Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Replacement of saturated with unsaturated fats had no impact on vascular function but beneficial effects on lipid biomarkers, E-selectin, and blood pressure: results from the randomized, controlled Dietary Intervention and VAScular function (DIVAS) study.

BACKGROUND Public health strategies to lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk involve reducing dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake to ≤10% of total energy (%TE). However, the optimal type of replacement fat is unclear. OBJECTIVE We investigated the substitution of 9.5-9.6%TE dietary SFAs with either monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) or n-6 (ω-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on vascular function and other CVD risk factors. DESIGN In a randomized, controlled, single-blind, parallel-group dietary intervention, 195 men and women aged 21-60 y from the United Kingdom with moderate CVD risk (≥50% above the population mean) followed one of three 16-wk isoenergetic diets (%TE target compositions, total fat:SFA:MUFA:n-6 PUFA) that were rich in SFAs (36:17:11:4, n = 65), MUFAs (36:9:19:4, n = 64), or n-6 PUFAs (36:9:13:10, n = 66). The primary outcome measure was flow-mediated dilatation; secondary outcome measures included fasting serum lipids, microvascular reactivity, arterial stiffness, ambulatory blood pressure, and markers of insulin resistance, inflammation, and endothelial activation. RESULTS Replacing SFAs with MUFAs or n-6 PUFAs did not affect the percentage of flow-mediated dilatation (primary endpoint) or other measures of vascular reactivity. Of the secondary outcome measures, substitution of SFAs with MUFAs attenuated the increase in night systolic blood pressure (-4.9 mm Hg, P = 0.019) and reduced E-selectin (-7.8%, P = 0.012). Replacement with MUFAs or n-6 PUFAs lowered fasting serum total cholesterol (-8.4% and -9.2%, respectively), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (-11.3% and -13.6%), and total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (-5.6% and -8.5%) (P ≤ 0.001). These changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol equate to an estimated 17-20% reduction in CVD mortality. CONCLUSIONS Substitution of 9.5-9.6%TE dietary SFAs with either MUFAs or n-6 PUFAs did not significantly affect the percentage of flow-mediated dilatation or other measures of vascular function. However, the beneficial effects on serum lipid biomarkers, blood pressure, and E-selectin offer a potential public health strategy for CVD risk reduction. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials. gov as NCT01478958.
The Influence of Spine and Trunk Deformity on Preoperative Idiopathic Scoliosis Patients’ Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire Responses

Study Design. Retrospective case series. Objectives. To determine the influence of spine and trunk deformity on preoperative idiopathic scoliosis patients’ health-related quality of life questionnaire responses. Summary of Background Data. Management recommendations for patients with idiopathic scoliosis during adolescence are based heavily on spine deformity and to some extent trunk deformity magnitude. However, the manner in which these objective measures influence the patients’ perception of their condition is unclear. Methods. Of 67 consecutive preoperative patients, 61 (91%) had completed the Scoliosis Research Society-22 health-related quality of life questionnaire and had been studied with posterior exposure surface topography. Their average age was 15 years, 6 months (range 10 years, 10 months–20 years, 10 months), and the average maximum Cobb was 63° (range 40–137°). Correlations between spine and trunk deformity measures and Scoliosis Research Society-22 scores were determined by the Pearson correlation coefficient, with P < 0.01 considered significant. Results. For the study group, spine deformity (Cobb) correlated significantly only with Scoliosis Research Society-22 function (r = −0.39, P = 0.0022) domain. Neither coronal nor transverse plane trunk deformity composite scores correlated with any Scoliosis Research Society-22 scores. The Hump Index component of the transverse plane Suzuki Hump Sum composite score was the only trunk measurement to correlate significantly (function r = −0.45, P = 0.003; self image, r = −0.36, P = 0.0040). The strongest correlations occurred when the single thoracic curves, King classifications III and IV, were combined: Cobb versus function r = −0.53, P = 0.0027; Cobb versus self-image r = −0.46, P = 0.0099; and Hump Index versus function r = −0.60, P = 0.0005. There were no significant correlations between either spine deformity or any trunk deformity measure with Scoliosis Research Society-22 responses for either the double or thoracolumbar curve pattern groups. Conclusion. Both spine and upper thoracic transverse plane trunk deformity significantly influenced preoperative idiopathic scoliosis patients’ perception of function and self-image, but not pain or mental health. However, in spite of a fairly rigorous standard of proof, P ≤ 0.01, the significant r values ranged from −0.33 to −0.68, suggesting that there are factors other than spine and trunk deformity influencing the idiopathic scoliosis patients’ health-related quality of life questionnaire responses. Future studies are necessary to define these factors.
Rural–Urban Human Capital Disparity and Skilled–Unskilled Wage Inequality in China

This paper builds threeâ€ sector general equilibrium models to investigate how a shrink of ruralâ€“urban human capital disparity generates an impact on skilledâ€“unskilled wage inequality in China. In the basic model where the urban skilled sector and the urban unskilled sector have no upstream and downstream linkage, we find that the wage inequality will be narrowed down if the urban skilled sector is more capital intensive than the urban unskilled sector. To capture the characteristic of China's state capitalism, we build an extended model where the urban skilled sector acts as an upstream industry for the urban unskilled sector, and find that the wage inequality will be reduced if the substitution elasticity of unskilled labor and intermediate product in the urban unskilled sector is large enough. When we consider the factual characteristics of the Chinese economy, our models predict that a shrink of ruralâ€“urban human capital disparity will be helpful to reduce the skilledâ€“unskilled wage inequality in China.
C-Cell Hyperplasia and Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: Clinicopathological and Genetic Correlations in 66 Consecutive Patients

Routine calcitonin (CT) assay programs and genetic testing for RET proto-oncogene mutations have consistently modified the management and understanding of C-cell proliferative disorders. We report a series of 66 consecutive patients with C-cell hyperplasia (CCH) or medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) observed in our institution within an 8-year time period. All the patients had a preoperative basal CT assay and an RET proto-oncogene sequencing. Seventeen patients (F-M ratio: 8:9, mean age: 29.7 y) had a multiple endocrine neoplasia Type 2: 3 children <10 years of age had CCH only, and 14 patients had an MTC, with neoplastic CCH in 10/14 cases. Twenty-seven patients (F-M ratio: 18:9, mean age: 56.6 y) had a sporadic MTC, with physiological CCH in 8 and neoplastic CCH in 3 cases. Twenty-two men (mean age: 46.2 y) had CCH only (physiological CCH in 17 men and neoplastic CCH in 5). We conclude that (1) clinical and pathological characteristics (familial MTC, tumor multifocality, neoplastic CCH) usually associated with hereditary MTC may be misleading and that on the contrary, RET sequencing gives no false positive result; (2) sporadic neoplastic CCH accompanies (and probably precedes) a number of sporadic MTC; and (3) women presenting with a sporadic elevated basal CT have a 100% risk of having an MTC (15/15), but this risk is 3-fold less in men (31%), who will most often have CCH only (69%).
Fatal Attraction? Extended Unemployment Benefits, Labor Force Exits, and Mortality

We estimate the causal effect of permanent and premature exits from the labor force on mortality. To overcome the problem of negative health selection into early retirement, we exploit a policy change in unemployment insurance rules in Austria that allowed workers in eligible regions to exit the labor force 3 years earlier compared to workers in non-eligible regions. Using administrative data with precise information on mortality and retirement, we find that the policy change induced eligible workers to exit the labor force significantly earlier. Instrumental variable estimation results show that for men retiring one year earlier causes a 6.8% increase in the risk of premature death and 0.2 years reduction in the age at death, but has no significant effect for women.
THE NONLINEARITY OF BRAZILIAN MONETARY POLICY IN THE INFLATION-TARGETING PERIOD: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON AN MS-VAR MODEL

This article theoretically and empirically analyzes the hypothesis of the nonlinearity of Brazilian monetary policy following the implementation of inflation-targeting regime. At the theoretical level, it discusses growth and macroeconomic regimes and their effect over Brazilian economy according to the behavior of a number of variables. Empirically, it tests the hypothesis of the nonlinearity of monetary policy in Brazil, estimating a Markov-switching vector autoregressive (MS-VAR) model. The results identify two different monetary regimes: the first regime, which primarily occurred between 2000 and 2007, and the second regime, which primarily occurred between 2007 and 2013. In the case of the second regime, a contractionary monetary policy had more persistent effects on both the public debt and the exchange rate.
Reducing the EMI Susceptibility of a Kuijk Bandgap

In this paper, the susceptibility of a Kuijk bandgap voltage reference to electromagnetic interferences (EMIs) superimposed to the power supply is investigated. A model of the bandgap circuit is derived from experimental tests consisting of scattering parameters and susceptibility measurements on a test chip. The model is able to correctly predict the susceptibility of the circuit by means of SPICE transient simulations. The simulations identify the fundamental stray components responsible for EMI coupling that are usually not taken into account in postlayout analyses. From the EMI point of view, the rectification phenomenon of bipolar transistors, used in the bandgap cell, and the operational amplifier (op-amp) input distortion are shown to cause the voltage reference performance degradation. In particular, for the first time, the importance of the bandgap cell is pointed out, suggesting that the measures to reduce the susceptibility of the op-amp may not be sufficient to guarantee the bandgap immunity. Moreover, the analyses of main parasitic paths (from the power supply net to the more sensitive nodes) demonstrate the relevance of paths that are not commonly considered during the design phase and that may lead to an immunity degradation. Possible solutions to reduce the bandgap susceptibility are also explored, suggesting design criteria, filtering techniques, and layout variations. A second test chip is designed and manufactured to validate the suggested improvements and verify the critical role of the bandgap cell. Finally, a simplified theoretical analysis, which allows a fast bandgap susceptibility evaluation, is presented. This tool is used to point out the importance of the rectification phenomenon compared to the op-amp differential pair distortion.
It is a matter of how you say it: Verbal content and prosody matching as an index of emotion regulation strategies during the Adult Attachment Interview

Emotional activation can be detected by the prosodic properties of the voice. This study aimed to explore the match between the valence of the words used by secure and dismissing women in describing the relationship with their parents during the Adult Attachment Interview and their emotional activation as expressed through the prosody of the voice. Contrary to what observed for secure women, a discrepancy emerged in dismissing individuals between the content of their verbal reports during the interview and the emotional activation of their voice while speaking. Negative experiences, usually cognitively minimised and normalised, were expressed with high emotional arousal, while positive descriptors, often exaggerated semantically, were expressed with neutral arousal. Therefore, the defensive inhibition strategy seems to control the content but not the prosody of narratives and prosody has the potential to allow a better understanding of the emotion regulation strategies used by individuals while discussing their caregiving histories.
An Explanatory Model of Older Persons’ Use of Dental Services: Implications for Health Policy

With increasing numbers of people keeping their teeth into their later years, regular dental care should be a health behavior practiced by all older persons. National surveys show, however, that older people use dental services at a much lower rate than other age groups. Even when low-cost dental services are provided, a significant number of eligible elderly do not seek dental care. A survey was conducted among 116 elderly utilizers of low-cost dental services and 142 comparable elderly who had not sought care in 3 or more years. Andersen and Newman's (1973) model was expanded in include attitudes as predisposing factors. The revised model explained 32% of variance in dental utilization; perceived need and two components of attitudes were among the eight significant variables. A follow-up of nonutilizers 6 months later revealed that 27.4% had subsequently sought dental care. The best predictors of the decision to seek care were attitudinal variables, accounting for 21% of the variance. Implications for planning dental services for low-income elderly, developing health education programs, and policies are discussed.
Kids Growing: Implementing School-Community Gardens in Ontario

Cultivating land surrounding schools provides opportunities for children and youth to experience growing, tasting and preparing fresh food. This creates openings for deeper understanding of environmental and social sustainability and can transform early learning. The literature supports evidence of a variety of social and educational benefits of school gardens. School gardens are recommended in policy frameworks but are not actually supported in practice in the province of Ontario, Canada. This paper reviews gaps between policy and practice. Using Social Cognitive Theory, this paper contributes to the discussion of benefits to students and to teachers, and barriers to implementation of school gardens. It is situated in wider discussions about food literacy and environmental literacy in school-based interventions. In the comparative case study, teachers in two schools discuss the benefits of school gardens and barriers relating to implementation. Teachers’ attitudes are compared with the literature. Teachers in one of the two schools have the assistance of a community-based nonprofit partner helping to create, maintain and support teaching in the school garden. Teacher attitudes towards policy and practice in each school are examined in a collaborative inquiry, with the researcher as participant through founding the community-based group. The paper concludes that school food gardens can be pivotal to the practice of a rich, multilayered and transformative pedagogy in the face of climate change, economic polarization and urbanization. If education for sustainability is to have more traction in Ontario, the means must be fostered by a more universal and intentional approach from a young age. School gardens
A national quality improvement effort: Cancer registry data

Cancer registries are sources of epidemiological, patterns‐of‐care, and outcome data for local, regional, state, and national studies of patients with cancer. Since 1976, these registries have formed a voluntary network of contributors to annual patient care studies under the aegis of the National Cancer Data Committee of the Commission on Cancer. These annual studies provide timely clinical information that is widely disseminated to physicians, allied health personnel, administrators, health care planners, and public and private agencies. The use of the data has grown exponentially and has been the basis for more than 90 publications. Merging this activity with the National Cancer Data Base has further expanded the demand and use of registry data. This study was undertaken to respond to inquiries as to the validity of the data and the qualifications and competency of cancer registrars. It provides the baseline for cancer registry data quality and serves as a quality management tool to identify opportunities to enhance data quality. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sleep quality and nocturnal hypoxaemia and hypercapnia in children and young adults with cystic fibrosis

Objectives The aim of the study was to evaluate sleep quality and nocturnal gas exchange in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and to assess if sleep quality and daytime lung function could predict nocturnal hypoxaemia or hypercapnia. Study design Daytime sleepiness and objective sleep quality were evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and actigraphy in 25 children and 55 young adults (mean age 24±10 years, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) 41±11% predicted). Nocturnal gas exchange was assessed by pulse oximetry (SpO2) and transcutaneous carbon dioxide (PtcCO2) recordings. Eleven patients underwent simultaneous polysomnography (PSG). Results PSQI was 6.3±3.4 with 51% of the patients having a score >5 corresponding to significant sleep complaints. On actigraphy, sleep efficiency was impaired at 79±11% with a fragmentation index at 41±18. Mean nocturnal SpO2 was 93±3% with 18% of the patients exhibiting >10% of night time spent with a value below 90%. Mean PtcCO2 was 44±6 mm Hg with 47% of the patients exhibiting >10% of night time with a value >45 mm Hg. Daytime arterial blood gases correlated with nocturnal gas exchange. FEV1 was the only lung function parameter that correlated with nocturnal SpO2 (p<0.01). Compared with PSG, SpO2 and PtcCO2 accurately identified rapid eye movement sleep hypoventilation. Conclusions Patients with CF exhibit poor sleep quality that does not predict nocturnal gas exchange. Nocturnal hypoxaemia and hypercapnia can be identified by simple tools.
Correlates of Externalizing Behavior Symptoms Among Youth Within Two Impoverished, Urban Communities

This study examines whether risk factors associated with child externalizing behavior symptoms differ between two similar low-income, urban communities, using baseline parent data of 154 African American youth (ages 9–15) participating in the Collaborative HIV-Prevention and Adolescent Mental Health Project (CHAMP) family program. Separate multiple regression analyses of each city sample indicated that greater child externalizing symptoms were associated with increasing parenting hassles for New York families (n = 46), but greater parent mental health symptoms for participants in Chicago (n = 108). Understanding such distinctions between communities is an important first step toward tailoring services to unique community needs.
Rate-Optimal Coding Design in Joint Transfer of Energy and Information

In this letter, performance optimization for information transfer in a binary and noiseless one-way information transmission system is investigated from the perspective of information source design (e.g., coding scheme) while considering the amount of energy that can be transferred. We propose a variable-length coding scheme and address two problems to optimize the information rate: (1) to determine a proper number of channel use (or maximal codeword length) while a fixed amount of energy is to be transferred; (2) to determine a proper amount of energy to be transferred while information is required to be transferred within a fixed number of channel use. The two problems are both formulated as integer fractional programming problems and the optimal solutions are derived with in-depth analysis. For both problems, numerical results show that the proposed variable-length coding scheme with the optimal amount of energy to be transferred or optimal number of channel use outperforms the coding strategy in an existing work.
Multiple risk factor clustering of hypertension in a screened cohort

Objective A family history of hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia have all been associated with the risk for hypertension. We evaluated whether the clustering of these risk factors increases the risk for hypertension or whether the accumulation of risk factors is associated with the blood pressure level in non-hypertensive subjects. Methods and subjects We assessed the clinical data and family history of hypertension (in parents and siblings) for 9914 individuals (6163 men and 3751 women, 18–89 years old) who were screened in Okinawa, Japan, in 1997. Results In 9914 subjects (2465 hypertensive and 7449 non-hypertensive subjects), all the five factors were positively associated with hypertension. The odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for the number of risk factors were 1.88 (1.62–2.18) for one risk factor, 3.06 (2.62–3.57) for two, 5.25 (4.37–6.30) for three, 8.71 (6.48–11.72) for four and 24.48 (8.49–70.56) for five, after adjusting for age, sex, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and physical exercise habits. In non-hypertensive subjects, multivariate regression analyses showed that the number of risks was positively correlated with blood pressure; the regression coefficient was 1.96 (P < 0.0001) for systolic blood pressure, and 1.47 (P < 0.0001) for diastolic blood pressure after adjusting for age and sex. Conclusions Clustering of risk factors was significantly associated with hypertension. The number of risk factors positively correlated with the blood pressure levels in nonhypertensive subjects. The accumulation of risk factors may play an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension, and thus the aggregation of risk factors may need to be addressed in primary prevention efforts related to hypertension.
Susceptibility of Seven Selected Tomato Cultivars to Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae): Implications for Its Management

Abstract Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a serious pest originating from South America that affects tomato production in many countries, particularly in Iran (since 2010). In this study, by using age-stage, two-sex life-table parameters, the resistance of seven tomato cultivars, namely, ‘Primo Early’, ‘Rio Grande’, ‘Cal JN3’, ‘Petomech’, ‘Early Urbana Y’, ‘Super 2270’, and ‘Super Strain B’ to T. absoluta, was evaluated under laboratory conditions (25 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L:D) h). Larval and pupal periods were longest on Early Urbana Y, 13.86 and 6.52 d, respectively, and shortest on Cal JN3, 10.92 and 5.5 d, respectively. The longest and shortest development times of immature stages lasted 26.42 and 20.83 d on Early Urbana Y and Cal JN3, respectively. Male and female adult longevity was longest on Early Urbana Y, 30.42 and 38.52 d, respectively, and shortest on Cal JN3, 11.67 and 18.8 d, respectively. The net reproductive rate (R0) ranged between 80.94 (Cal JN3) and 45.87 (Primo Early) offspring. The lowest and the highest values of the intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) were on Early Urbana Y and Cal JN3, 0.1052 and 0.1522 and 1.1109 and 1.1644 d–1, respectively. The mean generation time (T) on different cultivars varied from 30.47 to 37.28 d. Our results indicated that Cal JN3 was the most susceptible to infestation and Primo Early and Early Urbana Y were the most resistant to T. absoluta among the tomato cultivars tested.