Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender-specific comparison of five QT correction formulae in middle-aged participants in an atherosclerosis prevention program.

BACKGROUND Analysis of QT duration limited to a single heart rate correction formula might be problematic in cross-sectional studies. The aim of this study was to investigate five frequently used equations with respect to over- and under-correction of QT intervals in a middle-aged population without manifest atherosclerotic disease. MATERIAL/METHODS A total of 1199 individuals (851 males, 348 females, aged 39 to 66 years) of the SAPHIR study (Salzburg Atherosclerosis Prevention Program in Subjects at High Individual Risk) were investigated. Heart rate, RR, and QT intervals were measured automatically from resting ECGs with the 12SL ECG Analysis Program (GE Medical Systems). Five methods (Bazett, Fridericia, Framingham, Hodges, and Rautaharju) were used to correct the QT interval for heart rate. RESULTS Females had shorter RR intervals than males (963+/-141 vs. 1022+/-158 ms, p<0.0005), with longer QT (410+/-28 vs. 404+/-28 ms, p=0.003) and QTc intervals using all five formulae (p<0.0005). No significant differences were observed between the gender groups for the QTc/RR slopes regardless of the formula. The Bazett formula performed the worst and the Fridericia the best in terms of rate adjustment success (slope B=-0.001). The optimal alpha of the best-fit equation (QTc=QT/RRalpha) was calculated as 0.326 for males and 0.328 for females. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that automatic QT measurements can be used reliably in cardiovascular prevention programs, encouraging further investigation of their clinical value in risk stratification. From an epidemiological perspective, however, the selected QT correction formula applied to a specific population has to be evaluated for appropriateness.
Improved radio over fiber performance using predistortion linearization

This paper describes improvements to Radio Over Fiber photonic links obtained by increasing the linearity of Mach Zehnder modulators using predistortion. The work was conducted at the Ku and X-band satellite uplink frequencies with a 1550 nm laser, but should be applicable to any microwave or even millimeter frequency band and any externally modulated laser. Link performance was evaluated for 2-tone intermodulation distortion, noise power ratio (NPR) and WCDMA adjacent channel power. Intermodulation distortion was reduced by more than 15 dB, and more than a 6 dB increase in effective signal power was demonstrated for typical system requirements.
T Cells Cause Acute Immunopathology and Are Required for Long-Term Survival in Mouse Adenovirus Type 1-Induced Encephalomyelitis

ABSTRACT Infection of adult C57BL/6 (B6) mice with mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1) results in dose-dependent encephalomyelitis. Utilizing immunodeficient mice, we analyzed the roles of T cells, T-cell subsets, and T-cell-related functions in MAV-1-induced encephalomyelitis. T cells, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I, and perforin contributed to acute disease signs at 8 days postinfection (p.i.). Acute MAV-1-induced encephalomyelitis was absent in mice lacking T cells and in mice lacking perforin. Mice lacking α/β T cells had higher levels of infectious MAV-1 at 8 days, 21 days, and 12 weeks p.i. , and these mice succumbed to MAV-1-induced encephalomyelitis at 9 to 16 weeks p.i. Thus, α/β T cells were required for clearance of MAV-1. MAV-1 was cleared in mice lacking perforin, MHC class I or II, CD4+ T cells, or CD8+ T cells. Our results are consistent with a model in which either CD8+ or CD4+ T cells are sufficient for clearance of MAV-1. Furthermore, perforin contributed to MAV-1 disease but not viral clearance. We have established two critical roles for T cells in MAV-1-induced encephalomyelitis. T cells caused acute immunopathology and were required for long-term host survival of MAV-1 infection.
THAT WAS THEN BUT THIS IS NOW: MULTIFUNCTIONALITY IN INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE

Current agricultural negotiations in the World Trade Organization are grappling on how to fully integrate agriculture within the general rules for trade in goods. The notion of multifunctionality of agriculture has been suggested as a reason to justify special treatment for that sector, including the continuation of its protection and subsidization. Many developing countries are still analyzing whether the idea has something to offer them in terms of their negotiating positions and policy framework. While multifunctionality has been invoked for supporting agriculture in developed countries, a similar idea, although not called so at the time, was clearly behind support for industry in developing countries. Again in this case, the policy implication was that government intervention was required (through trade protection, subsidies, and other special policies) to develop an industrial base that contributed to society more than what market valuations alone would suggest. The debate on industrialization in developing countries was part of a broader discussion regarding nation-building, economic development, and social modernization. The current arguments around multifunctionality are similarly embedded in a larger economic, political and social matrix. This paper, although it does not present a full account of either debate, discusses some of the intriguing parallelisms in their theoretical frameworks, policy implications and economic and social impacts. The main objective is to clarify current policy issues for the agricultural sector in developing countries, highlighting possible consequences for the negotiating position of developing countries in the WTO process. * Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla is a Senior Research Fellow at the Trade and Macroeconomic Division, IFPRI. Jonathan Tin was a Research Assistant at IFPRI. The authors thank very helpful comments by Channing Arndt, Sherman Robinson, and Marcelle Thomas, who of course are not responsible for remaining errors.
Timing and Competition in Networks Representing Ambiguous Figures

The duration of perception for eye rivalry and the Necker cube was obtained during continuous presentation of the stimuli. The frequency histograms support the idea of continuous competition between the neural representations of both percepts. They also suggest that when a percept is installed there is a relative refractoriness for changing the percept that is modeled by a sigmoid equation. This refractoriness lasts a few seconds. The duration of the perceptions was modified by the instruction to the subjects. Results are discussed in terms of a simple competition model, a temporal segmentation hypothesis, and the possible top-down influences. These are considered useful mechanisms for selecting relevant information in a serial processor and for maintaining perception, cognitive evaluation, and action of a given context in the same time epoch.
Frequent attenders in a Finnish health centre: morbidity and reasons for encounter.

OBJECTIVE To describe the proportion of frequent attenders among primary health care patients and their sociodemographic characteristics, morbidity and reasons for encounter. DESIGN A cross-sectional case-control study. SETTING A municipal health centre in Oulainen, a small rural town in northern Finland. PARTICIPANTS Three hundred and four frequent attenders (eight or more visits to health centre physicians (GPs) during the year 1994) and 304 age- and sex-matched controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Sociodemographic characteristics, numbers of encounters, chronic diseases classified by ICD-9 and reasons for encounter coded by the International Classification of Primary Care chapter codes (ICPC). RESULTS 4.7% of the population aged 15 years or older and 6.8% of the annual patients were frequent attenders and they made 23.5% of all encounters with GPs. The frequent attenders had lower basic education and there were more people on disability pension among them. They had significantly more mental disorders and diseases of the musculoskeletal and digestive systems than the controls. The frequent attenders' most common reasons for encounter were musculoskeletal problems, and they had significantly more musculoskeletal, digestive system and psychiatric reasons for encounters than the controls. CONCLUSIONS Frequent attenders express more somatic and less psychiatric reasons for encounter than can be assumed according to their morbidity. The role of somatization is discussed.
Intercombination transitions in Be-like ions.

Probabilities of intercombination transitions 2${\mathit{s}}^{2}$ $^{1}$${\mathit{S}}_{0}$\char21{}2s2p $^{3}$${\mathit{P}}_{1}$, 2s3p $^{3}$${\mathit{P}}_{1}$ for Be-like ions are calculated along the isoelectronic sequence for a large range of Z with the 1/Z expansion method. Results agree well with experimental data, including the recent ones. A comparison is also made with other theoretical calculations.
Fuzzy Approach to Statistical Control Charts

After investigating the advantages and disadvantages of current methods of statistical process control, it becomes important to overcome the disadvantages and then use the advantages to improve a method for monitoring a process with categorical observations. An approach which considers uncertainty and vagueness is tried for this study; and for this purpose, fuzzy set theory is inevitable to use. So, a new approach based on fuzzy set theory is introduced in this research for monitoring attribute quality characteristics. This approach is then compared with the current related approach to see the difference in performance.
Predictive testing of metalworking fluids: a comparison of 2 cumulative human irritation models and correlation with epidemiological data

Metalworking fluids (MWF) have been reported as being an important cause of irritant contact dermatitis in metal workers. Our purpose was to determine whether the irritancy of different MWF assessed by 2 different types of predictive human in vivo tests could be compared with epidemiological data, 3 water‐based MWF were tested in the same panel of subjects. Reactions were assessed by a visual score (VS), evaporimetry to evaluate the transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and chromametry to quantify erythema. Test 1: MWF were applied with Finn Chambers on the volunteers' mid‐back, removed after 1 day of exposure, and reapplied for a further 2 days Test 2: Cumulative irritant contact dermatitis was induced using a repetitive irritation test for 2 weeks (omitting weekends) for 6 h per day. We observed an increase in VS, TEWL, and erythema for all MWF, with the same irritancy ranking in both test models. Differentiation of the substances was better in the D1/D3 test. The experimental results partially correlated with the epidemiological data, Considering the shorter application time and the better discrimination of irritancy, we prefer the D1/D3 model as a predictive test of MWF irritancy. Our results might aid development of a Standardized test to reduce cumulative skin irritation in metal workers.
Behavior and predictability of securitized real estate returns

Consisting of three essays, the dissertation is motivated by some existing gaps in the financial real estate literature. First, we exploit the fact that no research has used the well documented hybrid nature of real estate securities to forecast its returns. Second, we propose the first 'true' comparison of the predictability of securitized real estate and stock returns, as we argue that the previous comparisons done in the literature are biased. Third, we examine the long-run dynamics that govern the relationships between securitized real estate and the three models most commonly used to explain and forecast its returns. Our main findings suggest that the hybrid nature of real estate securities can be used to predict its returns, that securitized real estate returns are more predictable than stock returns in countries with well established REIT regimes, and that securitized real estate is fractionally cointegrated with both macroeconomic variables and the hybrid factors.
Kienböck’s Disease; the Length of Capitate and Third Metacarpal Bones

Background: The relationship between negative ulnar variance and Kienbock disease is unknown and does not justify all of the cases. The present study planed the hypothesis that maybe the pressure from distal structures to the lunate bone plays a role in the etiology. Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the possibility of a relationship between an increased length of the third metacarpal and the capitate with Kienbock disease. Methods: The study compared the wrist posteroanterior (PA) X-ray images of 105 healthy individuals with those of 91 patients with Kienbock disease. Meticulous measurement criteria were defined in the present study to measure the third metacarpal and the capitate lengths. These lengths along with ulnar variance were measured on each X-ray. The Lichtman classification was used for staging. A new index, named capitate-index, was defined due to the linear relationship between the capitate and the third metacarpal lengths. Results: Comparing the two groups, no meaningful difference was observed between the capitate and third metacarpal bone lengths in patients and the control group. Also, there was no significant difference in the capitate-index (capitate length/3rd metacarpal length) between the groups. Furthermore, no differences were observed comparing the patients with ulnar variance 0 and patients with ulnar variance < 0 to the control group regarding the above parameters. The only significant difference was a higher negative ulnar variance among the patients with Kienbock disease. Conclusions: Based on the above-mentioned findings, the existence of a relationship between the third metacarpal and the capitate lengths and the Kienbock disease is unlikely.
Renal failure and abdominal hypertension after liver transplantation: Determination of critical intra‐abdominal pressure

There is growing interest in measuring intra‐abdominal pressure (IAP) in postsurgical and critically ill patients because increased pressure can impair various organs and functions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different IAP levels on the postoperative renal function of subjects undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation. IAP was measured every 8 hours with the urinary bladder pressure method for at least 72 hours after surgery. At the end of the study, the patients were classified on the basis of their IAP values: ≤ 18 mm Hg (group A), 19 to 24 mm Hg (group B), ≥ 25 mm Hg (group C). The three groups were compared in terms of the incidence of acute renal failure (defined as blood creatinine > 1.5 mg/dL or an increase in the same of > 1.1 mg/dL within 72 hours of surgery), hourly diuresis, blood creatinine, the filtration gradient, hemodynamic variations, and outcome. The incidence of renal failure was higher among the subjects in group C (P < .05 versus group A and < .01 versus group B), who also had higher creatinine levels (P < .01), a greater need for diuretics (P < .01) and a worse outcome (P < .05). Receiver Operator Characteristic curve analysis showed that an abdominal pressure of 25 mm Hg had the best sensitivity/specificity ratio for renal failure. An intra‐abdominal pressure of ≥ 25 mm Hg is an important risk factor for renal failure in subjects undergoing liver transplant.
Development of a novel endoscopic manipulation system: the Endoscopic Operation Robot ver.3

Background and aims: The next generation of flexible endoscopy platforms such as The Master and Slave Transluminal Endoscopic Robot (MASTER) is primarily for remote control manipulation of forceps, but manipulation of the flexible endoscope itself still depends on conventional techniques. We have developed the Endoscopic Operation Robot (EOR) ver.3, which incorporates haptic feedback to provide complete remote control flexible-endoscope manipulation. The present study aimed to evaluate the performance of the EOR ver.3. Method: A colonoscopy training model was used with scope insertion to the cecum. Force during insertion and insertion time (seconds) to the cecum were evaluated. The data were compared by colon zone and experience level (trainee or expert). Results: The mean insertion time into the cecum was 118.54 ± 89.42 seconds. Stronger force and torque were required for deeper insertion of the scope. Expert and trainee endoscopists differed in the insertion time to the cecum, maximum counterclockwise torque, mean clockwise torque, and mean counterclockwise torque. Conclusion: The EOR ver.3 has operability with which endoscopists can easily familiarize themselves.
Risk factor analysis across business segments in the US equity market

This report examines whether the excess total return to shareholders could be projected by common accounting and market ratios using regression analysis. Our four most important results indicate that; 1) growth stocks outperformed value stocks from 2002 to 2011, 2) size premium of small stocks was valid before the financial crisis in 2008, 3) companies are penalized by having relatively high cash reserves, and, 4) companies with high degree of leverage do not yield a risk premium in normal financial times, but are instead more influenced by such risks in financial recessions. We also show that differences between industry segments are present, and that some ratios could be more predictive when investigating separate segments. Finally, an investment strategy is constructed based on the result of our analysis. We showed that a positive risk-reward return could be earned by using only public information and the preceding year’s cross-sectional regression estimates.
S2F: Discover Hard-to-Reach Vulnerabilities by Semi-Symbolic Fuzz Testing

Fuzz testing is a popular program testing technique. However, it is difficult to find hard-to-reach vulnerabilities that are nested with complex branches. In this paper, we propose semi-symbolic fuzz testing to discover hard-to-reach vulnerabilities. Our method groups inputs into high frequency and low frequency ones. Then symbolic execution is utilized to solve only uncovered branches to mitigate the path explosion problem. Especially, in order to play the advantages of fuzz testing, our method locates critical branch for each low frequency input and corrects the generated test cases to comfort the branch condition. We also implemented a prototype|S2F, and the experimental results show that S2F can gain 17.70% coverage performance and discover more hard-to-reach vulnerabilities than other vulnerability detection tools for our benchmark.
Can we predict podiatric medical school grade point average using an admission screen?

BACKGROUND Most medical school admission committees use cognitive and noncognitive measures to inform their final admission decisions. We evaluated using admission data to predict academic success for podiatric medical students using first-semester grade point average (GPA) and cumulative GPA at graduation as outcome measures. METHODS In this study, we used linear multiple regression to examine the predictive power of an admission screen. A cross-validation technique was used to assess how the results of the regression model would generalize to an independent data set. RESULTS Undergraduate GPA and Medical College Admission Test score accounted for only 22% of the variance in cumulative GPA at graduation. Undergraduate GPA, Medical College Admission Test score, and a time trend variable accounted for only 24% of the variance in first-semester GPA. CONCLUSIONS Seventy-five percent of the individual variation in cumulative GPA at graduation and first-semester GPA remains unaccounted for by admission screens that rely on only cognitive measures, such as undergraduate GPA and Medical College Admission Test score. A reevaluation of admission screens is warranted, and medical educators should consider broadening the criteria used to select the podiatric physicians of the future.
The Governance of Canadian Traded Firms: An Analysis of the Ultimate Ownership Structure

We examine the ownership structure of 1121 Canadian listed firms. We analyze their direct and ultimate ownership and control, and other corporate features. We contrast our findings to those reported in recent research for East Asian and Western European firms. We find that ownership and control are relatively concentrated in Canada. The separation of control from ownership is pronounced in Canada. To shed more light on the "puzzling" Canadian corporate governance, we contrast the governance features of firms headquartered in Quebec (QUBFs) against those of firms in the rest of Canada (ROCFs). We find that QUBFs display more ownership and control concentration, more pronounced family and government control, and more pronounced use of pyramidal and multiple class shares than ROCFs. Yet, no distinguishable differences are reported with respect to the deviation between control and ownership.
Performance of 181 chemicals in a Drosophila assay predominantly monitoring interchromosomal mitotic recombination.

An evaluation is presented of the effects of 181 chemicals in the (white/white+) (w/w+) eye mosaic assay, an in vivo short-term test measuring genetic damage in somatic cells of Drosophila after treatment of larvae. The genetic principle of this system is loss of heterozygosity for the wild-type reporter gene w+, an event predominantly resulting from homologous interchromosomal mitotic recombination between the two X chromosomes of female genotypes. The w/w+ eye mosaic test detects a broad spectrum of DNA modifications, since all distinct classes of genotoxins are monitored. Non-DNA-reactive chemicals are in principle not detected by this system. Occasional positive responses obtained for chemicals such as amitrole, ethionine and hexachloeroethane are probably not related to the mechanism responsible for their tumorigenicity. The principle outcome of this analysis is the necessity for classification of responses into three categories. (i) Positive, '++'. The 92 chemicals (Tables II and III) falling into this category were clearly recombinagenic in the assay, meaning that dose-response relations were obtained (or could have been established as was evident from the strong responses obtained at one or two exposure doses). Among the 92 chemicals were 49 promutagens including volatile chemicals such as vinyl bromide and vinyl chloride. (ii) Marginally positive, '+w'. The definition of a weakly positive response is the absence of a dose-response relationship due to the fact that a weak but reproducible effect, in most cases no more than a doubling of the spontaneous clone frequency, is inherently related to toxicity. The 40 chemicals (Tables IV and V) belonging to this category mainly represented four distinct types. (a) Procarcinogens, such as 2-acetylaminofluorene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, p-dimethylaminoazobenzene, 2-naphthylamine and safrole, for which metabolic conversion was the apparent problem in the assay. (b) Electrophilic chemicals of high nucleophilic selectivity: acrolein, acrylamide, acrylonitrile, epichlorohydrin, chloroethylisocyanate, 1,2-epoxybutane, N-methyl-n-vinylacetamide, methyl vinylketone, 2-methyl-2-vinyloxirane and methyl vinylsulfone. These chemicals have a relatively low DNA reactivity. Chloroethylisocyanate was active only in the absence of excision repair, suggesting that efficient DNA repair is the cause for the weak genotoxic effectiveness of these genotoxins. (c) Spindle poisons (Table V) were active at rather low but toxic exposure levels. Irregularities in the structure of ommatidia were seen at dose levels producing no more than 2- to 3-fold increases in clone frequencies. (d) The fourth group consisted of chemicals generally regarded as non-genotoxic carcinogens: amitrole, ethionine, ethylurea, tetrachloroethylene and thiourea. Their weak responses were always accompanied by signs of toxicity. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)