Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and safety of metformin or oral contraceptives, or both in polycystic ovary syndrome

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrinopathy that affects approximately 10% of reproductive-aged women throughout their lives. Women with PCOS present with heterogeneous symptoms including ovulatory dysfunction, hyperandrogenism, and polycystic ovaries. Therefore, lifelong individualized management should be considered. Pharmacological agents commonly used to manage the symptoms are metformin and oral contraceptive pills. Although these medications have been beneficial in treating PCOS symptoms, their efficacy and safety are still not entirely elucidated. This study aimed to report the efficacy and safety of metformin, oral contraceptives, or their combination in the treatment of PCOS and to define their specific individual roles. Methods: A literature search of original studies published in PubMed and Scopus was conducted to identify studies comparing metformin with oral contraceptives or evaluating the combination of both in PCOS. Results: Eight clinical trials involving 313 patients were examined in the review. The inter-vention dosage of metformin ranged from 1,000 to 2,000 mg/d and that of oral contraceptives was ethinylestradiol 35 µ g and cyproterone acetate 2 mg. Lower body mass index was observed with regimens including metformin, but increased body mass index was observed in monotherapy with oral contraceptives. Administration of metformin or oral contraceptives, especially as monotherapy, had a negative effect on lipid profiles. In addition, there are still uncertainties surrounding the effects of metformin or oral contraceptives in the management of insulin level, although they improved total testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin levels. In the included studies, significant side effects due to metformin or oral contraceptives were not reported. Conclusion: The clinical trials suggest that metformin or oral contraceptives are at least patient convenient, efficacious, and safe for the treatment of PCOS. However, well-designed, prospective, long-term, large-scale, randomized clinical trials are necessary to elucidate the efficacy and safety of metformin, oral contraceptives, or both in the treatment of PCOS, and to elucidate their individual roles in the treatment of this condition.
How value and trust influence loyalty in wireless telecommunications industry

Despite making significant investments in enhancing the customer service experience, long-term customer loyalty remains an elusive dream for many service providers. Particularly in the telecommunications industry, switching providers even from within continuous contract relationships is easy and companies struggle to retain their customers. Trust and value are considered cornerstones of long-term relationships, so it is perhaps surprising that previous research on how relationship age and usage level actually affect value, trust and loyalty is inconclusive. The current research is set in the telecommunications services field and draws on a large-scale survey undertaken in Finland. The findings support the contention that perceived value relates positively to loyalty, and that trust mediates that relationship. Surprisingly, in the telecommunications industry, increasing relationship age and usage level strengthen neither value and loyalty nor the links between trust and loyalty. The results may be explained by the unique characteristics of the highly competitive mobile telecommunications sector, and confirm the view that “loyalty does not pay” without strategies that value long-term customers and thereby build trust with new customers.
Validation of an Arabic translation of the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale

BACKGROUND Depression is a common condition in primary care medicine in all population groups. We wanted to validate an Arabic translation Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale for Arabic speakers as it has been validated in a number of other languages. METHODS The hospital translation service translated the English version into Arabic, which was verified by back translation. This version was tested in a pilot study with 40 bilingual Arabic-English clinicians and Arabic linguistic experts. Revised questions were subjected to another translation-back translation and the final version tested in a clinical trial with 240 consenting bilingual English-Arabic speakers. The subjects were randomly assigned to answer either the English or Arabic version of the Zung questionnaire first, ensuring that subjects had no access to previous answers when answering the questionnaire in the other language. The scores obtained were tested for agreement using the kappa statistic. RESULTS We found substantial agreement between the scores obtained from the two questionnaires. The kappa measurement of agreement was 0.652 (95% confidence interval, 0.571–0.732) CONCLUSION We believe the Arabic translation of the English Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale is valid and reliable, and will be useful to practitioners who would like to use this tool in Arabic-speaking patients.
Al2O3/HfO2 Multilayer High‐k Dielectric Stacks for Charge Trapping Flash Memories

Dielectric and electrical properties of Al2O3/HfO2 multilayer stacks deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) in dependence on the thickness of Al2О3 and HfO2 layers and the post‐deposition annealing (PDA) in different ambient (O2, N2, air) are investigated in terms of their application as trapping layers in emerging charge‐trapping non‐volatile flash memories. Differentiation is made between different processes giving rise to hysteresis effects: trapping of electrons and holes under positive and negative gate bias, respectively (as useful processes which define the memory window), and the generation of positive charge under high electric field stress (which degrades the stacks and results in permanent damage and ultimately in breakdown). Dependence of these processes on HfO2 and Al2O3 thickness as well as annealing ambient is analyzed. It is established that electrically active defects and trapping phenomena are most strongly affected by the annealing ambient. Oxygen annealing is favorable in terms of charge storage ability as it increases electron trapping and improves the electric field stress stability of Al2О3/HfO2 multilayer stacks.
Effects of arc ablation on surface electrical performance of epoxy resin insulation

Operation of a high-voltage, direct current circuit breakers can cause irreversible damage to the surface electrical performance of insulation due to arc ablation. To analyze the failure mechanism, the epoxy resin (EP) insulation was ablated under experimental arcs of different energy values. The rated current of the experimental arc is 5 A, and the ablation energy values were set as 0 J, 31.3 J, 78.2 J, 109.6 J and 156.5 J respectively by changing the arc duration. The destruction of the EP surface molecule structure was investigated by using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and gas chromatography. Furthermore, the surface potential decay and distribution characteristics of surface traps were studied by using the isothermal surface potential decay (ISPD) method. The test results indicate that when arc energy reaches 156.5 J, the DC flashover voltage of EP decreases by 64.7% and the surface conductivity increases by 3.22 times, compared with that of the virgin sample. Reductive groups in EP molecules are oxidized when suffering arc ablation, thereby leading to the breakage of molecular chains and severe carbonization, forming amorphous carbides with high conductivity on EP surface. ISPD results show that the density of deep traps and the center energy level of traps on the EP surface increase when the arc energy increases. These traps can form multiple charge centers and distort the electric field distribution on the EP surface. Thus, the partial discharge is promoted and flashover finally occurs, thereby decreasing the surface electrical strength of EP.
Photoaging

Aging and photoaging of the skin are now well-accepted concepts, but formerly it was equivalent to heresy to propose that these were anything but natural events. Aging skin was to be accepted as an inevitable, irreversible, and trivial consequence of getting old. It became obvious early on that skin damage was an inevitable sequela of the medical use of x-rays; only in the past two to three decades has the extremely damaging nature of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) become increasingly clear to both scientists and the general population, and attempts to circumvent and reverse such damage have become extremely popular. These observations have coincided with several pertinent phenomena: (1) the incredible growth of scientific knowledge in recent years; (2) people in western populations living longer and spending increased leisure time exposed to sun in outdoor activities; and (3) the rampant cosmetic claims for products that will “turn back the clock” to youth overnight. In the midst of this chaos, there exist two opposing hemispheres. One is the northern hemisphere, where life is rigid, cold scientific proof is difficult, and only the hardiest survive in the frozen Tundras of pharmaceutical bureaucracy and governmental regulation. The southern hemisphere is friendly and warm and things that make you “feel” better are considered good, rather than inherently evil because they are not “natural” and may prevent us from looking our age. War has inevitably existed between these two spheres ever since south’s cosmetics were defined as bad and the north’s pharmaceuticals were defined as good. Advocacy of the term cosmeceutical, as an attempt to compromise and
New Improved Indirect Measurement of the 19F(p, α)16O Reaction at Energies of Astrophysical Relevance

Fluorine abundance determination is of great importance in stellar physics to understand s-elements production and mixing processes in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. Up to now, theoretical models overproduce F abundances in AGB stars with respect to the observed values, thus calling for further investigation of the reactions involving fluorine. In particular, the 19F(p, α)16O reaction is the main destruction channel of fluorine at the bottom of the convective envelope in AGB stars, an H-rich environment where it can experience temperatures high enough to determine its destruction, owing to additional mixing processes. In this paper the Trojan horse method (THM) was used to extract the 19F(p, α0)16O S-factor in the energy range of astrophysical interest (Ecm ≈ 0–1 MeV). This is the most relevant channel at the low temperatures (few 107 K) characterizing the bottom of the convective envelope, according to current knowledge. A previous indirect experiment using the THM has observed three resonances in the energy regions below Ecm ≈ 450 keV. These energies correspond to typical AGB temperatures, thus implying a significant increase in the reaction rate. Statistics are scarce for performing an accurate separation between resonances, preventing one from drawing a quantitative conclusion about their total widths and spin parities. Before THM measurement, only extrapolations were available below about 500 keV, showing a non-resonant behavior that sharply contradicts the trend of the astrophysical factor at higher energies. A new experiment has been performed to verify the measured TH astrophysical factor and to perform more accurate spectroscopy of the involved resonances.
Examining Tropical Cyclone Structure and Intensification with the FLIGHT+ Dataset from 1999 to 2012

AbstractA comprehensive examination of tropical cyclone (TC) kinematic and thermodynamic structure in the Atlantic basin is created from the Extended Flight Level Dataset for Tropical Cyclones (FLIGHT+, version 1.1). In situ data collected at the 700-hPa flight level by NOAA WP-3D and USAF WC-130 aircraft from 1999 to 2012 are analyzed. A total of 233 azimuthal mean profiles comprising 1498 radial legs are stratified by TC intensity and 12-h intensity change. A matrix of composite structures is created for minor (category 1 and 2) and major (category 3 and above) hurricanes that are intensifying [intensity increase ≥10 kt (12 h)−1], steady state [intensity change between ±5 kt (12 h)−1], and weakening [intensity decrease kt (12 h)−1]. Additional considerations to the impacts of age on TC structure are given as well. Axisymmetric radial composites reveal that intensifying TCs have statistically significant structural differences from TCs that are steady state or weakening, but that these differences also d.
It’s Complicated: A Big Data Approach to Exploring Planetesimal Evolution in the Presence of Jovian Planets

Previous studies have suggested that the scattered disk is populated by planetesimals that once orbited in the reservoirs between the Jovian planets. Other studies have concluded that the source region for the Centaurs and Jupiter family comets (JFCs) is the scattered disk. Still other studies have suggested dynamical links between Centaurs and JFCs. The overarching goal of this study is to build upon our previous work and, using data mining techniques derived from big data applications, explore a database of close planet/planetesimal approaches in order to both examine these claims and demonstrate how complicated the trajectories of planetesimals wending between the Jovian planets can be—as they are subjected to impulsive alterations by close planetary encounters and resonant effects. Our results show that Centaurs, JFCs, and scattered disk objects are not dynamically distinct populations, and the paths planetesimals take over their lifetimes can be extremely complex. An understanding of this complexity offers solutions to other outstanding questions about the current solar system architecture.
Water content and wind acceleration in the envelope around the oxygen-rich AGB star IK Tauri as seen by Herschel/HIFI

During their asymptotic giant branch evolution, low-mass stars lose a significant fraction of their mass through an intense wind, enriching the interstellar medium with products of nucleosynthesis. We observed the nearby oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch star IK Tau using the high-resolution HIFI spectrometer onboard Herschel. We report on the first detection of (H2O)-O-16 and the rarer isotopologues (H2O)-O-17 and (H2O)-O-18 in both the ortho and para states. We deduce a total water content (relative to molecular hydrogen) of 6.6 x 10(-5), and an ortho-to-para ratio of 3:1. These results are consistent with the formation of H2O in thermodynamical chemical equilibrium at photospheric temperatures, and does not require pulsationally induced non-equilibrium chemistry, vaporization of icy bodies or grain surface reactions. High-excitation lines of (CO)-C-12, (CO)-C-13, (SiO)-Si-28, (SiO)-Si-29, (SiO)-Si-30, HCN, and SO have also been detected. From the observed line widths, the acceleration region in the inner wind zone can be characterized, and we show that the wind acceleration is slower than hitherto anticipated.
Spillovers from Foreign Firms Through Worker Mobility: An Empirical Investigation

While there has been a large empirical literature on productivity spillovers from foreign to domestic firms this literature treats the channels through which these spillover effects work as a black box. This paper attempts to fill this gap in the literature. Our results suggest that firms which are run by owners that worked for multinationals in the same industry immediately prior to opening up their own firm have higher productivity growth than other domestic firms. This suggests that these entrepreneurs bring with them some of the knowledge accumulated in the multinational which can be usefully employed in the domestic firm. We do not find any positive effects on firm level productivity if the owner had experience in multinationals in other industries, or received training by multinationals.
Price cost margins and exporting behaviour: Evidence from firm level data

This paper examines whether exporting activity matters for firm’s price cost margins. The recent literature on exporting and productivity shows that exporters on average are more efficient than nonexporters. If that is the case we may also expect them to have different mark-ups. We investigate this issue using company level data for UK manufacturing industries. The measurement of mark-ups follows the recent approach presented by Roeger (1995). Our results show that, on average, exporters have higher mark-ups than non-exporters. We also distinguish sectors into homogeneous and differentiated goods producing. This distinction shows that we only find higher mark-ups for exporters in differentiated goods sectors, not in homogeneous sectors.
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Herded Gibbs Sampling

The Gibbs sampler is one of the most popular algorithms for inference in statistical models. In this paper, we introduce a herding variant of this algorithm, called herded Gibbs, that is entirely deterministic. We prove that herded Gibbs has an O (1 /T ) convergence rate for models with independent variables and for fully connected probabilistic graphical models. Herded Gibbs is shown to outperform Gibbs in the tasks of image denoising with MRFs and named entity recognition with CRFs. However, the convergence for herded Gibbs for sparsely connected probabilistic graphical models is still an open problem
Bayesian data augmentation using MCMC: application to missing values imputation on cancer medication data.

Missing data is a very serious issue that negatively affect inferences and findings of researchers in data science and statistics. The ignorance of missing data or deletion of cases that contain missing observations may lead to reducing statistical power, loss of information, increasing standard errors of estimates and increases estimation bias in data analysis. One of the advantages of using imputation methods is to keep the full sample size, which makes the results to be more precise. Amongst all the missing data imputation techniques, data augmentation is not so popular in the literature and very few articles mentioned the use of the technique to account for missing data problems. Data Augmentation technique can be used for imputation of missing data in both Bayesian and classical statistics. In the classical approach, data augmentation is implemented through EM algorithm that uses maximum likelihood function to impute and estimate unknown parameters of a model. EM algorithm is a useful tool for a likelihood-based decision when dealing with missing data problems. The Bayesian data augmentation approach is used when it is not possible to directly estimate a posterior distribution P (θ | xov), of the parameters, θ given the observed data xov due to the missing data in x. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of Bayesian data augmentation and improve the quality of estimates and precision of the analysis of data with missing values. The General Household Survey [GHS 2015] is the main source of data in this study. All the analyses are made using the software R and more precisely the package mix. In this study, we have find that Bayesian data augmentation can solve the problem of missing data in cancer drug intake data. The Bayesian data augmentation performs very well in improving modelling of cancer drug affected by missing data.
Financial Systems and the Role of Banks in Monetary Policy Transmission in the Euro Area.Author-Name: Ehrmann, M

This paper offers a comprehensive comparison of the structure of banking and financial markets in the euro area. Based on this, several hypotheses about the role of banks in monetary policy transmission are developed. Many of the predictions that have been proposed for the U.S. are deemed unlikely to apply in Europe. Testing these hypotheses we find that monetary policy does alter bank loan supply, with the effects most dependent on the liquidity of individual banks. Unlike in the US, the size of a bank does generally not explain its lending reaction. We also show that the standard publicly available database, BankScope, obscures the heterogeneity across banks. Indeed, for several types of questions BankScope data suggest very different answers than more complete data that reside at national central banks.
EFFECTS OF SOURCE INFORMATION ON LEARNING AND INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS

This study investigated whether source information attached to texts influences multiple-text comprehension about genetically modified (GM) foods—a controversial science topic. Participants in the experiment read two texts from two sources: an expert and/or a layperson. When the two texts presented different attitudes toward GM foods (Experiment 1), expert information facilitated intra-text comprehension. Moreover, expert information was better integrated with other information; when expert information was presented first, later information was less integrated with participants’ understanding
Physics of diurnal warm layers : turbulence, internal waves, and lateral mixing

The daily heating of the ocean by the sun can create a stably stratified near-surface layer when the winds are slight and solar insolation is strong. This type of shallow stable layer is called a Diurnal Warm Layer (DWL). This thesis examines the physics and dynamics of DWLs from observations of the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean associated with the Salinity Processes in the Upper ocean Regional Study (SPURS-I). Momentum transferred from the atmosphere to the ocean through wind stress becomes trapped within the DWL, generating shear across the layer. During SPURS-I, strong diurnal shear across the DWL was coincident with enhanced turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) dissipation (ε, ε > 10−5 W/kg) observed from glider microstructure profiles of the near-surface. However, a scale analysis demonstrated that surface forcing, including diurnal shear, could not be the sole mechanism for the enhanced TKE dissipation. High-frequency internal waves (ω ≫ f) were observed in the upper ocean during the daytime within the DWL. Internal waves are able to transfer energy from the deep ocean into the DWL through the unstratified remnant mixed layer, which is the intervening layer between the DWL and seasonal thermocline. As the strength of the stratification of the DWL increases, so does the shear caused by the tunneling internal waves. The analysis demonstrates that internal waves can generate strong enough shear to cause a shear-induced instability, and are a plausible source of the observed enhanced TKE dissipation. Vertically-varying horizontal transport across the upper ocean occurs because a diurnal current exists within the DWL, but not in the unstratified remnant mixed layer below. Therefore, when a DWL is present, the water within DWL is horizontally transported a different distance than the water below. Coupled with nocturnal convection that mixes the DWL with the unstratified layer at night, this cycle is a mechanism for submesoscale (1-10 km) lateral diffusion across the upper ocean. Estimates of a horizontal diffusion coefficient are similar in magnitude to current estimates of submesoscale diffusion based on observations, and are likely an important source of horizontal diffusion in the upper ocean. Thesis Supervisor: J. Thomas Farrar Title: Associate Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Thesis Supervisor: Carol Anne Clayson Title: Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution