Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Health Care Access, Risky Health Behaviors, and Self-Assessed Health

The goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to achieve nearly universal health insurance coverage through a combination of mandates, subsidies, marketplaces, and Medicaid expansions, most of which took effect in 2014. We use data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to examine the impacts of the ACA on health care access, risky health behaviors, and self-assessed health after two years. We estimate difference-in-difference-in-differences models that exploit variation in treatment intensity from state participation in the Medicaid expansion and pre-ACA uninsured rates. Results suggest that the ACA led to sizeable improvements in access to health care in both Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states, with the gains being larger in expansion states along some dimensions. No statistically significant effects on risky behaviors or self-assessed health emerge for the full sample. However, we find some evidence that the ACA improved self-assessed health among older non-elderly adults, particularly in expansion states.
Tradable development rights under uncertainty: an experimental approach

ABSTRACT Tradable development rights (TDR) are discussed as a mechanism to reduce land consumption while ensuring an efficient implementation of profitable building projects. We present a novel laboratory experiment on the feasibility of TDR and simulate the acquisition and trading of development rights. In particular, we investigate the effects of uncertainty in the revenues of land consumption projects. Overall, we find that TDR are reallocated as suggested by theory, although higher uncertainty has substantial detrimental effects on the distribution of land consumption projects and thus aggregate welfare. This enables us to formulate distinct policy implications for the design of TDR systems.
A possible protective role of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and sickle haemoglobin genes against severe malaria in Madonna University, Elele Community

The high frequency of the enzymopathy, glucose-6-pho sphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency and haemoglobinopathy, sickle cell haemoglobin (HbS) in malaria endemic regions is believed to be due to a heterozygous advantage against severe malaria. How ever, data to prospectively confirm the selective protection in different regions are lacking. In thi s study, the frequency of these genetic defects, th eir extent of interaction and contribution to severe ma laria protection was investigated in Madonna University community. The methaemoglobin method was used to determine the G6PD status while haemoglobin genotype was determined using cellulose acetate paper electrophoresis with Tris-EDTA- borate buffer (pH 8.9)
Improving Expert Decision Making Processes on High Impact Low Probability Events

Decision-making for system design in the context of high-impact low probability events is challenging because individual cognitive biases tend to neglect extreme probabilities, with potentially catastrophic consequences. In this study, we aim to determine the circumstances under which decision-makers facing such events should rely on categorical, rather than precise, representations of risk. Our novel contribution is to test a strategy suggested by Fuzzy Trace Theory [1], which argues that risk-avoidance associated with categorical risk perception (e.g., “some risk” vs. “no risk”) may actually lead to better outcomes when compared to decisions based on precise (and potentially biased) interval-level representations of risk. We compare the results of computational models in which decision makers use these paradigms to react to high-impact low probability events. Our results elucidate the circumstances under which deviations from classical rationality may lead to better outcomes for design. Keywords— Decision Making; Fuzzy Trace Theory; Expert Judgment; High Impact Low Probability Events; Cognitive Bias
Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates from Wound Infections in a Tertiary Care Centre in South Kerala, India

Multiple antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations is a pervasive and growing clinical problem, which is recognized as a threat to public health. Drug resistance to Pseudomonas sp. has spread to such a level irrespective of the type of patients, that, its pattern of distribution and antibiotic resistance needs to be studied in detail, especially in trauma patients. Of the Gram negative bacilli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been of particular interest, the incidence of which in wound infection has increased compared to a decade back. The objective of this study was to know the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from wound infections. Out of the total of 1404 cases from which pus samples collected, 204 (14.5%) yielded Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates. Among the antibiotics tested, Imipenem was the most sensitive drug, showing susceptibility in 81.3% of the isolates, followed by Piperacillin + tazobactam (76.4%), Meropenem (70.5%) and Piperacillin (67.6%). Fifteen (7.4%) multidrug resistant strains were reported out of the 204 isolations. Increase in resistance to aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones in this study, prompted evaluation of antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Pseudomonas isolates from clinical samples at regular intervals.
Certainty as a moderator of feedback reactions? A test of the strength of the self-verification motive

The present study investigated whether employees are merely interested in hearing good news about themselves, as predicted by self-enhancement theory, or are more interested in feedback that confirms their self-concept, as predicted by self-verification theory. We examined in a field study whether self-view certainty serves as a moderator and strengthens the effect of congruence between individuals' self-views and the performance feedback they receive about these self-views on feedback reactions. Polynomial regression results revealed that people mainly reacted favourably to positive feedback. Prior self-views did not play a key role in explaining feedback reactions. As feedback scores were the main determinant of feedback reactions, it seems that feedback reactions are dominated by self-enhancement strivings and that self-verification strivings are less prominent. Little support was found for the moderating role of self-view certainty.
Diallel analysis and inbreeding depression of hybrid forage corn for agronomic traits and chemical quality

This study aimed to estimate the combining ability and inbreeding depression of corn hybrids for agronomic traits and forage quality. Nine corn hybrids, 36 F1 combinations from a diallel, 9 S1 populations and two checks were evaluated in two experiments in a randomized complete block design with three replications, in the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 growing seasons. The parents Impacto, CD304 and DKB390 are recommended to form a composite to be subjected to a recurrent selection program aiming to improve forage production. Crosses between Impacto and parents DKB390, P30P34 and P30B39 are promising to increase forage quality by reducing the fiber content and also by increasing the protein content, being recommended for extracting inbred lines and interpopulation improvement. High inbreeding depression for grain yield was detected, indicating that non-additive effects contributed to the inheritance of the trait.
Particle sorting in microfluidic systems

Continuous particle sorting is one of the most important microfluidic applications. Fast and accurate sorting procedures can be performed using unique characteristics of microfluidics. Beside hydrodynamic means, provided by the flow itself, the application of an external field also contributes to sorting efficiency. Particle sorting has been realized in many effective ways. This paper systematically gives an overview on techniques used for particle sorting in microfluidics. The basic theories and fluid mechanics are presented for each approach. The implementation of the various sorting devices is discussed with their working mechanism, design and performance. Typical results from these applications are also presented. Based on the guidance from the existing technology, perspectives for future works are provided.
The Effect of Prostaglandin Analogues on Central Corneal Thickness

Citation: Uzunel UD (2018) The Effect of Prostaglandin Analogues on Central Corneal Thickness. Int J Ophthalmol Clin Res 5:084. doi.org/10.23937/2378-346X/1410084 Received: July 31, 2017: Accepted: March 29, 2018: Published: March 31, 2018 Copyright: © 2018 Uzunel UD. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. ISSN: 2378-346X
Layering in a Flow with Diffusively Stable Temperature and Salinity Stratification

Abstract Laboratory experiments were conducted to study the formation of layers and interfaces in a fluid stratified with two scalars. Fluid with initially linear, diffusively stable temperature and salinity profiles was stirred using an arrangement of horizontally oscillating, vertical rods. Layers occurred when the density ratio, or the ratio of the contributions of temperature and salinity to the density gradient, was small, but they did not form in similar conditions of turbulence intensity and stratification strength when the density ratio was large. The difference in behavior is ascribed to differential diffusion, or the preferential transport of temperature, which occurred in all of the experiments. Eddy diffusivities were linearly proportional to ea/νN 2, where ea is an averaged rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy. The mixing efficiency, computed as the ratio of potential energy change to work input to the system, increased with the density ratio. As previous researchers have found, th.
Climate Cycles Drive Aquatic Ecologic Changes in the Fort McMurray Region of Northern Alberta , Canada

Understanding ecologic response to climate cycles will aid in defining current and future ecological changes associated with climate change and allow for a differentiation between climate-driven versus anthropogenic driven environmental stresses. The paleoecological record from a northern Canadian lake located 40 km east of the Athabasca Oil Sands operation records a benthic stress-induced ecological response to climate cycles such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Arcellacea (testate lobose amoebae) preserved in a freeze core obtained from “ALE”, an upland lake in Northeastern Alberta, Canada, were used to reconstruct climate and associated benthic response since 1875 A.D. ALE is situated in a boreal wetland environment where inorganic sediment delivery is overwhelmingly dominated by surface overland flow transport during spring melt. Arcellacea are benthic protists that are excellent indicators of aquatic ecology. Relationships between arcellacean family groupings which represent either healthy or stressed environmental conditions were compared to instrumental climate indices. Modeling using wavelet analysis identified strong ENSO cycles in all arcellacean proxies and weaker PDO cycles in only the healthy ecosystem indicator. The ENSO phenomenon in the tropical Pacific Ocean drives the largest interannual variation in climate across western Canada, and in the study region has been associated with fluctuations in winter precipitation and temperature. The healthy ecosystem indicators decreased in response to positive El Niño and PDO conditions, which are characteristic of decreased precipitation and therefore nutrient input to boreal lakes. The relationship between arcellaceans and climate anomalies shows that climate driven variations in nutrient input influence boreal aquatic ecology. The link between aquatic ecology and climate has significant implications on oil sands risk assessment and the determination of reclamation endpoints.
Memory that never forgets: emerging nonvolatile memory and the implication for architecture design

1Center for Energy-Efficient Computing and Applications, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; 2Department of Computer Engineering, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA; 3Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA 94085, USA; 4Hewlett Packard Lab, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA and 5Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
Kinetically Self-Limiting Growth of Ge Islands on Si(001)

The evolution of the size and shape of individual h105j faceted Ge islands on Si(001) is measured with a high temperature scanning tunneling microscope during growth. A slower growth rate is obse when an island grows to larger sizes. This behavior can be explained by kinetically self-limit growth. A kinetic growth model involving a nucleation barrier for each repeated growth of a ne atomic layer on theh105j facets agrees with the experimental results for the evolution of the islan volume. The experimentally observed shape transition from nearly square shaped islands to elon islands is described by the kinetic growth model. [S0031-9007(99)08803-1]
EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF SKULL DEFLECTION ON BRAIN TISSUE RESPONSE USING FINITE ELEMENT SIMULATION

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) remain a large public health concern, with an estimated 2.8 million people in the United States alone sustaining a TBI annually, of whom 56,000 die. Despite the development of finite element (FE) models of the head, the implications of skull deflection on the risk of brain injury in blunt trauma is not well understood. There is currently a lack of injury metrics which quantify skull deflection; therefore, the objective of this study was to replicate experimental head impacts using the head from the Global Human Body Models Consortium 50th percentile male occupant model (GHBMC M50-O v4.5), develop a skull deflection injury metric, and evaluate the relationship between the skull deflection and tissue -based brain strain. Three experimental test series were replicated using simulation techniques (Allsop, 1991; Cormier, 2011; Yoganandan, 1995). During each simulation, every brain element’s strain tensors were output at 0.1 ms intervals. Similarly, the inner skull surface nodal displacements with respect to the head center of gravity were output at 0.1 ms intervals. The brain elements were then grouped based on proximity to the impact site to define coup and contre -coup regions of interest (ROIs). A maximum skull deflection metric was developed for skull deflection characterization. Correlations between the skull deflection injury metric and coup ROI elemental strain measures were evaluated. Differences in the distribution of coup and contre -coup strain within single impacts were evaluated. Nine experimental tests were simulated in this study. Input kinetic energy, impactor geometry, bounda ry conditions, and impact location from the respective experimental test were replicated in each simulation. Skull deflection ranged from 1.24-4.98 mm. 95th percentile coup and contre-coup maximum principal strains ranged from 0.02-0.08 and 0.008-0.048, respectively. Coup strain was positively correlated to the skull deformation metric. There were statistically significant differences between coup and contre-coup 95th percentile maximum principal strain. Replicating cadaveric testing of heads allows for more in depth analysis into brain injury metrics that are unable to be studied from PMHS alone. Specifically, shape profiles of inner skull deformation were able to be characterized and compared to brain tissue response. A positive linear relationship was found between the skull deformation metrics and underlying brain strain, which is the likely source for focal brain injury. Thus, the skull deformation metric developed in this study will lead to a better understanding of the mechanistic relationship between skull deformation and head injury.
How much does simplification of probability forecasts reduce forecast quality?

Probability forecasts from an ensemble are often discretized into a small set of categories before being distributed to the users. This study investigates how such simplification can affect the forecast quality of probabilistic predictions as measured by the Brier score (BS). An example from the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational seasonal ensemble forecast system is used to show that the simplification of the forecast probabilities reduces the Brier skill score (BSS) by as much as 57% with respect to the skill score obtained with the full set of probabilities issued from the ensemble. This is more obvious for a small number of probability categories and is mainly due to a decrease in forecast resolution of up to 36%. The impact of the simplification as a function of the ensemble size is also discussed. The results suggest that forecast quality should be made available for the set of probabilities that the forecast user has access to as well as for the complete set of probabilities issued by the ensemble forecasting system. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society
Our study sought to screen the Meitei population of Manipur to gain baseline data on the frequency distribution of the 677 T allele for such clinically important gene polymorphism

Salam Kabita, PhD; Huidrom Suraj Singh, MSc; Dhanaraj Singh Chongtham, DM; Kallur Nava Saraswathy, PhD Background: The enzyme MTHFR catalyses the irreversible conversion of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, which serves as a methyl donor in the reaction converting homocysteine to methionine. Mutation at MTHFR gene (C677T) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of common complex diseases such as thrombosis, hypertension, stroke, myocardial infarction, and recurrent pregnancy loss across world populations.
Variant root morphology of third mandibular molar in normal and impacted teeth

The mandibular third molar poses a challenge to dental surgeons due to it’s unpredictable morphology which leads to increased difficulty during its extraction. The root morphology of the third molar is considered to be the most variable in the human dentition. The study aims to document these variations which will be useful while undertaking procedures on the third molar. Three hundred and fifty nine panoramic views of the mandible were obtained from the Radiology division for patients seeking treatment in the School of Dental Sciences since 2010. The prevalence of third molar impaction was found to be 27%, with mesioangular being the commonest at 21.9% using the Winter’s classification. Dilacerations of roots was recorded at 44%, with a ratio of normal to dilacerated of 1:1 seen in impacted teeth while, non impacted teeth had a ratio of 1.3:1. Most teeth had 2 roots (85.5%), with one root seen in 12.1%. Partially fused roots was also observed in 2.4% of cases with only one case showing three roots. The total mean distance from the tips of roots to the mandibular canal was -0.5mm. Higher negative means of -1.5mm was recorded in impacted teeth than in normal teeth (-0.2mm). Teeth with dilacerated roots also showed closer proximity to mandibular canal than straight rooted teeth. The left side of the jaw also showed higher negative means. Present findings suggest that careful considerations should be made on impacted teeth. In addition to the type of impaction, proximity to the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN), number of roots and shape of the roots should be assessed. Similar considerations should also be made to non impacted teeth due to the high unpredictability observed in root morphology. Keywords: Third molar, root morphology, impaction
Spatio-Temporal Modelling of the p53–mdm2 Oscillatory System

In this paper we investigate the role of spatial effects in determining the dynamics of a subclass of signalling pathways characterised by their ability to demonstrate oscillatory behaviour. To this end, we formulate a simple spatial model of the p53 network that accounts for both a neg- ative feedback and a transcriptional delay. We show that the formation of protein density patterns can depend on the shape of the cell, position of the nucleus, and the protein diffusion rates. The temporal changes in the total amounts of protein are also subject to spatial influences. The level of DNA damage required to induce sustained oscillations, for instance, depends on the morphology of the cell. The model also provides a new interpretation of experimentally observed undamped oscillations in p53 levels in single cells. Our simulations reveal that alternate sequences of high- and low-amplitude oscillations can occur. We propose that the digital pulses may correspond to snap-shots of our high-amplitude sequences. Shorter waiting-times between subsequent time-lapse fluorescence microscopy images in combination with lower detection thresholds may reveal the ir- regular high-frequency oscillations suggested by our spatial model.
Overcoming maladaptive plasticity through plastic compensation

Most species evolve within fluctuating environments, and have developed adaptations to meet the challenges posed by environmental heterogeneity. One such adaptation is phenotypic plasticity, or the ability of a single genotype to produce multiple environmentally-induced phenotypes. Yet, not all plasticity is adaptive. Despite the renewed interest in adaptive phenotypic plas- ticity and its consequences for evolution, much less is known about maladaptive plasticity. However, maladaptive plasticity is likely an important driver of phenotypic similarity among populations living in different environments. This paper traces four strategies for overcoming maladaptive plasticity that result in phenotypic similarity, two of which involve genetic changes (standing genetic variation, genetic compensation) and two of which do not (standing epigenetic variation, plastic compensation). Plastic compensation is defined as adaptive plasticity overcoming maladaptive plasticity. In particular, plastic compensation may increase the likelihood of genetic compensation by facilitating population persistence. We provide key terms to disentangle these aspects of phenotypic plasticity and introduce examples to reinforce the potential importance of plastic compensation for under- standing evolutionary change (Current Zoology 59 (4): 526-536, 2013).
Calibration and Evaluation of an X-Ray Fluorescence Method for the Determination of Lead and Arsenic in Soils

A portable X-ray fluorescence method is described for the measurement of lead and arsenic in soils based on calibration with standard reference materials. Both elements exhibited good linear calibration curves. The method was used to analyze dried and ground soil samples obtained from the metropolitan New York City area. Results were compared to measurements obtained by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry with microwave assisted acid leaching. No significant difference was found for lead measurements between the two methods however, arsenic values were significantly different with XRF exhibiting higher values. It is hypothesized that incomplete leaching and spectral interference are the predominant causes of this discrepancy. The XRF method provides a simple, quick, and nondestructive method for the determination of total lead and arsenic content in soils.