Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Twin‐to‐twin delivery time interval: influencing factors and effect on short‐term outcome of the second twin

Background. Following vaginal delivery of the first twin, the further management to deliver the second twin is in dispute. Controversial discussions have taken place on the importance of the time interval between the birth of the first and the second twin. Objective. To evaluate factors influencing twin‐to‐twin delivery time interval, and short‐term outcome of the second twin in a complete population‐based cohort in Hesse, Germany. Study design. In a population‐based cohort study, between January 1990 and December 2004, all twin pregnancies of ≥34+0 weeks’ gestation with a vaginally delivered first twin were evaluated. Pregnancies with intrauterine death of either one of the twins before the onset of labour, complicated by twin–twin transfusion or fetal malformations were excluded. Some 4,110 twin pregnancies were analysed. Maternal and fetal characteristics for an increased twin‐to‐twin delivery time interval and its impact on an adverse short‐term neonatal outcome, and the effect of the twin‐to‐twin delivery interval on umbilical arterial pH and base excess of the second twin have been investigated. Results. In univariate analysis, breech, transverse lie, birth weight discordance with the second twin ≥20% larger, fetal distress, vaginal operative delivery, and caesarean section were associated with an increased time interval. Maternal characteristics were not related to an increased time interval. Increasing time interval was related to a decline in the mean umbilical arterial pH and base excess, and fetal acidosis, Apgar score <7 after 1, 5 and 10 min. In multivariate analysis, birth weight discordance, mode of delivery, and twin‐to‐twin delivery time interval were associated with an adverse short‐term outcome of the second twin. Conclusion. As twin‐to‐twin delivery time interval seems to be an independent risk factor for adverse short‐term outcome of the second twin, it should be kept short.
Multifactor Asset Pricing Models and Industry Portfolio Investment Strategies

This paper examines the effectiveness of six risk factors when applied to a selection of twenty industry-specific portfolios in explaining those portfolios’ returns. The explanatory power of each risk factor, as well as its statistical significance, is judged with respect to the explanatory power provided by the Fama-French Three Factor Model. The three additional factors are the Momentum, and Short and Long-Term price reversal factors. Results indicate that, of the three additional factors, Momentum has the most explanatory power on average. Nevertheless, several exceptions were identified in which the inclusion of the Momentum factor destroys explanatory power, or in which the Short or Long-Term reversal factor yielded significant explanatory power. Results demonstrate the differences of these factors’ behavior among the industries tested.
Hepatitis B virus genotype B has an earlier emergence of lamivudine resistance than genotype C

Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype B and C seem not to affect the therapeutic response to lamivudine (3TC). Whether a given genotype has an earlier emergence of 3TC resistance remains unclear. We thus conducted this study to elucidate the association of HBV genotype with the emergence of 3TC-resistant strains in Taiwanese patients. Methods Forty chronic hepatitis B patients who developed resistance after 3TC therapy were retrospectively enrolled. HBV genotype, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and HBV DNA levels were determined at baseline. The presence of 3TC-resistant mutations was confirmed by direct sequencing whenever biochemical breakthrough developed. Results The distribution of HBV genotype B and C in 40 patients receiving 3TC therapy were 60% and 40%, respectively. The mean interval to detect 3TC- resistant strain was 19.6 ±1.7 months. By using multivariate analysis, HBV genotype B and higher pre-treatment HBV DNA level were independently associated with earlier detection of 3TC-resistant strains. In addition, genotype B was significantly associated with development of 3TC resistance within the first 12 months of 3TC therapy compared with genotype C (odds ratio 8.27; P=0.004). Conclusions Compared with HBV genotype C, genotype B appears to have an earlier biochemical resistance to 3TC than genotype C. Therefore, more frequent monitoring of viral load or genotypical resistance might be needed for patients with HBV genotype B infection receiving 3TC therapy, especially during the first year.
Aberrant Interhemispheric Connectivity in Obstructive Sleep Apnea–Hypopnea Syndrome

Objective To determine the changes in interhemispheric functional coordination in patients with obstructive sleep apnea–hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) relative to controls, using a recently introduced method of analysis: voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC). Methods Twenty-nine patients with OSAHS and twenty-six normal sex-, age-, and education-matched controls were recruited and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were obtained. We employed VMHC to analyze the interhemispheric functional connectivity differences between groups. The z-values of alterations in VMHC in brain region were correlated with clinical characteristics. Results Compared with controls, patients with OSAHS had significantly higher scores for body mass index (t = 5.749, P < 0.001), apnea–hypopnea index (AHI; t = 7.706, P < 0.001), oxygen desaturation index (t = 6.041, P < 0.001), and Epworth sleepiness scale (t = 3.711, P < 0.001), but significantly lower scores on the Rey–Osterrieth complex figure test-immediate recall (t = −3.727, P < 0.05). On the same basis, the VMHC showed significant increases in bilateral calcarine cortex and precuneus. Moreover, significant, positive correlations were found in only these areas between the AHI and the VMHC change coefficients (r = 0.399, P = 0.032; r = 0.378, P = 0.043). Conclusion We found a memory defect in patients with OSAHS. The correlation between the abnormal VMHC and the AHI in patients with OSAHS suggested that AHI might be a key factor in cognitive dysfunction, which might offer new insights into the neural pathophysiology underlying OSAHS-related cognitive deficits.
Blocked mobility or unemployment risk? Labour market transitions of natives and immigrants in Switzerland

Cross-sectional literature has shown that in Switzerland as elsewhere immigrants are more penalized than the native-born population both considering the unemployment risk and their position in the employment structure. Using a longitudinal framework, the present article focuses on a comparison between male immigrants and natives in the Swiss labour market, analysing two risks: the risk of unemployment and the risk of entrapment in unskilled occupations. In the first part of the article, using a dynamic random effect models, we show that immigrants present less state dependence than natives considering both unemployment and the risk of entrapment in unskilled positions. In the second part, using Heckman selection models, we show that less state dependence of immigrants corresponds to a higher mobility towards the skilled working class that is limited to the secondary labour market. We explain these differences with the interplay of Swiss labour market characteristics, in particular, the need for high flexibility and the positive selection of immigrants whose access to the Swiss labour market is generally realized through the bottom of employment structure.
Automatic creation of a talking head from a video sequence

In this paper, a real-time system to create a talking head from a video sequence without any user intervention is presented. In the proposed system, a probabilistic approach, to decide whether or not extracted facial features are appropriate for creating a three-dimensional (3-D) face model, is presented. Automatically extracted two-dimensional facial features from a video sequence are fed into the proposed probabilistic framework before a corresponding 3-D face model is built to avoid generating an unnatural or nonrealistic 3-D face model. To extract face shape, we also present a face shape extractor based on an ellipse model controlled by three anchor points, which is accurate and computationally cheap. To create a 3-D face model, a least-square approach is presented to find a coefficient vector that is necessary to adapt a generic 3-D model into the extracted facial features. Experimental results show that the proposed system can efficiently build a 3-D face model from a video sequence without any user intervention for various Internet applications including virtual conference and a virtual story teller that do not require much head movements or high-quality facial animation.
A process-based view of social entrepreneurship: From opportunity identification to scaling-up social change in the case of San Patrignano

The assumption of a strong connection between entrepreneurship and economic growth has led to the neglect of entrepreneurial processes in the social sectors. Based on the findings of an in-depth longitudinal case study, our article focuses on social entrepreneurship (SE) processes designed to exploit innovation that explicitly addresses complex social problems. We elaborate on the characteristics of the process and on the dimensions intervening on how social entrepreneurial opportunities are identified, evaluated, exploited and scaled up. We provide a process-based view of SE, suggesting the need for consistency between individual, organizational and contextual elements.
Historical Progression of Sustainable Management Concerning Marine Tourism Activities: A Case Study in Eastern Australia

This paper explores through a case study on a broader and more specific basis, the historic and more recent development of sustainable management and natural resource practices of a prominent coastal tourism region in Australia, and a representative example of an accredited marine ecotourism operator within that region who has been applying policies and management practices in sustainable marine wildlife tourism. The paper includes the growth and development of marine wildlife tourism with an emphasis on the region as well as further development of marine wildlife-based sustainable management practices. This also involves a detailed discussion of the practices aboard the enterprise Imagine Cruises, and the visitor experience in attempting to provide best environmental practices and in turn offer positive wildlife and environmental management tactics in contributing in the short term to the sustainability of the dolphin and whale watch industry which operates within the bay and the coastal and marine areas of Port Stephens. The historical development of marine-based and land-based sustainable management policies and practices in Port Stephens are examined in the paper, in a region which has rapidly become a major tourism destination based on abundance of cetacean wildlife, natural attributes and proximity to Sydney, Australia. Through the case review of the historical development of the Port Stephens environment, wildlife conservation and the focus on preservation of the rich natural resources of the region coupled with the advancement and implementation of sustainable policies and practices in nature-based wildlife tourism and especially the cetacean tourism industry, these can be conveyed as factors of importance in the further development of sustainable marine wildlife practices regionally, nationally and potentially influencing decision making on an international level.
Is regulatory capital more value relevant than book value of equity? A cross-country analysis

This research aims to enter in the debate about the pros and the cons of regulatory capital (RC) disclosure providing empirical evidences that this measure of capital is more value relevant than book value of equity (BV). To verify our hypothesis, we collected data from the consolidated annual reports issued over the period 2009–2012 by 170 entities listed in 22 of the 27 countries that belong to the Basel Committee and that issue their annual reports complying with the IASB standards. Methodologically, by using a modified version of the Ohlson (1995) model, we use five different techniques that confirm that the RC is more value relevant than BV. So, our findings show that not only RC is issued to strengthen the soundness and the stability of the international banking system and to diminish an existing source of competitive inequality among international banks, but also to provide useful information to investors for their economic decisions.
Piezoelectric resonant MEMS balances with high liquid phase Q

This work presents low motional resistance piezoelectric MEMS resonators with the highest quality factor (Q) in water reported to date that can be used for direct biomarker or chemical detection in liquid media. Thin film Piezoelectric-on-substrate (TPoS) resonators operating in higher order lateral bulk acoustic modes are designed and fabricated, and their performance as mass balances in water is characterized. Q up to 312 and motional resistance as low as 662Ω were measured in water for devices with resonant frequency of 11MHz. To characterize resonator mass sensitivities, a SiO2 passivation layer on top of one of the resonators was slowly etched in several consecutive steps and frequency shifts were recorded showing of 33.4 cm2/ng. Higher order mode operation and relatively large size of the devices (high volume/surface ratio) along with wide gaps between the resonating body and the substrate are considered to be the main factors minimizing viscous damping in liquid.
Evidence for “direct” and “indirect” pathways through the song system basal ganglia

Song learning in oscine birds relies on a circuit known as the “anterior forebrain pathway,” which includes a specialized region of the avian basal ganglia. This region, area X, is embedded within a telencephalic structure considered homologous to the striatum, the input structure of the mammalian basal ganglia. Area X has many features in common with the mammalian striatum, yet has distinctive traits, including largely aspiny projection neurons that directly innervate the thalamus and a cell type that physiologically resembles neurons recorded in the mammalian globus pallidus. We have proposed that area X is a mixture of striatum and globus pallidus and has the same functional organization as circuits in the mammalian basal ganglia. Using electrophysiological and anatomical approaches, we found that area X contains a functional analog of the “direct” striatopallidothalamic pathway of mammals: axons of the striatal spiny neurons make close contacts on the somata and dendrites of pallidal cells. A subset of pallidal neurons project directly to the thalamus. Surprisingly, we found evidence that many pallidal cells may not project to the thalamus, but rather participate in a functional analog of the mammalian “indirect” pathway, which may oppose the effects of the direct pathway. Our results deepen our understanding of how information flows through area X and provide more support for the notion that song learning in oscines employs physiological mechanisms similar to basal ganglia‐dependent forms of motor learning in mammals. J. Comp. Neurol. 484:93–104, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Vomeronasal and Olfactory Structures in Bats Revealed by DiceCT Clarify Genetic Evidence of Function

The degree to which molecular and morphological loss of function occurs synchronously during the vestigialization of traits is not well understood. The mammalian vomeronasal system, a sense critical for mediating many social and reproductive behaviors, is highly conserved across mammals. New World Leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) are under strong selection to maintain a functional vomeronasal system such that most phyllostomids possess a distinct vomeronasal organ and an intact TRPC2, a gene encoding a protein primarily involved in vomeronasal sensory neuron signal transduction. Recent genetic evidence, however, shows that TRPC2 is a pseudogene in some Caribbean nectarivorous phyllostomids. The loss-of-function mutations suggest the sensory neural tissue of the vomeronasal organ is absent in these species despite strong selection on this gene in its mainland relatives, but the anatomy was unknown in most Caribbean nectarivorous phyllostomids until this study. We used diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography (diceCT) to test whether the vomeronasal and main olfactory anatomy of several phyllostomid species matched genetic evidence of function, providing insight into whether loss of a structure is linked to pseudogenization of a molecular component of the system. The vomeronasal organ is indeed rudimentary or absent in species with a disrupted TRPC2 gene. Caribbean nectar-feeders also exhibit derived olfactory turbinal morphology and a large olfactory recess that differs from closely related bats that have an intact vomeronasal organ, which may hint that the main olfactory system may compensate for loss. We emphasize non-invasive diceCT is capable of detecting the vomeronasal organ, providing a feasible approach for quantifying mammalian chemosensory anatomy across species.
Analysis of the Term Structure of Implied Volatilities

Abstract From various empirical work, it is well known that the volatility of asset returns changes over time. This might be one of the reasons that implied volatilities differ for options that only differ in time to maturity. We construct models for the relation between short- and long-term implied volatilities based on three different assumptions of stock return volatility behavior, i.e., mean-reverting, GARCH, and EGARCH models. We test these relations on option price data and conclude that EGARCH gives the best description of asset prices and the term structure of options' implied volatilities.
Development of a systematic method to assess similarity between nanomaterials for human hazard evaluation purposes – lessons learnt

Abstract Within the EU FP-7 GUIDEnano project, a methodology was developed to systematically quantify the similarity between a nanomaterial (NM) that has been tested in toxicity studies and the NM for which risk needs to be evaluated, for the purpose of extrapolating toxicity data between the two materials. The methodology is a first attempt to use current knowledge on NM property–hazard relationships to develop a series of pragmatic and systematic rules for assessing NM similarity. Moreover, the methodology takes into account the practical feasibility, in that it is based on generally available NM characterization information. In addition to presenting this methodology, the lessons learnt and the challenges faced during its development are reported here. We conclude that there is a large gap between the information that is ideally needed and its application to real cases. The current database on property–hazard relationships is still very limited, which hinders the agreement on the key NM properties constituting the basis of the similarity assessment and the development of associated science-based and unequivocal rules. Currently, one of the most challenging NM properties to systematically assess in terms of similarity between two NMs is surface coating and functionalization, which lacks standardized parameters for description and characterization methodology. Standardization of characterization methods that lead to quantitative, unambiguous, and measurable parameters describing NM properties are necessary in order to build a sufficiently robust property–hazard database that allows for evidence-based refinement of our methodology, or any other attempt to systematically assess the similarity of NMs.
Resource Optimization Across the Cloud Stack

Previous work on optimizing resource provisioning in virtualized environments focused either on mapping virtual machines (VMs) to physical machines (PMs) or mapping application components to VMs. In this paper, we argue that these two optimization problems influence each other significantly and in a highly non-trivial way. We define a sophisticated problem formulation for the joint optimization of the two mappings, taking into account sizing aspects, colocation constraints, license costs, and hardware affinity relations. As demonstrated by the empirical evaluation on a real-world workload trace, the combined optimization leads to significantly better overall results than considering the two problems in isolation.
An Efficient Time Switching Protocol with Adaptive Power Splitting for Wireless Energy Harvesting Relay Networks

A new time switching protocol referred to as TS- APS is proposed for the energy harvesting (EH) relay networks based on the combination of conventional time switching (TS) protocol and adaptive power splitting (APS). In the framework of the decode and forward (DF) relaying with multiple relays, we derive the closed-form expression for the outage probability of the proposed scheme and discuss its effective transmission rate considering the random relay selection (RRS) and opportunistic relay selection (ORS) scenarios. Through numerical analysis, we show that the proposed scheme can achieve better outage performance and the effective transmission rate as compared to the conventional TS and power splitting (PS) schemes proposed in the literature, irrespective of relay selection scenarios. By properly selecting time switching (TS) ratio, we demonstrate that the effective transmission rate of the proposed protocol can be optimized only with partial knowledge of channel gains in the network, which makes the proposed approach suitable for the distributed relay selection scenarios.
Introduction: Feature Issue on Phantoms for the Performance Evaluation and Validation of Optical Medical Imaging Devices

The editors introduce the Biomedical Optics Express feature issue on “Phantoms for the Performance Evaluation and Validation of Optical Medical Imaging Devices. ” This topic was the focus of a technical workshop that was held on November 7–8, 2011, in Washington, D.C. The feature issue includes 13 contributions from workshop attendees.
Knowledge Transfer in a Management Process for Outsourced Agile Software Development

The outsourcing of IT services is a reality in the Brazilian Government administration. One of the critical aspects of outsourcing software development services is the transfer of knowledge. The purpose of this work was to define procedures for knowledge transfer in an outsourced software development process based on the Scrum framework. This is a descriptive research, in which elements for knowledge transfer were identified from a systematic review of the literature, eSCM practices, agile software development services contracts, and the Brazilian normative. The definition of procedures involved activities, tasks and artifacts, based on the SECI model and bibliographic and documentary research. The main contribution of this paper is showing how these knowledge transfer elements can be introduced in an outsourced agile development process, through the application of the SECI model.
A novel demodulation scheme for a memoryless optical interference channel

Matched filtering and sampling, which is known to be the optimal receiver for the linear additive white Gaussian noise channel, is in general suboptimal for a nonlinear medium. Nonetheless, it is commonly used in fiber-optical communication systems with nonlinear distortion. In this paper, a novel demodulation scheme is proposed for a two-user memoryless interference channel, with a type of nonlinear crosstalk that occurs in wavelength-multiplexed optical transmission. We show by simulations that by using this demodulation scheme, unlike matched filtering and sampling, the symbol error rate decreases to zero in the high-power regime.