relevance to Colorectal Cancer Screening

Human long DNA in stool may reflect nonapoptotic exfoliation and has been used as a colorectal cancer (CRC) marker. Targeting human-specific Alu repeats represents a logical but untested approach. A real-time Alu PCR assay was developed for quantifying long human DNA in stool and evaluated in this study. The accuracy and reproducibility of this assay and the stability of long DNA during room temperature fecal storage were assessed using selected patient stools and stools added to human DNA. Thereafter, long DNA levels were determined in blinded fashion from 18 CRC patients and 20 colonoscopically normal controls. Reproducibility of real-time Alu PCR for quantifying fecal long DNA was high (r2 = 0.99; P < 0.01). Long DNA levels in nonbuffered stools stored at room temperature fell a median of 75% by 1 day and 81% by 3 days. An EDTA buffer preserved DNA integrity during such storage. Human long DNA was quantifiable in all stools but was significantly higher in stools from CRC patients than from normal controls (P < 0.05). At a specificity of 100%, the sensitivity of long DNA for CRC was 44%. Results indicate that real-time Alu PCR is a simple method to sensitively quantify long human DNA in stool. This study shows that not all CRCs are associated with increased fecal levels of long DNA. Long DNA degrades with fecal storage, and measures to stabilize this analyte must be considered for optimal use of this marker. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(6):1115–9)
Policing the press: the institutionalisation of independent press regulation in a liberal/north Atlantic media system

In each of the media systems identified by Hallin and Mancini (2004), autonomy, professional norms and a public service ethic are central indicators of journalism professionalisation, with codes of ethics and accountability solutions, such as press councils, germane. In the Liberal North Atlantic system, where Ireland is placed by Hallin and Mancini, autonomy and professional norms are well established pillars in academia’s understanding of journalism. Indeed, the theoretical work on press and media systems (Siebert, Peterson and Schramm 1956; Merrill 1974; Altschull 1984; Habermas 1989; McQuail 2010) recognises these characteristics. The idea of a public service orientation via a system of media accountability opens up a potentially valuable avenue for examining the journalistic professionalisation process. In Liberal North Atlantic countries, non-institutionalised or informal self-regulation of the press is common, Hallin and Mancini argued. The literature, however, suggests this regulation (press councils) has failed to provide the public with robust media accountability outcomes. Research in Canada (Pritchard 2000), the United States (Ugland 2000 & 2008), and in Britain (O’Malley and Soley 2000; Frost 2000 2004, 2015) support the conclusion that industry power over self-regulatory instruments has infected structures, procedures and decision-making. Thus, this study examines a new regulatory model which has received little attention to date – the independent and legislatively recognised Press Council of Ireland. Here, the formal process of institutionalisation has seen the codification of an accepted set of professional norms via a code of ethics thereby apparently strengthening the autonomy of journalists by clearly defining the journalistic role for industry and the public while also strengthening the concept of journalistic accountability. This thesis investigates whether the institutionalisation of independent press regulation in the Irish case has established a robust accountability framework for the press.
Evaluation of an On-Farm Culture System (Accumast) for Fast Identification of Milk Pathogens Associated with Clinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows

The present study aimed evaluate an on-farm culture system for identification of milk pathogens associated with clinical mastitis in dairy cows using two different gold standard approaches: standard laboratory culture in study 1 and 16S rRNA sequencing in study 2. In study 1, milk from mastitic quarters (i.e. presence of flakes, clots, or serous milk; n = 538) was cultured on-farm using a single plate containing three selective chromogenic media (Accumast—FERA Animal Health LCC, Ithaca, NY) and in a reference laboratory using standard culture methods, which was considered the gold standard. In study 2, mastitic milk was cultured on-farm and analyzed through 16S rRNA sequencing (n = 214). In both studies, plates were cultured aerobically at 37°C for 24 h and read by a single technician masked to gold standard results. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated based on standard laboratory culture in study 1, and PPV was calculated based on sequencing results in study 2. Overall accuracy of Accumast was 84.9%. Likewise, accuracy for identification of Gram-negative bacteria, Staphylococcus sp. , and Streptococcus sp. was 96.4%, 93.8%, and 91.5%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 75.0%, 97.9%, 79.6%, and 97.3% for identification of E. coli, 100.0%, 99.8%, 87.5%, and 100.0% for S. aureus, 70.0%, 95.0%, 45.7%, and 98.1% for other Staphylococcus sp. , and 90.0%, 92.9%, 91.8%, and 91.2% for Streptococcus sp. In study 2, Accumast PPV was 96.7% for E. coli, 100.0% for Enterococcus sp. , 100.0% for Other Gram-negatives, 88.2% for Staphylococcus sp. , and 95.0% for Streptococcus sp. , respectively. In conclusion, Accumast is a unique approach for on-farm identification pathogens associated with mastitis, presenting overall sensitivity and specificity of 82.3% and 89.9% respectively.
Obstacles to bilingual education: A case study of policy appropriation in a lower secondary school

The purpose of this paper is to present some of the main findings from my thesis (Lundberg, 2015) that concern the policy formulation and implementation of bilingual education in a multi-ethnic lower secondary school in an urban suburb in Gothenburg, Sweden. This school was strategically chosen for its pedagogical approach towards social and linguistic diversity1. This article examines the formulation and appropriation of a bilingual and bicultural education program and what obstacles exist with regards to implementation of bilingual education in the realization arena. The theoretical impetus comes from the sociology of knowledge which examines how social policy connects to social practice by applying the concepts of formulation, realization and transformation (Lindensjö & Lundgren, 2000). Data was derived from interviews and participant observations between 2006 and 2009 with three different ninth grade classes from same school. The results show that in the formulation arena the policy was in favor of active bilingualism (a holistic and comprehensive approach throughout the curriculum), strong support f or mother tongue education, and creating in students a bicultural identity. However, in the realization arena, the bilingual education program was reduced to the employment of bilingual teachers who provided mother tongue tuition. Support for the bicultura l and multilingual development of students’ language and culture was never fully incorporated into the ordinary teaching and instruction. This was due in part to obstacles in the formulation and realization arenas (Lindensjö & Lundgren, 2000). Five types of obstacles to the appropriation of bilingual education were observed. Two primary obstacles in the formulation arena were 1) a strong separation of languages, and 2) bilingual teachers as representatives of diversity. In the realization arena the following three obstacles were observed: 1) teacher resistance to polylingual education, 2) insufficient study support for mother tongue tuition, and 3) a monolingual norm. In sum, the overriding obstacle is an overall lack of consensus about the aim and purpose of bilingual education. The discussion develops issues concerning the gap between what should be versus what could be in both the formulation and realization arenas (Lundberg, 2015).
CA 19-9 is associated with poor glycemic control in diabetic patients: role of insulin resistance.

BACKGROUND CA19-9 is considered a tumor marker. Reports have suggested higher CA19-9 levels in diabetic patients even with no malignancy. Our aim was to reveal the relation of CA19-9 with glycemic control in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. For the first time we considered diabetes as an outcome based on a cut-off where the association of CA19-9 with diabetes is considerable. METHODS The study was carried out at an outpatient metabolism clinic. A total of 422 consecutive participants were enrolled. Subjects with prior diagnosis of any cancer, renal, endocrine, or hepatic problems were not included. Age, gender, and medications as well as weight, height, and BMI were recorded. Creatinine, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), post-prandial plasma glucose (PPPG), fasting plasma insulin, HbA1c, C-peptide, HOMA-IR, and CA 19-9 were measured. RESULTS In all, 266 (63.03%) subjects had recently been diagnosed with diabetes. CA19-9 was significantly higher in the diabetic group (16.73 +/- 13.83 vs. 11.93 +/- 11.42, p < 0.001). BMI, waist circumference, FPG, and HbA1c were higher in quartiles with greater CA19-9 levels. Number of diabetic subjects in each quartile had a stepwise increase (48%, 56%, 72%, and 77%, p < 0.01). FPG, PPPG, HbA1c, and HOMA-IR were directly correlated with CA19-9 levels independent of age, gender, and BMI. We presume the 10.83 U/mL value for CA19-9 to be the optimal cut-off in indicating diabetes status (sensitivity: 0.63, specificity: 0.55). CONCLUSIONS Otherwise normal diabetic subjects have greater CA19-9 values. CA19-9 should be interpreted with regard to diabetes status. We suggest that CA19-9 levels above 10.83 U/mL in the absence of other pathologies are in favor of glycemic impairments. CA19-9 values greater than 34.30 U/mL may accompany an 84% frequency of diabetic subjects especially in settings such as referral metabolism clinics. CA19-9 values of less than 6.46 U/mL are likely to rule out the presence of diabetes, especially while testing in general population.
Electrical isolation of a substrate after myocardial infarction: a novel ablation strategy for unmappable ventricular tachycardias--feasibility and clinical outcome.

AIMS Catheter ablation can abolish clinical ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients after myocardial infarction (MI). However, VT frequently recurs after ablation. The best ablation strategy is still unknown, particularly in patients with unmappable VTs. We hypothesized that isolation of the arrhythmogenic substrate would be a feasible and effective ablation strategy for the treatment of ischaemic VT. METHODS AND RESULTS Twelve patients (54 ± 8 years, left ventricular ejection fraction, LVEF 32 ± 13%) underwent catheter ablation for sustained VT (anterior MI = 10, inferior MI = 2). All patients had recurrent defibrillator shocks, including electrical storms in seven patients, despite anti-arrhythmic drugs. During electrophysiological study, 3 ± 2 VTs were induced. Three-dimensional mapping of the left ventricle revealed a low-voltage (<1.5 mV) area with fractionated electrograms and late potentials, with a mean area of 62 ± 20 cm(2). Isolation of the entire low-voltage area was attempted with a circumferential line along the low-voltage area border-zone. Substrate isolation was successfully achieved in 6 of 12 (50%) patients. Focal discharge within the isolated area was demonstrated in three of six (50%) patients. During a median follow-up of 479 [297; 781] days, 8 of 12 patients (66.7%) remained free of VT recurrence after a single procedure. In five of the six patients (83.3%) with successful substrate isolation, there were no VT recurrences when compared with three of the six patients (50%) with no substrate isolation. CONCLUSION Electrical isolation of the entire substrate is feasible and appears to be an effective treatment in patients with late VT after MI.
POLITECNICO DI TORINO Repository ISTITUZIONALE

—This experience paper describes the process of leveraging the NFV orchestration platform built in the EU FP7 project UNIFY to deploy a dynamic network service exempliﬁed by an elastic router. Elasticity is realized by scaling dataplane resources as a function of trafﬁc load. To achieve this, the service includes a custom scaling logic and monitoring capabilities. An automated monitoring framework not only triggers elastic scaling, but also a troubleshooting process which detects and analyzes anomalies, pro-actively aiding both dev and ops personnel. Such a DevOps-inspired approach enables a shorter update cycle to the running service. We highlight multiple learnings yielded throughout the prototype realization, focussing on the functional areas of service decomposition and scaling; programmable monitoring; and automated troubleshooting. Such practical insights will contribute to solving challenges such as agile deployment and efﬁcient resource usage in future NFV platforms.
Dynamic magnetic resonance imaging of tumor perfusion

This work presents approaches and biomedical challenges of dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). DCE-MRI using small molecular weight gadolinium chelates enables noninvasive imaging characterization of tissue vascularity. Depending on the technique used, data reflecting tissue perfusion (blood flow, blood volume, mean transit time), microvessel permeability surface area product, and extracellular leakage space can be obtained. Insights into these physiological processes can be obtained from inspection of kinetic enhancement curves or by the application of complex compartmental modeling techniques. Potential clinical applications include screening for malignant disease, lesion characterization, monitoring lesion response to treatment, and assessment of residual disease. Newer applications include prognostication, pharmacodynamic assessments of antivascular anticancer drugs, and predicting efficacy of treatment. For dynamic MRI to enter into widespread clinical practice, it will be necessary to develop standardized approaches to measurement and robust analysis approaches. These include the need for commercial equipment manufacturers to provide robust methods for rapidly measuring time-varying change in T1 relaxation rates, incorporation of arterial input function into kinetic modeling processes, robust analysis software that allows input from a variety of MRI devices, and validated statistical tools for the evaluation of heterogeneity.
1982-2010 Trends of Light Use Efficiency and Inherent Water Use Efficiency in African vegetation: Sensitivity to Climate and Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations

Light and water use by vegetation at the ecosystem level, are key components for understanding the carbon and water cycles particularly in regions with high climate variability and dry climates such as Africa. The objective of this study is to examine recent trends over the last 30 years in Light Use Efficiency (LUE) and inherent Water Use Efficiency (iWUE*) for the major biomes of Africa, including their sensitivities to climate and CO2. LUE and iWUE* trends are analyzed using a combination of NOAA-AVHRR NDVI3g and fAPAR3g, and a data-driven model of monthly evapotranspiration and Gross Primary Productivity (based on flux tower measurements and remote sensing fAPAR, yet with no flux tower data in Africa) and the ORCHIDEE (ORganizing Carbon and Hydrology In Dynamic EcosystEms) process-based land surface model driven by variable CO2 and two different gridded climate fields. The iWUE* data product increases by 10%–20% per decade during the 1982–2010 period over the northern savannas (due to positive trend of vegetation productivity) and the central African forest (due to positive trend of vapor pressure deficit). In contrast to the iWUE*, the LUE trends are not statistically significant. The process-based model simulations only show a positive linear trend in iWUE* and LUE over the central African forest. Additionally, factorial model simulations were conducted to attribute trends in iWUE and LUE to climate change and rising CO2 concentrations. We found that the increase of atmospheric CO2 by 52.8 ppm during the period of study explains 30%–50% of the increase in iWUE* and >90% of the LUE trend over the central African forest. The modeled iWUE* trend exhibits a high sensitivity to the climate forcing and environmental conditions, whereas the LUE trend has a smaller sensitivity to the selected climate forcing.
Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) modelling of N-aryl derivatives as cholinesterase inhibitors

A QSAR study on a series of N-aryl derivatives was performed to explore the important molecular descriptor which is responsible for their inhibitory activity towards choli nest erase enzyme, the common target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Molecular descriptors were calculated using DRAGON version 5.2 software Two methods of descriptor selection, stepwise regression and forward selection procedure, were performed and compared. Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) analysis was carried out to derive QSAR models, which were further evaluated for statistical significance and predictive power by leave-one-out (LOO) cross validation test. The best QSAR models against acetylcholinesterase and butylcholinesterase inhibitory activity were selected, having squared correlation coefficient R2=945% and 98.4%, and cross-validated squared correlation coefficient R2cv = 91.9% and 97.2%, respectively. The statistical outcomes derived from the present study demonstrate good predictability and may be useful in the design of more potent substituted N-aryl derivatives as cholinesterase inhibitor.