Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serializable Ordering-Free Regions for Increasing Thread

Correctly synchronizing multithreaded programs is challenging and errors can lead to program failures such as atomicity violations. Existing strong memory consistency models rule out some possible failures, but are limited by depending on programmer-defined locking code. We present the new Ordering-Free Region (OFR) serializability consistency model that ensures atomicity for OFRs, which are spans of dynamic instructions between consecutive ordering constructs (e.g., barriers), without breaking atomicity at lock operations. Our platform, Serializable Ordering-Free Regions for Increasing Thread Atomicity Scalably (SOFRITAS), ensures a C/C++ program’s execution is equivalent to a serialization of OFRs by default. We build two systems that realize the SOFRITAS idea: a concurrency bug finding tool for testing called SOFRITEST, and a production runtime system called SOPRO. SOFRITEST uses OFRs to find concurrency bugs, including a multi-critical-section atomicity violation in memcached that weaker consistency models will miss. If OFRs are too coarse-grained, SOFRITEST suggests refinement annotations automatically. Our software-only SOPRO implementation has high performance, scales well with increased parallelism, and prevents failures despite bugs in locking code. SOPRO has an average overhead of just 1.59x compared to pthreads, despite pthreads’ much weaker memory model.
Telomere measurement in individuals occupationally exposed to pesticide mixtures in tobacco fields

Occupational exposure to pesticides in tobacco fields causes genetic damage in farmers. The aim of this study was to analyze tobacco farmers chronically exposed to low doses of pesticides and nicotine (present in the tobacco leaves) in relation to absolute telomere length (aTL), and explore the influence of lifestyle characteristics, oxidative stress, and inorganic element levels. DNA was isolated from peripheral blood samples from agricultural workers and non‐exposed individuals, and aTL was measured by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis. Oxidative stress (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS], which measures oxidative damage to lipids; and toxic equivalent antioxidant capacity [TEAC], which measures total equivalent antioxidant capacity) was evaluated in serum, and inorganic element content was analyzed in whole blood through particle‐induced X‐ray emission technique. It was found that exposure to pesticides and tobacco smoking had significant effects on aTL. Individuals occupationally exposed to complex mixtures of pesticides in tobacco fields and individuals who smoked had decreased aTL compared with the non‐exposed group. TBARS and TEAC were significantly elevated in the exposed group. There were no significant differences in inorganic elements. There was no evidence of an influence of age, gender, consumption of alcoholic beverages, or intake of fruits and vegetables on aTL within the groups. In addition, years of work in the tobacco field in the exposed group did not influence any of the variables analyzed. Although further studies were needed, these results suggested differences in telomere maintenance in tobacco farmers compared with the control group, indicating that telomere length may be a good biomarker of occupational exposure. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 57:74–84, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Genetic Testing for Familial Alzheimer ' s Disease Effective : March 1 , 2017

PLEASE NOTE: Contracts exclude from coverage, among other things, services or procedures that are considered investigational or cosmetic. Providers may bill members for services or procedures that are considered investigational or cosmetic. Providers are encouraged to inform members before rendering such services that the members are likely to be financially responsible for the cost of these services.
Some correlates of self-rated health for Australian women.

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to identify some of the correlates of self-rated health for young to middle-aged Australian women. METHODS Regression analyses were based on a 4-year longitudinal study using a random sample of Sydney women 20 to 59 years of age at baseline. Participants were interviewed in 1986/87 and 1990. RESULTS Cross-sectional relationships between self-assessed health and other health measures varied significantly by age, although physical health was a common correlate. Sixty-three percent of participants reported a similar rating of health over the 4-year period between the surveys. Changes in self-assessed health were sensitive to chronic disease. Also, participants' self-ratings of health were related to their subsequent chronic disease status. CONCLUSIONS Self-rated health reflects a complex process of internalized calculations that encompass both lived experience and knowledge of disease causes and consequences. Women seem to take into consideration a broad range of factors, including lifestyle, vitality, mental attitude, and age, and, if they have a health condition, the chronicity of their disease, duration since diagnosis, and treatment.
Point of Care INR testing devices: performance of the Roche CoaguChek XS and XS Plus in the UK NEQAS BC external quality assessment programme for healthcare professionals: four years’ experience

Background Vitamin K antagonists have been used for many decades and have been traditionally monitored by the measurement of the International Normalised Ratio (INR) in the laboratory. Introduction of Point of Care (POC) testing devices to measure INR has resulted in many tests being undertaken in primary care. External Quality Assessment (EQA) of these POC devices is recommended to ensure accuracy and reliability of INR results outside a laboratory setting. Aim To assess the quality of INR results for users of two POC devices (CoaguChek XS and CoaguChek XS Plus) over a four-year period. Methods Four surveys (two samples) were sent in each 12-month period. The median INR value of each sample was calculated and the percentage deviation from this median determined. Any results greater than 15% from the median were considered to be outside consensus which indicated a possible problem within the testing system. Results Variability of INR results in this UK National External Quality Assessment Scheme (NEQAS) programme was comparable to that in the UK NEQAS EQA programme for laboratory INR testing. Occurrence of persistent problems was lower in the POC programme than the laboratory programme. Conclusions Utilisation of an EQA programme for POC devices in primary care is feasible and necessary. Our data suggest for those health professionals using EQA, the reliability and accuracy of INR testing matches the quality of laboratory testing.
Determining Costs-Returns Profitability in Honey Marketing in Cross River State, Nigeria

This study examined costs-returns profitability in honey marketing in Cross River State. Honey contains 29 percent of protein, 19 percent of amino acid, vitamins and minerals for bodybuilding. Honey mixed with aloe vera gel is use for cure of dandruff and rapid hair growth. This mixture could also help to prevent hair breakage. Honey pollen enhances vitality and brings about a longer life span. Data were obtained from a random sample of 120 honey marketers in the study area by means of structured questionnaire. The first stage involved random selection of three (Obudu, Obubra and Odukpani) local government areas from eighteen local government areas in Cross River State, Nigeria. This was followed by random selection of three villages (Utugwang in Obudu Local Government Area, Ofudua in Obubra Local Government Area and Adiabo in Odukpani Local Government Area) in Cross River State. The respondents were randomly selected from each of the villages, 40 respondents were selected each from three villages, making a total number of 120 respondents. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and costs-returns analysis. Results from the analysis revealed that a net return of N1, 250.00 was realized with N0.22 made on every naira invested. Honey marketing is a profitable business, with attractive net return on investment. This study shows that honey marketers are faced with several problems in their marketing activities. These problems or constraints positively affect the efficiency of honey marketing in the study area. Notable among them are high cost of transportation, lack of capital, inaccessibility of formal credit source because lack of collaterals, lack of extension agents, lack of price information, poor market infrastructures and lack of roads maintenance/bad roads and 8.33% respectively. Hence, for efficient marketing of honey in the study area, these constraints must be drastically reduced to the barest minimum. This can be done through efficient policy formulation and implementation, proper supervision of honey marketing programme, effective extension services and proper agricultural financing. The constraints associated with the business as highlighted in this paper if tackled could pave a way to increase profit and this will alleviate poverty in Cross River State. However, based on the findings of the study it is recommended that honey marketers in the study area should form cooperative group(s) in order to obtain loans from bank(s) to increase their capital base for higher output.
Crime and violence effects on economic diversity: The case of Mexico’s drug war

This paper exploits a substantial increase in homicides created by a war between drug trafficking organizations in Mexico to estimate the causal effects of crime and violence in the diversity of local economies. Relying on a dataset of homicides caused by organized criminal rivalry, a text-analysis algorithm that allowed us to track activities of Mexico’s drug trafficking cartels, and an exceptionally detailed economic census, we developed a panel fixed-effect model, and a model that controls for the possible endogeneity using instrumental variables. Our identification shows that subnational economies afflicted with large increases in crime and violence experience reductions in the diversity of its production structure and increases their degree of production concentration. Specifically, an increase of 10% in homicides rates reduces the number of sectors that exists in an economy by 0.006 units. A similar increase in the number of criminal organizations has a reduction effect of 0.032 units. Our results are robust by several specifications and various controls to account for the potential endogeneity of violence. ∗Author thanks Mylene Cano and Mariana Galindo for research assistance. Special thanks to all the anonymous reviewers that made this paper better, and to Mexicos Central Bank (Banxico) for their sharp observations and feedback. Personally, this paper was made possible by the encouragement and the friendship of Aleister Monfort, Sofia Viguri and Cesar Martinelli.
Longitudinal study of esophageal mucosal damage after esophagectomy and gastric interposition: relationship between reflux-related mucosal injury and Notch signaling.

Background Esophagectomy with gastric interposition could serve as a good human reflux model to study the molecular pathogenesis of esophageal mucosal damage induced by gastroesophageal reflux. This study was to investigate the role of Notch signaling in reflux injury of esophageal mucosa. Methods Patients undergoing Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy for early stage esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were included. Follow-ups were scheduled at 6, 18, 36 and 48 months postoperatively, including reflux symptom assessment, endoscopic and histological evaluation of esophageal mucosal damage. The expressions of Notch1 and its downstream target gene Hes1 were evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results Forty-four out of 48 patients completed four follow-ups. Injuries of esophageal remnant confirmed by endoscopical and histological examinations were both more often with a longer postoperative period (P<0.05). The mRNA expression levels of Notch1 and Hes1 were decreased in a time-dependent manner after operation (P<0.001). Notch1 and Hes1 mRNA levels were significantly higher in normal squamous mucosa than in esophagitis, and higher in esophagitis than in metaplasia (P<0.05). Immunohistochemical study also demonstrated a similar protein expression pattern. Samples with endoscopic evidence of mucosal damage exhibited lower expression of Notch1 mRNA levels as compared to biopsies without visualized damage (P=0.035). Conclusions This is the first longitudinal study on Notch signaling in human esophagectomy model, our preliminary findings suggest decreased Notch signaling might be involved in the development of mucosa damage caused by gastroesophageal reflux.
Methionine control of cephalosporin C formation

DL‐Norleucine, a nonsulfur analogue of methionine was found to markedly stimulate synthesis of cephalosporin C by Cephalosporium acremonium strain CW19 in three different chemically defined media. Methionine, but not norleucine, stimulated cephalosporin C biosynthesis in a crude medium. The lack of stimulation by norleucine in complex medium was shown to be due to lack of uptake of this amino acid by mycelia growing in such a medium. In defined media containing a suboptimal methionine concentration, norleucine stimulated antibiotic production up to the level reached by optimal methionine. At an optimal dose of methionine, norleucine elicited no further increase in cephalosporin C production, indicating that these two amino acids act by the same mechanism. The data strongly indicate that stimulation by methionine is not a function of its ability to donate sulfur for antibiotic formation. Methionine was found to neither repress nor inhibit cysteine metabolism.
Public Perceptions of Risk to Forest Biodiversity †

This study examines the perceived risks to forest biodiversity and perceived effectiveness of biodiversity conservation strategies among the general public. It tests the hypotheses that perceived risk to forest biodiversity is influenced by cognitive factors (value orientation and knowledge) and social‐cultural factors (such as gender and environmental membership) and that risk perceptions influence other cognitive constructs such as support for natural resource policy and management. Data were collected from a sample of the general public (n= 596) in British Columbia, Canada by mail survey in 2001. Results show that insects and disease were perceived as the greatest risk. Educating the public and industry about biodiversity issues was perceived as a more effective conservation strategy than restricting human uses of the forest. Value orientation was a better predictor of perceptions of risk and perceived effectiveness of conservation strategies than knowledge indicators or social‐cultural variables. Examining the indirect effects of social‐cultural variables, however, revealed that value orientation may amplify the effect of these variables and suggests that alternative paths of influence should be included. Perceived risk showed an inconsistent association with perceived effectiveness of conservation strategies.
The Performance of Eyewitnesses with Intellectual Disabilities on Photographic Identification Line-ups

Despite the large number of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and the fact they are more likely to be victims and witnesses of crime, only two published studies have investigated their performance on identification line-up parades. In the present study we examined the identification performance of adults with and without ID on both a perpetrator-present and a perpetrator-absent photographic line-up. In addition, we investigated factors that could explain any potential difficulties with identification performance, such as face recognition performance (as measured by a standardised test), eyewitness confidence, understanding of the purpose of a line-up, and memory for non-biased line-up instructions. In comparison with typical adults, participants with ID demonstrated poorer performance across both perpetrator-present and perpetrator-absent photographic line-ups, yet were more confident in the accuracy of their responses. In addition they had poorer face recognition performance, were less likely to understand the purpose of the line-up, and were less likely to remember the non-biased line-up instructions. This pattern of difficulties is discussed in relation to the development of future research and interventions.
Food Safety Knowledge among Food Workers in Restaurants of Salalah Municipality in Sultanate of Oman

This survey was conducted from June to December 2012 in Salalah Municipality, Sultanate of Oman, to investigate the knowledge of restaurants workers about food safety-related issues. A total of questionnaireguided interviews with 21restaurant workers and food handlers were carried out. Major food safety knowledge concepts including personal hygiene, prevention of cross contamination, general sanitation, safe storage of food, knowledge of health problems that would affect food safety, knowledge of symptoms of foodborne illnesses, and knowledge of important foodborne pathogens were investigated. The responses of interviewed workers varied considerably. In general, the workers had good knowledge about some food safety-related issues and not enough knowledge about other issues. Although the results of the questionnaire showed that the majorityof the food workers and handlers know the importance of washing hands before work and proper cleaning and handing of instruments and kitchen utensils and their role in reducing the risk of food contamination, in addition to their knowledge that eating and drinking at the work place increases the risk of food contamination, its observed that these workers do not practice that as a part of their routine work. Therefore, training programs are warranted together with continuous monitoring of the workers’ behavior and practices. Keywords— Food safety, knowledge, food workers,
3-Methyl-4-Chlorophenol for Prion Decontamination of Medical Devices

Disinfectants containing 3-methyl-4-chlorophenol were tested for their capacity to inactivate the infectious agent of scrapie. Coincubation of brain homogenates prepared from terminally ill scrapie-infected hamsters with the disinfectants rendered the prion protein PrPSc sensitive to proteinase K digestion. Inoculation of hamsters with disinfectant-treated samples indicated a reduction in infectivity levels to below the limit of detection.
The Relationship Between Market Orientation Dimensions and Performance of Micro Finance Institutions

Microfinance institutions are established so as to alleviate poverty. However, most of microfinance institution face sustainability issues. The present study aims to give an insight on the three dimensions of market orientation which are inter-functional coordination, customer orientation and competitor orientation influences two aspects of microfinance performance (social and financial performance). The study employed PLS-SEM in testing the hypothesis. A total of 231 responses were used for analysis. The findings revealed that customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination are having significantly positive relationship with financial and social performance measures of microfinance institutions in Nigeria. The data of the study comprises of microfinance banks operating in North West and South west region of Nigeria, using cross sectional design. The findings of the study will contribute to the literature and assist policy makers, managing directors and researchers in better understanding the dimensions of marketing orientation.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Investigating Impacts on Customer Response at Two Stages of the Tour Experience

i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. v LIST OF TABLES. x LIST OF FIGURES. xii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. 1 1.1 Background to the Research. 1 1.2 Research Problem. 3 1.3 Research Question and Objectives. 8 1.4 Justification for the Research. 10 1.5 Methodology. 13 1.6 Style and Structure of Thesis. 15 1.7 Definitions and Abbreviations. 16 1.8 Delimitations. 18 1.9 Chapter Summary. 19 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW. 20 2.
Outage Analysis of Ambient Backscatter Communication Systems

This letter analyzes the outage probability of an ambient backscatter communication system with a pair of passive tag and reader. Specifically, exact expressions of the effective channel distribution and outage probability of the reader are derived rigorously. Since the outage expression is an infinite sum, a tight truncation error bound is provided to facilitate numerical evaluations. The relative truncation error drops rapidly even for very few terms. In addition, an asymptotic outage expression is derived for the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime, which matches well with the exact value even for the moderate SNR.
Time to First Dental Visit After Initially Enrolling in Medicaid and S-SCHIP

Background:Accessing dental care is a significant problem for children in Medicaid and S-SCHIP (Separate State Children's Health Insurance Program). Previous studies have indicated that the design of the Medicaid or S-SCHIP dental program can have an impact on the ability to use services. Objective:To evaluate the factors related to how quickly children had any dental visit and had a preventive dental visit after first enrolling in the Iowa Medicaid and S-SCHIP programs. The primary question was whether the structure of the dental plan was related to improved access to care. Methods:Iowa Medicaid and S-SCHIP dental claims and enrollment files for FY 2001 through 2003 were used to identify children who were newly enrolled in the programs and their use of dental services. Factors related to the time to a child's first dental visit were analyzed using survival analytic techniques. Results:After 6 months in the program, between 21% and 36% of children had received their first dental visit, depending on their dental plan. This increased from 39% to 56% after 1 year. Based on the survival analysis, earlier dental utilization was related to the type of plan in which the child was enrolled as well as the child's age, race, and urban/rural location. Conclusions:Children in the S-SCHIP 2 dental plan, which had an open provider network and paid dentists’ full charges, were most likely to have had a dental visit sooner after enrollment. States looking for options to improve access to dental care in their Medicaid and S-SCHIP programs should consider contracting with dental plans with these features.